Write Off Your IPod as a Business Expense

If you recall, a few weeks ago, I wrote about how I was loaded down with mp3s and starting a new exercise program and getting Sexy, Skinny and Smart by hitting the road with my new mp3 player. Well, I found this great article which made me hunt down my reciept for my little mp3 player. I'm definitely going to look into this! ;)

Write Off Your IPod as a Business Expense

If you've been eyeing those sleek new Ipods but you didn't like the price tag, Uncle Sam wants to help you buy one.

Before I go on, here's the standard CYA...

I'm providing this as information only. It's up to you and your tax professional to figure out if this is indeed a legitimate tax strategy for you. Now on with the show...

There are two principles at work here:

1) You have the right to deduct reasonable and necessary business expenses from your income before calculating tax on that income.

2) Continuing education to improve your business results has long been recognized as a reasonable and necessary expense.

So where does that shiny new Ipod fit in?

If you're like me, you have many hours of mp3 recordings on your hard drive-- recorded conference calls, teleseminars, webcasts and other educational materials. I know I have well over 100 hours of such material on my hard drive.

There are also an increasing number of podcasts available dealing with business topics. Listening to those relevant to your business contributes to your ongoing business education.

There are also similar offerings on subjects like investing, tax planning, and so on.

Purchase your iPod through your business, and you can expense the total cost the year you buy it.

How's this for leverage?

You (meaning your business) spends $200 for a new Ipod. You write off the entire cost this year, reducing your taxable income by $200.

You load up that 4 hour webinar you've been meaning to get around to, and listen while commuting. You learn something that adds $200 to your bottom line immediately.

Congratulations! You just got your iPod for zero net cost.

And the iPod is so small and light that you can leverage a lot of dead time (commuting, waiting in line, workouts at the gym, etc.) into productive continuing business education.

And it even plays music!

Music to help you concentrate while writing that new article or newsletter.

Making that music a deduction on its own.As one guru said, the proper question is not"Can I deduct this?"

The proper question is

"How can I deduct this?"

John McCabe covers business topics like tax savings for the Success Letter, part of John McCabe's Web Guides.

What is a Mastermind Group?

If you follow my blog or newsletter, you know that I rave on and on ... and on about MomMasterminds.

I wrote an article today answering one of the most popular questions I get asked.

"WHAT IS A MASTERMIND GROUP ANYWAY?"

Let me know what you think!
Nicole

What is Chitika? Can it make me money?

I’m a big fan of google adsense (who isn’t?!) So, when I read about this new program, Chitika, I didn’t give it much attention.
I don’t know if you’ve tried Chitika yet, but it’s basically a new kind of adsense, but with an e-mall setting (with product images).

I’m testing it right now, and thought you might like to see what it’s about. Plus, they have an affiliate program.

Here’s the link:
TRY CHITIKA NOW

You can have it on the same pages as adsense as long as you have it set so you enter the keywords, and don’t make it contextual. If you have it on a page with google search, then you have to disable the search feature on the minimall which is super easy to do. Once you apply, I’ll send you my little tutorial on Chitika. Just let me know when you apply. 

I am pretty excited about this. I hope it makes us some good money. ;)
Nik

PS. Still not convinced? Here's a little tutorial for you
Chitika eMiniMalls Tutorial

Vote for Nell -- She's awesome!

Mary and Heather, of MomsTown.com, are appearing on Dr. Phil on the 21st of this month. They are putting together a listing of top mom sites and they are putting this list together with YOUR votes!

So if you have a spare moment to fill out a very quick form, I’d sure appreciate your vote for MommysPlace.net, owned by my friend, Nell. It's a Work at home mom website about telecommuting and home business.

Nell has helped me a ton the last year, and is a great friend, so if you get a minute,
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VOTE for Nell

Thank you so much!
:D Nik

I love this free SEO ebook!

I just finished reading this free ebook about improving your Search Engine Optimization. I thought it was a great beginner course -- and it had tips in it that a more advanced user might benefit from as well.

