Fashioning Reality: A New Generation of Entrepreneurship Review

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This book was an interesting read. Part of it was a story about a Canadian school kid who tranformed a hobby he had beginning at age 14 into a successful modeling agency. Another part of it had to do with describing the nuts and bolts of starting a small business and expanding it later. And then there was the author's message throughout the book that he thinks it's a good idea to have a business that is consistent with one's personal values.
Some might argue this book is nothing more than an advertising piece for the author's business: Ben Barry Agency. I must say, if that's why the author wrote this book, he did a pretty good job of accomplishing his goal. But the book has value for aspiring entrepreneurs, too. It tells the story of how the author made his business happen over time. And those stories don't often find their way into print.
Small businesses normally are started by people who merely want to enter a market and compete within it to make a profit. They accept the industry norms, the competition and clients within the market as givens. They may try to differentiate a bit so they can steal market share, but they normally don't try to buck the system too much. The story in this book is not about a normal small business. And I hope readers don't read it as tough it is. The author indeed bucked the system. But I certainly recommend the story be read and analyzed and hopefully used in some fashion when developing a business plan of your own.
I loved every time I saw the author talk about business plans, business models, and strategic planning. This is what entrepreneurship is all about. Do the research, the planning, and then write it up in the form of a business plan with a good business model included.
The author was a natural at marketing from a young age. Early in the book he boasts that he did not do any reading about business, nor had he taken any classes or seminars. But the thought processes he describes he went through back when he was 14 had a lot to do with sound marketing logic. He was big on reading soon thereafter, and he wasn't shy getting up in front of people and talking. And he wasn't afraid to reach out for counsel, help, and making cold calls on the phone.
My favorite chapters in the book were 15 and 16 which considered the following ten (or 20) questions:
1. What issue matters to me? Does business matter to it?
2. Who am I? Who can I become?
3. What do I know? What must I find out?
4. For whom am I speaking? To whom am I speaking?
5. What little do I have? How can I make the most of it?
6. What do I have to offer? How is it better than what others offer?
7. How do I sell my product? Do I also sell myself?
8. How do I run my business? Am I the boss?
9. Is my life my businss? Does my life include my business?
10. How do I make it to the top? How do I stay there?
I would have liked the book better if there had not been so much emphasis placed on the need for acceptance of non-traditional models in the fashion industry. I understand what the author was talking about, but I think he went a little heavy on it. And I don't think I needed to know that the author is gay. His sexual preference was irrelevant regarding the subject matter of the book. 5 stars!

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Fashioning Reality is the entertaining story of a young entrepreneur whose refreshing new approach is changing the fashion industry and influencing the popular perceptions of beauty in the media. Ben Barry takes the reader along to New York fashion shows an reveals the work of top modelling agencies, designers, cosmetic lines, and magazines. He shares his challenges, his successes, and his struggles to run a business that is consistent with his personal values.