Business Books

Very informative. Lots of information, resources and guidance. This book is truly a must read!

As of this review, I do not know the author personally however after painfully learning over the years much of what was so generously shared here, I can assure you that after carefully studying this book, this guy definitely knows what he's talking about.

This book can literally save you thousands in misspent time and money by providing you with a high-level road map for carving out your space in the business world. I do wish I had this book 5 years ago!

The only negative with this book is that although I'm truly grateful for what the author did choose to include, the book left me wanting a tad bit as each chapter could easily have been extended to be its own book. Let's hope for many more follow-up books from this author in the years to come.

Even if you are an advanced and experienced internet marketer, this enlightening book by Ken MacArthur is a must read.

IMPACT has forced me to make a solid and calmed recap of all that I have learned about internet marketing during two years of compulsive purchasing and avid reading of downloadable courses and ebooks (much of the them not worth the price I paid) about this matter.

With his simple, close and clear tone, Ken MacArthur covers all the key matters that you need to know if you want to impact others in a positive way - especially if you want to make your voice listened by thousands with respect and receptivity.

He gives you the keys to make your "impact" system, the rest is up to you... Once you have read the book, don't stop... you must to take actions that Ken has showed you. You should take lots of notes when reading this book.

If you are a beginner in the internet marketing arena, I have no doubt that you will save an important amount of time and money (not like me) if you read this book. I wish it had fallen into my hands two years ago!

Also Ken's teaching goes beyond the mere book. As a continuation of it Ken has a website that contains quality complementary information and resources. As stated on the back cover of the book, Ken offers ... "A free step-by-step guide with hundreds of hours of audio and video instructions to help you create your personal impact plan."

Thanks for writing such a helpful book, Mr. MacArthur.

Alex Perez-Prat

Although this book has a lot of helpful and interesting information, it suffers from a key problem - it doesn't know what kind of book it is. By that I mean that author Ken McArthur seems as if he was at times penning a self-help book, then a very technical how-to book, or was it a how to make a lot of money book, or maybe it was a book warning about the perils of selling an online product, or maybe it was about the difficulties of making a lot of money - wait no, it's an inspirational/motivational book. All these areas are covered to some extent, and give the book a kind of haphazard feel. When you get to an interesting section, it's like driving on an otherwise mediocre scenic tour and suddenly coming upon a really beautiful site.

The book is also at times a frustrating read because McArthur covers important topics on a general level, leaving the reader thirsting for a very specific example. Take online products. Please provide a specific, detailed example. He gets specific at the end when he talks about his online product, but even there it not detailed enough. Maybe this book was really just promotional material to go to his website and buy his product.

Part of me wants to give it a 4, but I think a 3 is more justified because in the end I am left with the feeling that there surely are other authors with more focused things to say.

One last thing - a pet peeve. I really don't like when authors quote themselves in a book. What's up with placing your own quotes in shaded boxes? If something is really quotable, it should be done by readers and not by the authors.

I'm a teacher, software creator, and internet marketing coach. When I got this book from a seminar recently, I thought it would be a nice addition to my library that I would read "some" day when I wasn't so busy.

One day my internet connection went on the blink. I was annoyed, but decided to spend my time productively instead of whining. I chose to read Ken's book, Impact. After all, he had signed it for me at the Masters Seminar in Chicago.

The book captivated me as did the author.

A few pages into the book, I saw my instant messenger pop back up. I had tons of action steps written for the day, yet to be done, but I was not about to put the book down. I was like a sponge soaking up life for myself and my business. I could relate so well to everything he was saying. He gives solid, usable content, not just concepts or fluff.

It is clear that he is an expert marketer because he understands every aspect of marketing-but he especially gets how valuable relationships are to building a true foundation of a successful business.

It is officially on my "must read" list for my internet marketing students.

The book covers crucial information on publicity, psychology, leveraging, launch strategies, building revenue, outsourcing, automating, and much more that every serious marketer should know. The resources inside the book are amazing, but he goes a step further and adds bonus links to resources online for those who want more.

It doesn't matter if you are a new affiliate marketer or own a thriving business-you'll enjoy and benefit from reading this book. You'll thank me later if you just click the order button now. It's that good.

