Book review: The Knack

The title of this book and the sub-title, “How street-smart entrepreneurs learn to handle whatever comes up” got the better of my curiosity. Norm Brodsky (with Bo Burlingham) book has very little to do with “knack” and street-smart. It is about the serious work behind the scenes of running a small business.

We’d like to think that (well, I’d like to think) that the power of a great idea is enough to grow a business. No way. Brodsky gives the entrepreneur a real punch in the stomach. Get your figures straight. Know the difference between gross and net profit. The book totally freaked me out about how little I know the secret behind the numbers of my own business – and I’ve been running my business for thirty years. “I know nothing” is more than a comic phrase. It is a tragic-comic fact. Luckily I have survived and done all right. Imagine, however, if I had 10% of Norm’s business knowledge. I feel like going to business school. At least I feel bawled out by the teacher.