Romanus Wolter
1 Romanus please update soon!
I agree this book is valuable and practical. However, it was written in 2001 and I would love to see a second book soon with updated strategies and tactics.
2 Essential reading for entrepreneurs
The vast majority of books on business and entrepreneurship focus heavily on theory and case study, and lack practical, easy-to-follow steps to help you get started. This book helps you to identify what you're passionate about, and how to go about creating a dream business around whatever it is that you enjoy.
Romanus takes his years of experience working with literally hundreds of individuals and companies and boils it down to the essentials.
This isn't your average business book - it is a series of worksheets and activities to help you define, refine, and act. If you've never owned a business, but have always dreamed of breaking out on your own - this book is for you. If you've been in a startup before, and are thinking about trying it again regardless of your previous success, you'll still find a lot of helpful information to help you avoid the mistakes and pitfalls of too many startups.
Also -- if you get a chance, I highly recommend attending one of Romanus' events. He is energetic and provides great information. Its not just a rah-rah, motivational session -- you'll find it very valuable.
3 Thorough but product-focused
This book is exceptionally thorough; detailed and practical, with tons of worksheets and exercises to perform. However, it seems very focused on product-based business, versus service businesses. The author does include service businesses in his examples, but the exercises and worksheets seem to me to be very helpful for those people providing an actual product, with suppliers and vendors and product margins and the like. Overall a recommended book, especially if you're looking for an exceptionally detailed blueprint for moving from idea to execution.
4 Great advice, easy to read, very motivating!!
I just started my business several months ago and it has been a roller coaster ride! There have been some really discouraging days and this book helps me find new ideas and inspiration to keep on going. Romanus provides great advice and motivation to follow your dreams, I feel like I have a personal small business consultant beside me as I read this book!
5 Fast track to building a business
As a speaker to entrepreneurs I frequently reccomend this book.
It is packed full of paractical ideas on starting a business plus many specific steps to follow for certain aspects of business like researching products, manufacturing and
distribution. People will also appreciate all the real life stories of the challenges people faced in business and how they solved those challenges.
Romanus has a straight forward clear and concise way of advising the reader. I got a lot out of this book and I know many others will too.
6 Essential reading for any business owner
Whether you are a new business or established company, this book is for you. I have started a company and wish I had read this book at the very beginning. It is great reading with very good out-of-the-box tips that helped me move past the competition. It is also a workbook so I am able to chart my progress while opening up a second company. "Kick Start" also served as a practical guide to help me further define my vision, products, branding, market, and competition. You don't need an MBA to understand this book. Anyone can use it kick start their dream.
7 Passion!
Romanus Wolter has written an inspiring, yet practical, book for entrepreneurs who want their Dream Job: by launching their dream business. Romanus is an enthusiastic coach and mentor for anyone seeking to tap into their passion creatively in the work world. Thank you, Romanus, for being a catalyst for me to go after my passion!
8 Intent + Action
Practical, easy to follow step by step advice, actions and exercises that when followed build your dream business.
I currently work in product development for a large company, so I already know many of the steps that take you from concept to consumer and this book is dead on. However, what is so wonderful about this book is that it shows you how with "intent" grounded in helping yourself and others, money does not need to be an obstacle to your dreams.
If you are ready to turn your pipe dream into action and reality, but your want guidance and support along the way, please get this book and use it. I am, and it's working.
9 Buy This Book and Get Started On Your Business Now!
Romanus Wolter's Kick Start Your Dream Business is a fantastic guide to helping you to first focus in on your business idea and then take the steps you need to start and grow your business.
Romanus' passion for small business is exciting and candid. Kick Start provides clear directions that will help you develop a comprehensive business planning tool that will prepare you for all aspects of business ownership.
Romanus' creative ideas are inspring for entrepreneurs at any stage of their business growth. It is a must read for both emerging entrepreneurs and those established business owners who want to recharge their batteries.
10 This book gets you focused and on-track!
Romanus is truely inspirational. This book focuses your dreams and makes them real. Romanus provides a workbook with easy-to-understand steps and success stories that show that they really work.
