Jumat, 17 Mei 2013

[I717.Ebook] Download Star Wars: The Old Republic - Revan (Star Wars: The Old Republic - Legends), by Drew Karpyshyn

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Star Wars: The Old Republic - Revan (Star Wars: The Old Republic - Legends), by Drew Karpyshyn

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Star Wars: The Old Republic - Revan (Star Wars: The Old Republic - Legends), by Drew Karpyshyn

There’s something out there:
a juggernaut of evil bearing down to crush the Republic—
unless one lone Jedi, shunned and reviled, can stop it.

Hero, traitor, conqueror, villain, savior—the man called Revan has been all of these. He left Coruscant a Jedi, on a mission to defeat the Mandalorians. He returned a Sith disciple, bent on destroying the Republic. The Jedi Council gave Revan his life back, but the price of redemption was the loss of his memories. All that’s left are nightmares—and deep, abiding fear. What happened beyond the Outer Rim that Revan can’t quite remember or entirely forget? One thing he’s certain of: Something dark is plotting to destroy the very existence of the Republic. With no idea how to identify the threat, let alone stop it, Revan may be doomed to fail. For he’s never faced a more powerful and diabolic enemy. But only death can stop him from trying.

“An excellent book . . . [Karpyshyn] really draws the reader in.”—Eucantina

“Full of adventure, danger, and revelations.”—TheForce.Net

  • Sales Rank: #24231 in Books
  • Brand: Karpyshyn, Drew
  • Published on: 2012-09-25
  • Released on: 2012-09-25
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Dimensions: 6.87" h x .95" w x 4.17" l, .40 pounds
  • Binding: Mass Market Paperback
  • 368 pages

About the Author

Drew Karpyshyn is the bestselling author of Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan and the Star Wars: Darth Bane trilogy: Path of Destruction, Rule of Two, and Dynasty of Evil. He also wrote the acclaimed Mass Effect series of novels and worked as a writer/designer on numerous award-winning videogames. After spending most of his life in Canada, he finally grew tired of the long, cold winters and headed south in search of a climate more conducive to year-round golf. He now lives in Texas with his wife, Jennifer, and their cat.

Excerpt. � Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
CHAPTER ONE



LORD SCOURGE RAISED the hood of his cloak as he stepped off the shuttle, a shield against the wind and pelting rain. Storms were common here on Dromund Kaas; dark clouds perpetually blocked out the sun, rendering terms like day and night meaningless. The only natural illumination came from the frequent bursts of lightning arcing across the sky, but the glow from the spaceport and nearby Kaas City provided more than enough light to see where he was going.

The powerful electrical storms were a physical manifestation of the dark side power that engulfed the entire planet--a power that had brought the Sith back here a millennium before, when their very survival had been in doubt.

After a crushing defeat in the Great Hyperspace War, the Emperor had risen up from the tattered ranks of the remaining Sith Lords to lead his followers on a desperate exodus to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Fleeing the Republic armies and the relentless revenge of the Jedi, they eventually resettled far beyond the borders of Republic-charted space on their long-lost ancestral homeworld.

There, safely hidden from their enemies, the Sith began to rebuild their Empire. Under the guidance of the Emperor--the immortal and all-powerful savior who still reigned over them even after a thousand years--they abandoned the hedonistic lifestyles of their barbaric ancestors.

Instead they created a near-perfect society in which the Imperial military operated and controlled virtually every aspect of daily life. Farmers, mechanics, teachers, cooks, janitors--all were part of the great martial machine, each individual a cog trained to perform his or her duties with maximum discipline and efficiency. As a result, the Sith had been able to conquer and enslave world after world in the unexplored regions of the galaxy, until their power and influence rivaled those of their glorious past.

Another burst of lightning split the sky, momentarily illuminating the massive citadel that loomed over Kaas City. Built by slaves and devoted followers, the citadel served as both palace and fortress, an unassailable meeting place for the Emperor and the twelve handpicked Sith Lords who made up his Dark Council.

A decade earlier, when Scourge had first arrived on Dromund Kaas as a young apprentice, he had vowed to one day set foot inside the citadel's exclusive halls. Yet in all his years of training at the Sith Academy on Kaas City's borders, he had never been granted the privilege. He had been one of the top students, marked by his superiors for his strength in the Force and his fanatic devotion to the ways of the Sith. But acolytes were not permitted inside the citadel; its secrets were reserved for those in direct service to the Emperor and the Dark Council.

The dark side power emanating from within the building was undeniable; he had felt the raw, crackling energy every day during his years as an acolyte. He had drawn on it, focusing his mind and spirit to channel the power through his own body to sustain him during the brutal training sessions.

Now, after almost two years away, he was back on Dromund Kaas. Standing on the landing pad, he could once again feel the dark side deep inside his bones, the sizzling heat more than compensating for the minor discomfort of the wind and rain. But he was no longer a mere apprentice. Scourge had returned to the seat of Imperial power as a full-fledged Sith Lord.

He had known this day would come eventually. After graduating from the Sith Academy he had hoped for a posting on Dromund Kaas. Instead he had been sent to the fringes of the Empire to help quell a series of minor rebellions on recently conquered worlds. Scourge suspected the posting had been a punishment of some type. One of his instructors, jealous of the star pupil's potential, had probably recommended that he be stationed as far from the seat of Imperial power as possible to slow his ascent to the upper ranks of Sith society.

Unfortunately, Scourge had no proof to back his theory. Yet even exiled to the uncivilized sectors on the farthest borders of the Empire, he had still managed to forge his reputation. His martial skills and ruthless pursuit of the rebel leaders caught the notice of several prominent military leaders. Now, two years after leaving the Academy, he had returned to Dromund Kaas as a newly anointed Lord of the Sith. More important, he was here at the personal request of Darth Nyriss, one of the most senior members of the Emperor's Dark Council.

"Lord Scourge," a figure called out over the wind, running up to greet him. "I am Sechel. Welcome to Dromund Kaas."

"Welcome back," Scourge corrected as the man dropped to one knee and bowed his head in a gesture of respect. "This is not my first time on this world."

Sechel's hood was pulled up against the rain, covering his features, but during his approach Scourge had noticed the red skin and dangling cheek tendrils that marked him as a pureblood Sith, just like Lord Scourge himself. But while Scourge was an imposing figure, tall and broad-shouldered, this man was small and slight. Reaching out, Scourge sensed only the faintest hint of the Force in the other, and his features twisted into a sneer of revulsion.

Unlike the humans that made up the bulk of the Empire's population, the Sith species were all blessed with the power of the Force to varying degrees. It marked them as the elite; it elevated them above the lower ranks of Imperial society. And it was a legacy that was fervently protected.

