By Matt Mansfield - Jun 16, 2013 -
From colors and shapes to layout and navigation, design can make or break the online experience. A well-designed Web presence can attract, hold and help convert your target customers while a poor design can drive away visitors like nothing else.
Like many of the Web folks my age, I've taken few formal graphic design classes – I've learned most of what I know about design from online observation, experience and books. That's right, I've learned a ton about graphic design from books, the best of which also continue to provide inspiration …
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By Pierre DeBois - Jun 15, 2013 -
Working in a business with your spouse or life partner can be tricky - but rewarding. If you are looking for a story about family business to inspire, you may want to sit down and have a drink. In this case, make it a good shot of fine tequila.
The Patron Way, From Fantasy to Fortune – Lessons in Taking Any Business from Idea to Iconic Brand, is by Ilana Edelstein (with help from Samantha Marshall). I discovered the book via NetGallery, and thought it would be worthwhile to marketers who work with premium brands as well as business …
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By Pierre DeBois - Jun 9, 2013 -
One of my best friends referred me to the book Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now after we debated about technology’s impact on society.
Are our lives better now with the technology that has become widespread?
Are we “better people” because we can share information so readily and instantaneously?
Those questions are particularly poignant when we think about the potential usage of gadgets and capabilities developed just in the last year. Google Glass. The spread of mobile apps. The anticipation of an automated driving …
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By Pierre DeBois - Jun 8, 2013 -
When Margie Zable Fisher of Zable Fisher Public Relations shared an interview here on Small Business Trends with Built To Sell author John Warrillow, she noted the idea of the service firm trap – an over-focus on hourly rates instead of packages.
In fact, pricing is just one of the traps along the way to developing professional services.
For those who need to break the traps, rejoice. Leading Firms: How Great Professional Service Firms Succeed & How Your Firm Can Too by David Kuhlman offers tips to improve your professional …
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By Ivana Taylor - Jun 2, 2013 -
The weather is finally warm enough to where I’ve created my outdoor patio space. And that means that it’s summer reading time! A cool drink, my feet up and I’m going to be reading these books all summer long. The Small Business Trends Book Review team has already read and reviewed some of them and others are currently on our reading list.
So take a look at these short write-ups and see if they belong on your summer business book list as well.
Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work
by Chip …
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By Pierre DeBois - Jun 1, 2013 -
Read a paragraph on analytics or follow an infographic on the challenges of software-as-a-service, and you’ll find the term "big data." Business models are being upended, thanks to a digital environment related to Big Data. So what’s at stake, especially for small businesses that are discovering as much competitive use of data as larger corporations?
Authors Viktor Mayer-Schroenberger and Kenneth Cukier have set out to answer that and more in Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work and Think. …
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By Ivana Taylor - May 26, 2013 -
Just to be clear, my business book addiction also takes a vacation. There's only so much marketing strategy any small business owner can read about, right? Sometimes, you have to change it up and this is my summer reading list that has a small business spin, but is certainly not all business.
Summer Reading List
A Brief History of Swearing by Melissa Mohr
After spending about 25 years in manufacturing, I’m ashamed to say that I’ve acquired a sort of potty mouth. So when I saw this book on the NPR website, I thought I’d add it to …
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By Pierre DeBois - May 25, 2013 -
Circuses were meant to draw the audience’s eye to various clowns, acrobats, trapeze performers and artists meant to bedazzle and delight. With more people spending time online, companies can feel as if they have to run Barnum and Bailey rather than a company.
One entertainment concept that has spread through the last few years is gamification – connecting to customers through implementing design concepts from games and loyalty programs based on behavioral economics. The concept is the study of a new book The Gamification Revolution: …
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By Pierre DeBois - May 19, 2013 -
It was just a couple of years ago that I lamented about the lack of finance guides aimed at small business owners. Meanwhile, the number of non-traditional finance resources has increased, competing with traditional banking sources. As a result, business owners have clamored for books outlining all finance options available.
Among the most stellar coverage of small business finance resources is Spank the Bank: The Guide to Alternative Business Financing. Karlene Sinclair-Robinson (@KarleneSinRob), founding member of finance consultation …
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By Ivana Taylor - May 18, 2013 -
Have you ever “owned a room?” I don’t mean in terms of actual real estate, but rather in terms of mental real estate?
If you have, you’ll never forget the feeling of having every eye in the room on you, people practically breathing along with you. I think that’s what they mean when they say having them “eating out of your hand.” Now, have you ever completely lost control of the room? As you look around, eyes are glazed over, people sneaking peeks at their smart phones and mobile devices or just typing on their computers (and …
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By Pierre DeBois - May 12, 2013 -
To me, the fun fact about famous people is not the TMZ-style stories of who-left-whom-for-who. It’s the business end. I get a bit fascinated by musicians, and how they attempt to balance artistic statement with being accessible to the public – another way of saying, “Gimme enough sales so I can continue my artistic statements.”
At least that was the thesis for the music business of yore. Without a doubt, the Internet and digitizing the music format has reshaped how music artists garner fans. Witness how YouTube expanded the …
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By Ivana Taylor - May 11, 2013 -
Multi-functional work teams were a hot trend in the 1990’s.
If you can remember back when American manufacturing was reeling from the onslaught of Japanese high-quality products hitting our shores, you’ll recall that the culture of American individualism was considered passé. That’s when U.S. corporations made a commitment to figure out how to work in teams so they could gain back their competitive advantage.
I was part of that culture -- excited about the prospect of leveraging our creative strengths to create even greater …
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Top 10 Books About Sales 8 
Read "Rules of the Hunt" and Start Playing Successfully in Business 1 
Own Your Niche and Remove the Fear of Internet Marketing 4 
Best StartUp Books 5 
Reading The Good Fail Can Make You Successful 5 
Buzz Cicada
Jon Buscall (@jonbuscall)
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CLIFTON McBEAN-HENRY
Ivan Widjaya - BizPenguin.com