Category: Home-Based Business

Tax season is one of the most nerve-wracking times of the year. From putting together all of the necessary tax documents to finding the right accountant, taxes can be time-consuming, frustrating, and a major challenge. Add in a home-based business and taxes can be downright overwhelming. However, there are some things you can do to make your tax season a breeze.

Choose your accountant wisely
One of the most important decisions you’ll make as a business owner is who you will choose to help you with your bookkeeping and accounting needs. Research accountants in your area and look for one that specializes in small business taxes. Ask if they will prepare both corporate and personal returns if needed. Make sure your accountant is clear on how they charge for their time – especially for questions over the phone.

I once worked with accountants who worked with large corporations. They were used to having very little contact with their clients, however with a new corporation I had many questions about how things worked. Needless to say it didn’t go well. Our current accountant specializes in small businesses and is available by phone or email if I have a question.

Set up your business accounts properly
I was told early in my business career that I must make sure to keep my business accounts and personal accounts separate. When I first began running my own business I simply added a second checking account to use for business purposes. There was no cost to do so I was able to set my income aside in this separate account.

I also set up a savings account to set aside my taxes each month. This was a big help at the end of the year knowing that all of my taxes were set aside and I could relax instead of scrambling to come up with the money.

Keep good records
Another way to keep tax season stress-free is to keep business receipts throughout the year. I keep a separate file in the filing cabinet next to my desk just for this purpose. This way I have everything in one place when tax season arrives. If you don’t have room for a filing cabinet, consider an expandable folder categorized A – Z. That way you can still divide up the taxes by topic, and won’t have to do that come tax season.

Keep records of your business expenses throughout the year. Request a list of items from your accountant or tax professional, so that you will know what items to track. Be sure to ask what counts as “business expenses.” There are certain deductions that you can take for your home, car, and utilities. Consult your tax professional about these deductions.

Know Your Tax Facts
It’s important to know the date that your taxes are due. Many S corporations are surprised when they discover that some of their tax forms need to be filed by March 15th and not April 15th. Another surprise to some home-based businesses is that if you pay subcontractors over $600.00 a year, you need to send them a 1099 by the end of January.

There are many places online to find more information about taxes. One great place to find more information is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website at www.irs.gov. They have sections with helpful information on both personal and business taxes. They also list contact information for local IRS offices where you can also find help.

Don’t ignore the taxes involved with running a home-based business and hope it will all work itself out. It takes planning and effort to be prepared for tax season. Do your homework when it comes to taxes and find an accountant that you trust to guide you through the tax maze.

With the right preparation and help your tax season can be stress-free.

Work-at-home moms face many different challenges. From learning to accept help when needed, to building confidence in ourselves, to remembering the reasons why we chose to work from home. Below is the second in the series of tips to help work-at-home moms in the simplest of ways – the ABC’s.

N = No – Work at Home Moms need to be able to say “No” when the situation calls for it. Don’t be afraid to stand up for your business or to choose NOT to work with a customer who is more trouble than it’s worth.

O = Office – As Work at Home Moms, we usually put ourselves last on the list. However, when we’re in business it’s important to have some room (even a corner) that is set aside strictly for business.

P = Priorities – It’s hard to keep your priorities straight when raising a family and building a business. Take some time each week/month to sit down and evaluate your priorities and cut out things in your schedule that don’t fit in.

Q = Quiet Time – It may seem impossible to find a time to sit, relax and be quiet when you have so many demands on your time. However, it’s more important than ever that you take a little time for yourself to rejuvenate and renew when you grow weary.

R = Respect – Like the golden rule says, it’s important to treat others as we’d like to be treated. This is so true for work at home moms – we must show the utmost in professionalism and treat even the most difficult clients with respect.

S = Significant Other – As work at home moms it’s easy to get wrapped up with our business, our kids, ourselves. Don’t forget to take the time to appreciate your husbands!

