Micro-Entrepreneurship For Dummies E-Book

Paul Mladjenovic

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 613

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

Tired of the 9-to-5 grind and want a way to earn or to supplement your income? Easy. The media has named the growing trend toward micro-entrepreneurship "the Rise of the Creative Class," "the Gig Life," or "the freelance economy." All of those refer to the nearly 4 million workers who were self-employed this past year, and millions of others who currently supplement their income with freelance work. While the trend has been spotted before, there's one stark difference between micro-entrepreneurs today and the "Free Agent Nation" citizens of the late '90s: technology. Micro-Entrepreneurship For Dummies shows you how to navigate this confusing technological landscape in order to make a contributable profit. Micro-Entrepreneurship For Dummies aids you in making the best use of micro-entrepreneurial platforms, with helpful advice that includes information on signing up for and selling products on websites such as Airbnb, Craigslist, Taskrabbit, Uber, and Etsy. * Micro-enterprise, using online platforms to sell products or services,??is a proven way to earn extra money and supplement household income * In today's struggling economy, the importance of self-run businesses and small enterprise is growing as more people take lower-paying jobs and need a little extra spending money * Shows you how to sign up for and sell products online Micro-Entrepreneurship For Dummies appeals to anyone looking to earn or supplement their income from home.

Leseprobe

Micro-Entrepreneurship For Dummies®

Published byJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013933940

ISBN: 978-1-118-52168-7 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-59184-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-59186-4 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-59187-1 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Author

Paul Mladjenovic, CFP is a nationally sought after micro-entrepreneur, consultant, speaker, and author. His companies, PM Financial and Prosperity Network, help companies achieve higher levels of success and profitability and individuals with financial matters, especially to launch their own home-based business. In 1985 he achieved his Certified Financial Planner practitioner (CFP) designation. He leads national seminars on business start-up topics, including: the "Home Business Goldmine" and "How to Start a Zero-Cost Internet Business" (found at www.ravingcapitalist.com).

In 2012 he published the fifth edition of his book Zero-Cost Marketing (www.zerocostmarketing.net), helping businesses both small and large to achieve unprecedented success with minimal cost. Additionally, Paul's video program "Tax Winner" (www.taxwinner.com) offers home-based businesses tax education.

Paul has written Stock Investing For Dummies, 4th Edition, Precious Metals Investing For Dummies (both by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), and the Job Hunter's Encyclopedia (Prosperity Network). The Kindle edition of Stock Investing For Dummies was ranked No. 1 in the stock investing category on Amazon in 2012. In recent years, Paul's economic forecasts and commentaries have been featured in business and financial media such as MarketWatch, FinancialSense.com, Kitco.com, and numerous other media. You can find his economic, business, and financial video commentaries at www.youtube.com/paulmlad. He edits the free financial and business ezine, "Prosperity Alert," available at www.ravingcapitalist.com where you can also find his downloadable audio seminars and ebooks.

Dedication

I thank God for blessing me with a fantastic and supportive family! I dedicate this book to my wife Fran and our sons Adam and Joshua. You are always in my heart and I am grateful for you.

I also dedicate this book to the millions of good people that could better their lives and personal prosperity if they turn their talents and passions into a micro-entrepreneurial enterprise of their own.

Author’s Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I offer my appreciation and gratitude to the wonderful people at Wiley. It has been a pleasure to work with such a top-notch team that works so hard to create products that offer readers tremendous value and information. I wish all of you continued success! Wiley has some notables whom I want to single out.

The first person is Chad Sievers (my project editor and copy editor). From day one he has given me and this book his tremendous guidance, and I am grateful to have worked with him. His patience, professionalism, and editing talents have kept me focused and productive.

The technical editor, William B. Donato, is a great micro-entrepreneur whose efforts and feedback I appreciate very much. He made sure that my facts and strategies were sound and up-to-date.

My gratitude again goes out to my fantastic acquisitions editor, Stacy Kennedy, for taking this first edition from a great idea to a great book! For Dummies books don’t magically appear at the bookstore or some website; they happen because of true professionals like Stacy. Wiley is fortunate to have her (and so many other Wiley stars involved) . . . I am grateful to her!

Fran, Lipa Zyenska, I appreciate your great support and humor during the writing and updating of this book. It’s not always easy dealing with the world, but with you by my side, I know that God has indeed blessed me. Te amo!

