Book Description
Business guru Verne Harnish's firm Gazelles has brought hundreds of businesses to fast-growth profitability. Now he shares entrepreneurial secrets in this must-read business primer. Harnish has discovered John D. Rockefeller's underlying strategy. Further study uncovered three winning habits:
*Priorities: A few rules remain consistent with a firm's core values and long-term goal. Others change regularly -- what Harnish calls the Top 5 and Top 1 of 5.
*Data: Key metrics should be measured over time (Smart Numbers); short-term metrics provide a tighter focus on an aspect of the business (Critical Numbers).
*Rhythm: A well-organized set of meetings keep everyone aligned and accountable.
In addition to case studies, a bonus chapter co-authored by Rich Russakoff reveals winning tactics to get banks in competition to finance your business venture. MASTERING THE ROCKEFELLER HABITS provides necessary tools for making strategically smart decisions and for keeping everyone aligned and accountable to those decisions.
Customer Reviews:
Attend the workshop! .......2007-10-10
Our executive and management team read the book and attended Verne's Rockefeller Habits workshop. We have implemented everything from the book and workshop and our company has aligned itself, communicating much more effectively, and executing on goals and initiatives. I can't say enough how much the daily huddles have helped our organization break down road blocks faster than we could ever imagine. I recommend this book to anyone interested in growing your company into a 'Gazelle'. Check out Verne's website at: www.gazelles.com. I highly recommend attending the workshop.
Simple, easy methods to grow your business.......2007-09-24
I have read many business books over my career as an entrepreneur having founded two successful companies. Mastering the Rockefeller habits is the simplest best book I have ever read on growing and managing a small to medium business. Verne has a great gift of providing just the simple nuggets that you need to know without all of the other stuff. An addition to Verne's book that I have found enormous value in is defining the values in more detail as outlined in Gregg Lederman's book Achieve Brand Integrity: Ten Truths You Must Know to Enhance Employee Performance and Increase Company Profits. He calls these brand concepts and outlines a great approach to defining the beliefs and behaviors that will make these brand concepts come alive. Between these two books you have an amazing view of how to build a successful company.
John.......2007-07-30
If you want to make the critical move from planning to executing this book is a MUST read!!
The habits that will make your business a predictable enterprise for growth.......2007-07-08
This is an important resource for salespeople, managers, entrepreneurs and executives alike. Verne Harnish does a great job in breaking down the habits of Mr. Rockefeller, who is as close to a model of business excellence as you can find.
Harnish goes over all the business basics, such as setting priorities, analyzing data and creating the right rhythm for the business. One of my favorite lines from this book is: "Until your people are mocking you, you've not repeated your message enough". This statement is true when it comes to the values, objectives and the methods of implementation of the company.
The message of this book, if practiced, will make your business a predictable enterprise for growth. The book has so many good points that I stopped highlighting after the first chapter, lest I highlight the entire book. Enjoy!
Amazing Book!.......2007-02-27
I read this a few times because it was just
that good. I'd recommend it to anyone.
Amazon.com
In What Clients Love, marketing maven Harry Beckwith offers valuable lessons about capturing and keeping clients. (As Beckwith puts it, "Competence gets firms into the game that relationships win.") Using snappy examples from Absolut Vodka, Kinko's, Starbucks, and Ian Schrager's boutique hotels, he organizes his advice by describing four significant social trends that shape client needs and loyalty. Beckwith's strategies for coping with information overload focus on getting to the point--using a shorter sell and fewer superlatives. He makes a clever and convincing case for giving both testimonials and blurbs the death penalty. He details the decline of client trust with a plan to eliminate cold calls, dress for success, and a spot-on critique of PowerPoint ("Lincoln had no slides at Gettysburg.") Other chapters explore the limits of the Internet and offer nongimmicky ideas about creating a brand, including 20 questions for choosing a name for your business.
Beckwith's advice is fresh, funny, and strategic. He is a master of anecdote and metaphor whose examples range from television's Sex and the City to nihilistic philosopher Nietzsche. Yet the book's clarity is sometimes undermined by its too clever formatting. It's best to enjoy its wisdom one chapter at a time, over coffee. Consider it the caffeine in your cup. --Barbara Mackoff
Book Description
In What Clients Love, marketing maven Harry Beckwith offers valuable lessons about capturing and keeping clients. (As Beckwith puts it, "Competence gets firms into the game that relationships win.") Using snappy examples from Absolut Vodka, Kinko's, Starbucks, and Ian Schrager's boutique hotels, he organizes his advice by describing four significant social trends that shape client needs and loyalty. Beckwith's strategies for coping with information overload focus on getting to the point--using a shorter sell and fewer superlatives. He makes a clever and convincing case for giving both testimonials and blurbs the death penalty. He details the decline of client trust with a plan to eliminate cold calls, dress for success, and a spot-on critique of PowerPoint ("Lincoln had no slides at Gettysburg.") Other chapters explore the limits of the Internet and offer nongimmicky ideas about creating a brand, including 20 questions for choosing a name for your business. Beckwith's advice is fresh, funny, and strategic. He is a master of anecdote and metaphor whose examples range from television's Sex and the City to nihilistic philosopher Nietzsche. Yet the book's clarity is sometimes undermined by its too clever formatting. It's best to enjoy its wisdom one chapter at a time, over coffee. Consider it the caffeine in your cup. --Barbara Mackoff
Download Description
In WHAT CLIENTS LOVE, Harry Beckwith once again discusses effective business tactics with the practical, down-to-earth style that has made him a bestselling author and trusted marketing expert.Beckwith explains the sheer simplicity of a marketing plan-how to find your company's position, how to define a brand, and how to manage that brand so it has its full and overwhelming impact. With sections such as "Thinking and Planning," "Communicating," and "Serving the Client," Beckwith shows how effective marketers need to be brief, succinct and "cut to the close." WHAT CLIENTS LOVE also reveals the very nature of a service-and why the phrase "pushing the product" itself begins to suggest why this more aggressive approach fails, since you cannot ""push" a relationship, as people know from their failed attempts to do so in non-business relationships.
