"Business Books at the Library"

The buying and selling of businesses is an everyday occurrence that can easily be confirmed by a drive down Main Street or on east 23rd Street. The stores, restaurants, and other small businesses come and go. Some thrive and become larger and others struggle and liquidate or are purchased by new owners. While luck always has a role to play in any type of survival, business savvy is undoubtedly the most important factor in retail.

Mark Blayney, a business strategy consultant, is the author of a new book, “Buying a Business and Making it Work.” According to Blayney, all buyers have one thing in common: they want to make a return on their investment.

Some buyers are owners of a similar business and wish to expand their market share through the purchase. Other buyers are experienced in their field and no longer wish to work for someone else but want to strike out on their own. Still others are looking for a company to purchase and manage during their early retirement years.

No matter what type of business owner you are—or want to be-- Blayney’s book will guide you through the decisions that need to be made. Section one of the book is entitled, “The Planning Process” and includes chapters on deciding to buy and what to buy. Section two covers the search process and finding the business to purchase. Section three deals with evaluating the targeted business and approaching the owner. Section four is about negotiating a purchase. Section five helps the reader make the transition from buyer to owner and manager.

Blayney ends the book with 25 golden rules. Included among those rules are: “First to mention a price loses”; “Get good advisers—and take their advice”; and “Ensure you get a non-competition covenant”.

Another new business-related book is “Bag the Elephant, How to Win & Keep Big Customers” by Steve Kaplan. The author helps the reader strategize the process of how to get and how to keep the giant customer---the elephant, if you will. He reviews the process of negotiating with the elephant without giving away your profit margin. Also, the author cautions the reader about how to avoid the 5 killer mistakes that can shoot the elephant in the foot and put you out of business.

“Building Effective Teams” by Duke Corporate Education is one in the “Leading From the Center” series which addresses the inherent problems of leadership within the middle management of an organization. All larger organizations, albeit manufacturing, marketing, or governmental have a middle management layer.

While this group of managers is critical to the success of the organization, the management mind-set and skill-set of this group are the last to change to meet the ever changing challenges faced by the organization. It is the middle managers who shape how their organization responds to the shifts in the environment— information technology, governmental regulations, globalization, etc. These managers are the pivotal players in an organizations success. “Building Effective Teams” describes how top management can motivate these middle managers to make them team players rather than turf tenders.

It’s not too late to add reading “Goodnight Nebraska” by Tom McNeal to your list of New Year’s resolutions. This book, the Library’s “One Book, One Columbus” selection for 2006 is being read by hundreds of people in the Columbus area. The Library is planning book discussions and workshops on the various themes found in the book. Copies of the book may be purchased at the Library, at Tooley’s Drug, and at the Traditions Restaurant.