Surfing The Asian Tide Cliff Ennico www.creators.com Brace yourself for an onslaught of new business books and #147;news reports#148; about how China, India and other fast-growing Asian economies are wiping out the U.S. economy. According to the prophets of doom who write these things, there#146;s no way us big, fat, overpaid, lazy Americans can compete with highly disciplined, highly educated, extremely motivated Asian employees who are willing to work for pennies a day and even speak better English than we do. Listen too much to this malarky, and you#146;ll come to the conclusion that your retirement years will be spent in a shack somewhere, doing menial service work that no self-respecting Asian person would do while your grandchildren are combing the Mongolian countryside looking for suitable marriage partners. Haven#146;t we been here before, folks? Remember all the books and movies that came out in the 1980s about how Japan was going to take over the world and the best Americans could hope for was to learn Japanese management practices like wearing uniforms, doing calisthenics every morning and shouting company slogans every five minutes? It didn#146;t happen then, and I don#146;t think it will happen now. Still, there is no question that the Asian countries are lurching their way into the world economy. And we have to take this seriously. Wasn#146;t it Napoleon who said #147;China is a sleeping dragon, and when it awakes, it will shake the world#148;? Those who believe that the outsourcing of American jobs to Asia and the growing dominance of Asian companies in many industries are just a #147;flash in the pan#148; that will disappear in a few years are living in just as much a dream world as those that would sell the Brooklyn Bridge to the Malaysians. It#146;s amazing to me how often something that is commonly perceived as a threat can really be an opportunity in disguise. As entrepreneurs, we are supposed to be studying trends in world markets and figuring out how we can make money from them, not sitting around spinning Doomsday scenarios. So given that China#146;s rise to world superpower status, and growing Asian dominance of significant parts of the world economy, are #147;megatrends#148; that aren#146;t likely to reverse course anytime soon, how can you position yourself to take advantage of them? Or, to ask the question another way, #147;as China, India and other Asian countries move into the economic mainstream, and suffer the growing pains that all developing economies do, what products and services will people over there need that I can provide?#148; If you are a consultant or business specialist, you may be able to make a lot more money doing what you do in Qingdao these days than you do in Chicago. Want to surf the Asian tide rather than stick your fingers in the dike and hope you can keep the ocean at bay? Here are some ideas, just a few of many, many possibilities: Are you a downsized executive or lawyer that speaks a little Chinese? Set up your own consulting practice to help American companies find Chinese joint venture partners overseas, and vice versa. Are you a former journalist? Teach Western journalism and public relations techniques to Chinese media organizations so they can obtain more favorable press in American news media. Cliff Hahn, a media consultant in New York City ( cliphy@yahoo.com ) takes it a step further #150; he teaches children in China how to write and publish newspapers, Internet Websites, and other news media as part of the nonprofit Children#146;s PressLine ( www.cplmedia.org ) in an effort to train the Chinese journalists of tomorrow. Are you a speech therapist who wants a more exciting opportunity than working in a public school system? Fly to India and offer your services to the #147;customer call centers#148; that operate in several cities there. By training their employees in various regional American accents, you will enhance their marketability to U.S. corporate customers, and make U.S. consumers more comfortable dealing with foreign-based customer service operations in general. The Asians are coming, and you basically have two choices #150; fight it (bad idea), or embrace it and help bring it to fruition in a way that will benefit your country, your career and your business (good idea). As they say in Beijing, #147;hao yun#148; (#147;hou wan#148; in Shanghai, "tumhara bhagya accha ho#148; in Bangalore). Cliff Ennico ( cennico@legalcareer.com ) is a syndicated columnist, author and host of the PBS television series 'Money Hunt'. This column is no substitute for legal, tax or financial advice, which can be furnished only by a qualified professional licensed in your state. To find out more about Cliff Ennico and other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit our Web page at www.creators.com . COPYRIGHT 2005 CLIFFORD R. ENNICO. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com. More >>

Training The E-Commerce Entrepreneurs Of Tomorrow Cliff Ennico www.creators.com I was privileged to attend the recent Small eBusiness World conference in Chicago ( www.smallebusinessworld.com ) for business owners who are thinking about selling on the Internet but don#146;t know how to get started. #147;This is the first time anyone has ever attempted to bring all of the leading e-commerce players together in one place to help small business owners overcome their fears of selling online,#148; says Paul Berger, serial entrepreneur and founder of MNetworks, Inc. ( mnetworks.com ), the Florida-based media company that created and hosted Small eBusiness World. Attendees at the conference were able to choose from over 100 programs on virtually every aspect of starting and running a successful e-commerce business, offered by eBay, Yahoo!, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, the U.S. Postal Service, and Entrepreneur magazine, among others. Want to make really serious money selling online? Here are some tips and tools from folks I met at the conference: A successful e-commerce business is a #147;three legged stool#148; consisting of an online store, an Internet