Book Review Business Made Simple

By Aby Fewel

“I wish I had this book forty years ago.” - my dad, known to some as, Bob Sullivan. This pretty much sums up my thoughts about Donald Miller’s Business Made Simple. 

While my business is not quite as seasoned as my dad’s, I am in my second year of business with my nutrition counseling practice, My 3 Meals, and grabbing on to whatever advice I can get my hands on to avoid the “terrible twos.” 

As a registered dietitian, I am navigating clients through the rough waters of nutrition information. In sessions, we’re breaking down each day hour by hour to find moments for nourishment and identifying barriers that may be getting in the way of meeting a health goal. As a business owner, this book offered me that hand to hold and steer me through basic concepts like leadership, sales, marketing, management, and productivity. 

Being someone with a master’s in nutrition but without any formal business education, I can’t say if the author’s description of the book being a “20 dollar MBA” rings true or not, but, I can say that it has helped me answer the question: What is that one task to accomplish today that will create forward momentum with my business? Prior to reading this book, that one task changed hour to hour if I’m being honest. The concepts discussed helped me to structure and prioritize those daily tasks that so often can feel overwhelming and impossible. 

New and veteran business owners alike can agree that running a business can often mean not knowing where to put your energy so we can end up throwing our energy in every possible different direction all at once. Each task can easily snowball into another task. Each new idea can pull focus away from the original endeavor. It is exhilarating at the best of times but exhausting much of the time.

This book and accompanying daily videos act to ground you into tackling these key aspects of business in a way that is, you guessed it, simple. You’ll come out on the other side feeling more confident in establishing a mission and vision, avoiding getting stuck in the victim mentality, prioritizing important tasks, and talking about your business concisely. 

For me, the most valuable part of using this book was establishing a mission and pinning down my “why” I do the work that I do. These things feel obvious until you sit down and actually try to write them out. My reason for wanting to have a nutrition counseling practice is because I believe that every person deserves to have a great relationship with food and their body. My purpose is to create a space where people can work toward achieving this. After reading this book, I am able to ask myself “does this task address my purpose?” and let the answer guide my energy for the day. 

If you are someone who tends to run in the opposite direction of the business self help book section, I recommend giving Business Made Simple a try. No need to wait forty years like my dad to reap the benefits of this book for your business.

Aby Fewel of My 3 Meals

Registered Dietitian

Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor