Channels of Profit is a fantastic audio series by Mary Ellen Tribby, expert marketer, on taking your business to the next level. In this series, she teaches you the proven strategies to attract customers with the help of low cost and effective marketing methods for greater profits.

The series comes on 8 CDs plus an 88 page workbook and includes a wealth of marketing topics. The author teaches you the proven techniques to explode your business. With the help and implementation of social media, you can make an impact, establish your own power and attract customers and profit. Learn from her invaluable comments on the power of TV ads, radio advertising and direct mail. Understand how to use your partners, customers and the media to advance your business. To summarize, she gives you a clear message on how to establish your own effective multi-channel campaign that will massively increase your customer base as well as your business’ profit.

Overall, Channels of Profit gives you the wherewithal to take your business to the next level by launching your own, inexpensive, marketing campaigns. Mary Ellen Tribby is an expert in her field and is well worth listening to. Implementing her suggestions and advice will allow you to grow your business into a lucrative venture.

Order: Channels of Profit (12 Easy Ways to Make Millions for Yourself and Your Business)

Where to buy: www.amazon.com

Nobody likes to fail. Just the idea of it makes many people cringe. But failure doesn’t only have to be negative. On the contrary, it can be a great learning opportunity on the way to success. Failure is about risk taking and making mistakes. Only when you learn from your mistakes and try something else can you truly achieve success.

The Power of Failure is a book about using the power of failure to build a successful future. In order to do that, you need to understand how you can put a positive spin on failure. The author, Charles C Manz, PhD, provides lots of food for thought about how to turn your perceived failure into something much more exciting. He provides lots of interesting tips on learning from your mistakes and gives hands-on advice how to overcome the emotional impact of failure. The book is divided into four chapters: Redefining Failure and Success, Winning Through Losing, Coping with Failure and Collaborating with Failure. I like the fact that the book offers real life stories of failure of very successful and influential people. It wasn’t just plain sailing to success for them as well, but they persevered and took the opportunity to turn failure into success.

Overall, if you are struggling coming to terms with failure, this is a book that can put you back on track. It is written in an easy-to-read style. I would certainly recommend it to anybody interested in the subject.

Order: The Power of Failure: 27 Ways to Turn Life’s Setbacks Into Success

Where to buy: www.amazon.com

Thinking of starting your own home-based business and quitting your low-paid job? You might want to start your own business to be at home with your children instead of paying a daycare. But making the final decision to quit a regularly paid job shouldn’t be taken lightly. There are important points you should consider and this book can help you with this.

The book gives good advice and answers questions you might have with regards to health care, retirement fund, the benefits but also the negative aspects of running a business from home. You will also be guided through a self-evaluation of your skills: what you have to offer, what you need to work on to be successful. You learn about advertising and marketing, business plans, licenses, taxes and most importantly how you plan to finance your business. The book gives ideas on where and how to find start-up capital.

In addition to all the advice, you will find 101 business ideas that you can start up with minimal investment. It’s up to you to decide which one is the one you will enjoy spending hours and hours developing and growing it. It has to be something you deeply care about in order for it to be successful. It can be a hobby or even a service you do for others.

Overall, this book will definitely give you lots of food for thought and should help you to decide whether running your own business, and which kind of business, is the right thing for you.

Order: 101 Businesses You Can Start With Less Than One Thousand Dollars: For Stay-at-Home Moms and Dads

Universal Desktop Laminator
Where to buy: www.buyonlinenow.com

Laminators are a low cost way to preserve your important business documents from wet, damp or damage, especially if they are being handled often. The Universal Desktop Laminator is a handy device, which easily and quickly laminates and protects your documents and reports. It is black in color and looks modern and stylish in any office. I also like the idea that it is portable, which makes it easier to take along on business travel or when meeting with clients etc.

It is easy to operate: just insert your document into the lamination pouch and feed into the laminator slot. 3 or 5 mm pouches can be used.

Overall, I think that laminators are a must-have device in any office. Laminated documents or reports due for clients just look more professional. I like the Universal desktop Laminator for its price tag, but also its portability.

Order: Universal® Desktop 9″ Laminator

Where to buy: www.amazon.com

If you are currently in full-time employment or taking time out after the birth of your baby, the thought might have crossed your mind that it is time for a change. Working from home is getting more and more popular with women as they try and juggle a growing family and work. However, if you are thinking of making it on your own and taking the plunge, the’ Alpha WAHM Blueprint’ is a great book to read.

The author, Karri Flatla, runs a very successful Virtual Assistant business and in her book she passes on how to become your own, successful, boss. Her motivational book gives you lots of tips and advice on how to stay on track to create the home business that you dream of. In addition, you can read up on how to incorporate your new image of WAHM (Work At Home Mom) with that of your kids and spouse. The included worksheets are, in my opinion, a great help to monitor your progress and plan your own success story.

