Book Reviews
Anyone Can Do It – Duncan Bannatyne – by FiscalStudent
I have just finished reading Duncan Bannatynes autobiography “Anyone Can Do It”. I have to say it was surprisingly good. Despite being very interested in entrepreneurship and learning about it, I was never really a fan of Dragons Den and have watched only a few episodes. There are a couple of reasons for this.
- Firstly, despite what the “Dragon’s ” say it is a reality t.v show which are almost without exception, absolutely shit. Similar to the way Big Brother only seem to allow crazy people into the big brother house, Dragons Den seems to me to focus more on weirdos with wacky ideas then genuine (and perhaps more boring to average tv viewer) business people. There’s a reason for this which Duncan alludes to in his book, if someone really has a good business or product, why come to Dragon’s Den in first place. Why not get a loan or remortgage their house for finance. This is exactly what Duncan did himself when starting out.
- Secondly the presenters are using the show as much as the contestants are, in their case it is for the publicity. In particular they seem to revel in the good cop bad cop routines and embarrassing the contestants.
- Thirdly very few of the deals seen on screen are actually completed.
- Finally because I as a budding entrepreneur learn nothing from hearing Dragons ask questions. The crucial part where they go through due diligence(An investigation or audit of a potential investment that serves to confirm all facts in regards to a sale) process is where their talent would shine but it is not shown on screen. I would love to see a show called “Beyond Dragons Den” or something where we really get to see the dragons at work on an actual investment.
So as I said, before I started the book i was not a Bannatyne fan, as I thought all the Dragons were a bit full of it. However I was amazed by Duncan’s simple business acumen. one example is when he goes to a gym and works out the potential profit he could make based on some simple math of building costs combined with the gym membership fee and the number of ceiling tiles in the building. The book is an easy and very interesting read, with some very good advice about starting a business while still being entertaining.The key point I took from the book was this
An entrepreneur in debt is an entrepreneur in business
The debt Duncan took on when starting was staggering, but it was also essential to his rapid growth. I never before realised the importance of debt.
Thanks FiscalStudent great post. -www.Startups.ie
www.fiscalstudent.com
We rewiew the good, the bad and the ugly of business books. Do you have a favourite business book? why not review it on Startups.
Entrepreneurs –Autobiography/ Biography
Business Stripped Bare – Richard Branson (Virgin Books)
This is a sort of update on Sir Richard’s business empire taking a more philosophical view on what makes a business successful. This is not a patch on Losing My Virginity and in fact many of the same stories are repeated. Unless you are planning to take over a chain of banks, buy a railway monopoly from the state or build a spaceship you can live without this one. 2/5
Anyone Can Do It – Building Coffee Republic From Our Kitchen Table – Sahar and Bobby Hashemi (Capstone Publishing)
Sahar and Bobby Hashemi are the sister and brother team who built Coffe Republic the UK high street coffee chain. Giving up highly paid professional jobs, she as a lawyer in London and he an investment banker in New York, they staked everything on their dream. This is a great little book and well worth a read. It takes you step by step through the process of building Coffee Republic , from the original idea and brainstorming to Growth and customer service. 4/5
Making Bread – Brody Sweeney (Liberties Press)
A refreshingly honest, direct and jargon free book, Brody shares his experiences, good, bad and difficult of setting up O’Briens Sandwich Bars. This book is well worth a read as it offers good practical advice from an Irish perspective. The chapter on bank finance is particularly relevant i.e ‘Banks only like lending money to those who don’t need it’ and how to get around this. 4/5
Anyone Can Do It – My Story – Duncan Bannatyne (Orion Books)
Grumpy dragon Duncan tells his story from a tough upbringing in Clydebank, Scotland to multi millionaire entrepreneur. Duncan was a self confessed dosser until he finally set his mind to making money in his thirties. Starting with an ice cream van business he built business after business each more profitable than the last. This book also shows Duncan’s charitable side which is pretty inspiring stuff. 4/5 This book is also reviewed by FiscalStudent (See post below)
Enter the Dragon – Theo Paphitis (Orion Books)
Theo Paphitis has built one of the most successful retail empires in the UK. Theo founded his first company at 23 and his big skill is in seeing untapped potential in loss making business which he then makes profitable. Of particular interest to anyone in retail this is worth a read although there is a big middle padding section where he covers his period in charge of Millwall football club, this is just boring. 3/5
Tycoon – How to turn dreams into millions – Peter Jones (Hodder & Stoughton)
I hated this book and to be honest could not finish it. From the arrogant title ‘Tycoon’ to the incredibly annoying ‘Tycoon Tips’ throughout the book you get the impression of someone who is a bit too dizzy in the glare of fame. Tycoon Tip – Avoid. 0/5
Business Nightmares – When Entrepreneurs Hit Crisis Point – Rachael Elnaugh (Crimson)
A novel approach from the fallen dragon. After the high profile loss of her business ‘Red Letter Days’ and subsequent removal from Dragon’s Den, Rachael interviews other high profile contacts such as Jeffrey Archer and Doug Richard. The book has a pretty bitter and angry tone particularly towards some of the remaining Dragon’s. Despite this it is relevant to see the dark side of business when things go wrong as they do more often than not. There is also some good advice and tips that could save you lots of money and heart ache. 3/5
Dragons’ Den – Success from Pitch to Profit – Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Theo Paphitis, Duncan Bannatyne and James Caan (Collins)
This book is a bit of a con. Someone got an hour interview time with each of the Dragon’s and turned it into a lightweight mish mash in order to cash in on the show’s popularity. You will walk away none the wiser. 1/5
How They Started – How 30 good ideas became great businesses – David Lester (Crimson)
This is a great little book, each chapter is a perfect bite size, just long enough to tell each story while maintaining your interest. The book covers businesses such as Bebo, Moneysupermarket.com, Pizza Express and Cobra Beer and gives a brief outline of how they got going and the challenges that they faced along the way. 4/5
Marketing
Purple Cow – Transform your business by being remarkable – Seth Godin (Penguin)
A good ‘Loo’ read. Marketing Guru Seth Godin urges everyone involved in creating, designing or selling to think in new ways about their market. By adopting alternative approaches to your business, you and your company will survive to innovate another day. 3/5
Online Marketing Heroes – Michael Miller (Wiley)
Terrible and boring. Interviews with 25 ‘succesful online marketing guru’s’. If you are having trouble sleeping, this one is perfect for you. 0/5
