What the World's Most Famous (Former) Madam Can Teach You About Business, Customer Service, Employee Relations & Entrepreneurship
Exceptional Experience: What the World's Most Famous (Former) Madam Can Teach You About Business, Customer Service, Employee Relations & Entrepreneurship is the first release from The Entrepreneurial Profiles Series by author, Lori Webb.
The book is a curated transcript of the author's interview with famed former NYC Madam, Sydney Biddle Barrows (a.k.a. The Mayflower Madam). The book also includes 100 lessons learned that can improve any business.
Excerpt
Lori: Earlier you mentioned how you landed a book deal after the news broke about your life as a Madam. Will you tell us a little bit about the book? "Mayflower Madam", right?
Sydney: Yes. The book was more of a business book than anything else because, after getting the half a million dollars that they offered me, I thought to myself, "Boy, now I really need to come across". How do I know what people want to read? And so, I asked them and almost every one of them said the same thing - 'how did it work?'; 'how did the business operate' which I thought was absolutely fascinating. And so, that was what I wrote a book about. Fortune Magazine named it one of the ten best business books of the year, much to everybody's shock. The publisher hadn’t seen that coming and neither had, I. We were all totally surprised. Business schools all across the country, including Harvard, used it on their reading list in their curriculum.
Professional Reviews
Great business insight from a successful entrepreneur.
This book is done in an interview format, and therefore takes an easy-to-read conversational tone.
The author interviews a former madam, who was so successful and ran her business with such professionalism, the police even said it was the most well run and honest business of its kind ever in New York City.
Don't be put off by the type of business, however. There are many excellent nuggets of business gold contained in these pages.
From creating the customer experience (i.e. like Steve Jobs and Apple products) to how to differentiate your business, to how to treat your employees and the best way to hire and train them. There are just too many take-aways here to list.
I especially liked the author summarizing the lessons learned in a quick list at the end.
I can't wait to see other books come out from this series!
Terry McIntosh (US)
Loved and Learned From This Intriguing Book!
I had no idea what to expect from this book. From the minute I opened it I could not stop reading it... even when it was past my bed time. I never would have thought that I could learn so much about business from a former Madam. There were lessons that I knew but needed to be reminded as well. If you want to start your own business or you are struggling with your customers pick up this gem and get some great lessons.
Lori Webb is a master at the art of interviewing. She brings out more information from her questions than many I have seen. If she wants to know more about a question she is not intimidated at all she just gently dives in deeper.
I will be reading her next book for sure!
Veronika Tracy-Smith, PhD
Author
Learning Niche Marketing from Madam
Well, I'm glad I discovered Lori's book to start this New Year, as I reboot my enterprise. I found her interview with "The World's Most Famous (Former) Madam" to be unexpectedly *perfect* advice! Whether we're talking about young ladies, or young trees, the overall principle is the same. "It's the experiences that people have with you that determine whether or not they are going to choose to do business with you, whether or not they are going to give you more of their business, whether or not they're going to refer people to you..."
I particularly loved the sections answering Lori's questions "What is the best thing about being an entrepreneur?" and "How would you describe or define entrepreneurship?"
This little gem of a book will spark innovation and creativity that is sorely needed these days. I sure hope more people will read it and benefit from Mayflower Madam's advice.
