The 60-Second Commute: A Guide to Your 24/7 Home Office Life

CONTENTS......Page 12
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 18
INTRODUCTION......Page 20
CHAPTER 1 Next Stop—Home......Page 28
Is Working On Your Own Right For You?......Page 35
Do You Have the Right Stuff?......Page 39
Get On Board......Page 40
A Room With a View of the – Laundry......Page 42
A Room With a Door......Page 43
The Kid Zone......Page 44
Work and Play......Page 46
Equipment Concerns......Page 47
Ergonomics: Keeping Comfortable in the Home Office......Page 48
The 60-Second Office: Your Style......Page 49
Equipment and Gadgets......Page 50
Communication Lines: The ’Net and Phones......Page 54
Time . . . Where Does It Go?......Page 62
Organized from the Start......Page 63
Body Clock Blues: Beating Them through Time Management......Page 64
Java Jolts......Page 65
Quiet Time......Page 66
Shutting the Door, Even if You Don’t Have One......Page 67
“Plan B”: When a Good Day Goes Bad—Very Bad......Page 68
Time Management and Productivity......Page 71
Procrastination: We Saved the Best for Last......Page 72
CHAPTER 5 Organization: How to Get Your Act Together......Page 76
How Organized Are You (Really)?......Page 78
Building a System of Organization in Five Quick Steps......Page 80
Invasion of the Little People in Your Home Office......Page 89
The Rhythm of the Household......Page 91
You Can Fool Some of the People Some of the Time......Page 92
Letterhead, Business Cards, & Brochures: Make Them “Sing”......Page 93
Start-up Options......Page 102
Commonly Asked Questions About Articles of Incorporation......Page 107
Your Business Plan......Page 109
Three Ways to Write a Business Plan......Page 111
Giving Your Business a Name......Page 112
Registering a Website......Page 113
Disaster Plans for Your Business......Page 114
Have Map Will Travel......Page 119
CHAPTER 8 Taxes: Don’t Get Caught Asleep at the Wheel......Page 120
Your Accountant......Page 121
Jumping Off Point......Page 122
Deciding on Your Tax Year......Page 123
Which Accounting Method Should You Use?......Page 124
Keeping It Simple......Page 125
Taking a Look at Your Track Record......Page 126
Home Office Deductions......Page 127
Determining Your Partial Deductions......Page 129
Business Deductions......Page 130
Explanation of Typical Business Deductions and Expenses......Page 132
Erase These Items Off Your Deductions List......Page 133
Child Care Tax Credit......Page 134
When to File Your Tax Return and What Forms to Use......Page 135
Who Pays Quarterly Taxes?......Page 136
The Important Month of January......Page 137
Flying Below the Radar......Page 138
Commonly Asked Tax Questions......Page 140
CHAPTER 9 Legal Eagles: Understanding Your Business and the Law......Page 144
Hiring Your Lawyer......Page 145
Making Sure You’re in the Zone......Page 146
Business Licenses and Permits......Page 149
Intellectual Properties......Page 152
Trademarks......Page 153
Patents......Page 154
Copyrights......Page 155
Nondisclosure Agreements......Page 157
Commonly Asked Legal Questions......Page 158
Keeping Your Eye on the Prize......Page 160
Health Insurance......Page 162
Long-Term Disability......Page 163
Life Insurance......Page 164
Finding an Agent/Insurance......Page 165
The Party’s Over......Page 166
Trouble in Paradise......Page 167
What to do BEFORE You Lose Your Job......Page 168
Your First Steps After Losing Your Job......Page 169
Don’t Be Bamboozled......Page 171
Red Flags for a Possible Scam......Page 172
Turning Lemons into Lemonade......Page 173
The My Time, Your Time, Our Time Rule......Page 176
How Do You Know What You Need?......Page 178
The Menu of Child Care Options......Page 180
The Difference Between a Nanny and an Au Pair......Page 181
Taxable Nanny......Page 183
The Difference Between Family Day Care and Day Care Centers......Page 184
Who’s Watching the Kids?—The ABC’s of Background Checks......Page 185
Coming Face-to-Face......Page 187
Crib Sheets......Page 189
Making Your Best Choice......Page 190
Pep-Talking Yourself When You Only Hear an Echo......Page 193
Ten Things to Do When Hard Times Happen......Page 196
Remember These Guys?......Page 197
Getting Your Boss to Let You Do the 60-Second Slide to the Office......Page 199
Flex Your Flexibility......Page 200
Beware of Backlash......Page 201
Overdoing It......Page 202
Networking Is the Name of the Game......Page 203
PR Tips......Page 205
The Success Monster......Page 207
APPENDIX A: Government Resources......Page 209
APPENDIX B: Organizations and Associations......Page 211
APPENDIX C: Start-Up Assistance......Page 217
APPENDIX D: Web Hot Spots......Page 219
C......Page 223
I......Page 224
T......Page 225
Z......Page 226
REFERENCES......Page 227
INDEX......Page 229
D......Page 230
I......Page 231
P......Page 232
T......Page 233
Z......Page 234