Lastly, I want to acknowledge you, the reader. Over the years, you’ve made the For Dummies books what they are today. Your devotion to these wonderful books helped build a foundation that played a big part in the creation of this book and other works yet to come. Thank you!

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We're proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone].

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Vertical Websites

Project Editor: Chad R. Sievers

Acquisitions Editor: Stacy Kennedy

Copy Editor: Chad R. Sievers

Assistant Editor: David Lutton

Editorial Program Coordinator: Joe Niesen

Technical Editor: William B. Donato

Editorial Manager: Carmen Krikorian

Editorial Assistant: Alexa Koschier

Art Coordinator: Alicia B. South

Cover Photos: © malerapaso / iStockphoto.com

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Sheree Montgomery

Layout and Graphics: Carrie A. Cesavice, Joyce Haughey

Proofreaders: Melissa Cossell, ConText Editorial Services, Inc.

Indexer: BIM Indexing & Proofreading Services

Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies

Kathleen Nebenhaus, Vice President and Executive Publisher

David Palmer, Associate Publisher

Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director

Publishing for Technology Dummies

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher

Composition Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Micro-Entrepreneurship For Dummies®

Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/microentrepreneurship to view this book's cheat sheet.

Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Book

Conventions Used in This Book

What You’re Not to Read

Foolish Assumptions

How This Book Is Organized

Part I: Getting Started with Micro-Entrepreneurship

Part II: Finding Great Micro-Entrepreneurship Ideas

Part III: Marketing and Selling Your Micro-Business

Part IV: Considering Taxes and Legal Issues

Part V: The Part of Tens

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I: Getting Started with Micro-Entrepreneurship

Chapter 1: Micro-Entrepreneurship 101: Just the Basics, Please

Understanding What Being a Micro-Entrepreneur Means

Following your path to be a micro-entrepreneur

Figuring out whether you have what it takes to be a micro-entrepreneur

Recognizing potential opportunities

Deciding What Type of Business Works for You

Making Your Micro-Business Noticeable

Advertising your services or products

Identifying your market

Communicating with your clients

Marketing your business

Being Aware of Taxes and Other Issues

Getting others to help you in your business

Growing your business

Tackling taxes (but fortunately no death)

