Alpha Dogs by Donna Fenn.

The thought (or maybe fantasy) of opening your own studio has probably crossed your mind a time or two. Maybe you’ve even bitten the bullet like my friends and I actually followed through on that fantasy. If so then you’ve probably experienced what I call “artists’ brain freeze” when you try to wrap your head around some of those business advice books. This book, however, has the benefit of being both informative and inspirational. It doesn’t scrimp on the fact based bullet points about what it takes to dominate in your field as a small business. But through honest case studies it shows that even though it’s hard work to elevate your practice above the rest, it’s very possible.

So even though it doesn’t specifically cover any design-related businesses in it’s case studies, the fact that I was actually able to read it , digest it and leave it feeling smarter than I did when I first cracked it open says volumes for Mrs. Fenn’s writing skills.

Why a Designer should read it:

1. Obviously this book has more relevance to Designers who own/run their own firms or freelancers. However, I believe that any strategy for business success is a vital addition to the arsenal of value-added services any good designer can offer their clients.

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Every marketer, merchandiser, brand specialist or anyone involved in the art (or science) of convincing people to part with their money needs to read this book by Paco Underhill. Mr. Underhill’s the founder, CEO and President of Envirosell, a company that basically watches people shop and then makes recommendations on fine-tuning the retail experience around them.

Why Designers should read this book:
Even if you’re not involved in merchandising, in-store display design or retail interior design there are some principles and ideas that I found useful:

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