Local Business

A well-paid executive feels trapped in her very respected but unsatisfying job. A startup founder has paying customers, but knows that unless he "fires" them and pivots the business, his startup won't make it. A senior government planner is tasked with undoing the nation's reliance on outdated infrastructure. These are all examples of individuals stuck in a Local Maximum; we've reached a peak, but not the one that fulfills the highest potential. In order to move up in our pursuits, we must first move back down.

Whiting, Indiana Saturday, August 27, 1955 Sunrise, 6:11 a.m. Its 80 degrees in the shade, and most of the city's residents are still trying to sleep off an airless, oppressive night. But inside the plant at Whiting's biggest employer (and one of the worlds largest oil refineries), something has gone horribly wrong, something that threatens to destroy the entire community. The clock changes. 6:12 a.m. This is the story of what happened at one minute after sunrise on that cataclysmic day in 1955, spoken in the words of the people who lived through it.

With over $500 million a year in sales, the Bassett Furniture Company was once the world's biggest wood furniture manufacturer. But beginning in the 1980s, the Bassett company suffered from an influx of cheap Chinese furniture as the first waves of Asian competition hit, and ultimately was forced to send its production offshore to Asia. Only one man fought back. That man is John Bassett III, a descendant of the Bassetts who is now chairman of Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co, which employs more than 700 Virginians and has sales of over $90 million.

Over the past several years, Hardwick, Vermont, a typical hardscrabble farming community of three thousand residents, has jump-started its economy and redefined its self-image through a local, self-sustaining food system unlike anything else in America.

Almost everyone has faced the frustrating task of negotiating with a local, state, national, or foreign government at some point in their lives. Whether they are applying for a building permit from their local zoning board, trying to sell software to the US Defense Department, looking for approval for a merger, or planning to set up a business in Limerick or Bangalore, businesspeople confront a unique set of challenges when dealing with any form of government.

We live in a digital driven world that fixates on digital transactions, but what if we shifted our focus to building relationships in real life instead? This framework encourages precisely that, a shift from transactional thinking to relationship centered engagement that will set you up for long term success.

Local SEO for Small Business Owners is a guide for local entrepreneurs who would like to learn and understand the best local search engine optimization (SEO) strategies - on-page SEO and off-page SEO and how to market their products and services with Google. Nowadays, when it looks like everybody is competitive and vying for the top spot on search engine rankings and customers’ wish lists, devising an SEO blueprint that stands out is the foregone conclusion. Remember, you want to be better than your competitors!

Bottled water is on the verge of becoming the most popular beverage in the country. But what's the cost of all this water for us and for the environment? In this eye-opening book, Elizabeth Royte does for water what Michael Pollan did for food: She examines the people, machines, economies, and cultural trends that surround it on its journey from distant aquifers to our supermarkets and homes.

After years of sharing her small-business tips and marketing tricks with readers of her popular blog, ChunkOfChange.com, and her column in the Long Beach Post, Olga Mizrahi has taken her message to the streets, urging business owners to focus in while reaching out. You'll be excited and motivated to state your difference clearly to the world--and your neighborhood--while confidently selling yourself and your business.

Are you a new investor? If you want wealth creation, like large “chunks of cash” every month, then quick-flipping houses and apartment houses is the best and easiest point of entry, period.

The Huck Finn of foreign correspondents provides a colorful account of old Honolulu, the island nobility, the City of Refuge on the Kona coast, and the active volcano of Kilauea. These selections of Mark Twain's newspaper dispatches are both charming and informative. The light touch of the great humorist is seldom missing as he reveals the "loveliest fleet of islands that lie anchored in any ocean".

For some of the world's most powerful people, the Empire State Building is the ultimate prize. In a riveting chronicle of betrayal, revenge, family rivalry, and raw greed, Wall Street Journal columnist Pacelle tells the compelling tale of the Empire State Building ownership battle of the 1980s and '90s, bringing to life a colorful cast of characters that includes Donald Trump, Leona Helmsley, and the eccentric Japanese billionaire Hideki Yokoi.

50 Things to Know About Being a Ski Instructor by Timo Holmquist offers a unique inside guide to mastering the ski instructing profession. Most books on this topic are surprisingly lacking, and will often only endeavor to provide a brief and unsatisfactory overview of ski instructing work and ski culture. Although there's nothing wrong with these industry glimpses, this book rounds out the experience for you, so you have all the tools you need to succeed.

A key to success in email marketing is sending out your emails effectively - from choosing the right email platform to send outing out your email using services. The Complete Guide to Email Marketing features the tools and techniques to use for this approach to gain visibility and credibility and build your business for more sales and profits.

Is there a secret that will put a "local" writer over the top? Come with the author as he goes to a Local Authors Day in search of what might help to make a "best-seller". Hint: romance! Includes some brief information about how to proceed if you want to start writing yourself.