3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Empowered: The Business Owner’s Guide to Leadership & Success by Dominica Lumazar is a must-read for every business owner. The book is divided into three parts: Leading for Success, Business Value, and Business Clarity. There is also a bonus chapter. The book is so rich that I may not perfectly describe its contents in this book review. I wish I could sit under Dominica’s tutelage because I feel she has much to teach that she couldn’t pen down. You’d have to read this book yourself, and you’d feel empowered within a few chapters into the book.Focusing time and energy on what our target audience actually wants, rather than what we might think they want, is key.
What I like most about this book is how Dominica surmounted all stumbling blocks and became a successful businesswoman. Dominica had trouble learning in school. Her teachers and counselors talked her down. As if that was not enough, she had an accident at the age of 18 which affected her brain. She lost some memory of the little she struggled to learn and had to learn from the basics all over. Notwithstanding, she encouraged herself and said,
That is a true definition of determination. I began to wonder, “How could a young girl who has difficulty with education, with no support from anyone, be thinking of owning her business enterprise? What was driving her towards such enormous vision?”The accident ended up being one of the best things to ever happen to me. It forced me to do a major course correction in my personal life; without it, I wouldn’t be the woman I am today. I was determined to make sure the accident didn’t define who I was. I didn’t want to be a victim. I wanted to rise above my misfortune, push through the physical and mental pain, and keep going.
Dominica, being eager to succeed, joined her sister, Franchesca, in her Love Bird Chocolate business. After a short while, Franchesca handed the business over to Dominica, and her journey to becoming an entrepreneur began. Dominica’s core keys to success were written in-between lines. One would have to pay close attention to details to see those core keys.
According to Dominica, the ultimate goal of your leadership role is empowering others. In this book, Dominica presents five simple leadership foundations that will keep you focused on empowering others. Her leadership styles are reasonable and applicable, somewhat similar to the leadership styles explained in Harvard Business Reviews’ On Managing People. Dominica opined, “There is not just one effective leadership style, but there are strategies and styles that are more effective than others.” Well, I somewhat agree, but I think that leadership style should be based on a contingency; not only based on the leader’s personality, and should not be a permanent style as what worked out fine today may not work out fine tomorrow. Different settings require different approaches.
I like the fact that Dominica was very realistic, and she added action steps at the end of each chapter with thought-provoking questions to help business owners comprehend and practicalize the principal keys in each chapter. I can’t pinpoint anything I like least about this book. All or most of the things she said were relatable. If you are aspiring to own a business, this is a perfect material to study and learn.
The author’s writing style was very descriptive, expository, and persuasive. The book’s pace was slow and well-developed. Each chapter was engaging with action steps. Unfortunately, I found several errors, over twenty. There were comma splices, missing determiner, missing spaces, missing apostrophes, missing commas, missing prepositions, etc. It hurts me to rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I really wish I could give it 4 stars because it’s worth 4 stars, even more than 4 stars. The knowledge in this book is powerful enough to transform business enterprises and individuals positively. I strongly recommend this book to business owners, employees, and those who would like to own a business.
PS: The errors aforementioned do not distract the reader nor diminish the contents of this book. I only mentioned them for the purpose of this book review. So, go ahead, grab a copy and learn how to be Empowered, and how to empower others.
******When we put our own gains aside and focus on how to help our customers first, that’s when everyone wins.
Empowered
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
