Small Is the New Big: and 183 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas Review

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(More customer reviews)Many say you shouldn't give away your work for free if you wish to sell it. Nonsense. Seth Godin has got a big idea with his new book Small is the New Big. This entire book of riffs already exists for free in places such as on Seth's blog or via his Squidoo lens. I've read most of the stories in the book already. Yet I pre-ordered the book on Amazon for overnight delivery because I wanted the content, again, in the new package. I want to take it to the beach. I want to have it on my desk and pick it up now and then.
"you're smarter than they think"
Yes, I'm a Seth Godin fan. Reading his stuff contributed to a life change for me. Back in the late 1990s, I had ideas about how content drives action on Web sites. As the VP Marketing of several reasonably large public companies, I realized that I had "power" and "a good job." In most people's eyes, I was successful. But I just didn't have the right platform to tell the world about my ideas. And I was not fulfilled.
Seth Godin's writing always focuses on getting people like me, those with a fire in the belly to take action. "I've been betting on the intelligence of my readers for almost a decade," Godin writes on the back cover of Small is the new Big, "and that bet keeps paying off. They just don't get it. Now you, you get it... And I'm, betting that once you're inspired you'll actually make something happen."
For me, the big moment was when my company was acquired by a huge organization and I was shown the door. I chose not to take the "safe" route and find another VP Marketing job, but instead to strike out on my own. The "I dare you" messages from Godin were an important part of my life changing decision.
Wow.
I work much harder than before, but fewer hours. I attend very few meetings. I choose the terrific companies I want to work with and tell the idiots to take a hike. I've never missed one of my daughter's swim meets because of work. I have dinner with my family most evenings. I'm helping people make a difference because of my ideas rather than saying "I wish I had..." or "I could, but...".
Read Small is the New Big.
It is an important book. And no matter what you want to do to make a difference, listen to Seth's advice. Just get out there and make it happen.

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

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(More customer reviews)There are a series of books that I keep on a special - quite small - bookshelf. I try to reread each of them every year or so. While I've gotten to the point that I know what they say, but each time I go through one of them I get an idea or two to try in promoting my business.
This book has made it to that shelf.
It got a decision to be put there while I was reading it at the book store. On page 24 there's a story of a lady wanting to sell helmets in a state with no helmet law. So she started stocking children's helmets. When riders told her they didn't want a helmet she asked, 'What about one for the child, they aren't old enough to make that decision for themselves.' What daddy could resist? Then a month later they were back for a helmet for themselves after the kid was asking, 'Daddy, where's your helmet." So a sale for Daddy, little Jimmy and little Suzie. Three sales for one question.
Then on page 83 there's the advice:
Shoot your web designer if they:
Suggest flash intro pages
Suggest frame pages
Suggest templates.
Yes, Yes, Yes!
One point about the web I do not agree. Learn to do your web site yourself. You may hire a designer to do it at first, but then maintain it yourself. It isn't hard and you won't be nickled and dimed to death over every small change you want.
I could go on, but I'm sure you get the idea. All of his ideas won't be applicable, but if you get a good idea or two each time you read through it, the book is worth it's cost many times over.

