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SmallBizLady’s Summer Reading List 2012

By on July 2, 2012 in Business Inspiration, How to Start, My Recommendations

Summer Reading 2012 225x300 SmallBizLadys Summer Reading List 2012

For those of you who follow this blog, you know that I love reading books about running a business. To be successful in business, you must be a lifelong learner. Reading is a great way to sharpen your personal skills to run your business better. If you’re counting down to your summer vacation, (even if you’re staying on Porchville) I wanted to provide you with some suggestions for reading material. These books could make all the difference in your business in the last half of this year. Here are my 12 picks for SmallBizLady’s Summer Reading List 2012.

Go Mobile; Location-Based Marketing, Apps, Mobile Optimized Ad Campaigns, 2D Codes and other Mobile Strategies by Jeanne Hopkins and Jamie Turner (J. Wiley & Sons 2012) Not having a mobile strategy these days is like not having a website years ago. Everyone needs to become more familiar with mobile marketing as a competitive advantage in their small business. Jeanne Hopkins and Jamie Turner provide all the tools to understand and leverage mobile marketing–the future of commerce. Even if you only read Chapter 21, this book will change your business.

Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt (Thomas Nelson 2012) This is a great book for small business owners who have started to use social media and are not yet seeing results. Michael Hyatt teaches you how to build a platform to sell anything using content, social media and traditional media outlets. Hyatt breaks down all the easy-to-replicate formulas. What I like best about this book is that he explains how it worked in his business and how you can do it, too.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Social Media Marketing, 2nd Edition by Jennifer Abernethy (Alpha 2012) Social media marketing is no longer an option for small business owners–it’s a must. Jennifer Abernethy does a great job laying out how to get started on all of the social media networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+ and Pinterest and more.) If you’ve been wondering how to get started with social media marketing this is a great starting place.

Small Town Rules; How Big Brands and Small Businesses Can Prosper in a Connected Economy by Barry J. Moltz and Becky McCray (Pearson Education Inc. 2012) Technology has changed the nature of business. Now your only competitive advantages are your personal relationships in local communities and the reputation you earn with real customers.  This book explains how to leverage being a small business in a small town to win big business and compete strong. All businesses can learn by watching how business gets done in America’s small towns.

Click Millionaires: Work Less, Live More with an Internet Business You Love by Scott Fox (AMACOM 2012) I like this book because it is helpful guide for start-up entrepreneurs who want to create a solid business on the internet. Scott Fox focuses on how to take full advantage of the best opportunities and tools for building a personally and financially rewarding online business.

Export NOW: Five Keys To Entering New Markets by Frank Lavin & Peter Cohan (J. Wiley & Sons 2011) The world is flat. American companies must go global or perish. While the strategy is clear, often the tactics are not. This book fixes that problem. Frank Lavin and Peter Cohan offer a succinct guide for small businesses to tap into the purchasing power of global consumers. If you need a plan to go global, this book is what you need.

For Better or Work: A Survival Guide for Entrepreneurs and Their Families by Meg Cadoux Hirshberg (An Inc. Original 2012) This is a good book for all entrepreneurs to read so that you can have some perspective on what your families go through as you build your empire. I believe it will save many small business owners from becoming divorced, by heeding the lessons from what life in a startup looks like, to the sometime painful process of session planning.

By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop by Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson (Penguin 2012) This is a great tell-all book about how Gilt.com was started and grew to a billion dollar valuation in just four years. This intriguing book not only gives a bird’s-eye-view into the world of online selling, membership sites and the fashion industry, but it is also an inspirational tale about two friends who turned their passion for hitting sample sales into a business that made their dreams come true. You will enjoy this book.

The Seven Pearls of Financial Wisdom; A Woman’s Guide to Enjoying Wealth and Power by Carol Pepper and Camilla Webster (St. Martin’s Press 2012) If you want to start a business, the money to launch your dream will come from your right or left pocket. Camilla Webster and Carol Pepper offer an impressively comprehensive guide that tells you how to make, grow and protect your money so that you can have options at every stage of life to launch a small business. This is a guide to complete financial freedom.

Own Your Niche: Hype-Free Internet Marketing Tactics to Establish Authority in Your Field and Promote Your Service-Based Business by Stephanie Chandler (Authority Publishing 2012) What I like best about this book is that is straight-forward, practical advice on internet marketing. Author Stephanie Chandler cuts through a lot of the internet hype. This book is full of actionable step-by-step advice to become the guru in your industry. Own Your Niche is exactly what you need if you are trying to figure out your niche focus for your small business.

