Follow Along in My New Business Startup

Have you ever considered starting your own home based business but had no idea what might be involved in such a venture? I am going to be starting a new business in May, and I would like to invite everyone to come along for the ride as I weed my way through how to do it.

Some of the things I need to leap through will not apply to you, of course, and there are some that will apply to any new business venture. My goal with this business is to figure out how I can work from home in order to earn an income that will allow me to be fully self sufficient, and still let me provide the full-time in-home caregiver support that my father needs.

As a full-time caregiver I can not work outside the home, but I want to be able to be fully self sufficient and eventually be able to buy my parents home out from the mortgage company that currently holds it so I will be able to one day own the home as my mother had wanted. (That is a long story and better suited to another blog, so just know that is my goal: self sufficiency and home ownership.)

The business that I have decided to start is a Quilt and Crafts business, to allow me to tap into my passion for quilting and crafting. I have a plan to take exploratory steps in the first two weeks of May, researching market options and participating in the first Saturday Market of the year near where I live.

I have signed up to participate in a small business seminar provided by the Alaska Small Business Development Center and will be attending that on May 13th, with a start date for my business on May 14th (In honor of my mother's 75th birthday).

So, this is a formal invitation for everyone to follow along, and participate in commenting on, my new business venture as a home based quilter and crafter. Wish me luck!

Bookkeeping for taxes

I don't understand why taxes can't be easier. I've been going crazy organizing receipts and figuring out how to get the income all accounted for and making everything organized and --GRRR :::pulls hair out:::

It is all just so dang frustrating and irritating and that I have not yet found a good program that lets me do the bookkeeping does not help. I have been having good results with GnuCash, but I am also having a bit of a learning curve with how to make it do exactly what it is that I am needing it to do.

Anyone know of any other programs, not the $500 ones please, that work good for bookkeeping for home based businesses?

All Alaskan kids must file 2009 tax returns

I found out something rather annoying. That stimulus thing that we Alaska's got in the dividends last year, it makes it so that every kid under age 18 has to file their own tax return. I'm going to call the IRS tomorrow (to late today) and find out what exactly that means, if I file their own 1040 for the nephews (I do my bro's taxes for him), or if they go in with their parents' taxes or what goes on there.

Tax Season Is Here

Tax time is here... are you ready? I know I'm not ready, but there's not a lot that can be done other than to plunge ahead and get things done and file the taxes.

I'm going to take some time between now and April 15th to offer some tips and advice on how to deal with small business taxes for those who run their own home business. If you have any specific questions about small business taxes as they relate to the home business, then please feel free to ask me, I can't guarantee I will be able to hunt up the answer, but I will look for answers where I am able to and maybe someone else knows the answer to your question.