marketing strategy, and a presence on eBay, according to e-commerce expert and author Jill Finlayson ( jill@mnetworks.com ); Wanna put together a high-profile online auction of celebrity stuff for your charity or nonprofit organization? Check out www.kompolt.com , a Web-based service that can handle the whole thing; For only $15.95 a month, you can open an #147;eBay Store#148; #150; an e-commerce Website on eBay that is search engine optimized for Yahoo!, Microsoft Network, and Google #150; and get up and running in about 10 minutes, according to Janelle Elms, author of #147;eBay Your Business#148; ( www.JanelleElms.com ); According to eBay Motors expert Steve Lindhorst ( lindhorst@gmail.com ), the biggest mistake people make when selling cars on eBay is failing to stay in close contact with bidders #150; Lindhorst recommends www.carad.com , a vehicle listing tool that handles most communications so you don#146;t have to; Not only can you set up your own Weblog (or #147;blog#148;) completely free on Google ( www.google.com/g2b ); The U.S. Postal Service now offers a #147;flat rate box#148; for $7.70 #150; they give you the box, and you can stuff as much stuff in it as you want and pay only $7.70 for priority mail (that#146;s first class) delivery, no matter how much the bloody thing weighs ( www.usps.com , click on #147;What#146;s New at USPS#148; link); Yahoo! is now offering #147;Local Listings#148;, a free five-page Website for your store that you can easily customize with your logo, text, and links to other sites ( http://listings.local.yahoo.com ); Wanna generate USPS-friendly mailing labels that won#146;t show your customers the exact amount you paid for postage? Check out Endicia Premium, a complete desktop shipping system with built-in insurance ( www.endicia.com ); When investing in an e-commerce startup, investors look particularly for companies that are #147;using technology in a novel or intriguing way to give them an advantage over their larger competitors,#148; according to Jon Staenberg, partner of Seattle-based venture fund Rustic Canyon Partners ( www.rusticcanyon.com ); Wanna create a database of all your eBay customers and send them newsletters by e-mail so they keep coming back to buy more stuff from you? Check out ConstantContact, a #147;do it yourself#148; e-mail marketing system ( www.constantcontact.com ); If you are selling stuff on eBay, Yahoo! Shopping, Overstock.com, Google, Froogle and other Internet sales channels and want to keep track of all of your auctions, sales, stores and listings in one place, check out MarketWorks, a Web-based solution for managing inventory and processing orders from any online sales channel ( www.marketworks.com ); To build a successful e-commerce company quickly, #147;start playing around with this stuff; don#146;t wait for things to get perfect, because [the world of e-commerce] is changing too fast and you#146;ll miss out on the best opportunities,#148; according to Rieva Lesonsky, editor of Entrepreneur magazine. So you missed the show? Not to worry. MNetworks plans to launch a nationwide series of #147;eCommerce Boot Camps#148;#150; one day programs where business owners can get hands-on training to get started selling online #150; in the very near future. Stay tuned. Cliff Ennico ( cennico@legalcareer.com ) is a syndicated columnist, author and host of the PBS television series 'Money Hunt'. This column is no substitute for legal, tax or financial advice, which can be furnished only by a qualified professional licensed in your state. To find out more about Cliff Ennico and other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit our Web page at www.creators.com . COPYRIGHT 2005 CLIFFORD R. ENNICO. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com. More >>

The Age Of The "Microconsumer" Cliff Ennico www.creators.com I feel sorry for politicians sometimes. Really . . . I#146;m not kidding. People criticize elected officials for not taking firm stands on the issues or saying what they really mean, but you really can#146;t blame them. Every competent politician knows it#146;s a basic law of human nature: people are much more likely to remember negative information than positive information. If candidates take a firm stand on an issue, any issue, they risk alienating a good percentage of voters with contrary opinions, and that will cost them dearly at the polls. Don#146;t believe it? Let#146;s say you and I meet on a street corner, and we talk about 10 things. We agree on nine of those 10 things, but disagree quite sharply on the 10th. We then part company, and don#146;t see each other for a year, when we glimpse each other on a crowded commuter train. Of the 10 things we discussed a year ago, which do you think we will remember? Oh, we may recall some of the nine things we agreed on, but we#146;re sure as Heck going to remember that 10th thing, aren#146;t we? So if I#146;m running for office (don#146;t worry, I#146;m not planning on it anytime soon) and you agree with everything I stand for except for one thing #150; an issue on which you have pretty strong feelings #150; what will you be thinking about when you pull the curtains shut behind you in the voting booth come November? Years ago, you had only three major television networks to deal with, and a handful of major newspaper and magazine chains, which limited the amount of information people received. Now, you have hundreds of cable television channels, thousands of Websites, Weblogs (#147;blogs#148;) and e-newsletters, enabling viewers to consider your views on dozens of diverse, often very narrow, issues rather than a manageable few. Now, add the Internet and TiVo to this media stew. On the Internet, you cannot #147;push#148; any information in people#146;s faces. The Internet is user-driven. Any attempt to show people information they haven#146;t asked to see (by #147;Googling#148; it) will be branded as #147;spam#148;, #147;pop-up ads#148; or worse. On the Internet, the viewers determine which information they will view and which they won#146;t. They select who gets through the spam filter and who