Barbara’s Business
Founded by trusted small business and tax law expert Barbara Weltman, Big Ideas for Small Business provides practical tips, financial insights and compliance advice to help you stay informed and stay in business.
Idea of the Day
Barbara is passionate about helping small business owners save money, stay compliant, and in the know. She started writing her Idea of the Day in 2006 and hasn't missed a day since. Sign up here, and check out Barbara's archive of daily "ideas."
Barbara’s Story
After graduating from Brooklyn Law School in 1976, Barbara started practicing law in 1977. Early in her career, she worked for a prominent law firm and took the baton on J.K. Lasser’s flagship annual tax guide, continuing a publishing tradition that was already decades old.
In 1985, Barbara went to work for herself. Long before “work from home” was a business category, she built a home office with a fax machine, a photocopier that produced one page per minute, and a second landline. From there, she continued writing and speaking about taxes, finance, law, and the day-to-day realities of running a small business.
Over the decades, Barbara became a go-to authority on small business taxes and compliance, writing for major publishers and companies including Wiley and CCH, contributing to national business outlets, teaching entrepreneurship, creating continuing education programs, and speaking to business owners and professionals across the country.
Barbara hosted Build Your Business Radio, taught Principles of Entrepreneurship and continues to appear on business podcasts as a tax expert. As an adjunct professor who formerly taught at XYZ, she continues to educate small business owners via online programs and webinars for notable organizations such as SCORE, and remains active with the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.
Why is Barbara still working?
Because she loves what she does. She enjoys the work and hearing how her ideas are valuable for her readers. Barbara's goal is to help business owners know enough to ask better questions, avoid costly mistakes, spot opportunities, and make confident decisions.
More than 40 years after opening her own home-based business, Barbara is still doing the work: reading legislation, tracking tax changes, writing books and articles, publishing Idea of the Day, and explaining how changes in law, finance, and regulation affect small business owners.
Like her dedication, her emails are reliable and her content is consistent: practical, useful, direct, and clear. No jargon. No fluff. Straight talk and facts that ensure entrepreneurs stay smart and stay in business.
Barbara's writing has been featured in
- The New York Times
- The Wall Street Journal
- The Washington Post
- Reuters
- Forbes
- CNBC
- MSNBC
- CNN
- MarketWatch
- Inc.
- Entrepreneur
- Small Business Trends
Barbara has also written extensively for the SBA, Entrepreneur, Small Business Trends, AmEx OPEN, and other business publications and platforms.
Barbara Has Written More Than 25 Books, Including
- J.K. Lasser’s Small Business Taxes
- J.K. Lasser’s 1001 Deductions & Tax Breaks
- J.K. Lasser’s Guide to Self-Employment
- The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Starting a Home-Based Business
- Home-Based Business Start-Up Guide
- Smooth Failing
- Small Business Owner’s Guide to Tax Terms, Acronyms, and More
Recognition
Barbara’s work receives accolades across the small business community, recognizing both her decades of experience and her prolific, quality publishing.
Barbara was named a Top 100 Small Business Influencer for five consecutive years and was included in Marquis Who’s Who in recognition of her career, accomplishments, and visibility in the field.
In 2020, The Blueprint by The Motley Fool named Barbara one of 10 women in entrepreneurship to follow.
She continues to receive recognition for her books, blogs, and work supporting small business owners. In 2026 for the second year in a row, Big Ideas for Small Business was named one of 100 Best Small Business Blogs to Follow, along side industry giants like the SBA and Score's Small Business Success blog.