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Great Advice On Starting Twitter
For many small home business owners, Twitter isn't one of the social media methods commonly used. Mainly, this is due to a lack of understanding of this particular communication strategy and also false notions about its usefulness.
...about.com | 15-May-2012 10:00
Here's To The Greatest Home Business Of All - Motherhood
A very well deserved Happy Mother's Day goes out to all of you under-appreciated, over-worked, over-utilized and over-tired mothers out there. The work that goes on inside a home is truly the most tedious and strenuous grind of any employment.
...about.com | 13-May-2012 10:00
10 Tips To Succeed in MLMs
Whether it is a revolutionary diet product, cool kitchen gadget, healthy chocolate (possible?) or low-priced home utility -- there is always a reason to get excited about starting a multi-level marketing (network marketing) business. The problem is channeling that frenetic energy so that you can become a focused and effective business owner.
...about.com | 11-May-2012 10:00
What is Etsy?
As a home business owner you may have heard of something called "Etsy". But what is it? And can you use it to market your business?
Etsy is an excellent way to market your goods online, but it has rules, is rather exclusive and costs a fee. Get a quick summary of what Etsy is all about and what its fees are here...read more.
...about.com | 08-May-2012 10:00
Which Type of Marketing Is Better?
Let's face it, us home business owners are not usually marketing majors. We are craftsmen, artisans, writers, moms, dads and people who are making money from what once was a hobby. So when forced to officially market our business, we find ourselves in the uncomfortable position of trying to make heads or tails of where to spend our money and focus our attention.
...about.com | 04-May-2012 10:00
Complete Home Business Marketing Kit
In a recent post, I offered 50+ ideas on how to market your home business. Today, I thought we could take a step back and start from square one in marketing your business.
...about.com | 01-May-2012 10:00
Is an MBA Graduate Degree Worth It?
Sometimes I find myself playing the "coulda, shoulda, woulda" game. I'm sure your familiar with this game -- it is where you look at your life and wonder if you made the right choices in your career, education and personal choices. It is easy to assume that the grass would be greener on the other side, but in reality, that isn't always the case.
...about.com | 27-Apr-2012 10:00
50+ Ways To Market Your Home Business
Ask any business owner what gives them the most heartburn about their business and the majority will say marketing. Why? Because marketing costs money, grabbing people's attention is nearly impossible and it is a challenge for the over-extended entrepreneur to think about fresh ways to market a business.
...about.com | 24-Apr-2012 10:00
Women More Career & Money Focused
More women than ever are focused on obtaining higher eduction and a high-paying career. Check out these fascinating statistics:
- 67% of 18- to 34-year-old women indicate that a successful, high-paying career is one of the most important things in their lives. (Only 59% of men indicate the same.) - Pew Research Center Report
- The number of women in the U.S.-based colleges has increased. Females make up nearly 57% of undergraduate enrollment. - American Council on Education
- In 2009 - 2010, almost 60% of B.S. degrees and master's degrees were earned by women. - National Center for Education Statistics
- Both medical and law schools have seen a nearly 10% increase in female enrollments. In 2007 - 2008, 47% of medical students were female and 52% of law school students were female. - National Center for Education Statistics.
Despite this uptick in women career aspirations and education, U.S. women continue to earn nearly 20% less than their male counterparts, according to Labor Department statistics from 2010.
On the flip-side of career goals, the same Pew Research Center statistics also pointed out that 37% of 18-to 34 year-old women indicated a successful marriage is "one of the most important things" in their lives (vs. 28% in 1997), and 59% of the same group say being a good parent is "one of the most important things" in their lives (vs. 42% in 1997).
Consider These Resources On Ways To Earn an Income From Home:
- 75+ Home Business Ideas
- Work From Home Job Directory
- 40+ MLM Companies
- 10 Home Business Ideas For Moms
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Image (c) Frank Gaglione/Getty
about.com | 19-Apr-2012 18:55
Why Is Tax Day on April 17th This Year?
