The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting a Home-Based Business, 3rd Edition (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A successful career—at your own front door!

For anyone who wants to make extra money, escape the corporate rat race, or just take more pleasure out of working from home, small business guru Barbara Weltman shows readers how to make their dreams come true. Completely updated, this guide explores the ins and outs of seed money, its impact on the home and family, the best business for each individual, and much more.

—Features the most current information on everything from Internet businesses to taxes and guerrilla marketing
—Includes in-depth resource and web sections, as well as a listing of the 100 best home-based businesses to get into and how

About the Author

Barbara Weltman has appeared in many prestigious national media outlets, including CNBC, CNN, WNBC-TV, and The Wall Street Journal. She writes for Inc.com and is the small-business expert for the online tax center at Staples.com. A popular speaker whose newsletter, "Barbara Weltman’s Big Ideas for Small Business®," has a wide readership, she’s also the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Starting an eBay Business, J.K. Lasser’s Small Business Taxes 2006, and many other books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Alpha; 3 edition (July 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159257646X
• ISBN-13: 978-1592576463
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #68,352 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #27 in	Books > Business & Investing > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > Home Based
  #81 in	Books > Business & Investing > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > New Business Enterprises

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exhaustive tome of advice and resources, September 11, 2007

By	H. Grove "owling6683" (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Ms. Weltman provides a ton of edifying statistics regarding the current state of the working-from-home crowd: who knew there were so many people doing it these days, and doing it successfully? She gives us some idea of how long it typically takes people to start earning what they need to live on. She provides reminders of what we'll be saving by working from home, as well as the new expenses we have to take into account (such as our own health insurance!).

If you want to work from home but don't yet know what you want to do there, Ms. Weltman also includes plenty of information to help you choose. She tells us all about franchises, buying a pre-existing home-based business, e-commerce, etc. One of the appendixes includes a list of the 100 most popular types of home-based businesses, including the addresses of web sites with further information on them. You might be surprised by some of the possibilities here, such as: sketch artist, bed and breakfast, bridal consultant, personal chef, chimney sweep, nutritionist, event planner, interior decorator, jewelry designer, personal shopper, or speechwriter.

There's plenty of information on organizing your business, such as choosing whether to incorporate. There's also advice on setting up your business, writing a business plan, and obtaining financing from a variety of possible sources. Such issues as the zoning of your home are addressed, as well as legal means to get around any potential snags in this area.

Ms. Weltman goes into the practical issues of setting up your home office: office equipment, computers, and convincing your family and friends to let you get work done! She also delves into what you really need to do to make your business succeed in terms of marketing, networking, insurance, taking care of taxes, and getting the professional help you need when you can't do everything yourself.

I highly recommend this read to anyone who's thinking of starting up their own business from home: it could save you some costly mistakes, and help to ensure your success!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Knowledgeable Startup Advice, December 25, 2007

By	Indispensable Marketing Strategies author Pau... - See all my reviews

Starting up a home-based business may sound easy, but there are plenty of pitfalls. This book should help you steer clear of them. You'll explore a variety of topics such as how to finance your business, whether or not to incorporate, whether to hire help, and even how to obtain business insurance. Much of the advice is specific to USA-based businesses.

The reading is made more enjoyable by an abundance of sidebars scattered throughout, with titles like "Homegrown Tip", "Home Hazard", and "Business Buzzword". And the author's wit will give you an occasional chuckle.

If reading this book enables you to start your business on a solid footing, you'll have more time to and energy for generating sales and profits.

Paul Francis Musgrave, author of Indispensable Marketing Strategies - How to Outwit Your Competition, Attract and Retain Customers, and Multiply Your Profits - Marketing Strategy Secrets for Profitable Small Business Management

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Tips, April 19, 2009

By	T. Nadeem "Book Maven" (Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a very valuable resource. There's plenty of information on organizing your business, such as choosing whether to incorporate. There's also advice on setting up your business, writing a business plan, and obtaining financing from a variety of possible sources. Such issues as the zoning of your home are addressed, as well as legal means to get around any potential snags in this area.

The reading is made more enjoyable by an abundance of sidebars scattered throughout, with titles like "Homegrown Tip", "Home Hazard", and "Business Buzzword". And the author's wit will give you an occasional chuckle.

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