1 of 3 Must Have Business Books
584571
I just bought Scaling Up and have to save that I love it and the supporting website (www.scalingup.com) that has all of the free templates and plans.  This is definitely a book to read cover to cover and use as a primer to run your business.  There are 3 business books, Traction (Gino Wickman) Rockefeller Habits - Now Scaling Up, and The Advantage by Pat Lencioni  I only wish I had these three when I started out.  Nice work Verne for the book, the shares and the framework.
1771912
Like the title says, I read this book about 3-4 years ago. At the time I knew nothing about the vending world and was in the "research" phase of starting a business. This book was a great help and contained some very valuable information that I still use today to operate my business. In particular, it is important to know how much money a "profitable" location should be bringing in to determine it's worthiness, what type of machine(s) to buy (although the book cautions against used machines, I think a newer "gently used" machine is fine for a first timer), and quite importantly, to start with at least three machines so you can begin to gauge which locations are performing well, and which ones need to be moved.

The book goes over standard profit margins one can expect from snack machines, drink machines, bulk vendors, specifics products, etc.

Most importantly this book IS VERY critical of many of the "biz op" (so-called "business opportunity") scams which are nothing but money pits! Even if you don't buy this book, PLEASE be VERY wary of purchasing any kind of "franchise" or "route" or "business" that cannot provide a history of specific sales and profit/loss figures from the locations you are acquiring. If there's one thing I've learned in the vending business it's that it's very hard to gauge what will be a good location and what will be bad. It's easy to buy a bunch of crappy machines and place them in bad locations (I've been to many places that would LOVE to have one of my machines...because they don't have one....because they only have 10 employees and no REAL operator will deal with them). If I was an unscrupulous swindler, I might be tempted to just take those locations, and then sell the "business" for tens of thousands of dollars!

Anyway, the book does have it's faults. The layout isn't gorgeous and comes off as a bit amateurish and outdated. But I don't really care because the info is what's important to me.

Also, there is not much information about machine maintenance, service, diagnosis, troubleshooting. I've found in my business that if I had to pay a technician every time my machine had a problem, I'd have been bankrupt within my first year! Vending machines are NOT complicated robots. They are basically a computer that controls little motors. It would've been nice to have a bit more info on how they work. But I'm sure that's better left to a different book. I had a hell of a time learning how MDB/DEX was related to credit/debit telemetry systems....some info about that would've been nice too. Although I get the feeling the author is not a big fan of "new" technology and is more old school. Which is fine, the guy knows his stuff and is NOT full of **it, which is uncommon in this business.

Before starting a business, DO YOUR RESEARCH, BE VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY WARY OF ANYONE SELLING A "BUSINESS" OR "ROUTE" WITHOUT A PROVEN SALES RECORD THAT YOU CAN VERIFY WITH CERTAINTY....and learn how to work on your machine!! Also, expect a SLOW start until you get the hang of it. Yes you can make decent money in vending, but don't expect it will happen right off the bat. It will not. Be patient!

Most of all JUST DO IT!!!!! All the research and knowledge and planning in the world means nothing if you just keep talking about it!!! Make it happen!!!! If you want to succeed as much as you want to breathe, you will succeed!
4783553
Probably the best business book out there for dentists -- though I think reading Michael E. Gerber's "The E-Myth Revisited" first is an absolute must. (It should be essential reading for all owners and managers of small businesses.) With the changes occurring in the dental and insurance industries in the USA, this book will need to be soon updated for dentists in that country.
601635
The book itself can be divided into 3 parts: reality check, really mathy accounting, and cutting expenses.

I am so happy to have read it. I would recommend reading all the way through. Implement the basics into your business for 2-3 quarters then re-read the book again. Then repeat.

It is truly a method that understands human nature and benefits from it rather than fights against our urges.

Just get the book. Stop hesitating. $10 and 7 hours of your time could save your business and turn it into a cash cow.
2498314
Now, Build a Great Business is a blueprint, a step by step manual for building a business that will give you all the things you want from your business.

According to the authors there are seven broad areas that you need to master if you wish to build a great business: Leadership, A sound business plan, great people, great product or service, great marketing, great sales process and a great customer experience.

There is a chapter devoted to each category.  The authors go into great detail, giving step by step instructions about how to achieve outstanding results in each area.  At the end of each chapter is a series of questions for the reader to answer.  If you answer these questions and then put the answers into action, you will greatly improve your business.