A pureblood born without any connection to the Force was an abomination; by custom such a creature could not be suffered to live. During his time at the Academy, Lord Scourge had encountered a handful of Sith whose power in the Force was noticeably weak. Hampered by their failing, they relied on the influence of their high-ranking families to find them postings as low-level aids or administrative officials at the Academy, where their handicap would be least noticed. Spared from the lower castes only by their pureblood heritage, in Scourge's eyes they were barely better than slaves, though he did have to admit that the more competent ones could have their uses.

But never before had he encountered one of his own kind with as feeble an attunement to the Force as the man huddled at his feet. The fact that Darth Nyriss had sent someone so vile and unworthy to greet him was unsettling. He'd expected a more substantial and impressive welcome.

"Get up," he snarled, making no effort to conceal his disgust.

Sechel quickly scrambled to his feet. "Darth Nyriss sends her apologies for not coming to meet you personally," he said quickly. "There have been several attempts on her life recently, and she only leaves her palace under the rarest of circumstances."

"I'm well aware of her situation," Scourge replied.

"Y-yes, my lord," Sechel stammered. "Of course. That's why you're here. Excuse my stupidity."

A crash of thunder nearly drowned out Sechel's apology, heralding an increase in the storm's intensity. The driving rain started to come down in stinging sheets.

"Were your Master's instructions to leave me standing here in this downpour until I drowned?" Scourge demanded.

"F-forgive me, my lord. Please, follow me. We have a speeder waiting to take you to the domicile."

A short distance from the spaceport was a small landing pad. A constant stream of hovercabs was landing and taking off--the preferred way for those of the lower ranks who couldn't afford their own speeder to traverse the city. As was typical at a busy spaceport, a thick crowd surrounded the base of the landing pad. Those just arriving quickly fell into the queues waiting to hire a driver, moving with the disciplined precision that was the hallmark of Imperial society.

Of course, Lord Scourge had no need to step into the line. While some in the crowd cast sharp glances at Sechel as he tried to force a path through, the throng quickly parted upon catching sight of the towering figure behind him. Even with his hood drawn against the rain, Scourge's black cape, his spiked armor, his dark red complexion, and the lightsaber prominently displayed at his side clearly marked him as a Sith Lord.

The individuals in the crowd showed a wide variety of reactions to his presence. Many were slaves or indentured servants out running errands for their masters; they wisely kept their eyes fixed on the ground, careful not to make eye contact. The Enlisted--the ranks of ordinary individuals conscripted into mandatory military service--snapped smartly to attention, as if waiting for Scourge to inspect them as he passed by.

The Subjugates--the caste of offworld merchants, traders, dignitaries, and visitors from planets not yet granted full status in the Empire--stared with a mixture of wonder and fear as they stepped quickly aside. Many of them bowed as a sign of respect. On their homeworlds they might be rich and powerful, but here on Dromund Kaas they were well aware that they ranked only slightly above the servants and slaves.

The only exception to the rule was a pair of humans, one male, the other female. Scourge noticed them standing at the foot of the stairs leading up to the landing pad, stubbornly holding their ground.

They were wearing expensive clothes--matching red pants and tops trimmed with white--and both clearly wore light armor beneath their outfits. Dangling from the man's shoulder was a large assault rifle, and the woman had a blaster pistol strapped across each hip. However, the two humans were clearly not part of the military, as neither displayed the official Imperial insignia or any indication of rank on their garb.

It wasn't unusual for Subjugate mercenaries from other worlds to visit Dromund Kaas. Some came seeking profit, hiring their services out to the highest bidder; others came to prove their value to the Empire in the hope of one day being granted the rare privilege of full Imperial citizenship. But mercenaries typically reacted with deference and humility when confronted with someone of Scourge's rank.

By law, Scourge could have them imprisoned or executed for even a trifling offense. Judging by their confrontational behavior, they were blissfully unaware of this fact.

As the rest of the crowd parted, the mercenaries remained in place, staring defiantly at Scourge as he approached. The Sith Lord bristled at the continued lack of respect. Sechel must have felt it as well, because he quickly rushed ahead to confront the pair.

Scourge didn't slow his pace, but neither did he make a move to catch up with the scurrying servant. At this distance, he couldn't hear what was being said over the wind and rain. But Sechel was speaking frantically, gesturing and waving his arms while the humans stared at him with cold contempt. Finally, the woman nodded, and the pair slowly moved out of the way. Satisfied, Sechel turned and waited for Scourge to arrive.

"A thousand apologies, my lord," he said as they mounted the steps. "Some Subjugates lack a proper understanding of our customs."

"Perhaps they need me to remind them of their place," Scourge growled.

"If that is your wish, my lord," Sechel said. "However, I must remind you that Darth Nyriss is expecting you."

Scourge decided to let the matter drop. They climbed into the waiting speeder; Sechel at the controls. Scourge settled into the luxurious seat, pleased to note that the vehicle had a roof--many of the hovercabs were open to the elements. The engines engaged, and they rose to a height of ten meters before the speeder accelerated, leaving the spaceport behind.

They rode in silence, drawing ever closer to the massive citadel that stood at the heart of Kaas City. But Scourge knew this was not their destination today. Like every member of the Dark Council, Darth Nyriss was allowed access to the Emperor's citadel. In the wake of two recent assassination attempts, however, Scourge fully expected her to stay within the walls of the personal stronghold she maintained on the outskirts of Kaas City, surrounded by her most trusted staff and servants.

This didn't strike Scourge as cowardly in any way; Nyriss was simply being practical. Like any high-ranking Sith, she had many enemies. Until she discovered who was behind the assassination attempts, exposing herself unnecessarily was a foolish and unwarranted risk.

Yet her practicality had to be balanced against the understanding that her rank was based solely on strength. If Nyriss appeared weak or ineffective--if she was unable to take firm and decisive action against whoever was plotting her death--others would sense it. Rivals both off and on the Dark Council would prey on her situation, leveraging her vulnerable position to their own advantage. Darth Nyriss would not be the first of the Emperor's inner circle to lose her life.

That was why Scourge was here. To root out the secret masterminds behind the assassinations, and destroy them.

Given the importance of his mission, he couldn't understand why Nyriss hadn't sent a full honor guard to escort him through the city. She should want everyone to know of his arrival. He was proof that steps were being taken to solve her problem; a warning to any other rivals who might be emboldened by the recent attempts on her life. Keeping his arrival almost secret served no purpose . . . at least none Scourge could see.

They passed by the Emperor's citadel and made their way to the western edge of the city. After several more minutes, Scourge felt the speeder begin to slow as Sechel brought it in for a landing.

"We're here, my lord," Sechel said as the vehicle touched down.

They were in a large courtyard. High stone walls stood to the north and south. The east end was open to the street; the west was bordered by what Scourge assumed was Darth Nyriss's stronghold. In many ways the building resembled the Emperor's citadel, though on a significantly smaller scale. The architectural similarities were more than just an homage to the Emperor. Like his citadel, this building would serve both as Nyriss's dwelling and as a fortress she could fall back to in times of trouble, and it had been designed to be simultaneously ornate, imposing, and easily defensible.