Kristi Sayles

http://SmartAuthor.com
http://TalkwithExperts.com
http://SmartAuthorSystem.com
http://SpecialReportGenerator.com

Anybody can put their video up on YouTube, but how do you get your feature or doc out there where it counts in dollars and reviews? In my career as a director and producer I've usually been hired on by others and did not have to worry about distribution, but now our own company is producing a feature-length documentary, so I picked up Phil Hall's book to become familiar with the labyrinthine world of film distribution.

I suggest you do as I did and read the Table of Contents then go directly to each chapter's section on "LISTEN TO WHAT THE MAN SAYS". That will give you a quick dive into the concepts so you can be more tuned in to the information as you go back and read through the book's chapters.

The information is hard-nosed and clear-eyed with lots of flashing neon signs saying, "Watch out for this!" and "Don't you dare do that!". The insights are encouraging in that Hall obviously respects those with talent, vision, and persistence.

I know we'll be wearing out the pages of this book during production and post-production in hopes of following Hall's advice to be prepared for the challenges of distribution - and hopefully reap those rewards.

Pamela Jaye Smith, Producer
RGO MEDIA ASSOCIATES
[...]

This has got to be one of the best books regarding the business side of movie/film production that I've read in a long time. It is very candid, no punches being pulled. It is just straight up! This book really opened my eyes to the distribution side of the business, and I really appreciate the distributors list at the end. If you are serious about getting your movie out there, read this book! Then read it again!

Phil's book is a vital source for understanding the current landscape of independent distribution. I wish that I'd read this book two years ago before I'd started on my first feature. He's an excellent writer, but it's not just the writing that shines through - it's the interviews. He gets the salient questions in and avoids the starry eyed fluff that has a tendency to creep into industry interviews. I highly recommend it!

After years of watching movies and perhaps having friends, family, and acquaintances tell you that you should write a screenplay or make a movie, you've decided that that's what you want to do with some of the months or years ahead. First, don't panic. Lots of people have had this epiphany before. It's a long journey, but the rewards can be rich if you remember that it's step by step, and not javelin leap by javelin leap. It takes time and much effort, and even more patience.

You'll need a few things before you even begin to direct. Obviously, you need a camera, a screenplay, some actors if necessary, and locations where you'll be allowed to shoot. But besides all that, you'll need some books too, some guides to show you how indie filmmaking is, and what you can do to make your experience an enlightening one, perhaps even more exciting than you might have imagined. That's where Phil Hall comes in.

You pick up a copy of his book, Independent Film Distribution, and prepare to read Phil's educated, calm prose that I'm confident will get you through any worries you might have. It might not solve them all, because an indie film production still has lots to be concerned about during it, but you'll look at how Phil sees independent film and not only perhaps see even more names you might have not recognized at first, but see how to market your dream film, see what it takes to shout at the world, "See my movie!"

Phil's greatest quality in his writing is that he's aware of the filmmakers like you who might read this book. To make an indie film is hard work, but to get people to see it is even more difficult, and he makes sure you know. He does not discourage, but rather guides you through what's out there, also covering what film festivals are all about, and the pros and cons of it.

But it's not only him! No, no. You'll be fortunate enough to read interviews with various, esteemed indie filmmakers, and quotes throughout the chapters from countless others who have been entrenched in indie filmmaking and other aspects of filmmaking and film distribution for years and can speak from where you might want to be one day.

This is where you go for all you'd want to learn. And Phil, being the understanding, considerate writer that he is, he includes a list of distributors in the back, for you to see who is in the business of getting indie films out there. Believe me, there are many books you could possibly have on your shelves about indie filmmaking, lots of authors talking up the history and perhaps also the distribution, but Independent Film Distribution needs to be one you keep close at hand and heart. You'll learn more than you ever thought possible, even if you know a whole lot already.

I didn't know what to expect when starring at the front cover of this book and thumbing through its list of contents, but I hungered for knowledge on this topic and bought it with reservations.

