Tips For Starting A Home-Based Business?
 

I am currently in the process of planning a home-based business where I will be selling different customized apparel and accessories for pets (this includes our little furry yorkies! :)), babies, and children. I wanted to know if anyone (especially all you creative business owners..I know there are a bunch of you who run a home-based business on YT;) ), have any tips for how to start up a home-based business. Any advice/tips about handling legal matters, copyrighting/trademarking, as well as handling finances will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much, I hope to hear from someone soon :)

Hi Pamela, from the experience of starting quite a few businesses I would tell you to take it easy, let the business grow with your abilities, give yourself at least a year to figure things out and ask, ask, ask... There is also a Small Business Administration in almost every bigger town that can help you with legal and financial advise.

AND... do it all yourself and listen to your guts, don't let anybody talk you into something. The best indicator for success is if you have pure fun!

Good luck!!!

save all your reciepts. you drink a coke? that's a business expense. you buy a box of tissue? business expense. try to keep these separate from your groceries. you can get it at the same time and whO CarES what the cashier is rolling her eyes about...ASK for a SEPARATE ReciEPt.

meeting a "potential" client for lunch? keep your reciept as a business lunch. no, having someone over for grilled cheese and tomato soup doesn't count. (yum!)

i'm not sure since you will be home based if you can use travel/commuting...but if you will be meeting potential clients/buyers OUTSIDE of your office, keep a mileage log!! this way you may be able to deduct your mileage.

new sewing machines, materials, phone bill (part of it), internet bill (part of it?) if you are selling online...

music help you concentrate? keep the reciept for "kenny G muzak."

want to wear a uniform to help keep you in the "work mode?" reciept!! getting it monogrammed? same thing.

gifts for clients? those are tax deductible, too!!

books that help you with your "trade" are great!! and expensive. even keep the reciepts you get from suppliers on Ebay.

even if you don't think you need a reciept for it, keep the reciepts. and maybe get quicken to help you keep track for ease of tax notations. (i was once a "dancer" and we can write off just about everything. but at the end of the year i was so disorganized it would take me a very long time to catagorize my reciepts and spending.)

try to make sure you have a routine. it's really hard to plunk down on the couch for 10 minutes and watch the day go by.

hope that was helpful!!

...and... everything you screw up... lemons... unpaid orders... R&D (research and developement) all deductible...

If you have an accountant, ask him what you need to do as far as recording your expenses. I know I was told I cannot charge LABOR which really makes up for a chunk of the expense really, so it sucks. :eek: Also if you have a full time job (like me) it is best to open a P O box as that will be your point of reference on all mileage charges . . . this is too much work for me so I never charge my miles :eek:

Also, if you have a set-up at home where you will be doing all your business, look around the entire room and include all of it to your expense list. You can pro-rate your utility bills as well . . . they key is to charge, charge, charge . . . . if you make as much as a $1, you will get taxed :rolleyes:

oh, also, you don't really have to register your business until you are absolutely certain you want to do this. But in the meantime, just keep all your reciepts so when tax season comes, the accountant can just include them in the tax preparation.

Good luck :thumbup:

I'm starting up a home business too. I never thought of half the things you've mentioned. Does this apply if you use an Ebay Store? I want to have my own website, and an Ebay account.

Thanks for all the input everybody! I appreciate it :D
So..do I really need to sign up my little business anywhere right now?

Would I be breaking any rules/laws if I just started selling online at this point in time?
Because I notice there have been people on here who will randomly make like little outfits or bandanas (not anyone with a big business going on...they just made these outfits in their own free time cause they were feeling creative...) and then they post pictures and sell them to people. I assume they don't have a business connected to that..they just made something out of "hobby" or whatnot, and decided to sell it.
Right now, that's basically what I'm doing and would like to keep doing.

I've already been making special little things for friends of mine and selling it to them. I find a lot of them really like my stuff and they keep telling me to start selling online or something so more people will know about my stuff...so I'm hoping to expand it a little more and just open up a little website where people from different states can order if they like my products. If more and more people start buying, then my little "hobby" can grow into some sort of extra $ for me. I guess my biggest question right now would be: Would it be alright to keep it that simple and just do that (since this is a very small thing right now)..or do I really need to go out and register and let some legal company know I am doing this? I just need to know who needs to know about me doing this type of thing (afterall, it's still a very very small business right now), so there are no legal issues.

Also, I really would like to copyright/trademark the name I made up to use for my products as well as my designs..because I use a lot of my own designs that I created solely on my own. I've been looking around for how to do that..anyone know anything about this?

Thanks again for all the advice!

I would like to see what you make.

Definitely! :) Once I get this all organized and figured out I will be sure to show some of my stuff for any interested YTers ;) I will hopefully have a website by then too :)

As for selling to family and friends - I think you have to make more than $600 in order to have to report that as "income". Though I could be totally wrong about that.

True - I make way under that so my income is not reportable

i just wanted to wish you good luck on your new venture.

i think you can use ebay as an expense, especially if you are using some of the fancier features of the site, like 14 pics and flashing, bold, etc. that stuff adds up after a while!! and if you are making that your "store."

i have found that if you are making cash you really don't have to claim (all of) it, but if you use cc's it IS traceable.

i don't think you need to register as a business, but you may want to do so, especially if you are going to copyright your items/name/etc. this way you have paper proof that someone else is using your idea.

do you make stuff for "big" boys?? (um..you know, like 17lbs?)

You don't have to register your business as long as it is small, you only have to declare your income from it. As far as trademarks and copyrights that's a quite expensive and time consuming thing to get going and it is very easy to get around it. Same with patents. It only makes sense if you do big business. Pet apparel is a billion dollar business and if you find your 'niche' you'll make money on it. So what if somebody steals your ideas... at least they have to buy the first one from you... :D Most of all, you are not only selling your outfits but your personality and customer service too!

I would not worry about this aspect of the business too much right now. I think first you have to get organized and find out what sells and what not. Just start and see how it goes...