Book Description

Praise For On Target

"A retailing dynasty, spanning a century and four generations, and still a hot-shot winner: that makes fascinating reading. Throw in legendary names, bare-knuckle business battles, and the discount wars, and you have a textbook that reads like a novel. On Target is a winner itself."
–—Stuart Varney, Contributor, FOX News Network

"An enlightening look at the history and culture of the Target Corporation, with compelling management lessons for all retailers."
–—Kevin Kelleher, Chief Financial Officer, Sony Music Entertainment

"On Target is the perfect book to read for inspiration on how to connect with the American consumer. It is an insightful study of a successful corporation and what made it that way. The book will become the ‘bible’ for a generation that wants to understand their own spending habits or tap into the culture of American retailing. Rowley artfully gets behind the business decisions that keep Target’s products ahead of the curve and connecting emotionally with its customers. For anyone who considers themselves a creative, marketing, or innovative thinker, this is a rich read indeed."
–—Lucy Danziger, Editor in Chief, Self magazine ... Read more

Book Description

Practical advice by people who have done it and helped others do it. Just one example: how a small store turned a sale into a community event - cleared old stock, sold more, made a profit, raised cash for a charity, had fun and had customers making sure they were on the invitation list for next year

Our feeling is that retailers are going to want to dip into this book for ideas as they go, so we've made the contents listing extensive and included an extensive index. There are also margin notes of cross references. It's a book to keep by you and refer to again and again. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great Book For Anyone Contemplating A Retail Operation
If you're thinking of starting or buying a small shop, you'll learn a lot by reading "Success in Store- How to Start or Buy a Retail Shop, Enjoy Running It, and Make Money" by Geoffrey Heard and Gordon Woolf.

Heard and Woolf cover many aspects of running or evaluating a shop including:

* The Importance of the Lease
* Licenses
* Recordkeeping
* Buying and Selling a Shop
* Dealing With Existing Staff
* Calculating Gross Profit Percentage, Markup, and Profit Margins
* Cash Flow
* Dealing With Customers, Including Shoplifting and Security
* Evaluating Stock
* Working With Sales Reps
* Purchasing Stock
* Promoting Your Shop
* Planning For the Growth of Your Business
* Deciding If You Should Purchase a Franchise, Start a New Shop, Or Purchase an Existing Shop

Heard and Woolf give specific advice for running many different kinds of shops, including bookstores, giftshops, clothing stores, antique shops, cafes, rental shops, and bakeries. The authors speak from experience having operated many types of shops. For example, Woolf owned (or owns) newspapers, a publishing company, a convenience store, a bookshop, and a small printing company.

Heard and Woolf point out that nearly anyone can start or buy most types of shops, but there are a few limitations-for example, only a pharmacist can operate a pharmacy.

Heard and Woolf write: "The first question to ask yourself is whether the business you are considering requires specialist knowledge and whether you have that knowledge (or a substantial part of it). There are businesses which require little specialist knowledge, but it is important to know how to obtain that small amount of knowledge if you do not already possess it."

Many shops fail though, possibly because it's so easy to start them. Heard and Woolf write: "While the majority of small businesses fail, and fail quickly, the business run by someone who seeks help from experts and who is prepared to admit mistakes, and do something about them, stands the best chance of success."

"Success in Store- How to Start or Buy a Retail Shop, Enjoy Running It, and Make Money" provides new shop owners with the benefit of the authors' experience, including important, but easily overlooked topics.

For example, there is a great discussion about leasing space. The authors write: "One of the fundamentals in which many new businesses go wrong is in signing an unsuitable lease."

Heard and Woolf warn new owners they might not get the same lease rate as some larger, more established stores, called "destination stores," because people go to particular shopping centers to shop at those stores. Thus, destination stores have more negotiating power.

In addition, Heard and Woolf address how running a business might affect your marriage and family. And, they address the important question: Will you make money with your own shop? And, how can you grow your business, if that's your goal?

If you're contemplating starting or buying a shop, I highly recommend "Success in Store- How to Start or Buy a Retail Shop, Enjoy Running It, and Make Money."

A wealth of tips, tricks, and techniques
Authoritatively co-written by marketing consultant Geoffrey Heard and experienced convenience store owner Gordon Woolf, Success In Store is a practical, "nuts-and-bolts", no-nonsense guide to acquiring and running a retail business, whether personally established or purchased from another. Individual chapters deftly address ways to promote one's store, basic information on day-to-day business operations, making the most of the internet, and a great deal more. A wealth of tips, tricks, and techniques make Success In Store indispensable reading for anyone seriously considering retail business as a career. ... Read more

Book Description

The Astonishing Impact of the "Megaretailer" on Competition, Communities, and Consumers

Retail is a dynamic and often ruthless world that equally influences, and is influenced by, the consumers it exists to serve. New players constantly emerge to better satisfy consumer demands; consumer demands and desires shift with new offerings; and existing firms disappear when they can't adapt.

