Small Business Cash Flow by Denise O'Berry - Book review

Small Business Cash Flow

Strategies for Making Your Business a Financial Success

By: Denise O'Berry

Published: Oct 27, 2006
ISBN: 9780470040973
Format: Paperback, 205pp
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc




"It's a good thing to have profit in your business, but most important is having cash. Profits don't equal cash", writes entrepreneur Denise O'Berry in her practical independent business guidebook Small Business Cash Flow: Strategies for Making Your Business a Financial Success. The author describes useful and easy to understand techniques for creating and utilizing cash flow for greater entrepreneurial success.

Denise O'Berry understands that many small business owners and managers work long hours, but very often find meeting the business financial obligations a real challenge. She shows how business people misunderstand the budgeting and record keeping aspects of their business, and how much of that crucial number crunching be shared with a professional accountant. The book makes a strong case for finding and building a partnership with an accountant as part of the overall business plan. Because of the book's strong emphasis on developing and maintaining cash flow, an small business oriented accountant's knowledge is essential for successful cash management.



Denise O'Berry (photo left) not only shares powerful techniques for maintaining cash flow, but also delves into the area of finding cash within an organization. She recognizes that every business has hidden sources of money, but they often require changes in operations or procedures to unlock their potential. Along with potential cost savings, are ideas for improving marketing to boost company revenue. Taken together, the author's pairing of better cash management and higher sales income result in a more secure and reliable cash flow for the small business.

For me, the power of the book is its no nonsense practical message. Like the efficient small business cash flow concepts described in the book, the book takes a refreshing no frills approach to its subject matter. By focusing on useful ideas, the book will remain a powerful small business resource, that can be read and the ideas applied, over and over again. While many business people recognize the importance of budgeting and maintaining a positive cash flow in their organization, Denise O'Berry provides the tools for taking action in improving small business cash management.

I highly recommend the very useful Small Business Cash Flow: Strategies for Making Your Business a Financial Success by Denise O'Berry, to any small business person who is serious about improving their overall cash flow management. The concepts presented in the book will enhance the success of any independent entrepreneurial venture, regardless of whether it's an established company or a new startup business.

Read Small Business Cash Flow: Strategies for Making Your Business a Financial Success by Denise O'Berry, and take that first step toward building and maintaining your small business cash flow. Meeting those business expenses will never seem like an impossible challenge again.

Tags: Small Business Cash Flow: Strategies for Making Your Business a Financial Success, Denise O'Berry, cash flow management, business hook reviews.

The Age of Speed by Vince Poscente - Book review

The Age of Speed

Learning to Thrive in a More-Faster-Now World

By: Vince Poscente

Published: Aug 26, 2008
ISBN: 9780345506191
Format: Trade Paperback, 256pp
Publisher: Ballantine Books





"Today we want speed, and we can get it - on a level never before experienced", writes Canadian speed skiing record holder Vince Poscente in his insightful book The Age of Speed: Learning to Thrive in a More-Faster-Now World. The author believes that people not only want more speed, but that speed is essential to propel businesses forward to even greater success.

Vince Poscente understands that ever increasing speed is an integral feature of modern life. The demand for acceleration of every aspect of personal and business life creates new products and services, as well as new companies offering them. That same desire for speed has also blurred the lines between work, home, and leisure time in unimagined ways. Speed has destroyed the older paradigm of compartmentalized life, where work, play and home life were separate. Speed removed the walls between them freeing people to enjoy life more fully. Faster work times leaves more free hours for pursuing personal passions. Speed, according to the author, enhances the quality of our lives.



Vince Poscente (photo left) recognizes that not everyone craves and welcomes the speeding up of modern civilization. Not only are there individuals seeking a slower pace, but there are many businesses resisting the move to an ever faster society. The author breaks down business acceptance of speed into four categories.

At one corner of the grid is the Zeppelin, not only preferring to go slow, but being left behind by more nimble companies. The Balloon moves slowly but also travels outside of speed, and ignoring it. The Bottle Rocket moves quickly, embracing speed and change, but burns out in the end. The Jet not only internalizes speed but even creates faster change in society. The book provides memorable case studies for each of the four categories.

For me, the power of the book were the powerful insights into the changing nature of society, and how people choose speed regardless of the circumstances. If anything can create more productive time, and less delay, that innovation will become the industry leading product or service. The analysis of how all aspects of life from work, leisure, and family have blended together due to speed is very insightful. The changes in time and space for each activity not only are faster in time, but altered in space and location as well. By seeking and anticipating even more speed, people are empowered to pursue their passion, without the trade offs deemed unavoidable in the past.

I highly recommend the powerful and prophetic The Age of Speed: Learning to Thrive in a More-Faster-Now World by Vince Poscente, to anyone who demands more speed in their lives whether at work or at nome, and also to anyone who feels overwhelmed by the faster pace of modern life. The author describes in detail how to use speed to enhance a person's quality of life, rather than detracting from it.

