Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala share six standout lessons on what it takes to lead and build solidarity in the face of gender bias and stereotypes in this inspiring Ted Talk.
Category Archives: Top Tips
Celebrating the Australian Book Industry with Booko:
Fire Country is a cry from the heart asking for change in how Australia cares for country by using Indigenous fire practices to help restore our nation.
Monday Inspo
Melanie Perkins is one talented Australian, she is a co-founder of Canva and is taking the graphic design world by storm. Today we’re sharing her words of wisdom to help you to have a great week!
How language shapes the way we think
There are about 7,000 languages spoken around the world and they all have different sounds, vocabularies and structures. But do they shape the way we think?
Monday Inspiration
This week we are continuing our love of Australian literature and are exploring beloved children’s books. Today’s wise words come from the super creative Alison Lester.
Celebrating the Australian Book Industry with Booko: The Happiest Man on Earth
Today’s pick of the day is The Happiest Man on Earth. It is a tale of unimaginable horror and a vow to smile every day and living your best possible life.
Dreaming of your own business? The best books to help with your business plan
For many February is the month when side hustles that were dreamed up over the summer holidays start to become a reality. Could it be that the novelty of returning to work and sharing holiday stories with colleagues has begun to wear off, or the idea of being in an office for 40 hours a week isn’t what you really dreamt of? Nevertheless, Team Booko has scoured the globe to bring you the best titles that will inspire you and help you to write a killer business plan and take that nerve-wracking leap.
Passion Purpose Profit: Sidestep the #hustle and build a business you love by Fiona Killackey
It’s one thing to have a business idea, or even to start a creative business. It’s quite another to scale it sustainably without increasing your financial and emotional stress. For most small business owners, what starts as something energising quickly turns into something overwhelming and energy depleting. You spend so much time in your business, it’s hard to find any time to work on your business. In this practical guide, experienced business coach and creative consultant Fiona Killackey shows you how to scale the business without scaling the stress. From validating your business idea (whatever stage in its development), mapping out your money and specifying your business goals, through to hiring staff and defining your marketing plan. Passion Purpose Profit gives you a clear understanding of where you’re going and exactly how you’ll get there. Complete with step-by-step tips and templates, as well as case studies of successful creative business owners, Passion Purpose Profit will have you empowered and excited about business again.
Fashion Entrepreneurship: Retail Business Planning by Michele M Granger, Tina M Sterling, and Ann Cantrell
Written by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs, the book explains management, market segmentation, financial statements, cash flow, accessing capital, e-commerce, and omni-channel retailing. A hypothetical business plan that builds with each chapter and examples of business models from Warby Parker, Birchbox, and Etsy, give you a framework for building a successful fashion company. Profiles of entrepreneurs and exercises in a book illustrated with 130 images show you how to apply the process to your own ideas.
The Multi-Hyphen Method: Work Less, Create More : How to Make Your Side Hustle Work for You by Emma Gannon
The world of work is changing so how do you keep up? You have the ability to make money on our own terms, when and where you want but where do you start? If you’ve been itching to convert your craft into a career, or your side-hustle into a start up, then The Multi-Hyphen Method is for you. In The Multi-Hyphen Method award-winning blogger/social media editor/podcast creator, Emma Gannon, teaches that it doesn’t matter if you’re a part-time PA with a blog, or a nurse who runs an online store in the evenings – whatever your ratio, whatever your mixture, we can all channel our own entrepreneurial spirit to live more fulfilled and financially healthy lives. The internet and our phones mean we can work wherever, whenever and allows us to design our own working lives. Forget the outdated stigma of being a jack of all trades, because having many strings to your bow is essential to get ahead in the modern working world. We all have the skills necessary to work less and create more, and The Multi-Hyphen Method s the source of inspiration you need to help you navigate your way towards your own definition of success.
Out of Office: Ditch the 9-5 and Be Your Own Boss by Fiona Thomas
Whether you are flirting with the idea of going freelance, just starting out or a few years down the line, this no-nonsense guide addresses all the questions you might have about working for yourself and making the most of life when you do. Fiona covers topics such as how to raise an invoice, submit a tax return, claim expenses and network, as well as why working from home is proven to have a positive impact on productivity and mental health. With a focus on understanding the ‘whys?’ just as much as the ‘hows?’, Fiona helps you dive into freelance life and pushes you to the next level, making sure you’re taking time to reflect on your business and your state of mind.
Move the Needle: Yarns from an Unlikely Entrepreneur by Shelley Brander
Shelley Brander was no stranger to the word “can’t.” You can’t be an athlete, you have asthma. You can’t be a successful copywriter, you’re a girl. Your son has autism, he can’t be cured. You can’t make a living with yarn. But she proved all her detractors wrong when she opened Loops, a local yarn store in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1994. Since then, Loops has thrived, expanding from a single storefront to a global creative brand with a passionate and active membership community of knitters, crocheters, and makers of all ages.
This book is about harnessing “the power of can’t” to pursue your life’s passions -both personal and professional- no matter how weird or impossible they may seem. We’re still living in a time where the entrepreneurial creative is too often told, “You can’t make a business out of that,” but in this book you will learn how to turn your can’ts into cans and make your creative side hustle your main gig, celebrate creativity and experimentation, accept failure as a part of the process, have hope against the odds, surround yourself with supportive people, cut ties with those who weigh you down, and believe in you and your weird, impossible dream!
Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0: Turning Your Business Into an Enduring Great Company by Jim Collins and Bill Lazier
From Jim Collins, the most influential business thinker of our era, comes an ambitious upgrade of his classic, Beyond Entrepreneurship, that includes all-new findings and world-changing insights. What’s the roadmap to create a company that not only survives its infancy but thrives, changing the world for decades to come? Nine years before the publication of his epochal bestseller Good to Great, Jim Collins and his mentor, Bill Lazier, answered this question in their bestselling book, Beyond Entrepreneurship. Beyond Entrepreneurship left a definitive mark on the business community, influencing the young pioneers who were, at that time, creating the technology revolution that was birthing in Silicon Valley. Decades later, successive generations of entrepreneurs still turn to the strategies outlined in Beyond Entrepreneurship to answer the most pressing business questions. Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0 is a new and improved version of the book that Jim Collins and Bill Lazier wrote years ago. In this upgraded edition, Jim Collins honours his mentor, Bill Lazier, who passed away in 2004, and re-examines the original text of Beyond Entrepreneurship with his 2020 perspective. The book includes the original text of Beyond Entrepreneurship, as well as four new chapters and fifteen new essays. Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0 pulls together the key concepts across Collins’ thirty years of research into one integrated framework called The Map. The result is a singular reading experience, which presents a unified vision of company creation that will fascinate not only Jim’s millions of dedicated readers worldwide, but also introduce a new generation to his remarkable work.
Enjoy!
Building your hobby with Booko: Perfume
A beautifully made scent can encapsulate a particular feeling, transport you or remind you of a loved one. The question is, how do you find such a creation? Today’s clever pick will help; it’s Perfume: In search of your signature scent.
Build your hobby with Booko: Drawing
Today’s clever pick, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Workbook, helps artists to nurture the creative right side of the brain which dramatically improves your ability to draw.
Books that help you prepare great CVs and impressive interviews
New year, new job? Have recent events encouraged you to (or made you) reassess and change your career plans? Or do you know someone who is starting out in the workforce? Team Booko knows that the job application process can be daunting, whether it’s your first time, or first time in a while. So we have gathered some resources to help you write that high-impact CV and nail that interview. Good luck!
Write a Brilliant CV by Lucinda Becker
Write a Brilliant CV is a great beginner’s guide to résumé writing, perfect for students and young people applying for their first jobs. It offers focussed tips and strategies that shows you how to write a persuasive CV, how to target your CV to particular roles and careers, and how best to showcase your skills and experience. Write a Brilliant CV is part of the Super Quick Skills series of pocket-sized guides, which offers practical, positive advice on a range of core academic and life skills.
The Job-Ready Guide: How to Set Yourself Up for Career Success by Anastasia de Waal
Anastasia de Waal looks at the bigger-picture of job-readiness, with a guide that starts with researching different roles/employers, goes into CV and cover letter writing and interview skills, then moves onto further career development, including networking and developing professionalism. This is a very practical guide, with interactive exercises to help you in your real life, and enlivened by insider advice from employers, and tips from professionals at different stages in their careers who reveal ‘what they wish they’d known’. A must for anyone wanting to enter a professional career.
How to Write an Impressive CV and Cover Letter: A Comprehensive Guide for Jobseekers by Tracey Whitmore
In a competitive job market, making a great first impressions is critical. Let Tracey Whitmore show you how to grab a prospective employer’s attention by crafting a compelling CV, cover letter and LinkedIn profile. How to Write an Impressive CV and Cover Letter is a practical and accessible guide that highlights the Dos and Don’ts, with specific advice for both new graduates and mid-career jobhunters. It includes useful “CV Makeover” examples where common mistakes are identified then corrected. For a more personal touch, there are also real-life examples of CVs and covering letters, as well as employers’ perspectives from a number of senior HR and industry professionals.
It’s Who You Know: How to Make Networking Work for You by Janine Garner
Janine Garner is an acclaimed entrepreneur and Fortune 500 mentor who has made networking her passion and expertise. It’s Who You Know is her guide on how to build or improve our networks so that it helps transforming our thinking, challenging our behaviours and push us to achieve more. Janine Garner’s approach is strategic, having identified 12 key roles that together will provide the strength, diversity and opportunities to help you achieve your personal and professional goals. She also offers advice on how to nurture relationships and make networking mutually beneficial. This latest edition is published as part of Wiley’s Be Your Best series, of bestselling personal development books by Australian authors.
So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love by Cal Newport
Not sure what career to pursue? Worried you might have “missed your calling”? Cal Newport – Computer Science Professor and successful author about work and study habits – turns conventional wisdom on its head to help us get more fulfilment out of work. Cal argues that “follow your passion” is bad career advice which can lead to anxiety and jobhopping; instead, he recommends we focus on acquiring “career capital”, such as mastery of job-specific skills and autonomy within our roles – which will help us grow our passion for our work over time. Based on interviews with a variety of successful professionals, and established research on workplace motivation, So Good They Can’t Ignore You encourages us to radically rethink our career development strategy.
Expert Resumes & LinkedIn Profiles for Managers and Executives by Wendy S. Enelow and Louise M. Kursmark
Expert Resumes & LinkedIn Profiles for Managers and Executives was written specifically to address the requirements for senior-level recruitment. What’s more, this fourth edition includes extensive advice on how to build a compelling LinkedIn Profile – nowadays an essential tool for both recruiters and candidates. Learn how to use LinkedIn to establish your personal brand, showcase your skills and experience, and offer a more comprehensive view of yourself than what resumes would allow. Wendy Enelow and Louise Kursmark each have over 30 years’ experience writing, teaching and speaking about resume writing, and this book can help all mid-career professionals (not just those in senior roles!) with tips on how best to write and present extensive career information for maximum impact.