Review of More 101 Best Home-Based Businesses for Women (Paperback)

This is a really interesting book, although some of the businesses arekind of far-fetched (bison breeder???) but the ideas are cool. I wouldreccomend this more as a guide to side careers, most of them are risky ortake a lot of time to get off the ground. Also most of them seem to bebased around larger cities' needs.



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Review of J.K. Lasser's Taxes Made Easy for Your Home Based Business, 5th Edition (Paperback)

This book, without any doubt, is the best starting point around for those of us who are starting a home-based business. However, words of warning:
-This is a reference. Do not assume you know all there is to know to your particular situation only by reading it. There is no good substitute for an accountant to help you with your business taxes, if not on an on-going basis, at least in order to get you going the first time you do your biz taxes.
-Watch for past editions. I ran into the 4th edition, and given changes in tax legislation, it is unwise to base any decisions on outdated (tax) information. Make sure you always read the latest edition of this book.

This said, I highly recommend this book for any business owner starting his/her business from home. It will give you a very good perspective on what to expect, what things you can change/improve to take full (and legal) advantage of the benefits the tax legislation offers to small business owners.

Product Description

• Completely updated for all the new tax laws
• Capitalize on every deduction!
• Sole proprietor, corporation, or partnership?

The Ultimate Guide to Running a Tax-Efficient Home-Based Business

The advantages of operating a home-based business are countless, but what many owners don't realize, and are often not prepared to handle, are the host of complex tax issues surrounding a home-based business. The completely updated Fifth

Edition of J.K. Lasser's Taxes Made Easy for Your Home-Based Business clarifies the current tax environment with regard to home-based businesses, and shows you how to make the most of the new tax laws.

This perennial guide answers home-based business owners' questions, with a special focus on the changing tax laws and deductions for the home office. Expert advice and in-depth insights will help you avoid costly mistakes and take advantage of opportunities you would otherwise miss.

Critical coverage will help you:

• Navigate the details of the new tax laws and IRS rules
• Increase your knowledge of deductible expenses
• Keep your records up to IRS standards
• Organize and run a home-based business for maximum tax benefits
• Make filing easy by utilizing sample tax forms

From the Back Cover

• Completely updated for all the new tax laws
• Capitalize on every deduction!
• Sole proprietor, corporation, or partnership?

The Ultimate Guide to Running a Tax-Efficient Home-Based Business

The advantages of operating a home-based business are countless, but what many owners don't realize, and are often not prepared to handle, are the host of complex tax issues surrounding a home-based business. The completely updated Fifth

Edition of J.K. Lasser's Taxes Made Easy for Your Home-Based Business clarifies the current tax environment with regard to home-based businesses, and shows you how to make the most of the new tax laws.

This perennial guide answers home-based business owners' questions, with a special focus on the changing tax laws and deductions for the home office. Expert advice and in-depth insights will help you avoid costly mistakes and take advantage of opportunities you would otherwise miss.

Critical coverage will help you:

• Navigate the details of the new tax laws and IRS rules
• Increase your knowledge of deductible expenses
• Keep your records up to IRS standards
• Organize and run a home-based business for maximum tax benefits
• Make filing easy by utilizing sample tax forms

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Review of Launching Your Home-Based Business: How to Successfully Plan, Finance and Grow Your New Venture (Paperback)

Anyone considering starting their own home-based business should immediately purchase Launching Your Home-Based Business. Launching Your Home-Based Business will help you establish realistic goals and locate the resources you need to succeed. A quick read coupled with dozens of worksheets that help you determine whether or not you have the personal qualifications you need to be your own boss as well as help you establish realistic budgets, target your market, manage your time and delegate responsibility- -as well as verify that your home is the right location for your business. The hundreds of tips and resources listed throughout the book and the Appendix, alone, are worth the price.Roger C. Parker

Product Description
Launching Your Home-Based Business offers up an unparalleled collection of proven techniques to create a successful home business start-up. The authors emphasize that a home-=based business should reflect the interests, talents, and resources of its founder, then provide a series of straightforward strategies that an enterprising home entrepreneur can implement immediately.

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Review of Secrets of Self-Employment (Working from Home) (Paperback)

I found this book to be quick and easy to read, with very applicable and down-to-earth information about the rites of passage to the entrepreneurial world.Their advice does not focus on actual business management, althoughthey do offer wonderful tips on such topics as time and paper flowmanagement.Instead, they address all the things typical business textsand professors do not mention.I have an MBA from a top 10 businessschool, and I am learning more from this book about the psychology ofstarting a business than I ever did in school.

