Reviewed by Divine Zape for Readers' Favorite

The Employee Millionaire: How to Use Your Day Job to Become a Millionaire with Rental Properties by H.J. Chammas is a book that provides readers with tools they need to build a solid investment in real estate. In this book the author helps readers identify the big "why," develop habits that allow them to create a strong awareness of their financial situation, and insight to beat limiting beliefs while unearthing their potential. Readers learn how to set objectives and the three-step journey to financial freedom. What makes the book so useful is that the author doesn't limit himself in proposing steps to take towards real estate investment, but identifies the most profitable areas in which to invest. The pitfalls to watch against are brilliantly discussed. Here is a book that teaches readers to run real estate investment as a business, creating an effective profession that is measurable and that drives results.

This book provides detailed information that is hard to find, stuff that successful investors want to keep for themselves. The author speaks with the authority of one with a tried and tested method, and I enjoyed the confidence with which he talks about his experience. Apart from the advice the book offers, the author’s personal testimony substantiates the arguments. H.J. Chammas’ writing is simple, a conversational style that conveys the message with great clarity. The Employee Millionaire: How to Use Your Day Job to Become a Millionaire with Rental Properties is a gem for readers interested in real estate, a blueprint on how to transform rental property into a profitable business. This is a book for anyone who wants to find the right path to success in real estate.

Reviewed by Sandy Masia for Readers' Favorite

Millennials live in a rapidly changing world, a world of complex markets, tech disruptions, uncertainty and great abundance. This has led to a dramatic shift in our lifestyles, our needs and how we go about fulfilling them. There is great confusion about everything; dating, relationships, professional life, health, finances, social life, career paths, entrepreneurship and, more worryingly, attaining security or happiness. Peter Noble Darrow recognizes this and in his book Wise Millennial he offers advice that is meant to equip millennials (and Gen Z'ers too) with adaptiveness. It includes insights and observations that bring clarity and confidence.

I have never met Peter Noble Darrow, but after reading this book I can say I know him (almost). His personality leaps off the pages. Clever, fun, sprightly, charming, gregarious, humble, kind, loving and sensitive, he is there to wrap you in his positive spirit. He’ll entertain you with his funny stories, intrigue you with his tales of novel experiences, move you to tears with his accounts of great loss and humble you with his reflections. You want his company, you ache for that connection, because for some ineffable reason it is fun, enjoyable, and a bit cheesy, but as edifying as it is gratifying. Here you rest, here you lose yourself, not in a mystical sense, but in the way you lose yourself when you step back and examine your life. Like those brief moments when you see your life so clearly, without being caught up in the emotion of it all, with such supernal clarity that you make the best decisions. This is what this book offers; a moment of supernal, preternatural clarity.

Nothing about Wise Millennial feels pretentious, unrealistic or grossly out of touch with the reality of most millennials; it is this universal appeal which makes it even more rewarding to read. The fact that the author is so human means Wise Millennial reads mostly like a memoir, or like a late night honest conversation with a friend over beers. It's a joy to read and very memorable. I highly recommend it. Wise Millennial is enrapturing, edifying and transporting.

Reviewed by Renee Guill for Readers' Favorite

In Moonshots: Creating a World of Abundance by Naveen Jain with John Schroeter, with a foreword by Sir Richard Branson, here we find out how curiosity and imagination will help solve problems and give entrepreneurs new ways of doing business. Naveen Jain gives great details on what’s to come. He talks about how he got into his businesses and how others have been started. He talks about how the mind set will change the world with building new technology and helping the environment. Naveen Jain mentions how Star Trek and other science fiction novels and TV shows will help pave the way to new ways of doing things, such as how machines will be helping humans not hurting them.

I thought Moonshots: Creating a World of Abundance by Naveen Jain with John Schroeter was fascinating, terrifying and sometimes a bit aggravating. I have anxiety/depression caused by a chemical imbalance, so when someone says we just have to change our mind set, I get a bit upset. That’s one of the stigmas we need to eradicate. Also, about the poor; Naveen Jain should be careful in lumping people together, like the poor. Being a Trekkie and seeing how some of the technology is coming true was pretty cool, and a little frightening. I really loved how he talks about his past and how he made it. It made Moonshots more personable, instead of just reading a 'how to' book. Naveen Jain is great at telling us that we only need a little bit of imagination.

