Small Business Info

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A lot of individuals seem to be interested in getting into there own home business, this is because of economic uncertainty and fair of one day being unemployed with no income to sustain themselves and there family or it could also be simply to earn extra money in there spare time. The problem that most people face is what type of business they should get into. Well the possibilities are endless but I have listed five of the best and most successful home based businesses. Remember when choosing a home business choose something that you have some sort of experience in and love to do because you might be doing it for a long time.

1. A Financial Planner–this is a very good area to focus on simply because you don’t need to invest in any goods to stock up on and the initial capital output is very low, if you have had any kind of experience in the financial sector you would be amazed how easy it is to profit from it. There are a lot of people out there looking for good sound financial advice from someone they can trust. There are plenty people who don’t trust large corporations because they lack the personal touch, this is where you can capitalize and earn a nice profit. You can charge a consultation fee or a percentage on what ever profits your clients might make.

2. A Pet Groomer-Pet care is a fantastic way to earn some extra money especially if you love animals and the outdoors, a lot of professionals have pets that they love but don’t have the time during the day to take care of them and would pay good money to have them handled by a professional. Not only would you get exercise from playing and walking pets but you can make more money by offering other related services like pet training and selling pet food.

3. Personal Caterer-This may seem to be a low end type of business but it is not, with more and more professionals becoming health conscious if you can provide a reliable, tasty, healthy and affordable catering service you can make a mint. You can sell pre-packed lunches and dinners even breakfast and this could be operated from out of you home kitchen with minimal capital investment.

4. Agri-Tourism-This type of business is becoming more and more popular simply because people are becoming more and more concern about going back to nature and living a healthy lifestyle. This type of business allows people to socialize in the outdoors; this could be things like tours, picnics, Sport and fun days and other outdoor related stuff.

5. Food–This is the surest way of making money if managed correctly. Why? People must eat even if they choose to or not. This type of business can be financially rewarding if you know what you are doing, you can start off small and then expand one area that you can explore is to produce and manufacture food to sell to stores, shops and retailers and the best way to do this is to look at products like breakfast cereals and potato chips because they are pre-packaged and ready for use. If you would like more great home based small business opportunities and ideas check out the link below to get a free copy of “Dotcomology”the art of making money with your home business.

Andy The Home Biz Wiz recommends for more information subscribe to my FREE Internet Home Business tips newsletter and get hundreds of money making tips and tricks along with FREE Software delivered to your inbox. A $147 value, yours FREE: http://www.MakingMoneyFromHomeOnTheInternet.com

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Many people belief that retirement planning is only for people who get a salary, but it is also necessary for who run their own business. There are many ways to do this, the better you are prepared for your retirement, the better you will be prepared for the future. And when the present is very important, your future, when your senior years come, living a life as independent and dignified as can be is also important. So if you want to live that part of your life financially comfortable the small business retirement plan, is a good place to start.

You need to think big when it comes to the small business retirement plan. In your working years you can prepare for your financial independence when retired. When you start with your small business retirement plan at the right time you need to keep in mind that saving a considerable amount of money for the future, can also save you a great deal on tax deductions in the present. With The small business retirement plan you can fill in any gaps in your personal savings and you can secure your retirement time.

Tax deduction on the amount of your savings for the future is a great advantaged of the small business retirement plan because:

- These savings will not incur tax until it is withdrawn.
- You can also include your spouse in to increase the amount you save when you are partners in business .
- By extending this plan to your small business employees there are more benefits.

Small Business Retirement Plan For Your Employees

The first small business retirement plan is the Savings Incentives Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) IRA. Your employees can contribute if they have earned more than $5,000 in any two years prior and who will earn at least $5,000 this year, and you as their employer need to match whatever sum they contribute with a ceiling of US $6000-10000. And your employees can contribute up to $10,000. You as their employer can provide up to 3% match or 2% non-elective match for all your employees up to $4,400 per employee. You can also contribute $10,000 to your own account plus a match of 3%.

When you are employing just a handful of employees, which is often the case with small businesses, then the Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP IRA) can be the right plan for you and your business. With this small business retirement plan your workers do not contribute, you contribute on the behalf of all of your employers. Any business owner or self-employed individual can start a plan. All employees who have worked for 3 of the past 5 years and who earned at least $450 last year are eligible for coverage.The contributions you make can differ from year to year and you can let it depend upon your business returns and the sum of these contributions is tax deductible.

