Monday, April 30, 2007

Martin Worldwide mailing lists [paid post]

Working from home is a hit or miss prospect when you are in the business of direct marketing products to customers. One day you might have a good day and make multiple sales, the next day you may be starting into the first of many days to come of no sales and, as a direct result, no income.

When you are making direct sales you want to know that the people on your mailing list have a proven track record for making active, responsive and impulsive purchases. That is the kind of Mailing Lists that Martin Worldwide can offer. Martin Worldwide has a database of over 290 million consumers and 14 million U.S. businesses.

With an in writing guarantee on database integrity, you can be sure that the list you get will be filled with good prospects for your direct mailing campaign.

For more information on Martin Worldwide and its direct marketing products and services, please call (888)- 267-3545.
Contact: Chip Matthews, Client Relations Manager chip@martinworldwide.net



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This post is a paid advertisement for Martin Worldwide

This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

Office tips

I have set up an easel, like you would put a painting on, in the corner of my office to hold dry erase boards so that I can use the corner space as additional layout for work projects.

By storing additional dry erase boards under the easel I can swap them out based on the project that I am working on at the time and have a collection of projects stored away under the easel ready to be worked on or updated for what work has been done.

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Guerrilla Marketing Tip - Post cards

Does your business have some sort of product or service that lends itself to being summed up in a picture? Have you considered the marketing potential of post cards?

You can create post cards that showcase your skills at graphic design, ones with the cover of your novel on them, or a post card that has a funny joke that pertains to your business (Lawyer's jokes for a law firm?).

Or take a lesson from the business cards and make post cards that are useful to the recipient. Maybe if you are a doctor you can make post cards that remind someone that they have an appointment at your office and on the front of the card print basic CPR information or a checklist of things to have on hand in case of emergencies?

Run an auto shop? How about a post card that includes a maintenance checklist?

Yuo can get post cards printed at places like Cafe Press or a local print shop. Or make inexpensive ones by running blank 5x8 index cards through your printer.

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Sunday, April 29, 2007

Appreciative Coaching: A Positive Process for Change [paid ad]

Sara Orem, PhD, has co-authored a book with Jacqueline Binkert, PhD, and Ann Clancy, PhD. The book is on coaching managers, executives and others that are in a position to effect change within a company. The book, ‘Appreciative Coaching: A Positive Process for Change’.

Published by Jossey-Bass, a non-fiction book publisher based out of San Francisco, Orem describes the book as guiding the reader through four stages - "Discovery, Dream, Design and Destiny." This is intended to inspire them to empower themselves and their future.

Sara Orem, PhD, is a faculty member of Capella's School of Business and Technology. Capella University is known as being an accredited e-learning university that offers graduate degree programs and bachelor's degree programs in fields such as business and information technology.

If you are looking for something that can help you find out more about how coaching can make a difference in business, then this book may be worth looking into.


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This post is a paid advertisement for Capella University.

This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

How to renew that dry erase board

Have you had trouble with your dry erase board? Maybe it is not erasing like it should or your darling child or significant other accidentally write a note on it using a permanent marker?

Don't toss it out. You can still save even the most abused of boards as long as they don't have gouges in them.

Forget the store bought cleaners. I read the label on one of them and the primary ingredient is isopropyl alcohol. Rubbing alcohol. I bought a small spritzer bottle out of the travel cosmetics section of my local Wal-Mart for under a buck, poured a little rubbing alcohol into it and spray it on my dry erase board when it needs to be cleaned. It works beautifully.

And the permanent marker? You can remove it by going over the marker with a dry erase marker and wiping it away. If it's covering a lot of the area, or is stubborn, I remove it by spraying with my rubbing alcohol spritzer and rubbing gently with my finger then wiping away. It may take a few applications to get it all, but I have taken boards that I had covered in lines of black permanent marker to create grids for work and completely erased the lines in just a few minutes to make the board look like new.

Another tip that I have seen, but not tried myself, is to recondition a dry erase board by applying car wax, just like you would to your car, and then wiping it off. This is supposed to make the board work just like new again.

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No more chalky residue on hands

I figured out how to cure the trouble of the chalk that I use on the slates getting onto my hands. I have taken narrow strips of paper and wrapped them around the chalk and secured with tape. When I have the time I will experiment with the right angle to cut the paper at to get a smoother wrap (chalk is tapered), and glue instead of tape the strips, but for now it is working to keep my hands clean when I make a fast note on one of the slates.

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Botox injections

You know, I think one of the craziest business schemes that I can think of is the beauty treatment business. Where else can someone open a day spa to inject their customers with a neurotoxin, and have people lining up down the street in some of the fanciest cities out there to get the treatment?

Botox is the trade name for the cosmetic use of botulinum toxin A - a toxin that temporarily paralyzes the muscles that cause wrinkles by blocking the nerve impulses. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for cosmetic use in April 2002, Botox is now popular for treating the effects of aging on the skin of the face. You can easily find day spas, such as Puremed Spa, that offer injections of botox Los Angeles and other cities in states such as California and Nevada.

If you are considering Botox treatments as a cure for wrinkles, then I encourage you to please look into it carefully. While there are benefits of feeling better about your appearance, there are also side effects that can occur and possible as yet unknown effects from the injection of Botox.



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This post is a paid advertisement for Puremed Spa.

This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

Guerrilla Marketing Tip - Bumper stickers

Here is another guerrilla marketing tip for you - bumper stickers. People love reading bumper stickers, and if it is a funny bumper sticker they will tell someone else about having seen it. They may even want one themselves.

Figure out something funny and original that can be made up for your business that can catch the reader's eye and build a bumper sticker around it.

You can even create your own 10"x3" bumper stickers for about $3 each at CafePress. Buy one for each of your cars and sell them on your website for another buck or so profit.

Cafe Press is a great place to find all kinds of products that you can sell through your website and you get to set the price (over the base price it costs them to make it for you).

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Small chalkboard slates for notes

I have some little chalkboard slates that I got from the second hand store the other day. Had to pay $1.50 each for them but they are three nice little genuine slate slate pads. I'm going to use the slates for taking fast notes by the computer. Things that I would normally go through a lot of scratch paper to keep track of then toss in the trash, now goes on the slate and is wiped away when I no longer need it. I love it.

I picked up some chalk for a buck out of Wal-Mart then, nothing I can use on the other chalk board I have, since it is hard chalk and my other boards are painted boards, but it will give me a good supply of chalk for these small slates.

It still has a problem with getting my fingers covered in chalk though, so I will have to cure that. I've been looking for one of them pens that you can put chalk in, but can't find one yet. Shoot, I can't even find a chalk board eraser yet. lol

Friday, April 27, 2007

Vonage Forum

If you are interested in Vonage as a possible phone service for your business, then you should check out the Vonage Forum. It's a very active site that even at 1:30 a.m. in Alaska had over 60 users online. (at just 4 years old, they have already had an impressive 1,300+ users online at once (out of a 40,000+ membership)).

If you want to find out more about Vonage, then I would say that this is definitely a good place to start asking questions. They have areas for the USA, Canada and the UK. Best of all they have a area dedicated to how to hardwire your Vonage system into your office and one on transferring an existing number to Vonage.

Definitely check them out if you are thinking about switching to Vonage.



The preceding post is sponsored by Vonage Forum

Got some office stuff - visual inspiration for writing

Got a few bulletin boards from second hand stores today. I'm going to use them for layout for my writing so I can plan stories and keep track of things easier. Also got a couple of small dry erase boards.

Yesterday my mom found me a neat lamp with a clay jug base that has a cut out on it to show a desert scene with a little light. Then today she found a great little stoneware terracotta covered hut thing that is like a igloo without the entry tunnel. It had been a incense burner, but I am going to add some stuff like a small cloth door covering and a few props and make it a visual example of one of the kinds of buildings found in my fantasy world. There is a really kewl sandstone votive holder that goes with it (well, now it goes with it, they didn't originally be a set).

Add in the feathery fern fossil rock I got yesterday and I have a few really good additions to the office decorations that will visually inspire my writing.

