The 10% Entrepreneur: Live Your Dream Without Quitting Your Day Job

Do you feel like you could be an entrepreneur? If so, like me, you would have seen books that boasts the following selling points: "Fire your boss! Quit your job! Live your dream! Find freedom! And get rich while you are at it!"I have always found these statements a little unrealistic and insensitive to the circumstances of most readers, ie. those who have spent years of their life honing their skills at their careers and with obligations (family, mortgage, lifestyle, etc) - where "taking the jump into the unknown" is not only risky but can also be irresponsible. While living in a dorm room on nothing but instant noodles to build a billion dollar app sounds like a romantic notion, this is not a reality that many of us will happily trade for.On that note, this book is the best i have ever read that bridges the gap between a career veteran and an entrepreneur. It shows the reader that it does not have to be a choice of one or the other, and gives ideas and guides on how to traverse the common ground between the two - to utilise all the skills (and money) that the reader has accumulated in his career to feed his entrepreneurial hunger. And keeping the day job he is already so good at.I love this book as it is aimed at a more mature audience with a respectable career and/or saved capital and shows them how to leverage these in the world of startups, without having to start from scratch.Top read for anyone wanting more to life than their careers without sacrificing the benefits their careers provide.

‘The 10% Entrepreneur’ forces us to give a closer look to an omnipresent feature of the modern world: the search for meaning at work. The book tackles two opposite but complementary trends. On the one hand, the recent generations find themselves in a more fragmentary and automated work environment. There has never been so much distance between the work force and the final product of their work, consequently rendering work somehow meaningless. On the other hand, an equally powerful phenomenon appears: media presents entrepreneurship as the epitome of professional realization. This is what the author calls Entrepreneurship Inc, a generated perception of entrepreneurship as the perfect balance between financial wellbeing and freedom. The first trend is an inexorable reality and the second one is a fallacy created by the media that focuses only on successful cases and neglects the fact that successful entrepreneurship is more often than not accidental.It is in this aspect where ‘The 10% Entrepreneur’ becomes an extraordinary resource to tackle professional meaningless from a realistic perspective. The book’s main idea is that your day job and your entrepreneurial ventures are compatible: your day jobs allows you to pay for the bills and your side ventures allow you to bring meaning into your professional life. ‘The 10% Entrepreneur’ is a rare book because of it comprehensive nature. It does not only develop the main idea but offers a series of working principles – referred to as entrepreneurial ‘mind-set’ – and practical strategies to become an entrepreneur. It also includes a detailed explanation of the different ways in which you may become a 10% entrepreneur, how to give your first steps, how to do a due diligence analysis and some interesting reflections on personal marketing.Throughout, the book is full of examples of several entrepreneurs in different industries and various geographical areas. This was my favourite part of the book, since it displays an unusual epistemological honesty by not only focusing in positive evidence, i.e.: successful ventures, but also in failed ventures. In these cases there is always a lesson behind the story.In connexion with the previous point, another relevant feature of this work is that it offers a sincere approach to risk assessment. It is not a ‘go-and-do-it’ kind of book. On the contrary, the author makes a point of the causal necessity between your day job and your side ventures. The idea that the security of your day job is what allows you to take risks in your 10% is of paramount importance in the logical structure of this book. In this same line, the author offers throughout the chapters a series of exercises of introspection to better understand your talents and your capacities in order to create synergy between your ambitions and your circumstances.In summary ‘The 10% Entrepreneur’ offers an intelligent approach to the modern trends surrounding entrepreneurship that is based in prudence, feasibility and self-knowledge.

Needs more case studies. Really this whole book could have been condensed into a magazine article. Only helpful if you are yet to go into business and sure you don't want to leave your day jobs.

What a disappointment. I listened to a webinar that included an interview with Patrick where he sounded like a switched on type of person. His book was a series of banalities that most of us could write in an afternoon. Please, please, don't waste your money and the paper this book is printed on/

I bought this after seeing Patrick speak at an event. This book is based on his experience and as he is living this himself makes this even more appealing.

If you are in a fear of jumping to your own business and risking your full time job then read this book and you will see another aspect in life you have been missing !!

Superbly written, well researched and encouraging. Worth a good read for anyone thinking about how to create optionality.

This book has changed the way I view entrepreneurship. The author finds a way to engage the reader and explain things super clearly. I often think that business books are boring to read but this is an exception : it's super interesting, moves quickly, and gives you tips that you can ACTUALLY apply. Nothing unrealistic.Highly recommended for anyone who wants to get involved in startups!