Book Reviews

There are a wide range of books and articles in the market place but as busy women we have to be very selective about what we devote our time to reading. One word of warning, when you are on the internet sometimes you are encouraged to go on a subscriber list so you can download e-books or receive e-newsletters.. Be careful as you can receive a flood of emails and marketing blurbs even when you don’t want them and no matter how many times you unsubscribe you keep getting bombarded.

I have selected a few books to whet your appetite to read some business books that caught my eye.


When My Husband Does the Dishes
By Kerri Sackville

When My Husband Does the Dishes is about love in real life. It's about what marriage looks like after three children and 150 years of togetherness. It's my life. And I suspect it could be yours too.

Kerri Sackville has written this book for people like her, people who can relate to her, or people who find her amusing - which, in a tragic sort of way, she is. When My Husband Does the Dishes . . . is part memoir, part faux guide to marriage and motherhood and a must read for all women. It is accurate, clever and very, very funny.

The 1000 Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask Yourself
By Tania McCartney
‘Self-help’ books are a dime a dozen on the shelves and probably always will be – not because us humans are a collective and consistently blathering mess, but because the human condition is one that inherently questions, perennially voyages inward, ceaselessly strives to understand the self.
If you’re looking to work out what you want, where you’re going or even where you’ve been, this book provides a thoroughly entertaining but deeply satisfying and fascinating psychological breakdown. The book is not heavy nor filled with psychobabble. It is written with a warm, clear, practical and plain speak voice – in her introduction, Thomas says “…it’s unhelpful to assume that there is something wrong with you that needs fixing [however] sometimes another person’s feedback is essential to help you see yourself more accurately and clearly.”
Although this book may help you discover some parts of yourself that need serious overhauling, the overriding feeling after working through 1000 Questions was, for me, one of hope and happiness.

The Boss From Outer Space and Other Aliens at Work
By: Patricia Addesso
I opened this book with some reluctance. Its publication comes as one of a long and recent line of books broadly concerned with working with difficult colleagues.
Similarly to In the Land of Difficult People, The Boss From Outer Space approaches the subject from a novel perspective. Here, Patricia Addesso takes the 11 key objects in our solar system – from the Sun to Pluto – and defines workers in light of the astronomical peculiarities of each celestial body.
Whilst Earth people are – obviously – down-to-earth, she defines Saturn people as those who like to stand out and experiment with new ideas.
Each chapter focuses on a particular planet (or star in the case of our Sun), with useful sub-sections on how we can possibly identify ourselves, our colleagues and our bosses within those characteristics.

The Jelly Effect
By Andy Bounds

How effective is the communication you experience every day? How often have you been bored during a presentation? Failed to win a piece of business that, deep down, you know you should have won? Had a tedious, pointless networking conversation?
Countless times, no doubt. Too much information and not enough relevance is a problem that pervades almost all business communication. You see, the way many people communicate is like filling a bucket with jelly, flinging it at their audience, and hoping some of it sticks. It's ineffective, it's irritating and, above all, it's very messy.
So what's the answer? More relevance and a lot less jelly. The Jelly Effect teaches you simple, memorable and costless ways to win more attention and more business. Imagine how effective you'd be if you communicated only what was relevant 100 percent of the time. You would be better at talking to others, presenting, networking and selling. You would excel in interviews, meetings and pay-rise discussions. The benefits would be endless.

Some books to read on Personality Type.

Changing Your Management Style: How to evaluate and improve your own performance.
By: Benfari Robert

Using Type in Selling, Building Customer Relationships with the MBTI
By Susan Brock

Outlines ways to adapt your sales or marketing interactions to meet the needs of different personalities.

Looking at Type in the Workplace
By Larry Demarest

A basic introduction to the ways the eight preferences (E/I; S/N; T/F; J/P) present at work, and the characteristic requirements and style of each of the 16 personality types.

