Self-Made Boss

Part starter-kit, part encyclopedia, and part inspiration, Self-Made Boss is an essential survival guide for small businesses

When  it comes to getting practical advice, small business owners too often  don't know where to look. Sure, you can find all sorts of high-level  strategic tips from Fortune 500 CEOs. But what if you own a restaurant,  and you're trying to figure out how to source good fish, or if you're  looking to increase revenue from your plumbing supply store? You'll be  running a lot of Google searches before you hear from someone who's  actually stood in your shoes.

Longtime Square executives  Jackie Reses and Lauren Weinberg want to change this. So they reached  out across the country, talking to dozens of entrepreneurs with valuable  businesses—and invaluable advice. This book is the product of that  research. Part starter-kit, part encyclopedia, part inspiration,  Self-Made Boss is filled with information not just about who these small  business owners are, but how they built their companies, step by step.

How  did they get their start? When did they decide to hire more staff? How  did they set a course for growth? And when problems arose, how did they  fight through them? You'll hear from a second-generation ice cream shop  owner on how to manage price increases; an oyster farmer finding new  ways to stay afloat in the middle of a global pandemic; a roofer who  refused to be denied or defined by her race and gender—and dozens of  other small business owners making a big difference in their  communities.

No matter the size of your business today—or  where you're thinking about taking the jump tomorrow—you'll find  answers you can apply right away.

Because there's a  common purpose that all small business owners share: the drive to build  something from the ground up; the relentless pursuit of turning  obstacles into opportunities and roadblocks into stepping stones. It's  tough and messy, hard-fought and hard-won. And above all, it's something  you can't have when you work anywhere else—or for anyone else.

That's what it means to be a Self-Made Boss.