Customer Reviews:
Insightful.......2007-06-04
This is the most insightful and analytical book about business I have ever read. You don't need to be an MBA to understand and benefit from the well-thought-out and plainly presented message. Anyone who sells goods or services to the public will benefit greatly from this cogent take on the nuts and bolts behind pleasing clients.
A real joy on multiple levels.......2007-04-26
I first read this book shortly after it was published. I just finished my third reading. Each time it gets better.
The book follows the typical Beckwith format. Short, one or two page lessons. You can jump in anywhere in the book ... read for very short periods of time or read for long pleasurable periods. It is well written and contains some of the most succinct lessons on branding, marketing, selling, client attraction and retention that you will find anywhere.
It is not a book to be read once and put on the shelf. You will gain the most value if you revisit it periodically. The lessons are so short and to the point, there is no way you could retain all the information in one reading. You need repeated exposure to the information in this book.
Some of the more valuable lessons are:
A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention. The more there is to hear, the less we listen.
We are drowning in information and screaming for knowledge.
Growing complexity makes us covet the simple.
Say little - a simple point penetrates.
Clarity is expertise.
We are generally more persuaded by the reasons we discover ourselves than those given to us.
Four rules for choosing clients.
Trust your instincts. If something feels wrong, it will be. Bad clients don't produce minimal results, they produce losses. If a prospect is more interested in cost, you will never be happy and always be vulnerable. You cannot cut a bad deal with a good person or a good deal with a bad person.
Throughout the book, Beckwith cites many books that are well worth reading. At the end of the book is a great appendix that in itself is worth the price of the book.
Well worth reading.
Extremely helpful.......2007-01-18
I'm new to sales, so I'm no expert; but this book seemed perfect. I've listened to it twice and intend to do so a few more times. It's all about putting yourself in your client's place and acting with passion based on belief and purpose. There are also lots of good practical suggestions from how to dress to naming your business.
Well Worth the Money.......2006-12-04
As with most of my reviews, I try to balance the content being provided with the money being invested. This book is a good investment. Lot's of great ideas on how to deal with your customers. Includes good ideas on structuring and operating your business so people will want to be your customers. It also scrutinizes and criticizes many cherished concepts about marketing and tells why these concepts are no longer working. If you are a business owner, manager, or employee, you need to read this book.
Every sales person should read this book.......2006-08-15
Another great book by Harry Beckwith. Three of my favorite pages: "What the best salespeople sell (in order)" and "What ordinary sales people sell (in order)" and "Why hard selling has gotten harder." This is an easy-to-read book with short chapters. A great writing style.
Ann Barr, author of How to Win the Sale and Keep the Customer
Amazon.com
Chuck Kremer, Ron Rizzuto, and John F. Case believe "50 percent of small-company owners and managers don't get complete, timely information about their business's financial performance" and "90 percent don't really understand or use the information they do get." Kremer, a business-literacy consultant, Rizzuto, a university finance professor, and Case, a business journalist, further contend that such data and their proper application are critical to the successful operation of any small business. That's why they've assembled Managing by the Numbers as a self-help guide to the ins and outs of corporate finance. In the first section, they show how to decipher three major reports that everyone should review monthly (balance sheet, income statement, cash flow). In the second, they discuss how resultant figures tie in to "three bottom lines of business" (net profit, operating cash flow, return on assets) that can be examined collectively. And in the third, they explain ways that stimuli for each can be optimized to achieve overall business goals. The combination allows you to "translate your financial understanding into better financial performance," the authors conclude. While much of the material may seem intimidating, it is presented clearly and could indeed provide an edge in today's hypercompetitive business environment. --Howard Rothman
Book Description
Developed in partnership with Inc., a handy and practical guide to interpreting your company's financial statements to drive business growth and profitability
Everyone interested in building a stronger business needs to understand and use the information captured in financial statements. In Managing by the Numbers, business education and accounting experts Chuck Kremer and Ron Rizzuto team up with open-book management authority John Case to demystify the numbers. They present a practical, common-sense approach to reading financial statements and to managing the three bottom lines of business financial performance: net profit, operating cash flow, and return on assets. The book features numerous exercises and examples (with associated templates available on the Web), a powerful new management tool known as "The Financial Scoreboard," and an extensive glossary. Managing by the Numbers is an essential resource for entrepreneurs, business owners, managers, and anyone eager to improve their mastery of the financial side of running a business.
Customer Reviews:
I got this book free. I would've paid..........2006-12-21
10x the cover if I knew the value it'd bring.
I got this book as part of "Birthing of Giants". It's a three year retreat for entrepreneurs held for a week in the summer. You get a reading list and they are kind enough to send you books.
It sat in the box until Charles Kremer came to speak to our class. What he presented made the material so clear.
Before, I'd set barriers as to what was comfortable from a cash management point of view. My goals would actually cause pain when they'd be reached.
The relationships between balance sheet, income statement and cash statement are clear. "Beginning position" +/-non cash part of transaction +/- cash part of transaction = "Ending position"
Want to know the effect of retained earnings on the balance sheet or MSGA expense on the income statement or where the Interest expense paid should fall? Consult the "Magic Square".
