Koncocoo

Best Small Business

The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create RadicallySuccessful Businesses
This is just as true for one person in a garage or a group of seasoned professionals in a Fortune 500 boardroom. Inspired by lessons from lean manufacturing, it relies on “validated learning,” rapid scientific experimentation, as well as a number of counter-intuitive practices that shorten product development cycles, measure actual progress without resorting to vanity metrics, and learn what customers really want. "The Lean Startup has a kind of inexorable logic, and Ries’ recommendations come as a bracing slap in the face to would-be tech moguls: Test your ideas before you bet the bank on them. —Mitchell Kapor, Founder, Lotus Development Corp. "At Asana, we've been lucky to benefit from Eric's advice firsthand; this book will enable him to help many more entrepreneurs answer the tough questions about their business." —Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder of Facebook and Asana “Ries' splendid book is the essential template to understand the crucial leadership challenge of our time: initiating and managing growth!” —Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business, University of Southern California and author of the recently published, Still Surprised: A Memoir of a Life in Leadership. ". — Tim O'Reilly, CEO O'Reilly Media “Eric Ries unravels the mysteries of entrepreneurship and reveals that magic and genius are not the necessary ingredients for success but instead proposes a scientific process that can be learnt and replicated. Ries's ‘read and react’ approach to this sport, his relentless focus on validated learning, the never-ending anxiety of hovering between ‘persevere’ and ‘pivot’, all bear witness to his appreciation for the dynamics of entrepreneurship." —Randy Komisar, founding director of TiVo and author of the bestselling The Monk and the Riddle “How do you apply the 50 year old ideas of Lean to the fast-paced, high uncertainty world of Startups? It provides actionable ways to avoid product-learning mistakes, rigorously evaluate early signals from the market through validated learning, and decide whether to persevere or to pivot, all challenges that heighten the chance of entrepreneurial failure.” —Professor Noam Wasserman, Harvard Business School “One of the best and most insightful new books on entrepreneurship and management I’ve ever read. Seriously stop and read this book now.” —Scott Case, CEO Startup America Partnership “In business, a ‘lean’ enterprise is sustainable efficiency in action. Eric Ries’ revolutionary Lean Startup method will help bring your new business idea to an end result that is successful and sustainable. These tools will help organizations large and small to sustain innovation by effectively leveraging the time, passion, and skill of their talent pools.” — Andrea Goldsmith, professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, and cofounder of several startups “Business is too important to be left to luck. This book is the guided tour of the key innovative practices used inside Google, Toyota, and Facebook, that work in any business.” — Scott Cook, Founder and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Intuit. —Mitchell Kapor, Founder, Lotus Development Corp. "At Asana, we've been lucky to benefit from Eric's advice firsthand; this book will enable him to help many more entrepreneurs answer the tough questions about their business." —Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder of Facebook and Asana “Ries' splendid book is the essential template to understand the crucial leadership challenge of our time: initiating and managing growth!” —Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business, University of Southern California and author of the recently published, Still Surprised: A Memoir of a Life in Leadership. ". — Tim O'Reilly, CEO O'Reilly Media “Eric Ries unravels the mysteries of entrepreneurship and reveals that magic and genius are not the necessary ingredients for success but instead proposes a scientific process that can be learnt and replicated. Ries's ‘read and react’ approach to this sport, his relentless focus on validated learning, the never-ending anxiety of hovering between ‘persevere’ and ‘pivot’, all bear witness to his appreciation for the dynamics of entrepreneurship." —Randy Komisar, founding director of TiVo and author of the bestselling The Monk and the Riddle “How do you apply the 50 year old ideas of Lean to the fast-paced, high uncertainty world of Startups? It provides actionable ways to avoid product-learning mistakes, rigorously evaluate early signals from the market through validated learning, and decide whether to persevere or to pivot, all challenges that heighten the chance of entrepreneurial failure.” —Professor Noam Wasserman, Harvard Business School “One of the best and most insightful new books on entrepreneurship and management I’ve ever read. Seriously stop and read this book now.” —Scott Case, CEO Startup America Partnership “In business, a ‘lean’ enterprise is sustainable efficiency in action. These tools will help organizations large and small to sustain innovation by effectively leveraging the time, passion, and skill of their talent pools.” — Andrea Goldsmith, professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, and cofounder of several startups “Business is too important to be left to luck. This book is the guided tour of the key innovative practices used inside Google, Toyota, and Facebook, that work in any business.” — Scott Cook, Founder and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Intuit.
Reviews
"This book is fabulous."
"Second time reading this book and it is a great book to read a second time, to remember his insights and to help formalize the thoughts I have many days at work."
"This is my first enterprise book I have ever read and learning about the Lean Startup that is now becoming a big thing was very helpful with this book."
"Not the be all and end all on the subject and the serious reader will want to dive into some of the other books on the subject."
"An eye-opener about how to succeed or fail in hi tech."
"If you are looking to create a startup business yourself, bring innovation to your workplace or consult on either behalf, this is a fantastic read."
"Vicente Njoku. Author: Success Plan and Positioning Strategy 7.0. Success Plan and Positioning Strategy 7.0: Closing The Gap Between Your Primary Goal and A Successful Outcome."
"In fact, hardware is hard and my research hasn't found anything remotely useful in applying lean start-up principles to hardware. Diarrhea of the word processor resulted in a 365 page definition of a lean start-up, where it could have been boiled down to less than 100 pages (minus 1-star for waste...Distill it down to an A3 using Lean Thinking). (Minus 1-star: As a hardware guy and having extensive experience in lean it's blatantly obvious Ries is just starting his lean journey and his last section (Accelerate) is superficial, survey, regurgitation of some of the lean tools and ideas). Reference More Actionable Books: Running Lean - Ash Maurya. Art of the Start (Ch.1) - Guy Kawasaki. Reference Free Material: Steve Blank's Website & Blog. Simon Sinek - Start with Why."
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Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
In Zero to One , legendary entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows how we can find singular ways to create those new things. Thiel begins with the contrarian premise that we live in an age of technological stagnation, even if we’re too distracted by shiny mobile devices to notice. Zero to One presents at once an optimistic view of the future of progress in America and a new way of thinking about innovation: it starts by learning to ask the questions that lead you to find value in unexpected places. What Thiel is after is the revitalization of imagination and invention writ large…" – The New Republic "Might be the best business book I've read...Barely 200 pages long and well lit by clear prose and pithy aphorisms, Thiel has written a perfectly tweetable treatise and a relentlessly thought-provoking handbook." “ This book delivers completely new and refreshing ideas on how to create value in the world.” - Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook “Peter Thiel has built multiple breakthrough companies, and Zero to One shows how.” - Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla. In the case of Peter Thiel, read it twice. This is a classic.” - Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of Fooled by Randomness and The Black Swan “Thiel has drawn upon his wide-ranging and idiosyncratic readings in philosophy, history, economics, anthropology, and culture to become perhaps America’s leading public intellectual today” - Fortune "Peter Thiel, in addition to being an accomplished entrepreneur and investor, is also one of the leading public intellectuals of our time. He started the Thiel Fellowship, which ignited a national debate by encouraging young people to put learning before schooling, and he leads the Thiel Foundation, which works to advance technological progress and long- term thinking about the future.
Reviews
"For example "we never invest in entrepreneurs who turn up for the interview in a suit" or "four of the founders of PayPal had built bombs as children." Memo to Peter Thiel: you are successful despite your prejudice against people who don't share your sartorial taste, and your partners made it to adulthood despite having been poorly supervised as children. He was not beaten by a better provider of software, he was superseded by a shift in technology toward powerful mobile devices, tablets and the cloud, all of which, in turn, were motivated by other entrepreneurs' desire to obtain monopoly profits. So Steve Jobs dominated many of these arenas for long enough to enjoy monopoly profits and other people will some day take this all further. Even the government is in on the act, Peter Thiel claims, or else it would not be granting patents to inventors or freedom from competition from generic drugs to the pharmaceutical companies that first develop new medications. My mom taught me that "necessity is the mother of invention:" GM did not develop the Volt till it was up against the wall, Archimedes discovered how to screw water upwards during the Roman siege of Syracuse, the Germans developed jet propulsion, the swept wing and the rocket we later sent to the moon when they had pretty much already lost WWII. And then we have the cases where, as the author says, it's clear that you need to incentivize people to innovate (drugs spring to mind, where the US has a lead) and that's where patents come in. And it was crystal clear to everybody with a modicum of common sense that both Intel and Microsoft were not helping the world along when they used dirty tricks to hurt AMD and Netscape. The author takes us on a (rather gratuitous) trip from Plato and Aristotle to Nozick and Rawls via Epicurus, Lucretius, Hegel and Marx to discuss when optimism is and isn't warranted and the bottom line is that you're only allowed to be an optimist if you have "definite optimism" based on a specific Design (my capital D) for a business. Peter Thiel takes a massive swipe at the Malcolm Gladwells of the world who overemphasize chance, serendipity and fate with facile arguments about the similarity in Steve Jobs' and Bill Gates' birthdates. It's the Nassim Nicholas Taleb idea, and he duly appears on the back cover to endorse the book. For the best book on the subject I'd swerve around NNT's work and turn to Benoit Mandelbrot's masterpiece, "The (Mis)behaviour of Markets." The fourth idea is no more original, but Thiel puts it well: "there are many more secrets left to find, but they will yield only to relentless searchers." The fifth idea is you need to pick your partners i.e. your investors, your fellow managers and your (ideally 3) directors very carefully in order to make sure you all want the same thing out of the company (and it had better not be immediate rewards). But once they have their first billion and don't need to run their ideas by anyone else to get them funded they very often go do something stupid (dunno, like go mine asteroids) with exactly the same fervour they previously applied to the sensible endeavour that made them rich. The more grounded ones keep their further investments close to home and direct their creativity toward giving lectures and writing books."
"Along with business strategy, Thiel outlines how successful innovation shapes society and shares an intriguing vision. Rather than offer scripts or formulas, Thiel discusses the logic of starting a company that will make a truly meaningful and unique impact on the world. Blake did a great job of adapting and presenting the contents, many of which were delivered when Thiel taught at Stanford. Keeping in mind that companies growing 1000x often carry entire portfolios, Peter gives a good argument for successful moonshots and grand visions. He also highlights the dangers of trying to disrupt entrenched competitors and avoid extra resistance and burn rates on marketing. Rather, Tesla began by making powertrains, then started with high end luxury models to which no solid alternative existed. His strong argument for monopolies are both for novelty and to develop early market dominance should competitors arise later. I found a Monopoly Index by Forbes that showed these types of companies outperforming the Dow and S&P by 33%, which was a pleasant result of some due diligence. Even if you make a product that’s a 3x improvement over a market leader, you aren’t creating anything truly new, and well funded competitors are likely to catch up. It looks at economics, globalization, artificial intelligence, and historical trends along with founder characteristics and the qualities of great salespeople. If you like diving really deep into the mind of a founder across many life experiences, check out Tony Hseih’s Delivering Happiness."
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The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It
An instant classic, this revised and updated edition of the phenomenal bestseller dispels the myths about starting your own business. Michael Gerber's The E-Myth Revisited should be required listening for anyone thinking about starting a business or for those who have already taken that fateful step. The title refers to the author's belief that entrepreneurs--typically brimming with good but distracting ideas--make poor businesspeople. 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 or failure of the business.
Reviews
"Very pleased reading this."
"Great book, well written with a lot of usefull information."
"Useful to gain a general understanding of business and how turn key companies work."
"A book I would suggest for any young, middle aged, and old entreprenuer looking to be successful."
"Hey....do you want the inside information that all corporate heads already know? No one else will tell you what is inside this book....I mean no one else will have the time to explain it to you the way that this book does."
"Great book, bought this to re-read the second time."
"Great read, thinking to start your own business?"
"It is a must read if you are a small business, a start up or thinking of starting a business with the intention of enjoying life while making money."
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Best Startups