I'm sure by now all of you responsible self-employed individuals have filed your taxes, but in case you haven't, tax day is tomorrow April 17th!
But why the 17th?
Tax day normally falls on April 15th, but this year that was a Sunday. Logically, that would make Monday, April 16th tax day -- but not so fast -- this is where the District of Columbia steps in. Apparently, any District of Columbia holidays are also considered federal holidays by the IRS. The DC holiday of Emancipation Day falls on April 16th this year, which required the bump over to April 17th.
I am sure this crazy mystery was keeping you up at night, so now you can finally get some sleep, that is, unless you haven't filed! If that is the case, get help from this Last Minute Home Business Tax Filing Guide.
...Oh, and happy Emancipation Day!!!
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Image (c) Mindy Lilyquist
about.com | 16-Apr-2012 17:52
MLM Success Rate Statistics
Can you REALLY make money selling product for a multi-level marketing (MLM) company?
What are the drop-out rates for any given MLM business?
Is a part-time business selling products for an MLM really viable?
about.com | 13-Apr-2012 10:07
Start An Ecommerce Business In One Day
No longer is Main Street essential to a budding entrepreneur. Online is king! Now that consumers are demanding products online -- the opportunity to ...about.com | 10-Apr-2012 10:00
About.com Reader's Choice Awards
If you are looking for recommendations on which business or consumer products to use in your life, consider what About.com's reader's are suggesting. About.com's entire platform of sites just completed voting on everything from parenting products to cars to business services. Curious what came out on top?
...about.com | 06-Apr-2012 10:00
Words To Know For Your Home Business
I was speaking with a friend who just started selling products out of her home for a well-known company. I started asking a few questions and she was stumped by some of my business terms. To help bring her up-to-speed, I gave her a quick business 101 lesson on some key vocabulary words -- she was appreciative.
...about.com | 03-Apr-2012 10:00
40+ Legitimate MLM Companies
If you are looking for a way to work from home or to establish your own home business, consider direct sales. Direct sales is when you independently represent a product or service and take it directly to the consumer. Some great examples of well-known direct selling, including being a representative for Pampered Chef and conducting home cooking demonstrations to sell cookware. Or contacting friends and family in person or via phone to sell Avon make-up products. There are many legitimate ways for both women AND men to get involved with direct sales -- most companies offering these opportunities are multi-level marketing companies (also referred to as network marketing).
...about.com | 30-Mar-2012 17:40
Signs It Is An MLM Scam
At age 19, I was bilked out of more than $5,000 dollars and victimized in what would become one of the largest MLM scams in the history of network marketing.
...about.com | 28-Mar-2012 10:00
Tell Us About Your Dream Home Business
Is wanting to work from home keeping your days and nights filled with dreams of ideal schedules and more fulfilling work? Each of us has very different reasons for wanting to work from home. Take a minute to tell us about your dream home business scenario (i.e schedule, business type, a hobby) and check out other reader's responses...Read more.
...about.com | 23-Mar-2012 10:23
Dream Online Business: Travel Blogging
I'll be the first one to admit I belong to a 10-step program for being a travel junky. You mention the word Hawaii, Paris or even airport and I begin to salivate profusely. I LOVE to travel. So when I read the interview on "Travel Blogging as an Online Business" by About.com's Online Business Guide, Bryan Haines, I almost started getting the shakes. Seriously -- what an enticing home business opportunity.
...about.com | 21-Mar-2012 09:00
You'll Need Extra Income To Save For Your Family
How much money do you think the average American family needs to buy the necessities, a little of what they want and have extra leftover for savings? A lot. According to a recent USA Today article, which quoted the research survey conducted by WSL/Strategic Retail, "it now takes an income of more than $150,000 to be able to afford the basics, some extras and to save, too."
