Starting & Operating a Business in the U.S.: National [Paperback]

Michael D Jenkins (Author), Rhonda Abrams (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1999

In 1996, Forbes named the Starting and Operating a Business series as one of the top ten best-selling books for small business. Drawing from the state editions, this book covers federal regulations, business practices, tax guidelines, and financing. A companion CD-ROM details state laws applicable to businesses in all 50 states.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

From the Publisher, Rhonda Abrams

In 1980, Michael Jenkins' neighbor wanted to start a business. He knew what kind of store he planned to open, knew how to locate inventory, but Mike's neighbor was overwhelmed trying to find and understand the legal and regulatory information he needed. What kinds of business licenses were required? What kinds of taxes did he have to pay? What local, state, or federal laws did he need to follow? Frustrated by all the red tape, and without any guidebooks available, he sought Mike's help.

Michael Jenkins was the right person to turn to. Mike offers a rare combination of expertise -- he is both an attorney and a certified public accountant. Mike set about creating an easy, complete guide to starting and running a business. Since that time, Mike's book, STARTING AND OPERATING A BUSINESS IN THE U.S., has become the nation's leading reference on opening and operating a company. Well more than one million businesses have turned to this book to help steer them through the process of dealing with the red tape involved with running a company.

I wish I'd been one of those entrepreneurs.

When I started my first business in 1986, I just plunged in. I learned everything -- from billing methods to handling cash flow to hiring and firing -- along the way. While probably not the wisest method, that's the route most of us are forced to take.

I was smart enough to know I needed the advice of attorneys and accountants, and I hired them to help educate me on some of the issues facing me. But if I had read STARTING AND OPERATING A BUSINESS IN THE U.S. before going to the attorneys or accountants, I would have been better prepared. I would have saved money, known what questions to ask, and avoided some of the mistakes I inevitably made. Even now after more than 14 years running a business and writing about small business, I learned many money-saving tips as I read this new edition of this book.

This book will:
- Help you understand the things you need to know;
- Give you insight on the questions to ask your professional advisers;
- Provide answers to questions most business owners ask; and
- Give you up-to-date contact information for relevant state and federal agencies.

The free CD-ROM included offers:
- Detailed, up-to-date, information on your state's tax and legal issues affecting your business;
- Information for all 50 states and the District of Columbia; and
- Hyperlinks to the homepages of appropriate agencies.

Running 'R' Media's website will:
- Provide updates to any legal information;
- Provide updates for contact information; and
- Offer additional sources of information and advice.

Together, they will
- Save you time;
- Save you money; and
- Save you aggravation.

So treat this book as your in-house-expert -- one you don't have to put on the payroll.

Rhonda Abrams

About the Author

Michael D. Jenkins pioneered the field of small business guidebooks when he first wrote "STARTING AND OPERATING A BUSINESS" in 1980. Since then, he has continually updated and revised this ground-breaking business start-up handbook, making it the number one source relied on by entrepreneurs and business owners. Both a CPA and a Harvard-trained attorney, Michael Jenkins worked with prominent law and accounting firms in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Hawaii. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the State Bar of California, and the California Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Product Details

• Paperback: 294 pages
• Publisher: Planning Shop (December 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966963512
• ISBN-13: 978-0966963519
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,117,383 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great resource. Very useful., February 10, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Starting & Operating a Business in the U.S.: National (Paperback)

I've relied on previous editions of this book for years. I was very pleased with this new edition for several reasons:

* The resource listings (for gov't agencies, business associations, etc.) have been well-updated and include web addresses.

* There used to be a separate version of the book for each state in the nation--so if you conducted business in several states, like I do, and needed tax and employment info for multiple states, you needed several different copies of the book. This new edition includes all the legal and tax information for ALL states on the enclosed CD-ROM. This is much easier to deal with!

* I should mention that all in all, this is one of the most useful business books I own (and I've got 'em all). It's a no-nonsense guide, and gets straight to the information without a lot of the fluff other books seem to layer on. Highly recommended.

5.0 out of 5 stars New edition available on Kindle, February 15, 2011

By 

Doc Snopes - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Starting & Operating a Business in the U.S.: National (Paperback)

(From the author) The print editions in this series have been out of print for several years. However, electronic editions for each of the 50 states and D.C. have been available since 2005, updated regularly, and in 2011 we began converting a number of the 2010 and 2011 state editions (large states first) into the Kindle format. We will eventually have all 51 current editions available in the Kindle Store on Amazon. Each is priced at $9.99 and each between 400 and 500 pages if printed out. No fluff, all useful tax, legal, and practical advice.

To find the edition for your state, do a search of the Kindle Store for "Starting and Operating a Business in California" (or New York; or Pennsylvania, and so on, for a particular state edition).

For example, see: Starting and Operating a Business in New Jersey (Starting and Operating a Business in the U.S.)

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding -- too bad the print version is out of print, July 11, 2006

By 

Wired Earp "Wired" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Starting & Operating a Business in the U.S.: National (Paperback)

I bought a used copy after this terrific book went out of print, not knowing that the author now publishes electronic editions for each state. The information in it gave me a good grasp of the "ground rules" (laws and taxes) for running my business, which operates in 3 states, but unfortunately, since it was published in 1999, I wasn't sure how much of the information was out of date. I keep hoping someone will come out with a new edition.

Luckily, my CPA, who has used the books in this series for years, recommended that I get the new electronic editions for the states I needed, which are all updated annually by the author, and I found the three states I bought were not only up to date, but even more comprehensive than this print version (with about 50% more information), plus the best, most comprehensive section on business plans that I have seen, one area that was not covered in this print version.

Even in this 1999 edition, the sections on subjects like Universal Product Codes, ISO-9000 certification, exporting and customs [...], and especially the segment on how to protect your assets from lawsuits and creditors were very helpful, and were subjects that don't seem to be covered in any other books for small business users. (Perhaps other authors of small business books don't think small business people are smart enough to use that kind of technical information?)

In any case, it's too bad this print version had to go out of print, for whatever reasons, and that the new electronic versions aren't available in a printed, bound version (though they were easy enough to print out and put in binders).

All in all, thumbs up!