Year End Tax Tips For Home Businesses

Someone recently asked me what they could do now to make tax time easier for this upcoming tax season.

The best thing you can do is to think about taxes before then year ends. Most people wait until the tax filing deadline before they ask how they can reduce their income taxes. Unfortunately, once 2007 ends, there's very little you can do to minimize your taxes for 2007.

To start your tax planning, you should review your income, deductions and withholdings before the year ends. Which means you need to get your bookkeeping caught up! You should use a software program, such as QuickBooks, Quicken Home and Business, or spreadsheets to keep track of your income and expenses for your business.

Once you're bookkeeping is caught up... do you expect your home business to have a profit or a loss this year?

If you have a profit, here are some tax planning tips to help minimize your home business taxes this year:

1. Defer your income. If you have a home based business and it looks like you'll have a good profit this year, consider invoicing your clients in January instead of December, to defer the income to next year. Or, just wait until the end of December to send invoices. Any money you receive in January will go on your 2008 tax return, not 2007.

2. Accelerate expenses. Do you need to purchase any inventory? What about supplies? Does your computer need to be replaced? If you've got a profit for 2007, consider purchasing inventory, supplies or other items that will need to be replaced soon this year to reduce your taxable profit.

In addition, if you itemize your tax deductions, make sure you pay all mortgage payments, property tax, medical expenses, etc. this year, even if they aren't due 'till next year, to help increase your tax deductions for this year.

3. Contribute the maximum amount to retirement plans. As a home based business owner, you have several retirement plans to choose from. You can setup a traditional IRA, a SEP IRA, a Simple IRA, or even a 401K. The maximum contribution amounts vary based on the retirement plan, but these plans allow contributions from $4,000 up to $44,000 per year. Contributing to a retirement plan is a great way to maximize your retirement savings and to minimize your taxes at the same time.

4. Give to charity. Although charitable donations don't reduce your business income, they do reduce your taxable income if you itemize your deductions. Gifts of cash or goods are a great way to help reduce your tax bill this year.

On the flip side, if you expect a larger profit next year, or if you expect to jump into a higher tax bracket next year, it's best to report as much income this year, and to defer as many expenses as possible 'till next year.

Either way, year end tax planning can really help minimize your taxes. But you have to make it a point to review your taxes before the year ends. Once 2007 is gone, so are your tax planning opportunities for 2007.

Surefire Ways To Meeting The Deadlines In Your Home Business

Make sure you meet the deadlines in your home business if you wish to succeed and make timely profits. Most home business owners are running their own business for the first time and they readily fall into the error that being the owner means they can afford to be undisciplined occasionally. If you study the successful business owners, you will quickly realize that they go about their business duties with a military efficiency. This lapse is often also found in people who do a regular 40-hour/week job and try to run a home business to supplement their income.

The fact is that whether you have too much time or too little time, unless you have the most basic business skill of time management you will never meet the deadlines in your home business and you will subsequently fail to understand why you never seem to make the kind of money you had hoped.

People who have never owned a business do not immediately realize that a deadline is not just a mental mark or reminder. They are tools that help to increase the efficiency of a business. Once you learn how to set realistic and meet the deadlines in your home business in a realistic manner you will be surprised to witness the positive results.

Deadlines are also good in helping you maintain focus on a task. Initially it can be very harrowing if you have two or more deadlines following each other closely but with practice you will learn how to prioritize things and tackle them in that order. That is another advantage of setting yourself deadlines.

If you do not meet the deadlines in your home business then you are already wasting several weeks in doing something that probably ought to have been finished in a few days. Trailing and prolonged tasks will bog down your entire business procedure and spread like a cancer into places where they did not originate.

Decide realistically what needs to be done and maintain a schedule either in a diary or in a PDA or other digital device. Digital is better because it can give you reminders and inform you of pending deadlines. After that, you just have to make sure you treat your schedule like the Ten Commandments. Follow them and you will surely see business heaven.

