101 Small Business Ideas for Under $5000 [Kindle Edition]

Corey Sandler (Author), Janice Keefe (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Cheap and easy ideas for starting a small business

101 Small Business Ideas for Under $5,000 offers practical, real-world advice for turning ideas and skills into a successful small business. The book presents great ideas for simple small businesses that readers can undertake either full-time or in their spare time and covers all the issues readers need to know -startup costs, legal issues, accounting, taxes, and everything else. Once readers decide what business is right for them, the authors provide sensible business plans for making it happen. They show wannabe entrepreneurs how to get started, find funding, and build a sales and marketing program. Legal, zoning, and insurance requirements are provided for each business idea, as well as advice on expanding the business-and the profits. Future business owners who don't know where to start will find everything they need here.

From the Back Cover

Becoming your own boss is easier (and cheaper) than you think!

It's time to grab yourself a piece of the American Dream. In 101 Small Business Ideas for Under $5000, you'll find realistic guidance for turning your ideas and skills into a profitable business that you can run full-time, part-time, or even as an absentee owner. This completely practical handbook provides step-by-step instructions on dealing with legal, financial, and tax issues involved in starting a business, and it puts you in touch with suppliers, associations, and clubs that can help you get up and running in a jiffy.

Some businesses are as easy to set up and run as a child's lemonade stand, and this moneymaking manual shows you how to keep things simple, profitable, and legal. For more ambitious undertakings, you'll find real-world answers for serious business questions as you learn how to:

• Write a sensible business plan to give your idea direction
• Secure start-up funding from banks, government agencies, and elsewhere
• Design publicity, marketing, and sales programs
• Master bookkeeping, accounting, and taxes
• Grow from a one-person start-up into a mini-empire

Whether you want to provide home or professional services, organize entertainment and special events, start a Web-based company, go into light manufacturing, or profit from any talent or interest you have, 101 Small Business Ideas for Under $5000 puts you on the road to success—starting right now!

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 2638 KB
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; 1 edition (March 31, 2005)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000VZW3VI
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #373,366 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Starting Point for Finding a Business Idea, October 31, 2005

By 

Deborah Crawford "Writer, Trainer, Walker, Sm... (Memphis, TN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 101 Small Business Ideas for Under $5000 (Paperback)

provides some basic advice on getting a business started and list 101 basic businesses one can start with under $5,000 in beginning capital.

The book's first four chapters cover business insurance and risk management, legalities and taxes, pricing, and financing. There is some good beginning information here, but you will probably need to consult additional sources once you have chosen your business.

Each business idea is listed with icons (identified in the "How to Use this Book" section) and covers the category of the business (service, product, trade, creative or virtual), challenges, skills, complexity and the estimated capital required to start the business. You may find it frustrating to have to keep looking up the icons, but they are simple and you can always bookmark the page with the icon descriptions.

The 101 list begins in chapter 5 with businesses based on "Home Services (Exterior). Examples are Landscape Designer, Deck Construction, Snow Removal, and the like-things that people often hire others to do.

The business descriptions follow a basic format. Here's an example: One of the more creative businesses in this section is "Children's Outdoor Playset Installer". The descriptions begin with the "icons". This one has 7 icons: it's a service business, it's seasonal, there are liabilities, you need technical skills, you need tools, it requires permits and/or licensing, and it costs between $0 and $3,000 in capital. Next is the job description, a brief overview of the work one would do while operating this business. Then, they describe the need for this business. This helps you with business research and can give some ideas as to marketing your business. The challenges section discusses some of the issues you might have difficulty with - like irregular land, permits & applications, the particular liabilities involved if someone gets injured, etc. The "know the territory" section describes some things you may not be aware of (for this business, playground equipment has come a long way from the simple backyard swingset). Next is a "How to get Started Section" which gives basic information on business research and beginning marketing tips. "Up Front Expenses" lists some tools and equipment you'll need. "How Much to Charge" reminds you to charge a fee that includes all your expenses-purchase, assembly, delivery, etc. And the final section is "Legal and Insurance Issues" which point you back to the beginning of the book to read legal, accounting and insurance information.

The businesses described in this book range from housecleaning to auto detailing, party planner to computer buying consultant, billing service to yard sale organizer. Most are easily one-person businesses and many you can start part-time while working at a job.

If you are looking for a book to generate ideas and give you some basic information on these particular businesses, this book will help. It provides good overviews of the 101 businesses they include and there are probably many ideas here you could turn into a business but haven't thought about.

You will probably need to do additional research on any business you choose, but this book is a good starting point.