1. Rework by Jason Fried. I don’t agree with many people’s business philosophies but I love what Jason Fried stands for. As the co-founder and President of 37signals, he knows there’s real value and beauty in the basics.
2. Attention! by Jim Kukral This book has specific actions that all small businesses can take. It includes 26 ways to market your business differently, including holding a grudge and wearing funny hats!
3. Engage! by Brian Solis. He talks about how your personal social media network is becoming a key value in the future of your business.
4. The Referral Engine by John Jantsch. Most of us know how important referrals are for our business, but have no system in place to get them. John shows how to form a strategy that drives customers and partners to market for you.
5. Fascinate by Sally Hogshead. She explores the 7 universal triggers of fascination that increase client loyalty, profits and employee rentention.
6. Defy Gravity by Rebel Brown. This book is a guide to capturing your best opportunities for sustainable and profitable growth.
7. Drive by Dan Pink. After reading this book, you will rethink about how people are truly motivated.
8. UnMarketing by Scott Stratten. This guy just makes a lot of sense. He talks about how to build your business through social media and how people don’t read crappy content.
9. Never Get A Real Job by Scott Gerber. He shows how to build a business on your own dime and how a sense of entitlement is holding back Gen-Yers.
10. The Zen of Social Media Marketing by Shama Kabani. She shows about how to truly use social media and why it comes last!
What were your favorite small business books of 2010?
Your suggestions are all fantastic. Small business owners can truly benefit from reading these titles and putting the lessons to work. They might also gain some insight on service by watching this quick video (http://www.upyourservice.com/video-theater/how-do-you-build-and-sustain-a-superior-service-culture).
Thanks for the comment on the blog post. I appreciate it
Make sure to add Switch- How to Change Things when Change is Hard, by Dan and Chip Heath to your list. This book provides real examples of tough changes and how they managed to accomplish it in a short period of time without many resources. In today’s business climate that is key! Great read that sticks with you! Here is the link: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Switch/Dan-Heath/e/9780385528757/?itm=2&USRI=switch
Drive is definitely a revolutionary read. I really do think that the reason larger businesses stagnate is because people get caught up in the details and fail to see how what they do adds to real success in the market. You have to set up systems within growing companies that help prevent the cog-in-the-wheel mentality that inevitably starts to set in.