Read The Age of Speed: Learning to Thrive in a More-Faster-Now World by Vince Poscente and discover how to put speed and rapid societal change to work for you. Instead of fighting speed, harness it to improve your work and business, and to create more personal time so you can stop and smell the roses.

Tags: The Age of Speed, Vince Poscente, business and society, business book reviews.

Building Your Brand With BlogTalkRadio - Blog Business Success Radio

BlogTalkRadio celebrity super host on the popular FlyLady Network Nikki Starr and BlogTalkRadio Programming Manager Amy Domestico describe how hosting a show on BlogTalkRadio can build your company's brand. They share information about building a platform, your reputation as an industry expert, and raising your company's brand profile. They also provide information on getting started as a host on BlogTalkRadio.

Nikki Starr and Amy Domestico are my internet radio show guests on Blog Business Success; hosted live on Blog Talk Radio.

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

BlogTalkRadio celebrity super host Nikki Starr and BlogTalkRadio Programming Manager Amy Domestico describe how hosting a show on BlogTalkRadio can build your company's brand. You will learn:

* How a show can build your company's brand

* How to start and host a show on BlogTalkRadio

* How to market your show to gain more listeners

* How to position a show in marketing and branding your business

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 BlogTalkRadio celebrity super host on the popular FlyLady Network Nikki Starr and BlogTalkRadio Programming Manager Amy Domestico as they describe how hosting a show on BlogTalkRadio can build your company's brand. They share information about building a platform, your reputation as an industry expert, and raising your company's brand profile. They also provide information on getting started as a host on BlogTalkRadio on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: Amy Domestico, Nikki Starr, brand building, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

Kathleen Gage: Making Money With Teleseminars - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio



Entrepreneur, best selling author, and internet marketing expert Kathleen Gage shares secrets for making money with teleseminars. She describes how teleseminars work, how to market them & how they can build your business. Learn insider knowledge of this little known profit builder and how to put it to work for you.

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

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

Entrepreneur, best selling author and internet marketing expert Kathleen Gage shares secrets for making money with teleseminars. She describes how teleseminars work, how to market them & how they can build your business. You will learn:

* What teleseminars are and how they can build your business

* How to set up a teleseminar and find guest experts

* How to market the teleseminar to attract listeners

* How to develop a teleseminar series for long term income



Kathleen Gage (photo left) is CEO and founder of Turning Point, Inc. and Maxwell Publishing is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and an internationally recognized Internet marketing and publicity expert for speakers, trainers and authors.

She works with professionals who want to learn how to package their expertise and knowledge into money making products and service. She does this by teaching them eProduct development, Internet marketing, multi media program development, self-publishing skills, teleseminar development and developing mentoring courses that they can offer their clients.

Her unique Street Smarts Marketing Series programs are designed to help you achieve the business results you desire in the most efficient, cost-effective way possible.

Kathleen is equally confident, competent and comfortable mentoring one-on-one to success minded professionals as she is presenting a highly inspirational keynote speech to thousands in an audience.

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 entrepreneur, best selling author, and internet marketing expert Kathleen Gage shares secrets for making money with teleseminars. She describes how teleseminars work, how to market them & how they can build your business. Learn insider knowledge of this little known profit builder and how to put it to work for you on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: Kathleen Gage, teleseminars, internet marketing business, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

The World Is Curved by David Smick - Book review

The World Is Curved

Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy

By: David M. Smick

Published: Sept 4, 2008
ISBN: 9781591842187
Format: Hardcover, 272pp
Publisher: Portfolio










"For the financial markets, the world is curved. We can't see over the horizon. As a result, our sight lines are limited", writes international financial consultant David M. Smick in his important book The World Is Curved: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy. The author demonstrates how the uncertainty, of seeing and understanding the financial complexities facing an increasingly interdependent globalized economy, makes the world a very dangerous place.

David Smick brings his vast global experience to the study of the effects of globalization of capital markets, and their rapidly shifting vast pools of liquidity. He describes the effect of the global wealth on the growth of economies that benefit from their international movement. At the same time, the lack of complete knowledge of markets and the varying levels of transparency within them, has led to severe financial problems all over the world. The subprime crisis stemmed, in large part, from the creation of non-transparent financial instruments that still confound policy makers and regulators today.



David Smick (photo left) understands the importance of globalization and international free trade are the engines of growth for the entire planet. His fear, expressed eloquently in the book, is a rising tide of protectionism that will stifle global trade but also put a lid on entrepreneurship and innovation. Without the risk taking business class, and the vast pools of financial capital flows, the world economy can slow down almost to a halt. The power of entrepreneurship to build the economy is also under attack by over zealous regulation and punitive taxation in the wake of the global financial crisis. A loss of confidence in capitalism to grow and create jobs and wealth is threatened.

