Ever since electronic means have reached nearly every household in the globe, many people are getting involved with different types of free home based business ventures. However, even if we say that these ventures are free, they will still include negotiations and deals. Meaning, you may not have troubles with finances as of the moment, but you will have further problems in other aspects in the future. That is why it is important to follow certain pointers before engaging in a free home based business to avoid any kind of adversity.The thing about these free home based business ventures is that they are generally free. And by free, it means there is no any form of financial payment whatsoever. But, in order to put particular businesses in motion, certain investments must be done on your part.For example, let’s say you are planning to put up an advertising site, wherein your own website will be a place for other businesses to promote their products and services. First, you will need to purchase a domain name for you to use, and you will also have to purchase website packages from providers. After that, you will also have to enhance your site. You must put contents such as blog posts, designs, entertainments, etc. in order to drive traffic.However, given that there are so many websites all over the internet, there is a small probability that you will succeed in this area. Not unless you are a very skilled web master. So, you see, free home based business ventures may seem more advantageous because they are “free”. But, in the end, if things don’t go as planned, you will end up losing your investments than making them grow.On the other hand, this is only a possibility. If you know how to establish a business very well, then the only thing you have to do is apply your knowledge on your chosen free home based business of choice. If you do freelance writing, for instance, you can have multiple clients. This way, if you fail to impress one, you still have a fallback. Additionally, it would help if you are skillful in the field that you have decided to work on.One great thing about free home based business ventures is that you can earn money without having to go anywhere. And with such set-up, you can also involve other members of your family to help you.

I must admit, it was very exciting creating my first digital product for my home based business. To me it felt so awesome seeing my name up in lights, beaming out to an audience of fans as if I was a Broadway Star or celebrity. I told you it’s very exciting!Having your name on something that you created from a tiny thought in your mind, worked and reworked putting hours of time in the process to me is an incredible feeling. An amazing transformation takes place inside your being when you recognize the power that you have within. Your creation will be online for as long as you want to share it with others in your home based business. Your product will contribute to our history impacting the lives of all who seek your wisdom, fascinating.Here are some tips to start creating your digital product today!1. Decide on a Topic:
You’ll need to select the topic to build your product around. Do research to determine if your topic will provide value in the home based business market place or is in demand.A great way to identify this is to search on Amazon and check the topics others are interested in or creating products for already. Another great place to identify the topic you want to tap into is in forums. If there is a niche you target in your home business, consider signing up for a forum that is related and tap into the conversations. Identify problems and find solutions to assist.2.Get Inspired:
What resonates or interests you? What are you personally passionate about? Do you like expressing yourself better through the medium of video in your home based business? You can create a webinar course. If writing is more for you, write an e-book. Choose your creative weapon that will crush fear and inspire others to greatness. When you start with a topic that interests you the creative juices can flow effortlessly.3. Choose a Format:
Know what format of delivery you will use for your digital product. You may need additional resources depending on the product you decided to create, plan ahead of time. You may need to budget for it in your home business or allow time for creation. If for example you are creating an e-book, you will need a cover design. If you are outsourcing the job to someone, there will be a cost and time constraint involved.4. Be Authentic:
Provide value with confidence. If you need to gather more experience or training on the topic you are considering, start putting your daily action plan into motion until you feel comfortable. You are beginning the journey for branding, You Inc.. When you share your true authentic self with others in your home based business only great things can happen.My first digital product I created was an e-book, a home business power tool. I found this to be a fun project despite my learning curve. The experience for me was very rewarding. It captures my passion for helping others achieve success in their home based business.

The definition of work has changed over the years. We have tried different ideas to make our lives better. Different aspects related to the professional life of man have undergone vast changes. Advanced and innovative technology has changed the work sphere and in turn the lives of men in various ways. These days, we do not depend on the traditional ways to earn money. In the present times home based business opportunities have increased manifold and as a result earning opportunities have also increased. Home based business is a new global phenomenon which is been explored by thousands of people across the globe.Internet has been the tool with the help of which home based jobs were introduced. With the help of this many people established home based business online. Internet has enabled people to do business from their homes and connect with their clients worldwide. It offers diverse opportunities of earning money to people all over the world. Home business in fact, has turned out to the perfect platform for people who have different problems in going out of home for work. They are also paid handsomely.Working from home has its own advantages. You do not have to take public transport and hence you can save that money. You can work according to your own convenience and terms. There is no time constraint when you work from home. The best part is that you will be your own boss when working from home. You will not have to tolerate your rude boss in office. Therefore, home based business opportunity offers a rare freedom which you can hardly get in any office. There are different types of home business plans available on the Internet. You have to choose the one which suits your routine and needs. Searching for these opportunities may be a little time consuming. But that will be compensated once you start working from home.There are several websites which will offer good home based business ideas. However, you must be careful of not getting bluffed by a scam. There are websites which offer exaggerated terms and conditions which apparently may seem to be great, but actually they may not prove to be so. You will need to think logically that these companies do not know about your goals, your passion or your expectations. Therefore, if they claim that the offer is tailor made for you, you have to be careful in taking their offer.Do your own research and do them carefully. Go through the homes based business review if possible and check the statistics to get the right kind of opportunity. Find out your real interest and search for business opportunities accordingly. Find the niche with which you can connect so that you can stick to the business for a long time. More time you contribute, the more profits you will yield. Digital product creation, affiliate programs, blogging, Internet marketing, online stores and outsourcing are some of the home based business opportunities you can look into.

