Becoming an entrepreneur is a dream that almost everyone dreams during some part of their life. Some are born with this desire and start early, while others stumble through various alternative routes and end up with their business.
Gino Arcaro is a man of many talents. A cop, football coach, business owner and a prolific writer. I very much enjoyed his last book, 4th and Hell, and this one, although very different, is equally informational and candid.
Selling H.E.L.L. in Hell (Soul of an Entrepreneur)
Author Gino Arcaro Pages: 242 pages Publisher: Jordan Publications Inc.; 1 edition (October 27, 2014) ASIN: B00OYUSLSU
No matter how you begin and when you begin, it is never easy. Being an entrepreneur needs a special kind of resilience. There are no assured incentives, bonuses, or motivational speeches that will egg you to stay on the top of your game. In Selling H.E.L.L in Hell, Gino Arcaro shares his story of struggling through various businesses at the time of dwindling economy and how he found the strength to continue and emerge stronger. The lessons he shares are based on his experiences and are not from an academic perspective or data driven. They are based on what he learned as a struggling but determined business owner when everything around his business was crumbling.
The author begins with a realization that the soul of an entrepreneur is the most powerful tool any entrepreneur can enlist and propel the business on a trajectory of growth. He shares the circumstances around his different business ventures and the difficult circumstances in which they survived.
The author warns that entrepreneurs should read and hear out everyone, but should not blindly believe in the written word. He strongly argues that every circumstance, business, and market is unique. What has worked for a successful corporation, thousands of miles away, in another sector, will not necessarily work for your business.
You will make right decisions and wrong decisions throughout your life. That is inevitable. The secret of riding through it all is to give it everything once that decision is put into effect and keep incrementing your best. He reiterates all along that an entrepreneur has to have an iron resolve to build and run a business. Based on his experience he shares various other qualities that typically mark an entrepreneur’s soul and advises readers to look deep within, before getting into running a business.
Without trying to be preachy or motivational, the author effectively narrates the problems he faced in his business journey. As someone who had no training or family background in business, Gino Arcaro dived into the business world because he thought he could make a difference to people’s lives and help others reach their goals. The author believes having a higher goal, one beyond the balance sheet, is equally important.
Impediments and obstacles will present themselves early on. The first few fights will determine the future course of your business. The author uses various football and law and order related analogies to explain these problems and shares genuine advice instead of prescriptive solutions to get out of a tight spot.
Self-doubt and fear are the biggest energy sappers. They will make realistic arguments and force you to believe that you are not fit for the job. The author shares his experiences about how he dealt with these universal impediments and came out on the top.
The book is not a prescription on how to start a business or how to run a profitable business. There are number of strategies, tactics, and approaches that can help you succeed. Gino Arcaro will not talk about those. He talks about the E-soul. The core that will sustain you and your business through hell and emerge victorious. Have you yearned to be a business owner? Read this book if you are contemplating to be one. Read this book if you have already taken your first step. Read this book if you are thinking of quitting. It will give you an honest view of what is in store and how to strengthen your core to sustain and grow your business.