David Smick's takes the reader on a guided tour of the world's leading wealth building countries. By providing a greater understanding of the problems and potential of economies as different as China, Japan, The European Union, and the United States, the author shows how actions taken by individual governments and central banks can result in unexpected negative reactions. David Smick points out that central banks, including the United States Federal Reserve no longer possess the power or ability to control even their domestic markets. Their influence on international markets is even less important.

For me, the power of the book is the author's understanding of how the international financial markets really work. His descriptions of real world meetings in widely disparate locations, from Japan to China to Western Europe to the United States, provide a genuine feel for the uncertainty of decision making in a curved world. When no one is quite certain what is happening elsewhere, disastrous miscalculations can occur in monetary and fiscal policy. In many cases, the wrong policy decisions can deepen a crisis, instead of easing the financial pressure.

I very highly recommend the landmark The World Is Curved: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy by David M. Smick, to anyone seeking a greater understanding of the deeper causes of the global financial crisis. The author goes beyond the conventional wisdom and provides a much deeper and richer explanation of the current economic woes in a wider global context.

Read the essential The World Is Curved: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy by David M. Smick, and discover the importance of globalization to the prosperity of every nation, and why protectionism could delay or even destroy a world wide economic recovery.

Tags: The World Is Curved: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy, David M. Smick, globalization, global economy, business book reviews.

David Edery & Ethan Mollick: Changing The Game - Blog Business Success Radio

Innovation and software development experts of Changing The Game, and co-authors of the revolutionary book Changing the Game: How Video Games Are Transforming the Future of Business, David Edery and Ethan Mollick describe how video games can drive innovation, customer engagement, employee commitment and lead to greater profit. They share ideas for making it fun to do business through the use of video games. They describe the power of video games for marketing, employee recruitment and training, and for creative problem solving and innovation. Their forward thinking ideas are essential for innovators in every aspect of business.

David Edery and Ethan Mollick are my internet radio show guests on Blog Business Success; hosted live on Blog Talk Radio.

The show airs live on Thursday, February 19, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Innovation experts David J. Edery and Ethan Mollick describe how video games can drive innovation, customer engagement, employee commitment and lead to greater profit. They share ideas for making it fun to do business through the use of video games. You will learn:

* How video games can enhance marketing and brand building

* How video games improve employee recruitment and training

* How video games can boost creativity, innovation, and problem solving

* How video games can increase productivity by making a workplace a fun place



David Edery (photo left) is the Worldwide Games Portfolio Manager for Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade. He is also a research affiliate of the MIT Comparative Media Studies Program. Prior to joining Microsoft, David was the MIT CMS Program’s Associate Director for Special Projects. During that time, David cofounded the Convergence Culture Consortium, a research partnership with corporations such as MTV Networks and Turner Broadcasting. David also managed Cyclescore, a research project combining video games and exercise.

David received his MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and his BA from Brandeis University. He has published articles in the Harvard Business Review and several game industry publications and has spoken at many entertainment industry conferences. He maintains a personal blog called Game Tycoon.



Ethan Mollick (photo left) studies innovation and entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he is also conducting a large research project on the game industry. He holds an MBA from MIT and BA from Harvard University. He has consulted to companies ranging from General Mills to Eli Lilly on issues related to innovation and strategy. He has also worked extensively on using games for teaching and training, including on the DARWARS project of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

He was a founder of eMeta Corporation, the world’s largest supplier of software for selling content online, which was sold to Macrovision in 2006. Prior to eMeta, he was a consultant for Mercer Management Consulting. He has published articles in scholarly journals, the Sloan Management Review, and Wired magazine and spoken at numerous conferences.

My book review of Changing the Game: How Video Games Are Transforming the Future of Business by David Edery and Ethan Mollick.

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 innovation and software development experts of Changing The Game, and co-authors of the revolutionary book Changing the Game: How Video Games Are Transforming the Future of Business, David Edery and Ethan Mollick describe how video games can drive innovation, customer engagement, employee commitment and lead to greater profit. They share ideas for making it fun to do business through the use of video games. They describe the power of video games for marketing, employee recruitment and training, and for creative problem solving and innovation. Their forward thinking ideas are essential for innovators in every aspect of business on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: Changing the Game: How Video Games Are Transforming the Future of Business, David Edery, Ethan Mollick, video games, virtual worlds, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

Changing The Game by David Edery & Ethan Mollick - Book review

Changing the Game

How Video Games Are Transforming the Future of Business

By: David J. Edery & Ethan Mollick

Published: October 2008
ISBN: 9780132357814
Format: Hardcover, 240pp
Publisher: FT Press



"Games are compelling because at their best, they represent the very essence of what drives people to think, to cooperate, and to create", write game and software developers David J. Edery and Ethan Mollick, in their revolutionary book Changing the Game: How Video Games Are Transforming the Future of Business. The authors share their vision for improving advertising techniques, building better and more enjoyable workplaces, and recruiting the ideal employees through the use of video games and virtual worlds.



