[Night Owl]

...about running your own business -- before you started?

What information that you needed to start your business, was the hardest for you to find?

The reason I'm asking is because I'm writing a serious of articles on the subject of starting a home-based business and I need testimonials and input.

Thank you!

 

[Lucky]

Tax info...
We still have a difficult time knowing the best way to claim our earnings. I often hear about all of the tax benefits that the self-employed have. It's hard to know if we are reaping all of them.
Also, how about hiring children? We have a 14 year old and would like to put $ he earns away for his future. I havn't found much info about how to do it, yet.

 

[Leddie]

When I met dh he had already been running his business with his flakey roommates for a couple of years so I got to bypass the whole start-up phase of the whole ordeal. I think the only thing I wish I would have known is how amazingly hard it is to be a WAHM, how to balance kids, while working at home (which I still don't understand!) and also how much work it all is - overall. Before kids DH and I worked evenings and weekends on our biz while maintaining 'real' jobs. After child(ren) I stayed home and worked on our business part time during the day while dh worked 'part time' at night after his 'real' job. It's really been a lot of work - we're still striving towards the day where the business can support our family (plus the four employees we have) and dh can be a WAHD. It willl hopefully be no more than 5 more years! (biz started in 1995(late, early 1996))

 

[RomansMamma]

We had a great article here in one of the local papers on WAHM's. The mom turns to her kids during the interview and asks "What does mommy do?" In unison "works!" She basicially said that in order to concentrate on one she fails at the other. I keep repeating that I just don't do anything really well anymore...not the house, children, business, nuthin'. Don't know if this is the route you wanted to go or not.