You Can Make Money With A Home Based Business

Would you like to make money by starting your own home-based business? People choose to work from home for several reasons including the desire to stay home with their children, the need for extra income, or simply being dissatisfied with their current job. A home-based business will provide you with an exciting way to make money and be your own boss. Numerous opportunities are available to internet marketers.

When starting your home-based business you should develop a business plan and research your options thoroughly. Making wise decisions and following your business plan each step of the way can help you in creating a steady stream of income. Operating a home-based business will require hard work and effort. You will not become wealthy over night. It will take determination to succeed as an internet marketer. The amount of money you make will be directly related to the amount of work you are willing to do.

When making your business plan, include both short and long term goals. Determine how you will achieve those goals and put your plan into action. Affiliate programs are excellent home-based business programs and there are numerous other internet marketing offers that will create steady income if you are willing to make the effort. Some of these opportunities may require an initial investment from you and others are advertised as free. Research all internet marketing opportunities carefully to make sure you understand the terms and conditions.

As an internet marketer, you will have to distinguish yourself from the competition if you want to succeed. You should know your target audience and know your competition even better. Do not let self-doubt stop you from accomplishing your goals. Every successful internet marketer gives their business the very best effort possible. Hard work and determination will make your home-based business a success and provide you with a steady stream of income.

Starting a home-based business is one of the most exciting and challenging endeavors you will ever undertake. A sound business plan and the will to succeed will set you apart from the competition. Choose the products or services you provide carefully. Make certain your services will be needed over the long term and make customer service your top priority. A loyal customer base is the key to the success or failure of your home-based business. A home-based business is an excellent way to gain independence and financial freedom. A sound business plan and a strong work ethic are all it takes to succeed.

Redoing Your Business

If you have been noticing that you simply aren’t getting the business that you would like to be getting, or if you are noticing that you are running into lots of trouble with your home business, you are probably curious as to whether or not your business needs an overhaul. It is simply a slump in business, or should you be doing vastly different things to make sure that you are able to compete? If you don't know the answer to this question right off the top of your head, there are several things that you can think about in order to find it.

First of all, remember that your biggest weapon here is going to be what your competitors are doing. You are going to want to make sure that you are able to see what they are doing and compare yourself to them. Don't look at your business like you usually do, look at it critically compared to others that are doing what you are attempting to do. Are you using the same marketing strategies? Are you doing the same thing to insure that you are seen? You have to be able to compete, and the only way to do that is to make sure that you are doing what your competitors are doing. If the people who you are competing against are doing something that you aren't, you should evaluate what you are doing and what they are doing, and see what you want to do more.

Another way that you can help to see if your business needs an overhaul is by asking your customers if they feel it does. Of course, you aren't going to want to ask them in that tone, or using those words. But by sending out regular customer service inquires, and by wording your questions very carefully, you can see many different things that your customers are thinking. With a little interpretation on your part, you are going to be able to judge from some of their answers what else you can be doing to make your business run even more smoothly. This is all going to be great news for you and for your business as well.

Remember, if you get to the point where you think that your business doe indeed need an overhaul, you should take it slowly at first. See if you can outline some key points that you would like to work on, and do them one at a time. It is probably not a good idea to completely change everything all at once, unless you want to run the risk of completely alienating some people and being in an uproar for awhile. A better idea is to implement changes one at a time and allow yourself and your customers to get used to the ways that you are changing things. This is all together a better option for you and for your business as a whole.

Do You Need an Automated Timekeeping System for your Cleaning Business?

As your cleaning business grows and you add employees, keeping track of time sheets and adding up hours can be a big headache. If you have just one or two employees a paper time sheet where employees "clock in" and "clock out" for each location they clean may be all that you need to track their hours. However, deciphering data and adding up hours from numerous time sheets can take time away from other profit-making activities as you burn up your time doing payroll.

There are options available to your cleaning company other than hiring a full-time bookkeeper. Telephone timekeeping systems are ideal for cleaning companies. They allow employees to call from any location they are working at and "clock in" and "clock out" by using their employee pin number and location pin number.

