Boss Life by Paul Downs — A Review

Based upon recent life experiences..well, not THAT recent, but painful (lessons learned!) enough that it seems like yesterday, I requested this particular book  to gain some perspective on how businesses should be run, if you are gonna run them.

Each chapter of this book follows a 'month in the life' of Paul Downs business, making custom furniture. It was initially a little off-putting, because I was expecting something a bit broader is scope, and was worried this would solely focus on manufacturing without any practical applications outside of that particular field.

 What I found was that the book overall addresses so many aspects of business that are necessary, no matter what industry you are working in. From marketing, budgeting, making those tough decisions you have to sometimes make for the good of the company as a whole, to pushing sales and being a leader, this guidebook/memoir gave a broad sense of what it's really like to make a business tick.

Balancing personal life, being the boss and what it means to be a good boss flow throughout. I appreciate the fact it wasn't all wine and roses, the downside is shown in all it's money eating misery as well as the overwhelming triumphs. The willingness to engage and continue to educate yourself, even as an owner of a business, was much appreciated by me.

The book held my attention, read more like a sort of 'what will happen next?' novel/thriller that kept me involved in the story and, by the very nature of business, provided some eye opening information on what being a boss really means. I think if it was written in the vein of each chapter being a lesson for running a business, it would not have been nearly as engrossing. Paul admits, right from the very beginning, he makes mistakes. Kudos to an owner of a business being forthright and NOT an asshole- I've dealt with enough of those, haha.

I'd recommend this to anyone who is considering starting their own business and thinks they know what's going to happen. Anyone who graduated with a degree in Business Admin. or the like and has ZERO actual life experience- here's some perspective for ya.

Think twice, my friends. Go for it if you are ready for what it brings, and good luck to you.



(*an Adobe Digital Edition of this book was received via Penguin's 'First Reads' Program).