Chapter 2: Knowing Your Path as a Micro-Entrepreneur

Recognizing Whether You Need a Formal Business Plan

Eyeing What Your Business Plan Addresses

Naming the Type of Business Plan You Have

Looking Closer at a Business Plan and What It Constitutes

Updating Your Business Plan

Creating Your Business Plan: Helpful Resources to Review

Making Other Stops on Your Path

Making Your Business Path Easier: Tools for the Road

Going online for some education

Teleconferencing or videoconferencing

Using open-source software

Organizing and being more productive

Relying on colleagues

Chapter 3: Understanding Yourself: What Makes You Tick

Tapping Into the Process of Starting Your Business

Doing your 10-10 list to find your passion

Focusing on where enjoyment meets competence

Figuring out your personality and the type of entrepreneur you are

Remembering your great moments

Recognizing the Qualities You Need to Be a Micro-Entrepreneur

Having initiative

Being able to prioritize

Managing your time

Staying focused

Striving for excellence

Being persistent

Showing creativity

Beginning Your Business Life

Recognizing why starting at home makes sense

Setting up your environment

Chapter 4: Setting Up Your Internet Presence

Having a Web Presence: Something You Need as a Micro-Entrepreneur

Creating Your Website

Doing some pre-planning

Recognizing the four basic elements

Tackling marketing considerations after your website is up

Setting up Your Blog

Deciding on your blog’s purpose

Figuring out the blog’s set-up in advance

Understanding a blog’s features

Tapping into blogging resources

Marketing your blog

Considering Other Alternatives to Give You a Web Presence

Facebook

LinkedIn

Chapter 5: Honing In on Opportunities

Identifying Customers; Differentiating between Their Wants and Needs

Knowing the lifetime value of a customer

Recognizing the type of market: Horizontal or vertical

Eyeing the Basic Categories of Successful Home Businesses

Category one: The problem solver

Category two: Anticipating a megatrend

Category three: A combination

Getting the Lowdown on Niches: What to Focus Your Business On

Choosing the right niche for you

Recognizing recession-proof niches

Seasonal niches

Good times niches

Special interest niches

Searching for Success: Finding the Information You Need

Researching niches

Viewing educational tutorials

Searching news sites for information

Perusing article directories

Testing opportunities

Relying on Your Background for Opportunities

Avoiding Fraud

Steering Clear of Liability Problems and Other Legal Issues

Part II: Finding Great Micro-Entrepreneurship Ideas

Chapter 6: Creating Your Arts and Crafts Micro-Business from Scratch

From Nothing to Something Good: Entering the World of Arts and Crafts

Making your art and craft and a profit at the same time

Finding the raw materials

Buying wholesale

Touring the World of Crafts

Adding Beauty and Profit

Selling Your Creations: Focus on Etsy

Setting up on Etsy

Selling on Etsy

Identifying Other Online Selling Venues

Eyeing Offline Selling Opportunities

Focusing on the Four Rs

Chapter 7: Selling Other Stuff: The Golden Rules of Success

Identifying Your Selling Options

Understanding What You’ll Sell: Specialize and Understand Value

Finding Items to Sell: Buy Low

Buying from individuals

Buying from businesses

Buying from the government

Making a Profit: Sell Higher

Going the eBay Route

Listing on eBay

Managing ongoing auctions

When your auction expires

Chapter 8: Selling Your Services

Knowing Who Your Prospective Clients Are

Focusing on consumers

Capitalizing on companies

Selling to government agencies

Meeting and Finding Prospective Clients

Horizontal venues

Vertical venues

Directly via search engines and directories

Hooking Up with Elance and Other Horizontal Sites

Identifying the client

Signing up and understanding the set-up process

Grasping how the bidding process works

Gaining the assignment: Now what?

Maximizing your Elance success

Becoming a Virtual Assistant

Recognizing what a virtual assistant does

Marketing yourself and finding work

Micro-Tasking for Small Bucks

Using Fiverr

Investigating more about micro-tasking

Chapter 9: Writing for Money

Discovering the Writer inside You

Cultivating important writing skills

Grasping some important business skills

Identifying your equipment needs

Avoiding pitfalls in freelance writing

Choose Your Writing Specialty

Blogging in the blogosphere

Providing website content

Locating Places That Pay for Writing

Finding websites for cold, hard cash

Perusing freelance writing resources

Accessing other freelance resources

Getting Paid Multiple Times

Chapter 10: Getting Into Self-Publishing

Tapping into Written Self-Publishing

Getting started

Naming your self-publishing tools

Considering your delivery option: Digital and physical together

Identifying the different types of written self-publishing

Using resources for written self-publishing

Trying the Audio Publishing Route

Recognizing the formats you can use

Creating your audio product

Seeing what equipment you need

Considering Video Publishing

Spelling out the ins and outs to video

Creating your own video

Knowing what equipment you need

Using YouTube

Handling Legal and Management Stuff

Getting an ISBN

Respecting copyright

Stating your disclaimer

Setting up your ecommerce for digital content

Chapter 11: Being a Successful Affiliate

The Lowdown on Affiliate Programs

Eyeing the pros and cons of being an affiliate

Knowing the types of affiliate programs

Viewing additional resources for more info

Starting As a Beginning Affiliate

Step 1: Discover your interest

Step 2: Identify your competence

Step 3: Investigate before deciding

Step 4: Select your marketing approach

Step 5: Focus and be persistent

Spotlighting the Top Affiliate Sites

Clickbank

Commission Junction

Amazon

Chapter 12: Cashing In on Advertising

Generating Cash from Advertising: Spotlight on AdSense

Content is king

Keywords are queen

Ad placement is the third consideration

Tracking and changing your approach

Identifying other advertising sources that pay you

Getting Customers and Sales with Pay-Per-Click: AdWords or AdCenter

The lowdown on PPC and how it works

Creating your first PPC ad

Keywords 101: Just the basics

Part III: Marketing and Selling Your Micro-Business

Chapter 13: Understanding Your Marketing Approach

Identifying Your Target Market

Understanding the importance of having a target market

Choosing your target market: The how-to

Researching and focusing on your target market

Knowing where your target market is

Identifying Your Competitors

Positioning yourself versus your competitors

Staying updated on your customers’ actions with competitive analysis

Turning competitors into partners

Doing Your Marketing Plan

Uncovering your marketing strategy

Remembering your mission statement

Knowing your target market

Analyzing your competition

Identifying what makes you unique

Developing a pricing strategy

Promoting your marketing activities

Tracking with a marketing worksheet

Tracking your marketing costs

Creating an action plan

Ensuring you offer a quality product or service

Chapter 14: Communicating with Prospective Customers

Recognizing Your Role: You’re Already a Salesperson

Letting you in on the big secret to salesmanship: Be convincing

Breaking the ice — the cold call

Tackling the cold call: Helpful tips to make it successful

Getting additional help

Getting referrals

Focusing on Your Sales Message — Your Cold Call in Print

Communicating benefits versus features

Knowing the AIDA formula

Communicating effectively via email

Turning to additional resources for help in writing sales copy

Cold Calling with a Video: Use YouTube to Your Advantage

Chapter 15: Utilizing Search Engine Strategies to Market Your Business

Grasping How Search Engines Work and Where You Can Search

Getting the Lowdown on Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Before you start your own SEO research

