"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《創業者聖經》（The Bootstrapper's Bible by Seth Godin）是本好書。以前我看過一些關於創業方麵的書，涵蓋的多是關於具體經營，如融資、産品研發、營銷等職能領域，或是關於某具體行業（主要是互聯網）的話題。

在創業實踐中，經營和行業方麵的知識固然不可或缺，但也絕不是全部。比如，具體的一個商業創意，在企業建立過程中會調整、變化，甚至衍生齣全新的業務領域，又比如，由企業管理者轉化來的創業者，需要延長其"時間視野"（time horizon），再比如，閤夥人不僅需要專業領域的契閤，也需要性格上的互補等等，這些都是關於創業的一般性規律。

粗略地區分，前者是局部的、硬性的、變化的，而後者則是全局的、軟性的、恒久的。前者可以歸為“創業之術”，後者則可稱為“創業之道”。對我來說，《創業者聖經》之所以是本好書，主要就是在眾多講述“創業之術”的齣版物中，《創業者聖經》是為數不多的討論“創業之道”的書，而且寫的不俗，於我心有戚戚焉。

對於一個創業者，“創業之術”易得，“創業之道”難求。《創業者聖經》值得認真閱讀，並時時從中獲得啓示和指引。