Shapiro covers the ins and outs of keeping a business growing in this eye-opening debut. Noting that many businesses periodically plateau, he offers a way out of a stagnant, unyielding environment through an easy-to-grasp equation—“Your Three BIG Levers to Scale Revenue”—that calculates business income by examining transaction frequencies, how much each transaction amounts to, and the quantity of customers. Building on that base, Shapiro digs into crucial growth concepts such as compound interest, devising membership sites, creating opportunities for customer appreciation, and more, providing readers with both generalized and more focused entrepreneurial strategies to “increase not just revenue but also profits.”
Acknowledging that business growth is a fluid process—and that what worked yesterday may not work tomorrow—Shapiro regularly emphasizes the need to act. Ideas are great, he notes, but “only action drives change.” To help spark movement, he highlights business heavyweights—such as Google’s use of pay per click advertising or Zappos’s VIP program—as boots-on-the-ground examples and explains, in simple, concise language, concepts like search engine optimization (outlining specific tools, including Rank Math and Yoast, as well as addressing how to dial in to local SEO), third party financing, discovering niche audiences, and creating products that complement what you already offer. For each part of his three-pronged equation, Shapiro delves into a wide array of potential strategies, from offering bundles during check-out to generating referrals.
Readers will find plenty of the basics covered here—sales funnels, newsletters, affiliate offers—but what Shapiro does best is deliver a comprehensive plan that can be customized to nearly any type of business. Easy-to-follow charts, application opportunities, and guided journaling prompts help implement his advice, as does the end-of-book breakdown of strategies for specific business types (membership platforms, professional services, and e-commerce, among others). This straightforward, accessible guide will serve as a primer for business newcomers—or a valuable roadmap for the stagnant veteran.
Takeaway: Comprehensive roadmap to sparking growth in stagnant businesses.
Comparable Titles: W. Chan Kim and Reneé Mauborgne’s Blue Ocean Shift, Ryan Brock and Christopher Day’s Pillar-Based Marketing.