Mom Seeking to Start At-home Retail Sales Internet Business

Congratulations on your decision to start your own business!

Here's a link to the women's commission in Charlotte, with resources for you. http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/Womens+Commission/Job...

And also the small business association has resources. http://www.sba.gov/localresources/district/nc/index.html
When I started my at-home business 8 years ago I went to a free seminar there. Very helpful! It was led by a volunteer attorney, business owner, and CPA.

In case you're interested, I lead a free 30-minute web conference on Monday evenings to show people the business building strategy we use with our team of eco-entrepreneurs, and see whose name that calls. Feel free to email me for the web conference access information.

A. -

I too am a stay at home mom. I have 3 boys and my husband works around 70 hours + each week. My oldest son is 11 and I haven't really work out of the home since he was born. In Sept. 2007 I started with a company called Uppercase Living. It is a direct sales company that sells vinyl lettering and expressions for your home. The company is only 2 years old, so the growth possibility is HUGE!~ It has been very lucrative for me and I am very thankful to have found it. If you have any questions, just email me and I'd be happy to give you my website where you can read more about the business opportunity. It has really helped us financially. I am finally able to contribute to my family's needs and wants for the first time!
Good luck to you A. in whatever you decide to do. The struggle between earning for your family and caring for your children doesn't have to be so hard!!
Sincerely,
A. Morley

I heard of a really good book on the subject called, "Will Work From Home" by Tory Johnson. She talks about a web site on there where they sell things that people make from home - kind of a clearinghouse - and that could save you a lot of time and hassle in terms of marketing and setting up your own website. I see someone else wrote you the name of the website - which is esty.com).

If you are concerned about protecting your family's assets and think you might create a liability through making and selling your crafts, the best thing for you to do is get business liability insurance. The easiest thing to do is set your business up as a sole proprietorship. In the past sometimes people have set up a "limited liability corporation" to protect themselves. However, it really doesn't offer that much protection (it's still YOU they would sue, since you would be an "officer" of the corporation) and it's much more expensive - both to set up and maintain, and for taxes. With a corporation, you are basically paying taxes twice. The corporation itself has to pay taxes, and then you have to pay taxes on any income you take from it - whether in the form of payroll or dividends (or both).

I think the book can give you a lot of good advice on that and many other issues as well. God bless!

You can do a couple of things to protect your personal assets. You can incorporate your home business into an LLC (Limited Liability Corp). There may be some other corporation options as well. You put all the assets for the home business (your computer, your merchandise, your mailing supplies, etc.) into the LLC. Another option is to put your personal assets into a trust. THere are all kinds of benefits to putting your personal assets into a trust (for one- if something were to happen to you and your husband your assets wouldn't have to go through probate and the recipients aren't subjected to most or all of the taxes of an inheritance). But your personal assets are also protected from a business problem. You should talk to a lawyer about either one of those options.

I'm not sure about the business part but a good place to sell or get exposure is esty.com and craftlister.com Good Luck

V. (SAHM of Two)

www.CraftLister.com/ValerieAltman
(Unique Candle Creator)

www.ValerieEssentials.esty.com