Get Past the Obvious

As a small business owner or entrepreneur, there are many obvious things that are clamoring for your attention: get clients, do the work, pay the bills, etc. But what about the less obvious? From being in business for over 14 years, we believe that it is vital to get past the obvious and address the hidden nuances, problems, and attitudes that can derail you – whether you are a start-up or you’ve been in business for 10 years, whether you are the CEO, CFO or a manager in Human Resources or Purchasing.

This book will increase your awareness in four key areas of business development, giving you a realistic foundation to promote long-term profitability. We know the power of these “less than obvious” issues, because we have been through them all – and have come out the other side with our businesses stronger than ever. You’ll learn:

• Five factors that can destroy your business if not addressed;
• Five strategies that will enable you to hire the best workforce;
• Five highly dysfunctional decision-making behaviors that all small business owners, managers, directors and coaches should be aware of – and avoid; and
• Five techniques that can help you achieve a true, healthy work-life balance.

It’s time for real talk about real issues – so you can discover real solutions.

I found this quick read to be relevant and insightful, certainly worth the time for any small business owners. It proved to be that gentle reminder that the obvious is not always quite so obvious in the demanding world of an entrepreneur.
Marneta House
CFO & Co-Owner of Futureage Enterprises
Inc., Palmdale, CA

This book is a blessing. The chapter on the Five Essential Strategies for hiring the Best Workforce is not only interesting to read, but I firmly believe that it would save many small businesses from making some serious mistakes and lead them to success and wealth. Every new business owner should share this book with their hiring managers and human resources team. The strategies discussed in the book will enable any business owner who implements them to build an awesome workforce and bring control and success to their business.
Elease Minor
CEO Important Details Inc., Vallejo CA

I read Get Past The Obvious and found it to be a very easy read with a reminder of the “less obvious”. Having been in business for over 15 years, I had “hidden nuances” that needed to be addressed. The book increased my awareness of certain issues. This book will definitely help many with their business development.
Bridget Smith
CEO & Founder, Short Cutz by Bridget,
Emeryville, CA

What an amazing book I found it to be. The book was a quick read, clear and easy to follow. Having been a business owner, I could definitely relate to the nuances that we all fall prey to when running a business. I saw myself repeatedly in the book from not understanding my finances to working in the business instead of on the business. I would highly recommend this book to my colleagues who have stepped into the world of entrepreneurship. Thanks for your insight and candidness.
Joyce Redd
Employment Manager, Alameda County
Behavioral Vocational Program, Alameda CA

The saying “Good things come in small packages” is the first thing that came to mind after reading Get Past the Obvious! This book has great insight on what is needed not only for business proprietors, but also for directors and managers in the day-to-day operations of an organization. Its strategies surrounding “work-life balance” will now hang over my desk. Thanks, Garnett and Kay, for the invaluable information.
A. Renee Daniels
TPMG Service Manager East Bay Area
Oakland, CA

$4.95

180 Rule Business Development

In today’s fast-paced business environment there’s a  need to find efficient, successful answers to how to attract and retain sales revenue. The search for answers to getting more business has us chasing the latest “hot thing” rather than adopting a powerful internal methodology to achieve success. New ideas, in and of themselves, are extremely attractive as our desperation fuels a willingness to change something, anything.  All too often, before we reach mastery or even an understanding of a new technique, we are made aware of another newer technique and run to the newer answer much like a team of 4 year olds playing soccer. What if there was a way to tap into our existing tendencies, not only to get on track but to stay on track without a laborious retraining program and the distraction of chasing after the “next hottest thing.” The 180 Rule provides us with a vehicle to tap this innovative methodology that successfully uses a natural phenomenon inherent in all of us. Studies having been going on since early 1948 regarding this behavioral trait called the Negativity Bias. The 180 Rule uses these findings and applies a process that allows us to eagerly work as a team because of the ease of participation. This effective collaborative effort affords us the opportunity not only to come up with viable solutions but also helps keep the mission on track. With participation comes a greater commitment to achieve success. In sports we strive for the natural golf or tennis swing; in business development we have found a business process that successfully utilizes our natural tendencies. The 180 Rule is that process.

My team has successfully used the 180 Rule for the past two years. It was another breakthrough when we used it specifically for business development. It’s almost unbelievable how a concept that is so easy can yield such amazing results.
Bill Archer
Chief Marketing Officer, Frost & Sullivan

The magic of the 180 Rule is that it utilizes our natural abilities. Business development made much more sense when we applied this valuable tool. It is truly amazing how the strategies we had in place were actually sabotaging our mission. The 180 rule got us on track and keeps us on track.
Giulio Santorio
Managing Partner, AveryTeach

My organization was floundering and what was worse we didn’t have a clue how to handle our changing prospects. We started applying the 180 Rule for business development and now we are not only successful at generating consistent revenue but have a clear understanding of our customers and how to keep pace with our market. Bring on more change, we have the 180 Rule, we’re ready for it.
Mark Cohen
Vice President Marketing, TD2 Enterprise

Finding new opportunities to sell our services is more difficult than ever. The number of competitors now, although large, are even outstripped by the number of internet tools that all boast of being the single answer to business development. The 180 rule brought awareness about how and when to use those tools effectively. Using the 180 Rule for Business development has not only been a simple approach but a necessity for our success.
Rick Simmons
Chief Solution Officer, Simmons Online Solutions

$4.95

Fundamentals of Job Interviewing for Managers

A good employee is hard to find and this difficulty increases proportionally to the position to be filled; i.e., the higher the position the more difficult the search and the vetting of candidates. 42% of employee turnover could be eliminated with an effective interviewing and hiring process. This statistic should motivate managers to take the process seriously and become experts at it.

