Whether you are planning to start a computer repair business, have already started one, have doubts about how you run business, or need to view your business from a fresh perspective to improve it, this book will be well worth your time and money. Questions about how to get started, how to market, what works and what doesn't work as well, to rent or not, to hire or not, to build or to buy, to upgrade or to replace, etc are all covered. The answers to these questions are not dictated, but the issues surrounding them are brought out by the author's opinions and experience, giving enough reasons to make your own conclusions.
I read this book after being in business for 3.5 years. I wish I had this resource before I started, if so, I would be much further along. The book seems to cover almost every topic that I have struggled with to date. In almost every case, through trial and error I have come to the same conclusions as those voiced by the author. In other areas, I was still trying to decide an approach regarding aspects of the business, and the book's content was useful in coming to a conclusion. Despite having been in business for a time, I still have much to learn. With some aspsects of the business I had concluded foggily that something did or did not work, but had not pinpointed the reasons, and reading the book made it more clear.

With many topics it was reassuring to read that someone with more experience than myself had arrived at the same conclusion using similar logic. If you find yourself working hard, and making too little money for your efforts, reading this book will help you start charging what you should be making.

I can safely say that before reading this book, I did not feel capable of taking on my own computer business. But, it was a quick and easy read- down and dirty with all the details. The business forum on yahoo that is recommended several times in this book has proven invaluable. Don't give it a second thought! Buy it today!!! You have nothing to lose.

I was looking for a book for my profession, i did a lot of research and deciding on Start your own computer business, the book is really good,the book is well detail and very informative you don't want to put it down, your thinking will i miss anything, My computer business is very succeessful, Thanks to Godly priniciple in business and good information like Start your own computer business. Thanks Amazon!!

I've seen a lot of Internet books come and go. This is one of the few that sits on my bookshelf and that I pull down frequently. Author Peter Clemente has his pulse on what's going on out there and shares it in a very accessible, one-to-one tone, unlike many of these books that are just brimming over with geek speak. --Larry Chase, publisher, Web Digest For Marketers

This book distinctively captures the evolution of the Internet in statistics and an easy, fun to read narrative. I believe it is an indispensable treasure trove for marketers, entrepreneurs and students -- anyone interested in cutting through the hype to understand the realities of who uses the Internet today, what they do online, and how the Internet is likely to evolve in the near future. I've found no other book like it, especially the way it uses survey statistics and analysis to support its conclusions. It's really a neat, unique book.

As a small start-up company in the rapidly changing world of new media we're always looking for reliable Internet information to support our business objectives. "State of the Net" has not only helped justify our existence to our investors, but also helped us identify a new target online audience. We've invested thousands of dollars in industry reports in the past and ended up with very little substantive information. In "State of the Net", Mr. Clemente provides a gold mine of useful and reliable information. Any Internet start-up would be crazy to pass up this gem. Steven Canale

This book is an excellent resource for anyone interested in creating websites with great business value. As a server-side applications developer, I've been mainly concerned with exploiting the web as a technological medium. This book opened my eyes to the web as an information medium, strategically used to improve a company's bottom line. It truly delivers on its claim -- [serving as] "a bridge from technical understanding to business savvy".

The book is extremely well-organized and has tons of practical knowledge and insight. Furthermore, all the principles are illustrated using easy to follow, real life examples. Excellent throughout -- highly recommended!

Building effective business systems and web applications requires an understanding of not only technology, but also the organization and the processes in which it will be implemented.

Nick Flor, a Professor of Information Systems at Carnegie Mellon's Graduate School of Industrial Administration, argues that to create high-value business web sites requires business as well as technical knowledge. He draws a distinction between a mere web site, which he says, exchanges information and a business web site, which exchanges value - it generates significant revenues and/or drastically pares expenses.

He says three skills are required is proposed for systematically molding the Web to the specific requirements of the specific business.

1.General Business Knowledge.
2.An ability to analyze and diagnose business activities.
3.An ability to design Web treatments to address those activities.

