Entrepreneur Books

I read this reasonable book, here in Brazil.This book is about the Sony's history.From a defeated Japan, Sony became and remains a potency in electronic, in nowdays.
The problems in this book are mainly two.At first, this book is outdated; it has nothing about Sony's history, in last twenty years.This book is also biased not only about Sony's history, but also about Japan itself.About Sony's failures, such as the Betamax system, this book has nothing.

A very interesting book that dispells a great deal of myths about Japanese business management and although it is an older book now it is great to see how things have unfolded as per some of the authors predictions. Also a helpful read in getting a much better understanding of the whole war era of Japan and how that led to the creation of Sony. A most worthwhile read especially if employee relations interest you.

What is that, which comes to your mind when you hear the words 'MADE IN JAPAN', most often than not a sense of supreme quality assured to the product/entity holding that tag. Well this book is also the saga of one of such Japanese company; the SONY Corp. 'Made in Japan' gives us insight in to Japanese working ethos, their dedication and vision. It is a story of SONY, a company that is world leader in many electronic and IT products and its co founder of SONY a young engineer named Mr. Akio Morita some forty years ago from the date it was first published, depicted in a simple manner by himself with the help of Edwin M. Reingold and Mitsuko Shhimomura .The superb style and information given in the book makes it a must read for aspiring managers as well as every entrepreneur.
It is really fascinating to read and as the story progress, from a small seedling organization to a big corporate giant that SONY today is. In spite being deeply insightful of management technique it is written in a very simple and story like manner that makes it a joy to read. Also provides insight into the culture of the Japanese people and the impact it has had on the way in which they do business. It is a plain simple story of a dreamer who dared to dream and Succeded.

"MADE IN JAPAN" starts with the social scenario prevalent in Japan at that time, the survival and hope conditions existing at the time of war with America. The book then showcases the life of Akio Morita born on 26-Jan-1921 in a place called Nagoya, Japan, starting from his childhood curiosity, interest and love towards the gizmos (then just phonographs and their electric siblings) to leading a small company, opened in a razed departmental store, to become one of the pioneers and world leaders in electronics consumer goods. It reveals the mystery behind the corporation that made others run for competition. It is a story of SONY, a company that is world leader in many electronic and IT products.
The book begins with Mr. Morita's account of the World War II, while giving a brief description of his parental background and his family tradition, thereby giving an insight into Japanese traditions of pre war period. While briefly recounting his childhood days, in a wealthy family, which was involved in the sake brewing business for fourteen generations. He had been groomed to be the successor of family business from the time he was in the third standard. At the age of ten, Morita's father made him attend all board meetings. He was taught to monitor the brewing process and evaluate the quality of sake brewed at their factories. He was also taught to deal with various people working for them. However, by the time Morita reached tenth standard, he realized that he was more interested in mathematics and physics. He pursued his interests and eventually, graduated in Physics from the Osaka Imperial University. Mr. Morita gives the message to youngsters about the kind of orientation they must possess during their childhood. The book then moves on to describe the rise of phoenix after Japan's postwar rubble.

He then narrates how immediately after his graduation, in 1944; he joined the Japanese Navy as a Lieutenant. And how at the Navy's Wartime Research Committee, Morita met Masaru Ibuka (Ibuka), an electronics engineer and how they became good friends. After the end of World War II, Morita accepted a faculty position at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (TIT) in Tokyo, where he once again met Ibuka. Ibuka had by then founded the Tokyo Tsushin Kenkyusho (Tokyo Telecommunications Research Institute). Morita started working for Ibuka's research institute on a part-time basis. In March 1946, Morita and Ibuka decided to start a new company.
Mr. Morita, in his book, elaborates how a seven-member company TOKYO TSUSHIN KOGYO founded in a burned-out departmental store, rose to be one of the worlds most respected MNC in the field of electronics. It is also very interesting to learn how the name Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha a tongue twister as per Mr. Morita changed to the world famous name SONY (derived from the Latin word for "sound") in 1958. He then continues narrating the management philosophy and practices, fundamental to Japanese tradition, adopted by him and Sony that are different from the old fashioned conventions followed in the world and which ultimately lead Sony to be the conqueror of market place. Here he says decision making is one of the most important factors for the success of any organization. On Management he shows how the fate of a business is actually in the hands of the youngest recruit on the staff, then goes on talking about how a school is different from a company which is very important for an aspiring manager or prospective management student.
He proceeds with the story by talking about competition where he also says that competition pushes you to innovate and innovation is the key to success. In the mean time he narrates about all the hurdles SONY crossed and how well he organized the international dealings to achieve the worldwide fame SONY is having now. Sony became one of the first Japanese companies to build a U.S. factory.
During his tenure at Sony, Morita introduced Japan's first transistor radio in 1955, the world's first all-transistor television in 1960 and the first home video tape recorder in 1965. Some of the most successful and famous Sony products include the Walkman personal cassette tape player, the Trinitron picture tube, computer micro diskettes the BetaMax and the Sony PlayStation. He also articulately analyzes, in a chronological manner, the events that brought about the uprising of Japanese economy and its emergence as an economic power. Sony's role in this feat is also conspicuously illustrated.
He then comes to a meticulous comparison between the Japanese and American styles, providing pros and cons of both the styles in a methodological manner. Here he says and shows with the help of examples how Japanese attitudes towards work culture seemed to be critically different from American attitudes. Using an interesting word called Corporate Philosophy he compares the styles present in America and Japan.
The book not only talks about SONY and Akio Morita but also about Japan. From the book we get to know a lot about Japan's technology, how they cope up with natural calamities and the measures they adopt to fight scarcity. Being an Indian (as Japan is ahead of India in terms of technology) I was thrilled to know about the technology they were using in there cars then.
As the number of pages left diminishes the book throws light on Japan's relationship with the rest of the world, with the help of statistics he compares Japan's through out performance with respect to other developed countries. Where from we get to see how organizations like SONY with able leaders like Mr. Akio Morita are leading to the economic and social development of their country.