After reading the book, it left me with a sense that I merely overheard parts of a conversation, wishing I caught all of it. Although the interviews were pretty decent and sort of acted like conversations at a festival's kick-off party, it didn't fulfill me the way I needed it to.

I can say there are a few things I did learn, which - I guess - made it worth the read, but I won't keep this book.

I don't know... I think I could have learned more by a few hours of reading articles on the Internet, but that's just me.

I give it a C minus.

It has been my good fortune to read this book. This could free you as you leap into the world of real estate in cyberspace. As a provider of internet related services to realtors, I found this book to be practical and well written to focus on creation of your web site, getting found - which normally means it's easier to pay per click. Get started and sending effective emails. As a self promoted internet optimization junkie, it's easy to understand and explains how things work, really there is no mystery to search engines, keywords, and meta-tags. Even the sales-focused agent who leaves the details to his marketing people and technical assistants will want this book - to give to them to read.

I have seen no other book devoted to the internet and real estate. This book is loaded with good information on setting up a web site for your real estate interests or business. The book is written that even a person unfamilar with the technical aspects of the internet can benefit from this book. This book written in 2001 is up to date in the ever changing world of the internet. There are tons of web sites listed in the book, which if that was all there was in this book would be valuable. Ideas on the content of your web site is provided, as well as a chapter on email. Conventions with email, and even email etiquette. Anybody involved in real estate, whether an agent, broker, investor, or an individual buyer and seller of real estate will want to read this book. And don't forget about landlords and property manager, who should also have a web site. One advice given in the book is that everywhere that your phone number is printed so should your email address. I would only add to that also your web site URL.

I have seen no other book devoted to the internet and real estate. This book is loaded with good information on setting up a web site for your real estate interests or business. The book is written that even a person unfamilar with the technical aspects of the internet can benefit from this book. This book written in 2001 is up to date in the ever changing world of the internet. There are tons of web sites listed in the book, which if that was all there was in this book would be valuable. Ideas on the content of your web site is provided, as well as a chapter on email. Conventions with email, and even email etiquette. Anybody involved in real estate, whether an agent, broker, investor, or an individual buyer and seller of real estate will want to read this book. And don't forget about landlords and property manager, who should also have a web site. Personally I have 2 web sites and of course email; and there will come a time if it has not already happened where, you will not be able to operate in this business without either. One advice given in the book is that everywhere that your phone number is printed so should your email address. I would only add to that also your web site URL.

I am a Realtor in South Florida who has just taken my buisness online.I was interrested in doing some reading on the subject and read many,many book reviews.I have to tell you I ordered this book"Internet Marketing in Real Estate"this book is unbelievable not only are they insightfull but they give you the address's to the sites with the information that they are discussing.If you you are even thinking about bringing your buisness into the year 2000 this book is a must have!Laura Pearlman

Attention Realtors, Buy This Book: "Internet Marketing in Real Estate," by Barbara Cox and William Koelzer. Don't just buy it, read it. It could help your business immensely. It also could help you overcome your apprehension about all that World Wide Web mumbo-jumbo.

Finally, it could help to free you from the intimidation of all those salespersons clad in guru's clothing who conduct seminars and office meetings, touting the latest product or service that is claimed to be "essential" for your survival in the wild-and-wooly world of real estate in cyberspace.

It has been my good fortune to have an early look at this book published by Prentice-Hall. The authors, not real estate practitioners themselves, are both spouses of web-enhanced Realtors in South Orange County.

They know whereof they speak, as both are active providers of Internet related services to Realtors, and they have both had the combat photographer's up-close view of real estate in the trenches. Their target audience will find the book both practical and appropriately written.

"Internet Marketing in Real Estate" consists of five parts:

"Creating and Building Your Internet Presence: Your Web Site"

"Getting Found" (the all-important section)

"Effective E-mail"

"Time to Get Started" (developing tasks, time-lines, and a budget)

Appendices

No technical expertise is presumed on the part of the reader. Each part that deals with Internet and marketing related concepts begins with a friendly "learning the language" section. A great deal of effort is made to explain to the reader, in plain language aided with illustrations, how things work in the initially mysterious world of Web sites, search engines, keywords, and meta-tags.