In Category Killers, veteran journalist Robert Spector explores the rise of retail's reigning disruptor: retailers who seek to dominate a distinct classification of merchandise and wipe out the competition. Based on decades of research and investigative reporting, Spector vividly recounts how "category killers" from Toys R Us and Home Depot to Wal-Mart and Costco have ingeniously rewritten the retail playbook and, in the process, profoundly altered cultural and economic factors from migration and traffic patterns to legislation and taxation to wages and jobs.

Spector explores the brilliant strategies that have enabled category killers to overpower department stores, regional chains, and mom-and-pop stores and to reshape the concept of shopping malls. He also identifies emerging trends and inevitable roadblocks that could dethrone today's powerhouses.

Absorbing and insightful, Category Killers is at once a vivid journey down the aisles of retailing history and an incisive analysis of modern retail's most influential players.

Robert Spector is a seasoned business journalist, retail expert, and international speaker on customer service and corporate culture. He is the author of four previous books including The Nordstrom Way and Amazon.com.

... Read more

Book Description

Looking for an opportunity to make big profits while setting your own schedule? A vending machine business could be your ticket to the top. Americans feed vending machines over $22 billion a year for sodas, candy, coffee and other snacks. That's a nice chunk of change you could be pocketing.

Starting out is easy. You can begin part time out of your home. As your customer base increases, you can hire extra help, buy more machines, and expand your service area. There's no real limit to how large you can grow your business.

This guide will answer all your questions, including:

• What are the secrets of scouting out territories?
• Which items sell, and which don't?
• How do I establish routes and hire route workers?
• Should I buy new or used machines?
• How do I arrange the best placement for my machines?
• Where can I get supplies at a discount?
• What are the laws and regulations I need to know?

Easy-to-understand instructions, checklists and worksheets guide you through every phase of the startup process. You'll also get useful resources, such as business forms, a glossary and a list of professional organizations to help you along the way.

Reviews (3)

An objective take on the vending industry
After reading a couple books that were by people who were trying to find buyers of their vending equipment, I was glad to find this book. While some of the information is on the basic side, basic information is what a beginner like me needed to get started. Plus, the book is very objective. I recommend it for people who are considering vending.

Great For Beginners!
This book provides excellent step-by-step guidance to starting a vending machine business. The writer seems to know what it's like to start a small business when you've never worked for yourself before. The writing is engaging but there's no sales and no hype. However, there is solid, easy to understand advice from individuals with successful vending businesses of various types. It helped me see what kind of vending businesses I could start. Also, I really liked the worksheets and other sample items that I can copy and use for myself. Perhaps this book is too basic for someone who already has a vending business, but for a newcomer like me it's perfect -- it's helped me avoid pitfalls and stick with the techniques that result in success. This book has been invaluable in opening up a whole new world for me!

Bland - not worth buying
This book is bland, bland, bland. Basically it was written by someone who knows nothing about the vending business...they just did a little research on it and put together a lousy book. I own a successful vending business and thought a book from Entreprener Magazine might be handy to get some new ideas from...but it's not. There are few good ideas in this book, old or new. There are better books out there on vending - this one is a waste of time & money. ... Read more

Book Description

Updated throughout, the new edition of this classic covers the latest trends in retailing and best practices in shopping center development.

Illustrated in full color, 15 case studies describe the development process for a mix of town centers, urban entertainment centers, power centers, street front retail centers, and enclosed malls. Small strip centers to super regional facilities are covered as well as urban and suburban locations.

Practical, how-to information on financing, planning and design, leasing, marketing and management, renovation, expansion, and repositioning cover the basics of development for all types of shopping centers. ... Read more

Book Description

Use e-mail to boost your income—today!

The E-Code brings together the combined wisdom of 33 Internet marketing superstars to reveal how they make money online—using nothing but the power of e-mail. Each succinct chapter presents one moneymaking strategy or concept and offers step-by-step guidance on implementing it for maximum profits.

If you have a product or service to sell, the Internet gurus in this book will show you how to sell it—no matter what it is. And even if you don't have your own original product idea, don't worry. Inside you'll find a wealth of quick and effective ideas for creating something that other people will definitely pay for. Using tactics like viral product marketing and online auctions, anyone can make extra money online—and you can too. This is not a get-rich-quick scheme; it's a make-money-quick scheme. It could be a little, or it could be a lot, but you will definitely profit when you learn how to:

• Develop and sell a product online
• Target your customers
• Promote your product
• Market to niche audiences
• Create an e-marketing business plan

Plus, entrepreneurs and small business owners will learn how to improve their sales through simple, proven e-marketing tactics that really work. The Internet is a powerful resource for marketing, selling, and communicating anything. So tap into it! Written by a cast of Internet all-stars and marketing powerhouses, The E-Code is a simple, easy-to-use guide to making money online, right now. ... Read more

Book Description

Developed in conjunction with the Association of Small Business Development Centers, this second installment in Inc.'s industry-specific business planning series was developed exclusively for the owners and managers of retail businesses. Detailed step-by-step instruction and do-it-yourself worksheets provide the expert guidance you'll need to create and organize your winning plan. Samples of actual business plans from successful retail companies and a comprehensive resource directory help you identify the key information you need to complete your winning business plan. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Practical Information
THis book is helpful, especially when it came to doing the financials for my business plan. Some of the sample forms needed to be a bit larger, but besides that, an excellent choice for a beginning retailer.

