Three years ago this month, serial entrepreneur Craig Hall and I began discussing a book he had in mind. We had already established a track record and a friendship with A Perfect Score: The Art, Soul, and Business of a 21st-Century Winery, the national bestseller I helped Craig and his wife Kathryn write. This time, Craig wanted to come to terms with the changes he had witnessed during 50 years of being in the entrepreneurial trenches.
Over the course of the next couple of years — over wine, over lunches and over the phone — we talked about how best to approach the topic. On more than one occasion, we would quit talking, only to revisit the topic again months later. Last May, after two start-and-stop years of brainstorming, it all came together with a bang. Or should I say a boom. Three months later, we had a rough draft of BOOM: Bridging the Opportunity Gap to Reignite Startups, which hits the stands next Tuesday.
I’m still recovering from the tight timeline that left my hands feeling like they belonged to a 300-pound lumberjack, but I couldn’t be prouder. I’ve been part of a book that could change how we do business in this country. And boy do we need that!
Most people think that U.S. entrepreneurship is flourishing. After all, wasn’t this country founded on that notion that people could start with nothing and make something of themselves? That’s Craig’s story. But that’s become tougher and tougher to do in today’s business climate. As a result, the number of new businesses started in the U.S. has been declining over the span of three decades and five presidencies.
Today we start half as many new businesses annually as we did a generation ago. Even worse as far as the country’s economic wellbeing is concerned, new businesses are geographically concentrated to the point that 20 counties (out of a total of 3,149) account for half of those new businesses. That means that the remaining 99.994 percent of the country has to split the other half, which, let’s not forget, includes far fewer startups than it used to.
As BOOM’s website states: This is of paramount importance to the United States because startups account for all new net job growth, champion innovation and strengthen our middle class.
BOOM exposes the reasons behind the alarming downward spiral of U.S. entrepreneurship and outlines strategies to solve the problem. The book also offers a uniquely entertaining and personal view of the challenges inherent in being an entrepreneur today.
Okay, I know. I’m biased. But I’m going to guess that this book will shock you as much as it did me, even as it sucks you in with its stories. It’s available for pre-order now, so don’t wait! Then share your reactions and let me know if I’m right.
I’m looking forward to reading BOOM!
I hope you love it, Betsy! I may be biased, but I think BOOM should be required pre-election reading. Most of us have no idea how grim things are on the entrepreneurial front and how that impacts our communities and, indeed, the country at large.