A Few Things Freelance Web Designers Should Know

Freelance web designers have their website to rely on.  That is the measure by which they will be judged by any prospective clients.  If your website was created years ago with a WYSIWYG editor you may want to redo it.  

Web design changes with lightening speed.  You want to stay on top of the new technology if you expect to get new clients.  Creating your website in Dreamweaver is a good idea but you want to know how to do all of the things in Dreamweaver without the program.  The reason why you want to be able to hand code is because there are things that are much easier to do by hand than by using Dreamweaver.

As a freelance web designer you should be well versed in Dreamweaver and Photoshop and all of the other programs that can be used to make websites beautiful.  However, you also need to know CSS and XHTML.  The notion that knowing the front end of Dreamweaver and other software without knowing the back end is not necessarily true.  You want to be able to offer clients a number of different options when it comes to your creative skills.

Finding work as a freelance web designer can be tough.  However there are a few places that you should get your website posted and advertise for work.  If you are looking for any type of freelance work there are a number of sites, such as Sologig.com that you can register with.  You will be able to post some clips and other information about what type of services you are offering.  Jobs postings from around the country can be found there.

Web designers typically get work online but you might be surprised at how much work you can get form word of mouth.  There is always someone that needs a website for something.  Some people have a product that they would like to sell online but have no idea how to put a website together.  Some schools would like to have a website for one of their sports teams but there is no one the staff that can do it.  These are great opportunities that you can get from just talking to people that you know.  Make sure that you tell everyone that you are a freelance web designer.  You will be surprised at how many people are interested in your services.            

It is important to have a rate chart established before you start looking for work.  There are plenty of people online that will try to get you to work for much less than what your skills are worth.  Check around and see what the standard rates are for whatever applications you are doing.  You do not want to spend item doing work for less than what you should be making.  Have a rate chart and stick to it.  O not let people talk you down on your rates.  Offer a money back guarantee if you do not deliver the work when you are supposed to with all of the attributes that are supposed to be there.

Need A Second Job? Work At Home

In today's economy, sometimes one job is not enough. Not everyone is involved in a Union with a high-paying career. Lots of families across the United States are struggling to make ends meet. Even with a high-paying job, you still may not be making enough money for all your wants and needs. Furthermore, a lot of people do not have the time or energy to work a second job. Work-at-home jobs are a great solution to this predicament.

 

Why work at home? Working online is a great way to earn a little extra cash. It's fast and easy. There is no extensive training or knowledge required for these types of jobs. All you need for these positions is a little computer knowledge and Internet access. It is best to know a little about Microsoft Word as many of these jobs involve writing of some sort. So, if you have the time, dedication, and need to succeed, work at home.

 

What are the benefits? Work at home jobs are very rewarding. First of all, they save you money on gas. Driving around to one job every day is expensive enough. With a work-at-home job, you never have to leave your house. You can set your own hours. If you are working two jobs or even looking for that second job, it can be very challenging to find time to do everything. With a work-at-home job, there are no shifts and time limitations except for deadlines. If you use your time wisely, all deadlines can easily be met. You can work early in the morning or all through the night; it's your choice.

 

Why not a real job? If you are working one job already, it can be very hard for you or you potential employer to find a permanent shift that works for you and the company. In that case, it would also increase your chances of your application being rejected. Employers look for flexibility. Work-at-home jobs are great for time restraints because you will never be asked when you can work by an Internet employer. It does not matter to them when you work as long as you make the deadline. You will save money on gas as well. This is always a good thing. Also, with a work-at-home job, there is no risk of losing your job over an argument with a customer. You will not be working directly with clients in most cases, so you do not have to put on that false smile.

 

Work-at-home jobs are very beneficial to the second-job seeker. They will prove to be very convenient and easy to work with. Furthermore, you will need only a few very basic qualifications for one of these positions. There are, though, a few disadvantages. One major disadvantage is that you will not make huge profit with one of these jobs. These are good for those that only need a little bit of extra money. If you are searching for a job that will make you rich, this is not the one. Also, sometimes these jobs can be a little overwhelming and frustrating because it appears that you are doing a lot of work with little pay. But, if you are persistent and willing to work diligently, you will make some good money. So, if you are a second-job seeker with a little extra time, work at home.   

Multi Level Marketing Groups - Businesses or Cults?

Multi level marketing gets a resoundingly bad rap in the business world. Normally, detractors point to an inherently flawed business structure that saturates the market to the point that everyone involved in the project fails. They also often point to the fact that many multi level marketing organizations are nothing more than glorified pyramid schemes operating under a different name. But more and more, people are leveling other kinds of charges at multi level marketing groups; questioning the way they prey upon people emotionally and reel them in. It all begs the question, are multi level marketing groups real businesses or are they cults? The answer might surprise you.

 

First things first: there are some legitimate multi level marketing business opportunities out there at allow you to make some money without having to buy into a bunch of mumbo jumbo about the company. These businesses sell real, quality products are reasonable price and value the sales over the recruitment. They also give you adequate support without making unreasonable demands of you. These are businesses like any other and can’t be tarred with the cult brush.

 

But then there are the other kinds of multi level marketing programs – the ones that have a cult like hold on their “reps.” These companies are fairly easy to spot. Look at the way the pitch is made. First, the pitch usually begins with some kind of story about the company founder – a down on their luck man or woman who took the last few dollars they had in their bank account and decided to take a chance. This chance naturally paid off with wealth beyond their wildest dreams; a life of private jets, vacations homes, sports cars and exotic vacations, all while barely working at all. Then, the pitch goes on to suggest all of this could be yours, too. You, too, could have fabulous wealth while working less than an hour a day, if you’re just smart enough to take advantage of this opportunity. For the doubters in the room, the pitch usually suggests that they lack vision, and that they just don’t have the business sense that the people who are lapping it up do.

 

Sometimes, this is enough, but sometimes the indoctrination continues. The multi level marketers tell people that if their friends and family are unsupportive of this new business venture, then they’re maybe they’re really not as close to you as you thought. They often mix religious messages into their marketing programs, and they know how to spot the weak link. In reality, multi level marketing programs have a long history of not only being detrimental to a person’s financial well being, but they also have a history of decimating their personal life and relationships as well.

 

For all of these reasons, you must approach membership in a multi level marketing group with extreme caution. There are of course reputable groups out there, but you have to do your homework to make sure you don’t get caught up in a bad one. The repercussions for you could be serious and long lasting.

Have a Little Extra Time on Your Hands? Work at Home

Time is money. Almost everyone has at least heard of a work-at-home job. A lot of people think that it is a waste of time because there is not a fortune of money to be made for the amount of work. Some people have immediately dismissed the idea because they do not have the time or even want to work. A lot of people think that these type of jobs are all scams. most people do not pay attention to these jobs for various reasons. But, if you have the time and the need to succeed, you should consider this.

 

Why work at home? With all of the things you could do with your extra time, most people would not be interested in spending this time working. But instead of going shopping with your girlfriends or taking a nap, why not  make a little extra cash? The effort to be put in may not sound appealing, but how about making about twenty or thirty extra bucks with a few hours?

 

How else will this help? These jobs will not only put a little extra spending money in your pocket, but they can also help you land another job. These types of jobs still count and will look great on any sort of an application whether it is a college or job application. These jobs can also help you improve some skills. Since most of these positions involve writing of some sort, you will no doubt improve you writing, typing and computer skills.

