ProBlogger by Darren Rowse & Chris Garrett - Book review

ProBlogger

Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-figure Income

By: Darren Rowse, Chris Garrett

Published: May 31, 2008
ISBN: 9780470246672
Format: Paperback, 230pp
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc


There is a growing number of bloggers earning a full-time living from blogging, and you can be one of them, write Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett in their practical and blogger life changing book ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-figure Income. Full time blogging doesn't come overnight, however, and requires hard work, discipline, and the desire to keep following your dream. The authors provide the tools necessary to make blogging your full-time income and business career, and turning those dreams into reality.



Authors Darren Rowse (photo left) and Chris Garrett (photo below left) are full-time bloggers who earn their living from blogs. Their experience with both the ups and the downs of professional blogging are shared in their book. Readers who dream of creating a blogging business empire would be well advised to follow their advice. One of the most important factors the writers stress is the need for patience and long range planning, as high income from blogs takes time to develop and hard work on the part of the blogger. The book provides the tools and techniques that can turn a blog from a hobby into a successful online business.

Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett start with the basics of blogging so the novice gets started on the right track from the very beginning. Most long time bloggers, and the authors are no exceptions, made countless mistakes with their blogs, their writing, and their attempts at revenue generation. The blogging concepts presented in the book will prevent those novice errors from derailing new bloggers. The reader is shown how to blog the right way, with proven methods that have worked for countless successful bloggers all over the internet.



From selecting a blog niche, to hosting and domain name, to blog design and layout, to traffic building and search engine optimization, the authors share proven techniques with the reader. The reader is shown step by step how to find blog post topics and ideas, how to write posts that will attract readership, and how to use the social media networks to leverage additional blog traffic.Advanced blogging theory, with real life successful examples, include buying and selling blogs and the benefits and drawbacks of joining blog networks.

For me, the power of the book is its practical approach to creating, developing, and maintaining a successful income generating blog. Building a six figure income from blogging is the aim of the book, and the authors provide the information to achieve that goal. The authors not only demonstrate how to apply a blogging technique, employing numerous illustrative graphics and screen shots, but they explain why that concept is crucial to the goal.

Each step in the process of professional blogging is as important as the next, and the authors emphasize the importance of each one to the blog's overall success. In fact, the advice offered is helpful for any bloggers, regardless of their current level of experience.

I highly recommend ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-figure Income by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett, to anyone seeking to develop an income from blogging, whether they are novice bloggers or established members of the blogging community. The advice and experience shared in the book will help anyone become a better and more financially successful blogger.

Read ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-figure Income by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett, and be well on the path toward a six figure, full-time income from blogging. This is one of those wonderful opportunities, to turn the blog you love to write, into a rewarding and ejoyable professional blogging career.

Tags: ProBlogger, Darren Rowse, Chris Garrett, professional blogging business, business book reviews.

Globality by Harold Sirkin, Jim Hemerling, Arindam Bhattacharya - Book review

Globality

Competing With Everyone from Everywhere for Everything

By: Harold L. Sirkin, Jim Hemerling, Arindam Bhattacharya

Published: Jun 11, 2008
ISBN: 9780446178297
Format: Hardcover, 304pp
Publisher: Business Plus

Globality is a new and different global reality that is part of a new era dawning, write Harold L. Sirkin, Jim Hemerling, and Arindam Bhattacharya, of the Boston Consulting Group, in their thought provoking book Globality: Competing With Everyone from Everywhere for Everything. The competition for resources, markets, and capital is global in scope. Formerly unknown companies from emerging markets are challenging existing corporations from developed countries for everything. In a growing number of instances, the upstarts are winning.

Authors Harold L. Sirkin, Jim Hemerling, and Arindam Bhattacharya point out that there have been many waves of challenges to the incumbents in the past, but this one is on a higher scale. The authors compare the arrival of competitor companies, from developing nations, to a tsunami; and like a tsunami, the waves arrive one after another with relentless force. The new companies, from India and China in particular, are very different from corporations based in the United States, Japan, or even South Korea. Those differences are crucial to the success of the upstart companies.



