The Smart Pen is a high tech pen with a difference. If you haven’t heard about it yet, it is a pen-looking device that can capture and convert handwriting and at the same time record audio. Essentially, the Smart Pen records everything you write as well as hear and translates it into computer-editable text. This text can easily be forwarded to other people, colleagues or clients. The pulse feature on the pen allows you to replay the recorded audio by tapping the pen directly on your written notes. The 2GB Smart Pen can record over 200 hours of audio.

The Smart Pen only works with the dot paper by Livescribe, which is included with the purchase of the pen. The pen comes in a smart looking Titanium color. The soft case protects the pen when not in use. Also provided are two ink cartridges, a USB docking station and a 3-D recording headset.

The instruction guide gives ideas on how to use the pen

Overall, I think the smart pen is a great choice for anybody who needs to jot down lots of notes, either during client visits or business meetings. Instead of transcribing your written notes onto the computer, the Smart Pen does it for you.

Order: Livescribe 2 GB Pulse Smartpen

Where to buy: www.amazon.com

Referrals are important to not only get return business, but also to attract new customers to your business. Referral marketing should therefore be part of every business. It solidifies your relationship with existing customers, which then passes the message onto other people through word-of-mouth. Personalizing your relationship with customers will improve your customer service and makes you stand out amongst other competitors. This will lead automatically to increased sales and profits.

The Referral Engine is a book by John Jantsch (author of Duct Tape Marketing). He advocates that every small business should have a system in place to generate and increase quality referrals. He explains what quality referrals are and outlines tools and techniques on how to get them. Once you understand the importance of quality referrals and how to use them efficiently, you are then in a position to generate referrals from ideal customers. Again, he gives an in-depth explanation of the term ‘ideal customers’ and their lifecycle – Know, Like, Trust, Try, Buy, Repeat, Refer. This understanding allows you to take positive action and implement referral strategies within your company. Other topics include using social media and technology to your advantage to obtain more satisfied customers.

Overall, this is a must-have guide to the art of referrals. A very informative book that every small business owner should keep on their bookshelf.

Order: The Referral Engine: Teaching Your Business to Market Itself

Where to buy: www.amazon.com

If you are currently in full-time employment or taking time out after the birth of your baby, the thought might have crossed your mind that it is time for a change. Working from home is getting more and more popular with women as they try and juggle a growing family and work. However, if you are thinking of making it on your own and taking the plunge, the’ Alpha WAHM Blueprint’ is a great book to read.

The author, Karri Flatla, runs a very successful Virtual Assistant business and in her book she passes on how to become your own, successful, boss. Her motivational book gives you lots of tips and advice on how to stay on track to create the home business that you dream of. In addition, you can read up on how to incorporate your new image of WAHM (Work At Home Mom) with that of your kids and spouse. The included worksheets are, in my opinion, a great help to monitor your progress and plan your own success story.

Overall, if you are thinking of starting up your own business from home, this book will certainly give you motivation, knowledge and inspiration to create the WAHM lifestyle that you would like, incorporating your new-found career and your family.

Order: Alpha WAHM Blueprint: An Empowerment Guide for Work-at-Home Moms

Where to buy: www.amazon.com

We all use them over and over again – little sticky notes to scribble down phone numbers, appointment dates or things we need to remember to do. The fantastic thing about this product is that it is 100% recycled. The notes come in four different colors: green, blue, pink and yellow and are self-stick.

These notes not only allow you to get your most pressing thoughts onto paper and stick them where you won’t forget, but they also feel good for your eco-conscience. Every bit we do for our environment is good – no matter how small.

Overall, I think this is a must-have product for every office and household.

Order: 100% Recycled Notes, 3 x 3, Four Colors, 12 100-Sheet Pads/Pack

Where to buy: www.amazon.com

You have a great business idea, you start a business and then wonder where to get clients from and how to keep those clients coming back – especially if you don’t like the idea of marketing and selling. This how-to book by Michael Port (professional speaker, entrepreneur and author) talks about the Book Yourself Solid System and gives strategies and techniques on how to implement it to reach out and attract new clients. You will learn how to make your business relationships work, why you should “get rid” of some of your old clients, and which clients you should work with.

In addition, you learn more about personal brand and why yours should be unique, so people want to buy what you have to offer. More clients mean more sales, that’s why having an exciting brand and wowing your customers is of utmost importance in the service business.

Overall, if you are looking to either start up a business or are trying to expand your client base, by reading this book, you will gain a lot of valuable information and techniques on how to Book Yourself Solid. It is certainly a very worthwhile book to read if you are a small business owner who wants to attract new clients and grow the business.

Order: Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling

Where to buy: www.amazon.com

Thinking of starting your own home-based business and quitting your low-paid job? You might want to start your own business to be at home with your children instead of paying a daycare. But making the final decision to quit a regularly paid job shouldn’t be taken lightly. There are important points you should consider and this book can help you with this.