The courtyard itself was populated by half a dozen large statues, each several meters wide at the base and easily twice as tall as Scourge. The two largest depicted humanoids in Sith robes--a male and a female. They stood with their arms raised slightly forward, their hands palms up. The man's face was hidden by a hood--the common depiction of the Emperor. The woman had her hood thrown back to reveal fierce Sith features; if the sculptor's work was accurate, Scourge knew this was his first glimpse of what Darth Nyriss actually looked like.


From the Hardcover edition.

Most helpful customer reviews

458 of 510 people found the following review helpful.
The Companions of the Ebon Hawk deserved better...
By Annihilatrix1138
I don't think Drew Karpyshyn properly grasped how much emotional investment fans of Knights of the Old Republic have tied up in this story, these characters, and the ending that never seemed to come; if he had, this novel probably wouldn't have turned out the way it did. It might be unfair to judge this novel the way I am right now, since the bias here can't be understated. It's been seven years since I played both games of the KotOR series for the first time, which was one of the most memorable gaming experiences I've had in my life. Since then, I've played the games many times over, always wondering what happened to Revan, the Exile, and their respective companions.

THE OLD REPUBLIC: REVAN attempts to give those of us who've been waiting for more than half a decade some form of closure, but instead manages to effectively kick all of the loose plotlines into a shallow grave, and plant a big sign on top of it that reads, "You happy now? Move on."

To start off: don't let the title and that picture of the eponymous hero trick you. This book is NOT about Revan; if anything, only a third of the book's scant 280 pages actually centers on him. The rest follows a previously unknown Sith pureblood called Lord Scourge: a Dark Lord with a name so campy that his dark side compatriots can't help but poke fun at it. For reasons that I'll probably never understand, this Lord Scourge is the absolute focus of the book. This is about his rise to power, his trials upon the Sith homeworld, his misdeeds; while Revan is relegated to going through the motions and reenacting events that were already thoroughly covered in the games, the majority of which he spends helping Canderous Ordo reclaim the Mask of Mandalore.

And yes, Canderous Ordo, the trigger-happy Mandalorian who helped Revan escape Taris, makes an appearance, as does Bastila Shan, T3, and the Jedi Exile from KotOR 2: The Sith Lords (permanently named Meetra Surik for the rest of the book). Unfortunately, no one else manages to make an appearance. Not one of them. In a very awkward part of the book, Canderous suggests excitedly that they get the old gang back together for their coming adventure to recover Mandalore's Mask, but we are quickly given very bad reasons why this would be impossible. The old Companions of the Ebon Hawk are each given a brief mention, but are otherwise completely forgotten for the rest of the book. (Though, for some reason, Carth Onasi doesn't even get the token mention the rest got, and his name doesn't pop up even once in the book.)

And it's especially disappointing because even when characters like Revan, Canderous, or Bastila make their appearances, they don't even faintly act how they did in the games. There's no humor, no candor, only a few brief and forced mentions of the old days, and when someone talks, it's so direct as to almost make them sound robotic. Even when Revan and Canderous return to the Ebon Hawk, the book briefly mentions the ship's shape and a recap of how they got it, and the story moves on. Karpyshyn allows for absolutely no sense of fond reminiscence, no revisiting of old adventures, and characterization I can only describe as barebones. You could've switched around the names of every character in the book, and I wouldn't be able to tell you who was who.

Once again, it feels as though Karpyshyn's work is the victim of this mythical deadline that he's apologized more than once for. Characterization is not as dense as it should be, dialogue is scarce (which is totally weird, coming from the writer of dialogue-heavy games like KotOR and MASS EFFECT), and actions that should take up a paragraph take pages for themselves. Too much of this book seems like filler.

So, Revan's part in this book - this book titled REVAN - is actually very minimal, and most of what he does here is actually covered in the games. The Jedi Exile is dug back up, minus any mention at all of her respective companions (Atton Rand and the gang), is given a name and an ending so badly implemented that I almost stopped reading right then and there. Not to mention that the canon established by the games is trampled to suit the overall goal of the book, which appears to be to set up the story for BioWare's new MMO, THE OLD REPUBLIC.

With all of that in mind, I'm still asking myself: What was the point of this book? If it was to give KotOR fans some closure, it utterly failed in that regard. I'm sitting here more unsatisfied with the state of Revan's story than I ever was in the seven years since playing the game. If it was to set up the new MMO for potential players, I have no real idea how anything that happens in this book would be more informative than just playing the games or reading their synopses, since a lot of what happens is just extended action scenes, sans the one chapter that actually, and directly, sets up the MMO.

This book is one of the most disappointing things I've ever read, and that is not an exaggeration. Seven years of waiting led up to this book - a book that didn't even bother to supply meaningful endings for the characters that Karpyshyn helped create. But, again, I have to mention the bias here; my expectations here were extremely high. I'd expected to revisit old characters, see their stories to an end, and unravel the mystery of Darth Revan that the games had spun so well. But when all is said and done, we have a bitter and (unbelievably enough, given the timeframe) rushed ending for Revan, a token mention of characters we'd spent so much time with (if they were lucky enough), all of which is completely overshadowed by the story of a Sith pureblood named Lord Scourge: a story so uninteresting, I nearly skipped most of his chapters.

And then, as if to rub it in our faces, the rug is pulled out from underneath us, revealing the book's true intentions: a not-so-subtle sign pointing the way toward THE OLD REPUBLIC MMO. "You happy now? Move on - preferably in the direction of the TOR subscription page."

No, thank you. The Endar Spire still spins with or without this book.

152 of 171 people found the following review helpful.
Above Average for the Average Starwars Book - but Below Average For Revan
By Stingray007
-Some Spoilers Below-

The book started off strong, and it was enjoyable and interesting seeing how Bastila and Revan (as well as Canderous) have carried on throughout the years after the events of the KOTOR 1-2. However, too many characters were simply swept under the rug. Carth Onasi was never mentioned at all, in fact.

Instead, a lot of time was spent on a new character, Lord Scourge of the Sith. Besides the ridiculously Dark Side-esque name, I actually didn't mind these segments - they were an interesting look into the reclusive Sith Empire.

Revan and Canderous go on an interesting quest for Mandalore's Mask, which while it was one of the exciting and awesome segments of the book, rife with tension and combat sections, had a lot more potential. All the clans converging on the area in question at once would have made a brilliant cathartic climax to that plotline of the novel, but instead we get kind of an anticlimatic resolution to the Mandalorian plotline.

