About ‘Lift Off!’
Life is hard for entrepreneurs. With the odds stacked against them, even the most successful of businesses have difficult periods and there are always areas in which they could do with some help and support. After nearly fifty years of succeeding – and failing – in his own businesses and helping countless more get off the ground and overcome obstacles, Ed Wood presents all the ideas, methods and approaches that every entrepreneur needs to thrive. Bringing in plenty of candid stories and useful examples from his own experience, as well as drawing on the wisdom of others, Lift Off! Is an essential, easy-to-read guide, to every aspect of the entrepreneur’s journey – from starting out on the runway to taking to the skies.
Excerpts
There’s a paradox at the heart of life as an entrepreneur. There’s more aloneness in this vocation – and it is a vocation, I believe – than in a career spent in large companies.
If you’re a dyed in the wool entrepreneur, when your cuts and bruises heal, you’ll have a new idea, a regenerated belief in yourself, in your abilities, in your contacts… and you’ll start another business. Just remember, not one of us gets to leave this planet alive. So, get out there and have a ball. Think not ‘What if?’ but ‘What next?’. It’s time to get out on today’s journey.
There are many misconceptions about selling and the same is true about negotiating. Many think that negotiating is about playing hardball, which is so rarely true. For a really successful negotiation, both sides must feel they have got a good deal.
Praise
‘Lift Off! is both well written and highly educational. It will be of great use to any entrepreneur both budding or fully flowered.’
‘Every founder navigating the uncertainty of any entrepreneurial pursuit could benefit and learn from Ed's huge array of experiences.’
‘Lift Off! is the kind of book you read more than once. It’s insightful, practical, packed full of timeless wisdom and easy to read.’
‘Lift Off! allows the curious would-be venturer to establish whether they have the gall, and/or the guts, to satiate their entrepreneurial desires before leaping into the unforgiving world of the start up.’
‘Lift Off! feels like a book written by a trusted adviser who’s on your side, but who also tells you exactly what you need to know, what you need to do, and who you need to become as you move through your journey as an entrepreneur.’