Janet Switzer is perhaps best known for her involvement with the highly successful Chicken Soup For The Soul series of books. She was pivitol in the marketing and success of that project. After that, The Success Principles, which Janet Switzer co-authored with Jack Canfield (of Chicken Soup For The Soul fame) made it to the #2 spot on the New York Times Bestseller list.

Janet Switzer has now gone solo, and her new book Instant Income is bound to do well. I must admit that I find the title a little over the top, but, it is a well thought-out book. It explains some strategies that the small business owner, or even the 'weekend warrior', can use to increase their sales and profitability.

Many of the concepts  are well tried and tested techniques, some are even common sense. I must agree with the author though, just because they are obvious, does not mean that many small companies actually take the time and effort to follow through on them.

One of the greatest assets that a company has does not appear on the balance sheet; it is a hidden asset, the customer. Even if the customer has stopped purchasing the goods or services, there may still be value to be found if you know where to look.

This type of book is very hard to write without turning it into a numbers game. And unfortunately that is the trap that Janet Switzer has created for the reader; she has the 35 steps to do this, and the 25 steps to do this other thing, etc! I find this style of writing somewhat dry and boring. The information in the book is great, but I am sure that many readers will share my aversion to reading a book reminiscent of our grade 10 math book.

On the upside, I found most of the information very useful. The author includes many examples of the principles she is trying to explain. The examples are well written and hammer the point home. Better still, the enterprising entrepreneur could easily use the examples as a base to meet their own requirements.

Many aspects of business are discussed and we are gently, but firmly led through the correct way of performing them. A very good example is the press release. This is a great weapon for the small business, but few companies make use of it. Even fewer businesses know how to put one together; the formatting, and the content, is usually a mishmash. Following the instructions and examples provided, almost everyone should be able to put together a great-looking and relevant release.

The next problem is what to do with it? Who will read it? Ms. Switzer makes a convincing argument that it will be read. The internet is a wonderful tool; there are several sites that specialize in press releases. For a very small sum of money you can get your message out to thousands of people. In fact, it is through press releases that I find many of the books that I review.

As a book that someone would read from cover to cover, I have to grade Instant Income as dull, however as a reference work I would give it very high marks. This is a book that every small business owner should have on their bookshelf.