The Edwards have helpedme to understand the fears and doubts I have had over the last few months,while I have been contemplating leaving my well-paying and secure positionat a large consulting firm.Until I picked up this book I thought I wasthe only one who questioned their decisions and their capabilities as anentrepreneur.Now I know that everyone has similarly scary feelings, andthat there are ways in which we can minimize them, and even take advantageof them.Every page offered some form of support or valuable advice, and Ifelt myself gaining confidence with each chapter.I also learned moreabout myself and what type of business I would prefer, after reading theirdescription of classic entrepreneurs vs. "propreneurs" (theirterm for individual professionals and craftspeople).I have gone from astate of anxiety to gung-ho enthusiasm!

It is apparent that these authorsspeak from direct experience, not from a podium in front of a classroom. They are brutally honest about their own mistakes and doubts, which servesto make a positive and helpful connection with the reader.



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Review of The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site (Paperback)

`The Home-Based Bookstore' is written by Steve Weber, who solicited this review from me and supplied me with a copy of his book. I expect this will not influence my review, but it is good for you to know this up front.

Before I opened this book, I posed some questions I thought the book should answer. These questions, with the author's response follow:

1. What are the criteria for choosing Amazon.com, eBay, or one's own site for selling a particular title?

The author clearly prefers Amazon over most other options, although he gives some good reasons for setting up your own web page.

2. How do you pick titles to sell? Some obvious examples, such as Stephen King hardcovers are really poor second hand sellers.

The author gives some very general suggestions on which titles to pick and which titles to avoid. I agree with him almost entirely, although I can think of some exceptions to most of his titles to avoid; however, that is based on special knowledge of certain fields such as cookbooks.

3. How do you acquire interesting titles cheaply? Whenever I browse a second hand bookstore, 99 out of 100 titles are pure junk. I have yet to find, for example, an important out of print cookbook at any used bookstore.

The author provides many good sources, including every one I could think of, plus one or two I did not think of.

4. How do you track your stock so you can quickly determine whether or not you have a title OR where you may be able to acquire a title for a book hunter.

The author gives many useful answers to this question, including some new technology options that really surprised me, based on accessing the Internet through your cell phone.

5. What is the best shipping option considering cost versus speed?

The author gives some very good analyses on the advantages and disadvantages of fast versus slow delivery options.

6. Is there any value to branching out to recordings?

The author never once discusses how to apply his suggestions to other merchandise, even though he does go so far as to consider expanding an Internet sales operation to a brick and mortar store.

One of the reasons the author does not deal with other goods is that marketing books through the Internet is so much richer a subject than I imagined, in spite of the fact that I am a major customer of these services. The amount of software written to support this enterprise is staggering.

In a nutshell, Mr. Weber has given us an excellent manual on how to do this very specialized, albeit very popular form of Internet marketing.

The first sure sign that Steve was not pulling the wool over our eyes was when he stated that while this activity can be really rewarding, it is still hard work. The plus side is that you get to keep all the rewards of this hard work.

Since running a bookstore was always one of my secret ambitions, I really appreciated almost everything Weber had to say about this adaptation of the corner bookstore. If I were to point out any one thing where the author was light on his recommendations, it would be with the fact that I think a person who really knows and loves books in the first place will do much better than the average entrepreneur. I suspect that one could get into real estate investing without a good knowledge of law, carpentry, or finance, but unlike houses, books are something which not everyone knows well. One test for an aspiring book merchandising operation would be to name the leading textbook authors in statistics, economics, symbolic logic, and organic chemistry. I cite these because Mr. Weber makes the excellent point that non-fiction books hold their value much better than fiction, especially current popular fiction. The author does not point this out, but a major exception to this rule should be manuals on computer software. No one has any use anymore for a text on Multiplan, dBase III, or Wordpro.

I especially liked Mr. Weber's recommendation that the reader consider specializing in a particular field, such as cookbooks. This is an especially good suggestion as everyone must eat and so everyone needs someone to cook for him or her. It is also a good field as there is a rich bibliography of out of print cookbooks which most foodies would love to have access to, such as English writer Jane Grigson's catalogue.

While Mr. Weber does not deal with any other type of goods, I suggest his suggestions would work almost as well for records, toys, or collectibles in general, as long as you know your subject.

I am very happy Mr. Weber provided his book to me for review as it is very unlikely I would have found it on my own, and it is an especially fertile plot of ideas, suggestions, and guidance regarding this enterprise. I am happy for him that he got his work into print when he did.




Product Description
Want to know the most profitable, lowest-risk idea for your home business? It's selling used books online, which is growing 33 percent annually, according to a November 2005 study by U.S. publishers.

Here is the complete text of the most popular book about online bookselling of all time: The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site

Learn how to start your business part-time, then work as little or as much as you want. This step-by-step guide, written by one of the most successful and highly rated sellers on Amazon.com and eBay, includes everything you need to know:

-- Where to find books

Find books in your own neighborhood to resell profitably to a worldwide pool of ready buyers. Get the best sources for valuable used books at low prices.

-- Where to sell Learn

How to list your books to sell at the best price on Amazon.com and eBay, and even your own Web store. -- Which books to buy What to look for in fiction, nonfiction, and collectibles to resell at the highest profits.

