Success Made Simple An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive

by Wesner, Erik; Kraybill, Donald B.

• ISBN13: 9780470442371
• ISBN10: 0470442379
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-03-22
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

The keys to better business from a thriving group of business owners-the AmishBusiness can be discouraging. According to US Department of Labor figures, only 44 percent of newly-opened firms will last four years. Amish firms, on the other hand, have registered a 95% survival rate over a five-year period. And in many cases, those businesses do remarkably well-as Donald Kraybill writes: "the phrase 'Amish millionaire' is no longer an oxymoron." Success Made Simple is the first practical book of Amish business success principles for the non-Amish reader. The work provides a platform of transferable principles--simple and universal enough to be applied in the non-Amish world, in a wide variety of business and management settings. Learn how to develop profitable and fulfilling enterprises as Amish explain how to build fruitful relationships with customers and employees, prosper by playing to strengths, and create an effective marketing story Includes interviews with over 50 Amish business owners outline the role of relationships in business and the importance of the big picture-taking in long-term goals, the welfare of others, and personal integrity Offers ideas on practical application of Amish business practices to non-Amish businesses, with bullet summaries at the end of each chapter reviewing the most important take-away pointsWith a focus on relationship-building and the big picture, Success Made Simple offers business owners everywhere the tools for better, smarter, more successful enterprises.

Author Biography

Erik Wesner is an independent expert on the Amish and their business practices, and previously spent a decade as a sales manager and record-breaking salesperson at Nashville's Southwestern Company. He divides his time between Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where he has strong ties to the Amish community, and Poland, the country of his roots. He also writes the popular blog Amish America at amishamerica.com, covering Amish business, culture, and other topics.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Preface: Unearthing the Secrets	p. xiii
A Note on Names	p. xix
Eye to the Horizon: Cultivating a Vision and Thriving Through Crisis	p. 1
Getting Smart: Hands-On Versus the Hallowed Hails	p. 27
Market-Bound: Excelling at Sales and Marketing	p. 49
Doing Unto Others: The Crucial Customer Relationship	p. 75
Choosing Up Sides: Getting the Right People in Place	p. 103
Fishing Lessons: Empowering Your Most Valuable Asset	p. 127
Around The Edges: Honing an Efficiency Mentality	p. 155
The Big Picture: Getting What You Came For	p. 183
Conclusion: Barn Raising	p. 205
Appendix Research and Interview Methodology	p. 207
Bibliography	p. 211
Acknowledgments	p. 215
About the Author	p. 217
Index	p. 219
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