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Business by Referral A Sure Fire Way to Generate New Business

Business by Referral A Sure Fire Way to Generate New Business

No more cold calls!

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Solid Long-Term Program
I chose to read two books, one right after the other - Endless Referrals by Bob Burg (also reviewed) and Business by Referral by Misner and Davis. Business by Referral is a good follow-on to Endless Referrals. With only a little overlap, Misner and Davis pick up where Burg stops. However, be warned; this book starts off very slowly. Misner and Davis take a VERY academic approach to the entire process. I felt as if I were in grad school again. That having been said, the follow-up element of the Misner and Davis system is the strong point of this book. They have provided a complete set of forms, which they allow to be reproduced. The forms are used for determining where you are in the referral-based business process, finding your strengths and weaknesses, building on your strengths, and strengthening your weak areas. The follow-up system is super. The techniques presented by Misner and Davis will not be integrated into your process as readily as Burg’s in Endless Referrals; however, they are vital to a continuing referral-based business process and will serve any business person well for a very long time.

This book is solidly recommended and is a must-read for anyone looking to build a long-term process in referral-based business. The forms that are provided are worth the price of the book, but you’ll need to read the book to really understand how to use them.

3 Stars Just OK
It was just OK for me. Lots of common sense and filler. Most sales books have the same format…and this is one more.

5 Stars This book will give you GAINS beyond belief!
“Business by Referral” is a cross between a business plan and a referral marketing campaign. It is chocked full of ideas on how to motivate people to provide referals for your business. My favorite is the ingenious GAINS exchange which allows people to interface and learn about each person. GAINS offers an easy way to interview members one-on-one, and learn about their Goals-Accomplishments-interests, networks, skills. A very well done and easy to read book. I recommended it wholeheartedly to any business person (small business or large.)

3 Stars Good advice
This book is helpful in putting structure around a referral program. We’ll be implementing many of this book’s suggestions.

5 Stars More than just a good marketing book
Does your success in business depend largely on your ability to market yourself and your services? Mine does, (I’m a professional speaker) and I peruse almost every new marketing book that comes down the pike. You know, the old “If I can get one good idea from the book, it is well worth reading” attitude. Well, this book breaks the mold. Hundreds of good ideas, but much more importantly, a blueprint for putting those ideas into action.

That’s right. Not only does the book contain information about the single most powerful marketing force available to the entrepreneurial professional, it has worksheets to help you not just read about building referral business, but to actually start building your referral network. And the best part is, it works. I really used those worksheets, and they made a big difference.

This book is a MUST READ for anyone who needs to generate new business at a profit.

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The Industrious Revolution Consumer Behavior and the Household Economy 1650 to the Present

The Industrious Revolution Consumer Behavior and the Household Economy 1650 to the Present

In the long eighteenth century, new consumer aspirations combined with a new industrious behavior to fundamentally alter the material cultures of northwest Europe and North America. This “industrious revolution” is the context in which the economic acceleration associated with the Industrial Revolution took shape. This study explores the intellectual understanding of the new importance of consumer goods as well as the actual consumer behavior of households of all income levels. De Vries examines how the activation and evolution of consumer demand shaped the course of economic development, situating consumer behavior in the context of the household economy. He considers the changing consumption goals of households from the seventeenth century to the present and analyzes how household decisions have mediated between macro-level economic growth and actual human betterment. Ultimately, de Vries’ research reveals key strengths and weaknesses of existing consumer theory, suggesting revisions that add historical realism to economic abstractions.

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Marketing Research Without SPSS

Marketing Research Without SPSS

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International Political Economy Interests and Institutions in the Global Economy 3rd Edition

International Political Economy Interests and Institutions in the Global Economy 3rd Edition

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Excellent Shipping Time and High Quality Book
The book was in great condition and arrived only in a few days, which was ideal for since classes were starting!

