You will have to apply for an employer identification number or EIN. Right on the IRS site it tells you to apply for this if applicable, which means you may find your state does not require it depending on the business you have. You should refer to your state’s website for more information about the EIN.

You’ll have to select a business structure to use. Will you be a sole proprietor, partnership, corporation, LLC or another type of company? The company type you start will determine some of the tax forms you will have to fill out.

Businesses have the luxury of choosing a tax year. This means you can go by calendar year or fiscal year. Both of these are a 12 month period. Basically you just have to make certain you file taxes for the business based on either of the tax year types.

You will have to determine the accounting method you will use for the business. It is a good idea to set up separate bank accounts, credit cards, and have an accountant on hand. You may do the books throughout the year, but you will want a professional handling the tax forms. There are plenty of people out there and with a little merchant one funding you can have your taxes prepared to find savings for you.

When you have employees you’ll need to have them fill out the appropriate forms such as I-9 or W-4. Always pay your taxes to keep your business from being looked at by the IRS.

These organizations can help budding entrepreneurs on creating a business plan and financial projections, provide educational seminars on small business, management or financing a business, and link the entrepreneur to local resources to help grow the business.

This post will focus on US organizations; we will expand to other countries in the following posts.

Small Business Administration, the destination for entrepreneurs looking for information on how to obtain small business loans, news about entrepreneurship, information on contracting and procurement, counseling and training programs

In the last couple of years the SBA website has improved dramatically in terms or organization and information. Making the wealth of info easy to use and targeted to your region.

Small Business Development Centers. This organization acts as the training and counseling arm of the SBA. The SBDCs are located in all 50 states may operate in a university. This structure helps the sbdc to act as a business lab for students and entrepreneurs looking for ideas on starting or managing an existing business.

Services that you can obtain there are counseling with an expert technical advisor on topics such as marketing, accounting, creating a business plan, etc.

Counselors work with hundreds of businesses a year, making them an invaluable resource for entrepreneurs.

Make the most out your visit. SBDC counselors see a fair amount of start-ups without a clear idea what their business is going to be and how it is going to make money. Do a little research on the industry, competition, etc.

Don’t know how to do business research? Don’t worry, in the following posts we will provide you with a guideline on how to research a business opportunity.

If you are ready to obtain a business loan, a counselor can help you create a financial projection and match you with lenders looking to lend to small businesses.

Women Business Centers, they provide services similar to the Small Business Development Center but with a focus on women entrepreneurs, particularly for women whom circumstances places them on socially or economically disadvantaged situation. They offer comprehensive training and counseling to help create and manage a business.

Score is a nonprofit association with over 11 thousand business counselors. In here you can obtain expert advice from counselors with business experience that may have faced the same challenges that you are facing right now in your business. Use this website to find a local score in your area, ask a question to a counselor, or try the free online workshop.

These are the basic organization to help you in your journey to entrepreneurship.

Bonus website, looking for capital? There is a list of angel groups available. (Note, we would advise to work with a SBDC, WBC or Score counselor before approaching these organizations). However, if you have a sound business model and experience in your field then try the www.angelcapitalassociation.org for a list of angel capital groups in your area.

When my nephew became a father, I told him that I think we bring our children to life to learn to love ourselves.

The birth of our first child is always the greatest opportunity to live our life again – a second childhood, only this time we’re taller, more coordinated and a bit wiser. I remember looking at my newborn daughter with my heart full of feelings I’d never had and loving her with every cell of my body. She did nothing. She was tiny and her eyes were closed most of the time. She just had to be there for me to have that feeling. I remember Gal holding her the first time and saying, “I don’t know you, but I already love you so much”. It’s funny how babies don’t need to do anything to be loved. They just need to be.

I wonder when this rule fades or when we, parents, forget it. I remember in those moments I imagined my mum and dad looking at me like that and I knew, with 100% certainty, that love is born with the birth of your child and that I was loved, very much loved.

