It’s been only a few months since I took on Home Biz Notes, but I have enjoyed it tremendously.  But my own home business is taking off, and I need to devote more time to it.  In addition, I have been doing the daily Small Business blog on Bizzia, b5media’s business portal.  It’s time to move on.

I have enjoyed learning about home businesses, writing about the joys and challenges.  I hope you enjoyed it too, and that Home Biz Notes gave you some ideas for your home business, kept you out of trouble with scam artists, and provided support when you wondered if your family was for you or against you. The opportunities for home business owners are tremendous, limited only by your imagination and your willingness to work hard and smart.

Home business owners are the future of business.  As more and more people are laid off, with no prospect of new jobs, they will be considering working at home.  Baby Boomers in particular will find that a very small home business is in their future. So there will be more and more of us over the next few years.

Today is my last post on Home Biz Notes, so I will just say, “Here’s to your continued success in your home business.”

If you are proficient on the computer and you want a great home business job, consider operating a typing service.  Now, the word “typing service” is kind of a misnomer these days, since no one uses a typewriter any more.  So a typing service is really a service that produces documents on a computer.

I had a home typing service when my children were young, and it was a good way to combine family and work.  I could work when I wanted (and when my children were sleeping) and get a lot done.  None of my clients came to the house; I delivered documents to them (no email back in those days).

What kind of documents? A home typing service can produce many different kinds of documents:

• Theses, term papers, dissertations for students
• Turning handwritten manuscripts into book drafts
• Translation services
• Business documents like manuals, proposals, and business plans
• Transcripts of meetings, labels, forms
• Legal documents like leases, agreements, contracts, business start-up documents

What do you need to get started? All you really need is a computer with word processing software and Internet capability so you can communicate with customers.  You should also get an external backup for the documents you produce, and back up every day, so you don’t have to re-do anything. Oh, and a place to put your computer.

Excellent sentence skills necessary. In addition to being a fast, accurate typist, you must also have good sentence skills.  You need to know the difference between they’re, their, and there (when spoken), when to use it’s and its, and all the other little quirks of English. Clients will not accept sloppy work. If you don’t do well with grammar, punctuation, and spelling, don’t attempt this work.  Please.

What kind of rates can you charge? You can probably charge between $15 and $30 an hour, depending on the type of document and the complexity (less for simple term papers; more for more complex legal documents).  You can also charge a premium price for faster turn-around. Handwritten documents and audio transcripts are the most difficult to deal with, so charge more for this work.

How do you get customers? Your customers will tend to be local, so go where they are.  For example, if you want to work for students, go to the local college or university and put flyers on bulletin boards.  Find out what new professionals are opening in the area (particularly attorneys) and offer to work for them so they don’t have to hire a document typist.  Put an advertisement on Craigslist or the local newspaper.  Go to office buildings and hand out your cards to all the small businesses.

Benefits outweigh drawbacks.  If you are an excellent, fast typist with good sentence skills, you can do well financially running a typing service.  Once you get a few people talking about you, you’ll find you have more work than you want.

The image (an old Olivetti typewriter): Plindberg @ Flickr

Do you run your home business from a PDA?  I don’t mean that you have a PDA, but that your entire business is managed using that PDA.

My new hairdresser runs her shop from a Blackberry.  She uses it as her business phone, she keeps appointments and all her customer contacts information on it, and she uses it for paying bills through online bill pay (although she does have a laptop where she has her accounting program).

In the same way, I have a PDA that I use as my main phone and I keep my appointments and contact information on it, and I can check email from the PDA when I am not at home.

There are both benefits and drawbacks to using a PDA for everything.

Benefits:

• It goes with you everywhere.  My hairdresser said she is taking it on vacation in April so she can make appointments while she is relaxing on the beach.  “No one will know I’m gone,” she said.
• It keeps everything in one place.  You don’t have to look in several places for the information you need.
• It travels more easily. If you are out of the office/home you don’t have to carry around a notebook to make appointments or do business.
• It eliminates paper, which can get misplaced or destroyed.