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Thursday, April 26, 2007

Drug rehabilitation information

The goal of 1800nodrugs.com is help those that need help with addiction. They achieve this goal by forming relationships with drug rehab program providers to make it possible to refer individuals suffering from drug addiction and/or abuse related issues to the proper programs and services that they require.

It is difficult to know just what is right when the available drug rehab programs vary as greatly as the levels and types of addiction. If you are struggling with an addiction to drugs, or any addictive substance, please, get assistance with finding the right drug rehabilitation program and get back in control of your life.



The preceding post is a paid advertisement for 1-800-nodrugs

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Guerrilla Marketing Tip - Bookmarks

I did some low cost guerrilla marketing for my website just after it started up. On a whim I printed out some bookmarks with the picture of a famous author on one side and a quote by that author about writing. On the other side of the bookmark, running the length of the book mark, I printed my website URL and basic information on what the website was about.

I went to the expense of laminating each bookmark, just to make them a little more worth someone keeping, and then tucked them into a few books on writing before I returned the books to the public library.

This put the bookmarks for my writer's website in the hands of local writers. (Or in the library trash bin - I'm not positive which.)

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Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Global Futures exchange - futures and forex trading

Because of the interconnected marketplace platform of forex trading, it is important for investors to find a company that understands the market and can best anticipate exchange rate fluctuations and microeconomic conditions.

I have bantered before with friends and family about the shifting value of the Canadian dollar to the US$. What one day may be an almost even exchange, may the next be half again as much US$ as it had been the day before.

I'm not as familiar with the futures market, since I don't really understand contracts that well, much less trading based on potential contracts. I'm not exactly sure what global futures can do for me, but I do have an interest in finding out more about such matters. I determined when I made out my taxes that I am going to be investing in my future, and that means that I need to start looking into investments.

Established in 1998, and having offices in California and Florida, Global Futures Exchange & Trading Co., Inc. is able to help get investors started with as little as $250. So they are at the moment sounding like a good place for a small business owner like me to look for help in getting started in futures and forex trading.






Where do you see your business in 10 years?

Here is a basic question that you may not have considered yet unless you have written a business plan. Where do you see your business in ten years? Do you see it as still being something you are doing? Will you be supporting yourself solely from this business or working part time somewhere else? Is this going to be your part time job in ten years while you are working full-time for someone else?

This is one of the questions that is asked on a business plan. Where do you see the business in ten years? It gives you an idea on what you will need to accomplish over the next nine years to get to that point where in ten years your business is what today you see it as becoming.

Take a sheet of paper and a pen and spend a little while outlining what you would like your business, including your part in it, to be in another ten years. Don't worry about how to get there, you will deal with that later, right now just decide what your business is going to be like ten years from today.

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Shop For Weddings

Guerrilla marketing is all about getting your name out there and into the hands of people. Personalized wedding favors is all about getting your union with your loved one out there and giving each guest something they can take home and cherish or use. .

If you are looking for something that will add a little Guerrilla marketing to your wedding day, then you should take a look at the cheap wedding favors that can be found at Shop For Weddings.

Shop For Weddings, described as the Internet Wedding Superstore, has cheap, personalized wedding favors. You can get such reusable items as decks of personalized playing cards, personalized matchbooks, personalized mini floral candles, and much more.

Take a look around Shop For Weddings and see what ideas you can stir up for keeping your special day in the thoughts of your guests.


This post is a paid advertisement for Shop For Weddings

Guerrilla Marketing Tip - Useful Business Cards

Today's Guerrilla Marketing Tip is to create Useful Business Cards for your business. Whatever business you are in, there is something you can create that will be of use to others, enough use that they will keep your business card handy rather than pitch it out.

Do you have an espresso stand? The tried and true "Free Coffee for 12 punches" is a great approach to a business card that people will want to keep - and that will also draw them back to your business.

Are you a surveyor or cartographer? You can keep your name in people's hands by offering something such as a bar along the edge of your business card that measures out the most standard mileage for road maps. Maybe if you make topographical maps of the national forests you can use the space on the back of the card to list places that information on forestry service and other natural resources numbers in the area?

Do you host children's parties? How about putting instructions for a simple balloon animal on the back of your card?

There are a lot of ways that you can keep your business card in the hands of the public and in doing so keep your business at their fingertips. Not sure what would be useful on your business card? Here are some things that could be useful on a variety of cards:
  • ASL hand signs for the alphabet
  • Local emergency numbers
  • A calendar (perpetual if you can fit it on the card)
  • Phone numbers for local resources such as the library
Feel free to add your own ideas (remember, you can get link love for participating in comments)

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"I don't feel like it right now."

I was talking to one of my friends last night about my working at home and I commented to her that I'll be doing good if I can wrestle up the discipline to work at it as a real job rather than treating it as a job where I can say "I don't feel like it right now."

As long as you can say, "Awww, man, I don't feel like working," then you will never make a job out of whatever you are trying to do. If you only work when you feel like it then you are going to be pursuing a hobby, not a business.

If I worked only when I felt like it I would have been out on my ATV every sunny day for the past week. I would have slept in late, gone to bed early and spent a lot more time chatting with my friends online.

You can't say: "I don't feel like it." You have to say: "I may not feel like it, but..." and then dive in and do the work. You can't make a living doing what you love if you just do it for love. Do it for love and for work, then you can make a career out of it.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Simmons, Jannace & Stagg

Are you looking to buy or sell a business? Confused by all of the ins and outs of contract negotiations, loan paperwork and other legalities that go with buying or selling a business? Simmons Jannace & Stagg, LLP, represent both large and small companies, including such Fortune 500 companies as: Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., Bank of America Corp., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., Staples Inc., and Circuit City Stores, Inc.

For a decade Simmons, Jannace & Stagg have been putting the needs of their clients first as they acted as counsel to business clients and real estate developers. From structuring a variety of loans and other financing transactions to providing guidance in choosing a business form Simmons, Jannace & Stagg have been providing top quality service that has earned them the highest peer review rating by Martindale-Hubbell, which rates legal ability and ethical standards.

Whether you need to negotiate a loan or want help forming a corporation, and no matter the size of your company, Simmons, Jannace & Stagg can provide you with quality service and consultation.


This post is a paid advertisement.

Guerrilla Marketing Tip - notepads

Something that a lot of businesses don't think about is the benefits of creating memo pads with their business information on them. Even if you can not afford to make up memo pads that can be handed out as promotional products, you can still create a few notepads for your own personal use.

Needed:
  • Paper cutter or scissors
  • Stapler (optional)
  • White glue (or any glue for paper)
  • Printer & paper
  • A sheet of decorative paper
  • Heavy cardboard paper like backs notebooks
  • And an image program (such as GIMP or, if you can't afford free, Photoshop)
  • Waxed paper

The first thing you want to do is use your image manipulation program to make up artwork for your notepad. Maybe you will use your company logo and just have to make it the right size. Once you have the artwork you want to lower the transparency on it until it is faint enough that someone can write over it with a pencil and still read what they wrote. You also want the image to be dark enough to be visible, so play with this some to get the right level of transparency.

Now, set up a word processor to print the image out on paper in whatever size you want the notepad to be. This too will take some playing around to find a size you like. Print maybe six or eight sheets to a sheet of paper.

In laying out the paper for printing you want the image centered where the person will be writing, and your business name and contact information set about half an inch down from the top edge. This will put it where it will be visible when the top edge of the pad is stapled and glued.

Print out a test page and make sure that it will cut apart properly, then print enough that you can place the desired number of pages (10 or 25 is okay) into each pad you will be making. Once they are printed carefully cut the pages apart and stack them up. You want them all the same size. Place a cardboard backing on each pad, cut to the size of the pads.

Take and place a little glue along the top edge, working it carefully into the edge of the notepad, and press the pages together so the edge of the pages will be glued together. Staple the pages to the cardboard if desired. This adds stability. You should put at least two or three staples in each pad.