The Guide to Retail Business Planning: The Complete Handboo
Great Book! Everyone was very impressed with my business plan when it was finished. It covered everything you need to include in your plan. The first bank I went to accepted my plan. ... Read more

Book Description

An entertaining, touching, and inspiring chronicle of its author's most memorable eBay adventures, The 100 Best Things I've Sold on eBay uses the world of online auctions as the setting for a personal story of friendship, loss, and growth.Lynn Dralle is the granddaughter of Cheryl Leaf, an antiques dealer and larger-than-life personality who passed away in August of 2000 at the age of 88.Lynn literally grew up in the antiques business; she started accompanying her grandmother to antique shows at the age of seven, and over the years came to depend not only on her grandmother's business insights, but on her wisdom, strength of character, and humor.

Near the end of her grandmother's life, Lynn returned home to help run the family antiques store.She eventually began buying and selling on eBay to pay for her grandmother's nursing home expenses.As Lynn weaves memories of her time with her grandmother into stories about the items she has sold on eBay, she creates a book that is partly a memoir of the woman who inspired and brought together the entire family and partly a behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to succeed at online auctions.Through it all, Lynn's fresh and enthusiastic voice keeps the tone upbeat.This book will appeal to readers who enjoy stories about family as well as those who just like to read about auction successes. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great book!
I loved reading The 100 Best Things I've Sold on eBay. This book is extremely well laid out and easy to understand. The author gives great examples and the specific details of the items that she sold on e-bay. To me these examples were useful because she shares the amount of money that she paid for the item and not just the amount of money that she made from selling the item. A personal story accompanies each example which gives the book a great touch. After reading this book, I realized that I can make money with my "junk" because the author really proves that your trash can be someone else's treasure.

Something for everyone!
I couldn't put this book down! Not the dry how-to book you might expect, "The 100 Best Things I've Sold on eBay" is a sort of one-person "Antiques Roadshow" with a personal-memoir flavor. Each chapter describes one item, its history, how the author ended up with it (which often involves the author's grandmother, an antiques dealer), and usually a few details about the auction and the buyer. It's all presented in a creative format with lots of pictures. The book's informal, personal tone make for a fun and easy read, but "The 100 Best Things" also packs in a lot of interesting facts about a wide spectrum of antiques and collectibles. Those readers who play the eBay game can also pick up some useful insights into how online auctions work. You don't have to be a eBayer or a collector to enjoy this book--I've loaned it to several friends and it's been a hit with everyone. ... Read more

Book Description

Whether flowers are your fancy, hats your madness, or paper your passion, you can open a store selling the things you love. To thrive in a shop of your own, however, requires myriad skills best learned from those who already know. Victoria introduces a group of women entrepreneurs who, with little inventory and big dreams, created a rewarding niche in the retail market. Their triumphs and failures, practical advice and insider secrets, provide invaluable lessons for fledgling shop owners. Here's just the right advice to take you from getting establishing credit to choosing a space to developing a solid partnership with vendors. Find creative and inviting ideas for displaying your wares so customers will linger longer, and smart ways to get the biggest bang out of your advertising dollars. The profiles of female shop owners will offer inspiration and provide invaluable role models.
... Read more

Book Description

Inside one of America's most remarkable success stories, from the bestselling author of Jack Welch and the G.E. Way.

Two of the toughest challenges for any company are leadership transitions and rapid growth. How do you replace an enormously popular and beloved CEO-especially one who started from scratch to create a national icon? And how do you maintain a rapid growth rate without losing the culture and focus of a small company?

Over the past ten years, since the death of the legendary Sam Walton, Wal-Mart has passed both challenges with flying colors. In 1992, it had revenues of $43.9 billion; now it's number one on the Fortune 500 list of America's largest companies, with revenues of $218 billion. Sam Walton's successors have taken the company into far-flung new markets and new directions yet without losing the down-to-earth retailing culture that made Wal-Mart thrive in its early years, when its business model was truly revolutionary.

