Business Money Books

One of the best parts of working at Sales Gravy is all of the books that come my way from authors and publishers who want us to give them a review. Every once in a while I get a book that makes a real impact on my life. Most recently it was The All Star Sales Book by Billy Cox. Quite frankly, this book came to me at the right place, at the right time. I was having one of those weeks where everything was going wrong. Set back upon setback had sapped my energy and ruined my optimism. After one final kick in the pants, I threw my hands in the air and shouted out loud, "what else can possible go wrong." I had a serious case of "stinkin-thinkin."

Disgusted, I started sorting through the pile of mail my assistant had placed on my desk. The first package I opened contained Billy Cox's, All-Star Sales Book. I turned to the first page and started reading. Almost immediately my mood began to improve. Cox's inspirational and motivational message broke through my bad attitude and began to lift me up. In one passage Cox writes, "I've always heard that when life knocks you down you need to land on your back because if you can look up, you can get up." Just the message I needed to hear at the moment.

Throughout the book Cox delivers the message that in sales and life there are no time-outs, no overtimes, and you only get one chance to play. Through his inspiring stories, easy to understand analogies, and humor, Cox delivers a guaranteed road map to success. In the book he provides practical, and easy-to-implement advice that is both relevant and critical for succeeding in today's sales environment. These tried and true methods are central to every successful sales career and I applaud Cox for delivering these key lessons, anew, in a fresh and engaging style that makes it fun to learn and inspires action.

Jeb Blount,author of PowerPrinciples: Do You Have The Winning Edge?

Although I am not a sales professional, I believe everybody's selling something whether it's to our family members or business associates and "The All-Star Sales Book" will sell you on believing in yourself again. I highly recommend this book for Billy Cox gives you the strategies and techniques to getting and keeping the "winning edge" in life, business, and sales. His book is full of ideas on how to develop and maintain a burning desire to win at the highest levels and to continue raising your personal bar. Moreover, he emphasizes the importance of goal setting, decision making, and taking action and initiative so that you stretch yourself to perform at an All-Star level and get results.

Working in the direct sales industry one can really use a great tool to get re-motivated....this is the tool. Not only does it cover tools for work, but in the home front as well. I would recommend this book to anyone!

Being stuck in mediocrity is quite possibly the worst place a salesman can be, claims "The All-Star Sales Book: Get In the Game, Boost Your Numbers, and Earn the Big Bucks". Selling just enough to get by makes one comfortable, and lacking aspiration - where one who is doing miserably will be motivated to do everything they can to recover and make the most of themselves- to dream of what they want and that drives them. "The All-Star Sales Book: Get In the Game, Boost Your Numbers, and Earn the Big Bucks" hopes to inspire sales people to become more that they can ever hope to be through stories, analogies, anecdotes and more. "The All-Star Sales Book: Get In the Game, Boost Your Numbers, and Earn the Big Bucks" is highly recommended to business people everywhere who need that little kick to get them rolling in life and for community library business collections.

CRAAAAAK!! Going!! Going!!...Gone!! Billy Cox has hit yet another one out of the park with The All-Star Sales Book. Billy very clearly and concisely gives you the the keys to unleashing the champion within you in this MUST READ book. Anyone interested in personal development and human performance will take their game to the next level with the gems that Billy provides in this reader friendly masterpiece! No matter who you are or what you do, this is a book that EVERYONE SHOULD OWN.

This book is complete junk, most of the 4-5 star rating are probably from Wade's cronnies and fraudster. I was even tricked into attending one of his B.S infomerical seminar. Luckily I detect his B.S and left. Stick with the classic from Bill O'neil, Gerald Loeb, and Darvas.

My local BAMM just got a load of this book as well as other Wade Cook books. Being in management with an uncertain future, I am always looking for extra income opportunities. This program by Wade Cook made the most sense.

I like the idea of selling via Super Covered Calls and then creating income or buying more stocks for free. It's working well for me. As Wade beats to death, "always know your exit and do your homework."

My only word of caution is that there are some promotional pieces inside the book and a toll free number on the inside back cover. I called and was heavily pitched to sign up for a seminar and but other products. When I asked if this was Wade Cook's compnay, the person on the other line simply said, "Who the heck cares about Wade Cook." I can only assume if wasn't and that turned out to be true. I found Wade via his new website at wadecook.org. The customer service people there were much friendlier and even enrolled me in a FREE teleseminar. It was like a breathe of fresh air.

