Self-employment

Save people time with your small biz

North Americans are busy folks. In most families, both spouses are working full time and running themselves ragged making sure their kids get to soccer, hockey or music practice. "People just don't have a lot of time these days to read a full-length book," entrepreneur Ricky Pacheco says.

ROGER PIERCE
[ 2006-04-26 ]

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Ricky Pacheco sells short 50-page e-books for busy readers on his Web site TodayBooks.com.

Pacheco recently launched an innovative new website called Today Books.com. His site sells short e-books that are less than 50 pages for about $5 each. TodayBooks.com offers great reading on a wide variety of topics, from business to investing to travel.

"Our books are designed for the impatient consumer," Pacheco says. "Our customers want information that won't take days to consume."

He's definitely tapped into a growing trend. A report released in July 2004 by the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts says the number of adults who read no literature increased by more than 17 million people between 1992 and 2002.

"It's not that people don't want to learn, but rather that they don't have the time," Pacheco says. "With less time to read, people are asking authors to keep it short."


He's also helping new authors to get their work out to the public. "We help writers to self-publish their work on our website and build their name," Pacheco says.

He generously shares the wealth with participating authors who receive bonuses according to the amount of links and traffic they direct to the site.

Pacheco encourages would-be authors to look at books differently. "Authors often have half-finished books on their computers," he says. "Take a small first step and publish a shorter version of the book because it's a good test for the work.

Saving people time through his small business is definitely pay-ing off. "Our website hits are higher than expected," Pacheco says. "It's a great feeling to know we're helping people to fit reading into their busy schedules."



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