Cool Book Of The Day

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Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Every month more than 200,000 women launch new ventures — that’s more than 2.5 million women a year. The audience for Birthing the Elephant is growing and evergreen. It ranges from experienced female corporate executives facing job insecurity, layoffs or outsourcing to baby boomers who are entering the small business arena for the first time, either by choice or necessity, to mothers seeking more control over their work and family lives.

Q: What is the book about?
A: Part portable success coach, part step-by-step guide through a small-business launch, Birthing the Elephant is the ‘what to expect when you’re expecting’ for aspiring women entrepreneurs. It offers them a practical road map to the rocky emotional terrain they’ll face during the critical first 22 months of their start-up, showing them smart moves to make and pitfalls to avoid. Packed with frontline advice from cosmetics company founder Bobbi Brown, maternity-wear pioneer Liz Lange, and more than 25 other entrepreneurs and experts, Birthing the Elephant also offers checklists, action steps, and a helpful resource guide.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: I am an entrepreneur, marketing consultant, and expert on start-up strategies for women. In addition to Birthing the Elephant, I am the author of How to Succeed on Your Own and 3 other how-to guides. I served as spokesperson for Avon’s Corporation to Cottage program and have been featured as a guest expert on women-owned businesses on ABC TV’s Good Morning America, CNBC, and WCBS, among others. My co-author, Bruce Freeman is nationally known as The Small Business Professor and has run a successful public relations firm for more than 15 years.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: Most women’s start-up guides focus on 3Ms: money, marketing, and management. But there’s a 3rd M that’s at the heart of small-business survival: motivation. That’s where Birthing the Elephant breaks new ground. Only Birthing the Elephant charts the emotional challenges a new women business owner faces after quitting her day job and giving up a paycheck mentality to reshaping her identity and acting like an entrepreneur.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: The biggest obstacle women entrepreneurs face isn’t economic, it’s emotional. It’s winning the small-business mind game. It’s substituting brains for bucks. The advice in Birthing the Elephant can mean the difference between success and failure. It arms women mentally so they can:

• Make the shift from employee to entrepreneur
• Anticipate problems and push past barriers to success
• Renegotiate their relationship to money
• Avoid 10 costly pitfalls

Understanding the predictable patterns and problems that arise during a start-up and how to handle them can help women beat the odds, take control of their financial futures, and deliver on their dreams.

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Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Anyone in sales or ANY relationship-based business, whether you’re an interior designer, franchise owner, manager, etc.

Q: What is the book about?
A: When you introduce a social aspect into your business relationships, it works to bond you with your clients, elevating the relationship to a higher, more intimate level. The book stresses the importance of building solid relationships, then shares how to do that productively. Sharing a meal is a great way to get to know someone and become friendly—people prefer to do business with people they like.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: After hosting more than 3,000 client lunches, I saw my sales increase by more than 2,000%, Because I appreciated the value of lunch done right, I was often booked out for lunch up to three or four weeks in advance. My clients started calling me “The Queen of the Business Lunch.”

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: While there are many books on the topic of building strong business relationships, my book is the first one that shares the importance of breaking bread with clients as a means of building more productive relationships. Plus, my book covers the nuts-and-bolts of how to accomplish one’s lunchtime goals. Everything in the book also applies to breakfasts, dinners and networking events; there are chapters that cover networking events, the job interview business lunch (a growing trend) and do’s and don’ts: from being prepared for casual conversation to whether or not it’s okay to drink alcohol in front of clients.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: It has been sold in TEN languages worldwide. It seems EVERYONE wants to know how to do a business lunch the RIGHT way!

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Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Small Business Owners

Q: What is the book about?
A: As a business coach, after 3,000 live one-on-one sessions, I found many commonalities in the mistakes business owner’s make to limit their success. I spent the last 4 year formulating these lessons into The 51 Fatal Business Errors. Each error contains a detailed description of the error, a real-world example (after all, business owners learn from stories), and the recommended solution. Unlike many theory-filled books, 51 Errors focuses on meaningful action needed to take a business to the “next level.”

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: I have made every one of these errors myself because I too am a businessperson. Every day, I help clients improve their lives and their profitability from the lessons learned and explained in this book.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: Most business books are full of theories. Theories may be great cocktail party banter, but small business owners are action-oriented. They like the theory as much as anyone, but they want more. They want the “then what?” Each of the 51 errors contains an action step so the businessperson can easily but it into action.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: For over twenty-five years, I have seen entrepreneurs, including myself; learn the only way they knew how: from the School of Hard Knocks. Let’s face it, business is not learned in school or at an MBA course. Business is learned by doing, from the School of Hard Knocks. The frustrating part is that the School of Hard Knocks is expensive and slow. Entrepreneurial CEOs have no patience for either. I have written The 51 Fatal Business Errors to help you learn some of the lessons from the School of Hard Knocks the easy way instead of the hard way.

