Essential Books for Home Business Building

How to Win Friends & Influence People

Dale Carnegie's classic was written in 1937 and has sold over 15 million copies, in every written language known to man. It is arguably the best handbook on people skills available, and a book that is meant to be read and studied, again and again. Get out the highlighter for this one. Written in a crisp, clear, colloquial style, it is easy to read, and was designed by Carnegie with the business professional in mind.

Carnegie had been teaching public speaking courses to business people for decades before he realized that what these professionals really lacked were people skills. Carnegie realized that dealing effectively with people was the key to financial success. Through both his experience and many years of research done by his foundation, Carnegie was able to document that 85% of financial success was due to skill in human relations, rather than technical knowledge. More current research has supported his findings. A great example of this comes from his own time period, when Andrew Carnegie (US Steel Co. and no relation to Dale) paid Charles Schwab over a million dollars a year, and not because he knew anything more about the steel industry than anyone else. Dale Carnegie paid Schwab a salary that was unheard of for the early 19th C. because Charles Schwab was so keen in his dealings with people. He was a master in human relations.

This handbook will teach you how to express your ideas effectively, how to improve your leadership ability, and how to arouse enthusiasm in others. You simply cannot grow your business without this book in your library.

The Dip: When To Quit and When To Stick is a powerful little book, a quick read, about a place that we have all

The Dip:
A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit
(and When to Stick)

hit, the low point in our business. All of us in business have hit this low point and start to doubt ourselves on whether or not what we are doing is really worth our time. To be successful in our businesses we need to learn how to get out of this hole, when to remain focused and when to quit. Not all "dips" are created the same so we need to learn when to recognize the good "dips" from the bad "dips".

The author of this book, Seth Godin, is also the author of The Purple Cow and Small is the New Big. He is founder and CEO of Squidoo. Quoting Seth: "Winners quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt. Losers fail to stick out the dip - they get to the moment of truth and then give up - or they never even find the right dip to conquer."

Yes, this little book continues to inspire me and has helped me recognize what is best for me and has taught me that there are some things that I can quit and some things I should continue to pursue, without the guilt.

If you find yourself stalled out in your business, I highly recommend that you read this powerful little book. It only takes but a moment to become inspired and to continue on again.

Angela James is a truly inspiring leader in the field of Internet Marketing. Find out how her years of experience can help you at http://www.mlmmarketingsolution.com

Launching a Leadership Revolution:
Mastering the Five Levels of Influence

Launching a Leadership Revolution was one of the easiest to read books on leadership that I have had the pleasure of reading. Brady and Woodward tackle the concept of leadership by walking the reader through a step-by-step plan for any organization to achieve long-term, sustainable leadership.

The plan is mastering the five levels of influence::
1. Learning - all leaders have to be willing to continually educate themselves
2. Performing - leaders have to be willing to do the work to reach success
3. Leading - leaders begin sharing their duties with others while being hands-on
4. Developing Leaders - the leader finds others that want more responsibility
5. Developing Leaders Who Develop Leaders - mentoring leaders that are in Step 4

Through the use of historical accounts and solid common sense principles, the authors provide an easy-to-use guide to take the reader up the staircase of success. At some point in our lives, we are all put into a position to lead in some capacity and Launching the Leadership Revolution is a great handbook to assist you on your journey.

"Leadership is the influence of others in a productive, vision-driven direction and is done through the example, conviction and character of the leader." - Launching a Leadership Revolution

Steve Tenerovich has been involved in network marketing for many years and enjoys teaching others how to achieve success while working from home. You can learn more about him at http://promlmnetworker.com

How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling

This is my favorite sales book, and a self-help classic that everyone should read. It is full of practical, quality information that you can put into practice right away.

It will help you to understand why you didn't close as many sales as you wanted, and to better understand your customer.

My favorite quote from the book: "The most important secret of salesmanship is to find out what the other fellow wants, and then help him find the best way to get it. . . If you will always remember this one rule, selling will be easy."

This famous book will help you to find out why it is important to ask questions, and what questions to ask. It will tell you the most important question in sales, the real reason someone makes a decision and what you should never do in sales.

Frank Bettger's classic is filled with lots of tips and is essential for your library.

Kozmo Kane is an internet network marketer who loves helping people help themselves, through reading and self-study. He is most knowledgeable about the breadth and width of self-help books, including the genres of business growth and personal growth. He can be reached at kozmokane@yahoo.com

Pictured here is the "cash flow quadrant". 95% of us live on the left side and garner 5% of the wealth, while the remaining 5% do business on the right side of the quadrant and control 95% of the wealth. Those of us on the left side are employees (which includes the self-employed! they just "own" their jobs): they exchange their time for money. The majority of those on the right side of the quadrant build what is called a "B-style business", which is built on a duplicatable system that produces passive residual income: do the work once, and the business system continues to produce income, even when you're not there.