I highly recommend this book. It is a must have for anyone who is starting a new business.
11 The tools in this book motivated me to stick to it!
I worked side-by-side with Romanus Wolter on a consulting basis when I was launching my tour company in San Francisco. Honestly, I couldn't have succeeded without his guidance. He had me work through each of the tools that are now in this incredible book. This is truly a hands-on workbook that walked me through the transformation of taking my vision and turning it into reality.
Romanus makes the process so intuitive, but more importantly, he taps into the passion inside of all of us. This is what kept me going when times got tough!! While it was sometimes overwhelming and exhausting, Romanus taught me to tap into my own enthusiasm and have FUN with my work for the first time.
Thank you, Romanus!
12 Make your business dreams come true!
This book is jam packed with ideas and exercises that will help you literally kick start your business. I highly recommend it to anyone thinking about starting a business or enhancing their current business. My eyes have been opened to recognizing all kinds of opportunities for my business because of the concepts presented in this book. Well worth the price of the book!
13 GREAT HOW TO WITH GREAT STORIES TO INSPIRE YOU!
I loved this book! It's intimidatingly thick, but once I started reading I found it was organized in a way that may it easy to skim, or to jump to whatever I needed. There are loads of success stories which I found inspiring! I've read loads of business books, and this is one of my favorites!
14 entering OZ
Romanus' book is incredible. he is the wizard of OZ and takes you on a journey into your heart, emerging with tools you can apply to your business and personal life. Romanus gives you step-by-step instruction that makes strting you own business easy. Kick Start Your Dream Business has helped me and I'm passing the book onto the rest of my family.
15 From Idea to Action Plan to Results
Kick Start should be required reading in every workshop for entrepreneurs. Romanus offers a structured program that moves from profiling your idea, through information gathering and research, through manufacturing, marketing and customer service, with chapters on patents and trademarks, legal issues, finance and record keeping, and raising money. I refer to it often in advising entrepreneurs at SBDC on business plans and marketing programs.
In addition to practical information, the book is filled with encouraging advice to keep the entrepreneur focused, motivated, and organized. Lots of planning tools, worksheets, amd case studies of real people overcoming obstacles. The book recognizes that the hardest part is not finding the idea but getting into action and staying in action--hence the importance of getting and staying organized.
What I especially liked is the reminder that building a business doesn't take place in a vacuum--Kick Start encourages asking for help, sharing information, and sharing success stories. Romanus is already at work on a follow up edition!
16 Must have for people starting their business!
I wish I had this book when I was starting my business. It would have saved me time (and money) in the missteps I had taken. The book is designed as a workbook, so you get to mark your steps as you go along. The layout is beautiful and very well organized.
Even after being in business for 5 years, I still found this book extremely useful and motivational. It got me excited about areas of my business that I had lost interest in.
I purchased the book after hearing Romanus speak. His enthusiasm is contagious. If you ever get the chance to hear him give one of his presentations, you must go. It is the perfect companion to the book.
17 Kick Start Your Dream Business
There is no other book like it on the market. It does not tell you to simply write a business plan. It tells you to first identify if you have a passion for your business idea. That way, you are starting your business with the right reasons. The success rate will be higher, because you care about the business. After that has been identified, the author shows you methodically how to achieve it. As you go through the book, you realize that your business idea is coming into fruition.
18 Everything you need to start your dream business!
This book provides the inspiration to start and the motivation to keep going. It's just what a new business owner needs. As a business consultant/coach, I recommend Kick Start Your Dream Business to all my clients!
19 A wonderful toolbook
I wish I'd had this 2 years ago when I started my business! This is a great one-stop source for all the different considerations when starting a business. The message that resonated most with me was the concept of a 'community' of people (friends, associates, etc.) that are part of your success and can be tapped into to maximize your success. Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely place, but Romanus reminds us that we have a great team behind us and need to tap into it!