I hope you enjoy it! Feel free to share it with your friends or ezine:

SEO Made Easy

Let me know what you think of it!
Nicole

If you only had 1 hour a day to devote to your business...

A few months back I posted this story on my network.

I was recently forced to really streamline my business activities. For personal reasons I have had to limit the time I can work on 'my stuff' while still needing to see my income drastically increase. Quite the predicament I'm faced with, no? ;)

So, as always, when I need advice,
I talked to my friend, Nell Taliercio of www.mommysplace.net ,
I posted at my Ryze Network/
and I asked my mentors for advice at MomMasterminds
MM: MomMasterminds Free Trial - Special Offer

I asked "If you only had one hour a day to devote to your business, how would you spend it?"

When I asked myself that question, it made me focus more on thigs that are most productive. Personally, I've given up a lot of my forums and ryze groups, and, as you know, I've bought my cool little mp3 player so I can combine learning with exercise.
MP3 player: My mp3 player

Other than that, I'm making a list every morning of 6 things I want to accomplish for the day and am trying to stick to it. (those who get the WC saw my mostly-sane daily list -- a little scary, isn't it? lol)
WC: What is the WC?

Whether your business is online or offline, I do think this is important -- to identify your time wasters and to focus on the activities that make you mo.ney.

Here are some replies from the smart members of my Ryze network.

They said...

Go online only to check emails once or twice per day - and just briefly. I have an autoreply set up with the office phone number if people want to reach me quickly. I check the messages if I am out of the office.

I spend more time networking offline than online as it is much more effective.

I carry cards everywhere and pass them out as I go along.

One thing I would work on is getting good link parteners. Not only will good links get your site indexed more, it can lead to increased traffic.

Stuff like emails and posting I think need to come after the mo.ney making activities like calling leads and building quality content webpages.

I'd automate my business as far as I could.

If I had only one hour per day I would focus on my customers, my business leads and my downline. Helping people comes first.

I too have become very selective of which forums and networking groups I'm involved in.

I have developed a large list of customers and leads, contacting 4 per day by phone it would take me more than a year to get through them all!

I would improve my web site's SEO. This is a never ending project.

Income generating activities... anything that builds my customer base or helps my team build their business...phone calls and specific networking geared toward that....

I'd say adding content to my websites, writing on my blogs, putting together my newsletter, posting to my forum...the things that I enjoy and make me money.

To make money immediately and really connect with people, I need to use the phone more.

A note on using the phone. Remember this:
Two calls a week is 100 calls in a year.
Three calls a week is 150 call per year...
One call a day is 365 calls in a year.
It really adds up.

I hope this gave you some inspiration to help you to gain focus on your computer and work time.

I'd love to get your thoughts on this. I can always use good advice. :)
Talk to you soon!
Nicole

Free Ebook Full of Website Promotion Ideas

I found a great free ebook a few weeks ago on getting traffic that I think you'll learn a lot from. Feel free to share it with your friends. Free ebook

Free Reprint Articles for your Site, Blog, or Ezine

Do you ever struggle to come up with interesting information for your direct sales team, your website, blog or ezine?

Free reprint articles are the perfect solution. There are people all over the world who have written informative, entertaining articles on topics and you have permission to share them.

Just make sure to include their 'resource box' at the end of the article. Here's a new collection of articles written by women (with reprint rights). http://ladypens.com/

By the way, sharing articles is a very good way to get free advertising. If you're unfamiliar with the benefits of writing articles for others, then check out my article about it... Why-Write-Articles.htm
I hope you see the potential of this type of free marketing.

If you have any questions, just ask. :)

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Please stop by http://www.thebreastcancersite.com for your holiday shopping. It's a great place to shop, and a wonderful cause to support.

And, it's that time of year to promote BreastPals once again.
If you know anyone with a great sense of humor about breasts -- then send them here. http://www.breastpals.com
(YES - she paints with her breasts, but it does benefit Breast Cancer Research - read her FAQ. You'll love the one about eggplants) ;)

If you'd like to set up a free store selling t-shirts, mugs, or even dog clothing with your logo, set up an account
here

Are you a mostly-sane WAHM, too?