Beginning your research: Google can help

Using other SEO tools

Making Yourself Findable

Using keywords

Increasing links to your site or blog

Getting your business listed on search engines and directories

Chapter 16: Using Blogs and Ezines in Your Marketing Plan

Choosing Whether You Want a Blog, Ezine, or Both

Using Your Blog to Make Money

Making money directly

Making money indirectly

Doing both

Promoting Your Blog

Getting listed in search engines and blog databases

Doing a micro-tasking blast

Using multiple blogs

Guest blogging

Doing some video blogging

Doing an Ezine

Knowing what to write about in your ezine

Building a list

Using bulk email service providers

Advertising with your ezine

Chapter 17: Marketing through Social Media

Succeeding on Social Media: Follow Some Golden Rules

Maximizing Your Time on Facebook

Getting started on Facebook

Using Facebook to build your business

Creating a Facebook fan page

Using Facebook advertising

Relying on other Facebook marketing resources

Focusing Your Attention on LinkedIn

Setting up your profile

Making connections

Joining LinkedIn groups

Marketing with Twitter

Implementing strategies

Relying on other Twitter resources

Considering Other Social Media Sites

Squidoo

Pinterest

Using other sites

Chapter 18: Implementing Other Marketing Strategies

Writing Articles to Market Your Business

Grasping how article writing works

Knowing where to send your article

Pointing to profits

Using Publicity and Press Releases

Knowing what newsworthy means

Drafting a press release

Knowing where to send your press release

Doing a radio or TV interview

Focusing on Forum Marketing

Eyeing the benefits of a forum

Using forum etiquette

Selling on forums: The how-to

Part IV: Considering Taxes and Legal Issues

Chapter 19: Outsourcing: Getting Others to Help You

Defining Outsourcing and How You Can Use It in Your Business

Identifying the Pros and Cons of Hiring an Outsourced Worker

Seeing the upsides of using outsourced workers

Naming the downside of using outsourced workers

Hiring an Outsourced Worker: The How-To

Establish clear goals, milestones, and requirements

Focus on qualified workers versus cheap workers

Review portfolios and samples

Have an agreed payment plan before you hire

Use an agency

Consider other potential issues

Finding Outsourced Workers

Using general outsourcing websites

Trying virtual assistant resources

Tapping into micro-task sites

Chapter 20: From Micro to Macro: Growing and Selling Your Business

Hiring Permanent Employees

Identifying payroll taxes

Recognizing other employee-related costs

Getting Your Hands on Money to Finance Your Business

Eyeing the debt financing route

Trying equity financing

Considering joint ventures

Going public

Looking At Franchising and Dealerships

Franchising

Independent dealership and service marks

Selling Your Business

Figuring out what makes a business sell

Sticking to the steps to sell your biz

Looking for additional help for selling your business

Chapter 21: Uncle Sam Comes Calling: Tax Issues for the Micro-Entrepreneur

Understanding Net Loss and Profit

Keeping Good Records

Being Aware of Certain Tax Obligations

Dishing out federal income taxes

Handing over state and local taxes

Submitting sales tax on products sold

Identifying General Tax Benefits for Micro-Entrepreneurs

Recognizing the most common tax-deductible business expenses

Deducting home-office expenses

Focusing on depreciation of assets

Dealing with inventory and goods for resale

Eating and entertaining on the job

Putting money into a pension plan

Setting Up Your Business

The simplest business structure . . . you!

