How to Grow Big, Better

Like many bloggers I daily receive emails pitching various products or services. Strangely enough, many are about debt and finance (it seems my "blog debt" category is a sticky search term) — but occasionally an email will pique my interest. A while ago I received one such email about Michael Port’s new book, Beyond Booked Solid. Not only was it a well written email, it was actually on a topic close to my area of interest, so I accepted an advance copy of the manuscript to review.

One of the things that I liked about Beyond Booked Solid was that it is not about the theory of business building. Sure, there are plenty of abstract ideas there — but they are presented as building blocks that can be applied to your business. This book, for example, builds upon Michael’s first book, Book Yourself Solid, which is a how-to guide for marketing your small business. But what happens after you are successful? How do you keep growing? How do you start to grow big, better?

Having worked with some large enterprise companies with responsibility for organisational change, I was pleasantly surprised to find Michael has taken proven enterprise best practices and reframed them for the small business. Not only does he provide the context for the changes that you need to make in your business, he provides you with downloadable workbooks and a series of thought provoking questions that help you understand the current state of your business. And while your business’ organic growth may have sprouted a series of unusual (but now entrenched systems), the book explains the importance of standardising your processes, aligning your strategies and automating your systems — to help you grow your business in a way that works for YOU.

I dare say that the lessons from this book may challenge many a business owner. But for those who are looking to work smarter rather than harder, reading it could well turn out to be the best business investment you make. You can buy Beyond Booked Solid here.