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Ask The Expert: Launching Your Online Home Based Business

AARPLynne — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 16:39:33 GMT

Join AARP Expert Felicia Brown along with Janet Attard, author, small business expert and online publisher to discuss how to launch and move your home based business online.

Learn and Earn! COVID-19 has increased the appeal to continue working from home. Having a home based business could help you achieve that. Ask a question of our Work & Jobs experts to earn 50 points awarded via code emailed to you after you participate (one entry per week given points). Ends September 27.

Re: Ask The Expert: Launching Your Online Home Based Business

AARPLynne — Thu, 16 Sep 2021 14:21:48 GMT

About: Janet Attard is the founder of Business Know-How, a website now powered by ZenBusiness Inc. An author, small business expert and online publisher, Janet has more than 30 years of experience providing how-to information and problem-solving strategies for starting, marketing, financing, and running small and home businesses. In the past, her company was a contractor for the US Air Force Office of Small Business Utilization, America Online, The Microsoft Network, and General Electric Network for Information Exchange. For more information about Janet, visit her website, JanetAttard.com. ZenBusiness, a Public Benefit Corporation, is a one-stop digital platform with the mission to make starting, running, and growing a new business simple and accessible.

Re: Ask The Expert: Launching Your Online Home Based Business

AARPLynne — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 15:42:31 GMT

We're looking forward to getting started on Monday. Please feel free to post a question in advance. Thank you!

Re: Ask The Expert: Launching Your Online Home Based Business

FeeBrown — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 17:06:53 GMT

Happy Monday and welcome to the kick-off to our AARP Conversation on Launching Your Online Business. No with everyone working remotely you can do your business as well. If you've been thinking of launching a business consider starting from home.

Janet Attard founder of Business Know-How will be with us for this entire week answering your questions on how to launch, grow and scale all online. There is nothing to hard for her. I hope you stay with us for the week and learn all she has to share.

Re: Ask The Expert: Launching Your Online Home Based Business

JanetAttard1 — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 17:40:19 GMT

Thanks for those kind words, Felicia.

One of the things I learned in the many years I’ve had a business, is that running a business is hard… but it’s a whole lot easier if you have someone you can question about challenges you are facing or bounce ideas off. Over the years, I’ve gotten help by asking experts questions, and I’m looking forward to giving back by answering your questions now.

While there was a time years ago when people didn't want to say their businesses were homebased, things have changed. Running a business from home is one of the most popular ways of starting a business. In fact, Homebased business, make up about half of all small businesses according to the SBA Office of Advocacy.

Re: Ask The Expert: Launching Your Online Home Based Business

FeeBrown — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 17:54:18 GMT

@JanetAttard1 are there any steps one should take when considering launching a business online?

Re: Ask The Expert: Launching Your Online Home Based Business

JanetAttard1 — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 20:01:05 GMT

Felicia,

“Online” is just a business location. So, launching a business online requires pretty much the same steps you need to take to launch any business. The basic steps would be:

Research the idea (to make sure it’s viable)
Check local regulations regarding homebased businesses (you may not be able to produce or package foods from a home business; Also a lot of traffic in the neighborhood or signs on your location could be a problem)
Write a business plan (to help you determine how much money you’ll need to start and run the business, how big the market is, how you’ll market the business, and other operational details)
Register the business name and get a business certificate
Register a domain name for your business even if you’re not ready to put up a website yet
Decide what form of business you’ll operate under (sole proprietor, LLC, or corporation)
Get an Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN/ also shortened to EIN) for the business. This is important even if you don’t have employees.
Apply for a sales tax number if you’re selling taxabe goods and services
Have a logo and business cards made up
Set up social media accounts and pages
Plan your marketing
Set a target date to launch the business.
Start your marketing.

Re: Ask The Expert: Launching Your Online Home Based Business

Lisa940893 — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 01:25:05 GMT

Hi Janet. I'm thinking of starting a business selling on Etsy but I don't understand how that will affect my taxes. I'm used to having an employer just take the taxes out of my paycheck.

Re: Ask The Expert: Launching Your Online Home Based Business

df897 — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 12:40:31 GMT

Can you recommend firms or how to find freelancers to help build the website?

Re: Ask The Expert: Launching Your Online Home Based Business

JanetAttard1 — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 13:16:45 GMT

That’s an important issue, Lisa.