...about.com | 19-Mar-2012 09:53
Work From Home Using Your Education Background
As more and more education and learning opportunities go online, there is a growing need for distance-learning educators and administrators. Many of these positions can be done out of the home. If you think you have the skills and qualifications for tutoring or K-12 online education, check out this excellent database for online teaching jobs and other home-based education jobs from Laureen Miles Brunelli, About.com's Work-At-Home-Mom Guide.
...about.com | 16-Mar-2012 09:00
Case Study of a Brilliant Home Business Blog: Fit2Fat2Fit
I was watching Jay Leno one night back in the fall and heard an interview from a personal trainer who wanted to relate better to his clients. He felt a desire to get down to their level and understand what it was like to be in their shoes. So in six months, Drew Manning gained 70 lbs and became nearly unrecognizable. He is currently working his rear-end off (literally) to get his buff body back.
...about.com | 14-Mar-2012 09:00
50% of Home Businesses Don't Have a Website!?
I cannot believe it! A recent study done by Ad-ology, indicated that nearly half of all businesses still didn't have a website. How can this be possible? With all the free website design tools and easy to understand articles and guides floating around, anyone - including my techno-challenged mother - can build a website.
...about.com | 12-Mar-2012 16:41
Need Help Naming Your Home Business?
What is in a business name? Just about everything. Because you have such a short amount of time to catch the attention of potential customers -- your business name needs to be memorable. But coming up with a catchy and creative name (which isn't already taken) can be tough. A recent article in Entrepreneur identified five tools to help you properly name your business.
- Use Google to search your industry, your potential name list and to find similar businesses near you.
- Free Naming Worksheets: These worksheet exercises are available all over the web by various marketing and branding firms.
- Your Community: Start looking around you to find names you like and don't like. The last thing you want is to settle on a name used by a local competitor.
- NameChk.com and Other Domain Registries: Once you have narrowed your list you need to find out if you can get a website URL that matches your business name.
- The Government's Database: Find out what is already registered and unavailable
For more in-depth information on how to name your business, check out this helpful "How To Name a Business" Guide.
Suggested Reading:
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Image (c) Getty
about.com | 09-Mar-2012 09:00
All The Ways You Can Work at Home
Working from home doesn't necessarily mean you have to start a business from scratch. There are so many other great and legitimate ways to work from home -- basically, the sky is the limit. If you are researching how you can change your current situation to include working from home as a full or part-time venture, check out All The Different Ways You Can Work From Home.
...about.com | 07-Mar-2012 09:00
Your Tax Questions Answered
Previously, I had published three articles tackling common self-employed tax questions. Each article was broken up by topic and had five questions with comprehensive answers. I have since had a few readers ask if I could consolidate those three articles down into one simple reference, with shorter answers. So I did!
...about.com | 05-Mar-2012 09:00
Shopify an Excellent Ecommerce Solution
If you are looking to add an ecommerce component to your website or build an ecommerce website from scratch, consider using Shopify.
Shopify is one of my top 5 affordable ecommerce solutions for home business. Why? Because it is affordable, but also offers an exciting way to customize your site using their Shopify App Store. Much like Apple's iPhone App store, this store lets the consumer pick and choose which add-ons they want for their ecommerce site. Because it is an open platform for anyone to develop Shopify applications, there will constantly be new and exciting apps to review and implement onto your site. It is an evolving network.
...about.com | 02-Mar-2012 09:00
Surviving a Business With Your Spouse
A home business can be the perfect business to start and operate with your spouse. However, the challenge and stress of running a business alongside your life partner can be a recipe for business and personal disaster. Understanding how to properly manage a life AND business alongside your spouse is critical to the long-term success of both.
...about.com | 29-Feb-2012 09:00
Help! What Do I Do With This 1099!?
If you are self-employed, you probably have received at least one 1099-MISC tax form. I remember the first time I got one because it made me extremely nervous. One, because all of a sudden my "cash" payments weren't so "cashy" and two, this new form meant the IRS was looking at me, and I didn't know what to do about it.
...about.com | 27-Feb-2012 13:07
Poll: Why a Home Business!?!
