Taking the Entrepreneurial Leap

At a time when entrepreneurship in technical and professional communication (TPC) is a crucial skill to have, the need for a single resource on what it takes to be an inventor and entrepreneur in the field of TPC communication is urgent. Author Brian Still shares his professional journey as a technical communicator, acknowledging the intellectual, emotional, and cultural challenges, and presents a practical and valuable roadmap for others working as technical communicators.

This practical overview provides a comprehensive guide, framed by real world experiences, of the invention and business creation process. It has been written for technical and professional communicators in industry and the academy who want to learn more about the process of invention, and the specific mechanisms, steps, requirements, laws, and variety of other variables involved in developing an idea into a recognized instance of intellectual property.

This book focuses on the unique process of creating, including journals, organizations, degree programs, and non-profit groups. Taking a technical/professional communicator’s perspective, this volume addresses such business basics as:






What it takes to start a business,



Understanding different types of incorporation, such as an LLC and a C corporation.



Creating software and hardware, and working with vendors and contractors on these projects.



Developing intellectual property, such as software licensing,



Using templates, samples, and how-to documentation



Personnel issues, such as hiring and firing employees,

Additional topics, such as how money can be raised, from whom, as well how to reward key people through equity and other means, are discussed as well.

Interviews with technical communicators who have taken on such challenges expand the perspectives of the author. Spread throughout this book are interviews with technical communicator entrepreneurs, including Carol Barnum, Bill Hart-Davidson, Jeff Grabill, and Joe Moxley, among others. Their voices and experiences extend Dr. Still’s perspective, offering up entrepreneurial models to follow that make this book a truly comprehensive, grounded overview of what it means, and what it requires, to be a technical communicator inventor and entrepreneur.

This book will a useful and practical guide for practitioners, students, and academics, and for anyone who identifies as a technical communicator or has an interest in becoming one.