After this, the book starts to go downhill. Less and less time is given to Revan; he even gets captured at one point, his ship shot down with a single shot from the new character Lord Scourge. And then he proceeds to spend most of the remaining time of the book imprisoned. How exciting, for the character we had waited to long to see back in action.

The exile then makes an appearance, and is even given a name. She and Scourge actually find common ground in an interesting twist, and pull off a xanatos gambit which I found myself enjoying, even if Revan had been shunted to the sidelines for these segments. Revan gets his characteristic mask back right after escaping, and it's an awesome scene of reclaimed identity and power.

Along the way, the Emperor's past and identity were revealed, and I must say it's a disappointment. There's a reason the movie 'Jaws' was improved by the shark not being shown for most of the movie...we can always imagine something worse than what actually is. The author fleshed out a lot more of his past than was necessary, stripping away the mystery with the subtlety of a rampaging bantha.

-Major Spoilers Ahead-

And now we come to the fabled climax, Revan, the Exile, and even Lord Scourge united against the Emperor, or should I say, Lord Vivius. Vivius? Are you kidding us, Drew? *sighs*

The battle starts off on a high note, with an exciting melee frenzy and the three battle their way to the Emperor's chambers. Too much of the pages during this segment are taken up by Scourge wondering about his kriffing visions, instead of focusing on the epic battles.

Revan pulls a Leeroy Jenkins and charges ahead of the others to meet the Emperor one-on-one. It's an enjoyable battle, but underdeveloped and too short. Revan is described as being master of both the Light and Dark side of the force, but one of the first guidelines of superb writing is to show, not tell. Drew could have shown us this instead with an extended fight scene, in which Revan is seen using both Sith Lightning and Jedi Healing abilities, as well as the other myriad applications of both sides of the force. Instead, we're just told he's using both sides of the force, and the fight ends much too quickly.

Scourge and the Exile arrive, and Revan rises to his feet - and things are looking up. Two iconic figures - nay, legends, from the Old Republic metaverse, and an interesting new Sith Lord, versus the fabled Sith Emperor? I set down the book to get myself some coffee and popcorn before resuming to fully enjoy the anticipated battle at this point.

And....Scourge has another of his little visions, and decides it's time to abruptly kill off a main character, backstabbing the Exile - who isn't even given a final word. Revan is knocked unconscious by one burst of lightning, and the battle is over before it even begun. Katharsis had been stabbed in the back by Drew as surely as the Exile had by Scourge, and I nearly stopped reading at this point.

Look, we all knew they had to fail, because the Emperor is still alive and well by the time of the Old Republic MMO. But that didn't mean the climatic defeat of Revan and the Exile had to be as short and insulting as it was. We should have been given a chapter long battle, with Scourge dying heroically during the battle, and the Emperor slowly gaining the upper hand versus Revan and the Exile, wearing them down. At which point, Revan could have sacrificed himself to allow the Exile to escape, a'la how Starkiller did at the climax of the Force Unleashed, nearly killing the Emperor. Revan and the Exile indeed deserved to nearly have killed the Emperor, rather than failing before the true battle ever began.

The Exile dying as ingloriously as she did was such an understatement of her character. After besting Darth Nihilius, Darth Kraya - she should have exercised at least some measure of caution against Scourge, and at least put up a fight better than a millisecond.

So, to conclude, I believe this happened because we and the author had very different ideas about the purpose of this story.

To Drew, the purpose of this was to, "Quickly and neatly tie up loose ends from KOTOR 1-2 so that we can get to the Old Republic MMO."

To us, the purpose was simple. "See our favorite heroes from the Star Wars universe, Revan the Conquerer and the Exile the Void, in action one last time."

Disappointed is an understatement. This was above average for the average star war's book, but it was such a failure when you consider the star studded cast it had at it's fingertips. I find myself eager to write a fanfic to fan-retcon this abomination, or at least to bang my head against the wall until I have amnesia about the fates of Revan and the Exile.

59 of 68 people found the following review helpful.
A whole lotta not much...
By NLA
(NOTE: Amazon is blending all reviews for books in a series in to one large hodgepodge. Please contact Amazon through the HELP button on the bottom of every AMAZON page and tell them to put the reviews back how they were.)

***Some Spoilers***

Fatal Alliance does offer quite a bit of adventure and epic battle scenes however, with all that is packed into its 450 pages there is little room for character development. The adventure begins with the reader being told the story of how an upcoming Jedi has failed his trials to become a Knight. Well I really shouldn't say "how he failed" because little is told as to how he actually failed the trials. But don't fret the book doesn't expand at all on how this failure effects the character anyways. This lack of character building becomes a theme with every character, sadly. As you read on you will be introduced to about twelve more characters that have little development.

A mother that has betrayed the Sith is given little as to why she did this and how that decision has changed her life. A Sith apprentice is faced with having to strike down the woman who gave birth to her but the author chooses to not expand on the characters emotions as she comes closer to the fatal swipe. A soldier that has fallen out of league with her former comrades for being a snitch is only given a few paragraphs as to how this event has formed who she has become. A character that could have been a focal point for all this lack of history should have been the Jedi Master, but she herself gives little in the way of wisdom and doesn't delve into the issues that should have played a bigger role with the characters.

Overall the books saving grace is the battle scenes that take up the vast majority of the book. To some this may be enough but to those who have tired of death star after death star this book should be lower on your to-read-list. In no way is the book horrible and in no way would I tell you not to read it but be warned, if you like books that are heavy on characters and lighter on space battles this will not be up your alley. Just my opinion.

ALL FEEDBACK IS APPRECIATED. THANKS AND GOOD READING.

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Rabu, 08 Mei 2013

[R737.Ebook] PDF Download Organizate Con Eficacia / Getting Things Done (Spanish Edition), by David Allen

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Organizate Con Eficacia / Getting Things Done (Spanish Edition), by David Allen

Este libro tiene un objetivo claro: demostrar que existe un sistema de organizaci�n del trabajo que nos permite liberar la mente de las tensiones que inhiben nuestra creatividad, y que nos hace m�s eficaces en todos los aspectos de la vida.

David Allen sostiene que nuestra mente tiene una capacidad limitada para almacenar informaci�n y propone una serie de f�rmulas pr�cticas para eliminar las tensiones e incrementar nuestra capacidad de trabajo y nuestro rendimiento.

Organ�zate con eficacia se fundamenta en unas sencillas normas b�sicas de organizaci�n del tiempo, como por ejemplo la necesidad de determinar cu�l es el siguiente paso a dar en cada uno de nuestros proyectos, o la regla de los dos minutos (si surge una tarea pendiente y se puede hacer en menos de dos minutos, debe hacerse inmediatamente). El sistema propuesto por Allen soluciona ansiedades y desconciertos, y nos permite transformar nuestro modo de trabajar y la manera de percibir nuestros retos cotidianos.

