Archive for May, 2009:
Start Your Own Law Practice Startup Series
Start Your Own Law Practice Startup Series
The latest title in the popular Start Your Own series
The newest book in Entrepreneur’s Start Your Own series, Start Your Own Law Practice teaches you what to do and what to expect when starting your own practice. It discusses logistical aspects as well as developing professional relationships with clients and colleagues, which is rarely discussed in other books.
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars Short and to the point.
Although not a comprehensive planning book, it certainly covers a number of helpful highlights on the subject. If it helps, Foonberg’s take on the subject would be considered the “bible” while this is more of a “cliffnotes” version. All in all, it is a nice, quick read but it shouldn’t be your main source of information.
1 Star What a Joke
I bought this book a few days after actually opening my own practice thinking that it would contain at least some valuable information. Having read through it now, I am upset that I wasted my money. Not only are there no specific recommendations anywhere in the book, it is poorly organized, more anecdotal than informative, and worst of all the author makes recommendations that would likely be considered malpractice in most jurisdictions. For instance on page 68 she comments that “Library research takes time, but it’s time better spent than surfing the web or a legal search engine for relevant cases.” In the jurisdictions I am familiar with failing to shepardize cases on a computer would be considered malpractice, not even considering the ethical implications of charging for research time in the library vs time on Westlaw / Lexis.
All in all I not only wouldn’t recommend this book, but feel like I have just wasted two hours reading it.
2 Stars not really much there
If you are only looking for a general overview of how a law practice is started, then this book would be okay. But if you want to get any real substance on how to do it, you will have to look to some of the other books on the subject. While this book gives a little useful advice from time to time, it is really too short and superficial to be of much help. The book is 114 pages, and really it is shorter than that if you don’t count the index and the extra space taken up by how many of the pages are laid out. This is really more like a long article than it is a book.
First Best or Different What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know About Niche Marketing
First Best or Different What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know About Niche Marketing
“First, Best, or Different is one of those exceptional books that changes the way you think about marketing and entrepreneurs. I highly recommend this book.” Manny Fernandez, Chairman Emeritus, Gartner Inc. Innovative Marketing and Sales Strategies for Niche Markets Are you an entrepreneur, small business owner, or corporate marketing executive with questions like these? . What viral marketing methods are most successful? . What direct mail marketing tactics create the most new leads? . How can I optimize my website and increase traffic? . How can I motivate and retain my top sales reps? . How do I choose the right Public Relations firm? . What is podcasting and how do I get started? . What outdoor advertising techniques work best? Get answers to these questions along with practical advice on over 100 topics. Written in plain English with short easy-to-read chapters, this book demystifies niche marketing by delivering easy-to-understand definitions and practical suggestions. About the Author John Bradley Jackson brings street-savvy sales and marketing experience from Silicon Valley and Wall Street. His resume also includes entrepreneur, angel investor, corporate trainer, philanthropist, and consultant.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars A Great Book for Marketing Students or Those Looking to Gain an Edge
First, Best or Different is an absolutely excellent book. I first read this book just over a year ago and its helpful insights continue to help me develop great marketing ideas of my own. The topics that are covered are vast and the knowledge provided is in depth but not overwhelming. The structure of the book and short chapters allow for the book to be quickly read and for its knowledge to be passed on quickly. This book is an asset to the thought process of any business person and should be an essential tool in the toolbox of all marketers, from professionals to students. In summary, BUY THIS BOOK! It will make you a better business person.
5 Stars Great Tool
First Best or Different is a book that will enable you to further you and your business, if your business is selling advertising or an off-road manufacturing business. First best or different is easy reading that gets to the point and full of useful information for small, medium, and large businesses. I highly recommend First Best or Different if you are looking for a book that will give you vital information for your business or future business. “Make it Happen”
4 Stars realistic interpretation of the current market
used as course material in a marketing course, this book has continued my education with the ever changing market today, as i constantly find new ways to apply the learnings into my job as a marketing coordinator.
if you are looking into understanding the complex minds of today’s information savvy customers, this book is definitely worth the time to read.
its written in a very direct and easy to read format that most should be able just pick up, and read any specific part that applies to whatever the occasion calls for.