doesn#146;t. With TiVo they can watch only those programs on television they want to watch, and can even block out the ads. So if I (like most people) am liberal on some issues, conservative on others, pro-this and anti-that, I can select only those television programs, Websites or #147;blogs#148; that support my views, customize my media to fit my personal world-view, and create my very own political party. So what does all this have to do with running your own business? We live today in the age of the #147;microconsumer#148;. Years ago, when marketing channels were limited, companies could engage in #147;mass merchandising#148; -- casting their nets as widely as possible, identifying broad demographic groups, and emphasizing those problems and concerns that their individual customers had in common as members of those groups. Today, #147;mass media#148; and mass merchandising are both pretty much dead. Marketers have hundreds if not thousands of media options, and can target their advertising as narrowly as they wish. Consumers have been taught to think of themselves as unique individuals, with their own peculiar tastes, desires and values. To survive in the #147;microconsumer#148; age, small businesses must learn to #147;customize#148; their brand offerings to niche markets, in an effort to capture as many individualized tastes as possible. You must pick these markets very carefully, make sure they are big enough to give you a decent living, and pray that they stay in one place long enough for you to earn a profit. Oh, and don#146;t say anything they might disagree with . . . Cliff Ennico ( cennico@legalcareer.com ) is a syndicated columnist, author and host of the PBS television series 'Money Hunt'. This column is no substitute for legal, tax or financial advice, which can be furnished only by a qualified professional licensed in your state. To find out more about Cliff Ennico and other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit our Web page at www.creators.com . COPYRIGHT 2005 CLIFFORD R. ENNICO. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com. More >>

Party Networking or "Are You George?" By Chellie Campbell www.thewealthyspirit.com I love advertising my business through networking with other upbeatbusiness people. There are many networking groups in every city-trade organizations, Chambers of Commerce, Rotary Clubs, national associations, etc. But you don't have to restrict yourself to business organizations.Parties are unofficial networking groups. This past January, I was invited to a friend's New Year's Day party, and I only knew a few people there. My friend, Victoria, introduced me to a woman friend of hers who was reading my book and enjoying it. "You have to meet George!" she told me. "He has your book and he has been faithfully reading it one page every day. He would love to meet you." Well, I always enjoy talking to a fan-I will go out of my way to find someone who is going to say nice things to me-so I set off in search of George. I didn't know what he looked like, and there were a lot of men at the party, so I just waltzed up to the first man I saw and said, "Hi! Are you George?" The man shook his head and said, "No, I'm not. Why are you looking for George?" "Someone told me that he was a fan of my book and wanted to meet me," I replied. "Oh, really? You're an author? What book did you write?" the man asked. "It's called The Wealthy Spirit..." and all of a sudden I am networking and telling this man all about who I am and what I do. After a pleasantconversation, exchange of contact numbers and information, I continued my search for George with the next man I saw. "Excuse me, are you George?" I smiled sweetly. "Nope. Who's George?..." More networking. "I'm looking for George. Are you George?" "No. Why are you looking for George...?" I was getting giddy. This was the best line I'd ever used. This same conversation happened over and over. I met every man at the party before I found George (who was delightful, of course). What a great conversation opener "Are you George?" turned out to be! I decided that I might use it at every party I go to. You can use it, too. Invent an imaginary George, and use it as an excuse to talk to anyone you want! Today's Affirmation: "I love talking with people and they love talking with me!" Chellie Campbell is the author of The Wealthy Spirit: Daily Affirmations for Financial Stress Reduction , selected as one of Dr. Laura#146;s book recommendations. She created and teaches the Financial Stress Reductionreg; Workshops on which her book is based in the Los Angeles area and gives programs throughout the country. Her free e-newsletter is available at www.chellie.com . Permission granted for use on Dr.Laura.com. More >>

Educating Tomorrow's Entrepreneurs... Before It's Too Late Cliff Ennico www.creators.com As I have been speaking to entrepreneur groups around the country the past few months, I am often surprised, if not shocked, at how little most people starting out in their own businesses know about the fundamentals of the business world. In most cases, they are not to blame. The American education system never prepared them for living the lives they now live. Instead, it trained them to be something else #150; doctors, lawyers, engineers, corporate executives, technicians of one sort or another. Now, I am not an educator (at least not professionally), so I cannot tell you what the goals of today#146;s education system are. From what I read, a fair number of education experts think there should be no goals at all #150; that education is and should be an end in itself. Fair enough. But why shouldn#146;t one of the goals of our educational system be to prepare today#146;s students to become tomorrow#146;s entrepreneurs? If current economic and demographic trends continue many if not most of today#146;s students will have to run their own businesses at some point in their lives just to keep body and soul together. How can our educational system be redesigned to produce competent business people with the entrepreneurial spirit and the survival skills necessary to run