The small business retirement plan provides benefits for your employees and for yourself. The plan also generates some major tax savings. This way you are creating a safe future for you, your family and for your employees.

John Chomsky worked as a consultant helping other people plan for their retirement. Almost forgetting his own. He helps people out at www.planning-a-retirement.com

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Most of the big companies we know and respect today started small. Banana Republic, Microsoft, McDonald’sÖ Even Coca-Cola started out as a concentrated drink dispensed from drug store shelves. But look at how far they’ve come! So if you’re someone dreaming of owning a big corporation someday, donít be afraid to be the little guy. There are small business opportunities you can start today that you can build on later. Take a look at some of these opportunities that just might be the ticket to success and wealth for you:

Design

Design can cover different industries ñ arts, music, media, advertising, even construction. If you have an eye for detail and a creative mind, you could start a small business as a designer. You will need to invest in some equipment and materials, however, such as a computer, design software, scanner, color printer which can handle high resolutions and paper materials.

For clients, you can target neighborhoods, communities or even companies. Michael Fallone and Doug Bartow co-own id29, a small design company but they werenít afraid to take on the big guys. Their chutzpah worked. In 2007, the firm (which has only four employees) announced that they were looking at $1 million in sales.

Personal care service

You could sell personal care products that people can use by themselves but you can also sell a service that takes that responsibility away from them. Yup, people like to be pampered, regardless of their age, gender or background. And if you throw in something extra, something that will make it more luxurious for them, they’ll come running.

Take for example Kelly McElroy, owner of Massage & Merlot in Colorado, who started her small business by combining two of her interests: wine consultancy and massage therapy. By targeting a mid- to high-end market, she offered a home-based business providing both wine tastings and relaxing massages.

Food and something more

Everybody eats. This is why no matter how badly the economy is doing, there’s always someone somewhere starting a food or restaurant business. You donít have to start big at all. This is a small business opportunity you can start right in the comfort of your own home if you want to cut down on the rent and other overhead expenses.

To compete, offer something with a twist ñ something that is yummy but different, something that will stand out. Matisse and Jack’s in San Francisco, for example, is a small business that offers delicious baked snacks using healthful, organic and all-natural ingredients. Or if you prefer good old comfort food, do so with a blast. Reese’s Chicken Pot Pies in Detroit uses chunky cuts of chicken breast, a flaky, light outer crust and gravy so special, its recipe is kept secret.

Job network and placement

As a small business, a job network and placement agency can offer plenty in terms of revenue. Plus, you’ll be doing a great service both for your clients and the people for whom you help find jobs. To succeed in this business, you need to have a strong network of contacts among companies, an understanding of the industry and lots of business savvy.

One of the more successful of companies that took this small business opportunity is MSI (Medical Solutions International). This is a nursing placement service that provides short-term jobs for nurses in medical facilities. It now operates in the U.S. and internationally and currently has over 10,000 RNs in its network. It has grown phenomenally, grossing over $3 million in 2005. In 2006, its gross revenue went over $11 million. So who says small can’t get bigger?

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What is a “micro-small business” looking for in a small business IT consulting professional? You need to know desktop PC hardware. You need to be good on notebook PC’s, have a good comfort level with PDA’s and various kinds of printers, and be familiar with modems, dial-up, cable, DSL and power protection.

The Importance of a Strong Software Background

From a software standpoint, you want to be successful in this one to ten space as part of your business. Again, a strong software background should be a part of your small business IT consulting practice; it should not be the main focus of your business.

Be Familiar with Operating Systems

In terms of a software perspective, in small business IT consulting, you should be really comfortable with desktop and notebook operating systems, mainly Microsoft Windows. However, depending on the industry and your specialty, the small business could be utilizing Mac or Linux operating systems.

A small business IT consulting professional should be really comfortable with things like Microsoft Office, Quick Books, ACT and Goldmine.

Security and Networking Abilities

As a small business IT consulting professional, you should be really comfortable with anti-virus software as well as personal firewalls and remote control software. From a networking standpoint, a micro-small business will require a small business IT consulting professional to be familiar with peer to peer lands.

A small business IT consulting professional should be comfortable configuring the popular Silho (ph) routers that are on the market for being able to share a DSL or cable connection. Additionally, you should be comfortable setting up live access points and adapters.