5 Stars This book works!
John Bradley Jackson is the real deal. I’ve implemented his advice and created a successful niche product. I’ll never look at marketing the same way again.
5 Stars A mantra u should have – first, best, or different
Whether you are an entrepreneur of a small company or an intrapreneur in a big corporation, this book will add value to your pursuits. It provides an extensive coverage of the field of marketing–from the fundamental paradigms to the author’s experiences as a marketer.
What I like most about the book is it stays current, especially within the realm of the internet. John’s book will be able to elevate or even recreate some of the ideas you currently have.
Tags: Advertising Techniques, Angel Investor, Chairman Emeritus, Corporate Marketing, Direct Mail Marketing, Gartner Inc, Great Marketing, Innovative Marketing, John Bradley, Manny Fernandez, Marketing Ideas, Marketing Methods, Marketing Students, Marketing Tactics, Niche Marketing, Niche Markets, Savvy Sales, Silicon Valley, Small Business Owner, Viral Marketing
Greening Cities Building Just and Sustainable Communities Toes Books
Greening Cities Building Just and Sustainable Communities Toes Books
This book is a treasure trove of practical ideas that embody Green values of social and environmental justice and are actually working on the ground in small, medium, and large cities, as well as some rural communities, all around the world. It shows how these values can and are being incorporated in local government policy and how they shape voluntary efforts by community groups.
Start Your Own Information Marketing Business Entrepreneurs Startup
Start Your Own Information Marketing Business Entrepreneurs Startup
Take Your Information and Turn It into a Six-Figure Income
A six-figure income from information? Yes! It sounds easy because it is. You’ve got information that millions of others are looking for and now you can learn how to package, price and sell it.
The experts at Entrepreneur take you step by step, jumpstarting your thinking about your area of expertise and showing you how to convert it into a high-demand information product. Following the example set by today’s most successful information marketers, you learn the ins and outs of running your own information marketing business using proven strategies and effective marketing techniques. Whether looking for a side business or a full-time venture-information marketing is a flexible, lucrative business that you can start any time, and everything you need is right here.
- Choose from a wide range of information products or discover what information you already have to sell
- Capture the perfect market-one that is looking for your product
- Determine your selling price
- Learn from real-life success stories
- Get started right away with a listing of dozens of information-marketing resources and vendors
Everything you need to know to create your own information product is already inside you. Now, let Entrepreneur help you turn it into big profits!
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Get Excited About Information Marketing!
I am in the Information Marketing Business. I can honestly say that the info-biz is a recession proof business – easy to start – exciting – and it allows you to make a profit (a huge profit) doing what you love to do.
Robert Skrob brought together some of the best info marketers in the country to illustrate this step-by-step guide. It is easy to read, full of great information to get you started on the right path, gives you resources and expert marketers to learn from.
What I find interesting is that many people, especially in this economy, are looking for terrific and fun ways to expand their wallets. Rarely do they even consider information marketing as a way to work from home and profit. This book will get you thinking about the possibilities from successful people just like you.
I highly recommend this Step-by-step guide for any forward thinking individuals who have a passion or specialized knowledge and is looking for a way to expand their income.
Gail Saseen
Diane Conklin and Gail Saseen are entrepreneurs, marketing coaches, consultants, event planners and speakers, who specialize in helping small business owners develop smart marketing plans and strategies for their businesses. They have earned their reputations, as implementers and executors, by showing small business owners, entrepreneurs, coaches and consultants how to integrate their marketing strategies, media, and methods, to get maximum results from their marketing dollars. They provide solutions to business challenges, affordable marketing strategies, direct response marketing, product development, list generation and management practices.
