Archive for the ‘Book’ Category:
Start Your Own Child Care Service Start Up Series
Start Your Own Child Care Service Start Up Series
Get Paid for Caring for Kids
Do you enjoy working with children? Would you like to help lighten the load on harried moms and dads? If you are already staying home to care for your children, why not earn extra money by starting your own Child Care Service? With more and more parents needing help to care for their children, the market for child care services is burgeoning.
Whether you want to start a family-style child-care center in your home or a large center at a commercial site, here’s how to do it. Entrepreneur Magazine’s Start Ups: Child Care Services is succinct, informative presentation of key issues to be aware of in the child care industry, plus the steps to take to start your own child care service, Illuminating interviews show solutions other successful child care owners developed for their businesses.
Child Care Services contains complete overviews of:
- legal and insurance concerns
- facility location and set up considerations
- security issues
- how to establish and revise rates
- hour and policy considerations
- records to obtain from parents
Useful sample forms, a glossary, additional resources, plus step-by-step instructions, checklists, and worksheets will guide you through each step of the start-up process and help you get started in your own child care business today.
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars A Light Overview of Running Childcare Business
This book presents an overview of what’s involved in running a childcare business. It’s good reading if you are not sure about starting your own day care and want to know what sort of things to expect. The book employs a short, quick style which includes tips and checklists, and makes this a book you can get through in just a couple of sittings. There are some reproducible forms included in the text as well.
The author spoke with a variety of people who started their own child care service and each of the chapters is based on their own direct experiences. There is also a chapter on starting a child’s transportation service.
Despite the fact that this seems like a primer book, the marketing chapter had more tips for established businesses as opposed to new businesses.
There is an appendix with contact information for some agencies and services mentioned in the book.
If you are looking for a book with a bit more substance, I would recommend Opening & Operating A Successful Child Care Center Opening & Operating A Successful Child Care Center
1 Star Gives very general info … not worth the money!
This book gave the most basic and general information about opening a child care service. It claims to cover both centers and family day care, but really only discusses centers in any depth. This is NOT the book for anyone looking to open a family day care. It covers information that people should already know anyway (except that it does write about how many mops and trash cans centers should have). Please don’t waste your money on this one. Steelsmith’s book is MUCH better – you will get a lot more out of that one!
Tags: Business Today, Checklists, Child Care Business, Child Care Center, Child Care Industry, Child Care Service, Child Care Services, Entrepreneur Magazine, Extra Money, Facility Location, Family Style, Informative Presentation, Insurance Concerns, Moms And Dads, Policy Considerations, Quick Style, Sittings, Start Ups, Staying Home, Working With Children
How to Start a Staffing Service Entrepreneur Magazines Business Start Up Series
How to Start a Staffing Service Entrepreneur Magazines Business Start Up Series
This CD set shows entrepreneurs how to start one of three different types of staffing services. They will learn proven tips for finding clients and temporary workers, setting fees, and promoting their business.
Affiliate Millions Make a Fortune using Search Marketing on Google and Beyond
Affiliate Millions Make a Fortune using Search Marketing on Google and Beyond
Affiliate Millions
For more than a decade, the Internet has allowed people to make substantial amounts of money on both a full-time and part-time basis. Today, with even more online opportunities available than ever before, you can achieve a level of financial success that most people only dream about-and in Affiliate Millions, author Anthony Borelli will show you how.
With the help of coauthor Greg Holden, Borelli will show you how to make thousands, and eventually tens of thousands, of dollars each month through the process of paid search marketing and affiliate advertising. Along the way, they’ll also share the secrets to mastering this often-overlooked strategy and provide you with the tools and techniques needed to maximize your potential returns.
Since making one million dollars through paid search marketing and affiliate advertising in his first full year of operations, Anthony Borelli has never looked back. Now, he wants to help you do the same. Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, Affiliate Millions will introduce you to this profitable endeavor and show you how to make it work for you.
User Ratings and Reviews
1 Star Technique but no cookie
As someone who has spent over a decade on the Internet, I understand the fundamentals of the building of a tool or the utilization of a tool that can be used to generate money online. If you understand this too, then skip this one.
This book is for the complete novice. BUT if that novice buys it, they will regret it because they will spend hours and hours toiling to get to an expert level of understanding on how to build and utilize a system such as this and then be faced with the same outcome I was.
