Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 4-8. Fifteen-year-old entrepreneur Bernstein provides kids with ideas for starting 51 different small businesses. Although he begins with a disclaimer (regarding safety, financial risk, child labor laws, local ordinances, and taxes), his overall tone is upbeat. He offers general advice on choosing a business, start-up costs, billing, and customer relations. For each enterprise, he explains the undertaking, indicates the needed time and supplies, suggests pricing and advertising strategies, and gives helpful hints for success. He describes a wide range of occupations--from button maker to garbage can mover to photographer--requiring varying skill levels. Both service and product ventures are included. Husberg's black-line cartoons add humor to the text and help make the format inviting. Not all the activities will appeal to everyone (it seems hard to imagine anyone would pay a monthly fee for a daily wake-up call), but Bernstein's work has more than enough substance to justify purchasing what will undoubtedly be a popular title. ~--Kay Weisman
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-The majority of the jobs in this second edition are the same as those in the 1992 book, with the exception of a handful that are technology based. These include online advisor, online seller, website designer, and document preparer. The text is upbeat and has a wide range of business suggestions, 55 to be exact, along with a dozen or so side panels of case studies, including the author, who was 15 when he wrote the first edition. About two pages are devoted to each endeavor, including a paragraph on supplies, advertising, etc. Some seem unrealistic. For example, "Gift Basket Maker" suggests shipping the product "anywhere in the world." Given shipping costs, it is hard to imagine a teen establishing a viable gift-basket business. "Grocery Deliverer" suggests that one "estimate the cost of each product" upon getting the shopping list, so as to collect the money upfront. There are some great ideas, but overall this title misses the mark.-Meredith Toumayan, The Langley-Adams Library, Groveland, MA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
When Bernstein was fifteen, he wrote the first edition of this book based on his own experience as a young entrepreneur. Now, twenty years later, he's updated the package to incorporate contemporary technology and cautions. Fifty-five business ideas are presented with suggestions and tips on supplies, pricing, advertising, and more. One-page profiles introduce actual "kid entrepreneurs" and their ventures. Websites. (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An entrepreneur from an early age, Bernstein offers clear and practical advice for young people wanting to raise some extra cash or begin their own entrepreneurial careers. Bernstein wrote this guide in 1992 when he was 15. Now updated with information on Internet-based jobs and using social media, the volume is attractive in its spacious design and cartoon illustrations, a format that makes it eminently accessible to young readers. Open anywhere and begin browsing to find ideas for jobs: babysitting broker, curb-address painter, face painter, house checker, newspaper mover, snow shoveler and jewelry maker. Fifty-five short chapters, each on a different business idea, suggest a world of options for kids, many of whom are too young to apply for jobs at restaurants, car washes and the like. Here they will learn how to create their own jobs according to their own interests and enthusiasms, and besides making money, they will learn to take responsibility for their finances. Each section includes such advice as what to charge, what types of supplies are needed, how to advertise and other helpful hints. The writing is clear and matter-of-fact, and the backmatter includes further guidance on online fundraising, child-labor laws and social-media resources. A handy reference for libraries and parents to have on hand when children start needing extra money in their pockets. (Nonfiction. 9 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
