Burn the Business Plan

What Great Entrepreneurs Really Do

By: Carl J. Schramm

Narrated by: Tom Parks

"The evangelist of entrepreneurship" (The Economist) reveals the true stories about how a range of entrepreneurs created their successful start-ups: hint, many of them never began with a business plan.

Business schools teach that the most important prerequisite for starting a business is a business plan. Nonsense, says Carl Schramm in Burn the Business Plan, who for a decade headed the most important foundation devoted to entrepreneurship in this country. Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, and Google are just a few of the companies that began without one.

Schramm explains that the importance of a business plan is only one of the many misconceptions about starting a company. Another is the myth of the kid genius - that all entrepreneurs are young software prodigies. In fact, the average entrepreneur is thirty-nine years old and has worked in corporate America for at least a decade. Schramm discusses why people with work experience in corporate America have an advantage as entrepreneurs. For one thing, they often have important contacts in the business world who may be customers for their new service or product. For another, they often have the opportunity to strategize with knowledgeable people and get valuable advice.

Burn the Business Plan tells stories of successful entrepreneurs in a variety of fields. It shows how knowledge, passion, determination, and a willingness to experiment and innovate are vastly more important than financial skill. This is an important, motivating look at true success that dispels the myths and offers invaluable real-world advice on how to achieve your dreams.

©2018 Carl J. Schramm (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved

5 stars

An excellent resource. Well-presented and very insightful. Not what one would expect, but with the facts to back it, this would help so many would-be entrepreneurs.

Truth!

incredible book, mandatory reading for anyone trying to become an entrepreneur. This goes into detail what is required in order to succeed in small business.

Six Stars for Carl! Simply the best choice.

This book is simply the best choice in the subject.

it is well worth time to listen twice and read the hard copy once (I did!).

Packed with facts, examples, real world experience, and spot on analysis.

I am adding this great read to my gifting list!

burn 🔥

I really enjoyed this book as a business owner of a decently large company that is a year and a half in. While its not really a 'how to' type instructional book on how to grow or deal with the problems we face daily, it sure did let me know that this chaos is normal and that I am still on track! Despite my 'proper training' telling me I'm a mess 😅 This book is great for current business owners & should be mandatory for considering business owners. I love the statistics and the examples the author shares as they are very enlightening and encouraging but also very realistic!

Have been waiting for this book and message!

The author mentioned 1MillionCups and believe it to be the Cold Circle he mentioned previously.

Explains the Dilbert like business buzzwords

Uplifting and sobering data for any business. However, we need more graphs and charts please! I need something to show my mentors.

Awesome Book!

It really validated many of my observations over the last 35+ years as an on & off entrepreneur. More importantly, it energized my entrepreneurial spirit. Thanks!!

applicable advice for wannabe entrepreneurs

Good narrator, well written book, nice flow, awesome content! Carl J. Schramm does a fabulous job of telling the success and failure stories of others--many who are now a household name--as well as presenting his own experience and acquired knowledge, in a very entertaining way.

Invaluable for New AND "Old" Business

The information shared by Schramm is invaluable, encouraging, thoughtful and actually useful for those starting a business AND even those of us who have been running our own business. It removes the myths around how to create your business and allows for the natural flow of what business is really like.