Excerpt

Here is a passage from the introduction that describes the path the book takes.
Entrepreneurship offers a different path, actually a safer path. Traditionally, entrepreneurs have been considered the world’s big risk-takers. They were the ones who quit their jobs, mortgaged the house and went for broke, with broke often being the end result. This book is not about that.

It is not a book about how to start the next Microsoft or Apple in your garage. It is about low-risk entrepreneurship, how you can launch small but profitable businesses today. It is a book about how to build those businesses slowly, sustainably, with minimal risk. It includes real-life examples from authors Jim Beach and Chris Hanks, both experienced entrepreneurs who proved how even in a college classroom, businesses can be started from scratch and turn a profit quickly, in turbulent economic times and across international borders.

This book is also about setting realistic expectations for your entrepreneurship endeavors. Hopefully, you already have a job. We feel greatly for those of you reading this book that are unemployed. Our suggestions will be the same to both the employed and unemployed. The goal is to not risk whatever assets you may have, such as a house, savings plan, or health insurance. We suggest that during the 16 hours a day that you are not at your job that you build alternate income streams to diversify your risk. Currently, if you lose your job, you lose 100% of your income. If you had a side business that generated a quarter of your income, and lost your job, you would lose 75% of your income. And so on.

This side business will start very small, maybe generating only $15,000 of revenue in the first year, but $15,000 might cover a mortgage payment during turbulent times. In year two, the business may grow substantially and get to $40,000 or $50,000 per year, and you may find it increasingly difficult to maintain your schedule at your still held job. In the year three, you may make up to $70,000 and decide it’s finally possible to quit your job and transition your part time business to a full-time endeavor.

The authors realize that readers of this book, battered in the down economy, are likely in a hurry. We hope you will take from this book practical information that you can immediately put to use. We are providing ideas for quick startups and specific detailed information about where to get new business ideas, how to finance them, and what steps to take first.