It'S Your Biz

It’s a big jump from employee to entrepreneur—with a daunting failure rate. Get the inside scoop on what it takes to succeed.

Millions of employees parked in cubicles dream about starting their own businesses. And in today’s economy, countless unemployed professionals are becoming entrepreneurs out of necessity. They may have good skills and ideas, but do they really understand what it takes to build a profitable venture?

As owner and co-founder of the award-winning It’sYourBiz.com (formerly SBTV.com, or Small Business Television), Susan Solovic has years of experience in the small business trenches. In It’s Your Biz she shows prospective entrepreneurs how to sidestep the pitfalls that doom more than half of all new businesses while dramatically improving their odds of success.

The book strips away the usual dreamy calls to “pursue your passion,” supplying the kind of candid, real-world advice readers truly need, such as how to:

• Gauge whether you have the qualities required to succeed
• Prepare for drastic culture shock
• Build a business plan that works
• Focus on providing market solutions
• Choose partners, advisers, and employees wisely
• Promote your business on a shoestring budget
• Protect your company and yourself
• Make the most of bootstrap financing.

From planning and funding to promotion and pricing, It’s Your Biz is packed with the practical, honest, expert guidance that budding entrepreneurs need before they set out on their own.

SUSAN WILSON SOLOVIC is owner and co-founder of It’sYourBiz.com, a highly successful video news and information site for entrepreneurs. She is a weekly small business contributor on ABC’s Money Matters and a featured blogger on the Huffington Post, AllBusiness.com, Fast Company, Constant Contact, and other sites. The author of several books, including The Girls’ Guide to Building a Million-Dollar Business, Solovic has served on the National Women’s Business Council and the Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard University.