I'm Writing a Book About Startups and Entrepreneurship... From a Failure Perspective

If you follow me on Instagram or have spoken to me recently, you might know I’m writing an ebook about startups and entrepreneurship. Specifically, I’m detailing the lessons learned from failure via Body Boss. I’m also collaborating with Don Pottinger on the book.

I’ve never written long form before outside of school which I really didn’t enjoy. This, though, goes way beyond anything I’ve ever written at 60-something real experience-filled, highly revealing pages. However, much like the rest of my writing and book reading these days, I enjoyed writing this book A LOT. It’s all about context and startups and entrepreneurship are my passions. I’ve already gotten a lot of great feedback from early readers and editors.

“Loved the honesty about it! I would often read a chapter and think ‘great lesson – gotta remember that’. In fact, I just had an idea on a simple, yet effective way for our foreign offices to stay connected with the demands of our US market…” 

“GREAT read. It's probably the only entrepreneurial book I've read where they truly lay it all out on the table for the reader.”

My editors are friends with amazingly critical mindsets. It took a bit of courage to ask them to review and edit the book, but in the end, I knew their comments and suggestions would make me a better writer and the book would be better for all my readers.

So why am I writing this book?

I started writing consistently 3+ years ago, and have enjoyed it immensely. It's taught me a lot about communication, and the experience has given me greater confidence.

I really wanted to start another product-oriented business by the end of the year, but realized that wasn’t going to happen. So if I wasn’t going to build a business, then I wanted to build up my brand.

Meanwhile over the years, I've met with students, entrepreneurs, investors, industry professionals, and others. Many seek advice because of my experience from startups and my consulting engagements. I'd like to add this book as a "channel" to help others understand startups and entrepreneurship especially in the light of the missteps and successes of Body Boss.

What’s my vision for the book?

I hope first-time entrepreneurs find the book informative, and the book helps them avoid the traps we fell prey to at Body Boss. I also see value in this book for wantrepreneurs and those in the corporate realm looking to innovate or make that jump to the next level.

As I continue to find my Next Great Move, I want to build my personal brand and collateral. This will have a compounding effect with networking and professional skills with added credibility to my CV.

Much of success can be attributed to focus, intensity, and connections. I want to use this book as a platform for more introductions and customer discovery as I build the next startup. The book will add to my foundation for future success.

Further, I have a long-term goal of teaching entrepreneurship and public speaking (Ted!). This book will be another step in my academic career and add credibility as a public speaker.

I want this book to have the greatest impact possible, and thus, will list the book for free on Amazon's Kindle platform.

When’s this book coming out?

End of the year, or very early 2016 so I kick off the year in spectacular fashion.

What’s the name of the book, and what else do you, a potential reader, need to know?

The book’s title is Postmortem of a Failed Startup: Lessons for Success. You can find more information on the landing page here: http://postmortemofafailedstartup.com. If you want to be notified when the book is available, please go to the landing page and share your email address at the bottom. I won’t spam – I’ll just tell you when the book is available. :-)

As of this writing, the book is in final edits, and all that’s left is getting an International Standard Book Number (ISBN), registering the book for copyright, converting the book into Amazon’s Kindle format, and… releasing the book into the wild.

Needless to say, I’m pretty stoked. I never thought I’d write a book even if it’s not a novel. However, I’m always happy to keep pushing my limits of what I think I can or cannot do. It’s all about context – why am I doing this? I’ve written the book to stay true to my personality and easily readable for everyone. I’ve had several non-technical, non-entrepreneurs read the book, and they’ve all appreciated the legibility of the book, and it’s started some fun discussions.

Anyways, stay tuned, and please sign up on the landing page to be notified when the book is ready!