The Best Advice This Week I Got From My Barber
by: Timothy Spaulding
I went to my barber a few days ago. We talked about his hobby, which is playing poker, and his nephew who is a boxer, and about my job and my kids, etc., etc.
I told him where my son, a high school senior, wants to go to college. It is a rather expensive private school in the city where we live. Jerry, my barber, said he knows several people that attend and work at this college, and that he believes it is an excellent school. And then he said something that is very true.
“If I stop learning, then I am through. I’ve been a barber for forty years and I still am learning.” He then related a story about a former customer. This fellow came into the shop one day and said “I want you to cut my hair the same way every time I come in.” The conversation continues:
Jerry: “I’ve been cutting your hair for years. Isn’t it always the same?”
Customer: “You never use the same method. I want you to cut it using the same method.”
Jerry: “Doesn’t it come out the same every time?”
Customer: “Yes, but I want it cut the same way every time.”
Jerry says to me “I know several ways to cut hair and I am always learning more. If it comes out the way he likes it, what difference does it make how I cut it.”
The need to continue learning applies to your home business as well. As the online market changes, so do your marketing and promotion techniques. There are new products and affiliate opportunities to look for.
Articles
One great source for learning about online business is to read articles, like this one. There are thousands of sites offering business related articles. In fact, doing a search on Google for “business articles” results in over twenty million entries.
For the newcomer to home based online business, Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy, has a nice series of articles (http://www.workathome-awesomeopportunities.com/homebiz.htm) including “Finding Your Home Business Niche“, “Advertising Your Home Business on a Budget“, & “Networking Your Home Business within Circles of Influence”. These are just a sampling of the information available in articles.
Or how about this: did you know that you can get a million hits a month without a top listing on a search engine? Jack Humphrey, in his article “How to get 1 Million Hits Without the Search Engines” (http://www.workathome-awesomeopportunities.com/powerlinking5.htm) tells you how.
Or another – Charlie Page, owner of The Directory of Ezines http://www.directoryofezines.com, writes about why people are leaving their internet business in record numbers, and ways you can avoid the same fate in “Why are people Leaving?” (http://tinyurl.com/5mh46).
Forums
Another source of information is online forums. These are sites where business owners get together online to exchange ideas and get answers to questions about their own online businesses. One of my favorites is the >Warrior Forum (http://www.warriorforum.com/forum/). This forum includes links to an article database, joint ventures and money making information.
There is a recent discussion on the Warrior Main Forum on whether it is advisable to put your picture on your website (http://www.warriorforum.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=28449). Some commented on how a picture of an “ugly” person could result in a potential customer clicking away.
Another discussion was on what type of hardware to use in a home business. This included monitor type and size, processor, graphics card, etc. This is a very interesting topic for anyone with an internet based home business.
And since I am a Plug In Profit Affiliate a forum I recently discovered, the PIPS Builder Forum (http://pipsforum.1affiliateprofits.com/), has provided me with several valuable marketing tips and business resources.
Training Sites
If you are a member of a MLM or affiliate program there is a wealth of training material available to you.
In my own journey down the online home business trail I find that being and affiliate of several programs has given me more training than I can absorb. The learning curve is steep, but it is better than starting out from scratch.
One of the programs that I am an affiliate of is SFI Marketing Group. They have an extensive amount of training materials for the affiliates as well as a discussion board.
Another site with a wealth of materials for the online business owner is the International Association of Home Business Entrepreneurs (http://www.moreinfo247.com/8813721/iahbe). There is a small monthly fee to belong to this one, but the amount of fresh, timely content makes it worth it to me.
There are many, many more and I encourage you to check them out.
Trial And Error
And of course there is the old standby of screw it up and figure out how to fix it. I have done this on many occasions and I am sure you have too. But if you approach your errors with the right attitude it is possible to learn an immense amount from your own mistakes.
Don’t Stop Or You’re Through
As Jerry said, “If I stop learning, then I’m through”. And I believe this is true for me and you.