Now, cut a strip of decorative paper about a inch wide and as long as the pad is wide. Fold it over the top of the pad to position it. Once satisfied with the placement, put glue on the backside of the strip of decorative paper and put it on the pad. Press between two pieces of waxed paper until dry.

The more of these pads you make, the better you will get at making them. They can be handed out to potential customers or sent along in mailings or just used for your own business use.

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Guerrilla Marketing Tips

I'm starting up a new series here at the Work at Home Newsletter. Guerrilla Marketing Tips. These are ideas that you can implement for helping spread the visibility of your business. They will cover a variety of tactics from creating items for distribution to things you can do online. Some will be low cost, some are free, and others may cost a little or even a lot depending on your approach to the products. All are going to be tricks and techniques to get the word out there for your business and bring in potential customers.

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Web forms

Not good with HTML? Need to create a form for your website? Forms4Free can help you create an HTML form for your website in just five minutes. Then, for a one time fee of $19.95, you can download the Formmail file that will enable your website to send you the results of the Web form to you in an e-mail after customers have filled it out and pressed submit.

Forms4Free was founded in 2005 with the simple aim of providing free forms to inexperienced webmasters. In 2006 they added Formmail to allow webmasters to process forms through their own websites and avoid the advertisements that other services place on the form redirect pages.


This post is a paid advertisement for Forms4Free.com

New comment policy at the Work at Home Newsletter

I've started up a new comment policy here at the Work at Home Newsletter. And I figured you would all be interested in hearing about it. I found out about a neat little secret called "You Comment - I Follow".

The concept of U Comment I Follow is fairly simple and straightforward. I have turned off the nofollow tags in my comments here, so that means when you leave a comment it is actually helpful for you. It lets you get link love from me for participating in comments on my blogs. How kewl is that?

Now, the rules. Yes, I know, bummer duuuuude! There are rules. You have to actually contribute something worth contributing. I'm not saying you need to be some great word smith that can offer up a 200 word article on working at home, I'm just saying that if you post something that is worth being posted, I'll approve it. If you post "Great blog - visit mine!" I'm not gonna do it, and I'm not gonna approve your comment.

Yes, comment moderation is on here at the Work at Home Newsletter and if you want link love from me you need to actually give me a few moments of your time to talk about what I posted about or at least to say something interesting and pertaining to the work at home life. I'm fairly easy going, but if I get the idea you're just after a bunch of free link love then I am not above being a hard case and not approving the comments.

So, join in the discussions and enjoy the link love! And speaking of link love...

Thank you so much to Randa Clay for creating the great U Comment I Follow images, check out the link for more on the images and to find them in a wide assortment of colors. (CSS is also available) - Thanks Randa! You rock!

And also, thank you to Angela at the Work At Home Mom Blog for being where I heard about this at. She has a great blog over there so go give her some reader love for this link love, okay?

And don't forget to comment here! I'll be approving comments on my blogs nightly from now on, so you may have to wait a little while to see it (this keeps the spammers at bay), but I will get to it before I log off each night.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Business plan template

I found this site when I was looking for a place that had samples on business plans. They have a good business plan sample that talks you through setting up your business plan. Definitely worth checking out. Score.org Template Gallery

Make sure you check out the rest of the SCORE website too, it looks like it's going to be holding my attention for a while. LOL Not sure why I didn't find them sooner.

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Credit Card search engine

It's a credit card run world, and there are a lot of thing that you can not do unless you have a credit card. When you are running a business it is even more vital to have access to a credit card for business purchases and expenses.

If you are looking for a credit card, CreditCardSearchEngine.com can help you locate the right one for your needs. They have credit card for all credit types, from people with good credit to people with bad credit looking for a way to rebuild their credit history.

You can find information on credit cards for all kinds of interests and rewards, from cards that offer you rewards for your purchases to cash back credit cards. Student credit cards, business credit cards, or gas credit cards are just a few of the options to keep in mind when you are looking over Credit Card Applications and trying to decide what is the best type of card for your needs. In addition to searching for cards based on rewards, you can search for a card based on the brand (Visa, MC, Discover) or issuer (Chase, Bank of America, Capitol One).

Also check out the featured articles at CreditCardSearchEngine.com for information on online safety with credit cards, holiday shopping, how to choose a credit card, and more.



This post is a paid advertisement
for CreditCardSearchEngine.com

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More ideas for business cards

Think about the type of business you have when you are designing your business cards and what type of things you might be able to include that might be of interest to people, that might make them find your card useful to keep around.

Are you a pet sitter? Maybe put a chart on the back of the card that shows people years to dog years? Or maybe include a list of local vet emergency numbers?

Are you a travel agent? Maybe put information on the back of the card that tells where to go for the latest news on travel restrictions? How about a tri-fold card that has a checklist of things to pack for an overnight stay inside of it?

There are a lot of ways you can personalize your business card so that others will find it useful beyond your services, figure out something you think people could use and give them reason to keep your number handy.

Business cards

Do you have business cards for your home based business? The business card is something that every home business owner should consider carefully. They are your professional image and the best way for you to connect with people. Business cards are mini advertisements that you can leave pinned to bulletin boards and hand out to clients when you meet them to be sure they have your contact information.

When designing a business card don't limit yourself to the perforated cards you feed through the printer and break apart. They look dreadful and very unprofessional.

Also, don't limit the design to a simple one sided card. Both sides can be printed on, and you can even go for fold over tent cards or tri-fold cards. Create a mini brochure for your business.

Sandals for fundraising

For nearly twenty years Bagus Custom has been producing top quality custom flip flops. Custom sandals in a variety of styles and colors can be personalized with your organization or business logo.

Looking to raise funds for something? Maybe you have some cheerleading fundraising to do? Fundraising is easy. All you need to do is provide your choice of colors and the artwork, then, in just a few weeks, the sandals are ready.

Want talking sole sandals? No problem! You can have a name or image die cut out of the bottom of each sandal. This means that the imprint will be left loose dirt or sand as someone walks around.

Sandals come in regular shoe sizes, children through adult, or can be ordered in small, medium, and large sizes.

Some of their clients include: The X Games, McDonalds, Marriot Resorts, LA Dodgers, Hilton, and many more.



This post is a paid advertisement for Bagus Custom

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Work at home forums

Working at home is chaotic and insane and sometimes you just want a little support. That's when you turn to forums. A fast Google of the term "work at home forum" will bring up a list of places like Work At Home Forum and Work At Home Business Forum and many many other sites where you can read information from others or ask for help when you need it.

Avoid work at home scams

The Internet is filled with work at home scams. All of those schemes that you knew in the mail and magazine classifieds have found their way into the Internet and evolved to take full advantage of search engines and e-mail.

The Better Business Bureau has set up a page to alert consumers to the most common scams that can make you loose money and even your identity to thieves. And tells you what to do if you have fallen victim to a scam.

Mechanic school directory [paid post]

Are you looking for a new career? Want to find something that you can make a little more money at, or maybe you want to try your hand at learning something like mechanics or welding to add to an existing job you already do from home? If so then you might want to check out the variety of mechanics fields at the Mechanic School Directory. The Mechanic School Directory can help you find information on schools in the field of mechanics, everything from an aircraft mechanic school to a Welding School.

So let the Mechanic School Directory help you find the right school for career training in your chosen field. You can search schools based on state, or get suggestions on the top schools in each industry.



This post is a paid advertisement for Mechanic School Directory

Working from home has its drawbacks

One of the problems with working at home is the lack of motivation. You know that there is a clock sitting there watching your every move, but sometimes you forget to watch the clock's movements. You find yourself realizing that the entire day has passed you by and you never got half the things you meant to get done done.

Even when you're being good, you can get side tracked and loose a day's worth of work to not having a real motivation to keep you at the task you set yourself to.

Motivation

I found these motivational posters as I was meandering the internet and thought they was cute and worth sharing.









I particularly like the last one, but I think that the second one is my favorite. I would put a different picture on it, but I want it for my wall since as a writer I am being paid to share my dreams with others, not to believe in my dreams on my own.

