Chicken Lips, Wheeler-Dealer, and the Beady-Eyed M.B.A.: An Entrepreneur' Wild Adventures on the New Silk Road

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Pick up this book and strap yourself in for a wild ride! Frank Farwell lets you peer into the heart and soul of an entrepreneur as he tells of building WinterSilks from the ground up. From staring into the abyss of failure to seeing a glimmer of light on the path to success, this story has it allsheer guts, dogged persistence, personal sacrifice, naive stumbling, learning and adaptation, plain old luck, high anxiety, sleepless nights, and more. Farwell tells his tale with keen observation and great wit. If you want to be an entrepreneur, this book tells you what it's all about.Alan R. MeyerCo-founder and CEO, Ocularis PharmaFormer EVP & CFO, PathoGenesisBrutally honest and funny, this entrepreneur's journey from start-up to sale has a Hollywood ending. The book is hard to put down and, equally important, the never-say-die story is a wonderful lesson for anyone in the world who wants to start and run their own business.Dan SchwartzFormer Chairman and CEO, Asian Venture Capital JournalFounder, President and CEO, Qiosk.comAnyone wanting to become a successful entrepreneur should read Frank Farwell' book. His amazing journey from an under-capitalized start-up to owner of a multimillion dollar company is told with warmth and humor. His disasters and successes and the astonishing characters he meets along the way will be recognized by entrepreneurs around the world. Who says that you can' have fun while making money?!Bill HeineckeFounder, Minor GroupAuthor of The EntrepreneurFrank Farwell provides us with a rare glimpse into the mind of an entrepreneur. From humble beginnings, Farwell ultimately built the highly successful WinterSilks catalog. Part of what makes reading this book more fun and memorable than the typical business book is that it is peopled with characters the reader can learn from, understand and enjoy, such as "Old Pro" and "Gray Flannel Godzilla." This engaging and easy-to-read book is full of practical advice for would-be entrepreneurs, and reinforces critical business principles. It also encourages focusing on the human sidemotivating employees, suppliers... and even bankers like "Chicken Lips."Michal ClementsSenior Principal, The Cambridge GroupThe most honest, insightful entrepreneur's memoir I've ever read. Today, it seems that everyone who undertakes a business venture is deemed an entrepreneur. Frank Farwell is one of the few who deserved and earned the title. Chicken Lips strips away the prevailing romantic illusions about entrepreneurship and provides an honest in-depth account of the WinterSilks story. Every businessperson or prospective entrepreneur can benefit from the lessons Farwell learned on the new Silk Road.Bill PinkovitzProfessor, University of Wisconsin-ExtensionFormer Director, Wisconsin Small Business Development CenterThe reader sees here the link of the retail supply chain to China in a far more revealing story of complexity and personal risk than any Harvard Business School case. Farwell tells the gripping story of a commercial chess game in which the opposing pieces are unknown in number and in strength. He adds the story of bankers willing to buy rotten mortgages but reluctant to lend to the entrepreneur with emerging but delicate value.John BalkcomPresident Emeritus, St. John's College, Santa FeFormer Partner, Booz Allen & HamiltonI wish I had this book when I was teaching management and marketing and counseling small business owners. Farwells story is based on first-hand experience and reads like a suspense novel. It covers target market, product mix, pricing, promotion, and distribution; planning, organization, and leadership; perseverance, adaptability to change, crisis management, watching the numbers, developing mentor relationships. . . . Name the issue and it is here, in a fast-paced, humorous style.Allen RaymondMPA, Princeton University, Politics and EconomicsFormer Instructor, U.S. Military AcademyAs a business school professor, I can testify that we are now far better prepared to help budding entrepreneurs than when Frank started his business 30 years ago. But as a former entrepreneur, I can testify that nothing has changed. It's all therethe euphoric highs, the despairing lows, the pressures on the entrepreneur's family, and the sense of personal loss when the company is fi nally not yours any more. Entrepreneurs past and present everywhere will recognize themselves in Frank's story.Patrick TurnerAffiliate Professor of EntrepreneurshipINSEAD Asia CampusIf you are considering a jump from the uncertain world of corporate employee to starting a business of your own, this book will encourage you while also serving as a cautionary tale. Farwell tells his story in a compelling and humorous fashion, taking you through the sometimes-harsh reality of entrepreneurship: people issues, personal sacrifices, international disasters, cash flow crises, evolving business processes, leadership challenges and financial intricacies. In the end, his passion for having his own businessand the desire to avoid being an employeeis the force that allows him to emerge victorious.Dr. Deborah StreeterBruce F. Failing Sr. Professor of Personal Enterprise and Small Business ManagementThe Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management,Cornell UniversityThis book is required bedtime reading for every budding entrepreneur. At the end of a long hard day of having many things go wrong and a few things go right, it's reassuring to know that success is possible and that you are not the first to follow the often zigzagging trail a growing business follows.David KetchumPresident, Asia Pacific, Bite Communications

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Frank Farwell worked as a cub newspaper reporter for the Claremont, New Hampshire, Daily Eagle, and Vermonts Windsor Chronicle, then enrolled in Northwestern Universitys M.B.A. program. After two semesters he took a summer job at Times-Mirror Magazines in New York and stayed on to become managing editor of Ski magazine, and then staff editor at Ziff-Davis Yachting. Four years later, tired of publishings modest pay scale, he quit gainful employment to found a tiny company in his attic. His staff- and freelance-written articles have appeared in The New York Times, Signature, Ski, Backpacker, Yachts and Yachting (U.K.), AOPA Pilot, IFR, The Guide to Cross Country Skiing, Ski Business, Harrowsmith, Kiplingers Changing Times, The Kazi (Japan), Cross Country Skier, Outdoor Life, Marathon World, Nordic World, and In Business. He has been a commercial- and instrument-rated pilot with 2,000 hours flight time, and in his 50s raced canoe and cross-country ski events throughout the Midwest and eastern Canada. He has three children and lives in the northern Great Lakes region. This is his first book.