Product Description: From buying and selling PC hardware to product development and selling services, this book offers a realistic picture of making it on one's own. The book mixes practical advice and cautions with real-world anecdotes of successes and failures
A refreshingly harsh perspective on starting a computer business What I liked about it:
I really like the brutal honesty that Rosenthal brings to the book. The curse of many "Start Your Own..." books out there is that they take an overly rosy outlook on starting something that, in reality, is a challenging and often less-than-rewarding experience, just to sell more books. This becomes apparent right from the start, with the first sentence of the book being: "Do you need your head examined?"
I also appreciate that the book is written for the beginner who is starting a business from scratch. For example, a good chunk of time is taken to explain the process of buying wholesale to make sure his readers realize that it's tough for non-established businesses to get what they need to succeed right off the bat. Because of this small business focus, I found many useful nuggets throughout the book that I feel will benefit me in my venture. In particular there is one section in which he mentions that direct mailings can be a successful marketing technique, but only if used to target businesses that are big enough to have a few computer systems, but small enough top not have a full-time IT staff. He emphasizes starting small and working your way up to bigger and more complex undertakings as you gain experience and money, which is in line with the approach I'm taking to start my business.
Round all of that out with some solid advice on business structure and accounting and you have a very useful book that really gives the budding computer guy a serious and practical look at what lies ahead for him and his business.
What I didn't like about it:
The same brutal honesty that intrigued me at first begins to seem more pessimistic as the book continues on. While I don't mind a spoon full of real life every now and then, the attitude began to hinder certain points the author was trying to make. At one point the word WRONG in all caps was packed into one short paragraph 6 times! Rosenthal has been through the ringer in the computer business and he isn't afraid to let you know it. The problem is, I think the author's sarcasm may turn off some people who are excited and enthusiastic about starting their own computer business.
The book goes into a bit of detail surrounding computer sales and commerce, which is not what I'm interested in doing. As such, I found about 1/4 of the book did not apply to me. This is no fault of the author's, as he was trying to cover as much ground as he could and he seems to have had extensive experience in commerce. He also went into the process of renting office space and hiring employees which again doesn't quite apply to me at this stage. But it will definitely apply to other readers, and his stories make the sections that don't apply to you an entertaining read none the less.
Finally, I didn't quite understand the purpose of the comic strips that were inserted at random places throughout the book. They attempted to illustrate some of the authors points in a humorous context, but served more as a distraction. In my opinion the author's anecdotes were much more entertaining than these poorly drawn comic strips. This, of course, is a minor detail, but one that kind of struck me as odd and out of place.
The final verdict:
Start Your Own Computer Business: The Unembellished Guide is a must read for anyone who is debating if they want to take their passion or hobby of tinkering with computers and turning it into a full-time, self-sustaining business. Morris Rosenthal does a great job at giving personal real-world examples of what you'll face as a business owner. The author doesn't sugar-coat anything and sometimes his approach can be harsh and off-putting. However, at it's core, Start Your Own Computer Business is a refreshing change of perspective from the normal "for dummies" type of books that are currently flooding the market, and will surely give any budding entrepreneur a sense of what it takes to be successful in this business.
Not a How to book but a Why not to book I have been thinking about starting a computer business for some time now but after reading the first 30 pages I don't know why anyone would want to start a computer business. According to this book(on pg.29) if you made $200K in sales you would only make a little less than $17K in profit to divide between you and the tax man. Another is on establishing credentials(pg. 26), it says not to waste your time on a piece of paper that noone(the customer) will read, refering to certifications such as A+ or Microsoft. That may be true on a small business scale but if your small business fails good luck with your resume. There are alot of interesting points but very general. Anyone starting a computer business or any business for that should have already done their homework and be familiar with everything mentioned in this book. Overall, this is a great book to give to a kid if you want them to stay in school.
Its not the size of the book, but what you get out of the book. First of, this is my wife's amazon account (Amazon.com only let people that order from the site to write reviews. She bought it for me) and that's how good this book is! I was compelled to write a review and help others make a good choice. I wanted to get this book, because I wanted to try to open my own storefront for PC parts. However I haven't a clue where to start. A friend of mine suggested this book and boy does this book open your eyes! The book is about 160 pages, but every single page is worth at least a hundred bucks. I really like the author's writing style. To the point and precise. Also if you can, use the links that he he has posted in the book (ESPECIALLY SCORE). To summarize, if you are thinking of owning a PC business (regardless if its a home business to a store front to consulting) GET THIS BOOK!
great value This book was well worth my purchase; for the price I had been expecting less but this book really made some good points. Very straight forward to read. I would recommend this book to anyone who has considered starting their own computer repair business.
Practical Advice (with online support) I read this book from cover to cover. Morris offers real practical advice for the beginning want-a-be computer repair person. My favorite being the who's who of suppliers. He also has another book of flowcharts that's a must have for your computer support library. Sign up for the Yahoo Computer Repair Business online to get feedback from others in the industry.
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