Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Janal gets you off the ground, but won't keep you in flight., January 23, 1999
By A Customer
Janal would have received received five stars for his introductory book on e-commerce/web-based businesses, were it not for the many typos throughout the book and the hasty organization of the chapters. There were even typos in the foreword which, by the way, was contributed by the editor of Success magazine. This book is a good starting point for the novice, like me, but it could have been presented much better. The book simply and clearly takes you through the steps of how to get a business online, but not much else. I would strongly advise anyone who is new to the net and embryonic about business and e-commerce to look past the typos and read through the whole book seriously, as Janal gives the budding internet entrepreneur a lot of basic advice, and then go out and find other books which delve deeper into the subjects of marketing, business, and economics (the areas that really determine your success on the net). A lot of the information in the book was repeated over and over again, and such information could have been better presented in tabular form. For example, given the number of online interviews he undertook, he could have listed the common points or similarities to be found among those who responded to his questionaire in a separate chapter, such as those who started with formal business plans, those using the site for retail as opposed exclusively for marketing, those who started their e-biz while holding down a full-time job, and those who received outside funding for their start-up or bootstrapped their e-biz, etc. In reading through the whole book, I was surprised at the number of people in his company profiles that had previous business experience. I was also extremely surprised at the number of those profiled who started their internet businesses without business plans (more than half at a rough count). Practically all of the respondents put up their own money to get on the net. Finally, starting a business on the internet seems to be pretty easy, but getting such a business to turn a profit can be very difficult (as more than a few online companies are now finding out), and can be seen by many of his respondents' unwilligness to divulge their profitability ( a few admitted outright that they were not making any money). Nonetheless, his first four chapters are a good overview of the internet and electronic/real world commerce, but it is only a brief overview, and the paucity of information on this particular area (then again, this book was written two years ago, which is pretty much ancient by web time standards) is unsettling. Nevertheless, he succinctly and clearly touches upon the major points. Now, to your dismay, you may find that there are literally thousands of companies actually putting the business ideas that he has suggested in his book to practice on the net. Finally, even though I have been been a little harsh on the book's proofreading and organization, if you spend some time reading the company profiles, you will find some interesting insights and some very approachable web entrepreneurs. There are some hidden gems of internet wisdom in the interviews that the novice would be the smarter to know by heart. If you are thinking of starting an internet business, know next to nothing about the net, and have a lot of time, money, and resources to work with, then this book makes for a good start and a satisfactory (though a bit dated) initial investment.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Essential Guide to Starting an Online Business!, May 23, 2000
It is certainly no secret that the Internet has changed the way people conduct business. Those with products and services to offer have had a whole new world of opportunity opened up to them. Now just about anyone with a modest investment of time and money, with varying levels of computer skills and talent, can make their presence known with relative ease. Another good Internet business book has arrived on the scene that readers should know about. Daniel Janal, the author of another popular book, The Online Marketing Handbook, has written another real winner, 101 Businesses You Can Start on the Internet, with the intent to address the concerns of those who would like to join the ranks of the Internet business community. 101 Businesses... is divided into two sections. In the first section, Janal offers his readers a number of compelling reasons why one ought to open up shop on the Internet. Some reasons to consider are the reaching out to a worldwide market, to do business with an affluent market, no barriers of time zones, being open twenty-four hours a day, beating the competition to new markets because they are not online, very low startup costs, and little or no rent payments to make. Janal proceeds to outline the basics of getting started on the Internet, how to find your way around, and how to conduct your business. To his credit, Janal is brief and to the point when he needs to be, saving the greater portion of the book for other important matters. The second section of the book, which I consider to be the heart of the publication, deals with the kind of business opportunities that exist on the Internet and how some folks have set up shop. Chapter-by-chapter, Janal discusses a number of creative business opportunities, such as computer and service-related work, and then provides solid case studies of those who have braved the waters, so to speak. Complete with names, addresses, phone numbers, URL's, and Web pages, Janal provides his readers with the insight that few previous publications have brought to light. Janal asks a number of penetrating questions of those who have already set up shop on the Internet that hit right at the heart of conducting business. Janal breaks new ground in the direction of Internet business publications with this book. It is one thing to read about how to conduct business on the Internet and actually speaking with those who have been there. According to Janal, we ought to learn from the experiences of others, whether positive or negative. They have sound advice to offer! I hope Janal and other writers will continue developing this trend. Janal's book is well thought out and written. It will help many, including college students, who want to start their own businesses but who are in need of the encouragement of others. Put Janal and his case studies to work for you!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
JUNK, June 5, 1999
By A Customer
Don't waste your money. This is the type of book that brings in money by capitalizing on the latest craze but offers no current insightful information. Better to check out websites such business2, wired, redherring, etc.
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