  • Sales Rank: #5423223 in Books
  • Published on: 2002-12-01
  • Original language: Spanish
  • Number of items: 1
  • Dimensions: .82" h x 6.08" w x 9.40" l,
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • 304 pages

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Minggu, 05 Mei 2013

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The Automatic Customer, by John Warrillow

The lifeblood of your business is repeat customers. But customers can be fickle, markets shift, and competitors are ruthless. So how do you ensure a steady flow of repeat business? The secret—no matter what industry you’re in—is finding and keeping automatic customers.

These days virtually anything you need can be purchased through a subscription, with more convenience than ever before. Far beyond Spotify, Netflix, and New York Times subscriptions, you can sign up for weekly or monthly supplies of everything from groceries (AmazonFresh) to cosmetics (Birchbox) to razor blades (Dollar Shave Club).

According to John Warrillow, this emerging subscription economy offers huge opportunities to companies that know how to turn customers into subscribers. Automatic customers are the key to increasing cash flow, igniting growth, and boosting the value of your company.

Consider Whatsapp, the internet-based messaging service that was purchased by Facebook for $19 billion. While other services bombarded users with invasive ads in order to fund a free messaging platform, Whatsapp offered a refreshingly private tool on a subscription platform, charging just $1 per year. Their business model enabled the kind of service that customers wanted and ensured automatic customers for years to come.

As Warrillow shows, subscriptions aren’t limited to technology or media businesses. Companies in nearly any industry, from start-ups to the Fortune 500, from home contractors to florists, can build subscriptions into their business.

Warrillow provides the essential blueprint for winning automatic customers with one of the nine subscription business models, including:

  • The Membership Website Model: Companies like The Wood Whisperer Guild, ContractorSelling.com, and DanceStudioOwner.com offer access to highly specialized, high quality information, recognizing that people will pay for good content. This model can work for any business with a tightly defined niche market and insider information.
  • The Simplifier Model: Companies like Mosquito Squad (pest control) and Hassle Free Homes (home maintenance) take a recurring task off your to-do list. Any business serving busy consumers can adopt this model not only to create a recurring revenue stream, but also to take advantage of the opportunity to cross-sell or bundle their services.
  • The Surprise Box Model: Companies like BarkBox (dog treats) and Standard Cocoa (craft chocolate) send their subscribers curated packages of goodies each month. If you can handle the logistics of shipping, giving customers joy in something new can translate to sales on your larger e-commerce site.

This book also shows you how to master the psychology of selling subscriptions and how to reduce churn and provides a road map for the essential statistics you need to measure the health of your subscription business.

Whether you want to transform your entire business into a recurring revenue engine or just pick up an extra 5 percent of sales growth, The Automatic Customer will be your secret weapon.

Table of Contents
Introduction
PART ONE: SUBSCRIBERS ARE BETTER THAN CUSTOMERS
Chapter 1: The
New
500-Year-Old Business Model
Chapter 2: Why You Need Automatic Customers
PART TWO: THE NINE SUBSCRIPTION BUSINESS MODELS
Chapter 3: The Membership Website Model
Chapter 4: The All-You-Can-Eat Library Model
Chapter 5: The Private Club Model
Chapter 6: The Front-of-the-Line Subscription Model
Chapter 7: The Consumables Model
Chapter 8: The Surprise Box Model
Chapter 9: The Simplifier Model
Chapter 10: The Network Model
Chapter 11: The Peace-of-Mind Model
PART THREE: YOUR SUBSCRIPTION BUSINESS FIELD GUIDE
Chapter 12: The New Math
Chapter 13: The Cash Suck vs. The Cash Spigot
Chapter 14: The Psychology of Selling a Subscription
Chapter 15: Scaling Up
Chapter 16: Reflections

  • Sales Rank: #616602 in Books
  • Published on: 2016-08-04
  • Original language: English
  • Dimensions: 7.83" h x .55" w x 5.28" l, .53 pounds
  • Binding: Paperback

Review
“Whether your business is exploding or stuck in a rut, there’s something you can learn from John Warrillow in this book. Read, apply, and watch your bank deposits grow every month.”

—CHRIS GUILLEBEAU, New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness of Pursuit and The $100 Startup


“By page 40, The Automatic Customer will have you fundamentally reexamining your entire business. This is a brilliantly made case for why subscription revenue should be a part of every company. Highly recommended!”

—JAY BAER, New York Times bestselling author of Youtility


“It’s rare that a book is able to have such a universal, immediate, and profound impact on the strategy of almost every business okay, every business. Warrillow’s case for adding a recurring revenue stream to your business model is convincing and he shows you nine ways to do it, as well as how to navigate the potential pitfalls.”

—VERNE HARNISH, CEO of Gazelles and author of Scaling Up, The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time, and Mastering the Rockefeller Habits


“The Holy Grail in business today is the eternally loyal customer. The Automatic Customer is your blueprint for building a business that generates profit over and over again.”

—JOHN JANTSCH, author of Duct Tape Marketing and Duct Tape Selling


“In this fantastic book, John Warrillow provides a clear path to turning your company from one that needs to start from scratch every month to one in which your work and, most important, your results, are predictable. If you want to build a business with a very healthy bottom line and extremely well-served customers, this book is an invaluable resource.”

—BOB BURG, coauthor of The Go-Giver and author of Adversaries into Allies

About the Author
JOHN WARRILLOW, the author of Built to Sell, is the founder of a subscription-based company called The Value Builder System™, where advisers help company owners increase the value of their businesses. Before that he founded Warrillow & Co., a subscription-based research business dedicated to helping Fortune 500 companies market to small business owners. A sought-after speaker and popular Inc.com columnist, he lives in Toronto, Canada.

Excerpt. � Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

We had been running together for five months when Sacha announced he was leaving on a business trip to China. The timing could not have been worse; the marathon was just six weeks away, and we had come to rely on each other to stay motivated through the hardest part of our training schedule.

Now, at the height of our work, he was leaving for two weeks.

Since Sacha and I wouldn’t be able to run together, we decided to egg each other on digitally. We agreed to text each other the results from our training run each day as a way to stay motivated. Sacha asked if, instead of texting, we could use a messaging service called WhatsApp.

I was used to texting using the standard service on my iPhone, so I wasn’t in a hurry to learn a new platform. I asked him why we couldn’t just text the normal way.

Sacha replied that the phone company charges a relative fortune to text from China, and WhatsApp, instead of using the mobile networks, runs on the Internet and therefore doesn’t require expensive mobile carrier fees. In fact, the only fee to use WhatsApp is a $1 per year subscription it charges after the first year.

We used WhatsApp to communicate while Sacha was in China, and eventually finished the marathon together, thanks in part to our WhatsApp-supported training regimen. It turns out that, in using WhatsApp, we were not alone. By early 2014, WhatsApp had acquired 450 million users and was adding a million users per day when Facebook announced it had acquired the company for $19 billion—the largest acquisition of an Internet start-up in history.

