Business Book Summaries

In this completely revised and updated edition of the bestselling Your Money or Your Life, Vicki Robin shows you how to take back your life by changing the way you relate to money in order to live more deliberately and meaningfully. This new edition which includes a new introduction, updated resources, an easy to use index, anecdotes, and examples particularly relevant to today, will show you how to get out of debt, develop savings; reorder material priorities and live well for less, resolve inner conflicts between values and lifestyle, convert problems into opportunities to learn new skills, attain a wholeness of livelihood and lifestyle, save the planet while saving money, and so much more.

This book will help you gain control of your money and start making a life.

Here is an excerpt from the book, "Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence", by By Vicki Robin & Joe Dominguez with Monique Tilford

VALUING YOUR LIFE ENERGY – MINIMIZING SPENDING

This step is about the intelligent use of your life energy (money) and the conscious reduction or elimination of expenses.

Consider the suggestions that follow, not as a blueprint for the single right way, but rather as a menu of options. Explore the ones that intrigue or inspire you and leave the rest. Frugality is about enjoyment and not penny-pinching!

TEN SURE WAYS TO SAVE MONEY

1. Don’t go shopping. If you don’t go shopping, you won’t spend money.

2. Live within your means. To live within your means is to buy only what you can prudently afford to avoid debt, unless you have an assurance that you will be able to pay for it promptly and always have something put away for a rainy day.

3. Take care of what you have. There is one thing that we want to last a long time: our bodies. Simple attention to the proven practices will save you lots of money.

4. Wear them out. Think how much money you would save if you simply decided to use things even 20 percent longer.

5. Do it yourself. Basic living and survival skills can be learned through websites, adult education classes, extension agents, and last but not least, books.

6. Anticipate your needs. Forethought in purchasing can bring tremendous savings.

7. Research value, quality, durability, multiple use, and price. Research well before you purchase.

8. Buy it for less. The goal is always to get them as cheaply as possible.

9. Meet your needs differently. The principle of substitution simply means, there are hundreds, if not thousands of ways to meet a need. Substitution isn’t limitation – it is simply liberation.

10. Follow the nine steps of this program. All the steps matter. They synergize to spur you on.

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity

There are five main areas of your business and you must find ways to keep balance between each of these. If you spend too much time with one, you will neglect the others, and your business will falter. If you own a business, you will need to lay out your actions in each of these five areas and make sure you devote equal amounts of time to each of them.

1. Sales. Obviously, you need sales. Without sales, you will have no business. In this category, you will want to devote time in a few different ways. You will need to always be aware of where your sales stand on any given day. You will also need to be able to analyze past sales trends and determine how you need to adjust inventory for future sales.

Be careful, though. If you devote your whole day to poring over sales charts and printouts, you will forget about the other parts of your business. Sales are important, but they are not everything.

1. Operations. You cannot have sales without operations. This includes every aspect of the behind the scenes area of your business. You will need to spend time making sure that you understand all the parts of operations. You will also need to look for ways that operations could be altered to offer more speed and efficiency.

Again, you must be careful. If you devote all of your time to studying operations and trying to figure out how to speed up the processes, you could be overlooking other important issues.

1. Cash Flow. This aspect actually is a culmination of the effects of both sales and operations. When operations run smoothly, and quality products and services are provided, sales will rise, and your cash flow will increase.

Too many business owners become obsessed with the bottom line, and they lose track of what is going on around them. Make sure that cash flow is not your only emphasis and concern.

1. Employees. When you are running your business, you cannot neglect the needs and the efficiency of your employees. Make sure that you provide a professional and a good working environment for your employees.

Be careful not to be too giving. You want your employees happy, but you do not want them to take advantage of a kind boss. Make sure to set forth policies and procedures, and then stick with them.

1. Education. For both you and your employees, there is always something new to learn about how to run your business, how to sell a product, how to operate a machine or a mechanism, or how to handle customers. Education is a key aspect of running your business, so that you can keep up with new and changing technology as well.

The 10 Reasons You WILL Fail in Your Business… Learn How to Be a Success NOT a Failure. Grab this special report valued at $75 and make your business flourish with these never before released secrets. Go to http://www.broshegroup.com right now for your FREE report!

Melissa Evans, The Guru of Implementation SM and the author of a soon to be published book titled "Full Circle, a book for entrepreneurs thriving in today's economy" is the President and CEO of The Broshe Group, Inc. Melissa is passionate about helping people and businesses be their best while making money and enjoying life. Melissa is a no nonsense dynamic speaker, author, and business consultant and coach. She has experience spanning 15 years in different fields which includes healthcare, retail, manufacturing, banking, non-profit, technology, small business, education, foundations, etc.

Technorati tags: management, business management, business productivity, self improvement, business tips

Whether you're a coach, consultant or small business owner, it is absolutely necessary to create systems to organize your business. From developing your services, handling your the day-to-day operations to servicing your clients — it is a MUST that you organize with processes and systems!

