Online Business Ideas

In February, I talked about an internet tax bill in Colorado that would potentially put thousands of Colorado small businesses out of business. The bill was trying to use local business owners to create a nexus status for out-of-state online retailers. Since that writing the bill was revised and passed. The revisions included the current Colorado Use Tax as a way for the state to earn much needed revenue from internet sales, but the tie between affiliates and these tax requirements was omited completely.

This morning Amazon terminated all Colorado Affiliate relationships regardless of the affiliate involvement in HB-1193.

Thousands of Colorado small businesses, mommy bloggers and other online entities have links via the Amazon Associate program and now these links are invalid. The impact might not necessarily be significant per individual affiliates but as a group it's enormous.

Affiliate programs such as Amazon's Associate program allow bloggers and website owners to gain extra revenue by linking to products they are already recommending. If a website visitor clicks one of these links and then makes a purchase, the original website owner will make a small commission. It's a great way to earn a "give back" for promoting products we love from a company we shop with.

There are hundreds of affiliate programs out there, Amazon is only one and Amazon is not the only merchant to terminate affiliates. The point is, it' the principle behind the issue that we need to follow.

Why then, if affiliates don't play a role in the legislation, is Amazon cutting ties when the law still applies?

Some speculate that our legislators will now point a finger at Amazon as the "evil corporate bully". Pushing around innocent business owners just to avoid paying money due. However, it's the legislation that is causing the ruckus and Amazon is not the only online retailer against the legislation, they just seem to be the biggest.

Other's speculate the internet bills are simply unconstitutional. Colorado residents didn't vote on this bill although it had a change in tax policy (Tabor law violation?) and it's an attempt to charge sales tax for companies without nexus.

Either way you look at it, small business owners in Colorado - work at home moms (and dads) are stuck in the middle of a legislative battle all in the name of tax revenue.

Copyright © 2009 Clarity Digital Group LLC d/b/a Examiner.com. All Rights reserved.

by Jan Norman, small-business columnist

The Internal Revenue Service warns about schemes that promise tax breaks for home-based businesses that are really illegal tax avoidance.

The promoters claim that individual taxpayers can deduct most or all of their personal expenses as business expenses by setting up a bogus home-based business, the IRS says. But the tax code states that a clear business purpose and profit motive must exist in order to generate and claim allowable business expenses.

The IRS says it targets phantom businesses that claim nonexistent expenses and real home-based businesses that improperly deduct personal expenses.

The warning is significant because studies indicate that more than half the new U.S. businesses are started in a residence rather than a commercial location. And with jobs so scarce and unemployment at 9.7% nationally and 12.5% in California, thousands of people are setting up enterprises at home to try to make money.

Some of the improper suggestions:

Deduct all or most costs of owning a house by placing a desk, file cabinet or other business-related item in each room.

Deduct the home mortgage without operating a real business set up to make a profit

Deducting children's allowance as a business expense

Schemes involving inflated business expenses, deduction of personal expenses and misuse of purported home-based businesses have become prevalent, the IRS says. Taxpayers should beware of claims that are too good to be true and seek independent professional tax advice.

If taxpayers are caught using such improper deductions on their income tax returns, they could face back taxes, interest and penalties, the IRS warns.

Do you owe the IRS? Receive Tax Settlement Help Today!

FreedomPolitics.com © Copyright 2009 Orange County Register Communications. All Rights Reserved.

Looking for online business ideas is not as difficult as you thought. Here is one, single idea that works over and over again for me: Spying on the Flippa marketplace listings .

I love being a spectator. Not because I am too afraid taking any actions on anything, but being a spectator allows me to have bird's eyes vision on what's going on right here, right now.

In online business, I enjoy being a spectator, as much as being a website builder myself. For this observation purpose, I regularly visit online marketplaces, where site sales and acquisitions are happening on real time.

There are actually plenty of online marketplaces where you and I can buy or sell sites (or merely observing what's going on.) Of the many I've been tried so far (including eBay,) I have the urge to endorse Flippa.

Flippa marketplace listing

Flippa has helped me discover new online business ideas, as well as where to look for service providers I need in my webpreneurship endeavours. Flippa has also helped me in buying and selling sites, despite what I do most on the marketplace is, indeed, spying on the listings and what people do on the site.

Here's exactly what I do on and benefit from Flippa (and on some other buy and sell websites marketplaces) that could very well help you in spotting hot online business ideas:

I can follow the trends in online business and make money online world I can spot what's hot and what's not. Obviously, spotting the hot trends and build/flip sites based on the information I acquire is what I should do next. E.g. Web directories are hot a couple of years ago, but not today not much listings and not much interest on such sites.

Analyse the listed sites' profitability and potential Some type of sites and/or some niches can be more lucrative than the others. Also, some income models are more appropriate than the others on a certain site type and/or niche. Identifying the most lucrative site type and/or niche can present you with big time income. E.g. Sites offering unique eBook/eCourse are often sold less than their monthly revenue. Why? Because most eBook business has a short business life cycle, and selling performing sites while they are hot' is a great exit strategy, as well as a great opportunity for the buyer to score some (while it last.)

Analyse the marketing strategy employed by site owners This happens quite often: two similar sites on the same niche, both has the same quality content, products and/or services, but the one's revenue and profits are twice as much as the other how come? Most of the case, the more profitable one employs better marketing strategy. You can learn from the best practices to give you an idea or two on how to develop a successful online business. In other case, there are site owners are listing their sites just because they want more exposure to their sites, without any intention to sell their sites by any means.

