
Unsexy Business
How 12 Entrepreneurs in Ordinary Businesses Achieved Extraordinary Success and How You Can Too
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Oliver Hunt
-
By:
-
Jamie Waller
About this listen
Forget the hype and the sexy headlines, this is where you’ll make your fortune.
In this revealing new book, Jamie Waller, entrepreneur and self-made multi-millionaire, shows how you don’t need to come up with some amazing new invention or app or raise millions to be a business success. What you need is hard work and determination - and you need to be looking for a business idea that is pretty unsexy if you really want to make it big.
We’re talking about businesses that collect debts, sell sofas, or ship goods - real, solid businesses that you probably use all the time - ones that won’t grab the headlines but can make you very, very rich. And that’s what makes unsexy very attractive.
These are ordinary businesses made extraordinary by the people behind them and their commitment to taking their businesses to the top.
Jamie has spoken to 11 amazing entrepreneurs who have created just this type of brilliant business and in face-to-face interviews, he uncovers the secrets to their successes and gets first-hand accounts of their compelling, and sometimes dramatic, business stories.
Jamie also tells his own inspirational story of how he took his debt collection business from nothing to £33m, facing stabbings and having a gun shoved in his face along the way.
Discover how you, too, can make it really big in business by ignoring the glitz and glamour and building your own unsexy business.
©Harriman House Harriman House (P)2019 Harriman HouseListeners also enjoyed...
-
Screw It, Let's Do It
- Lessons in Life and Business
- By: Sir Richard Branson
- Narrated by: Adrian Mulraney
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Richard Branson is an iconic businessman. In Screw It, Let’s Do It, he shares the secrets of his success and the invaluable lessons he has learned over the course of his remarkable career. As the world struggles with the twin problems of global recession and climate change, Richard explains why it is up to big companies like Virgin to lead the way in finding a more holistic and environmentally friendly approach to business.
-
-
Screw it, I just wasted my money!
- By MDTruman on 07-10-11
-
10x Is Easier than 2x
- How World-Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More by Doing Less
- By: Dan Sullivan, Dr. Benjamin Hardy
- Narrated by: Dan Sullivan, Dr. Benjamin Hardy
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dan Sullivan, the world's leading coach for highly successful entrepreneurs, wants you to know that achieving 10X growth is exponentially easier than striving for 2X growth. Most find this idea confusing at first because simply imagining 10X growth causes them to think they need to do 10X more work to achieve it. However, being a 10X entrepreneur is nothing like what most people think.
-
-
Best Book of the year for me!!!
- By Trenton on 05-15-23
By: Dan Sullivan, and others
-
CEO Excellence
- The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest
- By: Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, Vikram Malhotra
- Narrated by: Patricia Rodriguez
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Being a CEO at any of the world’s largest companies is among the most challenging roles in business. Billions, and even trillions, are at stake—and the fates of tens of thousands of employees often hang in the balance. Yet, even when “can’t miss” high-achievers win the top job, very few excel. For those who shoulder the burden of being the one on whom everyone counts, a manual for excellence is sorely needed. To identify the 21st century’s best CEOs, the authors of CEO Excellence started with a pool of over 2,400 public company CEOs.
-
-
Political Agenda took precedence over education
- By Raina on 05-30-22
By: Carolyn Dewar, and others
-
$100M Offers
- How to Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No
- By: Alex Hormozi
- Narrated by: Alexander Hormozi
- Length: 3 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The methods contained within this book are so simple, so instantaneous, and so effective, it’s as if they work by magic. If you implement even one tactic in this book, you’ll see the change in your prospects' demeanor. And you’ll know the $100M Offers method worked when you start hearing, “What do I need to do to move forward?” before you even ask for the sale.
