I Want What She’s Having
Friday, 18 May 2007
Last Updated: Wednesday, 22 August 2007
By Naomi Simson
Messenger Publishing $29.00
Reviewed by Amanda Gome
Entrepreneur war stories are instructive – we pick up strategies, tips and ideas, but mostly we get motivated by the courage, perseverance and resilience of the founders.
That is why entrepreneur Naomi Simson’s new book “I Want What She’s Having” is so refreshing. It’s an honest account of her journey from disastrous start-up to wildly successful business with expected revenue next year of $20 million.
Simson’s business nearly failed in the first months, and was burdened by a website (built by an outsourced web development company) that was so badly designed it drove customers away.
And of course she was launching immediately after the dot-com crash. “I was devastated when David Jones closed down their online store,” she writes. “What hope had we got?”
Simson also confesses that she knew nothing about online marketing, and remembers thinking: “I am a bit old to learn all of that new-fangled internet stuff.”
But learn she did, and describes how she transformed the website, the company and in the end the whole gift-giving industry. Simson switched on to technology, and describes how she has used blogs, wikis, Next G and podcasts to boost her business.
Simson also excels at viral marketing and developing advocates of her brand who spread the word. But what really comes through is her passion and enjoyment at running her company RedBalloon and her pride in her staff.
For wage slaves who don’t want to quit their job, don’t read this book. It makes entepreneurship sound too tempting, warts and all.
I Want What She's Having ($29.00) is published by, and can be purchased through, Messenger Publishing.
Naomi continues to talk about her journey through her SmartCompany blogs, and features strongly in SmartCompany's Feedback pages.
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