NextReads @ HPL

New and Recently Released!

The E-Myth Enterprise: How to Turn a Great Idea Into a Thriving Business - by Michael E. Gerber

Publisher: Harper Business
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/2009
ISBN-13: 9780061733697
ISBN-10: 0061733695
Call Number: 658.11 G362

Bestselling author Michael E. Gerber is back with a new addition to his E-Myth series; here, he addresses those looking to create brand new businesses. This "quick, original, well-organized read" (Publishers Weekly) covers the four "categories of preference" one must take into account when building a business and the five essential skills one needs to build it. In addition, Gerber ends each chapter with take-away points that neatly summarize the major ideas covered--these are also available as podcasts at his website. Praising Gerber's arguments, Booklist calls The E-Myth Enterprise a "must-read for current and aspiring entrepreneurs."

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Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture - by Ellen Ruppel Shell

Publisher: Penguin Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/2009
ISBN-13: 9781594202155
ISBN-10: 159420215X
Call Number: 381.1490973 S544

Generally speaking, mass-produced items have two things going for them--they're cheap and they're readily available. But as Atlantic correspondent Ellen Ruppel Shell shows, they also have long-term economic, environmental, and political costs. By focusing on low prices, Shell argues, competition among producers has led to lower wages (for jobs that have now gone overseas) and standards while consumers are offered a wide array of poorly made gadgets and clothes (and furniture, and food, and so on). If you're at all interested in modern consumerism, Shell's discussion of the hidden costs of cheap goods will definitely have you thinking twice about focusing on price to the exclusion of all else.

Books for Small-Business Owners

Start small, finish big : fifteen key lessons to start--and run--your own successful business - DeLuca, Fred

Publisher: Warner Business Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/2000
ISBN-13: 9780446524025
ISBN-10: 0446524026
Call Number: 658.041 D366

The founder of the Subway sandwich shop franchise draws on his own experience to present fifteen important steps to becoming a successful entrepreneur, offering helpful advice and key business strategies ranging from continually improving your business to believing in your people.

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Alpha Dogs: How Your Small Business Can Become a Leader of the Pack - by Donna Fenn

Publisher: Collins
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 12/2005
ISBN-13: 9780060758677
ISBN-10: 0060758678
Call Number: 658.022 F334

It's a tough climate out there for many small businesses these days, but there are practical strategies that small business owners can implement in order to boost sales and achieve growth. In Alpha Dogs, journalist Donna Fenn highlights eight successful entrepreneurs and the businesses they built--from a 12-location ice cream store in Austin, Texas, to the Thor-Lo sock company--and provides a guide to the practical and effective steps they took on their way up. From superlative customer service to creating community connections and keeping up with technological innovations, these business owners have what it takes; with this book you, too, can benefit from their success.

First Chapter Table of Contents

How to Make Big Money in Your Own Small Business: Unexpected Rules Every Small Business Owner Needs to Know - by Jeffrey J. Fox

Publisher: Hyperion
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/2004
ISBN-13: 9780786868254
ISBN-10: 0786868252
Call Number: 658.022 F7924

This handy, succinct guide to making a small business successful offers specific advice in several important areas of running a business. These run from the obvious (hiring, marketing, and spending, for example) to the not-quite-so-obvious, such as finding funding and serving on non-profit boards. Simple and straightforward, How to Make Big Money is a quick read great for beginning entrepreneurs, but offers enough information that "even seasoned pros can benefit" (Booklist).

Common Sense Business: Starting, Operating, and Growing Your Small Business--in Any Economy - by Steven R. Gottry; foreword by Ken Blanchard

Publisher: HarperBusiness
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/2005
ISBN-13: 9780060778385
ISBN-10: 0060778385
Call Number: 658.022 G686

For those of you contemplating starting up a small business of your own--or perhaps you've already started the process--this invaluable guide will take you through every phase, from start-up through evolving to fit the needs of the market to dealing with tough times. And author Steven Gottry knows what he's talking about: after 22 years as the head of his own media agency, the business fell apart and he was forced to begin again. You can learn from his mistakes in this guide to the six stages of starting and running your own business, which Booklist says is among the most "concise and straightforward" out there.

First Chapter

Guerrilla Marketing: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business - by Jay Conrad Levinson

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/2007
ISBN-13: 9780618785919
ISBN-10: 0618785914
Call Number: 658.8 L665 4ED

If you've got something to promote but don't have a huge budget, chances are you're going to use guerrilla marketing tactics whether you know it or not. To learn more about using low-budget, unconventional promotional activities, you might want to turn to this expanded and updated edition of the revolutionary marketing classic by Jay Levinson. The many topics it covers include identifying the fastest-growing markets, discussing recession strategies, and describing modern consumers; updates include Internet marketing, the use of new technologies, and cultivating repeat and referral business.

Table of Contents First Chapter

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In This Issue

New and Recently Released!
Books for Small-Business Owners
Contact your librarian for more great books!

HPL Means Business!

Starting a Business

Thinking about starting your own business? Are you already a small business owner? The City of Houston’s One Stop Business Center, in partnership with SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) and Houston Public Library’s C.O.R.E. (Careers, Opportunities, Resources, and Education) Center presents a series of programs specially designed for the small business owner or entrepreneur.

Business Startup – Starting a Business in Houston

Thursday, November 19 | 6 PM
McGovern-Stella Link Neighborhood Library

Business Planning and Financing for Small Business Owners
This two-part series covers the basics of creating a business plan in the first session and acquiring financing in the second session.

First Session: Creating a Business Plan

Saturday, November 7 | 10:30 AM
Smith Neighborhood Library

Tuesday, December 1 | 6:30 PM
Central Library

Second Session: Acquiring Financing

Thursday, October 22 | 4:30 PM
Scenic Woods Regional Library

Saturday, November 7 | 12:30 PM
Smith Neighborhood Library

Tuesday, December 8 | 6:30 PM
Central Library

Financial Advice Series

Need some ideas on how to better manage your money? Want to know how to cut routine household expenses?

1st Thursday of the Month | 4 - 7 PM

Central Library

Houston Public Library's Central Library in partnership with the Houston CHapter of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) will host a free financial advice series for the public. All income levels and financial situations are welcome.

Meet one-on-one with a NAPFA Registered Advisor, absolutely free of charge. Get a second opinion on your personal financial needs and obtain resources to improve your financial condition. All NAPFA members provide comprehensive financial advice, adhere to strict ethical standards, and sell no products. Consultations will be on a first come, first served basis and visits may be time limited due to demand.

Learn how to:

develop healthier financial habits
start a savings program
pay down credit card debt
plan for retirement or salvage your retirement portfolio
survive a job loss
plan for college expenses
decide when to take Social Security benefits
determine what types of insurance to have

NAPFA does not expressly endorse any recommendations received nor is responsible in any way for advice provided during the Free-Advice events. To find out more about NAPFA, visit: www.napfa.org.