Good Book : 202 Things You can Make and Sell for Big Profits

This is a review of the book 202 Things You can Make and Sell for Big Profits by James Stephenson I have the 2005 edition of the book.

This book is pretty straight forward and primarily gives a list of 202 things that you can make and sell. Its generally aimed at home or small start up businesses and people looking for a good side business. But the information could be used to start a full time business too.

The first 100 pages or so of the book are general information on starting a business. It covers legal and financial basics, setting up shop, dealing with inventory and going online. Its overview level information on starting a business.

The meat of the book is the remaining 200+ pages which are the list of 202 things to make and sell. The list of items has a wide variety of things with varying skill levels and start up costs. Each entry lists the skill level, start up cost and some references for further information. There is roughly a page for each idea. The ideas range from building large items to making and selling snack food. Examples are garden sheds, party-in-a box, canoe paddles, pinatas, snow cones, soap and utility trailers. A few items I thought were particularly interesting are little league cards (like baseball trading cards), personalized children books and greeting cards.

There are enough ideas in 202 Things You can Make and Sell for Big Profits that its likely you'll be able to find 1 or 2 items that would work for you. Because the book is primarily a list of 202 items you will probably skim through it and skip many items pretty quickly.

I'd recommend 202 Things You can Make and Sell for Big Profits if you are looking to start a business primarily focused on making something. Its good for ideas. Look for it in your local library.