You need a "Reality Check"

I am a big fan of Guy Kawasaki. When Guy started his blog a few years ago, I thought that his blog should really be named as GKU (Guy Kawasaki University). It is a reference site thousands of entrepreneurs.

Over the last couple of years, I had printed several of Guy’s articles for my reference. So, I was delighted to see Guy’s new book – “Reality Check“. Reality Check is a like a collection that can easily be titled as “Best of Guy Kawasaki” over the years.

Now, there is one problem with the book – that is you can’t finish reading it easily. You get sort of “stuck” in a good way as there is so much information in each chapter. I wanted to write a review on this blog after I finished reading the entire book but that will take at least a year or so. By that time, Guy would have come up with another masterpiece.

So the deal was that I will write about the book now. I also ask Guy one simple question and here it is:

Knowing what we know today, what will be your 5-point checklist for entrepreneurs to survive and thrive in 2009?

And here is Guy’s response:

1. Can you explain your product/service in under 30 seconds?
2. Can you market your product with no budget?
3. Can you get to market in six months or less?
4. Can you sell something besides advertising?
5. Can you avoid venture capital until you need money to scale, not create?

On my side, I have stopped reading “Reality Check” and started using it as a reference. It is now a permanent fixture on my bookshelf.

Thanks Guy.