Small Business Edition
My “strengths finder” says I’m a “learner”. I usually don’t put much stock in such surveys, but this one is dead on. At any one time I have 10-12 podcasts going, at least one or two audiobooks, and then plenty of good ‘ole fashioned bound paper books. Don’t get me started on my Twitter rabbit-holes.
I’ve been wrapping my head around my business and finances quite a bit lately. I thought I’d share five of my favorite resources for small businesses and personal finance.
Small Business Quote of the Week
“The petite bourgeoisie are the true revolutionaries. They are the ones who take the risk and open the store. They start the small business. They are not content to follow the path of professional or employee. They are the anarchists, the ones who take responsibility, the ones who do not allow themselves to shift the blame on to boss or government.” – Tom Hodgkinson, Business for Bohemians: Live Well, Make Money
Favorite Business Books
- Profit First, Mike Michalowicz – It took me way too long to get this book, but it absolutely changed my business. This isn’t high finance; I’d compare it to “Financial Peace” by Dave Ramsey, but for business. It’s a cash-flow management system that works.
- Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business, Paul Jarvis – The Amazon blurb says it all: “What if the real key to a richer and more fulfilling career was not to create and scale a new start-up, but rather, to be able to work for yourself, determine your own hours, and become a (highly profitable) and sustainable company of one? Suppose the better—and smarter—solution is simply to remain small? ” This book helps you identify systems and procedures (and reasons!) for keeping your business small so that you can truly enjoy the freedom of owning your own business.
- Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money – That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! (Audible), Robert T. Kiyosaki – I got tired of hearing everyone reference this book so I broke down and bought the Audible 20th anniversary edition. Now I see why it’s a classic. It really helped me see the world of money and business through a different lens. Honestly, it’s hard to explain how my eyes were “opened” to new opportunities and creative ways of earning money.
- Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen, Donald Miller – Donald is a writer. I cut my teeth on his novels “Blue Like Jazz” and “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years”. In “StoryBrand” Miller takes the life philosophy he explores in “A Million Miles” and applies it to marketing. It’s the classic narrative story arc: A character has a problem, meets a guide, who gives them a plan, and calls them to action which then ends in success. When you put yourself in the position of “guide” you realize that your job is to make your customer the hero of his/her own story. Miller then helps you build your marketing plan accordingly. For the record, after reading this, I’ve really started reframing all my interactions, both business and personal, around this framework.
- The Simple Path to Wealth: Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life, J L Collins – J L Collins is a rockstar in the “FIRE” (Financial Independence, Retire Early) community, which is how I found him. “The Simple Path to Wealth” covers the basics of index investing. Collins wrote it to his daughter to give her the basics of how to be financially independent without making the process overly complicated. (TIP: You can get a primer for free by reading his “Stock Series“.) I liked it so much that I bought paperback and audio versions for all of my kids. Like anything in life, some took the advice, and some didn’t. I can tell you that the ones who did are rapidly on track to retire far sooner than I will!