A book that predicted Delta Air Lines' inability to survive on its own hits bookshelves today, one that highlights successful strategies that companies have used to achieve excellence in areas such as customer loyalty and experience, marketplace value, sales, employees and more.

"The Chic Entrepreneur:  Put Your Business in Higher Heels" is by Elizabeth Gordon, founder of Flourishing Business, an advisory firm for entrepreneurs. Her message is that putting together a business strategy that works doesn't have to take place in an office between the hours of 9 and 5 while wearing a business suit; it can just as easily be done jaunting across the country, perusing through the mall, doing grocery shopping or at a bookstore.

The book also explains why poor strategic management put Delta in the precarious position in which it sits today with a Delta and Northwest merger looming on the horizon.  Juxtaposed to the description of Delta's failings are examples of the equally successful decisions made by Southwest Airlines.
 
A business consultant for fortune 500 companies and now owner of a boutique firm of her own, Gordon ties together the nine key dimensions necessary for sustainable business success in her book, which her company has used to advise its clients over the past three years, simplifies the tasks of starting and building a small business down to layman's terms using witty stories and examples anyone can relate to.  Other companies that garner a mention include Nordstrom, Whole Foods, Amazon, and Nike.
 
With one month to go before the official launch in May, the initial feedback on the book has been strong.  One reviewer said, "I'm in the process of opening my own business and I'm glad I had an opportunity to read this book.  I've read many other books in this category and by far this one was the best." 

Another said, "Certain things make a successful company.  Is it providing something that people want and are willing to pay for?  Read chapters 1 and 3 to learn more.  Is the company focused enough so the owner can put the necessary efforts into growing the company correctly?  Read chapter 2 to learn more.  Are operations systematized so the company is not being run by putting out fires?  Read chapter 7.  What about bringing in the revenues?  Then read chapter 6.  And what about being able to pay your creditors?  Read chapter 5."
 
When asked why she wrote the book, Gordon says, "Rather than making business more complicated and difficult, I really tried to simplify it.  You don't need an MBA to start a business, and most people don't have one.  I wrote this book to teach high-level business concepts in a way that was fun and memorable and in line with the interests and lifestyles of the women that I meet who are starting new businesses every day." 
 
Gordon hopes to bring her consulting expertise to an audience that she would not otherwise have contact with due to monetary or geographic constraints.  While speaking of her mission to pioneer the feminine approach to doing business, Gordon says, "It is time for businesswomen everywhere to start throwing off the constraints of traditional business and using their feminine wiles to break into higher revenue streams that have been alluding them."
 
Gordon spent 10 years providing management consulting to Fortune 500 and large privately held companies prior to leaving in 2005 to start her own firm, headquartered in Atlanta. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Association of University Women Atlanta. Gordon also served on the board of directors of the National Association of Women Business Owners Atlanta and is still an active member.  She is a founder and acting president of the Georgia State Marketing Alumni Society, and the host of a weekly radio show called The Publicity Show.  For more information, visit www.flourishingbusiness.com or www.chicentrepreneur.com.