BED AND BREAKFAST THE EASIEST HOME-BASED BUSINESS

BED AND BREAKFAST THE EASIEST HOME-BASED BUSINESS

There's an exciting new "down-home" kind of business springing up
among homeowners all across the country. It's called Bed and
Breakfast.

Basically, this is a transplant of European Hospitality, adapted
and refined to the American way of doing things.  To foreign
visitors, it's the comfort and hospitality of home---staying
overnight "with people of the land" and enjoying a hearty
breakfast---without the traditional gaudiness and plastic
feelings visitors get from most big cities in the United States.
To U.S. citizens, it is a welcome alternative to the same old
hotel/motel circuit.

Now, all it takes is a spare bedroom, a good cook ad an outgoing
personality. Prices per night range from a low $25 to $100 or
more.

If you have an extra bedroom, a large home, or extra space in
your farm house, you have the necessary beginnings to start
making extra income as a Bed and Breakfast Inn. One of the
beautiful aspects of this idea is that so long  as you're hosting
"overnight visitors" on a small scale no licenses will be
required. It's always best, however to check with your local
authorities just to be sure.

Naturally, your "visitors" will expect a clean, neat and
comfortable home. So assuming that your home meets these
prerequisites, and you have a spare bedroom, simply 'doll it up"
a bit. Make sure it's painted brightly, there's an outside
window, lots of room, closet space and bureau, and perhaps a
small writing desk, and a large comfortable bed, or twin beds.

Most foreign visitors will expect and appreciate a "quick tour"
of the interesting sights in your area. However, as your
particular popularity  as a B&B Host grows, you'll find that a
lot of American tourists and business people on the road will
begin availing themselves of your hospitality. Certainly with
these people, it won't always be necessary to give the "Red
Carpet" visitors treatment.

Which brings us to the basic appeal of a Bed and Breakfast Inn.
Travelers seem to be looking for, and appreciate a quiet
"home-style" place to stay. Generally, they enjoy visiting with
the people off the superhighway and want to get away from the
sterilized atmosphere and sameness of hotels and motels.

Most people will either write to you ahead of time, inquiring
about the possibilities of staying at your home while in your
town or city. This means a bit of advertising on your part, or
listing your availability with a B&B broker. Some people will
check the local telephone listings, and the newspaper
advertisements when they arrive in a strange town. And some
people will just be driving across the country, come to a town or
city they think is interesting, and start driving through the
residential areas looking for Bed and Breakfast Inns.

Thus, you should have a small sign posed either in your front
yard or on the front of your house. This sign needn't be much
more than about two feet wide and about ten inches deep. It need
only state: BED AND BREAKFAST--Inquire Within or Call 123-4567.

For newspaper advertising, a similar listing in the personal
column of your local paper, particularly on Thursdays, Fridays
and Saturdays, will be all you'll need. But when it comes to the
yellow pages of your telephone and business directories, go with
a small display ad that describes in greater detail the comforts
and pleasures of your service.

Be sure to list your services with all the travel agencies in
your area. A brochure or a short synopsis of what you offer will
most assuredly give the travel agents an idea for steering
visitors your way. At the same time, listing your services in a
number of national travel magazines --particularly those that
cater to women--- will bring customers in for you.

Listing your services with a broker usually won't cost you
anything up front, but they will expect a certain
percentage--usually about 25% of the total bill. This same
arrangement applies with travel agents.

Now, suppose you're organized and ready to receive your first
customers. You greet them as host or hostess and offer to assist
them in getting situated in the room or rooms you have for them.
If they'd like to take a drive around your area and see the
points of interest, you do that. And then in the morning, serve
them a big, delicious breakfast.

You'll probably find that foreign visitors will want to stay
several days. With most people of this country who are just
travelling through your area, it'll be a one-night stopover.
Whatever, if they want to sleep comfortably through the night,
eat breakfast and be on their way, so be it. If they want to stay
around after breakfast and plan an itinerary for a compete visit
in your area, your assistance and help will be greatly
appreciated. (Remember those recommendations)!

That's it! The complete how and why of this tremendously
profitable business that's becoming more and more popular. It's
called Bed & Breakfast, and it's very definitely a low investment
idea. And you can parlay it into a very interesting and
comfortable income producing business--all from the comfort of
your own home!

