Reviews for Start and Run a Profitable Tour Guiding Business

The average rating for Start and Run a Profitable Tour Guiding Business based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-06-18 00:00:00 Adolfo Villegas Ortiz The subtitle of small is the new big is helpful for understanding the book: and 183 other riffs, rants, and remarkable business ideas. It's a collection of posts from Seth Godin's blog, as well as a 35-page postscript discussing the value of, and how to approach crafting, a website, a blog, and a marketing conversation about your product/services. These brief essays are by turns funny, informative, boring, repetitive, surprising, and helpful. If you're reading this to find a handful of groundbreaking ideas or shortcuts to success, you're going to be disappointed. Rather, Godin offers new ways of seeing things, new ways of thinking about business and success, new ways of behaving in the rapidly changing online marketplace. Because the book is now over a decade old, some of the content is outdated—but this happens far less than might be expected. Godin manages to be insightful and timeless even while he's talking about how you need to change the way you operate as a businessperson or entrepreneur because the world is evolving. Some of his ideas are stupid, but these are mostly peripheral to his main points. For instance, he says at one point that monks (I think he means priests) light candles and burn incense to convince people that God hears their prayers. Clearly he knows nothing about the ancient Divine Liturgy, or the deep meaning behind the physical acts involved in it. Oh well, you say, I'm not reading a Seth Godin book to learn liturgical theology. Very true, but this attitude (he frequently talks about marketing your church) reveals a particular approach, and shows us something about why Godin is writing all this. That approach is this: it doesn't matter the ultimate validity or truth of your propositions and statements in regard to the product or service you're trying to market as long as you express them well and with conviction. In other words, start your marketing conversation well and you'll be successful, truth be damned. Of course, he frequently reminds readers that they should believe in what they're selling, and that they should be trustworthy, etc. But he also praises the monks for what he thinks they're doing, revealing that for Godin the bottom line is the end of the conversation. Many of these essays reveal glimpses of a completely mercenary edge, so read with caution. Even as he's describing how the new entrepreneurs can best serve themselves and their customers through ingenuity, openness, and adaptability, Godin betrays the desire for gain that motivates the entire marketing field that he often castigates for just this stance. If you've got a product or service that you believe can (and should) change the world, you won't need all of the advice proffered in small is the new big. In the spirit of Godin's advice, then, take what you need and leave the rest.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-11-28 00:00:00 James Wilkinson Once an artist puts some work up for sale, he or she, like it or not, becomes a small business owner. The time to read Seth Godin’s, “Small is the New Big,” is before taking this momentous step. The book, though not written specifically for those in the arts or even small business owners, is crammed with riffs, rants, and provocative ideas that are worth contemplating if you’re thinking about transitioning from creating art to creating markets. Take writers. Many worry about criticism, which blocks the path to innovation. Godin argues that no one starts conversations about those who play it safe. “The products and services that get talked about,” he notes, “are the ones that are worth talking about.” And how about this: “Turn strangers into friends. Turn friends into customers. And then do the most important job: Turn your customers into salespeople.” If there ever was a mantra for the self-published author, that’s it. Godin’s all over the place these days. His other work includes, “Unleashing the Idea Virus,” “Permission Marketing,” and, “Purple Cow.” There’s also plenty of free stuff at his blog, www.sethgodin.com, which, by the way, starts many conversations. And he happens to be one of the speakers now featured at www.authorlearningcenter.com. I’d be surprised if you read this book and didn’t walk away with at least five good ideas. For that, it gets all five of my stars.