As an expert within my specialized field you will find my thoughts and action steps qualified and proficient. The inkjet, laser toner cartridge business is worth tens of billions of dollars. My own career allows me to guide you, show you the way to the direct path to profits, revenue growth and all the good things you can gain by starting your own business. Let me give you a suggestion into the great allusion that has been created by The Fortune Companies like Hewlett Packard, Brother, Epson, Canon and Lexmark, just to mention a few. This suggestion also comes with a warning. The very mention of these facts to your friends and family will create some bitterness and anger so you should keep them hush-hush.

As an expert within my specialized field you will find my thoughts and action steps qualified and proficient. The inkjet, laser toner cartridge business is worth tens of billions of dollars. My own career allows me to guide you, show you the way to the direct path to profits, revenue growth and all the good things you can gain by starting your own business. Let me give you a suggestion into the great allusion that has been created by The Fortune Companies like Hewlett Packard, Brother, Epson, Canon and Lexmark, just to mention a few. This suggestion also comes with a warning. The very mention of these facts to your friends and family will create some bitterness and anger so you should keep them hush-hush.

The great illusion or if you prefer the great fantasy is that inkjet and laser toner cartridge components are expensive. These giant global companies have created their own daydream and also the consumer nightmare. Quality ink for your inkjet printer cartridges wholesales within the printing industry for about $60.00 to $75.00 a gallon. If you use a inkjet cartridge refiller service like a Cartridge World, Office Max or even Walgreen’s you’re getting about $0.75 cents worth of black ink for $10.00 to $15.00 dollars. The marketplace has created the false impression that ink is very expensive and very exclusive and very special to your specific printer.

The complete story tells the whole truth.

You need to do some homework. Where can you purchase inkjet and laser toner cartridges?

This great illusion,

the brand name inkjet laser toner cartridge business, like most magic tricks have some reality facts mixed inside all the false impressions.

Did these giant companies, the Fortune Companies like Hewlett Packard, Brother, Epson, Canon and Lexmark, just to mention a few spend millions of dollars on research, chemistry, production discipline, knowledge based research and development? Yes.

These companies and their retail partners followed the American Dream right into your purse or wallet. These companies have done great things with machines, engineers, chemistry, process controls, management, and designs, marketing and just plain old selling their dream to you.

You can print anything you want at home.

This printing technology allows you to enter the art of printing without any special skills.

All you need is their printer and their expensive ink

Doing something you like isn't the only consideration. You need to get an idea of the prospects for the potential business. Is it a business with a market? Can you make money at it? This will require some research into the marketplace as well as how other similar businesses have fared.

Developing a Work Space

Your home is where you live. This means that its primary function is to serve as a dwelling for you and your family - not as a warehouse or meeting place for your business and its clients. Make certain that if you are considering entering the manufacturing business (for example) that your garage or shed is large enough to handle your work - without forcing your family and your vehicles into stormy weather.

Similarly, if your work will be computer-based, make sure that you have the technology necessary to give your idea a fighting chance. In addition, make sure that you have a dedicated area that's cut off from the rest of the house and that can afford you some privacy. Remember, hearing a barking dog or a crying baby in the background when you are trying to work or meet with a client may not be ideal for you or your family.

Outsourcing Partners/Employees

while it would be great to be the sole owner of your company and have complete control of every aspect, sometimes a lack of funds or experience make it necessary to have a partner. In this case, consider someone that is bright, will represent the company well, and has some sort of expertise in the business you are developing, be it sales, marketing, book-keeping, or other financial matters.

Also, try to define the tasks that you and your partner(s) will be responsible for before opening up shop. That way, there will be fewer disagreements and the business will operate more smoothly. Also, make sure that all partners are legally cared for by the company, and that the proper forms are filed with the regulatory authorities - this may mean filing twice and paying for title changes if you need to find a new partner, but it will protect both of you in the long run.

Next, decide if you'll need employees - whether now or in the future. If so, put some thought into how you will get them and what you will pay them for their work. Also, think about how you'll do payroll and whether people will want to work from your home, from their own homes or if you'll need to find another facility to house them.

Doing Your Research

some books on forming a small business suggest that after hatching an idea, an entrepreneur should just "go for it." However, this bold approach could land you in some shaky territory.

Instead, a good first move is to start asking family and friends what they think about your small business idea. Consider asking them specific questions such as:

• Would you purchase this particular product and/or service?