Don't look at this book as a substitute for CPA knowledge but rather as a cheat-sheet for financial goal setting and cash management of a business.
A straightforward explanation of how the accounting jigsaw fits together.......2006-07-14
The book is well written with a non accounting audience in mind. A greater understanding of how accounting savvy people utilize the information within balance sheets, P&L's and cash flow statements can be achieved. An enjoyable and worthwhile read for those who want to try and get to grips with the irksome task of understanding their accountant, or even better to use the accounting information available to IMPROVE their business.
Easy to understand!.......2004-09-09
This was the first book that I've read that makes this type of material easy and interesting. Definitely, check this book out. I always recommend it to friends.
Tom Ehrenfeld's recommendation........2003-09-18
EXCERPTED From Chapter 3 (The Numbers That Count: Acknowledge the Rules), Page 72*
At the end of this chapter, I refer to several terrific books that delve into much greater detail of these aspects, and I highly recommend that you read them. At the bare minimum, you need to understand the basics.
Folks who speak the language of finance use three financial statements; the income statement, the balance sheet, and cash flow.
Each set of numbers tracks a different function. Each one is important for your business. (Note: I highly recommend the terrific book Managing by the Numbers by Chuck Kremer et. al.-see "Resources" at the end of the chapter.)
The balance sheet provides what experts call a "snapshot" of your business's financial condition at one particular point in time. Think of this statement as what your business owns and what it owes. This statement lists your assets (what the business owns or is due), your liabilities (what the business owes), and difference between assets and liabilities, which is called owner's equity. This sheet is constructed so that your assets minus your liabilities necessarily equal the owner's equity; thus, when it is produced correctly, the sums are balanced.
The income statement tracks your company's profitability over a given period of time. It says whether, in a specific period, you made money or didn't. But, and this is a huge but, it's an abstraction. It shows the promises that people have made to pay you money, and the agreements you have made to pay others. "It shows whether you're making money on the goods and services you provide, once you have taken all your costs and expenses into account. But it isn't real," write Kremer et al. It doesn't show how much cash you've put in you bank account or how much cash you spent." Income statements are subject to manipulation. Because income statements are subject to intangible factors such as depreciation (which tracks how an asset loses value over time), you can show a profit-or loss-that is not directly tied to your activities in that span of time. Moreover, income statements count promises that others have made to you as actual income, while the daily reality may be quite different. So these statements indicate profitability-which is good-but they don't necessarily reflect your daily, actual situation.
For that you have cash flow. Cash flow is, very simply, the difference between your cash receipts and your cash expenditures. It's what you have left after you spend the money that you take in. Consider this measure to be your business checkbook; what cash is actually coming into your business and what is actually being spent? There is no fudging cash. It's what you have on hand-the balance in your account.
EXCERPTED FROM Chapter 3 (The Numbers That Count: Resources), Page 93*
Managing the Numbers by Chuck Kremer and Ron Rizzuto with John Case (Perseus Publishing, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2000)
This gem limns the theory and practice of financial management for small companies. Set aside the fact that some of the basics may apply to larger or slightly more mature companies than yours. Read this to understand how to use the financial life of your company as the basis for critical operational decisions. Kremer et al. show how you need to understand three financial statements (the balance sheet, the income statement, and cash flow) to truly evaluate your company's performance. Moreover, you really start to control this function when you learn how the three statements fit together.
*Tom Ehrenfeld, the startup garden (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002).
Simple yet sound.......2002-09-11
If you don't have a business degree and as a business owner or potential business owner are looking for more knowledge on how to understand the books then get this book. If you do have a degree in Business then you need not spend your money here. Take the 14.95 you would pay for this book, invest it in a high yield stock or bond and wait 50 years and you may have about a thousand bucks or so.
Book Description
This new definitive guide provides clear, concise explanations for finding, buying, operating, and growing a successful franchised business from top experts from the ASBDC and the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers (AAFD).
Checklists, forms, worksheets, and easy to follow strategies along with a sample franchise business plan and contract allow readers to discover how to: evaluate a franchise opportunity, develop forecasts and budgets, estimate start up costs, and get financing.
Customer Reviews:
A Must Read If You Are Seriously Considering Franchising.......2005-06-02
As the President of FranchiseInterviews.com, I am constantly reading books and articles on franchising. I consider Franchising 101 one of the best sources on franchising.
Simply the BEST.......2004-02-15
I have read 4 different books on franchising and would definately consider this one the best!
Opened my eyes.......2001-12-14
My husband and I are considering opening a franchise. Although we have business experience, neither of us have ever actually managed a retail store or food service establishment. We certainly had never negotiated a lease or franchise agreement. This book points out a lot of details that will help you protect yourself when negotiating with a landlord or franchisor. It also gets you to think about whether you are a good fit for this type of lifestyle and are you reviewing an appropriate territory for your business. I checked this book out at the library and now I am buying a copy so I can highlight it, make notes and such.
The Franchising Bible.......2001-08-26
Upon embarking on an endeavor to purchase a franchise business with my wife, we realized we knew nothing about where to start. We decided to start at the bookstore and purchase a book on franchising. We chose Franchising 101 because it appeared to be laid out in a format that was easy to read and follow -- we were right! This book has become our bible every step of the way. From analyzing the opportunity to digesting the UFOC, every question we have stumbled across has been answered by this book. In addition to the valuable information provided, we actually found our franchise attorney by contacting one of the contributing authors. Franchising 101 leaves no stone unturned in looking at this very important life decision. It is a MUST READ for anyone considering the purchase of a franchise business.