The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create RadicallySuccessful Businesses
This is just as true for one person in a garage or a group of seasoned professionals in a Fortune 500 boardroom. Inspired by lessons from lean manufacturing, it relies on “validated learning,” rapid scientific experimentation, as well as a number of counter-intuitive practices that shorten product development cycles, measure actual progress without resorting to vanity metrics, and learn what customers really want. "The Lean Startup has a kind of inexorable logic, and Ries’ recommendations come as a bracing slap in the face to would-be tech moguls: Test your ideas before you bet the bank on them. —Mitchell Kapor, Founder, Lotus Development Corp. "At Asana, we've been lucky to benefit from Eric's advice firsthand; this book will enable him to help many more entrepreneurs answer the tough questions about their business." —Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder of Facebook and Asana “Ries' splendid book is the essential template to understand the crucial leadership challenge of our time: initiating and managing growth!” —Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business, University of Southern California and author of the recently published, Still Surprised: A Memoir of a Life in Leadership. ". — Tim O'Reilly, CEO O'Reilly Media “Eric Ries unravels the mysteries of entrepreneurship and reveals that magic and genius are not the necessary ingredients for success but instead proposes a scientific process that can be learnt and replicated. Ries's ‘read and react’ approach to this sport, his relentless focus on validated learning, the never-ending anxiety of hovering between ‘persevere’ and ‘pivot’, all bear witness to his appreciation for the dynamics of entrepreneurship." —Randy Komisar, founding director of TiVo and author of the bestselling The Monk and the Riddle “How do you apply the 50 year old ideas of Lean to the fast-paced, high uncertainty world of Startups? It provides actionable ways to avoid product-learning mistakes, rigorously evaluate early signals from the market through validated learning, and decide whether to persevere or to pivot, all challenges that heighten the chance of entrepreneurial failure.” —Professor Noam Wasserman, Harvard Business School “One of the best and most insightful new books on entrepreneurship and management I’ve ever read. Seriously stop and read this book now.” —Scott Case, CEO Startup America Partnership “In business, a ‘lean’ enterprise is sustainable efficiency in action. Eric Ries’ revolutionary Lean Startup method will help bring your new business idea to an end result that is successful and sustainable. These tools will help organizations large and small to sustain innovation by effectively leveraging the time, passion, and skill of their talent pools.” — Andrea Goldsmith, professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, and cofounder of several startups “Business is too important to be left to luck. This book is the guided tour of the key innovative practices used inside Google, Toyota, and Facebook, that work in any business.” — Scott Cook, Founder and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Intuit. —Mitchell Kapor, Founder, Lotus Development Corp. "At Asana, we've been lucky to benefit from Eric's advice firsthand; this book will enable him to help many more entrepreneurs answer the tough questions about their business." —Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder of Facebook and Asana “Ries' splendid book is the essential template to understand the crucial leadership challenge of our time: initiating and managing growth!” —Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business, University of Southern California and author of the recently published, Still Surprised: A Memoir of a Life in Leadership. ". — Tim O'Reilly, CEO O'Reilly Media “Eric Ries unravels the mysteries of entrepreneurship and reveals that magic and genius are not the necessary ingredients for success but instead proposes a scientific process that can be learnt and replicated. Ries's ‘read and react’ approach to this sport, his relentless focus on validated learning, the never-ending anxiety of hovering between ‘persevere’ and ‘pivot’, all bear witness to his appreciation for the dynamics of entrepreneurship." —Randy Komisar, founding director of TiVo and author of the bestselling The Monk and the Riddle “How do you apply the 50 year old ideas of Lean to the fast-paced, high uncertainty world of Startups? It provides actionable ways to avoid product-learning mistakes, rigorously evaluate early signals from the market through validated learning, and decide whether to persevere or to pivot, all challenges that heighten the chance of entrepreneurial failure.” —Professor Noam Wasserman, Harvard Business School “One of the best and most insightful new books on entrepreneurship and management I’ve ever read. Seriously stop and read this book now.” —Scott Case, CEO Startup America Partnership “In business, a ‘lean’ enterprise is sustainable efficiency in action. These tools will help organizations large and small to sustain innovation by effectively leveraging the time, passion, and skill of their talent pools.” — Andrea Goldsmith, professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, and cofounder of several startups “Business is too important to be left to luck. This book is the guided tour of the key innovative practices used inside Google, Toyota, and Facebook, that work in any business.” — Scott Cook, Founder and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Intuit.
Reviews
"So for me, the biggest takeaway from 'The Lean Startup' was Eric's explanation of the 'Five Whys' method to examine problems within any business."
"This book is fabulous."
"Second time reading this book and it is a great book to read a second time, to remember his insights and to help formalize the thoughts I have many days at work."
"This is my first enterprise book I have ever read and learning about the Lean Startup that is now becoming a big thing was very helpful with this book."
"Not the be all and end all on the subject and the serious reader will want to dive into some of the other books on the subject."
"In fact, hardware is hard and my research hasn't found anything remotely useful in applying lean start-up principles to hardware. Diarrhea of the word processor resulted in a 365 page definition of a lean start-up, where it could have been boiled down to less than 100 pages (minus 1-star for waste...Distill it down to an A3 using Lean Thinking). (Minus 1-star: As a hardware guy and having extensive experience in lean it's blatantly obvious Ries is just starting his lean journey and his last section (Accelerate) is superficial, survey, regurgitation of some of the lean tools and ideas). Reference More Actionable Books: Running Lean - Ash Maurya. Art of the Start (Ch.1) - Guy Kawasaki. Reference Free Material: Steve Blank's Website & Blog. Simon Sinek - Start with Why."
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Best Entrepreneurship Management

