Babson's Stephen Spinelli Co-Authors Guide For Entrepreneurs

Newswise — There is no entrepreneurial "type." There are no secrets to success. Luck can be as important as a business plan in many enterprises. Standing by the belief that "failure is not an option" is asking for disappointment.

Too often these sorts of claims are labeled defeatist. While they may fly in the face of long-cherished beliefs about how to start a company, leading entrepreneurs Stephen Spinelli, Jr. of Babson College and Anthony Iaquinto describe how preparing for adversity is the smartest way to go into business in NEVER BET THE FARM: How Entrepreneurs Take Risks, Make Decisions—and How You Can, Too (Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Imprint, April 2006, $19.95/Paper).

Their tough-love approach is much needed. While almost thirty million people are actively working on starting a business in America, only three million businesses get launched by this effort (according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 2004). Instead of following a reactive approach to business failure, Spinelli and Iaquinto instruct entrepreneurs on how to be proactive about facing the difficulties of starting a business before it even gets off the ground—asserting that it's the most intelligent way to achieve success.

While success is never guaranteed in NEVER BET THE FARM, by thinking of entrepreneurship as a career rather than a one-time event the authors show that an entrepreneur will always be better prepared to take advantage of a good situation, and keep the right frame of mind in a bad one. Through an easy-to-understand framework of fifteen principles, (for example: Principle #6: It Shouldn't Only Be About the Money; Principle #10: Always Tap a Bridge Before Crossing; Principle #14 Learn to Play the Gray) Spinelli and Iaquinto provide knowledgeable and frank advice that will help any aspiring entrepreneur reduce risks and simplify decision-making. For further resources they also include a comprehensive list of University Centers, Selected Web Sites, and Selected Books.

If budding capitalists learn to prepare for the worst, they can take better advantage of good fortune when luck and planning point to success. The authors contend that what separates winners from losers is not bankruptcy (many entrepreneurs experience such a catastrophe or something just short of bankruptcy) but the ability that winners have to keep themselves in the game by maintaining enough will and resources to try again.

About the Authors

Stephen Spinelli is co-founder of Jiffy Lube International. After serving as chairman and CEO of American Oil Change Corporation, he left the business world to pursue a Ph.D in Economics at the University of London. He is currently Vice Provost for Entrepreneurship and Global Management at Babson College, Wellesley, Mass. He has recently been featured in Inc. magazine, Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur and many other business publications.

Anthony Iaquinto has started three businesses, including a language school and two restaurants. He received his MBA and Ph.D. in Strategic Management from Columbia University. Previously professor at Nanzan University, he helped found the MBA program at Tokyo's Aaoyama Gakuin University, based on the American MBA model. It is the first Japanese program to be accredited by the American Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and has formal relationships with Carnegie-Mellon, UNC, University of Texas, and UC San Diego.

The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship is the hub for entrepreneurial activity at Babson College. The center's mission is to lead the global advancement of entrepreneurship education and practice through the development of academic, research, and outreach initiatives that inspire entrepreneurial thinking and cultivate entrepreneurial leadership in all organizations and society. Visit the website: http://www.babson.edu/entrep

Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., is recognized internationally as a leader in entrepreneurial management education. Babson grants BS degrees through its innovative undergraduate program, and grants MBA and custom MS and MBA degrees through the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. Babson Executive Education offers executive development programs to experienced managers worldwide. For information, visit http://www.babson.edu.