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An excellent book that teaches you about how to promote yourself, your product or your business in a noisy world, without spending millions. The author calls herself “anti PR” and handholds you through the entire process, complete with checklists and templates. I received this book as a professional reader on the site NetGalley .

REVIEW SCORE = 5/5 *****

Truth be told, the book includes a lot of exercises and templates (FREE) that entrepreneurs (or readers) will need to complete. But if you don’t want to spend large amounts of money, you must spend time. Also, even if you do have money to outsource your marketing or PR, chances are that most paid “experts” will make you answer the same type of Qs and exercises. So, do yourself a favor, and read this book! ?

The entire book can be read in a day, but the action items will take a lot more time to complete. Worth every minute spent if you are a solopreneur or small business owner trying to build a buzz around your products or increase sales. Please do go through the steps in sequence – it works and will help you exponentially improve your odds of success.

In a way, I really wish I had found this book years earlier during my stint as a freelancer, and initial days as a blogger. Many of the methods listed in the book are techniques I gathered after multiple rounds of trial and error, and devouring dozens of books. Luckily, I also had a SCORE mentor who took one look at my clueless face and asked me if I was running a business or a hobby. Then he proceeded to make me go through a list of Qs and action items, comparable to those listed in this book. This book, however, is far more detailed and covers a lot more of digital marketing, social media and tons of FREE resources.

Who will benefit from reading this book?

  • Solopreneurs and small business owners who want to increase awareness about their products, increase sales.
  • Bloggers looking to increase website traffic and/or conversions.
  • Individuals who want to establish themselves as an authority in their niche, and all the happy perks of being a subject matter expert like paid speaking gigs, job promotions, articles in prestigious magazines, etc.
  • Freelancers who want to land more clients, or higher paying clients.
  • Debut authors who want to launch their book as a smashing success, or self-published authors who want to boost lagging sales.
  • Newbies to the PR world.
  • Any business with a tiny (read non-existent) marketing/PR budget.  

In short, almost every person will benefit from reading this book! 100% thumbs up!

Similar Works

  • Books – Alchemy by David Sutherland. The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Scott. Influence by Robert Cialdini. Contagious by Jonas Benger.
  • Movies – The Candidate
  • TV Series – Mad Men
  • Genres – Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Small Business Marketing, Advertising, Business & Finance, Small Business & Entrepreneurship, Women & Business.

Happy Reading and Promoting Yourself!

#HypeYourself #NetGalley

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Beyond indigo – book review

A lawyer-turned-painter with 3 potential love interests. Now that is NOT a plot you come across very often. I found this book at a sale in my library, and of course I caved in. So much for planning to stay away from new books, until I finish my “to-read list”. Still, no regrets as the book was worth the guilt trip! Yes, my library has an amazing set of books! ?

  • Title – Beyond Indigo
  • Author – Preethi Nair

Review Score – 4.5* out of 5*

In a way the book reminded me of the movie “The Associate” starring Whoopi Goldberg. Add the high-brow society and million-dollar world of arts and paintings, stir in some demanding Asian parents and set the story in suburban London. Voila! A fascinating story that you will want to read from cover to cover.

Even if you don’t like art or paintings, most readers will relate to the heroine’s struggles to follow her dreams, even when it doesn’t seem promising at all. Most of us either don’t know how to go about it or repress it to the RIGHT thing and pursue a stable (aka boring) career that pays the bills, and occasionally some leftover change to dabble in our “hobby”. So any “rags-to-riches” story is always gripping where a protagonist follows their dreams and emerges triumphant against all obstacles.

As an Indian immigrant, I absolutely relate to the quirky behavior of the heroine’s parents and the pressure felt by her to “conform” to her family’s idea of acceptable jobs, life partner and other societal standards. I think all immigrant kids grow up with this duality and the author portrays it beautifully without making disparaging or overdoing the inevitable generational/cultural clashes. I love that she shows respect to the heroine’s dad, a public transport bus-driver. Most immigrants (or even refugees) take menial jobs to provide for their families, irrespective of their status back home. Is it any wonder that such folks pin their lost dreams and aspirations on to the next generation, and become almost obsessed with the kids enjoying a RICH and successful (aka materialistic) life?

Philosophy aside, the story is quite creative – the lengths the heroine goes to hide her painter identity is ridiculously funny. Of course, such deceit would not be possible in today’s world of social media (this book was published in 2004), but despite that minor flaw the book is a captivating read. Still some mysteries like “Marhmellow” do exist, so perhaps the flaw is not such a flaw, after all.

Similar Works:

  • Books – Crazy Rich Asians, Stylist Takes Manhattan.
  • Movies – The Associate (1996), Golmaal (1979), Bareilly ki Barfi (2017)
  • Genres – Drama, urban fiction, women’s fiction, contemporary fiction
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Fabulous Read – Emily Belden

Title – Husband Material
Author – Emily Belden

This was another book I picked up at my local library, from the “New Reads” section. The date was close to Valentine’s Day, the title was supremely catchy, and the blurb was intriguing to say the least! After all, how many romance books involve an urn holding the ashes of the heroine’s dead husband’s ashes, mailed in a package?

SCORE: 5* out of 5

If I had to describe this book with movie analogies, then this is a book where “Double Jeopardy” meets “Legally Blonde”. Or “Confessions of a Shopaholic” meets “The Intern”. Or the recent “The Spy Who Dumped Me”.

