Pamela Slim, a former corporate training manager, left her office job twelve years ago to go solo and has enjoyed every bit of it. In her groundbreaking book, based on her popular blog Escape from Cubicle Nation, Slim explores both the emotional issues of leaving the corporate world and the nuts and bolts of launching a business. Drawing on her own career, as well as stories from her coaching clients and blog readers, Slim will help readers weigh their options, and make a successful escape if they decide to go for it. aOf course Pam Slim is brilliant, funny, experienced, and thoughtful, but more than that: sheas clear. Buy it.a a Martha Beck, bestselling author of "Finding Your Own North Star" aWhat a treat! Imagine that Dilbert, Peter Drucker, and Dr. Phil did a mind meld and wrote a book that was funny, savvy, and chock full of empathy. Pamela Slimas masterpiece provides the best mind set and moves for making a clean getaway from the corporate grind.a a Robert I. Sutton, Stanford professor and author of "The No Asshole Rule" aJust like Pam. Sheas true and her "Escape from Cubicle Nation" is, too. Pam gives you a process to add sanity to the scariest moment in your career a the day you realize that you want to stop working for the man and start running your own show. Practical, yep. Inspiring, uh-huh. Humorous, of course. Spot on for cube farmers, no doubt. Pamas lived it, observed it, coached it and now has captured it so you can make some of the most important decisions in your life a and just maybe escape from that cube farm.a a Rich Sloan, StartupNation aWhen you decide to make the jail-break of a lifetime, you want Pam Slim by your side.a a John Jantsch, bestselling author of "Duct Tape Marketing" Pamela Slim is a popular blogger, career coach, and the author of Escape from Cubicle Nation. She lives with her family in Mesa, Arizona. Table of Contents   Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Foreword Introduction   SECTION I - Opening Up to the Opportunities Chapter 1 - I Have a Fancy Title, Steady Paycheck, and Good Benefits. Why Am I ... Chapter 2 - If It Is So Bad, Then Why Am I Afraid to Leave? Chapter 3 - Detox from Corporate Life Chapter 4 - What’s Really Involved in Moving from Employee to Entrepreneur?   SECTION II - The Reality of Entrepreneurship Chapter 5 - What Are All the Ways to Be Self-employed? Chapter 6 - How Do I Choose a Good Business Idea? Chapter 7 - Recruit Your Tribe Chapter 8 - Rethink Your Life: Options for Scaling Back, Downshifting, and Relocating Chapter 9 - Do I Really Have to Do a Business Plan? Chapter 10 - Define the Spirit of Your Brand Chapter 11 - Test Often and Fail Fast: The Art of Prototypes and Samples   SECTION III - Make the Money Work Chapter 12 - Look Your Finances in the Eye Chapter 13 - How to Shop for Benefits   SECTION IV - Making the Leap Chapter 14 - Dealing with Your Friends and Family Chapter 15 - Line Your Ducks in a Row Chapter 16 - When Is It Time to Leave?   Acknowledgements NOTES RESOURCES INDEX PORTFOLIO Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi-110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England First published in 2009 by Portfolio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.   Copyright © Pamela Slim, 2009 All rights reserved Portions of this book first appeared on the author’s Web site. The author gratefully acknowledges the individuals who have contributed their stories to this project. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA Slim, Pamela. Escape from cubicle nation : from corporate prisoner to thriving entrepreneur / Pamela Slim. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN: 9781101052532   While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.   Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or int