The Handmade Entrepreneur-How to Sell on Etsy, or Anywhere Else: Easy Steps for Building a Real Business Around Your Crafts


Dani Marie - 2015
     What if you could start your day out with an excited shout instead of a frustrated sigh? Unfortunately, selling handmade goods online is no longer as simple as throwing together a product listing and waiting for sales to roll in. There are now millions of people with handmade products and they are all eager to build a sustainable income. The Handmade Entrepreneur uses precise methods based on proven marketing techniques to set you above the competition. It teaches you how to create a genuine business you can count on rather than a bundle of shop pages and social media accounts built on a foundation of guesswork. What You Can Expect to Learn from This Book: • How to take DIY pictures that get clicks and sales • How to set up a shop that turns visitors into buyers in under two seconds • How to price your items • How to write titles and descriptions • How to brand your business with DIY techniques • How to rank your pages • How to find targeted audiences • How to build up your list of followers • Where to promote your listings • How to sell without selling • How to form relationships with people who can send you extra sales • How to start a "buzz" about your products • Which tools to incorporate into your business The goal of this book is to free you from having to rely on any third-party website for your sales. Yes, you can take advantage of platforms like Etsy, and you should, but websites come and go, and if all your sales come only from that website, you run into trouble every time there are algorithm changes, a saturation of sellers, or cheaper products to compete with. You are trying to generate sales, which means that you are trying to run a business, which in-turn means that you need a real business plan. Brick and motor stores don't just buy a bunch of goods, throw them in a building, and hope people will come. They plan, study their target market, pick a perfect store location, and prepare to market themselves. Just because you sell online does not mean that you can skip all of these steps. You have billions of products to compete with online and a crowd of shoppers who have an overwhelming number of options before them. You must prepare your storefront, get your products ready, know your audience, and then know how to market to them. Optimizing Your Shop for Sales Dani starts out showing you how to prepare your products with photos that attract clicks and sales. It doesn't just tell you how to do it, though. It SHOWS you. Thanks to the help of many carefully selected Etsy sellers, there are many example photos for each point. In addition to this, the author only shows you DIY photos to prove that you can do it all on your own. Next, Dani discusses how to optimize your shop. She goes through every aspect such as banners, profiles, descriptions, tags, and titles. You will learn how to optimize your pages so that people stay there instead of leaving instantly. This can be done by creating an inviting environment with images and content that buyers can skim through in under two seconds. If buyers can determine that your page is worth staying on in less than two seconds, you have won the battle. Finding Targeted Audiences and Marketing The issue with selling online is finding people who would be interested in your products.

Copycat Marketing 101: How to Copycat Your Way to Wealth


Burke Hedges - 2000
    How to Copycat your way to wealth

The Greatest Company In The World? The Story Of Tata


Peter Casey - 2014
    How did Tata transform itself from a family-owned business to one of the most professionally managed enterprises in the world? How did it become a world leader in an array of unrelated businesses—from steel and automobile manufacturing to hotels and IT consulting? What exactly is the ‘Tata Way’, which has earned it so much admiration and respect?This brief history of the Tatas charts the contribution of every Tata chairman—from Jamsetji Tata, who set up the company in 1868, to Ratan Tata and Cyrus Mistry—and explores the values at the heart of the Tata Group, as well as the role played in its development by the philanthropic trusts that own two-thirds of the company.For anyone curious about this Indian company that has become a leading global player, this book is the perfect introduction.

What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20


Tina Seelig - 2009
    It is scary to face a wall of choices, knowing that no one is going to tell us whether or not we are making the right decision. There is no clearly delineated path or recipe for success. Even figuring out how and where to start can be a challenge. That is, until now.As executive director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, Tina Seelig guides her students as they make the difficult transition from the academic environment to the professional world, providing tangible skills and insights that will last a lifetime. Seelig is an entrepreneur, neuroscientist, and popular teacher, and in What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20 she shares with us what she offers her students—provocative stories, inspiring advice, and a big dose of humility and humor.These pages are filled with fascinating examples, from the classroom to the boardroom, of individuals defying expectations, challenging assumptions, and achieving amazing success. Seelig throws out the old rules and provides a new model for reaching our highest potential. We discover how to have a healthy disregard for the impossible, how to recover from failure, and how most problems are remarkable opportunities in disguise.What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20 is a much-needed book for everyone looking to make their mark on the world.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Personal Workbook


Stephen R. Covey - 2003
    Covey presents a personal hands-on companion to the landmark The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People , which has become a touchstone for individuals, families, and businesses around the world. The overwhelming success of Stephen R. Covey's principle-centered philosophy is a testament to the millions who have benefited from his lessons, and now, with The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Personal Workbook , they can further explore and understand this tried-and-true approach. With the same clarity and assurance Covey's fans have come to appreciate, this individualized workbook teaches readers to fully internalize the 7 Habits through private and thought-provoking exercises, whether they are already familiar with the principles or not.

