Women's Small Business Start-Up Kit, The: A Step-by-Step Legal Guide [Paperback]

Peri Pakroo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 14, 2010 | Series: Women's Small Business Start-Up Kit

Women own 51% or more of U.S. businesses, according to a Center for Women’s Business research report released this year. By the same study, if women-owned businesses were their own country they would have the 5th largest GDP in the world.The Women’s Small Business Start Up Kit, written by the author of the bestselling The Small Business Start Up Kit, offers the same practical and concrete information relating to business start-up and management of the parent book while giving attention to the issues and concerns commonly reported by women entrepreneurs of every stripe—from independent consultants to artists to Fortune 500 seekers. It covers:choosing and developing the right business;drafting an effective business plan; government programs that give contract and loan-preferences to women-owned businesses; understanding and choosing a legal structure;clearing the bureaucratic start-up hurdles; taking the business online and developing E-business; tax basics of small business; balancing work and family / personal relationships; hiring and managing employees. The Women’s Small Business Start Up Kit retains its focus on women’s specific business-related issues without stereotyping them and never loses sight of the legal rules and fundamentals of starting and running a business. The book closes with a chapter on how and when to get help from lawyers, accountants and other financial professionals. The CD includes essential business forms and agreements.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Women's Small Business Start-Up Kit by Peri Pakroo is one of the best How-To business books I've ever read. It was so full of tips and instructions that I didn't feel that I had to go to any other source. I've always thought that Nolo's Business books were very useful, but with this one they have definitely surpassed themselves. I would recommend this to anyone even thinking about starting their own small business and in this uncertain economy, small business owners need all the help they can get. Kudos to Nolo and the author and thanks! (Pam Headrick AThirstyBlog.com 20100501)

"Clearly details all the nuts and bolts of starting a business so often lacking in how-to books. A must-read before you launch." (Lindsey Johnson, former National Director, SBA Office of Women's Business Ownership 20100501)

"An essential road map for any woman considering entrepreneurship." (Sara Gould, President and CEO, Ms. Foundation for Women 20100505)

"Don't even think about starting a business without reading this book." (Amy Swift Crosby, Founder, SMARTY, A Resource for Entrepreneurial Women 20100501)

Any woman thinking of creating her own job by starting a business should have Peri Pakroo's book." (Connie Evans, CEO, Association of Enterprise Opportunity 20100430)

"For all those women who keep saying to themselves, 'I think I can, I think I can,' with this excellent book, now they can." (Nell Merlino, Founder and CEO, Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence 20100505)

"A must-read for any woman thinking about starting a business." (Agnes Noonan, Executive Director, Women's Economic Self-Sufficiency Team (WESST) 20100505)

"A practical guide that is useful and helpful for women starting and growing their businesses a great book!" (Wendy, K. Baumann, President, The Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation 20100501)

"A valuable tool that will assist women in making sound and sustainable decisions when beginning a new business venture. A must read for the aspiring entrepreneur." (Patricia Harris, Executive Director & CEO, The Edge Connection, Women's Business Center at Kennesaw State University, Coles College of Business 20100515)

Let's Get Unbalanced: Digging into Work post by Peri Pakroo: Work-life balance consistently ranks near the top of concerns for self-employed women. With kids in the mix, balance can be even more elusive. But sometimes the challenge isn't maintaining balance but finding a way to throw it to the wind (for a while). (Mamapedia voices, www.mamapedia.com )

Pakroo, an attorney and small-business expert, plumps up her earlier book, The Small Business Start-Up Kit: A Step-by-Step Legal Guide (6th ed., 2010), by adding material that focuses on the unique needs of women entrepreneurs. Both books offer solid advice on crafting a business plan, designing a marketing strategy, choosing the appropriate legal structure, handling employment ssues, and working with legal and financial professionals. In this new volume, Pakroo adds an opening chapter on work/life balance that discusses working with spouses, mixing business and children, and designing a business structure compatible with career and family goals. She covers the challenges of home-based businesses; considers financial, tax, and health-care considerations for women; and provides a list of agencies that serve women in business. There are tips, anecdotes, and practical insights from a number of accomplished women entrepreneurs on such topics as business travel with children and creative ways to reduce child care costs. The accompanying CD includes extended interviews and a collection of financial forms and worksheets. (Joan Pedzich, Harris Beach PLLC, Rochester, NY Library Journal )

About the Author

Peri Pakroo is a business and communications consultant, specializing in legal and start-up issues for businesses and nonprofits. She has started, participated in, and consulted with start-up businesses for 20 years. She owns and runs P-Brain Media (www.pbrainmedia.com), a strategic consulting and communications firm that develops information-rich media for web, print, video and other formats. Peri received her law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law. She is the author of The Women's Small Business Start-Up Kit, The Small Business Start-Up Kit (national and California editions) and Starting and Building a Nonprofit ( all from Nolo), and has been featured in numerous national publications including Entrepreneur, Real Simple, Investors Business Daily, and BusinessWeek. She is active in supporting local, independent businesses and is a co-founder of the Albuquerque Independent Business Alliance. Visit Peri's blog at www.peripakroo.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 520 pages
• Publisher: Nolo; 1 Pap/Cdr edition (May 14, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1413311881
• ISBN-13: 978-1413311884
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #555,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Peri Pakroo is a business and communications consultant, specializing in legal and start-up issues for businesses and nonprofits. She has started, participated in, and consulted with start-up businesses for 20 years. She owns and runs P-Brain Media (www.pbrainmedia.com), a strategic consulting and communications firm that develops information-rich media for web, print, video and other formats.