To equip Web entrepreneurs and consultants with these requisite skills, Flor organizes his book into four sections:

1.Web Business 101 - This section covers the first business skill - the big picture. This general business primer includes a discussion of Return on Investment, Net Present Value, Payback, Internal Rate of Return, production, distribution and the effects of competition.
2.Web Business Engineering - Using the knowledge acquired in the first section, the book proposes a methodology that links technical knowledge with business specific knowledge.
3.Case Studies Putting Offline Activities Online
4.Case Studies Applying Web Business Engineering to Online Activities

Stick with the book until you reach the case studies. They add value to the first two sections.

This well-written book sheds important light on web development. By focusing on the author's definition of "value", managers and development teams will avoid aping successful online companies, building instead, systems that address what companies should be doing online based on their offline activities.

Until reading this book I thought I had a good understanding of what it took to design the underlying strategy and processes supporting commercial web sites. After reading this book I clearly saw how wrong I was.

The approach set forth in this incredible book is straightforward and focused solely on business imperatives. I suspect that the author and publisher realized that the title would attract IT professionals and consultants, which accounts for the inclusion of business 101. I almost skipped over this part and am glad I didn't. Even here what I thought I knew about business turned out to be superficial. The education you will receive in Business 101 goes well beyond the basics and I recommend that everyone read this regardless of whether you are an IT professional or have a business background. You might just discover that you've been misapplying common techniques such as NPV, IRR and ROI, or using the results in erroneous ways. In other words, the section titled "Business 101" is much, much more.

I loved the author's approach to value chain analysis, which is straightforward and based on a simple, but effective, notational language. Here, like in every other chapter, I learned techniques that will serve me well in general consulting assignments outside of web business engineering.

The web business engineering methodology itself is one of the leanest, most effective processes that I've ever encountered. I can only describe it as elegant. It's a blueprint for success when success is measured by how well a system is aligned to business strategy and goals. If you follow the method and resist the temptation to take shortcuts you will be rewarded with a system that meets all of your requirements and objectives whatever they may be - and you'll know exactly what the value of that system is to your organization.

A few observations about this book: (1) Give yourself plenty of time to read through this book and work through each example. It took me four times as long as it would for a book of approximate page count and topic complexity. If you're unwilling to make this commitment, perhaps you should pass this book up. (2) I fully agree with the author and a previous reviewer that web systems projects should be managed by business instead of IT. (3) If you're an IT professional get this book and read it from cover to cover - even if you never work on a web project you'll receive an incredible education in business factors and requirements analysis that will serve you well on *any* project. As a fellow IT professional I will assure you that this book will change your outlook.

This book is among the best I've read on any topic or subject and should be required reading for anyone who is assigned to a web project. It's also, in my opinion, one of the most important books published in the past few years.

The book discusses how businesses must find new ways to innovate while maintaining the core business that is already successful. For established companies to get involved in the new technologies, they must either acquire start ups, introduce cooperatives efforts either partnering or investing in internal new departments, or uses corporate venture capital to invest in start ups.

Established companies are striving to become dotcorps via networked innovation. Loudon explains how each method works, the advantages and drawbacks, and the many reasons for doing this.

The book is well organized, easy to read and follow. Key points are emphasized with questions at the end of each chapter, which provide a guide for companies dealing with innovation with its use of shades of gray and statements of key points. Case studies from Europe and the US provide examples of the different strategies and how they work. It focuses more on problem solving than on the problems offering detailed methods for companies to organize for innovation.

While VC (venture capital) was the catch phrase of the late '90s, the authors explores the different types and ways of using VC. What companies did right. What companies did wrong.

The index lists all of the companies covered in the book to help the reader immediately find those that interest her. Boo.com's failure is mentioned, of course, as a first mover that did not become a prover. There are examples of everything including partnerships, buy-outs, corporate venture capital, B2C, B2B, and more.

While this book is aimed at companies and purports to be a road map to follow in pursuit of innovation and in preparation for what's next on the Internet, it's good reading for individuals interested in business tactics, in plotting change that keeps coming, and in investing in the companies that show the most creativity and openness to deal with the future.

Loudon reminds the reader that everything doesn't happen overnight. While the Internet has become the wave of the future, its present is no yet what it was hoped for. Sound business practices, profitability, ability to attract and keep good employees still remain watchwords for success along with creativity and innovation.

