Small Time Operator (Paperback)

~ Bernard B. Kamoroff (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

This fully updated edition of one of the most basic retailer's guides on the market provides the latest updated facts on how to start a small business and keep its books. From monthly count-downs of tax deposits and paperwork filing requirements to handling bounced checks, this explains basics in common language accessible by any business owner. Healing the Wounds David M. -- Midwest Book Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Detailed advice covers everything people need to know to take control of their business and be a success. This latest edition includes a new section on doing business on the Internet. "A phenomenal book." - Julianne Malveaux, King Features Syndicate

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Bell Springs Publishing; 27th edition (August 31, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0917510186
• ISBN-13: 978-0917510182
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #595,865 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best First Book For Someone New To Running A Small Business, January 18, 2002

By	Peter Hupalo (MN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Small Time Operator: How To Start Your Own Small Business, Keep Your Books, Pay Your Taxes, And Stay Out Of Trouble" is a classic, having sold over 500,000 copies.

If you're new to starting and running a business, this is one of the first books you should buy. It does a great job discussing the basics of business taxes, including employment taxes, and many other mundane topics you probably want to understand.

A few of the topics covered include:

--Business Licenses and Permits

--Sales Tax
--Insurance
--Keeping Inventory Records
--Deducting and Understanding Business Expenses
--Doing Business As A Sole Proprietorship
--A Basic Profit & Loss Statement
--A Basic Cash Flow Prediction Statement

There is also a good discussion of single-entry bookkeeping, which is probably adequate for many new businesses. The author even explains how to balance a checkbook. But, if you're unsure how to do that, you probably need to learn a bit more about personal finance before you start a business to improve your chances of success.

Understanding the basics of finance and accounting is important for small business owners. Kamoroff gives the example of a bookstore that started-up but then went bankrupt. The owner arbitrarily marked-up the cost of the goods he purchased and wasn't aware of his overhead expenses of running his business. As it turned out, he was pricing his merchandise too low to make a profit.

As Kamoroff explains, a $200 business mistake and a $20,000 business mistake could be the same mistake. So, it's good to start small and learn. As you learn more, you might want to learn double-entry accounting, which is more robust. Also, you'll probably get one of the computerized accounting programs, such as MYOB, Quicken QuickBooks, etc., to handle your accounting and recordkeeping. But, as Kamoroff points out, whether you do your bookkeeping by hand or with a computer program, the basics of bookkeeping are essentially the same.

The book is highly readable and has many entertaining cartoons and blurbs from other entrepreneurs and small business people that make the text fun.

Peter Hupalo, Author of "Thinking Like An Entrepreneur"

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay for the true novice to business, March 4, 2004

By A Customer

This book is okay if you have no prior business knowledge. It will bring you up to speed before you read the better books that offer the heavy artillery.

For first timers, okay. Experienced, pass.

69 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Book with a Track Record, October 2, 2000

By	Dan Poynter "Author-Publisher-Speaker" (Santa Barbara, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Bernard (Bear) Kamoroff proves an author/publisher can make a living on one book. Through 24 revised editions and 54 printings in 22 years, this very successful guide has to be the best-selling accounting book of all time. Continually updated, it just keeps on getting better and better.

Kamoroff takes you through Getting Started (business location, financing, legal structure, licenses & permits, import & export, insurance, business name and business plan), Bookkeeping (bank accounts, recording income, sales & expenditures and financial management), Business Growth (hiring help, incorporation), Taxes (expenses, self-employment tax, retirement deductions, the IRS, returns, other taxes), and in the Appendix (how to find a good accountant, home-based businesses, buying & selling a business, freelancers and more).

This book has a great title and it was the title that made people pick it up to discover the great content.

I have been a publisher for 31 years and I wish this book had been written 32 years ago. Fortunately, it has been with me for 22. [e-mail].