-- Grading and pricing your books

How to describe and price your books. Learn what buyers are looking for.

-- Handling customers

Tips on handling online book buyers. See the author's time-tested scripts for responding to customer issues. Learn how you can get and maintain high feedback ratings.

-- Fulfilling orders

Easy-to-use ideas for storing, organizing, and shipping your books and handling returns.

-- Automation tools

Maximize your efficiency with these tips on automating your business. Automatically notify customers about shipments, and print postage to ship your books without leaving home.

-- Taxes and legal requirements

How to register your business to obtain the proper permits and be exempted from paying sales tax on your inventory.

-- Exclusive list of wholesale book distributors

Exclusive profiles and contact info for 32 wholesaledistributors of used and new books. Order inventory at up to 90 percent off retail, shipped right to your door.

About the author:

Steve Weber started his home-based bookstore as a hobby in March 2000. Two months later, he quit his day job to sell used books full-time on Amazon.com and eBay, using his one-bedroom apartment in Virginia as warehouse and shipping depot. In the meantime, he has sold more than $1 million of used books to buyers in all 50 states and 31 foreign countries. In this step-by-step guide, Weber tells you how he took $80 in savings to buy his first batch of books, then invested the profits to build a successful business, and how you can too.
--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author
Steve Weber started his home-based bookstore as a hobby in 2001. Two months later he quit his "day job" to sell books online full-time. In the meantime, he has sold more than $1 million of used books to buyers in all 50 states and 31 foreign countries, becoming one of the most highly rated sellers on Amazon and eBay.

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Review of Working at Home While the Kids Are There, Too (Paperback)

This book would be good if the title was "How to start an at-home business."But, as far as having anything to do with working at home with children, there is very little.The little it does have is basic parenting skills.From the title I expected the book to have tips about how to handle the children while working at home. It did not.The word "working" in the title is a present tense word meaning that you are currently at work in your home.This books gives instructions on how to begin to work at home.I am very disappointed and feel completely mislead by the title. I did not gain one thing from reading this book.

Product Description
Entrepreneur Loriann Oberlin shows readers how to successfully combine having a career and children through home-based employment. This book is a smart approach to business that allows a person to work while handling the duties of caring for the children. Through humor, advice and encouragement, Working at Home While the Kids are There, Too covers choosing a successful career, keeping the kids stimulated while getting the work done, and setting up budgets and space with limited resources.

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Review of The Best Home Businesses for the 21st Century (Paperback)

This is a 1999 edition of a similar book published by the authors in 1994. It is a good basic overview of the scope of possible home businesses that have proven successful for people in the past. It is not an encyclopedia of all possible ways to earn money from home, but rather focuses on what the Edwards' have determined to be the top 100 possibilities.

There is a fair amount of detail in each job description, although being familiar with some, I can say that the information given in those cases is not enough to actually start such a business, nor is it an in-depth look. The section on Desktop Video barely mentions the fact that you need to have a certain amount of talent, and that it is not an easy job at all. This book is designed to give one enough information about a business to determine if it is worth further research, and gives some resources for that research.

Given the age of the book, some of the information is way out of date. Again, the Desktop Video section is a good example: a 3 gig hard drive is hardly considered large today, and is not nearly enough to even begin editing video. This was obviously before the advent of MiniDV, which requires 13 gig or more per hour of video. I also found a glaring error on page 16: a week has 168 hours, not 174 (at least where I come from: 24 hours times 7 days). While such an error is easy to have creep in, a fact that easily checked but missed does make one pause about other information in the book. The book has a long Table of Contents but no Index.

If you are thinking about trying a business of your own, this book can be helpful in getting a basic idea of what each of these businesses might involve. After you get an idea of a few businesses in which you might be interested from this book, you should research your chosen fields with much more depth. This book is not enough on its own to start you in a business, IMHO.

Product Description
Third Editions-Revised and Expanded.

Based on the top-selling Best Home Businesses for the 90s, here is a completely updated, comprehensive look at the leading businesses for small and home-based entrepreneurs in the 21st century.

This invaluable guide provides comprehensive profiles of more than one hundred hot new businesses that promise the top opportunities for small-business people in the future.

Paul and Sarah Edwards explore the best opportunities for self-employment in the next century--ranging from being a business-network organizer to running a transcript-digesting service--and provide expert, step-by-step advice on:
-- the skills and knowledge needed to startup;
-- the start-up costs, pricing, and potential earning;
-- the best ways to get new business;
-- the advantages and disadvantages of each business;
-- the hands-on advice of those already in the field.
In addition to the nearly one hundred businesses profiled, an expanded section on "The Best of the Rest" explores dozens of additional top businesses to watch for.

The Best Home Businesses for the 21st Century is the smartest, most complete book available for anyone looking for right ways to make it on their own.

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