When I first picked up “Built To Sell” by John Warrillow, I wasn’t sure what I was going to get out of reading the book. After all, even though my wife and I run a business together, we have no intention of selling it anytime soon. And because we aren’t selling, I never really thought about how much our business would be worth to a third party buyer.

But as I started reading the book, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this book is less about how to sell a business as it is about how to create an autonomous and scalable business that has a high growth potential. I guess these two things naturally go hand in hand, but I didn’t make the correlation based on the title of the book alone.

It just so happens that my wife and I are currently trying to scale our business right now and reviewing this book came in a very timely manner. In any case, before I get into the guts of the book, here’s a brief background of the author, John Warrillow.

About The Author

John Warrillow is an entrepreneur, author and speaker who has started and sold 4 companies. His most recent business venture was a consulting firm that he transformed in a recurring subscription based business which he sold in 2008.

In addition, he has written several other books and is the founding producer of the nationally syndicated radio show, Today’s Entrepreneur. Honestly, I’ve never heard of John before reading his book, but he seems to have an excellent background. Plus, he was recently recognized by BtoB magazine as one of America’s most influential business marketers.

My Thoughts On the Book

First off, I really enjoy John’s writing style. When I first cracked open the book, for some reason I was expecting it to be written like a textbook. “Do this and this and you can create a company that is scalable”. “Here are the 8 steps to take to sell your business”…etc…

However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the book was written almost completely as a narrative. John illustrates his points by telling a story about how a fictional business owner named Alex is working his butt off with his business but barely getting by. In the story, Alex runs a service oriented marketing firm and his main problem is that he is the entire business. Because the book is written like a story, it makes it quite a quick and enjoyable read. In fact, I finished the book in one sitting and it was like reading a good novel.

In terms of value, many of the principles outlined in the book are useful to all business owners. However, entrepreneurs who run service oriented businesses will benefit the most. The fact is that most service oriented businesses are hard to scale because often times the business owner is the business itself. In Built To Sell, John does a great job of detailing how even a service based business owner can create a business that is scalable and sellable. One of John’s main points is that entrepreneurs should focus on creating systems as opposed to just providing services.

Who Should Read This Book?

As I mentioned before, my wife and I are currently trying to scale our business. But we are still way too involved in the business itself. Even though we have some hired help, we still handle too many of the day to day tasks ourselves. Reading “Built To Sell” reinforces the fact that in order for us to expand, the natural next step is to take ourselves out of the equation.

If you run a business and find yourself in a similar situation, then this book is for you. Especially if you run a service oriented business, John will teach you how to create systems to make your business scalable. Even if you have no intention of selling your current business, the steps outlined in John’s book are necessary to take for any growing company.

For my wife and I, this book couldn’t have come at a better time. At only about 150 pages, this book is a good read for any business owner and it’s entertaining as well!

Disclaimer: MyWifeQuitHerJob.com is not affiliated with John Warrillow or Built To Sell in any way and thus do not stand to gain anything from the sale of this book.

Ready To Get Serious About Starting An Online Business?

If you are really considering starting your own online business and quitting your day job, then you absolutely have to check out my guide on How To Create A Profitable Online Store In 5 Easy Steps.

In this guide, I reveal the steps that my wife and I took to earn 100 thousand dollars in the span of just a year. Best of all, it's absolutely free!

Send Me My Free Ebook!
Enter Your Email Address:

Stumble!

Digg!

Del.icio.us

Get Free Updates Via RSS

Get Free Updates Via Email

Follow Me On Twitter

Similar Posts

• Create A Profitable Online Store In 5 Easy Steps
• Starting Your Own Business: Do You Have To Risk Your Life Savings?
• How To Outsource Inventory And Product Fulfillment Operations For An Online Store
• How To Command Premium Prices For Your Small Business
• Underhanded Selling Tactics That Work But Should You Use Them?

Have you read these?

• Why Our Online Business Almost Failed And How We Recovered
• How to Deduct Entertainment and Meals on Your Taxes
• DMOZ – Is it Essential to Get into ODP to be Successful?
• Your Website Just Get Hacked? – 3 Tips To Minimize The Downtime
• Small Business Tax Savings – The Ultimate Small Business Startup Guide Part 4

Trackback URI | Comments RSS