I have a goal to consciously learn something new everyday. I recently saw a site that will help improve a golf swing. Another for woodworking tips. Yet another for training a dog. There is probably a site to learn about any interest you may have.
Don’t take for granted the wealth of opportunities to learn something, not just about your business but about anything that interests you.
The Best Advice
Starting A HomeBusiness
A Reality Check...The Necessary First Step Before Starting A HomeBusiness
by: Kirk Bannerman
Business
By Kirk Bannerman
I have helped thousands of people start up their own home
based businesses using the Internet. Over time, I have come to
recognize two of the most important factors for identifying
people that should NOT start a home based business.
If a prospective entrepreneur says something like...
"I'm broke and need to make some money...fast!"
or,
"I want to start a home business, but I don't want to spend
anything on it until after I start earning some money."
...it is certain that they have not "gotten real" and should not
attempt to start a home business under either of those
conditions. I refer to them as the "death sentences" for
starting a home based business.
Almost equally important is the need to have realistic economic
expectations when undertaking a home based business. There is no
magic here, folks. A home based business provides many rewards
such as working in the comfort of your own home, avoiding a
stressful commute, being your own boss, setting your own hours,
no dress code, etc., etc., but anyone that is also expecting
"instant riches" is sadly mistaken.
There are a tremendous number of home business and work at home
opportunities offered on the Internet. Many of these are all
hype and try to convince you that you will be making huge amounts
of money in very little time (you know, stuff like..."you will be
making $5,000 per week, and more, in just a few weeks!"). You
should avoid these like the plague...if they were for real
everyone would be doing it.
Study the opportunities carefully and select the home business
opportunity that seems to fit your own particular style or
talents. What is a good choice for one person may be a very poor
fit for someone else. The common thread that applies to everyone
is that you must be "for real" (as indicated above) and the
business opportunity itself must be "for real".
Home Business Legalities
Home Business Legalities And Tax Advantages
by: Dean Phillips
Most cities and/or counties require you to have a business
license and/or permit. Check with your local government
municipalities to find out what the requirements are for
where you live. Depending on where you live, you should be
able to get this information from your local courthouse or
townhall.
Zoning may also be an issue. Municipal ordinances can be
very restrictive about what types of businesses are allowed
in a residential district. This also applies if you plan on
placing a sign outside of your home. Again, check with your
local government municipalities to find out what the
requirements are for where you live.
In addition, depending on how your home business is
structured--as a sole proprietorship, partnership or
corporation--there may be forms to file with the state. The
legal structure affects taxes and the liability of the owner
and the home business, so it's important to follow the
appropriate procedures. Contact your state's Department of
Revenue for filing fees and information.
If you plan to operate your home business under a name other
than your own, you will have to register a fictitious name
with the county--usually referred to as a DBA filing (Doing
Business As). The exceptions to this regulation are
corporations and partnerships doing business under the
umbrella of the corporate or partnership name.
As a home business owner, you may be required to file
estimated tax returns and pay estimated taxes quarterly. If
you have employees, you also have to submit taxes withheld
from employee paychecks. Here are some of the taxes you may
be responsible for:
Employment taxes -- Federal income taxes, Social Security
and Medicare, federal unemployment and state income taxes.
Federal self-employment tax--Required by those who work for
themselves to cover Social Security and Medicare
contributions.
Sales tax--Each state requires a sales tax number for any
company involved in selling tangible items. Sales tax is
collected, reported and paid to the state either monthly or
quarterly.
Unemployment insurance tax -- You are required to pay
federal and state unemployment taxes if you have more than
one employee on the books for at least 20 weeks in a
calendar year, or if they have paid more than $1,500 in
gross wages in a calendar quarter.
Again, check with your state's Department of Revenue for
more information.
A home business qualifies for all of the same tax deductions
regular businesses do. In the eyes of the IRS, the only
difference between most home businesses and Fortune 500
Companies is their size, and the fact that home businesses
can also deduct many household and living expenses.