Practical Pragmatic Preparation.......2001-07-16
Practical, Pragmatic Preparation
Cooked up by CPA's, Attorneys and Insurance Brokers, with a dash of disgruntled franchisees and a pinch of fatherly advice from a Franchiser, this utilitarian dish is nothing if not healthy.
With a steady diet of this recipe, potential franchisees will leave the table full and satisfied and yearning for a VERY rich desert to make up for all the pragmatic, reasonable and intelligent ingredients used to prepare this three course meal.
Section 1: "Choosing Your Franchise" opens with a franchising history explaining how Singer Sewing Centers were the first franchiser in 1858. There are tales of early automobile dealerships, oil company and service station franchises, and motel chain successes that led to the explosion of the franchise phenomenon in the 1950's and 60's.
The most interesting portions describe the rise of Ray Croc's ëFranchise of the Centuryí, McDonald's. There's a promise of a "Good News Future" discussing the establishment in 1992 of the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers or AAFD, (the equivalent of a Franchisees union).
There are multiple warnings that you must be very clear of the large difference between an entrepreneur and a franchisee. It is simply stated that if you spend more time thinking about how things "could or should be" then it is likely you are an entrepreneur and franchising is definitely not for you.
Predefined trade dress, business practices, required equipment, signage, etc., are each carefully chosen and non-negotiable by the franchisee. Once again, the AAFD proudly defines newly negotiable items of contracts and leases while clearly stating that the Franchiser maintains the upper hand in all cases.
From the initial colorful history right into the bland body of "how-to" information through helping the potential franchisee to determine the selection, research, pricing, purchasing a franchise and choosing location and leasing details.
Finally there is a tale by a none too happy franchisee who thought long and hard but ignored danger signs in acquiring a business she had decided on before her research told her that this was a sour deal.
Section 2: "Acquiring your Franchise" is the main course and while definitely healthy and well prepared, it is something you read because it is good for you, not because you like it. This course is made up of a discussion of another acronym, the UFOC or Uniform Franchise Offering Circular. This is a federally mandated document outlining 23 tightly defined items which are illuminated to simplify them for the reader.
If you are purchasing a franchise, then this will always be the first and most important step in determining core issues about a particular Franchisor. Two attorneys walk you through the preparation of the franchise agreement, lease negotiation, incorporation, then come the CPA's with cash flow, banking, loans and business plans. It's all critical to those considering the purchase and highly informative as a checklist of important issues.
Section 3: "Managing your Franchise" is a discusses the managing, motivating, hiring and firing of employees. The bulk of this chapter is made up of more essential pragmatic requirements of market research, taxes, insurance, accounting, marketing and business management practices. This section chafes a bit with the fatherly advice of a franchiser who basically suggests that franchisees should respect their elders and be good kids and they will be rewarded with favoritism. Business should not be run on favoritism, but realistically, it's good advice as people skills often determine business success.
Altogether, what it all comes down to is that operating a franchise is serious business, that it takes money to make money, and that it will clearly be very hard work.
There are the benefits such as managing your own time, doing what you enjoy, scheduling your own vacations, and making major decisions without a boss hovering over you. It will leave those with a taste for perks and bonuses wanting. This is definitely your minimum must-have businesslike presentation without discussing even a few of the benefits of self-employment.
This step-by-step guide will no doubt be good for you if you've already firmly decided that franchising is the career path you wish to follow. Nothing is left out and there will be plenty of good information to answer your financial questions and set a course for smooth franchisee sailing.
After you make your decisions you'll definitely want to go elsewhere for convincing reasons to become a franchisee because Franchising 101 offers up only pragmatic, practical fare. This is the hard work without discussing any of the rewards to tantalize you and only a sad tale of one unhappy franchisee answer your questions regarding possible self-fulfilling careers.
Customer Reviews:
Staffing and succeeding.......1999-03-25
"Smart Staffing" took it's place on my shelf and quickly became the number one read book in the office! Because of increased business needs, it became necessary to increase our manufacturing personnel by approximately 25 people in a short period of time. The number of people interested was overwhelming (over 115 showed up in one day!) -- and no one had much experience in interviewing. "Smart Staffing" was our answer. The basic guidance was easy to read -- and easier yet to apply. Staff members who were asked to help with the onslaught of applicants quickly read through the material and were able to assist with the screening process with minimal training. The foundation has been laid and ideas and techniques are being expanded to encompass our needs while still holding on to the basic values offered in the book. Especially helpful were the "do's and don't" and list of acceptable questions. As of today, our staffing needs are 100% filled -- production is at its best -- and we continue to be the number one plant in our division. Thanks for the help, Wayne!!!
highly practical how-to book on staffing.......1999-03-09
It is no secret that finding, rewarding, and keeping employees is a tremendous problem for companies of all sizes and industries, and does not appear to be getting any easier. For a long time now, there we've needed a book that integrates the major elements that affect staffing. Many that address the individual topics are either very dry and technical or lightly gloss over these key with anecdotes and stories. Now, there is a book that does justice to this very vital topic.
Smart Staffing is a very readable, yet extremely practical, in-depth, "how to" book. It gives practical strategies that can be implemented. It can be read and appreciated at all levels. For the line manager, it is not only good reading, but it is an excellent desktop reference for advice about handling situations or for reviewing prior to taking action. For HR professionals, its examples and insights will challenge them to improve their processes and practices.
The book begins with the importance of human capital and how to match the employee to the position. It uses the logical process of following an employee through hiring, orientation, training, rewarding, and retention. It outlines into numerous valuable strategies, resources, case studies, and examples.
The book's content is organized into five steps: 1) Think before you hire 2) Locate qualified applicants 3) Interview and select your new employee 4) Keep and reward top employees 5) Learn from your losses.
