60-Second Commute: A Guide to Your 24/7 Home Office Life, The

Book description

The 60-Second Commute is the start-to-finish sourcebook for everyone with a home office-or a dream. It brings together practical solutions for childcare, balancing work and family, health insurance, managing your time, organizing your office, marketing, technology, budgeting, vacations, taxes, incorporation, and more. It's all you need to make working at home productive, profitable, and personally satisfying.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
    1. Dedication
  2. Praise for The 60-Second Commute
  3. FINANCIAL TIMES Prentice Hall
  4. Financial Times Prentice Hall Books
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. Introduction
    1. About Erica
    2. About Kathy
    3. About the 60-Second Commute
    4. How This Book is Laid Out
    5. Appendices
  7. 1. Next Stop—Home
    1. Is Working on Your Own Right for You?
      1. Determine Your Score
    2. Do You Have the Right Stuff?
    3. Get on Board
  8. 2. Creating a Space for Your 60-Second Commute
    1. A Room with a View—of the Laundry
    2. A Room with a Door
    3. The Kid Zone
    4. Honey, Stop Talking to Me
    5. Work and Play
    6. Equipment Concerns
    7. Ergonomics: Keeping Comfortable in Your Home Office
    8. The 60-Second Office: Your Style
  9. 3. Technology: 60-Second Commute Essentials
    1. Equipment and Gadgets
    2. Communication Lines: The 'Net and Phones
      1. Talking on the Go
      2. E-mail
      3. Instant Messaging
      4. Laptop or Desktop?
      5. 60-Second Technology: Bumps in the Road
  10. 4. The 24/7 Lifestyle: Time Management in the Home Office
    1. Time … Where Does It Go?
    2. Organized from the Start
    3. Body Clock Blues: Beating Them through Time Management
    4. Java Jolts
    5. Quiet Time
    6. Shutting the Door, Even if You Don't Have One
    7. Time Management in Your Personal Life
    8. “Plan B”: When a Good Day Goes Bad—Very Bad
    9. Bargaining in the Home Office Boardroom
    10. Time Management and Productivity
    11. Only 24 Hours in a Day: Overbooking Time
    12. Procrastination: We Saved It for Last
  11. 5. Organization: How To Get Your Act Together
    1. How Organized Are You (Really)?
    2. Building a System of Organization in Five Quick Steps
      1. Step 1: Setting Up Your World (Location, Location, Location)
      2. Step 2: Setting Up Your Files for Your Home Office and Your Home
      3. Home Files
      4. Home Office Files
      5. Step 3: Coming Face to Face with Your Finances
      6. Step 4: Setting Up Your Home Office Life
      7. Digging Through Disaster
      8. Step 5: Setting Your Work Week in Motion
    3. Invasion of the Little People in Your Home Office
      1. Designate a Kid's Work Drawer
      2. Designate a Sacred Drawer
    4. Rhythm of the Household
  12. 6. Professionalism in the Home Office
    1. You Can Fool Some of the People Some of the Time
    2. Letterhead, Business Cards, and Brochures: Make Them “Sing”
      1. Websites: Hitching a Ride on the Information Superhighway
      2. Hold the Line: Phones in the Home Office
      3. E-Mail Etiquette: Minding Your Manners on the Internet
  13. 7. Get the Ball Rolling: Business and Budget Plans
    1. Start-up Options
    2. Getting the Paperwork Right the First Time
    3. Commonly Asked Questions Regarding Articles of Incorporation
      1. Do You Need a Lawyer to Become Incorporated?
      2. What Are the Articles of Incorporation?
      3. What Are the Corporate Bylaws?
      4. What Is a Shareholder?
      5. What Is the Board of Directors?
      6. What Are Shares of Stocks?
      7. Are There Yearly Responsibilities I Should Be Aware of?
    4. Your Business Plan
    5. Three Ways to Write a Business Plan
    6. Giving Your Business a Name
    7. Employer Identification Number (EIN)
    8. Registering a Website
    9. Disaster Plans for Your Business
    10. Have Map, Will Travel
  14. 8. Taxes: Don't Get Caught Asleep at the Wheel
    1. Your Accountant
    2. Jumping Off Point
    3. Deciding on Your Tax Year
    4. Which Accounting Method Should You Use?
    5. Keeping It Simple