In recent years, it seems like technology has taken over our lives. Sometimes it’s hard not to wonder whether all this technology really does make things better, or is just technology for technology’s sake. But every now and then an improvement comes along that is clearly a big step forward from where we were before. The Roomba vacuum is such a step, and it’s unique design saves people a lot of time and energy.

There has always been one major problem with vacuuming your house – and that’s the fact that you have to do it at all! There are very few people who jump up and down with excitement at the idea of pulling out the vacuum cleaner. Most people would rather put their feet up and watch a movie, or read a good book. Wouldn’t it be great to have your floors vacuumed, without you having to do the work?

Well, that’s exactly what the Roomba vacuum is designed to do. It’s a huge leap forward in vacuum cleaner technology, making it an effective and smart way of vacuuming. The Roomba vacuum has a special robot inside, which is designed to make it move around and search for dirt on your floor. It will be able to negotiate its way around furniture and any other obstacles in your room. So you don’t have to worry that your precious furniture will get damaged when the Roomba vacuum bumps into it.

If you look around, you’ll find plenty of places that sell the Roomba vacuum. Most vacuum cleaner stores now sell them, and so do many electronics stores. Considering how advanced they are, they’re quite reasonably priced. That’s even more the case when you consider how much people would be willing to pay for a vacuum cleaner that did all the work for them!

A Roomba vacuum would make a great gift for someone who has difficulty moving about, or who struggles to push a vacuum around the room. It also removes the need to carry a heavy vacuum from room to room. They’re a great present for a grandparent, parent, or anyone else you know that could do with some help in vacuuming. Anyone who receives a Roomba vacuum will appreciate the care and thought behind your gift.

The directions are easy to follow, which makes it easy for anyone to work out how to use their new Roomba vacuum cleaner. So whether it’s for yourself or for someone you care about, take a look at the advantages of a Roomba vacuum and buy one today.

“Don’t tax him. Don’t tax me. Tax the guy behind the tree”- attributed to Former Congressmen Rostenkowski

Owners of small businesses and their workers could be severely impacted by the recently enacted health reform legislation. Some key provisions related to tax credits, new excise taxes, penalties, and some higher taxes, all of which depend on a number of factors such as number of full time employees in the business, average incomes of the employees etc. This article will provide you an overview of its significance to self employed taxpayers who have less than ten full time employees.

Generally, the present Obama administration and Congress have noted that the new health reform proposals will provide better insurance for small businesses at a lower cost, which will create more jobs. However, there is also a lot of strongly negative feelings among the business community. Let me present some of the provisions so that you can judge for yourself and plan accordingly.

Benefits to small businesses: Despite the negative press about the law, there really are some positive changes that will affect small businesses.

Small Business Exchanges: Small business will be able to pool their resources in state exchanges called “Shop exchanges” in order to buy insurance. Normally these exchanges apply to companies who have less than 100 employees by 2014;however, states have the option to limit access to these exchanges for companies of under 50 full time employees. Premium expectations are expected to reduce overall insurance costs by 1-4% per year for each employee, which is a very good provision under this plan.
Tax Credits for certain small employers who provide insurance. Generally, if you have fewer than 50 full-time employees, you don’t have to provide health insurance for your workers. However, if you do provide insurance, you might be eligible for a yummy tax credit, which is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in your taxes.
To be eligible for this credit, you have to have less than 25 full-time employees whose annual average earnings (not counting the owner) of no more than $50,000. For companies of 10 or fewer employees, you would be eligible for a 35% tax credit (which goes up to 50% after 2013) in later years, if your average full time equivalent wages are less than $25,000 per year. This credit begins in 2010 and goes till 2014. There is a second phase of the credit that small business would get up to 2016. Thus, qualifying small businesses can get this credit for up to six years.

Sandy’s elaboration: This credit sounds great, but having it apply to small businesses (of no more than 10 full-time workers) and who average under $25,000 of wages will substantially reduce its applicability to most businesses. Estimates are that this will benefit about 7% of self employed businesses.

