Client attraction. Business growth. Pretty profits.
Small Business Ru!es – A Book Review
Late last year I had the privilege of listening to Mathew Dickerson speak about leadership through my day job. Mathew gave a speech that told everyone exactly what he thought. No one could be under any illusion regarding his opinions. Some might have considered his approach a little abrasive but they couldn’t argue with his success.
Mathew founded AXXIS Technology at age 21 and the business has since won 21 major awards since including Microsoft Worldwide Partner of the Year. He has also started five other successful businesses and hosts Tech Talk Time on ABC Radio.
When a colleague was lucky enough to win a copy of his book Small Business Ru!es I was keen to borrow it and have a read. What particularly appealed to me was that Mathew has built his success from a rural base (I also live in a rural area).
Small Business Ru!es covers 52 lessons split across the following sections:
- Big Picture Rules
- Business Management
- Image & Marketing
- Employees
- Client Interactions
The book covers seemingly simple concepts but if it were easy we’d all be successful. The beauty is you can pick up the book and start with whichever business lesson and concept is most pressing for you.
Mathew uses stories and statistics very effectively to illustrate each lesson.
Admittedly, he occasionally uses Aussie lingo that could confuse international readers but the overall simplicity means understanding can quickly be established.
I loved the Image & Marketing and Client Interactions sections. In a world where being on the right social platform and the number of likes you’ve got on Facebook rule, Mathew gives us a good kick in the backside.
Social media is very important but Mathew reminds us that everything we do is marketing and that each interaction with clients is an opportunity to build trust or lose it. He discusses the emotions and psychology of buying as well as the need to ensure we understand the client needs.
Small Business Ru!es provides wonderful easy to grasp lessons for new business owners while remaining a great refresher for experienced business owners.
The book is available from Amazon (not an affiliate link).
thanks for sharing your review, I am always seeking to learn more about business related books.
No problem Charmaine! Hope it helps.
Sweet. I’ve been interested in starting up my own business for a little while now and have been looking at resources that will help me. I am definitely going to look up this book. And luckily I am fluent in Aussie lingo. 😀
I’d love to know more Angie! Maybe I can help somehow. Please feel welcome to email me: caylie (AT) betterbusinessbetterlife.com.au
Oh, there is nothing more exciting that new entrepreneur energy. I hope you share more Angie! I’d love to hear too.
And Caylie! Great blog post, as always. Love what you have to share. Can you give me an example of some of his thoughts that were somewhat abrasive? Or, is that better left for off blog discussion?
Hi Loralee,
It was to the affect of “don’t not give your opinion just because you’ll upset someone (no matter how badly).”
Cheers,
Caylie
Sounds like a really useful book. I’ll check to see if it’s available on Kindle. Thanks for sharing!
No probs Liz! Always love a good, educational book!
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