-
-
Great content littered with filthy language
- By Amazon Customer on 09-29-21
By: Alex Hormozi
-
How to Get Rich
- One of the World's Greatest Entrepreneurs Shares His Secrets
- By: Felix Dennis
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Felix Dennis is an expert at proving people wrong. Starting as a college dropout with no family money, he created a publishing empire, founded Maxim magazine, made himself one of the richest people in the UK, and had a blast in the process. How to Get Rich is different from any other book on the subject because Dennis isn't selling snake oil, investment tips, or motivational claptrap. He merely wants to help people embrace entrepreneurship, and to share lessons he learned the hard way.
-
-
A picture is worth his 1,000 words
- By Jerry Fletcher on 09-18-21
By: Felix Dennis
-
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
- A Leadership Fable
- By: Patrick Lencioni
- Narrated by: Charles Stransky; introduction by Patrick Lencioni
- Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In keeping with the parable style, Patrick Lencioni begins by telling the fable of a woman who, as CEO of a struggling Silicon Valley firm, took control of a dysfunctional executive committee and helped its members succeed as a team. Story time over, Lencioni offers explicit instructions for overcoming the human behavioral tendencies that he says corrupt teams. Succinct yet sympathetic, this guide will be a boon for those struggling with the inherent difficulties of leading a group.
-
-
Clear Headed Guidance on Building Teams
- By Mark on 01-18-03
By: Patrick Lencioni
-
Screw It, Let's Do It
- Lessons in Life and Business
- By: Sir Richard Branson
- Narrated by: Adrian Mulraney
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Richard Branson is an iconic businessman. In Screw It, Let’s Do It, he shares the secrets of his success and the invaluable lessons he has learned over the course of his remarkable career. As the world struggles with the twin problems of global recession and climate change, Richard explains why it is up to big companies like Virgin to lead the way in finding a more holistic and environmentally friendly approach to business.
-
-
Screw it, I just wasted my money!
- By MDTruman on 07-10-11
-
10x Is Easier than 2x
- How World-Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More by Doing Less
- By: Dan Sullivan, Dr. Benjamin Hardy
- Narrated by: Dan Sullivan, Dr. Benjamin Hardy
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dan Sullivan, the world's leading coach for highly successful entrepreneurs, wants you to know that achieving 10X growth is exponentially easier than striving for 2X growth. Most find this idea confusing at first because simply imagining 10X growth causes them to think they need to do 10X more work to achieve it. However, being a 10X entrepreneur is nothing like what most people think.
-
-
Best Book of the year for me!!!
- By Trenton on 05-15-23
By: Dan Sullivan, and others
-
CEO Excellence
- The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest
- By: Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, Vikram Malhotra
- Narrated by: Patricia Rodriguez
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Being a CEO at any of the world’s largest companies is among the most challenging roles in business. Billions, and even trillions, are at stake—and the fates of tens of thousands of employees often hang in the balance. Yet, even when “can’t miss” high-achievers win the top job, very few excel. For those who shoulder the burden of being the one on whom everyone counts, a manual for excellence is sorely needed. To identify the 21st century’s best CEOs, the authors of CEO Excellence started with a pool of over 2,400 public company CEOs.
-
-
Political Agenda took precedence over education
- By Raina on 05-30-22
By: Carolyn Dewar, and others
-
$100M Offers
- How to Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No
- By: Alex Hormozi
- Narrated by: Alexander Hormozi
- Length: 3 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The methods contained within this book are so simple, so instantaneous, and so effective, it’s as if they work by magic. If you implement even one tactic in this book, you’ll see the change in your prospects' demeanor. And you’ll know the $100M Offers method worked when you start hearing, “What do I need to do to move forward?” before you even ask for the sale.
-
-
Great content littered with filthy language
- By Amazon Customer on 09-29-21
By: Alex Hormozi
-
How to Get Rich
- One of the World's Greatest Entrepreneurs Shares His Secrets
- By: Felix Dennis
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Felix Dennis is an expert at proving people wrong. Starting as a college dropout with no family money, he created a publishing empire, founded Maxim magazine, made himself one of the richest people in the UK, and had a blast in the process. How to Get Rich is different from any other book on the subject because Dennis isn't selling snake oil, investment tips, or motivational claptrap. He merely wants to help people embrace entrepreneurship, and to share lessons he learned the hard way.
