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Top Small Business Books – My Picks for SmallBizTrends 2012 #BizBookAwards

By 83 Comments

UPDATE: 46,000 Votes later, you can see the
Small Business Book Award Winners.

Small Biz Trends Book Awards 2012The fourth annual Small Business Book Awards highlights the best new Small Business books specifically beneficial for small businesses rather than applicable only or primarily to enterprise or corporate level businesses.

SMALL BUSINESS RESOURCES:

Instrumental in bringing us this valuable awareness of books that can make a difference are:

Anita Campbell
Anita Campbell

Anita Campell, Founder of the Small Business Book Awards and the driving force behind:

  • Small Business Trends – recognized in 2005 and again in 2008 as the winner of the Forbes “Best of the Web” distinction for small business blogs.
  • BizSugar small business social bookmarking, voting, and networking site for small business and medium-sized business owners and managers.
  • Small Business Blogging Community BloggerTone – All three of these sites are dedicated to for Small Business and highly recommended.
Ivana Taylor
Ivana Taylor

Ivana Taylor, publisher of DIYMarketers.com and an exceptional writer in her own right. She is co-author of the book “Excel for Marketing Managers.” Do be sure to check out her DIY Marketers blog.

TOP NEW SMALL BUSINESS BOOKS:

Over 200 small business books published within the last year have been nominated this year. There are my top picks – one in every category and three in Marketing:

Marketing Shortcuts for the Self-Employed
(Excellent for entrepreneurs, small businesses and their employees and managers as well as the self-employed.)

Marketing Shortcuts

  • VOTE for Marketing Shortcuts for the Self-Employed
  • Marketing Shortcuts for the Self-Employed
  • Twitter ID: @schwerdtfeger
  • Read Tia Peterson @BizChickBlogs Marketing Shortcuts review
  • BUY Marketing Shortcuts for the Self-Employed

Engagement from Scratch

Engagement From Scratch

Managing with a Conscience

Managing With A Conscence

Locavesting: The Revolution in Local Investing & How to Profit From It

Locavesting: The Revolution in Local Investing and How to Profit From It

“One of the best things about the book is that each chapter ends with a concise set of information on resources/next steps you can take to get involved in that particular local investing approach.” ~ Elizabeth on GoodReads ~

Duct Tape Seo: WordPress SEO Done CheapDuct Tape SEO: WordPress SEO Done Dirt Cheap

  • VOTE for Duct Tape SEO
  • Duct Tape SEO: WordPress SEO Done Dirt Cheap
  • Twitter ID: @TheAvgGenius
  • BUY Duct Tape SEO

Digital Impact: The Two Secrets to Online Marketing Success Digital Impact: The Two Secrets to Online Marketing Success

Become a Franchise Owner Become a Franchise Owner

 

Recommended: How to Sell Through Networking and ReferralsRecommended: How to Sell Through Networking and Referrals

And Death Came ThirdAnd Death Came Third

Books distill the wisdom and experience of decades into an easy to consume format; exceptional books provide actionable strategies and a map you can use to guide your small business to greater heights. I highly recommend them as the fast path to success.

I was not aware that Olivier Blandchard’s book was in the running when I originally created this post. I thought it had been out too long to qualify so I didn’t think to look for it.

I am adding it to my list as he is the only one I have seen writing about how you CAN track Social Media ROI and the impact of other actions by using timelines.

Social Media ROISocial Media ROI: Managing and Measuring Social Media Efforts in Your Organization

  • Book Site: Social Media ROI
  • Twitter ID: @TheBrandBuilder
  • Buy Social Media ROI

No doubt other excellent books have been nominated so feel free to share your favorites or draw attention to your own book in the comments. I did not have time to review ALL the nominations – so your book could end up in this post.

Disclosure: Many of the images in this post and the Buy links take you to Biggerbooks – my choice as the best alternative to Amazon.  There is NOTHING unethical about a blogger using affiliate links provided they only recommend what they truly believe in.  I do not support, buy from, or recommend the highly unethical Amazon.com. I have received free review copies of some of these books.

