Don’t Let The Paycheck Stop You!

The guarantee of a weekly paycheck is no longer a enough of a reason to not startup a business yourself. As Frank Ross explains in this post, Why People Avoid Starting a Business: While it´s true that a ‘regular job’ can offer a stead...

Very nice Blog, customer service = happy costomers : ) ...

Very nice Blog, customer service = happy costomers : ) ...

John, I think the reason you never hear much about the su...

John, I think the reason you never hear much about the subject is because so many home-based businesses are solo-entrepreneurs or family affairs. Often we just don't have employees or else we have contracted partnerships.

As for requirements, the only place I know of where employers are required by law to provide health insurance (I assume that's what you're referring to) is Hawaii. Outside of that state, there are no government requirements I am aware of to provide it. Having said that, there are numerous regulations that govern how it is administered and managed if it is provided. Companies generally provide it to remain competitive, but that may change as our economic landscape continues to evolve. Many home-based business people pay for their own insurance policies as part of their business expenses.

Here is an informative article you can add to your research:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,323676,00.html

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Hello Mr. Ross. I am currently doing research into Home B...

Hello Mr. Ross. I am currently doing research into Home Businesses and their insurance needs. One thing I have never seen mention of is whether or not any Home Businesses offer employee benefits to their employees? Are there any government regulations you're aware of that require home-based employers to provide employee benefits? I haven't found anything. Any information you might be able to provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.

We use Priority Mail for most of our retail shipments. A...

We use Priority Mail for most of our retail shipments. Although most of our east coast customers receive their packages in 2-3 days, midwest and west coast deliveries can take 4-7 days. The situation is complicated by the fact that most customers do not seem to know the difference between priority, express and overnight shipments, and therefore do not know what is reasonable for them to expect. I've had customers from New York City order at 4:00 pm and expect us to get their package on the way that same afternoon for delivery the next day - with no awareness that maybe we don't have the same pickup and dropoff routines here in Appalachia as they do in New York City. And of course, there will always be those customers who want to pay priority rate but receive overnight service. :-) ...

Hello Edmy, you might consider an mail forwarding service...

Hello Edmy, you might consider an mail forwarding service such as this one:

http://www.myus.com/

.. if you need a US Address.
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I tried very own business home to earn money to take surv...

I tried very own business home to earn money to take surveys but any of that are not are good because whe I filling my information that I live in Puerto Rico when them send me the surveys they not put my country in the fill of state I cant take the surveys. I send this information to that company but they not help me to take the surveys.What I can do because I need to pay to register in many of that company?

Thanks Denise, it's good for people to keep an open mind ...

Thanks Denise, it's good for people to keep an open mind to opportunity but it's also good for them to keep touch with reality.
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Frank -- You mean it's not really true? Someone wake me u...

Frank -- You mean it's not really true? Someone wake me up please.

Actually it would probably be a pretty boring life doing that day after day. It is quite sad that so many people try to hype it up the way they do.

It's people like you and me who can help set the record straight -- right?

Thanks for the comment Karla, I think that the reason man...

Thanks for the comment Karla, I think that the reason many people avoid the corporate structure at the start, is that they may be initially overwhelmed by the idea. But even people starting out should be concerned with the limitation of liability.
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I agree that starting your business organized from the ge...

I agree that starting your business organized from the get-go is best. For myself, if I had to deal with trying to reorganize the structure of my business now, while trying to focus on the actual running and marketing of my business, would just be counterproductive. I have started 2 businesses as S-Corps from the very start and after the initial setup time and expense involved, have found the paperwork to be extremely low maintenance. I enjoy the tax benefits and liability protection of a regular corporation, but don't have the hassle of filing seperate tax forms for my business. I would suggest to anyone to think of what you expect your business to look like in a year or two, and plan from the beginning to structure things that way.

Frank -- I agree with you 100%. Even with a small market ...

Frank -- I agree with you 100%. Even with a small market share, that's still millions which is fine by me.

This is great info for eBay sellers. Sourcing is the big ...

This is great info for eBay sellers. Sourcing is the big buzz word out in the ecommerce world. Posts like this help clear up some of the bull.

I often direct people to Alibaba.com to source manufacturers abroad. I'm not an expert on it (and I don't have any endorsement relationship with them), but I think it's a powerful idea at least -- a good outlet at best. What do you think?

Thanks for the comments, Phil. Alibaba puts us in touch ...

Thanks for the comments, Phil. Alibaba puts us in touch with exporters in other countries, especially Asian countries. These exporters often have significant minimum orders that might be beyond the scope of some home-based businesses. But, if the entrepreneur has does his/her due diligence on the product line AND they have the physical space to store the goods, then yes, Alibaba is a wonderful source.
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Will 'wholesale' prices have any true menaing in an onli...

Will 'wholesale' prices have any true menaing in an online business world in the years to come?

'on-line' price probably will redefine both 'wholesale' and 'retail' prices.

Look like In an online business world, there is a focus shift of price factor /type from stockist to the consumer regardless of the quantiy involved.

So, a terminology 'fair-consumer-price' probably will be more apt than wholesale or retail price.

Narasimhan, thanks for your comments. Yes I think the old...

Narasimhan, thanks for your comments. Yes I think the old wholesale/retail structure is rapidly changing. And the word 'wholesale' itself does not mean what it used to. It will still be necessary from a business perspective to buy products from the best sources so that the business can maximize profits.

I agree 100% that outsourcing certain areas of a business...

I agree 100% that outsourcing certain areas of a business is a wise thing to do. It not only allows business owners to focus on what they do best, growing their businesses, but it saves them a tremendous amount of money. One major area to consider outsourcing is accounting. Both the frequency of your accounting and the quality of the records you keep can dramatically effect your company's survival rate. Why work until midnight every night on your accounting after you just worked all day? Outsource It!

Virtual Fax Versus Fax Machine ...

I get by with a virtual fax for most things, but I need a scanner for those darned signatures....

Hi Frank, I'm curious if you've used any Internet based ...

Hi Frank,
I'm curious if you've used any Internet based offsite storage systems? Something like zstorage.com?

Thanks Lee for the great tip, I'll check that out.

Thanks Lee for the great tip, I'll check that out.