David Edery (photo left) and Ethan Mollick understand that people like to play games. Taking that concept to heart, they describe how games can transform a company through every aspect of its business. By comparing business to a game, the authors demonstrate how suitable employees can be hired based on their enjoyment and aptitude for games that characterize the specific workplace. The employees can be further engaged and motivated by turning the mundane and difficult problems of the business into puzzles requiring solutions. Marketing to customers is much more enjoyable and effective if the advertising and marketing material is in the form of video games.



Ethan Mollick (photo left) and David Edery recognize that not all games are suitable for all people, and that many games have experienced criticism and even hostile reactions. In their view, the games themselves have the powerful effect of selecting the ideal customers and employees for any given company. A puzzle style video game would appeal to people who enjoy problems solving, while a more action oriented game attracts people who prefer adrenaline rush excitement. Cooperative people would enjoy games where players work together to achieve goals. Through discovering personal preferences through different types of games, customers and employees are much more engaged with the company and its products and services.

For me, the power of the book is the creative leap, that takes games from being diversions, to becoming powerful business marketing, recruiting, and problem solving tools. By transforming a workplace into a fun place to be, and to spend time playing instead of working, results in a boost in productivity. The use of video games in marketing as premiums, advertising vehicles, and product placement changes marketing from intrusive to enjoyment. The ability to match employees with their ideal jobs, by having them play a video game, turns traditional interviewing and hiring processes on their head. Games are also natural teachers and facilitators for creative problem solving.

I highly recommend Changing the Game: How Video Games Are Transforming the Future of Business by David Edery and Ethan Mollick, to anyone who is serious about transforming an ordinary workplace, into a fun spot to be, filled with enthusiastic employees and customers. Turning work into play changes peoples' attitudes about employment from tedium to excitement.

Read Changing the Game: How Video Games Are Transforming the Future of Business by David Edery and Ethan Mollick, and stop working for a living, and start playing for a change. Adding video games to all aspects of a company makes business fun again.

Tags: Changing the Game: How Video Games Are Transforming the Future of Business, David Edery, Ethan Mollick, video games, virtual worlds, business book reviews.

Jose Roncal & Jose Abbo: The Big Gamble - Blog Business Success Radio

Financial experts at Financial Speculation, and authors of the insightful book The Big Gamble: Are You Investing or Speculating, Jose Roncal and Jose Abbo take you on a roller coaster ride through the history of investing and speculation from the tulip bubble to the South Seas Bubble to the housing bubble.

Learn how to recognize when a bubble is forming. They describe the differences between investing and speculation and how to tell the difference. They explain the concept of risk, and why it's essential to know what it means, and why playing it safe may not be the safest investment policy.

Jose Roncal and Jose Abbo are my internet radio show guests on Blog Business Success; hosted live on Blog Talk Radio.

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

Financial experts at Financial Speculation, and authors of the insightful book The Big Gamble: Are You Investing or Speculating, Jose Roncal and Jose Abbo take you on a roller coaster ride through the history of investing and speculation from the tulip bubble to the South Seas Bubble to the housing bubble. You will learn:

* The real differences between investment, speculation, and gambling

* What causes financial bubbles and how to tell when one is forming

* The important rules about speculation that you need to know

* Why playing it safe may be the biggest risk of all



Jose Roncal (photo left) is a truly global executive with over 20 years of experience in international business and finance, having worked and travelled frequently in six continents. Specializing in telecommunications and information technology industries, Mr. Roncal has served such well-known multinational companies as NCR, AT&T, Verizon Communications and the U.K.-based blue chip company, Cable and Wireless.

For more than 15 years, he has lived around the globe as a Chief Financial Officer, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances and spin offs among other strategic activities. He is a well known transformational and corporate turnaround specialist and inspirational leader, with a proven track record in developing high-performance operations.

Jose Roncal has authored numerous articles on business strategy, finance, accounting, capital markets and the global economy. He holds an MBA from Thunderbird University and a BA from Florida International University both in the USA and has attended various senior executive programs at Oxford University in the United Kingdom.



Jose Abbo (photo left) has two decades of experience in the capital markets. Mr. Abbo has authored numerous articles and speaks frequently on the financial markets and the global economy. He has researched and written for such well-recognized publications as The Economist Intelligence Unit and America Economia.

In 2000 Mr. Abbo published Divisando Wall Street Desde el Sur de America, a comprehensive guide for the Spanish-speaking community that explains the workings of the stock market. He makes regular guest appearances on various radio and television programs and has served as an expert witness in financial trials and forensic cases.