*Note: This article was originally published in the WC *

I have a confession.

I’m a mostly-sane WAHM. I’m far from the ‘got it together’ work at home mom that I’d like to be.

I believe that there are a lot of women out there like me – clutching onto your sanity while juggling family, daily work requirements, basketball practice, ballet recitals, PTA meetings, and the many other responsibilities we carry on our shoulders.

If you’ve been a WAHM for more than a minute, you know the predicament we face. We chose to work from home so we could spend more time with our children. This is great in theory. What happens, though is that we end up with no scheduled and defined work time, so it becomes a struggle to find time to spend with our kids. When you hear other people say “It must be so nice to work from home so you can spend time with your kids all day”, you roll on the floor laughing. If only it were so simple! Finding the balance between work and home can be a constant struggle especially when work IS home.

I remember the days when I worked out of the home in an office job. I had two separate and distinct compartments in my life. There was the office, where I could work in peace and quiet, focus on projects and be productive. And, then there was home, where I was able to focus on my children and have fun. I had scheduled working hours, and also distinct family time.

Now, I have the ‘hom-ffice’, an odd melding of home and office. The line between the two compartments is unclear. My office is now an extension of home. And, home is becoming an extension of my office.

Because of this dilemma, I find that I’ve got the focus of a gnat. Here’s how my work day goes.

I wake up, grab a cup of coffee, and sit in front of the computer to check my email. Fifty new messages. No problem. I get ready to tackle the first one.

“Dear Nicole, I was wondering if you might be interested in” …

“juice in a sippy cup, pretty please my pretty mommy?”

Whoa!! Ok, brain switch! I turn and look at my little girl who just crawled out of bed. She is a perfect picture of childhood, with her big brown eyes, sweaty wildly curly hair and big grin. I hug this rosy-cheeked angel and go to the kitchen to get juice. Then, I sit back down and attempt to read my email

“Dear Nicole, I was wondering if you might be interested in my new affiliate program selling” ...

“the new Lego robot I built!”

Brain switch again. I swivel my office chair and see my son, his blue eyes twinkling, and his face beaming proudly, holding up his Lego creation. I ‘ooh’ and ‘ahhh’ over the new Lego invention -- a robot that can climb walls. I rub his blonde head and tell him how wildly creative he is. He grins and goes back to Lego-building.

I swivel back to work, and try to get as much done as I can between the many interruptions, karate practice, dinner and bedtime stories. Oftentimes, late at night, you can find me working, while watching late night TV shows. My husband comes in to check on me. I swivel my chair to get my good-night kiss and I tell him that I just want to wrap up a few last projects. I stagger to bed late at night only to start again, before the kids wake up in the morning.

Are you seeing the pattern? Is there any wonder that I’m mostly-sane? Look at your own days and I’ll bet they are very similar to mine.

Despite the frazzled hours and days, and all the distractions, I love being a WAHM. The honest truth is that I wouldn’t trade my job for any corporate job in America.

However, as I meet more and more work at home moms, it’s becoming apparent that I’m not alone in my struggles. Other moms are setting expectations that are just not matching reality. What can we do about it?

1. Reclaim your office:

If you have one room that you can dedicate to your work, stake your claim on it. Clear out all toys and non-work items. Make your “hom-ffice” a real office. No more messing around with half a commitment to your business. Your office is your turf. Protect it.

2. Buy a timer:

If your children are old enough to understand the concept of time, invest in a timer. It’s a life saver. The next time you need uninterrupted working time, tell the kids that you’re setting the timer for 20 minutes. If they give you 20 minutes of uninterrupted work time, then reward them with quality time with you. Play a board game together or go to the park.

Set goals this month to reclaim your work area and your time, and you will take a step closer to being a happy, relaxed, and successful WAHM!

Nicole Dean is a mostly-sane WAHM, and proud owner of http://www.ShowMomTheMoney.com – a fun and informative site to help moms find success at home!

* This article was originally published in the WC It may be reprinted online or in print with author resource box and credit to the author intact.*