UHV business dean publishes book about starting businesses
When the University of Houston-Victoria’s School of Business Administration dean was working as an entrepreneurship professor, he developed some clear ideas about what works when starting a business, and he decided to convey that knowledge in a new book.
Ken Colwell recently published “Starting a Business QuickStart Guide: The Simplified Beginner’s Guide to Launching a Successful Small Business, Turning Your Vision Into Reality and Achieving Your Entrepreneurial Dream.” The publisher, ClydeBank Business, a division of ClydeBank Media LLC in Albany, N.Y.; approached him about creating a small business guide, and what resulted was his book.
“This book became a distillation of everything I learned through years of working with students, communities and entrepreneurs,” Colwell said. “I wanted to demystify some of the myths that surround the idea of entrepreneurship and what is needed to run a successful business.”
Colwell approached the subject from four main parts: the mental aspects of running a business, developing a clear value proposition, a workable business model, and how to turn all of those elements into a set of business plan media to convey a vision to a broad audience.
As he expands on each subject, Colwell’s book is designed to help people start and run their businesses. Often, he says, people consider a successful entrepreneur as someone who was born to run a business and has a certain personality type. But the truth is, anyone who is willing to put in the effort can run a successful business, he said.
“A lot of the mental characteristics needed to run a successful business can be developed,” he said. “If someone is passionate about his work and willing to work hard, all he needs is a bit of guidance, and he can be successful.”
Colwell gained some of his perspective on entrepreneurship when he was working in San Francisco during the dot-com boom in the 1990s. He studied the explosive business growth as part of his doctoral research.
“Being at ground zero for that huge growth in the technology business gave me a unique perspective,” he said. “To me, entrepreneurship is a creative act because like an artist, you are using innovation and creativity to build something new and valuable to society.”
Rhett Power, head coach at Power Coaching and Consulting, reviewed the book for Forbes. In his review, Power expressed appreciation for the book’s clear, simple approach to starting and running a business.
“Ken Colwell’s guide is exactly the motivational inspiration to lead you through those heady first months when you’re driven by excitement and nerves – and maybe a little caffeine,” Power stated in his review. “You’ll find yourself reaching for ‘Starting a Business QuickStart Guide’ more times than you expect, even after your startup is already humming.”
Colwell’s book can be purchased through multiple outlets, including Amazon, Google, Barnes & Noble and Walmart. It also is available as an ebook.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