Everyone's reason for wanting a home business is different. The desire could stem from sheer necessity or a goal to become an entrepreneur. What is your reason?
...about.com | 24-Feb-2012 16:23
5 Reasons To Change Your Morning Routine
We all know mornings are brutal. But who knew the battlefield of dawn, with its continually attacking alarm clock and uncooperative children, could actually kill something. Yes, it is true, research now shows that a rushed and frenetic morning routine can destroy your creativity.
...about.com | 22-Feb-2012 09:00
3 Tips For Starting a Consulting Business
A consulting business can make sense for anyone who has a refined skill or sought after expertise. For instance, if you understand how to properly optimize a website so that it can rank higher with Google (SEO Expertise), certainly there is a small business out there who would definitely pay for your services. According to a very interesting article in Entrepreneur.com, "The consulting industry in the U.S. generates nearly $100 billion in revenues each year, according to a Harvard Business School analysis conducted in 2007. And it's an industry where one can earn upwards of $400 per hour depending on the work and location."
...about.com | 20-Feb-2012 09:00
How Much Will a Home Business Cost?
A question I often hear is 'How much should I plan on spending during the first year of my home business?". Obviously, that is a pretty loaded question. Every home business differs in its scope and offering. A franchise could run you upwards of $100k and a small network marketing business like, say Avon, may only run you a couple of hundred to get started. My rule of thumb when advising new entrepreneurs on a start-up is to always plan on spending MORE than you planned.
...about.com | 17-Feb-2012 09:00
Easy-To-Understand Marketing Help
Marketing is what makes the world go round. Seriously -- everything from politicians to news media to businesses use marketing to try and get someone to change their behavior. Being able to master the skill of successful marketing will get you some amazing results -- whatever your objective.
...about.com | 15-Feb-2012 09:00
Work From Home: Write For About.com
Working from home as a writer is a lot of fun. It is also incredibly flexible because you don't have clients calling or customers who may need you during the day. You can pick your perfect schedule and you get paid to create thoughts on paper. Does it get any better than that?!
...about.com | 13-Feb-2012 09:00
10 Reasons You Should NOT Work From Home
My last blog post painted working from home as a very rosy picture. I won't lie, there are many wonderful reasons to start a home business or telecommute from your living room. But, in all fairness, there are also some reasons why this situation could really suck for you.
...about.com | 10-Feb-2012 09:00
10 Reasons You Should Work From Home
At one time or another, nearly everyone has wondered whether or not working from home is a good idea. Whatever your reasons are for pushing you into that mindset, it is important to consider all angles before making a decision. Many successful companies have been born from a home business and many individuals have been able to better balance the needs of their family because a work-from-home situation.
...about.com | 08-Feb-2012 17:43
Real Recipes a Free & Fun New About.com iPhone App
Sure, you may think this doesn't have much to do with home business, but it actually does. Heck, a girl's gotta eat and so do you. Creativity comes from a satisfied and full tummy, so yes, this new food app has EVERYTHING to do with home business! (Alright, that might be a bit of a stretch, but I think the app is cool and want to make sure you had a heads up.)
...about.com | 06-Feb-2012 09:00
Steps To A Great Home Office
Just because you left corporate America in favor of working from home, doesn't mean you have to give up all the comforts of a good office. Your environment is proven to have an impact on your work output and quality levels. Most people do not have an entire room to devote to their home business, however, these tips can apply to any size space -- even a closet! Here are three steps to help you take charge of your home office:
- Step 1: Planning You Dream Home Office
- Step 2: Selecting Home Office Furniture & Equipment
- Step 3: Setting Up Your Home Office
How important to you feel a great home office is to the success of a home business?
