You Call the Shots: Succeed Your Way-- And Live the Life You Want-- With the 19 Essential Secrets of Entrepreneurship

by Cameron Johnson, John David Mann, John Mann

Book Overview

Why work for someone else when you can call your own shots, pursue your dreams, and find success on your terms by starting your own business? So many people end up bored with their jobs, stuck in the corporate grind, never following their true passions. As wildly successful young entrepreneur Cameron Johnson shows, you don't have to live that way. We've entered a new age of entrepreneurship, with the Web making it easier than ever to start and run...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416536094
• ISBN13: 9781416536093
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Free Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Excellent, actionable advice for starting and growing a business

I was given this book by my wife. She thought I would be interested in reading about a young entrepreneur who started and sold several businesses. I have to admit that I've read dozens and dozens of entrepreneurship books since I started my own company ten years ago, so--besides Cameron Johnson's age--I was wondering how this book was different from all the rest. After reading this book I realized that what makes it different is Cameron Johnson's straightforward "roll up your sleaves and do it" insight into how he started, grew, and sold his businesses--and his genuine enthusiasm for helping readers do the same. While many entrepreneurship books cover the generic high points of starting and running your own business, few books make this potentially daunting process as manageable and practical as You Call the Shots. As a winner of my city's Entrepreneur of Year Award, I feel comfortable recommending this book for soon-to-be entrepreneurs and those like me who have started the adventure.

I planned to read it on the way back to Tokyo, but I didn't.

I picked this book up at a hotel in Los Angeles a few days after it's released. As a businessman based in Tokyo, I planned to read it on the way back home. But I didn't --'Cause I finished reading before getting aboard! His lessons really work! I just couldn't put it down while reading it. I was surprised that he knows when and how to sell his companies before hitting drinking age. Isn't that amazing? As an entrepreneur myself, I can tell lots of fellow entrepreneurs have difficulties in selling his companies, as Michael Gerber points out. There's no doubt this will be a classic for everyone in business, as well as "The Road Ahead" by Bill Gates, "Direct From Dell" by Michael Dell, "Losing My Virginity" by Sir Richard Branson. I sincerely think of translating this book into Japanese. Give it a try, I guarantee you he won't let you down.

An Instant Classic!!!

As an entrepreneur who has read more than a hundred books on the subjects of "Business", "Marketing", "Sales" and "Advertising"... I rate this "You Call The Shots" masterpiece in my top 5. This Kid's practical, "common sense" approach to starting, running and growing a business is a refreshing change from the books that pack the shelves of "Business" sections in libraries and bookstores everywhere. The innovative approach to customer service, employee motivation & management, customer follow-up, mentor resources, as well as the "ingenious" advertising & marketing strategies that are detailed in this book make it a "must read" for anyone who is already in business or who is considering starting a business. I cannot recommend it enough. The appendix of this book alone is worth the purchase... as it is loaded with numerous "priceless" resources that most entrepreneurs would kill for. So incredibly brilliant, educational & insightful is this book, that it wouldn't surprise me if in the near future it becomes "required reading" at all the top business schools in the country. It is truly... that essential! Pete Kaczynski (Springfield, MA)

Customer Service: It's About Removing Obstacles

Because every business is, ultimately, a Customer Service business, regardless of the product or service that is sold, I enjoy reading books written by entrepreneurs because there's a chance I'll learn something new about Customer Service. You Call the Shots by 22-year-old Cameron Johnson fits the bill. Johnson started 12 online businesses - each one lasting a year or so - before age 21. That alone is interesting and any teen who is remotely interested in business or frustrated with traditional schooling should read his story. It's a painless way to learn about venture capital, public speaking, public relations, surrounding yourself with mentors and finding business ideas that don't require start up money. The appendix is loaded with helpful resources as well as a link to his website where there are yet more resources. For me, the most interesting part of the book was the chapter about his work experience at his father's Ford dealership, Magic City Ford, in Virginia . The dealership has been in his family for four generations. His favorite part of high school was his part-time job as the internet sales person at the dealership, even though he was making a ton of money from his online businesses. When he was 19-years-old the General Manager promoted him to General Sales Manager, leap frogging him over adults who had worked there longer than he was alive. Yes, he was that good. In 2004 their sales were double what they were the year before even though most other dealers in the nation had reduced sales that year. How did he do it? He was innovative. He stopped advertising in the newspaper and used that $200K per year to create bonuses and incentives for the sales force. Most of all, he was successful because of superior customer service. "One of the most important things I've learned about selling -- no matter what you're selling, whether it's a Ford Explorer, a start-up to a VC firm, or tomatoes to your neighbor -- is something my father taught me: what you're really doing is helping people remove all their obstacles." So, if a customer said he couldn't make a decision until he talked to his wife, Johnson would offer to drive the car to her right then so she could decide. If a customer said he really wanted the car but wished it had a six-disc CD changer, Johnson would offer to install one for free. If a customer didn't want to put $500 down Johnson offered to make the down payment for him. In a few years I'll have to purchase a new mini van and will now have high expectations from the sales person. If I am unsatisfied locally, who knows, maybe I'll find myself buying online from Magic City Ford.