Introduction to Type and Teams.
By Sandra Hirsh

Briefly describes how each type functions well in a team and the problems their styles may cause. Excellent starting point.

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...and It's All Small Stuff
By: Dr Richard Carlson
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...and It's All Small Stuff tells you how to keep from letting the little things in life drive you crazy. Richard Carlson reveals ways to calm down in the midst of your incredibly hurried, stress-filled life. Learn how to put things into perspective by making small daily changes, including advice like "Choose your battles wisely"; "Remind yourself that when you die, your 'in' box won't be empty"; and "Make peace with imperfection". With Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...you'll also learn how to:

• Live in the present moment
• Let others have the glory at times
• Lower your tolerance to stress
• Trust your intuitions
• Live each day as it might be your last

With gentle, supportive suggestions, Dr. Carlson reveals ways to make your actions more peaceful and caring whilst making your life more calm and stress-free.
Price: $14.99


How We Lead Matters
By Marilyn Carlson Nelson
Marilyn Carlson Nelson offers wisdom and advice without opinionated platforms through brief, but deep cameos about her family, her life, and herself. Her tender reflections help readers gently discover new insights drawing by their own personal conclusions that awaken hearts and minds to new possibilities and ideas.




Six Pixels of Separation
by Mitch Joel
With the internet taking the communications motherlode of this web-wide-world, it’s no surprise a subtitle like Everyone is connected. Connect your business to everyone, sure gets the business fires glowing. From big business to one-woman-shows, there’s no underestimating the power of internet connection – both direct and indirect – to fan the fire of success. So how do we maximise our efforts and where do we turn when network connections fizzle?

Mitch Joel, president of Twist Image and the ‘rockstar of digital marketing’ tell us how by sharing his fascinating and savvy secrets in a book 21st century entrepreneurs have been waiting for. Joel takes a brand new perspective in Six Pixels, intimating the astonishing fact that personal branding is overtaking corporate branding via the virtual world – and how you, too, can make the most of the exciting opportunities to be found in digital media.
Hachette Australia, A$35RRP


How I Made My First Million
By Nick Gardner
While many women in small business struggle to break even and some attempt to recalibrate post-GFC, reaching for the stars of financial success may seem like a pipedream. Sometimes, however, just reading the inspirational stories of those who were once in a very similar row-boat to ours is enough to give us hope. Hope leads to confidence, confidence to action, action to a quick-smart boat upgrade. 40-foot cruiser, anyone?

In How I Made My First Million, author Nick Gardner takes us through a series of interviews with some entrepreneurial types who’ve made it big – squillions big, and often via the simplest of ideas.

Twenty-six successful Aussies including Danial Ahchow of Service Central, Shelley Barrett of ModelCo and Denis McFadden of Just Cuts, spill the beans in these inspiring snippets of small-biz-made-good. Not only will readers feel motivated, they’ll also learn a thing or two, with a selection of Golden Rules rounding out each chapter.
The book may cost $25, but this insider info is priceless. Allen & Unwin, A$24.99RRP


9 Secrets of women Who Get Everything They Want
By Kate White
Kate White is recognized internationally as not only the veteran editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, the best-selling women's magazine in the world, but also as the critically acclaimed author of both fiction and nonfiction books. Few high-profile editors have successfully balanced the rigors of overseeing a major magazine title with a thriving and independent writing career.

It all began when Kate won Glamour magazine's Top Ten College Women contest and appeared on the cover. Kate earned a position at the magazine and quickly rose from editorial assistant to feature writer and columnist. After holding key jobs at several national magazines, she became an editor-in-chief, running four magazines (including Redbook) before taking the helm at Cosmopolitan in 1998.

Drawing on experiences from her successful career, Kate published the bestselling career bibles Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead...but Gutsy Girls Do in 1995 and 9 Secrets of Women who Get Everything They Want in 1998. Her most recent nonfiction book, You on Top: Smart Sexy Skills Every Woman Needs to Set the World on Fire published in 2006.