These timekeeping systems have many time-saving benefits and features:

1. Tracks each employee's time down to the minute.

2. Reassurance that there's no cheating, as there can be with a handwritten time sheet.

3. Tracks travel time between buildings.

4. Caller ID capabilities to ensure employees are calling from the correct location.

5. The ability to leave messages for employees. As soon as they call into the system they receive their messages.

6. Employee scheduling and management.

7. Tracking of no shows or late arrivals. The system alerts supervisors with a call to their cell phone or pager.

8. Supervisors can call into the system to see who is clocked into a building at any given time.

9. The ability to track by job number as well as employee.

10. Easy way to import payroll information. Hours are automatically added up for you, including travel time. Various reports available. Two such automated timekeeping systems are: Express Time from A&B Express Products LLC, http://www.expresstime.net/index.html, and MITC's Telephone Timekeeping Software, http://www.mitcsoftware.com.

MITC's software has a one-time fee. You can buy added blocks of support time from them. Express Time is different in that it has a monthly charge as well as a per call fee. The MITC program does require added hardware and software installed on your computer or you can buy a ready-to-use computer from them.

Express Time has two different systems available: Express Time and Express Time Online. Express Time has a one-time fee, and you can buy added support hours. Express Time Online has a recurring monthly fee as well as a 12 cent per charge for each incoming call. Each system has software that must be downloaded on to your computer. They do not have hardware that is installed on to your computer, but they do have specific computer recommendations for the software to work efficiently. Express Time also states high-speed broadband is needed for technical support.

On either system, employees can call in any time of day, seven days a week, as long as you have the software is running on your computer. The MITC system has different modules that can you can add depending on your specific needs.

Either software, MITC or Express Time, will require a time commitment on your part to learn the system, which may seem overwhelming at first. But after a couple of weeks using the system you will be flying around it like pro.

Adding an automated timekeeping system may be the next step to growing your cleaning business. Any type of automated system you buy will require a financial investment, but it will free up your time from doing the mundane tasks of timekeeping and allow you to spend your time in more productive ways.

The Pleasures Of Starting A Home Business

Even with today’s relaxed corporate atmosphere and major businesses like Best Buy and Microsoft promoting more employee freedom, nothing can beat the simple pleasure of working for yourself, from the home. However, many people confuse working from home with laziness and the dream of not having to work at all. This is simply not the case. Many, if not most, times, the home business owner will work much longer and harder hours than the out of the house professional, at least in the beginning. However, there is no denying that the pleasures of working from home are vast. Here are a few of the reasons you might consider starting your own home based business.

No more answering to the man. Obviously, starting your own home business eliminates the boss factor. You are your own boss. If you want to work overtime, you can work overtime. If you don’t, you won’t. If you’re feeling sick and can’t do your work that day, you won’t have to explain it to anyone but yourself (well, and perhaps your customers). If you feel like you deserve a raise, it will be up to you to make more money. The freedom factor is one of the major forces behind many people’s decision to start their own home business.

Set your own hours. If you’ve always been something of a night owl, this could be your chance to shine. If you’ve always regretted not being able to attend little Suzie or Johnny’s school functions, you now have the freedom to work your hours around them, rather than being stuck in a cubicle from 9 to 5 every day. If you are an amateur fisherman and you’ve always resented being trapped in an office when the weather is ripe for a couple of hours out on the lake, this is your chance to take advantage of those times.

Spend more time with your family. Leaving your kids in day care or with a babysitter can be one of the most stressful decisions a young parent can make. But it is often necessary if both parents have to be out the house all day slaving away for someone else. With a home business, this decision eliminates itself. Now you can divide your time between business and family, and not miss out on the important developmental stages of your young children.

Running your own home business is hard work, and making as much as you would otherwise make in the corporate world requires a lot of patience and determination. It can happen, but it will take time. Still, the pleasure of working from home are numerous, and the rewards can be worth it if you stick to it and work hard. Good luck.

