Businesses that survive for five years have the best chance of success. Plan for sixty months right from the start. Some entrepreneurs empty their checking accounts, take on massive amounts of debt, risk their homes, and hope after two years their businesses will have the financial strength to continue. The Successful Entrepreneur is for everyone who is financially conservative, wants to own a business, and finds the traditional risky method frightening and not right for them.

     Every day men and women set out on a new venture because they have lost their jobs or want to be their own boss. Anastasi shows how you can make decisions using data easily gathered that gives realistic advice on how to start a business with minimal risk as well as how to manage human resources, sales, and marketing. And here is a plan that takes you from day one right through a five year plan.

     Using a refreshingly simple approach, Anastasi shows you how to gather and interpret data like a high-priced consultant, accurately predicting important information such as market potential, startup costs, and marketing costs. Beginning entrepreneurs will learn how to own a self-sustaining business, if they are willing to take their time to do it right.

Reviews

     “A comprehensive, readable and friendly companion to guide entrepreneurs along their exciting journey. Dr. Anastasi has delivered all the essentials. . . the ultimate how-to guide for entrepreneurs.”

Jim French,
President,
Hill-Holliday.

     "Tom Anastasti is one of those unique individuals who makes the complex simple. He has feet in three worlds, the practical, the legal, and the academic. This book on entrepreneurship walks you through all you will need to get started and keep it going, building on his reputation in leadership and negotiations to provide the blue prints you will need to manage both the numbers and the people side of your efforts.

Lloyd S. Baird, Chairman,
Organizational Behavior Department,
Boston University School of Management

     “Tom Anastasi has created an easy to read, yet invaluable primer for anyone who has entrepreneurial spirit, but needs entrepreneurial ‘know how.’ He has captured what many of us learned through trial and error, mostly error. I wish I had this guidance when I started my own business, as I could have saved a lot of pain (and money). . . highly recommended.”

George H. Labovitz, Ph.D.,
President & CEO-ODI,
 Professor-Boston University School of Management

     “A must read for all who are thinking of starting and running their own business! Tom Anastasi’s The Successful Entrepreneur is an amazing cornucopia of practical information including the basic how tos, checklists, scripts, charts, and case studies — all critical, much sought after information and links to resources that take ‘The Successful Entrepreneur’ from start-up through year five.”

Mary E. Collins,
State Director,
New Hampshire
Small Business Development Center,
University of New Hampshire
Whittemore School of Business & Economics

About The Author

     TOM ANASTASI  has been a SBDC business consultant and a small business owner. He teaches Leadership at Harvard University’s School of Public Health and is the MBA director and former Dean of Graduate and Continuing Studies at Daniel Webster College. He has taught at Boston University’s School of Management for over fifteen years and earned a C.S.S. in Administration and Management and an A.L.M in Psychology both from Harvard University, as well as a Ph.D. from Boston University.

Paper, 261 pages, 6×9
$21.95 $16.47
Business
ISBN 978-0944435-67-0
LC 2009927590

    The Selling Edge explores the changing business environment and identifies the tools and techniques required to make your salespeople more efficient, more responsive, and, as a result, more successful in this highly competitive sales environment.

    It focuses on business-to-business selling and takes a comprehensive look at top performing salespeople, identifying the methods and procedures that have made them successful. This book breaks new ground by concentrating on challenges facing the sales manager, detailing the steps to be taken to develop a high-performance sales organization, and recognizing the pitfalls to be avoided. 

    With the downsizing of corporate America, business customers have no time to waste. Many businesses are being called upon to do more with less. They expect sales organizations to answer their needs in a fast and efficient manner. Companies will not accept delays in responding to their questions, nor will they accept proposals that focus on product features rather than on solutions to their business problems. With increased competition, sales organizations must work longer and harder to maintain and increase their sales.

    Top management of any successful corporation also must understand the problems of sales, and good sales managers must know how to work with and obtain the best results from their sales team. Levokove shows how to build and maintain a highly motivated sales organization. 

Reviews

    "The Selling Edge should be required reading for all those who want to know what it takes to be successful in the complex world of selling to large enterprises."