There is absolutely no recommendation for products and services that do well in this environment. All of the check copies posted in the book were dated from 2005 which most folks know was the hay-day of the search marketplace and literally was the first year in existence for the pay-per-click marketplace. Today’s marketplace, especially in the affiliate realm, is extremely more competitive largely because of books like this. There was no effort expended in addressing this competitive pressure and the resulting gap reduction between affiliate commission and PPC bids.
At the end of the day, folks, there are no easy millions. You must be ahead of a trend like Mr. Borelli, to exploit such an opportunity. Once the rest of the world has caught up, the only thing you can hope to do is … you guessed it … sell a book to teach others how to do it.
4 Stars Direct and Immediately Useful
I was seeking a detailed, practical and thorough “how-to” approach to build internet-based revenue. This book filled the bill. It covered all key facets of the approach – particularly helpful for a layperson – as well as for someone with web-based experience (as am I). I have yet to test the specific recommendations. The book was solid.
1 Star Didn’t work for me
I tried the principles in this book. I set up some ads for a variety of products and different companies through Commission Junction and was, at first, delighted that I was getting a good amount of clicks. I was confident the ads were good enough because of some experience I’ve had in the past writing copy.
However, after over 250 clicks to major websites that boasted a large earnings per click, I got one sale and a large $ loss. The ads were good enough to catch the people’s attention, but no one was buying.
I think this is a tough way to go at it. A website might be the better way to go. I am amazed that anyone could make any money doing this, never mind millions.
2 Stars Basic start but could leave you broke..
Its true that money can be made by signing up for affiliate programs and marketing them on pay per click search engines. However, its possible to lose a great deal of money and this book doesn’t do a good enough job helping people calculate the risks. For example, the author indicates he markets Amazon products. Amazon on its basic associate program pays 4%. A $20.00 book pays a comission of .80 cents. But in pay per click advertising a marketer can pay 30, 40 cents and even a dollar depending on the keywords. In a test marketing the new Harry Potter book (book 5) I spent over 9.00 in ppc ads that resulted in 4 sales. The click thru to sale was 13%… which isn’t bad. The point is, I earned only about $2, but spent over $9.00 to earn it (a loss of $7.00). The author doesn’t explain how to choose affiliate programs in terms of cost vs. payoff. Anyone who reads this book will get some basic information, but before spending money on ppc advertising they’d be better off buying The Ultimate Guide to Google Adwords which does a better job explaining keywords, writing effective ads and managing campaigns.
4 Stars Basic tools for the online gold rush
My experience was similar to that of “gordo the lordo.” Plenty of clicks but just a few orders. Getting clicks isn’t hard. What kind of clicks? That’s the $1,000,000 question.
As a search engine advertiser, your task is to capture the clicks of consumers who have made a buying decision or are very close. These clicks will make money for you. The clicks of people who are “just browsing” will cost you money. You have to be a student of online search behavior.
You capture money-making clicks by finding highly relevant keywords and writing focused ads. How hard can it be? Get your ads up and running, tweak them, and watch the money roll in. You only need basic English skills and common sense. A degree in advertising or English is not going to help.
I would encourage anyone to try it because you may discover that you have the knack. By spending $500 or so, you should be able to get an idea how well you might do. Don’t make the mistake I made, which was to let my ads capture several hundred clicks without getting any orders. I kept thinking “the orders will kick in.” They didn’t. Stop your ads after 200-300 clicks and wait for results. (Even 50 clicks are too many with retail sites.) You can either tweak the ad (if it’s close to break-even) or abandon it and try something else. Tweaking wouldn’t have helped my ads, which earned pennies for every dollar spent on clicks.
You are playing the keyword market on Google. Some keywords sell for $20 per click and more. Search engine advertisers don’t get caught up in keyword “bubbles.” They are only after potent “value” keywords that sell for 25 cents or less.
The keyword market is like a gold rush. Everywhere you look the ground is torn up by hordes of stampeding prospectors. You wander far and wide hoping to find a stone that hasn’t been turned. How many thousands of other guys are out there trying the same thing? Good luck.
You never know. You might have the knack. Affiliate Millions gives you everything you need to know to get started. When I joined my first affiliate program and set up my first ads, I had the book open and followed it not step-by-step but word-for-word. It’s just the kind of “excruciating” detail a beginner needs.
Mr. Borelli explains how to evaluate the earnings potential of an affiliate program. The profit, or course, depends on your revenue per click. An adgroup for $20 books may not be the way to go.
Should you actually make money, there is a chapter on campaign finance. You have to manage your cash flow to optimize performance. If another book on online advertising has this kind of chapter, I haven’t seen it.
Mr. Borelli has set up the Affiliate Millions website for “prospectors.” The only item listed for sale is the book. There is a free monthly newsletter. There are no ads. Mr. Borelli answers questions on the site’s discussion board. If you are at all familiar with the “get rich online” racket you know how exceptional this is. Such sites are usually crammed with ads and have little useful information.
Mr. Borelli’s advice is a bit sketchy and vague. That’s because it has to be. If Mr. Borelli were to disclose his winning formula, everyone would copy him and he would be out of business within hours. All he can do is point people in right direction. Within that proviso, he provides clear and valuable information.
Mr. Borelli makes no promises that prospectors will get rich. He merely suggests that it is possible. He ends the opening chapter with “Take it step-by-step and read the chapters that follow, and you’ll stand a good chance of becoming an Affiliate Millionaire yourself.” If he starts the book by saying your chances are practically nil, no one will continue reading.
Like “gordo,” I’m amazed that anyone could make millions at this. A million dollars in a year is $2,700 a day. You would have to consider yourself pretty successful with $2,700 a day in SALES, never mind commissions. You would have to strike it rich with multiple million-dollar campaigns. You would have to come up with new ones all the time.
Think of the millions in revenue Mr. Borelli is generating for the companies he advertises for. They should throw a party for him.
Start Your Own Personal Training Business Startup
Start Your Own Personal Training Business Startup
Earn a Healthy Living Helping Others Win the Battle of the Bulge
Personal trainers aren’t just for athletes and the rich and famous anymore. As people become more aware of the importance of living a healthy lifestyle, personal trainers are in high demand. You’ll learn the nuts and bolts of starting a personal training business, including everything from establishing a business plan to getting certified to finding a profitable niche. Tips from successful trainers provide inspiration and advice along the way. They offer insights about:
- Requirements and startup costs
- What to expect during day-to-day operations
- Making yourself stand out from the competition
- Marketing strategies
- Building solid relationships with clients
- How to track and manage finances
- The most popular services trainers are offering
You’ll also find out about the latest trends in health and wellness so you can keep your business at the cutting edge in this rapidly expanding market. Whether you want to run a solo-operation or an exercise studio employing other trainers – you’ll have the tools to succeed.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Good advice—great insight
We enjoyed this book as it provided up with information that helped us make a decision on whether to pursure a career in the fitness industry. I would recommend it.
2 Stars a book for novices
I was looking for a book that would provide detailed, in-depth information. I did not find what I was looking for here.
It has helpful information if you are completely new to the industry. If you have ANY experience couples with some common sense, then this is not what you’re looking for.
It did have a resources guide in the back that I found helpful, but that’s about it.
4 Stars Good read
I found this book to be a great read. Very well-written, easy to read-nice and to the point. I really liked the real life examples they reference in the book. They have real life stories of personal trainers and how they started out in the industry. The book gives a great side by side comparison of a personal trainer starting their own studio vs. a trainer starting out with an in-home business. The only thing keeping this from a 5, in my opinion, is they don’t really do into detail about the “next step.” For example, you need to obtain a business license, permit etc., but they do not go into any details. But there are other books out there for this. I would also recommened reading Personal Training for Dummies, they go into great detail about how to really launch your business, and what exactly you will need.
Tags: Battle Of The Bulge, Business Startup, Establishing A Business, Exercise Studio, Expanding Market, Fitness Industry, Good Advice, Helping Others, Latest Trends In Health, Life Stories, Living A Healthy Lifestyle, Marketing Strategies, Novices, Nuts And Bolts, Personal Trainers, Personal Training, Popular Services, Profitable Niche, Resources Guide, Startup Costs
Weird ways whats the wildest thing youve ever done to grab a client STARTUPS An article from Entrepreneur
This digital document is an article from Entrepreneur, published by Thomson Gale on March 1, 2006. The length of the article is 441 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Weird ways: what’s the wildest thing you’ve ever done to grab a client?(STARTUPS)
Author: Nichole L. Torres
Publication: Entrepreneur (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 34 Issue: 3 Page: 97(2)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
The Characteristics and Attributes Of New Chinese Entrepreneurs and Their Emerging Enterprises An article from Business Forum
This digital document is an article from Business Forum, published by California State University, Los Angeles on June 22, 1999. The length of the article is 5839 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: The Characteristics and Attributes Of New Chinese Entrepreneurs and Their Emerging Enterprises.
Author: David Pistrui
Publication: Business Forum (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 1999
Publisher: California State University, Los Angeles
Volume: 24 Issue: 3-4 Page: 31(8)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Start Your Own Lawn Care or Landscaping Business Entrepreneur Magazines Start Up
Start Your Own Lawn Care or Landscaping Business Entrepreneur Magazines Start Up
Rake in the Green
Successful landscapers and lawn care professionals reveal their secrets to success in this $20 billion industry. With all the homes, business parks, apartment complexes, shopping malls and hospitals that need landscaping, you can tailor your services and create your dream job. Your business can range from the simple-mowing and edging lawns, raking leaves and clipping hedges-to applying chemicals and fertilizer, trimming and shaping trees, designing landscapes and more. Learn everything you need to know, including:
- How to find customers
- What equipment you’ll need
- How to hire and manage employees
- Record keeping and accounting
- Where to find working capital
- How to calculate job estimates
- And more
If you love working outdoors, you owe it to yourself to buy this step-by-step guide and start building your own successful lawn care or landscaping business.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Lawn Care or Landscaping
In this Magazine you learn all you need to know about Lawn Care and landscaping business.I have been in Landscaping for 14 years and hopefully will be in it another14.My customers are very pleased with our work and always recommend me for other jobs.
Never Bet the Farm How Entrepreneurs Take Risks Make Decisionsand How You Can Too
Never Bet the Farm How Entrepreneurs Take Risks Make Decisionsand How You Can Too
In Never Bet the Farm two leading entrepreneurs, Anthony Iaquinto and Stephen Spinelli, turn much of the so-called expert advice for entrepreneurs on its head. They show that by preparing for setbacks and using a framework that can help reduce risks and simplify decision making, entrepreneurs can increase their probability for success. They refute the idea that there is an ideal entrepreneurial “type,” and show that luck can be as important as a business plan in many enterprises. Above all, the authors emphasize that entrepreneurship is a career, not a one-time event, and winners are those who can keep themselves in the game. Never Bet the Farm is an easy-to-understand and attractive tool for anyone who has a business idea, but who might be wary of the risks implied in starting their own business.
User Ratings and Reviews
2 Stars good premise but boring and weak
I was really disappointed in this book. I do believe that many books on entrepreneurship are meant to be inspirational and therefore end up being unrealistic, and to be fair, I do think this book paints a more practical and accurate picture. With that said, the book was very general, lacked interesting and relevant examples, and didn’t add much value. Furthermore, the book seems to be 200 pages but about 70 pages are a worthless list of universities.
The worst thing? The authors repeatedly present italicized quotes of themselves, attempting to make their own thoughts and backgrounds seem even more important than they are. Disappointing.
4 Stars Two business gurus offer straight talk about start-ups
Libraries are filled with inspiring but intimidating tales of business success, but such superhero tricks of business engineering seem beyond the reach of mere mortals. Fortunately, Anthony Iaquinto and Stephen Spinelli Jr. provide down-to-earth tips for success. With detailed examples from successful companies, such as Dell and Wal-Mart, and more than 80 pages of background information, they provide instructive nitty-gritty advice. Some of the principles, especially the chapter on “gray areas,” may set off your ethical alarms. But, otherwise, this is a good how-to manual for business success. We recommend this book to actual or armchair entrepreneurs.
5 Stars Practical Advice That Most Entrepreneurs Don’t Get Until Too Late
If you are thinking about starting a business but haven’t done so before, you should read this book. Never Bet the Farm will increase your chances of success, reduce your chances of experiencing a calamity, and focus your attention in helpful ways so you’ll make faster progress. The book is a quick read, easy to understand, and unforgettable in its examples and observations.
If you have been an entrepreneur . . . or worked for an entrepreneur, you have a degree in the school of hard knocks about what can come your way. With those bumps and bruises, you’ll develop a future business in a more successful way. For example, you probably experienced trying to do too much too soon . . . with not enough resources. That’s a natural booby trap for most entrepreneurs who have a strong sense of urgency . . . that often overwhelms their sense of caution.
