Book Review: The Beermat Entrepreneur

Just finished this very readable title, now in its second edition. Recommended to my by Andy, WearFair's ecommerce supremo. I see why he likes it - this is looking at enterprise from all angles, not just the point-of-view of the entrepreneur. Implicit is the assumption that while people matter, it is the company that comes first, always.

Mike Southon has been very successful, and he uses his experience at a venture called The Instruction Set to illustrate his valid and refreshingly honest points. Written in a confident, almost arrogant, tone, the book takes no prisoners, especially when discussing the figure of the entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are both celebrated and critiqued (they are 'very special people', but also manipulative - 'entrepreneurs use people'), and when the time comes, the entrepreneur should be ousted from the company.

So is this, after all, a book for entrepreneurs, or is it rather more aimed at the four 'cornerstones' (the original finance, sales, techi, and delivery people)? The answer is all of them. Since the beauty of this book is the way in which it is actually about the whole enterprise. The second edition is tattooed with recommendations from successful entrepreneurs, who have responded to Southon's treatment of the entrepreneur figure very positively - many of whom report having laughed out loud at points in the book, in recognition of having been rumbled.

The emphasis upon the importance of the role of the cornerstones offers a much needed corrective to the glamorisation of the entrepreneur. Although I had the idea for WearFair, without Nicole, Andy and Eoin, I may as well have stayed in my bedroom with my head in the clouds, as there is no way we would be here right now without their input. I have learnt so much from working alongside them - from Nicole, to think more about stocktaking and the delivery of our products; from Andy, to think more about details and to discuss ideas with other people that know what they are talking about, and from Eoin, - well Eoin, let's me do what I want to do (someone has to!). More widely, by celebrating the input of 'cornerstones', our business environment will be far more stable - we will have less cases of bankrupt companies set up by out-of-control egotists surrounded by yes men.

I would recommend this book especially to a romantic entrepreneur about to take out a massive loan on a new project he or she had thought up the night before. It is a sobering read, and in some ways does take the adventure out of setting up a business - especially as it asserts a number of laws which govern business, such as the seedling-sapling-oak development of a company. But it is a fundamentally honest book, which is a rare thing.

One point of criticism, which I think should be corrected if the book goes into a third edition. Namely, this is a gendered book. It starts in the pub, drinking beer with your mates, and ends at the same pub, with the author and his mate, who has since bought the place. I think the authors should recognise the growing importance of female entrepreneurs and business people by offering a different scenario - and help also grow the franchise. Tom Peters' book 'Re-Imagine' would be a good place to start.