Customer Reviews

Small Business Ideas: 400 Latest & Greatest Small Business Ideas

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

400 Latest and Greatest Small Business Ideas from Around the World.

The editor, Terry Kyle, has a diverse educational and professional background. He worked in advertising agencies whose clients included Pepsi, Kellog's and Commonwealth Bank. He has had numerous business ventures in Australia for over 2 decades.

Many people dream of becoming of small business owner and becoming his or her own boss. Unfortunately, the type of business to focus our energy and money upon can be overwhelming without proper knowledge of how to execute the plans. This book is a valuable resource on accomplishing your goals. The following topics outlined in the book:

The biggest mistakes small business entrepreneurs make
The perfect small business model
The eBay Mini-Merchant Revolution
The single best free research tool for small business research
10 powerful ways to differentiate your business
10 ways to save thousands of dollars in your business
Best quotes about business
Top new product and service ideas in history
Buying into a franchise
25 great places to advertise for free

The author's writing style is concise, straightforward and entertaining with a solid approach that can easily be followed by the reader. He dispels many of the myths with regard to owning your business, the operations, advertising, and overhead costs, for example. The information that is written is practical, realistic and, in my opinion, achievable. The book lists links to resources through the internet that are optimal to your success - such as resources specific to businesses, tools to facilitate your success and methods to promote your new venture. The most cost effective methods of advertising your business are covered to help you start out and stay on top of your plans.

One of the most valuable aspects of the book, is the various business ideas from the most intriguing new business ideas, to businesses requiring a retail location, to businesses you can run from home.

VERDICT

I highly recommend this book for anyone considering starting their business, from home or from a retail location.

I enjoyed reading this book. That should really say it all, and it does.

Nevertheless, I'll admit that one of the first things I noticed while reading this book is that most, if not all, the information is recycled. Given enough time and interest (and as a librarian whose job it is to surf the internet I know it wouldn't actually take that much time) anyone could have gathered the information in this book from free online resources combined with a couple of trips to the local library. However, Terry Kyle has done it for us. And not everyone has the time or interest to be a researcher.

Now, having said that it is a book of recycled information, I must follow that up by saying that I thought it was well gathered. A great bibliography is still great.

The chapters on new business ideas and new, niche, novelty inventions was certainly interesting. They held my attention. I even found myself surfing the net, jumping from one site to the next, excited by the inspiring ideas I was bombarded with. I have to note, though, that these chapters felt weighed down with product ideas rather than business ideas, as the title suggests. But what great ideas there are within: umbrella vending machines, pizza in a cone, and my personal favorite, a hydrogen powered radio controlled toy. I think the book was worth it just for the heads up on the hydrogen RCs.

400 Latest and Greatest Business Ideas is not the end all book about starting a small business. But for anyone who's interested in actually taking a plunge in the world of entrepreneurial business ventures it is a fantastic place to start.

There are other books which give more information, and more pertinent information, on the actual workings of business and entrepreneurship, but Terry Kyle mentions them. 400 Latest and Greatest seems to be about pointing people in the right direction more than cementing a knowledge of fundamental business practice. There are classes for that. You'll find within its pages a lot of smart information, gathered and set out in an easy to read format. This is a book meant to get the wheels turning. And it does just that.

So, to make a long story short, I enjoyed reading 400 Latest and Greatest Small Business Ideas.

An easy read and a must read for anyone that has any notion about starting their own business. Mr. Kyle offers some good insight as well as a-lot of great advice and some do's and dont's that you may not have considered, to go along with the actual four hundred small businesses represented. Great book and practically a must-have for those who are serious about it.

You may not get your creative juices flowing from this book. The first 70 pages are very informative. This is why I give two stars instead of one, I would ideally like to give 2.5. It contains sound advice in the beginning like utilizing certain aspects of the net and newspaper for advertising, and leveraging certain sites for your business, along with common sense principles we need a reminder of every now and then. Unfortunately, the remaining 70% of this book blows. I don't know why he didn't just stick to the beginning flow he had me engrossed in. You will NOT find a EXECUTABLE/COST-EFFECTIVE playbook for ideas if you are looking for a certain type of business to get into. A lot of them are far-fetched like:

shark-repellent (how the?)
gizmo-watch (I don't know how to build a damn watch)
doll doctor/doll hospital (wtf)
customized sleeping bags (how can I build this???)
inkless pen that never runs out (how the)
gay wedding planner (lol)


...you see. These are ideas alright, but how on earth am I going to engineer an inkless pen? Anyone can write a book on ideas...but I want ideas that everyday people like me can turn into reality and gain a profit.