Uncover the real opportunities from the rest Great design helps, but the real opportunities (despite the cosmetics') can actually be spotted quite easily: Look at the number of views, comments and bids. It's only logical: More bids mean more interest (a.k.a. demand.) On the other hand, if you see a site sold within 5 minutes of listing, you should keep an eye on the site it must be either top quality or answer the current trends. E.g. An online business blog I bid on (I lost) has almost a dozen bid within 1 day of listing (and was getting 100s of views), before someone acquired it at full price (BIN or buy-it-now price) I regret I didn't BIN it before!

You can learn what kind of scams people are doing By observing the marketplace, you can educate yourself on how to spot scammers. There are some site listings that are aimed to get novice website buyer's money easy you can spot such listings by simply look at the listing comments there will be some fights' and arguments, and the listing owner deletes some comments on his/her listing.

As you can see, there's a lot you can learn by being a spectator you can rake in opportunities while avoid pitfalls, reducing your trial-and-error overheads' in your online business/make money online endeavours.

If you have any tips to share, please do so by commenting on this article.

Have fun in being a spectator and good luck spotting lucrative online business idea!

Ivan Widjaya
Spotting online business idea for 2010

by Tom c. 

One of the great things about those people who possess the entrepreneurial spirit is their ability to make money out of limited resources, and by using the best home based businesses to start with little capital as a guideline ensures that just about everyone can succeed. In most instances, home based business have a distinct advantage in the area of small business because overhead is nearly totally eliminated, enabling a start up to begin with little capital necessary. The best home based businesses to start with little capital all have one thing in common - they allow an entrepreneur to begin operations by utilizing the skills and common sense they possess to generate cash flow immediately.

In the area of a specific business, an entrepreneur is wise to sell services and skills that they have acquired over a lifetime that are desired and useful to the general public. The best home based businesses to start with little capital that produce the greatest income are the ones usually associated with the personal service industry. Tutors, computer or sports coaching, personal trainers and consultants that operate as home based businesses can consider nearly every dollar that they gross as pure profit minus minor expenses and taxes. To start a home based business with little capital in the areas of work as a personal chef or personal shopper are in large demand, with excellent prospects for earning a good income.

The best home based businesses to start with little capital also extends to caring for the loved ones of others, who may be too busy to perform necessary daily functions but nonetheless are willing to pay for the performance of specific tasks. Home based businesses that specialize in senior care, child care, and pet grooming and care are easy to establish, and can often grow into much larger businesses in a very short time frame. Even a home based business that is as simple in concept as a dog walking service can garner a substantial income with nearly zero capital necessary.

In selecting the best home based business to start with little capital an entrepreneur should match their skills and personal preferences to their available start up money, and choose the home based business that presents the greatest opportunity to earn money. It is most important for every entrepreneur that begins a home based business to utilize every single resource at their disposal that can generate income, and in this manner precious capital can be saved for purchases that are both necessary and unexpected to the success of their business. By Tom c.

Copyright © 2010 Gather Inc. All rights reserved. 

Jay Leno of the Tonight Show

By Laura Rich | Feb 24, 2010

Lost in all the coverage about the New York Times' latest hyperlocal news effort is whether it will make any money. On Monday, the New York Times Company announced a partnership with New York University's Arthur Carter School of Journalism whereby the school will launch and operate a hyperlocal news site called The Local: East Village. The focus has been on the dynamics of this content deal the free content (or, if paid, which will come out of NYU's pocket) that will run under the Times' banner. There are definitely some win-wins.

There's plenty of outrage and applause, too, over plans to let NYU run the editorial side of the business. Choire Sicha at The Awl says, this set-up suggests that the way to finance local news operations is only on the backs of free labor. (This deal isn't not the first of its kind, either; last year, the paper inked a similar arrangement with the City University of New York's Jeff Jarvis to produce The Local: Fort Greene/Clinton Hill.)

But that's exactly why the New York Times could be the real winners in the hyperlocal game: Not because of any traffic goals it hits (at 50,000 residents, the East Village is much smaller than the NYT's other local efforts in San Francisco, Chicago, or even Brooklyn), but because the margins are going to be massive.

Call it the Jay Leno Show model: Keep the cost of content creation at a minimum, sell some ads, and it doesn't matter how many people actually show up. (As a refresher, NBC's Jeff Zucker defended its airing of the Leno Show in the valuable 10 o'clock hour because it cost less to produce the show than to produce those hour-long dramas.)

Of course, there are other benefits, too. Steve Safran at Lost Remote notes that this site helps the Times get a foothold in the youth market. The New York Times, while a respectable news organization, does not scream youth! , he wrote in an email. Bringing in a younger, potentially hipper block of writers could help improve its brand image. It will certainly open NYTimes.com to a wider audience.

Borrell Associates estimates that revenue from hyperlocal advertising is expected to hit $16.4 billion in 2014, up from $14.2 billion last year. So far, the Times's The Local: Fort Greene/Clinton Hill carries two Google ads and two promo units for the Times's other content. Local advertisers can use a self-service feature from AdReady, but it doesn't appear that any local ads are running at the moment.

Despite enviable margins on free content, the Times will still need to make money, and some folks will have to show up. After all, even Jay Leno couldn't make it work without more eyeballs.

© 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.