Based in Panama, currently Mr. Abbo is International Finance VP for the telecommunications multinational Cable & Wireless. He holds a degree in Professional Management from Nova University and has served as an MBA tutor for Tecnológico de Monterrey/ Thunderbird University Panama-based Global MBA programs.

My book review of The Big Gamble: Are You Investing or Speculating by Jose Roncal and Jose Abbo.

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 financial experts at Financial Speculation, and authors of the insightful book The Big Gamble: Are You Investing or Speculating, Jose Roncal and Jose Abbo as they take you on a roller coaster ride through the history of investing and speculation from the tulip bubble to the South Seas Bubble to the housing bubble. Learn how to recognize when a bubble is forming. They describe the differences between investing and speculation and how to tell the difference. They explain the concept of risk, and why it's essential to know what it means, and why playing it safe may not be the safest investment policy. on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: The Big Gamble: Are You Investing or Speculating, Jose Abbo, Jose Roncal, investment, speculation, gambling, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

The Big Gamble: Are You Investing or Speculating by Jose Roncal & Jose Abbo - Book review

The Big Gamble

Are You Investing or Speculating

By: Jose D. Roncal & Jose N. Abbo

Published: Nov 2008
Format: Paperback 220 pages
ISBN: 9781604940381
Publisher: Wheatmark






"The financial experts have no hard-and-fast rules for defining investment and speculation", write international market experts Jose D. Roncal and Jose N. Abbo, in their insightful book The Big Gamble: Are You Investing or Speculating. The authors take the reader on a roller coaster ride through the history of investment, speculation and gambling, as they demonstrate the importance of understanding financial risk.



Jose Roncal (photo left) and Jose Abbo understand that every investment carries different levels of risk. The book provides perspective on the different risk factors involved in investment, speculation, and gambling. Especially interesting is their analysis of how bubbles form through speculative and gambling manias. The authors guide the reader through financial bubbles of the past, including tulip bulbs in Seventeenth Century Holland, and the collapse of the Mississippi Bubble in France and the South Sea Bubble in England in the early Eighteenth Century. The book also features an important section on the recently exploded global housing market bubble. The authors point out the signs that show a bubble is forming and how to profit from its rapid expansion.



Jose Abbo (photo left) and Jose Roncal recognize that speculation is crucial to economic growth. Without risk takers, putting their own money and that of their investors and partners on the line, a nation's economy would face stagnation. The authors provide insight into how speculators, past and present, have contributed to the growth and expansion of the American economy. By taking calculated risks, speculators built railways, airlines, steel mills, and other industries that made the American economy the global leader. The book provides some insights into where speculative ventures can be made now and in the near future as well.

For me, the power of the book is how investment, speculation, and gambling are put into the proper economic perspective based on risk levels. To achieve a higher return, ever greater amounts of risk must be taken, with increasing potential for loss. At the same time, the authors point out that allegedly safe investments may be some of the riskiest choices of all. Jose Abbo and Jose Roncal point out the importance of removing emotion from investing, and replacing it with mathematics and hard numbers. By understanding the probability of gain or loss, an objective decision can be made, balancing the risk with the reward.

I highly recommend the intriguing The Big Gamble: Are You Investing or Speculating by Jose Abbo and Jose Roncal, to anyone who seeks an understanding of the difference between investment, speculation, and gambling. The book provides valuable lessons in understanding how to speculate successfully, and even how to spot a profitable bubble formation.

Read The Big Gamble: Are You Investing or Speculating by Jose Abbo and Jose Roncal, and learn that playing it safe may not be the best investment strategy, and that speculation is a strategy that can be embraced for profit.

Tags: The Big Gamble: Are You Investing or Speculating, Jose Abbo, Jose Roncal, investment, speculation, gambling, business book reviews.

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin - Book review

Tribes

We Need You to Lead Us

By: Seth Godin

Published: Oct 21, 2008
ISBN: 9781591842330
Format: Hardcover, 160pp
Publisher: Portfolio



"A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, abd connected to an idea", writes thought provoking author Seth Godin, in his destined to become classic book, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us. In this highly motivational book, the author gives the clarion call to find a cause, and take the leadership role. A dedicated group of followers, referred to as tribe, will join the parade to make the vision a reality.

Seth Godin begins with the bold statement that anyone can become a leader of a tribe. There is no specific set of characteristics for leadership, simply a commitment to achieving a goal. For Seth Godin, one person with a vision and a desire to achieve it, can indeed change the world. Indeed, he considers leaders to be heretics, who think outside of conventional modes of thought. The next step is for the leader to develop a tribe from other like minded heretical thinkers.

Thanks to the internet, and the immediacy of modern communications, a tribe is no longer restricted by time or space. Instead, any group of dedicated individuals can join the cause from anywhere in the world. All that is needed, is a leader to inspire the followers, and communicate the shared vision, to achieve greatness. The market places of of ideas will reward the efforts of the tribe when the power and importance of the change is recognized.