I'm going to look for more motivational posters for working at home jobs, must be more that would fit the bill for motivation at home.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

SLDA's Three Stepping Stone process for landscape design

When you are inviting clients over to sign contracts or discuss deals, you want to have a beautiful view out your office window and along the path to your door. Maybe even a nice place for entertaining outside?

SLDA's Three Stepping Stone process for landscape design helps to define what you want in your Landscape Design, then they create a design that works within your needs, the needs of the landscape for your yard, and the budget you specify. They create detailed drawings that explore different angles and perspectives and a CAD design that lets you make changes on the computer using 2-d and 3-d images.

After everything has been planned and the design meets your satisfaction, SLDA begins supervising and constructing your yard. Don't worry though, you're kept in the loop. In fact, you get daily updates in person as well as a customized client work in progress section where you can view weekly notes and photos of your landscape.



This post is a paid advertisement for SLDA

Shopping for office supplies like a school kid

Notebooks are a staple of the home business. I have notebooks of all sixes from little 3x5 memo pads to 5 section notebooks with pocket dividers for tucking loose paper into.

Whatever your job is, you will need a notebook at some point. My secret for getting the notebooks I need is to hit the local Wal-Mart when they have their sales going back to school sales, and particularly after the kids have gone back and everything hits clearance. A couple years ago I got a LOT of plastic pencil cases for storage of small stuff. I always get a lot of 70 page notebooks and a few composition pads. Check it out this fall, you'll be amazed how much office stuff there is to be had in the school supplies aisle.

Plants make all the difference

I'm kicked back here in my chair looking over the monitor at the dracaena that sits in the corner of the office near one of the book shelves. The plant adds so much to the room, beyond even what the window can add to it I think since the plant provides a silent sentential of a companion in the solitary task of being a writer.

Yes I talk to my plants. Sue me. :-p

I'm serious though, if you don't have a plant in your office, steal one from somewhere else in the house and bring it in and see if it does not make the room feel ... more welcoming to you as well as clients.

Symark Software's PowerBroker and PowerPassword-User Management Edition

Try Symark Software's PowerBroker and PowerPassword-User Management Edition (UME) access control solutions free 30 for days. PowerBroker and PowerPassword-User Management Edition are the programs that Symark released to address the inherent security gaps in over 30 versions of UNIX and Linux systems. They provide you with Privileged Access capability and will help protect your IT environments.

The testimonials page has the following UnixReview.com quote that fairly well sums up why companies need this software: "Because authorized users commit roughly 80% of computer crime, providing too much access is a huge security risk."

Don't let your company be at risk. Try Symark Software's PowerBroker and PowerPassword-User Management Edition and see what they can do to help protect your IT environment.




This post is sponsored by Symark

Good snacks for the home office

Okay, I am on a kick again of I need to loose weight, so I am pondering what would be good for things that can be kept in the home office to curtail a trip to the kitchen where one might encounter cans of cake frosting and potato chips.

I'm thinking things that can last at least a day so they can be set out on a tray in the morning and munched on as desired.

One thing I am thinking is a small snack bar in the office where I can keep bottled water and some of them little single serving packets of Crystal light to dump in it if desired. Maybe a box or two of them 100 calorie packs in something that will give you energy to keep going instead of a fast sugar rush that packs on the pounds and drops you ten minutes later.

I need to hit the store and see what sort of things I can find that fit the bill. Also need some kind of little ice chest or something for the water to keep it cool.

Chalk board in a can, and magnetic walls

Looking for a good chalkboard that fits a certain area in your home office? Or maybe you want to have a chalkboard that is a certain shape?

Did you know that you can make your own chalk board? It's true. You can buy Krylon Chalk Board Paint in a spray can. Then you can make any wall in your office into a convenient chalk board.

And also check out magnetic paint. A child-safe, interior use, acrylic latex water-based primer that you can use to easily turn any porous surface into a surface you can stick magnets to. This is a great idea for creating a long layout wall since a one gallon can will cover 100 square feet.

Travel Fulfillment Company?

According to United Vacation Network, they have a staff of professionals that have the training needed to help you plan your next vacation. Listing themselves as a travel fulfillment company, United Vacation Network says that they can help clients both big and small with cruises, resorts, airfare, rental car, and other aspects of travel.

They say that, for either tour or individually prepared vacation packages, they can get you the best possible price. And, United Vacation Network says they do this through their connections with major travel providers, consolidators, and wholesalers.

I'm unable to confirm any of these claims at this time, however, since the United Vacation Network appears to be little more than a tour of links around various free membership sites with the same information and links on each. It seems to just be a merry go round that has no destination other than to keep you chasing a PR Building red herring since their main website refuses to load up for me so I can't see what their site is like.


This post is sponsored by United Vacation Network

Travel office

There is one truth about Alaska, and that is that when you have the chance to get out and enjoy the summer - take it!

With that in mind I am working on a portable office that I can take along in the car or on the back of my ATV when I hit the trails. First and foremost in this is to be the usual notebook and pens and a good mechanical pencil with lots of extra lead (I tend to break the lead too easily). I also want to eventually get a decent PDA - the one I got off eBay was a piece of **** that won't synch to my computer and only holds a charge for about an hour, less than half an hour if you are actually using it.

So, I need a PDA for my traveling office, since it makes no sense to pack around a laptop for writing. Or better yet, since I want to be writing, maybe get myself one of those writing dealies, I forget the name, but they're just a keyboard with a small screen to show you five or six words of text. Encourages you to not edit as you go, just type. Then you can download it to the computer after it's all typed into the deal. I'd like to get one of them. Or maybe a folding keyboard to use with the PDA when I get a decent one.

I'm still pondering what else I would put in my travel office.

What makes someone want to work at home?

What makes someone decide that they want to work at home? I suppose that an argument could be made for all sorts of reasons from gas is too expensive to commute to spending more time with the children. My reason started out as a simple matter of I could not work anywhere else. I already have a full-time job with full-time overtime, so trying to hold down even a part time job away from home was not an option. Thus I became a work at home person because of necessity.

Am I a success? Far from it. I have such a scattered and scrambled focus that I do good to remember what I am working on as I am working on it, but I am learning to stay focused and I have always been good at finding information. So I'll keep plugging away and see where my path leads me. I guess working at home is something that everyone comes to for their own reasons and whether you make it or not once you have got there is up to your determination and self discipline skills. My self discipline skills are lousy.

Friday, April 20, 2007

PayPerPost is buying a company.... I wonder who's it is....

There is a rumor out there that PayPerPost has acquired a company. It's all rather hush hush at the moment, so no definitive answer for what exactly they have acquired, but the internet is starting to buzz about it.

I'm guessing that it is probably something that will help to drive traffic to blogs for Posties, since the Posties are a much loved part of PayPerPost.

I'm not sure just what company might be the best for this, unless they have acquired a blogging company that will allow Posties to create their own blogs in a blogging community that has all of the bells and whistles for PayPerPost already built into it? That would be kewl. No longer any need to insert special HTML and such for the Posties, they can just click on the options and select from a series of templates that lets them have their blogs personalized complete with codes and affiliate links already in place.

I think that could be a great move for them, then I can stop trying to figure out the coding on my blogs at my website and just kick back and use the coding built into theirs. Or maybe it's a system that will provide proper Page Ranking checks? Now THAT would be good, since their system is still saying my PR 4 site is PR 0. Better yet, maybe they have taken on Alexa and will straighten out the issues with that dang ranking system that is so whacked out of shape it's pitiful.




Magnetic floating globe

This is kewl. A floating globe for your desktop!



Can't you just see this setting on the end of a bookshelf or resting on your desk? What a conversation piece for visiting clients. I've seen pens that float before, but I had not seen these floating globes until recently. I like it. Great gift ideas too, so if you know someone that has a home office, or just likes globes or interesting stuff, this would be great for a birthday or Father's Day.

Laptop cooling pad

The main reason that I don't use my laptop as much as I would like to, is it's tendency to get rather hot. I don't mean uncommonly hot, just normal heating for a laptop and something that with as much time as I spend on the computer is not good.

