Book Review - The Barefoot Executive (Carrie Wilkerson)

~ Posted on Monday, March 5, 2012 at 6:16 PM ~

I received a pitch about this book and decided to request for a review copy. Being a SAHM doesn't mean I won't have chance or opportunity (in future?) to run my own business, plus I'm helping my hubby in the admin side of his business, so I thought I'd give this book a try and see what's in it for us. So here goes my review for the "The Barefoot Executive " book:

I'm a full-time mummy

Title: The Barefoot Executive: The Ultimate Guide for Being Your Own Boss and Achieving Financial Freedom
Author: Carrie Wilkerson

Publisher: Thomas Nelson (August 23, 2011)
ISBN-13/-10: 978-1595553690 / 159555369X 
Paperback:  256 pages
Dimension:  9.1 x 5.8 x 1 inches

Description from the product page:
"For the person who longs to run their business from home, author and highly successful entrepreneur Carrie Wilkerson says it is possible (she doesn't just say it though, she shows you how). In her new book, The Barefoot Executive, Carrie helps readers of all types understand the necessary ingredients in starting and running a lucrative home-based business. You’ll learn how to reclaim your time, determine your income, and change your lifestyle-all while keeping personal priorities intact.

Successful at running her own seven-figure business from home and being an active speaker on the subject, Carrie demonstrates business models with tables and charts in an easy-to-understand format. Chapters within the book include such subjects as finding a target markets, developing marketing strategies, and brand development. Especially important are the common pitfalls listed to avoid in starting a business from home.

The Barefoot Executive offers the opportunity to live life on your terms with the financial freedom to do it. Want to start your workday with e-mail and coffee on the back patio? Want the flexibility of joining your fourth grader on an all-day field trip? Are you ready to take that vacation you’ve been planning for years? Then you have a choice to make, and The Barefoot Executive will help jumpstart your transition.

You’ll learn:
    * Your “why.” The most important question. Why do you want to work for yourself?
    * What type of business best suits your experience and talents.
    * How to stay focused on your goal and avoid distractions.
    * Where to find the support that will accelerate your success.
    * How to link your business to the right market.

Whether it’s a service, a product, or your insight or expertise, you already have the raw materials necessary to transform your life. Carrie will walk you through the process of building the business you need to achieve the life you want. Her guidance is practical. No philosophical silliness, no theoretical abstractions—just concrete action steps alongside insights from fellow entrepreneurs, interactive exercises, and links to Carrie’s online video coaching segments. It’s the next best thing to working one-on-one with her. The Barefoot Executive will have you energized by the possibilities and embracing the extraordinary life that is well within your reach. "

I'm a full-time mummy

I like the statement on one of the intro pages where it says "Get passionate about getting to the place of profitability."

I find the first chapter itself inspiring as it is an eye opener on the myths about being successful in starting your own business. There are quite a number of inspiring quotes to be found in this book such as:

"Winners compare their achievements with their goals, while losers compare their achievements with those of other people.
—Nido Qubein"

The point to be taken into consideration is never to compare ourself with others. You may find others achieving success easily but the important thing is not to use that as an excuse or discouragement but more to use it as a push to move on, move forward in order to be successful ourself.

Under chapter 2, we find the 3 common mistakes that people make when starting their own business. These 3 mistakes are  further explained in their own subchapters.

I like the way this book presents some real life example in the form of "Barefoot Case Study" - shows to us how other individuals face their own challenges and overcome them.

The rest of the chapters are quite informational as it touches on the topics of the methids to apply, on what type of models should your business be based on, and venturing into the marketplace.

I'm a full-time mummy

You can get this book from Amazon or http://barefootexecutivebook.com/.

I'm a full-time mummy

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a PDF copy of the book by Living Your Moment in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"

I'm a full-time mummy