Seth Godin (photo left) doesn't lay out a step by step formula for leadership, for building a tribe, or changing the world or even a small fragment. Instead, he inspires the reader to take the leap of faith toward finding a worthy goal, and pursuing it with passion. The leader will discover that many other people share that vision as well. From this group of like minded people, a tribe of dedicated followers will emerge. What they needed was a leader to show them the way. Indeed, Seth Godin points out emphatically, that leaders are needed everywhere. The author makes a powerful case that anyone reading the book can assume the mantle of leadership.

For me, the power of the book is its forceful inspiration to find a worthwhile goal, and take leadership in achieving it. Seth Godin recognizes that forces will conspire to resist that desired change, as people are always more comfortable with the status quo. He warns against letting fear of failure derail the leader and the tribe from striving to turn their vision into reality. Once the opponents of change recognize its value, and the power of the tribe's commitment, they too are likely to join the cause. The world is crying out for leadership, and this book inspires the reader to answer the call.

I highly recommend the remarkable and inspirational Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin, to anyone who seeks to make important changes in their own lives and in the lives of others. The vision for improvement may be narrow in scope, or global in its sweep, but every goal requires a leader to guide and inspire the tribe. The book makes the powerful case that anyone can take on that leadership role.

Read the important book Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin, and stand up and become the leader of a tribe. There is no need to fear failure, as the tribe and the leader support one another, as they strive toward their shared vision. Take up the call to lead a tribe. True vision and courage to create change are needed now more than ever before.

Tags: Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, Seth Godin, leadership, business book reviews.

Danny Schechter: Plunder - The Economic Calamity - Blog Business Success Radio

Multiple Emmy Award winning investigative journalist, media critic, and author of the important and eye opening book Plunder: Investigating Our Economic Calamity and the Subprime Scandal, Danny Schechter pulls no punches as he describes how and why the unfolding global economic crisis and subprime scandal took place. He covers the roles of debt, regulation, the regulators, and greed in the economic crisis. He offers ideas to help those affected by the economic downturn.

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

The show airs live on Thursday, February 12, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Multiple Emmy Award winning investigative journalist, and author of the important and eye opening book Plunder: Investigating Our Economic Calamity and the Subprime Scandal, Danny Schechter pulls no punches as he describes how and why the unfolding global economic crisis and subprime scandal took place. You will learn:

* The real causes of the subprime crisis

* Who was responsible for the unraveling debt crisis problem

* How and why the crisis spread to other parts of the economy

* The global effects of the current economic downturn



Danny Schechter (photo left) is a television producer and independent filmmaker who also writes and speaks about media issues. He is the editor of “MEDIAOCRACY: Hail to the Thief: How the Media Stole the 2000 Presidential Election” (electronpress.com) and author of “Falun Gong’s Challenge to China” (Akashic Press), “The More You Watch, The Less You Know” (Seven Stories Press) and “News Dissector: Passions, Pieces and Polemics” (Akashic Press. Electron Press). He is the executive editor of Mediachannel.org, the world’s largest online media issues network.

Mr. Schechter has produced and directed many TV specials and films, including “Falun Gong’s Challenge to China” (2000); A Hero for All: Nelson Mandela’s Farewell (l999); Beyond Life: Timothy Leary Lives (1997); Sowing Seeds/Reeping Peace: The World of Seeds of Peace (1996); Prisoners of Hope (1995, co-directed by Barbara Kopple); Countdown to Freedom: Ten Days that Changed South Africa (1994), narrated by James Earl Jones and Alfre Woodard; Sarajevo Ground Zero (1993); The Living Canvas (1992), narrated by Billy Dee Williams; Beyond JFK: The Question of Conspiracy (1992, co-directed by Barbara Kopple); Give Peace a Chance (1991); Mandela in America (1990) The Making of Sun City (1987); and Student Power (1968).

Mr. Schechter is co-founder and executive producer of Globalvision, a New York-based television and film production company now in its 13th year, where he produced 156 editions of the award-winning series South Africa Now, co-produced Rights & Wrongs: Human Rights Television with Charlayne Hunter-Gault. His most recent human rights production, “Globalization and Human Rights” was co produced with Rory O’Connor and shown nationally on PBS.

A Cornell University graduate, Mr. Schechter received his Master’s degree from the London School of Economics, and an honorary doctorate from Fitchburg College. He was a Nieman Fellow in Journalism at Harvard, where he also taught in 1969. After college, he was a full-time civil rights worker and then communications director of the Northern Student Movement, worked as a community organizer in a Saul Alinsky-style War on Poverty program, and, moving from the streets to the suites, served as an assistant to the Mayor of Detroit in 1966 on a Ford Foundation grant.