Robert Slater, a highly respected business journalist and author, was granted unprecedented access to the company while writing The Wal-Mart Decade. He takes readers deep into the inner circle, where the big decisions are made about strategy and operations. And he weaves a fascinating, accessible story about the many challenges of the past decade and how Wal-Mart built on its founder's legacy to overcome them. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

disappointing -- did not have enough detail for me
I was disappointed with this book. It has a reasonable overview of the history and growth of Wal-mart in the pre and post Sam Walton years. Unfortunately it takes a very high-level view (most of the figures it quotes can be gotten from the company's own annual reports or from other magazine articles), focusses more on culture (and even that is given short-shrift -- there is not a single dissenting view) than on business strategy or operational details. Perhaps this has been because the company is secretive, and perhaps by nature David Glass and Lee Scott (the Wal-mart CEO's that I assume were interviewed for the book) are low-key men -- but you get none of the retail, logistics, or IT-savvy insights that Wal-mart is "allegedly" exploiting to become the hypergrowth engine it is. Perhaps retail is all that the company purports it to be (sell product at value prices -- every day :), but I wish the author had peeked behind the covers and found a better story to tell.

A disappointment
This book is a public relations dream for Wal-Mart but a big disappointment for anyone who likes good, objective, analytical business reporting. It is obvious that the author became too enamored with his access to the current Wal-Mart management. There is no balance in the book; it only presents the Wal-Mart view. It doesn't really explain how Wal-Mart has grown since Sam Walton died. It only recites "facts" - there's a lot of the "what" but there isn't a real probe of the "how" or the "why." The topic of how Wal-Mart will continue to grow (or not) is fascinating - let's hope another author will tackle it.

~A Look After The Founders Deaf~
Part 2 chapters 2-4 talks about Sam Walton (the founder) and how he started his retail empire. It talks a lot about him and how he managed Wal-Mart and his employees. In Part 1 chapter 1 it talked about where Wal-Mart is today. In Part 3 chapters 5-6 it talks about how the company followed Sam Waltons strategy after his deaf. Part 4 chapters 7-10 it talks about Wal-Marts growth strategy and how it went into different countries and applying the Wal-Mart culture at each store. Part 5 chapters 11-13 talks about who defines Wal-Mart as in what other people think of the retailer and what the head leaders at Wal-Mart think and stuff like that. I don't know how else to say it. Part 6 chapter 14 talks about where the future will take Wal-Mart. Where Wal-Mart is headed. The best book to know about retailing. The best book on Wal-Mart ever since "Sam Walton Made In America" book. If you are interrested in Wal-Mart, retailing, or building a company or have a company of your own and need some advice on keeping a company strong this is a good book to read but I think the "Sam Walton Made In America" book is a better read. It talks more about building a company. This book pretty much talks about Wal-Mart after the founders deaf and how it kept up even a decade later. When Sam Walton passed away the company was worth 43 billion.
Part One*Wal-Mart Today
1 Celebrating in a Basketball Arena
Part Two*The Founder And His Legacy
2 The Man From Kingfisher
3 Give Me A Squiggly:Sam Walton's Culture
4 Avoid The Layers, Avoid The Frills
Part Three*A New Wal-Mart, A New Team
5 A New Management Team Follows Mr. Sam
6 A Strategy Of Growth
Part Four*Wal-Mart As A Growth Engine
7 The More Complex Wal-Mart Today
8 Applying The Culture A Store At A Time
9 Beyond The Seas:A New Outlet For Growth
10 Live Snakes And Turtle Races:Wal-Mart in China
Part Five*Who Defines Wal-Mart?
11 Mr. Logistics Takes Over
12 A Matter Of Reputation:Taking The Gloves Off
13 A Strategy For The Twenty-First Century: The New Openness
Part Six*Whither Wal-Mart?
14 Where The Future Will Take Wal-Mart
Acknowledgements
Notes
Index
Sixteen black and white photos are inside the book. Each photo has a description about it. Robert Slater the author who wrote the book is a very good writer. He even wrote the national bestseller Jack Welch and the GE Way. The book is a very good read and you learn a lot.

this is a joke
this book says nothing about a company that has become a monster by developing an outstanding distribution system. That is really what Wal-Mart is all about.
The book says Wal-Mart adapted by beefing up its PR department. Anyone who has ever talked with the PR department at Wal-Mart knows that even at the top they are a bunch of underpaid, underqualified fools.
This lacks the meat it needs and does not deal with reality of good or bad with the company.

This should have been published by Wal-Mart's PR department
A very shallow analysis of Wal-Mart's growth over the past ten years, providing little insight on how the managment charted the course of the Company following Sam Walton's death.

The main thrust of the book is Wal-Mart's culture, which is certainly strong. The author uses interviews with Wal-Mart senior executives as the primary vehicle to narrate "highlights" of the past ten years, rather than providing an analysis of how key decisions made by these executives have led the Company to the top of the Fortune 500. I can't believe that there is no mention of how Wal-Mart and Procter and Gamble worked to integrate their supply chain during the period, which was a key ingredient to their success in the past ten years!