Overall, if you are thinking of starting up your own business from home, this book will certainly give you motivation, knowledge and inspiration to create the WAHM lifestyle that you would like, incorporating your new-found career and your family.

Order: Alpha WAHM Blueprint: An Empowerment Guide for Work-at-Home Moms

Where to buy: www.nightingale.com

What is it that all good leaders have in common? Yes, it is credibility and trust. Only when you possess credibility will you be the kind of leader others will look up to. The audio series “Achieving Credibility” by James Kouzes talks about credibility and how to gain it. He also covers topics such as reaching your maximum potential by motivating others to reach theirs, how to build a trusted business with strong morals and values, how to solve conflict sensibly. All throughout the series, you’ll hear about the importance of trust, honesty, hope, sensitivity and diversity. When taken seriously, these words can lead your business to great success.

Overall, if you are interested in achieving credibility either as a boss, a manager, or business partner, this series by James Kouzes will provide you with lots of answers and tips on how to be a credible and successful leader. The series runs on 6 CDs.

Order: Achieving Credibility

Where to buy: www.amazon.com

Unmarketing: Stop Marketing, Start Engaging is a common sense book by viral marketer and twitter specialist, Scott Stratten. In his book, he debunks old traditional marketing techniques, such as cold calling, and instead turns his attention to relationship building with customers online and offline.

Scott Stratten gives lots of case study examples, which help you to understand the context of each chapter (there are over 50 of them). His funny and entertaining style keeps your attention from the first page to the last. Learn about viral marketing, strategies to treat your customers well and turn them into long-term prospects. Social media, such as Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin are covered. The book is filled with lots of great advice and top tips on what works in today’s marketing world and what doesn’t.

Overall, if you are interested in reading up on Scott Stratten’s successful, modern marketing approach of engaging with your customers, Unmarketing would be a great asset to your business library.

Order: UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging.

Where to buy: www.amazon.com

Many people fear accounting – they think it is too difficult and this fear might even prevent them from starting their own business. The Accounting Game is a book that explains the important financial terms and accounting principles to laymen in easy to understand language. It uses the lemonade stands, you might have run yourself as a kid, as an example to give a basic introduction of accounting and financial concepts in an entertaining and fun way.

Learn about assets, liabilities, balance sheets, cash flow, labour, accounts receivable, gross profit, net profit, taxes and whatever else you need to run your own small business. The book doesn’t lecture, but makes the concepts interesting and fun. The book includes charts and worksheets to make you participate and help you to understand certain principles.

Overall, this isn’t a dry book to slog through, but a book that is easy to read and understand so you can apply the learning directly to your own business. I would certainly recommend this to anybody who wants to learn accounting principles, but has been too afraid to do so.

Order: The Accounting Game : Basic Accounting Fresh from the Lemonade Stand

Where to buy: www.amazon.com

The Small Business Accounting Simplified, 5th Edition, is a fantastic reference book on accounting and bookkeeping for small businesses. It is a very popular book that is now in its 5th Edition. It covers everything you need to know about accounting/bookkeeping to run your small business and keep your finances accountable.

I like the fact that the book includes a CD with useful forms, such as latest tax forms etc. In addition, the book guides you through the important parts of accounting. Learn about financial recordkeeping and accounting periods, profit and loss statements and balance sheets. Read up on different types of accounts: income, expense, asset and liability accounts, what they mean and how to deal with them.

You will also find out how to track business expenses, debts, assets, income and payroll. After reading this book you will be familiar with how to prepare a balance sheet and how to analyse financial statements and reports. There is also a very detailed section on taxes, which I am sure that you will find very useful. I really like the included checklists, for example, the weekly recordkeeping tasks checklist or the annual recordkeeping tasks checklist, that remind you of important accounting processes that need to happen.

In my opinion, this book is a great book to have as a small business owner. It is written in an easy to understand language and is jam-packed with information and advice.

Order Small Business Accounting Simplified 5th (Fifth) Edition

Some people have a way with words, other don’t and might struggle to find the right things to say whether on private or business letters. If you are the latter, then you might find the Instant Letter Writing Kit very helpful. The kit includes over 100 professionally written, real-life templates to get you started when you need to write an all important letter. The kit is a fantastic resource and “how-to” guide on letter writing that shows you how to write a specific letter in a professional way. You’ll discover many tips and tricks to help you create the letters you want.

Also included is a bonus eBook “Writing Success Secrets – Practical Tips and Tricks for Everyday Writing” that includes even more information and tips on how to become a letter writing pro.

I would suggest that if you have some problems with creating professionally written letters, the Instant Letter Writing Kit is very useful and helpful. And as a business owner, your customers will judge you by the letters or e-mails they receive, so it is of the utmost importance to come across as professionally as possible.
Order Instant Letter Writing Kit: How To Write Every Kind Of Letter Like A Pro