20 Great for all levels!
As a serial entrepreneur, I've been around the block a couple of times starting new businesses and I think this practical and inspirational new book is a great asset for any experience level! The book provides clear steps and will keep you grounded and motivated as you move from the idea to the launch of your new business. Staying on track and energized is so fundamental to the success of any business - this book is a terrific resource for any entrepreneur!
21 It changes lives
This is an amazing, inspirational book. This book has the passion, the motivation, and the drive to get you going. It has simple, easy steps to start hashing out your idea and then putting your idea into actionable items. It really focuses on developing and nurturing your dream, then follows up with the nitty gritty activities of starting a business. Highly recommended for those who think they have a "crazy idea" but don't know how to make it work -- you can!
22 An Enthusiast Is Backing You
If you're enthusiastic about an occupation that would make the ideal job for you, follow the steps outlined by Romanus Wolter. They can be immediately applied. This is a concrete book full of varied examples, reminders, and life experience testimonies beside giving you a plan.
From inspiration to copyright to marketing tools and financial statements, this book is behind, in front and beside you all the way, with warmth and encouragement.
Give it a try!
23 Yes you can do it!
Romanus' book "Kick Start Your Dream Business" is very empowering! With his step by step instruction, written in a clear user friendly manner, he helps the first time around entrepreneur to truly believe in their abilitys to acomplish their goals. If its that extra little push you need to get you started, this book delivers. Thanks Romanus!
24 If you feel passionate...
If you feel passionate about an occupation which you haven't yet turned into a business-- assuming it's legal. of course! this is the book for you. You'll find another enthusiast speaking to you intelligently, supporting you, cheering you, giving you advice in the shape of practical steps to try right away. There are lots of examples from a variety of fields, so that all that's left to do... is to get to work. There's hope.
Good luck!
25 Give yourself a kickstart!
The content is lively, highly focused, and relevant for any entrepeneur, whether just starting out or a seasoned business. Wolter has an impressive gift for perspective and ingenuity; I found a number of ideas that I can lift directly into my own business marketing plan immediately.
26 Creating My Dream
Kick Start Your Dream Business supplied me with the tools necessary to create my dream. As a classroom teacher I had a vision for creating my own private practice, however I lacked the business and marketing skills to create it. Romanus' book filled in the gaps, from setting up my one pager to marketing and getting referrals. I couldn't have done it without this information. I appreciate having all the tools in one, nice, neat package. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Maria Fagan
27 The only book you need to get your business started.
If you want to ignite your idea and launch it into a thriving business, read this book. Romanus Wolter gives you the steps and the confidence to turn your passion into reality. You don't need an MBA, but you do need "Kick Start Your Dream Business."
I love how he points out that you should not hesitate to tap the ideas and services of your friends, family and colleagues who are thrilled to help you get started. You just need to ask. You have many people by your side who will support you with your dream. You don't have to do it all by yourself.
28 A Guide to Your Heart's/Life's Work
Working with this book has helped me to clarify (i.e., "name") my work and put a clear and marketable process with it. This has given me the courage, after a full year of talking about it, to actually "bring my work out into the world". The most important thing I keep recalling from the book is that working with the energy of my passion will lead to my success and help me overcome any fear. The book has not only helped me to synthesize what my heart's work is, it has helped me to KNOW what it is not! I have also begun to see what is next for me, as my work unfolds in the world. I find this all very exciting and gratifying. If you want an easy to understand, straight-shooting guide to creating your life/heart/dream work, don't just read it, use this book! And all the best to you in your adventure...
29 Practical as well as inspirational
Before reading "Kick Start Your Dream Business" I had been struggling with the challenge of bringing my new business idea to life. I found myself on a circuitous path of asking people for advice, bumping into walls, retracing my steps, constantly changing my strategies and basically wasting precious time. This book helped me focus my process with very practical advice, while Romanus Wolter's own obvious exuberance and energy filled me with a renewed joy and motivation for turning my dream business into a reality. I'm sure I'm not the first to say that I wish I could have read this book earlier. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who is trying to sort through the how-to's of getting a dream business off the ground.
