In November 2004, Jay Myers sat in a courtroom awaiting the sentencing of the woman who nearly destroyed his dream, and the lives of himself, his family and the families of his 16 employees.  Sitting only feet from him and his wife stood the employee who had been found guilty of embezzling over $250,000 from Myers’ company, Memphis-based video-conferencing firm Interactive Solutions, Inc.

All entrepreneurs have stories.  Many leave successful careers to branch off on their own.  Some take chances by having such faith in their blossoming organizations that they buy out their partners to assume total ownership of their company.  Others overcome tremendous unforeseen obstacles that nearly ruin them, often becoming stronger because of it.

Myers has experienced all of this, and then some. 

In his captivating new book KEEP SWINGING: An Entrepreneur’s Story of Overcoming Adversity and Achieving Small Business Success (Morgan James Publishing, Oct. ’07), Myers details what led him to start his own company after nearly 20 years of success working sales for corporate giants like Eastman Kodak and Hewlett-Packard, how he was able to sow the seeds of his business while the technological aspects of their operations were still developing during the mid-90’s, and how he was able to keep ISI from falling apart at the seams following the embezzlement crisis just a a few short years ago.

KEEP SWINGING is the antithesis of the run-of-the-mill corporate management book.  Rather than telling the story of one company’s meteoric rise and offering tips on how to emulate its success, Myers focuses on the hurdles he needed to overcome – not only to get his fledgling company off of the ground, but to make it successful.

Instead, Myers details exactly what he went through during his now decade-plus adventure with ISI, recapping every success he had and every mistake he made.  With the pace of a John Grisham novel, KEEP SWINGING draws from Myers’ own experiences while walking readers through some of the most important decisions they’ll ever make should they choose to venture down the path of entrepreneurism, including:

• What led him to abandon corporate America to launch his own business
• How his lack of preparation left him drafting his business plan on a Franklin Planner
• How he tapped into his network to discover investors for his start-up
• Why he decided to buy out his original partner, and how the buyout could have been smoother
• How he was able to rally his employees during the embezzlement crisis
• How the support of family and friends is critical to an entrepreneur
• How continuing education & participation in leadership groups have provided countless benefits
• How he has been able to give back to the community in order to develop future entrepreneurs

By learning from Myers’ experiences, the readers of KEEP SWINGING will be able to examine their own situations in order to avoid the pitfalls that nearly swallowed him whole, and replicate the triumphs that have ultimately set him apart.