Thanks Wade!

This guy was suited by a lot of personal investors.

Matter of fact you can find the law suits against him on the Federal Trade Commission web site: FTC.GOV In the search box type in 'Wade Cook'. There are about 31 hits.

According to the FTC complaint, WCFC's (Wade Cook Financial Corporation) advertising and promotional materials contain express or implied false claims that Wade Cook had earned and consumers would earn extremely high rates of return - returns of 20% or more per month - on their investments using Cook's trading strategies.

Another words, the man can't walk the talk.
Fraud

While pervusing this book at my local favorite book retialer, I couldn't believe the claims made herein. As the saying goes, if it looks too good to be true, it usually is. Not with this book though.

Fortunately, a stock trader, an honest one at that also happened to be reading another copy of this book. As I engaged in a conversation with this man, he indicated that he had been using Wade Cook's method's since 1995 and further indicated that he had made some incredible returns. He went onto explain, that there are some unknown ways to make money in the market that most people, average investors like you and me don't know about.

This same man also had a copy of Monday's IBD and showed me which stocks he was going to use for the FREE STOCKS LOCC SYSTEM that Cook teaches in this book.

So while I cannot offer you any incredible stories at this time, since I have not used the techniques as of yet, I will be in the future. Nonetheless, I was very impressed witht he systems contained in this book. So much so that I decided to buy two other Wade Cook books. I'll let you know how I made out.

This advice can put into early retirement. Wade has been accused of running a get rich scheme and that is partly true. In America, anytime you can come up with a workable strategy that can help you become financially free in less than 4 years, thent hat is quick. Scheme? No, it is just taking advantage on what is available.

And now with stocks like GOOG moving up above the $300 range, it is now possible to get those H-U-G-E premiums that Wade talks about. (This book was written just prior to the Clinton Bear Market in 2000)

Give it a shot.

Ugh! Budgeting, investing, credit ratings... the moms of my acquaintance change the subject. This book is so confident, easy going, and well-written that it makes the subject palatable. I can even lend it to my financially illiterate friends without them interpreting it as, "get the hint, sweetie."

All around, great advice. Each time I read it, I try to make a habit of one new idea from the book.

If one is serious about really trying to save money, if they give it a bit of thought, they're likely to come up with the majority of ideas Ms. Kay did. However, if one were to not be serious about it, and just liked the idea of saving money, this book is an excellent refresher. Also, for those of us whose spouses are in the military, like Ms. Kay's, there are some good insider tips. Finally, for those who may be shifting the financial responsibility for the family to their shoulders for the first time, there are some good ideas for getting started, prioritized and organized.

Futures are complex! This book makes it easy to understand some of the tricks of the trade in futures. I highly recommend this book to all futures and forex traders.

This is the one book that any novice must have. This book not only explains how to get started but how to increase your chances of winning in the futures market. Chapter include an excellent day trading method, Gann methods for picking market tops and bottoms, and overall excellent market winning advice. All of this at a reasonable price. This book is the best futures book for those starting out as well as advanced traders. The information in this book is all substance. The book however, does not make for easy reading. It is difficult in some parts, and requires rereading. This is due to the tremendous concentration of information. The book is also reasonable in telling the reader that one must work hard to master the information it contains. It is not unrealistic in the sense that one simply reads the book and one is an automatic wizard at trading. One must work hard at studying the book and working at the information to become a master trader. If one doesnt want to work he is better off in not reading the book, because the book wont work, if you dont work. A great book. A market classic.

Where work the trading system explained in this book???
Don't loose your money and time reading this book

George Angell constantly produces hits when it comes to futures investing. From his proprietary LSS system to his down to earth attitude he has my complete professional courtesy.

His book opens the eyes of the average investor and let's it be known that futures are not one dimensional. You have multiple strategies and tools at your disposal to help you succeed. One of those tools is hedging. ... This is a must have book for the novice futures trader.

I bought this book as a refresher to the comodities market,
after a decade chasing profits in the slower NASDAQ market.