• What do you think its worth?

• What is the best way to market the idea?

• Is this something that you think is a fad, or do you feel it could be a viable business for the long term?

• Is there anything you can think of to improve this idea?

• What other businesses in this field have you heard of or do you currently use for this product/service?

If you're married and/or have kids, you should also be asking your family how they feel about you quitting your job and working from home. This will affect them on a psychological and financial level. If any of their answers are negative, you should spend some time discussing their concerns and decide whether your goal is worth continuing against their wishes.

After obtaining all of this feedback, go back to the drawing board and see if the idea can be improved upon so that your product or service can be differentiated from the competition. Remember, you want to hit the ground running and turn as many heads as possible when first starting off!

Finding Funding

Once you have an idea and the approval of your family, you need to decide how you are going to finance it. Most businesses will need at least a little startup income. This investment will hopefully help you break even after a year, but keep in mind that even successful businesses can remain in deficit for the first few years. Because of this, you will want to tap into a few different sources of funding. Some of these include:

• A small-business loan

• Savings

• Money generated from other investments

• Family/friends who will act as investors

• Personal loan from the bank

• Home equity loan

• Credit cards (as a last resort)

Source capital that won't hamper your longer-term security. In other words, try to avoid racking up costly credit card debt that could cost 20% or more in yearly interest fees. Also, try to avoid borrowing against your 401(k) or other similar plans as this may adversely affect your retirement.

Finally, one of the best things you can do before you take the entrepreneurial leap is to build up an emergency fund to fall back on if your company doesn't break even for a few months. Three months of living expenses is a minimum goal for a new business owner, but even more will help take the stress off of you and let you spend your energy on your company. (To learn more, see Build Yourself An Emergency Fund.)

Covering Your Bases

All business owners should think about what would happen to the enterprise and the revenue streams being generated if health or other issues were to prevent them from being involved in the business. In other words, if the entrepreneur were to become disabled, who would takeover? Could the business survive?

Consider these issues beforehand and determine whether disability income insurance makes sense, or if a partner could fill the void caused by your absence. (To find out more about protecting your company, see The Disability Insurance Policy: Now In English, Protecting Your Income Source and Protect Your Company From Lawsuits.)

Foreseeing the Future

It's great to own a business, but ultimately the entrepreneur will probably want to retire or move on to other challenges. With that in mind, you should create a business plan that discusses how you will transfer, sell or close your company. If your business depends on your unique knowledge and contacts, it may not be able to be assumed by another party.

Conclusion

There are few things more satisfying and rewarding than launching and owning your own home-based business, but before diving in, be sure to do your homework. Making a business work is not an easy task, but proper planning will help to increase its chances of success.

Traditionally, most people took a job with a single company at age 20, worked there their entire lives and eventually retired from that same company 40 years later, often with a nice gold watch. Now, the gold watches are gone and multiple career changes are almost expected over a working lifetime. This has given rise to the professional freelancer, someone who works without long-term commitments to a single employer. They hop from job to job, selling their swords to the highest bidder.

While the idea of being your own boss and enjoying the variety and freedom of the freelancer's life sounds great, these perks come at a cost. In this article, we'll help you decide if freelancing is for you.

To Be Bossed?

First, let's delve into why you might want to keep your nine-to-five job versus taking the free road to working in your PJs sitting on your living room couch.

1. It's Easier Come Tax Time

Employees have the advantage of knowing that their employer is responsible for the mailing of W-2 forms at the end of each calendar year with all of their tax information on it. The employees then will take the information on that form and enter into the appropriate box/line on their tax return (1040), which again is easily laid out.

Freelancers don't get off that easy. In fact, they are required to compile all 1099 forms from domestic employment, document the raw checks they receive from international employers, as well as keep accurate track of the many deductions and expenses they would have incurred throughout the tax year. This can be very difficult and time consuming. It also requires that the freelancer be extremely well organized, and either understand the basics of what is deductible or be able to afford an accountant who does. (To find out how to deduct your home-based business items, check out Don't Overlook These Broker Deductions.)

