I have yet to meet anyone who actually likes working in a cubicle, which only furthers the puzzling question of why businesses continue to stick their employees in such unproductive environments.  Whether your someone looking to become an entrepreneur or just someone who is sick of working in a cubicle, Pam Slim has the answer in her book Escape From Cubicle Nation.  In just over 300 pages, Pam hopes to take you from corporate prisoner to a thriving entrepreneur.  Does the book live up to the promise?  Read on for my full review.

Thriving Entrepreneur:

Pam Slim spent her earlier years in the typical corporate job, but later left for greener pastures.  She started her own consulting business where she found a successful career.  In 2005, she started Escape From Cubicle Nation as a blog and consulting service aimed to people escape corporate and start their own business doing what they are truly passionate about.  Her blog was later published into a book (same title) in 2009.


The first thing you should know is that Pam is the real deal.  She has taken the journey from corporate life into entrepreneurship and has been very successful at it.  Escape From Cubicle Nation combines Pam’s passion for entrepreneurship with the practical knowledge anyone looking to start their own business would want to know.  The books is structured best for someone who is just starting out and looking for some guidance on how to properly pursue entrepreneurship because as Pam says “Hating your job is not a business plan“.

Topics of Discussion:

Pam Slim spends most of her time in Escape From Cubicle Nation discussing the following topics:

• Fear: Why do you hate working at your job so much?  Even worse, why are you so afraid to leave it?  Overcoming fear is the first step towards entrepreneurship.
• Methods of Entrepreneurship: Pam discusses the many different ways one can travel down the road to entrepreneurship and what is involved with leaving your job to do so.
• Creating Your Business Plan: One of the first things you will want to do when starting a business is to create a business plan.  Pam walks you through the process of doing just that.
• Designing Your Business: Research, branding, and marketing are just some of the steps involved in creating your own business.  Pam outlines all of the major steps you’ll need to know along the way.
• Lining Up Your Ducks: Pam discusses things like insurance, finances, and other things one definitely needs to consider before make the leap full time into entrepreneurship.

Pam does a great job in discussing all of these topics providing both examples and general guidelines for each topic.  There are some great resources tucked away at the end of her book as well that I found extremely useful for additional reference and research.  The only real complaint I have is that while the book covers all the major topics for someone just starting out, it doesn’t go into the level of detail one might hope when discussing how one should go about perform specific steps such as registering a business for example – though a minor complaint only overall.

Worth Reading?

If you’re a current corporate employee considering the idea of starting your own business, then Escape From Cubicle Nation is an essential read for that thriving entrepreneur in you!  You’ll get all the information you could want for someone just starting out along with some additional resources and tools at the end of the book to keep you going long after the book has ended.  My personal favorite part of this book was the chapters on creating your business plan as Pam’s advice really helped me put some of my own work into perspective.