4 Stars readable textbook
This textbook was easy to read (not overly technical and used a lot of real-world analogies). An instuctor or professor who requires this text is probably taking a practical approach to the course, which typically means it will be more interesting to learn about the subject matter. The text is only in paperback and not particularly durable for backpack toting- buy used if possible.

5 Stars Just great
First the book appears to be full of ideas without a touch of reality or just theoretical, but after reading the first and second chapter and after understanding the principles of econ 101/102, everything will make sense. There is so much to learn in this book and, the good thing, it is not boring.

I have to say that it was the best political econ book I’ve ever read, and I do recommend it for beginners.

4 Stars gives an understanding of the many forms of globalisation
Oatley provides a readable, non-mathematical description of international economics since World War 2. The book will give the reader a good grounding in understanding globalisation. Not as something to be feared or tamed, but as arising from fundamental trends that are effectively impossible to reverse.

Oatley certainly talks about more than just globalisation. Like managing exchange rates. But even here, it is discussed in the context and reality of a world where immense pools of capital are often highly mobile. This is not typically thought of by the general public as globalisation. But the text shows that capital flow across national boundaries is indeed another aspect of globalisation, that has become common in the last 20 years.

5 Stars coherent and concise
Oatley has a way of boiling down complex concepts into short, pithy chapters. The writing is clear and concise and the examples used in the text provide interesting perspectives on current political issues such as the US budget deficit or the power dynamics in debt negotiations between powerful international creditors (IMF, World Bank) and debtor countries. The chapters are well structured–with introductions and conclusions that really help draw out the key points of the chapter. I found that this book provided coherent theories with which I could better understand material from other political science and economics classes. Overall, I highly recommend it.

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Mastering Online Marketing

Mastering Online Marketing

12 World Class Strategies That Cut Through the Hype and Make Real Money on the Internet

“Much like The E-Myth, Mastering Online Marketing, is not just a collection of tools and tactics. Mitch has created a solid step-by step system for you to build and sustain a thriving e-commerce business… Read it. Digest it. Follow it letter by letter. Then get out there and do it - because that’s how you’ll experience the true rewards. ” -Michael Gerber, author of The E-myth

“Mitch Meyerson has done it again –offering no nonsense strategies and tactics for getting targeted traffic to your website, turning visitors into buyers, putting your online business on auto pilot and setting up multiple streams of active and passive income. This book is a must-read for anyone wanting to build a thriving business on the Internet” -Jay Conrad Levinson, The Father Of Guerrilla Marketing

“Mastering Online Marketing delivers a solid step by step program for succeeding online. Based on years of research for his groundbreaking book, Success Secrets of The Online Marketing Superstars, this book spoonfeeds you the best tips and tactics to build your online business. Mitch Meyerson really delivers the goods!” -Yanik Silver, author of Moonlighting On The Internet

“These days it is not enough to be “good” at online marketing; you must master it. Mitch is not only a master of online marketing, but he is someone who can effectively teach others the strategies used by the top online marketers today. Success and wealth are for everyone, and I do believe that by following the advice and strategies in Mastering Online Marketing, one can achieve great online success.” -Bo Bennett, author of Year To Success

“Mastery is the key to success and this outstanding book shows you exactly how to master online marketing. Meyerson’s clear, direct and rich content shows you how to avoid the most common pitfalls and use innovative strategies to cut through the clutter and stand out in the Internet. Highly recommended!” -Michael Port, author of Book Yourself Solid

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Masterful book writing
Most of us who hang out on the Internet find ourselves suckered by those offers of books or “just $97″ or “just $27.” We forget the truth: we can just go to the library and get a head start on a good marketing education.

I’m recommending this book to folks who are clueless about getting started on the Internet. It’s an excellent overview — clear and well-written in step by step format.

As a web site copywriter myself, I wish Meyerson had emphasized the importance of copy. There’s a nice quote from copywriting guru Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero (p. 86), but it’s in the design section.

Just about every Internet marketing guru says copywriting is the single most important skill for Internet marketers, so this chapter could have been much longer. I would also encourage newbies to start with copy and strategy rather than calling the designer first (which is what most people do).