Its forty pages of appendices provide valuable tools, such as an Exit Interview Worksheet, Final Exit Interview Format, and Applicant Reference Sheets.
Strategies, such as the Executive Interview, provide ways not only for the executive to keep in touch with employees, but also ways to spot problems and reduce turnover as well. For example, Outlaw does not just suggest this strategy, he gives a logical, easy-to-follow format that an individual reader or a corporation can put to use right away.
Smart Staffing is written by a professional who understands how to recruit and keep top employees. His experience with Xerox and his own firm, which began as an executive search firm in 1984, comes through clearly in this well-written, practical, easy-to-implement, "how to" guide. His writing style has converted this important topic into a lively text, designed to be read, enjoyed, absorbed, and referred to frequently. With a retail price of $19.95, this book is a real bargain!
Workforce Stability Alert newsletter, October 1998
Very informative book on hiring in the new age.......1998-10-02
I found this book to be a very detailed guide to hiring qualified\ people and keeping them. In today's low unemployment atmosphere , this\ was a refreshing perspective.
Book Description
Maintaining and Growing Your Most Important AssetsYour Customers Whether your company has $50,000 or $5 million in sales, chances are that at least half of your revenue comes from a few crucial accounts. What does it take to keep them going strong? A hard-hitting, no-nonsense book of techniques to improve your most important business relationships. Updated withexamples of recent success stories, this new edition explores how online click speeds have resulted in highly sophisticated customers who expect all services to be done in real time. Discover: The long view: Studying and really understanding your companyand your customers businesscan mean years of selling success Lamp Strategies: Activate a Large Account Management Process strategy to turn your best customers into permanent, external assets Trends and Market Forces: Constantly identify and reappraise the conditions that can make your services more crucial than ever
Customer Reviews:
LAMP - An Usefull guide to Account Planning.......2002-02-15
LAMP is the best book I have read about Key/Large Account Planning. Most salesreps and hates the planning process and struggle with their plans. This down to earth approach helps a salesrep to organize his work in developing his account plans in a straightforward and pragmatic way. Instead of focusing on history, LAMP is targeting the future and helps you to align your resources through action plans.
This is a must have!! EXCELLENT BOOK!.......2001-08-16
The first chapter of this book was like reading an unauthorized biography of all my short comings in managing my largest accounts. Even as a top five performer, I still felt like I was flying by the seat of my pants. This book set out a course for improvement that has changed my professional career forever. If you manage large global accounts this book should be your bible. Mine is still drying out from massive highlighter use!
Building Strategic Relationships.......2000-01-29
In this age of consolidation, big companies keep getting bigger. For suppliers, losing any large account can be at least dramatic or at worst devastating. Large Account Management Process (LAMP) from Miller Heiman presents a logical, team friendly method of knowing how your company is positiioned in your large accounts, and what needs to be done to maintain or improve that position. Highly recommended.
Proven to be effective in real businesses.......1998-05-15
Answers the question "how should I be working with field sales." Contains tables, worksheets, lists, and step-by-step approaches with examples. The problem will be getting an entire sales and marketing team to adopt it. Even if they don't, after reading this book, you may find you relate to your sales force in a different, more productive manner. The only reservation I have about this book is that for the concept to be truly effective, an entire work team must complete the training described in the book. I know from personal experience that, when a work team completes the training, it works, and works well. The book, as well as it may be written, cannot substitute for the group training. If it did, I would rate it a 10+.
An eye-opener!!! It's an action-oriented book........1998-05-06
LAMP helped me see how critical it is to take care of our large accounts. I realized that our survival as a company depends on them. Right now, we are taking the necessary action to apply the concepts that we have learned from the book.
Book Description
Thinking Like An Entrepreneur is a yes-you-too-can-achieve-your-dream-power-of-positive-thinking self-help motivational book coupled with some very serious business analysis. While some people dream of coming up with a hot idea and taking the next great Internet company public, this book focuses on building a real business with real profits. Such businesses can make the founder worth millions of dollars in only a few short years without the company ever becoming public. This book is written for entrepreneurs who want to make their company profitable ASAP.
But to build such a business demands an understanding of simple financial and business decision making. Thinking Like An Entrepreneur teaches you to understand the fundamentals that underlie intelligent decision making for your small company.
The book covers many important topics (cash flow, profit margins, and the time value of money, etc.) and will help get a new entrepreneur started. Whether or not you wish to grow your company to a substantial size, this book will help you succeed in business by teaching you to think more like successful entrepreneurs--to make fundamentally sound decisions. Some of the book's highlights:
If you choose not to grow your business, but just to do "your own thing," Chapter 23 covers becoming a consultant in some depth. This is a viable avenue for computer programmers, graphic artists, videographers, and, of course, web page designers today. The chapter is a short primer for deciding if you want to become a consultant and is an introduction to some of the basic issues consultants face. The new area of online consulting is briefly discussed.
If you choose not to start from scratch, but rather, buy an existing business, Chapter 26 goes into detail into buying a business. You will learn how to value a smaller company, including valuing intellectual capital. A rather lengthy chapter you might choose to skip unless you really are going to seek a business to buy.
Chapter 17 shows you why it is important to incorporate your company and discusses the option of creating an S-corporation. Issues of taxation and liability are discussed. The chapter helps you understand how to minimize your overall tax bite and get the best liability protection possible.
Chapter 9 discusses the role of personality type in building a company. It is important that you start a business that is suited to who you are as a person. A great market opportunity is not a great personal opportunity if you won't enjoy the business. This chapter is written to help you find a business suited to you.