The Chief Cause Of Business Failure And Success

Business rises and falls on leadership. According to business guru, Brian Tracy, “Leadership is the most important single factor in determining business success or failure in our competitive, turbulent, fast-moving economy.” Still not convinced? Based on a study by Jessie Hagen of the US Bank, here are the main reasons why businesses fail:

• Poor Business Planning

• Poor Financial Planning

• Poor Marketing

• Poor Management

Proper application of these key factors is a function of good leadership. Let’s look at some of the conclusions of the US Bank report. According to Hagen’s study, in the Business Planning category, 78% of businesses fail due to lack of a well-developed business plan. It boggles my mind that so many people go into business without a plan, as if it were the ice cream flavor-of-the-month! Is it any wonder that when I came across the DEA Police & Government auction site of confiscated property, there is a gleeful statement that declares, “Most businesses fail within their first two years, so chances are, you will come across some relatively new merchandise. At (our) auction, get what you need without paying full price.”

If you just rolled out of bed with ‘a great business idea’ and don’t want to be a part of this grim statistic, run to your nearest bank, get a free business plan template, and write your plan now! Honor the time-proven cliché, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Leadership is about planning for success before it happens. Sun Tzu, the 6th century Chinese philosopher, in his epic work The Art of War, gave some sound business advice that still applies today: “When your strategy is deep and far-reaching, then what you gain by your calculations is much, so you can win before you even fight. When your strategic thinking is shallow and near-sighted, then what you gain by your calculations is little, so you lose before you do battle.”

In the Financial Planning category, a whopping 82% of businesses failed due to poor cash flow management skills followed closely by starting out with too little money. Business leadership is about taking financial responsibility, conducting sound financial planning and research, and understanding the unique financial dynamics of one’s business. Before even starting a business, show your plan to your accountant and get their counsel. What a concept! Asking for the advice of someone who sees the bottom-line realities of business day in and day out; someone who sees the birth certificates, successions, and autopsy reports of thousands of business entities. It just makes good business sense. But many people will ignore this advice and eventually meet with business disaster. [Word of caution: don’t rely on just one opinion. Get at least two or three opinions from different accountants to get a more informed view].

The third business failure factor profiled in the report, and a critical one, was Marketing. Over 64% of the businesses surveyed in the Marketing category failed because of owners minimizing the importance of properly promoting their business followed by ignoring their competition. Again, as a business leader, you must be able to effectively communicate your idea to the right people and understand their unique needs and wants. Leadership is all about taking initiative, taking action, getting things done, and making decisions. If you’re not doing anything of significance to market and promote your business, you are most likely headed for business failure. I recommend every time you get up in the morning, jot down 5 new things you can do to promote your business and go DO them! If you can’t think of anything to jot down, I highly recommend reading Jay Conrad Levinson’s book, Guerrilla Marketing, which has oodles of useful information and tips on promoting for small business.

Know your competition. Leadership is also about providing value to people. If your main competitors are all providing a better quality and lower priced product than yours, how can you possibly create any value? Either you harness your strengths to provide different benefits such as speed, convenience, better service; lower your price and improve quality; create a different product for an unmet demand; or get out of the game.

Finally, one of the most important reasons why businesses fail is due to poor management. In the Management category, 70% of businesses failed due to owners not recognizing what they don’t do well and not seeking help, followed by insufficient relevant business experience. Not delegating properly and hiring the wrong people were major contributing factors to business failure in the Management category.

Leadership is about knowing yourself – understanding your strengths and weaknesses. Leaders are aware of their potential. Losers ignore their potential. Leadership is ultimately about influence and delegation. As a leader, you must have the humility to be able to surround yourself with people who are brighter than you and who can make up for your weaknesses and limitations so you can do what you do best: seize the day and lead!

Your Own Web Based Home Business

Tired of working the nine-to-five job? Tired of your boss? Tired of working to make someone else rich? Want to work at home so you can be with your family more? Do you like the Internet?

Some of those questions are the titles to spam emails you get. They offer get rich schemes, just fill out surveys and get paid, get paid just to surf the web, get paid to shop, etc. etc.

But what is the real scoop about starting my own Internet Business from home? In this article we will help you learn some of the facts about owning your own home business based on the web. We will tell you how to avoid the hype and tell you the straight facts about how to start and maintain your own Internet Business. Are you ready?