And I wish we had a section on features vs benefits with examples of bullet points.

Still, this book is one of the best (if not *the* best) I’ve seen for broad overviews of Internet marketing. You can always dig deeper once you’ve got a sense of the basics.

5 Stars The Highest Level of Mastery
Mitch Meyerson and Mary Scarborough have written a very fine book; Mitch is playing the game at the highest possible level, I am very impressed by his level of mastery. Once I started reading “Mastering Online Marketing”, I was unable to stop! This book is an absolute must for anyone wanting to build and sustain a thriving e-commerce business.

4 Stars It’s useful, but don’t stop here…
This book is primarily for those wanting to develop and promote an ecommerce store and also has good information for those wanting to promote an informative web site. This would not be a good book for those wanting to learn about developing their own web site.

It discusses a wide range of information including strategic marketing, developing a viable business, web design and navigating, optimizing your web site for sales, using new media to promote, driving traffic to your site, and affiliate programs. This book is a valuable reference tool and is good to hang on to and refer back to while you are in the continuing efforts of running an ecommerce site.

This book was easy to read and kept me interested, for the most part, while reading. It has really useful information about optimizing web site for converting visitors to customers. It also had good information about writing sales copy and valuable suggestions about making use of web site and other technical automation systems.

The sections about driving more traffic to your site and web design and navigation (only 20 pages) were not given enough importance. As a graphic designer, I would recommend a different book for web design and navigation.

This book would probably be a useful addition to your library if you can take with a grain of salt. The introduction sounded like an infomercial as the author drags on about his success story. It is gimmicky and makes me feel like I am going to have to join the reigns of those who regurgitate information and repackage it into conferences, books and courses. Although it doesn’t detract from the quality of information, the tone of the book is laced with ego throughout. In addition, several of the case examples look more like ads.

Regardless of its negative features, Mastering Online Marketing is still loaded with some good information and is a good value for the money. This is a good preparatory book from which you can decide what area of marketing to investigate further.

Samantha Marroquin

[...]

5 Stars Mitch really nails this one
The big part of mastering marketing is mastering your own mindset. Mitch is a psychologist as well an an entrepreneur and a brilliant marketer.

The online world is so cluttered that you either need a huge budget or a very clear focus to succeed in the - both help!

Read this book and Mitch helps you get your mindset right so you can clear your blocks and get on with the job you need to do. He also clearly sets out the information needed for online and internet marketing, blogging, social media, web analytics etc. To me, the big thing is the clear mindset.

Thank you Mitch!

4 Stars Good overview for beginners
For the newbie to creating an online business, this book covers all the basics from creating or finding a product of service to sell, tips on copywriting (to get people to buy), setting up automated systems and more. Information is presented in a step-by-step manner and includes written activities.

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The Art and Science of Interpreting Market Research Evidence

The Art and Science of Interpreting Market Research Evidence

The Art and Science of Interpreting Market Research Evidence offers a complete account of the way today’s researchers interpret evidence and apply it to decision making. David Smith and Jonathan Fletcher show how to assess your current deciphering processes, and present an innovative framework integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches for analysing complex data-sets. With its holistic approach to interpretation and its 10-step process for making it work in practice, this book will equip you with a deep understanding of data analysis and ultimately improve your judgment to produce better business decisions.

“This is modern commercial research, where the mind of the researcher is finally acknowledged as admissible data. Prior knowledge, pragmatism, experience are all robust grist to the ‘holistic’ research mill. A must-read for anyone getting to grips with 21st century market research.” Virginia Valentine, Semiotic Solutions

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Excellent text - should be standard issue in market research organisations.
UK researchers Smith & Fletcher write clearly with a fine knack of turning the art and science of research analysis into a logical, well-explained process that incorporates not just hard quantitative evidence, but also qualitative research as well as - and this is what takes the book ahead of the field - the experience and judgment of the researcher as well. In essence they advocate a more holistic approach to incisive market research analysis: don’t rely on one source, weigh up the broad spectrum of evidence, allow for imperfect data, apply some of your own knowledge filters (in my company and others these are simply known as BS Detectors)and don’t forget to try reframing the data: looking at it from different contexts.

