Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur Kindle Edition

This book is packed with wisdom and it just makes you feel good reading it. Whether you are an entrepreneur, artist, or someone trying to figure out your next project or next theme of your life, this book is for you!Derek does an outstanding job simplifying the lessons through his life and business experience. Here's a couple key points that hit home:1. It should NEVER be about the money. If you're in a business or pursuing a dream for the money chase, that chase will lead you down the wrong path.2. It's always about the customer. Whenever making a business decision, Derek always asks what would the customer say about this decision I'm making. So many cool stories of the simple small things Derek did that his customers loved.3. Business (or lifestyle) should be based around what you want. It should be your utopia, too many entrepreneurs try to please other people, investors, etc. and lose sight of what really matter to them. Derek explains this process through his incredible business journey.Thank you Derek for bring this book to the world!!

I added this to my list of books to read after it being recommended by Shawn Blanc's monthly book club. Although new books go to the bottom of my list, this one looked like a quick read and given Easter Monday I was able to consume within the hour. What I liked about this book was Siver's open and honest approach to running a business. To him, it is about having fun, being happy and ultimately about the customer; money didn't play a role. It is certainty a healthy approach to have in a business however sometimes I think reality can bite into this approach given our fast paced world of technology and disruption. There were many anecdotes on both his successes and failures along with lessons we can all take from it. For example, the tried and true test of trusting and verifying, to delegate but not abdicate and to make every decision based on the impact to the customer. I don't believe that this approach to business works carte blanche in every industry and idea however there are some great fundamentals for any entrepreneur to take on board with a new venture.Three key takeaways from the book:1. Delegation is key in the business (especially when you grow), however, with delegation trust but verify. Furthermore delegation doesn't not mean abdication.2. If you're not saying "Hell Yeah!" to an idea/approach etc. then say no!3. Siver's Tao of Business: Care about your customers more than about yourself and you'll do well.

Your browser does not support HTML5 video.  The "new kind of entrepreneur" keeps the mission simple, the execution, simple, and the ethics simple (give value and keep customer first).This book takes us through Derek's journey of starting, growing and selling CD Baby, an early dot-com company (1998-2008), which helps independent musicians sell CD's online.Derek sketched some simple metrics, learned code, built the site (with the "buy now" button that was pivotal), and the market rewarded him nicely.This book may be considered a "memoir" but I don't know if that's technically correct. This book is a recounting of events learned from his life but it lacks specific dates. It captures a "moment in time" from his life, so I think I'm justified classifying it as a "memoir," in addition to other things. The beautiful thing about analyzing books is that we crystallize important distinctions in literary craft.I gave the book a grade in my video. Check it out and let me know if you agree with it. Enjoy!

This is a book that found me. I bought this from Amazon by mistake , but after reading a few pages, I was hooked and really pleased by how different this book was from the rest of the typical bland entrepreneurial books that pop up on Amazon's suggested reading. This really is a book about doing things the way that you wish businesses would do for you. Having fun running a business, and serving a need in your community, which in this case is independent musicians and bands that could not or did not want to be on a large record label.Derek Sivers writes about how he started a website in the late 1980's to sell his band's CDs. The business blossomed into something much bigger, CD Baby.What I really enjoyed about this book is that Derek tells of his hands on experience of build his website from scratch with code, which he learned as he was creating the site, and forgoing a lot of the expenses of web designers (and not to mention the fun and learning experiences) of DIY.Truly a renaissance man in the modern world of eCommerce this book is not to be missed.  Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur

If you're like me, you have more ideas than you can deal with. Often, you will see someone else successfully developing an idea similar to something that you came up with, probably long before they did, but somehow, they were able to act on the idea where you simply thought about the idea and all the reasons that you couldn't develop it without some rigorous research. This book shows how one man avoided that 'paralysis by analysis' by jumping in to fulfill a need early, gaining real world feedback to shape the solution, rather than assumptions and hypotheticals.I love the stress on the real needs, and sticking to a user-centric goal, and that these should be the primary driving force for innovation. Eventually, everything comes down to money, but the real, tangible evolution occurs in that bubble where you can ignore money and concentrate on quality. As this book demonstrates, the money will come, whether that is your goal or not, if you truly keep the best interest of your end-users at heart.This book has already helped me to restructure my thinking and get out of my own way on some projects I have been thinking about.I am very glad that I bought the hardcover version of the book, because this is definitely the kind of book that you will want to pass on to others and have them pass on afterwards!

Derek Sivers is a great guide to finding out what you are good at. And learning to love it by learning to do it well. His writing is a Reminder of what the genius sculptor Auguste Rodin said to Thomas Rilke when the latter was struggling to find poetic inspiration: "on doit travailler". That we can find what we love by perfecting a craft - "but you have to work at it". And that the inspiration, the much touted "passion" for a trade or business, comes out of practising good craft. Rodin a great authority for this as he laboured as a commercial artist - at applied art - for years and thus discovered his genius as a fine artist. Sivers is the Rodin of 2016 - and discovered his own genius through learning to write beautiful code. Everything Sivers writes is a perfect primer for finding your way in the connected creative and business worlds of today. And his is a voice of reason worth listening to every time you start believing your own hype.

I liked this book, but im not sure its 5* !This book is not really going to tell you much about being an entrepreneur, but it is easy to read, with some though provoking sections. You get the idea that the author really has just done as he pleased and his success has come from a really laid back attitude, without regard for hard nosed business planning....so it was a bit of shock when he starts to talk about his 'business coach' at the back end of the book !The author openly states he was .....right place, right time..... with his business proposition, with little thought of the gap in the market that he stumbled upon ! Its always difficult to buy into the entrepreneur flavour of the book after this....but I liked it and im sure you will too.

Short and simple, but very inspiring! I loved looking at the business from the perspective of creator and an idealistic one! I always say to people I work with, that we spend way too much time at work to accept average atmosphere, but it never occurred to me to try and create my utopia... Love creative approach, imagination and humour! Fantastic that company can reflect so many wonderful qualities.

I read lots of business books, personal development books and I also receive lots of emails (those which you subscribe and then you receive a trillion back selling you coaching stuff = unsubscribe). I have read this book from top to bottom in little time. I just love it. From all the valuable stuff in this book, the one that really strikes me is that you should do what makes you happy. I have been running my business for three years, it depends on me, i work silly hours, I teach people creative skills and that makes me happy. Everybody says I should find new teachers so I can free my time and expand the business. But I like teaching, helping my customers. I enjoy giving advice and knowing that after the class they are going home with new skills. Thanks Derek for a very down to earth, real and great to read advice.

I've just started a blog online and have had no idea what direction I want to head in. I listened to Derek and Tim Ferriss on the latter's podcast and immediately bought this book. SO worth it. I've had to annotate almost every page! I'm going to buy the physical version now just so I can handwrite notes in it. If you are an entrepreneur or are thinking of starting anything at all, do yourself a favour and GET THIS BOOK. You'll be happy you did.