Bill Rancic Book Review

I. Book Report

a. Thesis

In order to succeed in life and in business, you need to be able to enjoy what it is that you do, no matter what it is.

b. Outline

* The Spirit of Enterprise:

Getting started in the real world

Setting a standard for becoming successful

* Getting Started

Entrepreneur at an early age

Selling cars in high school and college

* The Price is Right

Summer job start up in college

* Business as Usual

Starting up Cigars Around the World

* Business as Unusual

Changing the business plan of Cigars around the World

Selling of Cigars Around the World

Getting started in real estate

* Playing the Game

Venturing into The Apprentice

c. Summary

Bill Rancic, the first winner of the hit reality show The Apprentice in 2004, wrote his book You're Hired: How to Succeed in Business and Life in the months shortly following his winning an apprenticeship from Donald Trump. In the book, he details many aspects of his life growing up, including the business ventures that he felt were key in his being able to outshine over 250,000 other applicants for the show, and his experiences in his short time with the Trump Organization. Bill also describes in detail many of the qualities he sees about himself in developing what he believes would be a successful life for himself, and always proving that nothing is insurmountable as long as you are dedicated to what you do.

To start the book, Bill tells us about the first job he acquired out of college with a commodity metals company as an outside salesman. He knew nothing about the business he had been hired into, but the pay was decent for a recent college graduate, and he knew he could learn the tricks of the trade in know time and be able to become a successful salesman for this company. After graduating college, Bill set a standard for himself that he would not settle for any job paying less than $50,000 per year, and even though he knew his goals were set high, maybe even to the point of unattainable, he felt he would be able to reasonably be able to achieve this standard he set for himself despite many of his friends recently taking mediocre $20,000 a year jobs that were very demanding. Though his first job didn't guarantee the $50,000 a year he was looking for, he felt that he would be able to gain as much through commissions in addition to his yearly salary. He wasn't happy there though, as one day he watched one of the senior salesman with the company get fired simply because the company management could not justify paying this senior member so much money when they could hire two or three younger salesmen for a lesser expense to the company. He knew his job was not secure at this point, no matter how well he was able to perform. Before long, Bill made the decision that he didn't want to work for someone else, as he couldn't find the joy in it. There was no leadership involved in his current position, and he wanted to be able to motivate people through his leadership. He wanted to be successful, and in reading, it can be hinted at that he wanted to make a good living off of becoming successful. He knew after seeing one of his own colleagues get fired that there was no such thing as job security, and he did not want to work for anyone but himself.

In the next few chapters of the book, Bill begins to explain how he started off as a young entrepreneur while still in grade school, and continues on with his ventures through high school and college. One of the first entrepreneurial moments he could recall occurred during a trip to his grandmother's house. With nothing to do, Bill's grandmother decided to teach him how to make pancakes, and he immediately caught on, and liked it so much that he suggested to his grandmother that she invite over her friends for pancakes the following day. After cooking for her friends, while Bill was cleaning the table, he discovered under each of the plates a five dollar bill which had been left by each of his grandmother's friends. Naturally, like any young entrepreneur, Bill was quick to make sure he could go back and spend more time with his grandmother, and in the process, he made over $100 doing so until his mother found out about what he was up to. This was the springboard for Bill's drive and determination to do what he enjoyed, and to reap the benefits of what he could sow in the process. During high school and into college, Bill furthered his drive for success by buying cheap cars, fixing them up a little, and selling them to others for more than he invested into them. He continued doing this throughout high school, and even into college, each time continuing to make more money off his sales, in turn being able to buy better vehicles each time around. Wanting to do something exciting during the summer, Bill set out with a friend and started a boat wax and wash service in New Buffalo, Michigan, that provided many of the socialites in the Midwest an opportunity to save themselves the rigorous work of maintaining their high end boats. This proved to be a great move for Bill, as he made good money in the process, and he was getting started off on the foot of being able to work for himself, setting his own hours, and enjoying what he did in the process. The following summer, he and his friend did the same thing as the previous summer, and with more success than the previous, opening a satellite location in Chicago that was run by another one of Bill's friends.

After graduating, Bill had a good idea of what he wanted to do with his life, how he wanted to work, and the standards he would set for himself. After seeing his colleague get fired from the metals company he was with, Bill decided he wanted to give his career a shot at going it alone. While brainstorming with a friend about ideas they could go off of to come up with a business, Bill stumbled upon the idea of having a mail-order premium cigar business. The name of the new company would be Cigars Around the World and would offer premium cigars to customers who would pay a monthly fee in order to receive 5 cigars through the mail. As with all start up businesses, they