Spark & Hustle; Launch and Grow Your Small Business Now by Tory Johnson (Penguin 2012) If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, you’d do well to read this book. What I like best about Tory Johnson’s book, is how she helps readers explore their motivations to profit from their passion. I strongly believe in making sure your passion has a profit center, and her tactics are helpful for creating a plan for business success.

How They Started; How 25 Good Ideas Became Great Companies by Carol Tice and David Lester (Crimson Publishing Ltd. 2012) Success leaves clues everywhere! This book tells the amazing stories of how 25 companies have become global powerhouses. Prepare to be inspired. Carol Tice and David Lester have gathered the inside scoop on the launches and growth patterns of companies including Twitter, Spanx, Gatorade, eBay, Dropbox and Groupon.

DISCLOSURE: I am an affiliate at Amazon.com and I may make a modest commission if you purchase the books through the links above.

Do you have any other books worth reading this summer?

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is America’s #1 small business experts. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. She writes a weekly column on social media for The New York Times. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also the bestselling author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.

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Tips for Becoming a Franchise Owner – #SmallBizChat QA

By on December 15, 2011 in Q & A Interviews, SmallBizChat

Smallbizchats 300x132 Tips for Becoming a Franchise Owner #SmallBizChat QAEvery week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with Joel Libava @franchiseking. Joel has been involved in some facet of the franchise business for 20 years. His focus for the last 11 years has been on franchise buyers. He provides straightforward advice on how to buy and research franchises. He’s the author of Become a Franchise Owner! The Start-Up Guide to Lowering Risk, Making Money, and Owning What You Do” (J. Wiley and Sons, 2011) http://www.becomeafranchiseowner.biz

Smallbizlady: How did you get nickname “The Franchise King®”?

Joel Libava: I attended a large business function at a local chamber of commerce here in Cleveland, and as I entered the expo hall, Tom Sudow, the executive director of the chamber at the time yelled out, “Hey! It’s The Franchise King!

The name kind of stuck. It’s funny; most people think that it’s an “ego” thing. But, it’s not. It’s just turned out to be a nice fit for my personality. As a matter of fact, it fit so well, my friend (and really smart internet marketer), Jim Kukral hammered on me relentlessly to get a business attorney to help me trademark the name.  So I did. It’s official. I’m only person in the US that’s allowed to call themselves The Franchise King®.

Smallbizlady: How did you get into the franchise business?

Joel Libava: Well, I actually came from the franchise business. I was in automobile franchise management, and got downsized, from a job in 2000. My late father, Jerry Libava, was a franchise consultant at the time, and gently (not at all) encouraged me to join his firm. After about 2 months or so, I did.

Smallbizlady: Why did you decide to join your dad in business?

Joel Libava: People that go into business are either to, “moving away” from something unpleasant, or are, “moving towards” something that has the potential to be pleasant- like being their own bosses.  I was in enough pain to try something else. My dad thought that I’d be a real good fit for his business. I would be a consultant–a franchise broker. I would hold seminars-(public speaking has always been one of my strongest skills) and I’d do sales and marketing, too. And matchmaking, of course.

Smallbizlady: Your father’s business was a franchise. How did you like being a franchisee?

Joel Libava: I didn’t. I don’t mind working with others, as long as they’re ethical, unselfish, and genuine. I’m very picky about who become strategic partners with. It’s the rules that I have issues with, especially if they’re stupid and meaningless. I just want to cut to the chase and do some business!

I was a lousy franchisee; that’s one of the reasons why I’m a super-valuable resource for people that are considering franchise ownership. I know how to spot good potential franchisees, and I know how to spot bad ones.

Smallbizlady: What are some of the common misconceptions about the franchise industry?

Joel Libava: Here’s the deal; there’s no such thing as a turnkey business. Some folks in the franchise industry still seems to use that term to sell franchises to unsuspecting prospective franchisees. It’s wrong. People have this totally unrealistic sense that all they have to do is plunk down $100,000-$200,000 attend a few days of training, and they’re in business. And of course their business (from day one) will have hundreds- if not thousands of eager customers opening up their wallets to them, which will lead them right to millionaire’s row…in a flash.

Buying a franchise is risky. The franchise business model isn’t bad—as a matter of fact, it’s the best business model ever developed. It’s just not for everyone, and it’s not easy to be successful. The hours are crazy, it takes a while to actually bring in income, and there’s a ton of pressure.

Smallbizlady: I have heard that many franchises offer financing, how common is that?  How much money do you need to be prepared to invest if you are looking for financing for your franchise?

