Starting a business is a huge undertaking. Usually, one of the first steps of starting your business (outside of deciding what your business actually is or will be) is finding a trusted accountant that will advise you on the type of corporation to set up (s-corp, partnership, LLC etc.). From there, you may want to educate yourself on topics such as managing cash flow, securing health insurance (for yourself, your employees or both), legal issues and so on. There are hundreds of books and classes that can prepare you for those topics if its something you think you need to know, but Start Something That Matters (a book by TOMS founder (and “chief shoe giver”) Blake Mycoskie) is the book you should own in ADDITION to those books.
In 2006, Mycoskie started TOMS (a for profit shoe company) with the notion that for every pair of shoes sold he would give a pair to a child in need (to date TOMS has donated over 1 million shoes). Mycoskie knew nothing about the footwear business nor anything about fashion, but the one thing he did know is what the goal of TOMS would be and his story was embraced by the masses. TOMS has collaborated with everyone from Ralph Lauren to the Olsen twins and other companies have begun to follow the TOMS business model of one for one. Start Something That Matters is filled with lots of helpful tips (such as ways to impress client’s with your business card when you can’t afford to pay for custom business cards), inspirational stories for you when your feeling defeated, and most importantly, a map to get you started on your new endeavour of making money and giving back. Mycoskie shows that no matter how big or how small a business is, it can turn a profit, retain talented employees and make the world a better place all while incorporating giving into its business model.
Had this book covered all the legal issues (incorporation, trademarks, patents, contracts etc.) it would have been the only book you needed. However, by not incorporating all the specifics, Mycoski keeps the book lighthearted and easy to read. In the end, this book is recommended for everyone from the “sneakerhead” with no intentions of running a business to the most seasoned of entrepreneurs. The icing on the cake is that for every book sold, Random House will donate a book to a child in need through First Book. Pick up a copy today via AMAZON.COM