 

What are the disadvantages? There are a few downfalls to working at home. One is that it seems like a lot of work for little pay. When faced with this dilemma, remember that these jobs are not highly - skilled jobs that you must be educated for. So, obviously they will not make you a fortune. But, they will still help you. Another is that these jobs can be very time-consuming. But, if you have a little extra time on your hands, why not turn it into cash? Also, like any other job, it will require time and effort.

 

These sorts of jobs are also easier to get than a regular job. There are some small application requirements to these jobs, but you never have to leave your home. There are no interviews and you need almost no education. The chances of being rejected while applying for a work-at-home job are much smaller than a regular job application process. There is still competition for these jobs, but definitely not as much.

 

If you are a high school student, stay-at-home mom, or just someone who is looking for a great way to spend that extra time, consider working at home. There are many benefits to a few small downfalls. Working at home is not for everyone, so if you are not sure that you are willing to dedicate the time and effort required for this position, save it for someone who will. But, if you have some extra time and want to make some money, work at home.

How Success University can Improve your Situation in 12 Months

Success University

 

Success University (SU) is designed to improve your situation 12 months, even if it is at first just to change your thinking. This is made possible by expert principles that not only will increase your knowledge but also will change your thinking.

 

As you work through each step of the Success University program, you are taught how to apply various principles that can help you obtain success way beyond your wildest dreams. This means improvement in relationships, finances, communication, confidence, mental health, and so on.

 

This life improvement program includes quite a few different components. One of the most important of all these is the 12 Pillars of Success. This program involves the implementation of monthly courses on various aspects of helping you increase your yearly revenue by 10% to 40%.

 

Each month worth of lessons is broken down into lengths of approximately 10 to 15 minutes worth of material read or viewed daily. Usually this material is studied five days a week for four weeks.

 

In addition to that, your SU enrollment includes weekly e-mails that are sent out. These informative e-mails are designed to enhance your overall training that takes placed within your first year in this program.

 

The purpose of these weekly e-mails is to help you master each topic presented in each month of your Pillars of Success Program. Furthermore, new strategies and exercises are presented within these messages sent are designed to advance your training even more.

 

In addition, these e-mail messages include weekly downloadable workbook files. In addition, follow-up questions and answers are presented to help make sure you are getting the most out of your SU training.

 

In addition to all of the above, you will also receive a monthly conference call. Well-known experts such as Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar, Patricia Fripp, Bob Burg, Chris Widener and others, run these teleseminars.

 

Additional books, conference calls, weekly workbook files, and audio presentations are also distributed every single week. Some of the items that are sent during the week for those who are enrolled in the Success University program include the following:

 

 

* Goals 2003 - Creating a Life On Purpose" by author Tina Miller

* "Converting New Year's Resolutions Into Reality" by Jeff Davidson

* Jim Rohn's famous "Goals Workshop"

* Bob Proctor's "Goals"

 

All of this information is said to be valued at a total of over $1,100. However, it is broken down into monthly payments. In addition, people who have enrolled in this program are able to enroll in their second month free.

 

The information provided to you is presented in a very informative way. At the same time, it is very entertaining and enriching. The way the material is presented you are apt to learn more than you would if you utilized other program.

 

Success University is designed to help you within the first 12 months, but also will affect every decision you make in life. You are likely to apply all that you learn no matter what path you take. Cherish this information.

 

How To Find Work-At-Home Opportunities

You may have heard the many success stories derived from people who work at home. You may want to try it and be interested in how to find the right job for you. In fact, that is probably why you're reading this article. Keep reading--you'll find information on where to look for certain types of jobs, as well as things to watch out for in your search for that perfect work-at-home job.

 

Small Jobs

Small jobs over the Internet include things such as survey taking and blogging. These jobs don't earn you much money, but they can be worth a few bucks here and there. Some survey websites will pay you to take their surveys, and they'll pay anywhere from two to twenty dollars per survey. It depends on the site and the survey itself. If you become a member of a site that pays you to take their surveys, you  will be able to take them and get paid, but you might not recieve them often. Maybe once or twice a month but usually no more than this. As mentioned it really depends on the site.

 

Blogging is the same. Blogging over the Internet is a good way to earn a couple bucks every now and then, but the money usually isn't immediate. It's probably transferred to some kind of account that you have to set up online and from there is transferred to your bank account. If you wish, set up such an account and try out some paid survey and blogging sites that you feel are legitimate. If they pay, that's a little extra money for you. And everyone knows we could all use extra money! Finding opportunities like this involves going to any site that claims to pay for bloggers and survey takers. Lots of these opportunities are scams, but if you look,

you'll end up with a site good for what they offer.

 

Temporary/Part Time Jobs

These jobs are usually doing things such as writing, editing and proofreading online. If you're a person who is good with grammar or editing, consider such a job online. If you find the right person or opportunity you can get some pretty good money. The best ways to find jobs such as these is to explore the Internet. Go on some local job sites and search for these types of jobs. Send resumes to several employers and you may have yourself a job. Send out several resumes though--the first one you send out more than likely won't cut it. These jobs tend to be a little more legitimate than blogging or survey taking, but there are still scams out there.

 

Large/Full Time Jobs

Jobs like this are usually working on the Internet for large online companies. Chatroom or social websites,(ex. myspace.com) job sites (ex. craigslist.com), advertising sites, selling, buying and trading sites (ex.ebay.com), and others are where the real money is at online. You'll have to visit sites like these and  find a way to contact someone that works with that site. Send them a resume and ask if there are any open positions for people who are looking to work from home. Some have open spots and some don't. It's all a matter of how much you look.

Multi Level Marketing - Set Up for Failure?

For many people who are interested in starting their own businesses, multi level marketing companies look like a good option. These kinds of companies promise that they have a proven formula for success and that all you have to do is pay a fee to get started, and they will let you in on all of their secrets. Sounds like a “can’t lose” plan, right? That might especially seem to be the case when the multi level marketing company is one whose name you recognize – that is only likely to increase your confidence that you too can cash in on their success. But are these multi level marketing companies really all they are cracked up to be? Many business experts argue that the answer to that question depends on at what stage you enter the multi level plan. Multi level marketing plans might have a shelf life, and entering at the wrong time could set you up for certain failure.

 

What is this shelf life all about? Well, according to some experts, the nature of multi level marketing plans inherently leads to market saturation, which causes you to fail. The reason behind this is that multi level marketing companies’ emphasis on constantly recruiting new members. The parent companies are always on the lookout for new members, and conduct membership drives and advertising programs constantly. Likewise, they offer incentives to all of their representatives for recruiting new reps. If you join a multi level marketing program and you recruit a new member, you will likely receive a bonus for getting them to sign up and then you will likely get a cut of all of their sales.

 

What’s wrong with that? Imagine what happens if you are very successful recruiting new representatives in your area for the multi level marketing program of which you are a part. Pretty soon, your town will be crawling with reps, all trying to sell the products you’re trying to sell to the same limited group of people. The market in your area will be completely saturated, and soon, you won’t be able to make the sales you need to keep your business going.

 

That is why the key to making money rests in when you get into a multi level marketing program. If you are one of the first in your area to join the program, then there will be a window where you can make some money. But eventually you will become a victim of your own success, and you’re capacity to earn will be reduced.

