2013年3月5日星期二

Home-Based Business Sense - Start-Up Ideas

According to IDC, (Interactive Data Corp.), the premier global market intelligence firm, home-based businesses create an estimated 8,500 new jobs daily with 48% of them being held by college graduates and generating an estimated $427 billion each year.While corporate America struggles and limps through the recession, home based businesses are thriving and defeating a bad economy.Setting up your home based business can be a little intimidating. However, if you are organized, no task is too large.The following are a few things to keep in mind when setting up your home-based business.Hire the Right Accountant: Be sure they are familiar with small business tax law and preparation.Keep Every Receipt: You'd be surprised at what can be written off when you are a business owner. Internal Revenue Services' Publication 535 provides a list of deductible business expenses.Get Health Insurance: Insurance costs can be quite prohibitive. Explore groups or professional organizations. A group will have more bargaining power and some are large enough to make a significant difference in the rates available to you.For individual coverage, you might consider a no frills policy. Although there are out-of-pocket costs for routine doctor visits and prescriptions, lower premiums and coverage for catastrophic illnesses might make this a viable option.Also, depending upon your age, you might be eligible for government-financed or supplemental insurance.Tax-Hint: During the last week of the year, purchase new equipment or supplies. This will pull expenses, (tax deductions) into the current year.Communications: Get a dedicated phone line and a dependable answering machine/service that will take calls while you are on the telephone. It's much more professional.Get a Free Conference Service: Free Conference Call.com offers a free reservationless conference service that allows you to record and down load your calls.Get an E-fax Number: Basic service with E-Fax.com is very inexpensive. It will be comforting to know that your faxes are kept confidential and safe in your e-mail account.Establish a FedEx Account: It's free to set up and the supplies are free too. Also, with an account you receive discounted shipping rates.Back-Up Your System: Backing up your system is critical. With a home business, your computer is the lifeline of your business. What would you do if your PC had a fatal crash? How would you recover your business material? External hard drives can be connected to your PC via a USB which will allow you to create a duplicate of your hard drive. Also, there are on-line services such as backup.com or driveway.com. You should back-up your system at least once a week!Protect Your System: Guard your computer from viruses or other threats by installing and keeping up to date virus software. Check out macafee.com, avg.com or symantec.com.Take Care of You: When you work for yourself there is a tendency to work more hours than normal. Don't forget to take a walk, get some exercise, and eat well.Too often we get so busy and focused managing our businesses that we forget life is supposed to be fun. Remember, if we're not having fun then we are doing something wrong!

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