Book Summary:
The 9 Super Simple Steps to Entrepreneurial Success
By Steven Presar

This article is based on the following book:

The 9 Super Simple Steps to Entrepreneurial Success
by Martin J. Grunder Jr., Gatekeeper Books, ISBN: 0967648300, 2002, $18.95, 185 pages.

What are the keys to entrepreneurial success? Why is success seemingly so easy for some and so elusive for others? Are some people born to be successful? What is the role of education in the success process? These and other question entrepreneur Marty Grunder attempts to answer in his book, The 9 Super Simple Steps to Entrepreneurial Success.

A number of years ago Marty Grunder started a two-person after-school lawn mowing operation that today has grown into a nationwide award-winning multimillion-dollar success.

He firmly believes the entrepreneurship or owning your own business is the path to personal success. According to the information in his book, "5 million Americans start their own business" each year. Grunder's goal with his book is to provide his readers with a roadmap to their own personal success.

That roadmap is the outline for his book that he provides. Grunder believes most entrepreneurs spend more time planing their vacations then planning their businesses. They "take the time to think about who they are, what they want to do, and how they are going to get there", but never take the time to do the same planing to build their business growth.

Like Napoleon Hill before him, Grunder found similarities among the successful people and companies that he studied. Grunder believes that success is a process. A process that can be duplicated for whatever entrepreneurial endeavor that you may choose. He provides these similarities and his sums-up his guidelines for your success in his "9 Super Simple Steps".

What are his 9 Super Simple Steps?

1. Successful people have a passion for their work.

You may find success in a line of work that you do not have a passion for but it is unlikely. Unless you have a strong passion for the work that you do, real success will probably allude you. Grunder advises to determine what your passions are first. What skills, interests, or hobbies can you say you feel strongly about? Then determine what entrepreneurial business that you can start to share your passion with your community. Grunder's book provides a chart to help you with this step.

2. These people were very goal oriented.

There are no 'do-overs' in life. Sitting around each day daydreaming and talking about the future that you would like, just does not cut it. You need to take your passion and outline a plan with some deadlines. There is something mystical about writing your plans down on paper.

Throughout the book Grunder provides small side-bar boxes of his personal experience of tips to illustrate -- point in the chapter. His "Reality Checks" within this chapter are particularly informative regarding goal setting.

3. They got paid to learn.

This is a important concept. Sometimes we get wrapped-up in our own ideas and lose sight of the practical considerations of running a business. You may have a brilliant new idea but the how-to's of the daily operations elude you.

What many successful entrepreneurs have done is to take a job in the field and learned the details of the business as well as how their could do it better before striking out on their own. Grunder provides a number examples of people who honed their entrepreneurial skills on someone else's dime. The best way to remedy any short-comings in your experience or background that you feel you have is to take a position that supports both your passions and your goals -- and learn from others.

4. They surrounded themselves with winners.

Look for ways to speed time with other successful business people. It may be at a local chamber function, fundraiser, party, or other gathering. As Grunder states, this logic of surrounding yourself with winners is not only simple and sound, but brilliant. Used properly, it is a straight forward way to get a tremendous business education and consulting services.

Grunder also talks about the often over-looked "breakfast or lunch investment". This is a great way to get business advice from someone who may have faced similar challenges as yours, to share your business knowledge, to add a new individual to your business marketing network, or just to get to know someone else within your community.

5. They believed in themselves.

As you may know, it's sometimes the simple and basic things that we overlook. Grunder re-states the fact that you must start believing in yourself NOW. If you think you will become successful, then you will become successful! As Earl Nightingale talked about in what he call the "strangest secret" years ago, "You are and you become what you think about."

6. They always ask questions.

No matter what stage your business is in, there is always more to learn and you can learn more quicker by asking questions of others. Keep in mind, physicians are some of the highest paid people within our society. Their method of diagnosing patient's ailment is to ask probing questions.

Grunder quotes businessman and statesman, Bernard Baruch, "Millions saw the apple fall but Newton was the one to ask why."

7. They focused on a niche.

Too many entrepreneurs try to be everything to everybody. That is a sure way to dilute their product or service. Do not fall into that trap! Focus on a niche that has a genuine need for your product or service. Spend the time to determine what need within your community does your product or service solve better then anyone else within your community? What problem does your product or service solve? For who?

Don't stay muddled in mediocrity trying to be everything to everybody. Focus on a niche and establish your reputation as the best who is servicing that niche.

8. They weren't afraid to break the rules.

There is nothing special about delivering packages and documents. The Postal Service has been doing that for years. No one could improve on this basic service. That was until Fred Smith came along and said that his Federal Express could deliver, "Absolutely, positively overnight." Now his company is a multibillion-dollar one with a worldwide presence.

Is there an aspect of your community that others are doing a good job at, but that you know that you could break the rules and do it GREAT?

9. They worked very hard.

There are many paths to success but the one talent that all entrepreneurs have in common is ability to work hard. Grunder maintains that the challenge is to use this talent you have.

To Grunder hard work doesn't mean drudge work. Most successful entrepreneurs have selected endeavors that they enjoy. Their time spent time on their work, is time they spend on something that they enjoy.

He finishes with an important point to consider as you step onto your path to entrepreneurial success.

Copyright Steven Presar

Steven Presar is a recognized small business technology coach, Internet publisher, author, speaker, and trainer. He provides personal, home, and computer security solutions at www.ProtectionConnect.com. He provides business software reviews at www.OnlineSoftwareGuide.com. In addition, he publishes articles for starting and running a small business at www.Agora-Business-Center.com.
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