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Few people find a job during their lifetime they love so much they’d do it for free. Bob Taylor of Taylor Guitars is one of those people. The co-founder and President of the world’s premier manufacturer of high-end acoustic and electric guitars knew from the moment he made his first guitar as a teenager that he’d found his passion, but little did he know the formidable challenges that awaited him and co-founder and CEO Kurt Listug. From their early struggles to stay in business to the rollercoaster ride that followed the rise, decline and eventual reemergence of the acoustic guitar industry, the business partners more than survived – they went on to build the top-selling acoustic guitar brand in the United States. For two inexperienced “kids” with a dream of having their own guitar shop, the odds of success were stacked against them, and yet they overcame each obstacle.
Now available wherever books and e-books are sold, Taylor’s Guitar Lessons: A Life’s Journey Turning Passion Into Business (Wiley, January 2011, ISBN: 9780470937877, $24.95) recounts the hard-knock lessons that helped make Taylor Guitars an industry leader. From Bob Taylor’s earliest lessons in dismantling household appliances and bikes to the extraordinary sweat equity that grew the business, Taylor imparts his experience as a tradesman with consideration for building a business on the values of quality products and passion for perfection – values that often seem counterintuitive in today’s mass production culture.
By sharing the business and life experiences that nurtured the company’s growth, Bob Taylor offers everyone from business leaders to young dreamers in today’s world a fresh perspective on how hard work and perseverance can overcome challenges in one’s profession and life. To date, Guitar Lessons has received much critical acclaim from both industry insiders and leading business figures, including Bernd Waller, Chief Marketing Officer for Adidas, and well-known Taylor players Zac Brown, Tommy Shaw and Doyle Dykes. For Jason Verlinde, Publisher of The Fretboard Journal and a small business owner, the book clearly resonates with the heart and soul of a craftsman. “Unlike seemingly every other business book being made today, Taylor is not out to preach a four-hour workweek or ask you to mull about what Google might do in a certain situation-there is no get rich quick scheme here,” Verlinde says. “Instead, he simply shares stories-both positive and negative-that took place behind-the-scenes at Taylor Guitars since its founding in the early ’70s. It’s fascinating and enlightening and, more than anything, it’s real.”
To learn more about the real-life wisdom of Guitar Lessons and to read a chapter excerpt, please visit www.taylorguitars.com/products/bob-taylor-guitar-lessons-book/
About Taylor Guitars Founded in 1974, Taylor Guitars has evolved into one of the world’s leading manufacturers of premium acoustic and electric guitars. Renowned for blending an innovative use of modern technology with a master craftsman’s attention to detail, Taylor guitars are widely considered the best sounding and easiest to play in the world. Many of today’s leading musicians make Taylor their guitar of choice, including Dave Matthews, Prince, Jason Mraz, Steven Curtis Chapman, Serj Tankian, Zac Brown and Taylor Swift. For additional information, please visit us at www.taylorguitars.com |
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