30 Gives you the KICK IN THE PANTS and tools you need!
Romanus is WONDERFUL! I took my boyfriend to his seminar after hearing Romanus speak at a SF Chamber of Commerce. The book (and his seminars) do exactly what they promise to do- get you started and on your way to making your dream business a reality. He breaks the process down into easy and manageable steps. The book takes the fear out of getting started and addresses your concerns and worries. He has consulted with hundreds of people on how to turn their dream ideas into realities. His 14 years of trial and error are all in the book! I highly recommend you read it! Now my boyfriend and I are following his book step by step and progressing weekly towards creating my boyfriends dream company.
31 Kick Start Your Dream Business
This is an excellent book and manual. Fascinating and fun to read, totally accessible and enjoyable for entrepeneurs and anyone pursuing their dreams thru business. Very helpful, the way key ideas have been formatted and highlighted. Romanus Wolter makes starting a business alive, adventuresome, do-able, a spiritual journey. And bottom-line: successful! I have had the good pleasure and fortune to consult with him personally. He is absolutely delightful, caring, tuned-in and knows his stuff - which is the stuff that we need to know! This is a must-manual.
32 It delivers!
This book truly delivers on its title, "Kick Start Your Dream Business". It's full of totally practical advice and action steps that make your business a reality. He eschews business and marketing plans, focusing instead on spending time getting the business going and having the flexibility to pursue what's working (and ditch what's not).
I've had my business for about a year, and wish I had the book when I started. It's been incredibly useful, also, in my latest endeavor--launching a new service within my existing business. I highly recommend it for that use, too.
33 Small Business Assistance for the Unexperienced
I accomplished my lifetime dream of starting my own business. Howevever, I lack experience in business. I heard about Kick Start Your Dream Business, bought a copy, and find it to be the best possible investment I could have ever made.
Romanus's suggestions, tips and step-by-steps are easy to follow, enjoyable, and informative. I would recommend this book to anyone-from the already knowledgeable and experienced to the pros.
Thanks,
Romanus
34 An excellent way to start....
You've got a great idea for a product or service. You see it working in your mind, pleasing everyone who uses it. You're sure it would be a hit in the marketplace, ... if only you had _________________________ (fill in the blank).
Kick Start Your Dream Business offers a complete cookbook to filling that blank. In this work, Romanus Wolter explains in the simplest terms all the steps needed to make your idea a reality. His myriad practical suggestions, hints, and resources convert the most seemingly complex of recipes into a Betty Crocker cake mix. His approach leads you through the whole process, from adding more substance to your idea, examining the market, giving it life, to manufacturing or producing the product, marketing and finance, and making a business plan.
You'd be surprised how easy it is by following the recipes in Kick Start Your Dream Business. I know I was. Especially now that my book is on the verge of being published. All thanks to Romanus Wolter's book.
35 Easy to follow... and it works!
I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a business idea or who is already running a small business. This book combines expert knowledge with enthusiasm and heart. Wolter has a real understanding of the issues small business owners grapple with on a daily basis. It worked for me. Thanks to "Kick Start Your Dream Business," I had the tools to turn my creative passions into a successful livelihood. You can, too! Not only will you be inspired and motivated, you'll see how quickly your desires turn into results...and your dreams become reality.
36 inspirational and practical
Kick Start Your Dream Business is a must read for any first time entrepreneur. Romanus Wolter is motivating yet pragmatic, and he takes you through the entire process of small business ownership - from developing a name to the marketing strategy. This book should be required reading for anyone thinking about turning his or her dreams into a reality. It is packed full of great ideas, completely inspirational, and a great read.
37 New Business Lifeline
Romanus Wolter has assembled everything the new entrepreneur needs to know and presents it in a readable, doable way. At no point in this book did I think "I can't do that!!". The author keeps it simple and makes everything acheivable.
38 Making dreams a possibility
Romanus Wolter is truly inspiring! I have had the incredible opportunity to hear him speak and it was amazing! This man is truly motivating. When I was starting my small business he helped provide clarity, focus, and a foundation for action. His book is a must have for anyone with a vision of success.
