| If you want to start a business, but don't | | | | location for your business, creating a |
| know where to start, then the place to start | | | | professional image, offering customers |
| is with "Start Your Own Business: The Only | | | | credit, hiring your first employee, and |
| Start-Up Book You'll Ever Need" by Rieva | | | | business insurance. Needless to say, all of |
| Lesonsky. The book is put out by Entrepreneur | | | | these things are extremely important to every |
| Press and is essentially a compilation of | | | | business owner. |
| Entrepreneur Magazine's large knowledge | | | | |
| database regarding starting a business. | | | | The fifth section covers buying company |
| | | | computers, cell phones, and cars. These |
| The book literally takes you through the | | | | things probably won't be very difficult for |
| entire business process - from determining if | | | | most business owners. The sixth section, |
| you really have what it takes to run a | | | | however, covers one of the hardest thing |
| business to how to deal with failure if your | | | | every business owner faces - marketing. The |
| business doesn't work out, and everything in | | | | section is nearly 100 pages about |
| between. The best part about the book is that | | | | advertising, marketing, and public relations. |
| it covers nearly EVERYTHING in some capacity. | | | | It also briefly touches on web-marketing but |
| If you need more information, it does a great | | | | those looking to seriously profit online will |
| job of suggesting further reading and | | | | need to look elsewhere because the book is a |
| pertinent web sites. | | | | little thin when it comes to e-commerce. |
| | | | |
| The book is broken down into seven sections, | | | | The final section, entitled 'By the Books' |
| each with several chapters. The first | | | | goes over every entrepreneurs favorite things |
| section, 'You Gotta Start Somewhere' covers | | | | - accounting and taxes. It gives solid advice |
| determining if you can be an entrepreneur, | | | | regarding basic bookkeeping, financial |
| how to come up with an idea for your | | | | statements, budgeting, and taxes. For most |
| business, and whether you should launch your | | | | business owners this section and the web |
| business part time or full time. Most people | | | | resources listed should be more than enough |
| who buy the book will already have answers to | | | | to get them started on keeping their business |
| these questions, but going through the | | | | legal. |
| exercises in the book can still be helpful. | | | | |
| | | | I can't overemphasize how important I think |
| The second section of the book is entitled | | | | it is for every business owner to have this |
| 'Building Blocks'. It covers how to name your | | | | book. It is a mini-encyclopedia (ok, so 800 |
| business, choosing a business structure, | | | | pages isn't THAT mini) for everything |
| creating a business plan, and how to hire a | | | | business related. Having this book on your |
| lawyer and accountant. I think that this is | | | | shelf will save you countless hours. I read |
| the most valuable section of the book. These | | | | it from cover to cover when I got it and I |
| are the things that most entrepreneurs either | | | | constantly refer back to it. I have |
| struggle with or ignore. The "Naming Your | | | | recommended it to every person I know that |
| Business" chapter in particular helped me a | | | | has talked with me about starting a business. |
| great deal. Naming your business is not | | | | Each and every one of them bought it, and |
| nearly as easy as you think - you need to | | | | each and every one of them came back to me |
| consider all registered trademark names, | | | | raving about it. |
| registered domain names, and names that are | | | | |
| being used but not trademarked. One of the | | | | For the amount of depth that is covered in |
| worst things that you can do is to pick a | | | | the book, Start Your Own Business: The Only |
| name that is already being used by someone | | | | Start-Up Book You'll Ever Need by Rieva |
| and face a legal battle down the road. | | | | Lesonsky is an amazingly easy read. Anyone |
| | | | over the age of 16 will be able to comprehend |
| The third section covers financing including | | | | the simple nature of the book. Reading this |
| where and how to get money to run your | | | | book won't guarantee your success as an |
| business. The fourth section, 'Setting the | | | | entrepreneur, but it will help reduce the |
| Stage' is absolutely massive and covers | | | | risk of starting a business by providing you |
| numerous important things such as choosing a | | | | with a sound foundation to build upon. |