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Home > Bibliographies > Minibibliographies > Self-Employment

NLS Minibibliographies

Self-Employment

Content last modified April 2000

Introduction

Working for yourself can be the American dream. Before the dream can be realized, however, many challenges must be faced and many details must be considered. The self-employed individual bears responsibility for every aspect of the business, works long hours, and pays the entire cost of health benefits, life insurance, and taxes. The person must hire and supervise other employees or work alone, overcoming the sense of solitude and maintaining the motivation to persevere through difficult times. Following is a list of books available from NLS library collections that may help ensure a profitable and rewarding career.

Climb Your Own Ladder: 101 Home Businesses That Can Make You Wealthy by Allen J. Lieberoff

Basic information on starting and running a variety of rewarding small businesses, ranging from clerical, automotive, and cleaning services to unusual occupations such as theatrical producer, astrologer, and sex surrogate. 1982

BR 5681

The Entrepreneurial Mind by Jeffry A. Timmons

A professor at Babson College and Harvard Business School writes a how-to book for entrepreneurs based on his experience as a teacher, researcher, and practitioner. Topics covered include necessary skills, forming a new venture team, managing the family business, and dealing with the law. 1989

RC 31825

Going for It! How to Succeed as an Entrepreneur by Victor Kiam

According to the author, an entrepreneur can be anyone who sees little difference between obstacle and opportunity and is able to capitalize on either. Kiam shares personal remembrances and offers credible, useful advice to beginners and professionals. 1986

RC 24802

High-Tech Ventures: The Guide for Entrepreneurial Success by C. Gordon Bell and John E. McNamara

For someone contemplating starting a company, the author offers practical advice based on his experience and identifies important stages to consider: "concept and seed" (planning), product and market development, and the steady state. He provides analytical tools for success and a diagnostic checklist of concerns to be addressed at each stage. 1991

RC 34414

Home, Inc.: How to Start and Operate a Successful Business from Your Home by Stuart Feldstein

A Business Week editor outlines preparations for setting up a home business. Practical manual offers lively interviews combined with economic research. Feldstein spells out the profit potential, prospective hazards, and the possibilities of enjoyment. 1981

RD 17565

The Home Office and Small Business Answer Book: Solutions to the Most Frequently Asked Questions about Starting and Running Home Offices and Small Businesses by Janet Attard

Business information provider to the GEnie and America Online services offers practical solutions to hundreds of questions about starting a small or home-based business. With its emphasis on electronic resources, Attard's approach can also serve as a reference guide for established entrepreneurs. Includes glossary. 1993

RC 40470

Home Operated Business Opportunities for the Disabled by Raymond C. Cheever

Practical guide for those individuals who find that the best way to make a productive living is to operate a business in their own homes. Offers tips on getting started and suggests considering your own skills and interests as well as physical limitations in selecting a business. 1976

RC 21752

How to Start a Word Processing Business at Home by John J. Branson

Instructions on establishing a word processing service and making the business successful and profitable. Discusses types of software and hardware and advises on marketing and managing the business. 1985

RC 24816

How to Succeed on Your Own: Overcoming the Emotional Roadblocks on the Way from Corporation to Cottage, from Employee to Entrepreneur by Karin Abarbanel

Female entrepreneurs and experts give advice and firsthand experience on what to expect, personally and professionally, when forgoing a corporate career to launch a small business. Discussions cover timing the move, preparing for emotional impacts of the change, avoiding possible traps, and enjoying the rich rewards. 1994

RC 40190

I'll Work for Free: A Short-Term Strategy with a Long-Term Payoff by Bob Weinstein

Instead of spending time searching for a job, the author suggests deciding which job you want and offering to work without pay for a few months to prove your worth. He explains how to sell yourself in letters and interviews, how to ensure that you won't be stuck with gopher-type work, and how to pay the bills while working for free. 1994

BR 10424

Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Practice and Principles by Peter Ferdinand Drucker

The well-known management authority examines the phenomenon of American entrepreneurship and discusses policies and practices essential to success. 1985

