Book Review
According to author and entrepreneur, Catherine Gladwyn, as she details in her new book The 20% Rule, life can and does get in the way of our greatest dreams and plans sometimes. And she knows this from first hand experience.
Author Catherine Gladwyn knows that once you’ve built your business, chances are you’d fight tooth and nail to make sure it survives anything. Poor health, pandemics, life’s curve balls – but how? How do you prepare for the unknown? Catherine has personally been there, twice! Her business survived her having to take four months off after neurosurgery – with no loss of income. She also survived the pandemic – with no loss of income.
In her new book, The 20% Rule, Catherine shares how you can ensure your business is safe, sustainable and profitable – even if you’re not there to oversee things. In her new book she shares her 20% Rule®; her philosophy is that no one client should take up more than 20% of your time – or your income - and should and cover everything you need to consider to ensure your small business is safe, sustainable and profitable. Everything in in the book is based on lessons she has personally learned herself, or lessons that have been learned by those she mentors. Her goal with the book is to save others the hassle of learning those lessons the hard way, because sometimes, life gets in the way.
Author quotes
All too often, business owners are trying to run before they can walk. They want the freedom that being a business owner can bring, but don’t realize the sacrifice that’s needed.
Throughout this book, I’ll encourage you to become known as the expert in your field, so that when someone needs your specific services, the first person they’ll think of is you.
Becoming the expert is actually easier when you are known for what you do and not who you serve. If you’re only known for who you work with, how are you going to get strong leads, strong referrals and strong recommendations?
About the author
For Catherine Gladwyn, starting on this journey to business owner was daunting, she had all the usual fears, fear of failure, fear of losing face, fear of going broke, fear of letting myself and her daughter down, but she also had the added worry of failing because of her health. Equally though, her health was the reason she wanted to be her own boss, to improve it and manage it. Catherine had a pituitary (base of brain) tumour removed in 2012, then radiotherapy in 2014 which destroyed the tumour but also the pituitary gland so she has (secondary adrenal deficiency) Addison's Disease too, but she is happier than she has ever been in her life! With Addison's Disease life has to adjust a little as her body relies on meds throughout the day to stay alive and various hospital appointments throughout the year. But, working for others became hard work - Catherine’s dream was to be her own boss so she could manage her health. She started her business as a Virtual Assistant in 2016 and is now earning more than she ever has, she doesn’t get stressed and she wakes up every day excited to work. And this is why she published her first book, How to be a Virtual Assistant. Since it's release in 2018 it's become a multi-award winning bestseller, ranking above Simon Sinek, Seth Godin and Elon Musk in the Small Business Book category too! How to be a Virtual Assistant helps others start and run their own Virtual Assistant business. Because Catherine believes that no one should struggle in life and work need not be hard. Then in late 2019 she had the news that the tumour was back for a third go. She knew that day might come, so she had always built her business to be manageable should life get in the way - working to her 20% Rule® amongst other things. After neurosurgery she had to take four months off - completely - to recover. She couldn't work. No way. She couldn't even scroll through her phone, without having a nap, for about a month. However, because of how she'd built the business Catherine experienced no loss of income. She had a team, and had multiple income streams but more importantly she created a safe, sustainable, profitable business and now, she shows you in her second book, The 20% Rule® how to ensure your business is safe, sustainable and profitable.
Why LoA loves it….
At Lionesses of Africa, we love women entrepreneurs who are fighters, who are tenacious, who do not give up in the toughest of circumstances and who realize their dreams despite the challenges that life throws at them. Catherine Gladwyn is one such fighter and an inspiration because of the life and entrepreneurial journey she has managed to navigate so successfully, despite the odds. Her new book is insightful, honest and practically really useful to others who may be experiencing real challenges of their own and in need of a different kind of roadmap to navigates themselves to a better place. This is a great read for all those who need to feel that everything is possible, despite the inevitable curveballs that life throws at you. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo of Lionesses of Africa