The Thank You Economy

by Gary Vaynerchuk
ISBN: 9780061914188 , Hardcover- $14.87 BUY

The Thank You Economy is about something big, something greater than any single revolutionary platform. It isn't some abstract concept or wacky business strategy?it's real, and every one of us is doing business in it every day, whether we choose to recognize it or not. It's the way we communicate, the way we buy and sell, the way businesses and consumers interact online and offline. The Internet, where the Thank You Economy was born, has given consumers back their voice, and the tremendous power of their opinions via social media means that companies and brands have to compete on a whole different level than they used to.

Gone are the days when a blizzard of marketing dollars could be used to overwhelm the airwaves, shut out the competition, and grab customer awareness. Now customers' demands for authenticity, originality, creativity, honesty, and good intent have made it necessary for companies and brands to revert to a level of customer service rarely seen since our great-grandparents' day, when business owners often knew their customers personally, and gave them individual attention.

Here renowned entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk reveals how companies big and small can scale that kind of personal, one-on-one attention to their entire customer base, no matter how large, using the same social media platforms that carry consumer word of mouth. The Thank You Economy offers compelling, data-driven evidence that we have entered into an entirely new business era, one in which the companies that see the biggest returns won't be the ones that can throw the most money at an advertising campaign, but will be those that can prove they care about their customers more than anyone else. The businesses and brands that harness the word-of-mouth power from social media, those that can shift their culture to be more customer-aware and fan-friendly, will pull away from the pack and profit in today's markets.

Filled with Vaynerchuk's irrepressible candor and wit, as well as real-world examples of companies that are profiting by putting Thank You Economy principles into practice, The Thank You Economy reveals how businesses can harness all the changes and challenges inherent in social media and turn them into tremendous opportunities for profit and growth.



9 Lies That Are Holding Your Business Back: And the Truth That Will Set It Free

by Steve Chandler
ISBN: 156414836X , Paperback- $7.99 BUY

Steve Chandler had five businesses that went under before becoming successful. In "9 Lies That Are Holding You Business Back" the lessons learned during those five failures are discussed. Like most business books, much of what is written in 9 Lies is common sense. But in every review of some fairly basic principles, you may take away one to two items that may be new to you. I found the chapter about branding very interesting - but true - in that unless you are creating a national brand, spending money on marketing that is not directly tied to making a sale is a waste of money for most small businesses.




Free: The Future of a Radical Price

by Chris Anderson
 ISBN: 1401322905, Hardcover- $10.80 BUY

January 2011 Book of the Month

I must say I was rather skeptical about the premise of this book at first. Chris Anderson makes the compelling case that in many instances businesses can profit more from giving things away than they can by charging for them. Far more than a promotional gimmick, Free is a business strategy that may well be essential to a company's survival. Anderson also points to the growth of the reputation economy; explains different models for unleashing the power of Free; and shows how to compete when your competitors are giving away what you're trying to sell. After reading the book, I could see how having some free informational products could be a great relationship building and marketing tool as long that is not your primary intent.


It's Okay to Be the Boss: The Step-by-Step Guide to Becoming the Manager Your Employees Need

by Bruce Tulgan
 ISBN: 0061121363 , Hardcover- $16.31 BUY

Book of the Month - November 2010

Small businesses differ from larger ones in that there are fewer ? or no - long-term employees working their way up the ranks but instead short-term workers in flattened organizations. Bruce gives advice on hands-on management, which he clearly differentiates from micromanagement. In doing so, he identifies and debunks seven big management myths, including there not being enough time to manage people; that to be fair, everyone should be treated the same; and the desire of managers to be "nice guys."


Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide

by John Jantsch
 ISBN: 159555131X, Paperback- $10.19 BUY

Book of the Month - October 2010


My clients are always asking about improving the bottom line. The answer is easy ? increase income or decrease expenses ? it is the implementation of the answer where the difficulty lies. That is where this book comes in to help.

Duct Tape marketing provides a logical, step-by-step approach to marketing and selling. It points out what is needed to get a prospect to know, like and trust you so they will eventually buy from you if you have what they need all without breaking the bank.

If you're just setting up a company, this book provides an excellent overview of how to get your marketing machine in gear. If you've been in business awhile, but you're working too hard for the amount of money coming in, this book will be a good refresher.


Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling

by Michael Port
 ISBN: 0470281901 , Paperback- $11.53 BUY

Book of the Month - September 2010

Original, wildly inspiring, personal, and provocative, Book Yourself Solid is an easy-to-follow road map for starting and growing your service business based on seven core self-promotion strategies. Through verbal and written exercises, you'll not only learn how to develop a strong marketing plan and brand identity, but you'll also learn why self-promotion is absolutely critical to your success?and how to do it with passion and purpose. Even if you hate the idea of marketing and selling yourself, this practical, inspirational guide will lift you up and give you the confidence you need to comfortably and authentically market yourself and your services, tap into an endless supply of quality referrals, and watch your business grow.


The Knack: How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn to Handle Whatever Comes Up

by Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham
 ISBN: 1591842212, Paperback- $17.13 BUY

August 2010 Book of the Month


The Knack offers an excellent handbook for entrepreneurs, discussing the thinking necessary to deal with many different situations that arise on a daily basis for small business owners. The authors use the experiences of one small business as an example of the challenges and growing pains common to all new ventures and what the owners learned along the way to their success - including the basics of accounting, establishing goals and the importance of gross profit. Each chapter covers a critical step in a start-up journey and is truly a road map for success.


Instant Income: Strategies That Bring in the Cash

by Janet Switzer
 ISBN: 0071487786, Hardcover- $16.47 BUY

You've spent a lot of time, effort, and money to get where you are today. You've hired employees or established outsource relationships. You've developed products or services, advertised, sold, and delivered. Perhaps you work for a small business, sharing the owner's dream for substantial wealth. Along the way-without even knowing it-you've created something else too: marketable assets. Assets such as your relationships with suppliers, your advertising calendar, your Internet presence, your key employees, your sales force . . . and everything else that affects your business.

Instant Income is the first ever system to show you how to turn uncommon assets into income you can make and use in just hours, days or weeks-and to help you develop entirely new streams of income from unlikely sources.

This is no ordinary how-to guide. This is Instant Income-for you, for real, for life.



The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich

by David Bach
 ISBN: 0767923820, Paperback- $10.36 BUY

Bach, offers a simple plan for financial security. The secret: the astonishingly vanilla "Pay Yourself First,". While this strategy may seem obvious, many people don't take this basic step. Bach's easygoing approach, complete with real-life examples and clever phrases such as "Latte Factor," will appeal to the many money-challenged consumers who have made a New Year's resolution to get their finances on a firmer footing.


The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich (Kindle Edition)

by David Bach
 ISBN: B000FC0XS2, Paperback- $9.99 BUY

Same Great Book for your Kindle.


The E-Myth Manager - Why Management Doesn't Work-And What to Do About It

by Michael E. Gerber
 ISBN: 0887309593, Paperback- $11.02 BUY

Drawing on lessons learned from working with more than 15,000 small, medium-sized, and very large organizations, Michael Gerber has discovered the truth behind why management doesn't workand what to do about it.

The E-Myth Manager offers a fresh, provocative alternative to management as we know it. It explores why every manager must take charge of his own life, reconcile his own personal vision with that of the organization, and develop an entrepreneurial mind-set to achieve true success.


The E-Myth Revisited - Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It

by Michael E. Gerber
 ISBN: 0887307280, Paperback- $9.60 BUY

Michael Gerber's The E-Myth Revisited should be required reading for anyone thinking about starting a business or for those who have already taken that fateful step. He establishes an incredibly organized and regimented plan, so that daily details are scripted, freeing the entrepreneur's mind to build the long-term success of the business. You don't need an M.B.A. to understand or follow its directives.


Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

by David Allen
 ISBN: 0142000280, Paperback- $9.43 BUY

Getting Things Done offers a complete system for downloading all those free-floating gotta-do's clogging your brain into a sophisticated framework of files and action lists--all purportedly to free your mind to focus on whatever you're working on. However, it still operates from the decidedly Western notion that if we could just get really, really organized, we could turn ourselves into 24/7 productivity machines.


The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Restoring the Character Ethic

by Stephen R. Covey
 ISBN: 0671708635, Paperback- $11.20 BUY

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change was a groundbreaker when it was first published in 1990, and it continues to be a business bestseller with more than 10 million copies sold. Stephen Covey, an internationally respected leadership authority, realizes that true success encompasses a balance of personal and professional effectiveness, so this book is a manual for performing better in both arenas.