Small Business Success

Start with a plan. One of the biggest reasons goals fail is that we often don’t put enough thought into what we really want before diving in. Your Goal Guide by Debra Eckerling starts with that first, crucial step: figuring out your goals and putting a plan in place. As a professional writer, communications specialist, and project catalyst with more than 20 years of experience, Eckerling is prepared to help you achieve success.

In 1962, Stephanie 'Steve' Shirley created a software company when the concept of software barely existed. Freelance Programmers employed women to work on complex projects such as Concorde's black box recorder from the comfort of their own homes. Shirley empowered a generation of women in technology, giving them unheard of freedom to choose their own hours and manage their own workloads. The business thrived, and Shirley gradually transferred ownership to her staff, creating 70 millionaires in the process.

Have you ever known that you needed to make a change but felt unable to do anything about it? Have you ever felt like you aren't where you are supposed to be and wondered how the people around you managed to find their purpose in life? After realizing that his well-paying, prestigious job was actually making him miserable, Adam "Smiley" Poswolsky started asking these big questions: How do you actually find meaning in the workplace? How do you find work that makes your heart sing?

In our culture, artistic genius and poverty seem inevitably linked, but does it have to be that way? Jim Henson didn’t think so. An iconic creator and savvy businessman, Henson is a model for artists everywhere: Without sacrificing his creative vision, Henson built an empire of lovable Muppets that continues to educate and inspire - and a business that was worth $150 million at the time of his death. How did he ever pull it off? And how can other creators follow in his path?

With twenty years of experience in frontier markets, including a decade working in Africa, author Jonathan Berman engages with top business leaders on the vast opportunities and challenges of the continent. Success in Africa pushes past the headlines on Africa's growth to answer the questions often asked by companies and investors: Who do I work with there and what drives them? How do I deal with government? What about war, disease, and poverty? What about China? How do I win?

For as long as she could remember, Jackley, the cofounder of the revolutionary microlending site Kiva, had a singular and urgent ambition: to help alleviate global poverty. She believes that many of the most inspiring entrepreneurs in the world are not focused on high-tech ventures or making a lot of money; instead, they wake up every day and build better lives for themselves, their families and their communities, regardless of the things they lack or the obstacles they encounter.

Chicken Soup for the Entrepreneur's Soul is a compilation of short stories from entrepreneurs, both large and small, who share their experiences of success, failure and courage, with a little helpful advice mixed in. Many of these stories, told for the first time here, will enlighten you to new methods of entrepreneurship or simply help you believe in the possibilities of getting started.

The $20 SaaS Company: From Zero to Seven Figures Without Venture Capital describes the story of a young entrepreneur who built a $20 investment into a multi-million dollar software company. With no investors, role models, high-tech equipment, or marketing team, the audiobook tells you how to beat venture capital based companies at their game. This audiobook contains the secret strategies to running a profitable SaaS company, describing the tactics to get the word out about your product for free.

The Google Story is the definitive account of the populist media company powered by the world's most advanced technology that in a few short years has revolutionized access to information about everything for everybody everywhere.

Murphy's Law tells us that if something can go wrong, it will. Nonsense! says Al Casey, who maintains: If things can go right, they should. But you've got to make them go right, he adds, by hard work, focusing on key problems, and believing in the people around you. One of the most successful - and original - American businessmen of our time, Al Casey is a no-nonsense turnaround specialist who loves nothing more than the big challenges, whether in the private or the public sector.

Enjoying liquor, beer, cigarettes, and tobacco are recession proof habits. People in general love convenience. Life, in general, has become busier. If you agree with these three statements, then I am sure you will agree that if you combine these three, you will get the recipe for success. You see this success in every corner. In every corner, I am sure you see a gas station, a convenience store, or a liquor store. Why? Well, because they offer our everyday need products at a very easy and convenient location.

Coaching Up! is about inspiring those who matter to you to achieve peak performance. Whether you are a coach, a business leader, a civic activist, a teacher, a counselor, or a parent, this book will offer you a powerful, highly effective way to connect to the people you care about and move them forward toward their best selves. In sports, coaches have developed ways of connecting with their players quickly in the "heat of the battle", inspiring them to perform to their fullest potential and "leave it all on the field".

In Never Bet the Farm two leading entrepreneurs, Anthony Iaquinto and Stephen Spinelli, turn much of the so-called expert advice for entrepreneurs on its head. They show that by preparing for setbacks and using a framework that can help reduce risks and simplify decision making, entrepreneurs can increase their probability for success. They refute the idea that there is an ideal entrepreneurial "type", and show that luck can be as important as a business plan in many enterprises.

Whether you're the new kid in a cubicle, the boss in the executive suite, or self-employed, you have huge potential for greater productivity and fulfillment. Even very high performers in excellent organizations - large and small, for profit and nonprofit - report that 30 to 40 percent of their talent is untapped. Imagine what lies waiting for you.

In today's world, there is a permanent advantage to becoming known in your field. Those who are known get the customers, the better jobs, and the invitations to exclusive opportunities. But can anybody become known? In this path-finding book, author Mark Schaefer provides a step-by-step plan followed by the most successful people in diverse careers like banking, education, real estate, construction, fashion, and more.

Tim Draper called this book the new bible for startup founders for a reason. It’s the A-Z recipe for creating a powerful pitch deck with all the right ingredients. Filled with tips and stories of what worked and what failed, peppered with insightful quotes from Silicon Valley Leaders.

The myth of innovation is that brilliant ideas leap fully formed from the minds of geniuses. The reality is that most innovations come from a process of rigorous examination through which great ideas are identified and developed before being realized as new offerings and capabilities. This is not a book by designers for designers; this is a book for creative leaders seeking to infuse design thinking into every level of an organization's products or service to drive new alternatives for business and society.

Because of the way technology has impacted real estate sales, buyers and sellers have greater access to information and even the ability to direct the sales process. While knowing market information is helpful in real estate sales, most people still lack a key aspect: expertise. By presenting an inside view on sales, McLaughlin provides a guide for maximizing the value of the sale and purchase of homes.

As a manager, you tend to walk a tightrope with executives on one side and employees on the other. But while managing personalities, team dynamics, and company culture aren't your only responsibilities, they are vital to the well-being of any company. To help you boost productivity and find the right management style for you, the staff of Entrepreneur helps you tap into the expertise of over 20 contributors and learn how to: delegate the right jobs to the right people; decentralize management and boost employee productivity; promote accountability; and much more.

What's happened to real? In a world of jargon, acronyms, and distrust, does authenticity in leadership mean anything anymore? The answer is a resounding yes. Businesses and organizations are starving for real communication and authentic leadership. But there's a lot of baggage and distrust to overcome. With real-life case studies, pointers, and guidelines, leadership consultant Gabrielle Dolan shows you how authenticity can earn trust with honest communication, and why it's well worth the effort.