The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create RadicallySuccessful Businesses
This is just as true for one person in a garage or a group of seasoned professionals in a Fortune 500 boardroom. Inspired by lessons from lean manufacturing, it relies on “validated learning,” rapid scientific experimentation, as well as a number of counter-intuitive practices that shorten product development cycles, measure actual progress without resorting to vanity metrics, and learn what customers really want. "The Lean Startup has a kind of inexorable logic, and Ries’ recommendations come as a bracing slap in the face to would-be tech moguls: Test your ideas before you bet the bank on them. —Mitchell Kapor, Founder, Lotus Development Corp. "At Asana, we've been lucky to benefit from Eric's advice firsthand; this book will enable him to help many more entrepreneurs answer the tough questions about their business." —Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder of Facebook and Asana “Ries' splendid book is the essential template to understand the crucial leadership challenge of our time: initiating and managing growth!” —Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business, University of Southern California and author of the recently published, Still Surprised: A Memoir of a Life in Leadership. ". — Tim O'Reilly, CEO O'Reilly Media “Eric Ries unravels the mysteries of entrepreneurship and reveals that magic and genius are not the necessary ingredients for success but instead proposes a scientific process that can be learnt and replicated. Ries's ‘read and react’ approach to this sport, his relentless focus on validated learning, the never-ending anxiety of hovering between ‘persevere’ and ‘pivot’, all bear witness to his appreciation for the dynamics of entrepreneurship." —Randy Komisar, founding director of TiVo and author of the bestselling The Monk and the Riddle “How do you apply the 50 year old ideas of Lean to the fast-paced, high uncertainty world of Startups? It provides actionable ways to avoid product-learning mistakes, rigorously evaluate early signals from the market through validated learning, and decide whether to persevere or to pivot, all challenges that heighten the chance of entrepreneurial failure.” —Professor Noam Wasserman, Harvard Business School “One of the best and most insightful new books on entrepreneurship and management I’ve ever read. Seriously stop and read this book now.” —Scott Case, CEO Startup America Partnership “In business, a ‘lean’ enterprise is sustainable efficiency in action. Eric Ries’ revolutionary Lean Startup method will help bring your new business idea to an end result that is successful and sustainable. These tools will help organizations large and small to sustain innovation by effectively leveraging the time, passion, and skill of their talent pools.” — Andrea Goldsmith, professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, and cofounder of several startups “Business is too important to be left to luck. This book is the guided tour of the key innovative practices used inside Google, Toyota, and Facebook, that work in any business.” — Scott Cook, Founder and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Intuit. —Mitchell Kapor, Founder, Lotus Development Corp. "At Asana, we've been lucky to benefit from Eric's advice firsthand; this book will enable him to help many more entrepreneurs answer the tough questions about their business." —Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder of Facebook and Asana “Ries' splendid book is the essential template to understand the crucial leadership challenge of our time: initiating and managing growth!” —Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business, University of Southern California and author of the recently published, Still Surprised: A Memoir of a Life in Leadership. ". — Tim O'Reilly, CEO O'Reilly Media “Eric Ries unravels the mysteries of entrepreneurship and reveals that magic and genius are not the necessary ingredients for success but instead proposes a scientific process that can be learnt and replicated. Ries's ‘read and react’ approach to this sport, his relentless focus on validated learning, the never-ending anxiety of hovering between ‘persevere’ and ‘pivot’, all bear witness to his appreciation for the dynamics of entrepreneurship." —Randy Komisar, founding director of TiVo and author of the bestselling The Monk and the Riddle “How do you apply the 50 year old ideas of Lean to the fast-paced, high uncertainty world of Startups? It provides actionable ways to avoid product-learning mistakes, rigorously evaluate early signals from the market through validated learning, and decide whether to persevere or to pivot, all challenges that heighten the chance of entrepreneurial failure.” —Professor Noam Wasserman, Harvard Business School “One of the best and most insightful new books on entrepreneurship and management I’ve ever read. Seriously stop and read this book now.” —Scott Case, CEO Startup America Partnership “In business, a ‘lean’ enterprise is sustainable efficiency in action. These tools will help organizations large and small to sustain innovation by effectively leveraging the time, passion, and skill of their talent pools.” — Andrea Goldsmith, professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, and cofounder of several startups “Business is too important to be left to luck. This book is the guided tour of the key innovative practices used inside Google, Toyota, and Facebook, that work in any business.” — Scott Cook, Founder and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Intuit.
Reviews
"So for me, the biggest takeaway from 'The Lean Startup' was Eric's explanation of the 'Five Whys' method to examine problems within any business."
"This book is fabulous."
"Second time reading this book and it is a great book to read a second time, to remember his insights and to help formalize the thoughts I have many days at work."
"This is my first enterprise book I have ever read and learning about the Lean Startup that is now becoming a big thing was very helpful with this book."
"Not the be all and end all on the subject and the serious reader will want to dive into some of the other books on the subject."
"In fact, hardware is hard and my research hasn't found anything remotely useful in applying lean start-up principles to hardware. Diarrhea of the word processor resulted in a 365 page definition of a lean start-up, where it could have been boiled down to less than 100 pages (minus 1-star for waste...Distill it down to an A3 using Lean Thinking). (Minus 1-star: As a hardware guy and having extensive experience in lean it's blatantly obvious Ries is just starting his lean journey and his last section (Accelerate) is superficial, survey, regurgitation of some of the lean tools and ideas). Reference More Actionable Books: Running Lean - Ash Maurya. Art of the Start (Ch.1) - Guy Kawasaki. Reference Free Material: Steve Blank's Website & Blog. Simon Sinek - Start with Why."
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Best High-Tech Businesses

