I usually approach locally-written books (especially business ones) with some skepticism. They are usually not very well thought-through and written, and most of them have layout and design that leave much to be desired.
I am very glad Entrepreneur’s Blueprint, which I happened to pick up over the weekend at the National Library, proved me quite wrong.
Most locally-written entrepreneurship books end up very preachy. This is where Entrepreneur’s Blueprint differs. Instead of the usual “If I can do it, so can you” model, the book charts the success and failures of ten real-life Singaporean companies and provides easily applicable principles and practical advice for the new and aspiring entrepreneur.
You can read about familiar companies such Ken Lim’s Hype Records (of Singapore Idol fame), haberdashier The Clothes Publisher, Kenny Hu’s Qian Hu Corporation, and Banyan Tree. However, what’s more revealing and real were stories on smaller businesses such a general handicraft store and even a LAN gaming centre!
A concise business lesson is given at the end of each story that summarizes the problems faced by each business and provides suggestions on how to overcome such challenges. Topics covered included raising capital, selling your business, and hiring and firing staff. Also interesting were snapshots of the industry in which each of the businesses operated.
A highly-recommended read.
This book is quite hard to find, but is available online at Select Books here. Alternatively, you can borrow it at the National Library.