The second-simplest business structure: Sole proprietorship (the DBA)

LLCs, corporations, and partnerships

Reporting Your Business Activities

Part V: The Part of Tens

Chapter 22: Ten Beginning Micro-Entrepreneur Pitfalls (and How to Avoid ’em)

Failing to Understand Yourself

Listening to the Marketplace

Checking What Others Do

Acting without Planning

Getting Educated

Spending Too Much Money

Sticking to One Specialty

Failing to Rinse and Repeat

Paying Attention to What Your Customers Tell You

Anticipating Legal Issues

Chapter 23: Ten (Plus One) Ways to Make Money Quickly

eBay

Elance

Clickbank

Fiverr

Etsy

About.com

Amazon

Gazelle

Items Wanted Classifieds

Cash in on the Real You

Gigwalk

Cheat Sheet

Introduction

If you want more income in your life and are willing to try a self-employed route, you’ve come to the right place. Micro-Entrepreneurship For Dummies is the perfect place to explore the idea of creating your own home-based business and create a viable source of income.

I have taught literally thousands of people about how to get into either a part-time or full-time business (since 1987), and the unstable economic environment during the past few years has been the worst I have seen. However, these times also tell me that everyone needs to take greater personal responsibility and control over their personal prosperity. The best ways to do so is to start a business (no matter how small or “micro”) in your spare time.

Whether you have dreams of building a large successful business (every big business started as a micro-entrepreneurial enterprise), you’re unemployed and want to start your own small business, or you just need some supplemental income on the side, micro-entrepreneurship is your best bet. This book can arm you with ideas, strategies, and lots of resources to help you kick-start your venture!

About This Book

Micro-Entrepreneurship For Dummies has been an honor for me to write. I’m grateful that I can share my thoughts, information, and experience of more than 30 years with such a large and devoted group of readers.

The timing of this book couldn’t be better. I warned my readers in my book Stock Investing For Dummies, 2nd Edition (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) that the economy is very unstable and difficult. Prosperity is something that is managed regularly as a two-pronged approach:

You build wealth in passive ways. In passive wealth-building, you make your money work for you in passive ways (such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and so on).

You build wealth in active ways. In active wealth-building, you turn your spare time into business pursuits so that you can make wealth with your time, talent, and efforts. In today’s economy, a business is a financial necessity that belongs in your money-making arsenal.

In this book, I show you that you have what it takes to create a business that can provide you with income that either supplements your income or can provide you with full-time income.

For years in my business and financial seminars, when I introduce myself, I call myself a "raving capitalist" (I even have a website called ravingcapitalist.com). I say that because I came from a communist country (the former Yugoslavia) — and that's how you become a raving capitalist! But I take it a step farther. I think that everyone has a capitalist inside, and you should take that spirit and build wealth by serving others. The whole point is making money by providing goods and services that others want or need — a win-win situation.

This book is all about creating win-win situations for you — you serve others and you prosper as a micro-entrepreneur!

Conventions Used in This Book

To make navigating through this book easier, I’ve established the following conventions:

Boldface text points out keywords or the main parts of bulleted items.

Italics highlight new terms that are defined.

Monofont is used for web addresses. URLs also appear as hyperlinks to the respective websites in the ebook versions of Micro-Entrepreneurship For Dummies.

When this book was printed, some Web addresses may have needed to break across two lines of text. If that happened, rest assured that I haven’t put in any extra characters (such as hyphens) to indicate the break. So when using one of these Web addresses, just type in exactly what you see in this book, pretending the line break doesn’t exist.

What You’re Not to Read

Sidebars (gray boxes of text) in this book give you a more in-depth look at a certain topic. Although they further illuminate a particular point, these sidebars aren’t crucial to your understanding of the rest of the book. Feel free to read them or skip them. Of course, I’d love for you to read them all, but my feelings won’t be hurt if you decide to skip over them.

Foolish Assumptions

I figure you’ve picked up this book for one or more of the following reasons:

You want to add financial security to your current situation either full-time or part-time.

You want to take control over your financial situation.

You’re unemployed and you want to explore the possibilities of self-employment.

You need a great gift! When Uncle Mo expressed an interest in becoming a micro-entrepreneur, you thought that this book was the perfect gift!

How This Book Is Organized

The information is laid out in a straightforward format. The sections are in order of what you will deal with as a micro-entrepreneur running a business (no matter how big or small).

Part I: Getting Started with Micro-Entrepreneurship

Understanding the essentials of starting a business (no matter how small) is important. I hope you take some time to re-assess yourself and consider a business. Here you find out the best path toward being a micro-entrepreneur and what type of business is suitable for you. Businesses are as varied as the people that run them, and you’ll have an easier time succeeding when you choose a business that mirrors your interest and ability.