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
Vance spent over 40 hours in conversation with Musk and interviewed close to 300 people to tell the tumultuous stories of Musk's world-changing companies: PayPal, Tesla Motors, SpaceX and SolarCity, and to characterize a man who has renewed American industry and sparked new levels of innovation while making plenty of enemies along the way. "Ashlee Vance's new book, 'Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX and the Quest for a Fantastic Future,' is a tremendous look into arguably the world's most important entrepreneur. Vance paints an unforgettable picture of Musk's unique personality, insatiable drive and ability to thrive through hardship." "Vance's lively book yields all manner of fascinating insights about Musk's companies, his vision, and his personal life." - Whitney Tilson Founder, Kase Capital Management There are few industrialists in history who could match Elon Musk's relentless drive and ingenious vision. A modern alloy of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, and Steve Jobs, Musk is the man behind PayPal, Tesla Motors, SpaceX, and SolarCity, each of which has sent shock waves throughout American business and industry. More than any other executive today, Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far-reaching as a science fiction fantasy. In this lively, investigative account, veteran technology journalist Ashlee Vance offers an unprecedented look into the remarkable life and times of Silicon Valley's most audacious businessman. Written with exclusive access to Musk, his family, and his friends, the book traces his journey from his difficult upbringing in South Africa to his ascent to the pinnacle of the global business world. In 1992, Elon Musk arrived in the United States as a ferociously driven immigrant bent on realizing his wildest dreams. After being forced out of PayPal, fending off a life-threatening case of malaria, and dealing with the death of his infant son, Musk abandoned Silicon Valley for Los Angeles. At a time when many American companies are more interested in chasing easy money than in taking bold risks on radical new technology, Musk stands out as the only businessman with enough dynamism and vision to tackle--and even revolutionize--three industries at once. Vance makes the case that Musk's success heralds a return to the original ambition and invention that made America an economic and intellectual powerhouse.
Reviews
"2 pages in, I decided I was in this for the long haul and sat on the floor, right there in the middle of the store. Because as you experience the story, as you see the challenges Musk went through to reach the pinnacle he's at today, the question nags at you. Musk isn't soft-spoken, or easy on his employees, or a man who kicks his legs up on his desk and snoozes while his companies mill around him. Vance shows how Musk is both the CEO and an employee of his companies, simultaneously the teacher and student. Vance takes you deep into the details, from Musk's childhood and lineage in South Africa, all the way to Canada and the United States, where the bulk of the story unfolds. When Musk looks at big businesses, he sees unmovable behemoths that refuse to change their methodologies. So we follow Musk's journey from his small start-ups, Zip2 and X.com, and move into his larger, more permanent ventures, namely SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity. Did you know SpaceX tested these rockets on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and would fix problems they encountered in a matter of days, as compared to months by standard companies? I'm going to reread this book in a few weeks (probably after the scheduled June 19th third Falcon 9 landing attempt, this time on solid ground, as opposed to a barge). Anyone who wants a ridiculously thorough insight into Elon Musk's life and companies should read this book. This is an incredibly inspiring book, a important look into a game-changing business strategy, and a valuable lesson to the world."
"I loved the insight into Musk and how he operates, and you get a very broad and complete picture of Musk as a driven visionary that is absolutely set on delivering some of the most aspirational goals of any human in history. You also get some great insight into the overall ecosystem around Musk - his companies (SpaceX and Tesla primarily), relationships with other companies and gov entities, as well as the important people around him."
"Solid, well researched book about Musk's early life, early companies (Zip2 and PayPal), and current companies (Tesla, SpaceX and SolarCity). Throughout the book, Vance doesn't just let a startling assertion or quote stand still, he researches events to give the reader a balanced view of what transpired."
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Best Business Education

