3 unpopular books that made me money as a one-person design business
What are the books with the biggest ROI in my library?
Books are the cheapest thing that brings the most value. I have bought a lot over the year. But there are very few that I have started, finished, or reread. And the ones that directly made me money, I can probably count on one hand.
Here are 3:
The Positioning Manual for Indie Consultants
by Philip Morgan.
It’s a step-by-step to find your market positioning and separate yourself from your competitors.
Philip has done tons of original research and experiments on the topic. And this book really demystifies the whole positioning concept for me from the point of a one-person business.
Soon after applying parts of what I’ve learned from the book, I landed my first client that didn’t come from a referral.
Just Listen
by Arthur Morey, Mark Goulston MD, et al.
As an introvert, communication is not something I’m naturally good at.
So I started studying this. I have read the classics. But there are just general concepts repeating the same thing multiple times.
In this book, there is this chapter called “12 EASY-TO-USE TOOLS FOR ACHIEVING BUY-IN AND GETTING THROUGH”.
It’s basically a manual on how to navigate difficult conversations with play-by-play breakdowns.
It was instrumental for me when talking about money with clients.
The User Experience Team of One
by Leah Buley
This one is designed specifically but I believe it can be useful for any business owner.
The book is split into two parts. The second part is the most useful for me. And I revisit it often when I’m starting a new project.
It’s filled with step-by-step guides for planning and discovery methods, strategy workshops, research methods, and when to use them. Anything you might need to uncover insights about your customer and create a human-centred business. All from a point of view of a one-person operation.
I have literally sold design workshops to clients that I’ve learned to do from this book and keep coming back to copy stuff.
As you can tell, I like the manuals, how-to, and practical books. All the rest is very inspirational but in most cases very useful.
Do you have favourite how-to books in your industry?