Alan L. Mendelson,
Chairman & CEO,
InfoTech Consulting Inc.

    "His book qualifies to be the backbone of any company sales training program and sales management guide."

Alan G. Stromberg,
President & CEO, Verbex Voice Systems, Inc.,
Edison, New Jersey

About The Author

    MICHAEL LEVOKOVE has over thirty years of selling, marketing, and senior management experience. He served as General Manager of a division of General Instrument, taking the division from no sales to $14 million in two years, and also served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Teletype, a $400 million dollar subsidiary of AT&T in Illinois. He is presently a consultant in sales and marketing, working with companies to formulate business plans and marketing strategies.

Cloth, 200 pages, 6×9
$18.95 $14.22
Business/Management
ISBN 0-944435-21-1
LC 92-75676
Selection-Book of the Month
Club, Fortune Book Club

    As a longtime private pilot, Frank Reick believes that he has utilized the learned experiences of aviation to connect many other abilities, such as the skills necessary to perform successful investing. Flying The Stock Market contains investment strategies that are easy to learn, have worked for the author, and that can work for you. They are time-tested. Reick's principles can be followed by beginners, intermediate, or sophisticated investors. You can learn from the advice outlined even if you choose to permit others to manage your money. The strategies found in Flying The Stock Market took many years to develop, and during that time winners, losers, and blind alleys were negotiated. Distilled from these experiences were rules and disciplines needed to accomplish investment success. You can learn these principles easily and can reap profits in the stock market. Flying The Stock Market is enjoyable to read, instructive, and yet easily understandable.

    Based on a system of technical analysis, Reick's method details chart reading and how they can predict the future course of individual stocks as well as the market as a whole. While many so-called stock experts rely on only one or two guides, the authors describe many indicators that can be cross-checked for accuracy, just as several instruments on an airplane assist the pilot in navigational accuracy.

Reviews

    "Highly recommended for all investors and for those who want to become investors. Reich and Siminoff have put together what should be a best seller."

The Patriot of New Jersey

    "Flying the Stock Market is not only brilliant, but also entertaining . . . ."

Michael Ebert, Attorney at Law

About The Author

    FRANK REICK is a businessman, scientist, inventor, investor, pilot, and activist citizen. He is the recipient of an award from the Guinness Book of Records where his invention, "Tufoil," is described as "the world's most efficient lubricant." His successful investment strategies parallel his winning individual efforts in the scientific field. He is founder, president, and CEO of Fluoramics, Inc. a manufacturing company located in Mahwah, New Jersey. Reick, a self-made millionaire, has been an avid stock market investor and a private pilot since the 1960s.

Cloth, 310 pages, 6×9
$24.95 $18.72
Business, Investing
ISBN 0-944435-41-6
LC 96-75841

    Boyett and Conn have created an important volume, a step by step guide to implementing current management practices. MPM is a "how to" book providing instruction on such topics as: defining and communicating company values, developing and implementing business strategies, setting goals, developing and implementing recognition programs, tying pay to performance, and involving employees in decision making and problem solving. MPM addresses the global challenge and offers a plan to revitalize companies to achieve a sustained level of excellence. MPM is written for people at every level looking for answers, from the CEO to the third shift supervisor. 



Reviews

    "An exceptionally readable and useful book. . . a book that should be distributed en masse throughout major North American corporations."

William B. Werther, Jr., Samuel N. Friedland
Professor of Executive Management,
University of Miami at Coral Gables

    "This is a rare combination of a very practical 'how-to' book on productivity and quality that is still based on the latest and most sophisticated thinking on the subject. I particularly appreciate the information-consequences-involvement concept and the meaty chapters on families of measures, gainsharing and self-managed work teams."

Carl G. Thor,
Cumberland Group,
President of International Consulting

About The Authors

    JOSEPH H. BOYETT is an advisor to the Global Executive Issues Center of Excellence of the international consulting firm of A. T. Kearney. Boyett and Conn are co-authors of Workplace 2000: The Revolution Reshaping American Business. Dr. Boyett is the author of numerous articles on Total Quality Management and is a frequent speaker before international groups on quality improvement and competitiveness issues. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia. 