But Kate also has a passion for writing fiction. In penning her first novel, If Looks Could Kill, in 2002--which was selected as Live With Regis and Kelly's first Reading With Ripa Book Club pick--Kate introduced her gutsy and irreverent sleuth, Bailey Weggins. Ms. Weggins went on to solve more grisly murders and entertain readers in A Body to Die For (2003), 'Til Death Do Us Part (2004), Over Her Dead Body (2005), and then again in Lethally Blond (2007), all New York Times bestsellers. The books were recently optioned by Lions Gate Pictures.

Kate's highly anticipated first thriller, HUSH, with her new publisher HarperCollins, will be available in bookstores March 2010. HUSH marks Kate's entry into a whole new genre. Set in the world of fertility clinics and hailed as a "pulse-pounding, chilling, and provocative" read, it's the story of an ordinary woman who flees the scene of a murder and realizes it's not just the law that is hunting her.

Kate's writer's eye has been described by the New York Times as "scathingly observant," capturing "the mood...with a verisimilitude some of her peers might recognize." The Los Angeles Times says of Kate's work: "It's like devouring a box of chocolates!"

Through her magazine work and books, Kate White has influenced at least two generations of women with her unique honesty, passion, and imagination. She is the winner of the Matrix Award for Outstanding Achievement in Communication, as well as the Woodhall Institute Award for Ethical Leadership.
Kate currently resides in Manhattan with her husband and two children.


12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women
By Gail McMeekin
Gail McMeekin, L.I.C.S.W. is an executive/career/creativity/positive choices coach and consultant in Boston with clients all over the world. She is the author of The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women and The Power of Positive Choices, both with Conari Press, and several e-books which are available at her website http://www.creativesuccess.com .Gail helps people to activiate their creativity, discover fulfilling work, restore inner peace, and grow their businesses. She also works with budding authors to help them to get their books and articles published, as well as other creative entrepreneurs trying to build successful businesses. Her monthly newsletter called Creative Success just celebrated its 100th issue. Gail is also a watercolor painter and gets inspired to paint, especially during the summers she spends on Cape Cod.


The Power of Positive Choices
By Gail McMeekin
"The Power of Positive Choices invites the reader on an uplifting journey toward a more authentic and fulfilling life. By showing us how to confront and banish what's holding us back and how to consciously choose what's best in the long run, this book reminds us that we have choices that affect the quality of our lives and helps us create a life in which joy plays a leading role."
-- Patti Breitman, author of How to Say No Without Feeling Guilty
"Gail's new book is a brilliant distillation of the steps we each need to take to make the power of choice work. It is clear, vibrant, go-go juice of a book."
-- Jennifer Louden, author of The Comfort Queen's Guide to Life and The Woman's Comfort Book
"Gail McMeekin lays out the ABC's of having the life you want. Simple and Practical, they cover all the bases and come through on what they promise. I loved reading this book.
-- Victoria Moran, author of Lit from Within and Creating a Charmed Life.


This Is Not the Life I Ordered: 50 Ways to Keep Your Head Above Water When Life Keeps Dragging You Down
By Deborah Collins Stephens (Author), Michealene Cristini Risley (Author), Jackie Speier (Author), Jan Yanehiro (Author)
The four authors were all friends prior to writing the book. Jackie Speier is a Congresswoman from California, and was a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of California in 2006. Speier survived five gunshot wounds when she was shot by members of Peoples Temple in 1978 when she traveled to Jonestown with Congressman Leo J. Ryan. Jan Yanehiro is a broadcast journalist, and co-hosted Evening Magazine which aired on San Francisco's KPIX. Yanehiro is a co-executive producer of "Pacific Fusion", a television magazine program featuring Asian American lifestyle, which airs on KRON.