Textbook-like, "Internet Marketing in Real Estate" starts its sections with "the basics" and then develops the concepts that have been introduced. Sections end with exercises that encourage the reader to put his/her new knowledge to work.

The book also integrates related topics that are not Internet specific. Chapter 1 of Part 1 could be titled "Real Estate Marketing 101." It is important toward understanding Internet marketing concepts but that is because it is basic to marketing per se. Parts of the effective e-mail" section are straight out of basic composition. They are highly relevant.

"Internet Marketing in Real Estate" doesn't deal with all the issues that bear discussing. No book does. For example, the authors do not engage the serious questions that can be asked vis-à-vis the relative effectiveness of dollars and time spent on Internet marketing as opposed to other kinds of marketing. That is not their purpose.

When confronted with a new marketing medium, a businessperson (real estate or otherwise) must always ask the question, "If I adopt this, what will I stop doing that I am doing now?" (If the task - or the dollars - represents an addition to present efforts, rather than a replacement, then presumably it replaces something we were doing or spending in our non-business lives.)

To the credit of Cox and Koelzer, they present with great clarity the tasks and range of costs associated with various levels of involvement in Internet marketing. They provide the real estate businessperson with the information that will enable him or her to make an informed decision about this medium.

For those who have already decided that they want to make an effort at Internet marketing, the Cox and Koelzer book will provide an invaluable tool. Even the sales-focused agent who leaves the details to his marketing people and technical assistants will want this book - to give to them to read.

simply sophisticated and sophisticately simple, did the trick but if you are completely new to metrics, read it after christopher

As the author says, the book is "aimed at undergraduates but it is adaptable to master's students". It will provide you with excellent and extensive real life explanations. What is better about this book is that you can redo every example in the book by using the online data that it provides with. This was it is easier what happens by experimenting. In that sense this book is superior to many others where you cannot see how the results of estimations came about.

There is only one thing to take into account. Although there are three parts to this book, the shortest one is time series. Its coverage will is therefore not very comprehensive if you want basic explanations like the VAR, GARCH models etc...
In that case, I would recommend the book New Directions in Econometric Practice by Wojciech W. Charemza.

Great introduction to the subject, but the notation is poor. By presenting the material without matrix algebra, the multiple regression analysis becomes a convoluted mess of summation notation. Additionally, matrix notation is adopted in more advanced texts, making in beneficial to learn from the start.

Wooldridge's explanations are clear and useful. After a semester hacking my way through the dense brush of matrices in Greene's book, I realized I needed some help. Now I go to Wooldridge's treatment first, to make sure I understand the main concepts. Then I go to Greene for the detail, if I need to.

This books is excellent read. It builds good intuition, and is well suited for self-studying. It is also not too mathematical, no matrix notation, good for undergraduate students or as a review for graduate students. I can truly recommmend it.

I work with people to train them how to do effective e-newsletters. This is the one book I tell them that they have to read. The book is short but full of effective concepts. Yes this is a five star book.

This is a great book for anyone who is looking to start their own business and has all the skills they need but just needs a little push and motivation to go off on their own. It is a quick read and isn't written to talk over you. The concepts are simple and things that I have heard before but I like the way they are compiled in this book. It also helps hearing from someone who has made the jump to set out on their own and has been successful.

Michael Katz' extraordinary book is informative, exciting, magnificent, fun, funny and incomparable. It is consistent with his e-newsletter: Filled with engaging messages that are as enjoyable as they are insightful, "ISBW" is a rare combo that few can pull off. Buy it, read it, enjoy it! Then read it again, enjoy it again... and buy it again! Worth every pence.

Michael Katz is a pro and this book is a fun, breezy read, and you can't "beat" the title. Some of the stuff seemed familiar from his blog but it has more heft all bound together in a book. He really has thrived as a "first-time, mid-life, solo professional" and gives others hope that they can do so as well. I ordered this book after getting the first three chapters for free via his blog, and then a follow-up email from Michael. He practices what he preaches (give stuff away with a personal touch).

