Self-employment is the ticket to higher earnings without limit and the right to control and work your own schedule. But it’s not easy work. A lot of self-employed people are working longer hours and weeks than ever in their own business. The difference is they are doing work they truly enjoy, and are getting paid for it!

You have the talent and ability to work on your own! Perhaps you’re just not sure what business you’d like to specialize in.

Sales aren’t just the slick folks on the automobile showroom who want to know what it will take to get you in that car today. Selling is the process by which a product reaches a consumer. It can take many forms. If you have some preconceived ideas about sales right now, erase them from your mind. Start with a clean slate by remaining open to all possibilities in your home-based businesses.

After all, if you’re marketing a product you would buy yourself, it will be easy to convince others of its value. Since you’re selecting the right business opportunity, you’ll unquestionably choose the business that has the most appeal to you. Selling something you love almost never feels like work, or real selling!

HOW TO GET STARTED

If you currently have a job, you may want to break into your home-based business on a part-time basis until you’ve built up enough earnings base to leave. There will probably be no greater feeling than when you walk out the door and into a business where you call the shots!

If you’re between jobs, then by all means go at this full-force. All you need to do is to contact the businesses listed here that interest you and begin the process of determining if this is right for you.

There may be several opportunities here that are franchises. There is no available data that says that electing to go the franchise route to start your business has any lower success rate than beginning a new business from scratch. Again, view these choices with an open mind and investigate the opportunity thoroughly before making the commitment. If you’re working part or full time, you can, perhaps, be even choosier.

THE TOP 10 WAYS TO EARN MONEY AT HOME

1. ANTIQUES

The buying and selling of antiques has been and should continue to be a very productive business, financially, for those that do it. Here, you only need an extra room in the house, or the use of your garage — and you have an office!

If you have a large home that has some antique furnishings, you might consider turning it into a showroom for your antique acquisitions and sales, providing you satisfy any local zoning regulations. The interest in antiques will survive into the foreseeable future. Many people choose to spend their free time on the weekends “antiquating” from place to place to try and pick up a few odds or ends and maybe a jewel or two. If you know anything about antiques, this may be a great opportunity for you.

For more information, check out the book, “Buying and Selling Antiques”, by Don Cline and Sara Pitzer. Your local library may be filled with other publications on this subject that can get you started quickly. Your only overhead may be inventory and advertising!

2. BAKING

Have you ever been told that you have a recipe which people would line up to get if they could? Ever had anyone tell you that you should be selling those cupcakes you make? There are a number of success stories about people who have launched successful businesses by cooking at home and then marketing to local people first. Word of mouth on a good product may start to get restaurants or bakeries interested in acquiring your culinary masterpieces. Then you progress to selling them state-wide and presto! A winning home-based business!

For more practical advice on the assorted aspects of setting up a specialty foods business, you should contact your local U.S. Department of Agriculture Home Extension Agent in your county. Since every U.S. county has such an individual, that person shouldn’t be hard to find!

3. BED AND BREAKFAST PROPRIETOR(S)

Have you ever stayed in a bed and breakfast and thought, “hey, I can do this!” You probably went on vacation and simply chalked your thought up as one of those pipedreams one gets when they stay in a beautiful spot.

Don’t toss that thought away! While it’s not easy work as the hours can be long and it’s usually a seven days per week business, it’s often something that you can work into a daily schedule. After all, it’s merely an extension of doing the housework for family, right? More and more Americans are taking after Europeans and opening their homes to travelers. If you have an extra room or two since the kids moved out, you can start a bed and breakfast in your own place!

Bed and breakfast popularity will continue as more and more vacationers and business travelers seek a different accommodation away from the predictability of the average hotel room. If they enjoy their stay, many become “repeat” customers, coming back to the same familiar surroundings time and again.

If you don’t need to do any major renovations in the house to accommodate this type of establishment, you can be off and running with very little money invested, other than advertising and some new “guest room supplies”. If your dream is to buy a bed and breakfast somewhere in a vacation paradise, there are probably houses for sale that will work for this purpose.

Whatever your design, there are several good books on the subject of starting your own bed and breakfast, including “Start Your Own Bed and Breakfast”, by Beverly Mathews. Check them out at your local library.

