Oversubscribed By Daniel Priestley - BOOK REVIEW

Rating: 5 / 5
 
Business and enterprise is a journey. It doesn’t matter which books you read, you will inevitably make mistakes; that’s part of the process.
 
If someone presents you with a full roadmap to achieving your dreams you can’t skip fundamental steps and still expect to get where you’re going.
 
Yes, you can take shortcuts by implementing some ideas and concepts in an innovative way so that you drive straight through some stumbling blocks but there are certain fundamental roads you cannot skip.
 

​I feel all of Daniel’s concepts are actually easy to implement and don’t leave you asking a million more questions that you can’t answer yourself. Some of the successful people I follow seem to have gotten there by simply being in the right place at the right time without a system they can teach others to follow. Daniel Priestley isn’t one of those. This is why he’s used the same system to grow a few businesses. He’s a very impressive thinker.
 
Having a core team is one of his key suggestions.
 
I’ve been running my own business for over 3 years now and I’ve avoided employing people full-time because I thought it was a major hassle. I saw it as an inconvenience because I couldn’t be bothered to deal with employment legislation.
 
I’ve done a lot by leveraging third-party services such as contract manufacturers,  fulfilment houses and freelancers and it’s paid off as the $202,000 made on Amazon USA proves, however, it’s becoming clear that further growth will require a team.

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​I finished listening to Oversubscribed and two weeks after taking stock of where my business has gone I’ve realised that I now own my job! My inbox fills up at an atrociously rapid rate which is great because it means something is working but it also means I have to take my laptop on every holiday.
 
I can work from anywhere in the world, I only work a few hours a day and indeed I hold inventory in the US and in the UK now so I am essentially a one-woman multinational with no full time employees – even I don’t work full-time hours **gasp**. But, what’s the point of carrying your job wherever you go?
 
A business should reach a point where you can go away for two weeks without checking your inbox at all with an expectation that things will still run smoothly in your absence.
 
These are some of my reflections since reading Oversubscribed and I’ll definitely have more on the second listen of the audiobook but I’ve also taken fundamental action. This week I viewed offices for the first time and I am about to start advertising for two roles. One of the roles has been filled before I’ve even committed to the office facilities.
 
A fellow Cambridge grad and friend believes in the work I’m doing so much he’s coming on-board. He’s an engineer with a completely different skill set to mine so it’s a perfect complement.
 
Ultimately, when you read Oversubscribed you will more than likely be inspired by different elements of the book to the ones that inspired me. It all depends on where you are in your business. Employing people is a huge step but when you hire people each person is not just a cost centre but also a revenue centre.
 
A small business with a limited budget has to spend money in the right way so hiring the right people upfront is key. After that you need to track your progress weekly if not daily to ensure you’re on the right path. Having completed Daniel Priestley’s Key Person of Influence program I continue to learn so much from him and the community he’s built. For that, I am grateful.