Lots of books tell you how to deal with the practicalities. This one tells you how to deal with yourself.

You should read this book if:

You are thinking of running your own business

You are already running your own business but are finding it a bit of a struggle

You are having trouble motivating yourself

You are frustrated with books that don't deal with the emotional issues

You work for a company but wish to harness the qualities of someone who works on their own

Working on your own can be the best feeling in the world. The glory is all yours when things go well... and the problems are all yours when they don't. When you do actually start running your own business, the first thing that you have to confront is that the whole thing is down to you. This is not a one-off sensation at the beginning. In fact, it never quite goes away, even after you have had a successful start and have established a bank of regular customers.

You owe it to yourself to make business enjoyable even if the central reason for it is to make money. The central principle of this book is that working on your own doesn't mean that you are destined to feel lonely or isolated. It can actually be the best feeling in the world. Free of the constraints of company life, or brimming with enthusiasm at the prospect of at last being able to realise the benefits of your own idea, you are all set to experience the thrill of being your own boss.

Teach Yourself Running Your Own Business attends to what are sometimes referred to as the softer issues: how to conduct yourself, how to understand why other people behave as they do, ensuring that their actions don't upset you unduly, establishing how to do the things you don't like without becoming unbearably grumpy, and so on. In short, how to be successful and stay sane.

This book helps to prepare you for the unknown and make running your own business more of a pleasure. It's a bit like having a business partner who has already been through what you are likely to face next. It also frequently lends a humorous angle to take the edge off some of the trickier issues you are likely to encounter.

Do it your way and make it work for you. Because that's what working on your own is all about.