Healthy Wealthy

We have a business that we run out of our home. We have an industrial copier/printer and 3 computers connected at any time. We light the office all afternoon. We also use gas for heat (we’re in Alaska). It’s mostly the electricity and gas that I’m wondering about. The phone is billed separately to the business. We are trying to figure out how much it is costing us to run our business monthly. I just need to know rough percentages. Thanks!

The way I used to do it was to (1) determine the total square footage of your home (2)determine how much square footage you are using for office space (3) divide the two to get a percentage that you can use to allocate expense to your business.

I am starting a home business, my business is an internet business, where I sell clothing and accessories on my website.
What are some advantages and disadvantages of basing my business at home?

There are a lot of advantages to having a home-based business, so I’ll start with the disadvantages first. One, if you have a lot of distractions at home, it can sometimes be difficult to stay focused on your work. Easily fixed if you have a home office space with a door you can close. Another disadvantage is that some folks just are not self-disciplined enough to be their own boss, or on the other hand, may have a hard time balancing work with home life A lot of folks who work from home (either for someone else, or for themselves), have trouble with putting in too many hours. The only other disadvantage that comes to mind is that you may sometimes feel isolated, especially if you do most of your business online. Easily fixed by planning activities outside your home (church/community/friends) on a regular basis.

Now the advantages: BIG tax deductions for having home office, and for business expenses. Much less wear and tear on your car, and much less spent on gas! No more wasted time commuting! More time wtih family. Casual dress attire always! Much less stress. Friendly work environment. Totally flexible work schedule. No boss! Having a home-based business also makes it much more affordable to start your own business with much less overhead because you are already paying for the rent/utilities to live there. Last, if you are a parent, you can spend much less on daycare if you have your child(ren) at home with you, even for part of the time they would normally be at daycare.

There are so many home business opportunities available that it could be hard to choose one. Depending on how much work you want to get involved with, there are several home business opportunities related to the internet that can help provide income streams while most of the work is performed in the comfort of your own home.

Many seek out home business opportunities, looking for a way to avoid the morning and afternoon transit to a job. Being able to work your own hours and establishing your own dress code are also attractive alternatives to working in someone else’s office.

The problem faced by internet neophytes is their belief in anything that sounds too good to be true. They may believe that everything on the internet is accurate and everyone saying they can make big money quick must be telling the truth. Any home business opportunity may be able to make you money if you follow their program exactly, but most times following the program exactly will cost more money than you may be willing, or capable, of spending.

Advertising and marketing cost money. There is no question that for any business to be successful those are two necessary expenditures that a company must plan for if they hope to grow. Actually, just surviving will require a certain amount of advertising to realize enough business to keep them afloat.

Look carefully at every offer for home business opportunities and, hidden as they may be, there will be clues as to its honestly. When a site claims that you can start making money within an hour of signing up, it is not telling the truth. Is it possible? Only by accident. Is it probable? You may have a better chance winning the lottery with a losing ticket.

There is money to be made on the internet, but many home business opportunities fail to mention that you will need to market your site to gain visitors. You see, visitors are those pesky critters that may attack one site and ignore another. Without visitors, however no web site will last. Visitors determine your sales, which determines your profit, which determines your future.

Home business opportunities involving internet marketing, provided you know how this advertising method works, you could make decent money with this type business. Since websites are hoping to make money from website sales, targeting the web surfers is only logical. Although, attracting potential customers with off line ads can add to the customer base, allowing for a bigger cut of the market share.

When you have decided on a home business opportunity, you should be prepared to spend the time and effort needed to bring your business out of infancy. Make a budget of time and money, promising to spend only to the limit and no more, and give yourself so many months to grow the business to profitability or find another way to make a living.

Michael Laleye
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-business-articles/home-business-opportunities-abound-on-the-internet-120591.html

It’s a fact that the next generation of millionaires will have gained their wealth by building a home Internet business!

Not convinced?!

This isn’t something that I made up. It is actually based on a direct quote from the renowned author and sales guru, Zig Ziglar.

I can honestly say that you need to take note of this important statement, don’t ignore his prediction. The Internet provides numerous opportunities for successfully building a home Internet business that will earn you thousands of dollars.

I don’t expect you to believe this, just because I say it’s true. I didn’t either - I wanted to see the proof for myself. I began building a home Internet business just to see what happened. I now know that it really is true. Making money using the Internet is almost as easy as taking candy from a baby! The best thing about it is that it actually gets easier as you go along.

There are lots of people who have found that building a home Internet business is the answer to their dreams, and you can too! Of course there are plenty of scams out there, but with a little research you can find the right one for you.

The Internet has grown from strength to strength. This is due, in no small part, to advancements in technology and information security measures. It is now recognized as the leading goods and service provider in the world. More people buy over the Internet than from any other single outlet. The opportunities to capitalize on this by building a home Internet business are slowing no signs of decreasing.

In fact, predictions are that the value of transactions over the Internet is going to be in the trillions of dollars in the very near future, they are already over $70 billion. There has never been a better time to break in to this growing marketplace than by building a home Internet business today.