So many books about business lessons are a struggle to plow through - they tend to be full of statistics and the authors often full of themselves. Michael's book is a quick read with funny, apt anecdotes from his life - like Lesson #10 and the old man with the tea. What a great, simple story from his personal life with a crystal-clear message that we can all use. I was making notes to myself at the end of each chapter about something I could do to grow our business or reputation - or just make my job more enjoyable. It's also a great book for anyone who's been considering quitting their job and starting something on their own -- but needs either encouragement or a push!

I loved everything about this book. I particularly enjoyed the card deck. I was unable to put the book down once I got into it. I spent a weekend in a hotel room with this book and a notebook charting my next move in all areas of my life.

It's Your Move inspired me and got me up and moving. This book is a roadmap for anyone that is serious about going to the next level in their life.

Regardless of how old you are and how long you've worked, you can always learn new tools to make you more effective in life. A book that can add to your learning is It's Your Move - Dealing Yourself the Best Cards in Life and Work by Cyndi Maxey and Jill Bremer (Prentice Hall).

The general design of the book and plan is a series of 52 techniques, or "cards", that you can play in your life in order to improve your effectiveness in life. The techniques are grouped into a number of sets: preparation, attitude, visibility, style, presentation, listening, learning, balance, and flexibility. At the end of each chapter, you are instructed to "draw" one of the cards and start to apply it to your life. By not being able to pick and choose what you want to do, you are forced to examine possibilities that you may shy away from if given your choice.

If you've read books of this genre before, you'll recognize a number of the techniques... take risks, set goals, etc. But regardless of how many you've heard before, all it takes is one new idea to propel you forward. Maxey and Bremer have an easy style of writing that makes it simple to understand and incorporate the idea into your life. They also use actual personal stories to help the reader relate to the technique. All good stuff...

Worth reading if you're looking to make a change in your life...

This book was a real eye opener for me in many ways. It's down-to-earth format makes it easy and interesting to read. Within the 253 pages you learn how to enrich your personal,professional,financial and emotional strengths and how to vastly improve your weaknesses. It puts into words and organizes how to deal with almost any challenge one can confront in life and how to succeed and win at the same time. It makes sense! It's a blueprint to becoming or remaining proactive,powerful and self confident.

Although classified as a Business book, this title is really a self-help book. It was confusing for me as a reader, possibly based on my expectations.

Based on the subtitle of the book, I expected that I might see a card deck kind of format clearly presented. I imagined perhaps 52 great ideas that I could use to build my effectiveness. The fan of playing cards on the book cover reinforced that expectation. When I finally got past the pages of the publisher's advertising to reach the table of contents, I found that there were nine "hands," an introduction, a preparatory chapter, and a conclusion. Each hand (examples: attitude, visibility, style, listening, learning) in the table of contents has categories that highlight information and advice that would be helpful for anyone looking for some self-improvement help. There are graphics of success cards at the end of each chapter, but the graphics were not emphasized as well as they could be in the chapters. This is a design issue, rather than content, but the design affects the readability of the book.

Some "players" are introduced in the first chapter, representing composites of readers. The idea here, I believe, is that readers would be able to identify with these characters as they move through the book. These characters do stay with us through the book, but an army of other people pop in and out as examples in various vignettes. This parallel theme confused me as I was trying to follow the players and all the valuable advice being offered by the authors. The result of all these themes, a large number of call-out boxes, and a sans serif typeface made this book seem overly complicated.

Unquestionably, there is a lot of valuable advice in these pages, but be prepared to separate the book you'd like to read from the others that seem to be interwoven with it. The index, which appears just before the closing advertisements from the Financial Times, is helpful. The conclusion includes a survey with check-boxes that will enable the reader to focus on next-steps.

I've read quite a few self-help and business how-to books, and usually they are good for an idea or two. This one goes way beyond that, however. It has more helpful concrete information per square inch than any other business book I've read. I assumed I'd read this, then pass it along or resell it -- but no way! I'm keepin' this puppy. (Buy your own!)

If you want a reality check about the image you project at work, or some ideas about how to break the ice with the boss, or you need to figure out why your ideas just never seem to get the response you'd like at meetings, this book is definitely for you. It doesn't just tell you what to do; it describes a few ways to go about it, describes how each way might be perceived, and then walks you through some practical examples of how to go about trying something new.

