101 Businesses You Can Start at With Less Than One Thousand Dollars: For Stay-at-Home Moms and Dads
need two incomes today to get ahead. Detailed in this new book are over 100 business ideas that can be started for very little money and yet may provide parents with a lot more money than they would be paid by the hour.
This is a collection of businesses selected especially for stay-at-home parents who are interested in augmenting their income. These businesses can be started with minimum training and investment and are all capable of producing extra income. Many of these businesses can actually be started with less than one hundred dollars, and some can really be started with next to nothing. All can be operated from home.
Starting and managing a business takes motivation and talent. It also takes research and planning. This new book is intended to serve as a roadmap for starting your business. It is both comprehensive and easy to use. It also includes numerous Web links for additional information. While providing detailed instruction and examples, the author leads you in developing a winning business plan and accounting and bookkeeping procedures. Sales and marketing techniques and pricing formulas are demystified. You will learn how to set up computer systems to save time and money and generate high-profile public relations and publicity while avoiding legal pitfalls. Thousands of great tips and useful guidelines will help you keep bringing customers back and give you low-cost internal marketing ideas and ways to satisfy customers and build sales.
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This guide to businesses you can operate from home with little upfront investment is very useful, particularly for those stay-at-home Moms and Dads who need some help to see how their skills or interests could translate into a successful business. I think the wide range of businesses that are described is inspiring particularly for anyone unsure what they want to do or for someone who simply needs to begin brain-storming about businesses that can be easily started from home.
The book uses various symbols to give readers a quick snapshot of the ups and downs of each particular business. For instance, a star rating system let readers know whether a business has great potential earnings. Four stars means it could be a big money-maker. It also uses a open or closed lock symbol to indicate whether a business is easy or hard to break into. Other symbols show you what equipment would be needed such as a fax machine, printer or software. As you sort through various business ideas, these symbols would be an easy reference guide for keeping track of the ups and downs of various businesses.
I particularly liked the case studiees that the book includes. Business people who are currently operating their own businesses describe what they do and the pros and cons of their ventures. I think these stories are especially inspiring because they are not all pie-in-the-sky. Business people describe how long it took for their businesses to bring in steady income and outline what the keys were to their success.
Lists of professional organziations, books and other resouces for each field of business also are useful for anyone who wants to investigate further what getting into a particular business would entail.
My only objection to this book is that I think it is a bit optimistic about how much training or education particular businesses may require. It’s easy to see how house-sitting would require no training, but I think medical transcription may require courses or more education. The book notes that an understanding of medical jargon is required, but does not note whether some type of certificate or degree would be useful. I guess it would be up to the reader to contact the professional association that is mentioned and find out what training would be helpful. With a potential salary of between $35,000 and $80,000 a year, it would be well worth taking that step for someone interested in the field.
The book includes a very detailed description of how to write a business plan which is critical to setting goals and suceeding. I think this book’s thorough approach and useful information makes it a book to have at hand if you want to start your own home-based business.
Comment by Annemarie Mannion — November 5, 2007 @ 4:04 pm
Whether you are a pool owner or install and maintain pools, Dan Hardy’s book is easy to understand. Although Hardy has a business building and maintaining pools, he writes in such an interesting and clear manner that even someone who is only thinking about having a pool built will be able to understand his book. Hardy managed to do the unthinkable: make a book about pool maintenance not bore you to death, and even entertain you at times. He begins with a short history of pools, which is a welcome surprise for the history buff.
I highly recommend this book to you, particularly if you are thinking about having a pool built, and know next to nothing about maintaining pools. The book will tell you everything you need to know, and help you make informed decisions.
Comment by Gina-Marie Cheeseman — November 16, 2007 @ 10:57 pm
If you are considering starting a home-business this is the book for you! 101 Businesses You Can Start with Less Than One Thousand Dollars for Stay-at-Home Moms and Dads is the complete guide to starting a home business for parents. If you are a parent considering starting a home business then this is the book for you. It is obvious Shepherd writes from personal experience for she thinks of everything one needs to know before starting a home business. She even includes a self evaluation to see how prepared you are to start a home business.
Are you short on cash? Shepherd included a section about home businesses you can start for $0 to $100. The same section will tell you how to start your chosen home business, and how to advertise so you will have clients.
Comment by Gina-Marie Cheeseman — November 16, 2007 @ 11:01 pm
This book is written by an author who obviously has first hand experience with starting her own small business from scratch. She provided several testimonials that gave in-depth, first-hand information and what kind of things to expect in starting your own business, milestones along the way, and pitfalls to avoid. The book is written in a way that is simple and easy to read, without talking down to the reader. It is comprehensive, yet does not overwhelm the reader with information, and although it is tailored to retirees, the information is useful for all life stages.
The book is outlined in a step-by-step process to building your own small business. The preliminary chapter on self-evaluation is especially pertinent. It encourages the reader to examine their motivation, skills, time, resources and level of commitment before embarking on a business. This seems crucial to ensure success or at least minimize loss at the outset. It lists business ideas that are innovative and creative, thinking outside the box. The business ideas identify a range of skills and interests, and include various ratings scales. The business plan section is excellent. It is divided into sections and provides samples to help clarify. Those considering opening a business, whether they are retired or not, should definitely read this book.
