I’m a reluctant business person. While I’ve had the notion that I could somehow parlay my interest in making/writing into some kind of sustainable lifestyle, it’s only recently that I’ve even started to think about this in business terms. It’s perhaps not that surprising since I’m a preacher’s kid, and I grew up in an environment where discussion about enriching one’s self was not a topic of discussion. Those idyllic times are long past, and today I’m very interested in making money, because I’d like to have the freedom to do what I want in the greater context of achieving personal excellence.

My review copy of Josh Kaufman’s The Personal MBA arrived at just the right time. For the bulk of 2010, I’ve just been getting used to the idea of being a business entity. To give myself some structure, I took a pass at outlining agency processes and drawing maps of my overarching goals, but I must admit that I was still feeling a little lost. Happily, The Personal MBA is the much-needed atlas of the business world that I needed, and it’s helping me understand what I’m up against with greater clarity. (more…)