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​A [MOSTLY-GRAMMATICALLY-CORRECT]
PUBLICIST'S BLOG


Five Books Every Business Owner Should Ready [Part 2]

8/30/2022

2 Comments

 
By Melissa A Vitale
If you’re a business owner, you should absolutely be reading as often as your rest-work schedule allows. You don’t always have to read what I would call “business books”, but you should always have one of these in your rotation. With all the books I’ve read so far, I find myself thinking differently, often more competitively, than folks with similar professional backgrounds or education to myself.
 
Make sure to check out Part 1 here! 
 
These are five books I highly recommend business owners reading: 
So You Want to Talk About Race

by Ijeoma Oluo;

As business owners, we are leaders in our industry. We set the tone and often must speak up even when things are uncomfortable. Following Summer 2020, absolutely no business owner should be afraid or unwilling to talk about race relations and racial injustice. Almost all white folks are raised racist. You may not want to be racist, and you may be actively unlearning through social media and news sources. But books are 250+ pages of lived experience, of resources, of expertise. Even if you feel confident speaking about race, if you’re a white business owner, you should read this book.

Purchase Options here
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We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman’s Guide To Earning More, Building Wealth, And Gaining Economic Power

by Rachel Rodgers;
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One of my favorite sex educators and BIPOC Entrepreneurs, Taylor Sparks of Organic Loven essentially required me to read this book – she wouldn’t take no for an answer. I’m so glad she did and in turn, I’ve sent this book as far as Amsterdam to a fellow boss babe who felt stuck. Popular yet outdated financial experts encourage folks to scrimp and save to build wealth, which being a conscious spender is one thing. Telling someone to deny themselves certain foods and experiences because they have debt while sitting on a yacht is, well to put it kindly, incredibly out-of-touch. Rachel Rodgers sets a different course. Rodgers argues that rather than yelling at someone that they don’t belong in a restaurant, we should teach marginalized folks how to make more money so they can buy the things they want and save like they should.

Purchase Options here
Anthro-Vision: A New Way to See in Business and Life

By Gillian Tett;
 
One of the smartest people I know recommended this book to me and it changed how I looked at business. Most entrepreneurs sit at the top and look down to a Birdseye view. Anthro-Vision encourages business owners to be anthropologists and look at problems from a worm-eyed view – aka right there in the center of the concern. Former editor of the Financial Times, Gillian Tett encourages curiosity, and preaches that one person won’t always have the exact answer at the top of their head. Especially if you love problem-solving, this book will help you approach issues with a whole new perspective.
 
Purchase Options here
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Hardball for Women: Winning at the Game of Business: Third Edition

by Pat Heim and Tammy Hughes with Susan K. Golant;

As women, we’re often raised differently than men. Unless you’re a sociopath, if you’re a woman, you were nurtured to think of everyone else before yourself, and this is what is holding you back in the boardroom. Hardball for Women lays out the framework to unlearn these niceties for the sake of your business acumen.

Purchase Options Here

Teamwork: How to Build a High-Performance Team

by Natalie Dawson;

If you’re like me and never planned or wanted to be an employer, but the chips landed that way regardless, you need to purchase this book, like yesterday! Teamwork gives business owners a roadmap and tons of resources to build a quality team. Maybe you’re not a good interviewer (guilty) or maybe you don’t know how to pick the best candidate from the bunch (also guilty). Natalie will walk you through these steps. Once you have a hired employee, Teamwork will walk you through and provide the worksheets to onboard them, grow them up and if needed, let them go.

Purchase Options here


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2 Comments

Five Books Every Business Owner Should Read

1/9/2019

1 Comment

 
​By Melissa A Vitale

Opening a business doesn’t come with a definitive how-to guide, and community centers don’t teach courses on “Being the best entrepreneur you can be.” Much of what business owners learn comes from experience, expertise, or reading. Longtime and prospective clients ask me all the time for advice on increasing their visibility on social media, improving their professional presence, and other publicity-related topics. They want to know “What is best for this campaign?” or “How can I present myself better in front of investors?” You could schedule a pricey session with a media consultant to answer these and other questions, or consider buying the five books that I think every business owner needs to read to ensure success.

“Pitch Perfect: How to Say It Right the First Time, Every Time”
By Bill McGowan; Buy it on Amazon.
If you can say something memorable in five words, don’t waste your audience’s time expressing that same thought in 15 or 20 words, thereby risking losing people’s attention. Similarly, sometimes you need to distill a complex thought. If you can’t do that already, I recommend learning this essential skill. In today’s connected world, it’s not enough to have a great business. You need to be able to communicate that effectively every day, and “Pitch Perfect” will help you do it.

“Influencer: Building Your Personal Brand in the Age of Social Media”
By Brittany Hennessy ; Buy it on Amazon.
Before I even finished reading this book, I had already recommended it to more than 10 people, because Brittany knows social media, and she shares her knowledge here. This book is the answer when clients ask me what they can do to attract more attention on social media. This book is targeted to influencers, so some sections may not apply to everyone. But in this day and age, succeeding in business requires having a functional social media presence. You don’t always have to hire an expensive agency; sometimes all you need is a copy of “Influencer.” Brittany’s observations, tips, and expertise will help any business owner.
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“The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage, 5th Edition: The Official Style Guide Used by the Writers and Editors of the World's Most Authoritative News Organization”
By Allan M. Siegal & William Connolly; Buy it on Amazon.
Unless you are a professionally trained editor, I suggest keeping a copy of this on the bookshelf by your desk. After purchasing this indispensable manual, first skim it and note your personal problem areas. Go ahead: Mark it up for later, and keep it handy whenever you’re writing an important brief or email. It’s more consistent and reliable than an online search, and it’s what the professionals use.

“How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships”
By Leil Lowndes; Buy it on Amazon.
Sometimes, I read books to help clients more than myself, so when I picked up this book originally, I thought only its later chapters would be useful because the beginning sections looked more like the classic media training I give my clients. Surprise! I was taking notes from Page 1. Every business owner is constantly on a stage: either performing for customers, employees, the media, or auditioning for investors. Even the biggest wallflower will benefit from the book, cultivating the confidence necessary to take on any social or professional event.

“PeopleSmart: Developing Your Interpersonal Intelligence”
By Melvin Silberman & Freda Hansburg; Buy it on Amazon.
No matter how much every business owner tries to avoid them, situations involving socialization and networking arise, times when not only must you put your best foot forward, you need to be able to accurately read every person with whom you are interacting. Entailing science and research, this book also includes a workbook format to reinforce everything you just read, preventing the knowledge from going in one ear and out the other. PeopleSmart is essential for business owners looking to step up their networking game.

These books will present you with essential tools to face many the challenges that come your way as a business owner or entrepreneur. Enjoy your reading my fellow hustlers. If you've read any of these books, let us know in the comments if you agree with our suggestions! 

If you are a small-business owner looking to explore public relations services, please get in touch with us
today: 
https://www.melissaavitale.com/contact.html​
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