This author portrays drama, grief, betrayal, unusual friendships, romance and dating set in the glitzy background of LA, complete with control-freak, unapproving and RICH mother-in-law and romantic male character who may turn out to be the hero or the villain! All the characters are very well fleshed out and the heroine’s

I read the whole book in one go (~ 2 hours)! ? It’s been awhile since I found a romance or chick lit book so gripping, so do want to appreciate the book thoroughly. I suspect I finished half the book just to find out how the husband died in the first place – even though I knew this was a “hook” I was willingly ready to take the bait!

The book is classified as “coming of age” fiction on Amazon, but honestly “Women’s Fiction” would be a better category or Urban Drama! Or even RomCom. Why do authors classify books this way and make it difficult for readers to find them? (bit annoyed, but the author writes so well! ) Thankfully, my library correctly had it marked under “New Age Romance”.

I loved how the author weaved some very controversial and depressing questions relating to death, hurtful relationships without making it sordid or overwhelming! After all, we read such books for entertainment, but it’s beautiful that the author was able to intersperse them without losing the story’s magic!

Similar Works

If you like any of the below, you will appreciate reading this author too:

Genres – Drama, contemporary romance, Chick Lit, Women’s Fiction.

Movies – The Spy Who Dumped Me, Double Jeopardy, The Intern, Legally Blonde, Devil wears Prada, Confessions of a Shopaholic.

TV Series – Modern Love.

Books – “The Summerhouse” by Jude Deveraux, “Confessions of a Shopaholic” by Sophie Kinsella, “Right Fit Wrong Shoe” by Varsha Dixit, “Marriage Clock” by Zara Raheem.             

Overall, a fantastic read, and ideal for traveling or gifting! Happy Reading!

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Happy International Women’s Day!

March 8th is International Women’s Day, so this month is dedicated to all the amazing women authors out there, as well as books that advocate for women. Below is my reading list for the month, so also hoping to accomplish a good chunk of my reading goals and “clear the clutter” Goodreads challenge. So many birds with one stone! 😉

March 2020 Reading list

  1. Presence, by Amy Cuddy.
  2. Women Still Don’t Get the Corner Office. Author Lois Frankel.
  3. Squeezed by Alyssa Quart
  4. America for Beginners. Author = Leah Franqui. (Fiction)
  5. Head over Heels, Lila Monroe. (Fiction)
  6. Husband Material. Author = Emily Belden. (Fiction)
  7. You are a BadAss, by Jen Sincero.
  8. 365 Days of Facebook. Author = Nirupama. (Fiction)
  9. Achtung Baby, by Sara Zaske.
  10. You Woke up Worthy, Britny West.
  11. To Winter at Wildsyde, by Emma Leech. (Fiction)
  12. Mirror Work, Louisa Hay.
  13. The Profitable Content System, by Meera Kothand.
  14. Evening is the Whole Day. Preeta Samarasan. (Fiction)
  15. HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Women and Leadership. Harvard Business Review.
  16. Secrets of Six-Figure Women. Barbara Stanny. Non-fiction business.
  17. The Big Book of Juices. Natalie Savona. Health & Living.
  18. Why Not Me? Mindy Kaling. Non-fiction business.
  19. The Capture of the Earl of Glencrae. Stephanie Laurens.
  20. The Marriage Clock: A Novel. Zara Raheem.
Go Girl Power!

Happy Reading!

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Title – Unlocking Potential: 7 Coaching Skills That Transform Individuals, Teams, and Organizations
Author – Michael Simpson

REVIEW SCORE – 4.5/5 ****

Since last year, I’ve been involved as a mentor in my company’s formal mentoring program for women and diversity initiatives. So I was looking for a good book to “up my game”, so mentees can make the most of my (limited) time and experiences. This book came in as a recommendation, and Amazon was already offering me some ebook credits for being a voracious reader! So the timing seemed fortuitous!

So glad I bought this book!

Good leaders are those who can act both as effective managers and trusted coaches who take their employees to the next level. Unfortunately most training guides teach managerial skills focusing on results, not coaching. This book fills that cavernous gap.

Every team has diverse employees and a one-size-fits-all approach rarely brings out the best in every member of the team. Plus, most managers are already crunched for time, so 1-on-1 time is often used for getting random project updates rather than discussing career development goals and critical feedback loops. This book will help both employees and managers put that limited time to better use. Already, my manager and my mentees are responding positively as we are accomplishing more in 30 minutes than we did over weekly meetings in the entire quarter! 🙂

Improved mentoring sessions and group meetings

Whether you are a first time manager, professor/ teacher, sports coach, a seasoned manager who wants to help employees who seem “stuck”, or simply accelerate career development for the whole team. Even professional coaches will find this book useful to give better sessions with clients.

What I love about the book?

Did I mention this book has a foreword by THE Marshall Goldsmith? That alone guarantees a high quality of content, but interestingly I read the foreword only AFTER buying the book.

Aside from the halo effect of Goldsmith, I genuinely loved that the book is immensely practical – strategies that you can take action on, immediately! Some of what I’ve started to use are listed below:

  1. Questions to ask employees to make the coaching sessions more effective, how to measure results and the SARAH model.
  2. How to help difficult employees accept negative feedback.
  3. Separate methods for 1-on-1 vs group/team coaching. I do both, and so will you – if you are a professional coach, or lead large teams.
  4. How to give feedback to get employees/ clients so they are encouraged to take constructive action.

Overall, highly recommend for managers, teachers and coaches.

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