You have all probably read many stories about how people with nothing have become millionaires on the web. You have no doubt received tons of spam email promising you that the same thing can happen to you, all you have to do is buy this ebook, this software, sign up as a member, etc. etc.

Multi-Level-Marketing or MLM programs were around before the Internet was in everyone’s home, but since then they have boomed. There are many programs that offer to “get you in on the ground floor”. All you have to do is sign up and those who sign up after you will make you rich.

Most of these are actually pyramid schemes. If the primary goal is to recruit new members and not to sell products, then it is likely a scam, so beware of those.

The first thing you should know about starting any business is that it is hard work. You think your boss was bad? Wait until you are your boss.

For some reason many people think that while starting an offline business is hard work, starting one on the web is easy. I really don’t understand that philosophy, except for the fact we get so many emails promising to make you rich with little or no work at all.

Let me tell you this. When you start any business, whether it’s a store, a gas station, or whatever, you know you will have to go in everyday, put in long hours and be smart if you are going to become successful. It is no different when starting an online or home business. If you are not prepared to put in the hours and the work, you will not be any more successful online than you would be offline.

There are no shortcuts, no magic pills, no marketing plans that can make you rich online without hard work. If you are not prepared to put in the time and the work necessary to any successful business, don’t quit your day job and just continue to be a consumer surfing the web instead of trying to find a way to get rich without work.

That may sound harsh to you, but the web is full of people trying to get something for nothing and we don’t need any more of those. However, if you are a person who is willing to put in the time and effort, the web can be a great place to make your living.

How do you get started? Well, first of all, what are your interests? If you choose a business you don’t have a lot of interest in, you will find it very difficult to stay motivated. Look at things that interest you when deciding what type of online business you want to have.

Not all online businesses require having a website, but most do, so we are going to start there. Lets say you have chosen what you are going to sell, whether it is products, services, or promoting affiliate programs.

You will need a domain name. The first thing people think is that they should have a catchy name that equals the name of their business and that it should be their domain name. Not true. Generic domain names that contain keywords that describe your products or services are best. Your company name will be on the front page of your website, but the domain name is what people will remember and what will help people find you through the search engines.

Where do I register my domain name? There are many cheap registrars out there for registering domain names, but don’t go with the cheap ones. You get what you pay for. Go with the ones that provide you the most service. Do you really think saving $20 per YEAR on your domain name is going to make or break your business? If so, stop now, do not pass go, go back to your day job.

Now you have a domain name, now what? You will need hosting for the new website you are going to build or have built. Again, look for the hosting that provides you the most service. You want 24-hour tech support. You want a lot of space, but most of all you want a lot of bandwidth. You want easy access to your files and a control panel, not just ftp access.

You also want a host who provides a lot of extras like “instant install” of gallery managers, content managers, calendar programs, and other scripts for forums, blogs, and more. The more they offer, the better, because you don’t know where your business might lead you. A cheap host is just that, a cheap host.

Now you will need a website to put up on the host. You can buy a website on Ebay or from others that are already built and ready to go or you can have one built to your specifications. You can also learn to build your own website and save money, but make sure you research how to do this very well before you choose that option.

Building a website that is not optimized for the search engines or one that does not function or navigate easily will hurt your business, so if you are not ready to build one you are sure will work, have the work done or buy one.

Also, people have the perception that their website must be beautiful in order to be successful. They think they must have flashy introductions, databases, dynamic content, great graphics, etc. etc.

None of those things I just mentioned will help you become successful on the web. They are great to have, but do not put undue importance on the dressing. Promoting your website will be the key to it’s success along with the content that is in your website. Those are the things you will focus on if you wish to have a successful online business.

On building your website or buying one, make sure that it has a lot of text content rich with keywords that apply to the products or services you will be selling. You want it to have a professional look and feel, but you don’t need it to be too flashy.

There are a lot of freelance websites out there where you can post the job you want done and people will bid on doing the job for you. That is a good way to find a web designer that wants to do a good job for a competitive price.

