Making Money Is Killing Your Business, How to Build a Business You'll Love and Have a Life, Too Hardcover – 12 March 2010

Gospel for starting, running or thinking about being in business.

This book gave me some new ways to think about both my business and my life. Starting with Blakeman's definition of wealth as "the freedom and ability to choose what to do with my time," I found a number of takeaways from the book.One thing I started before I even finished reading was creating "process maps" of my business. He shows one example of a process map that really resonated. A process map is basically a graphical list of steps for key operations within a business. The steps are drawn as boxes and colored based on who does the step. One example showed the company founder clearly doing too many of the steps himself. Drawing it like this though made it very clear to that business owner (and to me!) how to address the problem and get out of doing so many steps in my business myself. I'm already addressing that issue with my staff.I finished the book thinking it would make a good gift for some nephews I have in college and my daughters when they are a bit older. I liked the idea of creating a Significance Budget (for ways I want to impact the world), and Experience Budget (for experiences I want to have) and a Stuff/Living Budget (for my main living expenses). This is a very new way for me to think about my life and goals.The only real criticisms I have the book are:a) it is fairly repetitive at times. The author even seems to acknowledge this at times with a joking aside such as "Have I said this before?" (to emphasize a point)b) The book refers to a number of software tools that were supposed to be available on the author's website but were not, unfortunately.Despite those criticisms, I can highly recommend the book to any small business owner.

Inspirational in tone, full of substance. Author's writing style speaks to you, not at you. I was most impressed by the presentation of major concepts, followed by the progressively detailed breakdown and finer explanation of real world application of same. Not just another pie in the sky shallow sump of platitudes leaving you with lots of dreams but no way to get there. This author makes a real effort to gather you up and take you where you want to go. Not with mysterious mantras nor hype, but obviously grounded in genuine knowledge and experience from within his own entrepreneurial world. I've read reviews suggesting this book is geared more towards current business owners, be that as valuable and targeted as it may be, I can't help but feel the knowledge within would be a huge asset and leg up for someone formulating their initial plans, essential actually, if you aspire to the author's philosophy, which motivates you in the direction and understanding of being a business owner, rather than being a person owned by a business.

I have attended many workshops and have been part of master mind groups and read many, many books on business but none as groundbreaking as Chuck's when it comes to small businesses. If you are like me and have been reading books written for BIG, giant businesses and then trying to apply the learning to your company of 1-20 people look no more. Understanding that our passion for our craft, whatever that may be, can actually cause us to stifle our businesses growth is just earth shattering to me. Chuck addresses what he calls the tyranny of the urgent and the myths--like the e-myth and more and encourages us put our businesses to work FOR US and to align it with our real life goals. Great book for a business veteran or someone hanging their shingle for the first time. I am applying the tools to my business currently and it all makes perfect sense. I only wish I had this book 20 years ago when I started my business.

I have a very small business (3 FT employees + 2-4 contractors). I have been a "producer/slave" in my business for nearly 20 years. "Making Money is Killing your Business" has given me the step-by-step tools I needed to evaluate why I do my business, how I do my business, and precisely what I need to do to move forward to Stage 7 - Succession and beyond. I have already started my journey with my employees, and I've gone public with my plans. This book has given me the tools I need to truly become a Business Owner, not just somebody who employs himself, and I will do it in 30 months. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has their own business or is thinking of starting one.