Books written by entrepreneurs for those who hope to be entrepreneurs are aimed at giving the reader the gift of experience,  experience earned without the pain and suffering of starting a business and watching it struggle or fail.  The trick is to find a book that best fits your approach, a book that speaks your language. We've recently added two new books to our Business Collection that cover much of the same territory and yet are  distinctly different in tone.   Guerrilla Marketing guru Jay Conrad Levinson's latest book is aimed at convincing the person who hates their job or hates working for someone else, that they can quit that job and be a success as their own boss.  Levinson and co-author Andrew Neitlich describe the process in terms of ten battles you must fight to make the leap, and offer advice on how to win those battles decisively; how to overcome fear, pick the right business idea and strategy, how to find support and how to manage risk.  If "jumping into the fray" is for you, the Guerrilla Marketing Job Escape Planlays it out the battle plan step-by-step.   Susan Wilson Solovic's book It's Your Biz: the Complete Guide to Becoming Your Own Bossis less "battle plan" and more mentoring conversation. The author is leveraging her extensive experience as an entrepreneur and business journalist to help you avoid common mistakes.  As she notes in the introduction, "[w]hatever your goals, the business basics are the same. Without sound underpinnings, your goals will elude you, and your work will be for naught." Solovic's book provides the sound underpinnings upon which you can build a solid business.

Let's make one thing clear from the start. Very few people are ever going to take a business from concept to start-up in 54 hours.  If you are the kind of person to do that you probably don't need to read this book.  The Startup Weekend concept brings together developers, designers, marketers, and startup enthusiasts all in one place and creates an environment where pitches get made, teams get formed, and companies get launched all in a single weekend. If you have the time to travel to an upcoming event run by the Startup Weekend organization then your odds go way up of course, but if not, why read a book about it?  Start-ups need to be nimble to survive. The ability to act quickly while thinking clearly with plenty of support is what the Startup Weekend concept brings to the fore,  and reading about how they do their "no talk, all action" weekends may give you helpful insights for your own slightly slower paced start-up as well. You will understand why it's essential to build a team, how to be flexible, how to get a product to market faster and how to be immediately and continually adaptable. The tenets of the Startup Weekend business model are Adapt, Stay Lean, and Reiterate.  If that sounds like your cup of tea, then Startup Weekend the book is for you.

The nature of business to consumer relationships has evolved radically in the last few years. New technologies drive that change with ever increasing speed, and today the customer has unparalleled ability to share their experiences with a business to hundreds or even thousands of people without ever getting out of their chair.  To thrive, businesses must find methods of managing and even harnessing this new ability to their benefit. Two new additions to the Business Collection at the Dayton Metro Library attempt to address that very need.  The End of Business As Usual by Brian Solis suggests that this new world is still evolving and that your business can play a role in shaping it.  Solis examines what he calls the "evolution of the network environment and the human network" in great detail and then details how businesses must change their thinking about the old way of doing things.  In The New Relationship Marketing, Mari Smith points out that "people have always done business with people they know, like and trust....but now the popularity of online social networking has shifted our methods of connection with consumers,stakeholders, and potential partners." She goes on to outline a nine-step program to build a large, loyal network that can yield, leads, new sales, positive word-of-mouth and more.  The book includes information on how to successfully navigate the somewhat complex social rules of Facebook, Twitter and etc.   If the new "social marketing" is somewhat of a puzzle, either (of both!) of these books may help you unravel it.

Etsy is described as "your place to buy and sell all things handmade, vintage and supplies." The Etsy website helps the very very small craftsperson or dealer in vintage items or craft supplies by providing an effective means to reach potential buyers practically anywhere.  Starting an Etsy® Business for Dummies®  addresses the ins and outs online selling including taking photographs that show your work off in just the right way, how to write compelling product descriptions that will turn browsers into buyers, how to manage your online shop and market your goods and how to provide excellent customer service and enjoy the amazing support that comes from being part of the Etsy® community.

Potential entrepreneurs often feel going into business for themselves means bootstrapping, building a new business from the ground up. Others might consider investing in a franchise opportunity. However, buying an existing business is an alternative many have not considered. Buying an established business may offer advantages such as an existing customer base and supplier relationships, an established brand, the possibility of seller financing and more. Around 20% of the small businesses in the United States may be for sale at any given time according to some estimates, and Nolo's 3rd edition of The Complete Guide to Buying a Business is the perfect  companion for investigating that option.  Attorney and Author Fred S. Steingold lays out all the steps from finding the right business for you, understanding its true worth, negotiating the best terms for a sales agreement, and closing the deal.   The Complete Guide to Buying a Business is also appropriate for the business owner who needs to acquire another company for strategic reasons such as expanding into a new market or offering a new service.  This 2011 edition is completely updated with latest laws and tax information and lays everything out clearly and without making you wade through a lot of legalese. 

Got 'mad web skillz' but find the current job market a tough nut to crack?  Graphic designer Neil Tortorella's Starting Your Career as a Freelance Web Designer will help you figure out the possibilities in the freelance arena. The book begins with quality information about what it really takes to be a successful freelancer, and then lays out the steps for a solid foundation for your business: the education you may need, how to craft a business plan, invaluable advice on setting prices for your services, how to understand contracts and more. The second half of the book moves on to putting your plans into action by marketing and then growing your business, building an effective portfolio and website to highlight your abilities, successfully managing projects, and even offers some advice on balancing your work and personal lives. If you are considering freelancing, Starting your Career as a Freelance Web Designer will answer questions you did not even know you had!

Everywhere you look today you find evidence that business marketing has permanently changed.  From catchy television ads for daily coupon websites, to a favorite restaurant posting their daily specials on Facebook, to the fact that a substantial number of us make our first contact with a company via their website; business owners today have to keep track of marketing methods that didn't even exist a few years ago. The buyer-seller relationship has been changed permanently, and now the question is what to do to get in the game?  David Meerman Scott's The New Rules of Marketing and PR is one of the best known guides to these new methods.  Over a quarter of a million copies of the first two editions are in print and it's been translated into 25 different languages which gives you a sense of its popularity.  Now fully revised and updated the third edition describes how to use social media, online video, mobile apps, blogs, viral marketing and more to take your message directly to customers.