 

The obvious solution would seem to be recruiting fewer reps. However, many multi level marketing programs require you to perform in this way, and your income may depend on it. With this in mind, before you invest in joining any such program do your homework and find out what kind of presence there is in your area. If there are already several reps in your town and you think it will be hard to sell in the way you need to, then look for a new multi level opportunity.

Advantages of Working at Home

Work-at-home jobs can be a great opportunity. Sometimes it can be stressful and time-consuming. Most of the time with these jobs, you can not earn a six-figure income and make a great living. However, it is a wonderful thing to have and can be very beneficial. There are some small disadvantages, but there are great aspects to these jobs. Here are just some of the advantages to work-at-home positions:

 

No degree required. In today's economy, a lot of employers will ask for that degree. A high school diploma is not enough anymore to get a good job. However, with the work-at-home jobs, you do not even need a diploma. As long as you can show that have the skills and knowledge required to take on the job, that is all you need. There are never any special educational requirements or years of training.

 

No age limits. Many kids in high school are searching for jobs. Most jobs out there will ask for at least a high school diploma. Most kids do not receive that until he or she is at least eighteen. But, before they turn a certain age, most places will not hire. A lot of companies do not want to take on the responsibility of minor liabilities, so they stick age limits on the job requirements. 99 percent of work-at-home jobs do not require you to be eighteen or older, so the kids in high school can make some good money.

 

Save your money. No one likes to glance down at the gas gauge and realize that they need to spend that extra fifty dollars to go fill up. Sometimes, you can not go to work because you do not have the gas. With a work-at-home job, you do not have to get up in the morning and drive for thirty minutes. Thus, you are saving a lot of money on gas.

 

Set your own hours. Most people do not like to wake up at six-thirty in the morning and be in the office by eight. Then, they have to drive back home after work and get stuck in rush hour. With a work-at-home job, you can work as many hours as you want, or even work all night and sleep all day. You can work in your pajamas and take breaks whenever you feel like it. The only time requirements are deadlines. Other than that, you set your own hours every week.

 

Work-at-home jobs can be great for high school students, stay-at-home moms, or even just a temporary solution for a regular job-seeker. You can be your own boss, set your own hours, save money on gas, and there are no application or interview processes. You do not have to get all dressed up and go in for the interview. You can work 23 hours per day or two hours. These jobs will not take the place of a regular job, but they can be a great way to put some extra spending cash in your pocket. If the opportunity for a work-at-home job presents itself to you, snag it!

How to Have A Home Based Business With Children

A home based business can take time away from your children if you aren’t careful.  Of course you have the responsibilities of running a business on your own.  There are deadlines and invoices to worry about.  You can find yourself spending extra hours in the home office trying to get things done. 

 

A good number of home based business owners run into this problem. Taking care of children and keeping the home based business in tact can be very difficult.  You can find yourself feeling like you are in a no win situation.  However there are ways to keep your business up and running and still have enough time for your children. 

 

Keep your time for family and your business separate.  There has to be a routine in place.  Just because you work from home you cannot let the home office hold you hostage.  Do not spend your day working and then pick up a few more hours in the evening.  Part of the reason for working from home is to have some personal freedom but you should still have some sort of schedule.  This will help stop the overlapping of time between children and work.

 

With that said, take into account that sometimes you kids are going to need you.  Even though you have set up a schedule and are trying to stick to it, if you children need you, then on that day, you need to revise the schedule.  The freedom does work both ways.  You really can finish whatever you are working on later, after you give your children the attention that they need.

 

There has to be some form of child care.  If you are a mom or dad that is working from home with children that are infants or toddlers, you will probably need some child care.  If you don’t have child care, then you will find yourself not able to work for a decent amount of time. 

 

Your spouse may be the friendly recruit but if you are working opposite shifts, this may infringe on family time.  If your spouse is working all day they want to see you and your children when they come home.  You may need to seek other babysitting options when you are working. As your children get older you will need to set some ground rules with your children.  As you evolve in your business there will be times that you are working.  Let your children know that this is not a time that you can be disturbed.  Just as you set ground rules in other situations about what is appropriate and what is not, you need to do that with your home based business.

 

As children age, you could include them in your home based business.  Think about all of the children that helped their parents on farms.  Well, you don’t want to get into that type of child labor but if there is something that you children can do, let them help.  A home based business often includes the family because of its location.  Find something that the kids can do. 

Earn Money Online Today

Have you ever wondered how to make money over the Internet? There are many great ways to do it that many people searching for an income are not aware of. Sometimes, it can be a little tricky finding an online job. there are a lot of different websites and business pages to find these jobs. There are also special websites and pages devoted to the online job search. Here are a few ideas about how to EARN MONEY ONLINE TODAY.

 

If you're looking for a career or serious job online, the online job websites would be best for you. You can either search through jobs online (in your area or internationally, doesn't matter) or you can submit a resume on one of these sites for review of possible employers. With the proper contact information, they'll get a hold of you if  they're interested in you. But don't just reply to one job listing or post a resume on one site and expect to get results--the more resumes you post and the more job opportunities you reply to, the better your chances are of quickly finding work online.

 

There is a wide variety of other ways you can EARN MONEY ONLINE TODAY. These include selling things on websites online that you no longer want or need, doing online surveys, online gambling, writing contests with cash prizes, quick blog writing, and many others.

 

To sell things on advertising websites, simply find one and put your item(s) up for sale. When the item sells, a small fee will be deducted from the sale price for the usage of the website, and it will be your responsibility to get the item to the person that bought it.  You can easily and quickly find online surveys that will enable you to EARN MONEY ONLINE TODAY. Lots of surveys don't pay you to do them, but a lot do. If a survey pays, it will probably tell you before you take the survey. You'll probably get paid through an online website where the money will be able to be deposited into your bank account later. However, if a survey tells you to enter your bank account numbers because this is how you will get paid for taking it, don't do it. It's probably a scam and your entire account can easily get wiped out with the right information.

 

Gambling online can get tricky and hard to do, but there are ways to do it. Many people don't succeed, but if you're feeling lucky, you could try it. And who knows, you may even win and EARN MONEY ONLINE TODAY. Internet gambling is just more or less a way for sites to get extra money, and people usually don't win much, if anything.

 

Writing contests are a great way to earn money. Find a website that does these contests and enter your story or poem. It shouldn't cost anything for you to enter your story, because the website is trying to gain publicity and they're looking for good writers. Some sites, if you win, will even offer to publish your work for you. These prizes range anywhere from about ten to one hundred dollars. You can enter short stories, unpublished novels, poetry, riddles, and other things. You'll be competing against several other people so you might not win the first time. But keep trying. You'll get it.

 

Blog writing consists of finding a site that enables you to write blogs for free. You shouldn't have to pay anything to sign up on the site or to write a blog. Some sites pay you small amounts of money simply to write the blog, and then give you royalties each time someone accesses or reads your blog. It's not much, probably ten to forty cents, but it's still earning, and if you get lots of people adding your blog, you could make a fair deal of cash.

Earn Extra Money Online in 2009

One of the many benefits of the internet’s vast audience is the ability of businesses to use unique outlets to market and sell their products and to earn extra money online in 2008. Using online auction sites is one of the more popular ways of doing this. Web sites like Ebay.com – the largest and most popular online – are there to connect buyers and sellers, usually at little cost to both. Most of these auctions sites allow businesses to sell anything they want, and because of the unique nature of the internet, there are many items out there that sellers are very interested in purchasing even if there is not a market for the product in the more traditional storefront. Also, unlike the selling within a store that only reaches a certain amount of people in a geographic area, auction sites have the potential to earn extra money online in 2008 and to reach anyone with internet access.

