Confessions of a Serial Entrepreneur: Why I Can't Stop Starting Over

by Catherine Guthrie and Stuart Skorman

Book Overview

Entrepreneur Stuart Skorman--the founder of Elephant Pharmacy, Hungryminds.com, Reel.com, and Empire Video--grew up in a retailing family in Ohio. He worked every kind of job, from cab driver to professional poker player to CEO. In this entertaining, personal account of his coming-of- age in the business world, Skorman gives an insider's view of what it takes to start a business from the ground up. Stuart Skorman offers his hard-won lessons in business...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0787987328
• ISBN13: 9780787987329
• Release Date: February 2007
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.8" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A great read

If you think you've got the entrepreneurial spirit and want to embark on the startup journey, read the book by someone who's taken the trip. Even if you're not an entrepreneur this book will provide a window into how extraordinary people take business risks. What a ride and a great read. Thanks for sharing it. p.s. in addiiton to a great startup story, if you are interesting in the process of startups there are some good tactical texts on how to avoid some of the bumps i.e. see: The Four Steps to the Epiphany or for pure strategy The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book that Will Change the Way You Do Business (Collins Business Essentials)

Painful Entrepreneurial Lessons Reported in Good Humor

People who think they want to be entrepreneurs should read this book. In life, you can either fall down to learn all of your own lessons or you can pay attention to and learn from other peoples' experiences. I recommend the latter approach and Mr. Skorman provides an easy-to-read memoir that you can easily absorb. His range of experience will probably cover something that you are thinking about doing. I commend him for choosing to ask Catherine Guthrie to help him write the book; it flows more smoothly than 99% of the business memoirs you'll read. I work with dozens of would-be entrepreneurs at any given time. Their motivations vary. Some want to create a huge business. Others just want to establish a business they would be proud of. Still others want to establish a certain kind of lifestyle. Some want to escape the humdrum qualities of their lives. A few have an idealistic vision of what a business could do for others. At various times, Mr. Skorman tried all of these approaches and candidly assesses the pros and cons of those perspectives. When I first meet them, the would-be entrepreneurs have three things in common: 1. They have no idea of how to prepare to be an entrepreneur. 2. They don't understand the various processes to use in establishing a successful new business. 3. They are in a hurry. In addition, most of would-be entrepreneurs have no understanding of how to think about customers and what might appeal to customers. As a result, they employ what I like to call the "fire, ready, aim" school of entrepreneurship. That approach can work just fine . . . as long as you have enough energy, capital, and patience. Most entrepreneurs are self-taught: They learn by accumulating bumps and bruises. That learning process is, however, so painful that they either don't want to talk about it or develop amnesia as time passes. Stuart Skorman's memoir is a great resource for inexperienced entrepreneurs because he does remember how he got where he is and is willing to share with you. You follow along while he goes from starting up one venture to another and get a candid look at what he did right and wrong, and why that happened. In his biggest success, he freely describes how not paying enough attention to a deal he needed to make and to technological development cost him most of what he could have gained. You'll be there, too. When you are, remember his example. I also find that would-be entrepreneurs think they will be married to their business for life. In drawing that conclusion, they deny themselves the opportunity to experience the joy of creation all over again . . . but with more resources and experience to guide them. I don't recall another book where an entrepreneur so often moved on to start a new enterprise and in another industry as often as Mr. Skorman has. You'll be fascinated. Why is it that most entrepreneurs cannot repeat their success in another industry? Success is very much influenced by be

Inspiring and fun to read

This is one of those well written book that you can't stop reading. Stuart Skorman shares his story with tears and joys. Unlike some entrepreneur books shares only the glory, there are many humble confessions and valuable lessons to learn for both seasonal and start-up entrepreneurs.

FASCINATING

I loved this book! Stuart's passion is an inspiration! He is never self important, but rather self deprecating at times in describing his successes and failures. What makes it so interesting a read is that he is not afraid to admit mistakes along the way. I found it fascinating how diverse one person can be. Stuart went from driving a cab to mutimillionaire, with many totally unrelated careers along the way. One of Stuart's outstanding qualities that comes through in this book is his true passion for the welfare of his subordinates and the customer; he is not merely on a mission to acquire more money, but a true humanitarian.It appears that this and his HUGE energy is what has brought him success.

A must read for the budding entrepreneur!

Skorman's account of his adventures in business and life make a superb primer for those considering going into business for themselves. Not only highly informative, but a fun read as well, Mr. Skorman shares a wealth of information that should prove invaluable to the budding entrepreneur. Perhaps the most important information he shares here are the lessons he has learned from his failures... Information that might just spare you some of the heartache and headaches he has had to endure through the years. Having had the pleasure of working for Mr. Skorman in two of his start-ups, I can assure you that he is the "Real Deal". So if you're seriously considering going the entrepreneurial route, you owe it to yourself to give this a read. The best part? Not only will you come away wiser for the experience, he'll keep you entertained along the way!