The Complete Guide to Working for Yourself: Everything the Self-Employed Need to Know about Taxes, Recordkeeping, and Other Laws — With Companion CD-ROM
Many people dream of starting and running a business of their own but often do not know HOW to start. Entering the small business field as an independent contractor, freelancer, sole proprietor, or consultant is not a single decision but a series of steps, each one bringing you closer to the day your enterprise is up and running, competing for customers, and making money.
How will you organize and register your business? What are the regulatory considerations? How will you protect your intellectual property? Is your business plan adequate? Where can you find financing? What are your obligations as an employer? Do you understand your tax responsibilities? This brand new book includes the most current tax rates and changes in IRS regulations such as, “Is it a business or a hobby?“
You will learn all about business operations: selecting a business structure, licensing and permits, employer identification number (EIN), business taxes, recordkeeping, self-employment taxes, paying estimated taxes (and calculating how much to pay), dealing with independent contractors and 1099-miscellaneous forms, client agreements, insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, rights and intellectual property law, accounting periods, selecting an accounting method, checklist for starting a business plan, choosing a name, business plans, forms of business structures, financing, location, marketing and advertising,
In addition, new entrepreneurs will appreciate this valuable resource and reference in their daily activities and as a source of ready-to-use forms, Web sites, operating and cost cutting ideas, and mathematical formulas to apply to their operations.
The Companion CD-ROM contains all the forms in the book as well as a sample business plan you can adapt for your own use.
Please visit our web site http://www.atlantic-pub.com/ .
This step by step guide includes all the good and bad about working for yourself. It is very clear that if you are not prepared for this challenge, don’t even attempt it. It also warns that there will be hard times, including the possibility of money loss in the beginning. This book points out many questions you need to ask yourself before starting and also highlights many of the downsides often overlooked. These are wakeup calls for a fresh faced person who is sick of working for a boss and only sees the good of owning a business.
The outline for the business plan was great. It was a clear walkthrough of the process.
In addition to giving advice, the author gives pros and cons for each step, whether it’s working out of home or leasing a space, working alone or with a partner. There are tips on everything from how to setup a business plan, to filling taxes, to collecting payment from customers who don’t pay.
There were a few topics touched on that I would have liked to see more information, like an online payment process system. If I don’t use my bank, what other options do I have. Also it advises getting a logo early, but how do I go about doing that? Should I make it myself? If so how? Or do I go to a professional? And what do they normally charge?
Comment by Shelly — February 27, 2008 @ 3:57 pm
There will never be enough information about starting a business on your own. As a business owner, I truly appreciate the detailed insight in how to set up a business. Maybe I’m biased with the subject, but I just can´t never get enough. The book is perfect for those starting up from scratch. But is especially good for those doing well on a corporate level, seeking for alternatives, or to maybe catch on some needed tax brakes or the flexible time management that “going solo” allows.
This is truly a complete guide, with specific explanations regarding corporations and the legal as well as IRS implications. Of special importance is the business plan outline on page 90. Here alone the book pays for itself. This is a step by step recipe that guides you to an effective business plan (Of course, if writing is not your business, follow the book’s advice and hire an expert).
I especially like the disadvantages and advantages of working from home section. This is a realistic analysis that serves as a good self-assessment to find out if working on your own suits you. Although I missed some more information on how to be an effective boss, Dr. Jean Murray nailed it with her appendix on list of resources. A must have for any business owner, whether you work from home or in a more structured setting.
Comment by If you are serious about going solo, look no further — February 28, 2008 @ 9:13 am
4 stars
Dr. Jean Murray’s The Complete Guide to Working for Yourself is an excellent handbook for someone thinking about starting up a self-employed business, or anyone who already has and needs a good reference. Murray takes you from an idea all the way through building and growing your business to be the best it can be. The book’s greatest asset is that, unlike most other “be your own boss” books, it doesn’t sugar coat any of the issues. Murray is straightforward about the pitfalls of working for yourself—from taxes, to your personal life, to health care. The Complete Guide to Working for Yourself has depth that seems unmatched in this genre. Even the most nitpicky detail is broken out for special recognition to remind readers that one little slip in your business can be the difference between success and failure. Murray never leaves the reader hanging wanting more, and if he can’t promise the most up-to-date information, his appendix Web site list is invaluable, especially for finding necessary business forms—no need to dig through tons of government Web sites when you have this book! The Guide is also a huge money and time saver when it comes to marketing—tips I never could have imagined even being important are brought to light and explained step by step. For me, the most helpful section dealt with hiring, firing and developing your staff (once you need one). I find it tough to hurt someone’s feelings by not giving them a job or having to criticize them, but Murray will show you that you have to do what is right for the business, personal feelings aside.
Comment by Heather — March 3, 2008 @ 8:53 am
The Complete Guide to Working for Yourself
Everything the Self-Employed Need to Know About Taxes, Recordkeeping, and other Laws
By Beth Williams & Dr. Jean Murray w/companion CD-Rom
A rough day at the office and long-held, renewed thoughts of being your boss plague you. Unfortunately, you have no idea how to start. This guide may not be the most lively book you’re likely to read, but the detail Williams and Murray go into leaves pretty much no stone unturned.
The authors don’t focus, although it is referenced, on the psychological/emotional incentives and ramifications of being your own boss, of the potential for self-satisfaction. Rather, this is a straight-ahead, just-the-facts-‘mam examination of the many steps necessary to begin fulfilling the dream of a small business.
There is even a thorough pro-con argument from each side (working for yourself or someone else).