Some franchisors provide franchise funding, but mostly it’s in the form of financing a portion of the franchise fee, which averages around $30k. If youre going to invest in a franchise, you should have a $300k net worth and the ability to write a check for $40,000-$50,000 of your own money. Plan on applying for a small business loan for the balance of your total investment @SBAGov.

Smallbizlady: You sound a bit negative on franchising, Are you? 

Joel Libava: “Some” people say that. Interestingly enough, I’ve been getting more and more people emailing me and calling me to tell me that they love my style. They LOVE my honesty. They feel that I can be trusted.

I don’t care what others in the franchise industry think of me. I only care what the folks that are about to buy into The American Dream think of my work. I’m talking to them, and I’m trying to protect them. At the same time, I’m trying to teach them how to properly choose and carefully research franchises, so that if they do say yes when the franchise development representative asks them to sign their 30-page franchise contract, they can do so and not lose a minute of sleep.

Smallbizlady: How do you work with prospective franchisees?

Joel Libava: I provide very personalized franchise consulting services. I work with people who are just starting their search for a franchise. I also work with people that are just about ready to sign a franchise contract, but want to make sure that they aren’t missing anything. And…lately, I’ve been getting calls from people that are thinking of becoming franchise brokers.

I’ve written well over 1,000 articles about franchising on my own blog-The Franchise King Blog. I’m also a regular contributor at Small Business Trends, Open Forum by American Express, and I’m the exclusive franchise blogger over at SBA.gov, The US Small Business Administration’s website. So, if people want to learn about franchising from A-Z, I’ve been providing factual content online for over 7 years now.

I’ve also produced lots of franchise videos, and recently, have done several for Franchise Direct, a company that has several very popular franchise directories. So, if people like “watching,” and learn better like that, I’ve been providing video content since 2007.

I just published my first book, “Become a Franchise Owner! The Start-Up Guide to Lowering Risk, Making Money, and Owning What You Do” (J. Wiley and Sons, 2011) The website for the book ishttp://www.becomeafranchiseowner.biz and there’s a blog there with lots of how to’s for people interested in becoming franchise owners.

Smallbizlady: What do you think of franchise brokers?

Joel Libava: Well, since I was one for almost 10 years….I think there’s value in using one. Like in any sales-related business, there are good ones and lousy ones. Working with a quality franchise broker can be a good thing. It depends. Ask them lots of questions before signing on. While their services are free, (brokers get paid very generous commissions) they’re really not going to help you find a franchise that they don’t work with, so your choices may be limited.

If you’re going to work with a broker, get some names…names of people who worked with the broker, and call them.

Smallbizlady: What’s the hottest franchise now?

Joel Libava: Senior Care franchises are still hot. Lots of people look into them, and for good reason; demographics. The graying of America. Here’s a tip for anyone considering becoming the owner of a Senior Care franchise -You need to be a real strong salesperson. (Or have the money to hire one.) It’s a sales and marketing business. Seniors and their families aren’t really coming to you. You have to find them-which will require you to build up a referral network. You’ll need to sell yourself, and your services. And, it’s a crowded sector. (But a good one!)

Smallbizlady: Where should people look for great franchises?

Joel Libava: After they figure out what they should be looking for– they can start by going to a few of the better franchise websites. Franchise Direct, already. http://www.franchisedirect.com is one. Here’s a link to 9 more;  http://thefranchiseking.com/the-top-10-franchise-opportunity-websites

Smallbizlady: What does the future hold in franchising?

Joel Libava: Like other industries, micro-niches are going to start forming. Very specialized food offerings will start to become popular. Senior care franchises will start expanding by offering other services that all seniors can use…household cleaning, landscaping services, errand running, things like that.

There will be more transparency. More numbers will start to be revealed by the franchisors. More earning statements will become available for franchise buyers to analyze. That is a good thing.

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. Here’s how to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.

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How to Run a Successful Online Business – Q&A with Neil Rader

By on June 9, 2011 in Q & A Interview, Q & A Interviews, SmallBizChat

small biz chat ME e1303285128406 300x158 How to Run a Successful Online Business Q&A with Neil RaderEach week as Smallbizlady, I conduct interviews with small business experts on my weekly Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. This is excerpted from my #SmallBizChat interview with Neil Rader @TrophyCentral has two full-time jobs. He is VP & General Manager for Small/Medium Business, Pitney Bowes. He is also President and Founder of TrophyCentral.com, an industry-leading Internet provider of recognition awards and personalized gifts. http://www.trophycentral.com

SmallBizlady: What does it take to run a successful online business?

The foundation is much the same as a brick and mortar business — a solid plan, good offering, outstanding customer service, hard work and a bit of luck.

