Rating: 
Summary: I agree with you, Cal
Review: This is an excellent book for those contemplating or even in the early stages of creating a Web Design business, whether home or small-office based. Jim Smith's book is the mentor I wish I had found a couple of years ago, but the advice is just as valuable to me now. Come to think of it, maybe more so.
I bought this book while browsing for Web design ideas, but I didn't buy this book for Web design tips. I bought it because I want help with the business end of things, in drawing up contracts, in pricing my work, in figuring out how to make the work I love profitable so that I don't have to get a "real" job to pay the bills.
This is a second career for me. I spent all of my working life, up til now, as an employee (23 years as a radio news anchor), and now find that wearing all those hats, or costumes, as Jim describes them, of the self-employed is a daunting proposition.
Jim's book has answered so many of the questions that have come up for me, and covered so many of the challenges I have experienced in this first year, from clients who ask for dozens of redesigns to working for "friends" who unilaterally change the rules and then point to "no written contract, too bad". The book
offers suggestions for dealing with these challenges in ways in which everyone wins.
Jim Smith has a place on my book shelf, along with Jeffrey Zeldman, Eric Meyer, 37 Signals, Jeffrey Zeen, and all of the other design and usability experts, programmers and coders, I admire and respect. They all have something to teach me. I learn from them all.
Rating:
Summary: Pays for itself every time I use it !!
Review: ...I went to the computers sections and found this book. I took a glance at it for about 1/2 hour, then I said to my self, "Its the only copy and it looks like a good book." I really like the Sample contract. I am not very good at legal matters but this took me through setting up a great contract as easy as 1-2-3. I am now getting jobs instead of my competitors and it is because of this great toolkit. Jim has done a great job in sharing his personal sucess and how to achieve it.I wonder what he will write next? Brian Velkavrh ~ ...
Rating: 
Summary: Fell short of my expectations
Review: As an aspiring graphic/web designer looking to launch her first freelance business, I thought Smith's book would cover all the aspects needed to get started. After scanning through the entire book and reading several chapters more thoroughly, I've come to the conclusion that this book isn't for me. Granted, it offered valuable insight from the author's experience, but I felt it was too general. The lack of detail gave it a three-star rating. For example, many webdesigners are resellers; that is, they purchase space from a webhost and make up their own webhosting packages to sell to clients. I've often thought about offering that service, but didn't know what it took to be a reseller. The book skims over that area, which surprises me, since webhosting is a service many webdesigners provide. Smith basically said he is a reseller, he shows clients why it's better to be hosted on a commercial server rather than a local ISP, and recommends two webhosts that provide good reselling plans. He doesn't cover the aspects of becoming a reseller, the pros and cons. Did you know a reseller has to provide technical support for his/her clients? Webhosts recommend that you have to have a fair knowledge of various programming languages, and be familiar with a UNIX/NT server. Now if you just read this book and decide to offer webhosting, you'd be in a whole heap of trouble. For the novice designer, this would be a good place to begin. But for the seasoned designer, Smith's design "tips" are just redundant rule of thumbs we've all heard before: design for cross-browser/multiple resolution compatiblity, optimize your graphics, avoid using the latest cutting-edge technology, and so forth. Business-wise, there is a sample contract and other documents that look okay. I may give them a try, but there are also more concise business contracts/documents templates available online. I suggest you do a search for "webdesign contract template" and see what you can find. Smith is getting somewhere with his book. I hope other aspiring authors will follow. What we need is a book for designers that explain technical business terms in plain English, dealing with subjects such as contracts, business plans, invoices, budgets, taxes, etc. It would also be helpful to have related chapters dealing with security, such as how to obtain a SSL certificate, how to accept credit cards online, and so forth. As defined by Smith's book, I am a "ponytail", someone who is more focused in the creative aspect of the webdesign business. I know nothing of programming or sales or marketing. Something to consider when revising for the next edition.
Rating:
Summary: One of a kind
Review: Exactly what I was looking for - this book is the definitive guide on the subject. If there's a better book out there on starting a web design shop (not graphic design) I can't find it. It gets right to the point and covers all the bases. Like other reviewers, I checked out the author's site and was a bit disappointed. But listen, the book is well written by a smart entrepreneur who knows his chops about the business. Don't worry about his design skills; you can apply his writing to your own work. His writing is logical and enlightning and while reading it made me think "oh i should do that... ooh and that's a good idea too!" etc. Well worth the [$$$] and change it's going for now. I'd like to see an updated version soon with a CD-ROM enclosed with all the sample forms/contracts in text format for easy copying and pasting to help create your own forms/contracts.