For the history of Wal-Mart and Sam Walton, stick with "Made in America", Walton's memoir with John Huey. For better insight to the engine behind Wal-Mart's growth, search out articles from Harvard Business Review (e.g., on the Wal-Mart/P&G supply chain from 1994) and other management journals. These sources will certainly be less "rah rah Wal-Mart" and will provide more details on the what was actually done and spare you the executive reflections on "what Mr. Sam would think" of today's Wal-Mart. ... Read more

Book Description

The great antique and flea markets of Italy are hard to find and equally hard to navigate once discovered. This slim, comprehensive and practical guide points travelers quickly and easily to the best such markets in all of Italy's regions. Whether searching for turn-of-the-century buttons or biscotti tins or men's hats from the 1940s, travelers will find this volume indispensable. Specific information is provided detailing what each market offers, from vintage furniture, jewelry, linens and lace, clothes, and enamel signs, to postcards, military paraphernalia, botanical prints, buttons, powder boxes, and perfume bottles. Organized by region, with locations and directions, opening days, hours, and contact information, the sidebars offer additional cultural information about each region, from culinary specialties to religious festivals. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Well laid out and helpful little guide
This slim volume lists all types of markets by the day of the week or month and location. There's also usually a contact number for more information. If you're going to be in Italy during the first weekend of the month, or the second Tuesday, say, you can check the listings for that time period. There are a few blank pages at the end of the book to write your own personal market notes!

No doubt people will need local maps and/or guidebooks to help locate the markets; this book will work best in addition to other guidebooks - not as a replacement.

The best is yet to come.
I have used other books of this kind in the past for other countries. This one seem to lack the fundamentals for this type of informational book. #1 You must write this book for someone who is not familiar with the local surroundings or the languages. #2 In the years that will be called the new millinneum people want to just blow in and blow out. When I travel I have a limited time and budget to see the flea markets available. In this book there is alot of leg work the author could have provided but for some reason did not.#3 If you speak fluent italian you can call all the phone #'s provided if they are still current. I on the other hand will have to hire a translator. If the author would provide maps, locations to trains, location to major city monuments, and make things easy for the reader to find, the hidden treasures she has found would be available to her reader, which should be her goal. When I travel many times I have up to 5 days in which to find this type of treasure. With this book it would be difficult to accomplish what I would like, but with more effort from the author this book could be a complete guide for any traveler. ... Read more

Book Description

From junk mail blockers to do-not-call lists, potential buyers today are more interested in "opting out" than listening to marketers' messages. Opt-In Marketing offers a prescriptive plan for reversing this dangerous trend. This hard-hitting book is based on a program that increased sales at IBM by 80 percent in one year and features sidebars from industry luminaries and examples from Fortune 500 firms. It outlines a 10-point blueprint for rethinking customer care and is the perfect guide for marketers looking to once again be seen as partners instead of predators.

Reviews (2)

innovative and psychologically sophisticated marketing
Good to see individuals in the marketing/advertising field who truly understand the complexity of people and organizations. Consistent with the most up-to-date approaches in the field of psychology (specifically psychotherapy research), the authors of this new book are quite persuasive in showing readers the enormous value in tailoring marketing approaches to the individual needs of different organizations. Moreover, they use statistics in a quite user-friendly way and they also offer a great and quite readable variety of case material to support their views. An engaging, persuasive, and innovative look at contemporary marketing. Well worth a look; you'll find yourself hooked.

Here's the future of Direct Marketing!
Ernan Roman and Scott Hornstein have seen the writing on the wall, that customers and prospects are increasingly dodging mass, unasked for commercial messages. They advocate the next important idea, namely opt-in marketing, marketing that receives the permission of the customer or prospect to be in touch. They go beyond permission marketing into consensual marketing and provide cases and evidence of its great effectiveness. They address the major objections that might arise and spell out strategy and tactics that have worked with their major clients. This is the next wave of direct marketing and they are the pioneers. ... Read more

Book Description

Does this sound familiar? "If I can just get in front of more qualifiedprospects, the rest of the selling process becomes easier. It's justgetting in front of them that's the challenge."

You're no idiot, of course. You can talk shop with any customer whoenters your store, asks questions over the phone, or seeks out yourspecific product or service. But when comes to prospecting for newcustomers, you'd rather have a root canal!

After coaching thousands of salespeople, Keith Rosen, one of America'sfavorite Sales coaches and trainers, has developed a proven processthat anyone could follow to achieve incredible success at attractingmore prospects and it's all outlined in his book, The CompleteIdiot's Guide to Cold Calling.

The fact is, most cold calling efforts are doomed from the start.Salespeople lose sales not due to a lack of effort but because theylack a prospecting system they are comfortable with and can trust thatgenerates greater, consistent results.

