Making It

By Mark Edmondson

Was this a novel or a guide to running a successful business? I was intrigued. The cover gave nothing away, and the back blurb was equally vague. I settled down to what was to become for me a very interesting novel.

Have you ever been bored to tears and wanted to throw in a steady job that pays the bills and keeps you employed nine to five? Well Laurie, the main character in this novel, had the urge to do just that, and the thought kept niggling away at him to strike out on his own.

This story rang very true to me because I have been there and met some of the truly ruthless business types that Laurie comes across in his quest to become a successful entrepreneur.

Apart from being a highly entertaining novel, I would recommend this as a must read for any budding businessman. In down to earth terms the author illustrates that all success has a cost in personal relationships, family and friends. He shows us how you can trust know one and that you must always trust and verify. In Laurie’s life the streets are paved with traps for the unwary.

Unfortunately for Laurie he is not content to be a successful, self-made man, he seeks approval from the sceptical love of his life, and she, Sally, seems to have the upper hand for much of the time.

In any business there is an undeniable stress factor and the more successful Laurie becomes the more this factor kicks in. His business cannot stand still: it has to flow like a river. He has to make bigger and tougher decisions, decisions that affect the lives of others. His own health is put at risk.

Then there are the internal staff rivalries to contend with. He needs the wisdom of a ‘Solomon’ and because his various branches are logistically far apart, he rarely gets the full story. Ambitious managers are constantly striving to undermine his authority and show him up as a ditherer: whilst putting themselves in a better light, as they too attempt to slither up the greasy pole.

I was hooked from beginning to end and believe me the end is well worth waiting for. The plotting is superb and at no time does the author telegraph the final result.