Webs Of Innovation by Internet expert and global business consultant Alexander Loudon is a clearly forward-looking and progressive book about the future of business in the age of the Internet. A practical-minded approach to taking advantage of globalization and changing technology is the hallmark of this adventurous tour through the evolution of the Internet, the process of acquiring corporate venture capital, and generally gearing one's enterprise to make the most of today's changing and highly interdependent markets. Anecdotes and examples pepper this exciting and useful guide to taking charge of one's entrepreneurial destiny. Webs Of Innovation is highly recommended reading for entrepreneurs wanting to utilize the Internet and the World Wide Web in their mercantile and corporate ventures.

There are dozens of excellent books on this subject and Loudon has written one of the best. At a time when global initiatives continue to increase and expand as well as accelerate, it is especially significant that Loudon does not limit himself to national perspectives (such as those from the USA) which tend to exclude or subordinate all others. He carefully organizes his material within seven chapters, following an Introduction in which he observes: "There seem to be three strategies currently pursued by large companies. First, some are trying to enter webs of innovation by starting a separate -- often competitive division [e.g. Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart]....The second strategy is mergers and acquisitions [e.g. Healtheon merged with WebMD and Ahold acquired Peapod]....The third way is venture capital." Loudon goes on to acknowledge that each of the three approaches can work "but it is critical to know which suits your company. This book will tell you." And it does.

These brief remarks correctly suggest that Loudon's book will be of greatest value to decision-makers in larger organizations; however, it can also be of substantial value to those who do business with those organizations (especially on an outsource basis) or who provide professional services to them such as financial and legal. Change remains the only constant in the contemporary marketplace. This is especially true of the technical environment within which webs of innovation are established and developed. Years ago, former president of Harvard University Derek Bok suggested that "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." This is especially true of organizations (including the larger non-profits) now struggling to leverage their assets in the online world.

At some point during his tenure as CEO of GE, Jack Welch explained why he admires small, entrepreneurial companies:

"For one, they communicate better. Without the din and prattle of bureaucracy, people listen as well as talk; and since there are fewer of them they generally know and understand each other. Second, small companies move faster. They know the penalties for hesitation in the marketplace. Third, in small companies, with fewer layers and less camouflage, the leaders show up very clearly on the screen. Their performance and its impact are clear to everyone. And, finally, smaller companies waste less. They spend less time in endless reviews and approvals and politics and paper drills. They have fewer people; therefore they can only do the important things. Their people are free to direct their energy and attention toward the marketplace rather than fighting bureaucracy."

I include Welch's remarks for two reasons. First, they articulate the spirit of entrepreneurial innovation which Loudon insists is now absolutely essential to business success in the networked economy. Moreover, because in such a economy there are constant demands for newer and better innovations, there are simultaneously constant demands for newer and better ways to produce them. If I understand Loudon's book, these are among his most important points. They offer great encouragement to precisely the same companies which Welch admires so much and which the most innovative of larger organizations now work so hard to emulate.

Those who share my high regard for this brilliant book are urged to read Borgmann's Holding On to Reality, Nielsen's Designing Web Usability, Cairncross' recently published The Company of the Future, and Markides' All the Right Moves.

The book is a must read for anyone serious about strategy in Latin America, or anyone
interested in the Hispanic segment of the U.S. market. The authors have a deep understanding of Latin culture and business and are able to explain clearly and objectively the risks involved in Latin America, while at the same time presenting an unbiased picture of the unlimited opportunities in the region. They also provide the reader a road map for avoiding common mistakes when doing business in the region and present some innovative tools to develop sound strategies in the market. The book's content definitely lives up to its title. Winning Strategies for the New Latin Markets is a clear, thorough, and convincing state-of-the-art volume that will prove indispensable to executives, business students, and others interested in the Latin American and U.S. Hispanic markets.