-
-
A picture is worth his 1,000 words
- By Jerry Fletcher on 09-18-21
By: Felix Dennis
-
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
- A Leadership Fable
- By: Patrick Lencioni
- Narrated by: Charles Stransky; introduction by Patrick Lencioni
- Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In keeping with the parable style, Patrick Lencioni begins by telling the fable of a woman who, as CEO of a struggling Silicon Valley firm, took control of a dysfunctional executive committee and helped its members succeed as a team. Story time over, Lencioni offers explicit instructions for overcoming the human behavioral tendencies that he says corrupt teams. Succinct yet sympathetic, this guide will be a boon for those struggling with the inherent difficulties of leading a group.
-
-
Clear Headed Guidance on Building Teams
- By Mark on 01-18-03
By: Patrick Lencioni
-
The Lean Startup
- How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses
- By: Eric Ries
- Narrated by: Eric Ries
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched.
-
-
Informative, mature but not original or essential
- By Jason Comely on 02-19-13
By: Eric Ries
-
Your Next Five Moves
- Master the Art of Business Strategy
- By: Patrick Bet-David
- Narrated by: Patrick Bet-David
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the creator of Valuetainment, the number-one YouTube channel for entrepreneurs, and “one of the most exciting thinkers” (Ray Dalio, author of Principles) in business today, comes a practical and effective guide for thinking more clearly and achieving your most audacious professional goals.
-
-
Mediocre; few actionable take-aways.
- By Michael on 10-31-20
-
Buy Back Your Time
- Get Unstuck, Reclaim Your Freedom, and Build Your Empire
- By: Dan Martell
- Narrated by: Dan Martell
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How you use your free time will make or break your success. The secret? It’s not about working harder or finding more time to do work. It’s about designing the freedom to engage in the high-value work that brings you energy and fulfillment. This is at the heart of the message that has made Dan Martell the world’s most popular SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) coach. Now, in his first book, Buy Back Your Time, he teaches entrepreneurs at every level how to scale their business, fast, while avoiding burnout.
-
-
From Pain Line to Peace: This Book 📕 is My Escape Route to Time Freedom”
- By dayana on 09-18-24
By: Dan Martell
-
Gym Launch Secrets
- By: Alex Hormozi
- Narrated by: Alex Hormozi
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The step-by-step guide for gym owners to learn how to get more clients, how to make more per client, and how to keep them for life. This is the culmination of lessons learned while helping over 2500 gyms find massive success in a crowded and commoditized industry. Straight from the most profitable gym owners (over seven figures a year), the insights collected here are straight to the point, with no fluff.
-
-
Most Actionable Book Ever
- By Knejie on 10-30-22
By: Alex Hormozi
-
Sam Walton
- Made in America
- By: John Huey, Sam Walton
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meet a genuine American folk hero cut from the homespun cloth of America's heartland: Sam Walton, who parlayed a single dime store in a hardscrabble cotton town into Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world. The undisputed merchant king of the late 20th century, Sam never lost the common touch. Here, finally, inimitable words. Genuinely modest, but always sure of his ambitions and achievements. Sam shares his thinking in a candid, straight-from-the-shoulder style. In a story rich with anecdotes and the "rules of the road" of both Main Street and Wall Street, Sam Walton chronicles the inspiration, heart, and optimism that propelled him to lasso the American Dream.
-
-
Capitalism Is The Way
- By Nathan Ruff on 04-14-19
By: John Huey, and others
-
How I Built This
- The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World's Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs
- By: Guy Raz
- Narrated by: Guy Raz
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Great ideas often come from a simple spark: A soccer player on the New Zealand national team notices all the unused wool his country produces and figures out a way to turn them into shoes (Allbirds). A former Buddhist monk decides the very best way to spread his mindfulness teachings is by launching an app (Headspace). A sandwich cart vendor finds a way to reuse leftover pita bread and turns it into a multimillion-dollar business (Stacy’s Pita Chips).