those businesses? These are questions we need to at least think about. You could write a book on this subject, but here are a few creative suggestions for modifying the traditional curriculum in ways that will give American high school and college students at least a fighting chance in the tough, no holds barred economy of tomorrow, without busting the fragile budgets most public and private school systems labor under. If you#146;ve got any better ideas, I#146;d love to hear them (and I#146;m sure I will). Make Business Courses Mandatory . Back in the 1960s, when I was in high school, business courses were not considered #147;fast track#148;. The college bound kids took #147;academic#148; courses while the rest took business or vocational courses. Sadly, from what I#146;ve seen, things haven#146;t changed much. Business education needs to be integrated at every level of the educational process, and placed on a par with the more traditional #147;academic#148; subjects. There is no reason why a middle school student can#146;t learn the basic accounting equation (assets equal liabilities plus owners#146; equity), or a high school student can#146;t master basic bookkeeping techniques. Accounting, economics, marketing, finance and business law should be required subjects for graduating from any American high school. Mathematics . Today#146;s high school math program starts with algebra, then progresses through geometry, trigonometry and calculus. Fine and dandy. But what about #147;business math#148; -- probability, statistics, finite mathematics and quantitative methods for making business decisions? Many high schools relegate these subjects to a single #147;elective#148; course in the senior year (if they are offered at all), when they really should be integrated throughout the core math curriculum. Psychology . Understanding people, how they think and behave, is essential to running a successful business. Why, then, is it that most students never learn even basic human psychology until they#146;re in college? Teaching kids how the human mind works at an earlier stage will not only help them understand and appreciate others, but themselves as well. I can appreciate that teaching this material at too young an age can be very damaging, but juniors and seniors in high school should be able to handle it. Languages . American students not only need to learn more foreign languages, but they need to learn the right ones, the ones that will shape tomorrow#146;s world economy. Not to knock French and Italian, but the languages of the future (other than English) are Chinese, Spanish and Arabic. Chinese, so you can understand your future boss. Spanish, so you can communicate with your employees and coworkers. Arabic, so you can appreciate what motivates America#146;s current enemies, and do what you can to make them appreciate what motivates us. Every high school student should be proficient at a basic conversational level in at least two languages other than English. At least one of those should be an Asian language. Typing/Keyboarding/Computer Skills . Every kid should be able to type at least 50 words per minute by the time they reach high school. Every high school graduate should be proficient in the basic word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software programs that drive American business. Physical Education . Too many gym programs favor the athletically gifted kids. There are lessons you learn on the athletic field that you learn nowhere else, and the #147;jocks#148; should not have a monopoly on them. A more general #147;health and wellness#148; approach to physical education #150; focusing on individual physical fitness, exercise, nutrition, stress management and the dynamics of competition and teamwork #150; should help most students survive the heavy demands the entrepreneurial life places on the human body and soul. History . Economic, business and technological history should be placed on a par with political, military and social/cultural history. Kids should know who George Washington and Emily Dickinson were, of course, but they should also know what Henry Ford, Jethro Tull (the British inventor of the seed drill, not the rock band), the Securities Act of 1933, the Hollywood studio system, and the silicon chip contributed to the world we live in. Career Education and Counseling . Finally, we really need to do more to help kids figure out who they are, identify their unique strengths and weaknesses, and develop at least some idea of how they might fit into the world of work, business and the economy before they are thrown out into it to fend for themselves. Most people graduate college with only the vaguest idea of what different careers are all about #150; when I speak at high schools and colleges, you should HEAR what these kids think lawyers do for a living! Too many young Americans are entering the professions not because they are gifted in that direction, but because #147;that#146;s where the money is#148;, #147;that#146;s where the status and prestige is#148;, #147;it looks so cool on television#148; or (most sadly) #147;that#146;s what you should do with a college education#148;. Many of these folks learn only much later in life #150; after the decision was made for them by an employer, a recession, a family crisis or an illness -- that they really should have done something different with their lives. By then it#146;s too late #150; they#146;ve climbed to the top of the ladder, but the ladder#146;s propped up against the wrong building, and there#146;s not enough time to start over again from scratch. The #147;career day#148; and #147;take your son/daughter to work#148; programs are not nearly enough. We need to expose students at all levels of education to as many different career paths as possible, help them identify their interest in (and suitability for) specific careers throughout their developing years, and give them a working idea of what those careers are really all about. Yes, things will change, and many jobs that are attractive today won#146;t exist in 20 years (or will be outsourced to other countries). But the greatest gift we can give today#146;s students is to remind them that someday their schooling will end, and that they need to start thinking today about choosing a path that will make them successful, or at least happy, tomorrow. Cliff Ennico ( cennico@legalcareer.com ) is a syndicated columnist, author and host of the PBS television series 'Money Hunt'. This column is no substitute for legal, tax or financial advice, which can be furnished only by a qualified professional licensed in your state. To find out more about Cliff Ennico and other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit our Web page at www.creators.com . COPYRIGHT 2005 CLIFFORD R. ENNICO. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com More >>