Most business books are like gym memberships, lots of initial enthusiasm and not much meaningful action. These books are great in theory, but useless unless put into practice. We all “know” we need to exercise. I do not want to be another business person selling you on the benefits of a health club membership. Done right, a business book should energize you AND leave you with tangible action items to make your business better. Done wrong, it is nothing more than theoretical generalities that get you “juiced up” but have no real impact on you or your business.

The purpose of this book is to debate whether or not to go to the health club, but what to DO when you walk in the door. I want to move past the temporary excitement of a new idea and into permanent gain created by making meaningful, lasting changes. My goal in this book is to give you specific tools for using “the gym equipment” thereby empowering you to get your business in good shape. I want to energize you about the boundless possibilities of your business while giving you practical action steps to move forward to the next level.

This book is designed to be used as a reference that you can come back to repeatedly as new issues arise in your business that need “toning.” The 51 Fatal Business Errors fall into four categories: Myth-Busters, Improving your personal effectiveness, Using best practices, and Mule-kicks.

As you can probably guess, with a name like Muehlhausen, my nickname as a kid was “Mule”. In my current career as a business coach and writer, I found myself giving clients a few kicks in the butt. Combine the two and you have a Mule-kick. I will give you many Mule-kicks in this book. I don’t give a Mule-kick out of mean-spiritedness, ego, or humor. I will give you a Mule-kick out of compassion, empathy (I have been-there-done that), and desire to see you succeed. To me, watching a CEO fall short of their full potential is far “meaner” than giving them a Mule-kick. A Mule-kick is designed to give you the little nudge you need to change your mode of operation, change your perspective, or simply do that uncomfortable task.

Each individual error is divided into sections highlighting each problem area beginning with a description of the “error,” followed by a real life example and concluding with a concrete solution. All of the stories in this book are real-life examples. Many of the errors contain a bonus. These bonuses are available for free on my website for download. The names and circumstances in the book have been changed for illustration purposes.

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Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Advance to Go is ideal for that young person who has all the potential in the world and needs some inspiration, direction or a little push in the right way. Our most common readers also include property investors, real estate agents and the young at heart!

Q: What is the book about?
A: Little bit Aussie battler, little bit sassy entrepreneur – Kirsty’s story is truly honest, thoughtful, credible and inspiring. From the cover of BRW to Women’s Money magazine, Kirsty is being sought for comment on not only property issues but across a range of relevant and contemporary issues. This is more than a story about a young, successful business woman operating a real estate office in Launceston, Tasmania. “Anything is Possible” is a catch phrase that accurately describes this true story showing how a young girl can pull herself and her family out of a situation that almost destroyed them financially and emotionally. From absolutely nothing to owning over $3 million dollars worth of property in under four years, Kirsty’s story shows how it can be achieved.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: As a mid-teen my parents went from being my idols: having retired in their 30’s, owning successful businesses and being property investors, to divorce and bankruptcy. Advance to Go shows the first chapter in my life including how I went on from this to own my first two businesses at 15 and my own real estate agency at 21. In addition I’ve been honoured as Australia’s Youngest Ever National Young Business Woman.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: This book is my story – warts and all and there’s no other like it. If you enjoy getting to know the real story behind a business success – grab a copy.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: These are some comments from others who’ve read the book:

Success leaves clues. Kirsty really does prove that if you’re good enough, you’re old enough. For an insight into one of Australia’s top young real estate and business minds I highly recommend you read Advance to Go – Collect $1 Million.
John McGrath, CEO McGrath Estate Agents

Kirsty is a rare individual. She has been there, done that, and now written about it. This book would be great for any young person or start up small businessperson who really is after some great insight from a great entrepreneur.
Justin Herald
Managing Director of Major Motivation
Founder of Attitude Inc.
International Entrepreneur of the Year 2004

Kirsty’s success in no accident. Her journey to become one of Australia’s youngest and brightest new business talents is testimony to the theory that the harder you work, the luckier you get.
Emily Ross
Co-author 100 Great Businesses and the Minds Behind Them
Editor, Leadership, BRW Magazine

Kirsty Dunphey represents a tiny minority in Australian business; a female entrepreneur who has made her mark in what is still very much ‘a man’s world’. Her story is an inspiration.
James Kirby, Author of the Business Secrets Series – Gerry Harvey, Richard Pratt, Janine Allis

Kirsty gives some great insights into creating business success and her tips on investing in property are invaluable. I can’t wait to hear what Kirsty does next, I know she will continue to amaze and inspire.
Dr Judith Slocombe, 2001 Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year