    6. Taking a Look at Your Track Record
    7. Home Office Deductions
    8. Determining Your Partial Deductions
    9. Business Deductions
    10. Explanation of Typical Business Deductions and Expenses
    11. Erase These Items Off Your Deductions List
    12. Self-Employment Tax
    13. Child Care Tax Credit
    14. When to File Your Tax Return and What Forms to Use
    15. Who Pays Quarterly Taxes?
    16. An Independent Contractor or an Employee?
    17. The Important Month of January
    18. Where Can You Get These Forms?
    19. Flying Below the Radar
    20. Do Sole Proprietors Run a Higher Risk of Being Audited by the IRS?
    21. Commonly Asked Questions
      1. Tax Software
      2. Tax Guide Books
      3. IRS Publications
  15. 9. Legal Eagles: Understanding Your Business and the Law
    1. Hiring Your Lawyer
    2. Making Sure You're in the Zone
      1. Zoning Violations
      2. Zoning Variances
    3. Business Licenses and Permits
      1. Business Licenses
      2. Home Occupation License
      3. Air and Water Pollution Control Permit
      4. Fire Department Permit
      5. Sign Permit
      6. Health Department
      7. County, State, and Federal Licenses and Permits
      8. County Permits
      9. State Licensure
      10. Federal Licenses
      11. Seller's Permit/Sales Tax License
    4. Intellectual Properties
    5. Trademarks
    6. Patents
    7. Trade Secrets
    8. Copyrights
      1. Using Copyrighted Material
    9. Public Domain
    10. Nondisclosure Agreements
    11. e-Commerce
    12. Commonly Asked Legal Questions
    13. Keeping Your Eye on the Prize
  16. 10. Insurance in the Home Office
    1. Health Insurance
    2. Long-Term Disability
    3. Home and Renters' Insurance
    4. Life Insurance
    5. Finding an Agent/Insurance
  17. 11. Pink Slip Blues
    1. The Party's Over
    2. Trouble in Paradise
    3. What to Do BEFORE You Lose Your Job
    4. Your First Five Steps After Losing Your Job
      1. Step 1: The First Issue is Money
      2. Step 2: You'll Need Health Insurance
      3. Step 3: Contact a Temp Agency
      4. Step 4: Write the Company a Thank You Letter
      5. Step 5: Stay in the Loop
    5. Don't Be Bamboozled
      1. Free Information
      2. Starter Kits
      3. “900” Numbers
      4. The Flyers Tucked on Your Windshield
      5. Pyramid Schemes
      6. Multilevel Marketing
      7. Glowing Testimonials
    6. Red Flags for a Possible Scam
    7. Turning Lemons into Lemonade
  18. 12. Child Care: Life on the High Wire
    1. Can You Go it Alone?
    2. The My Time, Your Time, Our Time Rule
    3. How Do You Know What You Need?
    4. The Menu of Child Care Options
    5. The Difference Between a Nanny and an Au Pair
    6. Taxable Nanny
    7. The Difference Between Family Day Care and Day Care Centers
    8. Tot Drops and Mother's Day Out
    9. Babysitting Co-Op
    10. Who's Watching the Kids—The ABC's of Background Checks
    11. Coming Face-to-Face
    12. Crib Sheets
      1. Special Instructions
    13. Making Your Best Choice
  19. 13. Strategies for Hanging in When the Going Gets Tough
    1. Pep-Talking Yourself When You Only Hear an Echo
    2. Ten Things to Do When Hard Times Happen
    3. Remember These Guys?
  20. 14. Telecommuting Proposals: Getting into the Home Office
    1. Getting Your Boss to Let You Do the 60-Second Slide to the Office
    2. Flex Your Flexibility
    3. Beware of Backlash
    4. Overdoing It
  21. 15. Marketing Yourself and Your Small Business
    1. Networking is the Name of the Game
    2. PR Tips
    3. The Success Monster
  22. A. Government Resources
  23. B. Organizations And Associations
  24. C. Start-up Assistance
  25. D. Web Hot Spots
    1. Business
    2. Child Care
    3. Entrepreneurs
    4. Job Hunting
    5. Legal
    6. Taxes
    7. Talkin' Trash:
    8. Trademark and Intellectual Properties
    9. Women in Business
  26. Glossary
  27. References

Product information

  • Title: 60-Second Commute: A Guide to Your 24/7 Home Office Life, The
  • Author(s): Erica Orloff, Ph.D. Kathy Levinson
  • Release date: October 2002
  • Publisher(s): Pearson
  • ISBN: 0130477281