I was surprised at how much information the authors included on topics that I hadn't considered much but that, by gosh, really do matter. A lot. This book comes at a topic from all different angles, and gives you quick fixes, easy things to do that are very effective, and also things you can (if you choose) build on if it's something that matters a lot to you. It is extremely thorough, in an easy-to-read way. For example, I've never really paid serious attention to clothes. I have the requisite business attire and know the "rules" -- nothing flashy, good tailoring. But I was fascinated by the discussion of color, different levels of business dress from formal to casual and what really differentiates each level (the unspoken rules that, yes, really do matter), a detailed and intimate talk about details you thought you could only count on a close friend for (bad breath and what really works and what doesn't, taking basic care of your fingernails), and a marvelously sensible talk about how to take care of different fabrics ("Between cleanings, wool garments should be hung out overnight before being put back in a closet. Wool is a resilient fabric and will return to its natural shape if allowed to breathe."). I found myself approaching my closet with new respect.

This is one of only a very few self-help/business books I've ever read that actually resulted in my changing something. And it was easy. I can count at least 4 things I changed immediately, with little effort, after reading this the first time. The chapters on increasing your visibility (hard for us shy types) and attitude and style are worth their weight in gold. The book is very useful as a reference you can go back to for ideas, and for ways to rethink a situation.

This one's a keeper.

Joe Leininger provides great insight in his daily efforts to be both a good and Christian person with his success as a commodities trader.

Few businessess are as brutally competitive as trading in Chicago exchanges. However, with great faith and works, Joe obviously holds to his strong Christian values in this tough environment.

This book helps me come to grips with striving for success while hoping to maintain the fundamental value of helping and loving one's fellow man (or woman).

An excellent picture of how to live a balanced life and besuccessful at it. Especially applicable to those in the financialfield, but applies to all of us who desire to excel in our field. Joe's personal experiences in such a high pressure environment serve as poingant lessons. Take advantage of this book as a roadmap on the path to success.

Under the guise of being about trading securities, this is an excellent book about life, about observing what work gives you and what it deprives you of. About making changes that lead to a richer life and how to know when work costs too much. It also offers wonderful insights into the life of a trader and the paradox of being a good trader and trying to balance that with being a good Christian.

Joe has done a good job of taking interesting stories from his life and distilling an excellent life-lesson from each. Joe's life comes through clearly in this well written collection. He is transparent and engaging. Not only does it draw us to examine our inner health and values, but to look to our own stories for the lessons hidden in them. Worth a plane flight to read it.

Lessons From the Pit was a very fasinating and involving book. It is obvious that Joe Leininger spent a lot of time thinking and planning this book. This book is not one where the first chapters are interesting. The whole story is interesting. I kept saying to myself "at the end of the chapter, I will go to sleep, but I just couldn't put it down! He talked about personal subjects also, making you feel like you were just talking to him, alone. I highly recommend this book, and I think that Lessons From the Pit was the best book I have read so far.

The book is Very Good. However, I received a 2005 edition. The current edition is 2008. The later is edition has research that is more current. I returned the book and kept the new one I had purchased at B & N.

When I read the title to this book, the first thing I thought was "sounds to good to be true". But to my surprise, the book has a tremendous amount of actionable information. I've read 10+ books on asset allocations and investing during retirement and this is by far the most complete. My only complaint is the hardsell on mutual funds by one particular company. But this was only done in a couple of chapters and does not diminish the vast majority of the books contents.

The most complete book for understanding the whats and hows of retirement planning and investing for retirement. Complete with data to support the ideas the author presents.

I found Merriman's writing style easy to read. He does an excellent job of covering the basics of investing including asset allocation.

Merriman's suggestion of holding 50% foreign stocks and 50% U.S. stocks was a little surprising to me. I was not expecting such a high allocation to foreign stocks. Vanguard, for example, suggests no more than 20% foreign stocks. Merriman makes a compelling case for holding 50% foreign stocks, but past performance of foreign stocks relative to U.S. stocks does not necessarily mean future performance will be the same.