When you run your own business as a sole proprietorship, you are responsible for paying two types of taxes on your profits: income taxes and self-employment tax (what social security tax is called for the self-employed.) The taxes due get calculated when you file your 1040 tax return, but if you’ve made a profit and owed any taxes last year, the IRS requires most businesses to file and pay estimated income and self-employment taxes 4 times a year.

To report the earnings and losses from your business, you include Schedule C with your 1040; to report self-employment tax, you include Schedule SE.

These IRS links help explain what you need to know:

Schedule C information: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-schedule-c-form-1040

Schedule SE information: Schedule SE (Form 1040 or 1040-SR ), Self-Employment Tax to report the Social Security and Medicare taxes.

Quarterly estimated tax info: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/estimated-taxes

If you are selling products on Etsy, you may also may need to collect and remit sales taxes in some states, or where Etsy does the collection and remittance, you may still need to file sales tax reports.

These two links talk about sales taxes for Etsy sellers:

https://www.etsy.com/seller-handbook/article/collecting-state-sales-tax-as-an-etsy/22717969977

https://www.etsy.com/seller-handbook/article/marketplace-sales-tax-where-etsy/321914904041

If you have any trouble understanding the tax laws, it would be worth while to talk to an accountant.

Re: Ask The Expert: Launching Your Online Home Based Business

FeeBrown — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 13:40:53 GMT

@df897 let's see what @JanetAttard1 has to say about freelancers.

Re: Ask The Expert: Launching Your Online Home Based Business

JanetAttard1 — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 13:45:23 GMT

There are many ways to find freelancers to build a website. Two online freelance marketplaces that come to mind are Upwork and Fiverr. There are also website builders (software) offered by many webhosting providers.

My own preference for projects like websites, however, has always been to look for someone local to work with or someone who is available to talk by phone or video chat. There can be a lot of details involved in building a website, and it’s much easier to get details worked out if you can meet in person or pickup the phone or do a video call and go over details.

To find local freelancers, I’d recommend asking other small businesses in your area who they’ve used, what kind of site they had built, and how satisfied they are with the results.

Whether you’re using an online marketplace to find a freelancer or looking for someone local, one important key to success is to have a clear cut idea of what you want the site to accomplish for you and how it needs to work, and some idea of what you’d like the site to look like. A simple site that has a couple of case studies and a contact form to reach you is a lot easier (and less expensive) to build than, say a site for a salon that both sells some of their products online and wants to enable patrons to make appointments online.

Ask to see examples of sites the freelancers you consider have built, and if you expect to make frequent changes or additions (ie, write a blog, add products, etc.) if the site can be set up so you can do those things on your own. Also make it clear that you want to own the domain and all rights to the design. Get cost estimates and estimates on how long the project will take.

Re: Ask The Expert: Launching Your Online Home Based Business

FeeBrown — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 13:53:25 GMT

It's day two and we have @JanetAttard1 with us to chat about launching an online business. She is here to answer all your questions. No question is too hard.

@JanetAttard1 what are some things people fail to consider when wanting to launch a business virtually? Are there challenges?

Re: Ask The Expert: Launching Your Online Home Based Business

FeeBrown — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 17:33:09 GMT

@JanetAttard1 what are some things people fail to consider when wanting to launch a business virtually? Are there challenges?

Re: Ask The Expert: Launching Your Online Home Based Business

FeeBrown — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 17:51:26 GMT

@JanetAttard1 if someone is looking to launch a product based business from home, where might they go to learn about scaling the product, manufacturing, supply chain information?

Re: Ask The Expert: Launching Your Online Home Based Business

JanetAttard1 — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 19:10:21 GMT

Working virtually sounds like a great way to work, but there are some limitations, and if you've always worked in an office, working virtually may not be appealing at first.

One thing I’ve always noticed, is that when I don’t work away from the house, I work many more hours a day – just because the computer and the office phone are there. So, you have to learn to shut the real or virtual door to your office to maintain a decent work/life balance.

Then there are the interruptions. The house phone rings when you're on a business call, or a neighbor or delivery person rings the bell.