Thank You, Louisville Cliff Ennico www.creators.com I was privileged to be the featured speaker at a recent #147;eBay for Business#148; forum in Louisville, Kentucky co-sponsored by eBay and Entrepreneur magazine. More than 200 souls, many of them faithful readers of this column each week in the Louisville Courier-Journal , braved a torrential downpour to hear their favorite Wall-Street-lawyer-turned-small-business-journalist speak on the legal and tax aspects of starting a business on eBay. And, like always at events like these, a lot of folks were looking for some heavily discounted advice on how to run their businesses. Here are some of the more interesting questions that came up during the QA session after my talk: #147;I ran an eBay business with another guy until the middle of last year, when I let him buy me out. He#146;s continuing with the old business, and I#146;m doing something similar as a sole proprietorship. Is there anything either of us has to do to let the world know we#146;re no longer a partnership?#148; Actually, there are a few things. Your ex-partner has to file a Form1065 (partnership return) with the IRS, along with the corresponding Kentucky state tax form, by April 15 of this year, showing all income the two of you made last year until you dissolved the partnership. If this isn#146;t filed on time, you will be subject to a late filing penalty of $600 per partner ($1,200 total in your case). He should be sure to check the #147;last return filed#148; box on both returns so the tax authorities will know that this is the last partnership return you will file. Your ex-partner also needs to obtain new federal and state tax ID numbers for this business, as it is now a sole proprietorship and therefore considered a different type of entity for tax purposes. In addition, both you and your ex-partner need to file Schedule C on your personal tax returns this year showing the income each of you made as sole proprietors after you dissolved your partnership. #147;I formed a limited liability company (LLC) with my husband and obtained federal and state tax ID numbers for an eBay business last year, but never actually got started because my spouse was laid off from his full-time job and we both needed to work part-time to pick up the slack. I#146;m still thinking about doing this business someday, but do I have to file tax returns for a business that#146;s not doing anything?#148; You absolutely must file federal and state tax returns for this business. Once you obtain federal and state tax ID numbers for a business, the tax authorities want to see a tax return each year with those numbers on it. If they don#146;t get returns matching those numbers, they assume you forgot to file them. That can trigger penalties for failing to file a tax return (see previous answer), and could lead to a tax audit that might not necessarily be limited to your business income. Since you and your husband were co-members of the LLC, you should file Form 1065 (partnership return) by April 15 of this year. Since the business had no income, and possibly incurred a loss (if you#146;re not sure, talk to your accountant), this should be reflected on the Form 1065. You and your husband should also file Schedule C on your personal tax returns showing your percentage share (for example, 50/50 if that#146;s how you agreed to divvy up profits and losses from the LLC) of any loss from last year. Under current IRS rules, you can carry this loss forward and apply it against any income you may generate from the LLC business in future years. #147;My father ran a successful retail business until he died last year, leaving the business, as well as his entire estate, to my mother. My Mom is very sick, and cannot run this business. She wants my wife and me to run the business, and split the profits 60% for us and 40% for her. How do we set this up legally?#148; My answer has to be in two parts. First part: what you should do now. You probably should consider forming a limited liability company (LLC) for your Mom, so that if you do anything legally wrong in running the business it doesn#146;t affect your Mom#146;s personal assets or the other assets in your Dad#146;s estate. Your Mom would be the only member of the LLC, and would appoint you as #147;managers#148; to run the LLC business on her behalf. You would then have the sole power and authority to run the LLC business (in other words, your Mom can#146;t tell you what to do, at least legally), and your compensation would be 60% of the LLC profits. Your Mom, of course, would receive the other 40% as her ownership stake in the business. Second part: what you need to do before your Mom dies. Under current tax law, if your Mom dies between now and 2010 and her estate is valued at more than a certain amount (which changes each year), any transfer to you or other family members will be subject to federal estate taxes, which are gradually being phased out between now and 2010. No one currently knows what will happen if your Mom dies after the year 2010; if the estate tax is not phased out permanently before then, it will revive, with tax rates going as high as 55% of the estate#146;s value. If I were you, I wouldn#146;t play the #147;estate tax guessing game#148;. As soon as you form the LLC for your Dad#146;s old business, get your Mom to an attorney specializing