 

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Gail Gardner

Small Business Marketing Strategist at GrowMap
Gail Gardner is the founder of GrowMap.com. She is a Small Business Marketing Strategist who mentors small businesses, bloggers, and freelancers. After 23 years in the field with IBM and 5.5 years managing AdWords accounts, her focus shifted to small business marketing strategy. GrowMap.com is listed by Cision as a Top 100 Site for Marketers and has received three Small Business Influencer Awards from Small Business Trends. Named by D&B a Top 50 SMB Influencer on Twitter, you can follow Gail @GrowMap and on LinkedIn.
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Comments

  3. My hat tip goes to Death Came Third. I started to get called on to deliver market thoughts and quite frankly, I don’t think I could keep a concrete thought. This book hammered home about leading with your strengths even if you don’t think you have any. Confidence came as a result of this book and the many tips and suggestions it gave. While not a great speaker, I can at least hold the interest of the room.
    Shane would love you to read ..One Day Swing Trades Download – Important DetailsMy Profile

    Reply

  4. There are some very interesting books in that list. I think reading is very important because knowledge increses when you read books, people should try to do it a bit more…

    Reply

  5. Good list. Two of my favorite (older books) are E-Myth, and the Internet Business Manifesto (free ebook). Both really changed my perspective.

    Reply

  6. great recommendation Growmap. There are some very valuable and useful books that relates to my niche. will surely search in details about these books and try some from this fantastic collection.

    Reply

  8. I recently developed interest in reading and must admit that books have the power to change the life of anyone. From being a pessimistic person I am started seeing the positive sides of things now.

    Reply

  9. I just loved reading the book ‘And the death came third’. This book is aimed at people who are attending business networking meeting where they will meet a lot of people in a short period of time to see if there is a chance of doing business together. However the tips are equally as useful if you’re going to a party or wedding where you know very few people. The difference is that people at business networking meetings are looking to sell their product.

    Reply

  11. That’s a great list to select from and all are incredible books. I do like to add one of them in my collection.

    Reply

  12. I have been looking for books that would strengthen my motivation. Thank you for your suggestions. This is a pretty good list and the books’ reviews are impressive.

    Reply

  13. Thanks for the list, I like the book “Marketing Shortcuts for the Self-Employed” very much, read before and very useful!

    Reply

  14. I voted for Digital Impact: The Two Secrets to Online Marketing Success. Its a gread book for anyone working in the digital marketing field or small business owners trying to promote their business using the internet. Great read

    Reply

  15. Nice collection of small business books! Managing with Conscience is my favorite. In any business, building your employees’ trust and maintaining customers’ loyalty are the core factors to survive in today’s competitive market.

    Reply

  16. Thanks for the list of business books, I have to admit that that is one of my weaknesses. I’d love to hear the story behind “unethical amazon”.
    jack would love you to read ..Forex TradingMy Profile

    Reply

  17. A friend of mine purchased one of these books to help him promote his new small business. So I’m looking forward to hearing it myself, if he ever lets it go! haha

    Reply

  18. No doubt a good list of books. Duct Tape SEO: WordPress SEO Done Dirt Cheap is really good I read it some time back and it helped me a lot. Thanks for sharing. Good Luck

    Reply

  19. This list reminded me a lot of those little books as kids that we got from the library and had to read to increase our knowledge. I must say that you seem to have a great list here. I am hoping to read some of these books and looking forward to gaining useful information that will help me when it comes to my online business.

    Reply

  22. I haven’t heard about the most of these books, but marketing shortcuts is really a must-have one for the people who are in online marketing and SEO. Such a great collection of must.have items, thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply

  23. This is a wonderful list of books. I think I will buy “Managing With A Conscience”. I feel other books will also be helpful but I will buy them after this book gives me good amount of help.
    Cammile Mailhot would love you to read ..Achat home trainerMy Profile

    Reply

  24. Looks like I’ve got a lot of reading to do. The main point is that SEO and inbound marketing is relatively new way of promotion and there’s a lot we haven’t experienced. So we really need to read a lot.

    Reply

  25. This post is is good source of books but might and main is to deeply understand the literature and practically apply these tips in business.

    Reply

  26. I am an avid reader and read books regularly. I must say that is great fun reading books and all that and I must say that your list of books here are great reads as well as great on more information providers. I have a small business and I think your books are great to help promote them.