Akio Morita also concludes the reason for falling behind of US in the global economic competition. Towards the end of the book, he speculates the present status of Sony and Japan and finally ends with a strong note talking about the methods to be adopted in order to achieve global economic prosperity. The last line of his biography goes in this fashion, "The challenge is great; success depends only on the strength of your will."

WHY A PROSPECTIVE MANAGER MUST READ THE BOOK

This is an excellent book for budding entrepreneurs and managers and gives insights as to how small companies can take on big companies and win. This book gives the basic fundamentals for being successful in business. It is a learning journey at each step, especially for the budding managers. It teaches the qualities like innovation and entrepreneurship. This book teaches us patience and perseverance in growing a business. Akio Morita shows us that before being a good speaker, a leader must be a listener.

WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THE BOOK

Through out our life we are involved in petty matters; time has come for us to think about something big, something great such that it adds to the benefit of the people such that the mankind as a whole remembers us. We must have a mission statement in life. A mission statement embodies our values and leads us to success.
We must remember that SONY was not built in a day it took a lot of time, a lot of determination, devotion, hard work and sacrifice. So we find out that to achieve something great in life there is not short cuts.
This book gives a new definition to innovation as a tool of success. Akio Morita once said about his most successful product 'Walkman' that, 'I don't think any amount of market research could have told us that our product will be successful.' He was of the belief that if the product is good enough and you are sure of its quality and market it properly, then it will definitely be successful.

'Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning. It is the key to success.'

The book is well sectioned into a broad, comprehensive range of topics from the war, technology, management, culture, world trade, etc. I found his approach to setting up in the US interesting (very non-Japanese).

The writing style keeps the reader's interest, although the vacillation between formal and colloquial ("flunked") reflects the fact that two ghost writers were used - one American, one Japanese.

Overall, a good autobiography well written, comprehensive, with broad appeal to the leader, technologist, international businessman and the politician.

In today's global economy, this book is a must-read for anyone looking for an insight into Eastern management philosophy. Akio Morita needs no introduction. A legend in his lifetime, he founded Sony, one of the most powerful and respected multinational corporations in the world.

This book is an autobiography of Akio Morita and it goes hand in hand with the story of growth and expansion of Sony as well as post World War II Japan. This is a story of young Japanese who dreamt of a great company and went on to establish one with his exceptional vision and intuitive ability. Many of us know the anecdote of how Sony's marketing team was not convinced of the viability of the idea of a device, which can play music when you play Golf and ignoring them Akio asked his Engineers to go ahead. Yes, we know that device by the name of Walkman.

The book starts with the Post World War II Japan, wounded psychologically and physically by the one of the biggest tragedies mankind has ever faced. The problems of rehabilitation, unemployment and recession, then reconstruction, the weakening of 'Zaibatsu' (the family owned Conglomerates) and strengthening of democratic style of management in companies, which helped many more Japanese corporations to come up, is explained beautifully.

Akio talks of the Japanese society and culture. The conservative and strong family-oriented culture reminds of the common Asian heritage we share with Japanese Society. This is really appreciable that such society can grow so advanced scientifically and technologically that it has not only challenged the countries traditionally considered powerhouse of industrial revolution but also taken a lead in many industries.

This book talks of the initial days of Sony in US market, initial problems and numerous complicated lawsuits it had to face. Then, finally being successful in creating a strong brand "Sony" in the US market.

This book tells of Akio as a person and family man. He proves that to have a successful career, you do not need to sacrifice family life. He says at one place that he thought of Sony as one of the children he has to raise. He comes across as a diehard believer in simple living and high thinking. He wittingly tells the difference between a rich man and a wealthy man to a European lady who refers him a better jeweler's shop for his wife. Akio believed in deep-rooted Japanese philosophy of "mottainai", which emphasizes on being skilled and efficient in using resources economically. It is wonderful to know how Japan is so successful despite being a nation with little natural resources. May be that is the reason for inventing smallest and at the same time powerful devices.

