Home Business Review Place

Well, I always wondered what you do if you want a permanent brick barbecue out in your yard.  I thought maybe you bought a rolling one and then built around it or something.  But I finally found out that the answer is one of those drop in grills!

This is such a wonderful solution because, unlike the built in barbecue I had as a child that would only accommodate charcoal briquettes, these grills have burners and use gas or propane just like you might expect.   You don’t even need to leave an opening in your brick structure because you can go ahead and just get some outdoor kitchen cabinets.

It is so handy and actually encouraged now to get all this barbecue paraphernalia-it’s quite the cultural expectation any more.  But I don’t know, it still seems easier to me to just broil steaks in the oven.  I know, I’m a spoil-sport.  But the whole bbq thing seems like it’s an event in and of itself:  everyone is enjoying the outdoors and shooting the breeze, drinking beer or something.

That’s great, but for the other 363 days a year, I guess I’m just lazy.  Still, when you want to use a bbq, you really need one, so you’d better get one.

Technorati Tags: drop in grills, outdoor kitchen cabinets, paraphernalia

I was recently notified by the company I work for that I would need to pack up and move from Arizona where I currently live and head down to Georgia. While it came as a bit of a shock, I have been to Atlanta and do, truly, enjoy the area and its people. One of the main reasons they are sending me there is to be closer to the Atlanta colocation web hosting facility we use.

photo credit: rockmixer

While they have their own professionals on staff 24/7, my bosses boss feels that we’d be better served if I was closer, nonetheless.

So, in addition to having to completely uproot my life, over the next 3 months I need to become a web server expert. The reason for this has to do with the money savings our business is hoping to attain when they convert all of our server packages to unmanaged dedicated server hosting plans.

And this basically means that I will be THE person that is responsible for all aspects of our company’s online existence. The great thing about having our server boxes in a colo center, as they are called, has to do with the fact they always have professional technicians on duty. This means I’ll never really be all that alone to take care of the challenges that may arise.

Technorati Tags: Atlanta colocation, unmanaged dedicated server hosting

When you have a home business, it can be really tempting to deduct things you really shouldn’t be as business expenses.  This can be really dangerous, though, because the IRS is bound to notice if you are going overboard on your business deductions — and you can get in a lot of trouble if you get caught.

I worry about people I know doing this.  For instance, deducting personal vehicles, or a cell phone that is not really just for business.  Or taking the home office deduction when it really isn’t justified.

Now, it’s not a strong argument, but if you can legitimately say, “I didn’t know,” you may be okay taking the risk.  But it has to be an honest mistake.  For instance, if you have a home business and you try to deduct your hot tub spa as a cost of doing business (i.e., so that you can relax), I really don’t think the IRS will be too understanding of your “mistake” if you get audited — no matter what a cheap hot tub it was.

I guess one of the best things to do is use common sense.  If it feels like you’re trying too hard to justify an expense, if it’s not obvious why it’s a business expense, you probably shouldn’t be taking it.  Now that obviously isn’t the only determining factor, and you probably should consult a professional for more specific advice, but it’s a start!

Technorati Tags: business expenses, cheap hot tub, home office deduction, hot tub spa

One of my biggest worries in my life was that our house would burn down.  It was never a pleasant thought, but I had this nagging feeling that it would happen to me at some point in my life.  I was hoping that I was wrong, but I could just feel it in my gut.

Sadly, just last year our home caught on fire.  Though we didn’t lose everything, it was heart-wrenching to see your home go up in flames, and it was one of the most traumatizing experiences of my life.  I knew that I would need some counseling after the incident, and that is exactly what I did.

Thankfully, we didn’t lose everything and we were able to salvage some of our belongings.  Those things that we could keep, we put in a self storage unit in a Queen Creek storage facility while our home was being rebuilt.  They had to bulldoze everything so we couldn’t leave any of our possessions on site, so it was the logical choice.

I am really looking forward to moving into our rebuilt home in the next couple of weeks when it is finally complete.  I am really getting tired of living in the tiny apartment that we have been staying in.

Technorati Tags: Bulldoze, Queen Creek storage, self storage unit

My dad is a custom woodworker and has been for as long as I can remember. He makes exquisite furniture that’s uniquely designed and beautiful to look at. He probably could have made a fortune at this work over the years if it weren’t for one sad thing - he’s just not very good at business.

Dad works for himself and he manages to make a living but he’s really far more interested in just making furniture than in growing his business. He charges barely more than he spends on each piece in spite of all of the time involved in the work. He almost never does promotion for his business and just relies on word-of-mouth to get new customers.

And the really big thing is that he doesn’t jump on a good idea when he has one. For example, there was one time that he made a really cool cat tree for a client and he kind of mused out loud that he should start a line of luxury cat furniture. We all thought it was a great idea but he doesn’t have any follow-through with things like that. He doesn’t want to actually set up a website and make items for sale so he never makes any money. It’s sad since he’s so good at his craft but just not great at business at all.

Technorati Tags: cat furniture, cat tree