For small businesses it’s even more important that managers be skilledin the entire process of selecting employees because the business can ill afford the cost of turnover or unsuitableemployees. A key component of the selection process is interviewing candidates.Sadly, there are many managers or supervisors who are not good interviewers or are not skilled or confident in the processes of selecting and hiring employees.

Interviewing is an art, more than a science and like everything else it requires practice. The interviewer must feel comfortable doing it and must have self-confidence in his/her abilities both in the job he/she represents and as an interviewer.

In this book you will learn:

• strategies forhiring employees;
• a procedureforselecting the right candidates; and
• a productive interview method.

Fundamentals of Job Interviewing for Managers provides a clear, concise view into what can be, at times, a difficult and painful process. By adopting these principals, a manager can remove much of the pain caused by hiring the wrong person. The concepts captured here are useful for all levels of hiring and supervisory roles from the interview through to the post hiring performance review activity. Oswald has captured the essence of the pain points and prescribes some great preventative measures.
Bruce A. Weintraub
President & CEO
Weintraub Telecomm, LLC

There is no more critical decision facing a business owner than hiring. A wrong hire can have a huge detrimental impact on the business. While there is no way to erase all risk and uncertainty in hiring, following the process and procedures laid out by Mr. Viva will certainly go a long way in minimizing risk, and will result in a much better hire than just gathering resumes, recommendations and interviews. It is logical, easy to understand and follow and most importantly, makes the owner think about not only the type of person he or she wants for the job, but how to hire the right way and for a better outcome.
Buddy Hull
President
TAB Atlanta East.

$4.95

Be a Successful Government Contractor

The U.S. Government is the largest consumer of products and services in the world.
Adopting the right mindset is the missing link in determining whether women-owned businesses will be successful in doing business with the government.In the ten minutes it takes to read this book, Garnett Newcombe, explains the 5 essential mindset shifts that will make you successful; shares information on how to understand government thinking, and outlines 9 successful strategies that work.

“As CEO of a successful business and the accomplished author of the publication, ‘Be a Successful Government Contractor – Essential Strategies for Taking on the Government as a Customer’, Dr. Garnett Newcombe epitomizes the modern day entrepreneur. With particular emphasis on the significance of adopting the proper mindset in relation to competing in today’s marketplace, this book provides practical suggestions in an easy to understand way. Dr. Newcombe’s years of experience, coupled with her depth of knowledge and unparalleled vision, make her the ideal resource on this topic.”
Tammi Hamilton
Chief Consultant, T-LEVEL Consulting, LLC
Charlotte, NC

“This is AWESOME information. This book truly takes the anxiety out of doing business with the Government (my new customer). The only thing left for my company to do is to identify all the requests for proposals for which we meet the criteria and Go For IT. Thank you for keeping it real, simple, encouraging and to the point. I love it!!!”
Kay Woods
CEO & Founder, Precious Treasures 24-7/Childcare Center
Chandler, AZ

“This book gets right to the heart of the essential mindset changes that many small business people need to make in order to improve the possibilities for government contracts. There were a number of points that I wish I had known when I started my business many years ago, for example, no business is too small to get contracts with the government. The one mindset shift that has the most significance for me is to think like the customer and that what I think is at best secondary. I will use this important point to rethink how to better position myself for new opportunities to increase my business.”
Helen A. Richardson
Ed.D., President and CEO, Career Consciousness
Philadelphia, PA

“Be a Successful Government Contractorprovides great insights for entrepreneurs seeking to partner with the government. In it, author Garnett Newcombe takes her years of experience as a successful government contractor and boils this very complex process down into easily-digestible information. I especially appreciated how she emphasized that adopting the right mindset is crucial, and from there, shared how to understand government thinking before outlining 9 strategies for success. A quick, concise guide that all would-be government contractors should read!”
Lisa Hilleren
Authentic Living Advocate and Author of Reconstructing Eve
Burlington Township, New Jersey

$4.95

The 180 Rule

Did you ever wonder why when a new idea or concept is mentioned that there is always an abundance of negative or discouraging feedback? Just mention an idea for a new business or a plan to move your life in a new direction and as if out of the woodwork people respond with a barrage of reasons why your new endeavor will never work. It’s almost as if they were given a preview of your thoughts and were assigned a mission to put together a plan to instantly sabotage your dreams.

The 180 Rule is a methodology that embraces this reality and puts it to work for you in both your business and personal lives. Commitment and engagement are achieved easily as there are no obstacles to overcome. Using the 180 Rule to achieve results actually uses our natural tendencies and abilities. Its principles are based on scientific studies of how and why we operate as humans and how we can take advantage of self-sabotaging thoughts. The 180 Rule, although simplistic in process, delivers exceptional results from the awareness of problems to successful solutions. It’s time to stop retraining and fighting our natural behaviors in an effort to be successful, and instead constructively use those behaviors to produce positive change.

“The 180 Rule is a simple, practical continuous improvement methodology which help people avoid blind spots and ruts. I have successfully used it many times – it absolutely works!”
Brian Gareau
President, Brian Gareau Inc.

“The 180 rule allows its readers to use their existing ability to find the answers they seek to create and keep their plans on a track for success.”
Pete Berol
Executive Director of Marketing & President of Red Stone Management Systems, Inc

“The 180 rule is a fascinating new concept and is a problem solver’s dream and keeps you on track to accomplish any mission.”
Rick Simmons
Dinkum Interactive

$4.95