By J Allis
Harper Collins, 2005
$27.95
This is a part memoir, part business book by the creator of the juice chain Boost Juice. Refreshingly, the author doesn’t claim to have been born with an entrepreneurial spirit. J Allis didn’t set up Boost Juice until she was 35. But for someone who left school at 16 with not much more than good maths and drawing abilities, she was obviously blessed with plenty of guts and gumption which she has used to turn the concept of fresh juice bars as a junk food alternative into a multi-million dollar business with franchises across Australia. Allis’s general impatience and strong personality are quite apparent in the book; that’s no bad thing. But, like a 650ml yoghurt based smoothie, maybe too much for some readers to take. This is a boot camp of a book and not for the faint hearted.
The advice she offers is credible and learnt from experience. She argues, for example, that if things aren’t going well for an employee, they might usefully be asked whether they have the information and resources they need to fulfil their job requirements. Seems obvious? It is, but it is rarely the practice in some organisations. The recipes for success are nothing ground breaking and the ‘be yourself no matter what’message is trite but Allis has some new angles and insights to offer and her story is juicy in its own way.