Make It Stick
Drawing on cognitive psychology and other fields, Make It Stick offers techniques for becoming more productive learners, and cautions against study habits and practice routines that turn out to be counterproductive. If you want to read a lively and engaging book on the science of learning, this is a must… Make It Stick benefits greatly from its use of stories about people who have achieved mastery of complex knowledge and skills. Over the course of the book, the authors weave together stories from an array of learners―surgeons, pilots, gardeners, and school and university students―to illustrate their arguments about how successful learning takes place… This is a rich and resonant book and a pleasurable read that will leave you pondering the processes through which you, and your students, acquire new knowledge and skills. Anyone with an interest in teaching or learning will benefit from reading this book, which not only presents thoroughly grounded research but does so in an eminently readable way that is accessible even to students. Aimed primarily at students, parents, and teachers, Make It Stick also offers practical advice for learners of all ages, at all stages of life… With its credible challenge to conventional wisdom, Make It Stick does point the way forward, with a very real prospect of tangible and enduring benefits. But the authors don’t simply recite the research; they show readers how it is applied in real-life learning scenarios, with engaging stories of real people in academic, professional, and sports environments… The learning strategies proposed in this book can be implemented immediately, at no cost, and to great effect… Make It Stick will help you become a much more productive learner.
Reviews
"But the main "thesis" of Peter Brown's book - aside from being a summary of what cognitive science data shows about how we learn - is basically that many of the things we often assume about learning are wrong. We all have learning styles that are the way we learn best. While we all certainly have learning preferences (I like to receive my information in written form), that doesn't mean we learn best when receiving information in that form (I can do as well when I receive information audibly as when it is written, even though I prefer the latter). Brown reviews literature that shows that, at least as of now, there is no evidence that shows that how one receives information substantially affects how well we learn the material (after all, hearing or reading a phone number is immaterial to what i am remembering: not the sound or sight of the number, but the number itself). Also, another factor that affects how well we learn is our mindset, whether we learn for mastery or learn for performance. Those who learn for performance - so that they can show how good they are - tend to tackle learning new things (things that might make them look bad) with trepidation, but those who learn for mastery aspire to acquire new skills openly, without regard to whether they will fail before mastering."
"Well, after reading through reviews I found the article this was based on - if you have good google skills, then you should be able to find the PDF for free (I did): What Works, What Doesn't - Some study techniques accelerate learning, wheras other are just a waste of time -. The Scientific American Mind (mind.scientificamerican.com) - by John Dunlosky, Katherine Rawon, Elizabeth Marsh, Mitchell Nathan and Daniel Willingham. This is a little 6 page article which seems to explain >80% of the key points listed in this book."
"Most of us will focus on the prescriptions of Chapter 8: e.g. avoid rereading as a primary study method, and do use the blank paper assessment test, etc.. =====. While reading, I noticed two points made by the authors that will shape your experience: 1) page ix in the Preface: "first author is a storyteller". 2) page 200: "early readers (of the book draft) urged the author to get specific with practical advice". I agree with reviewers Soumen, T. Pagni, Economist: yes, the book could've been much shorter and focused on the advice. I also agree with the numerous reviewers who praise it: yes it provides excellent practical insight into the best ways to learn (both physical and mental tasks). I'm now prepared to wade through long winded stories to find the main points. - sustained, deliberate practice, even when it feels ponderous, is helping me learn. - Trust the process of study, forget, retrieve. Upon revisiting the material, I found myself *wanting* to find and connect the ideas spread across the stories and the book. During retrieval practice, I actually started remembering some of the advice from the stories, moreso than from the explicit recommendations. RELATE IT TO WHAT I ALREADY KNOW: I consider this book (MIS) a valuable complement to What Smart Students Know by A. Robinson (WSSK). WSSK tells you in much greater detail what to do while you are a matriculating student i.e. how to approach the conventional schooling process, how to assess class/book structure, how to relate the material to what you've learned, what specifically you should during the pre-study, study and post-study periods. Personally, the advice in this book is worth far more than the cost of $21, and a few hours of reading, reflection and note-taking that I paid for it."
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Best Business Management

The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results
Voted one of Top 100 Business Books of All Time on Goodreads. People are using this simple, powerful concept to focus on what matters most in their personal and work lives. By focusing their energy on one thing at a time people are living more rewarding lives by building their careers, strengthening their finances, losing weight and getting in shape, deepening their faith, and nurturing stronger marriages and personal relationships. In. The ONE Thing. , you. '. ll learn to. *. cut through the clutter. *. achieve better results in less time. *. build momentum toward your goal. *. dial down the stress. *. overcome that overwhelmed feeling. *. revive your energy. *. stay on track. *. master what matters to you. The ONE Thing. delivers extraordinary results in every area of your life. --. work, personal, family, and spiritual. Gary Keller is chairman of the board and cofounder of Keller Williams Realty, Inc., which holds the #1 position as the largest real estate company in the world.
Reviews
"Have you ever felt the Universe arranged everything for you to be at the right time on your computer, reading the right article that mentioned the perfect book you were meant to read at that specific point in your life? Not because it wasn't understood the first time around, but because I simply want to inundate myself with all its the ideas. Below are some of the highlights that profoundly resonated with me but I invite you to grab a copy and read the whole book. Extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you can make your focus. Success is actually a short race -- a sprint fueled by discipline just long enough for habit to kick in and take over. How we phrase the questions we ask ourselves determines the answers that eventually become our lives."
"Or do they pull off something worthwhile and can they really aid someone find the business success they are seeking? Are they preaching to an already converted choir to confirm their preconceived notions or are they offering fresh insights and trying to broaden the horizons of readers? This book is authored by the very successful founder of one of the nation's great realtors, Keller-Williams. Gary Keller is targeting those business folks who want to find single minded success - the kinds of self-sacrificing, dedicated, and single-minded people he wants to hire and who will make themselves (and him) a great deal of money. Keller believes in focus, utter dedication to your one thing, and driving to breakthrough barriers to get to your one big purpose. He is not a big believer work life balance - he actually rejects it and calls it a lie. In other words, the key ideas are underlined in what looks like pencil - as if a previous reader had done it for you. I hear any number of executives talk about this as they are on their third marriage and fathering their own grandkids. There is a lot of benefit that comes from having succeeded and getting the space and time that comes from financial success."
"It's realizing that extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you can make your focus. well written, incredibly simple, concise, practical analysis of the whys and hows of discovering and executing our ONE Thing. The Focusing Question - Helps us arrive at The ONE Thing. "When everything feels urgent and important, everything seems equal. We become active and busy, but this doesn't actually move us any closer to success. Activity is often unrelated to productivity, and busyness rarely takes care of business.""
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Best Business Accounting

Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine
Just as the most effective weight loss strategy is to limit portions by using smaller plates, Michalowicz shows that by taking profit first and apportioning only what remains for expenses, entrepreneurs will transform their businesses from cash-eating monsters to profitable cash cows. · Following 4 simple principles can simplify accounting and make it easier to manage a profitable business by looking at bank account balances. Follow Mike’s counter-intuitive advice and put profits first.”. --VERNE HARNISH, author of Scaling Up “ Profit First is a brilliant smack-upside-the-head revelation for entrepreneurs. Apply the pay-yourself-first principle to your business and watch the profits roll in.”. —CHRIS GUILLEBEAU, author of Born for This and The $100 Startup " Profit First is a game-changer. This book has the potential to change the next 20 years of your small business life.”. —DAWN FOTOPULOS, Associate Professor of Business, The King’s College NYC; author of Accounting for the Numberphobic “ Profit First is a revelation. Profit First makes the process so radically simple that you no longer have an excuse not to be profitable AND have cash flow!”. —GREG CRABTREE, author of Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits. “Not only is Mike one of the most innovative small business authors of our time, his Profit First system—simple to apply and impactful in its results—can be the difference between constantly walking the financial tightrope or being predictably profitable. "Why are so few businesses actually profitable for their owners?
Reviews
"This book is a must read for anyone interested in starting a business or is already a business owner. Business Owners: For years, us accountants have been trying to teach our clients the business owners to run their business using the data in their accounting software and for years business owners have failed to thrive and simply manage sale to sale and payroll to payroll. I have personally witnessed these same business owners implement the stupidly simple strategy this book teaches and completely change the trajectory of their business and their financial position."
"That's right, in the time it takes me to write this review, thanks to the actionable guidance of this book, my business will have gone from mishy-moshy, wishy-washy, kinda-breaking-even to having an actual, hard, bottom-line PROFIT. I am so glad I found this book at the beginning of year two of my business because, otherwise, I was looking at this year as "bleed every last drop of cash into the business to grow, grow, grow, then trim next year and hope for profits" model."
"With the profit first system, you will start taking your profit out first, and if you are not making a profit, your business will start asking you to address the problem."
"This book has truly shifted my thinking in how I run my business."
"Many great examples and explanations on why we as business owners MUST starting taking care of ourselves - paying out for our hard labors - and the system behind it all."
"I am excited to get back home and put the accounts in place and begin the Profit First Journey."
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Best 30-Minute Business & Money Short Reads

A Joosr Guide to... The $100 Start-Up by Chris Guillebeau: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future
Why spend most of your life working for other people, endlessly slaving away and trapped in a dull routine, when you could be using that time to realize your dreams? These businesses operate on an extremely small scale, and are built around using an individual's skills or interests to generate money in a meaningful way. It's for those who want to escape from corporate life, build something of their own to support their families, or just find a way to make more money. As you noted, some people hear the word startup and imagine things like venture capital, funding rounds, and eventually cashing out if possible. The beautiful thing about starting small means that you're not necessarily competing with anyone, and your financial risk is low. CB: The first thing that surprised me was how willing most respondents were to talk about the inner workings of their business, especially the financial details. My hope is that this book will serve as a blueprint for many more success stories, just like the unconventional and unexpected entrepreneurs I talked to from all over the world. " The $100 Startup is a twofer: It's a kick in the pants to get started on your dream and a road map for finding your way once you begin. -- Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind "In this valuable guide Chris Guillebeau shows that transforming an idea into a successful business can be easier than you think…You are in charge of which ideas deserve your time, and this book can help you wake up every morning eager to progress to the next step." -- Tony Hsieh, New York Times bestselling author of Delivering Happiness and CEO of Zappos.com. -- Chris Brogan, President of Human Business Works and author of Trust Agents. “With traditional career doors slamming shut, it’s easy to panic, but Chris Guillebeau sees opportunities everywhere. Making a career out of your passion sounds like a dream, but in this straight-forward, engaging book he shows you how to get it done, one simple step at a time.” -- Alan Paul, author of Big in China. "Delivers exactly what a new entrepreneur needs: road-tested, effective and exceptionally pragmatic advice for starting a new business on a shoestring.” -- Pamela Slim, author of Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur “Guillebeau has been in the trenches for years, and in The $100 Startup he guides you step-by-step through how he and dozens of others have turned their passions into profits. Thoughtful, funny, and compulsively readable, this guide shows how ordinary people can build solid livings, with independence and purpose, on their own terms.” -- Gretchen Rubin, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Happiness Project.
Reviews
"For those of us that have the tendency to over think."
"Just buy Kindle version for 1 or 2 USD."
"This book will give you many ideas on how you can start a business by simply solving a problem."
"If you want to be even more inspired and more thorough I'd recommand Tim Ferriss' Four Hour Work Week."
"Too many people think it takes money to make money."
"This is a excellent book to read if you are looking for a great and simple idea on how to start a business."
"Useful, straightforward tips on starting a business and maintaining it with a lot of real-life examples / use cases showcased."
"I would highly recommend this book to students of online business building."
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Best Online Advertising