 

The way the majority of these sites work is a seller lists a product and then offers up a certain amount of time for users to bid on the item. Sellers are given many options when selling, such as starting off the bid at any amount they wish and also creating a reserve price – an amount of money the seller wants their item to be purchased for when trying to earn extra money online in 2008. If the reserve price is not met then the seller has the option of reselling the product. There is some cost involved in using auction sites like Ebay.com – the web site takes a small commission from the seller. Sellers wait to mail out the item until payment has been made. It is up to the discretion of the seller on what kind of payment they will take, such as the payment web site PayPal, money orders, credit cards or personal checks. After the transaction has gone through, both sellers and those that purchase the goods are expected to leave feedback for other users. Ebay has changed its policy and no longer allows negative feedback to be left about buyers. Businesses can also easily set up “stores” to sell many products at once. Photos and other media can also be used to enhance the seller’s site and attract more customers to earn extra money online in 2008.

 

While Ebay.com sells almost anything (with some exceptions on controversial goods or tobacco, alcohol or drug-related products), some sites like Ubid.com are more product-specific. In there case, there are a lot of electronics available on their site and many of the auctions are only open for a short amount of time. Other auction sites include Overstock.com which also runs its own store, SalvageSale.com which sells corporate surplus, and GunBroker.com which sells firearms and was created after Ebay.com discontinued allowing guns sales on its web site to earn extra money online in 2008. Ebay also has sites for many countries around the world and a sister site that sells products at half price called Half.com.

Working from Home and Incorporation

When choosing a legal structure for your working from home business, it is best to look at the advantages and disadvantages of each one, and weigh your options to see which one will benefit you the most. Although incorporating a business will protect you from liability, and give you more flexibility to merge with other companies, there are some disadvantages worth considering before diving in.

 

Unless you own a large working from home business, it may be difficult to maintain the strict requirements to address in order to keep in good standing as a corporation. Certain staffing, accounting, and legal requirements may be too much for a business owner to keep up with alongside of the many other daily duties required in order to keep a business running smoothly.

 

The main reason a person may back away from incorporating a working from home business involve the time it takes, the amount of money that it costs, and the extra load of paperwork involved. However, the main reasons people do not incorporate is because of double taxation. First the company is taxed on its initial profit, and when the shareholders get their profits distributed, it is taxed again.

 

Another drawback in incorporating is that it is separate from your personal finances. Being that it is separate, it means that you cannot dip into the working from home business funds if you run short one week for any reason. With the already strict requirements involved, and the initial start-up cost, this may be too overwhelming for a small business owner to deal with.

 

If you are not sure about whether or not to incorporate your business think about the nature of your business, and the goals you have for it. Then look up what the specific requirements would be in the particular state you are going to conduct business in. If it all seems to overwhelming, maybe you should consider other types of legal structures available to you in your state.

 

One reason to consider making your working from home business a corporation is the ease of selling it. In a sole proprietorship every asset has to be transferred individually, and new licensing is required to keep running, whereas running a business through a corporation the whole thing can be sold or transferred with ease, and with avoiding cutting through ‘red tape’. To go along with all the other advantages of having a corporation is the idea that it is much easier to raise money to expand your business by having a corporation. Having an incorporated business is looked at more seriously when they are dealing with potential partnerships, banks, and other companies. Being incorporated insures your business financially, you are taken seriously by other companies, and you are more likely to raise money since being incorporated means that you are less likely to go out of business, and able to pay your debtors.

 

These benefits are not to be taken lightly when considering which legal structure to put your business under. If you are trying to build a business that will be in business for a long time, you should consider incorporating it.

Work at Home Officially!

There are four basic types of legal structures you can choose from for your work at home business. I will briefly go over each one, and describe what is involved for each one so you are better armed for this task. The best structure you use for your business will depend on the number of people that own the business, how they plan to operate it and what their goals are for the business.

 

A sole proprietorship is a business that is managed and run by one individual. The biggest advantage of a business like this is it is simple and easy to run. The biggest disadvantage is that the financial burdens are the sole responsibility of the work at home owner. Although it is wise to keep separate records for the business, it still not considered to be separate from your personal finances. If a person decides to stay with this form of structure, they need to make sure they have enough insurance to protect them from bankruptcy in the event of misfortune.

 

A business in the form of a partnership is very flexible, depending upon who you chose as a partner. They do not have to share a business equally, they may split it however they choose, and they may delegate duties in whatever manner works for them. The trouble comes in when there is a disagreement with the partners. If you choose to stick with a partnership, it is best to draw up an agreement that will outline how the disagreements will be handled, and how the business will be run if a person decides to back out of the business. It is best to anticipate all the issues that may arise during a dispute or a break up, and put it in writing how it will all be handled before going into a work at home business.

 

A corporation is a business that is owned by a shareholder or shareholders. Running a work at home business this way makes it easy to keep the business running for decades. However corporations have to hire certain types of employees to perform certain tasks, they are required to keep separate records, and hold yearly meetings. Corporations will also pay higher taxes. They are taxed twice, first on the corporate return and second on the owners.

 

The last type of structure you may choose from is Limited Liability Company (LLC). This involves the simplicity of a sole proprietorship and the ease of a partnership combined with the liability protection you would receive from a corporation. But with a LLC a business, you may only stay in business for a limited time. But with careful writing of documents, you may be able to continue your business as a new LLC.

 

The biggest advantage of a corporation is personal assets are not at risk if the company gets sued or goes bankrupt. A corporation is a separate entity than that of an individual. Many people choose to incorporate their business solely for this purpose. This will also protect you from employee lawsuits. Also incorporating your business will result in a reduction of self employment taxes. With a corporation, only salaries are subject to social security and Medicare taxes, which can save quite a lot of money for profit. Since corporations also offer medical benefits for employees, owners, and officers, they are eligible for another tax deduction. In a sole proprietorship, the owner is responsible for all debts incurred for the business, but having a corporation this allows a tax deduction for childcare expenses, life insurance, disability insurance, and travel expenses.

Win money Online

There are lots of fast and easy ways to make money online. There are survey sites, people who need bloggers and writers, marketing, sales, etc. There is lots of money to be made over the Internet. However, there is another way to make money without hardly doing any work at all. You can win money online.

 

There are thousands of internet contests all over the place every day. One certain type of contest is called a freelance writing competition. if you like to write and would like to win some fast money, this would be a great idea. In these competitions, people all over the world submit writings such as essays, articles, blogs, etc. These writings can range from almost any topic such as nature to home remedies to the best places to eat in a certain location. These writings are entered into a contest where members of the website vote on them and there are usually five top  winners. The winnings are worth a lot of money. Some are worth up to one thousand dollars. Make sure you read everything about these contests. Sometimes, you will place as one of the top contenders, but you will win nothing. Sometimes, your article has to win numerous contests before you can get any earnings.

 

Another way to win money online is to enrol in memberships on game sites. There are thousands of game sites all over the Internet. Some of them are scams, though, so beware of those. However, some sites will actually allow you to play games such as Bingo or Poker and win money in the process.

