All Business

You can make real money online

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You can make real money online

One bright note in the ongoing financial recession in the United States is the opportunity to earn money online. Since more companies are cutting back on full-time staff members to save money, they are turning more and more to outsourcing work that used to be done in house. Before you decide that you are going to earn money working from home however, it is important that you understand that there is no method of “getting rich quick”. Work at home opportunities are numerous, provided that you know where to look and you can avoid getting scammed. For most people, the…

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The CMO – Chief Mediocre Officer

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The CMO – Chief Mediocre Officer

Most business owners want it all — A successful, growing business where they make the rules and the decisions. There is however a danger that the business owner may wind up being what I like to call the Chief Mediocre Officer.  In fact, many small business owners find themselves doing everything not simply because they are saving money, but because they want to maintain complete control over their business operations. Are you becoming a CMO? You might think that you are not a CMO and you feel that since this is your business, you have certain responsibilities that must be…

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oDesk: Another Epic Failure

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oDesk: Another Epic Failure

Several days ago, oDesk decided to roll out another “feature”. Now, I’m not sure who thought this was a good idea (or for that matter WHY they thought it was a good idea) but the overall failure of this feature is evident in reviewing the response from contractors (most, not all).  The feature is called “Similar Contractors” and it is placed in full living color on the right hand side of the users profile. The worst thing about this “feature” is the total lack of foresight oDesk displayed in implementing it. Failure number one: Communication Never, never roll out a…

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Benefits of Networking With Self-Directed Learning

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Benefits of Networking With Self-Directed Learning

Today, people are turning to online education options instead of college classes. This is especially true for those who are taking classes to enhance their current job skills, seeking promotions or are raising families. In many cases, these students are older than the typical college student, but this does not diminish their desire to learn. One of the challenges that many of these students face however is the diminished support system that often helps college students thrive. This does not mean that there are no options, it merely means these students need to find more creative ways to network with…

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Work at home: Transportation Savings

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Work at home: Transportation Savings

Among the many benefits of working at home is the savings that can be realized in transportation costs. Regardless of what form of transportation you use to commute, work from home opportunities offer significant savings. Read more about these potential savings so you do not overlook any of them. The savings from public transportation is easy to identify, those who elect to work at home will save 100% of all commuting costs associated with public transportation. What may surprise some people is how much money is actually saved on personal vehicle use when they elect to work at home. Savings…

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Tips for Effective Team Building

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Tips for Effective Team Building

Business leaders and non profit group leaders depend on strong team work for success. The challenge many face is how to effectively build a team. Whether you are a new manager, supervisor of you have just been elected to lead a non profit group, one of the things you need to learn is how to effectively promote team work. Teams do not just happen overnight, they are a culture that is established within a business or an organization. Having effective teams means that you will get more accomplished and find new measures of success. Here are some helpful hints to…

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Bad Business Debt: Write offs

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Bad Business Debt: Write offs

Operating a business means you often have to deal with late paying clients. Additionally, you will have to deal with clients who do not pay invoices because a customer closes their doors and goes out of business. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has specific rules about writing off uncollected debt. The methods for writing off business debt often depend on the method that a company determines is more feasible for them. Additionally, the IRS also has time limits for writing off uncollected debt that must be kept in mind. Companies who fail to claim the uncollected debt within two tax…

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Employment status: Variations Matter

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Employment status: Variations Matter

For tax purposes, you will need to understand how you are classified for employment purposes. This means understanding independent contractor vs employee. Each Monday morning you head out the door and go to the office. You typically work a 40-hour work week unless the boss requires you to spend additional time at the office. On a designated day every week, you get a paycheck. Some companies pay weekly, others pay every two weeks, some twice monthly and still others, monthly. However, your paycheck is no mystery unless you work overtime and you get a few extra dollars for those extra…

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Understanding Tax Deductible Business Expenses

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Understanding Tax Deductible Business Expenses

Those who are self-employed need to understand proper tax deductible business expenses to ensure they have filed their taxes correctly. Learn more here. Few people enjoy knowing that the end of the year brings about the requirement to prepare their annual tax returns. For those who are self-employed, there is an additional burden of making sure that they are claiming only valid business expenses. The Internal Revenue Service states “To be deductible, a business expense must be both ordinary and necessary. An ordinary expense is one that is common and accepted in your trade or business. A necessary expense is…

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Mythbusters: I set my own hours

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Mythbusters: I set my own hours

Any freelancer who thinks they are setting their own hours is (in my opinion) only fooling themselves!  We really love to think that we make our own hours, decide which days to take off and work at our own leisure. However, when was the last time you worked without a deadline? When was the last time that your pay didn’t depend on your meeting a deadline? Are all of your clients in exactly the same time zone that you are? Content mills even have deadlines Even if you are one of the hundreds of writers who depend on content mills…

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Mythbusters: I am my own boss

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Mythbusters: I am my own boss

Laughable! One of the reasons so many people claim to enjoy freelancing or working for themselves is the claim they like the idea of being their own boss. Make no mistake about it, while there is some measure of truth to this, you really are not your own boss.  Why? Simple!  Here’s some of the reasons you cannot claim to be your own boss. Deadline matters Let’s face it when a client offers you an assignment, you have a deadline. If you fail to meet the deadline you may not be paid for your work. When you are working under…

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Your Retirement – Your Business

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Your Retirement – Your Business

If you have been employed by a company for a long time, you may be wondering now that you’re self employed – and own your own business – what to do with your 401(k) or your 403(b) from your employer. You’ve been asking yourself “Can I roll over this 401(k) into another plan”? You can absolutely rollover a 401(k) to a secondary retirement plan, you just have to be careful what type of a plan it is!! When you have a 401(k) it has ‘tax preferential’ status and if you ‘blend’ funds from other non-preferred plans (such as a regular…

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The best way to market your company

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The best way to market your company

Marketing for growth One of the many challenges of owning a business is marketing. Without a successful marketing plan, chances are that your business will stagnate and over time, you will see a decline in sales. When sales begin declining, it may be too late to start a new marketing campaign to revive your business. That means that you must have a plan in place when you begin your business and one that is flexible over time. To determine your best options for marketing you must have some basic knowledge including: Your customer base – you need to know who…

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Finding the best way to invoice customers online

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Finding the best way to invoice customers online

Money Concerns Anyone who freelances on a regular basis or is otherwise self-employed needs to understand the best ways to invoice their clients. Whether you are billing on an hourly basis or billing on a fixed-rate basis, issuing invoices is always a concern. There are several options that are available including using your favorite accounting software such as QuickBooks (if you have it) but what about if you don’t use any software that automatically generates an invoice? Actually, there are a lot of available options and many of them are free or low cost. Zoho Invoice ZOHO offers an invoicing…

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Online Writing: Pleasure or practicality

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Online Writing: Pleasure or practicality

Motivation for writing Many of us envy those writers who write for the sheer joy of writing. While many writers are motivated by the sheer pleasure of writing and sharing knowledge, many more are motivated by the money they can earn writing. However, this does not mean that the person who is motivated by cold, hard cash does not take any pleasure in their writing, it merely means their motivation is different. Here’s how you can determine your final motivation for writing: If you could not earn money online from writing would you stop? Answering for myself only, I would…

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