The techniques are all well explained, (including the mathematical techniques, not just the conceptual) and the authors do an admirable job of summarising their main points and making this a user-friendly “how-to” guide. Well done.

You can even go on-line and share with your colleagues an on-line tutorial based on this volume: so this text makes a really effective platform for training new staff and providing a refresher for more experienced researchers who may intuitively do a good job but may be assisted with a spritzer of more holistic thinking as well as with a re-establishment of first principles.

I do have criticisms of this book, and for these I’ve deducted one star.

My main criticism: the authors quite openly hold back some of their more progressive thinking, so what we get is a great roadmap that takes us to the goldfield, but doesn’t quite help us hit paydirt. I found this particularly with their frequent reference to Bayesian thinking - an idea they raise but don’t really explore. As such, I feel the book is somewhat “5 years ago” and could easily withstand an updating in the near future.

Having said that; any book that gives analysts and market researchers the state of the art, even of 5 years ago, is still way ahead of most of the volumes on the market. Market researchers are not brilliantly served by the publishing marketplace, and most texts are either too statistically focused (they seem to forget that survey data is pretty lumpy, categorical stuff based on questions that ask humans to somehow quantify their complex feelings)or too far based in marketing without giving us the crunch we need to turn data into hard-core insights. Most are simply too shallow - Research 101 written for marketers but not research practitioners.

Not here. This volume strikes a fine pragmatic, realistic balance in showing us how to use not just the mathematical tools we have available, but also our brains as experienced researchers confronting an array of soft and hard evidence. Art and science.

The authors successfully structure the big picture in a way that helps researchers navigate more clearly through research and analysis challenges.

I’ve recommended this volume to many colleagues senior and not so senior. If you’re in market research you’ll find this very useful both for you and your team.

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Online on time internet holiday orders are shipping out faster An article from Los Angeles Business Journal

Online on time internet holiday orders are shipping out faster An article from Los Angeles Business Journal

This digital document is an article from Los Angeles Business Journal, published by Thomson Gale on December 5, 2005. The length of the article is 873 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Online, on time: internet holiday orders are shipping out faster.
Author: Hilary Potkewitz
Publication: Los Angeles Business Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 5, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 27 Issue: 49 Page: 5(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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The Ultimate Guide to Electronic Marketing for Small Business Low Cost High Return Tools and Techniques that Really Work

The Ultimate Guide to Electronic Marketing for Small Business Low Cost High Return Tools and Techniques that Really Work

Effective, affordable, low-risk online marketing techniques for small business owners
Most small businesses are not taking advantage of the powerful and inexpensive Internet-based marketing tools and techniques that are available to them. These tools and techniques can mean the difference between a viable business and closing up shop. But most of what small business owners hear or read about the Internet applies to large businesses with greater resources than their own, or comes from unreliable or shady sources. The Ultimate Guide to Electronic Marketing for Small Business gives the small business owner or aspiring entrepreneur the real-world tools and tactics to market their small business around the world with little investment and even less risk. Full of practical ideas on reaching new customers and increasing sales, this book will make a real difference in the success rate of small businesses and start-ups everywhere.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars The Ultimate Guide to Electronic Marketing for Small Business: Low-Cost/High Return Tools and Techniques that Really Work
The Ultimate Electronic Marketing for Small Business is the non-techies’ guide to marketing on the internet. This book takes the reader through the basics of getting his or her own domain, finding someone to design a website, and creating dazzling website copy that will not only draw customers to their website but also encourages potential customers to spend money. Among the most emphasized topics are the benefits of viral marketing methods such email lists, newsletters, and free ebooks.

