Home-Based Business For Dummies

by Paul Edwards, Sarah Edwards, Peter Economy

Thanks to the Internet, home-based businesses are booming. With a home computer and a good idea, you can market and sell almost anything in the world just from home. Whether you’re selling homemade jams or working as a business consultant, today’s entrepreneur doesn’t even have to leave home. Home-Based Business For Dummies , 2 nd Edition will help you make your endeavor profitable and successful! Ideal for future entrepreneurs who have the urge and want the know-how, this updated guide includes new information on home business scams and how to avoid them, shows how to create an efficient, comfortable (but not too comfortable) work environment, explains how to put new technologies to work for you, and much more. There’s even a 10-question quiz to help you determine if you’re ready. You’ll learn all the basics, Home-Based Business For Dummies , 2 nd Edition was written by Paul and Sarah Edwards, award-winning authors who write a monthly column for Entrepreneur magazine, and Peter Economy, an author or coauthor For Dummies books on managing, consulting, and personal finance. In straightforward English, they show you how Home-Based Business For Dummies is packed with ideas and information that will help you get started right and help established, successful home-based business owners stay ahead of the pack. Use it well and this handy guide will be the most important reference in your home office.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Reference

384 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 2000

About the author

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Reviews

[David Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I read to research this post was Home Based Business For Dummies which is a very good book which I bought from Kobo. A home based business can often be a one person operation working from home often with a secretary although this book does look at things like franchises like Macdonalds which is highly sought and you have to put up $45,000 plus pay 12.5% commission on what you earn. Normally when you factor in the other expenses you won't have much change out of a $1 million. Many people do home work via freelance sites like http://elance.com and you have to shop around for the best deal. Some like http://fiverr.com don't pay very much but if you get lots of little jobs you can make a nice living. There is also social media sites to promote your business on and apart from the obvious ones try http://tribe.net & http://ecademy.com. One issue mentioned is having health insurance as if you become ill the business probably depends on you and you don't want to go on a long waiting list for an operation. There are some fairly reasonably priced franchises out there where you benefit from an established company. A lot of franchises and books about start up business ideas are quite frankly rip offs. Some of the best ideas are things like buying and selling especially on sites like Amazon & Ebay where in a lot of cases you can get something either very cheap or be given it and sell it for a substantial sum. Some businesses have had cash flow problems with that kind of business as some of the companies freeze all or part of the money you make in case there are any problems like returns. If you do buy and sell online it is probably an idea to diversify across several platforms and also have your own website to sell from. This book does cover a wide variety of subjects connected to running a home based business. Even things like pets and childcare. One major benefit of running your own business is if you have a real problem customer you can just choose not to accept their custom. I did really enjoy this book.

[Grisel Santos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read through most if it (skipping ovet some parts that don't pertain to me just yet) in order to have as much information on getting started as possible. It's also a great reference book I use when I get stuck or forgot something. Quite helpful.

[Carin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Normally when I read a Dummies book, I don't read it straight through, cover to cover like a novel, but I did with this one. I really wanted to be sure to get the maximum advice

Like all Dummies books, this one is chock full of useful information, and also some general common sense. It's written simply, in a way so as to not intimidate, but to give you the most information at a basic level. It was helpful and I did get some tips (or more often, validation of what I was already doing/thinking). But, it was a bit focused in its scope. I couldn't count how many times they advised potential entrepreneurs to stay at their current job and do the home-based business on the side for as long as possible, to build up customer base and revenue stream before quitting. Well, this book was just revised last year and does mention the current economic downturn, so why does it never acknowledge that some of us have decided to start up our own businesses after an unsuccessful job search? "Keep your day job" isn't very good advice if a lot of the people in your audience already don't have one.

That said, it is a thorough guide, albeit very general both in advice which can't be tailored to your type of business, and also to legalities which vary considerably state-to-state. I am glad to have read it, I am going to keep it as a reference, but I have gotten the bulk of advice on my company from networking and talking with other friends/associates who already have gone through the process. Like all Dummies books, great to have if you're starting at square one, probably a little simplistic if you're at square two.

[Mandie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good information. I have a hard time allowing myself to skip around in a book, but I got some practice in this one skipping over information that doesn't pertain to me and my particular business. I love the style in which the For Dummies books are written; they have great information presented in humorous and easy to understand language. There are also great resources listed within their pages, and I was able to bite the bullet and pull the trigger on starting my home based business with help from this book. Good stuff here.