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FIDDLING.DOC
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=================================================================
****** SMALL & HOME BUSINESS JOURNAL ON-DISK -- VOL I NO I ******
=================================================================
COPYRIGHT 1993 PAT FLANAGAN PUBLISHING & DESIGN
=================================================================
ARE YOU JUST FIDDLING?
by Barbara Brabec
When they work at home, the British call it "fiddling." Here in America
a lot of people earning money at home probably feel as though they're just
fiddling, too. They may put in long, hard hours on a moneymaking activity,
yet fail to generate a true profit.
Some people simply don't know what to do to make more money; others
know, yet are reluctant to do anything about it for a variety of reasons.
Some people fear failure; others fear success. Still others simply have
their minds set on staying small. But even small, part-time businesses can
generate a fair amount of capital and profit if they are properly managed
and promoted.
If you'd like to make more money from your current endeavor, the first
thing you need to do is stop fiddling around. It's a trap to think small.
If you think small, your little business will stay small. That's why I
encourage you to E-X-P-A-N-D your thinking, S-T-R-E-T-C-H your capabilities,
and R-E-A-C-H farther than you ever have reached before. Accept the fact
that you know more than you think you know, and you can do more than you
now believe possible.
To be Legal or Not -- That is the Question
Do you operate an underground business or think of your income as "money
under the table?" This is not only an unprofessional attitude but a
self-defeating trap. No business can grow if it remains hidden; it needs
visibility to survive and prosper.
But why should you be legal, especially when so many others are obviously
"getting away with it?" Even if you think the chances are pretty good you
will not be caught, I think it boils down to whether you want to be an
honest -- or dishonest -- individual. Do you prefer the feelings of pride
and accomplishment that are the rewards for honest actions, or shall you
live instead with Fear and Guilt, companions to dishonesty? As ordinary
people, we have enough feelings of guilt in our everyday lives without
having to worry about the fact that we're cheating on our taxes and could
get caught, publicly embarrassed -- and punished -- at any moment. I recall
one woman who told me she finally was going to "go legal" simply because
she was beginning to wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat,
convinced the IRS would soon be knocking on her door. Surely no amount of
taxes saved could be worth this kind of anxiety.
What too few people realize is that self-employed people qualify for many
breaks that substantially lower their taxes. You see, once you are "in
business," and not just "fiddling around," you'll find you are entitled to
a great many tax deductions that just naturally offset a sizable portion of
your annual gross income. In fact, in the early years of a business, it is
quite likely that you will end up with a business loss, at least on paper,
which might be used to offset income from salaries and other sources, and
thus cut taxes.
With all the perfectly legal tax deductions to which a legitimate home
business owner is entitled, who but a fool (and a dishonest fool at that)
would continue to hide his or her income and give them up?
(An excerpt from HOMEMADE MONEY■ Your Homebased Business Success
Guide for the 90s (Betterway Books) ■ 1992 by Barbara Brabec. Reprinted by
permission. The 4th revised edition of this marketing-oriented classic
($21.95 ppd. from the author) includes up-to-date legal and tax information,
with checklists of the many deductions to which homebased business owners
are entitled.)
**********************************************************************
* *
* ABOUT THE AUTHOR *
* *
* Barbara Brabec is one of America's most respected home-business *
* authorities and your connection to everyone in this industry. She *
* offers a special home business information package that includes *
* her publications catalog, a copy of her quarterly National Home *
* Business Report, and a list of the best free and low-cost small *
* business government resources. To receive it, send $6 to *
* "Brabec's Home Business Info Pak," P.O. Box 2137, Naperville, IL *
* 60567. *
* *
**********************************************************************