Reviewed by Vincent Dublado for Readers' Favorite

Are you already envisioning the kind of retirement that you want? Will you be pursuing a passion? Set up your own business? Travel? Whatever your plan for retirement, it's wise to prepare now, and author Mike Yuen gives you a brilliant how-to guide in his book Intrinsic: Using LEAPS to Retire Early. This concise yet comprehensive personal investment guide is divided into five parts: Part One explains his personal journey and the development of his interest in stocks. Part 2 provides a rationale on why he prefers tech stocks. Part 3 is a review of options and introduces you to Long-Term Equity Anticipation Securities (LEAPS). Part 4 discusses which LEAPS to buy and uses actual examples of his own trades to illustrate a return on investment. Part Five is your recap, an overview of essential takeaways including some important final words.

While Intrinsic is beginner-friendly, author Mike Yuen assumes that you at least have some knowledge of how the stock market works, how to buy and sell stocks, and understand what options are and how to buy and sell calls and puts. These fundamentals are essential for you to fully grasp the concept and maximize the optimum effect of what this book imparts on your journey toward financial productivity. Yuen does his best to cover everything you need to know, and at the same time, the work is inspiring and encouraging when you read about examples of his own trades. It has worked for him, and he wants it to work for you. He wants you to be comfortable and to make early, smart decisions that will greatly impact your financial gains and the life you wish to live in the future. If you have a starting knowledge of the stock market and are looking for a viable investment, then Intrinsic is the book is for you.

Reviewed by Randy B. Lichtman for Readers' Favorite

For anyone looking to start a business, improve their current business, or scale their business, Finance Secrets of Billion Dollar Entrepreneurs: Venture Finance without Venture Capital by Dileep Rao, Ph.D. is an excellent book that brings together academic research and use of principles by successful entrepreneurs into a practical framework for business finance. Based on interviews with 30 billion- and hundred-million-dollar entrepreneurs, Dr. Rao found the majority of those he interviewed were successful and retained control of their companies by avoiding or delaying venture capital (VC) in financing their ventures. In addition, he conducted research on 80 additional billion-dollar entrepreneurs. He found that 90% of those entrepreneurs finance their ventures without VC, and 80% never use VC at all. He encapsulates lessons learned from his research in this book, which provides strategies for business owners to become “finance smart.”

Finance Secrets of Billion Dollar Entrepreneurs is an excellent mix of theory and application as each of the principles Dr. Rao introduces has been utilized by the entrepreneurs contained in his research. The entrepreneurs featured in his study include the founders of Best Buy (Richard Schulze), Capella Education Company (Steve Shank), Medtronic (Earl Bakken), Great Clips (Ray Barton), Fastenal (Robert Kierlin), United HealthGroup (Richard Burke), and many others who have proven that sound financial management principles, when carefully chosen, can bring great success to a business. Since a start-up possesses little history on which to base projections, Dr. Rao provides valuable information on how to choose the correct method of financing based on the stage of development, as well as alternative financial instruments other than venture capital. It also offers lessons on developing the right capital structure for the business, as well as the importance of preserving and utilizing cash flow to survive and thrive. Dr. Rao’s experience as a serial entrepreneur, an investor, and a Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship, support the sound principles presented. This book provides valuable information on financial strategies for entrepreneurs, supported by extensive primary and secondary research, and conveyed in an effective and compelling manner. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

The Wholesaling Blueprint: Real Estate Investing with No Money out of your Pocket by Luke Weber is a business book that gives readers inside information about selling real estate without investing any money. In this book, the author defines real estate wholesaling and creates a roadmap that takes readers to success. Readers will find information on how to start, the strategies for quality lead generation places to find properties for sale, getting the properties under contract, and finding clients to buy them. That is the general idea articulated in this book. Still, it brims with information, lessons, and how-tos that are invaluable to readers.

For anyone interested in investing in real estate, this book is the best place to start. It contains what readers need to know and how to successfully navigate the real estate market. However, most importantly, it unveils a goldmine where those without any initial financial investment can still break through. Luke Weber writes in a style that is popular, engaging, and hugely accessible, taking readers through every step of the process, from how and where to start to what they need to know; from finding the right prospects to successfully closing deals, from handling the paperwork to building a successful team. The book is chockful with helpful information. I enjoyed its direct delivery style with real-life situations and examples to drive lessons that will change readers' lives. Luke Weber will make any reader want to get into the real estate business. While this book focuses on real estate, it contains strategies that can be applied to other companies. The prose is strong, the voice authoritative, and the entire book is filled with techniques and practical information that will change the way most people look at real estate.

