The Chic Entrepreneur: Put Your Business in Higher Heels (Paperback)

~ Elizabeth Gordon (Author), Leanna Adams (Author) "Payless and Nordstrom are two companies known for their shoes..." (more)
Key Phrases: Chic Entrepreneur, The Bralet, Whole Foods (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Learn how to take your business from flats to stilettos in this intelligently written, highly practical, and entertaining read. The Chic Entrepreneur teaches women business owners how to get out of the trenches and take their business to new heights by mastering the 9 dimensions of a flourishing business. Elizabeth Gordon, President of Flourishing Business®, a consulting firm that helps stagnant businesses jump start their growth, shows how to build a business right. Gordon explains how to build an asset of inherent value instead of just a bigger job and points out common mistakes to avoid along the way.

Packed with Chic Tips that businesses can inexpensively implement for an immediate return, this book is ideal for jumpstarting a stalled business, and putting it into overdrive. This simple yet timeless formula for achieving chic success in the business world is cleverly interwoven with critical analysis of real businesses and delightful tales that show what and what not to do.

About the Author

A visionary leader with a passion for helping others achieve their entrepreneurial dreams, Elizabeth Gordon, Founder of Flourishing Business®, shares her business acumen with clients and audiences, large and small. Elizabeth is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Wake Forest University, with a degree in Business and Economics and received a Masters in Marketing from Georgia State University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Robert Reed Pub (May 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193475904X
• ISBN-13: 978-1934759042
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #147,943 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One word describes this book on small business - a "masterpiece.", April 4, 2008

By	Jeff Lippincott "www.Jlippin.com" (Princeton, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

One word describes this book - a "masterpiece." It's a book for wanta-be entrepreneurs and small business owners. It starts off in a conversational tone, and speaks by using wonderful hypothetical small businesses to make points. In a way, the author used the case approach to teaching I experienced in law school to emphasize how to best start a business and how not to start one. Very logically written and well outlined. It's no surprise the author graduated with high honors from one of North Carolina's finest universities. The book has the following 10 chapters:

1. What's your value?
2. Pick your niche
3. What do customers really want?
4. Attracting and retaining the best employees
5. Do you know your cash flow?
6. Sales and marketing go hand in hand
7. The importance of systematic processes
8. Strategically aligning yourself
9. Have a plan and measure results
10. The Chic message

Each chapter covers a topic that is, or should be, important to someone in the process of starting a new company or trying to build a successful small company that is not yet flourishing. Certain things make a successful company. Is it providing something that people want and are willing to pay for? Read chapters 1 and 3 to learn more. Is the company focused enough so the owner can put the necessary efforts into growing the company correctly? Read chapter 2 to learn more. Are operations systematized so the company is not being run by putting out fires? Read chapter 7. What about bringing in the revenues? Then read chaper 6. And what about being able to pay your creditors? Read chapter 5.

I loved Chapter 9. As a SCORE volunteer counselor I find I have to preach business plans all the time. It's not because I love them, but because every business needs one. The creation of a business plan forces the startup specialist to know the business before it gets started. It enables the founder to know how much startup capital is needed so the business will not run out of money and go into bankruptcy and cease to exist. It can help a small business owner qualify for funding, whether from a family member, a bank, or an investor. And a business plan provides the founder with a benchmark from which to compare actual results as the company grows. If things are not working to plan the founder can either change how things are being done or change the plan. But without having a plan in the first place there is no way to gauge how things are progressing. This book points this out.

I would have liked the book better if Chapter 9 had been closer to the front of the book. However, I think the way the book was written the topic of planning logically fell into place as Chapter 9. And Chapter 10 did a great job of pulling together all the points made in the book. 5 stars!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Taking Your Business from Flats to Stilettos, March 14, 2008

By	Richard R. Blake (Bridgman, Michigan) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Elizabeth Gordon offers a step by step guide for building and effective company in her new book "The Chic Entrepreneur." She offers invaluable advice on success in business with insightful methods for building personal and financial freedom.

The book is designed in a user friendly, eye appealing, format which helps the reader assimilate and apply principles present in case studies and illustrations which detail the processes for setting up a new company. These case studies feature parallel start up approaches using people like Don and Donna as examples of the right and wrong approach. Elizabeth also features forceful assessments of well known successful businesses like Google, Nordstrom, and Whole Foods.

I especially appreciated the thought provoking questions and exercises for determining action steps which accompany each chapter. The tips provided in side bars throughout the chapters reinforce the valuable business techniques and success traits necessary for building a fast growing profitable business.

Elizabeth Gordon offers fresh perspectives and a proven formula for successful entrepreneurship. The final chapter "The Chic Message" with a "Flourishing Business Methodology" chart is worth the price of the book. Entertaining, engaging and practical "The Chic Entrepreneur" provides a map for building your business properly.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read., April 6, 2008

By	Connie Y. Jeon "book fanatic" (Suwanee, GA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It was engaging, easy and entertaining all at the same time. It is a must read for anyone wanting to build a successful business. It gives a step by step guide on how to build a flourishing business with wit, humour, and applicable suggestions and examples.

I read it once and am reading it again to take notes. I'm in the process of opening my own business and I'm glad I had an opportunity to read this book. I've read many other books in this category and by far this one was the best.