Archives for "Book Review"

I read this book on a recommendation from a friend. The story behind the book is an interesting one: how do you move a customer from liking your brand to loving your brand? How do your customers become life-long, diehard fans? And while it doesn’t really give any hard, fast rules on how to go about doing it, Kevin Roberts illustrates what the difference is between a brand and a lovemark beautifully. The layout of the book is really refreshing and the amount of time spent layout out each image, each logo, and each picture is really spectacular.

Bottom Line:
3.5/5
Time to read: 2-3 subway rides

Who would think that something so small as an elevator pitch could be so hard to write? It’s one of those things I never think about until it actually comes time to deliver. I’ve felt many a times that my elevator speech was lacking but didn’t know if it was me or my lack of tools for making a great pitch. And that’s where Terri Sjodin comes in.

Terri gives her readers the right tools through worksheets in the book and a few real-life examples of speeches that both went right….and wrong. Throughout the book I thought numerous times how much I enjoyed her phrasing and tempo throughout the book; she was able to teach a lot without coming off as condescending or pompous.

While very interesting and definitely a valid subject to get some clarity on, the book just wasn’t able to keep my attention throughout the duration. It could be the subject matter though…how do you make learning about elevator speeches titilating?

BOTTOM LINE:
Time to read: 2-3 subway rides
4/5 stars

I have to say, this was a refreshing book in the sense that it was fun to deal with a business book that got its point across through a fable, rather than just spitting out facts.

This book deals with what Swanepoel feels are 7 essential skills every business person should develop and master in order to succeed in business. And while the skills are nothing you haven’t learned, he makes them interesting by relating each skill to the characteristics of an animal.

I do have to admit, at times this book got a bit hokey and I did an eye roll once or twice. It can get a bit cheesy for the cynical. Overall though, this book is a good, quick read for when you need a business refresher.

BOTTOM LINE
Time to read: 2 subway rides
3.5/5

Judging by my always incomplete reading list to the right, and my book reviews posted here, you are safe to assume that I frequent my branch of the Brooklyn Public Library quite often (Mapleton, holla!)

Even though I’ve got five books out, one of them on my husbands library card (oops), I decided to go insane and type “small business” into the catalog search. Now, Im at page 16 of 150 and needless to say, I’m a little overwhelmed. And yet not.

So many of these books seem to be saying the same thing. “How to start and grow your business!” “the small business manual” “the small business SURVIVAL GUIDE!” and so on. I’ve come to a point where I have read SO. MUCH. of the same thing over and over again (as you’ll notice in some of my reviews) that I find myself skipping so many books because they look like they have the same drivel. Well, that’s not fair…it’s not drivel because the information is so important…but when you’ve read about Sole Props vs. LLCs vs. S Corps so many times that you could be an expert speaker on MSNBC it’s time to spread the search out to new horizons.

So I pledge that, with the exception of the books I have now, that I will search out new ideas or at least books that look deceptively like they will have new ideas in them. And if there’s ever a book you’d like me to search out please feel free to let me know…I’d love to take some recommendations!

Oh, PS, I got the notice that this domain needs to be renewed soon which means Handmade Brooklyn is a year old. Celebrate!

I’ve been putting off finishing this book, not really for any particular reason other than it fit perfectly in my bag and was easy to read on the subway.
Anyhow
If you already are an entrepreneur then this book is nothing new. However, that is not an argument against this book…on the contrary I liked it very much. It was an easy read, used a diverse range of entrepreneurs (one that was even in the beauty industry!), and humanized them. I think a lot of times books like to give entrepreneurs a sort of Sir Richard Branson (love him!) stigma: we’re all adrenaline-driven risk takers and damn the consequences…this book, instead, showed all of the failures that we seem to go through as the stubbornly self-employed.

Do I have the 8 patterns described in the book? A little smugly: yes, yes I do. But I think that if you wanted to believe in these traits and genuinely believed yourself to be an entrepreneur then I think you’d find a way to tailor these qualities to yourself…so in the end who the hell knows. I do think the main pattern/trait/whathaveyou that seems to be reiterated in this book, though under different names, is this:
Entrepreneurs are fluid
We bounce back, fall down, get up, keep moving, are restless, etc. It was comforting to read that so many get bored with their projects quickly, it definitely made me feel a little less crazy.

Time to read 4-5 subway rides
Would I? Yes if you’re looking for a pat on the back for doing what you’re already doing. It’s a good motivator