Peri received her law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1995, and a year later began editing and writing for Nolo, specializing in small business and intellectual property issues. She is the author of the top-selling Nolo titles The Small Business Start-Up Kit (national and California editions) and Starting and Building a Nonprofit, and has been featured in numerous national and local publications including Entrepreneur, Real Simple, Investors Business Daily, and BusinessWeek.

Peri teaches adult education courses at WESST (www.wesst.org) in Albuquerque, a nonprofit whose mission is to fight poverty by facilitating entrepreneurship among women and minorities in the state of New Mexico. She is active in supporting local, independent businesses and is a co-founder of the Albuquerque Independent Business Alliance (www.keepitquerque.org).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Well-Organized and Informative NOLO Book, May 29, 2010

By 

Elisa 20 - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Women's Small Business Start-Up Kit, The: A Step-by-Step Legal Guide (Paperback)

(What's this?)

Some people may be wondering, "Why 'Women'?" After all, it's about starting a small business. Are the differences for women really enough to justify a separate book?

After reading through Pakroo's book, I think the answer to this is, "Yes." As she explains in the introduction (paraphrased): "There are business basics that apply to men and women alike: writing a business plan, handling finances, getting a website, etc.. But there are also women-specific topics: government contracts for women, identifying yourself as a woman-owned business and using it to financial advantage, plus interviews (on the CD) with women who've succeeded as entrepreneurs."

She points out that this is not really a book of "inspiration" (although her enthusiasm for women-as-entrepreneurs" is a bit inspiring in itself. She wants readers to know her emphasis is really on successfully starting and running a business--in other words, realistic, factual, practical help, including pros and cons (like health insurance coverage). The discussion of the pros and cons of running a business from home was useful--particularly the reminder of how many things are deductible even if your home office doesn't qualify for federal deduction.

And then there is marketing. Lots of good ideas here, both in the "real" world and using various opportunities online. (The website information, in my opinion, needs work. The nuts and bolts of web authoring are missed--why no mention of Dreamweaver?--and there's a lack of clarity in who would be able to create the website, update it, and maintain it. I really thought this section was a good idea, but poorly executed. The section on financial accountability was better.

There is tax advice at the end, and a CD with some forms that could help new businesses set up a partnership and maintain their books and stay organized. All-in-all, I wouldn't call it a "Step by step legal guide", but there's a lot of good information and it's a very solid overview that would help a new businesswoman know what to prepare for and to troubleshoot some of the problems enough to avoid them--always a good thing.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NOLO does it again, June 9, 2010

By 

TheBandit (SEA-TAC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Women's Small Business Start-Up Kit, The: A Step-by-Step Legal Guide (Paperback)

(What's this?)

So far in my experience exploring books released by NOLO, I've found you can't really go wrong. Their books are so well organized, containing nothing but useful, pertinent information, that any topic they cover will provide a good deal of education.

The Women's Small Business Start-Up Kit is designed for someone without a huge amount of business knowledge. If you're just getting starting, it's a great resource. Every step is covered, along with a CD-ROM of legal forms that are printable. The curious thing to me is that this book is targeted at women, and is in fact a follow up to a more universally titled volume, The Small Business Start-Up Kit. I think there is a little bit of strategy being employed here to get women specifically to pick it up. Perhaps some women are intimidated by the idea of entering the world of entreprenuership, thinking that its a "man's world." The cover shot of a woman lazing away at the office with her feet up on the desk is designed to trick someone into thinking this is a breeze.

Well, it's not. Starting a business and running it successfully is never easy, for a man or a woman. But this book does have a decidedly feminized slant, as it discusses business ownership from a woman's viewpoint. It also delves into how advantages can be had by being a woman business owner, as far as government incentives go. I'm strictly against that; in this day in age, what difference should gender still make, all things being equal? But the advantages are there, so there's no reason to hold back from using them. The book will help you.

NOLO is a great resource time and again and this volume is no exception.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful Reference Book, June 17, 2010

By 

Bibliophile By the Sea (US) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Women's Small Business Start-Up Kit, The: A Step-by-Step Legal Guide (Paperback)

(What's this?)

Starting a small business can be a wonderful experience, but would you know where to begin? What do you need to think about, and what do you need to do, before making such a huge and important decision?

In this new book the author outlines the important pieces that need to be researched and then implemented to get your new venture off the ground and running smoothly. You will learn how to develop a business plan; ways to successfully market your business and how to get maximum market exposure; the benefits of e-business tools; how to manage the accounting portion of your business, including what you need to know about federal, state and local taxes; whether you need to have legal professionals involved, and even how to hire employees who will help your business.

I thought this book was well organized, pretty easy to understand and that this book would be a good resource to any woman (or man) seriously considering a first time business venture. RECOMMENDED