Owning a home business will entitle you to deduct thousands
of dollars in every day expenses. After all, why pay more in
taxes than you have to?
Listed below are just some of the items you are allowed to
deduct:
* Your car and car expenses.
* Your mileage.
* Your home computer, printer and other office equipment.
* Your home. If you're not a homeowner, you are allowed to
deduct the area where your home office is set-up.
* If you're a homeowner, you may deduct a portion of your
property taxes and utilities.
* Your travel expenses.
* Your restaurant meals, entertainent, dinner parties.
* You may pay wages, tax free, to two of your children, if
they are involved with the business.
* You may deduct your families health insurance.
NOTE: To qualify for the above tax deductions, you must be
actively working your home business.
In closing, since tax laws are continually changing, I
highly recommend you consult with your accountant or tax
advisor to learn more about applying the aforementioned
deductions to your home business.
Home Business Legalities And Tax Advantages
by: Dean Phillips
Most cities and/or counties require you to have a business
license and/or permit. Check with your local government
municipalities to find out what the requirements are for
where you live. Depending on where you live, you should be
able to get this information from your local courthouse or
townhall.
Zoning may also be an issue. Municipal ordinances can be
very restrictive about what types of businesses are allowed
in a residential district. This also applies if you plan on
placing a sign outside of your home. Again, check with your
local government municipalities to find out what the
requirements are for where you live.
In addition, depending on how your home business is
structured--as a sole proprietorship, partnership or
corporation--there may be forms to file with the state. The
legal structure affects taxes and the liability of the owner
and the home business, so it's important to follow the
appropriate procedures. Contact your state's Department of
Revenue for filing fees and information.
If you plan to operate your home business under a name other
than your own, you will have to register a fictitious name
with the county--usually referred to as a DBA filing (Doing
Business As). The exceptions to this regulation are
corporations and partnerships doing business under the
umbrella of the corporate or partnership name.
As a home business owner, you may be required to file
estimated tax returns and pay estimated taxes quarterly. If
you have employees, you also have to submit taxes withheld
from employee paychecks. Here are some of the taxes you may
be responsible for:
Employment taxes -- Federal income taxes, Social Security
and Medicare, federal unemployment and state income taxes.
Federal self-employment tax--Required by those who work for
themselves to cover Social Security and Medicare
contributions.
Sales tax--Each state requires a sales tax number for any
company involved in selling tangible items. Sales tax is
collected, reported and paid to the state either monthly or
quarterly.
Unemployment insurance tax -- You are required to pay
federal and state unemployment taxes if you have more than
one employee on the books for at least 20 weeks in a
calendar year, or if they have paid more than $1,500 in
gross wages in a calendar quarter.
Again, check with your state's Department of Revenue for
more information.
A home business qualifies for all of the same tax deductions
regular businesses do. In the eyes of the IRS, the only
difference between most home businesses and Fortune 500
Companies is their size, and the fact that home businesses
can also deduct many household and living expenses.
Owning a home business will entitle you to deduct thousands
of dollars in every day expenses. After all, why pay more in
taxes than you have to?
Listed below are just some of the items you are allowed to
deduct:
* Your car and car expenses.
* Your mileage.
* Your home computer, printer and other office equipment.
* Your home. If you're not a homeowner, you are allowed to
deduct the area where your home office is set-up.
* If you're a homeowner, you may deduct a portion of your
property taxes and utilities.
* Your travel expenses.
* Your restaurant meals, entertainent, dinner parties.
* You may pay wages, tax free, to two of your children, if
they are involved with the business.
* You may deduct your families health insurance.
NOTE: To qualify for the above tax deductions, you must be
actively working your home business.
In closing, since tax laws are continually changing, I
highly recommend you consult with your accountant or tax
advisor to learn more about applying the aforementioned
deductions to your home business.