Drawbacks:

• Everything is on it, so if it gets destroyed or you can’t get online, you might be in big trouble.
• It follows you everywhere, unless you turn it off.  I don’t think I want to take mine on vacation and answer phone messages while I’m sitting on the beach with a Mai Tai in my hand.
• It’s small, so it’s easier to lose.  I have left my on seats in restaurants and in my car.  I prefer not to think about what would happen if I couldn’t find it.

We are all so tuned in to instant communication these days, that I think sometimes we have gone over the deep end.  What about you?  Do you think we should be running our home businesses using PDA’s?

Image: Newscom

If you plan on getting a refund, you may have already completed your income tax return.  If not, I have some suggestions to help you get through this process with minimal pain:

Gather Business Information. This is probably the most difficult part, if you haven’t been keeping track.  When I did my business taxes, it took me weeks to figure everything out, because I didn’t do all the accounting as I was going along last year.

The best way to do your 2008 books is to shut the doors, turn off phone and email, and just git-er-done.  Then when you emerge, vowing to do better next year, you’ll be ready to prepare those taxes.

Figure out which form to use. The tax form you use for your business taxes depends on the type of business.  Many home business owners file their business taxes on a Schedule C as sole proprietors.  If you are a single-member LLC, you would also use a Schedule C.  If you file taxes as a corporation, Subchapter S corporation, or partnership, there are other forms you need to use.  Check with your CPA or tax adviser about the correct form.  H&R Block is the only tax preparation service I know of that does business taxes as well as personal taxes. March 15 was the due date for filing returns for corporations with December 31 year end dates, so if you haven’t filed your corporate taxes, you need to prepare a request for an extension and pay the tax due.

Determine who should do your taxes. If you have a very simple business, you may be able to use tax preparation software. TurboTax Home & Business or TaxCut Home & Business will both do well at leading you through the interview process for a Schedule C.  You can also e-file your return (federal and most states) with either of these programs. For more complicated businesses, as well as corporations and partnerships, I’d suggest a tax preparer.  I’ve tried using the tax prep software programs for corporate taxes and I found myself lost quickly.

Filing Options. I filed in early March (my CPA e-filed my returns), and I already have my state and federal refunds sitting in my bank account.  E-filing, as far as I’m concerned, is the way to go, especially if you are getting a refund.  The IRS encourages e-filing for both personal and business taxes.  Whether you do your return yourself, you use tax software or you have your tax preparer file for you, e-filing can get your refund to you much faster.

In short, if you haven’t filed yet, it’s time to get going. April 15 is right around the corner.

Image: Zevotron @Flickr

A few days ago, I talked about the easy part of starting a new business - getting the legal and financial part setup.  Today, the difficult part – getting your first customers.

The first customers are the most difficult to get, because you don’t have anyone to tell them about you.  So you’ll have to do that yourself.  Here are some tips for finding your first customers:

• Swap testimonials. I have been working with another new business owner; I’m helping her start her professional organization business, and she is helping me get my office organized.  Neither of us is getting any money, but we are giving each other testimonials.  She can honestly say that I have helped her and I can say the same.  Having testimonials is a great way to bring in other new people – they see what someone else says about you and they feel more comfortable buying from you.

• Network. I joined Toastmasters several years ago.  This is a great place to meet other professionals.  I would also recommend the local Chamber of Commerce as a place to meet people.  Bring your business cards and talk to people. You never know how a connection will reap benefits for you.

• Hang out where your customers do. If you are trying to sell to people online, find out where this group hangs out online – what forums do theys subscribe to, what web sites do they check regularly?  Then hang out there too.  If you are selling to a local market, find out where the people you want to sell to are hanging out.  If they all go to the supermarket, hang up a flyer there.  If they go to the mall, go there and sell or advertise.

• Walk around and introduce yourself. If you are selling locally, go door-to-door and let people know you are in the neighborhood.  Don’t sell anything; just hand out your card and say hello. Ask people their opinion on your business “Do you think a professional organizer business would succeed in this town?”  If they don’t want to talk, walk on and talk to someone else.  If you sell on the internet, do the same thing virtually.