 

There are other ways to win money online as well. There is an online lottery. These Internet lottery cards can be  purchased, just like any other lottery tickets. They will be expensive. However, upon purchasing an online lottery ticket, you are entered into an Internet raffle and have a chance to win the lottery money.

 

Also, you can enter cash sweepstakes online and be entered into a raffle to win money, cars, houses, vacations, etc.  There are lots of ways to win money online. However, these can be somewhat dangerous. A lot of these websites will  ask for your credit card numbers and such. Also, there are a lot of sites that will ask you to pay for the games and lottery tickets. After that, your e-mail address or home address will probably be sent to other websites that will spam you non-stop. With credit cards, things can go wrong, numbers can be intercepted and such. This will cost you a lot of money, time and effort.

 

There are ways to avoid this. Mainly, when you enter these sweepstakes, purchase tickets or sign up to games sites, make sure that you are not asked to pay anything. Also, make sure you look around for something that tells you that your addresses will not be given out to anyone else. Do not give out personal information, as this can be used against you.  Keep yourself and your information safe in order to avoid frauds and scams.

Different Ways to Make Money

The number one goal in most people's lives is to make as much money and be as successful as they possibly can be. This is a great goal; unfortunately, many people don't achieve it. There is a reason for this, and it really has nothing to do with education or skills. A big part of it is mindset, friends, and family. This may surprise you, but it's true. The article below will explain, as well as giving different WAYS OF MAKING MONEY.

 

Lots of people who are very rich probably either inherited money from parents or family relatives, or it was simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time. I'm talking very rich people, such as people who don't have to work in order to be able to live comfortably. People like rock stars and movie stars usually know people who got them where they are, or they happened to be performing at the right place when someone important noticed them and signed them into fortune. But, this is not always the case. There are many cases of extremely successful people who did have to work very hard to get where they are now. They got excellent grades in school, went to good colleges, and got great-paying jobs. They worked hard to achieve their goals.

 

One reason people don't make a lot of money is because, when they're young, they set unrealistically high goals for themselves. Goals they probably won't achieve. They'll go as far as to slack off or quit school just to practice in order to achieve their goal. They don't realize that the chances of getting what they want is slim to none, and by the time they do realize that, it's often too late to change the paths of their lives. When it's not too late, many people are discouraged from not being who they want to be, and  they give up altogether.

 

There are several WAYS OF MAKING MONEY without inheriting or becoming rich and famous. There are many great jobs out there that require a good deal of training and education. Perseverance is the key to getting these jobs. You might not succeed the first, second, or even the third time, but if you keep trying, it will happen. You can start your own business, or your own business online. You can get hired into a business that is well-known, you can buy stock for that business and earn big. Or, as with many people, you can start out small and work hard to earn promotions, raises, and higher positions. The harder you work, the more money you will make and the higher positions will become available to you. You will be successful in your career, and you will be one of the few folks living their dream. The key here is to not give up. Keep searching, trying, and working hard. You must be willing to do whatever it takes in order to achieve your goal. But remember to set goals you can do, not goals that can be done just by falling backwards into fortune, because more than likely that won't happen.

Top-Rated Internet Businesses

There are thousands of businesses online, and if you're looking to start a career online, you'll no-doubt want to know which kinds of business are most popular so you can consider either creating a business like the popular ones, or come up with a creative idea of your own. Or, you can look up the top Internet businesses just for fun or as a matter of interest. Also, if you're looking for a certain business online, you may want to know how popular it is, so that it may better  serve you. The article below will list each top rated Internet business one by one, with an  explanation of them.

 

Below lists one by one each top rated Internet business:

 

-Ebay.

 

Ebay is one of the largest companies on the Internet. It is worldwide, and thousands of people use Ebay every day. Ebay is a website in which people can buy, sell, or trade with other people. Ebay makes profits by deducting money from the final cost of each transaction. This adds up over time.

 

-SFI Marketing

This business is run entirely over the Internet. People within this company make online sales and profit heavily from them. The commissions you make from one sale carries with you for several  months afterward.

 

-Survey Scout

This top rated Internet business pays people to take surveys, and it is the number one rated survey site on the Internet. People make a good deal of money taking these surveys, and also people can

make a career from this site by working from home taking surveys. People may also take phone surveys from this site which pay even more than Internet surveys.

 

-GDI

GDI makes products and advertises them so that the demand grows quickly. The products start out selling at low prices, but as the demand increases, the prices do too. GDI is original and they design and sell products made from and by their company.

 

-Profit Rally

The purpose of this company is to help you succeed in your goal of running an online business. They help attract business and traffic to your website, and give you more publicity by advertising your business. This is how they make their money.

 

-Plugin Profits

This company employs you to sell their products, and you will earn a percentage of every one of their items that you sell. They give you your own software, website, credit card for the products, and everything else you need to sell with their company.

 

-PermaWorld

This company is an aid organization known all over the world, run entirely online.

 

-Better Universe

This top rated Internet business is an online company designed to help you save money in every way. Ten percent of all profits from this company go to needy children all over the world.

 

-The Work At Home Millionare

This company is designed to help you have a successful career making money from home. Their profits come from the software and coaching guides you buy from them. This business is very successful and has helped thousands of people become successful as well.

 

-AutoPilot Profits

This top rated Internet business is designed to make you a successful online entrepreneur. Profits come from sales made by the company, and if you become successful, they'll profit from that aspect as well. Lots of people have advertised this company after becoming successful through it. 

Team Internet Business

There are a lot of online businesses out there that use a lot of different ways to make money. Most of these businesses have lots of people working for them but are run by one person. This person is the one who ultimately finishes off and overlooks everything. He or she does most of the work. This can be a lot to handle for just one person. If you are thinking of starting an online business but do not think you can handle or want to handle all of the work, then you may want to think about starting up a team Internet business.

 

There are a lot of benefits to a team Internet business. Firstly, the work is shared among all members of the team. This can help get the work done faster and doesn't leave you swamped to do everything alone. Also if ideas need to be talked about and thought about, then there are multiple people that can talk and bounce ideas off of each other. The job can get done better and with more people working, it is more certain that everything is done on time if everyone works as they are supposed to.

 

With more work being done faster, that gives the team Internet business more room to expand. There will likely be more work if and when the business grows, but it will more than likely be handled in a timely manner. There are also more people to advertise and with more money being made, there is more room and funds for advertising. Another perk is that everyone working on this team based online business knows something different. The more knowledge there is floating around, the  better the business can run and the more you can do with it, such as advertising and speaking with different clients from around the world. Thus, your business will expand.

 

There are also some bad points about a team Internet business. Firstly, there are bound to be arguments. Eveyone comes up with their own personal ideas that others disagree with. This will surely be a problem, but it can quite easily be over-come with voting and such. Also, the more people that work on the business, the more the profit is divided. Each person will make less money. However, the business is bound to grow, so when that happens, more money will be made. Also, even if the work is not shared equally, the profits must be divided. This can be a downfall. There are many ways to figure out any problem that can come up with a team online business.

 

A team online business can be a better option than a solo online business. More work can be done over shorter deadlines and more ideas can be heard and talked about. However, there are more people to be paid and there will, of course, be disagreements. All of these problems, though, can be easily taken care of. A team Internet business is a great option for anyone looking to start making money online.

Are You Targeting People Or Computers?

