Tired of doing all the work for your boss but reaping none of the financial benefits? Fed up with working 60 hours a week for someone else? Want to start your own business but afraid to take the leap?

Packed with practical advice on every aspect of self-employment, along with useful Web sites, checklists, and quizzes, The Girl's Guide to Starting Your Own Business is the book that Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio each searched for when they left the corporate world behind to start their own public relations companies. When they merged their businesses into one company, Friedman and Yorio vowed to record the process and create a truly useful guide for other women entrepreneurs.

The Girl's Guide to Starting Your Own Business streamlines the vast information needed to launch your business. From starting with the big question: Are you the girl to run the show? to writing a business plan to understanding your legal obligations and getting your name out there in the marketplace. So, here's the lowdown on how to take your business idea and run with it!
But don't just take Friedman and Yorio's word for it -- women business owners from a wide range of industries offer their own start-up stories, advice, and opinions.

The Girl's Guide to Starting Your Own Business speaks to women in a way no business book has -- relating frank, useful, and professional advice with all the energy, enthusiasm, and fun of a girl's night out.

Caitlin Friedman started her own business in 1999 and hasn't looked back. A native of Amherst, Massachusetts, she has been a public relations and marketing expert for more than ten years. Currently, she divides her time between New York City and Chatham, New York.
Kimberly Yorio went out on her own in 1998 after eight years working for other companies, big and small. Her expertise publicizing cookbooks, food television shows, and culinary personalities led to the successful partnership with Caitlin Friedman and the creation of YC Media in 2000. She lives with her husband and son in Weehawken, New Jersey.

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Ten Tips for Choosing a Logo
1. Love it or lose it .
You will be looking at this logo every day for the foreseeable future, so pick something you will like tomorrow, next year, and on the tenth anniversary of your business.
2. Make sure the dress fits the occasion.
Your logo -- it gives people the first impression they will have of you and your business, so make sure it reflects your identity, tone, and service. One designer came to us with a charming graphic for our business -- an old-fashioned tandem bicycle. We got the concept -- there are two of us. It looked great and classy, but the image said nothing about our public relations business. Had we been opening an antique store, it would have been ideal.
3. Colors are key.
Choose colors (black and white counts) that reflect your corporate identity and appeal to your potential customers and clients.
4. Perfect big or small.
Your logo may be reduced, enlarged, colorized, or printed in black and white over the course of your business, so make sure the logo you pick will look perfect in any incarnation.
5. Don't choose the wrong icon.
This is a business decision. Don't fall in love with a logo that you know is not right for the services or products you are selling.
6. Get feedback.
Show your logo to respected friends, family members, and acquaintances. If they don't respond positively, ask them why. Ask what the logo "says" to them. If it's what you want people to say about your company, you could be on the right track.
7. Versatility is key.
Your logo must look good on a variety of promotional materials, including letterhead, business cards, signs, stickers, magnets, or even a web site, so make sure it is versatile. Also, be sure it will show up when faxed or photocopied. A designer created a really hip logo for a friend's freelance writing business, however, when it was faxed, the logo, along with all of the important contact information, disappeared.
8. You might not need a logo.
If you are opening a law practice or offering bookkeeping services on the weekend, then save money and just get a generic business card and letterhead with your contact information on it.
9. Use professionals.
While the guy at the local copy store may seem really enthusiastic about creating a logo for you, invest in hiring a professional graphic designer with a track record. Ask to see their portfolio or check out their web site for samples.
10. This isn't going to be cheap.
Designing a great logo and identity package is worth the investment. Shop around for designers, printers, and paper, but make sure you go with the best option. If you have a limited printing budget, do things in stages and just get business cards and letterhead done right away.
Copyright © 2003 Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio
For more information, please visit www.smartbooks.com

10 Tips For Taking Yourself Seriously, So Your Employee Does Too
1. Be on time every day.
It's your business. Lead by example.
2. Don't make a habit of leaving early.
Your employees will resent you if you walk out the door at three and call them from the gym at five-thirty to check in.
3. Don't go drinking with your assistant.
Or swap stories. Again, you're the adult now. You need to set the example. What you do in your private time away from the office should remain fodder for your peers, not your subordinates. Even when you're dying to tell someone about last night's disastrous date, resist the urge.
4. Don't ask them to do anything that is not work-related.
It's rude and fosters resentment. This includes walking your dog, picking up your dry cleaning, and buying your personal holiday presents, unless, of course, the job is personal assistant.
5. Don't let them hear you on personal calls.
Again, you are the adult. Not only will they will imitate you for months if they hear you refer to your husband as "Dr. Love," they will feel entitled to be on their own calls all day.
6. You are not their friend.
Be a pleasant boss, but never leave the door open to talk about the dating drama. You will want your employee to feel comfortable talking to you about serious personal problems (especially if they will impact her job performance); a sick mother or child-care problem, for example. But the last thing you can afford is to become a surrogate therapist for employee dating or marital woes.
7. Pitch in when you can.
If you have assigned what you know to be a tedious task, such as mailing five hundred company brochures, spend at least a few minutes pitching in. This is your team; make it happen together. A little willingness to get your hands dirty will go a long way when you need a really big ditch dug.
8. Do not share company financial issues or problems.
If your employees suspect things are not going well, they will be looking for another job before you know it. There is a whole philosophy of open-book management that works in big public companies (the law requires it, anyway), but in small companies you don't need your employees second-guessing your decisions.
9. If something goes wrong with a client or customer, you have to take the blame.
As the boss, you are responsible for everything running smoothly. If you have a problem employee, you need to monitor her closely, provide more training, or let her go. You cannot make bad employees the scapegoats for mistakes.
10. Manage, but don't smother.
Granted this is your business and you've got the most to lose, but you've got to let your employees take responsibility for their workload. Guide, cajole, pester -- don't suffocate.
Copyright © 2003 Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio
For more information, please visit www.smartbooks.com

How To Protect Yourself In The Wild World Of E-mail
E-mail is the most convenient and dangerous invention ever created. You can gossip on the phone with half the world and not do the kind of damage one bitchy word in an e-mail can do. Hell, if someone calls you complaining about the gossip, chances are the story this person heard isn't the one you were telling and you can deny it. There's no denying the black-and-white e-mail. Never ever e-mail one thing that you would feel uncomfortable if even one other person saw it. So in the true "Cover Your Ass" entrepreneurial spirit that is required in these competitive times, we offer you some e-mail don'ts.
DON'T just blindly forward material along. Always read from the bottom and delete anything that may compromise someone else. You've got to protect each other.
DON'T forget to read from the bottom up when people forward e-mails around. Most people forget that a trail of information is included and, more times than not, not meant for you to see. We've actually been forwarded correspondence from clients sharing interdepartmental haggling about our fee. We're quite sure we weren't meant to see that.
DON'T forward junk mail or chain letters. Ever. It's just a pain in the ass, and if you become known for them, people stop reading anything you send.
DON'T mark them urgent if they aren't. Most people are getting fifty-plus e-mails a day and need to prioritize them. If you need immediate action, pick up the phone.
DON'T forget to check who is actually in the "To" line. Because of auto-fill it's all too easy to send things to the wrong person. Your client doesn't need to know that you're fighting with your husband.
DON'T ever confuse the "reply" and "reply to all" key.
DON'T ever delete an e-mail. The electronic trail is the greatest thing about it. Create folders and file them for future use.
DON'T use those stupid smiley faces _or TXTing shorthand. It's just irritating, especially if you're like us and have no idea what people are talking about.

Copyright © 2003 Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio

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