Many people have dreamed of one day opening their own business. The way to achieve true success with such a venture, is to attain thorough knowledge of the process and avoid potential pitfalls. Use these tips to make a profitable and efficient home business.
Always deduct client meetings from your taxes when they involve expenditures such as lunch or other forms of entertaining. Many of these types of meetings are considered to be tax-deductible business expenses. Just be careful to limit these deductions to expenses incurred while entertaining clients or prospects, or else the entertainment expenses are not justifiably tax deductible.
Be prepared to describe your business in a nutshell. If you are able to talk about your business in a couple sentences, it will impress prospective clients. This statement also provides you with a ready-made base for a slogan, as it will already cover the important points of your business.
If your business incurs expenses associated with entertaining clients, then these expenses can be claimed as a tax deduction. Any such costs are generally viewed as necessary and legitimate business expenses. Make sure that the people you meet with are either already clients or potential clients, as the IRS doesn’t look too favorably on claiming pleasure as business.
You are going to need an office and a lot of supplies to get started. It may appear trivial, but it can be hard for people to get to work without a comfortable space or with insufficient supplies.
Clearly mark products that aren’t in stock. Let your customers know the status of their order. If you are out of stock, let them know. If an item will be back ordered, give your customers options; either let them choose another product or refund their money.
Before attempting to sell something, make sure you have a basic understanding of what the price range should be for the product in the market today. When you research the competition’s price for your product or service, consider whether you can offer more reasonable rates. Do not talk negatively about others to garner business, just focus on playing up your good qualities.
Remember to stay on track when working from home by not getting caught up in non-work related activities during times when you should be working. Don’t take long, personal phone calls or start complicated home improvement projects. Take some time to recharge your batteries by taking a walk or sipping on a cup of tea.
Many pursue the goals of working a home based business. In order to succeed in this type of enterprise, obtaining the right type of advice is critical. Use what you’ve just learned to grow your business into a profitable and rewarding one.
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
Portland, Oregon where you can make the most impact on civic engagement in the community.