7 simple steps to a successful start upSo you’ve thought about starting a business, but how do you get started? We’ve broken it down into 7 simple steps.This book includes all the advice you need, from working out the objectives and vision of your company and defining your USPs, to writing a business plan and developing the sales and marketing strategy. Follow our simple steps and learn everything you need for a successful start up. Before long you’ll be watching your hard work pay off and doing something you love.
Harry Bingham used to be an economist and a banker and thought he understood money. Then, in autumn 2008, the world stood on the edge of calamity and Harry realised that all the things he knew had been proven utterly wrong.So, he decided to go back to first principles, to meet the people who make the money – the entrepreneurs and inventors, the salesmen and financiers. He wanted to find out how the world really worked and what drives the people who make it spin. For the first time he saw that while the economy might be about many things, it is never only about money.We all have strong feelings about money. The magic of its alchemy has catapulted the human race from extreme poverty to our world of ever-expanding riches, but it also brings economic chaos. How many of us can say what is it made really made of and how it works?From billionaire entrepreneurs and Indian shift-workers to small-time manufacturers and conglomerate CEOs, The Root of All Good, is the story of the people who have created our world of extraordinary prosperity and the new capitalism that will recover our future.
In the tradition of No Logo and Fast Food Nation, Buy Buy Baby investigates how today’s consumer economy markets to infants and toddlers.Buy Buy Baby is a powerful expose of how multi-national toy and media corporations use aggressive marketing techniques to snare the ultimate consumer – your baby or toddler.While it’s no secret that toy and media companies manipulate the insecurities of parents to sell them products, Buy Buy Baby reveals how these corporations sponsor and use the latest research in child development to sell directly to the 0-3 age group.Following scientific research in the late 1990s that showed that babies develop and make more significant connections between the ages of 0-3 than at any other point in their lives, an explosion of products aimed specifically at this group came onto the market. Under the guise of having 'educational benefit', we have witnessed the rise of everything from the Teletubbies to Barney, all feeding into the anxiety of parents keen to raise 'smart' kids. More sinisterly however, has been the rise in awareness of this age-group of brands, the top names including Cheerios, Disney, Pop-tarts, McDonalds, Coke and Barbie.As a parent and as a business journalist, author Susan Gregory Thomas, former senior editor at US News & World Report who has written for Time and Glamour amongst others; is uniquely qualified to write on this subject. She reveals the growing evidence that some of the products aimed at young children have little or no 'educational benefit' and that these toys could even impair early development.Moreover she examines the huge negative impact of selling products to such young children and argues that kids are now experiencing the anxiety, hyper-competitiveness and depression usually found in adults and caused by the effects of rampant consumerism.Buy Buy Baby is an important contribution highlighting a burning contemporary issue.
From the authors of the fascinating The Age of Cryptocurrency, comes the definitive work on the Internet’s next big thing: the blockchain.Many of the ‘legacy systems’ once designed to make our lives easier and our economy more efficient are no longer up to the task; big banks have grown more entrenched, privacy exists only until the next hack, and credit card fraud has become a fact of life. However, there is a way past all this―a new kind of operating system with the potential to revolutionise our economy: the blockchain.In The Truth Machine, Michael J. Casey and Paul Vigna demystify the blockchain and explain why it can restore personal control over our data, assets, and identities; grant billions of excluded people access to the global economy; and shift the balance of power to revive society’s faith in itself. They reveal the empowerment possible when self-interested middlemen give way to the transparency of the blockchain, while highlighting the job losses, assertion of special interests, and threat to social cohesion that will accompany this shift. With a balanced perspective, Casey and Vigna show why we all must care about the path that blockchain technology takes―moving humanity forward, not backward.
An expose on the fashion industry written by the Observer's 'Ethical Living' columnist, examining the inhumane and environmentally devastating story behind the clothes we so casually buy and wear.Coming at a time when the global financial crisis and contracting of consumer spending is ushering in a new epoch for the fashion industry, To Die For offers a very plausible vision of how green could really be the new black.Taking particular issue with our current mania for both big-name labels and cheap fashion, To Die For sets an agenda for the urgent changes that can and need to be made by both the industry and the consumer. Far from outlining a future of drab, ethical clothing, Lucy Siegle believes that it is indeed possible to be an 'ethical fashionista', simply by being aware of how and where (and by whom) clothing is manufactured.The global banking crisis has put the consumer at a crossroads: when money is tight should we embrace cheap fast fashion to prop up an already engorged wardrobe, or should we reject this as the ultimate false economy and advocate a return to real fashion, bolstered by the principles of individualism and style pedigree?In this impassioned book, Siegle analyses the global epidemic of unsustainable fashion, taking stock of our economic health and moral accountabilities to expose the pitfalls of fast fashion. Refocusing the debate squarely back on the importance of basic consumer rights, Siegle reveals the truth behind cut price, bulk fashion and the importance of your purchasing decisions, advocating the case for a new sustainable design era where we are assured of value for money: ethically, morally and in real terms.