I have read numerous books and listened to countless audio programs by Brian Tracy.  If you are familiar with his work, you will recognize his teachings throughout the book.  The book is well written, well organized, a breeze to read and contains a wealth of wisdom both from the authors and from the many sources they cite.

Most people who read this book will come away with dozens of ideas that can be applied to their business.  The value is not in the ideas, but in the implementation.  You will want to keep this book handy and refer to it often.  I found numerous passages to highlight and underline for future reference.

I believe most entrepreneurs make a lot of incorrect assumptions about what it takes to create a highly successful business.  They tend to focus on their product or service and how marvelous it is without really focusing on what the customer wants, needs and values.  This book does a great job of pointing out the areas you must focus on if you wish to create a highly successful business.

Lastly the book closes with the advice that a great business is not what really counts.  It is a great life.  So the authors tell us how to focus on the things that really matter in life.

Here are some highlights of the important lessons in the book:

Follow the advice of Peter Drucker - ask, "What does the customer value?"

When you make a mistake, ask, "What can I learn from this problem or situation?  Don't waste mistakes."

"The leader's job is to give credit and take responsibility.  This means no blame and no excuses."

"Fully 80 percent of your success in business and life is going to be determined by your level of clarity in each area."

There are some valuable quotes at the beginning of each chapter and scattered throughout the text.  The quote at the beginning of the chapter on building a great life is worth repeating.  "The things that matter most must never be at the mercy of the things that matter least."  Goethe.

An excellent guide for building a great business and life.
4298984
This is one of the most fascinating business books I have read.  It covers the idea of EBay as a perfect market which economically is an interesting idea.  The book goes through the history and business growth and has excellent analysis. Overall it is just fascinating to see how this company grew up and delivered profit quarter after quarter. I really wish there would be an update as it is a little dated. Highly recommend as the number one business book.
2813194
I'm back on a business book kick and have some pretty good stuff I want to share with you. For now, let me introduce you to Alan Webber. If youhaven't met him yet, I have to tell you; he's a pretty fascinating guy with an interesting perspective on life. Among other notable things, Alan founded Fast Company (one of my favorite business-related magazines out there) and he's had the opportunity to meet and work with some great people.

Alan has a habit of carrying around index cards and when something interesting happens or he hears something that he wants to remember, he jots it down on one of his cards. (Side note: I cannot tell you how much I LOVE this idea. And yes, I bought a pack - or two - of index cards as soon as I finished this book.) From those cards, Alan came up with the idea of Rules of Thumb.

There are 52 of Alan's Rules in total. At first, I figured I would read one rule a week. But that did not happen. Each chapter is very engaging through stories that Alan tells and the underlying principle of each rule really makes you stop and think.

One of my favorite rules is "Don't implement solutions. Prevent problems." That has always been one of my mottos and Alan lays it out magnificently.

I'll admit that not every rule got me excited about work and I don't feel that every rule applied to me directly. But when 75% (at least) of a book hits home with you, that says a lot. This book is great at making you evaluate how you are approaching business and how you want to fit work into your life rather than making work your life. Highly recommended for anyone in business at any stage of the game.
3285646
Without fail this book is a must have for a business owner.  It is easy to follow and provides you with the tips to Standing Up and Standing Out in your business...  With video as well, these strategies are a way to WOW you and your business.  Thoroughly recommend it.  Hazel, EliteAuthors.com
3792166
Excelent book, must have for every business leader who wants to have happy customers.
4128385
This is the only guide you will ever need to understanding how to put a business plan together and in so doing you gain invaluable lessons on what makes business tick, from a master.  I have used this book in an earlier edition, as a blueprint to attract finance for 3 ventures so I can vouch for its easy style and elegant solutions. Highly recommended whether you're starting, running or turning around a business.  If you are in business you need to read this book from cover to cover and you don't need to be Einstein to understand it.
4475303
I own a small business that currently has 3 employees and is rapidly growing.  I read this book a year ago at the recommendation of another small business owner and found it to be the most helpful book I've ever read on business, though the&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-E-Myth-Revisited-Why-Most-Small-Businesses-Don-t-Work-and-What-to-Do-About-It/dp/0887307280/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It</a>&nbsp;is a very close second.  I've read dozens of business books and this is the best.  Every single one of his chapters sets a solid framework for the essential elements of running a business.  It starts with setting goals and making them clear and trackable.  He give tips for prioritizing and time management.  He helps with how to hire employees, train them, communicate to them, encourage them, compensate them and fire them if necessary.  He goes through marketing, sales, accounting, financing, and vendors.  Basically, every single aspect to running a business is covered, and Dave walks you through step by step how to implement these principles.