Chapter 2 goes into how to do a business plan so that you know the step-by-step approach to launching your business. Chapter 3 covers the most important part of the business — you and how you tick. Chapter 4 talks about your presence on the Internet and how to create it (such as with a website or blog). Chapter 5 is about finding opportunities in the marketplace.

Part II: Finding Great Micro-Entrepreneurship Ideas

When you’re ready to take the plunge into your own business, you’re better off doing something that is well-suited to who you are and what you are best at.

The great success is when the right business matches the right micro-entrepreneur. In this part, I discuss this “soup-to-nuts” approach, and you explore the possibilities. It covers everything from creating products and services to auctions, writing, self-publishing, affiliate marketing, and advertising. The great strength in this part (actually in the entire book) is the wealth of sites and resources that help you accomplish a successful business.

Part III: Marketing and Selling Your Micro-Business

Part III is about marketing, pure and simple. This phase stymies most business folks. Having products and services is fine, but you need customers if you’re going to make a profit. Marketing is all about finding people who are willing and able to pay you for your products and services.

Given that, the chapters in this part provide assistance, ranging from how to find your best customers (market research) to all the steps in the marketing process, including selling and persuasion. This part also covers the various ways to market, ranging from publicity and guest blogging to ezine and blog marketing.

Part IV: Considering Taxes and Legal Issues

This part is not only about growing your enterprise but it’s also about keeping more of the fruits of your labor. This part includes chapters on how to get help with managing and running your business through outsourcing, how to take your business from the micro to the macro level (including franchising), and how to keep more of the fruits of your labor by finding tax benefits and minimizing the impact of taxes.

Part V: The Part of Tens

I wrap up the book with a hallmark of For Dummies books — the Part of Tens. These chapters give you a mini crash course in how to avoid the pitfalls of being in business (see Chapter 22) and ten ways to make money in a business (check out Chapter 23).

Icons Used in This Book

Like every For Dummies book, I have included small icons in the margins to direct you to important paragraphs of text. Here are the icons that I use:

When you see this icon, I’m reminding you about some information that you should always keep stashed in your memory, whether you’re new to the world of micro-entrepreneurship or an old pro.

This icon flags a particular bit of advice that just may give you an edge over other entrepreneurs.

Pay special attention to this icon because the advice can prevent headaches, heartaches, and . . . uh . . . business aches.

Where to Go from Here

You may not need to read every chapter to make you more confident as a micro-entrepreneur, so feel free to jump around to suit your personal needs. Because every chapter is designed to be as self-contained as possible, you can cherry-pick what you really want to read. For instance, scan the table of contents or the index, find a topic that interests you, and flip to that chapter.

However if you’re like me, you may want to start at Chapter 1 and check out every chapter because you never know when you may come across a new tip or resource that can make a profitable difference in your business. I want you to be successful so that I can brag about you in the second edition!

Part I

Getting Started with Micro-Entrepreneurship

Visit www.dummies.com for more great Dummies content online.

In this part . . .

Get an overview of what a micro-entrepreneur is.

Discover how to start your micro-business the right way to position it for long-term success.

Get the lowdown on business plans (and find out whether you really need one as a micro-entrepreneur).

Understand yourself and your abilities better so you can choose the right type of niche and path for you.

Create a web presence with a website, blog, and social media for your start-up enterprise.

Find worthwhile business opportunities and get them off the ground with confidence.

Chapter 1

Micro-Entrepreneurship 101: Just the Basics, Please

In This Chapter

Getting a clear picture of micro-entrepreneurship

Identifying the different types of businesses you can choose

Marketing your business

As the economy continues to struggle, and enterprises both big and small need to become leaner and meaner, an environment has emerged for the micro-entrepreneur. Micro-entrepreneurships are smaller and more nimble and come in a variety of enterprises, ranging from a single person working from home to a few people working out of an office. When large companies need work done and they don’t have the wherewithal to hire a conventional employee, they’re more likely to work with a micro-entrepreneur.

From 2008 to 2012, a major structural change occurred with the US economy. Standard full-time employment is no longer a given; millions of jobs were wiped out due to a variety of developments, ranging from the popping of the housing bubble (which wiped out hundreds of thousands of construction and real estate-related jobs), to financial firm bankruptcies (Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and so on), to thousands of companies going out of business or drastically cutting back. Millions lost jobs — jobs that could take decades to regain. In the meanwhile, businesses across the economic landscape have been forced to be more efficient and more austere. Consumers also pulled back on spending, and frugality became the rule and not the exception.