Brattina shares her ten-year diary which recalls her experiences as owner of a small business, revealing how her company grew from a $1 to a $1 million enterprise in 10 years time. She includes interviews with struggling compatriots and mentors, and concludes with an analysis and lessons for fellow small business owners.

**A Forbes Best Business Book of the Year, 2015** **Winner of the 2015 800-CEO-READ Business Book Award in Entrepreneurship** When columnist Paul Downs was approached by The New York Times to write for their “You’re the Boss” blog, he had been running his custom furniture business for twenty-four years strong. or mostly strong. Now, in his first book, Downs paints an honest portrait of a real business, with a real boss, a real set of employees, and the real challenges they face. Fresh out of college in 1986, Downs opened his first business, a small company that builds custom furniture. In 1987, he hired his first employee. That’s when things got complicated. As his enterprise began to grow, he had to learn about management, cash flow, taxes, and so much more. But despite any obstacles, Downs always remained keenly aware that every small business, no matter the product it makes or the service it provides, starts with people. He writes with tremendous insight about hiring employees, providing motivation to get the best out of them, and the difficult decisions he’s made to let some of them go. Downs also looks outward, to his dealings with vendors and to providing each client with exemplary customer service from first sales pitch to final delivery. With honesty and conviction, he tells the true story behind building and sustaining a successful company in an ever-evolving economy, often airing his own failures and shortcomings to reveal the difficulties that arise from being a boss and a businessperson. Countless employees have told the story of their experience with managers—Boss Life tells the other side of that story.

Praise for The Book of Entrepreneurs' Wisdom "A great tool, not just for entrepreneurs,but for anyone trying to improve their business skills. It sure would have been nice to have had this book twenty-three years ago!" -Jim McCann, President, 1-800-Flowers Pearls from The Book of Entrepreneurs Wisdom "The secret to success: Plunge into the uncomfortable, push, or be lucky enough to have someone push you, beyond your fears and your sense of limitations." -Barry Diller "I sometimes feel like I'm behind the wheel of a racecar. I need to keep my eyes on the horizon, but I also need to keep my attention on the rear-view mirror to see who's gaining on me." -Steve Case "A business which starts off quickly, makes money at once, and seems to be in every respect a gold mine, often does not last long." -Harvey Firestone "Did I want to risk an embarrassing and costly failure? Absolutely." -Michael Bloomberg

The Entrepreneur's Diary is a 12 week guided journal for small business owners to keep track of and organize their business lives. Daily schedule and goals along with weekly and monthly reflections and outlooks are included in the joural.

Diary of a Fortune Hunter is a week-by-week guide to building your multi-million pound entrepreneurial empire, broken down into a 52-week diary planner. Quirky and unconvential, it covers topics as diverse as getting the most out of social media, to dealing with time thieves.

Career counselor Alan B. Bernstein helps you identify your interests and style by guiding you through the Birkman Career Style Summary.(TM) You will answer a series of questions about your personal preferences and then score yourself to identify your Birkman(TM) colors on a grid. Your Birkman(TM) colors represent your career interests and style-not only what you like to do but also how you like to do it. The Princeton Review's Guide to Your Career features: - Profiles of more than 200 professions, from accountant to zoologist - First-hand insight from professionals - Easy organization so you can find all the careers compatible with your needs and desires - In-depth information on the hottest careers in a twenty-first century economy, from the expected (attorney, carpenter, and dentist) to the unexpected (baseball player, sommelier, and wedding consultant) - Crucial career data, including average salaries and major associations Alan B. Bernstein, C.S.W., P.C., is a psychotherapist with expertise in career development and has consulted on strategic training and development programs at major institutions.

A WRY AND HILARIOUS ACCOUNT OF LIFE AT A BOOKSHOP IN A REMOTE SCOTTISH VILLAGE "Among the most irascible and amusing bookseller memoirs I've read." --Dwight Garner, New York Times "Warm, witty and laugh-out-loud funny..."—Daily Mail The Diary of a Bookseller is Shaun Bythell's funny and fascinating memoir of a year in the life at the helm of The Bookshop, in the small village of Wigtown, Scotland—and of the delightfully odd locals, unusual staff, eccentric customers, and surreal buying trips that make up his life there as he struggles to build his business . . . and be polite . . . When Bythell first thought of taking over the store, it seemed like a great idea: The Bookshop is Scotland's largest second-hand store, with over one hundred thousand books in a glorious old house with twisting corridors and roaring fireplaces, set in a tiny, beautiful town by the sea. It seemed like a book-lover's paradise . . . Until Bythell did indeed buy the store. In this wry and hilarious diary, he tells us what happened next—the trials and tribulations of being a small businessman; of learning that customers can be, um, eccentric; and of wrangling with his own staff of oddballs (such as ski-suit-wearing, dumpster-diving Nicky). And perhaps none are quirkier than the charmingly cantankerous bookseller Bythell himself turns out to be. But then too there are the buying trips to old estates and auctions, with the thrill of discovery, as well as the satisfaction of pressing upon people the books that you love . . . Slowly, with a mordant wit and keen eye, Bythell is seduced by the growing charm of small-town life, despite —or maybe because of—all the peculiar characters there.

The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Business Plansoffers both the tactical and economic considerations to start and sustain your company-- and keep ahead of the competition. The book explores the crucial elements of a business plan-- with examples, information about credit and hot is perceived by investors, expert marketing suggestions, and effective strategies for putting together operational and sales plans.