Eugenio Sevilla-Sacasa

This timely book is a must for anyone contemplating investing or trading in Latin America. It offers the most complete insight of the region's business/economic climate. Moreover, it serves as an excellent guide to avoid the many stumbling blocks often encountered by many U.S. businessmen in formulating a business case or strategy. The chapter on 'Reaching the New Latin Consumers' is most instructive. Here the authors' thorough analysis on identifying and reaching the consumer is vital to any business case. Too often U.S. companies fail to fully understand the Latin consumer in terms of demand and purchasing power. The Mexican and Brazilian case studies presented are outstanding. Again this gem of a book is indispensable to anyone interested or planning to go after the 600 million population south of the border.

For anyone interested in business in Latin America, this book is an instant classic--a seminal strategy book, in the mold of Porter, Ohmae, Hamel, and Prahalad. It's original and innovative conceptual framework, comprehensive statistical data, and rich and insightful cases will prove invaluable to executives, consultants, professors and students. Although the Latin American region is currently experiencing a "rough patch", scores of firms continue to implement winning strategies and reap huge benefits. Robles, Simon, and Haar illustrate these strategies with tremendous insight and depth of analysis.As Latin America recovers economically and growth takes off, as it eventually will, this book will serve as an indispensable road map for companies doing business (or considering business) in the region.

This book puts workflow in its proper context - much more: it convincingly shows how pervasive the subject has become, despite earlier reports on its death as yet another hype gone sour. On the contrary, the most glorious days for this technology still lie ahead as is eloquently presented in the chapter by Carl Frappolo "The many Generations of workflow", which I particularly enjoyed. It becomes clear that the biggest driver of this technology is and will be the internet, whether for e-business, e-government or enterprise portals, actually for most future web application. And this also means continuous adaptation and further development of the field. It is not surprising: after all behind many web application there is some process, and the automation of a process is called workflow by definition, even if it is not made explicit. I strongly recommend the book to anybody concerned with internet/intranet applications.

I can only say congratulations on this most informative book. As a source of information about workflow it is excellent!!

The Workflow Handbook 2001 is exactly what the title indicates. It is a valuable handbook for anyone who is interested in learning about workflow management. Workflow, under whatever label you wish to give it, is a critical enabler in today's hot technologies, such as portals and e-business.

The first chapter - Workflow: An Introduction - describes the current understanding of workflow with the assumption that the reader has no prior knowledge of the topic. It is designed as a basic primer that will help with the appreciation of the more advanced topics described in later articles.

The 20-page paper on workflow interoperability standards for the Internet is clear and easy to understand. It includes details of which operations are defined in the current version of the Wf-XML interoperability specification and a reference list of business-to-business protocols that are being defined and standardized for capturing different business models and

processes. It also describes the efforts toward defining a standard for workflow interoperability that began in 1994 with the Workflow Reference Model from the Workflow Management Coalition (WfMC)...

This book sums of the core of what the web can bring to online grocery sales. As the Co-founder of an internet food retailer, NetGrocer, I made all the team read and study the book. If the grocery industry read this book 10 years ago, Wal-Mart would not be the largest grocer in the country today.

Easy to read and a must for food manufacturers, retailers, and students of the industry. This is one of those rare business books that really creates a new paradigm for a mature industry.

The grocery business is a $480 billion dollar industry that has lost sight of the consumer. With the expansion of the internet, consumer focused business models are rapidly gaining momentum and growing expotentially.

This book will open your eyes to what is wrong, why it is wrong, and offers ideas on what it will take to fix the grocery business.

Glen's style of using cartoons to illustrate key points works well. It is clear that his years of involvement in the food industry has given him a perspective that is accurate and has crediblility.

Every executive in the food industry must read this book to understand what is happening around them, and, eventually to them, if they do not lead their organizations through the necessary changes that the new net economy enables.

To quote Tofler..."the illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who can not read or write, but will be those who can not learn, unlearn and relearn..."

This book will force you to unlearn and then relearn...GET IT TODAY!

The Internet is changing virtually every business model in existence today. Nowhere is the need to for change more apparent than in the food industry. The old ways of doing of business WILL be changed by this technology. Those who embrace it stand the best chance of survival, and even success. Glen Terbeek really helps take the blinders off and opens us up to a new way of thinking. You may not agree with everything he says, but I guarantee that it will make you think. You may or may not want to use this book as a roadmap to change, but you certainly should use it as a catalyst for change. Get outside the box and enjoy. I highly recommend it!