T = Time – As work-home-moms time is the ultimate enemy. 🙂 Learn to prioritize and delegate whenever possible. Take time out for your kids each day – you’ll be glad you did!

U = Unique – Your business needs to be unique to stand out from the crowd. Even if your product isn’t unique you can always find a unique way to approach marketing, customer service, etc. Get creative and stand out from the rest!

V = Vision – It’s so important to have a clear vision of where you want your business to go. Sit down and make a list of where you’d like to be in 5 years, in 10 years, etc. Without goals you won’t get anywhere.

W = Wisdom – It’s important to seek wisdom when running your own business. You won’t always know the answer, so you need to find others that you trust that you can turn to when these things arise.

X = eXcitement – Celebrate each success! Keep yourself motivated and excited about your business. Try to share your business with someone new each day. Just telling someone about what you do can bring back that “spark” of excitement about your career!

Y = Yes – Yes! You CAN do it! Each of us started with a dream, a vision and the faith that we could make it happen. It takes hard work, determination and a “Yes!” attitude, but it CAN be done!

Z = Zoo – Yes, life as a work at home mom really is a zoo, but it’s worth it! Being at home to see your child’s first step, hear their first word – it just doesn’t get better than that.

Working from home can be difficult, but it is well worth the effort. By keeping things in perspective we can reduce the stress that we put on ourselves. Remember these ABC’s and you’ll go far in your work-at-home career.

Work-at-home moms face many different challenges. From learning to accept help when needed, to building confidence in ourselves, to remembering the reasons why we chose to work from home. Below is the first in a series of tips to help work-at-home moms in the simplest of ways – the ABC’s.

A = Adjustments.
A work at home mom must expect the unexpected. She must be prepared to adjust her schedule at any given moment for any number of reasons – a sick child, a backed up drain, or an upset client. A mom who learns to welcome these moments as a chance to show love to her family and concern for her clients will be ahead of the game in the end. Approach these “interruptions” with a great attitude and see what a difference it makes.

B = Better.
Works at Home Moms have to be on top of their game. To run a business as well as manage a household takes determination and scheduling. You may not feel like you have a schedule, but take a look at your day/week and see how you are spending your time. Next, think about what you can do better, what you can delegate and what would be better off removed from your schedule to allow you to spend your time in a better manner.

C = Confidence.
You wouldn’t be a work at home mom without it. Take time to celebrate each success no matter how minute it may seem. Each success will help grow your confidence and turn you into a savvier businesswoman.

D = Dry – Don’t let things dry up. Keep content fresh, offer new products and services whenever possible. This will keep you motivated and keep customer returning.

E = Effort – Don’t kid yourself. It takes a TON of effort to make a home-based business successful. Don’t give up with thing get rough. Keep plugging away – it will pay off

F = Feisty – Every work at home mom has to be at least a tad bit feisty. 🙂 Stand up for your business when need be – don’t be afraid to say no when necessary.

G = Generosity – When I fist began my business I sought advice from many successful work-at-home moms. One of the best pieces of advice I received was that what I gave to others would come back tenfold. I’ve found that to be very true. Helping others is as much a blessing to me as it is to others.

H = Help – There will come a time that you’ll need help. You must be willing to accept it, to allow others to do for you what you cannot. In turn, try to be a help to other when they are in need.

I = If – If you don’t do it, who will? Mothering is such an important role that gets overlooked so often these days. Always remember that being there for your children is the BEST gift you can ever give them.

J = “Just for you” – Take a little time to do something just for you each day. Even 5 minutes of doing something you enjoy can revive a tired mommy.

K = Keep – Keep your chin up. It will get better. Don’t let a lag in business growth get you down. Find some creative ways to get the ball rolling again.

L = Laugh – Take time to laugh with you kids each day. And don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself when need be.

M = Mommy – Remember, the reason you do all that you do is for those little ones who call you “Mommy.”
Working from home can be difficult, but it is well worth the effort. By keeping things in perspective we can reduce the stress that we put on ourselves. Remember these ABC’s and you’ll go far in your work-at-home career.

