The Road Map to Rich
Joseph Michael Dickerson
By Alyce Wilson
The Road Map to Rich: A Lawyer's Perspective on Getting and Staying
Rich is awkwardly named: it should be The Road to Being Rich
or perhaps The Road Map to Wealth. Author Joseph Michael Dickerson
would have been better, still, to title it How to Be a Successful
Entrepreneur, because the book is really a primer for aspiring business
owners.
The book focuses on two main ways to achieve wealth: becoming an entrepreneur
or investing in real estate. Dickerson knows real estate very well,
having some personal experience in the field. However, right now many
economists might be skeptical of real estate as an investment. While
wealth-seekers can purchase the real estate cheaply, they may have to
wait until the market returns to see any real profit.
The book was published earlier this year, so no doubt when Dickerson
was researching and writing the work, the real estate bubble was just
on the cusp of bursting. For the past several years, real estate had
seemed like a secure investment, a lot less risky than the volatile
stock market. And no doubt, it will be again. However, it might not
be the best time for novices to enter the field.
Putting that concern aside, Dickerson provides some general pointers
for would-be entrepreneurs, laying out the major fundamentals, such
as the necessity for a business plan and for market research. These
topics are all addressed in a very general way, seldom taking up more
than a few pages.
While all the elements are fundamental to business success, the book
itself is not detailed enough to be a stand-alone, partially because
of the split focus between entrepreneurship and real estate investment.
If a reader of this book sought further resources to illuminate the
fundamentals discussed in this book, he or she could achieve success.
It would take a lot of work, however, and those hoping to find a get-rich-quick
scheme will be disappointed.
Rating: ** (Fair)
Ovation Books, 2007: ISBN 0-9790275-0-0
|