It also takes patience —  this is true with an actual store, but more so when you go online.  Too many new business owners are surprised when customers aren’t reaching their websites right away.  They make a big investment to get up and running, but that’s only half the battle.  Spending money on attracting customers is critical to most businesses.  This needs to be part of your business plan and budget.

In the storefront world, customers can’t help to find you.  There may not be as many customers as you want, but at least you are in their path.  In the online world it is possible, even likely, that a customer will not find you.  It takes effort to build an effective, highly trafficked online channel.

SmallBizlady: What kind of features did you need to have on your website to be successful selling online?

Many people have different opinions on this, and clearly it depends on the type of business you have.  Three features I have found to be extremely important are:  a quality Product Search, easy shopping cart, and product reviews.  Over the years we have tried many features, but found these are the ones that most impact conversions — the number of people who buy as a percent of unique visitors.

If you have lots of products, a good internal search engine is critical.  Think about the last time you were on Amazon.com.  Chances are you didn’t use the side navigation, but went right for the keyword search.  Most customers do the same and you need to ensure you help customers find what they are looking for in an efficient manner.

The shopping cart is also an important part of the sales funnel.  Customers are often skeptical and may look for an excuse to leave — don’t give it to them.  Keep the experience as simple as possible.  Make sure the cart is professional looking and has credibility.

Product reviews are often overlooked, but also add to a site’s credibility — not only because customers want to know about a products, they want to know others have purchased in the past!

Also important is that the site looks professional.  While not everyone can do this, we found that adding a phone # also helps conversion.  Other nice to haves include coupons and a rewards program — but these can be added later.

SmallBizlady: How long to do you typically get to impress a potential customer online?

While customers are typically different and have different requirements, you are normally dealing in seconds.  Just like the impression someone leaves you with a handshake or “hello”, much is the same with your website.  Your site needs to look professional and credible.

Using simple tracking from Google Analytics or other free products, you can track your various web pages to see how long a given customer stays.  Count to “1” — chances are that’s all you have for that first impression!

SmallBizlady: How did you build your marketing mailing list through your website?

The easiest way is by putting a form on your website asking customers if they want to join your mailing list.  Most of the better email marketing programs, such as pbSmart Connections, have a feature for adding a form on your website.  You simply decide what you information you want to gather on the form (ex. email address, name, interests, etc.).  Important — keep it simple!  You want to encourage people to sign-up for your contact list.  Just as with surveys, people are short of time and patience — make it easy for them!  You can always ask for additional information later.

A second way is to have an opt-in form when customers purchase a product from you. Somewhere after they, ask them if they want to join your mailing list.  Offering them a discount on a future purchase is a great way to encourage “opt-ins”.

If you also have a physical store, or market in a confined area, QR codes are a great new way to collect emails, contacts and new customers, especially if you also market to a specific location or through a store.  This is a long topic, but an exciting one.  Perhaps Melinda can schedule a future show devoted just to this topic.

SmallBizlady: How important has email marketing been to the success of your business?

Email is critical, but it must be used correctly.  Simply sending email blasts can quickly close doors for you and cause you to lose customers.  Think about how you like to be communicated to as a consumer.

Good uses of email:  send a confirmation note when an order is received, another when it is shipped, and a third to ask your customers to rate / review the order.  You might not think of this as marketing, but it is — putting your company name and brand in front of customers in a discrete way is a great way to make your company more memorable.  Consider having a memorable logo to aid your customers in remembering your company.

Also consider sending reminders for future orders or services, related product emails and emails for the holidays — just don’t go overboard!

SmallBizlady: How have you used direct mail in your business? What systems do you use to conduct a direct mail campaign?

Yes. Most of our direct mail campaigns are focused on attracting new customers vs. communicating with existing ones.  This is because direct mail is proven to be effective and there are not many alternatives — while email is important, finding new customers with email has proven difficult.  That said, running a multi-channel campaign is one of the most effective ways to connect with customers the way they want.  Think about sending a direct mail campaign with a theme, and then follow with an email campaign with the same theme.

SmallBizlady: Do you use auto responders and can you explain how to create an auto responder that converts into sales?

Yes, all the time.  An autoresponder typically sends an email based on a date (ex. sends an email on a birthday) or an event (when someone signs up for your contact list).  But with more sophisticated tools, they can also be used to send emails several days after an event (ex. 8 days after an order ships).  Use more sophisticated workflows that send notes based on actions your customers make or don’t make — for example, if they open an email but don’t click through to the website.  This is important as it enables you to segment your customers.  Rather than having one list, you can use auto responders to split lists into different segments, as an example, those who don’t open your emails, those who do open and don’t purchase, those who open and have purchased in the last 30 days, etc.