There are many so-called experts in the marketing industry that have many opinions about the best way to drive traffic to a website. Face it, without traffic there is no business and no reason to keep your online business open. Determining the best vehicle to bring people to your site is still open for debate but for most people it boils down to two primary methods…search engine optimization or organic marketing.

 

.There are more people using search engines now than ever before and usually they have no idea what they are looking for or how to go about finding it. They enter a few words or a phrase into a search engine and then choose from the results, looking until they either find what they want or get frustrated with the results and type in a different search term. For a website to be successful, it has to be found online by users entering a search term that relates to their business website. For search engines, it is all about how relevant your website is to the search criteria.

 

With search engine optimization, special coding as well as web design plays an important part of making your website attractive to the search engine spiders. These creepy-crawly things are sent out by the search engines to crawl all over the web looking at websites and creating an index of the pages based on content. They also look at many other aspects of conducting a search to determine how popular a website is among users by looking at such things as how many visits the website gets, how many other websites link to this site as well as the type of content that is available on the site.

 

While many website owners swear by search engine optimization, there are many others that swear at it as they cannot seem to crack the top 50 in search results. Some try to cheat by plugging code into their website that has no bearing on the content of their website, resulting in a person looking for information about cars for instance, could find a result pointing to an adult-oriented website. Search engine managers change the criteria periodically, as well as send their spiders back into the fray frequently to maintain an updated index of available websites.

 

Organic marketing is a polite way of saying it is geared towards the human element. The people that actually sit down, type in a search term and then look through the results. Many businesses opt for this type of marketing as they claim people buy products and services, not computers and no one cares if the spiders are happy or not. They follow the search engine company's advice to make sure the content on their website is relevant to search terms in order to be lifted to the top of the results pages.

 

Search engines look for quality content in text form and usually ignore pretty graphics and fancy language that only pertains to how the message is delivered online, as opposed to the actual message.

 

There Are Many Good Reasons to Work from Home

Being able to work from home allows you the luxury of dictating your own work hours while also being your own boss. The internet has become a great asset when it comes to providing people with the ability to work from home. The fact that you can have a flexible schedule, time for your family and often low costs of operating, are just a few reasons that working from home is appealing. This does not mean that you do not have to work hard however. You will need to have a strong sense of responsibility and self discipline to keep yourself on track when you decide to work out of your home.

 

You need to be sure that you can stick to the task at hand when you do not have a boss or office environment to keep you motivated. Once you have decided that you want to work from home, and are sure that it is the right choice for both you and your family, putting in some research time is worth the effort. Create a work schedule for yourself and whenever possible, stick to it. This allows you to know where your time is spent each day. If necessary, make yourself a list of the tasks that you need to accomplish and check them off as you go along. This way you can see your work getting accomplished right before your eyes. A positive work environment is also a great way to better allow you to keep yourself on schedule. Prevent distractions whenever possible so that you can focus on your work.

 

There are so many reasons that someone may decide to work from home. The freedom that it provides and the ability to provide an income from your family while still staying at home are a couple of good reasons for working for yourself from home. No matter what work field that you want to get involved in, always create a business plan for yourself based on plenty of research. If you follow a plan and make good choices, you will have a far better chance of realizing success.

 

Working for yourself from home is a good way to beat the boring routine that you may have established at your current job. Just knowing that you want to work for yourself from home is a good place to start. After that has been determined, make sure that both you and your family are aware of what all will be involved and that they are willing to stand behind you in your quest for self employment. Always thoroughly investigate your ideas and options to make sure that whatever area of work that you are getting involved in will be a lucrative venture. Be prepared to put in some time and effort to get your home based business going. Even once established, it will take hard work to maintain your results. However, when you experience all of the pleasures and benefits that come from working for yourself at home, you will find that everything is worth the struggle.

Free Home Based Internet Business Ideas

 

Despite what people say, it is possible to start a business without spending any money!  While there are jobs that will have a large initial cost, you can start a free home based internet business.  Really, anybody can do this.  Particularly nowadays when there are multiple WYSIWYG web servers that make it easy to design a webpage without having knowledge in that field.

 

The internet has become a place to expand knowledge globally.  You can live in Zimbabwe and have access to information from America-based websites.  This is extraordinary and people are starting to take full advantage of the technology.   Internet training is a free home based internet business that can earn a nice income.  Nowadays, jobs are constantly being internationally outsourced and people from around the world need to know how to use the internet.  If you are a person with adequate knowledge of the internet, you can be a successful trainer. 

 

Many individuals are too busy to take on campus classes.  People are turning to online courses to gain knowledge about surfing around the internet.  You can become very successful if you have the knowledge to train someone else.  Furthermore, you can do this job in the comfort of your own home.  You can create your own website but there are a number of already established businesses that you can work for—with the correct qualifications, of course.  As an internet trainer, you will teach students to do internet research, provide knowledge on internet security, virus guards, firewalls, and spyware.  

 

Another free home based internet business is online counselling.  Counsellors work to console people who need someone to talk to.  They help to improve a person’s mental health.  This can easily be done online using various communication technology.  For example, you can hold chat sessions, e-mail correspondence, and/or web conferences.  Therefore, you will need to be knowledgeable in technology and computers.  You can create a personal relationship with someone in the comfort of your home.  You need to have a variety of personal skills to succeed in this business. 

 

In some states, you need a license to be a counsellor.  However, that isn’t the case in all places as long as you’re not giving health advice and obviously, not prescribing medicine.  You should take courses in order to understand mental health and along with formal training, you need to possess kindness, understanding, and a passion for helping people.  You must also realize that you’ll be dealing with real people and you will need to set time apart to deal with them.  You have to also realize that you will have to prove your qualifications if you don’t have a special license.  People aren’t going to come to you if they think you’re just an average Joe trying to make some bucks. 

 

Both of these would make a fulfilling and free home based internet business.  You won’t have to spend money but you will have to put a lot of time and energy.  However, helping someone else is always rewarding.  

 

Splitting Time Between Your Home Based Business And 9-5

 

Many people are finding that working for someone else is just not satisfying.  Having to work the hours that are put out before you and completing work the way your boss say it needs to be done can be annoying. A growing number of people are trying to find ways to free themselves from the 9-5 grind and own their own business. 

 

Of course, while we are fueling our new work from home ventures, the 9-5’s that are paying the bills often have to stay in place.  That means that we have to split our time between the two ventures leaving little personal time.  Often, the home based business is the one that losses out. Without great efforts the home based business will never get off the ground and you will always be in that very difficult building stage of entrepreneurship.  There are ways to divide your time between your home based business, personal life and your 9-5.

 

The hope is that you will not have to juggle the two jobs for too long. However, the reality is that many home based business owners have to work their regular job for a little while, if not continuously, before they can rely on the home based business.  That means time management is very important.

 

The most important part of running a home based business and having a regular job is setting yourself a schedule.  Thing about what times during the week will be best for you to dedicate a few hours to your business.  If you have children that are of school age maybe during the time that they are doing their homework or watching television would be a good time for you to slip away.  Also, be realistic and patient about your business.  Don’t expect to spend four hours a night making progress because you will burn out and your family will too.  You always will be tired from a long day at work.  Shoot for two hours two hours max after a long day at work. 

 

Use a portion of your weekend to work on your business.  A few hours Saturday afternoon and a few more on Sunday can go a long way. Of course, if something comes up like a hockey game or a get together with friends, do those things.  You still want to have a life and a home based business is not going to mean that much if you have no friends or family left to celebrate your success with.

