Company of One

A fantastic and inspiring read, outlining the reasons that building a company that grows infinitely may be a flawed idea. Each chapter offers suggestions and thought-provoking ideas by way of examples. They're all backed by logic, and the author concedes from the onset that the premises he outlines may not apply to everyone. I will almost certainly come back to this one. It was a quick read!

Very welcome book to anyone who runs a business, wants to run one or is aiming for ‘intrapreneurship' within a larger company. I was always convinced that being small wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but this book gave me more reason to believe and find better ways to run my business.

The exact opposite of Not Taught that I read before this one.

Sustainable, profitable company of one is where it's at. Recommend if you're starting or thinking of starting a small business.

I guess this isn't what I expected - I was hoping for practical application. He has questions at the end of each chapter (“start thinking about”) but otherwise it felt like a regurgitation of business concepts I've read elsewhere. I also didn't need to be convinced; I've been running a company of one for years.

I guess read this if you have doubts about the advantages of staying small, but personally, I would have liked to read more about how to manage subcontractors, strategies for determining what work to invest your time in vs. delegating, etc. Chapter 13, with his personal story, was the closest it got to practical advice along these lines, and that's the book I'd like to read.

Update:
The Million-Dollar One-Person Business by Elaine Pofeldt is the book I wanted to read. I found it much more practical and applicable and would suggest reading it instead.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34915571

The idea of a single person company, or a small lifestyle business is increasingly interesting to me personally. In an age like today where one person can create something that provides value and people pay for, its amazing how low the barrier is to entry — assuming you put in the work.

The idea of a single person company, or a small lifestyle business is increasingly interesting to me personally. In an age like today where one person can create something that provides value and people pay for, its amazing how low the barrier is to entry — assuming you put in the work.