Anyone can generate new business and make more money with the rightprospecting system. So, if you love to sell but hate (or don't like) toprospect, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cold Calling is yourroadmap to cold calling success; showing you exactly how to get infront of the right prospects in less time and create more sellingopportunities without the fear, pressure or anxiety associated withcold calling, prospecting or self-promotion. In this guide, you get:

* Tools, templates and strategies to create your own painlessprospecting and follow-up system that will attract new prospects-andconvert them into sales.
*Advice on how to find the best prospects-and avoid those who aren'tqualified.
* Suggestions on coping with rejection, boosting your self confidence,eliminating call reluctance, managing a healthy prospecting mindset,and ensuring prospects will listen to what you have to say.
* Methods for establishing a rapport with prospects, understandingtheir needs, and getting them interested in how your product or servicewill benefit them.
* The hidden secrets of effective networking and to generating a steadystream of referrals.
* An infallible follow-up system that will keep your name in front ofeach prospect and protect you from losing sales to your competitors, upuntil the time they are ready to buy so that you never "Drop the ball"again.

You will also discover how you can:

* Create your MVP (Most Valuable Proposition) that separates you fromyour competition.
* Craft the compelling reasons that would motivate a prospect to speakwith you.
* Prevent and defuse initial objections such as, "I'm not interested,""We don't have any money now" or "Call me back later."
* Develop the right questions and uncover new selling opportunities inseconds so that you can stop wasting precious time on the wrongprospects.
* Compose winning voice mail messages that will ensure more returncalls.

So, whether you are an entrepreneur, a business owner, a non-sellingprofessional, a seasoned sales veteran or are just beginning yourcareer in sales, after reading this book you will actually want toprospect! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Like reading a thesis
I have to say that I agree completely with the reviewer from Philadelphia. I was so disappointed to find that for me, the book contains no inspiring text or photographs. In my opinion, it reads like a thesis, and the content is repeditive. I found it very difficult to read with references to various reports and articles. The photographs are dark and of amateur quality, and because the book is so small they are even harder to see.

Tiny book with big price
I amteaching a course in store design and needed a reference book.I needed a text book with philosophy, more than a picture book. I was SHOCKED when this tiny 61 page book arrived, with 21 pictures. I expected more book for the buck. The book concentrates on planning philosophy for large stores. I was hoping to get more information regarding small, boutique stores.I am sure some of the principals for large store planning will apply, however was very disappointed in overall content and quality of the book. The previous review must have been written by a friend.

This book will change business floorplans
It was a real treat to read this retailing text.The real life examples and the down to earth method he uses to describe the actual retailing situations is in my mind unsurpassed.I have to say that while reading this text I was amazed at how quickly time went by.I was immersed in the retail principals from the start.It was most refreshing to have a learning text begin with such a realistic story.The story from the start sets the stage for the whole text. Anyone wishing to learn about why retailer's floor plan their stores the way they do needs to read this text. The information is current and very up to date.I think this text will become one of the best text that retailer's use as a reference tool for store layout. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

This book is OK
This book is ok for the first time flea market vendor, though it contains very little information on the most difficult part of flea market selling----FINDING SOMETHING AT A GOOD PRICE TO SELL!!! Not a bad book but try to buy it used for only a couple of bucks. It contains info on what to sell, how to set up, and selling techniques,etc,etc...But once again, it contains almost no information on sources of things TO SELL.

It's a good book
I found myself laid off and without an income - this book showed me how to turn leftover items from yard and swap meets into cash. It talks about the business end of things - tracking sales, equipment & supplies... It's a good book. ... Read more

Book Description

* Shopping on the Web is increasing at a phenomenal rate, making this book a priceless tool for readers who want an online shopping experience that's fun, easy, secure, and saves both time and money
* Each site is rated by price, selection, service, convenience, and security, and extensive indices make it easy to find products by company name, product name, keywords, or URL
* Easy to use and read, this book provides descriptions of more than 1,500 of the best online shopping sites, grouped in useful categories such as apparel, computers and consumer electronics, home, garden, and food
* Includes sidebars on specialized shopping topics such as buying a car online, planning a wedding on the Web, and arranging dinner for two online
* Features a special section on purchasing services on the Web-everything from plumbing help to limousine services
* A unique "Trading With the Natives" section discusses online auction sites (including eBay) and classified ad sites
* Written and researched by Frank Fiore, the expert online shopping columnist at About.com ... Read more

Book Description

Advance Praise

"It’s not a pretty story, but it is a well-told story of the decline and fall of Kmart, the discount chain that pioneered the new category that brought us Wal-Mart. Every would-be entrepreneur should read this cautionary tale."
–Al Ries, Chairman, Ries & Ries

"A well-written comparative analysis of why Kmart failed and Wal-Mart continues to thrive. The management lessons found in the book can be widely applied."
–Eugene H. Fram, J. Warren McClure Research Professor of Marketing, Rochester Institute of Technology ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Let me repeat that
The author has researched well, using many footnotes to indicate her sources. However, the book reads like a high school student's report of individual articles (too, the grammar and tone are often colloquially conversational) and there is little central organization to the book. The author frequently beats the same dead horse with so many different articles to support her view that you'll find yourself wondering if she a little defensive in making some of her points.