One of more of these techniques to get your first customers should give you a couple of people.  Then it’s your job to turn these people into advocates for your business, so they tell people, and those people tell people, and away you go.

Image: sxc.hu

I get asked this question all the time.  Someone just asked me about starting a medical coding or billing service at home, and I decided to answer her in a post, so everyone can see the answer.  So here it is:

Starting a Home Business – The Easy Part. It’s easier than you might think.  And more difficult.  The easy part is what I would call the “administrative” stuff.  It is almost as easy as baking a cake:

• Find a business name you like. Get someone to do a logo for you (optional).
• Decide on a legal form of business. You can start as a sole proprietorship (the easiest), but you may want to be a limited liability company.  You can find more information on this on my About.com Guide Site (U.S. Business Law & Taxes).
• Check with the city where you live to be sure you don’t need any special permissions or zoning variances.  If you don’t have customers coming to your home, you probably don’t need any permissions.  But check anyway.
• Get a business checking account.
• If you are selling online or your customers are online, you will need a website.  Even if your business is selling locally, you probably need a website.

Starting a Home Business: The Hard Part. Now comes the hard part: You have to figure out how to get customers.  This is just plain hard work.

• You have to determine who will buy your products or services.  In other words, who is your market?
• Then you have to figure out how to reach these people – how do you advertise to them? how do you get your product or service in front of them?  If you are selling on the Internet, there are some tried-and-true ways to get out there, and some new ones too.  If you are selling locally, you have to figure out where your potential customers hang out and get your name in front of them.

Next post, I’ll spend more time talking about how to get your first customers.

Image source: jhritz@flickr

With the downturn in the economy expected to last a while, it may seem that this is not the time to make your dreams of owning your own business at home a reality.  But if the only reason you are hesitating is fear, then put that fear aside and get started.  If you start now and start small,  your business will be in place when the economy takes off.

It takes time to get started. There are many tasks involved in starting any business, and 10,000 decisions to make.  And you know the rule: everything takes twice as long and costs twice as much as you think it will.  So getting started now makes sense.  You can begin to build the systems that you need now so you are ready when the business takes off.

Starting small keeps you sane. I know lots of business people who think they need to start with a BANG.  They put out publicity and get people coming to their doors wanting their products or services before they are ready.  If they don’t have their systems in place, they lose customers because they can’t deliver.  What a mess!

You probably don’t need a loan. If you start a home business, you will not need a loan to buy or lease a building, and your equipment needs may be minimal.  You may need some cash for working capital (money to pay your business and personal bills while you are getting started), but a smaller loan should be easier to get.

Starting small gives you time to plan. If you begin now and begin small, you can do the marketing research to figure out who your customers are and how to reach them.

Starting small helps your home life. Your family can get used to your hours and you can ease them into the idea that you must work certain hours and days.  A slow start keeps everyone happy.

If you start in a big way, you may find yourself way beyond your capabilities.  For example, if you do a splashy grand opening in the newspaper and you have many clients, you may not be able to serve all of them.  Then you risk alienating some people and losing sales.

Starting small is best for your finances, your systems, and your sanity.  After all, you need to make money, but you also want to enjoy the ride.

Hard times make people inventive.  One of the newest and hottest home business ideas around is the used clothing store-in-a-closet idea.  The Wall Street Journal recently reported that women are selling their used clothing directly from home.

When I first read the title, I thought these women were selling on eBay.  Nope, they are selling their clothes directly from home.  Many of us have a variety of clothing at home, in many sizes, styles, and colors. I also know a few women (some of them in my family!) who have many pairs of shoes that could be sold.

Advertising would be relatively easy and inexpensive.  You could advertise on Craigslist or at the local grocery store or in the newspaper, and have a “sales day” at home.  Several people could go together in one big “closet sale” (kind of like an indoor garage sale) and let people browse and try on clothing in private.

Saving Money. Selling at home saves money because you don’t need to rent a store-front.  And you could take cash only and avoid the credit-card dilemma.  But what about returns?  I would sell with an “as is” policy, and not accept returns.  People buying used clothing shouldn’t be that picky.

