While you may have dreamed of running your own home business, a successful business isn’t about slacking off. You must treat your business with respect. The advice shared here will help you learn to give your business the attention it must have in order to thrive.
If your business incurs expenses associated with entertaining clients, then these expenses can be claimed as a tax deduction. These events are considered business expenses. However, make sure that these meetings are with potential or paying clients. If not, they aren’t tax-deductible.
If you need to spend time driving to get things done for your business, it’s vital that you record your mileage and keep careful track of all your receipts. These are considered travel expenses and you can deduct them when you file your tax return. However, you do need to be able to verify that all expenses were in the interest of generating profits for the business.
Do appropriate background checks on potential employees. Likewise, verify their employment references. The key is to ensure their suitability for the position for which you are hiring them, or else you may doom yourself to failure.
Obtain a PO Box address for any business correspondence. Do not make your home address your mailing address when you post your online ads. This keeps your identity safe as well as protecting everyone else in your household.
Create a checking account specifically for your business transactions. To be effective, you must ensure that you use the account for all of your business expenses. Doing this ensures that you always know what is going on with your business. You should set up a separate business credit card account as well, using it for things like ordering supplies and paying contractors.
Your business’ name must have personal meaning. If your business website is still just an idea, get your domain name registered. Many times you can get a domain for under $10 per year, but it is important to reserve your domain before another person takes it. When deciding to get a full site, post a single page site that contains your contact information and name.
Follow all of the laws in regards to your home based business. If you do not, you could get shut down as well as fined and that can be fairly embarrassing. Maintain a good standing in your neighborhood both by following the laws and keeping a low profile. That translates into limitations on signs you can post and the amount of traffic noise that will be tolerated. Invisibility is your goal.
Mailing List
Develop a mailing list for your home business. Make sure that your communications stay beneath the level of spam. If you have a new product or a sale, inform your potential clients of this via your mailing list. Others use mailing lists to inform customers, along with sending an ad. Include an opt-in area that makes it easy for folks to join the list.
Using the above advice will assist you in successfully owning a home business. If you put in the work, others will feel good about using your business and you will find that you can make a decent living. Simply because you work for yourself doesn’t make you a pro!
There are tremendous opportunities for small businesses and social entrepreneurs to support their communities through community foundations, donor advised funds and other means of giving back. Find the neighborhoods in
Dallas, Texas where you can make the most impact on the environment in the community.