Product Description

Author Jan Melnik, owner of a successful home-based secretarial service, shares her experience and down-to-earth advice on every aspect of setting up and running a thriving home-based business.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1075650 in Books
• Published on: 1999-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

From Library Journal
There is a great demand for books on starting new businesses, particularly specific types of businesses. The strength of these titles is that the authors have all started their own business and operated them for many years. All three authors discuss business plans, financing, record keeping, and other basics and include samples of the necessary forms. Dell includes an excellent section on dealing with the employees needed in a landscaping business and even gives advice on managing aliens and non-English speakers. He also explains how to find and bid on different landscaping jobs. Melnik devotes a large portion of her book to the marketing of a secretarial service. She provides sample advertising letters and scripts for responding to phone callers inquiring about services. Parker discusses extensively the desktop publishing business. She includes a list of 63 possible jobs a desktop publisher and writer can do, including producing advertising copy, making calendars and greeting cards, and writing articles. She also includes a discussion of computer software and hardware. Each book is essential reading for anyone wanting to start a business in the field it covers. Recommended for libraries with small business collections.
Joel Jones, Jefferson Cty. P.L., Arvada, Colo.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
>From buying the right computer to getting clients and keeping the books, this surveys the basics of conducting a home-based secretarial business. This second edition updates and adds to the details on taxes and accounting, keeping current on the latest secretarial skills in demand which would fit with a home-based business. -- Midwest Book Review

From the Back Cover
Have you ever dreamed of starting your own home-based secretarial service? Have you been hesitant to put your plans into action? This guide contains all the necessary tools and success strategies you need to successfully launch and grow your business. Author Jan Melnik shares her experiences and advice on every aspect of setting up and running a thriving home-based secretarial services business. She shows you how to assess your personal skills, estimate your start-up costs, price your services, and stay profitable once you're in business. She even provides all-new information on how to market your business and find resources using the Internet. Learn all about combining secretarial, writing, and desktop-publishing services, buying the right computer equipment, getting clients and referrals, hiring help, getting paid and much more. (7 x 10', 336 pages, cost worksheets, sample work orders, sample advertisements, resume questionnaire, sample invoice, new client proposals, subcontractor application)

Customer Reviews

Simply an EXCELLENT reference book!!
Jan's book tells you EVERYTHING you need to know to launch and grow a well organized and well planned secretarial business. It guides you through business organization, assessing personal skills, estimating start-up costs, pricing your services, planning growth, writing your own complete business plan, advertising & promotion, balancing your work life and home life, screening and hiring employees and much, much more.

The book also gives you the advantages and drawbacks of operating a home-based business as well as important comments and much needed sound advice from other secretarial services business owners. There are also lots of samples e.g.: sample zoning permit application, sample expense worksheet form, sample balance sheet form, sample start-up office supply inventory, sample brochure, sample press release, sample flyer, and many, many samples more.

The only information I miss in this book are internet sites one can access for more information and articles, etc., as well as the fax & e-mail addresses of the contacts mentioned in the appendix (this is the only reason I rated the book 4-stars). I consider this kind of information extremely important in today's world.

I am now setting up my own secretarial services business following the guidelines I've found in this book. The book has made the path a lot easier for me because now I know what I have to have (minimum), what I have to do, how I have to do it, where I have to go and how I have to plan. Even though I'm in another country, the book has definitely guided and hinted me in the right direction. I would have gone through a lot of unnecessary struggles without this book. I highly recommend it to anyone thinking of starting a secretarial services business. Everything you need to know about starting and running the business is in this book.

Jan, thanks a lot for writing this book. It has become an indispensable and extremely valuable reference tool for me.

Definitely Worth a Read!
Ms. Melnik has done an excellent job in writing this book. She provides comprehensive information on all aspects of starting your own secretarial service. She assume's the reader is at the very beginnin stages of planning and does a great job going through the entire process, one step at a time!

The only thing I wish there was more information on was operating this business from an internet standpoint.

A Must Have!
Jan's book is a must have for anyone seeking to start a home-based secretarial (virtual assistance) business. Her book is full of wonderful advice -- she even shares with her readers the actual forms she uses in her own business. This book is the "Virtual Assistant's" bible!