Reading List: The 10% Entrepreneur

UPDATED: March 19, 2016
PUBLISHED: March 19, 2016

Everyone knows that building a startup means hard work and long hours, with payment in stock that may turn out to be worthless. Indeed, that’s part of the glamour. But it also keeps some people with good ideas from getting started. Patrick J. McGinnis, a Wall Street venture capitalist, says don’t worry: You can “live your startup dream without leaving your day job.”

Related: The 5 Emotional Challenges You’ll Face as an Entrepreneur

Devote 10 percent of your time and capital to pursuing your dream, McGinnis says, and you can keep your job and the security that goes with it. McGinnis, who identifies himself as a 10-percenter, provides a detailed plan to identify a promising first project. He shows how to invest resources in a savvy way, and how to develop something you love doing into a business. Best of all, until you reach your dream of an independent business, McGinnis promises you will perform better at your day job with a step-by-step plan.

The 10% Entrepreneur
By Patrick J. McGinnis
April; Portfolio; $28

Chauncey Mabe is a freelance writer, book critic, and blogger in Miami, Fla. For 23 years he served as Book Editor and Senior Entertainment Writer at the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale. He was Book Blogger for the Florida Center for the Literary Arts, the parent organization of Miami Book Fair International, from 2009 to 2012. He also blogs for the Betsy Hotel South Beach hotel, which sponsors literary events year round. His reviews and feature stories have appeared in publications such as the Toronto Globe & Mail, the Serving House Journal, Inspicio, the Palm Beach Arts Paper, the Baltimore Sun, the Juneau Empire, and the Chicago Tribune.