Now you have your domain name, your hosting, and your new website. What now? Well, it’s not like in the movie Field of Dreams, where If you build it, they will come. That doesn’t apply to websites unfortunately.

You will need to promote your website. This is where the work starts. This is what will demand the most of your time, because if you do not promote your website, the customers will never come buy anything. They won’t be able to find you out of the millions of websites that are out there.

You have to be better than the next guy. You have to be willing to promote your website for more hours than the next guy. And you have to beat the next guy to the latest and greatest methods of website promotion.

There are several things you will be doing with your new website. First and foremost, you will be writing articles like this one about the products and services you sell and topics related to them. You will also spend time submitting these articles to websites that offer free content to webmasters.

A lot of website owners are hungry for good original content. They go to these content providers and pull articles related to their products and services and put those articles into their websites. Since your article, like the one I am writing here, has an author bio section at the bottom with links to your website, every website owner that inserts your article into their website is now another website that links to you.

That increases your link popularity, which in turn helps you get better listings in search engine results for your keywords. Writing at least one article everyday will move you up in the search engine rankings before you know it. This is my fourth article for the day, just to give you an idea of how much I’m willing to promote my website.

You can also post a lot on blogs and forums that are related to your products or services. In the signature line you put a link to your website. In this subtle way you not only create another website that has a link to your website, but by participating in the forum or blog you may just have users there want to see your website and might want to buy your product or services.

You also want to put your link in your email, on your business cards, on your letterhead, and anywhere else you can. Having your own business, whether online or offline is a way of life, not a nine to five job. So be sure you are ready to do whatever it takes to be successful. Because if you are not ready to work harder than you ever have before, having your own business is not for you.

7 Rules To Live By When Choosing An Affiliate Program Or Work at Home Business

So you've decided to become financially independent! You've chosen to work at home. Congratulations! I'm sure this is a decision that can turn your life around and lead you to financial freedom.

But that is going to happen only if you're careful enough to let it happen! There are a few things you should really look out for when deciding to work at home.

When you set out to give the work at home business thing a try, you'll find out that this was just the easy part! The hard part is to discover which one is right for you.

With all these so called "opportunities" that flood the internet, you should be very careful in choosing a work at home business. To help you, I have put together a few simple rules :


Rule #1 : Try to avoid "get rich quick deals"

Now that's a golden rule! Usually, when something sounds too good to be true then it probably is!

Oh, I know these sound appealing and of course you would like to get paid for doing nothing (so would the rest of us!). But don't you think that if these people had the magic solution to making big money they would use it instead of trying to sell it to you for whatever price?

It's sad to know that so many people end up feeling frustrated when they realize that they have wasted their time and hard earned money. There are no magic tricks! Commitment and hard work instead, can make you rich.


Rule #2 : Find a program that you really like and can work with

Another rule that's essential! Say that you come across a program that requires you to sell life insurance. You hate insurance people, you think they're full of hype.

So what, the compensation plan looks great! What would you do? Would you join the program? Could you picture yourself selling life insurance even if you hate the very idea?
The answer is that you're never going to make any money doing something you don't like!

The point I am trying to make here is, that you should go on and find out everything there is to know about the program you are interested in. Just spend some time doing an essential reading through the available material (company website, related articles etc).

Try to get an overview of how the system works and if you need more information or if you get confused , go ahead and ask the person who referred you to the program for help. Doing your homework always pays off.


Rule #3 : Make sure you know exactly what you're getting for your money

There are just too many companies out there that present you with sales letters as long as a book but not even a hint as to what you are actually getting in return!

If the product they're selling is that good and is going to make you so much money, why hide it? Why only mention it in the last few paragraphs?

Ok, I know, it's the way sales are closed. Still, you would like to know exactly what you're buying. It could save you a lot of grief!


Rule #4 : Perform a background check on the company

The longer it has been around, the better. This way you know that you're dealing with an established company that will not go bankrupt 4 months after you join!

It has been known for people to lose their online businesses and commissions owed to them for this very reason. Choosing a quality company is essential but can prove critical to the survival of your work at home business.


