About the Author

Doug Hickok has been an entrepreneur for most of his working life, but he started out with a full-time job as a radio and television reporter when he was seventeen years old. He won awards for his reporting and was on his way up the corporate broadcasting career ladder in his twenties when he changed his mind and changed course. As much as Doug loved the life of an on-the-street newsman, the realization was growing that he did not enjoy being employed in a job. He chafed at the limitations it placed on his work, his time, and his personal life, and he finally quit when his patience ran out. He decided that the freedom he sought might be in starting his own business, but he promptly failed with the first one and the one after that before he learned enough to enjoy some success. Three of the biggest things Doug learned were: -Winging it without a plan doesn't work -Dealing with employees is the hardest part of a business -You need to know a lot about what business is and how it works before you can run one right. There came a point where Doug's learning-through-experience business education finally clicked, and today he is an Executive Coach whose company-Smart Strategy Consulting-works with entrepreneurial companies to get both the people and business sides of those organizations working well together. Doug is also adjunct at the Robins School of Business at the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia. Doug Hickok wrote this book because he is passionate about entrepreneurs being able to build solid, successful businesses that support them in having all the joy and freedom they want in life. This is the first book of three in his Smart Strategy series about how to start and grow your businesses to any level you choose.