Would this fly today in this Internet age?

I've been doing some serious house cleaning but mostly trying to de-clutter. Yes, I have to admit, I am a Pack Rat, lol. Way before the Internet anytime I found something interesting in a magazine or newspaper, I cut it out and saved it in plastic sheet protectors in binders, one binder for each subject. It is all pretty organized and some is seriously out-dated. Anyhow, came across a booklet I bought in 1991 and that one is what I would like to talk about...

It is titled "How to publish a directory of Home Based Businesses for fun and Profit" by Don Vandeventer and Paula Vineyard. Excerts from the book can be found in "Mother Earth" magazine.

The idea was to simply gather information about home based businesses and charge each business a fee for it. For each entry, 15 directories would be printed and the directory was re-done every 6 months. It was in a 5.5 x 8.5 format and each entry was allowed a 1" x 4" space, them having as many as 200 entries. A form was provided for each business with a set amount of boxes, each box to contain one letter. No fancy logos or design and no coupons.

The price point was set to basically twice the cost of production, leaving a 50% profit. Distribution was through local stores with permission from the store owners.

According to the authors, at the time, they made a full time income producing these directories. Now, fast forward to 2012, what are your thoughts on the feasability of this working today, being totally offline? What would you do different to make it work in today's environment?

Personally, I still like the idea. There are so many businesses that do not have an office or a store front. There are also tons of people that operate a biz on a part time basis selling anything from candles/cutlery/skin care/vitamins to contractors/painters/graphic designers/auto detailers, you name it.

Your feedback is appreciated, Eva