Fifteen successful female entrepreneurs tell their stories—stories that will inspire other women to follow through on their dreams of starting a business. In Scrappy Startups: How 15 Ordinary Women Turned Their Unique Ideas into Profitable Businesses, acclaimed author and highly successful career coach Melanie Keveles presents the stories women looking to start their own businesses need to hear—stories of women just like them who realized their entrepreneurial dreams while discovering their own greater creative capacities. Scrappy Startups is more than a book—it is mentorship in print—in which highly successful women entrepreneurs share their best advice in an utterly inspiring way. Representing a wide range of business fields, with enterprises ranging in age from newly begun to a couple of decades old, these women explain their thinking, their alliances, and the singular creative impulses that led to a viable and meaningful commercial endeavor. As presented here, each woman represents a part of the "Dream, Courage, Action" model that Melanie Keveles developed to demonstrate the process of bringing an idea to fruition.

Fifteen successful female entrepreneurs tell their stories-stories that will inspire other women to follow through on their dreams of starting a business.

Marketing is changing rapidly, so sometimes it’s hard to keep up. Don’t get frustrated, get scrappy. It’s an exciting time to be in marketing, with an array of equalizing platforms from the Internet to social media to content marketing, that have reset the playing field for businesses large and small. Yet, it's also a challenging time, with much work to do and an ever-changing array of platforms, features, and networks to master--all on tighter budgets than ever before. In Get Scrappy, chief brand strategist Nick Westergaard weaves hacks, tips, and idea starters together to provide a plan of attack for businesses of any size to: Demystify digital marketing in a way that makes sense for your business Do more with less Build a strong brand with something to say Create relevant and engaging content for your social media platforms Spark dialogue with your community of customers Measure what matter The result will be a reliable, repeatable system for building your brand, creating engaging content, and growing your community of customers. Don’t wait for marketing to reinvent itself. Instead, proactively reinvent your company’s marketing to maximize its reach!

Authors: Julie Castro Abrams, Carole Amos, Eldette Davie, Hannah Kain, Mai-Huong Le, Sue Lebeck, Terrie Mui, Pat Obuchowski, Yuko Shibata, Nathalie Udo, Betty Jo Waxman Although some people make it look easy, the reality is that the path to success is often convoluted and messy. It's tempting to believe that the professionals surrounding us somehow have their act completely together while we lurch fitfully onward, but the real story is often much more complicated and chaotic. This refreshingly honest book provides welcome reassurance for every businesswoman who's ever wondered, ""Is it me, or has the whole rest of the company gone nuts?!"" Each chapter is a fascinating description of one woman's unlikely journey, and every story is teeming with personal insights and practical tips to encourage you along the way toward your own goals and dreams. The human side of each achiever comes alive as she shares her challenges, choices and achievements in a ""just between us"" tone that educates as it entertains. If you've ever had ""one of those days"" where your co-workers seemed to grow horns or you were tempted to sink into the icy couch of despair--you are not alone! Once in a while we need to take a well-deserved break. Reading even just one chapter from 'Scrappy Business Women' will refresh your spirit and invigorate you for the next sprint. If you're a seasoned professional, you'll see your own journey reflected in those of these women. And if you're just starting out on your professional journey, the wisdom in this guide will save you a whole lot of time and aggravation! Share your own story at the ScrappyWomen.Biz website, which grew out of this 'gal pal' project. Your story, and those of enterprising, determined women like you, will help this collection grow from a trickle of wisdom into a fountain of inspiration from which millions of women will drink, and ultimately a platform from which they gain the courage to leap boldly into their own futures. Please visit and add your story to ours so that, drop by drop, we grow this tiny stream into an ocean of wisdom. Stay Scrappy!