India and China are huge countries who possess massive populations that can provide almost unlimited cheap labour, but their competitive advantage goes far beyond that simple explanation. The countries themselves are also huge markets for products and services, and perhaps more importantly, competitors for and suppliers of resources around the world.

At the same time, internet and communications technology and international laws supporting trade have placed the challenger companies on equal footing with the rest of the world. Combined with the hunger of the emerging market populations for education and achievement, the developing world is competing very well in the global marketplace. In many global industries, the challengers are becoming the dominant players. The developing countries are in a hurry to catch up to the developed nations, and that economic gap is closing rapidly.

For me, the power of the book is its clear view of the global market as it exists today. The authors demonstrate the new paradigm of international competition from everyone, from everywhere, for everything. That is not simply a catchphrase for the authors either, but the reality facing companies in the developed world. As competitors rise from the emerging countries, that tsunami of competition will rise higher, and move more rapidly.

This book is a wake up call for any companies who feel complacent about their status in the global marketplace. The authors understand well that emerging countries enjoy competitive advantages far beyond the usual rhetoric about cheap workers. Abundant natural resources, a readiness to apply ultra-modern technology, a willingness to learn new ideas and achieve success, along with proximity to markets are also part of their competitive power. It's not just about low wages anymore.

I highly recommend Globality: Competing With Everyone from Everywhere for Everything by Harold L. Sirkin, Jim Hemerling, and Arindam Bhattacharya, of the Boston Consulting Group, to anyone seeking to stay ahead of the curve in the highly competitive global business community. No longer can a company sit back while new and growing corporations from India, China, Russia, Brazil, and other countries challenge successfully for their markets and resources.

Read Globality: Competing With Everyone from Everywhere for Everything by Harold L. Sirkin, Jim Hemerling, and Arindam Bhattacharya, and see how the emerging global economy of this century is taking shape right before our eyes. By understanding the implications of globality, a company can compete successfully with everyone, from everywhere, for everything, while growing and prospering as a global business.

Tags: Globality Competing With Everyone from Everywhere for Everything, Harold L. Sirkin, Jim Hemerling, Arindam Bhattacharya , global economy and business, business book reviews.

Thomas Clifford: Corporate Films Bring Brands To Life - Blog Business Success Radio

Corporate film maker Thomas Clifford, better known as "Director Tom", of Bringing Brands To Life!, shows how professionally made video bring brands to life, and can tell your company's story through movies and multi-media in new and exciting ways.

Thomas Clifford is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on Blog Talk Radio.

The show airs live on Thursday, June 26, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Corporate film maker Thomas Clifford, better known as "Director Tom", of Bringing Brands To Life!, shows how professionally made video bring brands to life. You will learn:

* Why video is so powerful for building a brand image

* How to use the video in your marketing and promotional activities

* What makes a great brand building video film

* Whether video and film are right for your company and your brands



Tom Clifford (photo left) is an award-winning filmmaker and he thinks "remarkable organizations deserve remarkable videos."

For 23 years, Tom has been helping companies tell their story by producing award-winning remarkable documentary videos.

He finds out what matters most to organizations - what they want their market and the world to know about them.

That's why companies from Fortune 500's to non-profits use his films for marketing, recruiting and retention, sharing corporate values and more.

From CEO's to the front-line, Tom makes people feel comfortable being in front of the camera.

If you think your corporate video has to look boring, stiff and staged like all the other industrial videos you've seen...think again!

THINK: short "PBS films on caffeine!"

Tom's award-winning corporate videos are energetic, engaging, compelling, meaningful and authentic.



Do you want to bring your "brand to life?"

Need to tell your story in a clear, authentic and remarkable way?

Wish you could bring your organization’s brand story to life and make it jump off the screen and into your customers' heart?

Tom is a passionate and seasoned corporate video filmmaker who captures your video story through your best storytellers -- your employees, or "heroes."

Remember, customers don’t buy products. They buy stories about who you are and what you stand for.

Every person has a story. Every company has a story.

The only question is...who's filming yours?