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Tags: Business Entrepreneurs, Dozens, Effective Marketing, Entrepreneur, Full Time, Information Marketing, Information Product, Information Products, Ins And Outs, Life Success, Lucrative Business, Marketers, Marketing Resources, Marketing Techniques, Perfect Market, Profits, Recession Proof, Side Business, Success Stories, Time Venture
The Start up Entrepreneur How You Can Succeed in Building Your Own Company
The Start up Entrepreneur How You Can Succeed in Building Your Own Company
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Motivation for Inventors
I found this book very inspiring and motivating, especially the second chapter on finding a business to start. It is better to start with a mediocre product than never to get going. .. the continued search for the perfect venture can turn into mere procrastination… Make the decision that you are an entrepreneur. If your plan doesn’t work…you are that much closer to ultimate success. This is worth having in your library so you can re-read periodically
5 Stars The Startup Entrepreneur
“The Startup Entrepreneur – How you can succeed in building your own company”. It provides you with all the insight into running of a business from startup stage right through to corporation size from the entrepreneur’s point of view.
Reading advice; can sometimes be a tedious task, but this book is backed up by James Cook’s real life examples of the trials that he went through as an entrepreneur. Right from starting small, in a service-based business then growing to a large corporation this book missed nothing. Its inspirational, advice driven, with plenty of information on what to do in given situations.
Another interesting topic this book covered was the background information given about many of the “famous” entrepreneurs that came out of the American economy. It is a study in the entrepreneur and their habits and common traits. Commonalties were usually that they didn’t care a hell of a lot of what people thought of them, they weren’t overly greedy, had the need for control, and also had the need for anonymity.
Chapters in the book include starting, developing, success in starting, winning ways to keep you going, and how to diversify your growing enterprise. It finishes with exit strategies, i.e. stepping down, and/or selling your company. It then has a section on one of the crucial topics for all decision makers in a company – tips on marketing and sales. There was even an interesting section on running a sales team.
This is a well-written book with much of the theory based on James Cook’s interesting and extremely varied life in business, both in success and on the brink of failure. Motivational for the young and old entrepreneur, I give it an nine out of ten.
Tags: American Economy, Anonymity, Background Information, Exit Strategies, Famous Entrepreneurs, Hell, Insight, Inspirational Advice, Inventors, James Cook, Mediocre Product, Motivation, Point Of View, Procrastination, Reading Advice, Stars, Startup Entrepreneur, Tedious Task, Ultimate Success, Winning Ways
Getting Them to Give a Damn How to Get Your Front Line to Care about Your Bottom Line
Getting Them to Give a Damn How to Get Your Front Line to Care about Your Bottom Line
“”Businesses need to stop focusing on ‘paradigm shifts’ and ‘strategic initiatives’ and realize that none of that makes any sense if your front-line employees don’t ‘give a damn.’”" —Rhoda Olsen, President, Great Clips, Inc.
Transform the Your Bored, Uncaring “”Generation Why”" Young Workforce into a Powerhouse of Performers and Innovators
According to the U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs, by 2012 there will be a shortage of more than two million front-line service workers in retail sales, customer service, and food preparation. Only a fraction of the restless Generation Y workers who typically fill these positions stay with their employer longer than a year! Dubbed “”kidployees,”" these 16- to 24-year-olds share an entirely different set of values, expectations, and skills that must be reckoned with if you’re among the millions of business owners and managers in America.
In Getting Them to Give a Damn, nationally recognized Generation Y expert Eric Chester shows readers how to hire, train, manage, and motivate a workforce that won’t blindly conform to traditional standards and time-honored company policies and standards. Chester reveals the management techniques that leading-edge employers are using to get these quirky, book-smart, and streetwise kidployees to contribute in innovative and entrepreneurial ways.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars A ‘must’ for any member of the ‘next generation employer’
Eric Chester’s Getting Them To Give A Damn: How To Get Your Front Line To Care About Your Bottom Line provides an excellent key to turning uncaring employees into performers and innovators. The latest generation shares a new set of values and won’t blindly conform to company policy – but they can be motivated, and ‘Generation Y expect’ author Eric Chester shows how. From recruiting the best new employees to using different types of training to make them loyal, this is a ‘must’ for any member of the ‘next generation employer’.