If I hadn't read this book last year, there's no way I would be where I am today.  I wouldn't have had a plan, been able to motivate employees, or handle the growth we experienced.  I even had one of my employees read certain chapters of this book throughout the year to get us on the same page and help him grow in his leadership capabilities.  I'm planning to read it again this year in order to try to take my business to the next level again.  I compiled in the back a list of other books that he cited in the book as I read - in itself it is a great bibliography for business and leadership.  And be sure not to miss the bonus chapters online, they're just as good as the rest of the book.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who owns a business or is in management to any degree.
4233973
I am running a business for more than a year now. I've read a lot of business related books but this one is the best so far as it gives me 13
easy steps for goal setting. I learned the importance and difference of working hard and working smart.
3563477
Here are the top three reasons that you should buy this book:
1. You've  heard a lot about making work simpler, but you don't have any idea how to  put "simpler" practices into place. Jensen drops several bombs in  this book, most of them in the form of great tools for anyone in a  management position. The theory is outlined quickly and without pretense  and then the tools hammer home the essentials. This book is very good at  getting you to reevaluate you thinking processes immediately. Everyone from  CEOs down to front-line managers will benefit from these tools.
2. Your  formerly small, fast-moving new media startup is experiencing growing  pains. That's the case in my company, where we've gone from 60 employees to  well over 400 in the US. My outlook on the state of my company has expanded  dramatically since reading this book, because it effectively diagnosed the  key problem: the business strategy and company values have become divorced  from the day to day activities of employees. Simplicity is a handbook for  living by your values and getting through growth phases in an organization,  on project teams, and everywhere else. Again, managers need this  information, but so do employees, who will feel empathy with the data from  Jensen's study and find ways to make their job easier in the short term,  and tools to manage upwards and change the way things work in the  organization in the long view.
3. You're tired of management/business  books that simply spout platitudes. Jensen engages the reader with lots of  different layouts and chapter summaries that inform without dumbing down.  He's clearly got a line on multiple intelligence theory, because the book  shakes up conventional data presentation techniques in favor of  eye-catching (and therefore memory engaging) presentations. This book walks  the talk by developing ways to make complex messages easily  understandable.
The swift kick to the head, in my case, has helped me  truly become more effective and to demand change from the leaders in my  organization. I first checked this book out of a library but I now own a  copy, and it's been read twice, dogeared and scribbled in. The fact that  you can also go to the companion website to download the results of the  study that formed the basis of the book is great for analytical types. Buy  it, read it, give it to your CEO.
1155883
I have used the principles of this book along with several other books by Mr. Gerber to perfect my financial brokerage company. Mr. Gerber has written a phenomenal series of books that show you a better way of thinking about your business. I use this book to train my managers and employees so that they can have a better context of my business.
This book is one of the bible's of the entrepreneurial world, I believe that any entrepreneur that doesn't have this book is making their business harder than it should be.
4796352
One of 3 "little books" that make up my investing library.
Would also recommend The Little Book of Safe Money by Zweig and The Little Book of Bulletproof Investing by Stein.
All three are easy reads without a lot of technical jargon.
2047274
Must-have for any business owner, entrepreneur, or prospective business owner. Payroll, accounting, and taxes are BIG considerations, and by reading this book you'll avoid learning things the hard way as I have. Like the fact that the one and only year I got audited by the IRS was the one year I used TurboTax instead of a CPA. Or when I nearly lost my credit card processing because I couldn't produce financials on-demand when the bank requested them.

Overall it will give a much-needed education on the lingo so you can talk intelligently with professionals such as your CPA or your bookkeeper or banker and know what they're talking about, as well as know what you're talking about so you get what you want in the end.
1833521
This book really simplified "business" ... ANY business.  The contents in this book make it a business bible that is filled with business basics and advance philosophy as well as human encouragement.  Any and every business owner should take some time and read this book.