Successful Blog

The Book List: ‘I’m at a Networking Event, Now What?’ and ‘The Entrepreneur Equation’

by

A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow of Key Business Partners, LLC

I’m Teresa Morrow, Founder of Key Business Partners, LLC and I work with authors & writers to help them with their online book promotion and marketing. As part of my job I read a lot of books (I love to read anyway!).

The books in the Book List Series will cover a range of topics such as social media, product development, marketing, blogging, business, organization, career building, finance, networking, writing, self development, and inspiration.

‘I’m at a Networking Event, Now What?’ by Sandy Jones-Kaminski

networking_now_whatmid

“Networking should be like the holiday season–more about giving than receiving.”
Women Entrepreneur book review

About the Book*:

Through this book you will learn how to make quality connections, cultivate relationships, expand your circle of influence through networking events, and create good “social capital.” You’ll also find information on networking tools and technology that will promote new contacts and connections.

I’m at a Networking Event—Now What??? illustrates that today’s social networking environments practically demand that you have at least some knowledge of effective networking practices in order to achieve the results most of us are looking for.

About Sandy*:
Sandy Jones-Kaminski is a self-described networking enthusiast and accomplished marketer and business development professional. In 2002, Sandy launched her own online marketing and biz dev strategy consulting practice called Bella Domain, LLC. She is also a former VP of Networking for one of the largest chapters of the American Marketing Association. Sandy knows how to make meaningful connections, cultivate relationships, host some great networking events, and create what she refers to as good “social capital.” You can connect with her at www.belladomain.com.

You can purchase a copy of ‘I’m at a Networking Event, Now What?’ online at Amazon or on the publisher site. *this information came from Amazon.

Next, I would like to introduce you to another book on the business book list on Amazon and on my reading list: ‘The Entrepreneur Equation’.

‘The Entrepreneur Equation: Evaluating the Realities, Risks, and Rewards of Having Your Own Business’ by Carol Roth

This book came out this week on the new releases (business) list on Amazon.

“Carol delivers the reality check that today’s entrepreneur needs to succeed.”
—JJ Ramberg, Host of MSNBC’s “Your Business” and CEO of Goodsearch.com

“Aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners alike can generate the best return on their success simply by investing their time reading The Entrepreneur Equation. Written in Carol’s frank and fun style, this book gives you the key tools that you need to stack the odds of success in your favor.”
—Loral Langemeier, CEO/Founder of Live Out Loud, international speaker and bestselling author of the Millionaire Maker 3 book series and Put More Cash In Your Pocket

“Finally! Someone asks the million dollar question—and then answers it. It isn’t about CAN you be an entrepreneur? It is really about—SHOULD you be an entrepreneur? You can spend thousands of dollars and years of your valuable life figuring it out. Or, you can read this book.”
—Shama Kabani, Author of The Zen of Social Media Marketing and President of the Marketing Zen Group

About the Book
There’s never been a better time to start a business—or so the conventional wisdom would have you believe. But with up to 90 percent of businesses failing within the first five years, it’s time to take off the rose-colored glasses and think twice before you invest your precious time, money and energy.

The Entrepreneur Equation helps you do the math before you set down the entrepreneurial path so that you can answer more than just “Could I be an entrepreneur?” but rather “Should I be an entrepreneur?” By understanding what it takes to build a valuable business as well as how to assess the risks and rewards of business ownership based on your personal circumstances, you can learn how to stack the odds of success in your favor and ultimately decide if business ownership is the best possible path for you, now or ever.

Through illustrative examples and personalized exercises, tell-it-like-it-is Carol Roth helps you create and evaluate your own personal Entrepreneur Equation as you:

• Learn what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur in today’s competitive environment
• Save money, time and effort by avoiding business ownership when the time isn’t right for you
• Identify and evaluate the risks and rewards of a new business based on your goals and circumstances
• Evaluate whether your dreams are best served by a hobby, job or business
• Gain the tools that you need to maximize your business success

About Carol*:

Carol Roth helps businesses grow and make more money. An investment banker, business strategist and deal maker, she has helped her clients, ranging from solopreneurs to multinational corporations, raise more than $1 billion in capital, complete $750+ million in M&A transactions, secure high-profile licensing and partnership deals, create brand loyalty programs and more.

Carol is a frequent radio, television and print media contributor on the topics of business and entrepreneurship, having appeared on Fox News, MSNBC, Fox Business, WGN TV Chicago and more. She is also signed to LA-based t.v. production company Snackaholic who is currently developing a television show around Carol’s life as a business expert and personality.

Carol Unsolicited Business Advice blog at CarolRoth.com was recently named as one of the Top 10 small business blogs online and Carol is a contributor to a number of other business blogs.

Carol graduated Magna Cum Laude from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

*courtesy of book website and/or Amazon

You can purchase a copy of ‘The Entrepreneur Equation’ at Amazon.

Case Study: How to Passionately Promote Your Product AND a Cause You Love

by

Double the Score

cooltext443809602_strategy

If you’ve been where I’ve been in the last year, you’ve probably seen more than a little of my friend Carol Roth. We were introduced by our mutual friend, Barry Moltz, early in 2010. Carol became my client when her book, The Entrepreneur Equation, was still a manuscript. By the time the client work was delivered, our relationship had evolved into collaboration. You may have seen us together on speaking engagements with Terry Starbucker, my business partner on SOBCon. I also had the pleasure of being part of the shoot for the pilot to Carol’s soon-to-be tv show. You can be there’s still more to come.