The Ultimate Electronic Marketing for Small Business takes a bit different approach from other internet marketing books. Most books of this type assume that the small business entrepreneur will be creating their business themselves from building the website through all aspects of promotions and sales. This book, however, illustrates that you can find individuals with specialized skills such as website design and ghostwriting to create professional results without spending a fortune. Moreover, in handing over these tasks, the entrepreneur can spend more time on activities that actually draw in more money. I personally like the hands on aspect of website design and writing but I respect that not everyone enjoys these tasks. Therefore, I believe that the hints in this book could be beneficial to those individuals.

4 Stars Worth keeping on your reference shelf
In these days of internet marketing, it is imperative for any small business, even a traditional bricks and mortar store, to have a website or some sort of electronic presence. This book goes through the process, step by step, of doing just that.

Some parts of setting up a business website, especially with new software, can be done by the average individual, with a bit of training. The more technical parts need to be left to people who know what they are doing. A major sin is to have a vital part of your website not work at all, or look like it was done by someone who has never done this before, just to save money.

What are you going to sell on this brand new website? If you don’t already have a product or service, consider selling e-books. There is nothing to keep in stock; after you receive a person’s money, all it takes is a few clicks on your computer, and the product is “shipped.” How do you get people to visit your website? The author talks about things like affiliate marketing, joint ventures with other websites, free electronic newsletters or magazines, among many other things. He also talks about how to make sure that when a person does a search for “widgets,” for instance, that your site is at, or near, the top of the list.

The author includes the addresses for many, many websites that show the things mentioned in this book. He also includes many examples from his own internet marketing campaign, so that anyone can see how he did it.

This book may seem overwhelming; take a deep breath, and go one step at a time. For anyone selling on the internet, this book is not just worth reading. It’s worth keeping on your reference shelf, and making notes in, and marking pages with Post-It Notes. It’s worth the money.

5 Stars Electronic Marketing For Small Business
I am always purchasing and reading books on small business and entrepreneurship. Obviously, the internet offers great opportunities for entrepreneurs. However, getting started and gaining basic knowledge can be very confusing, frustrating and costly. Tom Antion’s Electronic Marketing For Small Business is a great guide for learning how to get a profitable internet business started. The book is full of extremely useful information from software products to additional training resources that one can acquire without spending a fortune. Also, I found the book to be fun and very entertaining something you don’t find very often in business and technical books.

5 Stars This book simply delivers!
Anyone in business, who has a website, is thinking about having one, wonders why some websites work and some don’t, or has any interest in Internet commerce should buy this book.

Most websites, quite frankly, suck. They might be beautiful and artful at best, but they are “brochure-wear” - mine originally was. It replaced the need for a paper brochure, and like a brochure, almost no one read it. Certainly random web surfers and searchers, no matter how interested they might have been, rarely found it. I gradually got my site working like an effective website should, and it’s getting better fast with this book’s help. I wish I had The Ultimate Guide years ago when I launched my site!

Tom breaks his strategy into three prongs, and even if you are interested in only one or two this book has enough value that you probably need it.

Prong #1: Build a great website. A great website, among other things, is ones the search engines love and send you people who will be happy to find it.

Prong #2: Build an email list of people who want to hear from you. Periodically send them things of value, for example a useful ezine/enewsletter.

Prong #3: Develop and sell information products. It doesn’t matter what your main business may be, having some low cost (and up) products so people who like your “free stuff” can see how good your “non-free stuff is.” If, as in my example, you are a consultant and speaker, people who buy products for maybe $20-$100 will be more likely to hire you for your normal fees. It’s a BIG leap of faith for someone to hire you for consulting or to deliver a keynote speech, i.e. for thousands of dollars, as their first transaction with you!

I knew Tom Antion existed for a while. I’m wary of most Internet marketers and gurus, because most of them are full of nonsense. Tom, and his book, delivers.

5 Stars fundamentally sound book
Ok - This book is not full of the most advanced strategies out their.

But they are the basics you must know if you want to survive

on the internet. You know I built a multi-million dollar online

business off the principles inside this book. When I played sports

my coach always said get back to the fundamentals. This book is a

fundamentally sound book. I’ve known Tom for a few years now.