For a reader who may be finally motivated to begin their own business due to sheer frustration as a cog in the corporate wheel, this book doesn’t encourage you dig deep into your psyche to see if you have what’s necessary to undertake this endeavor, but for sheer facts, there is nothing that appears to be missing.
“Setting up a Sole Proprietorship,” and the minutia of LLCs may be the least sexy area of being your own boss, but the chapters in this book may provide you with information you could only get from an expensive, dry seminar or the hire of a specialized attorney.
Value for value, this is an excellent “bible” of creating your own commerce (yes, even though it may not have passion of the latest mass-market page-turner, it’s usefulness will be far longer lasting).
Comment by nfmendoza — March 3, 2008 @ 2:05 pm
Rating ****
This book makes it perfectly clear that there’s more to being self-employed than just declaring yourself a freelancer or consultant. As someone who has recently started the process of becoming “my own boss,” I found this very comprehensive book to be exceptionally informative and very easy to understand. The over-large font is great for aging eyes, and the books’ layout is simple to follow.
Dr. Jean Murray, the co-author of the book is certainly well credentialed to write on this subject. Each and every topic is comprehensively discussed, with potential benefits and drawbacks factually listed; without a doubt, Williams and Murray do not sugar coat the process. The inclusion of case studies is inspiring to the novice business owner; it’s important to recognize that even well known, ultra successful entities, had stumbled along the way, but were able to overcome that. Their experience gives you the feeling that, if they can do it, why not me?
The chapters and topics are, generally, logically sequenced, in the order that you should consider. Beginning with an overview of the self-employed, including the advantages and disadvantages of working for yourself, you are able to judge, through the questions and considerations that she poses, whether or not this is what you want to be doing with what well may be the rest of your life.
She logically moves onto the choice of entity type, whether sole proprietor, partnership or some form of corporation, then onto the legal requirements and needs of each entity. A very thorough analysis of the creation of a company business plan, required for each type of entity, is absolutely all-inclusive. Towards the book’s end, the author enumerates the retirement options for the self-employed; in my opinion, this topic should be somewhere near the front of the book, as retirement goals should be an important consideration, equal to the importance a self-employed person places on his business plan… you don’t want to be doing this forever, do you?
In conclusion, this book provides you with everything that you need to know, whether you’re an entity with a staff of 1 or 100, and what steps you must take to move from just a terrific idea to a successful end-product.
Comment by Barbzzz — March 10, 2008 @ 9:36 am
The Complete Guide to Working for Yourself: Everything the Self-Employed Need to Know About Taxes, Recordkeeping, and Other Laws By Beth Williams & Dr. Jean Murray is a complete and thorough resource indispensable for anyone considering self-employment.
This book provides all of the information needed for developing a self-employed business including the legal types of business, insurance, licenses, marketing, and taxes to copyrights, employees, and retirement. It includes case studies that provide real world examples which offer the reader a practical view of the concepts. Self-employment is not the easy approach to wealth and success that many people imagine and this book addresses all the advantages and disadvantages to working for oneself.
This book provides information essential for anyone considering self-employment including whether he/she is cut out for it and it proved to be an eye-opener for me.
***** 5 Stars
Comment by Fantasmike — March 10, 2008 @ 1:11 pm
Rating: Five Stars
Williams and Murray assumes that the reader knows little if anything about running a business.
They then take your hand and walk you through everything you need to know to be a successful business owner, starting with the legalities of running your business. Complete with clear-cut real-life examples for better understanding of the sometimes complex IRS rules and regulations. They also offer advantages and disadvantages of each IRS-recognized form of business ownership.
The authors offer many great tips on how to choose a name for your business and answers questions like,
What is the legal name of your business?
What does “ DBA” mean?
What’s a trade name and should I use one?
And much more. Discusses that most-important document a business owner needs, that road map to success, the ubiquitous business plan. One of the best pieces of information I have ever read on the topic of writing your business plan goes,
“ Even if you do not need funding now, or if you do not plan on anyone looking at your business plan, still write it as though others will be reading it and judging whether your business is worth the risk.”
Lots of no nonsense advice is also given, for example, “…every business has competition. Expect it and be ready for it.”
As I read the book I could imagine the authors standing in front of me delivering their message; there was a real one to one connection. Sprinkled throughout the book are lots of real-life case studies offering insight from people who are already running their own business.
Cost-saving tips area also offered. We are told to not buy brand name for items like paper, pens and office supplies, for instance. And do we really need those expensive checks we buy from the bank? Nope, according to the authors we can find better deals elsewhere.
The book also forces you to think about aspects of running your business that you may not want to think about like the high cost of health insurance and then sets your mind at ease by offering tips on how to purchase affordable insurance.
Need a website? No worry, you’ll find tips on getting your website up and running as well as other ways to take advantage of the Internet including blogging.
Explains in layman’s terms vital information such as NDA’s -non disclosure agreements, copyrights, patents and trade secrets. There’s a lot of useful stuff here like retirement options for the self-employed.
If you are hiring employees you will need to know about important things like what’s the difference between exempt and non-exempt employees and you will need to think about such important issues as unemployment compensation, Social Security and Medicare and OSHA.
Gives tips on how to go about hiring your first employee. Reminds the reader of the type of questions you can’t ask on an interview and even discusses the sometimes painful problem of having to fire and employee.
Ends with a great list of web resources for small business owners.
A wealth of necessary information wrapped in a nice little package and topped off with a pretty bow.
Comment by Myra T — March 13, 2008 @ 4:13 pm