Listen live on Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with Corporate film maker Thomas Clifford, better known as "Director Tom", of Bringing Brands To Life!, shows how professionally made video bring brands to life, and can tell your company's story through movies and multi-media in new and exciting ways on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: Thomas Clifford, Director Tom, corporate video for branding, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

Susan Weber: The E-Myth Revisited - Blog Business Success Radio

E-Myth Worldwide Executive VP Susan Weber discusses the E-Myth approach to business success, the common myths and mistakes that sink new businesses, and how to use systematizing so that a business becomes systems dependent rather than people dependent.

Susan Weber is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on Blog Talk Radio.

The show airs live on Tuesday, June 24, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

E-Myth Worldwide Executive VP Susan Weber discusses the E-Myth approach to business success. You will learn:

* The common myths and mistakes that doom startup businesses

* Why technical competence isn't the same as running a company

* How developing a system will run the company, with people running the system

* How to add innovative ideas to a company at any stage in its development



Susan Weber (photo left) is the Executive Vice President at E-Myth Worldwide. She is responsible for coaching delivery, product development and business development with technology companies and partners in the European Union. Susan leads E-Myth’s initiave to make its product line web accessible to create the ultimate learning experience for small business owners – the convienence of 24x7 access to content and other course materials combined with the expertise of an E-Myth Coach.

Under her leadership, Susan’s team launched three award-winning web-based products: the E-Myth Essentials course, a 2007 International Business AwardSM winner, the Embark Community Connection, an online community, and the Embark Live E-Learning program, both 2006 American Business AwardsSM winners.



Formerly Vice President of Product Development and Engineering at MarketTools, the world's leading online market research company, Susan led all of the company's product development initiatives as it transitioned from first-round funding to profitability. Her product successes at MarketTools include the award-winning Zoomerang, a self-authoring, customer feedback service that was designated "Best of the Web" by Forbes Magazine in 2000.

Susan has extensive corporate leadership experience at the officer level and has held positions in several financial services firms. She played a key role in implementing the Charles Schwab Bank. In addition to leading the delivery of multiple, large-scale technology projects, Susan has also held positions with customer-facing responsibilities related to sales, account management and customer service for several Fortune 100 companies.

My book review of The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Business Still Don't Work & What You Can Do about Yours by Michael E. Gerber.

Listen live on Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with E-Myth Worldwide Executive VP Susan Weber as she discusses the E-Myth approach to business success, the common myths and mistakes that sink new businesses, and how to use systematizing so that a business becomes systems dependent rather than people dependent to boost your success on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: Susan Weber, The E-Myth Revisited, business management systems, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber - Book review

The E-Myth Revisited

Why Most Small Business Still Don't Work & What You Can Do about Yours

By: Michael E. Gerber

Published: Mar 3, 1995
ISBN: 9780887307287
Format: Paperback, 268pp
Publisher: HarperBusiness


The E-myth is the myth of the entrepreneur, and it runs deep in America, writes Michael E. Gerber in the revised and updated edition of the landmark business classic The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Business Still Don't Work & What You Can Do about Yours. Businesses fail because entrepreneurs make the fatal assumption, that understanding the technical work, is the same as understanding the business that does that technical work.

Michael E. Gerber faces the mistakes and false mythology that doom business to failure. From the fatal flaw of the technician who believes doing something right means doing it themselves, to the manager unable to give up control and micro-management, the worst business vices are exposed to scrutiny. The result of examining these and other business destroying errors is the chance to correct the flaws before they destroy the fledgling company. The many stages in a business lifestyle from startup infancy to adolescence to maturity possess different pitfalls.



The powerful solution, as described by Michael E. Gerber (photo left), is what he calls the turn-key revolution. The engine driving the revolution is the franchise prototype, with the business becoming the product itself. Instead of depending upon individual skills and business stars, the introduction of systems allows for standardization of personnel. This removal of individual variation from the equation results in consistency of product and service.

