Ripples from the Zambezi by Ernesto Sirolli

[David]

Passion, entrepreneurship, and the rebirth of local economies.

This book picked me up when I was down. At the time I read this I was disillusioned in regards to the breadth and complexities of tasks I would have to master. Sirolli abolishes the myth of 'sole trader' and introduces you to the business trinity of production, marketing and finance. The Sirolli Institute studied the 50 most successful companies in the world and found one thing they all had in common: when they started up in the garage, there were always two, three or four people involved, never one. He says in all his years helping to start businesses, his team has never found a person who loves marketing and finance. Thus no one should start a business alone. This was music to my ears, here's a quote from the book...

"In every community, no matter how small, remote, or depressed, there is somebody who is scribbling figures on a kitchen table. If we can be available, for free and in confidence, to help that person go from the dream to establish an enterprise that can sustain that person and his or her family, we can begin to change the economic fortunes of the entire community."

The stories of the people and communities he has worked with are truly inspiring. Ten out of Ten.

http://www.sirolli.com/