One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership


Mike Figliuolo - 2011
    Through a series of simple questions, readers will create a living document that communicates their values, passions, goals and standards to others, maximizing their leadership potential.Outlines a clear approach for identifying a concise and meaningful set of personal leadership maxims by which leaders can live their lives Explains and applies four basic aspects of leadership: leading yourself, leading the thinking, leading your people, and leading a balanced life Generates a foundational document that serves as a touchstone for leaders and their teams Simple, applicable, and without pretense, One Piece of Paper provides a model for real leadership in the real world.

Amaze Every Customer Every Time: 52 Tools for Delivering the Most Amazing Customer Service on the Planet


Shep Hyken - 2013
    Why? It is the competitive edge of new-era business—in any market and any economy.Renowned customer experience expert Shep Hyken explains how consistently amazing customers through stellar service can elevate your company from good to great. All transformations require a role model, and Shep has found the perfect role model to inspire your team: Ace Hardware. Ace was named as one of the top ten customer service brands in America by Businessweek and ranked highest in its industry for customer satisfaction. Through revealing stories from Ace’s over-the-top work with customers, Shep explores the five tactical areas of customer amazement: leadership, culture, one-on-one, competitive edge, and community.Delivering amazing service requires everyone in your organization to step up and be a leader. It doesn’t take a title. It takes the right set of tools and principles. To help you empower employees at all levels, Shep brings the content to a deeply practical level. His 52 Amazement Tools—like “Ask the extra question” and “Focus on the customer, not the money”—are simple, clear, useful for almost anybody, and supported with compelling research and stories. Between these covers, you will find the tools and tactics you need to transform your company into a seriously customer-focused operation that will amaze every customer every time.

Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen


Donald Miller - 2017
    This revolutionary method for connecting with customers provides readers with the ultimate competitive advantage, revealing the secret for helping their customers understand the compelling benefits of using their products, ideas, or services. Building a StoryBrand does this by teaching readers the seven universal story points all humans respond to; the real reason customers make purchases; how to simplify a brand message so people understand it; and how to create the most effective messaging for websites, brochures, and social media. Whether you are the marketing director of a multibillion dollar company, the owner of a small business, a politician running for office, or the lead singer of a rock band, Building a StoryBrand will forever transform the way you talk about who you are, what you do, and the unique value you bring to your customers.

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future


Ashlee Vance - 2015
    Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the genius's life and work, from his tumultuous upbringing in South Africa and flight to the United States to his dramatic technical innovations and entrepreneurial pursuits. Vance uses Musk's story to explore one of the pressing questions of our age: can the nation of inventors and creators who led the modern world for a century still compete in an age of fierce global competition? He argues that Musk is an amalgam of legendary inventors and industrialists including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, and Steve Jobs. More than any other entrepreneur today, Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far-reaching as the visionaries of the golden age of science-fiction fantasy

Ownership Thinking: How to End Entitlement and Create a Culture of Accountability, Purpose, and Profit