Her style of continually referring back and forth between Wal*Mart and Kmart left me feeling as though I were holding a finger in two different books and flipping back and forth. Comparisons of this sort are valuable, but the constant shifting of gears is distracting.

The book lacks the perspective from the inside. Isn't that what gets to the heart of the problem?

For readers with financial savvy, it would have been nice to see some financial and non-financial statistical tables and/or charts. Specifically, what was the impact on the financials during this time? The number of transactions? The average sale amount per transaction? A picture is worth a thousand words.

If you buy this book, read the first few pages of each chapter and you will have the main ideas. This book could have been half as long.

Very Interesting Analysis
I read this book with interest from both the perspective of a consumer and a business person. As a consumer, I stopped shopping at KMart a long time ago. This book gave me the understanding of how the customer service at KMart ended up being such a low priority to a retailer when it should have been the highest priority. As a business person, it was fascinating to read about one more example of how egos in Corporate America can cause the downfall of an established institution. A recommended read...

Well researched, well written. Well Worth Reading.
When I picked up this book, I expected to find some interesting insights into why KMart, once so widely known and popular, ran into all its problems. A company whose stores were once part of the American landscape and whose blue light specials were exciting mini-events, spun into bankruptcy on January 22, 2002. What happened?

I looked at the author's credentials and, frankly, was a bit dismayed that she was author of "The Unofficial Guide to Starting a Small Business." Even though the title is described as a best-seller, I questioned whether such an author would be able to produce the kind of study that the K-Mart subject demands. Looking further through the book, I discovered that my concerns were totally unfounded. This book is quite well researched, as evidenced by the abundant footnotes at the end of each chapter. Turner lists, in her acknowledgements, some of the people she conferred with in putting this book together. Impressive. Almost academic.

The book begins with two features I appreciated. One was a chapter, called the introduction, which effectively sets the stage for the in-depth look at what happened... and why. The other feature is a time line that includes progressive events at Kmart and at Wal-Mart. A fascinating fact to ponder is that Kmart and Wal-Mart were started in the same year. Throughout the book, Turner interweaves and compares the strategies-and implications-of Kmart, Wal-Mart, and Target, as well as other retailers. This approach adds value to this book for every retailer-every business leader-who designs strategy with anticipated results. The bibliography and comprehensive index make this book a most usable tool.

A chapter is devoted to each of the Deadly Sins: Brand Mismanagement, Lack of Customer Knowledge, Underestimating Wal-Mart, Lousy Locations, Ignoring Store Appearance, Technology Aversion, Supply Chain Disconnect, Lack of Focus, Strategy du Jour, and Repeating the Same Mistakes. You'll learn about strategic blunders, tactical mismanagement, and operation deficiencies that crippled the potentially powerful chain retailer. Details even go down to the level of describing how insufficient staffing levels in the stores confounded efforts to keep the aisles clear of incoming merchandise, let alone serve the customer.

While you'll shake your head numerous times as you read this educational and insightful book, you'll gain new perspectives and cautions in the way you run your own business and life. Highly recommended.

Good Book with Some Frustrating Shortcomings
Marcia Turner does an excellent job of laying out what KMart has done wrong over the years and builds a very convincing case, citing mostly secondary sources such as retail trade journals. The writing is clear and lively, but the "10 Deadly Sins" idea is rather tentatively executed. Many chapters discuss multiple sins, and partly because the entire history of the company has to be addressed in each chapter there is a fair amount of repetition.

But for me, the most frustrating thing about the book is that it is entirely an outsider's perspective. Turner does such an excellent job of documenting Kmart's persistent stupidity over many decades that at some point you want to hear from an insider to answer the question "what could they have been thinking?"

A particular strength of the book is laying out the competitive landscape of discount retailing. One major unanswered question (which, granted, would be very difficult to answer) is how big a role pervasive corruption has played in Kmart's decline. The conviction of a senior real estate executive for bribery indicates that self-dealing in the company may have gone back much further than the executives who put the company in bankruptcy.

K Mart vs. the competition
K Mart's 10 Deadly Sins by Marcia Turner is a well-documented story of a fallen giant. Ms. Turner uses respected individuals, former employees, specific examples and printed sources to make her points. It could very well be recommended reading for a business school course.
Ms. Turner cites specific problems and follows it up with particular remedies and suggests solutions. She compares K Mart to several competitors in an easy to understand format. It was an informative and enjoyable read on a timely subject. ... Read more

Book Description

For everyone who's ever slicked on lipstick, flirted with eye shadow, or browsed the bewildering array in any store's beauty de-partment, Color Stories offers an insider's view of all the brainstorming, bickering, and bitchery that go into those little sticks of color and pans of powder.

Former beauty editor Mary Lisa Gavenas takes us behind the scenes during the nine months that culminate in the launch of a season's all-important "color stories." We discover how one shade becomes the "must have," why makeup artists never use the same products as the rest of us, and exactly how easy -- and impossible -- it is to start a million-dollar makeup line.