Rule #5 : Make sure you're going to get all the help that you need

It's just typical for someone to join a program, pay his membership fee or buy a product and then be left in the dark, not sure what on earth to do next!

Again, I'm repeating myself here but this is important, try to get an overview of how the system works, who your upline people are and how they can help you.

If you need more information or if you get confused, go ahead and ask the person who referred you to the program for help. In this way not only will you get an idea of how the program is structured but you would also be testing your referrer to see if he/she will respond promptly to your need for help.
But first, you have to have an idea of how the program works.


Rule #6 : Check out the compensation plan

Ok, so you've joined a program which ,hopefully, is going to make you rich. Do you know how this is going to happen?

It's not necessary that you know every detail about the compensation plan from the first day that you join. But still, wouldn't you like to know if you're getting 5% or 60% commission on an average sale?
After all, it takes the same amount of effort to generate a sale. Wouldn't you like to be paid more?


Rule #7 : Do not spend much at the beginning

A legitimate work at home business should be able to operate at a minimum/low cost. You should not have to invest a lot of money in any home business. At least not in the beginning.

When you do decide to invest some money into your own home business, this should be your own decision, not someone else's and must arise from your understanding that a business is what you make it.


There are more rules that I can add to these and make a really long list but this is not my goal. My goal is to provide a clear path, a few steps that should be easy to follow through the minefield of schemes and "get-rich-quick" deals to a company you can really trust.

Using your own common sense is as important as having these rules in mind when looking for an opportunity or a work at home business.

Your decision to join a program should be the result of considering facts and should not in any case come from mere curiosity. Keep in mind that there are very few true work at home opportunities out there and you have to find the one that's perfect for you!

Your Own Home-Based Business: It's All in the Family

Balancing work life with family sure can be challenging in this day and age. Most of us are working harder and longer just trying to keep up with the bills and the overall cost of living. The cost of everything keeps going up: food, utilities, gasoline, insurance, and day care, just to name a few. It's hard to keep up and still spend quality time with your children. As a result, more and more people are choosing to start their own home based businesses.

While it's true that working from home can keep you closer to your family, it also requires a well-organized and consistent approach in order to meet the needs of both your business and family life. To be successful, you must find ways to put in the hours necessary to start and grow your business without being detoured by family matters. You will need to manage your tasks and optimize your time. If you or your spouse hold a regular job, then conscientious time management will be even more crucial. By establishing boundaries and through careful planning, you can manage your time and priorities so that your family can be an asset to your business rather than a distraction.

First, think about how you could divide business specific tasks between you and your spouse. Plan your work, then work your plan. For example, while one spouse is at the workplace holding down a conventional job, the other can stay at home and spend time working the business by writing and posting ads, doing research, ordering product, and so forth. In the evenings when the spouse returns home from the office, that person can take over duties such as answering emails and making phone calls for training and prospecting purposes, while the other attends to the children and household tasks.

Also, consider recruiting your children into your home business. They may be able to help with certain tasks. Perhaps your oldest child can babysit the younger siblings during certain times of the day or evening. Children may also be able to help by preparing items for mailing, cleaning your office, and organizing and filing paperwork (don't be shocked, however, when you get asked to raise their allowance!).

Talk with your family and come to some agreements about the importance of your home business. Make them aware of the demands it places on each member as well as yourself. Gain their understanding and cooperation. Restrict personal use of the telephone to specific times so that your line will not be tied up during your business hours (or better yet, consider having a second phone line installed to be used just for business). Lay down the law that family must stay out of your office area during working hours. To make it easier for them to adhere to your rules, try to coordinate your work schedule with family activities, and schedule some non-business time during crucial times of the day, such as when the kids get home from school and at mealtimes. Be sure to discuss your business schedule with extended family members and friends. Inform them of your working hours and ask them not to drop by or call you during those times when you are working on your business.

Work hard and fast to build your home business, and keep going! Make the whole family aware of what you are doing and what you need from them. You'll probably find that they are all willing to help however they can. The rewards will be worthwhile, and you and your family can reap the benefits for years to come.

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