Another issue is something a lot of us got used to in the last year – isolation. When you work virtually and have virtual employees or work with freelancers, you don’t have the same kind of personal interaction you have in an office setting where you walk in and say “Good morning” to your employees (or fellow coworkers if you’re an employee) or admire the new photos of their new grandchildren or son or daughter they have framed on their desk. And you don’t’ have the enjoyable breaks in routine like someone bringing in some empanadas they made over the weekend for everyone to try, or another person sharing their recipe for Irish soda bread.

Zoom or Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet can help make some interactions a little more personal, and better yet, now that many places are starting to do in-person networking, getting out and talking to other business people is a big help with isolation.

Calling up a business friends and running problems or questions by them can help, too, or make an appointment to go out to lunch, or bring lunch to the park to chat, if you don’t want to eat indoors yet.

The other thing that can be difficult virtually, is communications. It’s easy for someone to misunderstand what you mean, or read things that aren’t there into a message when they aren’t there to see what you look like or hear the tone of your voice when you make a statement.

The solution to those types of problems is to remind people that if they have any question about what you say or mean, they should pick up the phone and call to ask. And that they should be afraid to disagree with something you’ve say. There have been a lot of times when I’ve said I wanted something done a certain way, and a freelancer would tell me they didn’t think that’s the best way to do it, and then would suggest a better approach.

Finally, I think you need to be respectful of the time of any virtual employees or freelancers you work with. You may be working at 10 PM and shoot off an email to a team member about something important you want done. But let them know that it’s a task they should do during their regular working hours – not something that needs to be done at that late hour.

All in all, though, the benefits of working virtually outweigh the inconveniences in most cases. Besides any cost and time savings, being able to let others work virtually for you means you you are not limited to hiring just the people who live close enough to commute to your place of business.

Re: Ask The Expert: Launching Your Online Home Based Business

FeeBrown — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 21:55:59 GMT

As we head into day three, I want to encourage you to ask those burning questions you have. @JanetAttard1 will be with us for the week to help you navigate what you may not be sure of as you think about launching your online business.

Re: Ask The Expert: Launching Your Online Home Based Business

JanetAttard1 — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 01:46:08 GMT

I’d recommend contacting your local Small Business Development Center and/or your local SCORE chapter. Both resources offer free help for startups and existing businesses and have people on staff who are experts in a wide range of areas. The employees and volunteers who work in these organizations have often been business owners themselves and are well connected in the business community. Some of the specific areas of expertise may vary depending on the organization, but look to these organizations to provide guidance on everything from finding manufacturers, getting prototypes made, streamlining your own processes to improve productivity, writing your business plan and knowing where to look for loans or investors.

SCORE.org can refer you to the nearest SCORE chapter, and you can find your nearest SBDC on sbdcnet.org.

Re: Ask The Expert: Launching Your Online Home Based Business

JanetAttard1 — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 12:57:29 GMT

@FeeBrown ,

You had asked yesterday about the unexpected things involved with working virtually, and I wanted to emphasize the importance of building a team and maintaining a good working relationship with that team.

Even though you are “alone” when you’re the only owner of a home business, you aren’t really alone if you build a good team to work with.

I had a minor incident yesterday – I needed to sign, scan and send a W9 to a customer, and my printer/scanner was giving me an error message that it couldn’t connect to the computer. Restarting the computer and shutting down and restarting the printer eventually fixed the problem. But if it didn’t, I would have called an IT professional I’ve worked with for years to have him troubleshoot.

And that’s the thing. There will be times when you need to consult with others or hire them to handle tasks you don’t have the time or expertise to do. And as your business grows, you’ll find that hiring other small businesses (or eventually employees) will let you expand and grow your business.

Who you need on your team will vary somewhat from business to business, but most businesses can benefit from having an accountant and a small business attorney they can call on when needed. Besides those professionals, the people I’ve had on my team over the years include programmers, the experts at the web hosting company I’ve used for years, writers and editors, and when we sold products, a manufacturer we bought our inventory from.

Re: Ask The Expert: Launching Your Online Home Based Business

JanetAttard1 — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 16:51:49 GMT

@FeeBrown ,

I’d love to hear what your reader’ experiences are as they consider or actually launch a business from home. Some of the concerns I’ve heard over the years are about choosing a good business to start, or getting the money to start a business without impacting personal finances. Age is another concern sometimes. Friends or family may try to tell you it’s too hard to start a business if you’re over a certain age, but yet seniors often start and succeed in their own business. So, if you’re on the fence about starting a business, what’s holding you back?