Archive for the ‘Home Business’ Category

You can claim a number of quite valuable tax deductions for a home office, but in order to do so it has to meet certain guidelines set by the IRS. For most the IRS will never come anywhere near their house, but in the event of an audit everything needs to be in order.

According to IRS rules your home office must be a part of your house that you use on a regular basis for the exclusive purpose of running a business. That means setting aside a room, or even a part of a room that is visibly set up as an office of some kind.  You must also be able to demonstrate that your home office is your principal place of business or at least that you regularly use it to meet with clients.

If you can meet these guidelines you can then claim part of the general expenses associated with your home such as utilities, rent, homeowners insurance, mortgage interest and even general repairs. For more information on IRS guidelines visit: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=108138,00.html

Even if your home office does not meet the IRS standards for “exclusive use” it may qualify as “regular use” and a portion may be tax deductible. In addition, there are various business expenses the self-employed can claim. These can include: Internet connection, a separate telephone line that you use for work, equipment (computer, fax, copier, etc.), basic supplies, office furniture, computer software,  Social Security taxes (1/2 of self-employed contributions), and health insurance premiums. Of course there are certain stipulations to qualify for deductions. Those operating a daycare out of their home or who are not self-employed but, a telecommuter also can benefit from certain deductions. Consult your tax professional and visit the IRS website for additional details.

Is there a novel somewhere buried inside your soul, or maybe just even a simple how –to – e book?  Do you have a collection of personal recipes that would make a wonderful kitchen companion for any chef if only you knew how to get them into print? Lulu.com is a way for authors to get their books into print and sell them to real live customers on the Internet, without huge initial set up costs.

Lulu.com allows their users to set their own price for their works, and depending upon the printing and biding options they choose for paper products the creator receives up to 80% of the revenue from each sale made. For those who choose E book format that profit could be a little higher.

You will still have to do your own promotion work in order to get your publication sold but there are many outlets where you can do that at little or no cost. I have an acquaintance who managed to sell over 1,000 copies of his fantasy comic book in just a few months simply by building the concept a MySpace following as he moved through the process of creating it.

You will still need some degree of writing talent to make money this way but just a glance at the Lulu.com shows you how diverse the tastes of its users are, so even the most obscure title has a chance if it is interesting and entertaining.

Have you ever seen a t-shirt or a mug in a store and thought to yourself “I could design something better than that”? Did you ever think of slogan or catch phrase that you would love to wear but no store has anything like it? Thanks to the advent of internet sites like Zazzle and Cafepress you can create your own t-shirts, sweatshirts, nightdresses, even underwear and what’s more you can actually make money by selling your designs for others to use.

Both sites allow budding designers to upload their designs for sale on their sites, which are growing in popularity every day.

Zazzle allows artists and designers to build a store on their site and when customers choose your design to be printed onto one of the company’s products you receive a percentage of the sale. You can set your own royalty rate but unless you are Stella McCartney it is perhaps best not to set it too high right at the start.

Other sites like Cafepress work much in the same way. How much you make will of course depend upon the popularity of your work but some of the simplest amateur designs have actually become cult like in their popularity.

Selling your designs will probably not net you a steady income in the beginning, but if you have an artistic bent it is a great way to combine a hobby with a way to make a little (maybe even a lot of) extra cash.

I knew about oDesk way back in 2007, but I only started taking it really seriously just about 2 months ago. I did not consider it then because of the element of risk in self employment. I only realized recently that you do not have to be risk tolerant to be self employed and it’s not a must have for self employment.

The lack of a regular income is the most common risk people talk about, but if you present yourself well through your profile that’s the first step to succeeding in online self employment. Once you prove your worth to your employers by being able to provide what you have promised or agreed upon, you’ll be preoccupied and you will have an impeccable track record that will certainly be viewed in a positive light by any employer. In no time you may even be wishing that there are more hours in a day so you can take more assignments. I know I did.

My oDesk career started out while I was surfing the web looking for legitimate online work. A friend who was on odesk provider already back then told me this is the way to go to earn from home. My biggest mistake is I didn’t believe her then, because I’ve become too comfortable in my 8-5 cubicle job with a stable company (IBM) and also because I thought it was one of those online scams that promised quick money for an easy job but you have to pay to access their server etc.

When I checked her profile and amount earned recently, my jaw literally dropped, and I kept thinking to myself there’s no way I could have earned that much in my current job and it could’ve been me! I still regret it to this day, not starting way back in 2007 I mean, but I am making up for lost time now by taking as many assignments as I can, and also by quitting my day job to become a writer and an oDesk freelance provider.

I applied for 20 jobs at a time back in July, and I got rejected in all of them every single time because I was new to oDesk. But I was persistent, because now I know it’s worth it. Just like hunting for a real job in the real world, I kept on applying, and I finally got hired a week or so after.

There are various freelance sites popularizing the outsourcing drive, but as I have found out for myself, the most recommended and popular site in transparency and security is odesk. What I like the best about oDesk, it is fair: an hours work, for an hours pay. oDesk was also free so there’s no risk in trying.

Odesk lets the poster of the job or the buyer/employer (as it is called) manage his employees and team by keeping track of their work and proceedings. On the other hand, for the service providers like myself it also a great tool to manage my work on timely basis and get hassle-free payment for genuine work.

Author: Jim B.