The knack
People starting out in business tend to seek step-by-step formulas or rules, but in reality there are no magic bullets. Rather, there's a mentality that helps street-smart entrepreneurs solve problems and pursue opportunities as they arise.
Stats for nerds
8recommend
9mentions
9people
2008–2020years
89% recommend11% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- As a developer turned co-CEO, developing an understanding of the differences between cashflow, revenue, profit, and overhead was critical.
My recommendations are a little different from most other folks here, in that they relate to understanding the business as a whole and how finance figures into it:
Norm Brodsky's "The Knack" http://theknack.info/
Jack Stack's "A Stake in the Outcome" https://www.amazon.com/Stake-Outcome-Building-Ownership-Long...
If you're in a startup environment, Brad Feld's "Venture Deals" https://www.amazon.com/Venture-Deals-Smarter-Lawyer-Capitali...
- Try "The Knack", written by Norm Brodsky and narrated by Sean Pratt. I've listened to a ton of audio books and he is one of the best. The book is really good too.
Here is some of the work Sean's done: http://www.audible.com/search/ref=sr_nsrch_lnk_1?searchNarra...
- + Hacker Ethic by Steven Levy
+ Masters of Doom by David Kushner
+ The Millionaire Mind by Dr. Thomas Stanley
+ The Intelligent Investor by Ben Graham
+ The Essays of Warren Buffet by Lawrence Cunningham
+ Buffet by Roger Lowenstein
+ The Knack by Norm Brodsky
+ Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar by Thomas Cathcart, Daniel Klein
+ The Return of the Great Depression by Vox Day
+ Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman
+ Road to Serfdom by Hayek
+ Iacocca:An Autobiography by Lee Iacocca
- I second this. In addition, +1 for Eric Sink.
Also check out "The Knack" by Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham.
In the end, though, no book can prepare you for starting up,
- "Bootstrap" by Kenneth L. Hess and "The Knack" by Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham.
- A lot of it just takes experience and practice. There are a few good books available. "The Knack" by Norm Brodsky is very good, and the source of the "You don't ask, you don't get quote". The chapter on negotiation is small, but the rest of the book contains tons of invaluable insight.
Many books stress formulating a "win-win" situation, and "expanding the pie" so that "everybody wins". This is good in theory, but rare in practice. In almost every negotiation someone will have the upper hand.
I think the best approach is to listen carefully and try to understand the other party's need. This may not necessarily be more money. Maybe they want to build a long term relationship. Maybe they are willing to lower the price if you pay upfront, or provide a larger deposit, because they prefer the cashflow now. Maybe business is slow. You never know.
You also need to know your best alternative. If you have options, it is easy to walk away from the deal. If you are informed, you will know the true market price. You can't be afraid to walk away. I think it just takes time and practice to develop this mentality, and the opposing side can typically sense if you're serious about it or not.
A strategy that has worked well for me is to just say something like "I really like your product/service, and would love to start using it, but the price is a bit out of my range. Is there any way you can give me a discount?". It doesn't work for everything, but I've been surprised how often it does work. The worst thing that happens is that they say no. Remember, you have to ask!