First published in 2012, Startup Communities became a blueprint for what it takes to build a supportive entrepreneurial community. Now regarded as a classic, the "Boulder Thesis" created and popularized by Feld within the book generated enormous media attention nearly a decade ago. At that time, Boulder was an emerging startup laboratory—a hub of innovation building new tech businesses. It quickly accelerated into a world class ecosystem for entrepreneurs. Boulder's entrepreneurial density, combined with the geographic concentration of entrepreneurial activity around the Boulder downtown core, made it a hotbed of startup activity. Feld was and is still there, as a keen observer and one of its leaders. As he notes simply in the new edition, humans are wired to start things. In a sense, that short Feld-ism accurately describes the startup revolution still taking hold throughout the world. Boulder is proof that innovation can happen anywhere, in any city. Thanks in part to the book, what happens in Boulder now leaves Boulder. Rapidly growing startup communities in Atlanta, Detroit, Denver, Kansas City, Nashville, and Indianapolis are just a few examples. Over the last decade, Feld has dispelled the myth that startups can only thrive in Silicon Valley. Startup communities continue to pop up across the U.S. and around the world, prompting fresh new revelations and stories from Feld about what's happened over the last decade. Startup Communities 2e describes what makes a startup community ecosystem first click, then hum, and in time, excel. From Boulder to Beijing and beyond, entrepreneurial ecosystems are driving innovation. Startup Communities 2e discusses and the necessary dynamics and pre-conditions of building communities of entrepreneurs who can feed off each other's talent, creativity, and support. In Startup Communities 2e, Feld will help you understand: The core principles of a vibrant startup community, re-examining his Boulder Thesis and exploring other historical frameworks. The attributes of leadership in a startup community that can help it thrive along with the classical problems any community will face during development. The importance of a university in a startup community, and how large companies can engage effectively with entrepreneurs. The importance of continuous improvement so growth does not stagnate. The common myths about startup communities. The opportunities to build startup communities in non-urban, or rural, places that are much less populated.

Shake up the market with these key ingredients to a successful startup Entrepreneurship starts with an idea and a dream: a dream of a better world for others, and a life less ordinary for yourself. These days, more people than ever are full of world-changing ideas and, thanks to technology, have the means to bring them to life. But many ideas remain just ideas, and many dreams just dreams. Startup Mixology is first and foremost a book about turning your ideas into action. From the cofounder of media company Tech Cocktail, a veteran entrepreneur and investor who was named one of the most connected people in tech, this book covers the basic "ingredients" of winning entrepreneurship. No abstract theories here — it shows you how to tackle everything from idea generation to launch to marketing to funding and how to start getting things done. Once you've taken that first step, the journey has only begun. Startup Mixology tells it like it is — and it's not easy! You'll learn about the harsh reality of starting up: what happens when you offend your customers, get no attention, or run out of money. These are the stories you don't always hear in the media. In the end, Startup Mixology is an optimistic book. You can do this — and you can have fun doing it, too. Every chapter also shows you how to enjoy the journey along the way - because if you don't, what's the point of it all? From cake baking to workations to llama parades, you'll learn how entrepreneurs around the world stay sane, reduce stress, and celebrate the positive. This may seem fluffy, but it's actually one of the biggest secrets of successful startups. Inside, you'll find the stories of companies like MakerBot, WordPress, Zappos, Basecamp, Uber, and more. Hear in their own words how they survived the startup phase, and learn from the straightforward and conversational Frank Gruber, who has met thousands of entrepreneurs and watched them grow their businesses. In many ways, entrepreneurship will be the most difficult undertaking of your career. But if you can find the right balance of hard work, support, and celebration, it can also be the most rewarding. Startup Mixology takes you through the whole process from start to finish, so you can begin the incomparable journey of turning your great ideas into great startups.

There are plenty of how-to marketing guides out there, but this one focuses on tried-and-true methods that are essential for every business. No, it won’t walk you through how to set up a social media page, but it will offer you the advice you can implement today to see results like more customers and better performance in your marketing. The impact of effective marketing is staggering, but incredibly hard to get right. Only by learning from the successes and failures of businesses in recent history can we see a clear path to harnessing marketing’s true power. Reacting to the ever-changing environment around you and using it to your advantage is the best possible strategy. Marketing Magnifier examines what crucial elements are required to propel your business by examining what has worked and failed for many modern organizations in real-life situations and how to apply them. This is not just another marketing book… it is the key to growth above and beyond your expectations. We’ll cover topics including: - What data you must collect to optimize sales, and how to collect it. - How to tell which strategies, tools, and offers are best for courting your customers. - How you can use what you already have to tell a new story that brings new customers through the door. - Methods to Build a Loyal Customer Base - Big-Picture Strategies You Might Not Know Whether you’re a Fortune 500 CEO or a sole proprietor business owner, it’s my hope that this book will help you find growth beyond your wildest expectations. Filled with invaluable knowledge, advice, and strategies, this book is a must-read for every business professional looking to climb to the top, carve out a market, and bring in more business.