Do you ever feel like twenty-four hours in a day isn’t enough? I frequently find myself wishing that I had an extra hour or two each day to get done all of the things on my task list. With small children still at home, I am constantly getting distracted from my home-based business to attend to their needs. It has become imperative to use the time that I have to work efficiently. I have found a few ways to use my work time more effectively and I’m willing to share a few of my secrets with you.

First, don’t answer the phone every time it rings.

If your phone rings constantly while you are trying to work, let your answering machine act as your personal assistant. Check you Caller ID and if you don’t recognize the number or know that you can return the call at a later time, let the caller leave a message.

Schedule a time each day or every other day that you will set aside to return phone calls. Try to keep each phone call short if possible, so that you are able to return all calls. Whenever possible, offer to email the person any requested information to save time rifling through paperwork or searching your office.

Second, use your email program wisely.

Set up a spam filter so that you won’t have to dredge through useless emails each day. Use the folders, labels and other tools provided to file your emails in a way that works for you. I set up a folder for each common type of email that comes through – payments, forms, correspondence, etc – and file each email that I receive. This keeps my inbox tidy and allows me to easily find emails when I am ready to handle it. Also, when I’m working on a project for my business I close my email program. This keeps me focused on the project at hand.

Another email shortcut that I use is to mark important emails with a flag or star depending on the email program. I use this only for emails that require a response. I read through my emails each morning and sort, flag and delete as necessary. When I go back through my email later in the day I go to the marked emails first and respond to as many as possible. I then move through the folders and take care of any emails that are awaiting.

Third, organize your office.

Keep the top of your desk neat and take the time every few weeks to go through your drawers and files and clean them out. Throw away the paperwork that you no longer need and find a new home for any useless items that have collected there. I keep a business card holder on my desk to use as a quick reference when I need someone’s contact information. I also use a letter hold to keep track of bills and a set of bookends to keep my reference books handy.

If you are a sticky-note fanatic like me take a moment at the end of each day and transfer your notes to your calendar or planner. The more sticky notes you can eliminate each evening, the more time you’ll have to accomplish important tasks the next morning.

Hire a VA

Finally, if your business has grown to a level where you can no longer handle all of the necessary tasks on your own, consider hiring a virtual assistant (VA). Most virtual assistants will allow you to hire them hourly per project, so that you are able to stay within your business’s budget. Virtual assistants can handle most any task – from updating your website to sending out press releases about your business. One of the best things that I have done for my business is to hire a VA. Her help gives me the freedom to work more efficiently and have time to spend on other things.

There are many ways to use your time for effectively when working from home. Use the tools that you have at your fingertips to help you get more work done in less time. Don’t get bogged down trying to do everything – know when you need assistance. By keeping yourself focused on the task at hand you’ll save more time than you can imagine.

AllBusiness.com: One home based business notion is that people can spend less time working than they currently do with a full time job. That’s one of those things that’s not really true but might be true after some time.
Let’s say you have a full time job of 40 hours per week. Then let’s say you spend an additional hour each day commuting to and from work. So that’s really a 45 hour week isn’t it? A week is made up of 168 hours total. Assuming you allow 8 hours for sleep per night, that would be 56 hours of sleep each week. So our ‘waking week’ is really only 112 hours. Subtract the 45 hours for the job and that leave us 67 hours per week.
Now a 30 minute commute is probably a conservative estimate when held up against reality. I know several people in my own circle of acquaintances who easily have an hour each way. Furthermore, many people with full time jobs often put in overtime each week. So in many cases, people with jobs spend half their waking hours each week attending to their job outside of the home.
It’s no wonder the idea of a home based business is so attractive! Why give all that precious time to someone else, somewhere else? Many people add up those hours and ask “Why .. oh why am I doing that?”
Home Based Business Versus a Job [AllBusiness.com]