He’s a great guy and has a huge heart. You never can go wrong

with him. My clients that have worked with him love him to death

because of the success they achieved with his guidance.

I’d go grab this book now and not waste another sec longer.

Matt Bacak

Author of The Ultimate Lead Generation Plan

and Secrets of the Internet Millionaire Mind

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The Economy of Cities

The Economy of Cities

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Another Provocative Masterpiece
This book is almost as good as Jacobs’ must-read classic, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Whereas Death and Life deals more with how to foster vitality in individual city neighborhoods, this work deals with the broad importance of thriving urban areas. Here Jacobs gives the reader an understanding of how economically healthy and diverse urban areas are essential to creating healthy economies in general - and more than that, to ultimately creating a healthy global economy. Her ideas fly in the face of much conventional wisdom. But I think she proves the essence of her case with pages of compelling, reasoned argument.

Most reformers, many of whom start out with earnest good intentions, end up wreaking havoc and plunging their countries into tyranny because they attack their countries’ economic problems from the wrong end. Most reformers in recent history, from Pancho Villa, through Stalin and Mao, down to current day missionaries - set out to “help” struggling economies by first digging into the dirt of the poorest rural areas. They assume that change must start in the agricultural sector. So they reapportion land; they attempt to introduce modern technology to subsistence farmers; they establish schools, clinics, and communal wells in the rural areas. But often, these efforts come to naught. Indeed they frequently backfire and leave area residents worse off than before.

A typical scenario of the type Jacobs cites - a volunteer worker sets up a well in a parched rural area of some Third World country. But soon after the volunteer leaves, a valve in the well breaks. And there is no way for local residents to get a replacement valve. There is no nearby urban industry to supply valves or any other replacement parts for anything. So the well stagnates, becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes and a hazard.

Jacobs illustrates why these good will projects so often fail. There is no surrounding urban industry to back them up, to supply all the quirky, often small but oh-so-necessary parts to rural endeavor. Urban areas are also necessary as markets for rural produce. Without recourse to diverse urban economies, virtually all rural areas will fail to thrive in the long run, no matter how much charitable reform is pumped into them.

Jacobs goes further. She illustrates how the very idea of agriculture, as well as most advances in agricultural technique likely STARTED in denser urban areas. This is the most controversial, frequently contested idea in her book. Most people are geared to dismiss urban areas as being devoid of “nature. But the reverse is actually true. There is often more flora, more planting activity, more wildlife and domestic animal husbandry, more agricultural cross-fertilization of all kinds going on in cities than in rural areas. But because the city is by definition “urban,” people don’t see it and continue to feel they must escape to rural areas in order to experience nature.

However, even if you are of this frame of mind, and if you therefore trip on Jacobs’ early contentions about the primacy of cities - I urge you to keep reading. You may not end up being completely convinced, but you will come away with a new tool kit of ideas that you can apply in a myriad of ways as a citizen of the world.

Any politician who will have to make decisions touching on the national or global economy should definitely read this book. Everyone from well-intentioned celebrity reformers down to individuals who simply send a few dollars a month to Guatemalan waifs should read this book, and learn how they might redirect some of their future contributions into more sustainable projects. Every voter should read this book. It’s a well-written, interesting book that gives insights into how an economy can develop and diversify into vitality. It suggests definite solutions. In short, it’s a book for everyone.

4 Stars Still relevant, could use a new edition
This book has some great insights but is getting a bit outdated. I thought the section on the origin of agriculture was fascinating stuff, but I’d like to know how Ms. Jacobs’ theories square with recent research.

The comparison of Manchester and Birmingham was great. I think Ms. Jacobs is basically correct with her analysis of what it takes to make a vibrant, prosperous city. Her basic recommendations for city layout–small, short blocks, high concentrations of people walking, a mix of buildings of various types and ages–are very good. She is right on point with her criticism of urban renewal programs and freeways.