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Duct Tape Marketing is the small business marketing road map - A collection of proven tools and tactics woven together in a step-by-step marketing system that shows small business owners exactly what to do to market and grow their businesses. This guide combines insights gained from over twenty years of successfully working, in the field, with real-life small businesses. There are no theoretical complexities presented in Duct Tape Marketing - just simple, effective and affordable marketing that sticks. CAREFUL! Duct tape is a serious tool... it sticks where you put it. So are the ideas in this book. If you're ready to make a commitment and are willing to make something happen, John's book is a great place to start. --Seth Godin, author of Purple Cow For all those who wonder why John Jantsch has become the leading advisor and coach to small businesses everywhere, Duct Tape Marketing is the answer. I have never read a business book that is as packed with hands-on, actionable information as this one. There are takeaways in every paragraph, and the success of John's blog is living proof that they work. Duct Tape Marketing should be required reading for anyone who is building a business, or thinking about it. --Bo Burlingham, editor-at-large, Inc. magazine, and author of Small Giants: Companies That Choose To Be Great Instead of Big Duct Tape Marketing is a worthy addition to the growing library of how-to books on small business marketing -- concise, clear, practical, and packed with great ideas to boost your bottom line. --Bob Bly, author of The White Paper Handbook With the world suffering from depleted reserves of trust, a business that sells plenty of it every day tends to create the most value. The great thing about trust as a product feature is that it delivers exceptional returns. With this book, John Jantsch has zeroed in on exactly what small businesses need to sell every day, every hour. --Ben McConnell, co-author of Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force John Jantsch has provided small businesses with the perfect perspective for maximizing all marketing activities - offline and on. Jantsch has the plan to help you thrive in the world of business today. Read it, all your competitors will. --John Battelle, cofounding editor or Wired and author of The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture Duct Tape Marketing is a great read for anyone in business. It has fresh ideas laid out in a practical and useable way. I highly recommend this book for growing any business. --Dr. Ivan Misner, Founder of BNI and Co-author of the New York Times bestseller, Masters of Networking

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Hey You... Don't Stand Out - Get Out: The PersonalSuccess Marketing 40/20/40 System To Rescue The Highly-Trained Professional Review

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(More customer reviews)The inspiring business concepts, marketing skills, and unflappable energy Charlie and Dr. Marc have crammed into every page of this book proves that anyone, given the right resources, support and optimism, can achieve beyond their wildest dreams. Charlie and Dr. Marc have infused a tremendous spirit of authenticity into every word. Going way beyond mere platitudes about 'how to make money', Charlie and Marc have stepped foot, brain and soul into uncharted territory---teaching readers not only what to do, but the exact steps for how to do it. Personal Internet marketing is still in its infancy. Now we have social media marketing, and who knows what new technology is around the corner. We live in a world crowded with people, overrun by chatter, overflowing with undiscernable noise. It's wonderful to know there is an oasis in the center of the chaos...and that oasis is this fantastic book, written by two of today's most intelligent thought leaders. Ignore this advice at your own peril!
Hey You... Don't Stand Out - Get Out: The Personal Success Marketing 40/20/40 System To Rescue The Highly-Trained Professional

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Are you a mid-career, mid-life professional? If so, we have a few questions for you - questions you're probably already asking:What happened to the "happily ever after" part that comes at the end of the tale? Why are you feeling so trapped and, perhaps, a little lost? Why does your income stop when you take some time away from your business?Right now you ARE your business. You're trapped in the center, running around in circles, and digging a moat around yourself as you provide a service to your clients, customers, or patients. You're stuck on the TimeTrap Plateau when you trade Time for Money. You already went into the forest, slew your dragon, earned your degree, and gained lots of experience, but now you find that what you learned "back then" doesn't work now. And why didn't someone teach you how to run a business when you spent all those hours in school? Why can a 13-year old run circles around you when it comes to Social Media Marketing and network building?Discover the secrets that entrepreneurial-focused clinical psychologist Dr. Marc Kossmann and marketing-crazed MBA Charlie Seymour Jr reveal in their 40/20/40 System to help you Get Out from the Crowd, Break Free from the TimeTrap Plateau, Conquer the Online Jungle, and cut a path directly to the Summit of your Career. They help you Create Your Own Legend so you're not like everyone else, use the Universe Model of Social Media Marketing to put the energy of the Internet to work for you, and produce real value in your service business by creating Information Products which you put on the steroids of automation.This book is a fun-read, starting with a medieval tale of Maximillion, the blacksmith's son, who needs to slay his dragon to save his part of the world and morphing into Max in the present day who already slew his dragon by earning his professional degree and gaining years of experience. Start now: the map to your Summit and DreamDestination await inside this book.

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