The perception of love, you see, changes when you become a parent. For me, it was a great realisation mixed with sadness. It was a great feeling knowing how much my parents loved me and it was sad that I only realized it when I became a mother. I couldn’t stop thinking of all the previous years, when I needed that feeling during my schooling years – my fights, challenges, obstacles, my fears, failures and disappointments. Realizing my parents loved me when I was an adult was not enough to change the past. It’s as if their “love account” was full but I didn’t have the “access card” or they didn’t provide a “withdrawal facility”. In other words, I wasn’t able to see it or they couldn’t express it. Maybe because they didn’t have the skills to withdraw from their parents’ love…

Can you see the cycle? Love was there all around, but no one knew how to pass it on.

Do your children know how much you love them?

Do you ever say, “If they only knew how much I love them”? Especially in times of conflict, many parents feel like their kids just don’t know, even though they love them dearly. The difference between parents’ and children’s definitions of love is natural. People form their definition of love thanks to their life experience and closest life agents – parents, family, friends and teachers. There’s a 20-year of cultural, generational and experience gap between parents and children and the question is actually who is responsible? Do we need to give or do they need to receive?

Love is a give-and-receive relationship. Assuming the love account is full, the giving and the receiving must match. Yes, loving somebody else is not enough if they don’t feel it. Frustrating as it is, knowing how to receive love is not genetic and it is also our responsibility to teach. So when you ask yourself “if they only knew?” think of the answer. How would their life be if they only knew? Just imagine them knowing you love them throughout their life, their challenges, their failures and fears.

I remember asking myself this question when my son was seven. I imagined him at the age of 16, going through the challenges of adolescence, and looked for an idea to establish a withdraw facility to my full love account and wrote him a love story waiting for him when he’s ready.

Tell them how much you love them!

I love you!

I love you!

I love you!

Expressing love is paramount in our relationship with our children. Saying “I love you” is great. However, there are many ways to show them how full their “love account” is. Remember, if you don’t tell your child how much you love them every day, you’ve wasted a day. Here are some ideas you can use:

I love you #1

Some of the first ideas were born with the birth of my “happy thought” – my daughter Eden. I started a love album with photos and love letters from me to her. From time to time, I see her going over them and reading, accessing my love.

I love you #2

I remember wanting to take a photo of every second of her life and Gal telling the kids “can you see my love in the photo? Dedicating an album to show your love is an asset to children. Make them an album.

I love you #3

Over the years, we came up with love songs, our own family love songs that we sing from time to time and every night before bedtime. Get creative or find a song you love expressing your feelings and sing it to them.

I love you #4

Lunch boxes are a great container of love. Put sticky notes full of love: hearts, kiss, encouraging words like “good luck on your test” or just plain, “I love you”

I love you #5

Dinner times are great opportunities to show love to each other. Play “what do you love about me?” games where every person needs to say two things he loves about the other family member. You start (be a role model).

I love you #6

Later in years, when the kids learned to touch type we started writing love emails to each other. Sometimes we sit next to each other, with different computers and write love to each other, funny, but written words you can keep for later.

I love you #7

A baking pan shaped like a heart can make kids really happy. It’s the thought that counts anyway. It’s easy to express your love by baking sweet, chocolaty, heart-shaped cakes for your kids.

I love you #8

Dedicate one evening a week to “my favourite food night”. This night is dedicated to the kid’s favourite food. If you have three kids, everyone gets to choose the meal once every 5 weeks (mum and dad get to choose too).

I love you #9

Touch is very important and is one of the best ways to communicate love. Remember: everyone needs 12 hugs a day, so make sure to give them all the hugs they need for a great feeling every day before bedtime.

I love you #10

Ask your children, “What can I do to make you feel loved?” You’ll be surprised to hear what children have in mind. It is also wise to find out the value of every expression of love. Different kids like different things. You may be putting in a lot of effort to show love in one way when your child prefers other ways.

The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return- from Nature Boy by Nat King Cole

Love is a precious feeling that can heal wounds and help cross rivers and mountains. To fill your child’s love tank, remember to tell him/her every day of your life “I love you”.

Ronit Baras is a life coach, educator, author, journalist, justice of peace and public speaker living in Brisbane, Australia, specializing in relationships and families and an expert on motivation for kids.

More from Ronit Baras on parenting: http://www.BeHappyInLife.com

I had all the answers. I was well into my thirties when my first child was born and had been working with children, studying about childrearing practices, had many hours of babysitting behind me, and was more than ready to be a parent. When my first child was born I was instantly a mother of three. My husband’s twin eight year old sons lived with us. As much as I embraced my role of mother and knew this is what I wanted, some days I just wanted to scream “I don’t want to be a parent today!!”

