Summary: "You don't need an MBA, a certificate, a fancy suit, a briefcase, or an above-average tolerance for risk. You just need an idea, a touch of confidence, and a push to get started." Rework, pg 28 What if everything you thought about creating a business was outdated? That's the premise behind the book Rework, written by 37Signals's Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. 37Signals is responsible for the profitable web applications Basecamp, Backpack, Highrise, and Campfire. The company also created Ruby on Rails, a web application framework which is the backbone for most of the web 2.0 world. But they're not like any other business. They say plenty of things which both inspire and anger, especially when it comes to starting a business. They say things like: You don't need to obsess about planning. You need less than you think. Workaholics aren't heroes. Meetings can poison. Emulate chefs and drug dealers. Forget estimates. Forget the competition. Avoid seed money. Avoid traditional marketing. Forgo the reliance on resumes and formal education. Make something that truly matters and don't be another carbon copy. Rework is fearless. It's conversational without any mundane "biz-speak," and it's backed by Fried and Heinemeier Hansson's own successes during their 10+ years in business. This book reaches out to both starting entrepreneurs and seasoned ones. It also reaches out to those who are "thinking about it," and to those still haunted by the myths of what it really takes to succeed in business... any business. This isn't limited to tech companies. Rework is an alternative take to starting anything in the business world. Using 37Signals and other successful companies as case studies, Rework examines what happens when you rethink and rework the way a business is born and built. The authors' opinion is strong: Anyone can start. First, get rid of the myths and excuses. Golden Egg Ignore the Real World "The real world isn't a place, it's an excuse. It's a justification for not trying." Rework, page 14 There's a new business paradigm, admits 37Signals. They thrive because they did what many people were afraid to do: Ignore the real world. This sole conviction is the most powerful takedown from which the rest of book springs forth. What is the "real world?" It's the common ailment that many business starters hear from business dinosaurs, or even friends and family. It's the realm of automatic doubt against any new idea. Yours included. 37Signals wastes no time in defining "the real world" as a place where "new ideas, unfamiliar approaches, and foreign concepts always lose." How do you start a business today? You first start by not believing this place called the real world. "The real world may be real for them, but it doesn't mean you have to live in it." Rework, page 13 37Signals have defied the real world by doing many things that can scare traditional businesses: They've intentionally stayed lean and small. They've attracted millions of customers without salespeople or advertising. They've forgone long-term planning and estimates. They've preferred to out-teach competitors, rather than outsell or outspend. They've lived by their own anti-real world advice and still remain profitable today. GEM # 1 Enough with the Excuses "What you do is what matters, not what you think or say or plan" Rework, pg 38 When you can bravely ignore the real world, you can ditch the assumptions: Do you really need a long-term plan? Do you really need outside money? Do you really need people with a formal education? Do you really need to "find the time?" Do you really need to wait for inspiration? If this is really your life's work, what's wrong with starting, creating, and co-creating with what you have, right now? Can't you start small and grow along the way? What 37Signals advocates is casting away excuses: What's good enough so that you can simply get started, or even launch?