Another surprise was no mention of REITs. For a book published in 2005, I expected to see at least a 10% allocation to U.S. REITs.

The last surprise was his recommendation of DFA funds compared to Vanguard funds. He tries to make the case the 1% of assets fee per year to a DFA advisor is more than offset by the superior performance of a DFA fund portofolio compared to a Vanguard portfolio. Most of the extra return is not due to lower DFA expense ratios, but the fact that DFA offers more asset class choices than Vanguard. I'm a big Vanguard fan, plus manage my own portfolio.....so I'm not sold on the DFA approach.

Over-all an excellent book.

I would suggest companion books to supplement this book including:
The Richest Man in Babylon
Bogle on Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor
The Millionaire Next Door
The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio
A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Ninth Edition
Index Mutual Funds: How to Simplify Your Financial Life and Beat the Pro's
The Coffeehouse Investor: How to Build Wealth, Ignore Wall Street, and Get On With Your Life
The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing
Wealth: Grow It, Protect It, Spend It, and Share It
All About Asset Allocation.

One of the best references on the subject of retirement & Investing I have read so far. Step by step method for securing income during retirement. Intruduces a number of strategies Investors don't want you to know about. I have recommended this book to several of my friends who are also close to retirement. For those close to retirement, it should be front and center in their libraries. A lot of facts backing up recommendations. Short read.

I like the SNAPP acronymn, the chapter summaries, and appendix that collects all the tips in one place at the end of the book. An excellent example of a well thought out and planned book.

I came across it when looking for Project management books, primarily thinking in terms of "work" projects. There are plenty of books that address "Why" and "What" to do. I'm sure I would have plently of company when, after reading them, I get left with a feeling like "interesting, but what do I actually do now?". Successful doing requires help with "How", and this is the focus of "Make It Happen". This books strength is about implementation. Biagi and Eyres help you with this by walking you through their SNAPP method (read the book). The beauty of this method is that it is readily applied to all sorts of projects, not just the "work" ones e.g. the garden fence etc.

I can vouch first hand that Tresa Eyres and Ron Biagi people practice excellent customer service.

In today's fast paced world which requires all of us to do more in less time, the book "Make it Happen" and the SNAPP approach provides the tools and methodology to ensure you can "get it all done." It's simple, it's logical, and most important, it gets results!

I liked this book because it allowed me to take my own complex project and break into meaningful pieces. I started reading this as an aide to start a whole new job - I finished the book and keep it close - to start a whole new life! It gave me a few simple concepts to apply to many different aspects of business and life. I grew more confident as I saw other people "get it" as quickly and simply as I did. Simplify, simplify, someone's job or goal and they will look to you as a leader. It started to become invectious no matter where I applied the concept. I pick this book up and no matter where I open it a pearl of wisdom is reinforced. Always gives me a boost when I need it because it reminds me the answer is always so close if you follow some simple steps - you'll never forget. Thanks to the authors - I am off to a fast start and enjoying every minute by laying the right foundation the first time. Novice to experts will cherish these "smart ideas". Great gift for a person you mentor on or off the job.

This book begins with the simple facts; what went wrong and what could have been done to avoid its happening.

What business professional has not experienced the grace and glory of a flawless project or event? What personal experiences have I started only to have a few flaws somewhere in the middle? It is so frustrating to want to be the "perfect" person, putting on the "perfect" business meeting or event, only to have an overwhelming feeing of knowing "something is missing....something is going wrong." I have learned in my life that it makes a difference to plan an event using a map. This book IS a map and eliminates the guess work to a project from beginning to end.

The authors of this book explain their step-by-step outline to make any business professional, as well as someone handling a private event, know where to start, how to accomplish, and how to accept the recognition for a job well done.

Each time I have a project, whether at work or at home, I utilize the five easy steps to help me start, plan and finish my project. By using this book I know where and how to start, how to stay on track with the project's objectives, and how the project will be completed with praise and recognition. The steps are easy, fun, and logical. A perfect book to have by my desk and at home for quick reference!