No more lifetime caps: For most health insurance, there is a $2,000,000 lifetime cap for usage. Starting immediately, these caps are to be removed. This could allow coverage for a number of small business folks who might have exceeded the cap.
No pre-existing conditions: starting in 2014, there will not be any pre-existing conditions. Thus, even if you have a major medical problem, you will be guaranteed to get health insurance. This is a great provision that will allow coverage for those small business folks and their employees who might not have been able to get insurance coverage.
Dependent children can be kept on parent’s insurance through age 26: Normally, kids who turn age 21 have to get their own insurance and can’t be kept on their parent’s insurance. This will be changed so that dependent children who are under age 27 can be kept on the parent’s insurance. This becomes effective on March 30, 2010. I should note that although dependents under age 27 can be added to the parent’s insurance e policy, there is no requirement that an employer add them to the policy.
Small Businesses are exempt from penalties for failing to provide health insurance: Generally only companies that have 50 or more full-time employees need to provide health insurance coverage or face penalties. However, since small businesses of under 50 full-time employees don’t need to provide any coverage, they are exempt from these “Pay or Play” penalties.
Sandy’s elaboration: If you have a business with 50 more more full-time employees, you are indeed required to provide health insurance.

As you can see, there are some good provisions for both the business owner and for small businesses. Thus, why the strongly, negative comments from the business community? The reason is that there are a lot of congressional “gotchas” that affect everyone.

Problems with the healh reform legislation

New taxes: There are a number of new taxes and costs that will beef up the overall insurance costs for small businesses. For example, there is an income tax increase starting in 2010 of between 5%-10% for those who make over $200,000 of adjusted gross income. In addition, Medicare has been increased for everyone by.9% for all employees and for the owner who make over $200,000 of adjusted gross income and is single. Married taxpayers filing joint returns have to make of $250,000 of adjusted gross earnings in order for this.9% Medicare surcharge to kick in. This may not sound like a lot, but, for someone earning $300,000 in salary, this could result in a $900 increase in Medicare taxes for each employee in that income bracket regardless of profitability of the business! In addition, if the adjusted gross income of the worker or the owner is over $200,000 ( for single taxpayers) or over $25,,000 (for married filing joint taxpayers), there will be a 3.8% Medicare surcharge on all of their interest, dividends, rents and royalties. This will also apply to dividends from S Corporations. So much for saving costs!
New excise taxes: In order to help pay for this new law, there are some additional excise taxes on many medical devices that ordinarily aren’t purchased by most people. Thus, there will be no excise taxes on glasses, hearing aids, and contact lenses. Most other devices, however, will probably have the excise taxes apply to them. In addition, there will be additional taxes on the health insurance companies, some insurance plans and pharmaceutical companies. You might wonder how these additional taxes apply to self employed taxpayers. The reason is that these additional costs will be passed through to everyone including the self employed.
Additional 40% excise tax on Cadillac health insurance: The new law places a whopping 40% excise tax on high-cost employer-sponsored health coverage, often referred to as “Cadillac” health plans. This tax applies to premiums that exceed $10,200 for single coverage and those that exceed $27,500 for family coverage. There are some increased thresholds for retired taxpayers who are age 55 and older and for those engaged in “high risk occupations.” Thus, if you want top notch expensive insurance coverage, you will pay a lot more to get it. This even assumes that an insurance company will even offer it at all.
Increased paperwork: Generally those who do provide insurance through the exchange for their workers will need to fill out some potentially new paperwork showing the name of the employee, the amount of premium paid the contribution by the employee, notification to the employee about the coverage etc.
Midsize to large companies much provide health insurance: If you have a company consisting of 50 or more full- time employees (part time will be counted on a fractional basis depending on their hours), you are required to provide medical insurance or face big penalties. However, this is required regardless of profitability. Think about this. This could result in a number of unprofitable or marginally profitable companies going broke, which could actually substantially reduce jobs. In addition, this would spur either the hiring of more part time at the cost of reducing the number of full time employees or increase the sucking sound of companies going to places like China or India. The result of all this would mean a lot less jobs.
Bottom Line: Although there are some great provisions in the new law such as waiving pre-existing conditions and lifetime benefit caps, the increased taxes and costs incurred for most small businesses will probably exceed the decrease in health premiums resulting in an overall increase in total health costs and taxes to self employed businesses. Thus, I don’t see any job creation resulting from this law. In fact, it may well cost a lot of jobs.

P.S. Check out my free lesson on “How to write off all your medical expenses!” Free Lesson http://www.PocketbookProfessor.com

By Sandy Botkin CPA. Esq

Sandy Botkin is the Chief Learning Officer for Pocketbook Professor, an online training center where entrepreneurs, small business owners, and home based business owners can learn how to lower their taxes big time, get out of debt, and increase revenue.

Sandy is a CPA, Tax Attorney, and the #1 tax trainer in the country. Sandy has been training millions of small businesses how to get their taxes down to the legal limit for over 30 years. He has taught tax reduction at Donald Trump and Tony Robbins seminars and is a bestselling author of the book “Lower Your Taxes Big Time” and several other bestselling books. Sandy is a frequent guest tax expert on NBC, ABC, Fox, and CNN.