Most of the other Internet-based messaging services at the time used an advertising model to monetize their users. They offered a free platform but bombarded users with cheesy ads in return. WhatsApp founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton wanted to offer a cleaner, more private messaging experience. Instead of selling advertising, they opted for the subscription business model.

A dollar a year as a subscription fee may not sound like much, but when you have 450 million users and are picking up a million users a day, $1 a year starts to add up. What’s more, because WhatsApp doesn’t try to be anything other than a subscription-based messaging platform, it doesn’t need a lot of employees. In fact, at the time of its acquisition, it had just 55 people taking care of its 450 million subscribers.

WhatsApp won the $19 billion lottery not because its technology was better, or its people were any more caring, or its advertising was funnier. WhatsApp won, in large part, because it made its customers automatic. It chose the right business model for success by asking users to subscribe to its service.

This book will show you how to apply the subscription business model to your own business. When people think of subscriptions, they often think of cloud-based software, gaming, or media companies. While readers from those industries will benefit from this book, you can also apply the subscription business model to your company—no matter what your size or industry. WhatsApp is only one example of how powerful automatic customers can be for the growth of your business.

I Screwed Up

The last time I wrote a book, I screwed up.

Called Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You, the book was designed to illustrate how to transform a successful business into a sellable one. In it, I touched briefly on the importance of having customers who repurchase from you on a regular schedule, but in hindsight, I should have dedicated at least half the book to recurring revenue.

In the years since Built to Sell was published, I’ve come to see how important recurring revenue is in building a valuable, sellable company. These days I run a subscription business called The Sellability Score (SellabilityScore.com) that helps owners build valuable companies by examining the eight key drivers of sellability. Owners who achieve a Sellability Score of 80 or more out of a possible 100 garner offers that are 71% higher than the average.

The biggest factor in driving up your Sellability Score is the degree to which your company can run without you, the owner. That’s a head scratcher for a lot of owners who are the best salesperson in their business. The secret is to build recurring revenue that brings in sales without having to resell the customer each month.

To appreciate the impact of recurring revenue on your company’s value, you have to understand what buyers are buying when they acquire a business. Most owners want buyers to value their past achievements, such as last year’s profits or an industry award they’re proud of. In fact, it has been my experience that financial buyers are really buying only one thing when they purchase a company: a future stream of profits.

In the home security business, for example, companies have two forms of revenue. They receive installation revenue when they come to your home or office to install the keypad and wire things up, and they receive monitoring revenue in the form of the monthly payment for keeping an eye on things.

At SellabilityScore.com, we know from our analysis that when an acquirer buys a security business, it pays 75 cents for “one-shot” installation revenue and $2 for every dollar of monitoring revenue. Said another way, a security company with 100% monitoring revenue (the subscription aspect of such a business) is almost three times more valuable than a security business of the same size that has 100% installation revenue.

The same trend plays out across most industries. Accounting firms are valued based on their recurring fees. Financial planning practices trade based on how likely clients are to stay with the firm after the owner retires. IBM’s stock moves up and down based on its recurring revenue from service contracts.

So recurring revenue makes your business a lot more valuable, and it also makes your company less stressful to run.

The Tyranny of Selling & Doing

In 1997, I started Warrillow & Co., a research company. We started out as a typical “sell/do” services business; our job was to cultivate relationships with people, listen to their problems, and try to come up with a solution. Each project was different, and we spent the majority of our time developing custom proposals, many of which were never accepted.

The company was profitable on paper but debilitatingly stressful to run. I hated the first day of each month because that was when all the dials turned back to zero and we had to scramble to find enough business to cover our overhead.

I remember distinctly the first time our fixed expenses crested $100,000 per month. I thought to myself, “If we don’t sell anything this month, we still have $100,000 in expenses to cover!”

The stress of having to re-create the business from scratch each month led me in search of a better model. I started to study other research companies, like Gartner and Forrester Research, that had successfully “productized” a service and, as a result, began experimenting with automating parts of our business.

Instead of doing “one-shot” research, we decided to offer the identical packages of information to a subscriber base of customers. Instead of doing custom proposals, we created a brochure about our offering and a standard proposal. Instead of getting paid 60 days after the project was complete, we charged up front for an annual subscription to our research.

The business became much less stressful to run. We went into each new month with revenue on the books, and we were no longer beholden to any one customer. In fact, we starting winning the world’s largest companies as subscribers, including American Express, Apple, AT&T, Bank of America, Dell, FedEx, Google, HP, IBM, MasterCard, Microsoft, Sprint, Visa, and Wells Fargo. Charging for our subscription up front also meant that after a while we had more cash than we knew what to do with. To top it off, we were growing at a rate of 25% a year and were quickly replacing the revenue from the one-shot projects we had left behind. Warrillow & Co. was acquired by a public company in 2008.

You may be thinking, That’s nice, but it would never work in my industry or in my company. Maybe—especially if you cling to the standard industry practices of your category. But as you’ll see, virtually every business—from a start-up to a Fortune 500 company, from a home contractor to a manufacturer—can create at least some recurring revenue if it is willing to jettison the old way of doing things to pioneer a new business model.

And companies that don’t just might face competition from those that do. Increasingly, some of the smallest businesses in the world are facing crippling competition from the largest. The subscription economy has pitted small companies against big ones and suppliers against resellers, and has even made partners into enemies. The battle lines are being drawn, and I hope The Automatic Customer will be your secret weapon for winning in the subscription economy.

If you are someone who has a business that you would like to make a little more predictable, a little less stressful, and a whole lot more valuable, this book is for you. Whether you want to transform your entire business model or just pick up an extra 5% of automatic revenue, I hope you’ll see yourself in the following pages.

What You’ll Find Inside

The book is organized into three sections. Part One outlines the surprising truth about who is winning in the subscription economy, why companies like Apple and Amazon are transforming themselves into subscription businesses, and why virtually every venture-backed start-up has a recurring revenue model.

We’ll also look at eight ways your business will be more valuable and less stressful after you adopt the subscription model. You’ll learn how the subscription business model dramatically increases the average value of each of your customers, and how to smooth out demand in your company so that it matches your ability to fulfill it. We’ll discuss why automatic customers buy more than one-shot customers and why subscription revenue is stickier than a one-time purchase.

Part Two is divided into minichapters on the nine subscription business models. As you’ll see, you have a variety of choices when it comes to building a recurring revenue stream for your business. Whether you want to transform your entire business or just pick up a few thousand dollars of passive income, you’ll get a ton of new ideas for applying the subscription model to your company.