In a fast-moving world we’re often overloaded with differing opinions, conflicting data and changing advice. In this essential guide, Noreena Hertz offers practical steps to how to make better, smarter decisions.Most of us think we make decisions for the right reasons: we scour books, we talk over options with our friends, we search the internet, we ask experts, we look at data or we trust our guts. But how hard do we scrutinise those we listen to? How much do we interrogate the information they provide? Are we open to new ways of tackling problems? Or are we swayed by how we’ve made decisions in the past?Noreena Hertz reveals the extent to which life-altering, business-affecting, policy-determining, and also health-defining decisions are being made based on partial information, assumed wisdoms, corrupted data and insufficient scrutiny. She provides a clear, practical toolkit for how you can be a smarter decision-maker and better problem-solver. Whether knowing when to trust experts and when to trust the internet or how you can be unconsciously swayed by certain behaviours or phoney stats, this books instructs you how to make better choices and more accurate predictions – through your personal life, your work and all your decisions.
An engaging and incisive look at today's top business leaders – visionary and creative mavericks who are changing the way we do business. Inspiring and accessible, ‘Mavericks at Work’ is for anyone who wants to succeed in business – from the entry-level employee to the CEO.In ‘Mavericks at Work’, two high-profile journalists introduce an inspiring group of entrepreneurs and executives who are building great businesses by challenging business as usual. From break-the-mould innovators such as HBO, Pixar, and Netflix to global giants such as IBM and Procter & Gamble, these mavericks are winning big by devising new answers to the oldest (and toughest) challenges of competition and leadership. Their stories are exciting – and their ideas are truly powerful.Real mavericks know that:• Big, original ideas pay big dividends• Being different makes all the difference• Nobody is as smart as everybody• Cheaper is better, but value is priceless• Great leaders are insatiable learners‘Mavericks at Work’ is a relentlessly useful how-to book. But it is also an eye-opening what-if book – with insights that showcase the power of business at its best and set a positive agenda for the future.
Bestselling author Ken Blanchard brings you the tie-in guide to accompany his TrustWorks! training program.Ken Blanchard is famous for his ability to make the seemingly complex simple. In Trust Works! he brings his talent to bear on the complicated and timely issue of trust.The book begins with an allegory – in this case, it’s the story of a dog and a cat with major trust issues. Their fighting, backbiting, and sabotaging soon affects the whole household – including the humans. It quickly becomes clear that unless the ongoing conflicts can be resolved, all of the pets will be without a home. Through the counsel of a wise old parrot, the animals learn the ABCDs of trust, becoming aware of the unconscious behaviours that had been eroding their relationships and begin to change their actions. In the end, the results have a positive effect that reaches far beyond the dog and cats’ relationship. Applying lessons presented in the fable to real life situations, Blanchard explores his ABCD trust model to address issues like poor morale, miscommunication in relationships, poor customer service issues, and dysfunctional leadership.Trust is an evergreen topic but is particularly relevant today, as protests in cities throughout the world underscore a growing distrust of corporations and institutions. Now more than ever, people need trust-building skills and a common language for learning the behaviours that build – or erode – trust.TRUST WORKS! is the first book to create a common, easy-to-learn language for talking about trust in a way that can bring peace and co-operation where once there was dissension.
The essential resource for navigating the growing direct loan market Private Debt: Opportunities in Corporate Direct Lending provides investors with a single, comprehensive resource for understanding this asset class amidst an environment of tremendous growth. Traditionally a niche asset class pre-crisis, corporate direct lending has become an increasingly important allocation for institutional investors—assets managed by Business Development Company structures, which represent 25% of the asset class, have experienced over 600% growth since 2008 to become a $91 billion market. Middle market direct lending has traditionally been relegated to commercial banks, but onerous Dodd-Frank regulation has opened the opportunity for private asset managers to replace banks as corporate lenders; as direct loans have thus far escaped the low rates that decimate yield, this asset class has become an increasingly attractive option for institutional and retail investors. This book dissects direct loans as a class, providing the critical background information needed in order to work effectively with these assets. Understand direct lending as an asset class, and the different types of loans available Examine the opportunities, potential risks, and historical yield Delve into various loan investment vehicles, including the Business Development Company structure Learn how to structure a direct loan portfolio, and where it fits within your total portfolio The rapid rise of direct lending left a knowledge gap surrounding these nontraditional assets, leaving many investors ill-equipped to take full advantage of ever-increasing growth. This book provides a uniquely comprehensive guide to corporate direct lending, acting as both crash course and desk reference to facilitate smart investment decision making.
The Tokens tells the fascinating story of Eric, a skilled craftsman and builder. During the course of his business journey, Eric struggles to take his burgeoning company to the next level. A chance encounter introduces him to Carl, a retired multimillionaire. Carl offers Eric the opportunity to take any material and supplies from his log cabin in exchange for demolishing the building. While working on the cabin, Eric discovers an unexpected and mystifying gift from Carl, a note and a wooden token. As his relationship with Carl evolves, Eric is faced with countless business challenges and growth. Carl becomes a close friend and indispensable mentor offering his wisdom, knowledge, and business tips (tokens). Eric applies these valuable lessons and discovers the importance of the core concepts that created success for the members of Carl's mastermind group. Along the way, Eric also learns to appreciate the insights and advice from his own grandfather. The Tokens is centered on the building and construction industry and each business lesson helps to build a foundation of success that is so vital for sustaining growth and overcoming challenges. Written by successful entrepreneurs and devout instructors of personal and professional development, The Tokens outlines the eleven points for developing and maintaining a successful building or construction business with many of the lessons applicable to any business. The authors explain how to build confidence, become a person of integrity and optimism, create successful relationships, learn to overcome obstacles, and much more. The Tokens is an informative, entertaining, and heartwarming parable that motivates, inspires, and teaches.