LEGALITIES & TAX ADVANTAGES IN A HOME BUSINESS

                      LEGALITIES & TAX ADVANTAGES IN A HOME BUSINESS

Every year, several thousand people develop an interest in "going
into business." Many of these people have an idea, a product or a
service they hope to promote into an income producing business
which they can operate from their homes.

If you are one of these people, here are some practical thoughts
to consider before hanging out the "Open for Business" sign.

In areas zoned "Residential Only," your proposed business could
be illegal. In many areas, zoning restrictions rule out home
businesses involving the coming and going of many customers,
clients or employees. Many businesses that sell or even store
anything for sale on the premises also fall into this category.

Be sure to check with your local zoning office to see how the
ordinances in your particular area may affect your business
plans. You may need a special permit to operate your business
from your home; and you may find that making small changes in
your plan will put you into the position of meeting zoning
standards.

Many communities grant home occupation permits for businesses
involve typing, sewing, and teaching, but turn thumbs down on
requests from photographers, interior decorators and home
improvement businesses to be run from the home. And often, even
if you are permitted to use your home for a given business, there
will be restrictions that you may need to take into
consideration. By all means, work with your zoning people, and
save yourself time, trouble and dollars.

One of the requirements imposed might be off street parking for
your customers or patrons. And, signs are generally forbidden in
residential districts. If you teach, there is almost always a
limit on the number of students you may have at any one time.

Obtaining zoning approval for your business, then, could be as
simple as filling out an application, or it could involve a
public hearing. The important points the zoning officials will
consider will center around how your business will affect the
neighborhood. Will it increase the traffic noticeably on your
street? Will there be a substantial increase in noise? And how
will your neighbors feel about this business alongside their
homes?

To repeat, check into the zoning restrictions, and then check
again to determine if you will need a city license. If you're
selling something, you may need a vendor's license, and be
required to collect sales taxes on your transactions. The sale
tax requirement would result in the need for careful record
keeping.

Licensing can be an involved process, and depending upon the type
of business, it could even involve the inspection of your home to
determine if it meets with local health and building and fire
codes. Should this be the case, you will need to bring your
facilities up to the local standards. Usually this will involve
some simple repairs or adjustments that you can either do
personally, or hire out to a handyman at a nominal cost.

Still more items to consider: Will your homeowner's insurance
cover the property and liability in your new business? This must
definitely be resolved, so be sure to talk it over with your
insurance agent.

Tax deductions, which were once one of the beauties of engaging
in a home business, are not what they once were. To be eligible
for business related deductions today, you must use that part of
your home claimed EXCLUSIVELY AND REGULARLY as either the
principal location of your business, or place reserved to meet
patients, clients or customers.

An interesting case in point: if you use your den or a spare
bedroom as the principal place of business, working there from
8:00 to 5:00 every day, but permit your children to watch TV in
that room during evening hours, the IRS dictates that you cannot
claim a deduction for that room as your office or place of
business.

There are, however, a couple of exceptions to the "exclusive use"
rule. One is the storage on inventory in your home, where your
home is the location of your trade or business, and your trade or
business is the selling of products at retail or wholesale.
According to the IRS, such storage space must be used on a
REGULAR Basis, and be separately identifiable space.

Another exception applies to daycare services that are provided
for children, the elderly, or physically or mentally handicapped.
This exception applies only if the owner of the facility complies
with the state laws for licensing.

To be eligible for business deductions, your business must be an
activity undertaken with the intent of making profit. It's
presumed you meet this requirement if your business makes a
profit in any two years of a five-year period.

Once you are this far along, you can deduct business expenses
such as supplies, subscriptions to professional journals, and an
allowance for the business use of your car or truck. You can also
claim deductions for home related business expenses such as
utilities, and in some cases, even a new paint job for your home.


The IRS is going to treat the part of your home you use for
business as though it were a separate piece of property. This
means that you'll have to keep good records and take care not to
mix business and personal matters. No specific method of record
keeping is required, but your records must clearly justify and
deductions you claim.

You can begin by calculating what percentage of the house is used
for business, Either by number of rooms or by area in square
footage. Thus, if you use one of the five rooms for your
business, the business portion is 20 percent. If you run your
business out of a room that's 10 by 12 feet, and the total area
of your home is 1,200 square feet, the business space factor is
10 percent.