Chapter 4 and 5 go into detail explaining how thriving businesses bootstrap themselves to financial success. You are introduced to the concept of compounding intervals and rates of return (which are further developed on Chapter 16 which is dedicated to the nature of compounding money within a business). Proprietary products are discussed. This tread of thought is continued in Chapter 12 which deals with cash flow and how cash flow issues can affect your company's growth rate. A hypothetical game company making "Lifers" is considered. These chapters alone probably make the book worth reading.
Chapter 7 discusses the author's personal views on how the Internet is changing business today and what the Internet means for Microsoft and other established companies. An easy-to-read chapter, but with no hands-on advice on how to create your site.
Chapter 13 is a comparison of the fields of computer programming and computer-based training (CBT). The goal is to get the reader to see where value is created within the type of business he or she will start.
Chapter 15 discusses the role of luck in business and explains why Bill Gates is the richest man alive today. You will learn how to play the "game" of business appropriately allowing for the role of luck.
The book is written in an irreverent fashion, and might be subtitled, "Entrepreneurship Lessons From The Movies" as the author refers to several films to make his points. Although light-hearted in fashion, the book gets a bit mathematical in a few chapters. But those chapters are well worth the read to anyone serious about building a company.
Customer Reviews:
Some useful info and an easy read.......2005-08-25
A sense of humor and sarcasm guaranteed to make you cringe, a very limited set of cases (mainly IT), examples and industry references and too many mentions of Bill Gates are the bad points of this book, but all in all I found it useful. A sort of business and entrepreneurship for dummies guide. Highly recommended starting point for those want to become business people but know that their knowledge of business basics is lacking. Perhaps not so useful for people not in this position. Sections on compounding and cashflow stick as two of the more useful.
Very good for a newbie entrepreneur.......2005-07-16
Mr Hupalo's book is a very informative read for a newbie business person or wannabe entrepreneur. He explains some of the great things about a business and why it's important to choose the correct, high margin business. The book is well written and informative but could have been edited a bit better to make the read clearer.
The chapter on corporations I don't agree with. Mr Hupalo feels all entrepreneurs should establish a corporation rather than a sole proprietorship. This is not the way June Walker feels in her excellent book: "Self Employed Tax Solutions". This book lists the advantages for an entrepreneur for using a sole proprietorship such as:
* You and your business are one and the same.
* A sole proprietor and his business use the same tax year.
* It's income or loss is your income or loss.
* It's debts and assets are your debts and assets.
* Assets, originally for personal use, can immmediately be used in your business without paperwork and without negative tax consequences, and there can be positive tax consequences without any cash outlay.
* It's the easiest, quickest, and cheapest business structure to set up and maintain with regard to recordkeeping, accounting, legal procedures, and fees.
* It does not require a separate tax return (a Corporation does).
* A sole proprietorship allows for a simple, direct deduction of home office expenses.
* A SP can immmediately reduce your other taxable income.
* A SP allows for the most advantageous tax remedy when husband and wife work in the same business.
Mr Hupalo has written a good book about business which any new entrepreneur should read but just skip the chapter which advises incorporation immediatly. For most single person businesses a Sole Proprietorship works best. After you have an employee or two, then you should think about incorporating.
Smart Choices for Entrepreneurs -- Great Stallbusting Ideas!.......2004-09-25
The title of this book is a little misleading. It is not helping you learn how to think like an entrepreneur. In fact, the book teaches you how to more accurately make assessments that entrepreneurs have to make. If you do that, your entrepreneurial success should be higher.
I like books about avoiding thought patterns that delay or derail progress, and thoroughly enjoyed this one. In many ways, the book parallels the outstanding book about personal decision-making, Smart Choices, that I strongly recommend you read as well.
Why, then, did I rate the book at four stars rather than five? Basically, the book didn't quite get the editing it deserved. There are some minor misspellings of the sort that should have been caught. More seriously, the book indulges in unnecessary vulgar language in a few places. If those things don't bother you, see this as a five star book. It certainly is in every other way.
Some of the subjects include how to overcome risk aversion, how to lay off risk, picking the type of business to go into, establishing a business model that has the best chance of success, and how to have the business match your personality and preferences. These are subjects I feel are important for any entrepreneur, and are often not covered by business books. I was especially impressed by the focus on ethics and high moral tone of the advice.
This book will have value both for people who are thinking about becoming entrepreneurs and those who are already running small businesses. Since the book often focuses on computer consulting and computer-based training, those who are in those fields will find the book to be especially valuable.
As a test of the value of the book's content, I applied the concepts to my own management consulting firm and found that the analyses were accurate and useful. So you can add management consulting as another business type for which this book is good.
One of the things I liked about the book is that it realistically encourages people to think about entrepreneurship. Even if you decide that having your own business is not for you, this book will give you a better basis for feeling confident about that decision.
If you do decide you want to buy or start a business, I suggest you share this book with your spouse and a person who already has a business in the same area. Then discuss your ideas with each of them in terms of the concepts in the book. Their feedback will help you form a more realistic view of your ideas.
A must read for existing and future biz owners.......2002-10-15
Finally a book written on entrepreneurship that has so much to offer! A guide for fledgling IT entrepreneurs as well as a resource for those faced with the myriad problems of the modern business environment. It is also an introduction to computer consulting and building a multimedia company. Readable, concise, precise, and pragmatic. The in-depth coverage and sound counsel make this a book that should be in every business person's library. I've read my copy twice. It's twenty-seven chapters of very good, easy-to-read inspirational reading. A must read for anyone thinking about starting or expanding their existing business. Highly recommended!
