*This is a book review of WorkParty: How to Create & Cultivate the Career of Your Dreams by Jaclyn Johnson
For a synopsis of the book, click this link >> WorkParty.
QUICK FACTS
Author: Jaclyn Johnson
Release Date: August 21, 2018
Genre: Nonfiction, Self-help
Number of Pages: 256
SJ Rating: 92%
THE REVIEW
First things first, I love her writing style!! It’s very conversational, almost like I’m chatting with someone over a cup of coffee, which is the writing style/voice I like to read in nonfiction works.
***Before we go any further, I just want to toss out the usual disclaimer that I am not a professional book reviewer, and this is just a jumbled combination of my opinion, thoughts, and different quotes directly from the book.***
The entire book is filled with different quotes that provide necessary inspiration and advice, such as “You aren’t good or bad at anything you haven’t tried,” “There is nothing more expensive than a missed opportunity,” and “If you’re your own best friend, you can never be betrayed.”
As someone who is completely new to entrepreneurship (I took a couple of marketing courses in high school, but it was mainly busy work), there were several entrepreneurial terms I didn’t know. Fortunately, throughout the book (as well as the glossary in the back), Jaclyn defined these terms, which I genuinely appreciate. Some of the definitions include:
*Imposter syndrome: the feeling of being inadequate despite continued success
*Whitespace: the unique value your business adds to an industry
*Bootstrapping: launching and growing without any external capital or investment
*Personal brand: simply how you represent yourself to the world (on personal brand, she also says “Your personal brand will transcend the companies you create and/or the companies you work for.”)
*Chapter six is called “Building Your Tribe,” and she defines a tribe as “the people who are going to help you, as you them, along your career journey”
Despite the biographical antidotes the book contains, especially in the beginning, the book is full of fantastic startup/entrepreneurial business advice, such as “Don’t trend hop” and “Don’t be afraid to show your employees your true emotions and how grateful you are,” as well as tips on varying topics including:
*Giving the perfect pitch
*Questions to ask yourself when moving your side hustle to your main hustle
*Six employees every startup needs
*There’s literally an entire chapter dedicated to negotiation tips
A lot of big names (or what I consider to be big names) were dropped in the book. Jaclyn mentioned Mr. Kate attended Create & Cultivate 2013 in Downtown Los Angeles, which left me flabbergasted. When talking about people being rejected before making it big, she provided several examples, including Anna Wintour being fired from Harper’s Bazaar before becoming the well-known editor-in-chief of Vogue she is today. There’s an entire chapter of testimonials and reiteration of everything talked about in the book (I hope that made sense) from other female entrepreneurs including Jen Gotch (Ban.do), Aimee Song (Song of Style), Rebecca Minkoff (Rebecca Minkoff), and Christene Barberich (Refinery29).
After powering through the helpful, inspiring brilliance that is WorkParty, these are some of my favorite quotes and tidbits of advice I got from the book:
*”I promise you will have an identity crisis and you will rebrand everything more than once, but the important thing is to iterate with your business and continue to define it on your own terms.”
*”Your career, your job, that one bad meeting, it doesn’t make you. It certainly won’t break you.”
*”Haters can be good motivators if you let them.”
*”Going to events is where being an authentic human is your best bet.”
*”You are not born into this world with a predetermined number of friends, and life is an exercise in gaining, keeping, and shredding relationships.”
*”Power structures exist in every relationship.”
*”When you have the opportunity to sell, you should remove money from the equation.”
*”Always be paying it forward. Always be building bridges, not burning them down. The favors that happen, the people who believe in you over your first years in biz, are priceless — the favor economy is real.”
*”Everything you do with a brand could change your own brand. There is a lot of co-influence in that.”
*”Being yourself will help you avoid the addiction of ‘like’ chasing. You know, only posting things that you think your audience wants to see. People pleasing won’t get you anywhere.”
After reading WorkParty, I want to go to a Create & Cultivate Summit, and I want to meet Jaclyn Johnson. Some nonfiction and “self-help” books lack personality, and this book was full of personality. As I stated earlier, I love her writing voice, and after avidly listening to the WorkParty podcast, I could pretty much hear her reading it to me (it’s not as weird as it sounds).
This book is full of great advice for any woman wanting to start a business and/or completely destroy the boys’ club. If you need help creating and cultivating the career of your dreams, I highly recommend checking out this book. Not only is it a super easy, but it’ll definitely help you out and motivate you to get started.
Next book review: The QB Bad Boy and Me by Tay Marley
