“Anything You Want” is a business and personal development book written by Derek Sivers, an entrepreneur and founder of CD Baby, an online CD store for independent musicians. The book was published in 2011.
The book is a collection of lessons Sivers learned from his experience of starting, building, and eventually selling CD Baby. It’s not a traditional business book; instead, it’s more of a manifesto or a guide on how to live and work according to one’s own rules.
In “Anything You Want,” Sivers shares his philosophy that you should only pursue a business idea if you’re really passionate about it, not just because you want to make money. He also emphasizes the importance of customer service and making your customers happy, and that your business should reflect your personality and values.
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Business Idea: You should start a business to solve a problem or to create something you wish existed, not just to make money. Sivers started CD Baby because he wanted a simple way for independent musicians, like himself, to sell their CDs online. He didn’t set out to start a big business, he was just solving a problem he faced.
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Customer Focus: The most important aspect of a business is its customers. Making your customers happy should be your primary focus. Sivers made sure that every customer interaction was personalized and memorable, even sending out quirky, fun confirmation emails that were a hit with his customers.
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Personal Values: Your business should reflect your personality and values. It’s important to stay true to yourself and not just follow conventional business wisdom. Sivers built CD Baby with a focus on helping independent musicians, not maximizing profits. This was a reflection of his own values as a musician.
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Saying No: It’s okay to say no to opportunities that don’t align with your vision, even if they could lead to more growth or profit. Sivers turned down opportunities that didn’t align with his vision for CD Baby, including potential partnerships and distribution deals.
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Letting Go: Knowing when to let go or sell your business is crucial. It’s important to understand when it’s time to move on to new challenges. When CD Baby stopped being fun for him and started feeling like a chore, Sivers knew it was time to sell the company.
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Business Growth: You don’t have to grow your business just for the sake of growth. It’s okay to keep your business small if that’s what you prefer. Instead of seeking constant growth, Sivers was content with keeping CD Baby a small, independent company that prioritized customer service.
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Trust in Simplicity: The simpler your idea, the easier it is to implement. CD Baby had a simple business model - musicians would send them CDs, they would sell them and then send the musicians their money. This simplicity made it easy for the company to operate and scale.
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Learning from Mistakes: Mistakes are not failures, they are opportunities to learn and improve. When a software update caused a major issue with CD Baby’s website, Sivers learned the importance of thoroughly testing new features before implementing them.
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Delegation: If you want your business to grow, you need to delegate and trust others to do their jobs.
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Passion: You should be passionate about your business. If you lose that passion, it might be a sign that it’s time to do something else. As CD Baby grew, Sivers hired people to handle tasks like customer service and shipping, enabling him to focus on the big picture.
These points encapsulate Sivers’ unconventional approach to business, focusing on personal satisfaction and value creation over profit or growth.
The book is short, straightforward, and filled with practical advice, making it a quick and inspiring read for anyone interested in entrepreneurship, business, or personal development.