Tag Archives: small business

Designing a Per Diem Expense Budget

As a small business owner, you may find yourself spending most of your time “doing the business” instead of planning and preparing. In fact, most people I know who start their own home businesses have learned how to plan and budget as they went along, picking up business skills and organizational details “on the job” so to speak. You may find that in addition to your overall budgets and bookkeeping that you need to learn how to design a per diem expense budget. If you travel to conferences or workshops, or find yourself traveling at all in the line of … Continue reading →

How Specific Can You Tailor Your Service Delivery?

There are a great many advantages that those large companies have over us small ones—they have more employees, more capital, more marketing—but we really do have some advantages too. As a small, home-based business, we have the flexibility to really know our customers and clients and tailor our service delivery to meet their needs. We can meet them in a more intimate place and really find a way to deliver top-notch service that is quite specific. Sometimes it does not even pay to try to play the “big boy’s” game. Instead, we can focus in on what we do well … Continue reading →

The Top 10 Small Business Insurance Do’s and Don’ts

The Do’s this is a quick list for the things every small business owner wants to consider when it becomes important to insure for the risks we need to have covered. #1 Think about the insurance issues during the start-up process of your new business and have applications and insurance policies issued when needed. If there are partners be sure to ask for a buy-sell agreement and use life insurance to fund the agreement in the event one of the partners were to die. #2 Find an Insurance agent who can service all of your small business and personal lines … Continue reading →

Small Business Insurance: Basics

Most business need a certain amount of Insurance in order to protect their company from liability or other risks. A new small business might need just a few key insurance policies in order to safely start and conduct business. But, as a company grows or employs more workers other insurance products and policies are going to be important. Some of the Key Business Insurance Products Growing Business Might Need: Business Overhead Expense Insurance: This is like business disability. The policy is designed to pay the costs of a business when the business owner is disabled. Business Life Insurance: Is Life … Continue reading →

Understanding “Micro-Business”

You may have heard this term “micro business” being batted about lately and wondered just exactly what it meant and what it was. You might be surprised to find that if you are operating your own small, home-based business, chances are that business could be classified as a micro business by today’s standards. Understanding what a micro business is may help you when you go in search of mentors, funding, marketing, etc. Here is a general overview of what constitutes a micro business. As you know, the term “micro” means small. So, why would we need the term “micro business” … Continue reading →

Home Business Idea: Gift Baskets

Many people with busy lifestyles tend to pick up gifts at the last minute or order something that can be delivered, saving them time and effort. This has created a good market for gift baskets. Making gift baskets is a terrific home business that can be quite profitable once it takes off and it can also be a lot of fun. The best part is that you can start small without a lot of out-of-pocket expense. Make up just a few baskets as samples and ask local businesses, such as florists, gift shops, greeting card shops, restaurants, or bookstores, to … Continue reading →

Intro to Starting a Lawn Business

If you own your home, you probably own a lawnmower. If so, put it to work making extra income. You may have to start out small, doing the work yourself with your home lawnmower. You’ll probably begin with neighbors, friends, and family members, until you can make a little money to expand a bit. After time, as your business grows, you may be able to hire some help and purchase some more efficient equipment. It does take time, and the initial profits should be invested in your lawn business. You’ll need to advertise, because there is competition in this field. … Continue reading →

Home Business: What about Health Insurance?

Are you thinking about quitting your job to start a home business? Have you recently started working at home? If either of these applies to you, you are probably concerned about health insurance benefits, along with many other issues. As far as insurance goes, things have changed quite a bit over the last several years. You may have noticed your premiums and deductibles going up while your coverage has decreased. What you may not realize is that there are many personal health insurance plans available today that are quite comparable to group plans offered by employers. In fact, people can … Continue reading →

Don’t Quit Your Day Job Yet

If you have always wanted to work at home but were afraid to take the plunge, try testing the waters before going all the way and quitting your job. Start a home business on a part time basis first, to see if it’s a good fit for you, to see if it is profitable, and to see if it is something you will enjoy. The best way to do this is to find a business that doesn’t have a high start up cost or high overhead, and then transition from outside employment to working at home. Consider this transitional method: … Continue reading →

Welcome to the Real Estate Blog at Families.com

I am a licensed realtor in New Jersey, and have worked in the residential market with resales, representing both buyers and sellers. Real Estate, investing, buying and selling a home, these are all very important money matters to most people. A home is often a family’s largest and most important asset. What’s happening with the market, interest rates, how to find a realtor, how and when to sell on your own, what to do to make your home more marketable, the process of buying your first home – these are all topics that will be covered here. Ask me your … Continue reading →