Small Time Operator: How to Start Your Own Business, Keep Your Books, Pay Your Taxes, and Stay Out of Trouble

by Bernard B. Kamoroff

Small Time Operator is one of the most popular business start-up guides ever. In clear, easy-to-understand language, the author

In this new edition, the book will feature a section on surviving the Global Information Grid or GIG economy. The on-demand economy, also known as the sharing economy or the gig economy, is a new and greatly expanding business model that is basically nothing more than a mobile app that connects people who need some type of service—a ride, a delivery, a plumber, a house cleaner—with individuals who provide that service. There are hundreds of thousands of newly self-employed individuals. Uber alone claims that they have 160,000 workers just in California. The great majority of these on demand workers have zero experience or knowledge about self-employment. This book will give on-demand workers everything they need to know about being self-employed.

Bernard B. Kamoroff is a C.P.A. with over thirty years of experience specializing in small business. A University of California lecturer, he is the author of five books on business and taxes.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2019

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

At this point I have read 7-9 books about starting a small business and this one was by FAR the best. I wish I had found it first! Kamoroff covered so many of my questions and actually goes into great detail about things other books just fly by. I learned more about business accounting records from this book than the actual book dedicated to business accounting that I read. It is a rare gift to find a specialist in a field who can break things down in a way that a layman can understand. Kamoroff is a CPA who made everything easy to understand while also bringing humor and practical examples into his writing. This will now be my first recommendation for anyone starting a business. I'm also going to look up his other books and I know I will learn much more!

[Cassie 'The Thinker Go Go Go Go' Mis. Roben Goodfellow'\Isabelle Lightwood]

So I'm not going to 'Star' this one. Only because 1) I didn't finish this and I don't think I will and 2) it's due back to the library on the 3rd. Okay so the second one doesn't really count and I guess technically I could still 'star' this one. But I'm still not going to. Seeing as at a later date I might crack this open again when either I barrow it or buy it depending on things. But from what I did read, it was actually very good. It taught me a lot in only about 20 or so pages of the book. So I'm not walking away from it completely dumb of what's going on in the world of business. Even though it takes a lot. And I mean A LOT to start an keep a businesses going. Maybe in five or so years I'll be able to put some of this stuff to use and start my own. We'll see.

[Juan Felipe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very helpful reference/guide for first time entrepreneurs. It covers a lot of topics from paying taxes to how to make hiring decisions. I fully recommend this book to anyone who's considering starting their first business.

[Jerry · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a pretty good book on how to start a business.

An example of its advice covers differences in legal structure:

An important distinction between sole proprietorships and LLCs and Corporations is that owners of sole proprietorships and LLCs can not be employees and can not receive a salary. Owners take a draw and pay taxes on the profit of the business. The draw is not a business expense. Profits pass through to the tax return of the owners and are subject to self-employment taxes (Social Security and Medicare).

For corporations, owners may be employees and receive a salary that is deductible as an expense by the corporation. The salary is subject to the self-employment tax paid by the owner. Profit is paid out as dividends and not subject to self-employment tax. For C corporations dividends are taxed when distributed and at the capital gains rate. The C corporation also pays the corporate tax rate on profits. For the S-corporation, dividends are taxable when earned and are taxed at the ordinary income rate of the owner. They are passed through to the owner’s tax form.

Employee health insurance rules are different for C & S corporations. Owners of C corps are eligible for health insurance deductible by the corporation and tax-free to the owner-employee. S corporations do not get a tax deduction for health insurance purchased for owners.

Some states such as New York, do not recognize S corporations for state tax purposes.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bernie (Bernard, CPA) provides a great overview (a reality check, if you will) about all facets of starting your own business. Sure, you know your craft or have a brilliant idea. But are you ready for all the other (really important) obligations to keep you on track instead of behind bars? Great bookkeeper read!

[Beckie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good info if you haven't read any books yet. Good info to brush-up on info. Could do without the cartoons and quotes, IMHO.

[Leslie Jeffers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book to help me sort out the many details of running a small, at home/online business. It's a fairly simple read packed with a lot of basic, essential knowledge. I found the paperback easier to navigate than the tablet version bc there are multiple forms and graphs presented as examples. While it didn't answer every question I have, it did answer a large majority. Tax law differs state to state but a lot of business principles are the same. You'll still need to hire a CPA, but you won't be so uninformed when you do if you read this first. If you're a first time business owner or starting a small company of your own I would recommend this as a starting point.