A MUST-READ FOR ENTREPRENEURS AND SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS

I just finished one of the most interesting and useful books I've read in a long time! The book is called Alpha Dogs by Donna Fenn. The book profiles several small business owners from different industries across the country. The business owners included the owners of Dorothy Lane Grocery, Harley Davidson franchises, an online auction house and a local bike shop. Fenn visited the businesses to find out about their management practices, customer service approaches, employee training and retention programs and business operations and strategy. Fenn finds that though the business owners and their businesses are very different, they share common traits, practices and focuses. For instance, all of the profiled business owners were focused on providing exceptional customer service and rich employee development programs to woo customers from larger competitors and to attract and retain the best employees. Each of the business owners took calculated risks by making changes in the way they marketed or operated their businesses, resulting in fiercely loyal customers willing to pay a premium for the business' products or services.

The book is a great read, and brief to boot (only 100 or so pages).