It’s pretty hard to find anyone who doesn’t enjoy reading a great book on a nice summer day. While most people prefer fiction, I’m more of a non-fiction reader. I’m an entrepreneur at heart, and judging from the bustling home business market in Barrhaven, it seems I’m in pretty good company. During the last year I’ve read quite a few business books, but the following two were by far my favorites. Anyone running their own home based business, or aspiring to, will love the marketing tips these books contain.

The $100 Startup

In researching his new book, Chris Guillebeau identified 1,500 entrepreneurs who built businesses earning at least $50,000 from a modest initial investment (in many cases, $100 or less). He then chose to focus and study the 50 most intriguing case studies.  In nearly all these cases, people with no special skills discovered that their personal passions could be monetized, and that they were able to restructure their lives in ways that gave them greater freedom and fulfillment.

I like this book for many different reasons. I love to read about success stories, and the roads these entrepreneurs traveled to find success. I also wanted insight into how these home based businesses went about marketing themselves. The $100 startup was inspiring, educational and a real confidence builder. Strongly recommended.

You can read additional reviews of this book on Amazon.ca

The Laptop Millionaire

Whereas the $100 startup focused on traditional home businesses, Click Millionaires is all about starting an internet based business. It’s also about re-inventing how people earn money. We’ve all been conditioned to exchange time for money. You work 8 hours, you get paid accordingly. But this book introduces a great concept called passive income. It’s all about creating a product, posting it online, and letting it make money while you sleep, work or enjoy your leisure time.

This book inspired me to create custom graphics which I sell on various stock photo sites (you can see my portfolio here). I render the graphics in my spare time using Adobe software and then post them to Fotolia.com, one of the biggest stock photo sites in the world. Once your product is posted and available for sale, it will continue to generate income forever. Commission checks are sent by mail every time you reach $50 in sales. It’s a nice second income to have, and best of all, it doesn’t involve exchanging time for money.

You can read additional reviews of this book on Amazon.ca