Treating Yourself as a Business
If you have a Virtual Assistant or other home-based business, chances are you work from home, and may not consider yourself as much more than a person working for him or herself. But if you are dedicated to the idea of building your customer base and making more money over time, you may need to shift your perspective slightly, and treat yourself as more of a business. Having a business mindset does not mean that you have to be stiff and boring, or wear a suit to work...
... every day. But it can mean having a bit more dignity and respect for yourself. Carrying yourself in this manner may mean that you also receive respect from others in turn, and that you can save a lot of money for things you're already doing, while racking up some serious points. American Express is a company dedicated to small business. Witness their Small Business Gold Card. They understand that sometimes, a business faces obstacles, especially at the beginning, when money tends to be tight. The fee is free for the entire first year, and you can earn up to 100,000 points in that time period. Also, there's no pre-set spending limit, which is great for those times when you just can't predict what you're going to bring in. We also love our Discover Card, which helps us earn points for goods and services we're going to buy anyway. The Platinum Card, which can be applied for below, has no annual fee, a full 5% cashback bonus on Get More purchases and a 1% cashback bonus on all other purchases. Cash back? As in, more money for my personal pocket? Bring it on! If you're going to treat yourself as a business, and may not have the best credit record now, you need the services of Improve Your Credit Scores. Founder Stephen Snyder can teach you how to pay less for your home, lower your car payment, and get approved for all the best credit offers at the lowest interest rates. And if you're building a business credit, you need to know how to do this! But a business isn't all about spending, though some days, it may feel that way. Treating yourself as a business is also about saving ... for your retirement. No one's putting money into your personal IRA but you now, so it's best to get some structure in place, and put money into your retirement account before it leaves your hand for some new shoes, or tickets to that playoff game. Sharebuilder has the best program, bar none, for small businesses. It's all done online, from registration through management and deposits, so there's nothing you need to do except join! You can tailor your 401k, depending on the number of employees you have, or open one just for yourself. You can also offer profit-sharing, or just give yourself a place to entrust your cash. Plus, with an optional payroll package, you don't even need to integrate the 401k into your accounting system. They'll do it all for you, which is the best way of all, don't you think?
Copyright 2006 AssistantGirls.com
Alyson Mead is founder of http://www.AssistantGirls.com She spent eight years as a book editor in New York, working for companies such as Scholastic, Macmillan, McGraw-Hill, Glencoe, Steck-Vaughn, Silver Burdett & Ginn, Prentice-Hall and others. She has published hundreds of freelance articles in journals such as Salon.com, ChickClick, MSN.com, In These Times and many more, and ghostwritten several book projects.
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