    HENRY P. CONN is Vice President and officer in A. T. Kearney, a global management consulting firm. He assists corporations of all sizes to develop an overall strategic approach to improving quality, productivity, and bottom line results. He is one of North America's foremost experts on Total Quality Management and all associated issues including Process Re-engineering, Self-Managed Work Teams, and innovative compensation systems. 

Cloth, 323 pages, 6×9
$24.95 $18.72
Business/Management
ISBN 0-944435-25-4
LC 94-73144
Selection-Macmillan 
Executive Program
Book Club

    Crash Landing is about a business failure: specifically the 1986 collapse of Park Bank of Florida, the seventh largest bank failure in the United States at the time. But in a broader sense, Crash Landing is about leading a business during the most perilous of times — during crisis when there is no visible end to trouble and when there is no solution that seems to work. It is about the "right executive stuff" that turns out to be the "wrong executive stuff"; it is about the painful lessons and emotions that emerged from the wreckage of the Park Bank. It is a timely and serious lesson for today. 

    Crash Landing examines the inside details of what happened at Park Bank, explores the ideas and philosophies found in current business and management practice, and then compares that advice to the author's personal Park Bank experiences. 
 

Reviews

    "Jacobs is right. Yesterday's success stories can become today's disasters if we gloss over the early crisis warning signs. Crash landing is a must read for every business leader and manager."

Jack Murray, President,
The Reuben H. Donnelley Corporation;
Corporate Senior Vice President,
The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation

"A fascinating piece of work!"

Douglas Lee,
President,
Stetson University

    ". . . you don't read many books like Crash Landing . . . Business failure is devastating not only from a financial perspective, but from a personal one as well. Jacobs' excellent crisis management manual is about the fight, not the failure-inherent in being aboard a sinking ship; his story may help others stay afloat."

Entrepreneur

About The Author

    RICHARD O. JACOBS is a Partner with the law firm of Trenam, Kemker in St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida. He holds a B.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa; and a J. D. from Stetson University, College of Law, where he graduated first in his class, magna cum laude. He has served as chairman of the Florida Bar Tax Section, founder/President of the Jacobs, Robbins, Gaynor Law Firm, and General Counsel & Executive Vice President of Communications Equity Associates, Inc. of Tampa, Florida. Jacobs is Chairman of the Board of Farbine Inc. and is a member of the Board of Trustees of Stetson College of Law. He was a founding director of Park Bank and ultimately served as its president and chairman. 

Cloth, 300 pages, 6×9
$24.95 $18.72
Business/Management
ISBN 0-944435-12-2
LC 90-84800

     David Douglas Ford has been in the life insurance business for more than thirty years. It seemed natural. David’s father was in the life insurance business and his grandfather was in the life insurance business. The world needs insurance, and people in advanced societies particularly need life insurance. But they often don’t think they do, making the job of the life insurance agent difficult and challenging. After all, who wants to think about dying? The world of life insurance is changing. Policies that were commonly sold by most insurance companies thirty years ago are now out of favor. And the universal use of the computer has changed our world. As a result, the life insurance industry has become a part of that revolution. Ford’s perspective going back over thirty years gives the reader not only a history of life insurance practices, but points to trends and problems facing the industry in the present and for the future.

Reviews

“If John Cleese had been an insurance agent, his name would have been David Douglas Ford. David's insight, wit, and demeanor can only be labeled outstanding. David has a way of transforming the ordinary and mundane into pure delight.”

Preston Morgan,
Agent Arlington, Texas

“David has a natural ability for storytelling. His insight, wit, and life experiences provide humor and learning and he is definitely a star communicator"

Dan D. Powers,
Marathon Runner & Ironman,
Dallas, TX

About The Author

     DAVID DOUGLAS FORD was born in Oklahoma and earned a B.A. in Philosophy from Santa Clara University. He has spent a lifetime in the insurance profession, in sales and marketing, and as a home office executive. He holds many professional designations including Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant, Fellow, Life Management Institute, and Master of Science in Financial Services. His many articles have appeared in national life insurance magazines and newsletters. David currently resides in Colleyville, Texas, with his wife of thirty-four years; his two children and two grandchildren live nearby. He remains active in the life insurance business.

