Rants, Raves and Reviews: Home Based Business Ideas

As a relative newbie to the internet, I wasted a lot of time and money on rabbit trails.  One of the difficulties of making money online is the onslaught of so many distractions. How to find the best home based business was a puzzle. I found myself reading new emails (yes, I get a jillion a day) being intrigued by someones very well written pitches and before I knew I had another really great program to learn.   All this did was deplete my bank account along creating a lot of frustration.   I felt like the tar baby; just about the time I thought I had one program conquered, "splat" there was my hand stuck to the back of my head (metaphorically).  At any rate I am going to pass on my experiences with the areas of potential income in online home based business opportunities.

Review of Surveys

The first area I approached because of lack of money was free surveys.  At first glance it seemed to be a pretty good deal as many of them pay by clicking on their advertisers. The premise is that you accumulate income by visiting the sites they list and you will then get paid after reaching a certain minimum. 

I found that many of the surveys had very low payments for the visit.  I calculated the return on my time and I wouldn't even had made minimum wages.  There were some big ones where you could "win" Wii's, televisions, computers and other big ticket items.  Once won then you could sell them to earn your money.  These looked pretty good to me until I "read the fine print".  Each of them required either a purchase by you or someone you sent to the sites.  If the prize was valuable then you would need to send 8-13 or more people to buy from the sites.  There are even websites where people are willing to go to the survey for you for a fee so that you can complete the requirements of the surveys.  Obviously that could cost as much as the prize.  You could return the items or cancel the services but that didn't feel right to me.  So I decided not to make surveys my  online home based business model.  Below is a list of the companies that I dealt with in case you would like to explore this facet of making money online.

http://www.arcamax.com/, http://www.mypoints.com/, http://www.globalsurvey.com/ , http://www.inbox.com/, these are the ones I like the best and you can find many more by doing a search on the major engines.

I am going to conclude this post with a review and rave on a program I am using.

A candid Review of Blogging To The Bank 2010

By now I think every one in the world knows about blogs. What most folks don’t know is

there is a great stream of income to be made as well, publishing free blogs.

Rob Benwell is only a mere 24 years old and has already made several million dollars. Early in 2006 he shared his secrets with the world in his highly successful Blogging To The Bank ebook and has made making money online a whole lot easier for everyone.  Of course that's what we want in our 10 best home based businesses to do and  make money online.

Just over two years after the success of his first book and after over 20,000 copies sold  and then the  2007 2.0 update, he is now releasing his third version of Blogging to the Bank helping to sharpen our online skills  and keep the income stream rolling in.  

I got this book as soon as I could and it covers quite a lot of new information and techniques to adapt your blog to the new demands of the major search engines. Many of the techniques in the old book are now outdated and don’t work as well. This is why Blogging To The Bank 2010 is a welcome addition to our online arsenal. .

Rob  is just an average guy who wants to help the little guys out. I find this a nice change as he doesn’t talk “down” to us as many of the  "gurus" do.

He explains everything in a nice simple step by step manner so everyone can understand. Having said that, when he does “go off on a rabbit trail ” it may take a few reads to get it but when you do it’s just sheer genius. I would have preferred for some of the topics to have a bit more explanation but so many more went into great detail that it made up for the slight lack of information.

You also get his 5 Blogging Commandments For 2010 that if you follow it will permit your blogs the greatest success and keep them future proofed. Without a doubt these commandments should be printed out and become a standard for the online marketer!

His book starts off with market research (so that you are making the most of your time), and continues  all the way to building your blogging empire.

Everything is covered in this new version that helps bloggers with todays online issues, putting the almighty

search engines on cloud nine.

Final Verdict: If you are out there in the blogging world and want to make money the straightforward way then I highly recommend  Blogging To The Bank 2010.

Why work harder, work smarter by using Blogging to the Bank 2010 with  all the new techniques ready for you to simply put into practice.

This concludes my posting for today and I will return in a day or two with further Rants, Raves and Reviews.

