The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur Book Review

Written by Chris on September 30, 2008 – 10:14 pm -

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If you have not heard about the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur (TPE) book yet either on this website or others, then you must be living underneath a rock! TPE is a brand new book that hits the virtual shelves today on Amazon and other places.  I should note that I have emailed a bunch with the author, Mike Michalowicz and also produced a great podcast with him. My experiences with Mike have been great and this book is no different. I got a review copy a little while ago and wanted to post up a review and my thoughts on the book on the day of its launch.
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I’ll start by saying that the book is hilarious. I mean anytime you take a book about a topic people are passionate about and then relate it to taking the biggest crap of your life and realizing you have no TP, you know it is going to be a good read.

However, this is definitely not your bathroom read. Be sure to be sitting down and have either a highlighter and some sticky notes ready or a notebook to write down all the key points and helpful information that you will take away from the book.

The book does a great job of illustrating key points and enforcing tips and tricks through hilarious stories about plumbing issues, getting it out fast, or enjoying your time in solitude. Each chapter also features different action items at the end which you can take on and accomplish. Doing these tasks will not only keep you up with the progress of the book, but it will, well, uh duh, help your business! So look out for the 3 or 4 action items.

Another great resource in the book are the TPE Tips. These are just quick tips or tricks that are thrown into the mix. They can be anything from free sites to make conference calls at, resources for research, ways to get services for free, and more. Here are a couple that I picked out.

Virtual Meetings - Need to talk and gawk? DimDim.com offers free virtual meeting software. The best part is that you don’t need to install it on anything; it runs right off the Net. No untimely computer crashes! Yeah!!!

And…

Research - While you’re at the library, check out the reference desk. Reference librarians know where to find everything. Best of all, they love a challenge. Don’t pay for research. Do some yourself and get the reference librarians to help with the rest. Find out where your state library is located, because there you will find top-notch research material, including extensive mailing lists and statistical information.

Curious if the book is worth reading or if you should just use the pages as toilet paper? Well, I am publishing this review on launch day for the book..yet in the evening. The reason? I wanted to see how it performed on Amazon on its first day. Well, I am happy to report that the marketing and all the pictures of Mike on the crapper paid off, because by before dinner time this evening, Amazon was already out of stock. Plus it also made it into the top 11,000 in the Amazon.com sales rank.

So, to my friend Mike Michalowicz, I say…congrats on an awesome book and even better book launch! Best of luck with it all!

For everyone else…you can buy the book on the TPE website at www.toiletpaperentrepreneur.com.

Tags: book review, mike michalowicz, Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, TPE
Posted in Books, Reviews | 4 Comments »

New Authors Coming To Dorm Room Biz

Written by Chris on September 10, 2008 – 11:00 am -

Just a quick note this morning - I have a couple new authors that have agreed to post on Dorm Room Biz about once a week. This will hopefully bring some great new content to the site. So…you should probably get excited about the changes that are happening and the articles that are going to be getting published. Topics are going to vary and cover a large array of arenas, so it will be good.

Please welcome Matt Unger and Sophie Marston on board to Dorm Room Biz!

I’d don’t want to talk about them and go into a full detailed introduction to them because they should be posting their own introduction soon, so this is just to note what is coming.

Also, the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur himself, Mike Michalowicz will probably be putting up some posts now and again on a whole array of topics…and of course be pushing his book. However, I suggest you enter into the contest for a chance to win it as opposed to paying for it right off the bat!

Tags: authors, contest, Matt Unger, mike michalowicz, Sophie Marston
Posted in Website Updates / News | No Comments »

Are You a Toilet Paper Entrepreneur? “Big Idea” Expert’s New Book

Written by Mike Michalowicz on September 4, 2008 – 12:00 pm -

In garages, basements, spare rooms and even dorm rooms all across America, hard-working dreamers are launching businesses right this minute. The thought of this really gets me going.

I’m all about the underdog, the passionate entrepreneur with a small amount of cash and a huge heart. I refer to these people as Toilet Paper Entrepreneurs, the resourceful men and women who can get by on three sheets. They find a way to make it happen, even if they are at the end of their roll.

The best ideas come from having precious few resources, and yet so often people see this as lack, an obstacle to their success. On the flip side, many businesses throw money at problems the very second the cash starts flowing in, thereby eliminating the magic of necessity.

Toilet Paper Entrepreneurs work miracles with just three sheets – or less – even when they have a warehouse full of stockpiled toilet paper. Here’s how you can too:

1. Cultivate a Powerful Foundation of Enabling Beliefs – Your most important assets are your beliefs. Firmly held beliefs that support your goal are more valuable than an Ivy League education, or even a pile of cash.
2. Work in Your Field of Passion – Building a company is not for wimps. You will need a boatload of passion for your business in order to stick with it long enough to succeed. Your competitors with a get-rich-quick agenda will give up when the going gets tough. Passionate entrepreneurs stick it out and achieve phenomenal success.
3. Slant Toward Premature Action – Do not wait for the perfect conditions to start or expand your business. Taking action early is better than taking action too late. And don’t be nervous about these lean times we are experiencing right now. This is the perfect time to start a business. With everyone waiting until the economy is ripe, the startup competition is almost non-existent.
4. Be Extremely Great at Extremely Little – Don’t fall in to the trap of the “do everything” entrepreneur. Exploit a select few of your top strengths, and outsource everything you dislike or can’t knock out of the park.
5. Use Ingenuity Over Money – Having enough money can be a hindrance, covering up potentially disastrous problems. Use ingenuity and a razor-sharp focus rather than money to create, launch, and troubleshoot. You will come up with a better idea every time.
6. Dominate a Niche – Rather than try to sell to everyone, identify a market in which you can provide better or different products or services, and then dominate it.
7. Marry Long-Term Focus with Short-Term Action – Know your destination, but don’t plan out every step of the journey beforehand. Instead, plan out the next quarter and then track your progress.
8. Be a Little Crazy – Whatever you do, don’t play by the rules. It’s the risk takers, the odd balls, who make opportunities and grasp achievement.

You don’t need angel financing, a college degree, or any experience to build the business you envision. Heck, you don’t even need a garage.

So many myths about launching and running companies hold people back from taking the next step. My goal in writing The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur was to bust through every last one of them, arming the underdogs with essential “three-sheeting” advice that will help them launch their business. And more importantly, grow that business into a multi-million dollar dream-come-true.

Mike Michalowicz is the author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, available on Amazon.com and at www.TheToiletPaperEntrepreneur.com.

Tags: mike michalowicz, Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, TPE
Posted in Books, Entrepreneurship | 7 Comments »

Dorm Room Biz Podcast #2: Discussion about deciding how and when to expand your business feature Mike Michalowicz

Written by Chris on June 17, 2008 – 8:55 pm -

It has been a week or so coming, but the second Dorm Room Biz podcast has arrived! I am sorry it took me so long to get it together! Today’s podcast is a great discussion with entrepreneur Mike Michalowicz of Obsidian Launch. We discuss the topic of deciding how and when to expand your business.

We mostly talk in terms relating to my eBay ventures, however, the information that we talk about and the tips from Mike can definitely apply to any business area or industry and no matter if your business is online or offline. We both hope that you guys will enjoy it and spark up some conversation.

If you have any questions, comments, or anything to say about the podcast (good, bad, whatever) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave some comments! I’d love to hear them and look forward to being able to respond back to them!

*****Download the podcast here.*****

Tags: expand your business, mike michalowicz, obsidian launch, podcast
Posted in Blogging, Business Ideas, Podcasts | 2 Comments »