The real estate boom has come and gone. The stock market is always a risky business. Today the smart money is in antiques and collectibles: you don't need much to get started, and the market for everything from furniture to folk art, from bottles to baseball cards, is just beginning to explode!

Bruce Johnson, the expert called the "Dear Abby" of antiques, shows how you can turn today's bargains and discounts into tomorrow's hot money-making deals. Here are hundreds of inside tips that show you how to:

-- Get in on the bottom floor before prices begin to go through the roof

-- Enter the business without a formal education or a sizable investment

-- Expand your operation and increase your income without taking time away from your present job

-- Find the best sales, the best days to attend, and the best deals

-- Negotiate bargains with dealers -- and beat them at their own game

-- Create print ads for your wares that will pull in customers eager to buy

-- Sell your treasures at a profit from your home, or at flea markets, yard and garage sales, auctions, and antique malls

Plus:

More than thirty antiques-related services you can run from your home, including caning, appraising, and refinishing.