This proximity has meant is that I’ve been able see the planning, passion, hard work, and love that has brought that book into being — when the book wasn’t the only goal, when the opportunities and obstacles provided a wealth of distraction, and when the time to do everything was the same given to any regular human being. Yet inside that real-life path, Carol has brought her best game and today she pre-launches that book in a way that is worthy of examining for how it reaches out to do well by doing good.

How to Passionately Promote Your Product AND a Cause You Love

Some folks write books to promote their ideas, to gain authority. Some folks write them to propel their speaking and consulting business. Carol wrote this book because she passionately believes that it’s information that every entrepreneur needs to read before he or she sets out to start a business.

And with that same passion she’s gathered the ingredients and the steam to promote her book, The Entrepreneur Equation, and her favorite cause, SCORE.org simultaneously. What’s she’s doing is a fine case study in how to passionately promote a product and a cause you love …

So here’s my Valentine to her for a job well done and my Valentine to you in the form six steps that might inspire your own product launch.

  1. Build a powerful network of relationships before you need it. A leader reaches out to people who’ve been where she’s going and learns from them. She values their generosity and nurtures relationships. Carol’s been doing that since long before I knew her. That’s how she’s won the esteem of people like Alexis Neely, Les McKeown, Dave Taylor, Michael Port, Terry Starbucker, me and many more.
  2. Have a quest that resonates. Carol is on a quest to help as many entrepreneurs as possible to succeed and to provide them the tools they need to do that just. She doubled-down on her quest by partnering with SCORE.org — America’s premier nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and helping small business succeed nationwide. By matching each book sold with books given to SCORE, the goal is that the 13,000 mentors to America’s small businesses will have this tool to share with millions of entrepreneurs.
  3. Make your message clear. Her message is clean and clear advice for entrepreneurs– sunshine and puppies cost extra — it’s not could you be an entrepreneur but should you be an entrepreneur. Let’s make sure that small businesses succeed.
  4. Do all you can to make it easy to share. Carol’s built a micro-site, shared books, built several offers, tagged her signatures as any author might. She’s also sent emails to those special folks in her network who’ve opted in to the quest and that email is filled with samples ideas of quick ways they might pass on the news about what she’s doing.
  5. Make it satisfying to participate.
    Carol is giving away lots of cool stuff just for accepting the invitation to score for Score — an exclusive 3-part Audio Series and generous offers by entrepreneurs who are on the same quest, including a strategy session with me.
  6. Clear delivery on your promise. I’ve read the book. I know it delivers. I’ve also worked with the author and she just can’t do anything less than wonderful work. The book is packed with tools and advice to make sure that your head and your heart are both up to what it takes to ride the rollercoaster of enterpreneurship and win the race. Wouldn’t you rather know that before you invest the resources and time of your life?

Will this book launch be a success? How could it not? It’s easy, fun, and satisfying to help; it has plenty of payoff for those who do; and it promotes a meaningful cause close to all of us — helping our friends and ourselves get this country back to work — to help SCORE meet their goal of growing 1 million successful new businesses by 2017.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Passion, Love, and Promotion aren’t mutually exclusive.

It’s about having your heart inside your head and doing well to do good.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Successful-Blog is a proud affiliate of

third-tribe-marketing

Have the BIG Idea for the Next Twitter? What’s that Worth?

by

A Guest Post by Carol Roth

cooltext443809602_strategy

What if you had the BIG IDEA that trumps Twitter — the one that could get everyone to leave the Fail Whale for your newly imagined super-site? Or maybe your idea is for the next VitaminWater or Under Armour – what would that be worth?

You may know someone who came up with a great idea, or maybe you came up with one yourself – an idea that someone else pursued and made major money from. If you could just find a way to get paid for thinking of the next big business idea, you would be set for life. .

The problem is, you can’t.

The biggest bummer about business is that the ideas behind them aren’t worth anything. As Chris Brogan says, “I could totally do that doesn’t mean anything if you don’t.”

A penny for your thoughts … if you’re lucky

Nobody whose head is screwed on straight will buy a business idea from you (or anyone else) because any value related to a business idea is in its implementation. Maybe if you give someone a business idea they will one day send you a coupon for a free product, but that is about it.

The further something gets away from an idea, the more value that exists. Things like

  • customers
  • profits
  • innovative technology
  • competitive barriers to entry

create value.

The reality of the lack of value in business ideas is a shock and a disappointment to many people who want to get compensated for thinking of “the next big thing.”

Sure, the idea kicks off setting the business in motion, but coming up with an idea is a one-time thing that isn’t particularly difficult, doesn’t require much risk and doesn’t take a lot of work. Even if you laid in your bed fine-tuning the idea every night before you went to sleep for six months, this work pales in comparison to the amount of work required to get the business started and to make it successful. The more action you take and the greater the results that you achieve from that action, the more value you will create.

That BIG Idea for the next Twitter, Vitamin Water or Under Armour really isn’t worth anything at all.

All of the other facets of starting and running the business, of which there are many, are quite difficult to do. They require a lot of risk to do and to do well. They aren’t done once, but have to be attended to on pretty much a daily basis. They take a lot of hard work. So, in looking at this whole thing we call a business, would you place a lot of value on a one-time idea that took no risk to produce, or on the other myriad tasks that have to be done indefinitely, day-in and day-out, that take a ton of risk and hard work?

Bottom line: It’s not the idea; it’s the execution over time that counts.

Are you ready to put the work into that BIG Idea of yours?

—–
Carol Roth writes Unsolicited Business Advice (TM) or aspiring entrepreneurs, solopreneurs and other small business owners, at CarolRoth.com You can find her on Twitter as @CaroJSRoth

Thanks, Carol. Ideas are everywhere. Execution is not.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Buy the ebook. Learn the art of online conversation.

Register Now!! for sobcon-vmc