Ms. Jacobs’ analysis of how business development occurs is fun to read and very relevant to today. She makes it very clear that rural towns that try to develop by attracting a local assembly plant or the like for a large company are barking up the wrong tree.

The book has some problems. Ms. Jacobs dismisses problems with resource depletion far too easily as the product of a stagnant economy. She also dismisses population growth, seeing it as a symptom of a growing economy, not a problem. There is of course some truth to this, but in my opinion migration is perfectly adequate to take care of local labor shortages. The side effects of nationwide and worldwide population growth are too severe to be treated lightly as Ms. Jacobs does.

4 Stars A Comprehensible Explanation of Growth of Cities
Jacobs starts with the claim that there would be no agriculture if there were no cities, confronting the general “agriculture first then cities” approach. She then explains how new work is added to the economy. She states that division of labour is needed for economic efficiency, but does not promote further economic activity. Thus, efficiency of operation is in conflict with development of new work. Jacobs suggests that cities grow by gradual diversification of its economy, starting from its initial exports. Local economy grows as the exports grow, and many imports are replaced by local products. More goods, raw materials and services become available to the producers. Although this is a very comprehensible book, it includes a degree of redundancy. Must be in a planner’s library, and should be read.

5 Stars Great insights into the origin of agrictulture
I loved this book for two reasons.

First, for the insight into the complex interplay of economic forces in cities really opens your eyes to how governmental policies affecting cities directly impact our standard of living.

Secondly it shows how the beginning of agrictulture may have come about almost by accident, simply by the combination of people’s behaviour and the actions of (un)natural selection.

It is a surprisingly short read, when you consider the concepts presented.

5 Stars Still highly relevant.
This book, written in the 1960’s, couldn’t be more relevant today, in our age of outsourcing and loss of jobs. In Jacob’s thesis, cities must constantly evolve, developing new products, or they will stagnate and decline, as their old exports wither. She makes a good case that efficiency, as reflected in the large scale, focused enterprise, can often be the enemy of innovation. This kind of logic has been incorporated into mainstream thought, in that many large corporations try to foster growth by establishing small entrepreneurial units. Jacobs provides a historical basis for this paradigm, as well as the detailed economics which shows it is not simply a matter of encouraging people to be entrepreneurial. Even more interesting to me, was Jacob’s well supported argument that the earliest cities preceded and fostered the development of agriculture, not the other way around. I have read Robin Wright’s Non-zero, The Logic of Human Destiny and Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs and Steel, both great books, yet Jacob’s thesis was still new to me. The Economy of Cities has a certain amount of unnecessary repetition, but not as much as Jacob’s The Death and Life of Great American Cities, which I would also highly recommend despite that problem. Also, and this is not a major point, Jacobs recognizes that exports may contain inputs which have to be imported, but does not seem to see that import substitution may also rely on increasing the import of certain inputs - thereby overemphasizing the importance of import substitution relative to development of new exports (although if we could find a substitute for oil……). Despite having a mathematics and economics background, I did not find Jacob’s D,N,A equation particularly enlightening, and advise the reader not to get hung up on it. Jacob’s use of history as a series of case studies, and her ability to extract the proper lessons even when they defy conventional thinking, is far more important than any mathematical tools.

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Small is Possible Life in a Local Economy

Small is Possible Life in a Local Economy

In an era when incomprehensibly complex issues like Peak Oil and climate change dominate headlines, practical solutions at a local level can seem somehow inadequate.

In response, Lyle Estill’s Small is Possible introduces us to “hometown security,” with this chronicle of a community-powered response to resource depletion in a fickle global economy. True stories, springing from the soils of Chatham County, North Carolina, offer a positive counterbalance to the bleakness of our age.

This is the story of how one small southern US town found actual solutions to actual problems. Unwilling to rely on the government and wary of large corporations, these residents discovered it is possible for a community to feed itself, fuel itself, heal itself, and govern itself.