Backstage at the runway shows, we're swept into the catty, chaotic work world of makeup mogul Bobbi Brown and supermodel Gisele Bündchen. At Estée Lauder headquarters, we see the achingly chic Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer spin societal trends into a lipstick lineup. We watch magazines cheat to make makeup work for layouts, find out how Cindy Crawford got to be worth every penny of her $10 million contract, and make the pilgrimage to Dallas as 35,000 of the Mary Kay faithful assemble for the fabled annual Seminar. Along the way, we also learn about marketing, media, and the manipulation of aesthetics, about the codification of physical beauty, and how this industry revolutionized the role of women in business.

Through its often funny, sometimes poignant scenes of seduction, courtship, and consummation, Color Stories reveals why women become besotted by beauty products -- and why that love affair will never end. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Recommended--great stories
What a relief to read something written on a "woman's" subject (namely makeup) that is well-written without being condescending to its readers. This book is short and fast but has a surprising amount of history about women in business and how and why cosmetics got to be such a big business.

And, as a Texan, I loved the chapter about Mary Kay and the women who participate. It's a complicated subject and this is the best treatment I've come across.

I don't know if I would categorize it as a business book, a fashion book, or a history book, but I do recommend it!

NJ reviewer is crazy
Personally, I LOVED this book. I did a stint selling cosmetics at Bloomie's and this is the first time I've read anything remotely close to what actually goes on in the cosmetics industry. Including a lot I didn't know (like the FDA dirt, and the inside-the-factory stuff).

And, to that reviewer from New Jersey, you have your facts wrong: Neutrogena Cosmetics are alive and well. Not only are they advertised on TV, they're being sold on the Web and my local drugstore as of today. I think you mean Oil of Olay, which went out of business a year or two back. How much of a cosmetics junkie could you possibly be?

Read it on a rainy day
A fun, quick, and easy read, an interesting look into what goes on behind the make-up counter. From the people who create it, to the people who package it, to the magazine people who promote it, to the models who wear it, to the sales people who sell it, to the hopeful buyers, this book gives a look from the eyes of nearly every person involved in the business. Altogether enjoyable.

The Makeup Industry for Those Who Can't Get Enough
I know many people who are addicted to makeup, and I'd recommend this book to any of them. While it's not earthshattering information by any stretch of the imagination, it's still a fun, easy read. It follows the development of those seasonal color stories we so anxiously await from the initial to conception and how colors are chosen through fashion shows and advertising to the final product at the counters. You learn how the colors for the story are chosen, how magazines list that products used on models aren't really the products used (did any of us doubt this?), and many other behind the scenes tidbits.

The book is an easy, entertaining read. I finished within a couple of evenings. Behind the scenes business material is potentially dry but Gavenas manages to keep it interesting and easy to follow. It would be a great summer poolside read.

For the Neutrogena/Olay questions below...Neutrogena is still making its cosmetics line. Olay discontinued its cosmetics line but is still making skincare.

Must read for makeup junkies ;)
This is a fascinating look inside the makeup industry and is a must-read for a make-up junkie like myself. It documents the process of creating the color story. How it's conceived, marketed, sold, ect. and reveals many interesting insider details about the color stories and the mis-truth's reported by popular beauty magazines. It also goes back in time to the conception of the beauty industry telling the beginnings of the Estee Lauder empire and walks you through a Mary Kay conference (found this pretty amusing). At times the detail becomes repetitive and I did a bit of skimming but overall it was an interesting little read. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Not much useable info but some good ideas.
Only one paragraph on greenhouses, no wonder he only can make a few thousand. You really need a greenhouse to grow your starts in this business and to have only a little on this subject tells me alot..( he never made it big) There is no mention of caring for the enviorment here, The use of posins are recomended and no real overall plan for runoff or water table poulution, guess he doesn't care. Any way if you got extra bucks, get it cause one good idea can be worth the price.

Delivers. Written by experts. Easy to read. Practical.
Here's their back cover blurb: "Learn how to start a nursery in your backyard with virtually no capitual investment. In an area of only 1,000 sq. ft. it is possible to generate over $5,000 worth of plants in a single growing season."

The 207 page book delivers on its promise. The book is particularly good in explaining the value of "time" in the nursery business. If you expect to make money with your greenhouse... or with a nursery business, this is an EXCELLENT book to get.

It's easy to read and contains lots of money-making ideas. Here's a way to get that greenhouse by your spouse... "look at the extra money we can make!" If you have teenage children, this is a great way for them to earn extra money. If you're a business man, I think there you can make more money with less work in other ways. But hey, it's fun. The book is oriented to growing flowers and shrubs... and not so much for growing vegetables. Although growing herbs is one of the things recommended. They deliver on describing how to make $5,000 in only 1,000 sq. ft. The most important thing this book delivers is the core thinking process that a nurseryman must analyze in terms of time, and profit per unit of time. I didn't realize this was so important, but now it makes sense to me. ... Read more