Reviewed by Divine Zape for Readers' Favorite

Data Driven: Harnessing Data and AI to Reinvent Customer Engagement by Tom Chavez, Chris O'Hara, and Vivek Vaidya is a business book that every company or organization that engages customers digitally should have. Data is key in identifying and maximizing business opportunities, building a strong customer base and enhancing customer experience with data-driven insights. The authors of this book state that: “We’re living in an increasingly connected world, and digital experiences… are the mechanism by which a brand engages with people. What differentiates this new normal from what came before is the two-way nature of the interaction.” In this book, they offer tools for data processing and tips on how to use the latest technologies―cloud, mobile, social, internet of things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI)―to engage customers, efficiently interact with them, drive sales, and keep customers loyal.

The authors of this book offer readers years of experience working with data and unearth gold mines that will revolutionize the way business owners use data to make decisions, connect with customers, and create their brand. From processing to analyzing and refining data, they offer useful tips that make a huge difference. The writing is packed with exciting information and proven paths that have been behind the success of numerous online business models. Data Driven: Harnessing Data and AI to Reinvent Customer Engagement offers the essentials that readers, business owners, and organizations need to drive customer engagement, make winning decisions, and scale their businesses. Written in a professional tone and in language that is widely accessible, this book is an indispensable tool to transform any business.

Reviewed by Christian Sia for Readers' Favorite

Corporate Superpower: Cultivating a Winning Culture for Your Business by Oleg Konovalov is a slim book packed with wisdom and tips to help businesses stay ahead of the cut-throat competition by prioritizing their business culture. I have read a lot of books in the area of business growth and success and most of the books focus on strategizing, but Oleg Konovalov makes a strong case, one that some of the most successful businesses have discovered over the years, for building a winning culture. The culture effect in business is an aspect that can’t be overlooked and this book shows readers why. In this book the author explains in clear and accessible language the place of culture in any organization, and illustrates how loyalty, innovation, and success can be won through consistently building a positive culture that allows employees as well as managers to feel a deep sense of respect and belonging.

Written in a style that grabs the reader’s attention, with great economy of words, clarity of thought, and simplicity of expression, Corporate Superpower: Cultivating a Winning Culture for Your Business will help business owners identify their business needs and build a culture that could be, for both employees and customers, the face of what is positive and good about the business. The book is well-researched and the author offers examples that are fitting and that derive from real-life situations. The writing features a strong voice and an authority that is built on expertise. This book contains the strategies that businesses need to build a clientele of loyal customers and ensure that their employees stay with them. Highly informative and loaded with information for business growth and success.

Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

Get to Aha! Discover Your Positioning DNA and Dominate Your Competition by Andy Cunningham is a business book that offers an original, groundbreaking idea to branding and claiming a unique and dominant space in the business landscape. This guide is written by a marketing strategist who helped Steve Jobs launch the original Apple Macintosh, so the book is as compelling as it is informative. This book answers the oft-neglected questions: What should companies consider when positioning themselves? What are the core factors to think about before approaching the science of branding a company?

In this book, the author encourages readers to ask the one basic question that determines the kind of branding approach to use, the question that helps them identify their corporate DNA, creates a positioning that aligns with that DNA, and comes across to consumers and clients as true and convincing: Who are we? Andy Cunningham identifies three types of corporate DNA: Mothers who are customer-oriented, Mechanics who are product-oriented, and Missionaries who are concept-oriented. The underlying thought behind the DNA concept is that for companies to execute the right branding, they should work with the right corporate DNA, otherwise they will be positioning something that is largely different from who they are.

This is a book that uncovers a unique method of positioning and branding, offering readers the tools to create compelling and factual positioning statements that are sticky and that grab the attention of readers. Get to Aha! Discover Your Positioning DNA and Dominate Your Competition is the one book to read before doing anything related to branding; it is informative, insightful, and downright revolutionary.

Reviewed by Edith Wairimu for Readers' Favorite

Pajama Paydays: How to Make the Internet Work for You by Hwayda Kater is an enlightening read that sheds light on the online job market and how anyone can thrive in it. According to Kater, job security in the corporate sector in the modern world is almost like a mirage. With constant rumors of job cuts, today’s employee is faced with constant anxiety. This volatility has bred a new location-independent market that is growing every day. Pajama Paydays guides the reader while transitioning from the corporate world to the internet-based sphere. Kater tackles topics that may seem daunting to a starter. These include the products/ services that a person can offer, how to market an online-based business and how to use leverage for maximization.

If you are just curious or you are seriously considering joining the online market, reading Pajama Paydays by Hwayda Kater will provide you with much needed insight. The book is written in a way that will prove informative to both the starter and anyone who is already established in this market. Kater’s advice is easily comprehensible and applicable. Pajama Paydays also contains a refreshing depth since the book is based on the author’s own journey. The book’s content is dotted by engaging illustrations borrowed from Kater’s experience and observations, which makes it even more thought-provoking. Still, the author is careful to balance the reader’s expectations while instilling hope that transition is possible. I was happy that it was not just another book propagating a get-rich-quick mentality. Definitely worth your time!