This book is a door to understanding Japanese management philosophy and work ethics. Akio in his lifetime made sure that he gets chance to address each new batch of fresh recruits into Sony on the company philosophy and tell what is expected out of them. He created a company culture of `employment for life-time' which he believed helps getting total loyalty of employees.

Akio was from the generation of Japanese entrepreneurs who not only created value and wealth for his company but was able to make `MADE IN JAPAN' brand famous across the world. This book tells how.

Rohit's book is a must read for businesses seeking to understand the new landscape of branding. It's equally good at explaining how an individual can benefit from standing out in a crowd, but as the primary reader of this book will be a business, let's stick to that. Simply put, the book delivers.

What Rohit Bhargava shares with us is that companies who dare to expose their human side are the ones who will keep our business. As I write this, the economic downturn is throwing financial ripples in all directions. Good service is one thing, but a human-feeling relationship with your customers is most certainly equally important.

Filled with examples and suggestions on how you can implement similar efforts, the book delivers lots of actionable value. There are worksheets, web-based extras, and lots of easter eggs included in PNI.

I'm a big fan, and recommend this highly to companies looking for advice from an industry leader.

I've known Rohit Bhargava to be a thoughtful speaker and blogger, but that doesn't necessarily translate into being a great author. In this case, he pulls the hat-trick.

Personality Not Included is first and foremost a strong primer and even a plea for why marketers need to develop brands' personalities in different ways, with a constant outpouring of examples to back up his case.

Then there are all the reference materials, which will make you want to keep the book on your desk to thumb through when you happen to be launching or invigorating a company or campaign. It's well organized, and it requires multiple reads to absorb.

This book provides usefull insight into how brands gain that little special edge that is so often elusive to the rational marketer. Its has more than its fair share of examples and analysis, so any reader can use the book to provoke thought and ideas for his or her respective brand.

As a new business owner (Goosie Cards), I am always interested in other ways to market my business. The cover of PNI is refreshing...its how I feel about myself, my brand and my company. Having built my company on my personality, it was exciting to celebrate that with Rohit. Part One of the book is wonderful because Rohit gives you a lot of examples of what to do and what not to do based on real life scenarios. You can quickly understand how a company can benefit from being true to their brand's personality. Part One gets you fired up and ready to take action in Part Two! In Part Two, Rohit shares his marketing techniques which helped me take my brand's personality to the next level. These techniques helped guide my creativity in the right direction for my brand's personality. I also gained insight to the power of social media which made the process easy to understand and apply to my business. I loved PNI...it's straight forward and a great tool for entrepreneurs!

In my 13+ years of career as an advertising professional I've had the chance to read some of the greatest books in the field, from which I've learned important theories and concepts. Books written by famous thought leaders who are recognized world round, however because of that very reason, you cannot help to feel (if ever so slightly) that these concepts will remain a theory and will not completely be grounded in the real world.
That's why a book like Personality not included becomes so relevant to professionals today. Not only does it covers very important concepts, thoughts and lessons; all illustrated with real life, up to date examples that help you think about your brand in a more real way, you get inspired by the fact that these ideas and thoughts come from a thought leader that also happens to be a professional like you, who even in some cases, manages the same brands and clients that you do. And this can make all the difference. It's like having coffee with a colleague who can help you think about your company or brand in a new or different way.

This book is about the new business models afforded by Web 2.0 technologies.

No longer do big companies publish products (like books, movies, software, songs) for us merely to consume. Now we can all be publishers of digital content. We can pubish books and ebooks using web sites like Lulu and CreateSpace; we can mashup web content from web sites, blogs, and other sources using tools like Yahoo! Pipes and Dapper. We can write our own blogs, and share our photos. Best of all, we can do all this for free!

Of course, big business stills wants to make money. And we as individual producers deserve to be paid for our content too -- if it's good enough. So the challenge is: how do we make it pay? Through advertising? Through subscriptions?

I'm painting a picture here of what this book is about. Not the Web 2.0 technologies per se, but the effect that these technologies have had, and will have, on traditional business models.

Tony Loton, author --
Book Publishing DIY: The Do It Yourself Guide to Self-Publishing using Lulu and CreateSpace
Working with Yahoo! Pipes, No Programming Required
Mashups Made Easy with Dapper: the Data Mapper

This book explains how successful Web 2.0 companies do what they do.
Author Amy Shuen says the biggest challenge to a company's success in this area is to convert from an engrained culture of competition to a culture of collaboration.

What's new about Web 2.0, she says, is that both businesses and individuals can make money by providing services to customers for free. How? Web 2.0 allows online users to interact, combine, remix, upload, change, and customize content for themselves. This online DIY self-expression benefits businesses and other users. For example, Flickr bases its photo sharing and storage site on a "freemium" business model.