Entrepreneur Highly Informative.......2002-08-12
This book's got a lot of good stuff in it--those critical factors that help contribute to making good business decisions. I've already seen some improvement in business growth. In fact, the usefulness of Entrepreneur's information is a lot like Guerilla PR: Wired: both have tons of really useful info to entrepreneurs on how to build their business.
Product Description
Tired of hearing yourself say things like: "Why don't I have enough money? Why is it so hard to get new customers? Why do I feel so stuck?" Change the
QUESTIONS, change your
LIFE! In this amazing little book, you'll learn how to transform your life and career using a simple questioning technique called
AFFORMATIONS - empowering questions (not "affirmations") that change what you focus on - and what you focus on, grows! Working with top Independent National Sales Directors and Senior Directors across the country, the authors identify The 12 Essential Components of Success in your independent business. Noah and Denise walk you through every step of creating a successful independent business, including
Smarter Goal Setting - Better Selling - Recruiting - Organization and Delegation - Self-Care and Body Image - Leadership - Self-Confidence - Balancing Faith, Family and Career. You'll discover new questions that will empower you to have
more control over your business,
more freedom to do what you love, and
more abundance in every area of life.
What are you waiting for?
Book Description
The search engine for success.
Using the Internet to increase the visibility of a small business today is no easy task. It can take a lot of time, energy, and money—especially if you're not a computer expert. Here, readers can get a valuable overview of how search engines, web sites, ad services, and web logs can all work together to build a business, as well as practical hands-on tips, tricks, and planning tools to help readers create and execute a plan that utilizes the Internet to its fullest.
• Google, is widely recognized as the world's largest search engine—an easy-to- use free service that usually returns relevant results in a fraction of a second
• Author holds an MBA and has started and run several small businesses in addition to being a well-known technology book author
• Perfect for the entrepreneur and small business market
Customer Reviews:
One of the best investments I've ever made!.......2007-08-15
I thought I knew a lot about designing an optimal website, using Google AdWords and online marketing. Then I picked up this book, and learned how much more I could be doing, and how many mistakes I had made. There are at least a half-dozen great ideas that can be implemented quickly and at little or not cost to improve your site's placement on search engines, and to attract more relevant AdWord clicks.
Wow! Is this complete.......2007-03-21
I have opted into online courses and even have an MBA where I studied E Business. This is by far the most complete, helpful and timely guide I have seen to succeed with an internet business. It is rare that I read a "How To" cover to cover, but this is an exception. It is certainly the first time I have had my highlighter out since Grad school. If you want to succeed in an ebusiness, this is the way to get started!!
Not Bad Overall.......2007-03-13
While normally I go for books aimed at experts (i.e the ones that are 400+ pages and dry as a salt sandwich), this book had received enough positive reviews that I gave it a shot. I was not disappointed.
For someone with my background (experienced software guru and web designer, with a moderate amount of Google know-how), I was still able to gain some valuable insight. So you're not surprised, this book is as much Marketing 101, as it is about Google (particularly the first half of the book). But it's needed to give the book a solid grounding from which to make its Google-related recommendations.
The bottom line though, hasn't changed from prior years: if you do the right thing and make your site rich in useful content, relative to its general audience and subject, you're going to do well with Google. If it's only moderately relevant or lacking in information "density" (the amount IOW), all the tricks in the world won't make your page rank any better. First, make sure you're really delivering the goods (the information your customers want and need and not a bunch of link farms, fluff, etc), *then* make sure your meta-tags, document names, document structure, Ad Words, and all the rest, are Google-savvy. The latter without the former, is useless. To the author's credit, he emphasizes this in several chapters.
Overall, I felt like there was a little too much "Freshman Marketing" and some of it was rehashed unnecessarily IMO (though someone with minimal marketing background would probably find it useful). I think the first 70 pages could probably be distilled down to about 40 or 50, but who's counting? ;-)
Recommended for anyone getting start with a business web site or who wants to make their existing site better.
Great book, well worth the read.......2006-10-28
This book is MORE than a book about Google. It should almost have a different title like "Growing Your Business Online: plus strategies for improving your placement on Google".
The book covers so much more than Google placement. It shares responsible, realistic insight into how to improve your web site with the goal of first improving the visitor/customer experience and second to improve your overall relevance with search engines. Dave's advice comes from a respectable, responsible approach to creating genuine results for your web site. He also provides ample warnings about using web site trickery that could leave your site's relevance & credibility in ruins.
A MUST READ for web developers and Internet marketing folk.
A Very Comprehensive Guidebook.......2006-09-06
This book isn't just about advertising on Google. There's lot more. Of course, complete idiots won't benefit from it, but the book begins from the ground for people not familar with online marketing.
It first outlines the importance of visibility, then touches on how Google actually works. No secrets here. Newbies learn a lot, but not the old hands. Then, it goes into great detail on how the website should be set up, presented and maintained. Again, very useful newbie tips on blogs and content generation are given but I doubt the experienced user will learn a lot of new things here.
There is also some mention about making money from Adsense and affiliate programs, but personally, I haven't had very good experiences with these programs.
The book ends with the future of findability. I find nothing futuristic about the author's ideas. Still, a good book for those just starting out.
Book Description
Advice about starting a business never sounded like this! Beginning with ""must be crazy,"" serial entrepreneur and angel investor Barry Moltz offers the true insider's scoop on new business start-ups. With doses of irreverence and humor, the return-to-basics guide focuses on what comes before the bottom line. Addressing passion-the ultimate entrepreneurial fuel-relationships, failure, and authenticity, Moltz incorporates stories from his entrepreneurial colleagues and shows what it takes to integrate personal and professional life to achieve the highest satisfaction.