Reviewed by Vernita Naylor for Readers' Favorite

As Erin traveled on her life journey, she realized that once the pandemic hit, she, like others, had to rethink their lives. The systems in place to help America sustain itself during this traumatic time are unable to help us maintain our quality of life or save us. With her book, Get the Hell Out of Debt: The Proven 3-Phase Method That Will Radically Shift Your Relationship to Money, you will learn how to overcome and balance your relationship with money, material possessions, and debt. This book will motivate and empower you because the author is transparent and speaks from experience about her struggles that anyone can relate to. In three phases, you'll be able to strategically walk through the process to financial literacy and freedom. Sometimes it takes beautiful words of wisdom to cause us to create a paradigm shift for our future, especially coming from someone that we love and admire. If it wasn't for author Erin Skye Kelly's grandfather Jidi, her life would have turned out differently. The wisdom imparted to her allowed her to view her dreams from another perspective. In creating this book, Erin wants to do the same for you; to live your life and fulfill your dreams without the fear of debt.

Not only did I enjoy this wonderful gem, Get the Hell Out of Debt: The Proven 3-Phase Method That Will Radically Shift Your Relationship to Money by Erin Skye Kelly, but I appreciate the passion that the author has for others to get out of debt. It's rare that someone creates a program to further educate its audience and provides a support group but she has. Not only is this book an excellent resource but the author provides a glossary along with suggested books to keep you educated on money matters. We all need this type of book, no matter where you are on your financial journey. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Ashley Tetzaff for Readers' Favorite

Dr. Anthony M. Criniti IV has done it again! In his work, The Most Important Lessons in Economics and Finance: A Comprehensive Collection of Time-Tested Principles of Wealth Management, the author lays out a thorough study of principles relating to finance and economics. The book has three main parts. Part One is for the more scholarly, who would like to know the background of what Dr. Criniti has studied, how he defines some of the main terms he uses, and what the possible benefits and limitations are to this work. Part Two lays out Dr. Criniti’s top 218 Principles for Economics and Finance. There are categories like Business, Debt, Ethics, Investing, Personal Finance, etc. and there are several principles under each category. Principles like: “If you have the option, eliminate the difficult clients for maximum efficiency” and “Simplifying your product or service has strong marketing appeal” and “The more risk you take, the more you can lose or make” and about 215 more like that. Each principle has a paragraph or two explaining the rationale behind the sentence in detail. Part Three is essentially a summary of Part One, plus the bibliography, index, and other appendixes.

Part One was extremely interesting to me and reminded me of my research for my Master’s degree (terminology and limitations and qualitative versus quantitative and other lovely terms which are very thrilling when you have worked with them), but if I didn’t have that background, I’m not sure I’d have had a clue what he was talking about half the time. Which is why Dr. Criniti wisely mentions in the introduction that those not interested in that aspect could just skip to Part Two. Part Two is very easy to read and understand and is so good! Each principle is about half a page but has the wisdom of half a century in it. I read each principle thinking “oh yeah, I’ve seen that proven” and “yep, that is how I interact with businesses, so I suppose that is how other people would interact with mine.” Each principle seems so simple, and yet is so profound. Part Three is a summary of Part One. If you can’t wade through Part One, read Part Three for the essential nature of it. But Part Two is the absolute must-read section of the book. I don’t think I will ever forget this book. The Most Important Lessons in Economics and Finance is now one of my top ten favorite books ever!

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

PMO Governance: Practical Strategies to Govern Portfolio, Program, and Project Delivery is a work of non-fiction focused on the business world, and was penned by author Eugen Spivak. With a specific aim to establish and improve Project Management Offices to their maximum level of efficiency, the guidebook separates into twelve informative sections to give a comprehensive view of the purpose of PMO, how to diagnose ineffective elements, and later focuses on governance and leadership implementation. The volume includes active and specific strategies that can be immediately applied to the reader’s current work, as well as many examples of how and why such strategies are already working in contexts from Spivak’s own experiences.

Even if you are new to the world of PMO and just starting out in this area, the informative and concise narration of author Eugen Spivak will no doubt educate and inspire you on an accessible level. Spivak’s personal tone gives a nice overlay to the information, interweaving with practical examples from his own life whenever appropriate to give strong conviction and justification to his ideas. A major strength of the work is also its high level of organization, from chapter structure to subheadings, front and back matter. Everything is so easily accessed and kept to concise sections for clear reference, making this a book you can take with you at every stage of the project process. Overall, PMO Governance: Practical Strategies to Govern Portfolio, Program, and Project Delivery delivers exactly what it promises, and is an essential guide for all project managers to read and use.

Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite

Kicking Financial Ass by Paul Christopher Dumont is a non-fiction self-help book for Millenials who are looking for achievable and sustainable financial stability in a world where the majority are saddled with massive debt. Broken down into four distinct parts and fourteen chapters, Dumont covers Foundations, Growth, Investing, and Living Your Life with guidance for both Canadian and U.S. readers. Coming from humble beginnings himself, Dumont makes a case for the layman's ability to elevate beyond their circumstances. The ultimate goal of a comfortable retirement is road mapped in a strategy to maximize a reader's saving potential, eliminate debt, and simplify life in a way that ensures a level of true happiness without detracting from the prior two goals. Throughout the book, Dumont includes personal stories and diagrams to make this guide relatable and easy to understand.