By incorporating a business development process into the organization, any small business can be transformed into a predicable and more easily managed company. At the same time, using the prototype format builds a more innovative business, bursting with new ideas that work. Each innovation can then be incorporated into the system, adding more consistency to the operation. The result of the turn-key prototype is system runs the business, and the people run the system.

For me, the power of the book is its practical approach to running a successful small business. The application of predictable, and consistent systems removes the often encountered wide variation in customer experiences found in many businesses. By incorporating the turn-key prototype, hiring becomes easier as the process for integrating new staff, into the company operational system, becomes much easier than with the usual haphazard approach. Overall strategy is easier to understand and develop, and the company is much better organized, resulting in less waste of personnel and other resources.

I highly recommend the best selling The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Business Still Don't Work & What You Can Do about Yours by Michael E. Gerber, for anyone starting or building a small business. Instead of leaving operations to chance, a system can be developed that runs the business. Staff can be then put in place to run the system effectively, with everyone understanding their role in the organization.

Read The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Business Still Don't Work & What You Can Do about Yours by Michael E. Gerber, and you will never fall prey to the bad decisions and fatal mythology, that destroy many promising small business ventures.

Tags: The E-Myth Revisited, Michael E. Gerber, business management systems, business book reviews.

Nettie Hartsock: Building Platforms From Networking to Blogging

Book publicist and blogger Nettie Hartsock of Hartsock Communications shares insider secrets for book marketing, from building your platform, to networking with editors, book sellers, and publishers, to blogging and developing effective blog book tours, to making the most of author and publisher events and trade shows.

Nettie Hartsock is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on Blog Talk Radio.

Update: Note reschedule day and date

The show airs live on Tuesday, June 17, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Book publicist and blogger Nettie Hartsock shares insider secrets for book marketing, from building your platform to getting out the word. You will learn:

* Why a building a platform is so important to authors

* How to network more effectively at events large and small

* How blog book tours can boost your book's reputation and its sales

* Low cost and effective marketing for authors on a tight budget



Nettie Hartsock (photo left) helps creatives, artists, musicians, authors, and companies focus on creating, conveying and connecting their message to the world and creates actionable how-to-programs which establish a powerful base for attracting both blogger and journalists attention.

Nettie is a veteran e-business journalist and has covered the Internet since 1995. She is also a PR Marathoner. Nettie has lived many more than nine lives as a journalist contributing regularly to leading online and offline publications including eWeek, PC Magazine, Software CEO, Publish, PDFZone, PlanetPDF and others.

Her e-book, Start the Press! has helped countless companies increase their media and customer exposure. Her PR seminars are highly lauded for both their content and humor.

For two years Nettie was the Business Advisor for all things PR with her Professional PR blog for allbusiness.com and was also a very active and devoted business book journalist and publishing commentator as the Senior Blog Editor for Must Read Business Books blog with allbusiness.com.

Nettie is a highly recognized case study writer focusing on “storytelling” inclusive in the case studies and has written case studies for companies including NetSuite, Digital Railroad, NavTrak, Software CEO and others.

She hails near Austin, Texas in the Hill Country where folks still wear larger than life hats.

Listen live on Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with Book publicist and blogger Nettie Hartsock as she shares insider secrets for book marketing, from building your platform, to networking with editors, book sellers, and publishers, to blogging and developing effective blog book tours, to making the most of author and publisher events and trade shows to boost your success on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: Nettie Hartsock, platform building, book marketing, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

Dr. Susan Reid: Discovering Your Inner Samurai - Blog Business Success Radio

Entrepreneur and business coach Dr. Susan L. Reid, author of the inspirational and deeply personal book Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success, shares her guide to building a successful business from the inside out, for entrepreneurial woman everywhere, who are transforming their ideas into successful businesses.

Susan Reid is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on Blog Talk Radio.

The show airs live on Thursday, June 5, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Entrepreneur and business coach Dr. Susan L. Reid shares her guide to building a successful business from the inside out, for entrepreneurial woman everywhere. You will learn:

* How to discover and why you should trust your Inner Samurai

* How to avoid the common mistakes made in business startups

* How to make your business grow beyond your wildest dreams

* How to market to women effectively



Successful small business start-up coach and consultant Dr. Susan L. Reid is “The Secret for business.” Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success, Susan specializes in taking the fear out of starting up small businesses.