In the collaborative innovation model, Shuen says, the entire perspective of innovation changes. Consider how Apple's iPod is manufactured. Apple conceives, designs, and oversees the innovation and creativity of many external suppliers, creators, affiliates, and partners to support an innovative product and service.

Shuen's "big three big takeaways" for developing a Web 2.0 business plan:
Online network effects are a powerful multiplying force.
A few active uploaders can create online critical mass and community.
Viral distribution and cooperative advantage can build eco-systems rapidly.

A desperate miasma of buzzwords pervades the entire book. The best part of the book is its list of references, but here again, quantity trumps quality. The really good references are buried among the more than 280 references.

Sample this profligate plethora of acronyms and hypewords: Long tail. Network effects. Collaborative innovation. Web to wealth. Fremium. Collective user value. Leapfrog link. Competence syndication. Competence capitalization.Online recombinant innovation.

Rambling paragraphs interspersed with 'back-of-the-napkin' style charts, authoritative-looking links, economic terms interspersed with catchphrases are thrown in, and then on to the next topic. Scoot and shoot. Rinse and repeat.

What is most disappointing is that firstly, the topic of Web 2.0 is much, much more engrossing, exciting, and fascinating than the book suggests, and secondly, the author may in fact be capable to writing a book that does her and the topic justice.

Web 2.0 - the moniker given to the combination of technology enabled rich internet applications, collaborative user experiences like wikis, folksonomies, and more - has changed the way most people experience and expect the web to be. Google, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Wikipedia, blogs are all examples of Web 2.0 based companies.

What is less clear is whether Web 2.0, despite all its newness, hype, and substance, is only an incremental step in the path of the continual evolution of the web, or whether it represents a substantially, and fundamentally, different way of doing business on the internet.

This book is an attempt to try and make sense of Web 2.0. The book is short enough that it can be read in a couple of hours, is written for the average user and does not get into technical details or intimidating equations at any point. It has a very long list of references, which do add a lot of value to the book.

However, upon reading the book, you are faced with a constant barrage of disappointment, irritation, and finally a feeling of having wasted a good two hours of your time.

Tim O'Reilly has written the Foreword, and the best he has to say about the book is that (added stars mine) "It's the first book that really does justice to **my** ideas". The author makes sure to reciprocate in kind, thanking O'Reilly 'for championing this project and seeing **its breakthrough potential**'.

The purpose of the seems to be to equip the reader with an arsenal of buzzwords. It is not what you know, but what you can pretend to know.
Sample these snippets:
-- "If you feel like .... or that you somehow walked into the middle of the conversation, you're not alone"....
-- "Second, even recent M.B.A.s have a hard time pulling together all the necessary pieces of the Web 2.0 business model" - many a Web 1.0 company went down the tube because MBAs pretendfing to know how to run technology startups.
-- "...how a shift as small as XML separating content from form..." - small???
-- "Web 2.0 companies have figured out a profitable path to growth" - really???? No evidence cited, no names, no revenue or financial statements. Just the evidence of an opinion is offered.
-- And finally, sample this: "You will learn about how to make money by monetizing the network effects..." - all in two hours of lightweight reading.

Assertions are made throughout the book, but without much by way of explanation, reasoning, or substantiation. Take the example of Flickr, which is the first Web 2.0 company described in some detail in the first chapter itself:
-- Flickr's business model is described as "fremium", but no details or numbers.
-- In the section on 'Calcuating Company Value', there is utter confusion: a number of $20 per user over a 3-5 year period for Flickr is arrived at by estimating the price that Yahoo paid to acquire Flickr in 2005. But that is distinct from how much real money was actually coming into the company. Valuation is NOT the same as revenue - a point painfully lost on the author. Look at it this way: Google has a valuation of $100+ billion. But it does NOT make $100b in revenues, or profits, or cash flow. In any case, this 'method' of valuation is no different than what was practiced during the Web 1.0 dot-com bubble.
And before the discussion on valuation can get complicated, the focus quickly shifts to Netflix.

The chapter on network effects is an improvement, with a short but reasonably acceptable description of network effects and the marginal/average/total cost function.
But here again, what is not explained is why the classic aggregate adoption 'S-curve' should be labeled differently for Web 2.0, nor why the product adoption bell curve should have a closed chasm (Geoffrey Moore - Crossing the Chasm) in the world of Web 2.0, except by stating that "free viral closes the gap". How does it close the gap? No explanation. Shoot and scoot.
There is further confusion when the author states in the paragraph titled "Avoiding the chasm" that "Product cost is a classic adoption barrier" - Moore certainly did NOT list cost as a major adoption barrier.

