800-CEO-READ New Releases

Confessions of a Serial Entrepreneur

by Stuart Skorman

(Jossey-Bass, 224 Pages)

Looking for the audio CD? Click here.

Book Description
Entrepreneur Stuart Skorman—the founder of Elephant Pharmacy, Hungryminds.com, Reel.com, and Empire Video—grew up in a retailing family in Ohio. He worked every kind of job, from cab driver to professional poker player to CEO. In this entertaining, personal account of his coming-of- age in the business world, Skorman gives an insider’s view of what it takes to start a business from the ground up.

Stuart Skorman offers his hard-won lessons in business for any entrepreneur or small businessperson who wants to create a company that has a heart and soul. He reveals what he learned about marketing while working a stint as a rock band manager and bares his soul about his failure during the dot-com bubble. He describes in vivid terms the roller coaster ride of the entrepreneur in good times and bad and explains how to survive in today’s uncertain business environment.

There's a Business in Every Woman

by Ann Holmes

(Ballantine Books, 304 Pages)

No Man's Land

by Doug Tatum

(Portfolio, 256 Pages)

If starting a company is difficult, leading a company once the business has caught fire is infinitely more so. Thousands each year approach the dangerous transition that Doug Tatum calls No Man’s Land—when they are too big to be considered small but still too small to be considered big.

Rapid growth is every entrepreneur’s dream, but it never comes easily and is usually rife with dilemmas. During No Man’s Land, as in human adolescence, such growth should spark self- discovery, acquired discipline, and positive but difficult transition. Unfortunately, it often becomes an agonizing battle between the natural tendencies of a lonely entrepreneur and certain immutable laws of growth. The result is confusion, frustration, stagnation, loss of employee morale, and, at worst, financial failure.

Sounds pretty bleak. The good news is that Doug Tatum knows exactly what it takes to get through No Man’s Land: a map, a high place from which to orient yourself, and navigational rules to help you track your progress. And these tools are here in this book.

Through case studies and stories of successes and failures, No Man’s Land will help you learn how to:
* Align your growing company with its market.
* Execute the necessary changes in your management.
* Confirm that your financial model is scalable.
* Attract money and make smart decisions about financing your business.

If you’re an entrepreneur, this book will help you make your company all it can be and all you want it to be. It will prepare you for a ride that just might be wilder than you ever imagined.

The Engine of America

by Hector Barreto

(Wiley, 240 Pages)

Small business is the engine that drives America’s new economy. In The Engine of America, former administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), Hector Barreto and veteran journalist Bob Wagman reveal the winning business strategies of CEOs from 50 companies. For all those starting or growing their own small business, the wisdom, experience, and counsel of these successful leaders provides inspirational and thoughtful advice on making it as an entrepreneur.

In this book, Barreto shares details of business success, and the insights he gained while administering the nation’s largest small business loan, training, and counseling organization. Some of those sharing their stories in The Engine of America have grown their businesses from the most humble of beginnings into corporate giants whose brands are household names and whose operations are integral parts of the national economy. Others may not be instantly recognizable, but what they have in common is success.

Hector Barreto believes if you can teach a small business owner something he or she doesn’t know, but which is critical to the growth of their small business or which allows them to avoid a critical mistake, you have helped put them on the road to success. That’s what The Engine of America will do.

Hector V. Barreto (Los Angeles, CA) is the former five-year administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration where he directed a $60 billion support system for American entrepreneurs. He has lived and worked in all regions of the country, and is currently the Chairman of the Latino Coalition and a frequent speaker on small business topics.

Robert Wagman (Washington, DC) is the former Capitol bureau chief for Scripps Howard’s Newspaper Enterprise Association. He is also a former field producer for 60 Minutes, editor of the World Almanac on Politics, and author of many business and political nonfiction books.

The One Minute Entrepreneur

by Ken Blanchard, Don Hutson, Ethan Willie

(Currency, 144 Pages)