Anne Talbott Auburn CA 95602

 

Home based business. How to make money Online and Offline

It can be difficult to decide where to put your efforts: Home Based Business online  or Home Based Business offline.  I am going to share experiences of both types and list the pros and cons of each. I was working as a bookkeeper for much of the time when I had part-time home based businesses as well.

First I will address the offline type of best home based business ideas   based on 40 years experience in several different types.  Because I had studied accounting I realized that the highest burden of taxes fell on the wage earner and that anyone who had a business had some tax advantages that wage earners didn't.  I recommend that before you set out on any home based business opportunity whether an offline business or an online business that you sit down with an accountant or tax expert that can help you set up your business.

It has been my observation that most people who get into business may be expert at a particular process but that they don't understand or have knowledge in the infrastructure of  business either at home or in a seperate business facility. 

A W-2 wage earner is someone who has the fewest tax deductions. A person who operates a home based business has the same tax advantage as a big business or a person who has an outside office and many of your on going expenses can turn into tax deductions if you have a legitimate home based business idea. You must have intent to profit or it's considered a hobby.

Be mindful that an online home based business opportunity unlike W-2 earnings will require that you pay taxes on your net profit.  How that happens depends on the structure you choose; Sole Proprietor, Partnership, LLC or S-Corporation or Corporation.  Check with your tax professional about pros and cons of each type.  If you are profitable you may need to make deposits with the IRS during the year before you file your tax returns.  So that being said your net profit may not be all yours. There may be self employment tax at about 15% and what you owe on income tax.  Remember also that if the home based business idea is your only source of income you will be responsible for health care, provisions for disability and so forth.   Consult with professionals before you start.  Make the million dollars, not the million dollar mistake.  You will have to pay for experience, either someone else's or your own which with learning curves could be expensive.   I am not trying to discourage you but prepare you for some of the issues that business owners face.

Consult with material from the IRS as well as a professional. I am not going to give you tax advice but suggest that you find a tax adviser who can help you  start home based business properly. It is very important that you keep good records. Document everything, this is where a day planner is crucial. The five W's are important on your tax record, why you did it, who you did it with, when; the day and time of the activity, what transpired and the business reason you met and where the activity took place. This might take extra effort but it is essential in your record keeping. You can go to http://www.irs.gov/ and find periodicals covering what you need to do to have home based office as well as what constitutes a legimitate business venture and not just a hobby.

Find something that you are passionate about, that you know or that has ease of entry.  There are many service industries that don't take a huge investment to get started but adapt well to home based business idea.  My husband and I have had a janitorial business and an  online multi-level network marketing business.  Our janitorial business eventually became full time and supported us for many years.  We still have our marketing business and although the time invested is part time, the income is primary and retired as a W-2 wage earner in 1987.  My husband was free as of 1991 due to the income stream from our marketing business. .  I have had businesses in art, crafts, breeding horses, ice skating,  bowling, sewing and now online in affiliate marketing.  All of my businesses except janitorial,  network marketing and affiliate marketing  have started as hobbies and because I eventually became expert was able to start operating as a home based business.  

My formula has always been to pursue my interest, get all the information as quickly as possible, invest in the best tools and teachers I could find and practice, practice and more practice.  After a time I noticed that people around me were seeking advice and information and I realized that I could make money teaching as well as selling what I created.  I then checked with http://www.irs.gov/ for guidelines on home office and set up my records accordlingly. 

I also found that just because I was interested in something that not every one else is.  It is very important to explore the market before you assume that you have a product or service that will sell.  I have seen so many restaurants open up here in my community in the same building; there have been about 15 different ones  in the 33 years I have lived here and yet one after the other, people continue to invest their lives, dreams and money in the same place and then a year or two later -- gone?   Anyway check online at Google and see through keyword searches what people are looking for.   If you do a search on your product or service and there are only a few pages on Google, you might want to rethink your position. 

Well, that's all for now on this chapter in a home based business offline.  Stay tuned for my next installment when I start talking about the good and the bad I have encountered in my search for a home based business
and how to develop money online.  Rants and Raves on what I have already explored in online business that can become home based businesses.