REVIEW: Bob Schlegel — Angels and Entrepreneurs (BOOK)
Entrepreneur and seasoned professional Bob Schlegel knows of what he speaks. But even better, he knows how to effectively communicate what he speaks to the widest possible audience. His new book, Angels and Entrepreneurs, avoids a potentially clinical tone by providing extensive, personalized examples, scenarios, and analogies to counter the otherwise potentially dry, intellectually exclusive material preaching to a specific choir.
Schlegel opens the read by boldly telling the reader part of his authority on the book’s topicalities is due to his own trial and error, successes and losses in navigating the various entrepreneurial, investment, and self-funding fields making up the pursuit of one’s dream enterprise. “I am an optimist by nature, and a big believer in the power of positive thinking, which has been identified as a key entrepreneurial trait in many books and studies over the decades,” Schlegel writes. “Lady Luck may also have played a role in our family’s success. And I have to say that in some cases, those who appeared to be enemies turned out to actually be blessings in disguise — even though that may not have been their intention. The old saying ‘What goes around comes around’ applies to those situations.
Also, sometimes you just need to thank God for unanswered prayers…I’ve written this book to share those blessings, and to inspire and encourage you and all dreamers and disrupters to start, grow, and reap the rewards of your own enterprises. In the following pages, I will provide you with the nuts and bolts, the nitty-gritty of cash flow and market share, as well as the hard-earned lessons I’ve learned over more than fifty years as an entrepreneur in a wide range of fields.”
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Angels-Entrepreneurs-Lifestyle-Rollercoaster-Entrepreneurship/dp/1637581513
It’s this kind of personal and affable affect within Schlegel’s communicatory style where I feel Angels and Entrepreneurs really succeeds. He’s able to talk about sometimes deeply complex and intricate concepts and varied approaches to different business enterprises, but in a manner that feels like a friend. The language choice is deliberately middle-of-the-road, never veering towards out-and-out verbose, nor dumbing itself down at the expense of the book’s primary, target audience. This style isn’t just a communicatory choice, it’s also part of the philosophy Schlegel has cultivated and promoted through the years. It’s what he even, arguably, attributes to his own success, and the success of others around him who are like-minded. “I doubt that many entrepreneurs think much about their legacy when they are starting out.
Maybe only a few more consider it as they grow their businesses and experience success. In truth, most don’t give their legacies much thought until they are late into their careers and preparing to retire,” he says on this front. “That is understandable, but my hope is that you will start thinking about the legacy you want to leave right now, if you haven’t done so already. I say that because I believe knowing where you want to end up — and how you want to be remembered — will make you do better and be better as you pursue your career.”
Colin Jordan
