Business thinking between the covers

How to Start a Business Without any Money

by Rachel Bridge

Virgin Books €14.99

THERE IS a dullness about many start-your-own-business books, with common sense often dressed up as insight, but Rachel Bridge’s book is one of the better ones. The chapter on ideas for making money fast is, by itself, worth the purchase price.

With a rich vein of case studies, Bridge is at her strongest advising entrepreneurs what not to do. A recurring theme is that they should make things easier for themselves by providing products and services that meet existing demand, via established routes to market, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, as many do.

There are chapters on how to spend nothing on premises, staff, marketing, websites and stock, as well as how to get free help and advice. One of Bridge’s better suggestions is to create an informal panel of advisers that can meet regularly to provide advice and constructive criticism of one’s business. Such panels can provide a range of viewpoints and their members can make a worthwhile difference to a business.

Bridge believes starting a business without capital is good not only for one’s bank balance but also, potentially, for the enterprise, as a lack of cash frequently spurs creativity. Entrepreneurs take note.

Culturematic

by Grant McCracken

Harvard Review Business Press €24.99

AN ANTHROPOLOGIST and author who has studied American culture and business for 25 years, Grant McCracken introduces, in this thought-provoking book, the notion of the culturematic, a machine for making culture – otherwise described as an ingenuity engine.

Culturematics, he says, are fast, cheap and out of control, and because they are so inexpensive we can afford to fire off volleys of them. They are, he argues, the perfect antidote to a world in which we cannot guess what is coming next.

The technical side of innovation in science, technology and gadgetry is exploding but the cultural side of the equation is less impressive, and McCracken has interesting observations about how the growing inscrutability of the world haunts traditional producers of culture such as publishers, film studios, television networks, ad agencies and design houses.

Nobody is sure what will work any more, and this is a major source of frustration to corporations designed to be problem-solving machines.

Enterprises struggle to anticipate consumers’ desires; and new products fail far more frequently than they succeed. Brands and cultural entities therefore need to be highly elastic, with experimentation and changes of direction now necessities.

The Hidden Wealth of Customers

by Bill Lee

Harvard Business Review Press €24.99

BILL LEE argues that companies’ relationships with key clients are the key to growth and increased profitability. Rather than concentrating on winning new clients, companies should use their best customers to effectively market their businesses.

In a foundering world economy, businesses need robust organic growth generated by internal resources, Lee argues. To succeed, they need to break down the traditional us-and-them approach to client relationships.

Firms should recognise that clients have more credibility with their peers than they do, and that clients understand buyers’ needs better. Finding ways to get positive referrals is therefore crucial.

Lee also emphasises the value of becoming a thought leader in one’s field and getting one’s firm to disseminate intellectual property that focuses not on the firm’s offering but on important industry issues. This can enable firms to change perspectives – and sometimes the conversation – within an industry.

Lee’s arguments are supported by case studies that include Microsoft, 3M and Salesforce. His book also contains a detailed questionnaire to help readers determine how effectively they are engaging customer advocates.