Q: How is READY different than business books?

A: It’s spiritual, it’s fun and it’s helpful. No business book will tell you exactly how to start your business, and if it did, the result would be cookie cutter and lacking the deep attachment to your creation the way building something from scratch where you figured out the answers that pertain to your unique concept would be. READY teaches entrepreneurial lessons in the form of narrative, clear applications to business, and allows you the opportunity to reflect on the key lessons from each chapter and apply to your business concept. It introduces both tactical steps and timelines as well as spiritual realities that come up when taking such big risks and pursuing something purposeful.

 

Q: Who is READY primarily written for?

A: READY is written for the entrepreneur who already has their big idea and needs to think through their concept before putting all of their resources or energy into the idea. It’s written to help a budding entrepreneur appreciate all the work that can go into birthing a business concept, and helps determine the appropriate timeline to bake a well thought baby business. It is written from the perspective that while you can avoid certain pitfalls, often times the answers are well within reach and you get to enjoy trusting yourself and the intuition within. It is written for anyone who is thinking about quitting their job and wanting to know all that they may be waking up to while finding purpose in their work. Because it parallels the readiness timeline of a human baby, many female entrepreneurs find this book fun and reassuring, however male readers can relate to the emotions and rawness alike. 

 

Q: What can I expect to learn from reading READY

A: Both tactical and spiritual intelligence on starting up a business, including true, raw stories that not many other business owners have written about.These lessons and applications to business are largely in the form of examples from the author’s start up experience, where she started a retail concept involving tea, natural health and relaxation in Arlington, VA. 

 

Q: I’m not really a spiritual person - will I get helpful takeaways for starting my business still?

A: Ready is equally “do this” and “avoid that” as much as it is “wish someone would have prepared me for that ego blow.”  While told from a very nurturing and even metaphysical at times perspective, it’s the combination of both the yin (softer, spiritual) and yang (sharper, tactical) lessons on the aggregate that make READY so helpful. There will be things that you learn about yourself in the business start up process. Starting a business, doing something risky, aligning with your purpose… all mean you’re about to wake up to a deeper relationship with yourself and hopefully others. Call it spiritual or call it simply truth, it will happen and the more your open to it, the more rewarding the lessons and the depths will be. 

 

Q: Why is the author playing on the terminology used with birth or having a baby?

A: Not just because it’s fun and we take ourselves too seriously, but also because when she was starting her own business (before having human children), she often joked that having a business must be what having kids is like. The exercises in patience, the responsibility, the calling deep on internal resource reserves to navigate the dicey waters of parenthood. While she was starting her first business, she jotted down all the surprises in startups that she experienced and realized she had some helpful content that would have helped her better time her quitting of her job, but laughed to herself that all of this would have been the equivalent of the human baby readiness books. She wrote the parody book before having birthed her own human children and then rewrote it with the help of her editor, Lauren Taylor Shute Editorial after having more actual baby metaphors to toss in.  READY is playful and nurturing and starting a business is a big undertaking. The book aims to be a loving guide to help you prepare for something so big, in a way that’s not like sterile business books. By using the birthing and baby metaphors, the points are received and the result is entrepreneurs having grace around the lessons and evolutions that happen when creation is at play. 

 

Q: What bodies of work or authors have informed the advice found in READY?

A: while Ready is largely based on the author’s own experience in starting a retail storefront and secondarily her work in non profits and consulting with other businesses in their infancy, DePalma references the bodies of work that was particularly useful in her journey.  

 

Q: Are there sequels for READY?

A: Not yet, but eventually! The outlines are written, but the growth and of course evaluating when it’s time to pivot or do different for your creation book ideas are but twinkles in the author’s eye.  Sometime within the year, expect status updates on where the rest of the story and lessons can take an entrepreneur. 

 

Q: Is READY available as an audio book?

A: Not presently, but isn’t out of the question. 

 

Q: Is the author available for interview?

A: Yes! She’s thrilled to share her perspective, opinion and advice. Please contact her at www.lyndseydepalma.com or through her instagram account, lyndseydc.

 

Q: Where can I learn more? What other tips should I expect there?

A: Visit www.lyndseydepalma.com for insights and inspiration. She contributes to the blog and invites other, well vetted thought leaders to do the same.