Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur »

Pamela Slim is a management consultant and professional life coach trained by O Magazine columnist Martha Beck. Her rapidly growing blog about entrepreneurship has been covered by media ranging from The New York Times to Fox News. This is her first book.

Millions of people hate their jobs and would love to start a small business. Very few actually try because the process feels as scary as jumping off a cliff. No matter how boring or stressful a job might be, it's hard to give up the salary and benefits. But for some, taking that leap can be the smartest, happiest decision of a lifetime.

Pamela Slim, a former corporate training manager, went solo twelve years ago and has enjoyed every bit of it. In 2005, she started a blog called Escape from Cubicle Nation to help others make the same jump; it quickly attracted a loyal following and national media attention.

Pamela explores both the big emotional issues of leaving the corporate world and the nuts and bolts of launching a business. She explains the amazing new opportunities to use social networks, Web marketing, and "lifehacking" technology to quickly become profitable, while still having time for family and other pursuits. Drawing on anecdotes from her own career, as well as true stories from her coaching clients and biog readers, Pamela will help you weigh your options and make a successful escape if you decide to go for it.

Publishers Weekly

Inspired by her successful blog of the same name, life coach Slim shows readers how to navigate the terrifying yet gratifying transition from corporate drone to entrepreneur. She strikes a perfect balance between emotional encouragement and practical advice: "Hating your job intensely," she writes, "is not a business plan." What's here is: the nitty-gritty of getting a business off the ground, legal considerations, making the best use of social networking sites, the components of a business model, organized creative brainstorming, financial advice, shopping for self-paid insurance and benefits, and helpful anecdotes of real-life entrepreneurship. With her humorous insights into corporate life and an appealing no-nonsense yet empathic tone, Slim deals swiftly and incisively with anxiety, fear and hesitation. Readers will cheer as she teaches the tricks behind finding "what makes you purr"-what people will pay you to do, what you have a great passion for and what you are genetically encoded to do. This is a standout in the start-your-own business genre. (May)

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Foreword Guy Kawasaki vii

Introduction 1

Section I Opening Up to the Opportunities 5

1 I Have a Fancy Title, Steady Paycheck, and Goad Benefits. Why Am I So Miserable? 7

2 If It Is So Bad, Then Why Am I Afraid to Leave? 26

3 Detox from Corporate Life 42

4 What's Really Involved in Moving from Employee to Entrepreneur? 63

Section II The Reality of Entrepreneurship 87

5 What Are All the Ways to Be Self-employed? 89

6 How Do I Choose a Good Business Idea? 114

7 Recruit Your Tribe 138

8 Rethink Your Life: Options for Scaling Back, Downshifting, and Relocating 168

9 Do I Really Have to Do a Business Plan? 182

10 Define the Spirit of Your Brand 210

11 Test Often and Fail Fast: The Art of Prototypes and Samples 230

Section III Make the Money Work 247

12 Look Your Finances in the Eye 249

13 How to Shop for Benefits 275

Section IV Making the Leap 291

14 Dealing with Your Friends and Family 293

15 Line Your Ducks in a Row 314

16 When Is It Time to Leave? 335

Acknowledgments 349

Notes 351

Resources 355

Index 359