The Home Office and Small Business Answer Book: Solutions to the Most Frequently Asked Questions about Starting and Running Your Business

So you, too, want to join the ranks of the self-employed and start your own business at home or in a small office nearby. How do you choose the right field? Get customers? Price services? Protect property? Raise funds? Concise information on hundreds of basic issues that stem from such questions can be found in the updated second edition of The Home Office and Small Business Answer Book. Janet Attard--a journalist who has operated her own business for two decades and written extensively about the process--presents the essentials in a clear Q&A format divided into logical sections on selecting, starting, maintaining, and growing a business. Included is advice on franchising and multilevel marketing (pros and cons, how to assess); business and marketing plans (why they're needed, what's included); price structuring and financials (hourly vs. per-job billing, estimating expenses); equipment (what's needed, what it costs); marketing (obtaining publicity, placing ads); and much more. There is a wealth of information here, although additional specifics are necessary before many of the larger projects (like creating a business plan) can be fully executed. For that, however, Attard supplies ample resources in the appropriate sections and in six indexes. --Howard Rothman