Here’s a sample of what our Portfolio authors were talking about this week on their blogs…
Eduardo Porter discusses the falling price of labor
Rick Smith on planning for battle vs. going to battle
Pam Slim on the power of youth
Jeff Bussgang on the success of FourSquare
Hugh MacLeod shares why he loves Rackspace
It’s always great to see Escape from Cubicle Nation author Pam Slim in the headlines. So we were thrilled this week when she showed up on the New York Times “You’re the Boss” blog discussing what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur.
Starting your own business can be terrifying. In a great Q&A with Adrianna Gardella, Pam discusses how to tackle the challenge. She explains the power of small experiments, the best places to meet other entrepreneurs, and why sometimes the most productive thing to do is take a break and go have fun.
You can read the full interview here or follow Pam on twitter for more of her great advice!
On January 4, we’re publishing THE PRICE OF EVERYTHING: Solving the Mystery of Why We Pay What We Do, the debut book from Eduardo Porter of The New York Times editorial board. He looks at the surprising ways prices are determined and affect our decisions in every aspect of our lives, including those we don’t think of as economic (marriage, religion, childbearing).
Here’s a great new video about the ideas in the book:
(This video was created by Sponge)
Pamela Slim on why you’re not crazy to start your own business
Seth Godin on the critics that matter
Todd Sattersten on the books to watch
Don Tapscott on Obama’s use of New Media
Dan Roam on deciphering the health care coverage
Tim Manners on Tide’s risky new discount version
As a veteran business publisher, I’ve seen my share of ups and downs, booms and busts. The deepening shadow of the current economic crisis promises unprecedented difficulty for all businesses, including ours, in 2009.
But now I’m taking a moment to savor the extraordinary achievement of our brilliant authors, and our hardworking staff, to make an unprecedented success of 2008, in the teeth of a deepening recession.
Despite reduced store traffic through the year, Portfolio reported topline sales growth of 22% and gross margin growth of more than 50%. Nearly half of our new titles achieved margin target in the year of publication. We placed two books on the printed New York Times bestseller list, and several more on the extended Times list, the Wall Street Journal list, the BusinessWeek list, and other bestseller compilations.
Among the highlights of our year:
