101 Businesses You Can Start With Less Than One Thousand Dollars: For Stay-at-Home Moms & Dads

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.

Rating: 5 / 5

While the title indicates it was written for stay-at-home moms and dads, almost everyone can benefit from this book. Heather Shepherd designed a book for individuals who wish to supplement their income, while caring for small children and working from a home office. Shepherd spends considerable time focused on the self-evaluation aspect of starting a business. Here, she presents self-evaluation guides, checklists and advice if your skills are weak.

Shepherd supplies charts and questions to ensure individuals choose the correct home-based business. The actual business suggestions are divided into two categories based on start-up costs: $0-$100 and $500-$1,000. Within each business idea, Shepherd provides a brief overview of the business, projected money needed to start the business, business equipment needed, education/skills required, where to find clientele and a starting point. She also offers a “learn more” section for each business. In this section, she gives the reader websites, books organizations and groups that may be helpful when starting this business.

Readers are presented with a complete look at a sample business plan and a step-by-step guide to writing their own. Shepherd provides readers with several case studies of successful individuals who have started and maintained their own home-based businesses. The information supplied in this book can serve anyone wishing to start their own business as a useful reference guide.

Rating: 5 / 5

I liked this book quite a bit because it gave a lot of great information and was true to its title; there really were 101 business listed within the book that are suitable for people who want their own business while raising small children. I think this is a great book for someone who knows that they want to start a business, but just don’t know what to do or how to get started. I particularly liked all the links to professional organizations for all the various careers, and the interviews with business owners were really interesting.
Rating: 4 / 5

I was quite disappointed in this book. While it does have 101 business ideas and other basic information, I feel cheated. Technology is moving faster than publishing and with a 2007 copyright the book is dated lacking many current opportunities. One specific complaint involves the number of jobs that require you to work outside your home. This isn’t always possible with small children. There is nothing new contained within the pages of this book, just a rehash of the same old jobs. Child care, medical billing, various consulting jobs and similar jobs dominate this book. Can you really make money arranging flowers or baking cakes? Perhaps, but it won’t pay your house payment.
Rating: 2 / 5

The information supplied in this book can serve anyone wishing to start their own business as a useful reference guide. It is obvious Shepherd writes from personal experience for she thinks of everything one needs to know before starting a home business.

The business planning section shows that a home business can be much more than just earning a few dollars, it can be a viable, long term income if you plan for it.

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. Good resource.

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Rating: 4 / 5