Mastermind Roundup

I’ve been telling you all about my Platinum and Silver Mastermind groups, that I am in through Alexandria Brown.  Let me share with you some of their wisdom! Read more

When do you need a Tax ID number or EIN for your business?

Question:  “Do I have to get a tax ID number or employer identification number (EIN) to run my business from home?  Can I just use my social security number (SNN)?”

Answer:  It depends.

Let’s start at the beginning.

A tax ID number or employer identification number (EIN) is a number you get from the U.S. federal government that gives an identification number to a business, much like a social security number does for a person.  States also issue tax ID numbers (unlike the social security number system, where you use the same number for both federal and state dealings, you must get a separate number for each state).  This ID number is what you use for tax filings and other dealings with the government.

If you have a business that is not incorporated and is not an LLC, and you are running it as a sole proprietorship (the default if you have not formed a business entity), your default tax ID number is your own social security number.  If you form a business entity (corporation or LLC) or partnership, which is technically a separate “person” from you (even if you are the sole owner and the only worker), then you must get an tax ID number for that business.  You must also get an EIN if you hire employees, because you need that number for your payroll tax filings.

Even if you are not required, you still may want to get a tax ID number for your business.  Why?  Because you don’t want to have to list your personal social security number every time you file out an application for a business credit card or sign a business contract. 

Getting a federal tax ID number is free and easy.  Just fill out a form on the IRS website and you get the tax ID number immediately online, with no waiting.   You are not changing your tax status (if you are a sole proprietorship you are still a pass through tax entity) and do not have any additional paperwork or taxes, just from getting the ID number. 

For more information, check out the IRS’s explanation of Employer ID Numbers.  

Photo courtesy of Beatrice Murch (blmurch) on Flickr. 

Is Registering Your Domain Enough, or Do You Also Need to Register a Trademark?

Question from one of you:  Once you get a business logo made and have a domain, do you still need to register the service or trademark?

Answer:  Read more

12 Common Mistakes Made By New Website Owners

Now that I have had a website for over 4 years, I constantly get questions from business owners who are new to the web, who want some basic help and tips about creating their first website.  Here are 12 common mistakes made by new website owners:  Read more

When Do You Need to Register a Trademark or Copyright?

In the United States, you automatically have some trademark and copyright protections if you meet certain conditions.  However, to get international protections, and to be able to really enforce your trademarks and copyrights, you will need to register them.  But if you had to register everything, it would be expensive and time consuming — so when do you draw the line?  Read more

Copyright and Trademark: What’s the difference between trademarks and copyrights?

Copyrights and trademarks are both intellectual property rights that you may own as a business owner or entrepreneur.  But many new business owners are confused about the role of each right in their business, and what the differences are between these property rights.

A trademark is a word(s) or symbol you use in commerce in conjunction with a product or service.  A copyrighted work is a original creative work that has been memorialized in tangible format.  But how does that apply to you as a small business owner?   Read more

Want to get ahead? Take care of #1.

It had been 5 years since I had been to the eye doctor.  And I wear contacts and have a strong prescription, so I am definitely supposed to go every year.  But it felt just like a "supposed" to me (like I how I am supposed to wipe down the kitchen counter tops each night, which is never going to happen), so I’m never going to be motivated to do it.

But over the last few months my eyes have been driving me crazy.  Read more

Business Owner’s Mistake #4: Spending Money on Promotions Like Everyone Else

When people are spending money on marketing, on advertising, because everybody else in their industry spends the same money the same way, they are probably making an expensive mistake. 

Everybody has a Yellow Pages ad.  Everybody has an ad in the newspaper.  Everybody else sends out mailings in the same way.  And so because you figure, well, if everybody else is doing it, that’s probably what I’m supposed to be doing, that’s how you decide to spend your budget.  That is the wrong way to make the decision about how to spend money on promotion.

Is being like everyone else a benefit to you?   Read more

Book Review: No B. S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs by Dan Kennedy

Dan Kennedy is a Character.  Love him or hate him, he tells it like it is, and in his books (and info products) he gives million-dollar checklists for doubling your business income, or more. 

The book No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs: The Ultimate No Holds Barred Kick Butt Take No Prisoners Guide to Time Productivity & Sanity is no exception.  Dan Kennedy passes on practical tips you could implement today that will help you get more done in the same amount. of time.  This is NOT a time management system or another way to create a to do list.  He teaches action steps you can take that will change how you value your time, and keep people from getting in your way so you can get stuff done. Read more

Practice Complete Delegation or Don’t Bother

By now, you’ve heard me tell you that you must be delegating; you must be outsourcing your phone calls, emails, bookkeeping, and formatting to a Virtual Assitant, and you must be outsourcing your errands and organizing to a Personal Assistant.  Maybe you’ve tried to follow my advice, but you’ve found that it has not saved that much time overall, because you still have to manage the new person. 

That’s because you have made a grave mistake.  Read more

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