Chapter 3, "People Build Consensus" covers social networking, specifically Facebook and LinkedIn - two companies targeting different, but slightly overlapping parts of the social network demographic spectrum. The description of the 'six degrees' effect is described well enough. Other very pertinent and useful concepts and theories are mentioned, like 'Diffusion of Innovation' and the 'Bass model'.
What is, again, irritating is the needless repetition of sentences. "By mid-2005, requests for introductions had reached 25,000, and acceptance rates had increased slightly to 87%.", and in the very next section, the same is repeated, almost ad verbatim, "In mid-2005, LinkedIn announced that monthly requests were 25,000 and acceptance rates were at 87%." Why? Why?? Why??! Wouldn't the reader remember what he had read just a paragraph or two back?
How exactly does "frequent interaction builds community, trust..."? Take the author's word.

Save your money for something actually useful.

Amy Shuen has a firm grip on the long tail. Get your face in this book and don't blink while she takes you on a fascinating journey to the tipping point fueled by the wisdom of crowds. My space on the shelf for this book is empty because her book is always in my hand. I bought several copies of her book as gifts for friends.

Amy Shuen is to the world of Web 2.0 as Ludwig van Beethoven's influence is to the world of music. Her impact on web strategy is comparable to da Vinci's impact on art. She is ahead of her time. Get her book before the ground swell from tribes of new influencers leaves you in a wikinomic downturn.

I have been in the web business since the early 90s. I am a professional technology consultant and thought leader. I have a huge collection of books, papers, & resources related to my industry and Amy's book is my most prized possession. I recommend getting extra copies for you and your colleagues.

One snippet from this book clearly explains how a small strategy adjustment saved a tremendous amount of money for a well known company. Depending on your reach, this tiny snippet can help save you $1,000's - $1,000,000's. I would spend far more than the price of this whole book for this one snippet.

One last flckr of thought. What if your competition already has this book?

Get yours now.

Click on my username and view my profile to access a web page link that contains videos and other resources of Amy presenting some of the information in this amazing book. Please let me know how I can help you.

Amy Shuen has done a wonderful job with this book. Its ability to blend the business, marketing and technology conversation around Web 2.0 philosophies into a cohesive discussion makes this book worth the read. While I was slightly disappointed that the book didn't spend much time on internal uses for these strategies (which could easily have been added as a seventh chapter), the focus on the value to changing a business was well researched and valuable.

In particular, spending time understanding the various value propositions around Web 2.0 was excellent. From innovation models, to monetization strategies and harnessing the long tail of a potential market, the revenue potential is clearly explored.

One comment that I read from another reader (http://infosysblogs.com/web2/2008/09/thumbs_down_for_web_20_a_strat.html) was that he felt that the language was contrived and not engaging enough. I couldn't disagree more. The book was articulate and readable, especially given the fact that the book covered so many of the dry topics that are often ignored for the sake of hype generating content.

Follow the plan. It all makes sense at the end when you make more trips to the bank!

This book tells it all in a slightly different way that is interesting but it is basically the same thing that Zig Ziglar or Napoleon Hill told us years ago.

Got the cd and loved it. got a lot of good info and am working on getting the word out about my short form feature "A Patriot Act". I would put this book or cd on the top of my list of marketing tools.

Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days is the latest addition to the Guerrilla Marketing series. Like all of the books in this series, this book explains marketing and the importance of marketing in real life terms that directly relate to any business. Moreover, these easy to understand explanations are always accompanied by realistic commonsense methodology that the reader can tailor to suit his or her business needs.

Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days is unique in this series as it pulls together marketing knowledge and know how into a 30 day plan that the reader can use to start and then build his or her own marketing strategies. This plan gradually takes the reader through the essentials of determining his or her business's marketing goal and understanding his or her target audience through the many ways to learn from the successes and mistakes of competitors to specific ways to make the most of his or her marketing budget. This book tutors the new business person in Marketing 101 giving him or her an important edge in business. The reader well versed in marketing strategies will also find this book essential reading material as he or will gain new marketing tools and management skills that will his or her to sustain and continue successful marketing strategies.

I've read a couple of Levinson's books but this may be the last. This book was flawed in so many important ways that I would not recommend it for anyone with more than a cursory understanding of marketing.

As a couple of other reviewers pointed out. Levinson is trying to take complex marketing principles and transform them into bullets and coy little catchphrase. In the process he looses the complexity and richness of the topic, reducing the principles to a "taste great, less filling" tagline. While this might be successful if he is selling beer where "taste great less filling" is enough information for us to make a decision about what beer we are going to drink it is too superficial for framing our marking efforts.

Second, the writing is so awful it's uncomfortable. Poorly constructed sentences, incorrect word choices, and mixed and sometimes inappropriate metaphors abound. For example, on page 30 we are to believe that marketing is a bit like being a duck hunter were we blast our target (our customers) with a shot gun but on page 31 were the "big ducks" that flap our wings presumable being shot at by others if we are to follow his metaphor?. This doesn't make sense.

Third, the structure of the book--30 days to guerrilla marketing--is artificial and not very helpful. A thematic arrangement (like in his other books and most other marketing books) might have been more useful.

