Book Review: The Knack by Norm Brodsky

Every now and again I come across a book that can be helpful to a business owner. The Knack by Norm Brodsky is one of those books.

Brodsky writes a monthly column for Inc. magazine and is the founder of Citi Storage in New York. He's owned businesses his entire life and has the ability to break down complicated issues in very easy to understand terms.

A great example of this is his discussion on why gross margin is the most important factor to the success of a business and how the gross margin relates back to such things like capital needed and break even points.

Brodsky also throws a few unique ideas out there as well. He's of the opinion that a salesperson should be on a salary versus a commission structure and lays out a strong case for this. He's also of the opinion that a new business owner should make several financial statement calculations by hand versus computer as that leads to a better understanding of the numbers and I can't disagree with him on that point. We've become such an automated society that many people don't really understand what is going on behind the numbers.

At times the book gets into some of the "E-Myths" sappiness as Norm tells stories of helping a business owner, but even that weakness doesn't detract from some of the very good points he makes.