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Business and Personal Finance October 2009

"The best reason to start an organization is to make meaning--to create a product or service to make the world a better place."
~ Guy Kawasaki, American entrepreneur, investor, and author

Dun & Bradstreet's Million Dollar Database


The Million Dollar Database provides comprehensive information on both public and private companies and their executives. Company profiles include specialty information like executive biographies and corporate families, SIC codes and more. It's a service provided free by the Lexington Public Library by visiting our online research tools.

 

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: 07/01/2009
ISBN-13: 9780061733697
ISBN-10: 0061733695
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."

The Cost of Bad Behavior: How Incivility is Damaging Your Business and What to Do About It - by Christine M. Pearson and Christine Porath
Publisher: Portfolio
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/09/2009
ISBN-13: 9781591842613
ISBN-10: 1591842611
We've all dealt with instances of rudeness--and probably have all been rude to others ourselves--but have you ever stopped to wonder how incivility at work might affect a company's competitiveness and financial success? Having identified a spectrum of behaviors as rude (from texting during meetings to closing coworkers out of a network), professors of management Christine Pearson and Christine Porath then go on to examine their effects on morale, productivity, and, ultimately, the bottom line. Their estimate of the price of rudeness is high, but fortunately they share useful strategies that employers and employees alike can implement to reduce incivility and increase cooperation and respect.
Books for Small-Business Owners


Start Small, Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start--and Run--Your Own Successful Business - by Fred DeLuca with John P. Hayes
Publisher: Brick Tower Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 04/16/2009
ISBN-13: 9781883283643
ISBN-10: 1883283647
Fred DeLuca, founder of the Subway restaurant chain, had never made a sub before opening his first sandwich shop at the age of 17. Now he's president of the highly successful company and runs a nonprofit organization that makes microloans to entrepreneurs. In 2000, he drew on his experience building and running Subway to present the 15 principles he believes that successful small business owners must stand by, such as "Believe in Your People" and "Continuously Improve Your Business." Using examples from other entrepreneurs, DeLuca illustrates what it takes to achieve your goals. If you're looking for inspiration as well as instruction, Smart Small, Finish Big is a great place to find it.

Alpha Dogs: How Your Small Business Can Become a Leader of the Pack - by Donna Fenn
Publisher: Collins
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 12/01/2005
ISBN-13: 9780060758677
ISBN-10: 0060758678
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.

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: 05/01/2004
ISBN-13: 9780786868254
ISBN-10: 0786868252
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: 08/01/2005
ISBN-13: 9780060778385
ISBN-10: 0060778385
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.

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: 05/22/2007
ISBN-13: 9780618785919
ISBN-10: 0618785914
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.
Contact your librarian for more great books!

Events

BEAUMONT BRANCH (231-5570)
Power to Control Your Future: Titling Your Assets, Tuesday, October 20, 6:30 PM-8:00 PM. Local certified financial planner Mohua Das will discuss how asset titling impacts the control, taxation, and ultimately distribution of your assets to your heirs. Reservations required.

Selling Your Home: For Sale By Owner -, Monday, October 26, 6:30 PM-8:30 PM. Learn tricks of the trade used by the 20% of the real estate agents who sell 80% of the homes.  Reservations required.

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