Small-Time Operator is a good and widely-praised book on starting and running your own small business. The topics covered are general to most (if not all) small busi-nesses. That is, it does not suggest specific ideas for what kind of business you ought to go into (like some of our other Money books). It assumes that you have already picked a particular business idea you want to get started, and goes from there. Contents include:
Section One: Getting Started
¾ the
market; location; financing & loans; sole proprietorship; fictitious
name statements; licenses & permits; federal & state
regulations; insurance; cash outlays; business name.
Section Two: Bookkeeping ¾ setting up the books; bank accounts; cash vs. accrual accounting; recording income; sales returns; bounced checks; credit sales; expenses; petty cash; calculators & adding machines; financial analysis & management.
Section Three: Growing Up ¾ business expansion; becoming an employer; outside contractors; partnerships; how to incorporate a business.
Section Four: Taxes ¾ federal & state income taxes; self-employment tax; retirement deductions; operating losses; inventory taxes; gross receipts taxes; how to deal with the IRS.
Section Five: Appendix ¾ balancing bank accounts; balance sheets; finding an accountant; information for farmers; and "Access," an annotated bibliography of books and sources.
Section Six: The Ledgers ¾a full year's worth of income and expenditure ledgers; year-end summaries, depreciation worksheets, credit, payroll and equipment ledgers, professionally drawn to the author's specifications.
Small-Time Operator is well worth the price if you are thinking of starting (or have already started) your own small business.
