Yes, most of us are heading into the dog days of summer with a mindset for easy beach reads and spine tingling thrillers. Sure, there are also some literary gems in the mix, page turners that somehow also feel edifying because they are so well written, but this is hardly the time when people think, “Oh I should bust out that opus on accounting.”
However, August is usually a slower month for service-based businesses (restaurants and bars aside) as many people go on vacation, and now is actually the perfect time to fit in some entrepreneurial learning in between your Taylor Jenkins Reid and James Patterson.
Here are some of PopUP CleanUP’s recent favorites.
UNREASONABLE HOSPITALITY by Will Guidara
Written by one of the former owners of Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park, UNREASONABLE HOSPITALITY chronicles how one restaurant rose among the ranks of the James Beard ranked greatest restaurants in the world by incorporating one-sized-fits-one experiences into their customer service. From recounting how they blew some of their guests minds by bringing them a New York City hot dog off the street and plating it after hearing that their guests had eaten at every top restaurant but had missed out on this street side culinary treat, to detailing how they approached changing their menu to talking about how to get the right people doing what they each did best on their team, this book is both a testament to how to cultivate creativity and mind-blowing customer service.
Our favorite quote: “This is what I would later call the Rule of 95/5: Manage 95 percent of your business down to the penny; spend the last 5 percent “foolishly.” It sounds irresponsible; in fact, it’s anything but. Because that last 5 percent has an outsize impact on the guest experience, it’s some of the smartest money you’ll ever spend.”
PROFIT FIRST by Mike Michalowicz
Michalowicz has a series of books on entrepreneurship starting with THE TOILET PAPER ENTREPRENEUR, to THE PUMPKIN PLAN, CLOCKWORK, SURGE, and FIX THIS NEXT. While all of these books offer very basic but important points about how to build a business (find something you’re passionate about, narrow your focus, find your ideal client, create systems, look for trends and ride them), PROFIT FIRST turns the traditional accounting ethos on its head. Instead of looking at profit as what’s left over, Michalowicz suggests pinpointing what percentage profit you want to make after your salary, and building that in before you start taking on expenses. His ethos is: beg, borrow, and steal and do as much as you can without fancy bells and whistles before you incur unnecessary expenses that might eat into your profits. If you’re a carpenter, obviously you need a hammer and some nails, but you can hold off on the software subscription that might be helpful but isn’t essential. While some people find his accounting system overly elaborate and convoluted, others feel like it builds in good habits and simplifies their systems.
Favorite quote: “The old, been-around-forever, profitless formula is: Sales – Expenses = Profit The new, Profit First Formula is: Sales – Profit = Expenses The math in both formulas is the same. Logically, nothing has changed. But Profit First speaks to human behavior—it accounts for the regular Joes of the world, like me.”
CAPTIVATE by Vanessa Van Edwards
Self-described as a “recovering awkward person,” Vanessa Van Edwards is known as a body language and behavior expert. With chapters on how to make great first impressions and how to have dazzling conversations, how to get the best from people and how to get along with anyone, Van Edwards draws from both popular culture and scientific research like micro expressions expert Paul Ekman to help other awkward people improve their interpersonal skills. Vanessa also teaches video courses online and for Creative Live, but her book is actually quite interactive.
Favorite quote: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
MAKE YOUR OWN JOB: HOW THE ENTREPRENEURIAL WORK ETHIC EXHAUSTED AMERICA by Erik Baker
As we wade through a time of intensifying economic inequality where many jobs are underpaid and where things that are necessities like a living wage, affordable housing, affordable health care, education, and healthy food are now luxuries, this book addresses the fact that people need to work to earn a living but well-paid stable jobs are hard to find. The prospect of becoming our own boss holds a lot of appeal, but it also feeds into the so-called “rise and grind” culture where we are all trying to maximize our potential and minimize our distractions and diversify our income streams. The reality, Baker, points out is that we are all working way too hard because there really isn’t enough work. An interesting look at the history of work, entrepreneurship, and why humans seek to find meaning in what they do.
Favorite quote: “Bad news for the economy has always been good news for the entrepreneurial work ethic.”
DEEP WORK by Cal Newport
Work can be divided into two types (everything can be divided into two types can’t it?): switch-cost and deep work. Switch cost work is also known as multitasking even though we can’t actually multitask because our brains can only focus on one thing at a time. What we really do in these circumstances is switch our attention rapidly from one checklist item to the next, but this also actually degrades our attention because it takes the brain a full 20 minutes to actually absorb itself in any one task. That’s why you can often feel, after checking off a long to-do list, like you’ve done a lot but you haven’t actually accomplished anything. Deep work is the kind of work involved in creativity and problem solving, where you shut out the world and focus on one thing for an hour or two before taking a break. Deep work is satisfying because it gives us something to focus on and absorb ourselves in. Although harder to come by and available more to those in the upper echelons of business, science, academia, and the arts, deep work is the kind that helps us grow cognitively and creatively and also makes us calmer and happier.
Favorite quote: “Who you are, what you think, feel, and do, what you love—is the sum of what you focus on.”
Happy Summer Reading!
