A few days back, Steve Spalding gave me a copy of his new book, All the Little Things. He asked me to read it and give him some thoughts about it. I haven’t provided him any feedback yet, but I could not wait to post my thoughts about his book.

I really respect Steve as a person. He has proven to be knowledgeable and trustworthy. He’s also incredibly intelligent, creative and has good business sense. (Full disclosure: Steve didn’t/won’t pay me a cent for that or anything else I say in this post.) I say all of that because I have first-hand knowledge about Steve and he’s shown me his mettle.

All the Little Things is  the Cliff Notes version of building a startup; it’s the important things you’re going to need to know if you’re going to pass. (And, by pass, I mean build it until you get the payoff…whatever that is for you.)

All the Little Things is a book for entrepreneurs about how to build, launch and make money from a successful web project. It could be an application, a website or a blog; it doesn’t matter. Steve tears away a lot of what keeps people from succeeding with their project and gives you what you need to know to come out of the gate running.

Like everything almost everything else in life, your success depends on your plan. Your plan depends on your knowledge.  That’s where All the Little Thingscomes in.

All the Little Things Rocks

Yes, I said, “rocks.” (And, it does.) This little gem (no pun intended) glitters from the minute you start reading it. It is chock full of common sense steps you can take to increase the chance of your project survives, and yes, dare I say flourish?

The real beauty of this book is that it isn’t filled with the swill that so many “experts” pawn. If you’re looking for meat and potatoes, chows on.

So, what did I get out of it?

No matter what you’re building, the steps are essentially the same. It’s not enough to plan; you have to plan for the right things. Making money is an awesome idea, but creating something that solves a problem will get you there. Ideas are a dime a dozen; my grandma has good ideas. I am not my target market. Entrepreneurs are not made out of the same things as other folk.

If you are in a young startup or are have the next Google killer bouncing around in your head, do yourself a favor and read this book.

I highly encourage you to buy a copy of Steve’s book. Not because it can change the course of your business (which it can) or because it can change some of how you think about your project (which it will), but because good work deserves recognition. If you read the book, you will see Steve has put an incredible amount of time, effort and himself into it. He has also unselfishly put the book up online for you to read.

The moments when real opportunity presents itself for our benefit are rare. Don’t let this one pass you by.