Birthing the Elephant: The Woman's Go-For-It! Guide to Overcoming the Big Challenges of Launching a Business

By Bruce Freeman and Karin Abarbanel

This positive and practical guide for the first-time entrepreneur details the life cycle of a small-business launch with real-life stories and a slew of helpful hints and strategies.
-Publishers Weekly PW and AARP's Roundup of Spring Books for Baby Boomers, 4/15/08

Customized for the female entrepreneur's unique psychological experience of launching a business, Birthing the Elephant goes beyond logistics to prepare women for the emotional challenges they will face, with expert advice on reshaping one's business identity, giving up the paycheck mentality, anticipating problems, and avoiding costly mistakes. This supportive handbook gives the small-business owner the staying power to survive and succeed in the business of her dreams.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1580088872
• ISBN13: 9781580088879
• Release Date: March 2008
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 2.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Great book, gets right to the point with lots of helpful information!

My wife is currently in school to obtain her doctorate in Physical Therapy. I thought this would be an ideal book to help her understand the "ins" and "outs" of running her own business. Now I can barely pry the book out of her hands! What an ideal gift...She loves it.

Not just for people getting started.

I really liked this book not just because it had good information and made me re-think some of my business strategies, but because the successful women the authors interviewed had such inspiring stories that they inspired *me* all over again. Starting any sort of a business is tough, as I am finding out, and sometimes you just need to be reminded that success is not just possible, but likely if you go about it the right way. Highly recommended.

A book for men entrepreneurs, but made (written) for women by a woman. TwoThumbsUp!

I liked this book a lot. I regularly keep my eye out for new books for women entrepreneurs. Many of them I don't particularly like. However, this one is a good one in my humble opinion. It has the following chapters: 1. Design your destiny 2. Real stories behind real startups 3. Substitute brains for bucks 4. Take the leap 5. Stage 1 - Start your startup 6. Stage 2 - Run your own show 7. Stage 3 - Turn breakdowns into break throughs 8. Stage 4 - Find your business rhythm 9. Avoid the 10 biggest pitfalls 10. Welcome to the new life This book includes pointers and actions items to help the woman entrepreneur succeed in business. It also includes the following list of 10 regarding pitfalls women (and men) tend to fall prey to when starting their own company: >>Romanticizing being your own boss <br />>>Not getting the right help early <br />>>Not understanding how to network <br />>>Running yourself ragged <br />>>Spending money for the wrong reasons <br />>>Not valuing your time highly <br />>>Not pricing properly <br />>>Spending too much on advertising <br />>>Not trusting your gut <br />>>Not thinking enough about the big picture <br /> <br />Most of these things can be avoided if the entrepreneur does the necessary research and planning BEFORE attempting to start their business. The author makes it clear that she believes that writing a sound business plan is a necessary step for any businessperson to do before they start their business. Since I am a firm believer in business plans, I highly recommend women entrepreneurs add this book to their reading list. 5 stars!

Advice and tips to get your business started up

This book is great because it helped inspire me to get motivated to start up my new business venture. The book has useful concrete examples, quick tips and pitfalls to avoid for new startup entrepreneurs. Well worth the small investment for good startup advice and advice while running the show!

The essence of entrepreneurship

"Birthing the Elephant" captures the essence of starting a new venture - that roller coaster ride of emotions and the exhiliration of being one's own boss. The stories that these women tell are striking in their similarity. I never realized that there was a blueprint and timetable in entrepreneurship. I wish I had had this information when I started.