"Seth Godin may be the ultimate entrepreneur for the information age." ("Business Week")

Getting ready to start a small business especially with little or no money on hand is an adventure, to say the least. Plenty of books offer inspiration, ideas, and roadmaps, but "The Bootstrapper's Bible" is the first to combine them all.

Author Seth Godin, a successful bootstrapper in his own right, tells in fascinating detail his own story of how he built a multi-million-dollar business with almost nothing. Godin also shares the inspirational stories of dozens of others companies (from Dell Computer to Eddie Bauer) to encourage budding bootstrappers to parlay a great idea into a profitable business.

Readers will want to soak up every one of Godin's "Nine Magic Rules of Successful Bootstrapping," which include details on:

* Finding start-up funds and mentors

* Avoiding or surviving every small business pitfall

* Balancing work and home

* Being successful in the bootstrap phase and beyond

西斯·高丁的《创业者圣经》（The Bootstrapper's Bible by Seth Godin）是本好书。以前我看过一些关于创业方面的书，涵盖的多是关于具体经营，如融资、产品研发、营销等职能领域，或是关于某具体行业（主要是互联网）的话题。

在创业实践中，经营和行业方面的知识固然不可或缺，但也绝不是全部。比如，具体的一个商业创意，在企业建立过程中会调整、变化，甚至衍生出全新的业务领域，又比如，由企业管理者转化来的创业者，需要延长其"时间视野"（time horizon），再比如，合伙人不仅需要专业领域的契合，也需要性格上的互补等等，这些都是关于创业的一般性规律。

粗略地区分，前者是局部的、硬性的、变化的，而后者则是全局的、软性的、恒久的。前者可以归为“创业之术”，后者则可称为“创业之道”。对我来说，《创业者圣经》之所以是本好书，主要就是在众多讲述“创业之术”的出版物中，《创业者圣经》是为数不多的讨论“创业之道”的书，而且写的不俗，于我心有戚戚焉。

对于一个创业者，“创业之术”易得，“创业之道”难求。《创业者圣经》值得认真阅读，并时时从中获得启示和指引。