 

Don not start up a number of different projects at once.  If you are working to get your freelance writing business off the ground, you should not start trying to market your renovating skills simultaneously.  Take your time when you are trying to make money with form your home based business.  Stick with one skill until you see a profit from it.  Do not abandon it and move on to another project because you aren’t making as much money as you want immediately.  Take your time and let your hard work pay off.

How To Handle Home Based Business Expenses And Tax Deductions

Anyone that starts a home based business should be familiar with what business expenses and capital expenses are.  Business expenses are common expenses that are the cost of conducting a trade or business.  These expenses include the cost of doing business and you will usually be able to deduct them come tax time.  Some of the deductible costs are business travel, paying employees and the cost of your Internet services if you use them for your business. 

 

Capital Expenses refer to the cost of buying individual things such as equipment or property that you will use for years to come.  The equipment that you have to purchase for your business, such as a laptop or furniture for the waiting room of your lobby, are capital expenses.  While capital expenses are not deductible, you can get that money back through depreciation, amortization or depletion.  This means that you can deduct part of your cost every year to recover the money you have spent on capital expenses.

 

When you are figuring out what a business expense is, think about if it is ordinary and necessary.  That means that whatever you are buying is accepted in your field of business, thus making it ordinary, and it is helpful and appropriate for your business, making it necessary.  If whatever you are buying falls into these two categories then you can deduct it. 

 

If you are buying something that is will be used for both business and personal usage, you can deduct the business portion.  For example, if you are borrowing money and put 80% towards business and 20% towards family expenses, you can deduct 80% of the interest as a business expense.   The rest is not deductible because it is personal.

 

In order to deduct part of your home for business you have to deduct expenses for the business use of your home.  You can deduct part of your mortgage interest, insurance, utilities, repairs and depreciation.  If you live in an apartment and are a renter you can still take this deduction.  No matter what type of home you live in you will be able to these deductions for your home office.

 

In order to deduct for a home office you will need to be able to prove two things.  First, you home office should be used regularly and exclusively for your business.  The other thing that is necessary for home office deduction is that the office is the principle place of your business.  If you conduct some business outside of your home but do the majority of it from home your home office is still deductible. 

 

If you have a free standing structure that you use for your business, like a garage or shed, you can deduct expenses for that as well.  It does not have to be the principle place that you conduct business if it is where you meet with clients, customers or patients.  The percentage of your home office should be what your deductions are based upon.  You want to be sure that you have a full understanding of what the IRS considers a home office before you start deducting.

Best Ways To Market Your Home Based Business

One of the key factors for success when you have a home based business is marketing.  No matter what product or service you are offering your home based business will fail if people do not know that it is out there.  The best way to make sure the word gets out about your business is to have a successful marketing plan.

 

Your marketing plan needs to have two major parts.  First of all, you will need to know who the market is.  Then you have to find a way to make your product or service known to that market.   These two things go hand in hand.

 

There are a few ways to define your market.  Some people shoot for everyone, targeting people regardless of their age, income, sex or special interests.  The majority of marketing that home based business owners do is to limited groups that are likely to enjoy their products or services.  Small business owners have a limited amount of money and time to spend on advertising.  That means that they have to target the people that are most likely to buy.

 

In order to get the most out of your marketing plan you need to think about who would want to buy what you have to offer.  Once you have figured out who your market is you can change your marketing plan accordingly.

 

Getting this information can be challenging, so one way to do that is to do some research and experimentation.  How are other businesses that offer the same services that you do doing?  Are your services something that are a necessity, or a luxury?  These are important questions to ask yourself.

 

Checking out the competition will give you valuable information.  Look at any product or brand that can compete with whatever you are selling.  This will give you an idea of what other products are on the market.  Knowing the competition can help you compete better.

 

Once you know what is out there, find your niche.  What makes your product or services different from the others?  Place emphasis on the special aspect of your product.  Why should people buy what you have to offer instead of the competition?  Are you offering a great deal or a free gift with your services?  If you are running a business that seeing clients, are your hours more convenient that other ones?

 

Promote your business in any way possible.  You should have a website that details what services you are offering.  Make sure that the website is easy to use and has all of the information clients and customers need to contact you. 

 

Tell everyone you know about your business.  Word of mouth is a great way to let the world know that you have a business and what it is.  Tell all of your friends and associates and anyone that you happen to come in contact with.  Print up business cards so that you can hand them out.  You should have them done professionally so that people respect the card you are handing them.  The presentation of your business will be the thing that gets your foot in the door.       

Are Your Ready To Start A Home Based Business?

Having the desire to start a home based business and being in the position to actually do that are two different things.  There are a few questions you should ask yourself before you quit your job and start a business of your own.  Be real with yourself before you start setting things up and building your business. 

 

Take the time to ask yourself a few questions before you make a decision.  The first thing to ask yourself is do you think you are ready to start a home based business?  Confidence will play a big part in the success of your home based business.  You have to believe that the home based business is worth starting in order for it to do well. 

 

Would others say that you are a prime candidate for self-employment?  Sometimes we can be a little overconfident about our own skills.  However, when it comes to whether or not you will do well with self-employment, you need to be honest with yourself.  Think about how you work at your current job?  Are you someone who completes tasks no matter what?  Do you work just as hard at work whether or not your supervisor is in the office or not?  If so, you may have what it takes to get a home based business off of the ground. 

 

There are other questions you should ask yourself.  Have you ever taken courses or seminars about starting and managing a small business?  If you have not, consider doing this before you start a home based business.  You will learn valuable lessons about some of the underside of having a business that you manage on your own.

 

Are you ready to lower your standard of living while the business gets off of the ground?  Businesses are great ventures but the majority of small business owners start off working a ton and making only a little bit of profit.  You should make sure that you have some type of back up income to keep you a float while you build your home based business.

 

Are you ready for long hours that often will produce no immediate profit?  Working long hours at a job where you are getting overtime or a steady salary is quite different form working long hours at your start up home based business.  You will not necessarily see a profit from the long hours that you put in.  Of course, there is a bitter sweet feeling for working long hours.  At the end of the day, after the long hours, you will have a home based business that is yours. 

 

Have you contacted a business coach or counselor about your business plan?  There are so many different aspects of owning your own business.  There are legal issues such as what type of business you want to have, the break even point for the business, how a business loan impacts your credit and if you need a special license or permit for your business.  Getting valuable advice about all of these things can help save you time and money.        

Living And Working Under The Same Roof

Choosing to work underneath the same roof that you live under can be a huge change in your life.  There are a number of benefits and drawbacks to working from home.  It is important that you are aware of some of these issues before you start your home based business. 

 

The environment of your workplace has major impact on your productivity at work.  A home based business has a complex work environment because the workplace is the home.  Once you have your home based business established and set up, the environment of the home will change.  Introducing business activity into your home can cause some conflicts with family members.

 

There is always the concern that the home based business will intrude into family areas.  For example, if you are using the family home office for your home based business, and there is only one computer, family computer time might be issue.  Family needs and business needs will be different and keeping the two separate is important.

 

While many people envision that a home based business will only take up one room in the house, plan for some overflow.  The overflow will probably end up in a couple extra rooms.  The majority of home based businesses take up three or more rooms.  Another interesting notion is that only about one-third of home based business owners have a designated space where they work and a schedule.  This is not the trend you want to follow.  If you want to have a successful home based business that does not interfere with home life you need to have a good business plan.