Kiyosaki and Lechter describe the differences between and the characteristics of these two groups of people, the 95% and the 5%, and how you can switch from one side of the quadrant to the other. The authors explain the 3 kinds of business systems, and how you can start making the move into one or all of them.

This book was written for people who are ready to do the work necessary to make significant changes in their personal and financial lives. Moving to the right side of the quadrant is a matter of learning new skills. And you don't necessarily need to invest a lot of money to make the switch.

Cashflow Quadrant:
Rich Dad's Guide to Financial Freedom

This book addresses the benefits of the network marketing industry in particular.

The Business School, For People Who Like Helping People
(Rich Dad's- The Eight Hidden Values of a Network Marketing Business, Other Than Making Money)

By the end of reading it, you'll understand why you don't have to go back to school and earn an MBA to achieve financial success. Consider that the following people were college drop-outs: Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Ted Turner, Richard Branson. This book is written especially for people who are ready to move beyond job security, into the realm of personal and financial freedom. You'll learn that in this industry, growing your Self, is how you grow your business, and in doing so, you not only change the quallity of your life, but also the lives of countless others. You'll be left feeling inspired and encouraged that you too, can take the risks required to truly excel in life, and in business. You'll also come to understand how you will have the opportunity to assist others to do the same.

The Next Millionaires

If you are one of the millions who have a discouraging bank account and a stack of past due bills, this book will help you to understand that it's not necessarily your fault. Back in the Agricultural Age, money was made on the land. During its heyday, when most of the money was made, there were no gas powered machines to make life easier, or to increase production. Around the turn of the 20th century, we saw oil, steel and manufacturing enter the picture, and thus, the beginning of the end of the Agricultural Age, and the beginning of the Industrial Age. Now, imagine if you will, the reluctance of farmers to get involved. . . where, for example, will you drive those new-fangled things they call automobiles? Where is there really to go? Well, there was another group of people who said: "I know!! let's build roads, and factories, and big cities!" Some people saw opportunity where others did not, and prospered greatly from it. Think of Henry Ford, the Rockefeller's and the Carnegie's.

When the internet went public in the mid- 1990's, it heralded a new era now widely known as the Information Age. The way money is made is going through another historical change. Pilzer's book explains the changing trends and why home-based entrepreneurs have the advantage. If our economic times look chaotic and turbulent to you, know that opportunity is always born in such times. If you can change from Industrial Age thinking to Information Age thinking, you too can capitalize on the current trends, and improve your bank account for the better.

New Rules for the New Economy

This book by Kevin Kelly requires a little more energy to follow than the books reviewed above; I had to tighten my thinking cap a bit. It was first printed in 1998, and is now considered the tome of the New Economy. The laws of the Industrial Age no longer apply here in this early 21st century, where networks rule. Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computers, predicted at a business conference in Detroit (also in 1998), that communities and community building will be the key to wealth in the Information Age. Kelly explains why this is, and how these communities can work effectively to create wealth. You'll learn how technology, and the chaos it sometimes creates, is loaded with opportunity, and how to strategize a plan for business success.

I read this book once, and then read it again. That's how much it affected me.

The Slight Edge:
Secret to a Successful Life

Have you ever had the experience of hearing the same, important information a dozen times, and then, on the 13th time, "bam!", you got it? Many of the topics in this book are popular and time-honored: the importance of attitude, goal setting, focusing, developing good habits, time management, and the like. But Olson puts it all together in a way that I found refreshing, and compelling.

Without giving the book away, I can tell you that the "Slight Edge" is comprised of the little things we do every day that move us forward toward our goals, whether it's losing 10 pounds this month, or earning 500 extra dollars next week. These are things that are "easy to do, but just as easy not to do". Easy to pass on the twinkies. . . but just as easy not to. Easy to check the business email. . . but just as easy not to. The choices we make determine whether or not the slight edge works for us, or against us. Success isn't so much about the hard, difficult things that have to be done, but more about the series of small, simple things that build momentum in the desired direction, things we do day after day after day. Building on good, productive habits on a daily basis is your slight edge. It is how you will ultimately succeed, while those who chose "easy not to do" won't.

The Slight Edge is an elegantly inspiring book, and an easy read. Heck, read it twice.