The Kindle Publishing Bible: How To Sell More Kindle Ebooks on Amazon (Step-by-Step Instructions On Self-Publishing And Marketing Your Books) (Kindle Bible Book 1)
I Believe Publishing on Kindle Should Be Fun, Profitable and Rewarding If you want your book to become a Kindle best seller I can show you how. Most authors (even the ones with publishers and big marketing budgets) have no idea how to do keyword research, add the right search keywords when they publish their book, or use keywords in their book description without it sounding like it was written by a robot. In this book, you'll learn my "Show and Tell" system for selling more books on Kindle by giving you readers what they want and overcoming objections in your book description. You have to make buying your book an irresistible offer so that when browsers get done reading your book description they say, "I have to buy this book!" Finally, I discovered Amazon's Kindle Publishing platform and published my first book on Kindle on February 10, 2012. I've since helped thousands of self-published authors like you sell more books on Kindle. "Book publishing is going through accelerated changes. In The Kindle Publishing Bible, Tom Corson-Knowles shares refreshingly new step-by-step instructions for authors to sell a lot more books without a big marketing budget. If you're an author and are serious about your career, this book will help take you to the next level." "I wrote three books in three months (two of which hit #1 in an extremely competitive category) and traveled the world off of my book royalties starting the day that I published my first book. Implementing the techniques and mindset that Tom covers in his books, I managed to have my books downloaded over 5,000 times in the first three months of launching my short novels... and I didn't have to spend a single dollar on marketing. "This book has an awesome section on how to choose a book title that will be a winner and also talks about how to deal with a negative review." " The Kindle Publishing Bible inspires me to publish my own book." I self-publish my books on Amazon Kindle and I now earn a full-time income as a self-published author just 8 months after publishing my first book on Kindle. You see, I'm a member of an elite Kindle publishing authors society and I have been trained by some of the best Kindle authors, publishers and online marketers in the world. Many so-called authors just hire someone in the Phillippines or India to write books for them, publish them under a pen name and then use all kinds of shady and unethical "marketing" tactics to sell more books.
Reviews
"I really like the transparency of the writer, and you get a lot of valuable bonuses and resources."
"One of my worries was how to best use the various services KDP offers so I could maximize the visibility and sales for the book."
"A very useful, practical, down to earth guide to publishing and marketing to Kindle."
"Very well written, no fluff, straight to the meat of what all self-published authors need and want to know."
"Any new or about to be published authors like myself will benefit immensely by reading and following the excellent guidance and other information sources referenced by the author."
"The work is well balanced and definitely not boring which it could have been."
"Good ADVICE, THIS WILL PAY FOR ITSELF IN THE COMING MONTHS."
"This book is chock full of extremely useful information for any author wanting to increase their presence and getting the word out about their books."
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Best Dental Office Practice

How To Build The Dental Practice Of Your Dreams: (Without Killing Yourself!) In Less Than 60 Days
The Ultimate Patient Experience has allowed Dr. Moffet to: • Sell his dental practice for a cool $2.75. million - for which he collected 80% in. cash, 20% in stock... • Consistently increase his prices (10.55%. per year, on average) while retaining over. 90% of his patients... • And DOUBLE his cold phone conversion rates, using a strategy that will take you less than. 10 minutes to set up... David. Moffet walks his talk and has not only built. a thriving and successful dental practice. but a life of wonder and enrichment as well. Dr. Moffet provides you the playbook, revealing. how to build a successful seven-figure. practice while working four days a week for. 37 weeks.”. ―Shep Hyken. Customer Service Expert and. New York Times bestselling Author of. The Amazement Revolution. “This book not only teaches how to create. the ultimate patient experience, it is a. game plan on how to become a business. customers cannot live without. His premise is simple: the secret to success is not a secret…work. hard, shift your thinking, and add real value. to people’s lives.”. ―Dr. David Moffet can give you. the tools to continue building your dream. practice year after year while enjoying more. freedom to enjoy your other life.”. ―Linda Miles. Founder, Linda Miles & Associates; Founder, Speaking Consulting Network; Cofounder, Oral Cancer Cause (a 5013c). He is a skilled dentist, dynamic speaker, and a proven business growth coach. NOTEWORTHY CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: • Moffet grew his practice from a one-dentist/ assistant team with production of $120K/year into a $3M/year booming business in a low-income suburb of Sydney, Australia. • Founder of The Ultimate Patient Experience™, a unique patient engagement system that dramatically enhances the value of each visit and boosts patient retention rates to levels never seen in most practices.
Reviews
"I still have a fear that some huge corporate dental office will swoop in and steal all of my wonderful patients. I came across David Moffet's "big yellow book" and was so happy that I did."
"It's easy to see how Dr. Moffet was able to create an ultra successful practice."
"Every practice owner should take the time to read this book."
"Great book for any dentist."
"I truly enjoyed reading this book!"
"A good fast read on things that should be common sense but somehow get forgotten in the hectic life of a dental office."
"Dr Moffett has written an amazingly valuable and relevant book."
"This book is amazing."
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Best International Accounting

Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine
Just as the most effective weight loss strategy is to limit portions by using smaller plates, Michalowicz shows that by taking profit first and apportioning only what remains for expenses, entrepreneurs will transform their businesses from cash-eating monsters to profitable cash cows. · Following 4 simple principles can simplify accounting and make it easier to manage a profitable business by looking at bank account balances. Apply the pay-yourself-first principle to your business and watch the profits roll in.”. —CHRIS GUILLEBEAU, author of Born for This and The $100 Startup " Profit First is a game-changer. —MICHAEL PORT, author of Steal the Show " Profit First completely transformed how I handle business banking. This book has the potential to change the next 20 years of your small business life.”. —DAWN FOTOPULOS, Associate Professor of Business, The King’s College NYC; author of Accounting for the Numberphobic “ Profit First is a revelation. Profit First makes the process so radically simple that you no longer have an excuse not to be profitable AND have cash flow!”. —GREG CRABTREE, author of Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits. “Not only is Mike one of the most innovative small business authors of our time, his Profit First system—simple to apply and impactful in its results—can be the difference between constantly walking the financial tightrope or being predictably profitable. "Why are so few businesses actually profitable for their owners?
Reviews
"This book is a must read for anyone interested in starting a business or is already a business owner. Business Owners: For years, us accountants have been trying to teach our clients the business owners to run their business using the data in their accounting software and for years business owners have failed to thrive and simply manage sale to sale and payroll to payroll. I have personally witnessed these same business owners implement the stupidly simple strategy this book teaches and completely change the trajectory of their business and their financial position."
"FINALLY, Profit First is the book, the philosophy, the principles, and everything else I have been seeking to apply to the financial/accounting view of our businesses... - It's visual. - It's easy to comprehend. - It really gives you the TRUE financial picture of your business. BEST PART: When you fully implement Profit First, it makes being EXTREMELY PROFITABLE, EASY and FUN."
"With the profit first system, you will start taking your profit out first, and if you are not making a profit, your business will start asking you to address the problem."
"This is an actionable book, and the author encourages you to take simple (sometimes not easy) steps to overcome inertia. I even went so far as to email the author with a question (how the heck can my S corp pay my taxes?!"
"The message of Mike Michalowicz’s "Profit First" is that without a relentless focus on profit, our natural inclinations will drive our businesses into boom-and-bust cycles that revenue growth alone cannot fix."
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Best International Accounting

Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine
Just as the most effective weight loss strategy is to limit portions by using smaller plates, Michalowicz shows that by taking profit first and apportioning only what remains for expenses, entrepreneurs will transform their businesses from cash-eating monsters to profitable cash cows. · Following 4 simple principles can simplify accounting and make it easier to manage a profitable business by looking at bank account balances. Follow Mike’s counter-intuitive advice and put profits first.”. --VERNE HARNISH, author of Scaling Up “ Profit First is a brilliant smack-upside-the-head revelation for entrepreneurs. Apply the pay-yourself-first principle to your business and watch the profits roll in.”. —CHRIS GUILLEBEAU, author of Born for This and The $100 Startup " Profit First is a game-changer. This book has the potential to change the next 20 years of your small business life.”. —DAWN FOTOPULOS, Associate Professor of Business, The King’s College NYC; author of Accounting for the Numberphobic “ Profit First is a revelation. Profit First makes the process so radically simple that you no longer have an excuse not to be profitable AND have cash flow!”. —GREG CRABTREE, author of Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits. “Not only is Mike one of the most innovative small business authors of our time, his Profit First system—simple to apply and impactful in its results—can be the difference between constantly walking the financial tightrope or being predictably profitable. "Why are so few businesses actually profitable for their owners?
Reviews
"This book is a must read for anyone interested in starting a business or is already a business owner. Business Owners: For years, us accountants have been trying to teach our clients the business owners to run their business using the data in their accounting software and for years business owners have failed to thrive and simply manage sale to sale and payroll to payroll. I have personally witnessed these same business owners implement the stupidly simple strategy this book teaches and completely change the trajectory of their business and their financial position."
"FINALLY, Profit First is the book, the philosophy, the principles, and everything else I have been seeking to apply to the financial/accounting view of our businesses... - It's visual. - It's easy to comprehend. - It really gives you the TRUE financial picture of your business. BEST PART: When you fully implement Profit First, it makes being EXTREMELY PROFITABLE, EASY and FUN."
"With the profit first system, you will start taking your profit out first, and if you are not making a profit, your business will start asking you to address the problem."
"This is an actionable book, and the author encourages you to take simple (sometimes not easy) steps to overcome inertia. I even went so far as to email the author with a question (how the heck can my S corp pay my taxes?!"
"The message of Mike Michalowicz’s "Profit First" is that without a relentless focus on profit, our natural inclinations will drive our businesses into boom-and-bust cycles that revenue growth alone cannot fix."
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Best Use of Color in Graphic Arts

Zenspirations: Letters & Patterning
Zenspirations Patterning is Fun, Easy, & Relaxing- and it's a great way to add interest and texture to any design. Joanne Fink's passion for beautiful patterns is contagious; her Zenspirations Letters & Patterning techniques make it easy for artists and non-artists alike to master patterning quickly and easily.
Reviews
"I like to do finishing touches, draw some cards to send to family and friends, or simply a letter and I will try to embellish it a little, to cheer it up a bit with a squiggle here and there :-). She shows you all these cool designs for frames around photos too - imagine finding a pattern you can easily copy to adorn your favourite affirmation !!"
"I have reviewed Joanne Fink's books before and love them so I continue to purchase them."
"Techniques in coloring and. ex saturations (can't remember how to spell this word) so good and a few drawings to show you how its done."
"Joanne Fink's ZENSPIRATIONS Letters & Patterns is one of those things that if you get stuck on a deserted island you would want to have with you!"
"I cannot say enough good things about all of Joanne Fink's books and her generosity in sharing her techniques!"
"I purchased this book for the alphabet but was pleasantly surprised to find flowers, butterflies, frames, boarders, wave patterns, and I love the verticals!"
"It's probably the most disappointing book out of all of the books I've bought/borrowed/read in the last several years. It's more like an ad for a book or class you'd find laying around in a craft store."
"There is very little instructional info with oversized childish drawings as if they were intentionally created that way, in order to fill the pages."
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Best Social History eBooks of Labor & Workforce

The End of Jobs: Money, Meaning and Freedom Without the 9-to-5
#1 Bestseller in Business and Money, Small Business, Entrepreneurship and International Economics A Top 3 'Start Your Own Business' Book -Inc Magazine. — Why a 20th century world view to career search questions like “What career is right for me?” and “How do I find a career?” could be the source of your frustration (and a better way to think about it). — Taylor’s 67 must-read business books and the best entrepreneur books to fuel your entrepreneurial career. — Access to a private community to discuss the book and get support from a community of like-minded individuals to inspire, motivate, and assist each other in seeking out apprenticeships, your career search and other elements around “how to find a career” and other career guidance questions like “what career is right for me?”. Early Stage Entrepreneurs - If you’re already involved in small business entrepreneurship, but doubting yourself and wondering if you made a smart choice to abandon the traditional career path? Taylor spent the last three years meeting with hundreds of entrepreneurs from Los Angeles to Vietnam, Brazil to New York, and worked with dozens of them, in industries from cat furniture to dating, helping them to grow their businesses. Based on hundreds of interactions and and dozens of recent books and studies, he wrote The End of Jobs to show others how they could invest in entrepreneurship to create more freedom, meaning, and wealth in their lives.
Reviews
"3 years ago I picked up Tim Ferriss' "4 Hour Work Week” - the bible of the first wave of nomadic online entrepreneurs. The End of Jobs presents an even more compelling argument on how the traditional education, career and asset accumulation script is failing. It's the necessary balance of age-old philosophical theories, real-world examples of successful entrepreneurs, and nitty-gritty strategies and tactics that can create a catalyst for change: not only the WHY, but the HOW and WHEN (i.e. right now)!"
"This book was suggested by a Facebook buddy."
"While we have largely accepted technological disruption of blue-collar work (albeit reluctantly), Pearson explains that many white collar careers are ripe for disruption by technology, global competition and other factors."
"I'd give 3 stars if you've already read a lot books on the subject, 4 stars if you're new to it."
"I really like Taylor's book I have listened to it four times now and I really think he is on to something."
"This book is uplifting and practical, providing templates from Taylor's website and strategies for you to employ today, in 2015, to bring yourself into the new world that we live in."
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