Comment by J. South — January 30, 2008 @ 11:32 pm
I’m a stay at home mom of six kids. My husband works two jobs and I have been desperately searching for a way to help. Finding this book was like a godsend. I was able to organize my ideas and get a clear understanding of which direction to take them. It wasn’t as hard as I thought to take the principles outlined in this book and apply them to my own circumstances and abilities and see what would be most profitable and logical way for me personally to go. I like the way this book was straight forward, listing businesses with start up costs from zero to $1000 in an easy to read format. There were also things I hadn’t thought of like writing a business plan, setting up a home office and advertising. The Internet is chock full of scam companies promising nonexistent home job offers but after reading this book I can stop looking. I feel a little more informed about business ownership and issues like taxes, insurance and permits. Need to know stuff before you jump in head strong.
Comment by Kelly — February 4, 2008 @ 1:18 pm
This book has lots of practical, current ideas that could be started for much less than one thousand dollars. The 101 ideas are really well laid out and have links and recommended books so you can find out more. Each idea has specific ideas for how to get started and links to books and organizations for more information. It does not just give you can idea, but it shows you how to get started straight away. The case studies of successful home business owners showed how others have succeeded. The home business owners talk about how they did it and what problems they faced.
What I found most helpful were the sections on business selection and planning. There are simple checklists and questions to find out what type of business you are most suited to and likely to be successful at. It would be really helpful for someone feeling unsure about what type of home business would be best for them.
The business planning section shows that a home business can be much more than just earning a few extra dollars, it can be a viable, long term income if you plan for it. Writing a business plan for a home business is really simplified with the checklists. This was really worth doing and made me think about the future possibilities of my home business.
Comment by Elle Johnson — February 6, 2008 @ 1:46 pm
Easy to read and straight forward, author Heather L. Shepherd lays out what it takes for frazzled parents to start and maintain a business. A parent herself, Shepherd understands the pressures a young family brings and what it takes to be successful with a supplemental business effort.
Book begins with a couple chapters on self-evaluation (can you really do this? Is your business idea strong enough?). Business ideas are divided into two groups: those that can launched for between zero and one hundred dollars, like an after school program director or business consulting, and those that require between five hundred and a thousand, like opening a nail salon.
Check lists, equipment needs, startup funding sources, helpful Web sites and other resources are packed into this book. I found it easier to read even than similar books in the “How To For Dummies” series. Seems more personal for some reason. A one-stop resource for those who want to develop a business goal while juggling diaper changes and stroller time.
Also enjoyed the business profiles Shepherd uses as success stories, and the rating system she uses to describe what each business idea costs to start, equipment needs, earnings outlook and potential clientele.
As for the business ideas themselves, the book covers a lot of doable options: researcher, inspirational speaker, organizer, spa parties consultant, t-shirt design…the list goes on and each idea is explored thoroughly.
Comment by Michael Wade — February 21, 2008 @ 2:04 pm
This book is marketed toward stay-at-home parents, but it useful for just about anyone over the age of 18. The best way to protect yourself from a recession is to have a bank of skills you can fall back on, and 101 Businesses You Can Start With Less Than $1,000 should give every reader at least five ideas for making extra money.
The best thing about 101 Businesses is its comprehensive look at how to succeed in each job. I never knew how to become a voice-over actor, but now I do. I know what equipment I need, who my potential clients are, and how to get started. Every business listed in Shepherd’s book has a list of websites and how-to books to help you get off the ground. I was also surprised to learn how many of these businesses require less than $100 to get started.
I also appreciated the clear-eyed approach Shepherd takes in telling readers that these businesses require a lot of research and effort before they become profitable. This is the opposite of a “get rich quick” book. It’s more of a “get to work, get happy and maybe get rich” book.
Comment by Gorman — March 29, 2008 @ 8:49 am
101 Businesses You Can Start With Less Than One Thousand Dollars: For Stay-at-Home Moms & Dads by Heather Shepard is a great resource for anyone that is thinking about starting an at home business. The benefits of an at home business are growing larger every day and this book shows how one can make a success out of working at home.
The way Ms. Shepard organizes the book makes it very easy to follow and utilize. She takes the reader systematically through the processes of selecting a business, setting up a home office, making a business plan, finance options and advertising. I found the chapter on self-evaluation to be a valuable tool. In this chapter, Ms. Shepard has the reader ask themselves the hard questions to determine if they are truly ready to start their own business and to find out what direction would be the best to take. This aspect of the book shows that it is not a scheme to become a millionaire overnight. Instead, this publication is a serious guidebook shows the reader their strengths and weaknesses. In turn, the book provides the reader with resources to strengthen their skills if they need to.
I feel that this book is not just a guide to starting a business, but also one that is a reference in order to keep a home based business on track. Finally there is a book that gives the aspiring entrepreneur helpful and practical advice in plain straightforward language.
Comment by Suzanne M. Levine — May 15, 2008 @ 3:18 pm