    Reply

  27. While I’m sure Joel, “The Franchise King”, wrote the book for entrepreneurs and future business owners, I am recommending this work for everyone working the franchise space including marketers, operations, sales, and especially suppliers. You need this book if you’re even sniffing the idea of being a franchise owner. It will be the best money you ever spend. I believe Joel’s book is the best I’ve read on the steps franchisees need to take in order to properly research franchising and how best to lower risk in the process.

    Reply

  29. Books like these are so inspiring for those in small business. But it is appreciated if someone translate the books into our local Language ‘TAMIL’

    Reply

  30. Hello!

    These are great list of books! I have already purchased Engagement from Scratch an it really helps me in the business. Maybe after I finish reading this I will try the other books you recommend.

    Reply

  31. You just lengthened my reading list! There are a few in here that I’d been planning to read but haven’t had the chance. The top one is Engagement from Scratch, which at least one friend of mine said made a huge impact on her business. Definitely want to check out the first one on marketing shortcuts. Give me a title with the word “shortcut” in it and I’m all over it.:)
    – Sharyn
    Sharyn Sheldon would love you to read ..Offline Marketing PLR Content – Special OfferMy Profile

    Reply

  32. Recently, I was catching up with a few friends and I must say that I was really excited about books that suggest ways and means to propagate small businesses like I have. I must say that the book list you have put here have got me excited and I hope to be able to read some of them and use the tips in my personal business.

    Reply

  33. As a reader I am a fan of business books and was pretty excited to see your post. I have read “Business With A Conscience” and found it to be a stellar piece. I am sure that like the book I read which was of top quality even the other books on this list will also be at the same level. Am looking forward to getting my hands on the books soon.

    Reply

    • Hi Jack,

      I find it really encouraging that Marketing with a Conscience ended up fourth in the Social Media category because that indicates there is growing interest in ethical business practices.

      There were over 200 (I wish I knew exactly how many but too busy to go count them) nominated and these were the ones I knew about or found early on.

      I will be adding more to this list as I only recently found out that Social Media ROI by Olivier Blanchard @TheBrandBuilder was nominated. Olivier is the ONLY person I have seen expound on the importance of Measuring Social Media ROI using timelines in evaluating social media impact and that is crucial. Analytics is highly misleading the way most people go about it and that results in them making bad decisions that really hurt their businesses.

      I did not think to look for his book because I thought it had been out more than a year. Only books published during a specific timeframe are eligible to be nominated.

      No doubt there may be other exceptional books that were nominated or missed being nominated. I encourage anyone who has particular favorites to share them with me.
      Gail Gardner would love you to read ..Small Business Internet Marketing: Where to StartMy Profile

      Reply

  34. Nice Collection! I’ve read the “Duct Tape SEO” Book: very useful tips! Do you know whether a book of the founder of “37signals” is nominated? Perhaps “Re:work”. That’s my favorite book of the last years.

    Reply

  35. The book “How to Sell Through Networking and Referrals” will be useful for the present and the future online marketers. This is the famous saying of the book “If you want to grow your business….get Recommended!”. so in online marketing people needs trust on them and that can be done by recommendations.

    Reply

  36. I am an avid reader and am really excited by the book list you have put up. I can read almost everything and anything. I will be surely buying your book list and am looking forward to learning a lot of helpful tips when it comes to managing my small business. Thanks for this post, seems very well worked out.

    Reply

  37. I know Anita Campbell, she’s a regular contributor at sba.gov which helps small businesses become successful! Great collection of books too!

    Reply

  38. I am just wondering why there isn’t any book which helps us to boost online business or e-commerce! 🙁 Anyways a few helped!

    Reply

  40. Just wanted to add one more thing I was reading through the comments and notices you could review other short books, my father wrote on on timeshare real estate, awesome tricks for anyone who wants out or cant justify the cost. Its called Timeshare Whisperer. Who does he send the ebook to?
    john moore would love you to read ..Queen Creek Homes For SaleMy Profile

    Reply

  44. Hi Gail,

    Wow — what a great post. These all look like wonderful books.

    I want to tell you how much we really appreciate your being a Media Partner of the Small Business Book Awards – honored in fact!

    And thanks to everyone who left comments here — how nice of you.

