RESOURCES
Good Reads
Profit First
by Cindy Thomason
Profit First for Ecommerce Sellers focuses on four critical areas that today's ecommerce sellers struggle with in growing their businesses - managing inventory; relying on debt; understanding their financial data; and maintaining focus. While the ecommerce industry presents incredible opportunities, these four areas can also present major pitfalls in the quest for success. Cyndi Thomason has taken the core concepts of the Profit First methodology, created by Mike Michalowicz, and customized them to address the specific needs of the ecommerce business. Profit First for Ecommerce Sellers addresses each of the four major struggles and provides clear and actionable guidance on how to overcome them, taking the online seller from simply getting by to becoming permanently profitable. This book is for every online seller who dreams of ecommerce prosperity.
Ride the Amazon Wave
by Tom Rabinovich
In Ride the Amazon Wave, Tomer Rabinovich shares critical secrets to selling on Amazon. He lays the foundation with chapters about the Amazon seller’s mindset, the prelaunch process, and product launch. In chapters on Pay Per Click (PPC), Inventory Management, and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Tomer provides vital steps for reaching the next level. He shows you how to go from Amazon seller to business owner, offers strategies for selling your business, and shows you how to leverage what you’ve created to follow your dreams.
Tomer’s straightforward approach is built on his own experience, from quitting his job to becoming a top Amazon seller and consultant.
Never Split the Difference
by Chris Voss
Negotiations don’t just take place in hostage and crisis situations. Voss argues that they occur everywhere, constantly. At its core, negotiation is nothing more than communication with results. To get what you want out of life, you need to get what you want from others. In Never Split the Difference, Voss aims to teach you how to take control of the conversations that will influence your life and career.
Zero to One
by Peter Thiel
Thiel presents his rules for contrarian thinking and startups. Doing what we already know how to do takes the world from 1 to n, adding more of something familiar. But every time we create something new, we go from 0 to 1.
The paradox of teaching entrepreneurship is that such a formula necessarily cannot exist; because every innovation is new and unique, no authority can prescribe in concrete terms how to be innovative.
Indeed, the single most powerful pattern I have noticed is that successful people find value in unexpected places, and they do this by thinking about business from first principles instead of formulas.
I consider this one of the most important books for startup founders, and while it might be a bit less actionable than something like the Lean Startup, it provides some deeper questions, principles, and methods of thinking about the business that will last much longer.
It’s one of those books that you will continually come back to for reference when you have questions during your journey as an entrepreneur.
Virtual Freedom
by Chris Ducker
Entrepreneurs often suffer from "superhero syndrome"―the misconception that to be successful, they must do everything themselves. Not only are they the boss, but also the salesperson, HR manager, copywriter, operations manager, online marketing guru, and so much more. It’s no wonder why so many people give up the dream of starting a business―it’s just too much for one person to handle.
But outsourcing expert and "Virtual CEO," Chris Ducker knows how you can get the help you need with resources you can afford. Small business owners, consultants, and online entrepreneurs don’t have to go it alone when they discover the power of building teams of virtual employees to help run, support, and grow their businesses.
Focusing on business growth, Ducker explains every detail you need to grasp, from figuring out which jobs you should outsource to finding, hiring, training, motivating, and managing virtual assistants. With additional tactics and online resources, Virtual Freedom is the ultimate resource of the knowledge and tools necessary for building your dream business with the help of virtual staff.
Traction
by Gino Wickman
In Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business, Gino Wickman states that having the right people in the right seats is essential to growing a great organization. These individuals should embody your core values, fit into the culture, and excel in positions to be effective and valuable for the company.Gino Wickman helps entrepreneurs implement the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) to gain traction and grow their companies. Without EOS, many entrepreneurs experience at least one of these frustrations:
1. Lack of Control: You are not in control of your business, as it’s in control of you.
2. People: You are frustrated with your people.
3. Profit: You are not making enough money.
4. The Ceiling: You are stuck and grow past the ceiling.
5. Nothing’s Working: You have tried everything but fail to gain traction.