It is my opinion that this book should not be limited to the business professional. It should be read by anyone who wants to succeed in life! I call this book my "training manual for success" and keep it near me when I begin any major (or minor) project!

This book took me back 26 years. To the former company that I retired from in 1979. It is written in the present tense, but if I had read it in 1975, it would have told my story of how we prepared a company to show the pentagon this company was able to build a product that is still being used by the US Navy today. I had the privilege of spending 14 days as a Tiger Cruise participant on the aircraft carrier "USS CARL VINSON".It was such a thrill to see four Phalanx missile systems being used on this ship. It was a bigger thrill to see this system being fired at night and knowing I had something to "Make It Happen"

This book is one of the best on the market today relating to personal financial planning. I found it to be very well organized and complete; it covered all the ESSENTIAL areas of financial planning. The ideas that were presented by the author are sound, and extremely logical.

This book was actually recommended to me by my father. He is approaching the retirement stage and wanted to ensure that his finances would allow for him to retire with my mother comfortably. He told me that the book did a good job of covering issues he was concerned with like retirement and estate planning but would also provide value for me and be a good place to start if I wanted to take control of my financial life.

I took his advice and purchased this book and I found it to be thoroughly comprehensive in describing financial products and planning techniques. It is perfect for investors of all ages who are looking to secure their financial future.

This truly is a great financial planning book. If I could give it 6 stars I would. It is set up in a concise, life events style with easy to understand examples. Being that I am new to family life as well as financial planning this book has really helped me to take a step back, evaluate and not only plan for my future, but for the future of my family.

Overall, I would say that this book is the best book in the market on personal financial planning that I have read. It is complete, covers all the essential areas of financial planning. The financial planning ideas are logical and clearly presented for people who may be new to financial planning and even those who are already experienced.

For many people, the thought of handing over their money to a financial planner is somewhat daunting, especially if they have limited knowledge of the financial planning process. In their book "Make Yourself a Millionaire..." Charles and Lynn Zhang do an excellent job of breaking down and explaining both what you should consider when choosing a financial planner, and what sort of service you should expect once you have chosen one.
I was speaking with a friend about how overwhelmed I was with this process; after all, these days you cannot turn on the TV or surf the web without seeing some sort of advertisement from someone who claims they can help you with your finances. She mentioned that she had heard about this book and suggested that I should look into it. I am so glad that I did. Not only was this book easy to read and understand, but it covers a wide range of topics, from explaining the certification process a CFP goes through, to outlining the benefits of different investment tools, such as mutual funds, bonds, and REITS. Additionally, I believe that those of you who are planning on setting up college funds for your children would benefit greatly from reading the Zhang's discussion of UGMA accounts, 529 plans, and Education IRA's. A chart is even provided to help break down the differences between these options, as well as a few others.
Reading this book helped me to both confidently choose a financial planner and feel at ease when discussing my investments. A must read for the beginning investor!!

I have read a number of financial planning books just to get different views from financial advisors and I have to say that this one tops my list. I myself am a financial planner and currently studying for my CFP. This book was an easy read for those who may not know too much about financial planning. It also contains a wealth of information and insight to provide value to people like me who have a financial background. One of the comments I read about the book before I read it made it seem as having an advisor with a CFP did not matter. As Mr. Zhang points out in his book only 4% of advisors have their CFP because it is such a rigorous process that includes a two day 10 hr exam! After all if it was a simple exam why wouldn't all advisors get certified? I really enjoyed reading this book and I have recommended it to my other colleagues.

This book is extremely helpful for the beginning investor. The book outlines the important aspects and steps of the financial planning process. Included are great strategies and facts for tax-free asset growth and efficient asset allocation. In addition, the author effectively explains complex, yet essential, information about different investment products such as REIT's, mutual funds, bonds and annuities.

This book gives readers the confidence to take control of their own financial future, while emphasizing the importance of having a financial planner. The role, significance and benefits of hiring a financial planner are explained in detail. Overall, the authors have given the reader excellent information to make a very important decision. Ultimately it is up to the reader to decide if their situation is simple enough to handle themselves, or if they would benefit from the expertise of a Certified Financial Planner.