This book includes a list of 400 business ideas. No details on how to start these, just a list (pet shop, etc) It was a good book for someone who never read any other business books.

This book is OK. It has quite a few things wrong with it from a book reviewer's perspective. It uses the EST words too much for starters. You know: best, greatest, longest, etc. And it is wordy or verbose, especially the chapter titles, but also the text contained in the body of the book. Below is a list of the 16 chapters included in the book. However, I have retitled the chapters and reorganized them as follows:

SMALL BUSINESS BASICS
>>2. The perfect small business model
>>7. Quotes about business
>>10. Owning your own job
>>16. Winning tactics entrepreneurs should use to stay in business
>>1. Big mistakes entrepreneurs should avoid making
SMALL BUSINESS ALTERNATIVES
>>3. Should you become an eBay mini-merchant?
>>9. Franchises
STRATEGIC PLANNING
>>4. Small business research tool(s)
>>15. Web resources for small businesses
>>11. Small business marketing
>>5. How to differentiate your small business
>>6. Minimize expenses
SMALL BUSINESS IDEAS
>>8. New small business ideas
>>12. More new small business ideas
>>14. More small business ideas for home-based businesses
>>13. More new small business ideas for merchants

All in all, I think this tome is a good ebook trying to be a book-in-print that has some really good content, but certainly needs some editing, reorganizing, and beefing-up to justify its steep sales price. I think you can find everything in this book elsewhere - mostly by just surfing the Internet. And I suspect this book will become dated fairly quickly after you get it because it is jam-packed with URL listings. 3 stars!

If you are a beginner and wondering how or what to start a small business in, this book would be a starting point that lays out various industries and helpful sites that would aid in your business ownership aspirations.

I found most interesting the helpful hints to avoid downfalls and misconceptions that most small business newbies fall victim to in the midst of start-up and keeping afloat. The important links and funtionalities of these websites aid the learning curve to leverage time productivity.

I would suggest this book as a beginner guide to get your feet wet while writing your business plan model if you are seeking private or public funding. (3.5 stars)

If you are looking for unique and original business ideas to inspire your own million dollar idea then this book is for you.

I have to admit, I was nervous about this book. I've read a lot of business idea books and most of them are full of the same old business ideas.

Terry Kyle's book is a breath of fresh air.

The ideas are unique, original and actually being done by someone somewhere.

The ideas in the book are divided into three sections:

The Latest & Greatest Unusual, Strange & Intriguing New Small Business Ideas -- This section is full of interesting products people have invented and sold to make money. It shows you that opportunities to invent products are everywhere.

The Latest & Greatest Small Business Ideas Needing A Shop/Store/Retail/Location Presence -- This section is full of products and services being offered from a physical location although some of these ideas could easily be taken to the web.

The Latest & Greatest New Small Business Ideas That You Can Run From Home
-- This was my favorite section because it highlighted very interesting home based businesses that people are doing to make money.

With each idea Terry includes an explanation of the concept behind the idea, the idea's strengths and weaknesses and a URL for an actual business that is implementing the idea.

Nestled between the business ideas are several chapters full of general business advice, business startup information and links to business resources.

This is one book you will not want to pass up!

I have known of Terry Kyle for a while now through social networking sites. His latest book, "400 Latest and Greatest Small Business Ideas from Around the World" is excellent.

Terry offers great advice to entrepreneurs, no matter where they are in their business development cycle. From looking for an idea to people who already own a business, Terry provides sage advice that anyone in business will benefit from.

With 400 ideas to consider, this is a must read for small business owners. Get a copy, read it and follow the advice given. You will prosper for sure.

Terry offers a lot of ideas to new or intermediate current small business owners and entrepreneurs looking for ideas to expand their horizons. I would have to give it a five star due to the amount of ideas available.

This book will benefit all people already in business to people wanting to break free from the 9 to 5 grind.

The writing style is cohesive and flows, it is difficult to put the book down.

As a current business owner and entrepreneur Terry offers good advice and great ideas.