Small Business Development

As the platform of choice for over one million businesses in over 175 countries, Shopify powers everything from small local stores to multi-million-dollar ecommerce operations. There's no question you can make it work for you. But how can you get started? In Shopify For Dummies, ecommerce exec, adviser, and speaker Paul Waddy wastes no time showing you how to create and open a thriving online store. You can do it all, from marketing and customer engagement to payments and shipping.

Mark Siebert, franchise expert and author of Franchise Your Business, flips his script from franchising your existing business to offer entrepreneurs a comprehensive guide to succeeding as franchisees. The Franchisee Handbook tells listeners how to take a systematic approach to assess and invest in franchise opportunities, so they end up with the right fit for their entrepreneurial style. Sharing tales from the trenches and real-world anecdotes from successful franchises, Siebert lays out everything you need to know before signing with well-known franchises.

How do you cut through the noise, commotion, and bad information that is right now cluttering up your customers' digital space? Epic Content Marketing. One of the world's leading experts on content marketing, Joe Pulizzi explains how to draw prospects and customers in by creating information and content they actually want to engage with. No longer can we interrupt our customers with mediocre content (and sales messages) our customers don't care about. Epic Content Marketing takes you step by step through the process of developing stories that inform and entertain and compel customers to act - without actually telling them to.

In an age of Twitter, smartphones, and self-service kiosks, high-tech but still high-touch customer service is the answer. Today’s customers are a hard bunch to crack. Time-strapped, screen-addicted, value-savvy, and socially engaged, their expectations are tougher than ever for a business to keep up with. They are empowered like never before and expect businesses to respect that sense of empowerment - lashing out at those that don’t. Take heart: Old-fashioned customer service, fully retooled for today’s blistering pace and digitally connected reality, is what you need to build the kind of loyal customer base that allows you to survive - and thrive.

Every human is born with multifarious potential. Why, then, do parents, schools, and employers insist that we restrict our many talents and interests - that we "specialize" in just one? Following a series of exchanges with the world's greatest historians, futurists, philosophers, and scientists, Waqas Ahmed has weaved together a narrative of history and a vision for the future that seeks to disrupt this prevailing system of unwarranted "hyper-specialization".

Charcuterie boards not only look mesmerizing and taste amazing, but they also add a touch of elegance and class to any gathering. Due to its insane popularity, charcuterie boards have opened up a new array of businesses that’s worth close to a whopping $400 million, and counting. Jam-packed with critical insights into the charcuterie industry, this guidebook will help you have a smooth start to your own business of serving gourmet charcuterie boards in style.

With over $500 million a year in sales, the Bassett Furniture Company was once the world's biggest wood furniture manufacturer. But beginning in the 1980s, the Bassett company suffered from an influx of cheap Chinese furniture as the first waves of Asian competition hit, and ultimately was forced to send its production offshore to Asia. Only one man fought back. That man is John Bassett III, a descendant of the Bassetts who is now chairman of Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co, which employs more than 700 Virginians and has sales of over $90 million.

In 1986, fresh out of college, Paul Downs opened his first and last business: a small company that built custom furniture. With no idea how to run a business or how to build custom furniture, Downs spent a year teaching himself the business, and in 1987 he hired his first employee. That was when things got complicated.

Accounting for Non-Accountants is the must-have audiobook for all of us who have never taken an accounting class, are mystified by accounting jargon, and have no clue about balance sheets, income statements, or statements of cash flows.

Every iconic tech company was once a startup. And while these companies like to paint an origin story full of surefooted confidence, the truth is usually something different: the early life of most startups is pure chaos. This chaos comes from the vastly different motivations and incentives between those with the vision and those with the money. From fundraising paranoia to boardroom coups, Zalman and Neumann train their inimitable voices on the gulf between what founders and investors promise to do and what they end up actually doing.

The Millionaire Maker has done it once again! Dan S. Kennedy revisits little-known, profit-proven direct mail strategies that continue to be effective for any business.

Small talk isn’t getting us anywhere. What we need today more than ever is “Big Talk,” real conversations in which we dig deep into our souls and discuss intriguing topics that truly shape the world and impact our daily lives. Conversation is undoubtedly the most important part of a relationship, whether it’s business, personal, or spiritual. In Turning Small Talk into Big Talk, Jan Janura unpacks the simple, easy-to-apply method he’s used throughout his career to turn dinner parties and other gatherings into fun, interesting, sometimes life- and career-changing experiences.

No matter how motivated and energetic you are - even if you're the greatest salesperson on the planet! - as a network marketer with limited time, there's only so much money you can make without great people to help you sell your products. Recruiting is the life force of any network marketing, multilevel marketing, or party plan business; it lifts the ceiling off your income, the key that will allow you to keep checks rolling in above and beyond what you can do yourself.

There is nothing more expensive than ignorance. Let The Educated Franchisee serve as your guide for selecting a franchise that meets your needs! The audiobook details out five keys to long-term success as a franchisee.

Master the art of public speaking with a mind- and content-based approach to success.

Far from a dry listen, The Lean Law Firm is the first book published by the ABA to employ the novel to teach business lessons. Follow the engaging story of lawyer Carson Wright, who suddenly finds himself responsible for saving a small law firm, as his mentor Guy Chapman imparts the lean techniques that transformed his factory from the brink of bankruptcy to new heights of profitability. As you hear the The Lean Law Firm story unfold, you’ll see how your own firm is really just a system.

What does it take to turn ideas into action? What are the elements of a perfect pitch? How do you win the war for talent? How do you establish a brand without bucks? These are some of the issues everyone faces when starting or revitalizing any undertaking, and Guy Kawasaki, former marketing maven of Apple Computer, provides the answers.

Throughout your life, you’ve acquired skills and knowledge that other people want. Million Dollar Micro Business is your step-by-step guide to turning that learning into a highly profitable online course. From ideation to launch, award-winning entrepreneur/educator Tina Tower presents a practical and proven approach that has been used by countless people just like you to realise their dreams.

Do you own your business or does your business own you? After working with the country’s top financial advisors for decades, business development entrepreneur Shawn Sparks, has seen far too many financial advisors whose success has led to less freedom and joy overall. Raised on the idea that in financial services, production is the name of the game, these founders develop highly productive businesses but unfortunately, they are dependent on them. This leads to burnout, unhappiness, unfulfilled lives and unfulfilled missions.

To achieve unimaginable business success and financial wealth-to reach the upper echelons of entrepreneurs, where you'll find Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Sara Blakely of Spanx, Mark Pincus of Zynga, Kevin Plank of Under Armour, and many others-you have to change the way you think. In other words, you must develop the Entrepreneur Mind, a way of thinking that comes from learning the vital lessons of the best entrepreneurs.