Mr. Angell presents not only the basic info necessary to
understand the commodities market, but also more presents
his LSS daytrading system (which I won't use).

Each and every chapter ends with a list of the points one
should take from that particular chapter. My book has 15
pages bookmarked where information important to me is stored.

One can find more in-depth books on technical analysis,
options, and other topics in this book. But, Mr. Angell gives
the reader an excellent base upon which to build a comprehensive
trading education. From types of orders, technical analysis,
psychology, options and even a trading system, Mr. Angell
succeeds in introducing the novice trader into the world of
futures/commodities trading.

I read one of Mr. Angell's other books on "Sure-thing Options
Trading", early in my trading education, and I still use the
info. I can say the same of this book, after only a year.

This book is certainly worth the price.

The Big Ripoff really explains why big companies go along with programs that are clearly detrimental to who they are and what they do. As an example; The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 was prompted by the federal government's tax on whiskey. Who were the biggest supporters of that tax? It was the large distillers. Why? Who was the biggest supporter of the penalties and fines imposed on the tobacco industry in the law suit by the various states attorneys general? Phillip Morris! Why? Why is Warren Buffett one of the biggest supporters of death and inheritance taxes? Find these out and you begin to understand why companies are so hot to go "green".

Does anyone think that big businesses just want to be left alone by the government? If so, Mr. Carney's book should be an eye-opener.

Many corporations have found it to their advantage to troll for government subsidies and favors, to accept regulation of their industries on terms that will give them a competitive advantage, and even to support tax increases that will fuel the growth of government (particularly if someone else will bear the brunt of the increase).

Politicians welcome the support of wealthy contributors and are willing to do favors to get it. The characterization of one party being for big business and the other for the downtrodden is quite misleading.

These themes are illustrated by numerous examples - corporate welfare, regulatory schemes that deter new entrants, the tobacco settlement, etc. - that ring true and are convincingly documented. The final section about environmentalism for profit is particularly well done.

Enron, which some have cited as an example of private enterprise run amok, was quite adept at adapting to and profiting from government rules and policies. The company's accounting scams were designed to survive SEC scrutiny (short sellers were the first to notice that something was awry), it raised gaming the energy regulations of California to an art form, and it favored ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in hopes of becoming a player in the resulting cap-and-trade system.

Archer Daniels Midland has long benefited from government mandates and subsidies for ethanol, yet corn-based ethanol takes a lot of energy to produce (perhaps more than it provides) and the asserted environmental advantage over gasoline is illusory. The CEO is quoted as saying, when being pressed about acceptance of government aid, that "people who are not in the Midwest do not understand that this is a socialist country."

Other companies (e.g., General Electric and DuPont) hope to profit from "going green" in the future. They do not figure to make much progress without government support, however, and their motives are not necessarily altruistic.

Overall, The Big Ripoff leaves one with the perception of being victimized. I believe this impression is overdone, i.e., that many people in the business and government worlds are trying to contribute to the good of society even if their efforts fall short at times. It might also have been helpful if the author had offered some suggestions for making the situation better.

Excellent, well written & documented. A must read to understand the workings between the US Federal govt. and large US corporations, that 'cost' the average US citizen.

There is a misconception by many that:

- Big business wants free markets
- Government protects us from big business
- Government regulations are intended to restrict big business
- Big business is more aligned with the political right than the political left

This book meticulously chronicles the mechanism by which big business partners with government in order to:

- subsidize its operations
- create its own government customers, both foreign and domestic
- eliminate the free market, and replace it with a corrupt one
- tilt the playing field so that small business has no change
- control who wins elections

By the end, you realize that the government's primary function is to redistribute wealth from the middle class to the corporate class. You also realize we don't actually live in a free market. In a free market, the businesses that succeed are the ones who customers decide are providing value. In our system, the businesses that succeed are the ones who effectively suck money from taxpayers via the government, regardless of what they provide to the health of society.

This book is important because its message is unique. It is not the same tired old republican theories about trickle down economics or left-wing theories about the evils of the market. Thank you, Tim Carney, for advancing the debate past the usual left/right myths.

Many times I complain when I see a large portion of my paycheck stripped of income. Occasionally I declare in a frustrated tone, "where is my money going?". As shown in Timothy P. Carney's book The Big Rip off, our money lands in the pockets of big business from our government through our tax dollars.

