The Facts of Business Life by Bill McBean - Book review

The Facts of Business Life

What Every Successful Business Owner Knows that You Don't

By: Bill McBean

Published: October 9, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 336 pages
ISBN-10: 1118094964
ISBN-13: 978-1118094969
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.











"Just as there are facts of life that affect us on a personal level, there are facts of life that affect us as businesspeople, and business owners who ignore them are essentially setting their businesses up for failure rather than success", writes successful entrepreneur Bill McBean, in his comprehensive and real world experience based book The Facts of Business Life: What Every Successful Business Owner Knows that You Don't. The author describes how a business owner not only must be very competent in many different areas of business, but also understand the life cycle of a business, and how to adapt effectively to those inevitable changes.

Bill McBean recognizes that the successful business person demonstrates ability in all areas of the business. Since each of these parts of the business are interrelated, and depend upon one another, weakness in any of the areas can spell disaster for the company. Te author identifies seven areas that every business owner, whether in a start up business or a well established company, must understand and master. Bill McBean provides evidence the the seven overall concepts that successful business people know are easily implemented, easy for employees to learn and put into practice, the better the principles are understood, the better the odds of business success, that the concepts work as a team and create a solid business foundation, and that they produce real results as planned and expected for the company.

Bill McBean (photo left) understands that understanding the long term nature of a business, and how it evolves through various stages of development is critical to the success of the company. An astute business person must be able to adapt to those changes and meet the fresh challenges that arise with each new business phase. As a business evolves, it moves through five levels of business success. Each of these stages is not linear, despite their progression from one level to the next. The five levels are as follows:

* Level one: Ownership and opportunity
* Level two: Creating your company's DNA
* Level three: From survival to success
* Level four: Maintaining success
* Level five: Moving on when it's time to go

Bill McBean shares the seven important facts of business life that contain each of the five levels within them. The seven facts of business life are"

* If you don't lead, no one will follow
* If you don't control it, you don't own it
* Protecting your company's assets should be your first priority
* Planning is about preparing for the future, not predicting it
* If you don't market your business, you won't have one
* The marketplace is a war zone
* You don't just have to know the business you're in, you have to know business

For me, the power of the book is how Bill McBean provides a complete and readily understood blueprint for establishing and growing a successful business through all of its levels and stages. The author shares the crucial insight of the business life cycle, and the different challenges and opportunities that result from the transition from one stage to the next. Bill McBean shares the strategies and techniques for navigating these stages successfully, and for avoiding the mistakes and pitfalls that await the business person who fails to adapt to those ongoing changes.

The book is a very detailed road map, that explains the twists, turns, and course corrections that are essential at each stage of the business. Each of the chapters is self contained, and can be read in any order, and referred to later when each new phase of the evolution is identified for implementing the appropriate action. The author takes a holistic approach to operating a business, and explains carefully how each stage and fact of life is part of an integrated and mutually supporting whole.

I highly recommend the very practical and successful results oriented book The Facts of Business Life: What Every Successful Business Owner Knows that You Don't by Bill McBean, to any business person, regardless of whether they are new to business or have years of experience, and whether the company is a start up venture or an established organization. This book contains so much valuable advice and real world tested wisdom, that it is a must read for anyone with any connection to business who seeks critical insights into how a business is really operated successfully.