4. CHILD CARE

Due to the financial pressures many families face today, many parents work outside of the home to bring in enough income to pay daily living expenses. A single parent is obviously working but all too often both members of a two parent family are in the workforce.

This creates a home-based opportunity. Children must be watched, all day if they’re not in school, or, otherwise, for a brief time after school before the parents finish work for the day.

Caring for one additional child may not be that lucrative, but taking care of several children can certainly be a full-time, financially successful business. Often, taking care of several children is made somewhat easier as the youngsters often will play together.

You can do this at home for only a small investment in basic equipment and toys for the kids in addition to the advertising of your business. There are several publications that address starting this type of business, including “Family Day Care”, by Betsy Squibb.

Another resource is the Day Care Council of America, 5730 Market Street, Oakland, CA. 94608.

5. COMPUTER SPECIALIST

The advent of the computer age has changed the concept of self-employment. Having a computer at home has opened a number of opportunities for running your own business utilizing this equipment. Companies everywhere are “outsourcing” work that can be done by someone else on their computer, out of their own home.

If you’re not that familiar with a computer, there are many low-cost (or free) seminars and classes that will teach you what equipment you need and how to use it.

If you’re a whiz in computers, you may end up working as a consultant, writing programs for companies. If you’re a beginner, you may find yourself able to obtain work as a writer, using your computer to produce copy that’s easy to edit. You can also keep accounting and payroll records for companies on your computer’s database.

Word processing software can be used not only for writers but for those that can offer secretarial services out of their house. Desktop publishing software can allow you to do newsletters for businesses and other organizations.

For more educational data, contact the Information Resources Clearinghouse at Syracuse University’s School of Education, 030 Huntington Hall, 150 Marshall Street, Syracuse, N.Y. 13244. Their phone number is (315) 443- 3640.

There are a substantial number of good publications, too. Your local library will have several books on computer occupations. If you can operate a computer, you can find work in the information age today.

6. GARDENING

If you like working in your garden each year and growing vegetables for your family to eat, it’s a definite possibility for home-based employment. Imagine clearing a little more space and growing more items that you can sell directly to the consumer.

Most produce stands will buy from you if your product is one of high quality. If you enjoy gardening, this could be your ticket! If you have some more land to use, do it! Plant what you can, when you can! Contact your local produce stands to ascertain their buying habits.

You can even inquire about your own produce stand if you have enough product. The more space you have on your land, the more likely you will be able to generate enough crops to run the business.

People love home-grown vegetables. They just don’t have the time or want to be bothered doing it themselves. That’s your open door!

For more information, consult books like “Plants for Profit,” and “A Complete Guide to Growing & Selling Greenhouse Crops”, by Francis Jozwik.

7. IMPORTER AND DISTRIBUTOR

There are a substantial number of products manufactured in other countries which can be bought inexpensively and sold here in the United States at a profitable level. The recent passages of the Congressional bills, NAFTA and GATT, may make it easier to bring in other products from other countries.

This is a business easily operated out of the home, depending on the types of stock you’re carrying. You may have to rent some storage space, but the capital required to start should essentially be limited to the products you’re buying to sell here.

Two good resources for you are:

* American Importers Association Membership Directory, 420 Lexington Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017; and

* American Register of Importers and Exporters, 38 Park Row, New York, N.Y. 10038.

You can also look at books in your library such as “How To Make A Fortune In Import/Export”, by Howard R. Goldsmith, obviously an optimistic look at this type of business.

If you know the type of product you want to import and the market most likely to purchase your goods, you have great potential for a successful home-based business.

8. INTERIOR DECORATOR

While this business will require you to be out and about, meeting with customers, it’s the type of work many people would love to do. If you have a fascination for decorating a home, this could be your line of work.

Many people don’t know where to start when they are remodeling or buying a house for the first time. If you have the knowledge of colors and patterns and what looks good together, plus the expertise of knowing where to get materials and furnishings, this can be a winning home-based business for you.

One excellent resource to consult is the “Interior Design Directory”, available through Whitney Communication Corporation, 1050 E. 58th Street, New York, N.Y. 10155.

9. PHOTOGRAPHER

The sky’s the limit here! Armed with your trusty camera and some good advertising, you can do weddings, models, family portraits, passports, student photos, local newspaper coverage; almost anything that requires a picture!