Danny Schechter’s professional journalism career began in1970, when he was named news director, principal newscaster, and “News Dissector” at WBCN-FM in Boston, where he was hailed as a radio innovator and won many industry honors, including two Major Armstrong Awards. His television producing career was launched with the syndicated Joe Oteri Show, which won the New England Emmy and a NAPTE IRIS award in 1979. In l980, he created and produced the nation’s first live late-night entertainment-oriented TV show, Five All Night, Live All Night at WCVB in Boston.

Danny Schechter left Boston to join the staff at CNN as a producer based in Atlanta. He then moved to ABC as a producer for 20/20, where during his eight years he won two National News Emmys. Mr. Schechter has reported from 47 countries and lectured at many schools and universities. He was an adjunct professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University.

Mr. Schechter’s writing has appeared in leading newspapers and magazines including the The Nation, Newsday, Boston Globe, Columbia Journalism Review, Media Studies Journal, Detroit Free Press, Village Voice, Tikkun, Z, and many others. He has a 24-year-old daughter, and lives in New York City in a large loft with an 8,000-album record collection and an Apple computer that is nearly out of memory.

My book review of Plunder: Investigating Our Economic Calamity and the Subprime Scandal by Danny Schechter.

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 multiple Emmy Award winning investigative journalist, media critic, and author of the important and eye opening book Plunder: Investigating Our Economic Calamity and the Subprime Scandal, Danny Schechter pulls no punches as he describes how and why the unfolding global economic crisis and subprime scandal took place. He covers the roles of debt, regulation, the regulators, and greed in the economic crisis. He offers ideas to help those affected by the economic downturn on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: Danny Schechter, Plunder, global economic crisis, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

How I Managed 20, 000, 000, 000.00 By Age 32 by Wade Slome - Book review

How I Managed $20,000,000,000 By Age 32

By: Wade Slome

Published: October 31, 2008
ISBN-10: 0615251587
ISBN-13: 978-0615251585
Format: Hardcover 212 pages
Publisher: Lulu; 1st Edition edition







"I view investing as a combination of art and science", writes successful fund manager Wade Slome in his highly informative book How I Managed $20,000,000,000 By Age 32. The author shares his years of real world experience in managing large investment funds, and provides easy to understand information for the average investor.

Wade Slome, founder of investment fund Sidoxia Capital Management, understands that investor financial decisions are not always made on a rational basis. As a result, the book focuses on removing the mystery about investing in stocks, investment funds, and hedge funds. By showing the reader how fund managers decide on which company shares to buy, and which ones to sell, Wade Slome removes the opaque cover that often surrounds the investment decision. Instead of obscuring the stock selection process, the book describes investment concepts in easy to understand language.



Wade Slome (photo left) recognizes that people are lured easily into thinking that markets are an easy way to gain wealth. As he points out, the recent dot.com bubble, the housing market crash, and the current stock market decline are examples of chasing easy money. As Wade Slome demonstrates eloquently, a basic lack of knowledge about markets and how they work in the real world, leads to many disastrous investment decisions. When a person has no idea how the market works, or how investment choices are made, the default position is to follow the herd. The author points out, chasing the crowd will often lead the followers to financial ruin.

For me, the power of the book is its description of the markets in easy to understand terms. Wade Slome turns complex concepts into ideas that can be grasped and applied by the average person. The author considers investing to be both art and science, and provides solid reasons for this philosophy. Wade Slome shares his views on the importance of both technical and fundamental analysis of the stock market in general, and individual stocks in particular. As an added bonus, the reader receives solid advice on how to select the right investment adviser for money management success.

I highly recommend How I Managed $20,000,000,000 By Age 32 by Wade Slome, to anyone who is serious about understanding the art and science behind the investment process. The easy to comprehend explanation of the complexities of investments, stock movement, and hedge funds are crucial for anyone planning to invest in any market.

Read How I Managed $20,000,000,000 By Age 32 by Wade Slome, and learn how markets really work, and discover how to invest with intelligence, for financial success over the long term.

Tags: Wade Slome, How I Managed $20,000,000,000 By Age 32, personal investment, business book reviews.

Plunder by Danny Schechter - Book review

Plunder

Investigating Our Economic Calamity and the Subprime Scandal

By: Danny Schechter

Published: Sept 1, 2008
ISBN-10: 1605203157
ISBN-13: 978-1605203157
Format: Paperback 240 pages
Publisher: Cosimo Books




"There's fear, uncertainty, and even panic in the world of finance", writes multiple Emmy award winning investigative journalist Danny Schechter in his important and eye opening book Plunder: Investigating Our Economic Calamity and the Subprime Scandal. The author pulls no punches as he describes in graphic detail, not only how the global financial crisis began, but why it happened.

Danny Schechter provides the background to the subprime lending crisis, and the events that made it not only possible, but a certain outcome. He points out that the subprime disaster spread to and infected almost every other aspect of finance as well. The ripples traveled beyond the housing bubble collapse to include the entire global economy. Danny Schechter considers the events leading to the crisis to be based on greed and also on fraud. He points out that the alphabet soup of exotic financial instruments were the vehicle making the bubble possible. With regulators looking the other way, and the mainstream media oblivious to what was taking place, the debt created crisis was inevitable.