 

The best way to keep your business separate from family life is to make sure there is a clear division between work and home life.  Set up the areas where you will complete work.  Make sure you take into account storage and work space.  You should also set up a time schedule so that you have time for family and designated time for work as well.  If your home based business utilizes some of your family spaces, follow an on-demand philosophy.  When someone else needs the space then they should be able to use it.

 

Your family should be instrumental in the planning phases of your home based business. The more instrumental the family is in the planning of the home based business, the more supportive they will be.  If you are planning on seeing clients in your home, you should try to do so in an area of the house where family will not be.  For example, if you have the room, you can see clients and have your office in the basement.    

 

Take the time to come up with a list of pros and cons of having a home based business.  Write out the advantages of working in the home and the disadvantages.  Think about your home and where the work spaces will be at.  Try to keep work and family spaces separate if possible.  This can make bringing a home based business to your home easier.

Organizing Your Cluttered Home Office

 

Home based business owners have the tendency to slip into messy office habits.  Having a cluttered desk can slow down production which will eventually cost you money.  By the time you realize that there is a problem you may have already lost money.  If you take a look at your office and see that it is cluttered with coffee mugs, files and random papers, a cleaning is well over due.

 

The good news is that you can start that clean-up effort immediately.  There are a few simple things you can do to start organizing your home office right now.  The first thing you can do is locate three things and throw them out.  You probably could track down a number of other things to throw out but start off with three things.  Get the recycle bin out and get rid of those old invoices that you logged into your computer weeks ago. How about those old calendars from the previous year?  Anything that has no purpose can go in the recycle bin or the trash.  Start off with three items and move on through the rest of the clutter.

 

Clean out a filing cabinet.  Filing cabinets can become cluttered and full of statements and files you do not need. It is common to shove things you don’t need into filing cabinets.  While you need to keep business records for six years, you do not need to keep miscellaneous files and clutter.  Get rid of everything that you do not need and organize the things that you do.

 

Set up a filing system that allows you to keep statements you need for tax time in one place and files you need on a regular basis in another area.  You don’t want to mix files that you are storing with files that you will be using regularly.  This can cause confusion and major clutter.  Designate file cabinet drawers to serve specific functions to keep organization constant.  If you don’t let things fall into disarray, you will have a better time keeping things in order.

 

Be sure that you are using your shredder on a regular basis.  Paper equals clutter so whenever you can get rid of paper, do so.  Electronic statements for bills can be kept on your computer and printed when necessary.  This is also an easier way to keep statements in order.  You will be able to store them in one electronic file instead of having a file cabinet drawer stuffed full of them.

 

Keep old files in a storage box in another part of your house.  Keeping files in the actual home office is not a good idea.  Use a corner in your garage to store old files.  You will be able to get to them when necessary and keep them out of the way when you don’t need them.

 

If you have a bulletin board or message board give clear it.  Get rid of those messages that you don’t need any more.  Often bulletin boards become cluttered with messages that have expired or are random.  Clear off the board and try to keep in mind what it is intended to be used for.  You want to make sure that your work space is productive and the area you have for your home office is really dedicated to work.  Stop putting notes about your kids’ soccer games on the work bulletin board.  Having a picture or two of the family can be encouraging and should not pose a problem.  However you don’t want to have a bunch of personal items on your work bulletin board.

Set Up A Website For About $20 A Month

A home based business has risks no matter what product or service you choose to go with.  However you can get a home based business going for about $20 a month.  This is a small investment that could reap you good benefits from your website.  The 20 bucks will be for your domain name.  Some services charge monthly for domain names but you don’t want to go with those.  Instead, set up your domain, without ads, for under twenty bucks a year. 

 

First of all you will need to pick a good domain name.  You want to choose names that are relatively short and can easily be remembered.  If there is a way to stick keywords into the name do so.  If not, go with something that will pop up when certain keywords are entered.

 

Look for low cost domain registry.  There are a number of services out there that charge under ten bucks a year.  Stay away from the expensive domain hosting services like Network Solutions.  More money does not mean that you will get more services.  Domain registry services are fairly standard at this point so one service will pretty much give you the same options as another one.  GoDaddy is a very popular registry that does not charge much.

 

No matter what domain registry service you choose you will have to search for the domain name you want.  If it is available you will be given the name you choose and if it is not a couple of different options will be presented to you.  You can choose one of the variations that the registry gives you or you can come up with another one. 

 

Once you have a domain you will need to find a web hosting company.  Once again, web hosting services can be extremely cheap.  Search for ones that are a buck or so and pick one.  Once you have a domain name and web hosting service, you can start designing web pages.  Domain registry services have tools you can use to design web pages but you also can use your own software to create your site.

        

Once you upload your website you will be able to start making money.  If you have a product you are selling, try to network with website that sell similar products.  Swamp links with those websites so that your site will come up earlier in searches.  Be sure you are a part of an affiliate marketing program as well so that you will have a good amount of link partners. Go with a free affiliate marketing program as well.  The links are just as good as the ones that you may pay for with a program that charges money.    

   

You should be able to generate some money from having a website.  However you will need to keep up the maintenance on it and update links regularly.  If you have moderate web designing skills you should be able to design your website and make some type of earnings off of it.

Part Time Home Based Business Ideas

Having a little extra money on hand is never a bad thing.  Having a second job will take away from your personal life and leave you exhausted.  However, there are ways to make some money at home without doing a lot. 

 

Everyone has seen the make money online advertisements.  There are some ways to make money online but they are stuck in-between legitimate offers.  Before you decide to take the plunge find out which opportunities are legitimate and which ones are not.

 

Internet marketing is a way to make money.  If you are able to construct websites and upload links, you can make a little extra money.  There are plenty of musicians and writers that need promotion and exposure.  For a small fee you can complete easy applications like increasing their “Friends” list on MySpace or Facebook.  Post information about events is also another way to get the word out about their work.  As long as you have a computer that works well, you will be able to complete these applications in a short amount of time.

 

Manage someone else’s website for them.  Keeping a website fresh and in working order can be a challenge.  For small business owners this can be time consuming and cause headaches--especially if they have another job. If you can fix broken links and update the pages of their site you can easily manage a few websites in your spare time.  This is another part time home based business idea that doesn’t take much time.

 

If you write your own blog everyday you can generate a small income from clicks.  You don’t need a website to blog and you can set up a blog for free through a number of different blog services.  Once you have your blog set up you can post new information every day.  Sign up for free affiliate programs where you can exchange links.  If you go through Blogger.com they will automatically set you up with Google AdSense, another free service that will keep track of your clicks and how much money you make from them.  Once you get ten dollars in your account a check is sent to you. 

 

Another market you can tap is advertising other people’s products.  You can place ads on your blog and have links to purchase products.  A few text or graphical ads on your blog will help promote products without interfering with your blog. 

 

You can also write reviews of products on your blog.  People are always looking for information about products before they buy them.  Reviews are a great way to generate interest in your blog.

 

The Internet provides a number of different ways to make money without spending any.  Never fall for the scam ads that promise money after you make some type of investment.  Generally, your level of expertise will have a good deal to do with how much money you  make from your blog.  Be realistic about the amount of money you make form your blog.  Most people make a little extra money from blogs but a rare few get rich or make a living from them.