Recently I wrote a post for my blog at Blisstree’s Arts and Crafts section, Please…Don’t Photograph My Crafts (without permission).  You may find this applies to the products you provide in your business.  In today’s electronic world, with small cameras, cell phone cameras, and other electronic devices for taking photos and posting them on the Internet, you need to be highly aware of who may be photographing you, your family, your business activities and your products.
Granted, some of this may lead to greater publicity (essentially free promotion) of your business.  However, don’t you want to be in control of what …read more

Questions keep arising concerning sales taxes and home businesses:
Who has to pay them?
Who has to collect them?
How does one pay them?
Where do you find more information about this topic?
Must home businesses become involved in sales tax?
Dr. Jean Murray, former blogger here at Home Biz Notes has written a guest post that will appear, tomorrow, September 11.  Jean has a business and web site, Dr. Jean Means Business, where you might find the answers to some more of your questions.  She also writes about Tax and Business at About.com.
Check tomorrow for Jean’s guest post here at Home Biz Notes.
(Image: sxc.hu)

With the proposed Senate bill (S 773), President Obama could take control of the Internet whenever he decided there was a national security risk.  How will this affect your home business if you can’t utilize the Internet or are restricted in Internet use?  Will “national security” be the excuse for denying Internet use to parties and businesses Obama, and those involved with him, deem unfavorable even though they pose no real security risk?
Read more here:
Bill Would Give President Emergency Control of the Internet
Obama & Dems Propose to Control the Internet
How Will Obama Control of the Internet Affect Your Small Business?
Do you think Presidential/governmental …read more

In a previous post, I mentioned I’d be running a series here about operating a home sewing business, based on my experience and that of others.  At first I did dressmaking and alterations and evolved into quiltmaking and patchwork products. 
There are some considerations before you start a business in your home, especially if it’s one where you have customers/clients coming to the house.  Make sure you’re operating within the zoning regulations for your area or aren’t violating any restrictions in your housing complex.  Be sure you acquire any permits for operating your home business.  Do you need a state license?
Then there are insurances…often …read more

As discussion increases about the health care bills  proposed by Congress and pushed by President Obama to control the care Americans receive, home business people are wondering how this will affect them and invade their lives.
It will affect them personally and businesswise.  Different bills (and Obama’s yet to be announced version) present different levels of control over the health care we would receive.  Also, there would be much more invasion of our lives, as just about all information about us could be collected at a central government location.  Small businesses and individuals would be penalized if they don’t carry health insurance, and of …read more

I’ve introduced  a poll concerning the effect of President Obama’s “change” strategy on home businesses, and discuss the topic at my Blisstree Arts and Craft blog.  As a result, I’ve discovered that my readers have pros and cons about the topic, depending on where’re coming from.
If they’re involved in a business that provides products for people who’ve lost their jobs due to the “change” policies or are feeling a pinch in their pocketbooks because of of it, the business owners think the Obama’s “change” is great. 
For instance, someone who works in a fabric store (which could be in the home) indicated that business has increased for them because …read more

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 …read more

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. …read more

In the past few days, I have been talking about home business taxes and how to take a home office deduction by determining the percentage of your home that is used for your business and collecting the information about home office expenses.  Today I’ll let you know about daycare businesses, which are a special case.

Determining the percentage of space. First, the “exclusively” section of the requirements for deducting home business section doesn’t apply to daycare businesses.  The portion of your home that you use for daycare doesn’t have to be exclusive. I guess the IRS figures you can’t possibly keep …read more

Yesterday, I wrote about the first step in deducting your home office expenses to cut your taxes – determining the percentage of your home that is used for your business.  In yesterday’s post, I said:

You must be able to prove that the portion of your home is used regularly and exclusively for your business (daycare homes don’t have to adhere to the “exclusively’ part), and
How to calculate the percentage of your home used for your home office.

Today, I’ll give you the list of home office expenses you can deduct.  Of course, for all of these expenses, you must have documentation.  …read more