Danny Schechter (photo left) is especially critical of the role of the mainstream media in failing to report the growing bubble. While advertising revenue was growing for the media outlets, much of it derived from players in the bubble industries, the author considers the media to be complicit in the later events. Instead of reporting the fraud taking place, Danny Schechter believes the mainstream media was negligent in its duty as a community watchdog. On the other hand, the author writes that many bloggers were aware of the growing problem, and reported on it well in advance of the crash.

For me, the power of the book is the time line that follows the bubble as it burst, and how Wall Street, government, and the mainstream media reacted to the events. The diary of the still ongoing crash, as it happens, is powerful reporting and solid journalism. Danny Schechter does a fine job in dispelling many of the myths that have grown up about the causes of the crisis. Instead of simply blaming the victims, as he describes many media members as doing, he assesses the roles of all of the players in the disaster. His finger points directly at Wall Street, the regulators, and the mainstream media, and taking that stance is courageous one, regardless of the reader's personal beliefs on the still growing scandal.

I highly recommend Plunder: Investigating Our Economic Calamity and the Subprime Scandal by Danny Schechter, to anyone who is serious about studying and learning the causes of the global financial crisis. The author takes the reader through an easy to understand journey of corruption, greed, and negligence that will open many eyes to what really happened and how to avoid it taking place again.

Read Plunder: Investigating Our Economic Calamity and the Subprime Scandal by Danny Schechter, and you will gain a greater understanding of the origins of the subprime meltdown. that led to the current global financial crisis. This economic knowledge could very well save your bank account, your investments, and your home.

Tags: Plunder, Danny Schechter, global economic crisis, business book reviews.

Paul Chaney: The Power of Social Media - Blog Business Success Radio

Social media expert Paul Chaney of Bizzuka shares ideas for getting the most out of your social media experience. He discusses how to use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and more to build lasting relationships that will grow your business. Paul Chaney goes beyond the how's of social media to why it's important now and in your company's future.

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

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

Social media expert Paul Chaney of Bizzuka shares ideas for getting the most out of your social media experience. He discusses how to use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and more to build lasting relationships that will grow your business. You will learn:

* Why social media is indispensable for building online relationships

* Why online relationships are important to long term business success

* Which social media tools are most valuable for your business

* The future of social media and what it holds for your business



Paul Chaney (photo left) joined Bizzuka in August 2007. In his role as Internet marketing director, Paul is charged with incorporating new media marketing strategies and techniques into the marketing mix. Having been an Internet media consultant for the past four years, he is well-suited to this role. He understands at a granular level how conversational media tools can be used for marketing purposes and has worked with a number of clients assisting them in deploying online marketing strategies.

Prior to joining Bizzuka, Paul was co-founder of Blogging Systems, a blog software company that significantly impacted the real estate industry by encouraging Realtors to adopt blogging as a marketing strategy. Along with former business partner Richard Nacht, he is the co-author of Realty Blogging: Build your Brand and Outsmart Your Competition, which similarly impacted the industry and which was the first blogging book to target a specific industry vertical.

Paul also serves as president of the International Blogging and New Media Association (IBNMA), an organization dedicated to advancing the growth of blogging, podcasting and social media as an industry. He also sits on the board of advisers for the Women's Wisdom Network and the Social Media Marketing Institute.

He is a feature writer for Practical Ecommerce magazine on the use of social media for marketing purposes and blogs for MarketingProfs Daily Fix blog. He has led numerous blog and social media workshops and seminars, including the first ever such seminar to be held in Asia. He has also blogged professionally with Weblogs, Inc., as well as with Allbusiness.com.

Paul has served as Technical Editor on a number of For Dummies series books related to blogs and Internet marketing, and was contributing writer on Buzz Marketing with Blogs For Dummies, published by Wiley.

His latest venture is as author of an upcoming book on social media marketing to be published by Wiley entitled The Digital Handshake: Seven Proven Strategies to Grow Your Business Using Social Media, set for release in September 2009.

Paul has been quoted in leading mainstream media publications including the San Francisco Chronicle, Philadelphia Inquirer, Best's Review, as well as a number of leading trade magazines.

Paul is a native Mississippian who now proudly calls Acadiana, LA home.

Paul Chaney blogs at Conversational Media Marketing and at many other places all over the blogoshere.

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 social media expert Paul Chaney of Bizzuka as he shares ideas for getting the most out of your social media experience. He discusses how to use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and more to build lasting relationships that will grow your business. Paul Chaney goes beyond the how's of social media to why it's important now and in your company's future on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: Paul Chaney, social media, relationship marketing, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.