I opened my own business from scratch approx. 8 years ago, all I can tell you is it all comes down to "who you know"! I was lucky enough a have a friend that knew a maintenance manager within a large plastic injection company for the automotive industry. We all met up for a few drinks at a local strip joint, I bought a few rounds, lap dances and the rest is history!! Now I have 8 plants with one company and 4 with another all from the one guy which is now a very good friend of mine, oh and we do about one million in sales and service per year with four employees!!
Moral of the story, no $300 start-up manual is going to help you become self employed, get some contacts and build up a good trust, only then will it be worth looking into!
Just my 2 cents