Moltz describes the ups and downs and emotional trials of running a start-up business and invites readers to let go of the myths and expectations that can hamstring them emoitionally while getting their businesses up and running. In a helpful, heartfelt, and often humorous way, Moltz reassures entrepreneurs that they are not alone-whatever their form of craziness-and that they can retain self-worth and sanity as they ride the start-up roller coaster.
Showcasing the varieties of new venture craziness, entrepreneurs at all ages and stages in their business-building processes will realize they too can succeed. Jolts of passionate entrepreneurial wisdom energize these anecdotes, with such ideas as:
* People-not capital-are the true currency.
* Passion keeps everything going.
* Relationships and authenticity are the drivers in this business climate.
* There is no perfect idea and no magic bullet.
* Don't expect your path to be a straight line.
Incorporating lessons from the boom and bust 1990s, the realignment of business and personal values in the wake of terrorism, and proven ways to nurture the human dimension in business, these are voices to help all business owners find and trust their own entrepreneurial passions. After all, says the author, ""The worst they can do is eat you!""
Customer Reviews:
You have to be crazy to enjoy this book.......2007-10-20
I have started three companies and there are still many days that I find myself wondering if I am nuts to be an entrepreneur. This book is entertaining and reminds me that, yes I am certifiably nuts, like most other entrepreneurs. Very little "how to", but very easy to relate to for an experienced entrepreneur (for instance, the sections on the emotional roller-coaster ride of starting up or partnering, or the little Buddhist sayings that get you through the tough days). If you are about to start a your first business this is a good primer, but its sort of like reading books about being a parent before you have your first child - you really won`t appreciate most of it until much later on.
Do you want real-world insight into what you will experience as an entrepreneur?.......2007-05-13
This is a one-of-a-kind book that provides an emotional look into the world of the entrepreneur. The book delivers key insights into how to approach certain situations, but more importantly it delves into the trials and tribulations of being an entrepreneur like no other book available. For current entrepreneurs, Barry's book reads like a conversation with a businessess confident who has experienced exactly what you are currently going through and what you have experienced as an entrepreneur. For anyone considering the start of a new business, this is the only book I have found that can prepare you for the emotional roller coaster that you may encounter. This is a must for any business book library.
Good-humored guide to business start-ups.......2007-01-24
Author Barry J. Moltz is not a brilliant business strategist. He does not intend to propose a set of holy rules that, if followed, will ensure that your new enterprise is a roaring success. Indeed, one of his primary messages is that new businesses fail so routinely that only someone crazy would consider opening one. If that's you, think of Moltz as a revered mentor who has successfully negotiated several start-ups of his own, and has volunteered to talk to you about what opening your own business will entail. He discusses the character traits you need to make a successful go of things, how to deal with partners and employees, and the best ways to win customers and clients. While Moltz scatter-shots his concepts and points, we endorse his good-humored book, nevertheless, as a worthwhile guide. It offers numerous valuable lessons from a seasoned veteran on what starting a new business really entails. Consider yourself warned.
It's Not Crazy to Love This Book.......2006-06-07
Would it be valuable if you could sit down with a friend and listen to him as he described being an entrepreneur in great detail? What if he introduced you to other people who had been through similar experiences? How about if he described the emotional rollercoaster of starting, nurturing and then selling your business? Would this be important information?
If you have answered "yes" to any of these questions, you should read, You Need to Be a Little Crazy by Barry Moltz.
Barry's book is like having a conversation with a friend. The reader experiences the emotions that come with risking everything to control your own destiny.
This is not a check list book that offers theoretical advice. It's written the way the entrepreneur lives life - by the seat of his pants. The value comes from actually feeling what it's like to be in the middle of the uncertainty associated with the entrepreneurial lifestyle.
I find that the best learning comes from listening to other people and trying to put myself in their shoes. I like to think about what decisions I would make when they describe the problems that arise. I think about the potential impact of the decisions and how I would feel as I make them. "Crazy" gives you the opportunity to do just that.
Meet and greet.......2006-05-10
The only thing better than reading Barry's book is hearing him speak. Check out his web site for his tour schedule and go see him when you get the chance.
Books:
- Mastering Windows Vista Business: Ultimate, Business, and Enterprise (Mastering)
- MCAT Complete Study Package, Sixth Edition (Exam Krackers) (Exam Krackers)
- Multiple Streams of Internet Income: How Ordinary People Make Extraordinary Money Online, 2nd Edition
- Multisensory Teaching Of Basic Language Skills, 2nd Edition
- Nakama 2: Japanese Communication, Culture, Context (Japanese College Titles)
- Nuts, Bolts, and Jolts: Fundamental Business and Life Lessons You Must Know
- Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling
- Proposals That Work: A Guide for Planning Dissertations and Grant Proposals (Proposals That Work: A Guide for Planning)
- Real-Resumes for Teachers (Real-Resumes Series) (Real-Resumes Series)
- Saturn: A New View
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Acts of Faith
- Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know--And Doesn't
- Business Mathematics: November 2002 Exam Questions & Answers
- How to Beat Low Limit 7 Card Stud Poker
- Fundamentals of Risk and Insurance
- Sunrise
- Jamestown: A Novel
- Accounting Principles, with PepsiCo Annual Report, General Ledger Software for Windows
- From Knowledge to Intelligence: Creating Competitive Advantage in the Next Economy
- Graced by Pines: The Ponderosa Pine in the American West
Strategy & Competition
| Management & Leadership
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Topgrading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching, and Keeping the Best People, Revised and Updated Edition
The Great Game of Business
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't
The Five Temptations of a CEO: A Leadership Fable
A Stake in the Outcome: Building a Culture of Ownership for the Long-Term Success of Your Business