Brad Hams - 2011
    It's infecting the very roots of business performance, and it's spreading fast. It isn't the recession, market volatility, scandal, or greed. It's entitlement.And it may be killing your business. In myriad ways, entitlement has been cultivated for decades. As a result, too many employees today believe that they are entitled to a paycheck simply because they show up. Brad Hams has proven that we are not doomed to a path of entitlement and dependence. After more than 15 years working with hundreds of companies, he knows that the vast majority of employees addicted to entitlement actually want to engage, want to contribute, and feel much better about themselves when they are in an environment that requires them to do so.Now, with Ownership Thinking, Hams shares his strategy that will increase your company's productivity, employee retention, and profitability:The Right Education: Teach employees the fundamentals of business and finance, how their company makes money, and how they add--or take away--value.The Right Measures: Identify the organization's Key Performance Indicators and teach employees to forecast results in an environment of high visibility and accountability.The Right Incentives: Create incentive plans that are self-funding and clearly align employees' behavior to the organization's business and financial objectives.Your employees will learn to think and act like owners and will become active participants in the financial performance of the business. They will gain the self-esteem that is only possible through achievement and will reap rewards that are in alignment with the success of their organization. Meanwhile, you will enjoy your role more, sleep better at night, and leave a legacy that is far more inspiring and significant than you dreamed possible.Praise for Ownership Thinking"You would have to read a dozen other books to even come close to Ownership Thinking--a systematic and practical process for getting your employees to give that extra effort and brain power we know they possess."--Verne Harnish, CEO, Gazelles; author, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits"Brad Hams tells it like it truly is: transparency creates trust; trust creates engagement; engagement creates a healthy enterprise. This thoughtful and practical book shows you how to achieve all of these things and more."--Chip Conley, founder and executive chair, Joie de Vivre; author, Peak"Comprehensive and marvelously clear, Ownership Thinking's techniques for creating change are focused, direct, and motivating. This is a wise book, unusually useful, and I recommend it most highly."--Judith M. Bardwick, Ph.D., author, Danger in the Comfort Zone and The Psychological Recession"Brad Hams is one of the most persuasive and creative thinkers I know. His book is a specific guide you can (and should) implement now."--Corey Rosen, founder, National Center for Employee Ownership"Hams is masterful at outlining the engagement practices that inspire people to care and to be deeply vested in business results."--Jim Haudan, CEO, Root Learning; author, The Art of Engagement"Hams' book is like a candid conversation with a wise friend. . . . A 'must read' for any business leader wanting to create a culture of ownership."--Dean Schroeder, author, Ideas Are Free

Imagine Big: Unlock the Secret to Living Out Your Dreams


Terri Savelle Foy - 2013
    However, as Terri Savelle Foy shares in IMAGINE BIG, we cannot allow what we see happening today to limit what we can imagine God doing for us supernaturally in our lives. Within the pages of this book, you will be inspired and encouraged to: Imagine your futureMake a dream bookAssign time daily to review your dreams Get your goals in placeInitiate action nowNullify negativityExpress gratitudeBe led by your God-given desiresInvest in your dreamsGet your expectancy high IMAGINE BIG will show you how to turn the what "ifs" into what "is". Today can be the beginning of everything God wants you to be and do!

The Golden Rules of Blogging


Robin Houghton - 2015
    But where did they come from? And should we be breaking them? Designed for bloggers of all levels of experience, this book takes a hard look at twenty-eight of the blogospheres golden rules and shows you when, why and how to break them. Illustrated with real-life Blogger Stories and examples plus Expert Comments from those whove learned the hard way, The Golden Rules of Blogging (and When to Break Them) will give you a fresh perspective on blogging. Out with the rules? You decide!

Junk to Gold: From Salvage to the World's Largest Online Auto Auction


Willis Johnson - 2014
    Willis Johnson, the founder of Copart [CPRT], offers up a personal and inspirational account of this journey to the top including lessons he learned from love, war and building a global, multi-billion dollar business. Even at the pinnacle of success, Willis remained grounded in his family-first values. His stories will inspire and provoke the entrepreneur in everyone to start building their dream.

Remote: Office Not Required


David Heinemeier Hansson - 2013
    Moms in particular will welcome this trend.  A full 60% wish they had a flexible work option. But companies see advantages too in the way remote work increases their talent pool, reduces turnover, lessens their real estate footprint, and improves the ability to conduct business across multiple time zones, to name just a few advantages.  In Remote, inconoclastic authors Fried and Hansson will convince readers that letting all or part of work teams function remotely is a great idea--and they're going to show precisely how a remote work setup can be accomplished.

Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul


Howard Schultz - 2007
    Concerned that Starbucks had lost its way, Schultz was determined to help it return to its core values and restore not only its financial health, but also its soul. In Onward, he shares the remarkable story of his return and the company's ongoing transformation under his leadership, revealing how, during one of the most tumultuous economic times in history, Starbucks again achieved profitability and sustainability without sacrificing humanity. Offering readers a snapshot of a moment in history that left no company unscathed, the book zooms in to show, in riveting detail, how one company struggled and recreated itself in the midst of it all. The fastpaced narrative is driven by day-to-day tension as conflicts arise and lets readers into Schultz's psyche as he comes to terms with his limitations and evolving leadership style. Onward is a compelling, candid narrative documenting the maturing of a brand as well as a businessman.Onward represents Schultz's central leadership philosophy: It's not just about winning, but the right way to win. Ultimately, he gives readers what he strives to deliver every day - sense of hope that, no matter how tough times get, the future can be just as or more successful than the past, whatever one defines success to be.