Michealene Cristini Risley was Vice-President, group director of licensing and character development, at Sega Corporation. She is also the founder and president of Fresh Water Spigot, a creative content company based in Portola Valley, California. Deborah Collins Stephens is the cofounder and managing partner of the Center for Innovative Leadership. She is also the author of One Size Fits One and co-authored The Maslow Business Reader, with Abraham H. Maslow.


More 101 Best Home-Based Businesses for Women
by Priscilla Huff
All New Business Ideas for Enterprising Women Who Want to Work at Home
With the right entrepreneurial spirit and know-how, you can join the millions of enterprising women who run their own businesses from home. Bestselling author and home-based business expert Priscilla Y. Huff guides you through the basics of starting your own business, from choosing the job that's right for you to writing a business plan. She then presents 101 innovative home-based opportunities centered on the hottest emerging business trends — health care, the environment, computers, personal services, food, and more!

Packed with ideas, tips, and hints, this informative resource provides advice on:

• Assessing the real start-up costs and potential income for each job
• Finding invaluable sources — from professional organizations and publications to Web sites
• Choosing the right experts to help you with your business
• Finding the tools, training, and skills you need to succeed
• Learning how to price your market
• Creating effective publicity and marketing, including Internet advertising

A home-based business can give you the flexibility, extra income, creativity, and independence you crave — this book gives you the resources to make your business venture a success!
List Price $14.95 (Used copies available through Amazon.com)


Easy Business for Women with Little or No Money
By Dr. Mary Waters
This book review is part of a series that covers the topic of Business Start-Up. A Business Start-up is a relatively new company, project or business venture with a limited operating history. Dr. Mary Waters is the Official Guide to Business Start-Up.
Many people are beginning to start and operate their own business as large companies are downsizing and we face job uncertainties. During an informal survey, some of the reasons given as to why people start a business are to increase their income, get more control over their time, tax advantages, job security, service to the community, enjoyment of working with people, self-responsibility, self-reliance, success, and the flexibility to make changes.

Getting started into a business for some people could mean just writing down on a piece of paper what needs to be done to get them from point A to point B. Others might want to know what kind of research needs to be performed to find the answer to some of these questions. To receive clarification on what your needs are, you might want to consider reading books, talking to people, or just analyzing the data already available to you.

The most important step of starting a business is to ‘just do it’. Getting started could mean gathering information, reading, analyzing, and putting it to use. Most importantly, the potential business owner should start now. If you decide to start now, there are steps you should take to get yourself organized, such as setting aside time to do daily readings. These readings will include articles, brochures, mail, and other information pertaining to the business. Remember, information is knowledge, and the more knowledge you have about the subject, the wiser it makes you. Being informed will make things a little bit easier for you during the decision-making process.

Easy Business for Women with Little or No Money , by Dr. Mary Waters is a valuable resource for people interested in Business Start-Up and it is available through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.


Women's Ventures, Women's Visions: 29 Inspiring Stories from Women Who Started Their Own Business
By Shoshana Alexander
This is an EXCELLENT, timely, and fully inspirational book for women entrepreneurs and wannabe ones. There just isn't that much out there that tells great stories of women business leaders/small businesswomen with inspiring visions--and so we generally don't even get to learn these stories. This book shares 29 of those rare stories, and better yet, does them in the women's own words. It's HIGHLY inspirational, and a real treasure trove of women's wisdom for starting and running your own business. As a reader, you feel privileged to sit and "listen to" these 29 women tell their precious stories, and you come away feeling like you know who they are, and that you've been inspired to do more yourself. Great job, throughout: even lovely photos here and there to illustrate who the "speakers" are--the tellers of these tales. A great book, and one I'm very glad I stumbled across. It should make the short list of anyone's guide to what makes entrepreneurial women tick. Excellent.


