I’ll tell you right now, this review doesn’t do the actual reading of the book justice.

I’ve read many business books in my day. There have been some that have been a total waste of time and some that have helped me along my way of becoming an entrepreneur. This book, however, has been more of a gem than I ever thought possible. This book is less fluff and ‘Ra-Ra’ chatter, and more about an action plan, backed up with personal anecdotal stories from a person, who had a dream, thought, and passion for an idea and did something about it.

Young Guns is broke down into 16 chapters. Some of the chapters are:

The Decision (chapter 2)

The Big Idea (chapter 3)

The Partner Principle (chapter 5)

Gut Check: Getting Started (chapter 6)

You Are the Company (chapter8)

Celebrate Failure, Reward Success (chapter 13)

Why Not You? (chapter 16)

Robert Tuchman structures the book in a systematic way, that gives the reader (potential entrepreneur) a step by step go-by of the conception of the person wanting to be an entrepreneur, the big idea, to the time the person will be challenge, to dealing with selecting partners and vendors, and the way to not tip-toe around the business and be frighten of failure.

The Book Brought Back Memories I Didn’t Want to Face

There were a couple of chapters that made me put down the book and think of the past situations I have gone through. The section on selecting a business partner spoke to me, because it was the ultimate aspect of the business that ended my last venture. There was the section on developing the big idea, which made me think to my first business again, because I wasn’t fully committed, let alone passionate of the idea. I always knew that a business would work, only if it was passion–driven, but I didn’t know how to totally develop a business idea that was so (all of the steps are written clearly in the first couple of chapters).

I noticed when I started my first business, I wasn’t fully passionate of the idea and lost motivation after 6 months.

I said dammit a couple of times when it came to the section about picking the right partners. My first partner was a friend, who, was sorta on the right path with having a congruent business idea, but slowly our paths derailed. However, the other partner, was the wrong person altogether. He didn’t care about the potential or general make up the business, he just saw the potential and opportunity of what if the business could do. Robert states this is one of the most important process of developing a successful business and gives the reader the steps to follow in order to picking the right one(s).

The 3 Chapters that Scared the Shit Out of Me

The Gut Check: Getting Started, Celebrate Failure, Reward Success, and Why Not You?, were 3 chapters that had me looking in the mirror more times than I wanted to. These chapters gave me a sense of not to be scared of my business, because I will fail, regardless of the situation. Chapter 6 will not only make the business, but will also force you to be totally honest running a business. The last chapter is something that keeps your mind going, it explains the question of why, and why you have to constantly have to ask yourself, as the business continues to grow.

The Bad

Since I am a person that has been fascinated about business for some time now, the book is one of my top reads for any person who thinks they want to start a business. I did wish the last chapter would have been inserted somewhere in the beginning. This may have resulted in the book not being finish by some readers, but it will give the reader a decision to stop reading and more importantly, to not become an entrepreneur.

Who is this book for?

This book is for anyone who is and has thought about becoming an entrepreneur and didn’t know how to get started. At the end of the read, you will know if entrepreneurship is for you. It is something that will become evident quickly.

About the Author

When Robert Tuchman graduated from college, Tuchman was quickly forced to abandon his dream of becoming a sports reporter. Applications to sports programs across the country were ignored and eventually he accepted a position as an investment advisor at Lehman Brothers in New York, followed by a stint Paine Webber.

Still wanting to break into the sports industry, he joined Sports Profiles after reading about them in Entrepreneur, working out of his apartment selling sports magazine advertisements. Quickly realizing that everyone to whom he sold ads wanted the perks (tickets to games or luxury trips to events) more then the ads, he decided to start a business that catered to this niche called Tuchman Sports Enterprises (TSE).

Within two years of working out of that tiny one-bedroom Upper East Side apartment, with one phone and a fax machine, his company was named to the annual Inc. 500 list of America’s fastest growing privately held companies and as one of the top 100 promotion agencies by Promo Magazine. He started TSE with no money and no investors and ended up selling it for millions of dollars to Premiere Global Sports. Last year TSE earned over $70 million dollars in sales as the Corporate Events division of Premiere Global Sports. Robert Tuchman now serves as President of that division, still guiding his company in its new form.

He writes a monthly column for Incentive magazine, an industry magazine for incentive and meeting planners. He is also the author of  The 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live, a sports travel book. His articles have appeared in ESPN.com and Sports Business Journal.

A favorite commentator on the sports industry, you may have seen him recently discussing Michael Phelps on “Anderson Cooper 360” or the “CBS Morning News.” A frequent guest on “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” he has also appeared on CNN, the “CBS Morning News,” BET, and has been featured in USA Today, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Entrepreneur.