While the bookstores and libraries bulge with volumes that help you think about who your customer is, how to add great value for that customer, and what you can do to provide superior products and services, there’s little to help you realize where it might help you to rein in your enthusiasm. Never Bet the Farm plugs that gap in your inexperience if you are first-time entrepreneur or would-be entrepreneur.
As I read the book, I was struck at how many of the points and examples perfectly match what I teach my entrepreneurial students. Why? Both coauthors are successful entrepreneurs as well as professors of entrepreneurship, and they bring those twin perspectives to bear in practical ways.
The book’s structure is a little unusual. The book is short (about 120 pages) with a lot of references (university centers for entrepreneurship, books, web sites, and citation sources used in the book). That may seem like a strange balance. I rather liked the approach. Most entrepreneurs I meet don’t like to read and aren’t aware of how to connect to their local universities for various types of assistance.
Within the text, you’ll find 15 brief essays that develop 15 principles that the authors want you to understand. Here’s a paraphrased list of those principles: See entrepreneurship as a career; successful entrepreneurs are no different from you; success secrets are no guarantee; luck will affect you; take on the minimum challenge to move forward; be inspired by more than potential profit and gain; use your worries to help you focus on what you should be doing; hold back enough financial, relationship and emotional resources to be able to make a fresh start if all else fails; spend as little as possible to make progress; check out a choice before embarking on it; don’t take risks you can hedge inexpensively; get involved with others, but keep your eyes open; add a teammate/partner to make your enterprise more effective; probe unexplored territory of what others will tolerate; and decide how and when you want to leave the playing field before you start.
Of the essays on these principles, I felt uncomfortable only with the section about probing unexplored territory. Some readers may choose to see this section as encouraging you to disobey the law and to not honor your agreements where you can get away with it. I don’t think that’s the authors’ advice, nor do I think those paths are a good idea. Instead, they are trying to help you keep an open mind.
Many people will argue that there are success principles that apply to becoming an entrepreneur. Certainly, there are things you can do that will improve your odds (which this book describes) . . . but there are no guarantees of success. I particularly liked the way this book balances the requisite faith in your own abilities and vision with the need to be practical that a lot of things can go wrong . . . and probably will.
I thought that the examples drawn from Sir Richard Branson’s early experiences as an entrepreneur were unusually apt. Most people don’t like how he got started. If you like those examples, I suggest that you also read Losing My Virginity by the boundless billionaire which tells more about his early days.
I also encourage you to connect to your local university. Chances are you’ll find resources there that will speed your success.
5 Stars WorkSavvy considers this a must read for entrepreneurs
This book about business startup and avoiding potential pitfalls, by two entrepreneur-academics may have a negative in the title, but is far from negative in content. The authors describe how to embrace the correct frame of mind and ensure that the right decisions are made for business success. “Never Bet the Farm” takes a bootstrapping approach to setting up in business. It is about ambitious caution.
Anthony Iaquinto and Stephen Spinelli have produced a belt-and-suspenders guide for intending entrepreneurs. To launch a business without being prepared for the inevitable setbacks, is to be blind. Commentators often suggest that entrepreneurs are risk-takers, but in my experience the successful ones are not; they are calculated, or managed, risk-takers. They know in advance how they will proceed if money is tight, sales do not reach forecast, production is delayed, or they face other unplanned outcomes.
The authors do a great job because, while most books on business startup are written with the assumption that business plans will work out, they assume the reverse. This is much nearer reality. They set out fifteen ‘principles’ to help the reader determine wise courses of action. These principles include setting reasonable goals with achievable milestones; going for life as well as business goals; starting small and being financially responsible; being prudent, not foolhardy; having a backup plan in place; using and contributing to a network; clearing partnership roles at the outset; being clear about an eventual exit.
“Never Bet the Farm” is intellectually honest and based on the practical business experience of both authors, who know business, quite as much as business school. Nearly a third of the book is in the form of “An Entrepreneur’s Guidebook” with listings of helpful university resources, websites and books.
This is another title on my list of essential reading for would-be entrepreneurs.
5 Stars Buy It
This was the first book I read when starting my business. I enjoyed the real world examples they gave about the trials and tribulations of other entrepreneuers like Sam Walton, etc. It was an easy read, and was very inspirational. The resources listed at the end of the book was a great launching point for other books, websites, and organizations that can help you with your business venture.
