How To Open & Operate a Financially Successful Pet Sitting Business: With Companion CD-ROM (How to Open and Operate a Financially Successful...) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is something I do on the side; pet sit. When I began reading this, I found it a very interesting and useful tool for people who want to actually move their part time, or extra cash making pet sitting business into an actual full time career. It explains how to go about getting a lawyer and how having one can help you through not only legal matters but even just registering your business' name. This book goes through many different ways of setting up ways to be paid, so you have many options on how large or small to make your bill. In later chapters it also explains on how to care for each type of animal in order to further educate people so they can become good pet sitters.
This book is packed with so much information, but is not excessively long. If you're an animal lover and wanting to open your own business dealing with them this is the book for you. It is well worth the $39.95 price tag. This book defiantly deserves a 5/5.


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Building & Running a Successful Research Business: A Guide for the Independent Information Professional Review

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(More customer reviews)These days, newspapers and magazines are full of "work-from-home" business opportunities. Most of these advertisements claim to provide the gullible consumer with a way to make thousands of dollars each month in their pajamas. The truth is there are no easy ways to make a living as a small business owner. Owning your own small business means constant hard work in promotion, administration, client meetings and endless planning for the future. It also means doing due diligence in an effort to discover exactly what transitioning into a new line of business fully entails. For those interested in developing their own business dedicated to the discovery, packaging and sale of information, Mary Ellen Bates, with the assistance of Reva Basch (Editor), has put together a comprehensive how-to manual devoted to the burgeoning profession of the Independent Information Professional. Any effort at discovering what this field is about should include a study of this book.
Readers will note from the very first sentence that this is not a get-rich quick business scheme, nor is this a business for the faint of heart. Through the work's thirty-five chapters and four appendices (443 pages total), Mary Ellen Bates deftly guides her readers through the myriad intricacies of starting and growing an information brokerage. This book contains many of the things that one would expect from a book that directs the reader in the business of running a business: Finances, accounting, rates and fees are all addressed. What sets this work aside from others though is the depth of the information Bates gives her readers. For instance, most people starting a one or two person business might think about the most obvious things like desks, bank accounts and the like. However, what about errors and omissions insurance, confidentiality, networking and professional development? These are but a few of the critical issues that the small business owner would be remiss to overlook. All are covered in depth in Building & Running a Successful Research Business.
In the first three chapters, Bates provides her readers with a detailed job description, if you will, of the "Independent Info Pro", a glimpse into what might be a typical day in her business life and some insight into the joys and frustrations of the profession. This is exceptionally useful information that covers finding clients, real-life experiences and a section of frequently asked questions. This is exactly the type of information that potential info pros need to help them make decisions about the viability of joining this profession.
This book truly begins to soar when Bates launches into details about the research process and the resources available for use in the field. I have to admit an almost guilty pleasure in reading this section of the book. Like many who have taken advanced degrees in Library and Information Science, I learned long ago that it's all about the information and our ability to communicate that information to our clients and patrons. While many of us lean toward the joys of interacting with clients, there are others who enjoy interacting with the information resources maybe a bit more than interacting with humans. I count myself in that latter group. For this reason, I felt a palpable chill in my spine as I went through Bates' description of online resources, public records, special collections and the like. For the information junkie, this is simply outstanding material.
As a detailed reference tool and guide to the profession, Mary Ellen Bates has constructed an impressive work that will leave readers well informed about the career. Those contemplating a career change into the field of Independent Information Professionals, as well as those who are just starting out, will be well served by this outstanding work. I highly recommend Building & Running a Successful Research Business: A Guide for the Independent Information Professional.
--- Reviewed by
Timothy E. McMahon, M.S.
Executive Editor
Northeast Book Reviews
tim_mcmahon@northeastbookreviews.com

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Online research is one of the hottest work-from-home business opportunities of the decade, and this handbook provides the information necessary to launch, manage, and build a successful research business. Explained is every step of the process including getting started, running the business, marketing, and researching. The important question of "is this business right for you?" is addressed in detail, as are how to close the sale, managing clients, promoting services on the web, and tapping into powerful information sources beyond the web. Also provided are a description of the types of research independent information professionals are expected to provide and surveys of the online and offline tools necessary to build expertise and ensure a satisfied clientele.

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The Fashion Designer Survival Guide, Revised and Expanded Edition: Start and Run Your Own Fashion Business Review

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(More customer reviews)I have a small fashion label that launched last year. To begin, I invested approximately $15,000 in the sewing, fabrics and labor, and another $5,000 in advertising, most of which I do myself. I do not employ a production manager as is insisted on in this book. I do not have a twenty step process that requires a dozen middle-people and unneeded management. It is me- the designer, a contract sewing company and me and my husband doing the advertising. It is hard work, but the point is that doing this, we make very good profits even the first year. If I employed this author's advice, I would have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars (which I do not have) on pretty much nothing. My clothing is sold in the US, UK and by Fall of 2012 we plan to have shops in Panama and Rio De Janeiro.
A few notes:
I can't sew. I hate sewing. I have a good eye for design and design what I think are great clothes. Others think so too and they buy them.
I am not an artist. I have never taken an art class. I use templates and draw clothing over them.
Point is, you don't have to be a seamstress or an artist, so don't let that scare you.
I basically have no clue what I am doing- and I did it anyway, SUCCESSFULLY. You do NOT need middle-men. You do NOT need to be John Galliano. You do NOT need to have your fashions on the catwalk at Fashion Week in Paris. You DO need to work your ass off. You DO need to be certain that this is what you want to do, because the time/effort/money investment does grow and eat up your resources, but to begin, it's not nearly as cost intensive as this book claims.
This book is for those who want to be the next Calvin Klein/Ana Sui/Dolce & Gabana/etc. It's for those that want to take the long way.
My advice to you is this:
Don't let not knowing what you're doing stop you from doing anything. Have you seen the crap on runways? They don't know what they're doing either.

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Mary Gehlhar, author, industry authority, and consultant to hundreds of designers, including Zac Posen, Twinkle by Wenlan, Rebecca Taylor, and Cloak, gives readers behind-the-scenes insights and essential business information on creating and sustaining a successful career as an independent designer. With advice from fashion luminaries including Donna Karan, Tommy Hilfiger, Cynthia Rowley, Diane von Furstenberg, Richard Tyler, and top executives from Saks Fifth Avenue and Barneys New York, this fully updated and revised edition of The Fashion Designer Survival Guide addresses the latest trends in apparel and accessories, the newest designers, an updated introduction, and a new foreword by Diane von Furstenberg, Designer and President of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). The Fashion Designer Survival Guide provides the necessary tools to get a fashion line or label up and moving on the right track, including:
How to create a viable business plan
Figuring out how much money you need, where and how to get it, and how to make it last, including the latest on private equity
The best sources for fabric and materials
Navigating the pitfalls of production both at home and abroad
Marketing, branding, and getting the product into the stores and into the customer's closets
Romancing the press, dressing celebrities, and creative publicity techniques
Producing a runway show that will get results

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