-
-
GET THIS BOOK!
- By Mattye LaSuer on 01-16-21
By: Guy Raz
-
All In
- How Great Leaders Build Unstoppable Teams
- By: Mike Michalowicz
- Narrated by: Mike Michalowicz
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
ALL IN is the pinnacle book in Mike Michalowicz's Entrepreneurship Simplified series, setting the standard for building high-performing teams in today’s challenging work environment. Whether dealing with remote work, flex schedules, or generational divides, ALL IN provides a proven framework for recruiting top talent, transforming underperformers into superstars, and cultivating a culture where every employee is as dedicated as an owner.
-
-
Mike Always Delivers
- By Carlos on 04-03-24
By: Mike Michalowicz
-
What It Takes
- Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence
- By: Stephen A. Schwarzman
- Narrated by: Stephen A. Schwarzman, Drew Birdseye
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Blackstone chairman, CEO, and co-founder Stephen A. Schwarzman, a long-awaited book that uses impactful episodes from Schwarzman's life to show listeners how to build, transform, and lead thriving organizations. Whether you are a student, entrepreneur, philanthropist, executive, or simply someone looking for ways to maximize your potential, the same lessons apply.
-
-
A very boring self congratulatory victory lap
- By ---- on 10-26-19
-
Street Smarts
- An All-Purpose Tool Kit for Entrepreneurs
- By: Norm Brodsky, Bo Burlingham
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
People starting out in business tend to seek step-by-step formulas or rules, but in reality there are no magic bullets. Rather, says veteran company-builder Norm Brodsky, there's a mentality that helps street- smart entrepreneurs solve problems and pursue opportunities as they arise. Brodsky shares his hard-earned wisdom every month in Inc. magazine, in the hugely popular "Street Smarts" column he cowrites with Bo Burlingham. Now they've adapted their best advice into a comprehensive guide for anyone running a small business.
-
-
This great audio was originally called The Knack!
- By morton on 12-16-11
By: Norm Brodsky, and others
-
Small Giants
- Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big, 10th Anniversary Edition
- By: Bo Burlingham
- Narrated by: Bo Burlingham, Sean Pratt
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's an axiom of business that great companies grow their revenues and profits year after year. Yet quietly, under the radar, a small number of companies have rejected the pressure of endless growth to focus on more satisfying business goals. Goals like being great at what they do, creating a great place to work, providing great customer service, making great contributions to their communities, and finding great ways to lead their lives. In Small Giants, veteran journalist Bo Burlingham takes us deep inside 14 such remarkable companies.
-
-
fantastic book for small company builders
- By Amazon Customer on 08-01-17
By: Bo Burlingham
-
What It Takes
- How I Built a $100 Million Business Against the Odds
- By: Raegan Moya-Jones
- Narrated by: Raegan Moya-Jones
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Raegan Moya-Jones never thought of herself as an entrepreneur. She was full-time corporate cog in her 30s, with a family to help support. Sick of her micromanaging boss, she quietly started a company in the wee hours of the morning while her daughters were asleep - and once that side business, aden + anais, hit the $1 million mark in revenue, she quit to work on it full-time, which now generates over $100 million a year in revenue.
-
-
An absolute must read!
- By Mallory Pierce on 10-29-19
-
High-Hanging Fruit
- Build Something Great by Going Where No One Else WIll
- By: Mark Rampolla
- Narrated by: Mark Rampolla
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Mark Rampolla filled a notebook with potential start-up ideas, his wife asked him some tough questions. What about this idea is exciting, beyond the possibility of a profit? How will it fit into a life that makes you and your family happy? How will it change the world? Eventually Mark found his great idea: coconut water. He had seen the developing world use coconut water, but this valuable resource was being discarded in the US. While taking on the beverage industry was a big goal - high-hanging fruit - it was worth the risk.
-
-
10 Chapter Infomercial
- By KIM WILLIAMSON on 02-16-20
By: Mark Rampolla