Parenting is a demanding and all encompassing job. It is an around the clock job. There is little recognition or status attached to it. You’re constantly having to think of the needs of others and the older your children get, you find yourself having to negotiate and problem solve almost daily. It can be draining. You’re also asked to listen to things that are mundane and boring but nevertheless important to your child.

What do you do on those days you’d rather be sitting on the beach with a margarita in your hand than going over a spelling list for the tenth time, or listening to a child who can’t seem to stop whining or reading a story you’ve already read fifty times? You allow yourself to feel what you feel. You’re human and all of us feel that way sometimes. It definitely doesn’t mean you’re not meant to be a parent or that you’re a bad parent.

We owe it to our children to be aware of our true feelings and acknowledge them. If you find yourself frequently thinking that you don’t feel like being a parent, it’s probably time to schedule an adult oriented activity with your partner or friends. Don’t be afraid to say out loud how you’re feeling. Chances are if you’re speaking with another parent, they’ve often felt the same way and are relieved someone else feels the same. You don’t want to tell your child that you don’t feel like being a parent but you can say something like: “Mommy just feels like a rest today” or “I need a time out right now.”

Children are a blessing and those of us who are parents know that. We can’t imagine life without them. We often didn’t know what love was until we had children. It doesn’t mean however, we have to love every moment of being a parent. Allow yourself to be human.

Barbara Desmarais is a parenting and life coach and has worked with parents for 20 years. To gain more insights and tips around the most important job in the world, visit her website at http://www.theparentingcoach.com – Claim your free copy of her popular e-book “Raise Your Children But Not Your Voice” when you sign up for her monthly newsletter.

photo credit: ronbrinkmann

There are lots of articles and books written about the formula for start-up success, but start-up mistakes are much more consistent. These common mistakes will take even the best idea into start-up dead pool.

Greed

Getting rich quick only happens playing the lottery. If you are starting a company for a quick flip you are guaranteed to fail. If you suck all of the first profits into your personal bank account, you will fail. “Greed is good,” if your goal is failure.

Too Much Money

Flush with cash has put many a venture into complacency and on slow track to failure. Too much money often quenches entrepreneurial hunger, slows reactions, kills a sense of urgency, and can lead to a slow death.

Too Little Money

A lack of money can be just as hazardous. Lots of great ideas have certainly flamed out prematurely without sufficient funding. Given a choice, less is better, but none is certain.

Finding the right funding level is a balance between giving an start-up enough funding to test and adjust, but not enough to draw in laziness.

Believing There is No Competition

The number one lie told by entrepreneurs to venture capitalist. It is never true and believing it will get you beat every time.

When thinking about competition think about who is, who can be, and who will be. Create a plan for each. Put it in your business plan.

Equal Partnerships

The buck has to stop somewhere. Business by consensus will fail. It will slow you, divide you, and end you.

A start-up never has enough resources to lose focus or direction. You need to constantly be focused on the market, not internally. Equally partnerships turn your company into an never ending board meeting.

No (or Weak) Leadership

Start-ups need passionate, benevolent, dictators. If that isn’t you carefully select a partner that is. A young company needs definitive vision, direction, and tenacity to keep everyone locked into the same core success philosophy.

Weak leadership wastes time and money. Both guaranteed recipes for start-up failure.

Creating Products in a Vacuum

Products need customers and users. If you create without them you might as well not start. People buy when they feel valued, involved, and expectations are met. If you are developing only with internal requirement builders and product testers you will fail.

Big Customer Curse

A big customer can be very attractive and efficient for a start-up. However, you will forever be in jeopardy and the weight of that customer’s influence can lead you out of the bigger market.

Perfection

Release early and often. Perfection creates the “vacuum” effect, gives the competition time, and may lead you into a slow death march.

Low Prices

Cutting prices is a gut reaction to slow adoption or sales. Think about signals you are sending your market and the customer–Less Value Here.

If the market will not pay you what your product needs to yield to be profitable then cut it and make a new product.