Inspiring Women: 25 Top Female Entrepreneurs Reveal How Real Women Succeed in Business
By Michelle Rosenberg
Each of the 25 chapters is only a few pages long, but they are very well chosen words! These women have been brutally honest and candid in their accounts of how they have achieved so much. They all talk about how their journey started, how their business grew, about the pitfalls and mistakes they made along the way. In addition to this, each chapter has 'Advice to other entrepreneurs', and an opportunity for the women to describe their own role models. It is a truly fascinating insight into the people behind the brands.

Nearly every eventuality is covered within this book; those who had a skill and used it, those who took a new path, those who had a good financial start to their business and those who had nothing, women with families, those without and those who gained them along the way. However there are some unifying strands which bind these women, and probably all women in business; it is hard, it can be messy, you can't have it all, there will always been some sort of sacrifice, but mostly it is worth it!

The most striking and inspirational part for me was the realisation that before their business was so successful they were ordinary women, and many of them mothers. They were like me, but because of passion, belief and drive they have all achieved so much. It gave me hope that if they could do it, so could I!


Women, Work, and the Art of Savoir Faire
By Mirelle Guiliano
If you are a woman in the business world, no matter what your age, you must read the book Women, Work, and the Art of Savoir Faire, by Mirelle Guiliano. It will help you step around the mistakes you might make in your career or as a business owner, and step forward into an opportunity that you might miss without this kind of coaching.
One of the principles that Guiliano promotes is the importance of mentorship. One of the first questions she asks in the book is: “Do you have a senior person in business who consistently offers you sound counsel and support and consistently champions you?” As a woman who’s been in business for 20 years, mentoring has been very valuable to me. I have consistently maintained relationships with 5 people at a higher level than I am, who I look to for advice. I contact them maybe once a month or two so I can bounce ideas off them, ask questions, and get their input. Even though mentors can be vital to one’s success (and they certainly have been to mine), many people don’t pursue those relationships. Guiliano also asserts that women especially can run into problems when trying to find women at higher levels to mentor them. I agree. Women are often jealous and don’t do a good job of supporting one another in the workplace. That needs to change. It is getting better, but it does exist and remains a problem.

Guiliano quite nicely covers an extensive list of issues and factors for women in the business world: continuing education, promotions, leadership, what types of risks to take, relationships in the business world, business etiquette, interviewing, hiring, firing, stress, business travel, apparel, and even how to value yourself and take time to recharge. It’s all about making your work life more productive and less stressful—and ultimately, more successful.


SKIRTS IN THE BOARDROOM – S.K.I.R.T.S. - Sisterhood, Knowledge, Integrity, Respect, Tenacity, Substance
by Marshawn Evans

"The book women in business have been waiting for!"

SKIRTS in The Boardroom is the definitive guide to being a modern-day sassy, savvy, sensible, and smart woman leader in 2008 and beyond.

Welcome to the SKIRTS Community! You’ve seen Marshawn Evans in Season 4 of Donald Trump’s The Apprentice, you’ve seen her competing as a finalist in Miss America, you’ve seen her build one of the most robust sports marketing firms in the country. The world has seen her transition from being labelled a problem child to beauty queen, high-powered entertainment attorney, media personality and now she is an author!

The SKIRTS website includes resources for women including a blog, newsletter, book club, and the Set No Limits retreat! Embrace your inner-SKIRT. Go to www.skirtsintheboardroom.com

“As women, we often have visions of the success we desire, but lack the direction to get there. Vision is like adrenaline. It makes you do what you never thought you could. It’s time that women learn to see the improbable and make it possible.” – Marshawn Evans (Fellow SKIRT)
ISBN: 978-0-470-38333-9
Hardcover; 240 pages
November 2008.

HOW TO START A BUSINESS WITH LESS THAN $100
by Tina Shaw

How to Start a Business With Less Than $100 is filled with resources, tips, guidelines and advice. This book contains a large amount of information for the beginner business owner and anyone who would like to learn how to start or grow a business on a budget.

