A pair of articles from the New York Times covers the 15-second pitch, conducting your own market research, and three guidebooks for freelancing. Key takeaway for your pitch: focus on what you can do for the customer, not on trumpeting your successes. The same article provides a 6-question template for a foolproof customer-satisfaction survey. Marci Alboher, a regular Times contributor on small business topics, reviews three new books on entrepreneurship. There's the Anti-9-to-5 Guide, for women; Grindhopping, about long-term career-building for freelancers; and The Parentpreneur Edge, which applies lessons from parenting to running a small business.