One of the things that I have been looking for locally, and failing to find anywhere, is a laptop cooling pad like the ones shown here.




These handy little things rest under the laptop and keep it and the work space nice and cool when working for extended periods of time. Something that I really need to get so I can send the cake cooling rack I have under the laptop now back to the kitchen where it belongs.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Gold coin investments for retirement planning

When you are working at home, it usually means that you are the tone that is responsible for making a plan for your future. You need to decide what investments to make and how to save for your retirement.

One of the most valued of investments is precious metals investing. Precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum can hold their value and even increase in value over time. One beautiful investment piece is the American eagle gold coin. These coins are available in units of 10 one-ounce coins from the Monex Deposit Company and are available now for personal delivery. Having a USA face value of $50, these are .9167 fine gold coins that are also available in fractional sizes of ounce, ounce and 1/10 ounce, in units of 20 coins each.

The hard asset professionals at the Monex Deposit Company can assist you in your purchase of silver, gold or other precious metals and coins for immediate personal delivery or arrange for convenient and safe storage at an independent bank or depository.

The Monex companies have been America’s gold, silver and precious metals investment leader for over 30 years and have competitive precious metals prices.


This post is a paid advertisement for Monex

New banner ad for the blog

I've made a banner ad for the Work at Home Newsletter. I admit that I am not very good with images, I kind of suck in fact, but I wanted to make a image for this blog for linking to it from my other sites and this is what I came up with.

I want to make some more images to help advertise this blog as I get things settled in and start building it into more of a WAH resource for anyone that is working from home or looking to start a work at home career.


Friday, April 13, 2007

Harry Potter corrects my business taxes

So, who says taxes are hard? I've got this new accountant that assures me that it's easy as can be to fill out even the most complicated of taxes if you know what you're doing. He looked over what I was up to and immediately grabbed a red pen to start making corrections.




Of course, I had made such a mess out of them that he had to start over and fill them out himself. The showoff.




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I'd found my kitty, Harry Potter, all splattered half in and half out of his cat bed, so I took a picture. Then I decided that he'd be cute splattered beside the tax forms I had been working on, so I plaid then out and he took interest in the pens. I managed to catch these adorable pictures of him doing my taxes for me.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Big Web Links - the bid for placement directory [paid post]

What would you think if I told you that it was possible for your site visitors to increase your site ranking in a search engine through contributions of as little as a dollar? Yes, that's right, your website can buy its way to the top of the Big Web Links directory through the bid for placement system that Big Web Links uses.

The Big Web Links directory basis this system on the belief that it is a better reflection of a website's popularity if a visitor is willing to pay $1 to support the website than the number of clicks that the website has.

Sites pay a one time fee of $29.90 to be listed, and then contributions may be made by anyone to help the site raise its rankings in the directory.





The preceding post is a paid advertisement for Big Web Links

Summer is approaching - thoughts on separating work from play

I've been excited to see the snow melting off out there. Each day I can see more and more ground. A hidden trap comes with the warmer summer months though. It's harder to sit inside and work when there is so much to be done out in the yard and the draw of going for long walks and drives is strong.

When you work at home you need to be able to be a hard boss that demands you get work done before you can go out to play. However, in many cases, you can also make the choice to work in the evening and play during the day. If your work does not require set business hours then you can take the afternoon off to go for a walk in the park with the kids or to plant a rose bush in the yard, but be sure that you make up for that missed work time in the evening.

Be careful, though, and don't get into a trap of putting off work for play to the point that you completely reverse your working hours. You want to be able to maintain the hours that you set for yourself so that your friends and family do not get confused on when they can and can not intrude on your work time.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

GoSolo - the business phone solution [paid ad]

Looking for an answer to the problem of what phone to use for your business? Don't want to hand out your personal phone number? Maybe you could get a VoIP number for business, but there are drawbacks to that option, such as it only works from home and you need high a speed connection. Cell phones are generally the best option for many, but they have a lot of drawbacks as well.

That if you could get all of your incoming calls routed to up to nine different numbers? And what if you could have them routed based on day-of-the-week and even time-of-day scheduling? Even have your calls screened and incoming callers announced by name so that you can select which calls to answer and which to send to voicemail?

With the GoSolo Virtual Office you can, and your personalized greeting announcement ensures your business is presented in a consistent and professional way each time.

Imagine being able to request business calls be sent to your cell phone from 9 to 5 on Monday, then have them routed to an answering machine the rest of the day. How about getting calls rerouted when you have appointments set up? Want to have a hired helper give you a hand for a few hours a week? You can have the calls rerouted to their phone so that they can take orders or schedule appointments for you.



The preceding post is a paid advertisement for GoSolo

Monday, April 09, 2007

Taxes: Home office

Having a home office I have also been seeking out information on home office as it pertains to taxes. Here are a few articles and resources that I have found... (Click on the link to open links in this browser window, or click on (New Window) to open them into a new browser window.)

Should You Claim a Home Office? - (New Window)

The Home Office Deduction - (New Window)

3 rules of home-office deductions - (New Window)

June Walker: Tax & Financial Advisor to the Self-employed since 1979 - (New Window)

June Walker's website - (New Window)
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From the IRS website - listed here to make them easier to locate:

Publication 587 (2006), Business Use of Your Home - (New Window)

Publication 535 (2006), Business Expenses - (New Window)

Publication 334 (2006), Tax Guide for Small Business - (New Window)

Checklist for Starting a Business - (New Window)

Publications and Forms for the Self-Employed - (New Window)

Taxes: Business Owner's Toolkit

I have been looking around once again for things that can help with taxes, and want to be able to find this website again: Business Owner's Toolkit. Specifically I want to be able to find the following pages:

Which Assets Can Be Depreciated?

Capital Assets and Depreciation

And because this might be of help to anyone out there that is just starting things up or considering starting something up... Business Startup Expenses.

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Happy Easter!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Florida vacation [paid post]

After looking around earlier this month at the possibility of a vacation in Florida, I've decided that I need to try to save up for a vacation there one day. I think that I would rather get a townhouse than a motel room, though. Since I can get a nice townhouse in Venetian Bay for between $820 and $1,025 per week depending on what time of the year I go. And it sleeps ten, so it'd be cheaper if I could round up some friends or family to go with me.

Thinkflorida is where I found that. It is a UK Florida vacation information site that has offices in Kissimmee Florida. While still geared predominantly toward the UK vacationers visiting Florida, Thinkflorida also provides full services to anyone looking for all-inclusive information on vacationing in Florida. They offer site visitors assistance with finding a Villa in Orlando, including assistance with: rental car, ticket and online booking for Private Pool Homes, Condo’s and Town Houses. Each unit is separately featured with 15-20 pictures, floor plans, all amenities and 360 degree tours of all main area’s, inside and outside, of the property.


This post is a paid advertisement for Thinkflorida

More sites on taxes for home businesses

Want to know what the IRS has to say about the Home Office Deduction? Also check out the Quicken page on Rules for Taking the Home Office Deduction. NOLO has information as well on how Running a business from home can help you lower your tax bill.

Also do a few Google searches with "home tax deductions" or "taxes home business" as the search terms and you will find a lot of resources.

Sites to visit for help with your tax questions

Ah ha! I have found some good sites for information on saving on taxes. I've been looking around and trying to find some places where information can be found on filing business taxes and here are some that I came across that looked at least worth reading over and maybe visiting again.

Check out these resources from sites like CNN and Business Week.


10 ways to save on your taxes (Money.CNN)

3 rules of home-office deductions (Money.CNN)

Saving on 2006 Taxes (Business Week)

Commentary: Business & Tax Relief (The Conservative Voice) links to articles - worth looking over

Work at Home Forum - has information on all things work at home, including taxes

Friday, April 06, 2007

Miami Dolphin Tickets [paid post]

Planning to go see a game this coming season? Maybe you have your eye on seeing an NFL, MLB, NBA or NHL game and want to be certain that you get the best seats possible? We all know that tickets sell out fast and, unless you know where to look, you might find yourself behind a post in the back row trying to enjoy the game of a lifetime.