An extra computation is required if your business is a home day
care center. This is one of the exempted activities in which the
exclusive use rule doesn't apply. Check with your tax preparer
and the IRS for an exact determination.

If you're a renter, you can deduct the part of your rent which is
attributable to the business share of your house or apartment.
Homeowners can take a deduction based on the depreciation of the
business portion of their house.

There is a limit to the amount you can deduct. This is the amount
equal to the gross income generated by the business, minus those
home expenses you could deduct even if you weren't operating a
business from your home. As an example, real estate taxes and
mortgage interest are deductible regardless of any business
activity in your home, so you must subtract from your business
gross income the percentage that's allocable to the business
portion of your home. You thus arrive at the maximum amount for
home-related business deductions.

If you are self-employed, you claim your business deductions on
SCHEDULE C, PROFIT(or LOSS) for BUSINESS OR PROFESSION. The IRS
emphasizes that claiming business-at-home deductions does not
automatically trigger an audit on your tax return. Even so, it is
always wise to keep meticulously within the proper guidelines,
and of course keep detailed records if you claim business related
expenses when you are working out of your home. You should
discuss this aspect of your operation with your tax preparer or a
person qualified in the field of small business tax requirements.

If your business earnings aren't subject to withholding tax, and
your estimated federal taxes are $100 or more, you'll probably be
filing a Declaration of Estimated Tax, Form 1040 ES. To complete
this form, you will have to estimate your income for the coming
year and also make a computation of the income tax and
self-employed tax you will owe.

The self-employment taxes pay for Social Security coverage.
If you have a salaried job covered by Social Security, the
self-employment tax applies only to that amount of your home
business income that, when added to your salary, reaches the
current ceiling. When you file your Form 1040-ES, which is due
April 15, you must make the first of four equal installment
payments on your estimated tax bill.

Another good way to trim taxes is by setting up a Keogh plan or
an Individual Retirement Account. With either of these, you can
shelter some of your home business income from taxes by investing
it for your retirement.

Business To Business Versus Business To Consumer Marketing

The process of improving business and increasing sales via any distinct strategic plan is called marketing. The two types of marketing include business to business and business to consumer marketing. Although both employ the same initial steps and other marketing programs, there are some basic differences between the two.
The first distinction is the way they sell their products or services. In business to consumer, the marketer sells to the consumers, who are the end-users. While in business to business, the marketer sells the commodities to organizations or companies, such as to a business dealer so that they can sell the commodities as well and turn in profits.
Unlike the consumer marketing, the promotion in business marketing does not involve any media advertisements. Instead, it uses magazines, business newspapers, and direct mails to concerned buyer companies or organizations.
Through the years, it was known that business to business marketing has always been behind the operation of business to consumer companies. But as the years wore on and advancement on technological aspect has been seen, it has been reaping popularity because of the intensified growth.
What are the factors behind this fact?
First is the technological revolution. Black and white, the technology has taken a significant leap in terms of advancement allowing business organizations to come closer to it. The growth of business to business concept can be linked with the advancement of technologically as what was seen in the employment of websites and similar tools to improve business sales and operation.
The second is the entrepreneurship revolution. Nowadays, more and more businesses are putting their hands in different business promotion tactics. Because of this, a tremendous increase is seen in the competitive aspect of the industry. It is now a fact that competitors are becoming more innovative and aggressive in their business activities, anything that will perfect the improvement of their company or organization.
There is also the third factor, the market revolution. The significant increase in demand has to be taken into account in the market revolution. Consumers are becoming impatient with as far as supply is provided, so businesses have to discover more innovative and practical ways to meet this in the best and quickest possible ways. Thus, a change happened in the entire business marketing nature.
The fourth is the internet, probably the biggest factor to be considered in the development of business promotions. The internet played a significant role in binding the power forces and is responsible in joint ventures between huge industries and companies together. More and more businesses are reaching out to other businesses with the realization that both would gain bigger profit if they work together.  
The Main Objective
The business to business marketing aims to boost the shareholder value it holds in the market. So, while it is not aggressive when it comes to promotion, it is when in terms of branding of the services or products. It doesn't have to reach the consumer end users, but its role in developing the business and giving it firm position in the industry relies heavily on the reputation it makes by having a superior product or service branding.
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