Steven D. Strauss is an American author, columnist, and lawyer, who has been referred to as “America’s leading

small business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have a small number of employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being ...

expert.” He is the author of eighteen books and was a senior columnist for

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

for more than twenty years. Strauss has written regular columns about business and entrepreneurship for Inc. and

The Motley Fool The Motley Fool is a private financial and investing advice company based in Alexandria, Virginia. It was founded in July 1993 by co-chairmen and brothers David Gardner and Tom Gardner, and Todd Etter and Erik Rydholm. The company employs over 3 ...

Early life and education

Strauss received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA) in 1981, before becoming a Coro fellow. He subsequently received a

Master of Public Policy The Master of Public Policy (MPP) is a graduate-level professional degree. It provides training in policy analysis and program evaluation at public policy schools. The MPP program places a focus on the systematic analysis of issues related to pu ...

from

Claremont Graduate University The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California, United States. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges consortium which includes five undergraduate and two grad ...

and a J.D. from the University of the Pacific's

McGeorge School of Law University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law is a private, American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law school in the Oak Park neighborhood of the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the University of the Pacific and is located on ...

Career

Strauss began his career as an attorney, before becoming an author with the ''Ask A Lawyer'' series. He later published many other books, including a number of books in the '' Complete Idiot's Guides'' series, about topics including the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

, the

Kennedy family The Kennedy family () is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from County Wexford, Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P ...

, and

debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money Loan, borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Co ...

. In addition to his work as an author, Strauss was a speaker engaged by the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

to discuss business and economics in countries including

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

, and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. In 2010, he visited the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

in a visit sponsored by the United States Consulate in Jerusalem, in order to conduct meetings and workshops with

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

business owners and entrepreneurs. Strauss has since made numerous television and radio appearances to discuss business and the law. He was a regular guest expert on the

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

series ''Your Business''.

Personal life

Strauss lives in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, with his wife Maria. They have three daughters, Jillian, Sydney, and Mara. His father ran a chain of carpet stores in the

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

area.

Bibliography

Standalone books

* ''The Unofficial Guide to Starting a Home-Based Business'', Wiley, 2000 * ''The Big Idea: How Business Innovators Get Great Ideas to Market'',

Kaplan Publishing Kaplan, Inc. is an international educational services company that provides educational and training services to colleges, universities, businesses and individuals around the world. Founded in 1938 by Stanley Kaplan, the company offers a variety o ...

, 2001 * ''The Business Start-Up Kit: Everything You Need to Know About Starting and Growing Your Own Business'', Kaplan Publishing, 2002 * ''The Small Business Bible: Everything You Need To Know To Succeed In Your Small Business'', Wiley, 2004 * ''Get Your Business Funded: Creative Methods for Getting the Money You Need'', Wiley, 2011 * ''Planet Entrepreneur: The World Entrepreneurship Forum’s Guide to Business Success Around the World'', Wiley, 2013 * ''Your Small Business Boom: Explosive Ideas to Grow Your Business, Make More Money, and Thrive in a Volatile World'',

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

, 2021

''Complete Idiot's Guides''

* ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Impeachment of the President'' (with Spencer Strauss),

Alpha Books Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Random House, is an American publisher best known for its Complete Idiot's Guides series. It began as a division of Macmillan. Pearson Education acquired Macmillan General Reference (MGR) from Simon & Schuster ...

, 1998 * ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Kennedys'', Alpha Books, 1999 * ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beating Debt'', Alpha Books, 2003 * ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

'', Alpha Books, 2003 * ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to World Conflicts'', Alpha Books, 2006

''Ask A Lawyer''

* ''Debt and Bankruptcy'', W. W. Norton & Company, 1998 * ''Divorce and Child Custody'', W. W. Norton & Company, 1998 * ''Landlord and Tenant'', W. W. Norton & Company, 1998 * ''Wills and Trusts'', W. W. Norton & Company, 1998

References

External links

Steven D. Strauss on Amazon.com

Steven D. Strauss on Goodreads
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strauss, Steven D. 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American business writers American finance and investment writers American financial commentators American male writers American motivational speakers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)