Premium Seats USA is a premium online ticket broker that has a huge selection of first-class tickets to concerts, sports and theater events nationwide. Want Miami Dolphin Tickets? No problem! Premium Seats USA can help you to find what you want and get you great seats.




This post is a paid advertisement for Premium Seats USA

Taxes..... ARRRRRGH!!!!!!!!!!!

Taxes for businesses are evil. I swear they are. I have been searching the internet for articles on what a writer can and can not deduct and finally get around to looking at the tax form and it is insane. How do you sort that stuff out?

I am still struggling with it, as you can see by the articles I am dragging back here to share with other work at home folks, so hopefully it won't drive me totally batty before the deadline - THANK GAWD it is later this year, but I am still treating it as the 15th being the deadline.

My mascot is back!!!!!!!

I'm not sure if he was outside or not, but Harry is back in the office eating food now. My brother just came to visit, so I am expecting Harry came back inside when my brother came in, need to ask him about that.

So glad to see Harry is back inside though. He don't need to be out there with his hurt foot getting picked on by other cats.

10 Fact on Pension Law every IRA Taxpayer Needs to Know About

And another article for the taxpayers out there that are looking for information on things that they may have never considered before. This article was reprinted by permission of the author.


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10 Fact on Pension Law every IRA Taxpayer Needs to Know About.

An IRA is a retirement investing tool that can be either an "individual retirement account" or an "individual retirement annuity". There are several types of IRAs: Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs and SEP IRAs.

Traditional and Roth IRAs are established by individual taxpayers, who are allowed to contribute 100% of compensation (self-employment income for sole proprietors and partners) up to a set maximum dollar amount. Contributions to the Traditional IRA may be tax-deductible depending on the taxpayer's income, tax-filing status, and coverage by an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Roth IRA contributions are not tax-deductible.

SEPs and SIMPLEs are retirement plans established by employers. Individual participant's contributions are made to SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs.

Investopedia Says... Eventual withdrawal is taxed as income, including the capital gains, but since your income is likely to be less once you retire, you will be taxed at a lower rate. Combined with potential tax savings at the time of contribution, IRAs can prove to be very valuable tax management tools for individuals. Also, depending upon an individual's income, they may be able to fit themselves into a lower tax bracket with tax-deductible contributions during their working years while still enjoying a low tax bracket during retirement.

The Pension Protection Act, signed into law on August 17, 2006, is designed to address the nation-wide problem of under-funded pension plans. The law penalizes noncompliant companies and encourages employee contributions, but many of the changes directly impact taxpayers of all ages, regardless of retirement status.

"Taxpayers will benefit from many of the act's provisions, some of which come in the form of tax breaks, but individuals cannot take full advantage of the tax breaks until the new laws are fully understood," said Michael Smith, Managing Authorized Taxpayer Representative at tax services firm FSI Tax Corp.

The following is a rundown of the most important tax code changes and how they will likely affect taxpayers, as well as retirees.

1. Direct IRA Tax Return Deposits

Taxpayers can now have their tax returns deposited directly into their IRA accounts. The IRS already offers taxpayers the option to automatically deposit returns into checking and saving accounts. By adding IRA accounts, legislators hope taxpayers will contribute more funds toward their retirement accounts.

2. 529 College Savings Plans

Many temporary tax laws enacted by the 2001 tax cuts were made permanent by the Pension Protection Act. This includes the ability to make withdrawals from 529 college savings plans without suffering tax penalties.

"Tax-free college savings withdrawals may seem inappropriate in a pension law, but this provision is welcomed by parents who would otherwise resort to tapping their IRAs to fund their children's education," said Smith.

3. Saver's Credit

Another 2001 tax break that was set to expire this year is the Saver's Credit, a tax credit matching up to $2,000 for lower-income workers who put money into their retirement accounts. This tax break benefits workers who earn less than $25,000 because pre-tax contributions lower the taxpayer's reportable income and the Saver's Credit provides additional tax relief with its matching funds.

4. Increased Contribution Levels

In 2001, the IRS temporarily raised employee-sponsored retirement plan contribution levels from $2,000 to $4,000 this year, $5,000 in 2008 and then adjusted by inflation. The higher limits were set to expire in 2010, but the act made them a permanent increase.

This change, also intended to encourage increased contribution amounts, applies to 401(k)s, IRAs, 403(b)s, 457s and catch-up contributions for workers aged 50 and older.

5. Direct Rollovers from a 401(k) to a Roth IRA

Employees who move from one workplace to another were previously permitted to transfer their 401(k)s to traditional IRAs, both of which require taxes to be paid once money is withdrawn. Only then was the individual allowed to transfer the account into a Roth IRA.

The law now permits former employees to transfer their employer-funded retirement accounts directly into a Roth IRA, a popular option due to the fact that contributions are made after taxes are taken from earnings, which means that there are no taxes due upon withdrawing funds.

"The tax code changes enacted by the Pension law benefit taxpayers and steer them toward contributing to their own retirements," explained Smith. "While companies should be held accountable for funding employee pensions, each taxpayer should take advantage of changes that make it easier to ensure a secure retirement."

Tax Deductions for Charitable Giving

Non-pension-related tax code changes include several provisions that significantly increase charitable giving regulations, some of which are unlikely to please donors.

5. Documenting Items

To discourage taxpayers from inflating the value of non-monetary charitable donations for inflated tax deductions, the IRS now requires taxpayers to fill out a form detailing the gifts. Additionally, any significant household item, valued at more than $500, must be appraised before the taxpayer can take a deduction.

Many charitable organizations, including Goodwill Industries International, say the new provisions will guard against worthless donations more suitable for the trash bins, but critics argue that increased regulation will discourage would-be donors and cause a decrease in charitable giving.

6. Documenting Monetary Gifts

Monetary donations will also require documentation. Regardless of the amount, a taxpayer should retain proof of any donation. Appropriate documentation can be a bank record, canceled check, credit card statement or receipt from the charity.

"These records are not required to be included in the tax return but they should be kept on hand should the IRS request proof," advised Smith.

7. Direct Donations from IRAs for Seniors

Another tax law that many charities support affects only seniors. For the next two years, donors 70 ½ or older will be able to donate to charities directly from their IRAs, an accommodation that keeps the donated amount tax-free and avoids tax penalties for early withdrawals.

This provision benefits eligible taxpayers who take the standard deduction, which many older filers do because they receive larger standard deductions. This can also benefit individuals facing donation limits. Generally, people cannot donate more that 50 percent of their incomes, but the money does not count as income when it comes directly from the IRA.

Officials at charities such as United Way claim that despite being temporary, this provision will likely bring in tens of millions of dollars.

Other Pension Provisions

8. Automatic 401(k) Sign Up

Employers are allowed to automatically sign up employees for a 401(k). This change encourages participation from people who may not otherwise bother to sign up for the plan in the first place, though they will have the option to opt out.

9. Investment Advice

Because employees often choose safer investments for their 401(k)s, which generally result in modest returns, the act allows them to receive investment planning advice to encourage riskier investments with the potential for higher returns. The act also provides protection against dishonest advisers who steer employees toward decisions that could increase their own profit.

10. Non-Spousal Benefits

Two provisions that expand allowable withdrawals are pleasing gay rights activists. The non-spousal rollover lets retirement account assets be transferred to a designated beneficiary upon the retiree's death and the hardship distribution allows retirement account assets be used for a medical or financial emergency of a beneficiary other than a spouse or a dependent.

The majority of the Pension Protection Act aims to ensure that companies fully fund traditional pension plans over a seven-year period, starting in 2008. But many provisions promote increased individual employee participation in retirement planning.

Smith said that while the new law expands allowances and makes it easier for individuals to increase retirement savings, it may be a step toward employee-funded retirement plans - a move that has many critics concerned.