You can easily start this work, part-time, and work into full-time work based on your success and inclination. Not much equipment is necessary to get going as a camera off the store shelf can often do the trick today. Picking up a tripod and having a room sufficient for developing your pictures, and you’re in business — at home!

There are a number of excellent books available in your local library to get you started on the path of professional photography.

10. SEWING & ALTERATIONS

Many people love to sew. If you’re one of them, consider offering this service out of your home. When someone buys a new outfit, it rarely fits perfectly, meaning some kind of alteration must be done.

People look long and hard to find reliable individuals to do their alterations. If you can sew, you’re well on your way to opening the doors of this type of business.

One resource you can review is “Sewing for Profit”, by Judith and Allan Smith. Or your library will have a handful of capable publications on starting up this type of business.

These are our suggestions as to the top 10 ways to earn money at home, enough to be a full-time self-employed businessperson!

But there are many other opportunities. The listings that follow may give you some other ideas you need to get started in business for yourself.

Are you ready to start up your own business now?

As a tax professional, I prepare hundreds of tax returns every year. When I first started out, I used to think that the best way I could help people was to prepare a return as accurately and as quickly as possible. You know, provide great customer service.

And it is very important that your return be done “right” –all the numbers on the right lines, using the right forms, etc.

But no matter how good a job I did preparing tax returns, every year I would hear the same complaint over and over again from my clients:

“I pay way too much tax. The government is getting way too much of my money. What can I do to pay less tax? How can I lower my tax bill — legally?”

Sound familiar? I’d bet a lot of money that you’ve felt this way, too. Most people feel this way. And I know that most small business owners feel this way.

And most people really don’t know what to do about it. I mean, what can you, the typical self-employed person, do to lower your taxes?

I’m here to tell that there is plenty you can do. So let’s get started. Here are 4 simple steps you can take to drastically reduce your taxes:

STEP #1: Understand How Serious Your Tax Problem Is

I’m a numbers guy. So here’s a few numbers that will simply amaze you, startle you, probably (and hopefully) even shock you.

Are you aware of just how much in taxes you are paying? Sure, when you look at your tax return each year, you see the numbers, right there in black and white. But I rarely meet someone who truly understands the significance of your annual tax bill.

Well here are the numbers. And it ain’t pretty. The following is a chart that tells how much the average family spends on various consumer categories — as a percentage of income. It’s not just how much you spend on taxes that is important, it’s how much you spend on taxes as compared to all other major categories of spending.

Consumer Spending: How Do You Spend Your Hard-Earned Dollars?

Taxes 32.0%
Housing 16.7%
Medical Care 11.5%
Food 8.2%
Transportation 7.9%
Recreation 5.7%
Clothing 4.1%
Savings 1.4%
Other 12.5%
TOTAL 100.0%

So there you have it. If you think you are being nailed by the government, you are absolutely right. You spend more on taxes than any other category of consumer spending. In fact, you spend more on taxes than on food, clothing, and housing combined. (Run the numbers: Food-8.2% + Clothing-4.1% + Housing-16.7% = 29% vs. Taxes-32.0%)

Think about it — the Average American spends 32% of his/her income on taxes. And it’s not just federal income taxes we’re talking about here. There’s also state income taxes and local income taxes (like your city or county).

Oh, we’re not done. That 32% also includes “Payroll Taxes” — for employees, that’s the 7.65% of your gross wage that goes to fund Social Security and Medicare programs; for business owners and self-employed people, Payroll Taxes are double that amount — 15.3% of your wages or self-employment income.

And if that’s not enough, there is also Sales Tax, Excise Tax, and Property Tax.

Finally, we should include Corporate Income Tax. Why do I include that? Well, where do corporations get the money to pay their corporate income tax? From consumers like you and me, that’s where! When you buy groceries, part of the price is going to be used by the grocery store to pay the store’s income tax. The grocery store just passed his tax bill on to you.

Here’s another way to look at it. Each year economists do a calculation to determine “Tax Freedom Day”. What is “Tax Freedom Day”? It’s a way to graphically depict that we spend 32% of our money on taxes. In Year 2008, Tax Freedom Day was April 23. That means that from January 1 through April 22, all the money you made went to taxes. Finally, on April 23, you now get to keep what you make for the rest of the year.

