Secrets of Online Entrepreneurs: How Australia’s online mavericks, innovators and disruptors built their businesses … and how you can too
by Bernadette Schwerdt – Wiley
Before 2000, few people knew about the powerhouse that would become the internet – now a one-stop shop for all our buying needs. And with this growth in industry came the question of how to build virtual businesses dealing in real products, backed by real people.
The answer lies in learning from existing companies and adapting their methods for an evolving online environment, says Bernadette Schwerdt, online business owner and director of The Australian Copywriting School. Schwerdt’s advice errs on the side of caution, which is perfect for those just foraying into the online business world, but it can feel redundant and repetitive if you’re an existing entrepreneur looking for quick business tips.
She begins with seven key concepts drawn from interviews and case studies, but more on the principles and strategies behind these businesses would benefit the reader. Profiles of entrepreneurs such as Matt Barrie of freelancer.com and Gabby Leibovich from Catch of the Day succeed at showing how an idea can translate to real-world success.
Unprofessional
by Jack Delosa – Wiley
If Schwerdt’s book is about adapting existing models, then Jack Delosa, a successful online entrepreneur, is about breaking them. “To be unprofessional is to be real,” he says, and he hammers home the idea that deviating from the business status quo and stepping away from what you think you’re supposed to do is the path to real success. His advice is to think beyond improving and focus on inventing, instead.
Risk underpins his advice on everything from vision to entrepreneurship. His philosophy of leap first, leap high is illustrated well in his own experiences with success and failure in start-ups. He began his first business at 18 before he was really ready (his words), which landed him $20,000 in debt. Delosa dug himself out and went on to bigger things, but his book draws on these personal trials and errors, lending authenticity to his advice. It’s an engaging and savvy lesson on why businesses aren’t one size fits all.