A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR I wrote this book partially out of frustration from searching for a "how to start a business book" that was more human than mechanical. The whole idea of a textbook on how to start and grow your own business seems boring and lacking of one of the fundamental ingredients of good writing, that is, human interest. By sharing personal experiences of starting, building, and managing a small business, hopefully you can relate to my experiences or will become prepared for similar experiences of your own when you start or attempt to grow your own business. The strategies and stories of this book should be beneficial to not only the entrepreneur just getting started, but they should also be beneficial to managers, customer service representatives, and salespeople in businesses; large and small. The advice and strategies presented in this book are tried and proven approaches that have already been successfully implemented for decades and will be viable for decades to come. One final consideration: a book of this nature is not meant to be read like a novel that you can't put down until you finish reading. Take a chapter or two at a time to receive the most out of the positive and hopefully inspirational messages discussed. While those chapters' strategies and advice are still fresh in your memory, try implementing the techniques at work immediately. I'm confident you'll find the results beneficial to yourself and your company.