Contact:
FSI Tax Corp. 9212 Berger Rd. Columbia, MD 21046 1-877-437-4669 mbeetz@fsiholding.com

For more information, please call 800-806-9106 or email mbeetz@fsiholding.com.


About the Author

Author Info ...

Some people believe that great leaders are made, not born. However, without practice, without drive, without enthusiasm, and without experience, there can be no true development in leadership. To learn more, please visit leadership development online web site! http://www.leadershipdevelopementonline.com

Feel free to use this article on your website or ezine as long as the following information about author/website is included.

Source: Investment Articles on ArticlesTree.com

Easily-Missed Tax Deductions that Every Realtor and Entrepreneur Should Know

It's tax time, almost into crunch time in fact, so here we go, a few things to think about as you head into the business taxes and what you can and can not claim.

This article is focused on Realtors, but the travel information would pertain to a lot of work at home or small business types so I want to share it here.


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This article is reprinted by permission of the author.

Easily-Missed Tax Deductions that Every Realtor and Entrepreneur Should Know
by: Chris Bird


Year-end Tax Planning Deserves Year-around Consideration

The reason so many IRS deductions go unclaimed - business owners don't know about them. Or they don't know about them early enough in the year to collect necessary information as they go along.

As a person running your own operation, tax consequences need to influence how you conduct business, day in and day out. Where to spend - or not. How to structure transactions. When to act. How much you must pay in income taxes can easily determine whether your operation turns out to be profitable for the whole year. You're entitled to claim every expense and write-off the law allows. That's money in your pocket.

As you read on, take a bow for those you're already doing. And resolve to benefit from others that fit your situation (which now won't pass you by). There's still time to include these tax-saving deductions for your 2005 Federal tax return.

Section 179 Property - Personal Property Write-off

Receive an up-front write-off of up to $20,000 for personal property purchased for use in the business. That covers computers, printers, office furniture, fixtures, etc. It's no longer necessary to depreciate the cost over the asset's useful life, since you can expense the entire purchase price the year the asset is acquired.

Notice that this deduction cannot be used for personal property like appliances and furniture in residential rental property, however. But it would apply for such equipment in commercial rentals.

Travel Expenses

The Internal Revenue Code defines travel expenses as the "ordinary and necessary" expenses incurred while traveling away from home for your business, profession or job.

They include transportation, baggage, meals, lodging, laundry, telephone calls, tips. Travel expenses do not include expenses for entertainment or meals (below).

Regulations require that business travel expenses be substantiated by evidence like diaries, logs, receipts, paid bills and expense reports. You must separately report each expense for transportation, lodging and meals. Indicate the date you left and returned for each trip, and the number of days away spent on business. Note down your destination and the business reason for the trip, or what business benefit you expected to gain.

Entertainment Expenses

The IRS restricts your ability to write off the cost of meals and entertainment. Unlike other expenses, only 50% of what you actually spend can be deducted as business expense. In my experience, Realtors too frequently under-claim entertainment expenses they're entitled to take.

Avoid the risk of scrutiny by keeping certain information for each deduction:

- Date and time
- Place
- Amount claimed
- Relation to the person or event
- Anything else relevant

There are several areas where the 50% reduction does not apply. So break those figures out and write them off 100%.

- Transportation to and from an event
- Open houses for listings
- Events to reward employee performance
- Business gifts or incentives up to $25 per customer or client

Home Office Deduction

You may write off the portion of your home used regularly as the office of your business. Deduct a percentage of the utilities, repairs, maintenance and depreciation. The tricky part - that area must be use exclusively for business purposes. And you cannot also have another off-site office where you conduct business. This topic is so important for Realtors (and widely misunderstood), that I'll devote a future article to this.

Put Family Members on the Payroll

Hire family members to work for the business. Pay them for the work done at the rate you'd pay someone else to do it. Minor children, your spouse, grandma, etc, can help with necessary tasks - answer the phone, cleaning and maintenance, record keeping, distributing flyers, performing computer tasks, etc. Keep detailed records of their tasks and hours. And the person does have to do the work. The numerous advantages of involving family members in the business go way beyond saving taxes. And since they really earned it, the "kiddie tax rules" do not apply.

Get in the Habit of Finding Legitimate Deductions

Taxes won't go away. But by claiming every deduction you're entitled to, you can cut them down to size.

© 2006, Chris Bird

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About The Author

Chris Bird Conducts 150 seminars a year for Real Estate and Financial professionals Wealth building, financial planning, residential rentals, tax strategies, accounting Certified Financial Planner (CFP) IRS Enrolled Agent Chris@ChrisBirdSeminars.com.

Boston Condos [Paid post]

Part of the joy of working at home is being able to travel when you want to, and to be able to travel for as long as you want. This makes it possible to have a summer home or to spend several months in a city where you are conducting part of your business. Suppose you spend most of the year in New York, but your business requires that you spend a month or two out of the year in Boston. Renting for the time you are in Boston is the best way to go.

If this is the sort of situation you are in, then CondoCompany.com, a site dedicated to condominiums listed to buy, sell or rent is a great place to start. Whether you are looking for Boston Condos, or are, more likely, looking for a condominium from anywhere else across the country from the Florida Keys to Seattle, you can buy, sell or rent through CondoCompany.com.

Prefer to have a taste of the high class luxury style, or really want to impress a client by getting a high rise condo to invite them to for meetings? If so then be sure that you check out the recently launched "Building Specialists" section at CondoCompany.com. The "Building Specialists" section has specialists in luxury high rise condominiums.


This post is a paid advertisement for CondoCompany.com

E-mail headaches

I recently switched my e-mail from the phone company to my webserver and now I am going through the hair yanking process of getting everything shifted over to the new e-mail from the old one. I know I missed a lot of things, but thankfully 99% of what is lost is spam anyway. I seriously DO NOT want to get more of those XXX spam e-mailings that had been plaguing my e-mail.

One of them years ago I tried to tell to remove me from their mailing list, and the dirty rats instead signed me up on about 50 more lists. After that I stopped doing the "respond to get removed" stuff and just bounce it or block it.

It really sucks when it is a business account, since you have to filter the ones that go to the business one so you can catch what should be kept and what you want to toss out.

Hopefully by the time I am done (sometime next week with all I have to do) my e-mail will be under control for the first time in over five years.

Working at home can drive you crazy, but it's a fun ride

Working at home is filled with both good points and problem points. One of the problems that is very hard to evade is the interruptions. Rather it is kids traipsing through the house and needing attention for a few minutes or the television in the other room being just loud enough to provide distractions or the age old bane of sleepers the dripping faucet (which we thankfully don't have - them things drive me insane), there is something at every home to distract from working.

How do you reduce, or better yet eradicate these distractions? I don't know. I wish I could tell you there was a magic wand that could be waved and make it all leave you alone from 9 to 5, but there's not. The best you can do, or at least the best that I can do, is to deal with distractions in a speedy and efficient manner and get right back to what I was up to before the distraction hit. There is just no easy way to deal with all of the distractions that will strike throughout the day when you are working at home.

But then, some of those distractions are why we work at home. Huh? Being able to be distracted by a kid rushing in with cold cheeks and breathless to ask you to come out and see what they have been up to in the yard. Watching out a window as the kids tromp through the snowy woods with Airsoft guns and BB guns over their shoulders hunting those evil aluminum cans that run wild in the Alaskan wilderness.

Yes, working at home has its share of distractions. But at the end of the week, as you kick back and talk to the folks at the bar-b-cue about all the interruptions you have vs the ones they have. Isn't the distractions that work at home moms, dad, and aunts and uncles face better than the ones that the men and women in regular jobs encounter?

I don't know about you, but I would rather clean up a spilled soda in the kitchen than a broken pickle jar on aisle 12. Or wash the arms of the little girl that had to test the perfume in the bathroom than clean up after little 'testers' in the makeup department.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Hayfield Dental Care clinic [Paid advertisement]

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This post is a paid advertisement for the beginnersguide Blog

Tax Deductions For Freelance Writers

Tax season is here, and since I am a freelance writer I have been looking for things on taxes that concern freelance writers. Here is an article by Amy Derby of Write-From-Home on the tax deductions available to a freelance writer.

