Joel, I am so sorry this happened to you. Obviously the author of that book does not know you, and never took the time to read your articles. If he had done a better job at his book research, and not twisted a few words out of context, he would not have written those words. He's an example of how NOT to write a book. For instance, had he read your article at the Federal government's official business portal, Business.gov (where authorship on the Industry Word blog is by invitation only -- and YOU got an invitation due to your excellent reputation), he would have seen where you cautioned people considering a franchise to do a complete due diligence and not let emotions get in the way: http://community2.business.gov/t5/The-Industry-Word/Researching-That-Franchise/bc-p/12306 Or he would have seen your article where you caution prospective franchise buyers to make sure they understand themselves, their working habits and their personalities: http://community2.business.gov/t5/The-Industry-Word/Do-You-Have-That-Special-Personality-Needed-To-Be-A-Franchise/ba-p/9192 Or he would have read your article where you said this: "If you know how to thoroughly research and vet a franchise, your risk will be lowered, significantly. If you rush through your due diligence, or skip a step in the process, you are risking financial failure." http://www.thefranchisekingblog.com/2008/07/top-3-franchise.html And I can point to countless other examples of where you have advised caution in buying a franchise -- and have done just the opposite of preying on people's emotions. But since the author did not do his own due diligence, he treated you unfairly and accuses you of something that simply isn't supported by the facts. And that's a shame.

Hi Joel, Interesting coincidence - I just wrote an article for OPEN Forum about good and bad reasons to start a business if you've been downsized or laid off. In many cases people just want to replace their income. If income replacement is their primary goal, they're better off getting a job. It's very very tough to start a business and get back to making an executive-level pay package in a short period of time. It takes years to get back to that level of pay in a business. Of course, after a number of years, having your own business can really pay off... but not right away. Anita

Agreed, Steve. Free is not a business model -- it's a marketing technique. Not even always a strategy -- sometimes a mere tactic. I thought the book Free had good insights, but I would have preferred that it not contend that giving away something for free was a new economic model (...shades of the DotCom era and the so-called "new economy" and all that).