Creating process maps and systems will kick your profits into high gear and allow you to leverage your skills, experience and knowledge in an expanded way. Think about the things you do over and over again and how easy it will be to turn it into a few steps and then a process.

Think about how you service clients or what you do before meeting with a prospect and turn it into a step or process.

Over the years of managing multiple projects, here are two tips that I swear by:

1. Creating Steps. Create steps for everything you do. This works for big and small tasks — from scheduling appointments to managing a web development project. You can have your assistant do this every single week forever. That way, if you have to hire a temp because your regular assistant is on vacation then it doesn't create disaster in your work schedule.

2. Creating a Book. Create a book of processes. Take all of those steps and put them into a book. This book will eventually serve as your operations manual and make it easy to delegate specific tasks, sell your business, go on vacation, etc.

It's amazing how much time and energy you'll save when it's time to hire an assistant or replace someone on your team.

Don't cheat yourself. You must make it easy for people to do business with you. A few months back, while interviewing virtual assistants, I found that most of them didn't have processes to turn me into a client. Me trying to hire them felt like a chore. If you do nothing else be sure to create a process that makes it easy for people to do business with you.

Stay in The Loop and Get The Scoop:

I'd like to invite you to visit http://www.coachingwithapril.com for more leading edge tips and tools for building your consulting business.

Gain your access to the technology, tools and rules of on-line and off-line marketing!

April Gregory, CPMC–Personal Branding & Personal Effectiveness Expert

Technorati tags: business management, business tips, business productivity, self improvement, management

Do you ever feel like you're stuck in a rut? You wake up each morning and go to the same job, driving on the same roads, walking on the same streets, and doing the same thing day after day – and that gets pretty boring!

Do you feel unappreciated at work? You may be a hard worker but never get the true recognition you deserve from your boss and colleagues. Just once you would like your boss to pat you on the back and say, "Good job," but unfortunately that day never seems to come.

If this describes you, it may be time to fire your boss and venture out on your own. Although this may seem like a completely overwhelming move, it may not be as hard as you think!

Consider taking advantage of options like these:

1. Become a Virtual Assistant. Being a Virtual Assistant allows you the flexibility of staying at home while managing tasks for other companies.

• This is a great option if you enjoy computer work, managing tasks, paperwork, or customer service.

• Though it may take a bit of time to get your VA business off the ground, virtual assistants can command a high price for their services, especially if they have technical skills.

1. Join an MLM (Multi Level Marketing) company. These businesses are all the rage lately, but they do have their pros and cons. If you think that perhaps an MLM company is the business for you, be sure to do your research.

• Make sure the company you decide to partner with has a good track record. You can confirm this by speaking with other representatives of the company and checking the Better Business Bureau and similar websites for more information.

• Another fact you must be aware of is the sign up fee that can range from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars. Some companies even charge upwards of $1,000 to be a representative.

• Many people succeed at a multi level marketing business, but countless others fail miserably. Research the details of what you'll need to do to succeed in your chosen business and ask yourself if you can do what it takes.

• It would be in your best interest to become informed and educated about the business before you sign on the dotted line and hand over your hard-earned money.

1. Make and sell your own crafts. Are your friends envious about the beautiful things you can make with your own two hands? Then this may be the business you're looking for! With websites such as eBay and Etsy, as well as local arts and craft shows, many people are making a substantial living selling their homemade creations.

• Unique or one-of-a-kind items always sell at higher prices than the common ones.

1. Become a Life Coach. This business opens up a realm of possibilities. If you enjoy listening to people and providing advice, becoming a life coach may intrigue you. A life coach provides good, solid advice to individuals relating to a particular area in their life.

• A life coach can specialize in many different areas. For example, some coaches only deal with stay at home moms, while others help those wanting to make more money or lose weight. The options are absolutely endless.?

• You can go for training and become a certified coach at your local college or online.

• You must promote and market yourself strongly, and it may take awhile to get the business of the ground. But if this is something that you truly hold a passion for, it can turn into an extremely lucrative endeavor.

1. Become a Caterer. Does everyone say that no one can cook like you do? Do you get request after request for your recipes? Do you find spending time in the kitchen relaxing? Then starting a catering business may be something you'll want to explore further.

• As in any business, it may take a bit of patience and energy to get it started, but the benefits will be well worth the energy. Make sure to call your friends and family and tell them to spread the word about your new catering business.

• Once you can secure your first party or event, you'll have word of mouth recommendations marketing your business for you. If cooking is your passion and you learn how to manage food costs and market your business, then you'll have no problem succeeding in this lucrative industry.

These are just a few ways to fire your boss and start your own business. Your next step is to decide where your passion lies. Decide what you enjoy doing and go from there. Beginning your own business is not easy, but with a dash of hope, dreams, patience, and hard work, you've just won half the battle!