There is a danger, if you wait too long, that others will take advantage of this knowledge and get their share of the wealth. You need to start now!

I am going to share two of my best tips that will provide you with useful advice to make your journey into building a home Internet business a successful one.

The first point is to perform detailed research before you decide that building a home Internet business is for you. It is important to go into this with your eyes wide open if you really want your new venture to be a success. There is no such thing as too much investigation where this is concerned.

You need to go over everything in minute detail if you really are determined to succeed. Your hard work and amount of time invested in the planning stage will reap its own rewards many times over.

The second piece of advice, which is no less important than the first, is that perseverance is the key. If you are looking for a get-rich-quick scheme, then building a home Internet business is definitely NOT for you. It is important to learn from your mistakes and put that knowledge to good use.

If you are truly determined that you will succeed, then you are going to, just don’t expect it to happen overnight.

As there are so many opportunities on the Internet it is advisable to find a niche market before you begin building a home Internet business. You want to be the first person to be offering your particular product or service.

Let the competition follow you, not the other way around! Once you have identified your potential market, it is important that you follow up on any contact from prospective clients.

Vern How Chan
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-business-articles/is-wealth-created-just-by-building-a-home-internet-business-81712.html

A home based business can take time away from your children if you aren’t careful.  Of course you have the responsibilities of running a business on your own.  There are deadlines and invoices to worry about.  You can find yourself spending extra hours in the home office trying to get things done. 

A good number of home based business owners run into this problem. Taking care of children and keeping the home based business in tact can be very difficult.  You can find yourself feeling like you are in a no win situation.  However there are ways to keep your business up and running and still have enough time for your children. 

Keep your time for family and your business separate.  There has to be a routine in place.  Just because you work from home you cannot let the home office hold you hostage.  Do not spend your day working and then pick up a few more hours in the evening.  Part of the reason for working from home is to have some personal freedom but you should still have some sort of schedule.  This will help stop the overlapping of time between children and work.

With that said, take into account that sometimes you kids are going to need you.  Even though you have set up a schedule and are trying to stick to it, if you children need you, then on that day, you need to revise the schedule.  The freedom does work both ways.  You really can finish whatever you are working on later, after you give your children the attention that they need.

There has to be some form of child care.  If you are a mom or dad that is working from home with children that are infants or toddlers, you will probably need some child care.  If you don’t have child care, then you will find yourself not able to work for a decent amount of time. 

Your spouse may be the friendly recruit but if you are working opposite shifts, this may infringe on family time.  If your spouse is working all day they want to see you and your children when they come home.  You may need to seek other babysitting options when you are working.

As your children get older you will need to set some ground rules with your children.  As you evolve in your business there will be times that you are working.  Let your children know that this is not a time that you can be disturbed.  Just as you set ground rules in other situations about what is appropriate and what is not, you need to do that with your home based business.

As children age, you could include them in your home based business.  Think about all of the children that helped their parents on farms.  Well, you don’t want to get into that type of child labor but if there is something that you children can do, let them help.  A home based business often includes the family because of its location.  Find something that the kids can do. 

Jeffrey S. Dutt
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-business-articles/how-to-have-a-home-based-business-with-children-688228.html

When people first begin a home business, it is most likely their first foray into this type of work. No matter their experience level in the business they are running, operating a business from home is way different from working for someone else. Many communities have retired business people who are willing to share their past experiences and knowledge to help mentor those opening a home business.

You need to keep in mind, however that many offering home business mentoring may not have the experience of internet or online businesses but their general business experience will still be appropriate. It makes no difference whether your business is online or offline, the basic theories of customer service and maintaining business ethics will be the same. When it pertains to marketing and advertising your home businesses, there is going to be vast differences between online and offline businesses.

With the understanding that an online business will lure its customers from the internet, you will need to market your business mostly on the internet. It is the age old practice of being where your customers are. However, how and where you market your business is only one piece of the home business puzzle. You will still be working at home and have a home business mentor that can teach you how to juggle your work and home life successfully, this can mean more than any aspect of your business.

Working from home can offer challenges that never present themselves when working outside the home. Little, daily chores always seem to get in your way while trying to work at home. You have to learn to ignore the little tasks around the house during the hours that you set aside as working hours. Additionally, you have to teach other family members and your friends that your home business is your source of income and constant interruptions in your conducting business can mean interruptions in earning your living. Without that understanding, you can plan on your home business failing. Someone actually suggested once that when working in your home office, you may want to get a guard dog to keep people out while you work.

That may sound like an off the wall suggestion but being able to maintain a proper work environment while working at home is mandatory for your home business success. Organizing you home business for efficient working conditions will also help make running your business easier and you can work with a home business mentor to help determine the right equipment to help run it more smoothly as well as how to arrange your home office to make it more efficient. Having items you will need daily at your fingertips and getting into the habits that are important to your organization are things a home business mentor can help you learn.

Obinna Heche
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-business-articles/home-business-mentoring-122124.html