The book gives good advice and answers questions you might have with regards to health care, retirement fund, the benefits but also the negative aspects of running a business from home. You will also be guided through a self-evaluation of your skills: what you have to offer, what you need to work on to be successful. You learn about advertising and marketing, business plans, licenses, taxes and most importantly how you plan to finance your business. The book gives ideas on where and how to find start-up capital.

In addition to all the advice, you will find 101 business ideas that you can start up with minimal investment. It’s up to you to decide which one is the one you will enjoy spending hours and hours developing and growing it. It has to be something you deeply care about in order for it to be successful. It can be a hobby or even a service you do for others.

Overall, this book will definitely give you lots of food for thought and should help you to decide whether running your own business, and which kind of business, is the right thing for you.

Order: 101 Businesses You Can Start With Less Than One Thousand Dollars: For Stay-at-Home Moms and Dads

Where to buy: www.amazon.com

‘The Skinny on Networking’ book is another one of the “Skinny On” series. First up, what I really like about it is that it contains great information in a condensed form, i.e. it is easy to read and to comprehend and you don’t have to scour through hundreds and hundreds of pages to find the information you were actually looking for.

‘The Skinny on Networking’ is all about networking strategies. The author, Jim Randel, uses stick figures and storyboard panels to make it easy for the reader to understand the messages he is trying to relay. Networking is important for any business owner and this book explains how to create and maintain a successful network. This includes strategies on how to network online, build the right set of networking people, networking strategies, importance of networking etc.

If you’ve read books on networking before, this book might not give you any new information. However, it will summarize the most important points that will allow you to do your own successful networking for the good of your business. If you are new to networking, this book is certainly worth the money. It’s is easy and quick to read (it takes about an hour to go through), but it contains all the necessary information, advice, strategies you need to get started.

Overall, this book is, in my opinion, another great book in the Skinny On series and definitively worth reading.

Order: The Skinny on Networking: Maximizing the Power of Numbers

Where to buy: www.amazon.com

Many people fear accounting – they think it is too difficult and this fear might even prevent them from starting their own business. The Accounting Game is a book that explains the important financial terms and accounting principles to laymen in easy to understand language. It uses the lemonade stands, you might have run yourself as a kid, as an example to give a basic introduction of accounting and financial concepts in an entertaining and fun way.

Learn about assets, liabilities, balance sheets, cash flow, labour, accounts receivable, gross profit, net profit, taxes and whatever else you need to run your own small business. The book doesn’t lecture, but makes the concepts interesting and fun. The book includes charts and worksheets to make you participate and help you to understand certain principles.

Overall, this isn’t a dry book to slog through, but a book that is easy to read and understand so you can apply the learning directly to your own business. I would certainly recommend this to anybody who wants to learn accounting principles, but has been too afraid to do so.

Order: The Accounting Game : Basic Accounting Fresh from the Lemonade Stand

Where to buy: www.amazon.com

The Small Business Start-Up Kit gives you answers to pretty much any question you might have about starting up a business. I find it to be a very practical guide on small business start-ups with lots of common sense information. It guides you through the pros and cons of finding the right legal structure for your business, to choosing a winning business name to finding the right business location. It then moves onto topics such as business plans, marketing, finances, taxes, how to achieve good market presence online, bookkeeping, social media, and any other important topics relevant to being self-employed.

I find the enclosed DVD of great help. It contains useful spreadsheets, such as Cash Flow Projection, Break-Even Analysis, Profit/Loss Forecast. They can easily be downloaded onto your computer for future use. The book also includes helpful tear-out forms, such as Partnership Agreements, which again might prove helpful when starting up a business.

The Small Business Start-Up Kit is, in my opinion, a very useful and in-depth business start-up guide. It is written in a straight forward and common sense language, which makes it easy to read and implement. I would certainly recommend this resource for anybody starting up a business or thinking of doing so.

Order: The Small Business Start-Up Kit: A Step-by-Step Legal Guide

Where to buy: www.amazon.com

More and more people are starting their own business and quitting their day jobs. However, in order to be successful in running your own business, there are a lot of things that budding entrepreneurs need to know about. There are many good books about small businesses on the market to help entrepreneurs on the way to success. One of those books is, in my opinion, ‘The Big Book of Small Business’. The book is jam-packed with information on business matters.

You will be able to read up on important matters before setting up your business, from funding to niche finding, legal matters and business plan writing. You learn about missions and visions and why they are important, how to hire valuable employees and how to successfully communicate with your clients, suppliers and employees.

This book has so much information in it that you might feel a bit overwhelmed at the beginning, especially when you are new to the business. But you will discover that over time, you’ll use this book to look up certain business topics and learn as you go along. In my opinion, this is definitively a valuable small business resource written by a pro.

Order: The Big Book of Small Business