Reviewed by Randy B. Lichtman for Readers' Favorite

As a professional concierge, Steve Sims is in the business of helping people achieve their dreams. He shares his techniques of success in his book, Bluefishing: The Art of Making Things Happen. More than just another inspirational and motivating book, in Bluefishing Sims has provided a valuable tool chest of authentic techniques that can improve individual lives and guide the reader in developing more meaningful personal and professional relationships. As he relates his own experiences in one job after another, Sims relates how the advice he encapsulates in his new book helped him transform his own life to one of greater impact and fulfillment. The book is loaded with wonderful stories that leave the reader smiling, while giving them valuable advice they can use in their own lives.

In one of his stories, he illustrates his principle of “Nothing’s ever going to happen if it benefits you. Work for win-win every time.” As a teenager, one of his clients played guitar in a band which featured songs by Journey, a band he greatly admired. When he asked Steve Sims just to set up possibly meeting Journey, Steve Sims went bluefishing to find an even more valuable experience. He discovered that one of the musicians in Journey and his client had something in common—a family member who was autistic. As a result, the client not only met Journey, but also played in a concert benefiting autism. This realization of how to be more meaningful also illustrated another one of Sims’ principles. “Ask why at least three times: the first why is what they think they think, the second why is what they think you want to hear, the third why is what they feel.” This example of searching beyond the surface is only one technique of what he calls “bluefishing.”

The value of Bluefishing: The Art of Making Things Happen not only lies in the insightful principles the author relates, but in the enjoyable manner in which he illustrates them. The audio book version, which I also enjoyed, clearly shows he writes in the same manner in which he speaks, talking to the reader directly as a personal coach. He mixes humor and wisdom in a very effective manner throughout the book, offering many pieces of wisdom, while entertaining in his own inimitable style. I highly recommend both the print and audio versions of this valuable book where we can learn how to become better bluefishers in our own personal and professional lives.

Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite

Bigger Than This: How to Turn Any Venture Into an Admired Brand by Fabian Geyrhalter is a guidebook for companies that need a reboot on branding, driving home the importance of (re)creating a commodity brand that consumers can connect with. Geyrhalter's book exposes eight successful brand traits, a case study for each based on a strong, well known company that employed the trait, and their "commandments". His words leap from the page - and I mean, they actually feel like they are clawing at you for attention - with large fonts, bold sections and highlighted features. More than just advice on how to get results with gimmicks and giveaways, Geyrhalter instead teaches how to campaign for and play the long game, with practices that have proven to be lucrative.

Honestly, I feel like I just drank an energy drink and went to one of those seminars where there's a light show, loud music, and a motivational speaker with a headset microphone. I'm pumped! Bigger Than This by Fabian Geyrhalter will, within the first few pages, make it clear why the author is such a branding and marketing guru. It draws you in and unlocks something that you're a little afraid to let out. Potential? Creativity? Drive? If you're interested in starting, or taking your existing business to the next level, I'm absolutely certain that Bigger Than This is the very best place to start. Read, absorb, apply, build your tribe, and thrive. It's as simple and as difficult as that.

Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

Culture Infusion: 9 Principles to Create and Maintain a Thriving Organizational Culture by Kerry Alison Wekelo is an insightful guide that speaks about improving the culture in your company and encouraging employees to work better. Apart from the nine principles, the author shares her own personal and professional journey that made her write the book. Her lessons are motivational and readers learn how she steered her life towards contentment, peace, and harmony. The nine principles in the book build on each other and can be incorporated into readers' personal and professional lives. The questions throughout the book and the exercises in the Mind-Expanding Experience section at the end of each chapter are useful and work as a good tool to learning.

The approach to the topic is engaging and will make readers reflect on the importance of building and cultivating relationships. This relevant topic is helpful to all those who want to make positive changes in themselves and in the workplace. The author’s personal journey, her clarity while speaking about the topic, and her wisdom are inspiring to readers and will make a difference in their lives if incorporated at home and the workplace. The 3 A’s - Accountability, Acumen, Aspiration - and the 3P Method - Pause to Pivot to Positive -are interesting to note and will guide readers to handle challenges in an effective way. The book is thought-provoking and is well written, making it easy for readers to comprehend and use the tips and techniques for a better organizational culture in the work place as well as enriching life personally.