Books You Won’t Want to Miss in the 2013 Small Business Book Awards


For those of you who haven’t noticed — the 2013 Small Business Book Awards are underway! Nominations for the best business books of 2012 are pouring in daily.  If you haven’t nominated your favorite book, you have through Sunday March 3, 2013  to get your nominations in.

Nominating a book is really easy.  Head over to the nomination page. Tell us about the book you are nominating and what’s in the book that a small business owner would value.  It takes just a few minutes.

To get you started, I’ve created a list of some of my favorite books of the year. When I thought about which books to pick, I thought about the books I read and reviewed as Book Editor here at Small Business Trends, that didn’t just teach me something, but changed how I look at and run my business.

So Good they Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport

book awardsHow many times can I say “LOVED this book?” — not enough when it comes to this one.

This book transformed how I live my life and do my work. So Good They Can’t Ignore You introduced me to the idea of “craftsmanship” in every element of my work.

Now, instead of moaning and rolling my eyes at feedback, I embrace it because I know it’s going to help me improve my product and my skills.

Pumpkin Plan by Mike Michalowicz (@ToiletPaperEntrepreneur)

book awardsI’m a big Toilet Entrepreneur fan and if you’re a small business that hasn’t discovered this community, definitely check it out. Their Pied Piper is Mike Michalowicz, who wrote the original book, Toilet Paper Entrepreneur that started this community and has now released Pumpkin Plan.

I laughed out loud through the bulk of the book because Mike is just so ridiculously funny, but there are many, many words of wisdom around how to build and run a successful business – for any sized business.

Digital Dollar by Joe Wozny

book awardsDigital Dollar felt like having someone who knows, gets and understands social media channels walk up to me, grab me by the collar and tell me what it takes to get the job done.

And believe me – it’s not fluffy and feel good. It’s practical, down-in-the-trenches-this-is-how-the-Internet-works kind of stuff.

There are many books about social media and Internet marketing, but Digital Dollar is about actually doing what it takes to get the job done.

iPhone Millionaire by Michael Rosenblum (@Rosenblumtv)

book awardsI’d say this has GOT to be my DIYMarketers book of the year. It’s got all the things we DIY’ers love. It’s short, it’s fun to read and each page is a guide to how to do video right.

You are NOT getting away from video my friends. And believe me when I tell you – this is a message for ME as much as it is to YOU. You MUST do video. I’ve been saying this for years and haven’t done it. I have my reasons – and I’m sure you have good ones too; the least of which will be how to shoot good video. You might think you’re hung up on the technology, believe me – you aren’t. Read this book, shoot better video, hire someone to edit it. Easy Peasy.

Brand Advocates by Bob Fuggetta (@robfuggetta)

book awardsThis is another book I’m completely nuts about because the message is simple, the process is free and the results are INSANE! The main principle of the book is that you have thousands of invisible salespeople who work for your company – FOR FREE! Yes, these people are out there talking enthusiastically about your business every day on your behalf and you pay them – NOTHING. They are brand advocates. They are insanely loyal to your company, your product or service and brand and they love sharing it with others. Brand Advocates will teach you how to leverage their enthusiasm to generate sales.

Now it’s your turn!  What are your favorite business books for 2012?

Nomination FAQs

Now for some details about nominating.

(1) First, you ask, what’s the nomination fee?  The answer is: ZERO.  That’s right — it costs nothing to nominate.

(2) How can Small Business Trends afford to run an awards without fees, you ask?  It’s thanks to the generous support of Namecheap, an ICANN-accredited domain registrar. Presenting this year’s Awards is yet one more way that Namecheap is supporting the small business community. So if you want to thank anyone for this awesome opportunity to discover new books and share your likes, be sure to thank Namecheap.

(3) Can I nominate my own book or book app (remember, there’s a “resources” category this year, too)?  YES! Anyone can nominate – we don’t care who submits the nomination.  The whole idea behind a community awards is that the ENTIRE community gets to participate.  Book lovers, authors, publishers, book app developers, fans — head over to the 2013 Small Business Book Awards site, and — NOMINATE away!

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Ivana Taylor Ivana Taylor is the Book Editor for Small Business Trends. She is responsible for directing the site’s book review program and manages the team of professional book reviewers. She also spearheads the annual Small Business Book Awards. Ivana publishes DIYMarketers, where she shares daily do-it-yourself marketing tips, and is co-author of "Excel for Marketing Managers."

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