About This Book

The book is about starting and running a business, and the main point is that it's important to focus on your customers and what they want, rather than on making money. Other highlights include the importance of starting small, executing your ideas, and staying true to yourself.

Top Highlights

• Never forget that absolutely everything you do is for your customers. Make every decision—even decisions about whether to expand the business, raise money, or promote someone—according to what’s best for your customers. If you’re ever unsure what to prioritize, just ask your customers the open-ended question, “How can I best help you now?” Then foc...
• We’ve all heard about the importance of persistence. But I had misunderstood. Success comes from persistently improving and inventing, not from persistently doing what’s not working.
• Starting small puts 100 percent of your energy into actually solving real problems for real people. It gives you a stronger foundation to grow from. It eliminates the friction of big infrastructure and gets right to the point.
• Never forget why you’re really doing what you’re doing. Are you helping people? Are they happy? Are you happy? Are you profitable? Isn’t that enough?
• We want to give to those who give. It’s another Tao of business: Set up your business like you don’t need the money, and it’ll likely come your way.