This book is compiled by award-winning business woman Tina Shaw, who is eager to share her knowledge and experiences with other potential business owners.
ISBN 9780646479811
Publisher Tina Louise Industries Pty Ltd, 2007

THE SPIRIT OF BUSINESS - A HANDBOOK FOR QUEENSLAND WOMEN IN REGIONAL BUSINESS
By Jo Eady

This practical, informative and user-friendly book is a must-have for all Queensland women in regional business, regardless of whether you are just starting out or looking to grow your business. It brings together key business information, strategies, resources and contacts in a powerful handbook backed by the voices of successful business women.

The keys to business growth have never been clearer. With seven inspiring case studies, and hundreds of useful strategies, resources and contacts, The Spirit of Business is your guide to business success.
ISBN 9780975736715 Publisher Ruralscope Pty, Limited, 2006

KICKSTART MARKETING: THE NO-NONSENSE SYSTEM FOR BOOSTING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS
By Linda Hailey

Author Linda Hailey takes you through a proven step-by-step system with lots of practical exercises to teach you how to analyse your situation and develop a strategic marketing plan tailored to your business.

From product development and retailing to selling, advertising and branding, Linda shares her tricks of the trade and real life examples from a whole range of small businesses that have used Kickstart Marketing techniques to increase their revenue and profit.
ISBN 1 86508 387 9 Publisher Allen & Unwin 2001

101 WAYS TO ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS
By Andrew Griffiths

These 101 practical suggestions will show you how to increase the effectiveness of your advertising. This book is a gold mine of easy- to-understand commonsense advertising know-how. Find out how to make your advertising dollar go further and reach a larger audience in a range of different mediums.
ISBN 1 74175 007 2 Publisher Allen & Unwin 2006

START ME UP! Over 100 Great Business Ideas for the Budding Entrepreneur
By Sonia Williams

Without wanting to openly revert to that old Rolling Stones tune, the catchy title of this new book by Sonia Williams, author of Show Mummy the Money!, serves up a feast for those with a hunger for business success, especially those with home-based or entrepreneurial enterprises.

Almost 320,000 new businesses launch themselves headlong into the marketplace every year in Australia, making Aussies a creative and entrepreneurial bunch, but what sets successful ventures apart from the rest? And how can you turn your ideas into a money-spinner?

Given the relatively shaky economics of recent times, William’s book is timely. In Start Me Up!, she shares over 100 effective ideas for starting a business, including information on current worldwide trends, technological opportunities and how to formulate a business plan that really works. No more excuses!
ISBN 9781921497308 Publisher Exisle Publishing Limited, 2010

BAGS TO RICHES - 7 Success Secrets for Women in Business
By Linda Hollander

Real life "bag lady" Linda Hollander shows women how to realize their dream of owning their own business. -- Publisher's Weekly

Stuck in a dead-end job with mounting debts, Linda Hollander took the biggest risk of her life when she launched a custom packaging business called the Bag Ladies.

Working hard and making mistakes along the way, she managed to grow her business into a successful enterprise with an impressive client list including Ocean Spray, Infiniti, Revlon, Yamaha, Sanyo Fisher, Sears, and Nissan.

Known today as the "Wealthy Bag Lady," Hollander spends her time helping other women build self-confidence and achieve financial independence through small-business ownership.

In BAGS TO RICHES, Hollander shares twenty years of road-tested tips and other business leaders’ advice for for starting and running a successful business, including practical tips for finding a mentor, securing financing, turning contacts into contracts, and providing five-star customer service. More than just your typical "how-to" business book, BAGS TO RICHES explores one of the most difficult aspects of starting your own business—deciding to go for it.

Filled with success stories of real-life entrepreneurs, Women will be encouraged by the "Winning Women" tales, the "Learn from the Stars" stories, the valuable "Success Secrets," and the "Hazardous to Your Wealth" warnings peppered throughout the book. BAGS TO RICHES will inspire women to take that frightening first step to launching a business and realizing a dream.
ISBN: 1587611481 Publisher: Celestial Arts 2004