2. Retirement Accounts/Matching

While not every employer offers employees 401Ks and/or other retirement plans, it has been estimated that some 440,000 companies do, based on research by the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America. A good number of these employers also provide employees with some sort of matching contribution that usually vests over time. Freelancers typically do not get to enjoy this benefit seeing as they are not officially an employee of the company. (To learn more about matching contributions, see Introductory Tour through Retirement Plans, Making Salary Deferral Contributions - Part 1 and Part 2.)

Those who work for themselves may be permitted to set up Keogh Plans or Simplified Employee Plans to help fund their retirement, however they can be costly and time consuming to administer. Plus the contributions come from the employee's pocket. In other words, there is no "free money" to be had or matching programs available. (To find out how to establish your own plans, check out 401(k) Plans For The Small-Business Owner, Plans The Small-Business Owner Can Establish and Tax Credit For Plan Expenses Incurred By Small Businesses.)

3. Health Insurance

Based on a 2006 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, roughly 60% of businesses in the United States offer their employee's health coverage. And while not every company absorbs the full cost of that insurance (some require employee contributions), the majority of the burden does traditionally fall upon the employer. This is a huge benefit for the average employee, given the rising cost of health care. (To read more on this subject, see Fighting The High Costs Of Healthcare and Five Insurance Policies Everyone Should Have.)

Freelancers typically must go into the open market and purchase their own insurance for both themselves and their families. Unfortunately, this can cost the freelancer thousands of dollars in after-tax money each year. The bright side is that the cost of insurance (co-pays and the like) may be deductible.

4. Set Hours and Stability

Full-time employees generally have set hours, which is great for guaranteed income and job stability. From a future employer's perspective, it also looks better if you have worked consistently at one company for a period of time, hopefully advancing in the position. There is very little room for a freelancer to edge out employees in this aspect, so if you aren't sure you could pull off freelancing, it may hurt more than your current bank balance.

Freelancers, though able to work whenever and wherever they are, generally end up doing just that - working more hours than intended on weekends, evenings and holidays. These non-traditional work hours can wreak havoc on family or personal time. In addition freelancers often have peaks and valleys in terms of work flow. They will either be incredibly busy for a time or be incredibly slow for a period of time. It takes a long time to find a common ground with a workload that will pay bills and increase a portfolio.

Or, Not to Be Bossed?

Now, let's take a look at what benefits there are to be found in branching out on your own.

1. Numerous Deductions

Freelancers who work from home are permitted to deduct expenses that they incur while performing their duties. This means that they may deduct the cost of computer paper, a computer, laptop, BlackBerry, cell phone, travel, and a myriad of other expenses that employees would not typically be permitted to deduct. If the items are used for personal and professional duties, then only a portion of the items will be deductible.

This benefit can run into the many thousands of dollars and can help to offset some of the federal and state income taxes that would otherwise be owed by the freelancer. (To get started, see How To Qualify For The Home-Office Tax Deduction.)

2. Variety and Flexibility

Employees are usually given a task or duty and then asked to repeat again and again, often for what can seem like eons. There is very little flexibility. Plus, these people rarely have the ability to branch out and learn new things.

Freelancers don't have such restraints. While they may work in a particular field such as finance, they usually have varying duties and deadlines and interact with a number of different people. As a result, they are much less likely to be pigeon-holed in a particular position.

3. Compensation

While it is not true in every case, the majority of freelancers (especially in the financial world) tend to be paid more per hour than their full-time counterparts. A major reason a company will pay a contractor a higher rate is that it doesn't have to provide health insurance coverage to its freelancers or generally pay their taxes for them. Freelancers must learn to budget in their income taxes into their requested rates so that come tax time they aren't paying out of pocket for work already completed and paid for.

Companies also offer higher hourly rates to get freelancers interested in their projects. Competent individuals don't come cheap, especially for short-term projects (three to six months) .

4. The Commute - or Lack Thereof

Many freelancers these days telecommute. All they have to do is flick on their computers from the comfort of home, and technically, they are at work. When it comes to the commute, freelancers usually have the advantage over employees who must hit the road during crush hours and spend valuable time, money and energy combating this nasty traffic. (Keep reading on this subject in, Extreme Commuting: Is It For You?)

Bottom Line

There are many advantages and disadvantages to being a freelancer. Being your own boss is great, and working from home is a big bonus, but before you take the plunge its imperative to carefully weigh the downside. Varying workloads and a lack of employer-funded healthcare, insurance and retirement planning can quickly destroy the benefits of "pajamas 'til noon".