The third and final section of The Automatic Customer gives you the blueprint for building your subscription business. We’ll discuss a handful of key statistics that will define the viability of your subscription and highlight one ratio you must achieve in order to scale up. We’ll look at the psychology of selling your subscription and how to overcome something I call “subscription fatigue.” Then we’ll turn to financing the growth of your subscription business and explore whether you want to raise venture-capital funding, as WhatsApp and Dollar Shave Club did, or self-fund your growth, like FreshBooks and Mosquito Squad. Part Three ends with a discussion on scaling your subscription business.

Let’s get started.

PART ONE

Subscribers Are Better than Customers

Why are Amazon, Apple, and many of the most promising Silicon Valley start-ups leveraging a subscription business model? In Part One we’ll look at how automatic customers make your company more valuable�.�.�. and a whole lot more enjoyable to run.

CHAPTER 1

Who Wins in the Subscription Economy?

Amazon has come a long way since its days of just hawking cheap books online. Of course, you can still buy books on the site, but today’s Amazon will sell you everything from diapers to laundry detergent. Increasingly, it is digging deeper into our pockets through the subscription service called Amazon Prime.

Amazon Prime subscribers pay Amazon $99 a year in return for goodies like free streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows and free two-day shipping on most Amazon purchases. According to a 2013 report released by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, there are now approximately 16 million subscribers to Amazon Prime. As I write this, the folks at Morningstar estimate, since Amazon does not release the data publicly, that membership in Amazon Prime could swell to 25 million by 2017.

If you were to carve out Amazon Prime as a stand-alone business, it would already be a billion-dollar subscription company, but that severely underestimates the value of Prime to Amazon. Like many subscription models, Amazon Prime is a Trojan horse that is expanding the list of products consumers are willing to buy from Amazon and giving the eggheads in Seattle a mountain of customer data to sift through.

“It was never about the $79,” said Vijay Ravindran, who worked on the team that launched Prime at its original price of $79 per year. “It was really about changing people’s mentality so they wouldn’t shop anywhere else.”1

According to Morningstar, the average Prime member now spends $1,224 on Amazon purchases each year, compared with $505 for non-Prime customers.2 We cannot say Prime members spend that much more just because they are members, since presumably a lot of Amazon’s best customers would have been attracted to the free shipping offer. However, this data seems to suggest that once someone becomes a Prime subscriber, they become even more loyal to Amazon. Further, Morningstar figures that after factoring in costs incurred for shipping and streaming content, the average Prime member yields Amazon $78 more per year in profits than the typical customer.

Given the positive impact Prime seems to have on customers’ buying behavior, some analysts have argued that Amazon should drop the fee for subscribing to Prime in order to grow the program even faster. But that thinking misses a key element of Amazon’s strategy. When you pay $99 per year to become a member, you want to “get your money’s worth.” Suddenly you start checking Amazon’s pricing on annuity stream adjacent to your main business, you sorts of products, from paper towels to sneakers, with hopes of “making back” what you invested in the membership. Given Amazon’s aggressive pricing and seemingly endless product selection, you can almost always find what you’re looking for at a price that’s lower than what you could find elsewhere. When you factor in free shipping, it becomes an easy decision to buy from Amazon.

Robbie Schwietzer, vice president of Amazon Prime from 2008 to 2013, summarized: “In all my years here, I don’t remember anything that has been as successful at getting customers to shop in new product lines.”3

Through Prime, Amazon is competing head-to-head with the likes of Walmart and Target. Why should you care if three heavyweights are pounding it out for market supremacy? Because as customers buy a broader and broader collection of items from Amazon, Prime is cannibalizing the business of smaller companies too.

The other day I bought a pair of New Balance running shoes from Amazon. I’ve never thought to use Amazon for buying sneakers, but since I am now a Prime member, and therefore get free shipping on shoes, I chose Amazon instead of walking down the street to my local Running Room store.

The Running Room is a small company compared to Amazon, with 100 or so locations scattered around North America. Most people would not consider Amazon a direct competitor. Yet the Running Room is now losing my shoe-buying business because of a little $99-per-year Prime subscription I bought.

Everything by Subscription

Amazon, having learned a lot about the subscription business through Prime, is now applying the subscription model to other areas of its business. AmazonFresh is a grocery delivery business Amazon has been experimenting with in its hometown of Seattle since 2007. Amazon Fresh didn’t start out as a subscription business; instead, it was open to anyone willing to pay the delivery fee of $8 to $10 to have milk, veggies, and meat brought to their door in a one- to three-hour delivery window.

AmazonFresh stayed stuck in beta in one city for six years as the company tried to work out a profitable business model. The business proved challenging, which Amazon founder Jeff Bezos seemed to acknowledge in response to a question about AmazonFresh at Amazon’s 2013 annual shareholders meeting: “They have made progress on the economics over the last year,” said Bezos.4 “They’ve been doing a lot of experiments and trying to get the right mixture of customer experience and economics. I’m optimistic that the team is making good progress.”5

In spring 2013, AmazonFresh added Los Angeles as the second city for the program. But in L.A., the Amazon Fresh offer had one stark difference: L.A.-based customers were asked to subscribe to Prime Fresh for $299 a year, which gave them free grocery delivery on orders over $35.

As with Amazon Prime, the act of subscribing spurs Prime Fresh members to buy more frequently and from a broader array of grocery categories. If I’m ordering milk anyway, a customer might reason, why not top up the order north of $35 with a case of Coke and a refill on the laundry detergent I’m about to run out of? As with Prime, the very act of sinking money into a subscription triggers the desire for the consumer to want to “get his money’s worth,” which in turn creates the kind of customer behavior Amazon wants to see. And Amazon isn’t stopping at groceries: Subscribe & Save is yet another subscription service from Amazon; you subscribe to receive regular shipments of things you frequently run out of, like dish soap and paper towels. If you sign up for five or more subscriptions that share the same delivery date, you receive 15% off the entire order.

As more consumers consolidate their buying on Amazon’s subscriptions, the competition is reacting. In the fall of 2013, Minneapolis-based Target launched Target Subscriptions, a program similar to Subscribe & Save. Not surprisingly, its first focus was on baby products like diapers and wipes—a category Amazon placed a big bet on when it paid $545 million to acquire Quidsi, the creators of Diapers.com, which itself offers a subscription for diapers that enjoyed 30% month-over-month growth in 2013.6

Amazon is known for its wins in selling to consumers—but subscriptions can work for B2B as well as B2C. One of Amazon’s latest ventures is a subscription that offers to help other companies grow their subscription businesses. Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers companies access to servers, software, and technology support on a subscription basis. Many of the world’s largest subscription companies, including Adobe, Citrix, Netflix, and Sage, use AWS, along with many of the highest-profile start-ups, like Airbnb, Pinterest, Dropbox, and Spotify.

Amazon is pioneering the subscription model in virtually every area of its business, but the subscription model is nothing new. In fact, it’s been around for quite a while.

