YOUR SMALL BUSINESS BOOM

A blueprint for small businesses aiming to navigate unprecedented times.

USA Today columnist, attorney, and entrepreneurStrauss, the author of The Small Business Bible (2012), asserts in this business book that the key to success, regardless of the size of one’s business, is to align one’s corporate values with customers. That’s how businesses become beloved by customers and employees alike, he says—by being “authentic, original, passionate, and communicative.” His emphasis on such basic principles takes on a sharper urgency because, as he notes, it’s all happening against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to widespread economic upheaval. Strauss uses stories of business reactions to such stresses—including the Great Recession of 2008—to emphasize the need for businesses to take advantage of emerging trends to find success in difficult times. His chapters effectively work through these trends in some detail; in a section on pivoting, Strauss points out that having employees work from home can save money for a company, while also making workers happier and more productive. In “Crushing It Online,” he discusses the importance of using tools such as e-newsletters, podcasts, and webinars to enhance a business, writing simply, “Being on the right side of this digital divide is often the difference between boom and bust.” Another section focuses on expansion through investment. Each chapter finishes up with a boxed summary of key points. In each section of the book, Strauss peppers his text with anecdotes and pop-culture references, and he keeps his points coming at an engaging pace, but his own straightforward wisdom is the highlight of the book, regardless of his subject; when writing about “solopreneurs,” for instance, he observes what drives them: “many people who start such businesses are corporate ex-pats who have had their fill of teammates, meetings, bosses, overhead, meetings, feedback, market tests, meetings, and bureaucracy.”

A readable and direct collection of insights on surviving and thriving as a business owner.