Ruling the Waves: Cycles of Discovery, Chaos, and Wealth from the Compass to the Interne by Debora L. Spar's is a interesting and exceptionally well-written description of the practices in which new technologies create innovative markets, which in turn urge demand for new policy, standards, and possession rights to govern them. Sketching on the work of financial historian Douglass North, Spar argues that with no rules business cannot flourish. Ruling the Waves shows the accounts the growth of a number of technologies that were innovative in their time from progresses in navigation and shipbuilding that made nautical journeys feasible in the fifteenth century, to telegraphy in the nineteenth century, to radio in the twentieth century, digital television and satellite, encryption technologies and the Internet, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Net browsers, and MP3 online music technology.

In telling these stories, the author puts newer technologies, like MP3 and the interne t, in historical perspective. Sailing voyages opened the unexplored surface of the high seas to market pirates and pioneers alike, but finally the great trading governments and companies were able to nearly abolish the curse of piracy by defining and banning the practices and impose these laws. Ruling the Waves disputes rules to classify foul and fair play, principles, and possession rights.
Spar depicts four stages in the expansion of new markets and technologies: commercialization, rules, innovation, creative and anarchy. Her example demonstrates how these stages have showed diverse innovations and in different industries, as well as the relationship between government and business in the creation of new companies. Spar talks about the problems of congestion, coordination, or monopoly that have occurred in some of these new corporations and explains how these problems were dealt with. In some cases, new regulations had to be fashioned for new markets, such as the government's licensing and portion of radio frequencies, while in other, old policies were practical to new innovations, such as the claim of United States antitrust law in United States v Microsoft.
The narratives themselves are fascinating, and Spar is a exceptionally good quality narrator. Her style is dynamic, clever, and handy throughout the book. Ruling the Waves is enjoyable, while making a intuitive, stylish, and persuasive argument about what happens when technology soar in advance of existing law and how policies often get shaped in new corporations because industry wants them. The book is extensive in range and covers a lot of accounts, but still offers quite in depth accounts of how the technologies and markets developed. Spar also centers on the character, innovators, pioneers, and pirates, and their particular tales, victories, and the unsuccessful from Samuel Morse, to Prince Henry of Portugal, Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch, and a number of others. Ruling the Waves is a fantastic book for a person interested in the growth new technologies, the roles of government and industry in influential new markets, the political history of technology.

An excellent, well-researched account of the recurring patterns that accompany technological development. This book is short on lofty, meaningless predictions on the digital age and long on meaningful insight into the struggles between the commercial and government sectors that usually shape new technologies.

Debora L. Spar's "Ruling the Waves: Cycles of Discovery, Chaos, and Wealth from the Compass to the Internet" is a fascinating and very well-written account of the ways in which new technologies create new markets and new commercial realms, which in turn spur demand for new rules, standards, and property rights to govern them. Drawing on the work of economic historian Douglass North, Spar argues that without rules (whether provided by government or private initiative), commerce cannot flourish. "Ruling the Waves" tells the stories of the development of a number of technologies that were revolutionary in their time (both past and present)--from advances in shipbuilding and navigation that made transoceanic sailing voyages possible in the fifteenth century, to telegraphy in the nineteenth century, to radio in the twentieth century, BSkyB's satellite and digital television, the Internet and encryption technologies, Net browsers and Microsoft Internet Explorer, and MP3 online music technology. Spar describes how each of these new technologies created a new commercial space on the "technological frontier," attracting pirates, pioneers, and competitors, and how, in each case, new rules were formed, often at the behest of private firms and often arbitrated and enforced by governments, so that the new markets could grow and profits could be made.