Now, on the other hand I did find helpful the basic messages of the book--that marketing is an ongoing process, not something you doing once or twice, that marketing is about knowing who you are and who your competitors are, and so forth. Unfortunately the messengers gets in the way of the message in far too many cases.

For my money, Levinson's other books are a better value as is The Portable MBA in Marketing.

Loved this book. Actually used it to homeschool, since it's so simple and laid out nicely. I specialized in small business while I was in college, belonged to an entrepreneur group, and worked in a small business incubator for startups. It had a lot of nice tips and tricks for the real world. And I don't know too many small business people that have a lot of time to read, so this is convenient--easy to pick up and reference.

This was my first order. The actual ordering was simple and easy...book was received as reported and was a complete pleasant experience. Thanks Amazon.

I've been dabbling with the idea of buying a small business for years. I purchased this book to help me get started. Like all "For Dummies" books, it's written in a way that makes the content very approachable. Every page contains good, solid advice that would cost thousands of dollars to get through a consultant.

Small Business for Dummies is an excellent resource for those getting into small business or testing the waters before making that decision. Lots of great information and written well.

I think that before anyone becomes an entrepreneur they should read this book.
It is filled with facts and evaluations to help you. There are also some very important things to take note of.
I especially like the definitions of a small business, and what we need to look out for when thinking of venturing into a small business.
Chapters one to three are very important reading material.

I saw an ad for this book in a magazine. The ad was written well enough to get me to bite. However once I bought and read the book, I felt rather disappointed. Not every chapter is written by Dan. Some parts of the book felt like advertisements themselves. It is not like I did not learn anything from this book. But if I had it to do over, I would have skipped it.

If you own one Kennedy book, you own them all (other than Marketing to the Affluent).

That's the closing sentence from Chapter 1, "The Decision and Determination to Succeed." Dan Kennedy is a unique star in the sales, marketing, and self-promotion galaxy. Unlike peers such as Joe Vitale, who will mix equal portions of cross-selling all of his other products and services to you with some kind of hoodoo soup that will leave you scratching your head and asking "HUH?", Dan cross-sells all of his other products and services to you while simultaneously delivering pragmatic, real world wisdom and "street smarts" that you can actually put into play right now. Success is an attitude, baby. Change your thinking, change your life.

The single factor that determines whether or not Dan has produced a one, two, three, four, or five-star book is the balance between those extremes. Make no mistake about it..."No B.S. Business Success" is jam-packed with "irresistible offers" to buy more Dan Kennedy product, as well as ringing endorsements and testimonials about Dan written by...well, Dan. He's a marketing guy. A marketing guy who can't promote himself effectively can't promote his clients, either. The secret is that when they are patting themselves on the back, they need to make sure that they don't pat so hard that they end up dislocating something. Sometimes Dan walks right up to that line and knows when enough is enough. Other times he gleefully dances across the line and proclaims "Look at MEEEEEEEE..." That's why some reviewers of his books make comments like "I just paid ten bucks for an infomercial." Yes, they're right. But what else did you get WITH the infomercial? Was it the main course or the side dish? Dan's NEVER going to write a book in which he humbly takes himself out of the equation. NEVER. So don't get hung up on that. Or, knowing what you know, don't buy his books if that might be an issue for you.

He stays on the right side of the line in this book. Yes, the almost 300 pages of "No B.S. Business Success" might have been better served with a little less about Dan and a little more about everyone and everything other than Dan, but he's a leopard who's not about to change his spots.

It's a book that encourages you to stop making excuses, to stop seeking approval, to stop going to that job you hate more than a root canal. It's not for the weak or faint-hearted. As Kennedy points out, some people are better equipped to get in the car, sit in morning traffic, take up space for eight to ten hours in their cubicle, and come home so that they can have dinner, watch tv, and get up and do it all over again the next day.

I'm not one of those people, and you probably aren't either of you're reading these reviews. Speed-read through Dan's infomercials and focus on the meat of what he's offering here. It's a well-spent ten bucks.

Whether you are a long-time fan of Dan Kennedy, or just discovering his work, you are in for a wild entrepreneurial ride. Kennedy is a working direct response marketer and copywriter working on the "front-lines" of capitalism.

The book falls into what I would call the non-traditional business category. It is not based on academic theory, rather on the real life experiences of one who has managed, bought and sold businesses to the tunes of millions of dollars.

You will learn-

- Positioning Yourself and Your Business For Success
- How Entrepreneurs Really Make Money
- How To Create Sales And Marketing Breakthroughs
- Why And How To Sell Your Way Through Life
and much, much more.

You could take a few years to get an MBA, but you also need to get a "street-smart" education from the school of "hard-knocks-capitalism".

Highly recommended.

This book serves as a "not to be missed" foundation for anyone that wants to fine tune their business and stop floundering about with no direction. Our office would not have been able to think out of the box and have our own radio show every Monday at 5:30 PM EST (found at www.blogtalkradio.com/LaneArchitecture)without information that we were able to glean from books like this one. We welcome Dan Kennedy, the author, to call in as a guest on our show by dialing 646-595-2228.

