Small Office-Home Office Tips #5


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TipWorld - http://www.tipworld.com
The Internet's #1 Source for Computer Tips, News, and Gossip

Proudly presents:
The Windows 98 Tip of the Day

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*1.   FREE TRAINING?         
  
If you invest in machinery or electronic technology for your 
business and you'd like to learn how to get the most out of it, 
check with the vendor to see if it offers free training for new 
users. Spending a little time learning the ins and outs of the 
equipment can help you get your work done more efficiently in 
the future.


*2.   THE NICHE MARKET WAVE

It's ironic, but sometimes the best way to grow your business is 
to narrow it. If you identify a niche market, you can focus all 
your skills and marketing efforts in a more concentrated and, 
often, more efficient fashion. The Internet can foster 
niche-marketing opportunities. For example, you could carve out 
a niche as the greatest online retailer of refrigerator magnets, 
rather than offering novelties ranging from sticky notes to pots 
and pans.


*3.   HOOKING UP A MODEM ON THE ROAD

Not all hotel rooms are created equal when it comes to helping 
telecommuters communicate by modem. If you need to pack up your 
laptop and hit the road, you might want to take a look at June 
Langhoff's article on hooking into phone lines in rooms that 
aren't technology friendly. (Unfortunately, the process isn't 
quite simple enough to sum up here.) Langhoff's article--a 
reprint used by the American Book Association--is available at

http://www.langhoff.com/showday.html


*4.   THE IMPORTANCE OF SETTING A DATE

When you set goals for your business, it's important to connect 
them with dates. Many people find it difficult to set dates 
when they're doing something totally new--which is what you're 
going to be doing almost every day as you start a home business.
But setting dates for accomplishing goals helps make them real, 
and the deadline can help motivate you. So, instead of setting a
vague goal of making $500,000 this year, try to be more specific,
like getting five new clients in the next three months.


*5.   TAKING INVENTORY

You may have heard this before from your property insurance 
company, but it bears repeating: Inventory the items in your 
home in case you ever need to make a claim. Considering the 
investments in PCs and other office equipment, it's especially 
important for those of us with home offices. So make a list and 
take a few pictures or a videotape of what you own and then keep
the record offsite (in a safe deposit box, for example).


*6.   WHAT IS IT THAT YOU DO?

The main purpose of business cards may be to simply tell people 
how to contact you, but a secondary purpose is to make yourself 
memorable. When the potential customer has a need, you want him 
or her to reach for your card and give you a call. A 
benefit-oriented tag line on your business cards may make a 
more lasting impression on the recipient than would a 
traditional "job title." For example, instead of "I.R. Smart, 
Graphic Designer," consider something like "I.R. Smart, Designs 
That Draw Customers."

In our next tip, we'll tell you about a program that helps you 
design business cards.


*7.   BUSINESS CARD SOFTWARE AND PRINTING

CAM Development offers Business Card Designer Plus, a shareware 
program devoted to helping you create eye-catching business 
cards. The Windows-compatible program, which costs $24.95 to 
register, supports a wide range of graphic file formats 
(including JPG, TIF, PNG, BMP, PCX, and WMF), rotated text, 
support for color printers, and crop marks if you decide to cut 
the cards yourself. Plus, the Card Expert guides non-designers 
through the process of creating a business card. You can 
download the shareware from FileWorld at

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-sb0406%2C00.html

CAM has also partnered with First Light Photo Lab to give users 
the option of ordering cards online. The prices start at 22 
cents a card for quantities under 50 and drop to less than 10 
cents a card for quantities of 1,000 or more. Note, however, 
that the cards will be printed on high-quality, glossy 
photographic paper, rather than traditional card stock. Details 
are available at CAM's Web site at

http://www.camdevelopment.com


*8.   SELF-EMPLOYMENT TAX

Because self-employed workers don't have Social Security taxes 
(FICA) withheld from their paychecks, they must add a 
"self-employment tax" to their total tax liability on the 
individual income tax form 1040. You pay the 12.4 percent Social 
Security tax on income up to $68,400, and the 2.9 percent 
Medicare tax on all self-employment income. More information on 
the self-employment tax is available from the IRS at

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-soho0408%2C00.html


*9.   WHY INCORPORATE?

Most home businesses are sole proprietorships, and almost all 
start out that way. Why do some people choose to incorporate 
their businesses? Some make the change so they can have 
multiple shareholders to raise capital. Others incorporate to 
limit their personal financial liability for business debts. 
In the event of a lawsuit against the business, for example, 
the corporation may be sued, but the owner's personal finances 
are separate and not at stake. But forming a corporation costs 
money up front for legal fees and filing the documents 
required. Corporations also have to pay a yearly fee to the 
state. Accounting becomes more complicated, and the corporation 
will have to file a tax return separate from the owner(s).

Deciding on how to organize your business as a legal entity is 
a very complex issue, so we'll revisit the topic in future tips. 
In the meantime, you can find out more at a number of Web sites, 
including Quicken's Turbo Tax site at

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-tax0408%2C00.html


*10.   INCENTIVES TO PAY PROMPTLY

Once you've completed a project and sent out the invoice, you'd 
probably like to get your money as soon as possible. One 
strategy to speed up payment is to offer a discount for paying 
within a specified amount of time. For example, you can offer a 
2 percent discount for payments received within 10 business 
days. Just be sure to make the offer prominent on your invoice. 
You can even include a box showing the amount due if paid by a 
certain date and the higher amount due if payment is received 
after that date.
