Turn your hobby into a profitable business and enjoy a second income.

In a troubled economy, you've discovered that a single source of income just isn't enough. But how do you start and manage your new venture -- and make a profit to boot?

From crafting to home repair to website design and more, if you've ever wanted to turn your hobby into a business and watch your passion generate cash, Running a Side Business is the book for you. Packed with tips, legal resources, start-up success stories and USA TODAY snapshots and infographics, you'll learn the life cycle of a business and get answers to important questions along the way. Find out how to: 

• choose a side business that will succeed
• manage a full-time job while running your side business
• protect your personal assets
• keep it legal: how and where to obtain and file permits, licenses, contracts, and trademarks
• manage your home-based business
• market your new business
• file taxes and take deductions
  

Plus, Running a Side Business offers guidance on selecting the right side business for you, with information about some of the most popular side businesses that have gained popularity in the last decade, including sales through eBay and Amazon, web design, blogging, Google AdSense business models, and podcasting models.

Your Business Companion

1. Starting the Right Side Business

• Before You Start: Nine Things to Consider
• Can You Really Maintain Your Full-Time Job and Your Side Business?
• Common Side Businesses
• Do You Need a Business Plan?
• Avoid Side-Business Scams
• What If … ? Should You Consider Quitting Your Day Job?

2. If You Go Online

• Free Stuff
• Invoice Customers and Get Paid Online
• Sell Stuff via Amazon or eBay
• Earn Money With Ads and Affiliates
• The (Very) Basics of Driving Traffic to Your Site
• How to Build a Website in 24 Hours
• Basic Legal Rules When Going Online

3. Managing Your Money

• Record Keeping and Bookkeeping
• Accounting Methods
• What Is Cash Flow and Why Is It Essential?
• Five Accounting Principles You Need To Know
• What Is Forecasting?
• Should You Separate Business and Personal?
• Raising Money for Your Business
• What’s the Difference? Equity vs. Debt
• Borrowing With Credit Cards
• Bank Loans
• SBA Loans
• Borrowing From Family and Friends
• Social Lending Networks
• Getting Paid
• Invoiced Accounts
• Checks
• Getting Paid With Credit Cards
• Ten Tips for Collecting Accounts Receivable

4. Protecting Personal Assets

• Using Business Entities to Limit Liability
• What Are You? Sole Proprietorship or Partnership?
• What’s the Difference? LLC vs. Corporation
• How to Convert to an LLC or a Corporation
• An Interview With LLC and Corporations Expert Anthony Mancuso
• Insurance
• Basic Coverage
• Package Deals
• Insurance for Employees
• Ten Tips for Saving Money on Insurance
• Reduce Your Risks

5. Avoid the Lawyers

• Ten Common Contract Problems and How to Solve Them
• Drafting and Formatting an Agreement
• Who Signs the Agreement?
• When You Have to Review a Contract
• Maintaining Paperwork
• Are You Afraid of Negotiating Contracts?
• Avoiding Legal Problems With Names and Trademarks
• Perform a Simple “Knockout” Search
• Federally Registering a Trademark
• Staying Out of Trademark Trouble
• Four Steps to Legally Protecting Your Business Ideas
• What Ideas Do You Have?
• Ensuring Rights: Registration and Other Measures
• Chasing People Who Rip Off Your Ideas
• Licensing or Selling Your Rights
• What If You Copy Somebody Else’s Ideas?
• Ideas Created by Your Employees or Contractors
• Ten Ways to Save on Legal Fees
• Evaluate Your Attorney’s Services

6. Licenses, Permits, and Other Paperwork

• Basic Registration Requirements
• Register Your Fictitious Business Name
• If You Sell Goods, Get a Seller’s Permit
• Permits and Licenses for Specialized Fields

7. Working From Home

• Ten Tips for Maximum Home Office Efficiency
• Self-Assessment: When Should You Move Your Side Business Out of Your Home?
• Studios and Storage: When You Need More Space

8. Working With Others

• Employee vs. Independent Contractor: What’s the Difference?
• Five Reasons Why Hiring an IC Is Usually a Better Choice For Your Side Business
• Legal and Paperwork Requirements: ICs
• Legal and Paperwork Requirements: Employees
• Ten Tips When Hiring Family Members

9. Marketing Basics

• What’s the Difference? Marketing vs. Advertising
• Ten Marketing Tips
• Your Marketing Toolbox
• Do You Need a Marketing Plan?

10. Taxes and Deductions

• What’s the Difference? Hobby vs. Business
• How the IRS Judges Your Business
• Proving a Profit Motive
• Classic Hobby Loss Abuse
• Paying Taxes
• Will You Get Audited?
• How Businesses Are Taxed
• What Taxes Your Business Will Have to Pay
• Paying Estimated Taxes
• Preparing Your Taxes
• Keeping Records for the IRS
• Tax Deductions
• What’s a Tax Deduction Worth?
• Tax Deduction Basics
• Deducting Home Office Expenses
• Qualifying for the Home Office Deduction
• What You Can Deduct
• Five Home Office Deduction Tips
• Deducting Long-Term Assets
• Immediate Deduction Using Section 179
• Depreciation
• Deducting Vehicle Expenses
• Deducting Travel Expenses
• Deducting Meals and Entertainment
• An Interview with Attorney Stephen Fishman

Index

Here are summaries of important legal or procedural changes that affect the latest edition of this product.