The Bottom Line about Small Business IT Consulting

At a minimum the small business IT consulting professional should possess knowledge of 25 to 50% of the areas mentioned above if you want to be able to effectively support a micro-small business. Keep in mind that in supporting a micro-small business, you are generally dealing with a non-technical small business owner.

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Joshua Feinberg helps small business computer consulting firms get more steady high-paying clients. Sign-up now for Joshua’s free one-hour audio training on Small Business Computer Consulting secrets at http://www.SmallBusinessComputerConsulting.com

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Small Business Investor - Small Check, Big Headache

I don’t know if there is some sort of mathematical equation you can put to this, but it would certainly appear that the smaller the investor’s check, the bigger the headache they become to an entrepreneur.

You might think the opposite would be true, that smaller investors would only expect to play a minor role in the business while the larger investors would make all of the important calls. What you’ll find in practice, though, is that raising and managing small chunks of capital from small investors is incredibly laborious while the more manageable investments come from much larger investors.

Less Money = More Time

Smaller business investors seem to have disproportionately more time to invest than they have money. These are the guys who are putting $5,000 into your company and think they’re Gordon Gekko, trying to run the company like some big time investor. All this extra time that they have to manage these investments actually sucks the life out of your deal because you have to constantly manage their expectations to the nth degree of detail.

Certainly getting help from a small business investor to grow your business is a nice thing, but not if it involves being micro-managed to death over every decision. A good small business investor will understand that their role is to invest in the company, not run the company. You want their invested capital working for your business, not another pseudo manager to contend with.

Small Checks Take Longer

Raising smaller amounts of capital doesn’t translate into reducing the time it takes to get a check. In fact, sometimes the smaller amounts take more time because the people writing those checks really can’t afford to invest (read: gamble) that money to begin with.

They need to be certain of every last aspect of the deal to the point where they over-analyze the deal completely. Before you know it, you’re jumping through all of these hoops over a few thousand dollars. It’s a huge waste of time.

Even if you do manage to land these small business investors, you can be certain he’s going to be on the phone with you every 15 minutes trying to get a status update on his investment. He’s got the time, and the investment is incredibly meaningful to his overall personal wealth. You’ve become his living, breathing stock ticker that he constantly wants to see updated.

Big Kids Run Faster

Believe it or not, it actually takes just as long to raise larger amounts of capital as it does smaller amounts. That’s because the larger investors (the big kids) tend to have less time to spend on any one deal. They have lots of deals to choose from, so they have to get to the point quickly and make a decision quickly.

For an entrepreneur raising capital, this is the best thing in the world. Ideally you want as much flexibility with the capital that you raise as you can muster. You want an investor who pays attention to the important points of your growth, like monthly earnings, not daily expenses. That’s what you’re there for!

That’s why a bigger investor is usually a much better option when raising capital. They can make decisions about the investment faster, they can fill up your investment requirements faster, and they can leave you the heck alone so that you can grow the company a lot faster.

Too many cooks in the kitchen

With fewer small business investors you also overcome the problem of “too many cooks in the kitchen”. Startup companies need to make lots of decisions very quickly and decisively. The company runs a lot better as a dictatorship than a democracy. The more votes you create by adding more investors the longer the process becomes to make a decision.

You can overcome this problem by giving certain small business investors “voting rights” and giving other small business investors the right to keep quiet, but don’t kid yourself – you’re going to hear from the guys who don’t have voting rights whether you like it or not. So the best antidote is to simply have less people at the decision table.

Less is More

As you’re thinking about raising your next round of capital, don’t think in terms of lots of small business investors with a little capital – think in terms of one (or two) investors with a whole lot of capital. You don’t score any additional points for racking up the greatest number of investors. If there are any points to be scored, it’s from getting as few investors as possible in order to get your requirements fulfilled.

When growing a new business, every moment of your time has an incredible amount of value. The more time you spend placating overzealous small business investors, the less time you spend doing what you all came there to do in the first place – growing the company!

Wil Schroter’s latest book “Go BIG or Go HOME – How the next generation of startup companies think BIG, grow FAST, and dominate markets overnight” is available at www.WilSchroter.com

Wil Schroter is the Founder and CEO of the Go BIG Network, the largest network of startup companies and entrepreneurs. He is also the author of the new book “Go BIG or Go HOME”, download it for FREE at http://www.gobignetwork.com