Cloth, 206 pages, 6X9
$21.95 $16.47
Business
ISBN 978-0944435-58-8
LC 2005939245

    Syndicated columnist and grammarian, Don K. Ferguson is an inveterate note-taker, recording mistakes in grammar or word usage and when observing an incorrect punctuation mark. Accumulating a small mountain of short, cryptic notes, Ferguson wondered how they might be made useful. Out of these thoughts, Ferguson's column "Grammar Gremlins" was born and now this book. 

    Ferguson's work should not be confused with a "school lesson," nothing boring or schoolteacherish, in a nineteenth century stereotypical sense of the word. The reader will find this book interesting and charming; and consistent with our age of sound bites and demands for brevity, the segments are mercifully short but energized with useful, interesting, and thoughtful information.

    Ferguson's material comes from snippets of conversations overheard on the street, from correspondence that crosses his desk, from public speakers, and from brochures and pamphlets, among many other sources. It seems that no one is exempt from grammar and usage problems. Ferguson reminds us that there are no laws of grammar that you must obey, only rules. Our use of the English language is one of the key standards by which we are measured—socially, professionally, and academically.

    Grammar Gremlins can help us. Read some of it each day. Better still, keep it handy for quick reference. It will help you resolve those nagging little grammar questions you encounter. 

Reviews

    "The book's excellent index . . . makes looking up questionable forms very easy. . . so if you're wondering where to put that comma or whether it is ever correct to end a sentence with a preposition, this book is for you."

Chattanooga Free Press

    "Don Ferguson's columns have been collected and published in a book under the same name by Glenbridge Publishing Ltd., providing a handy, easy-to-read, easy-to-use reference for the most common grammar and usage problems all writers face. . . believe it or not, he has figured out how to make grammar fun."

The East Tennessee Catholic

About The Author

    DON K. FERGUSON is a former city editor of The Knoxville News-Sentinel and previously served as a News-Sentinel and UPI reporter for fifteen years. His newspaper column "Grammar Gremlins" is published by nine newspapers in four states. He has presented programs at both state and national meetings in Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Maine, Massachusetts, and Tennessee. He has taught grammar courses at the University of Tennessee. Ferguson is currently chief deputy clerk of the United States District Court in Knoxville, Tennessee. 

Cloth, 268 pages, 6×9
$22.95 $17.22
English/Education
ISBN 0-944435-32-7
LC 94-79511
Selection – Writer's
Digest Book Club

    Though other books have been written about the small business community and the struggle to succeed, few of the actual players have been consulted, those who have realized their cherished dreams and have succeeded in business. Phelan talked with and observed the owners of successful small businesses and distilled their ideas into an easily understandable book. Not surprisingly, they all agree on some fundamental concepts, none of which is complicated, and few of which are found in textbooks. 

    Phelan has observed the "startup" process for years and answers questions that neophyte entrepreneurs normally confront before going into their own business — what are the risks, and what can be expected?

    As the world's economic structures change, we hear more about the absence of job satisfaction, inadequate compensation, lack of job security, and a whole basketful of other concerns that are discussed daily. Now is the time to take action, and Phelan's book will show you how to plan for that first business venture and answer those important questions about what business best suits you, how to obtain financing, and how to manage your inventory and bookkeeping.

    Phelan believes that the American dream need not be just a dream. You can move from dream to reality by simply making the decision to take control of your life. Phelan's book will assist you in making that fateful decision about going into business. The correct choice could make the difference between independence, wealth, and personal comfort. The choice is simple — you can work for your own benefit or work for the benefit of someone else.

Review

    "The book offers practical advice for anyone willing to invest their own money, time and energy to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams. . . 'this is an excellent book, said Dawne Martin, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants practical advice on starting a business, keeping it running and trying to sell it."