5 Stars Connecting with THEM
Answers to the, “What’s in it for me?” question are relevant to more than just Chester’s “Kidployees” – youth who have come of age in the late 90′ and beyond; these answers are required for virtually every employee and this book delivers practical, relevant, everyday applicable, ways to answer that question with your employees. Reflecting common sense, as well as a sense of humor, Chester delivers means and methods to address front-line worker’s all important needs for purpose, identity, and accountability. From CEO to front-line supervisor, this easy to read, enjoyable book will provide countless ideas for making that all important, bottom-line, performance connection with your staff.
From the section on “How to Attract Them”, to “How to Keep Them”, to “How to Connect with Them”, Chester will hold your interest with his logic, humor, and common sense ideas for respecting, motivating, and holding them accountable. If you are responsible for managing more than one (yourself) employee, give this book a try. I highly recommend it.
Dennis DeWilde, author of
“The Performance Connection”
5 Stars A ‘must’ for any member of the ‘next generation employer’
Eric Chester’s Getting Them To Give A Damn: How To Get Your Front Line To Care About Your Bottom Line provides an excellent key to turning uncaring employees into performers and innovators. The latest generation shares a new set of values and won’t blindly conform to company policy – but they can be motivated, and ‘Generation Y expect’ author Eric Chester shows how. From recruiting the best new employees to using different types of training to make them loyal, this is a ‘must’ for any member of the ‘next generation employer’.
5 Stars NOT a review of this book…..
..altho the content is interesting and could be useful. On the other hand, to turn the question round, why should I give a damn if these brats can’t make the connection themselves. We’re entering a major economic downtown, I can hire people from India or China who come with a built-in work ethic that doesn’t need me to pamper and motivate them. Why go to the trouble. If they can’t make the connection themselves and shape up, too bad, so sad……
5 Stars Motivate Young Employees
I was often puzzled by employees in their early 20s. They brought different values, expectations and skills to the workplace. My job was to teach them the service ethic, to keep them long enough to get the benefit of my training efforts and keep them motivated to put in a good day’s work.
This book addresses those issues. Any employer today needs to inform themselves on how to deal with this age group.
Tags: Bottom Line, Business Owners, Company Policies, Eric Chester, Food Preparation, Generation Y, Great Clips, Innovators, Kidployees, Leading Edge, Management Techniques, Office Of Consumer Affairs, Olsen, Paradigm Shifts, Powerhouse, Quirky Book, Retail Sales, Strategic Initiatives, Two Million, Workforce
Enhanced simulation inference using bootstraps of historical inputs An article from IIE Transactions
Enhanced simulation inference using bootstraps of historical inputs An article from IIE Transactions
This digital document is an article from IIE Transactions, published by Institute of Industrial Engineers, Inc. (IIE) on September 1, 2003. The length of the article is 8723 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.
From the author: Simulation input analysis can present a dilemma: either use one historical trace that is realistic but captures only a small portion of the possible input variability, or use many unrealistic inputs generated by simplified parametric models of the trace. We demonstrate that a nonparametric time series bootstrap can ease the dilemma by converting a single trace into many realistic input scenarios. Bootstrapping inputs reduces by about one-third the inaccuracy in estimated standard errors for mean delay, standard deviation of delay, and probability of long delay in a G/M/1 queue. Such improvements can be achieved without an increase in the number of simulation runs by reducing the number of non-trace input replications to offset the increased number of inputs created by bootstrapping the trace. Bootstrapping can also be applied in problems lacking other means of estimating uncertainty in system performance. We show an example in system reliability where reasonable estimates are available over a wide range of bootstrap block sizes. We note that bootstrap estimates are always conditional on the traces from which they derive and thereby tend to underestimate the true level of uncertainty. Nevertheless, bootstrapping inputs offers a new way to enhance statistical inference in simulation experiments.