Trying to Do it All

Focus is a start-up’s friend. Trying to do everything well, as the old saying goes, will lead to nothing being done well. Remember, you only have limited time and money. Focus.

Bill Rice helps companies convert web traffic to buyers. He is a recognized expert, adviser, writer, speaker, and entrepreneur in online lead generation.

Bill Rice is passionate about the social web (social media), online community building, and creating online consumer experiences. Bill Rice regularly applies those passions to design and write money making lead generation projects for his clients. Tell me about your project at It’s About Conversion! or Urgent Leads.

One of the home based business ideas that you will want to keep in mind involves establishing a travel agency. In this day and age, thanks to the internet, it is very easy to run a travel agency from the comforts of your own home.

Another home based business idea that may be of interest to you is a pet daycare service. This can either be done on your premises or you can develop a system whereby you and your staff can take care of pets at their own homes.

A third idea, which is one of the best home based business ideas in my opinion, involves designing custom greeting cards. A number of individuals have established very successful custom greeting card design businesses from their own homes. This is currently a hot business idea and many individuals are going into this at the moment.

Finally, one of the best home based business idea that you might want to take a look at is a business based upon search engine optimization consultation. In this day and age, the demand for qualified experts in the field of search engine optimization is extreme. Therefore, if you can educate yourself in this field, and if you can become professionally qualified in the area of search engine optimization, it can be the foundation for a very profitable business enterprise for you.

Of course there are many other work from home business ideas that you can venture into as well. In a nutshell, the best home based business ideas usually fit your character, desires and skill level the most. So the best thing to do is choose an idea that suits you best. If you take this approach, you can guarantee your success in running a home business.

Melvin Perry is an internet entrepreneur that specializes in building large email lists within a matter of weeks. He currently teaches marketers via free step by step videos how to earn thousands monthly through a home business model known as the list building model. You can snatch these 2+ hours videos at no cost by visiting FREE Home Business Videos

It is an amazing experience to be an educator because teaching is to giving like learning is to receiving. We teachers have the greatest learning while we teach. My meeting with John was living proof of this concept. I have told so many people about John and helped them find the answer to the big question in life that I would like to share it with you and thank John for giving me one of the best lessons in my life. I hope you take the learning from it too.

You see, coaching is the art of questioning one’s life. In this sense, I was a coach from the age of 12. Why do we do what we do? Why get up in the morning? Why go to school? I had hundreds of questions and I thought life was a journey of searching for the answers.

John was a man we met at our coaching stall in a festival. He was an HR manager and a musician in his spare time. About six months after we first met, he called us and wanted to ask us some questions about becoming a coach. He came with his partner and for over 2 hours, we talked about courses for coaching. Since Gal had researched the coaching industry to a scientific level, we had loads of information to give John and we did – names, prices, timing, web sites – the whole lot. John wanted a job related to his HR experience that would allow him to have some time to express his passion for music. I needed two hours of conversation to see myself in John. When he talked about music, his body lit up and there was a smile in his eyes. It was beautiful to see. I think he took me back to being 12. “Why do we do the things we do?” “What motivates us?” Many questions popped up and my inside coach woke up.

“What is the thing that makes you get up in the morning? What drives you?” I asked John. He looked surprised. “If you could choose the thing that is the reason you are here in this life, what would that be?” I kept asking. When I asked it, I knew the answer.

It was quiet as if I threw a bomb on the table. John thought about it for a while. We were all very quiet, trying to answer that to ourselves. Then John smiled and said without hesitation “Music.”

We all have a purpose in life. That’s the thing that makes our heart beat fast with excitement, the thing that haunts us, no matter what.

In this quiet moment, when all four of us looked for the thing that motivates us, I could feel my heart speeding. Writing and education can make me get up in the middle of the night. It is as if we all have a mission to complete. Knowing your mission is a very empowering feeling. But the more I thought about it, the harder it got. If just by asking the question we can find our purpose, why do we spend so much time, effort, money and energy on the way to achieve it?” We go to school to have good grades, to be able to enter university, to be able to graduate, to be able to get a good job, to be able to get a good salary, to be able to save some money, to be able to take some time off. Time off to travel, to write a story or sing a song, to draw a picture or play a flute. What a waste!!!