    Here’s to the winners! Just a bit over one day left to go.

    – Anita

    Reply

  45. These books seems a good read. I will vote all the books that you mentioned and check this later on my google cloud reader.

    Reply

  50. I just finished reading this book ‘Become a franchise owner’ by Joel Libava. I must say what an inspirational and well thought out guide to starting up a business. I mean obviously it can’t provide all the answers for you but the strategies and considerations it promotes are nothing short of sound advice. A worthy read. Finally there is a book that gets into the nitty-gritty of what you have in store for you if you go down the franchise path.

    Reply

    • ZVI,

      Thank you so much for that really nice recommendation!

      I’m glad you enjoyed my book.

      May I use your comment on my book website?

      Thanks,

      Joel Libava

      Reply

  51. An excellent subject. Small business is what drives the economy forward and by helping other small business people select the best learning materials out there, it helps all of us. I’m still looking for the ultimate small business landlord and property management book though …

    Reply

  52. It’s a shame I couldn’t get my book How To Be Lucky into the nominations on time. It’s about how I changed my life from a homeless teenager to become a successful entrepreneur and it contains loads of great advice for small businesses and anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit. Good luck to all the authors nominated.
    Matt Kinsella would love you to read ..How To Change Your Life In One Simple StepMy Profile

    Reply

    • Hi Matt,

      If you would like me to review your book you can send me a review copy (digital or print). Be sure to include your preferred keyword phrases for the anchor text and landing pages – especially where someone can get the book. (Anywhere but NOT Amazon please.)

      Would you be interested in writing a guest post here – a how-to about your experience using LuLu to publish your books as print on demand books? That would be very useful and of great interest to my readers (and me). I encourage guest bloggers to include all relevant links.

      I just looked at LuLu and am deeply disappointed that their only affiliate program is on Google. That makes them a whole lot less interesting because the less Google the better. Why in my There is No Google Fairy post.
      growmap would love you to read ..Guest Posting: Guest Blogging Tips ~ My Guest PostsMy Profile

      Reply

  53. A great resource of books for small business owners. Having read Andy Lopta’s book I can highly recommend it. (Excuse the pun)!

    Reply

  54. The Duct Tape SEO caught my eye. Read up on it and it sounds like something I should pick up. Goes to show how a good title can grab certain people. Because man I love duct tape. Thanks for the list!

    Reply

  55. So many good books so little time :(.Wish i had time to read them all,but for now i think i will start with Marketing Shortcuts for the Self-Employed.
    Thanks for sharing this awsome list.

    Reply

  56. These are great list of books you have compiled, I’ve notice that all the books talks about small business and worth a read, for us to base our experience, and maybe one time it will make us successful in our own endeavor.
    Kate Brown Wilson would love you to read ..חג פוריםMy Profile

    Reply

  58. Which book will have the most impact for me if I want to do my own web marketing? Digital Impact or Marketing Shortcuts for the Self-Employed?

    I will definitely be checking out these books though because I am looking to grow a small business.

    Reply

  60. I’ve already heard about Anita Campbell as one of the great successor and contribution in small businesses she has achieved this reputation through her unparalleled experienced and understanding. Also with Ivan Taylor, Its such a pleasure to view this post and learned useful information and these shows that women are now on track in respect to their chosen career in life.

    Reply

  62. What a nice list you have put together here! I’m looking extra close at Duct Tape SEO: WordPress SEO Done Dirt Cheap which I think seems to have great potential. Judging from reviews out there, it seems to be good for the beginner and have quite a few tips for the seasoned blogger as well.

    Reply

  64. I’ll take a look at some of these later since I’m always looking for new books to read. I highly suggest the book Rework if you have not read it. Very simple read, but it’s a great story.

    Reply

  66. This is an awesome book set. I also saw a contest on incomediary.com about great books for entrepreneurs (i think they were 20 books that the winner will get all for free). Thanks for the list.

    M Mark

    Reply

  69. Interesting set of books, but I liked also your closing sentence: there is nothing unethical about promoting affiliate links provided that it’s done in a correct and ethical way as you do. Why not? And Amazon is not such a good choice, also they pay pennies like their compeer Big G. The bigger they are the lesser they pay.

    Have a great weekend Gail!

    Reply

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