Retailing from Home. My biggest concern in this endeavor is in running a retail business from home, for several reasons:

• Licensing. If you running this business on a continuing basis and you are not licensed as a home business, you will get into trouble with the city.  You should get a license and make sure the city is OK with what you are doing.
• Parking could be a problem, particularly if the city decides to enforce disability parking restrictions or if the neighbors complain about too much traffic.
• Safety issues need to be considered, too. Keeping certain parts of your home off-limits and not letting pets and children around the shoppers would be a good idea.  And don’t put your valuables out where people can see them.

If you are determined and you have a lot of clothing to sell, it would be easy to set up a home clothing sales business.  Oh, and one other question:  What happens if someone wants to buy your favorite red dress and you decide at that minute you just can’t bear to part with it?  Who wins?

Image: Sxc.hu

With the downturn in the economy, more of us are working more hours and harder than ever.  And those of us in small home businesses are working even more than that, if possible.  How many days a week do you work?

Since I left my full-time job in December to work on my home-based business, I have tried to save at least one day a week to relax, do my quilting.  It hasn’t happened very often.  Most weeks, I finish what I have to do just in time for Monday morning to roll around.

And it isn’t just about work.  I had to get all the income tax stuff together for my business and our personal taxes.  That took several weeks.  And I had to watch my grandchildren during all those Snow Days back in December and January And … well, you know what I mean.

So my question to you is, “How many days a week do you work?”  I hope you take time off.  We all need it.  But we need even more to be able to make a living, so taking time off might have to wait.

How much of your work is really necessary and how much is just ‘busy work’?  I’ve been trying to focus more on getting done what I have to do, and less on wandering around social media and the BSO’s (bright shiny objects) on the web, so I can have some time off on the weekend to relax and be with my family.

How about you?  Are you working 7 days a week?  What do you do for fun?  Is it work?  Or is there something else you are working FOR?

Image Source: Arifm@flickr

Last week I wrote about un-supportive spouses/significant others/partners.  But un-supportive children are a different story.

An adult has a choice and two adults can have a meaningful, if spirited, conversation and come to some conclusion.  But can you persuade a child to be understanding and supportive?

Well, I guess you can bribe them, but I’ve found that doesn’t work for very long.  And, like all bribes, they keep escalating.  So pretty soon they own the house…and the car… and you’re in trouble.

So what do you do? How do you get your children to support you in your decision to work from home? Here are some thoughts (not suggestions):

Talk to Them. If you can find out what’s really bothering them, I’ll bet it will be about them and about TIME.  It will go something like this: “You won’t have time to take me to soccer practice.”  “You won’t have time to take me to the mall.”  Your reassurances that you will indeed still have time will help tremendously.

Don’t promise anything you can’t do. Children take promises very seriously.  I can remember times when I told my children, “We’ll go to the park.”  Then it rained.  Their response, “You lied to me.”  Unreasonable, I know, but that’s how their minds work.  “Next week” just doesn’t cut it with them.

Enlist their help…and pay them. Younger children can do small tasks like emptying wastebaskets or helping to package products.  Older children can do more complex tasks.  Keep track of their hours and pay them some reasonable rate.  Their pay can be deducted from your taxes and put aside for them or given to them, depending on the amount and their ages.

Work on It. Convincing your children that you will still have time for them means nothing, unless you make it work. Over time, if you live up to your promises, they will settle down. It happened with my children – over time they became used to the routine and my occasional disappearances into my office.  But as long as everything else was the same, they settled down and the negativity diminished.

Expect occasional outbursts. And at the worst possible time.  Every so often, usually when you are up against a deadline, your children might decide to act out.  Children seem to sense when you are stressed and they pick those times to make you aware of their needs.  Figure out ahead of time what you will do and then do it. Taking an hour off to get ice cream or go to a movie with them might be all that’s needed.

In the end, you’ll find that your children will accept what you are doing as long as they feel part of it, the rest of their world is the same, and, most important, you still have time for them.  If you have any experiences of trying to balance work and children, I’d love to hear about them.

Image source: StockXpert