Killing It : An Entrepreneur's Guide to Keeping Your Head Without Losing Your Heart
Author(s): Sheryl O'Loughlin
The former CEO of Clif Bar, Co-founder of Plum, and serial entrepreneur offers insights about launching and growing a business while maintaining a fulfilled life in this practical guide filled with hard-won advice culled from the author’s own sometimes dark, raw experiences. With a foreword by Steve Blank.
Aspiring entrepreneurs are told that to launch a business, you must go all in, devoting every resource and moment to making it work. But following this advice comes at an enormous personal cost: divorce, addiction, even suicide. It means sacrificing the intangibles that make life worth living.
Sheryl O’Loughlin knows there is a better way. In Killing It, she shares the wisdom she’s gained from her successful experiences launching a company from the ground up (Plum), running two fast-growing companies (Clif Bar and REBBL), and mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs (Stanford University). She tells it like it is: If you don’t invest in your wellbeing, your business will not succeed, nor will you.
Sheryl knows firsthand the difficulty of balancing the needs of her growing family with her physical and mental health, while managing other work and life challenges. In this warm, honest, and wise handbook, she gives you the essentials for killing it in business—without killing the rest of your life.
Filled with real-life examples and anecdotes, Killing It addresses common questions including:
- How do you prepare your significant other for your business venture?
- How do you time launching and growing your business with the ebb and flow of family life?
- How do you find joy in the day-to-day?
- How do you maintain meaningful, supportive friendships?
- How do you walk away and start again?
The ultimate life and business course, Killing It gives entrepreneurs the tools they need to start their enterprise and thrive—both in the office and at home.
Review(s):
“Sheryl’s personal experience as a leader, mentor, and founder gives her the ammunition to deliver more than just platitudes. Killing It is the kind of practical advice entrepreneurs need to thrive in the world of churn.”
“Are you ready to be an entrepreneur? Sheryl O’Loughlin’s book, Killing It, is the perfect guide to help you answer that question. Jam-packed with real-life stories of what it truly takes to be successful, Killing It also provides a wealth of sage advice and critical questions to ask yourself and your team as you get your company from the idea stage to the exit.”
“Killing It! is a relevant and incisive look at what being an entrepreneur is really about. Sheryl’s deeply personal account provides authentic insight into not only the much-lauded upsides of entrepreneurship, but also the considerable toll it can take on one’s relationships and well-being. This is a must-read for female leaders in particular, who are too often expected to be all things to all people.”
“Killing It is like the emotional handbook for entrepreneurs. Without a sustainable work life balance your business will not thrive.”
“A must-read for anyone looking to become an entrepreneur or stay in the game.”
“Killing It is a testament to the years of experience Sheryl has an entrepreneur. Her advice is savvy and hard-won. If you aspire to start a successful business, and live your life, this is necessary reading.”
I adore this book. Entrepreneurship is one of the most difficult-and yet most rewarding-career paths anyone can take. In Killing It Sheryl brilliantly captures the ups and downs of her own journey and distills them into a guiding principles every entrepreneur should use.
Sheryl O’Loughlin brings a unique and deeply personal perspective to what it means to launch a successful start-up. Sheryl opens up about the true costs, as well as the joys, of entrepreneurship. This book is a trusted companion for business leaders.
A thought-provoking and honest work by a successful entrepreneur with insights into the realities and issues of starting and running a business. Highly recommended.
So many aspiring entrepreneurs have no idea what they’re in for when dreaming about their start-up. Sheryl O’Loughlin’s Killing It! condenses decades worth of hard-earned wisdom into a compelling and personal manual for success both as an entrepreneur and a human being.
ISBN: 9780062475343