The $100 Startup – A Book Review

A few days ago I got a welcome surprise in my mailbox: A copy of the new Chris Guillebeau book The $100 Startup : Reinvent The Way You Make A Living, Do What You Love and Create A New Future.  

If you are not familiar with Chris, he runs one of my favorite web properties, The Art of Non-Conformity.  The reason I say it was a surprise is that I had not ordered it, though I have ordered other things from Chris in the past.  So, thank you to whomever found it in their good graces to ship me a copy!

Chris is a guy who practices what he preaches, running his empire from the road while attempting to visit all 193 countries before April of next year.  He is currently just ten shy of the goal.  He also runs the Travel Hacking Cartel, a property dedicated to helping subscribers travel the world for as little as possible by making the most profitable use of miles and other promos.  He is, in short, a man who wears many hats.

All of those hats, however, have a common theme:  Live life on your own terms and don’t settle for ordinary.

His new book is jam-packed with great examples of people who started their own businesses either out of necessity (losing a job) or out of a desire to no longer live beholden to someone else’s view of the universe.  What I like about the book is that it’s not just a collection of anecdotes about strangers, but also has a lot of practical tips and hints for assisting the new small business to get up and running.

Furthermore, there is a focus on creating value and making money, not just “finding your passion and following it” as other books in this genre tend to do.  As he says, businesses exist to make a profit.  It’s not just about what you are passionate about, but rather the intersection of passion with value creation, a concept he calls convergence.

I recommend this book if you are looking for that kick in the backside to get moving on doing your own thing.  Chris has done it all and bought the T-shirt.  I wrote down four or five ideas for things I am going to look into in the near future as I was reading.  Even if you don’t buy the book, you owe it to yourself to start listening to Chris.  He will challenge you to do your best work.