In presenting these stories, Spar puts newer technologies, like the Internet and MP3, in historical perspective. Transoceanic sailing voyages opened the uncharted territory of the high seas to commercial pioneers and pirates alike, but eventually the great trading companies and governments and their navies were able to virtually eliminate the scourge of piracy by defining and outlawing the practice and enforcing these laws. In a similar way, "Ruling the Waves" argues, rules to define fair and foul play, standards, and property rights will likely come to regulate newer markets, because "markets need rules if they are to survive, and power ... flows to those who make the rules." Spar describes four phases in the development of new technologies and markets: innovation, commercialization, creative anarchy, and rules. Her examples illustrate how these phases have played out for different technologies and in different industries, as well as the interplay between business and government in the emergence of new markets. Spar discusses the problems--often problems of coordination, congestion, or monopoly--that have arisen in some of these new markets and shows how these problems were resolved, in many cases comparing American (more often private) and European (most often government-led) solutions. In some cases, new rules had to be created for new markets, such as the government's allocation and licensing of radio frequencies, while in others, old rules were applied to new technologies, such as the application of U.S. antitrust law in "United States v. Microsoft".

The stories themselves are captivating, and Spar is a very good story-teller. Her prose is lively, witty, and accessible throughout. "Ruling the Waves" is entertaining and reader-friendly, while making a well-crafted, sophisticated, and convincing argument about what happens when technology leaps ahead of existing law and how rules often get created in new markets because business (broadly speaking) wants them. As Spar writes, "...as markets expand, order trumps chaos more often than not." The book is wide in scope and covers a lot of history, but still provides quite detailed accounts of how each of the technologies and markets developed. Spar also focuses on the role of individual innovators, pirates, and pioneers, and their particular stories, successes, and failures--from Prince Henry of Portugal, to Samuel Morse, Guglielmo Marconi, Rupert Murdoch, Bill Gates, Shawn Fanning, and a number of others. "Ruling the Waves" is a great read for anyone interested in the development of new markets in new technologies, the roles of business and government in shaping new markets, the political history of technology, or in the particular histories presented--from piracy on the high seas to digital television, encryption technology, and MP3. I highly recommend it!

Gives a nice overview on what your business options are in the world of Scrapbooking. From the retail store to teacher Steligo gives you information on how to choose the right scrapbooking opportunity for you. Additionally, she references many books and publications that will help you on your journey!

I absolutely love this book, I refer to it as my "Buisness Bible." It has been a wonderful resource for my new buisneess every step of the way. Thank You Kathy Steligo for all of your research captured into 1 user friendly book. Many Kudos

The Scrapbooker's Guide to Business - What you need to know BEFORE you invest. A very helpful and straightforward book that discusses in full detail 9 different types of business plans and opportunities for making money doing something you love--scrapbooking. I also found this to be a good general business book that gives good insight in to developing business plans. There was also a lot of online references on where to get free information and sites to visit. This book gave me a whole new perspective on the industry and helped me redefine my goals as an independent scrapbook consultant who sells items on ebay (user name ktscrapbooklady). Thanks for the great book!

Security Transformation is an excellent book for a manager, "C" officer or other less technical readers. The authors take care to present the issues of digital security in an easy to read, non-jargon laden manner. And for the jargon that is put in the book, there is a glossary at the end to help keep everyone on the same page. This is the book you hand on to executives who just don't understand why security is important. It looks at the effect technology security has upon the ability to secure business and the ability to not be part of a larger problem, such as a Distributed Denial of Service attack. The warnings are real, but are not played for sensationalism, cooly explaining what threats are out there and what they mean to "you." I don't think I learned much I hadn't known already, but I did find a nice coherent package to introduce others to the risks, with significantly less amounts of techno-jargon or offputting technical details. A quick read and a good overview.

Mary Pat McCarthy and Stuart Campbell provide just enough technical information to help you understand the electronic security risks your company faces without falling into a complete course in computer programming and Internet data transmission. The authors' most valuable contribution is their structured plan for evaluating your computer system's security and creating security architecture. We [...] direct those who want a more advanced treatment of computer security issues to the book's two appendices, which review some of the same ground in more detail. This book is an important read for CEOs and an essential resource for anyone responsible for corporate security or risk management.

When I read the first chapter, I thought I had picked up a Clancy novel by mistake. The first section says "Are you scared yet?" You better believe it. The good news, though, is you can do something about it, and this book helps you make informed decisions about what to do. Definitely worth the price and more.