An Inspiring Book for Indie Businesspeople

I've been meaning to post about some books I read earlier this year, but I keep getting busy posting interviews to With Five Questions. Well, I was thinking this morning about how much books help to inspire me as an independent author and entrepreneur, so I wanted to take time to share.

If you read blogs and/or books about do-it-yourself small businesses, you've probably already heard of Chris Guillebeau. I'd been hearing his name for quite a while but hadn't read any of his stuff. Turns out that I liked The $100 Startup quite a lot.

The subtitle of the book is "Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future." The central idea of the book is that you can start a small business on your own right now, using skills you already have. The author shows you lots of examples of creative people working in a wide range of fields who are doing just that. Guillebeau bases the book on his own experience as well as the experiences of a number of people he's personally interviewed. He has a very encouraging voice as an author; basically he wants you to put down the book and go and set up a website or write a sales letter or do something to get your business idea off the ground.

What I like most about the book is the author's assertion that you don't need a lot of capital or other resources to start a business. In fact, he discourages readers from borrowing money, etc. His emphasis is on starting small. This low-risk and potentially high-yield approach is very tempting, and you can experiment with it without quitting your day job.

The book actually inspired me to start teaching some independently-run online classes. I read about an artist Guillebeau interviewed who had turned her photography skills into a series of online classes, and I decided to try the same with my writing skills. My first poetry workshop is just wrapping up, and I'm taking registrations for a summer workshop now.

With his examples and his you-can-do-it perspective, Guillebeau makes you want to explore new ways to turn your interests and skills into businesses that you can run independently from home (or from anywhere in the world, if you want to travel with your laptop or tablet or smartphone). There are enough examples in the book that something is going to resonate with you. Based on my personal experience, I can definitely recommend The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future.

Coming soon: a review of Making a Living without a Job by Barbara Winter.

Review of Put More Cash in Your Pocket

I'm always skeptical about money-making books, yet I can't help perusing them when I visit the library. Not long ago, I checked out Put More Cash in Your Pocket by Loral Langemeier.

What I like most about this book is that it doesn't aim for the moon. It aims for a smaller goal of extra cash each month. The author suggests that everyone can put their existing skills to work in a self-run business and make $500 to $1000 per month. I think this estimate is a little on the high side for many of us, but the author's heart is in the right place. She wants to encourage each reader to figure out a way to start making extra money without investing money you don't have.

The other two things I like are that the author gives practical tips, worksheets, and advice--and she offers detailed case studies of people starting small businesses in areas like tutoring, computer repair, and power washing. The book feels accessible, and the plans seem doable.

Langemeier does have a taste for snappy phrases, and I feel like she oversimplifies a bit in her role as cheerleader and encourager. I haven't read other books of hers, and I've read that she talks a lot about real estate in her other work. This book doesn't talk about real estate or anything that requires more than a few hundred dollars in start-up costs (and you can even avoid that if you already have the equipment you need).

All in all, this is a friendly and encouraging book for people who want to start practical home-based businesses to increase their income without quitting their day jobs.

For more on Langemeier, see this review of another of her books on Get Rich Slowly.