Business for Bohemians: Live Well, Make Money Hardcover – January 23, 2018

Before stumbling on this book, I had never heard of Tom Hodgkinson. Turns out he and his wife run the "Idler" magazine in the UK, as well as the Idler Academy, and, for a few years, a book store. Hodgkinson's book is meant as a guide for "bohemians" -- lefty, anti-capitalist types -- who decide they want to run a business of some sort. As such, he includes chapters on the basics of business plans, accounting, pricing, personnel management, and so on.I've never run a small business -- and don't plan to -- so I can't really judge how useful the information in this book may be. I imagine that it will be of some use, but is probably no substitute for either working in a small business before trying to run one or having an experienced partner.The book is very well written and filled with amusing anecdotes from Hopkinson's own experience. He made about every mistake possible in the early years of running his business, so he has many cautionary tales to tell. Since I'm also not a bohemian, I don't know whether the book is likely to convince many bohemians that they won't be selling their souls by operating a business.The book has a few problems. First, it's evident that at some point late in the writing of the book, he and his wife decided to close their bookstore. Since most of the advice is aimed at someone running a store, this development is clearly a bit of an issue. An advice book on running a business from someone whose business has failed (although the magazine and Idler Academy parts of his business are apparently still afloat) is not the most desirable volume around. When he closed the store, he could have rewritten the book, but not too surprisingly he didn't. The result is that through about 95% of the book, he writes as if the store is still open and even makes references to events at the store happening as he's writing. After he's already mentioned in passing that the store would soon close, it's a bit jarring to see an unrevised sentence like this one from nearly the end of the book, "Funnily enough, the bookstore side of things has worked quite well, and could work better if we were in a better location."Another, lesser, problem is that an attempt has been to adapt the book for American audiences. So, references to money are to dollars, rather than pounds. Taxes are paid to the IRS, which I suppose could stand for the UK's Inland Revenue Service, although my impression is that the IRS abbreviation isn't widely used in the UK. These changes aren't a big deal, but I would have skipped them. If American audiences can embrace the very British Harry Potter books, they can put up with currency references in pounds. Finally, the book lacks an index, which I think is a serious omission in a book intended as a how-to guide.Why, then, am I giving the book five stars? Because it was a quick and very entertaining read. If you are actually looking for a guide to running a small business, you may want to knock a star or two off my rating.

Long before the sociopathic mentally of corporate business, lifestyle business existed. Being in business is nothing new. We humans, have been trading and bartering for as long as we have existed. This book reminds us of how to be sane, moral, and happy being the master of your own life. The book focuses on those elements, the nuts, and bolts, we need to run a business, boring as bookkeeping may be.

I picked up Business for Bohemians after reading How to be Free by Tom Hodgkinson. There is a lot of practical advice, and application in the book. For example, Hodgkinson discusses different failures and successes they have had with The Idler over a period of time. As a small business entrepreneur, the examples he describes are experiences that many others encounter, but do not have a game plan to overcome. This is a must read for creatives, bohemians, artists, freelancers, and anyone thinking about starting a small business.

Not really what I expected. Seems to be another sell pamphlets on the internet push.

no complaints

Informative and entertaining. I once read a short book on America's Founding Fathers that related how Thomas Jefferson and others among them would get in financial trouble. The author concluded they were PROUD that they had no mind for bookkeeping, that they were intellectually above such practical matters. So can be bohemians, and this book (among its other benefits) is a good antidote to such snooty, artsy thinking. I even wrote down Hodgkinson's line "being chaotic is not charming and it is not bohemian. It will just waste you a lot of time." Now I just have to put that advice into practice. This book puts forth genuinely helpful information, but its often humorous tone reminded me of the purely comical THE VERY MINUTE MANAGER (a compliment).

A great guide for anyone starting a small business - or running one and not being sure why it isn't going better. There is little truly original here but it's a good collection of sound advice wrapped up in some lovely writing. It's practicality comes from it really speaking to the reality of the very small startup. The author is also very honest about his own failings and business struggles which makes it appealing and enjoyable read. If you want to be a billionaire, look elsewhere, if you want to run a successful small business you love, this could be perfect.

I was looking forward to reading this, after seeing it promoted at the Brighton Festival and it exceeded my expectations. Honest, funny and prepared to let us learn from his mistakes. Tom Hodgkinson is now a hero in our office and the book is being passed around! The writing style is completely transparent, unlike the turgid stuff that "proper" business people excrete onto the page. I wish this book had been written 20 years ago and that I had read it. Not often one stumbles upon such a delightful and useful book.

This book went on holiday with me whilst I tried to set up a ltd company, learned how to lease a premises, learned to love spreadsheets....yes it is possible ...and tried very badly to negotiate deals.I felt I had a friend and it made me feel less lonely.Watch this space to see how I got on in business. Its a great introduction and I think it should be taught in schools. Thankyou Tom :)

This is comfortably the the second best business book I have ever read - and certainly the best written

I loved this, easy to read as it was so funny and flowed very well. Very insightful with lots of practical examples of business lessons learnt