Before reading The Big Ripoff, I discovered the largest supporter of the Kyoto Protocol was Enron. I began wondering if this was good for our environment, or was it just making a select few rich. But not having the time to research the subject I let my curiosity simmer.

Carney has taken time to research the age old question "what does the government do with my tax dollars?". Carney will open your eyes to many corporate welfare programs and abuses of eminent domain by politicians for the benefit of companies. Furthermore, you will learn that big companies are the most adamant supporters of more government regulation because it restricts smaller less powerful companies from entering their field.

I suggest everyone should read this before they vote in the next election. You will learn that the piles of cash the government gives to big corporations is not determined by the political party, but by the political system itself.

If you wish to discover how and why your hard earned tax dollars are sent to these large companies, you need to read this book. You will be shocked in what you learn. You will also be delighted to find a bibliography helping you discover resources for your own research.

There is a lot of good information about investing in real estate in this book. I feel most of the things he suggests in the book are too vague and require a much more in depth approach.

Robert Shemin gives more information and ideas in Secrets of Buying... than one very famous real estate writer gives in four books and another charges thousands of dollars for. It is not a "get rich quick" plan. Remember to get your information from those who know what they are talking about and have done what you want to do, and Shemin is that man. You will always need more information, experts in your area, and experts in different fields of real estate; and Shemin states this in his book.

One real estate book will not solve all of your problems or answer all of your questions, but the bottom line is that this one gives you more than most. I will continue to go back to this book for ideas and to fine tune my investing skills for years. The only thing missing is him taking you by the hand to take action. Take responsability, be persistant, read, educate yourself, stay positive, be careful who you take advice from, take action, and stay positive.

I have read probably twenty books in real Estate in the past six months...this is the worst so far. Whoever is writting is going at light speed and has no concept of teaching or sharing knowledge. It has no depth and he continuosly jumps from one subject to another not covering any of the real issues and questions. The bottom line...don't waste your money.There are "real good books" in real Estate but this is not one of them.
JC

Anyone who remembers that old TV commercial for Wendy's will know exactly what I mean. This book has no substance. "Find a $300,000 house, buy it for $200,000 and flip it to an investor for $250,000 and pocket the difference". Yeah, it sounds nice but I live in a place called Earth. Perhaps in some depressed areas you might find sellers motivated enough to sell at that kind of discount, but don't plan on moving that property anytime soon either. Where I live, in Northern Virginia, people pay $30,000-$50,000 OVER the asking prices for a house. My neighbor just sold her TOWNHOUSE which she put on the market. She listed it for $385K and had SIX contracts on it the first week and sold it for $430K. Good luck finding a "motivated" seller around here. Up into southern Maryland you can find properties for below "market" value, but you can't turn them quickly.

This guy may have done quite well during the real estate boom, but its a different world now and the things he is saying to do "without by the way telling you HOW to do them" are just ludicrous.

Keep your money, don't waste it on this book.

I got into real estate investing primarily due to Mr. Shemin's first two books, "Secrets of a Millionaire Landlord" and "secrets of a Millionaire Real Estate Investor." Both of these books were excellent, and I wouldn't sell my copies for the world.

However, this is simply a collection of loosely connected thoughts strung together to create a book. Here is the plan presented in the book -- Find a $250,000 that you can purchase for $190,000 from a motivated seller, and sell it to someone else for $230,000, then retire rich.

Not much of a plan if you ask me, especially when where I live, a $250,000 would be a mansion, not a 3 bedroom 2 bath starter house. A real presented plan would be, do A, B, C, D, etc.

What he is suggesting in the book is not investing, rather it is speculating in real estate. While there is nothing wrong with that, let's call it what it is.

His other book, "Unlimited Riches," which I also own, covers everything here, and is a much better written book. It at least presents a cohesive plan that a novice might be able to follow.

The book updates us on where Mr. Shemin is going in his life, and career. He lets us know that he got out of the landlord business and is now speculating in real estate and "writing paper," (hard money lending) as he calls it.

I have read many what I call "Rah Rah" books. There is nothing wrong with convincing people that they too can succeed in real estate, but this book doesn't even do that.

