BUSINESS BOOKSHELF

A look at what we're reading and recommending right now.

As we like to point out, there might never be a better time to start a small business; for many Americans, it just might be the only option thanks to a windfall of downsizing and outsourcing. We are losing tens of thousands of jobs to India and China.

This book is subtitled “Starting, Protecting and Securing Your Business For Long-Term Success.” The author points out the United States Small Business Administration reports that 80 percent of small businesses fail within the first five years.

He hopes you’ll benefit from his strategies and tips on coping and conquering the predators that could keep you from succeeding: these include creditors, crooks, competitors and lousy customers.

Some of his strategies include:

focus on a niche that’s not being adequately served by rivals and
saturate it before the competition

use your business name everywhere—letterhead, business cards, marketing brochures, and website

trusts your instincts in choosing customers and if you believe in your gut that there could be a problem, move away from the deal and walk to the next customer

hire a lawyer right away to protect you from mistakes

find out and comply with local and state regulations that apply to your business.

THE SAVVY STUDIO OWNER
A Complete Guide To Setting Up and Running Your Own Recording Studio
By John Shirley and Richard Strasser
(Backbeat Books, $19.95)

If you’ve longed to start your own business and have talent as a musician and/or engineer, this book could help you launch your very own recording studio. Financial success might elude you without the proper planning, but this book explains how to avoid common mistakes and pitfalls and get your venture going on a solidly built foundation.

The book covers all aspects of starting and running a professional sound-recording studio, from smaller project-style facilities to million-dollar majors. From business structures, financing and government regulations to studio design, marketing and taxes, the information in The Savvy Studio Owners is based on research and sound industry practices, all presented in a very practical how-to style.

Dr. John Shirley is a composer, recording engineer, record producer, author and studio owner. Dr. Richard Strasser is coordinator of the Music Business program at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell.

Backbeat Books, we’re very pleased to learn, publishes books for people who are passionate about music, whether as performers or avid fans. Based in San Francisco, Backbeat Books is an imprint of CMP Information. For more on this interesting company and to read more about this neat book, visit www.backbeatbooks.com.

LAUNCH IT!
By Molly Miller-Davison, JoAnne Stone-Geier, and Michael B. Levinson
(Collins, $21.95)

Think you have a good idea but need help on getting it together to transform your concept into a marketable product? Pick up a copy of Launch It!

The authors have put together a step-by-step plan to evaluate an idea, pinpoint the appropriate customer bases, identify emerging and important trends, raise capital, save time, avoid costly errors and make money.

The book’s authors are a team of trend and product consultants with more than 60 years collective experience in advising entrepreneurs, designers, companies, the Department of Commerce, the UN (don’t hold that against them), and several foreign governments. They begin their guide with a section to help you determine if your product or idea is really needed in today’s marketplace. They direct you to a series of questions about your product or idea including “does your product have longevity or is it just a flash in the pan?”

The book explores development and the launch phase, too, and includes a variety of case studies that demonstrate success strategies.

Some of these important steps include:

financing a new product or company and deciding between options such as angel funding, venture capital and the emergence of factoring funding beyond the rag trade

staffing ideas including hiring the right people in-house and the pros and cons of working with outside sales teams

how to choose the right designer for a commercial website

how to evaluate trade shows, design a great booth on a budget and how to optimize success at the market

how to develop great press relations, effective memedia kits and how to take advantage of free marketing opportunities

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