Do You Have To Report Your Online Income?
If you have an online business - whether it’s selling on eBay, affiliate marketing, direct selling, or even a service you offer - you’ve probably wondered at some point if and when you have to report that income.
Well, CPA and fellow online business owner, Kristine McKinley, answers this question for us here. According to Kristine…
* You must report all income earned. It’s a common misconception that if you don’t earn much or if you’re just doing it as a hobby that it’s not reportable or taxable. That’s not true. All income is reportable from the first dollar earned.
* It doesn’t matter if you receive a 1099 or not. It also doesn’t matter if you earn less than a certain amount. Another myth is that if you earn less than $600 you don’t have to report the income. Again, it’s just not true.
* However, you are allowed to deduct business expenses from your income, so just because you have to report your income doesn’t mean you’ll have to pay any taxes. If you have expenses that are as much as or greater than your income, then you won’t owe any taxes, and you may even be able to use that loss to reduce other taxable income.
To learn more about how your online income is taxable, and what expenses you can deduct, please check out “Your Top Tax Questions Answered” teleseminar and ebook.
How to Get Great Tech Support in Four Easy Steps
1) Rely on Yourself First
You might be surprised what you can solve quickly by taking advantage of the “self-help” resources most technical related companies offer. Check for flash (video) tutorials, a searchable knowledge base, or a customer forum. Very often the most common questions can be answered in just minutes if you look at those places first. It will save you time if you start there. Or try a quick Google search.
2) Use Proper Avenues
Always use the proper method to request support. If support has a helpdesk use it. You’ll generally get a quicker response than if you try to skip the support staff and go direct to the CEO of the company. The CEO will usually pass your request back to the helpdesk staff anyway. Escalate a problem only if it becomes necessary.
3) Details, Details, Details
The more detail you can provide about the problem you’re facing, the better. It will take longer for tech support to help you if they have to reply with basic questions and await your response, then you have to wait for another response from them.
Here are some details you may want to include for some common internet problems.
For a hosting related problem:
- Your domain name
- Your username
- What server you are on
- What problem you are having and what you did right before it happened
- What time it happened
- What internet browser you are using (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari, etc)
- What operating system you are using (Windows XP, Vista, Mac OS X, Linux, etc)
For an email related problem:
- Your email address
- What email program you are using (webmail, or a program on your computer)
- The exact error message or problem in as much detail as possible
- When the problem began
- Any recent changes (for example, upgrade to your computer software or a new internet service provider)
For a shopping cart related problem:
- As detailed a description of the problem as possible
- If a particular category, product, or page, include a link to that page
- If a particular order had the problem, include the order number
- Try to recreate the problem and include the steps to recreate it
- Anything else that might be related to the issue
For a problem downloading a product you’ve purchased:
- What steps you took to try to download it
- What happened when you tried
- What operating system and browser you are using
4) Remember Your Manners
Be polite. The majority of the time whatever problem you are having is not the direct fault of the person you’re speaking to. Consider that it might be user error. No matter who ends up being at fault (you, them, a computer somewhere, a mysterious internet gremlin) you’ll normally get a faster and more helpful response if you don’t begin by making the person who is ready to help you defensive by being rude, swearing at them or “YELLING” in caps. They are on your side and want to help you. Be patient, allow them time to solve your problem, and treat them with respect.
Keep these four tips in mind and you’ll be able to resolve your technical web problems more quickly and with less frustration.
Find Michelle Shaeffer online at The Small Business Muse where she shares weekly tips and strategies for small businesses in The Muses Brainstorm. Stop by The Muses Guide for inspirational guides to help your small business grow.
A Lesson from Frogs
(I received this as a forward and haven’t been able to find the author or copyright information online. If you know who should receive credit for this, please contact me. Or, if you are the copyright holder and would like it removed, contact me and I will do so immediately.)
Once upon a time there was a bunch of tiny frogs…. who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower.
A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants.
The race began….
Honestly: No one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower.
You heard statements such as:
“Oh, WAY too difficult!!”
“They will NEVER make it to the top.”
or:
“Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!”
The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one….
Except for those, who in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher….
The crowd continued to yell, “It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!”
More tiny frogs got tired and gave up….
But ONE continued higher and higher and higher….
This one wouldn’t give up!
At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top!
THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it?
A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal?
It turned out….
That the winner was DEAF!!!
The wisdom of this story is: Never listen to other people’s tendencies to be negative or pessimistic because they take
your wishes away from you — the ones you have in your heart!
Always think of the power words have.
Because everything you hear and read will affect your actions!
Therefore: ALWAYS be… POSITIVE!
And above all: Be DEAF when people tell YOU that you cannot fulfill your dreams!