I have just finished reading Simon Dolan's book: “How to Make Millions without a Degree” and it is fair to say that this book could change my life. And it could change yours, too.
It has reinforced several things I already knew and it has given me ideas that could help me change my working life for the better.
Simon Dolan was -politely, it must be said- invited to leave his grammar school at the age of 16 by his headmaster. He hadn't been a bad boy, he just didn't see the point of learning what the school wanted to teach him. Such as Latin. So he left without any real qualifications.
But now Simon is a millionaire many times over, runs a highly successful nationwide accountancy firm, has invested in an airline, is involved in publishing and also has a motor racing team. But Simon is certain of one thing, had he got a degree, he does not believe any of the above could have been possible.
I found his writing style irresistible. Several times I made the mistake of wanting to read a few more pages of his book on retiring for bed, only to find that I had read it until 1.15am and I had to get up at 6am!
Simon makes some very interesting and telling points. For example, whilst a degree might not be essential for business success, learning and gaining knowledge is almost certainly vital.
He points out why trying to get on to Dragon's Den is a waste of time. He also points out a fatal flaw in the approach of many people who do appear on the programme and why, in his opinion, they are wasting their time. That made for very sobering reading.
Simon tells you exactly how he started his accountancy business. He points out certain pitfalls that you can avoid when you start your business (you don't have to start up an accountancy service, but one gets the impression that Simon would not mind if you did) and reveals an interesting and telling fact.
The only reason why he started a bookkeeping and accountancy business was because he was good at doing books and realised that many small businesses just did not have the time to do their books. And he hit upon a method of easily duplicating his business so that it became a highly successful nationwide concern with clients all over the country.
He points out that the technique of NLP can also be usefully and fruitfully employed to help boost your earning potential.
He tells you why you need a website and how you can use it, and Google, to encourage people to beat a pathway to your door and become customers.
He makes it sound simple and perhaps that is because it is simple. I only wish that I had been able to read this book when I was 16. However, even at my fairly advanced age, I believe that I will be able to learn from Simon's book and earn more money from my business efforts.
Parts of the book had "Wow!" moments, and made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, so connected with the message had I become.
If I follow what I gleaned from this book, will I make a million? Perhaps I will. But even if I don't, I believe I shall certainly make a damn sight more money than if I had not read this remarkable book!
The book costs £9.99 and is published by Troubadour. It is available from the Amazon link on That's Books.
Even if you do not intend on starting your own business, this highly readable book could still teach you a few new tricks! It will make an ideal Chirstmas present, too.