Gazette Telegraph,
Colorado Springs

About The Author

    DONALD J. PHELAN graduated from the University of Colorado, School of Business, and has spent his working years in both corporate America and as a business owner. His successful business ventures have included a music shop, a radio and television repair business, a commercial greenhouse, and a floral shop. Now retired, Phelan divides his time between volunteer counseling with the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and conducting seminars for those interested in a small business career.

Cloth, 183 pages, 6×9
$19.95 $14.95
Business
ISBN 0-944435-31-9
LC 94-79175

    Potter and Youngman describe competitiveness as the ability of individual enterprises to sell goods and services profitably in both domestic and foreign markets. The nation's continued prosperity now depends on the ability of U.S. companies to produce and market goods and services that can compete successfully in both price and quality with foreign companies.

    It is not widely understood that U.S. employment policy has an important bearing on this country's economic competitiveness, which translates into American capacity to create and provide jobs for American workers. Americans are asking why their traditional jobs and industries are disappearing and why their standard of living is not improving as it did in earlier decades. These questions must be addressed and Keeping America Competitive provides the answers. 

Reviews

    "Keeping America Competitive" seems a genuine attempt to balance the needs of employers who would be internationally competitive and of employees who would be mobile and flexible."

The New York Times

    "The authors present convincing evidence and analysis to document their thesis; overall, the study is a significant contribution to the debate on competitiveness."

Choice

About The Authors

    EDWARD E. POTTER is president of the Employment Policy Foundation based in Washington, D.C., a foundation dedicated to clarifying the effects of employment policies being formulated by Congress, the courts, and administrative agencies on job creation and U.S. competitiveness. He is a partner in the law firm of McGuiness & Williams in Washington, D.C., specializing in labor, equal employment opportunity law, and international labor law.

    JUDITH A. YOUNGMAN is former Vice President for Public Affairs with Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc. in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. She is a specialist in merger negotiations and has supervised worldwide external and internal communications during merger processes. Dr. Youngman is an associate professor of political science at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy where she heads the Government and History Section.

Cloth, 434 pages, 6×9
$27.95 $20.97
Politics
ISBN 0-944435-28-9
LC 94-77235

    The Cost-Effective Organization addresses two related subjects: how to conduct a thorough analysis of an organization to identify and eliminate unnecessary expenses and how to ensure that those expenses don't creep back into the organization's budget, once it has gone through the difficult and painful process of cost reduction.

    Hickel discusses the need for vigilant management and the cooperation of all employees of a company during all phases of the business cycle. Human factors are important in the business cycle since, when times are good, there is a tendency to overspend, and when times are bad, there is a tendency to pull back. The negative effects of these cycles on the quality and timeliness of the work soon becomes intolerable to managers, employees, and most important, to customers. The success of such a program leads to higher pay and greater job satisfaction for everyone in the company. 

Reviews

    "Your book introduces a fresh alternative. . . by describing the tools and techniques necessary to make cost control a permanent part of the organization's culture. . . . I highly recommend this book to any business executive who is serious about keeping expenses permanently under control."

Robert B. Marshall,
Principal, Marshall Group, Inc.

    ". . . in an era when customer demands and competitive pressures have never been greater, operating in a cost-effective manner has become more critical than ever before. Your book is an invaluable tool. . . and serves as a virtual encyclopedia of cost-control techniques. Any business manager who is interested in meeting the competitive challenges of the 1990s and beyond should read, and re-read, this important book."

Sharon L. Smith,
Vice President, Product Management,
BlueCross and BlueShield of Massachusetts

About The Author

    JAMES K. HICKEL is Manager for Andersen Consulting in Washington, D.C. He has provided consulting services to organizations such as the Salt River Project, the American Nuclear Energy Council, and The Department of Energy. He has lectured and given seminars throughout the United States and has written for publications including the Journal of Business Strategy and the Journal of Communications. Hickel holds a B. A. from George Washington University, an M. B. A. from Case Western Reserve University, and a J. D. degree from American University.

Cloth, 210 pages, 6×9
$21.95 $16.47
Business/Management
ISBN 0-944435-22-X
LC 93-77879