I enjoy comments and input from my readers as they share their businesses and experiences with us.  I’d also like to know what you’d like to know about home businesses.

What information would prove helpful for you?
Would you like to hear more about other home business?
Do you need organizational tips?
What types of promotional information would be helpful?
What types of entrepreneurs would you like to hear about….young people, retirees, boomers, moms, just anyone?

Let me know how this blog can be most helpful for you.

Do I have to charge sales tax in my home based business?
The answer is… yes!, says Dr. Jean Murray, former blogger here at Home Biz Notes, who now offers information and advice at Dr. Jean Means Business.  She has given an answer to a question posed by a Home Biz Notes reader concerning whether she needs to collect sales tax when selling items from her home business.
Dr. Jean:  If the products or services you are selling are taxable in your state, you must:
(a) Register as a Seller
(b) Collect the correct amount of sales tax
(c) Report on sales taxes collected, …read more

Not all home businesses are operated entirely in the home.  Many are home based, that is, they’re operated outside your home, but your headquarters is your home.
 These include:

 House & office cleaning
Lawn maintenance & landscaping
Carpet cleaning
Pet sitting
House sitting
Wallpapering
House painting
Interior decorating
Babysitting
Bookkeeping
Tutoring (your home or theirs)
 Gardening
Home repairs & maintenance

What other service business ideas can you think of or have experienced?
(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 …read more

HomeBizNotes.com
E-cards and postcards…do you use them?  A discussion evolved about this at a blog I read regularly.
I used to open e-cards and enjoyed receiving them. Then spammers and hackers began using them for their own reasons, even to infect our computers with viruses. So there is only one person whose e-cards I’ll open.   (Some say they don’t even open cards from people they know from concern someone may have “borrowed” their friend’s e-mail.)
 However, people still like to receive cards and notes in the  postal mail. So I spend the postage to send these to customers and special people in my …read more

HomeBizNotes.com 
When discussing various types of home based businesses and writing about them, I’d never thought to include non-profits.  Tom Durso, at 501 (c) Files made me aware of this in his post, A Great Resource for Home-Based Nonprofiteers.
How many nonprofits, I wonder, start at someone’s kitchen table, with a couple of committed people hatching an idea…..
Yes, many non-profits start this way.  Some remain home based operations while others expand considerably.  They may set up in a corner of a room in one’s home as excited organizers pursue a cause or raise funds.
Tom also points out that non-profits can benefit by …read more

HomeBizNotes.com 
“Going Green” has begun to affect just about everyone and everything.  At least we see the term more and more.  Now there’s talk of going green for Leap Day, February 29 (and carrying it on throughout the year).  Check out Alison Kriscenski’s post, Great Green Leap Day Encourages Volunteerism, at Greener Assets.
Have you begun to incorporate “green” into your business?  Or are you getting tired of this term?  I wrote about this topic in Are You Going “Too Green” In Your Home Business? 
What do you think?
(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

HomeBizNotes.com 
If you’re joining in all the hype about “going green” in today’s world, do you ever consider that you might turn some of your customers off if you’re focusing too heavily on this to the exclusion of other important aspects of your business or their needs?
Also, as Bob Turek says, at Project Management 411, Green Hype Can Distract.
This overstated environmental record should caution companies to avoid overstating it’s own products and services.
Yes, we should be aware of environmental concerns.  However, is there a point where you can overstate your claims or turn customers away because you’re focusing on this issue too …read more

HomeBizNotes.com
In a previous Thursday Thirteen post, 13 Types of Home Businesses to Consider, I realized I’d named mainly off line businesses or those that combined online with a shop or office in the home.
Today, I’ll suggest thirteen that are predominately online ventures.
These are suggestions and ideas others find successful. You might use one of these as a springboard and adapt it to your talents and facilities.
1. Freelance writing (many different types to pursue here)
2. Operating an online store with any number of diverse products
3. Selling used books affiliated with Amazon or other bookstore outlets
4. Writing, publishing and selling e-books
5. …read more

2007…..2007…..BEST AT THE BUSINESS CHANNEL….2007…..2007
Bloggers at b5media’s Business Channel compiled their top business stories for 2007, coming up with a great round-up at Taxgirl, 123+ Top Business Stories of 2007.
Among them was our selection of posts by Yvonne Russell and Mary Emma Allen:
Home Biz Notes rounds out the year with five popular posts including Mary Emma’s winning country grocer entry and mistakes for the home business owner to avoid.
Check out these b5media Business Channel stories and the others at the above Taxgirl link for great reading, information, and encouragment in your business world!
(c)2007 Mary Emma Allen