This book is filled with newspaper columns, blog entries, letters, and essays that have appeared on the margins of small-town economies. Tough subjects are handled with humor and finesse. Compelling stories of successful small businesses, from the grocery co-op to the biodiesel co-op, describe a town and its people on a genuine quest for sustainability.

Everyone interested in sustainability, local economy, small business, and whole foods will be inspired by the success stories in this book.

Lyle Estill is “Vice President of Stuff ” at Piedmont Biofuels, and has won numerous awards for his work in the biodiesel business. He is the author of Biodiesel Power and lives in Moncure, North Carolina.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Small is Possible - I will strive for big
I need to first point out my conflict of interest in this review. lyle is my brother.

He calls this a non-fiction book and I am sure it is but it is unlike the other non-fiction books that I read. I would call it more of a storybook and Lyle is a great story teller.

It is a story about Lyle’s life in a small town and the characters in that town.

In the book he did mention me:

“He (that would be me) is an insatiable entrepreneur who insists he be measured not by the vast pile of bad ideas, heaped at the bottom of the wall - but rather by those ideas that stuck. As a risk-taker he has figured out a way to stay in the possible, and not dwell on those ventures that stung him.”

At one point he talked about his blogging and how he was finding it difficult to come up with topics and someone suggested that he needs to entertain people. I found his book very entertaining and this is something that I should probably consider more in my blogging.

I love the book and found it easy and quick to read. Lyle is a great writer (and always has been).

I don’t agree with everything in the book. I think supporting small just for the sake of supporting small has some flaws. His book lays out many reasons why small can be better value. And if it is better value - then clearly I support it.

Although small is possible, I am going to strive for big. I wonder if Lyle will still like me?

5 Stars After reading “Collapse”, read this!
It is easy to be overwhelmed with the doom and gloom consequences of American’s thoroughly unsustainable lifestyle: climate change, pollution of air, water, and soil, declining ecosystems, and the very real risk that in 60 years, nobody will be living what we today consider to be a first-world lifestyle. What to do?

For starters, read Lyle Estill’s Small Is Possible, a wonderful collection of writings that chronicles Lyle’s own shift from get-setting deal-maker to homesteading community-builder.

Lyle’s writing style is excellent: concrete, humorous, and often self-deprecating, Lyle’s stories spring to life from the pages, and then linger in details which keeps the community and its members, not Lyle himself, in the foreground.

This book variously strikes me as: non-fiction Huckleberry Finn, a North Carolinian Omnivore’s Dilemma, a contemporary Guns, Germs, and Steel, and The Tipping Point as played by actors in Chatham County.

Let me say again: the book is very well written, the material is extremely compelling and relevant to the 21st century, and, in the great tradition of open source software (which Lyle himself acknowledges), it is designed to be a resource for others who believe that small is possible.

5 Stars A “Wendell Berry of Chatham”
Yesterday, I received a copy of Lyle Estill’s newest book, Small Is Possible. I came home at 2:30, put on some easy-going clothes, lay down on the couch on the porch, read until 8, took a half hour off, then finished the book. I could not put it down. This is a wonderful reclaiming of the recent history of events in our county, Chatham.

The chapters are contained by writing on one subject in the true essay form, full of details about people we all know and some of whom we love. The writing is almost lyrical in some places. But what is exciting is to read is all that has made our county special. In a way I am scared that this excellent book will make it nationally as it is so well written, a Wendell Berry of Chatham, and that our special place will become a spotlight for people who want to see that change is possible in our dis…eased world. If that happens, however, I will hail to the chief who wrote it.

This is one of those books that comes along once and a great while, the kind of book that you want to send to EVERYONE, the kind of book we can take pleasure in reading to our children, as well as chuckling at various places while we read to ourselves. I absolutely love it and hope that all of you rush to buy it. I hope you buy a lot of copies and pass it around as birthday, wedding, graduation whatever kind of gift. It is that universal in its message.

– Barbara Lorie

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