Having gotten that out of my system, let me say that The Home Office from Hell Cure is a highly entertaining book and packed with good information and advice. The whole “Nexpert” section will be familiar ground for anyone whose business is small publishing, but its suggestions and tips are excellent. I would recommend much more emphasis on exploiting Internet resources, but Landers may plan to cover that in his sequel.

Landers is honest about the fact that he manages services to help small businesses locate office space and contract with virtual assistants. He makes a convincing case for both “Growth Mavens” and “Lifestyle Gurus” needing professional office space and people to whom work can be delegated. However, his premises don’t cover all situations. In my case, for example, I really do not need office space — rented, shared, virtual or otherwise. What I do need, and am still perfecting, is a “touring kit.” That is, I need the equipment and the ability to set up in absolutely any environment, from a small hotel function room to a table at the state expo, pull off a perfect presentation, talk, reading or book signing, and function as comfortably as though I’d done the same thing in that same location every day for a year. I also am approaching the point where I could really use access to studio space, or at least a sound-proofed practice room for audio recording work. So, I would apply Lander’s steps toward those goals, rather than office space that I don’t need — and readers whose businesses have similar specialized requirements should do the same.

In a similar vein, while I could certainly use an assistant, I don’t need one for business jobs. The fact is, there is nothing about my business that I consider to be “drudge work.” I love every single aspect of it, and I have the specialized skills to do it all. I’m lucky enough to be doing the work I was born to do and spent my life prepping for. There is certainly “drudge work” I want to get rid of, however. What I need is someone who can run the errands, do the shopping, change the litter boxes, mow the lawns, vacuum the house, put a plate of healthy food in front of me twice a day, and go see what the rabbit has found to chew on this time. What I could use, in short, is a domestic partner--and of course, another fact that Landers doesn’t mention is that successful self-employed people almost never are single. Naturally, you can hire someone to do these sorts of tasks for you, but a “virtual assistant” in another state won’t be that person. I’m sure other readers will be entrepreneurs in similarly specialized areas in which their most draining “drudge jobs” aren’t related to their business.