By the way, the April 23 date is a national average. Your actual Tax Freedom Day may actually be a few days sooner or later than April 23, depending on which state you live in. That’s because state and local taxes vary considerably. For example, Washington, DC residents do not get to celebrate Tax Freedom Day until May 3. Connecticut’s Tax Freedom Day is May 8 (the latest of any state.) The earliest state to celebrate Tax Freedom Day is Alaska – March 29.

Maybe you already knew “intuitively” that your Tax Bill is outrageously high. If not, the picture I’ve just painted should thoroughly convince you that you pay too much tax, period.

STEP #2: Get The Right Attitude About Your Taxes

What do I mean by this? Well, you simply must have a certain “mental attitude” toward this whole idea of paying taxes. I’ll get right to the point — you must have an attitude about taxes that says, “Enough is enough. I’m paying way too much tax and I don’t like it! And it’s about time I did something about it.”

After reading those numbers above — paying 32% of your income to the government — how do you feel? Doesn’t that just make you furious? If so, great, then you are on your way to solving this problem.

If you saw those numbers above and said, “Big deal. So I work until April 23 for the government. So what? So does everybody else in this country” — well, I’m sorry, but you might as well just throw this article in the trash and forget about it. You will continue to pay way too much tax because you really don’t care about it.

To reduce your taxes, you must have a desire for paying less tax. You must get focused on doing something about it. Right now, or before the day is over, go get last year’s personal income tax return (Form 1040) and look at how much tax you paid for last year.

Now, when you have Form 1040 in front of you, do you realize where the most important number is on this form?

NO, it’s not Line 73 — which tells you how much of a refund you got (if any!).

NO, it’s not Line 76 — which tells you how much you still owed, the balance due with the return.

The most important number on Form 1040 is Line 63. Read it. It says: This is your TOTAL TAX. That is how much federal tax you paid for all of last year. When it comes to reducing your taxes, it doesn’t matter whether you got a refund or whether you had a balance due.

What matters is — what was your total tax liability for the year. That’s the “magic number” that should just make your blood boil and your heart beat so fast that you can hardly stand it.

Now that I’ve got you all “riled up” about paying so much tax, let’s move on to Step #3.

STEP #3: Realize That Reducing Taxes Is the Easiest Path Possible to Putting Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars in Your Pocket

Consider this simple fact: Reducing your taxes by just $4,000 per year is the easiest way possible to becoming a millionaire.

Let me elaborate.

First, let me “run the numbers” for you. Let’s say you implement some new tax-saving strategies that reduce your taxes by $4,000 each year. Now, if you take that $4,000 per year in tax savings and invest it over the next 30 years, assuming you earn 5.25% on your investment, you end up with $310,584 at the end of the 30 years.

And here’s the best part about this scenario: Where did you get the $4,000/year to invest? Well, you got it from money that would have gone to Uncle Sam. It’s money that you used to spend on taxes, part of the 32% of your income that goes to taxes each year.

In effect, it’s free money. It’s money that was always there — you just didn’t realize it.

Is this a good deal or what? In effect, by taking advantage of the tax reduction strategies you’ll read about shortly, the government will finance a huge chunk of your retirement nest egg.

And let’s say your tax situation is such that you save $2,000/year instead of $4,000/year. Same assumptions: you invest the $2,000 each year at 5.25% for 30 years. End result: $155,292. Not too shabby, eh?

So all you have to do is come up with the tax-saving strategies that will put $2,000 or $4,000 in your pocket each and every year. Which brings us to Step #4.

STEP #4: Get Hold Of The Tax-Saving Strategies That Will Make You Rich

You know, it doesn’t really take much information to save a lot of money in taxes. It is true: just a little bit of tax knowledge can save you thousands of dollars every year.

Useful tax information is freely available. On the internet, at your local library, and through your local tax professional.

The question is: Are you willing to spend some time this year learning about effective tax strategies that can save you literally thousands of dollars?

Here’s a simple goal to set for yourself: Over the next 10 weeks, set aside just an hour a week to read up on tax-reduction strategies. That’s all, just 10 hours.

Chances are you’ll find 2 or 3 strategies that reduce your tax bill by $1,000 this year.

So you spend 10 hours and, in effect, pay yourself an extra $1,000 for your time. Not a bad hourly rate, eh?

That’s all it takes to pay less tax.