A (Very) Short History of the Subscription Model

The history of the subscription business model dates back to the 1500s, when European map publishers would invite their customers to subscribe to future editions of their maps, which were evolving as new lands were discovered, conquered, and claimed. The geopolitical landscape was evolving, and map publishers would obtain commitments from members of the noble and academic classes to subscribe to future volumes of their maps, giving the publishers the capital they needed to plot the world’s discoveries on paper.

This model was then applied to early newspapers and magazines, dating back to the periodicals of 17th-century Europe.7 Eventually the subscription model became the standard business approach for information publishing. Readers were asked to subscribe to general interest publications, and their subscription fees, combined with advertising revenue, provided the money needed to fund the editorial product and the cost of mailing the publication to each reader. This trend continued well into the 20th century, as it was also a reliable way to get rich. Publishers like William Randolph Hearst and, more recently, Rupert Murdoch have made their initial fortunes from publishing subscription-based newspapers.

Most helpful customer reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful.
A good premier into the emerging subscription economy
By Mahipal Lunia
Synopsis: Subscription Biz models are here to stay in everything from software, to content to household consumables.
The author has listed 9 specific models/approaches to take:
1. Membership Website Model: Works best in a tightly defined niche with specialized knowledge is needed
2. All you can eat library model: Evergreen content is an example. Think netflix - even the most addicted watcher could not go through it all
3. Private Club Model: Limited supply being sold to an affluent clientele. High prices, low numbers
4. Front of the line model: Different prices for different levels of service/support. works best on complex products/services.Think salesforce.com's model for how your complaints are dealt with
5.The Consumables Model: Selling products that naturally run out as a service, where ordering things can be a chore. Food, blades, vitamins etc.
6. Surprise Box Model: when you have a network that is willing to buy deeply discounted consumables from manufacturers at deep discount. The idea being some of the consumers will then order a subscription service at regular prices.
7. Simplifier Model: Its a complex word, simply the buying process and choice. Works best with an affluent consumer needing a service on an ongoing basis
8. Network Model: fixed price, and value of service grows as number of subscribers grow. Think phones
9. Peace of Mind Model: this is the insurance sale , where you pay for a peace of mind in the event you may need the service.
He closes the book out with the new math of the subscription game with concents such as Customer acquisition cost, Monthly renewal rate, Life time Value of customer, Margins and Churn.
The book is a good way to think about what models will work best in your industry / Excellent premier.
If you are in a service biz or work with technology - BUY THE BOOK to learn the new language and math of business!

What would have made it more powerful was a workbook or a step by step process to figure out which combinations of business models work best in the type of industries. Further commentary on the drawbacks of each model would have made this an invaluable text.

Mahipal Lunia
www.TheRenaissancePath.com
www,RadicalChangeGroup.com
www,MountainViewAiki.com

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
A must-have book for business owners
By Trevor Currie
If you've ever dreamed of starting a business or you already own one, this book is indispensable because it:

1) explains the financial and freedom rewards that come with subscription businesses;
2) provides a breakdown of the different types of subscription models and illustrates them with instructive and inspiring examples; and
3) gives us the playbook on how to market, manage and grow subscription businesses.

What sets this book apart is John Warrillow's credibility. He's done it. He successfully transformed a traditional business (sell the work/do the work) to a subscription model and then sold it. Combine this with his wealth of experience advising business owners and track record of authorship and you have the makings of a must-have book: The Automatic Customer. It has a wealth of practical and profitable ideas for business owners, whatever the existing business model.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
If you're comfortable being uncomfortable, this book will grow your business
By David Newman
Great case studies and concrete examples of 11 different MRR business models - monthly recurring revenue.

The book gets you thinking in completely different ways about your revenues, your customers, your marketing, and most importantly - the future of your business using the subscription model.

It's both exciting and enlightening while also making you uncomfortable in 2 different ways:

1. The discomfort of changes required to make the "Automatic Customer" models work in your business, industry, and niche

2. The discomfort of NOT implementing a monthly recurring revenue model and all the potential revenue you're leaving on the table if you don't act on Warrillow's wise and balanced advice

Buy this book - read it - and then implement a few of its "uncomfortable" ideas. Your bottom line will thank you for it.

-- David Newman,
Author of Do It! Marketing: 77 Instant-Action Ideas to Boost Sales, Maximize Profits, and Crush Your Competition

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[W577.Ebook] Download PDF What Would Grace Do?: How to Live Life in Style Like the Princess of Hollywood, by Gina McKinnon

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What Would Grace Do?: How to Live Life in Style Like the Princess of Hollywood, by Gina McKinnon



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What Would Grace Do?: How to Live Life in Style Like the Princess of Hollywood, by Gina McKinnon

This charming new guide to modern life reveals the secrets of the Princess of Hollywood and how to discover your inner Grace. Jackie O, Marilyn Monroe, Princess Diana ...move over, darlings! Icons one and all you might be, but to our minds Grace Kelly beats you, hands down, to the No. 1 spot in history's roll call of leading ladies. Sure, most of you have inspired generations of fashionistas, some of you have lit up the silver screen, and one among you married a prince, but only Grace - model, actress, socialite and princess - has done all three, and made it look effortless. stars, while her role as Princess Alexandra in The Swanas wife to the Prince of Monaco. The essential blonde riposte to the bestselling What Would Audrey Do?s very own princess on how to handle everything from careers and cashmere, to manners and men. Grace Kelly set a standard for elegance that has inspired women ever since, What Would Grace Kelly Do? reveals her secrets.

  • Sales Rank: #6488388 in Books
  • Published on: 2012-09-14
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Dimensions: 8.50" h x .83" w x 5.31" l, .31 pounds
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • 258 pages

Review
Praise for "What Would Grace Do? "

""What Would Grace Do?... "help[s] you navigate life's dilemmas using lessons learned from the queen of elegance herself." -"New York Post "

"For those wanting to live life like her highness, there's "What Would Grace Do? "a guide... that covers everything from makeup to manners to flirting." -"USA Today "

One of VanityFair.com's Summer 2013 Best Beach Reads

"Find out how fabulous life would be if all you did was in the style of Grace Kelly with "What Would Grace Do?"." -InStyle (UK)

About the Author
Gina McKinnon has written several non-fiction books. She lives in Brighton with her husband and two children.

Most helpful customer reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Lots of interesting info on her life
By Ted
I bought this as a gift for a friend and read it beforehand. I learned a lot of things I never knew about GK and how she was really ahead of her time in many ways.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
pin up beauty!
By dollydip
A true delight to read,and so full of information and almost like Grace Kelly was talking herself -it was inspirational,
and I loved it so much I have read it twice! I would like to see more books like this!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Princess Grace!
By Mischa G. Arnold
Love Grace Kelly, this book has more different information than other books I have read.

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