Providing value, inspiration, and direction, Susan combines her fresh start perspective with creative business acumen, helping entrepreneurial woman take control of their financial future by turning their passion into profit.

Following a successful 25-year conducting and academic career, Susan left the academic world to honor her entrepreneurial spirit, and founded Alkamae in 2004. Since then, Alkamae has helped hundreds of women bring in the big bucks by equipping entrepreneurial businesswomen with intuitive small business solutions and powerful attraction marketing tools.

Susan Reid blogs at Alkamae Blog.

My book review of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success by Susan L. Reid.

Listen live on Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with Susan Reid, author of the inspirational and deeply personal book Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success, shares her guide to building a successful business from the inside out, for entrepreneurial woman everywhere, who are transforming their ideas into successful businesses on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: Susan L. Reid, Discovering Your Inner Samurai, personal empowerment, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

Discovering Your Inner Samurai by Susan L. Reid - Book Review

Discovering Your Inner Samurai:

The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

By: Dr. Susan L. Reid

Publish Date: 2007
ISBN-10: 1-934229-05-9
ISBN-13: 978-1-934229-05-7
Format: Paperback 287pp
Publisher: WME Books






The journey to discovering your Inner Samurai is the connective thread that unites us all, writes Susan Reid in her inspirational and deeply personal book Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success. To the author, the Inner Samurai is that powerful voice deep within you that is not only a wellspring of power and strength, but also of serenity and balance, that are necessary to build a new kind of inner created business.

For Susan Reid, there are no accidents in our lives. Everything, she says, happens for a reason. Whether it's the loss of employment, family tragedy, or personal misfortune, all help you on your journey to discovering your greater self. For the accidental entrepreneur, who the author calls an Accidental Pren-her, starting a business may have happened by chance, by necessity, or from following a dream.

Very often, the newly self employed woman has little in entrepreneurial experience, but through the discovery and guidance of her Inner Samurai, she can build a new type of business. The book follows the often difficult, but always rewarding journey inside the soul, that unleashes that personal power and inner resolve that leads to business success and personal happiness with one's own life. At the same time, the voyage is about letting go of the past, silencing those critical voices in your head, and overcoming the resistance that stand in the way of success. The strength of knowing you are on your true path, with your Inner Samurai as a guide, will carry you on your way.



Deeply influenced by Eastern philosophy, Susan Reid (photo left) shares her personal journey to the secret dwelling place of her personal Inner Samurai. As a result of this internal quest, the author writes a deeply personal and moving account of her triumphs and setbacks, and how that powerful voice within carried her safely to her success. Along the way, she helps other women discover their unique power that pulses strength and conviction within them, as they achieve greatness in their own business ventures and personal lives.

For me, the power of the book is its deeply personal quality. Susan Reid reveals her soul, and shares the lives and achievements of others as they seek their Inner Samurai. The inward voyage to self discovery is different for everyone, and in any hero or heroine's mythical journey, there will be setbacks, unexpected gifts and help from others, and the joy of triumph. The author lived a mythic quest, and shares the journeys of other seekers, who became entwined in the thread of her journey's tapestry.

For many entrepreneurs, the greatest hurdle to leap is that of letting go of the past, and recognizing that in the present moment, that you are in control of your own destiny. No longer is someone else calling the shots in your life, or charting your course. Being in command of your own life, through finding that inner strength and conviction, is the inspirational message within the pages of the book.

I highly recommend Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success by Susan L. Reid to anyone, male or female, who seeks to create a new type of business, built from the inside out. That business will attract your ideal clients and customers, and your personal inner guide will steer you along your unique path to success.

Read Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success by Susan L. Reid and begin the rewarding and empowering voyage to discovering your own Inner Samurai. It's strength and balance will lead you to personal and business heights that you never imagined possible.

Tags: Discovering Your Inner Samurai, Susan L. Reid, personal empowerment, business book reviews.