Rating:
Summary: Honing web design skills and getting clients
Review: From honing web design skills and getting clients to building a web site and staying profitable, How to Start A Home-Based Web Design Business provides beginners with tips on how to start a home-based web design business, combining basic business start-up advice with specifics tailored for the industry.
Rating:
Summary: Easy-to-Read and Informative
Review: From the moment I picked up this book, I couldn't put it down. Jim lays out a good plan for starting a web design business. He writes as if he were talking to you, not down to you. He's one of the rare few that actually don't try to sell you things at the same time. After reading this, you'll see that it's definitely not rocket science, like many people claim. It made me a lot more comfortable with the idea and the process. I absolutely recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Amateur Book by an Amateur "Designer"
Review: I am a web design veteran and have decided to go out on my own to start a web design business. I thought this book might have some insight as to how to go about doing that. As I read the book, it was becoming clear that this book should be called "Starting a Home Based Business For Dummies - with Some Web Stuff Thrown In" I got about halfway through the book and I was curious to see this guys work, so I - like other reviewers here - checked out his website.
Yikes. It looks like a newbie's first attempt. All that was missing waas the blinking text and rotating logo. I put the book down after that. I can't take advice from someone I don't respect professionally. I wish I had more hands so I could give this book four thumbs down.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book to start with...
Review: I bought this book because it sounded useful and interesting, and it was. The topics covered were broad, however they gave some very useful information to getting clients for a web company (or as the book calls them, web design houses), and also how to keep the clients. Networking and all that is described, which are things I did learn in my entreprenuership class back in highschool, but its still useful. Although this is not the last book I will read on this subject, it has given me more insight to what it will take to become successful.... After reading this book, I went to Jim Smith's website.... for lack fo a better word, it was shockingly dissapointing. The site, to be honest, looks like a template from Microsoft Frontpage.... But oh well, the book was prettygood.... If he could get clients with that website, its hope for a lot of us ;P
Rating:
Summary: Great book, but Smith's credibility concerns me
Review: I find the book really informative for someone who knows how to design web sites, and wants to make a living doing it, but doesn't know where to begin to start a business. He nicely covers all the things you just wouldn't consider otherwise, and the example worksheets, contract and business plan are greatly appreciated. However, while the chapters about the business-specific aspects are very good, I take issue with some of his off the cuff comments about his lifetime of failed businesses, and his ridiculously basic chapters on web design. It is almost as if Smith is demonstrating that web design is just something that anyone can pick up and make a living doing, without needing any special skills, talent or education to be a *good* web designer. I must take offense to that...the reason you cannot find a direct link to Smith's web design business is probably because his own company's site is horribly done and embarrassing. ...If you browse through his portfolio, his sites look as if they were cut out of a mold using some America Online wizard, with nothing creative in them whatsoever. In my opinion, they are truly horrible representations of someone who otherwise comes off as 'knowledgeable' in web design. I do not find this a comforting thing when he claims to be such an expert. Furthermore, I find it hauntingly scary that he mentions his string of failed businesses. I guess he's pulling out the "trust me from experience" rationale for writing the book, but frankly, I think he's a tool for admiting these things. If I were a potential client, I wouldn't want to touch his web design business with a pole if I knew that he's collapsed many a business in his day, he prefers to do his accounting by dumping all of his receipts into a shoe box, and that he just moved onto web design as the 'next big thing' from some other failed attempt at income generation. It puts a black mark on those of us who truly believe that one needs talent and an eye for design in order to produce good web sites. Bottom line: good book for non-business types, but Smith should not consider himself to be a good, credible web designer at all. And neither should you.
Rating:
Summary: If only this book was around 5 years ago
Review: I first attempted to start a Web Design business 5 years ago and I failed without REALLY trying. If I had had 1/8 of the knowledge in this book I would be going strong now. After reading this I am going to take another stab, but I am first going to spend the next 3-6 months developing a business plan. I feel like this book is enabling my dreams to come to fruition.
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