The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting Your Own Business (The Complete Idiot's Guide) (Paperback)

by Ed Paulson (Author) "Aren't you supposed to go into the office today?" asked Judy's husband Mike, nudging her shoulder from his side of the bed..." (more)
Key Phrases: used car purchases, market inspections, card processing company, Talking Business, Smoke Signals, The Least You Need (more...)

Product Details

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Alpha (January 1, 1998)
• ISBN-10: 002861979X
• ISBN-13: 978-0028619798
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #696,153 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Starter, January 11, 2000

By	frisky2000 "frisky2000" (smallville) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I've had the seed of an idea for years on starting my own business, but I didn't have the first clue about where to begin. This "Idiot's" guide was very helpful, though ignorance to a topic does not necessarily brand you an idiot. It guided me through the right questions, the possible pitfalls, the little in's and out's of what it takes to start out on my own. Whether or not I choose to take the plunge is still undecided, but at least I have a broad idea thanks to this book. Of course seasoned entrepeneurs will find the contents boring and irrelevant, (then again, they're not the ones who should be reading it!) but to someone who has never explored the area, this guide is a good starting point of reference.

87 of 99 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Only for the true complete idiot., March 18, 1999

By A Customer

If you truly are a complete idiot, then this is the book for you. Half the book is dedicated to things that you should already know if you have decided to start your own business: "What kind of business do I want?" Wouldn't you already have that in mind before buying the book? There is little or no information regarding important matters like scouting locations, government regulations, advertising strategies, etc.

If you don't know whether or not you want to start your own business, then this book might help, but if you need a guide on how to get started, look elsewhere.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Introducing Business to New Entrepreneurs, May 11, 2005

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting your own Business, 4th Edition (Paperback)

When most entrepreneurs first get the yen to start a business, they realize that there must be a lot that they don't know. The legal, accounting and tax choices often seem particularly daunting . . . and there's often no money to retain an attorney.

Not knowing where to turn, many take local adult education classes (like the kind I teach). In those classes, these strivers often find out that what they didn't know that they didn't know is even more dangerous than what that they do know that they don't know.

The fourth edition of Starting Your Own Business is a good resource for such new entrepreneurs.

You will learn many of the fundamentals of picking a business to start, preparing a business plan, selecting a legal structure, organizing for success and operating the business once you start it.

Based on my experiences with new entrepreneurs, this book will answer about 80% of the questions that they usually have . . . and about 60% of the questions they should be asking.

One of the book's strengths is the CD-ROM that has sample forms and form letters for handling routine matters. While these won't substitute for having an attorney (I am one, so I know), they will allow you to work with an attorney in more effective and less expensive ways.

The areas where the book is weakest are as follows:

1. Doesn't spell out how the choice of business type affects your chances of success and the difficulty of raising money.

2. Doesn't do enough about the pros and cons of being a franchisee and how to pursue that opportunity.

3. Doesn't teach you how to create an advantaged business model and improve upon it.

4. Doesn't provide enough perspective on how to establish a management team.

One of the things I did like about the book is that it considers manufacturing businesses as well as service and professional service companies. Most resources about starting up businesses ignore the opportunity of manufacturing.

This book won't make or break your business, but it will speed your process of getting ready to launch if you don't have any background in this area.