Larry R. Lane
www.LaneArchitecture.blogspot.com

As an engineer that wants to work my idea into a successful business, I need all the help I can get in non-technical areas. This book was the first I read to try and get a better understanding of the business world. It did not disappoint! Steven does an excellent job of getting his knowledge across to people in a manner easy to understand and follow. My venture is still in the development stages but I am going to utilize the knowledge I gained from this book to project my idea upwards!

Every budding entrepreneur should know and implement strategies and concepts found in this book. As a second opinion on the same brand of practical advice found in my own book, "The Expert's Edge," this book offers a terrific launching pad. Get it, read it, study it... do it!

Very nice book for the first timer.
Explains in detail about the ABCs of starting a new business.

It was very helpful and enlightening about how to start a business.
A must read for anybody who wants to know what is needed to start a successful business.

It talks more about starting a startup company rather than starting a small business like a store.

This book is a great overview for someone just beginning to think about starting a business venture, but it seemed to be more focused towards the needs of a large venture, rather than a small business. It covered a lot that I thought would not be applicable to the type of business I want to start -- a small town retail shop where I plan to run the business myself and will not hire executives or get funding from investors (other than probably a local bank or the SBA). Perhaps this just shows my ignorance of what owning a small business is about, though!

I also have to express my disagreement with his comments regarding attorneys. (Disclosure: I am currently an associate at a big law firm.) It sounds like he happened to get some bad attorneys. For what it's worth, my thoughts, based on my own observations of attorneys at large and small firms (my own firms and opposing firms), are this: (1) I don't think his experiences reflect the services provided by all large law firms -- I think the quality of services you get depends on whether you hire a good INDIVIDUAL attorney, not law firm, (2) you are much more likely to have someone "learn on your dime" at a small firm than a large one simply because attorneys at large firms do a lot more business and specialize in certain areas and therefore become more experienced with matters that arise in those areas, (3) most small firm attorneys will NOT be as great as the ones he found, and (4) most partners are so distracted by bringing in business and a million other things that associates are much more likely to focus on your deal, keep things moving quickly, and actually pay attention to the details. I think the ideal arrangement for a small business owner is to find a good associate who has a good partner to ask for guidance on big issues when needed. I just don't think it's fair to generalize that all big firm attorneys are terrible and negligent with small clients, or that associates are all clueless and learning on your dime. (I can provide proof in the form of reviews from my large and small business clients!) That all being said, there are some fantastic attorneys at small shops and if you find one, you will pay much less for their services. My best advice on finding a good attorney (whether at a large firm or a small firm) is to get referrals from other business owners.

The Entrepreneur's Notebook by Gold offer an enthusing reading for anyone interested in knowing the fundementals of starting a new business venture with the least amount of mistakes. This is why I liked this book:
1. Uses real life examples from the author's own experience to explain entrepreneurship and the mistakes not to make when starting a new business.
2. Uses very simple analogies (I love the chapter on cash flow).
3. Very easy to follow and explains the different entrepreneurial personalities in great detail.

I did not like this book for the following reasons:
1. This book is not universal and most of the chapters apply to entrepreneurship in the US only. Although the first chapters are applicable to any entrepreneur, the ending chapters are rigid and US specific.

Final Verdict: Still a valuable buy but more applicable to US entrepreneurs rather than Entrepreneurship in general.

This book contained some great ideas and information for starting your own business. Very helpful, would definitely recommend.

I enjoyed this book and its simplicity, however, found it was a little out of date.

OK for a how to book. It does not give real world experience.

Very informative. It was a quick read, and gave lots of ideas for places to go for more information. Some of the links listed in the book are out of date, but considering how fast information changes on the web, I'm not surprised. A much better value than many of the other consultant books out there, and an excellent starting point for anyone considering this field.

The book goes in great detail of every aspect( financial work,alliances with certain business, all the little odds and ends for your business ) of starting the business, really really informative if you are serious of starting your shop or service.

Unfortunately, the first page of every chapter is an image with text too small to read (and not adjustable). Download the free sample and check it out for yourself.

I was expecting a book that was translated into modern readability, and that is exactly what I got. Although the book is incomplete, it gives the reader the best part of Ben's writings in a no-nonsense format. This book also helped be get a very good grade in my History Final.

I've read about a dozen books on Franklin, but this one stands out as the one I would recommend the most. First and foremost the excellent rewriting of Ben's text create the wisdom of Franklin in it's most accessible form.

Reading Franklin can often be challenging to sort out the entire meaning due to the antiquated language of his day. This book restates his thoughts and wisdom with updated syntax and language, so you can focus more on the wisdom, less on the translation.

The author (McCormick, not Franklin) did an outstanding job organizing both the time line of his life and his mastery of business, politics and science.