Remember, customers don’t want to be constantly marketed to, so be smart and think through your strategy ahead of time!

SmallBizlady: How important is SEO to a successful online business and have you  used any paid ads online?

SEO is one of the most important focus items you have in a small online business.  Paid ads are good for generating traffic and depending upon your product or service can be effective, but also very costly.  SEO may be costly upfront, but being in the top search spots on Google, Yahoo and Bing can brings you significant traffic at a fraction of the cost of pay-per-click.  You can have the best looking site on the web, but if no one can find it, who cares?

I like pay-per-click in several places – for long-tail terms, with a very controlled budget or if I want to jump-start a particular product.  It also can help you generate a steady stream of sales which may not be profitable, but can help you build a base of customers to establish credibility.

SmallBizlady: What kinds of things do you do to court repeat business?

As mentioned earlier, having a well thought-out email and direct mail strategy is essential.  How many times have you had a good online transaction, but forgot the name of the merchant?  It has happened to me on many occasions.  Two that I remember are a purchase I made for a laptop battery and one for vitamins.  When I went to reorder, I blanked out on the name.  This is why sending customers a constant, but limited set of mails with your name/brand is important.  A direct mail campaign is also very useful here — a coupon make go right into a special drawer your customer has or and on their desk or fridge.

I have to mention that there is no substitute for quality customer service.  Here, online businesses and brick and mortar are similar.  Also, try to personalize the experience as much as possible.  Think about why you shop with certain small businesses — don’t you like it when they welcome you by name?

SmallBizlady: Now you started an online business in 1999.  How did you mange this while working full-time?

In the early years it was difficult working two jobs, but it was also fun – running your own business can be very rewarding as can being your own boss.   Early on, most of my time was spent on things that I could do during the evening or weekends — opening a bank account, building the website, so it was not problematic.  My wife was able to work part-time in the business as well, so I was lucky.

Most people take the plunge into a new business by giving up their job.  I would advise against this.  It takes quite a bit of time to generate traffic, revenue and profit in the online world.  Too many businesses fail early because they can’t go that long without cash.  There is nothing wrong with keeping a part-time job or even a full-time one if you are willing to work nights and weekends.  That’s one of the luxuries of having an online business.

As the business grew, I hired a strong staff.  As with any business, this is critical.  Over the years I thought about leaving my full time job, but having income allowed me to take risks with the online business that I would not normally have taken (like trying TV Commercials) which enabled me to grow it more.  The knowledge I learned from running an online business was used in my full-time job as well — another added benefit!

SmallBizlady: I know that Pitney Bowes wants more small business owners to utilize integrated customer communications.  Tell us about the Customer Communications Makeover contest going on right now.

Small businesses looking to grow need to reach their customers and prospects in the most effective way.   Email may be preferred by one customer, Facebook by another and a third may prefer a direct mail piece they can hold in their hand and pass around. At another time, those same customers may prefer something different depending on circumstances. While the need is there, many small business owners don’t understand how these channels work or understand how to effectively implement them.  A recent survey by Pitney Bowes found the majority of small business owners would focus on integrating a variety of marketing channels if they had the tools.

Pitney Bowes just launched a national contest to help small businesses improve customer communications to better position themselves for growth. Five Grand Prize winners will receive a customer communications plan makeover, valued at $10,000. The Grand Prize winners will receive a full-day consultation and planning session with renowned small business experts — including you Melinda!  They will take a thorough look at each grand prize winner’s existing communications and provide custom coaching to develop a program that suits their unique needs.

To enter you must submit a photo of yourself in your workplace and either an essay of up to 300 words or a 60-second video, in each case explaining why the business is the best candidate for the Small Business Makeover. Entries must be received by July 19.  Go to www.pbsmartessentials.com/makeover.

SmallBizlady: Pitney Bowes has recently launched a small business website. Can you tell us the URL and the goal for the small business website?

Pitney Bowes recently launched the pbSmartâ„¢ Essentials website to help small businesses.  It’s an easy-to-access online resource that provides useful knowledge and tools to create opportunities to achieve their business goals by connecting with customers.  There are tools that can help expand a customer base, streamline processes and grow businesses using those integrated communications tools we’ve discussed. Any small business will find something there for them. The url is www.pbsmartessentials.com

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter.  Here’s a link for how to participate in #Smallbizchat http://bit.ly/S797e

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure.  As CEO of MFE Consulting LLC, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine recently named her one of the Top 20 women for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also the author of the national bestseller Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. (Adams Media 2010)

 

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