My first impression of Kicking Financial Ass was that Paul Christopher Dumont wasn't out to pitch sky-high promises that are so common in other books of this nature. He's an authentic motivator who addresses a monetary system that almost guarantees entrapment in debt while the majority of millennials shift their focus to 'living their best life' at the expense of being prepared to do exactly this in the latter half of their lives. The book reads like a friend sitting down for a comfortable conversation, and I chuckled at a few of Dumont's Canadianisms such as eating Kraft Dinner. There are no preachy financial sermons, just succinct advice and straightforward information for young North Americans with enough attention paid to recovering time and money lost by readers who have already made mistakes and wish to get back on track. My favorite part and one that resonated with me the most is the phenomenon of being house rich and cash poor. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, I once went to a friend's unbelievably gorgeous house in the prestigious Pacific Heights district, only to find their living room was filled with cheap lawn furniture and everyone slept on inflatable mattresses. There's no time like the present to get your finances in order and I think Dumont's book has all the right bone structure to get readers there.

Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

Get Rich In Real Estate: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Acquiring Properties in NYC by Elliot Bogod is an engaging journey through the exciting world of real estate and gives the basic tools that will help readers to make informed choices and successful investments. The book is educational and informative and will give readers details about the terms usually used in real estate investment, clear information on mortgages, taxes, and laws, reviews of different types of residential investments, townhouses, and condominiums, multiple strategies and techniques to build wealth through investments, and how to save money while buying real estate. Readers will be familiar with the NYC real estate market by the time they finish reading this book.

The approach to the subject is entertaining and there is a lot of information that will guide readers to make wise choices in their real estate investments. The five steps are listed in a typical real estate process; select a property, offer is accepted, the sale contract is signed, financing is secured, and closing is good when it comes to structuring the real estate thinking and experience success. The book will make readers think like professional investors and it also gives good information about owners vs renters. The author's style of writing is neat and elegant and that makes it easy for readers to comprehend the explanations of the complex market of NYC real estate and improve their awareness of it. It is definitely a book for all those readers considering investing in real estate in NYC.

Reviewed by Divine Zape for Readers' Favorite

Bravespace Workplace: Making Your Company Fit for Human Life by Moe Carrick gets straight to the essence of what determines the success of a business or an organization. Employees are the backbone of every business and the quality of service or products that they offer determine the level of customer satisfaction. Oftentimes stressful work environments hamper a business's vision and actually achieving that vision. In this book, Moe Carrick offers his business experience and provides an easy path to creating a work culture that drives employee engagement, satisfaction, and growth. One of the key elements that keep employees in a company is a business culture and this author shows readers how to create, nurture, and sustain that culture.

Here is a book for leaders and business owners, a guide that offers clear and solid strategies for creating workplaces where employees can creatively connect, grow, and feel that they belong. The book is filled with the wisdom of thirty-five years of working with businesses, featuring compelling and real-life experiences that solidify the central message. Bravespace Workplace: Making Your Company Fit for Human Life by Moe Carrick gives you the tools you need to empower employees and give them what they need to transform your business. Written in a confident tone and packed with information, actionable steps, and insights, this book is the first step to taking your business to the level of success you imagine for it.

Reviewed by Christian Sia for Readers' Favorite

Suite Deal: The Smart Landlord's Guide to Leasing Real Estate by Alice Devine is a good book for readers who are interested in investing in real estate. In this book, Alice Devine brings her years of professional experience to deliver advice that readers need to know when it comes to developing skills in real estate. This book offers what readers need to transform from amateurs to expert leasing professionals who bring value to properties and create relationships that bring in more business. The author offers a step-by-step process in mastering the different components of the leasing business, from creating a presentation to writing proposals that sell to understanding the fine print in critical leasing contracts, and a lot more. Here is a book that will help anyone handling commercial properties to achieve success.

Alice Devine writes in a voice that is clear and captivating, reflecting the confidence of a seasoned professional. This book provides everything readers need to hone their leasing skills, and she articulates brilliantly on how to prepare for leasing, what to consider when looking at the local market, developing a winning marketing plan, building relationships with brokers, structuring the lease deal and a lot more. From preparation to closing the deal, the author offers insightful tips and actionable steps that provide the guide readers need to win in the business. The prose is polished, conversational, and clear. Suite Deal: The Smart Landlord's Guide to Leasing Real Estate contains the secrets to building a successful leasing business. The author makes sure readers get just what they need to win in the market.