Book Review – Business for Punks

Book Review – Business for Punks – Are we money punks?

I have never written a book review before but when reading this book, it was so closely aligned to how I feel and what we are trying to do, I felt was a good opportunity for a blog.

My overall opinion is that it is a business book with a difference, and never before have I started a business book and not been able to put it down like a novel.

Written by James Watt the co-founder of Brewdog, it is written with honesty, openness and a quirkiness that resonated with me.

There is a lot of discussion about the mission and the crusade and everything is centered around this. It got me thinking about us and starting out on our business journey and about The Money Friends own mission – to make money and finance easy for all, as easy as 1+1. No-one ever saying ‘I’m rubbish with money’ again.

Key topics that come through the book are;

· Throwing out the rule book

· Quotations from famous ‘punks’, and

· Challenging the status quo.

From someone who had numerous 360 feedback from colleagues saying to continue to challenge the status quo – you can see why I started to like this book.

What do Nicola and I have in common in our live’s? For various reasons we both challenge the stereotype.

The second section of the book explains finances in really simple terms, and then the third challenges the need for copious amounts of marketing budget, and the need for loads and loads of business plans…. Which for someone who has worked with budgets you may think I disagree with but I don’t, - at the end of the day it is just numbers on a page and they are only as good as the action taken.

What comes out though is the need to ‘KNOW YOUR NUMBERS’. Which I have written a blog about – so important to know your basics. ‘Keep a handle on numbers and have faith in your mission’. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

I have spent a lot of career when saying I am an accountant following it with but not a boring one….. I am not your typical accountant. I was given feedback recently that one of my key skills is taking complex topics and making them simple with no jargon. This comes from my need to have things explained to me like a 5 year old. This book does this – a business book for everyone.

Towards the end of the book it talks about chaos – again resonates with my life as a working single mum who just cracks on. Embrace the chaos. It has a brilliant quotation from Buddha “Chaos is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence” James Watt calls Buddha a happy punk.

So from this book I have decided we are money punks!!! But more than that this book has given me the motivation to keep on our crusade even if people laugh saying you need to be an expert to understand finances, or you need to be well off to get financial advice….. we will continue against these people.

I am not sure I will ever have a career writing book reviews but when a book is written and answers questions where you have been thinking that you are different then it deserves to be championed in my opinion. It was a refreshing read and take on business and clearly it has worked for them.

The book is so closely aligned to what we are trying to do and what we can help with from personal finances to corporate seminars, or business financial coaching so reach out if you need any support to ‘money punk’ your business.

Good luck with your missions.

Laura and Nicola x