For those who have an interest in learning more about the greatest American, this is the book I would recommend most. For those passionate about Franklin this book feels fresh, rich and thoughtful.

--Cudo

Ben Franklin: America's Original Entrepreneur is the modernized version of Ben Franklin's autobiography. Though extremely intriguing and interesting in its own right, the original biography was written in a rather disjointed way in the natural language and voice of the times. These aspects make reading the original autobiography difficult while reducing the powerful messages contained in this important man's life. I believe the author has done a tremendous job of reorganizing Franklin's musings and updating the text into modern English so that Franklin's true messages are clearly understood.

As I read this book, I keep thinking that this was a man who would have been interesting to meet. He was steadfast in his values of integrity, humbleness, thriftiness, and a strong work ethic. Yet, he continually tried to better himself and the world around him.

I was also surprised at the number of interesting things that Ben Franklin had accomplished that I didn't even realize he was involved in. For instance, I hadn't realized his part in setting up the first public library, fire department, and militia in Philadelphia. I also hadn't realized that this man's talent for gently but firmly guiding projects to completion without being in the spotlight. I think that says something extremely important about his character both in his daily life and business affairs.

This is a great modernized adaptation of the real autobiography.
There are some areas that could have been better,
but no one can ever completely communicate the intensions of the original.

I almost gave it 4 stars -- but I gave it 5 because the minor flaws
are off-set with the great format and organization of the book.
The original is not as well organized as this one.
I recommend reading both versions for greater understanding of this unique life.

Are you considering starting a trading assistant business on eBay? Then do NOT pass up this book...which is the definitive work on this business model.
Clearly written and organized, and thoroughly covering every aspect of developing this kind of business, The eBay Entrepreneur will guide you to building a strong foundation for your business.
Written by one of the most successful trading assistants, in fact, one of the FIRST trading assistants and pioneer in this industry, who continues to operate his business to this day as well as instruct others. It will become a reference book that you'll keep on your desk and refer to over and over. You will NOT be disappointed.The eBay Entrepreneur: The Definitive Guide for Starting Your Own eBay Trading Assistant Business

I've read a lot of eBay selling books, and this is not one of them. Instead this book is how to set up and run your own eBay Trading Assistant business. It doesn't teach you how to take pictures or word your eBay listings. It does cover the nuts and bolts of setting up and running your business including incorporation, renting space, negotiating leases, advertising, and so much more. Lots of good suggestions. The information about setting my rates alone made the price worth the cost.

I've been selling on eBay for a while, and am thinking about taking the next step and moving it from a hobby to a business. A very informative book that will help me be successful if/when I decide this is the path I want to take.

Very informative, most of the information is right on target. An easy book to read. Straight to the point. Some of the information is slightly dated, but everything about the internet especially eBay changes so fast. Highly recommended reading for anyone who wants to take eBay to the next level.

Mr. Spencer has apparently done well running his company. His book, however, it mostly the tired old stuff like: How to lease commercial space, How to buy real estate, how to buy a computer, what kind, how many megs memory, how to get connected, and on and on about stuff most everybody already knows, or can easily find out. (online, and updated info at that). Sure, there are some nuggets. About 3 type-written pages worth. It's a real chore to buy the book and spend all your time sifting through the rubble. He also warns you about wasting "your" time, and he should take his own advice.

He's proably a great guy, but certainly not a concise author. I'd pass....

This is a really good book for someone who is interested in starting a service business. I can't praise it enough in the few paragraphs I'm writing in this review. Regardless of whether or not you want to start an eBay Trading Assistant business, but you KNOW you want to start SOME small business selling your services, then I highly recommend you get a copy of this book and read it and study it. Much of what is covered between its covers applies equally to just about any start-up. And the author does a wonderful job spoon-feeding us the material.

My background is NOT in retailing. And eBay is one big online retail store. So I'm not going to say how good or bad it is to get involved with retailing. And if you become a Trading Assistant, then you are getting involved in retailing even though the main thrust of your small business will be simply providing a service.

I will say that I haven't been convinced that becoming an eBay Trading Assistant is something I would want to become or that I would recommend to my SCORE clients to consider becoming one. What I do recommend is that any owner of a retail store should consider having someone on the payroll who can do what an eBay trading assistant does. And by reading this book you will get a pretty good understanding of what a trading assistant does.

Although I liked ALL 23 chapters, my favorite chapters were 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 14-17, 22, and 23. These I consider to be the universal topics regarding how to start a service business.

Last Fall I had to help put on a SCORE seminar about selling on eBay. I read a few books on the subject (including this one), got a couple of magazines on the subject, and scoured the Net for articles on eBay. I also signed up to use eBay and studied the eBay site. What I learned in preparing for the seminar was that eBay is always changing. I doubt the instant book is still up-to-date since it was written a couple of years ago. But the basics covered in this book are definitely current and well worth your time to read if you are thinking about becoming a trading assistant. 5 stars!