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ash_kumar's review against another edition
4.0
Good:
As a Canadian, I particularly enjoyed that it offered perspective that is grossly lacking in most business books that are (justifiably so) centered on the U.S. experience.
The author's writing style is not obtuse at all. Clearly he has a practiced hand from his interactions over email newsletters and such.
Good general business ideas for someone already in the fold of running a more lifestyle-positive business. Someone who is into sustainability or minimalism would clearly enjoy the content of this book.
Bad:
The book ventures far from its original idea of Company of One and thereby becomes a much more general, feel-good business book; more in the realm of personal-development, rather than this one idea expressed clearly.
In the same vein, it also suffers a bit from what all persuasive books of a similar tone suffer from, which is a myopic view centered on proving the author's viewpoint via stories that feel at times cherry-picked.
I really felt at times that it was a stretch to consider some of the examples the author provided as valid ones for the concept of Company of One. CEOs of multinationals or large companies that are not even small businesses.
I feel like he could have taken an approach of just building a strong, sincere case for their own idea (and kept the book much shorter) rather than stretching it to the point that it becomes quite diluted.
Overall, a decent positive-read of a business book. The author follows a lot of the same people I would read otherwise, so I intend to buy a copy for reference just to have a collected reminder of all the points I would like to remember through my own entrepreneurship ventures.
But for the core idea itself, while it makes a strong subjective case, it doesn't explore it deeply enough and evidence it enough with strong case studies to be a strong reference for that idea of being a Company of One.
As a Canadian, I particularly enjoyed that it offered perspective that is grossly lacking in most business books that are (justifiably so) centered on the U.S. experience.
The author's writing style is not obtuse at all. Clearly he has a practiced hand from his interactions over email newsletters and such.
Good general business ideas for someone already in the fold of running a more lifestyle-positive business. Someone who is into sustainability or minimalism would clearly enjoy the content of this book.
Bad:
The book ventures far from its original idea of Company of One and thereby becomes a much more general, feel-good business book; more in the realm of personal-development, rather than this one idea expressed clearly.
In the same vein, it also suffers a bit from what all persuasive books of a similar tone suffer from, which is a myopic view centered on proving the author's viewpoint via stories that feel at times cherry-picked.
I really felt at times that it was a stretch to consider some of the examples the author provided as valid ones for the concept of Company of One. CEOs of multinationals or large companies that are not even small businesses.
I feel like he could have taken an approach of just building a strong, sincere case for their own idea (and kept the book much shorter) rather than stretching it to the point that it becomes quite diluted.
Overall, a decent positive-read of a business book. The author follows a lot of the same people I would read otherwise, so I intend to buy a copy for reference just to have a collected reminder of all the points I would like to remember through my own entrepreneurship ventures.
But for the core idea itself, while it makes a strong subjective case, it doesn't explore it deeply enough and evidence it enough with strong case studies to be a strong reference for that idea of being a Company of One.
penchant's review against another edition
2.0
This book is not relevant to my business, but I was attracted to the premise of better over bigger. It could have been covered in an essay, after the first few chapters it started to feel redundant.
simonema's review against another edition
I could not finish. The author keeps going on about how to build a company of one and staying small, but all the examples he gives are from big businesses. In addition, the advice is generic without much depth.
edriessen's review against another edition
5.0
I love how books can retroactively make things clearer. Company of One questions traditional growth mindsets and offers an alternative. There’s a lot of overlap with a personal decision to become a freelancer. After reading this book, the why behind my decision became a bit more clear :)
tiffanydasilva's review against another edition
5.0
As someone who has spent most of their career in tech and specifically in the “growth hacking” space, reading this book was a sigh of relief. Even though I had spent most of my career focusing on fast growth, it was also the reason I left to start my own business. I told myself I had to leave to “make my own rules” and “set my own expectations” - what I really meant, and learned after reading this book, was that I was striving to build a company of one in both my consulting and e-commerce. Instead of focusing on growing every year, I feel much more confident after reading this book that my hunch to create upper limit financial goals was a good one.. so thank you Paul Jarvis for that.
Since I read this, I have recommended it to anyone who would listen to me: other consultants, other solopreneurs and especially those I mentor who are thinking of making the jump, especially those that came from the growth background like me. So if you’re reading this review, and you are one of these people.. please read (or listen) to this book! (I did both and both were fantastic)
Since I read this, I have recommended it to anyone who would listen to me: other consultants, other solopreneurs and especially those I mentor who are thinking of making the jump, especially those that came from the growth background like me. So if you’re reading this review, and you are one of these people.. please read (or listen) to this book! (I did both and both were fantastic)
nijahusa's review against another edition
4.0
Nice content and overall message, but his style of writing wasn't the most entertaining !
jw2869's review against another edition
informative
5.0
This was the perfect book for where I am in my entrepreneurial journey. It presents a different version of business success that isn't about growth and scale, but about building a business that helps you achieve your business of enough. Paul argues that "sometimes 'enough' or even less is all we need, since 'more' too often equates to more stress, more problems, and more responsibilities in both life and business."
It's really about bringing mindfulness into business. What are you trying to achieve? What lifestyle do you want? Is growth the best way to solve this problem? Companies of one use systems, automations and processes to build a business that is not trading time for money. They allow more space to creatively solve problems and focus on the things that matter to you and your customers.
There are lots of tangible tips on how to identify your unique skillsets, build a business that leverages who you are rather than being forced to contort to be a certain type of professions, identify where to invest business resources for maximum impact, minimum viable produces, and how to build customer and client relationships that allow for business sustainability. Highly recommend this read.
It's really about bringing mindfulness into business. What are you trying to achieve? What lifestyle do you want? Is growth the best way to solve this problem? Companies of one use systems, automations and processes to build a business that is not trading time for money. They allow more space to creatively solve problems and focus on the things that matter to you and your customers.
There are lots of tangible tips on how to identify your unique skillsets, build a business that leverages who you are rather than being forced to contort to be a certain type of professions, identify where to invest business resources for maximum impact, minimum viable produces, and how to build customer and client relationships that allow for business sustainability. Highly recommend this read.
gijs's review against another edition
3.0
Overall impression: vanilla. Ok, keeping it small and agile has its advantages but the message is not elaborated on in any meaningful way; what follows is an endless string of bland assertions on how to run your ‘company of one’.