Article reprinted with permission of the author.
By Amy Derby

As a freelance writer, you are allowed various tax deductions. Since these tax deductions will help offset the money you will have to pay in self-employment taxes, it will probably be worth your while to keep track of your expenses and take advantage of these deduction allowances. The following tips will help you learn what qualifies as a legitimate business expense and what else you can deduct.

1) Supplies and Postage

You're relatively safe in deducting the cost of supplies and postage, within reason. The IRS isn't likely to question the cost of basic office supplies. They know a writer has to buy pens, paper, and envelopes, as well as mail submissions.

2) Research Materials

If you use research software (like Lexis) regularly for your writing work, you can probably get these deductions by without question from the IRS. Magazine subscriptions are probably safe, too. Unless you subscribe to thousands of dollars worth of magazines, you should be safe deducting the costs of the few writing trade magazines you subscribe to. Book purchases (like Writers Market) or your online subscription to Writers Market can also be deducted.

3) Phone Calls and Mileage

If you do interviews that involve lengthy long-distance calls, or you have to travel for in-person interviews, you are relatively safe deducting these costs. If you dedicate a phone exclusively for business use, this deduction process should be easy, and the documented proof will be clear should you get audited. Mileage for trips to the library for writing work and such can also be deducted.

4) Computers

If you have a computer dedicated exclusively to business use, you can deduct the full cost. The IRS allows a percentage deduction on computers used for both personal and business use. Cost of printers, scanners, copiers and the like can also be deducted under the same terms. Same with software.

5) Home Use

If you have an entire room set up as a home office, you can deduct a percentage of your mortgage or rent, as well as portions of your utilities and real estate taxes. This is an iffy area for people who don't have an entire home office set up. Be prepared to justify your deductions should you be audited.

6) Writer's Association Dues

If you belong to a writer's guild or association, you can deduct your monthly or annual dues.

7) Personal Health Insurance Costs

You can deduct the full cost of your insurance premiums. You cannot deduct your family's insurance costs unless your spouse or children legally work for you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Amy Derby is a freelance writer and self-publishing author. She is the owner of http://www.write-from-home.com, a free website dedicated to helping new freelance writers learn how to make money writing from home online.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amy_Derby

http://EzineArticles.com/?Tax-Deductions-For-Freelance-Writers&id=441242



I think my poor kitty broke his ankle :'(

I came home from town to find Harry, my Siamese kitty, on the back porch. His ankle is all swollen up and looks like it might be broken or something. Poot thing is all unhappy. He's curled up now in the desk chair he stole from me and sleeping. Demoting me to the less comfortable of the desk chairs. I don't mind though, my poor Harry kitty can have the other comfy chair if it makes him feel better. He is sleeping better in it. I meanwhile am surfing the internet looking for anything on what a cat can have for pain.

Field fresh flowers and gourmet gift baskets [paid post]

It's tax time! Calm those frazzled nerves with a beautiful bouquet of Florist Direct flower arrangements designed in your local floral shop, or Field Fresh flowers delivered straight from the Dot Flowers growers’ farms to anywhere in the United States.

Dot Flowers has lovely floral arrangements and gorgeous gourmet gift baskets that can be shipped straight to you or anyone you want from their growers farms or your local florist. Find out about gift basket and flower delivery by visiting the Dot Flowers website and have them deliver a fresh bouquet of roses (or other flower) to your home office to help soothe the tension that builds up in trying to sort through small business tax laws.

Or maybe a basket of Lindt truffles or Ghirardelli Squares to help keep you going late into the night as you rush for the filing deadline in a pile of business receipts?



The preceding post is a paid ad for Dot Flowers

Separation of work and personal accounts

I'm working on a article that I plan to share here when I finish it. An article on separation of work and personal bank accounts. It is important when you run your own business to keep the business money and your personal money separate so that you can keep things straight for taxes and so forth and if you have a account with a spouse so that you don't go to pay a business expense and find that the money was spent on car parts in the local NAPA.

So, I am working on an article for helping people set up dual accounts and separate business and personal accounts. This will be the start of an ebook on the subject, but the ebook will take a bit longer to get written.

Lighting in a home office

Lighting is a major consideration for laying out a good home office. I set up my work desk beside the window, however at night the light from the overhead light is behind me as I hunch over the writing to edit it.

To cure this I placed a small desk lamp on the desk by the window, and fixed it so that when it is not in use I can set it off the other side of the desk so it is out of the way and not cluttering the desk. It is proving to work good for me so far.

Small business phone systems [paid post]

I not only run this blog for small business owners that work out of their homes, I run my own small business as a freelance writer and know several people that have small businesses in various fields. One thing that I have discovered all small businesses tend to have in common is that a small business, particularly one that is either based online or that works in the publishing industry, that it is going to grow a web of team members from all across the country.

Trying to coordinate people from all across the country is never easy, particularly when they are supposed to be working together as part of a business, so it only makes sense to use small business phone systems so that your team can have an easy 4-digit calling extension to keep connected all across the country. Check out what Xpander Communications has to offer your small business needs.



The preceding post is a paid ad for Xpander Communications

Taxes: Business use of home

Trying to figure out what exactly is involved in claiming business use of your home? It can be confusing trying to sort it all out, but the IRS has a publication for determining business use of your home.

Check out Publication 587 - Business Use of Your Home (Including Use by Daycare Providers)

Note that you must use the part of your home you claim as for business use both regularly and exclusively for that use. You can not claim business use of an area where the kids do their homework or you do the bills for the house, nor can you claim business use for an area that you only use occasionally for your business.

Tax fraud at Jackson Hewitt franchises

Jackson Hewitt Tax Services Inc., the nation’s second-largest tax preparer, is in trouble with the Federal Government for helping (even encouraging) its clients to file false tax claims.

In one instance the filer had claimed a fuel tax credit so massive that the filer would have had to have driven almost 1,400 miles every day.

Many of the stores that are being looked into catered to customers that wanted to get refund anticipation loans and the managers allegedly told the preparers working for them that "we are not the IRS" and were not responsible for preventing their clients filing phony tax returns.

The Justice Department has accused the franchises, that were totally or partly owned by Farrukh Sohail, of tax fraud against the government of more than $70 million. Amazingly (to me) the Alabama based attorney for Mr. Sohail has said that his client will not voluntarily stop preparing tax returns at the Jackson Hewitt franchises. Apparently Mr. Sohail is “hoping to work things out” with the Justice Department and IRS.

I'm not so sure that the man should be allowed to prepare tax forms any more since the employees at the firms were apparently encouraged to ignore what might be suspected as fraudulent information, and file claims for their clients even when it was obvious that the W-2 forms were fake and deductions falsified. The suits files claim that the managers and employees were receiving kickbacks on the false returned that they filed.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Luxury Spa Vacation [Paid ad]

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They have everything you need to find a great Luxury Spa Vacation including detailed information on customs, information on accommodations with detailed room options (and ratings on resorts from travelers who have been there before). Want to know more before you go? Check out their virtual tours.

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This has been a paid advertisement for Vacations.net

April Fools is all over the Internet

Did you see Google's April fools joke? It was good, they had this deal up on free wireless broadband that was powered by your toilet, new technology in the deal collected information from your... umm... waste on your food preferences, medical health and projected medical future so that they could send you advertising based on that information.

I found out about it through TechCrunch when I went back to check on how their April Fool on their buyout of F*ckedCompany went.

Got to love April Fool's day, unless you're the target of a joke. I managed to avoid it this year, but I was (and am) too busy to slow down and be caught anyway. I keep wanting to be slowed down enough to have time to surf sites like Google and TechCrunch and all those and see just what sorts of April Fools jokes there are out there in Cyberspace.

It's a good way to draw traffic to your website, and I need to ponder on making up something for my site next year. It's all in good fun and good for a few laughs (hopefully it's your visitors that are laughing though).
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