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The $100 Startup cover art

The $100 Startup

By: Chris Guillebeau
Narrated by: Chris Guillebeau,Thomas Vincent Kelly
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Publisher's Summary

In The $100 Startup, Chris Guillebeau tells you how to lead of life of adventure, meaning and purpose - and earn a good living.

Still in his early 30s, Chris is on the verge of completing a tour of every country on earth - he's already visited more than 175 nations - and yet he’s never held a "real job" or earned a regular paycheck. Rather, he has a special genius for turning ideas into income, and he uses what he earns both to support his life of adventure and to give back.

There are many others like Chris - those who've found ways to opt out of traditional employment and create the time and income to pursue what they find meaningful. Sometimes, achieving that perfect blend of passion and income doesn't depend on shelving what you currently do. You can start small with your venture, committing little time or money, and wait to take the real plunge when you're sure it's successful.

In preparing to write this book, Chris identified 1,500 individuals who have built businesses earning $50,000 or more from a modest investment (in many cases, $100 or less), and from that group he’s chosen to focus on the 50 most intriguing case studies. In nearly all cases, people with no special skills discovered aspects of their personal passions that could be monetized, and were able to restructure their lives in ways that gave them greater freedom and fulfillment.

Here, finally, distilled into one easy-to-use guide, are the most valuable lessons from those who’ve learned how to turn what they do into a gateway to self-fulfillment. It’s all about finding the intersection between your "expertise" - even if you don’t consider it such - and what other people will pay for. You don’t need an MBA, a business plan or even employees. All you need is a product or service that springs from what you love to do anyway, people willing to pay, and a way to get paid.

Not content to talk in generalities, Chris tells you exactly how many dollars his group of unexpected entrepreneurs required to get their projects up and running; what these individuals did in the first weeks and months to generate significant cash; some of the key mistakes they made along the way, and the crucial insights that made the business stick. Among Chris’s key principles: if you’re good at one thing, you’re probably good at something else; never teach a man to fish - sell him the fish instead; and in the battle between planning and action, action wins.

In ancient times, people who were dissatisfied with their lives dreamed of finding magic lamps, buried treasure, or streets paved with gold. Today, we know that it’s up to us to change our lives. And the best part is, if we change our own life, we can help others change theirs. This remarkable book will start you on your way.

©2012 Chris Guillebeau (P)2012 Random House

Critic Reviews

"Thoughtful, funny, and compulsively readable, this guide shows how ordinary people can build solid livings, with independence and purpose, on their own terms.” (Gretchen Rubin, author of the number-one New York Times best seller The Happiness Project)
"The $100 Startup is a twofer: It's a kick in the pants to get started on your dream and a road map for finding your way once you begin. If you're not ready to launch your own business after reading this book, you need to go back and read it again!" (Daniel H. Pink, New York Times best-selling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind)
"In this valuable guide Chris Guillebeau shows that transforming an idea into a successful business can be easier than you think…. You are in charge of which ideas deserve your time, and this book can help you wake up every morning eager to progress to the next step." (Tony Hsieh, New York Times best-selling author of Delivering Happiness and CEO of Zappos.com)

What listeners say about The $100 Startup

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Sooo Boring

First Business book I struggled to get through... Good book to listen to if you have trouble sleeping..

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3 people found this helpful

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Biggest waste of time on Audible so far...

AudioBook is boring, very slow and has terrible narrative. I honestly could not find anything positive about this book. No in depth explanation on what is happening. Quite frankly, I did not learn nothing or remember anything what is in that book anymore. Don’t waste your time.

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2 people found this helpful

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Simple practical guide brilliant read

A simple practical guide to creating a start up love this book definitely one of my top 10. It offers great advice and guidance on what to do and how to do it.

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Best of the best

This book is full of practical and easy to implement. I love everything about it.

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    4 out of 5 stars

well worth the read

I read this right after you turn by Ashley Stahl and the 2 go very well together. The former giving a how to guide to find what work you should be doing and this book giving practical how tos for going it alone rather than being an employee.

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awesome book

awesome book, has helped me get started with my side hustle on ebay, very easy to listen to, good info

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A little dull and simple

I was hoping for more in-depth case studies but instead this is a pretty superficial meta analysis of his case studies which was disappointing. Also written style is fairly dull.

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Really monotonous

The contents are okay, but the narrator does it too monotonously. It's really uninteresting to listen to. I'm sure the book would be a good read, but listening is just a pain.

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    4 out of 5 stars

good for motivation. lite on useful details

it was great to hear about all the case studies that the author uses throughout the book but if you're looking for a 'how to' guide...this won t have all the answers

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    3 out of 5 stars

A decent collection of entrepreneurial successes

The content or topic is very interesting, but stories and language structure were often jarringly robot-like. Interesting nonetheless, but could be better.

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