in estate planning, and work out an orderly transfer of her LLC membership interests to you and your wife over the next few years. That way, if your Mom dies unexpectedly while the federal estate tax is still in effect, the tax will apply only to the percentage of the business she owns at the time of death. If it#146;s structured properly, your Mom won#146;t owe gift taxes on the portion of the business she transfers to you each year, and your Mom can still continue to receive 40% of the profits each year until she either dies or transfers all of her ownership to you and your wife. One last thing: thanks to the anonymous individual who approached me in the hotel lobby after my talk and handed me a bag of #147;Kenny#146;s Cajun Gourmet Microwave Popcorn#148; ( www.kennyscajuncorn.com ). I truly admire your spunk and entrepreneurial spirit #150; to market a specialty food item successfully you#146;ve got to take advantage of EVERY selling opportunity you get -- and the popcorn is delicious. Now, if there are any entrepreneurs in Louisville distilling 100-proof Bourbon in their spare time . . . Cliff Ennico ( cennico@legalcareer.com ) is a syndicated columnist, author and host of the PBS television series 'Money Hunt'. This column is no substitute for legal, tax or financial advice, which can be furnished only by a qualified professional licensed in your state. To find out more about Cliff Ennico and other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit our Web page at www.creators.com . COPYRIGHT 2005 CLIFFORD R. ENNICO. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com More >>

Do You Need An Auction License To Sell On Ebay? www.creators.com #147;I have been buying and selling stuff on eBay for years. Recently, I started taking consignments from people in town who don#146;t have the time or patience to sell stuff on eBay themselves. This business proved to be so profitable, I started taking out ads in local newspapers describing my business as an #145;eBay consignment shop#146;. Last week I received a nasty letter from my local Chamber of Commerce warning me that I was in violation of state law because I did not have an auction license. Do you really need such a license to sell stuff on eBay?#148; Hoo boy, is this a hot issue right now! Let#146;s begin with the basics. Just about every state requires that auctioneers obtain a license. This involves applying for the license, paying a fee, and (sometimes) taking a 20 or 30 hour training course at a nearby college. If you operate an auction house or barn where you take other people#146;s property on consignment and conduct #147;live#148; auctions, you will almost certainly have to get this license before you can bang your first gavel. But what about online auctions? A growing number of states have been expanding their #147;auctioneer license#148; requirement to include certain online sellers as well. Why? Well, there are basically two reasons: Consumer protection -- people who have problems with online auctions and who don#146;t understand the proper way of dealing with those problems (such as posting #147;negative feedback#148; on eBay#146;s Feedback Forum) register complaints with their state#146;s auction board, and the board decides to #147;do something about it#148;; Greed #150; Internet commerce has cost the states tons of revenue from sales and other business taxes (which usually don#146;t apply to interstate sales), and the temptation to impose a license fee as an #147;indirect tax#148; on Internet auctions may be irresistible in states that are struggling financially. So do you have to get an auction license to sell on eBay? It depends. You will have to call your attorneys or your state#146;s auction board (for a directory of auction boards in all 50 states, go to www.a1auctions.com/licensing ), and ask them three questions, in this order: What are the requirements for obtaining an auction license in your state? If it isn#146;t that hard or expensive to get one, it may be better to just #147;bite the bullet#148; and get the license so you can sleep better at night (and get a leg up on your unlicensed competition #150; your buyers will feel more comfortable knowing you are a #147;licensed#148; auctioneer). If getting a license is too painful, does the license law apply to online auctioneers such as people selling stuff on eBay? If the answer to question (2) is #147;yes#148;, does the law apply only to #147;consignment shops#148;, or does it apply to all sellers who regularly buy and sell stuff on eBay? If all you are doing is selling stuff out of your attic on eBay occasionally, or helping your Aunt Irma clean out her basement and not charging her anything, you will almost certainly not be required to obtain an auction license. At the other end of the spectrum, if you are in the business of taking other people#146;s goods on consignment and selling them on eBay for a fee (as this reader seems to be doing, and as eBay Trading Assistants do), and your state requires online sellers to be licensed, you probably will be required to get one. The idea is that by taking other people#146;s goods, you stand in a position of trust (what lawyers call a #147;fiduciary relationship#148;) to your sellers, and have certain legal obligations to your sellers that you must take very seriously. The #147;grey area#148; is in the middle: what if you are routinely buying stuff from wholesalers, paying for the goods up front (not taking them on consignment), taking title to them, and then turning around and selling them on eBay hoping to make a profit? After all, you could argue that such a person is not an #147;auctioneer#148; at all, but merely a retailer selling goods in interstate commerce, taking advantage of eBay#146;s software to find buyers who will purchase the goods directly from the seller without the intervention of an #147;auctioneer#148; or other third party. Unfortunately, the state license laws are frequently unclear on this point, and unless your state auction board has published crystal clear rules stating precisely that you do not need a license to sell on eBay or