|
|
|
|
Legal Articles - Legal Documents - Legal Articles Online |
1. Business Record Portfolio When you first decide to start your own business, lay out a plan for keeping records. A plain paper chart is sufficient to record the things you want to do with your business. Who your contacts are, their addresses and relevant information, should be kept together in a folder. You will undoubtedly need that information if you should ever have to communicate with one of your business contacts. Searching all over the house for a piece of paper can be a real nuisance. Having your record portfolio available to you saves time. 2. Business Market Who your potential clients will be and what market you target are some issues that determine what your income will be and definitely need to be taken into consideration when starting your own business. Where will you find your clients is a chore that advertising can take care of. When people know what you are offering and how to contact you, they will. If you have an education product, advertising in a school forum will definitely get your potential clients' attention. 3. Identify Your Resources It is quite possible to make money with no money at all. Most times, however, you must put out some investment in order to make profitable gains. Make a list of what resources you have, what items you need for starting your business, and work from there. Make another list of the things you require for your business. Match up the list and see what you can afford at the time, what you can't and what can be put off until later. Identify those things that are basic for you to get your business off and running, and then identify the extras you have to make your business be what you want it to be. 4. Product in Demand As above, it's important to identify your market of potential clients. We all know the entrepreneurs that mistakenly thought they could force their product on people who don't want it. Because they are trying to make money. That will never work, and it's good to figure whether or not people would be interested in what you have or whether you have to make your product marketable. Do a survey if you have any questions as to what people want and expect in a product. That way you will not only know how much your product is wanted, but also who your potential clients will be. 5. Assets When you first start making money from your new business, it's tempting to just spend it all, getting and doing the things you couldn't do before you got the extra money. Put the money aside in a bank account. You'll be glad you did. Not only can you expand your business if you sacrifice, but you also can improve your product to the point that you can raise your prices and fees. Your new business is an asset and you must look out for it. 6. Taxes Most people don't like taxes at all. They groan at tax time and can hardly wait to get the tax thing out of the way. It doesn't have to be that bad. If you do your taxes right, to your benefit, you might even start looking forward to tax time, so you can get a guaranteed tax refund. Keep a log of all income received from your new business. Then create a separate portfolio for all of your business expenses, including transportation and payments. Then list all the items or equipment that you had to purchase for your business. Expenses are deductions for your tax return. If you earned under $50,000 a year, you can get a good refund even if you are self-employed at home. You can also pay any self-employment taxes at the end of the year. The above outline is mostly for businesses that don't require a business license. If your business requires a license to operate, then you'll have to apply to your local office for it. Internet employment is on the rise and is one of the businesses that doesn't necessarily require a license to operate. Many software developers have beta products that are freeware. You can request samples of small software suites from my ezine. Just email your request and what type of software you would like to review and I'll send you the link. BACK TO ARTICLES |
|||||||
| Disclaimer | Legal Articles | Links | © 2002 Legal-Kits.net. All Rights Reserved. | www.legal-kits.net |
