The author goes through his success formula to become a CEO at his young age of 26. Ephren is definitely a good model for all young kids. In fact, this book should be a must-read for teenagers who are searching for what they want to do when they grow up.

The essence of his success comes from his inner drive and his ability to learn all he needs to learn from books, coupled with the selective mentors. It’s hard to find a good mentor like John Vandewalle, who taught him about evaluating a business and turn it around for profit. Boy, I wish I had that kind of mentor during my MBA years.

Some good questions to ask your potential mentors:
– How did you get into your business?
– What kind of education or training helped you most?
– Who helped you along the way?
– How much money does it take to get started?
– What’s the best source for capital for this kind of business?
– What does it take to be successful?
– What are the hardest things about the business?
– What do you like best about it?
– What do you like least about it?
– What brings you the most customers?
– What organizations do you recommend for people in the business?
– What local organizations have been the most useful and beneficial to you?
– What would you do differently if you were starting out today?
– What have been some of your biggest mistakes?
– What was your biggest triumph?
– Where do you see the business going in the future?
– Would you recommend it for someone like me?
– What’s the best way for someone to get started in the business today?

A lot of the growth/success recipes mentioned in the book is no different than “Think and Grow Rich” and other author’s ideas. But the messages are put in the way appealing to the youths. This is a good thing.

I particularly like the way he pushes the young people to be become entrepreneurs. They definitely have a lot more to gain and less to lose when they’re young. But it’s never too late.

I believe Ephren still has a lot to prove himself. He’s still young and inexperienced. I suspect his success image may be over-marketed. Checking the stock value of his company, Capital City (Symbol: CTCC), I saw its market cap is at only $12M, not much to speak of. I guess you can not call it “success” until you’re truly successful, though his success criteria may be different.

Look forward to seeing more success from him. The youths need more models like him.