I looked back on life and counted the waste. If we get what we focus on, then no wonder we get the ability but not the fulfillment. We master the art of enabling ourselves to get things on the way and we are certainly able to enable, but not to reach.

I think that in some way I felt responsible as an educator. We focus on enabling the kids to take the journey, but we never teach them to reach the mountains. We teach them to practice their life, rather than teach them to live it. We promote never-ending rehearsals. Life is all preparation for a far away purpose that they cannot even see on the horizon. Then we are surprised that when they finish school they don’t know what to do with themselves. They know how to prepare, but don’t know for what. When they are older and want to put a stop to this never-ending quest, they need a lot of courage to stop using their greatest skill, the one they have been practicing all their lives, preparing. I think at that point, I realized the power of coaching. I looked at John and understood my purpose much better. In coaching, we help people to stop preparing and start playing the show of life.

John left and sent us an email that night (‘m writing this to thank him for the great lesson he gave me.

The questions that will help you shift from “rehearsal” to “live performance” are:

* If I had all the money I wanted, what would I do?
* What is the thing that excites me most?
* What drives me?
* What is the reason I get up in the morning?
* What is my purpose in life?
* On my deathbed, what will be the thing I’ll most regret not doing?

You need to answer these questions to yourself. If you find them hard, let them go and then come back to them. The answers will come.

When you make decisions, choose the “show” option over the “rehearsal” option. Ask yourself “will this get me to the destination?”

If you need some help with your purpose and your decisions, get some help. Remember: Happiness is a choice

May the force be with you!

Ronit

To view the original article and/or subscribe to the Be Happy in LIFE newsletter, visit http://www.behappyinlife.com/inspiration.

Ronit Baras is an educator, a journalist and a life coach, specializing in relationships and emotional intelligence. She has 21 years of education experience, working with children, teenagers and parents. She’s the author of the book “Be Special, Be Yourself for Teenagers”. Ronit has lived and worked in America, Asia and Australia and now lives in Brisbane.

Ronit’s purpose in life is to spread love and acceptance all over the world through article writing, book publishing, public speaking, education and coaching.

You’ve just confirmed the news that you’re expecting your first baby. Congratulations! How do you prepare for the big day? What is a first-time mother to do, to ensure that she takes the best care of herself and her growing baby? Let’s talk about some important secrets that will optimize your pregnancy, and ensure a stress-free delivery.

Now that you have a tentative due date, it’s important that you realize a couple of things that can literally make, or break your pregnancy, as well as your delivery. First of all, pregnancy is a condition; you are not in your normal state. Therefore, you need to focus on eating right, sleeping more, and following a “physician approved” exercise program, designed for pregnant women. When the mom to be pays strict attention to these important items, she realizes that she will feel better than ever, and she will receive positive reports from her physicians and healthcare staff.

The next item to consider, is your job. If the pregnant woman has a job that requires a great deal of physical demands, it is probably time to consider a career change. One of the things many women do, is place too many demands on their body, at a time when it is critical that she take extra care of herself. During this time, many women who have the option to become “stay at home moms” choose to do so, because it coincides with the high number of appointments and time constraints that increase as your due date draws closer. At this time, and increasing number of new mothers are choosing to start a home-based business, or select a telecommute option, that works for their new family.

Due to the high cost of bringing a baby into the world, it’s important for the mother to be, to choose whether or not she will breast feed, or bottle feed. Preparation is the true hallmark of motherhood, and the more prepared the woman is for the choices she will need to make, the easier the transition. For mothers who plan to bottle feed, or wish to receive free baby stuff, there are companies you can register with, to ensure you receive your new baby items about the same time you’ll be returning from the hospital with your bundle of joy.

The key elements of success for the newly pregnant mom, revolve around eating right, getting more sleep, and having an approved fitness regimen. Pre-planning for the important choices necessary, such as breast feeding or bottle feeding, help keep stress levels low, when going through a major transition. New moms can take the time to register for freebies, discounts, and complimentary products; allowing for extra savings, when expenses are especially high.

Having a baby is the most exciting time of your life, when you take care of yourself, and take time to plan for your future.

Christina Archer is the owner of the “Bout Babies” blog, where she shares tips, tricks, hints, and years of experience raising 5 of her own children. Visitors can visit the blog, at http://boutbabies.wordpress.com