Customer Reviews

Home-Based Business For Dummies (For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback))

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're completely clueless to running your own home-based business, this is a great beginner (hence the title "for Dummies"). I found the book to work best when you already have an idea for your business. As with similar books, it's great to have a general idea of what type of business you'd like to pursue before reading the book; it will help you better shape your idea.

The book did spend a lot of time talking about how to deal with family problems, creating a quiet workspace, setting work hours and how to get through a project when you have no desire. While some people might find this beneficial, it read like "filler" to me.

All in all, though, it's worth checking out.

I would classify this book as more of a general overview of all the important things you need to consider before actually starting your business. For particulars you will definitely want to contact a good business attorney and a good accountant. Not to mention, you'll need to interface a lot initially with your local city/state governments to get tax forms and your business license.

This book seems to work best if you already have an idea for your business. Granted , they do throw out a few ideas for things like medical billing and place an emphasis on what could be described as services geared towards either elderly folks, or dual income families who are too busy to deal with traditional family type things. If you already kind of know what you think you want to try, this book will primarily help you fine tune your thoughts, and bring them to reality.

The section on Managing Money is probably one of the best things anyone can read. Obviously, if you're in business, the goal is to make money. By understanding the basic accounting principles presented in Part II of the book, you'll be well on your way to managing your business money wisely.

For general knowledge, my favorite part of the book was Part V. Here you will find Top 10 lists that describe common myths and pitfalls, and even success producing ideas to help you on your journey as a home based business owner. If you have a family, you'll want to take note on the section about what I would call, "The good way to set up your office." Which means, keeping distractions from the spouse and kids to a minimum while you are working at home.

There is a section on marketing, but in lieu of just that section alone, I would definitely recommend "Guerilla Marketing" by Jay Conrad Levinson. It's a very dry read, but there are a lot of interesting and unique ideas for getting word out about your business with out spending much (if any) money. And when you're in business for yourself, the more advertising you can get for free, the better!

I really like the way the authors describe how to get in to the home based business. Meaning, the idea of working at your full-time job (which you may or may not like) while you test the waters with your own venture on the side. That's excellent advice because if your business idea doesn't take off, you're not stuck without any income. Plus you can stay under your current employer's medical plan (A HUGE money saver!)

Overall there is so much information in here, it will be hard to take it in all at once. Likewise, as I stated earlier, the most important thing to remember is make sure and check with a professional accountant and lawyer in your area before/as you get started so they can help walk you through the particulars in your area. Every city and state is different in terms of setting up a business when it comes to taxes and getting your license.

Bottom line is, if you are semi-seriously considering starting a home based business, do yourself a favor and pick up this book and read it through. You'll get some good advice and knowledge on what it takes to be your own boss. Of course the other thing you can do is, talk to other small business owners in your area. Take them to lunch and learn as much as you can from those who are successful small business owners.

I will launch my business in March 2005. I am very excited and nervous. Yet, believe it or not, this great book calmed me right down. It will be a wonderful reference that I go back to time and time again. I was one of the lucky ones that actually found this book BEFORE opening the business. It will save me from making some mistakes. Thanks!

Paul Edwards shares his great knowledge in yet another book to help anyone start thier own business. This book will answer every question you can come up with and answer it in a way that is easy for anyone to understand. This is why it will help you to become successful. I highly recommend this book, it has great tips, information and ideas to help you start and run your own home based business successfully.
Michelle Dunn, Author

I am coauthor of Home-Based Business For Dummies 3rd Edition along with my colleagues of many years, Paul and Sarah Edwards (America's home-based business experts -- their book Working From Home was the first commercially published book about how to work from home).

We made numerous changes and improvements to Home-Based Business For Dummies 3rd Edition, many of them in response to feedback we received on the previous editions of the book (including the many reviews here on Amazon.com). We took your comments to heart, and used them to help fine tune the book's content.

One more thing. As we wrote this new edition, we also took into account the fact that we are still in the throes of the worst economic recession since the Great Depression. We made many adjustments to the text to help prospective and current home-based business owners deal with the challenges of the current economic environment.

The result is a much stronger book on the topic of starting and growing your own home-based business -- a book that Paul and Sarah and I are certain is the best possible resource available today for both new and experienced home-based business owners.

Specifically, we:

-- Added an entirely new chapter -- Chapter 3: The ABCs of Starting Your Own Business -- that addresses exactly how to start a home-based business, 6 proven ways to get your cash flowing, 21 sources of start-up funds, how to put together a business plan, and much more.

-- Added an entirely new chapter -- Chapter 5: Creating a Sustainable Income in Challenging Times -- that explores more than 75 businesses you can start and do well during an economic downturn, as well as those that do better in economic good times. Many of these businesses require minimal money to start, with most WELL under $1,000. No other book on home-based businesses provides this vital, up-to-the-minute information that will help you succeed even in today's challenging business conditions.

-- Added an entirely new chapter -- Chapter 13: Making the Web Work for You -- that digs deeply into how to leverage the tremendous power of the Internet to help your home-based business succeed. We pay a special attention to using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and creating your own blog or website, to get out the word about your business.

-- Added an entirely new chapter -- Chapter 17: Ten Enduring Home-Business Opportunities -- that provides readers with our list of 10 home business opportunities that are built to last. These are opportunities that will continue to grow and do well for decades to come.

-- Updated chapters on legal, taxes, and accounting with the latest-and-greatest information for 2010.

-- Pared away anything that wasn't directly pertinent to helping our readers become better and more successful home-based businesspeople.

While we can't guarantee that you'll earn a million dollars as a home-based business owner after you read our book, we CAN guarantee that you'll find a LOT of extremely useful information, no matter what kind of business you start or where you live. Paul and Sarah and I really care about this book and we want it to be the best book possible on starting and growing a home-based business. We're always happy to get your email messages and answer your questions. We would love to hear about your successes -- and your challenges. Our websites and email addresses are easy to find -- a Google search will quickly take you there.

Thanks for considering Home-Based Business For Dummies 3rd Edition -- we hope you enjoy reading the book as much as we enjoyed writing it, and that it helps you build a better and even more successful home-based business.

I love the books by Paul and Sarah Edwards. They were talking about small, home based businesses before anyone else and their books are thorough to say the least. This one covers everything from the legal to the financial aspects about starting and running a small home-based business.

Working at home seems like a dream for many. The Edwards have written several books on working on home. Their advice is sound and filled with common sense. However, this book does not rate a 5 because it is lacking in details about individual businesses you can start at home. They do have other home businesses books, as I stated. These are filled with 3-5 pages at the most on some individual businesses, but does not go too far into details about each, obviously. But for an overview of starting a home-based business at all, this is a decent book.

I've worked out of a home-based office for years, but didn't have a clue how many things I didn't know about running an efficient, cost-effective business until I read this book. It's a gem!

A super overview of the subject, this book helps me check every so often to see if I'm covering all bases. I found the pages on making the web work for you to be especially useful. The book sits on my buddy shelf--books that bail me out when I have a question or issue.

Someone gave me this book just when my energy for my whole project was flagging. It was either get going or give up my idea. This book got me off the stick at warp speed rate. It was just what I need to know about internet marketing, how to spend my little bit of start up money wisely, how to get the website I needed, plus an acknowledgement that we are in the worst of hard times. The info on good businesses during bad times was extremely useful. I found exactly what I needed to know about legal, tax, and accounting issues. Everything was simply and clearly stated, including subjects that I never thought I'd come to terms with, ie. how much to charge, taxes and deductions. understand. Good information. Well worth the money.