homebiznotes.com

July 1st, 2007

When Home Business Owners Give Employees Gifts…

Kelly, at Taxgirl, brought up an interesting point in her post, iPhone,uTax, concerning gifts from businesses to employees.  She connected this information with Apple giving it’s employees free iPhones.  However, those phones aren’t completely free come tax time.  They’re considered compensation, and as such, should show up on the employees’ W-2’s.

If you have employees in your home business, and you give them gifts, you’ll want to read Kelly’s post, and if necessary, get additional information to see the specific details.

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By Mary Emma -- 0 comments

June 29th, 2007

Do You Need Advice Before Starting a Home Business?

Many home business owners (and traditional businesses, as well)  start their venture without seeking advice or learning much about the various aspects to consider about a business.  Some businesses require more business accumen than others, yet some basic business knowledge is beneficial.

Nowadays, operating a business by utilizing the Internet often requires much less investment and stocking of products than businesses which operate out of a physical location (your home, in this case) or perform services requiring equipment (like carpenters, lawn maintenence, etc.)  

(See the posts about Mark and Dorothy’s  online businesses as examples of those requiring little overhead.)

Here are 7 items to consider and perhaps seek advice on:

*What types of taxes will you have to pay?  Will you need to file quarterly tax returns?  (This will vary depending the country where you live.)

*Will you need insurances…liability on your products and people coming to your home office?  Are there others?

*Will you need an occasional employee?  If so, how will you pay and what will you be required to file with the state and federal governments?

*Do local zoning ordinances affect you, especially if you have clients/customers coming to your home?

*What is your projected gross profit?  Then after expenses, what will your net profit be? Will it cover your overhead?

*Do you need a loan to get started for supplies, equipment, products?  If so, how much?  How will you pay this back if your profit isn’t what you expect some month(s)?

*What happens if you become ill and can’t work?  For six weeks, several years ago, I lay flat in bed in a body cast with a broken back.  Even when I was allowed up, I was in the cast for another six weeks.  My writing business slowed down.  Another home business was on hold during that time.

There are other considerations, but these should start you thinking about information and advice you may need before starting a home business.  Also, if you are operating a home business and haven’t considered some of these, you may need to.

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By Mary Emma -- 5 comments