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Image (c) Rob Melnychuk/Getty
about.com | 03-Feb-2012 09:00
Marketing Your Ecommerce Site
Thanks to the accessibility of the Internet and the advances of affordable tools, anyone can sell anything online. If you are just getting started on your site or are ready to take your ecommerce to the next level, consider these excellent resources from About.com's expert, Ajeet Khurana:
- Ecommerce Marketing: The basics of an ecommerce focused marketing plan
- Affiliate Marketing: How to design an effective affiliate marketing plan for your online business
- Referral Marketing: A simple comparison between referral marketing and affiliate marketing
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Image (c) Danilo Rizzuti/www.freedigitalphotos.net
about.com | 01-Feb-2012 09:00
Are You Using The Right Tools?
Time is money, there is no doubt about that. Are you using yours efficiently?
In hopes to save you time AND money, here's a running list of some of the many free or affordable home business tools you should consider using for your business:
- 5 Online Email Marketing Tools
- 4 Affordable Mobile Credit Card Processing Tools
- 7 Affordable or Free Logo Making Tools
- 5 Inexpensive Online Time Management Tools
- 5 Home Business Accounting Tools
- 8 Free Online Image Providers:
Have I forgotten something? What tools do you use for your home business?
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Image (c) Siede Preis/Getty
about.com | 30-Jan-2012 09:00
How oDesk Can Help You Work From Home
About.com's Online Business guide, Bryan Haines, recently highlighted a very interesting company called oDesk. You need to know about oDesk because it could possibly help you with your work-from-home dreams. oDesk offers the world's largest, most comprehensive and fastest-growing online workplace. According to oDesk's website, "more online work happens on oDesk than anywhere else on the web. In 2011 alone, businesses posted over a million jobs and contractors earned more than $220 million."
...about.com | 27-Jan-2012 09:00
2012's Cheapest Home Business Franchises
My last post highlighted the top 10 home business franchises for 2012, based off of Entrepreneur's annual franchise report. All excellent choices and opportunities for any entrepreneur looking for a solid business model. However, some of those franchises could run you a ticket price of upwards of $100,000 -- which definitely isn't chump change.
...about.com | 25-Jan-2012 09:00
2012's Top Home Business Franchises
This just in -- here is Entrepreneur's 2012 List of Top Home Business Franchises!
If you are an entrepreneur looking to make an investment in a business which you can run out of your home, consider these franchises. This year's list is very similar to last year's list and still consists of 60% commercial cleaning businesses. A franchise is an excellent way to lower start-up risk, providing a proven business model with training in operations, marketing and business set-up.
...about.com | 23-Jan-2012 13:06
Useful Outside Tax Help Links
To finish out this week's tax help, I thought it might be helpful to provide you with a few useful links. Each of these resides somewhere on the government's official IRS website and may provide you with additional answers to questions that haven't been answered.
- IRS Links to each state's website for access to tax forms and questions
- IRS access to self-employed and employer tax forms
- Links to information on Employer ID Numbers (FEIN) and free online application process
- Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Help & Resource Center
Here are links to the previous articles which were highlighted this week, in case you missed something. Best of luck to you as you prepare your taxes! (Remember, deep breaths).
- 15 Self-Employment Tax Deductions
- 5 Self-Employed Tax Deduction Questions
- How To Avoid an IRS Audit FAQs
- 5 Common Self-Employed Tax Questions
Was this tax week helpful to you and your business?
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about.com | 20-Jan-2012 09:00
5 Common Self-Employed Tax Questions
Once you get started on your taxes, you are undoubtedly going to run into a few road block questions, like, "What the heck are self-employment taxes and should I be paying them?" Or maybe you are wondering if you have gotten yourself in too deep and need to pony up the cost to hire a tax accountant. Another question you'll have is whether you should you be filing your business under your social security number or a Federal Employer ID Number.
...about.com | 19-Jan-2012 09:01
How To Avoid an IRS Audit FAQs
What's the one word that can make all Americans nauseous in one second flat? AUDIT. Gulp, just saying the word makes me feel a bit dizzy. An IRS audit is no fun. Just ask anyone who has been through one, especially those home business owners and self-employed individuals.
...about.com | 18-Jan-2012 09:00