RC 23790

Jumping the Job Track: Security, Satisfaction, and Success as an Independent Consultant by Peter C. Brown

Guide to making it on one's own. Brown discusses initial steps toward independence, such as leaving a job, weighing risks versus rewards, marketing one's skills, winning over clients, and separating business from private life. Each chapter ends with a profile of someone who has succeeded at the topic under discussion. The final section deals with other practical issues. 1994

RC 41217

Managing the One-Person Business by Mary Jean Parson

A writer, teacher, and entrepreneur has written this succinct handbook for individuals starting a one-person business. The author discusses a broad range of issues such as finding start-up money, marketing products, taking a vacation, and maximizing profits. Work sheets, sample contracts, and standardized forms are also included. 1987

BR 07419

Minding My Own Business: Entrepreneurial Women Share Their Secrets for Success by Marjorie McVicar and Julia F. Craig

Practical guide for the woman interested in starting her own business. Describes specifics of operating retail stores, restaurants, food services, franchising, mail-order enterprises, and personal services. 1981

RC 20103

The New Venture Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Start and Run Your Own Business by Ronald E. Merrill and Henry Dwight Sedgwick

Two experienced entrepreneurs emphasize the importance of realistic and well-defined business goals, the need for thorough market research, and requirements for recruiting competent business associates. Includes the basics and some unconventional wisdom as well. 1987

RC 26493

On Your Own: A Guide to Working Happily, Productively, and Successfully from Home by Lionel L. Fisher

A writer who works out of his home focuses on the emotional, psychological, and motivational challenges of working alone. Topics include getting organized, avoiding procrastination, promoting self-actualization, setting office boundaries, and befriending solitude. 1995

BR 10380

101 Home Office Success Secrets by Lisa Kanarek

A handbook of practical tips for the home-office entrepreneur. Garnered from interviews with thirty home-office professionals, the advice covers such areas as marketing, office management, work habits, and personal development. Uses illustrative anecdotes. 1993

RC 45570

The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship by William D. Bygrave

Estimating that the nation would need at least fifteen million new entrepreneurs by the end of the twentieth century, businessman and professor Bygrave provides guidelines for "anyone who wants to get involved in the birth and growth of an enterprise." Topics covered include recognizing a high-potential opportunity, creating a business, financing, marketing, and "harvesting" cash flows from the investment. 1994

RC 39698

The Small Business Start-Up Guide by Robert Sullivan

A practical handbook for prospective small-business owners. Guides the reader in assessing his or her entrepreneurial abilities, picking the "right" business, planning, marketing, hiring employees, using available technology, and handling other management responsibilities. 1998

RC 45744

Starting on a Shoestring: Building a Business without a Bankroll by Arnold S. Goldstein

Comprehensive, step-by-step guide aimed at those who are low on cash but have the ambition and survival skills necessary to become successful entrepreneurs. Goldstein advises readers on such topics as selecting a business, borrowing money, setting up shop, producing profits, and deciding whether to establish a partnership. Includes case histories and anecdotes. 1984

BR 5956

What Losing Taught Me about Winning: The Ultimate Guide for Success in Small and Home-Based Businesses by Fran Tarkenton

A former football star and accomplished entrepreneur offers advice on how to succeed in a small business. Discusses attitudes, ideas, skills, methods, and resources that are common to successful owners. Uses case studies to dramatize key points. 1997

RC 46108

Working Solo: The Real Guide to Freedom and Financial Success with Your Own Business by Terri Lonier

A longtime consultant gives tips for self-employed people. Outlines the wide variety of possible solo businesses and details the steps necessary for success, including creating a personal and financial support structure, making the best use of technology, and obtaining clients. 1994

RC 45387

Your Home Office by Norman Schreiber

Guidelines for creating and organizing a home office for efficient use. Includes advice on basic needs and designs--space, computers, and telephones; how and when to obtain outside help--from accountants to couriers; and general business information--marketing, record-keeping for tax purposes, and allocating resources. The author also discusses dealing with problems of motivation and solitude. 1990

RC 33467

Compiled by Joyce Y. Carter
and Catherine O'Connor

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Posted on 2006-02-24