Live Free or DIY

Live Free or DIY

As a business owner, I struggle to answer this question: Is it possible to be a small business owner and achieve work-life balance?

In this book, the author addresses issues that all business owners face. The difference is in his approach on solving these issues before they become major obstacles.

Book Description:

Live Free or DIY is the time-starved small business owner’s survival guide! From startup to growth to pivoting in a changing marketplace, Live Free or DIY reveals that small-business owners in every industry hit the same roadblocks — and that the solutions are within reach. Whether wrestling with customer acquisition, budgeting, time-management skills, work-life balance, the headaches of red tape, or how to build a team, Live Free or DIY is the ultra-practical guide you’ve been searching for.

The vast majority of small business owners encounter the same problems in their road to success: you feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything you need to do in order to make your business as great as you know it can be; you know you need to focus on how to get more customers; you know you need to delegate and build a team to make operations hum; you know that better productivity habits and a few key management tools could go a long way; and you know you’ve got to improve your time-management skills — or you’ll never sleep again. In fact, after months and years of trying to build your business, you’re downright desperate for the work-life balance that will finally make your job sustainable.

It’s all here. In an easy-to-use format that systematically tackles the small business owner’s greatest challenges, Live Free and DIY answers all the questions you’ve been asking: How do I build a team — on a shoestring budget? How do I get more customers? How can I do the kind of marketing that will nail customer acquisition once and for all? How do I improve at time management? Is it possible to be a small business owner and achieve work-life balance?

In Live Free or DIY, you’ll find a simple strategy for properly valuing and allocating your time. You’ll also find the difference between “cheap” and “efficient,” how passion equals efficiency and boredom equals bankruptcy, how breaking up “the value chain” is key to running a smart business, how the Business nModel Canvas can help you focus and build, and how you can develop a marketing plan that finally cracks customer acquisition.

Live Free or DIY is helping thousands of small business owners unleash the kind of explosive growth they had only dreamed about.

About the Author:

Justin E. Crawford is the founder and CEO of Agents of Efficiency, a company that’s revolutionizing the way small businesses operate. He’s also the chief architect of the Efficiency RoadmapTM, a unique step-by-step process for helping small businesses thrive.

Justin has been featured in over 200 major media outlets, from CNBC and network television interviews to Forbes and many other publications. He speaks regularly on the issues of growth hacking and startup & small-business operational process refinement. His expertise has helped both small and gigantic companies dramatically improve their operational efficiency, yielding profound savings and unlocking their deep potential for growth.

My Thoughts:

Being a business owner I have read more books and attended classes on more topics than I can possible remember. What makes this book any different? Well to start with, I didn’t feel like the main reason they wrote the book was to sell a product they had recently launched. Believe me when I tell you this is an important reason.

Also, just the way it is written makes you stop and pay attention. The author doesn’t say all the flowery things business coaches like to say to make you think that you can turn your idea into a 6 figure income in just a few months with enough hard work.

The sections on time management and limiting distractions actually made me laugh. Can’t ignore the notifications on your phone while trying to work…. TURN IT OFF! Can’t get everything done on your todo list….MAKE A SHORTER LIST! Oh this one gets me.. my todo list looks more like a long term planning journal. Realistically most of us have too much on our todo lists and we end up feeling like we have more on it at the end of the day than when we started. Stop it… break jobs down into manageable sections of time or delegate some things. Just because it has to be done, doesn’t mean you have to be the one to do it!

Overall, I enjoyed the book. It is frank and to the point. Some of it may not apply to your type of business,  so just read through it and take note of any tips or ideas that you find interesting and then dig in when you get to sections that you struggle with everyday.

You can purchase Live Free or DIY on Amazon  (Referral link) or at your local bookstores.