another #147;nationally recognized Internet auction service#148;, the only way you can be 100% safe is to get the license. Here#146;s an idea: rather than call the auction board yourself and alerting them to what you are doing, have your attorneys make the call on your behalf. That way you will preserve your anonymity (lawyers, after all, cannot freely disclose to third parties who their clients are), and if your lawyers are any good they will know how to ask the tough questions in such a way that you are more likely to get the specific guidance you need. If you still don#146;t get a straight answer, get the license. When it comes to government regulation of any kind, no matter how unfair, it#146;s always better to be proactive and make a good faith effort to comply with the law than it is to ignore the law and hope the regulators won#146;t catch you. Because sooner or later, they will, and with your luck, you will be the #147;test case#148; that people read about on the front page of their local newspapers. Until the law in this area gets a lot clearer, it#146;s the best you can do. Cliff Ennico ( cennico@legalcareer.com ) is a syndicated columnist, author and host of the PBS television series 'Money Hunt'. This column is no substitute for legal, tax or financial advice, which can be furnished only by a qualified professional licensed in your state. To find out more about Cliff Ennico and other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit our Web page at www.creators.com . COPYRIGHT 2005 CLIFFORD R. ENNICO. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC. .Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com More >>

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Partner, Employee or Independent Contractor? Cliff Ennico www.creators.com January 31 was the deadline for sending out 1099s to your independent contractors, and W-2s to your employees, showing how much you paid them last year. For some odd reason, though, by far the most e-mails I get on this topic come after January 31 each year. Seems like a lot of folks don#146;t wake up to the delicate question of #147;was this particular individual I worked with last year an employee or an independent contractor?#148; until after the deadline. Not a good practice, generally, but let#146;s try to come up with some answers. #147;I am a franchisee of a large retail company, but have recently been offered a full-time job with a corporation. Because of this, I have hired a full-time manager to run the franchised business, and have offered him the job on a profit-sharing basis. He is shown as an employee on the payroll, for which I plan to give him a W-2 form at the end of the year, but we decided that I will issue him a 1099 for the share of the store#146;s profits which I gave to him in return for running the store. My question is: is it possible for a manager type of person to receive a 1099 and a W-2 in the same year?#148; According to CPA and tax lawyer Joseph Sweeney of Fairfield, Connecticut ( joe_sweeney@att.net ), the short answer is that both types of payment must be included on Form W-2. #147;The general rule is that you cannot use Form 1099 to report wages and other compensation that you paid to employees; these must be reported exclusively on Form W-2,#148; says Sweeney. Even though part of your manager#146;s compensation consists of a share of the profits of your franchised business, you are treating him as an employee, therefore he gets a W-2 form at the end of the year. #147;The first part of the year, I worked with a computer consultant as an independent contractor. Midway through the year, I decided I liked his work so much that I made him an offer of full-time employment with my company, which he accepted. So he has been my employee since about July 1 of last year. On December 31, I gave this person a cash bonus which I intended to relate to his work for me during the entire year. Do I give him a W-2 as an employee, a 1099 as an independent contractor, or both?#148; According to Sweeney, in a situation like this, where you hired the consultant as an independent contractor for the first six months of the year and then as an employee for the last six months, you would issue a Form 1099 for the non-employee compensation paid to the consultant for the first six months, and Form W-2 for all payments made to him or her during the last six months. As for the year-end bonus, Sweeney says #147;even though the amount you paid this individual as a year-end bonus related to the period in which he or she was retained as an independent contractor, all of the payments you actually made to this individual in the last six months of the year (including the bonus payout) should be included in the W-2 form, not the 1099#148;. #147;My accountant just told me that I should have sent 1099 forms to several individuals for work they did for my business last year, since I paid them more than $600 during the calendar year. A couple of these people were professionals #150; including my accountant! #150; but the others were local stay at home Moms who did contract work for me in exchange for a little extra spending cash. What kind of trouble can I get into for failing to send these people 1099s, and should I send them1099s now even though they are late?#148; The federal Tax Code requires that you send out Form 1099 by January 31 each year to an independent contractor if you paid him or her more than $600 during the previous calendar year. The question you are really asking here is #147;what is the likelihood I will be audited or prosecuted by the IRS for failure to send out 1099s on time?