Citation Details
Title: Enhanced simulation inference using bootstraps of historical inputs.
Author: Thomas R. Willemain
Publication: IIE Transactions (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 2003
Publisher: Institute of Industrial Engineers, Inc. (IIE)
Volume: 35 Issue: 9 Page: 851(12)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Tags: Amazon, Bootstrap, Bootstraps, Citation Details, Digital Document, Engineers Inc, Iie Transactions, Inaccuracy, Inp, Input Analysis, Input Scenarios, Institute Of Industrial Engineers, Parametric Models, Simulation Experiments, Simulation Input, Small Portion, Statistical Inference, System Performance, System Reliability, True Level
The eBay Millionaire Titanium PowerSeller Secrets for Building a Big Online Business
The eBay Millionaire Titanium PowerSeller Secrets for Building a Big Online Business
Proven strategies and the latest selling tips from eBay’s most elite merchants
With an estimated 200,000 people making a full-time living selling goods on eBay, and millions more earning a part-time income, it’s clear that eBay can create some impressive profits for those who know what they’re doing. The eBay Millionaire profiles 25 of eBay’s elite Titanium Power Sellers-those who move more than $150,000 in goods every month-and reveals the secrets to their success. Author Amy Joyner reveals the fifty top lessons for profitably selling almost anything on eBay, from how to select the best mix of merchandise, ship goods, and keep customers happy to working with wholesalers, making the leap from part-time to full-time selling, and looking like a million-dollar business even if you’re working from your kitchen table.
Amy Joyner (Greensboro, NC) is an award-winning reporter for the News & Record in Greensboro, North Carolina, who has been covering e-commerce and entrepreneurship for many years. She is the coauthor of Making Dough (0-471-43209-1) and has won awards for her writing from the Associated Press, North Carolina Press Association, and other organizations, as well as three Knight Center Fellowships for business, aviation security, and military reporting.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars A realistic look at eBay success
Readers should apply critical thinking to book titles and contents. Lots of books that aim to be informative or instructional are going to have “secrets” in the title. This is how a publisher entices consumers. They are trying to sell books. It doesn’t mean you are actually getting the benefit of “secrets.” If thousands or even millions of copies are printed, how “secret” is the information?
The book is a collection of 18 profiles of Titanium Power Sellers. The profiles are followed by Q and A “Titanium Talk.” There are “power pointers” scattered through the text. Power Pointers emphasize key concepts, such as “Before setting your starting bids, consult eBay’s listing fees. Sometimes you can save a significant amount by starting an auction for just a penny less.”
The book is packed with useful information. For example, one of the “Titanium Talk” segments recounts how a rogue buyer tried to bring down a seller’s business. The book ends with 50 Strategies that distill the widsom found in the text.
The book delivers an essential message: You have to be a savvy business person. You need to have your act together. All of the PowerSellers profiled were already established in the business world before getting involved with eBay. They have MBAs and other impressive credentials. There are no stories about people who started by picking up bargains at garage sales. It is a realistic look at what it takes to make a good living on eBay.
If, like me, you are a person who has never been in business, if you have no idea what you might sell, and you have no product sources, what chance do you really think you have? This book will give you a lot to consider.
4 Stars Great addition, but take it with a grain of salt.
This is a great resource if you already sell on eBay, and are looking for a quick read. This book will NOT be helpful if you are just starting out on eBay, looking for product sources, or need a how-to manual of any sort. The author spoke with several Titanium Powersellers (the highest grossing sellers on eBay) about how they got started and what their business is like currently.
Personally, I thought the book was helpful for my own use. There were quite a few good ideas that helped us streamline our own business. We took an extra-hard look at sellers whose product line matched ours (small, light-weight commodity items) and tried to see if any of their ideas would benefit our business. There weren’t any huge changes to our business, but the book helps us tweak our practice with small changes either taken directly from the stories, or inspired by the stores.