I always try to find 2 or 3 new ideas, even out of a bad book. While there are a few ideas that make me go, "Hmm, interesting," there are no sonic booms here. The book comes off as an advertisement for his real estate seminars and multilevel marking of some products, nothing wrong with that, but not much else for me to sink my teeth into.

I am presently reading his new book "How to Avoid the 75 Mistakes Every Investor Makes." That book should have been 50 Mistakes, but they stretched a few to get 75. Mind you, they are not bad, just that some didn't even take up half a page, and there are 250 pages in that book.

If you have the money, buy the book, but if you have to choose between this one and another one, pass this one by. However, that said, do purchase his Millionaire books. They are worth the money.

In closing, I'd like to find someone who would write a book on how to check real estate records for liens. You know, the nitty gritty work of real estate investing. Instead, they all want you to pay the $1000 for this information.

I really like Mary Hunts books I find them a lot more useful than books like the tightwad gazette which is way to extreme.Mary Hunts books are full of good useful information.

I subscribe to Mary's CheapskateMonthly.... and highly recommend both her website and most of her books. I have read and reread the books of hers that I own, of which this is one. If you're having finacial difficulties, get this book and subscribe to her newsletter - you can do this online or through the mail. I swear it's been the best money I've ever spent. And I have actually started to see a difference in my finances.

This is a good, solid, book covering the "basics" of money management. It can be said that Mary Hunt is just reiterating philosophies of money management that have been preached over the decades, if not centuries. Better, more comprehensive, readings include "The Millionaire Next Door", "Your Money Or Your Life", "The Complete Tightwad Gazette", and "The Richest Man In Babylon."

That being said, this book did introduce me to one innovative idea of which I have incorporated into my financial arsenol. It's what called the "Freedom Account". The Freedom Account is a fantastic tool devised by Hunt to manage payment of irregular,
non-monthly bills. The concept is not new, but Hunt's system is definitely the best I've ever come across.

My philosophy on reading books has always been that if I can get just one great new idea, then the investment in time and money is worth it. I can assure you that if you decide to buy this book, the "Freedom Account" system alone is well worth the investment.

Has worrying about money or paying your bills ever kept you up at night?

Me, too. Until I found this book.

About 7 years ago, our family was suffering from unbelievable money problems. Depressed and confused, I decided to stop by the bookstore and browse the personal finance section. There was only one problem. I didn't have twenty or thirty dollars to buy money management advice. I decided to get Mary's book and could not believe how many great examples and strategies she gave for reducing debt.
By following Mary's instructions, our family quickly began reducing our debt and wiped out almost $ 20,000 of credit card bills within a few years.
Her book is my money "Bible" and like scriptures in a holy work, I have highlighted paragraphs on almost every page that give insights into a subject that had always been beyond my control.

This book saved my marriage and brought me peace.
I highly recommend it. . . to everyone.

This is a good book for a great cause: getting and staying out of debt. However, after reading it, I liked Dave Ramsey's Money Makeover and Financial Peace University MUCH better - more thorough, great ideas, and fabulous examples of how a little money can grow w/ time - which this book, CM, is lacking.

Pros:

* I purposely bought this book just to seek knowledge in Trust Deed Investments.
* Strong point given on why you need to invest your money right now.

Cons:

* Whatever it is, you still need money in the beginning to make money.
* You need to have some capital.

First of all, let me preface this by saying that I am a mortgage broker and know many of the intracacies of the real estate and mortgage world. Before reading this book, I thought I had a really good grasp on hard money lending and trust deed investments... boy was I wrong!

The author really cracked his brain open and shared with us all of the benefits and details of trust deed investments. This book not only showed me the way to safely invest & build personal wealth, but it gave me great insight as a mortgage broker looking to place my clients with hard money loans.

So in summary, if you are looking to learn how to safely invest your money, earn great interest, or are a mortgage broker looking to expand your knowledge in hard money loans, this book is for you!

Good book. Extremely in depth. This is one of the most helpful books on the topic of trust deed investing and hard money loans. I read the book once and still find myself regularly referring to this book as a guide book. It covers all of the fundamentals of trust deed investing and hard money. Although it is written with the novice in mind, I am sure that even an experienced investor will find some helpful nuggets of information in this book. I only wished I had this book when I was in my thirties!