Here’s the catch:
eBay is stagnating. Since the book was released, many of the Titanium Powersellers in the book have either closed down, moved off of eBay, or cut back drastically on their eBay listings. The successful sellers don’t stay on just eBay, but diversify as much as possible, and the book doesn’t mention cross-selling at all.
There isn’t a whole lot of information in the book, but I do think it’s worth the $15. But the true secret to becoming a top online seller? Start preparing to move away from eBay.
5 Stars Profiles of ebay success — The business plans others have used to make money.
This is a concisely written book of case studies of bigtime sellers on ebay and how they do it.
Any secrets you can steal? Not really, but lots of insight into how others did it.
This is not a how-to-sell step-by-step manual of the basics of selling on ebay.
Instead it is a compilation of stories of and interviews with the people who have started successful and profitable, they say, businesses on the auction site. It includes nice boxes of helpful pointers on most every page.
I found this book entertaining and helpful.
Am a now rich because I read it? No, but maybe someday.
4 Stars Much better than I expected
I picked this book out of a stack of “how to get RICHRICHRICH on eBay!!!” titles — you know, the usual dreck — because I thought it might be amusing to read over lunch.
Well, imagine my surprise. Eighteen in-depth interviews with some of the all-time bigest eBay sellers (circa 2004, anyway), conducted in a professional manner, by an author who actually knows something about… selling on eBay.
And Joyner’s understanding of the subject does show through. She digs & pokes & comes up with scads of nuggets of very useful information & advice for anyone who’s serious about eBay selling, online auctions in general, & for that matter online selling overall.
I cannot agree with some other Amazon reviews. For instance, nobody in their right mind is going to freely give away the contact information for a reliable drop-shipper!! To do so would simply mean giving up market share to a horde of beginners who’d cut into the business & likely muck up the perceived reliability of that niche. And (to address another) anyone who expects one book to hand them a turnkey road to wealth really needs to look into buying a franchise or some other Real World turnkey system to understand how much such a thing would cost.
It’s not for the raw beginner, really, or for someone who just wants to put up a handful of items to clear the attic. But, if you’re serious about starting (or expanding) your eBay presence, I’d have to put this on the Top Ten of titles I’d recommend.
It’s not perfect. There are plenty of editing niggles scattered throughout that might require you to reread a sentence. And I found at least two bits of advice that might get a newbie in trouble: Joyner suggests putting outside links into listings (last I noted, this was firmly discouraged by eBay) & putting keywords into your titles of similar brand names to draw in buyers (again, discouraged not only by eBay, but I think ICANN gets cranky about this practice on your own websites).
Finally, while it’s a GREAT one-time read, I’m not certain that you’ll need to go through it more than once or twice, so unless you plan to resell it or otherwise pass it along, the $22.95 retail might be too steep for practicality. (If it ever comes out in paperback, I could change my mind.) If you’re expecting $23 worth of advice, you’ll probably be disappointed.
But if you tread carefully, the good advice to be had far outweighs the bumps.
1 Star Was an ok book.
I read this book and hoped to find several new ideas but I was very disappointed. I could not find a lot of new information in the book. Certainly the price tag is too high too.
Tags: Amy Joyner, Associated Press, Aviation Security, Book Titles, Business Aviation, Coauthor, Critical Thinking, Dollar Business, Ebay, Ebay Secrets, Greensboro Nc, Greensboro North Carolina, Kitchen Table, Knight Center, Millionaire, Part Time Income, Power Sellers, Ship Goods, Titanium Powerseller, Wholesalers
Human Capital Management A Guide to the Market and Software Solutions
Human Capital Management A Guide to the Market and Software Solutions
This research report identifies HCM suppliers’ challenge: balancing dot.com agility in applying innovative solutions to people management process issues with brick-and-mortar stability – and staying in business beyond solution implementation.
Small Is the New Big and 183 Other Riffs Rants and Remarkable Business Ideas
Small Is the New Big and 183 Other Riffs Rants and Remarkable Business Ideas
More provocative business thinking from the bestselling author of Purple Cow and All Marketers Are Liars
As one of today