#148; I must answer with a question of my own: what is the likelihood that every one of your contractors (including all the stay at home Moms) will report the amounts you paid them last year with 100% accuracy when preparing their tax returns, and pay every red cent of income, self-employment and other taxes that are due on that income? Especially if they don#146;t remember how much you paid them (hey, the money#146;s already spent) and need your 1099 form to remind them? No professional #150; accountant or lawyer #150; will ever advise a client to ignore a potential tax compliance problem, even though the risk of being penalized is small (and I#146;m not saying that#146;s the case here). My advice in this situation would be to send 1099s now to all of these people, even though they are a little bit late, and don#146;t forget to send copies to the IRS as you are required to do. You may get a little wrist slap for being late (the current penalty for late filing is $50 per 1099 form), and a couple of people may complain that they#146;ve already sent in their tax returns for the year and will now have to amend them thanks to your tardiness. But you will sleep better at night, and whatever penalties you incur will be only a fraction of what the IRS may hit you with if you ignore the problem and they catch you later on. And please don#146;t miss the deadline next year. Cliff Ennico ( cennico@legalcareer.com ) is a syndicated columnist, author and host of the PBS television series 'Money Hunt'. This column is no substitute for legal, tax or financial advice, which can be furnished only by a qualified professional licensed in your state. To find out more about Cliff Ennico and other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit our Web page at www.creators.com . COPYRIGHT 2005 CLIFFORD R. ENNICO. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC. More >>

Your Marketing Power Tammy Ames wahmconnections.com 2004 One of the most important marketing tools available online to promote your business cannot be purchased. You can spend hours on end looking all over the internet for the best program or system to market your product or service but truth be told, the answer is right there where you are sitting. Yes! You are the answer to viral marketing. It costs you only your time, your commitment and discipline to produce well written articles with information people are seeking. You are an expert. Share your expertise and build a following for your knowledge while creating a market for your offerings online! Honestly, it doesn't matter if you are on a music or parenting site. We all browse through websites for advice and articles that will solve our life problems, explain life's mysteries, make our lives easier, less cluttered, and show us how to be more successful in relationships and business. We stumble across articles that help us, that answer our questions. Have you ever found an article that when you finish reading it, you have this sudden feeling of "rightness?" After experiencing a writer's viewpoint, you understand something that baffled you. When a writer "clicks" with the reader, it is a reflex for the reader to want to know more about the author. Reader automatically searches for more writings by the author. Why? The author answered something for you! Articles truly are the most powerful marketing tool you can use to sell yourself as a business. Power? Yes! Marketing Power. Online articles allow you to market yourself as knowledgeable, helpful, and consistent and willing to take the time to share what you know to friends you haven't met yet. This is power to develop relationships on-line. Through articles we can develop friendships, business contacts, customers, and online credibility. There is no need to "sell" yourself or your business within the article. Simply share your knowledge, your thoughts and ideas. Selling occurs outside the article in the "resource box." A great deal has been written on how to sell within the "resource box." What exactly does this little blurb of information about the author provide the reader? The resource box allows the reader to know the author on a more personal note. Being able to identify with the author's role as single mom or work from home dad is a powerful human connector! You create an image of the author but want to know if the image holds, so you click to visit their website or subscribe to receive their free e-mail course, maybe even download of their latest e-book. Each of these clicks brings you closer to the author. You feel connected and will remember them. A single encounter with an author online doesn't usually make an immediate impact but after the second or third time you read yet another of this same author's articles found on yet another website. You take notice. You realize this is person to look up! Just think about this. Finding a great article that explains multi-level marketing, affiliate programs, baking home-made bread or how to potty train your resistance 3 year old can be a literal bright spot in your day! You open your mailbox and a friend has sent you a poem or story that had been forwarded to them. That in a nutshell is viral marketing. Over time you will notice websites, article banks and e-zines publishing articles by these same authors that have already helped you in some way. You mentally filed their name and maybe even their website to back of your mind as a positive. You find security in reading their latest article because you feel you already know that author on some level. So if you share great stories, articles, poems, writings with friends and customers online then you already know the power of words to influence and change lives. It can be a very overwhelming. The thought of writing for others to read can be scary. The joy comes in having someone send you an email or subscribe to your newsletter because you helped them with one of your articles. It is an important step in working from home. Developing a series of articles to help others to meet whatever challenges face them day to day..that is the goal and you will suddenly realize you are marketable. Just as a musician has to strum their first chord before they can play in a band. The first step is the hardest but with practice you will see the power in your skills to share information others need or want. Now start writing! Tammy Ames is a work at home mom to 4 children. Living in Maine, she has been in nursing for over 20 years and enjoys the challenges of working full time online from home. Tammy offers support for women starting their own home business with her work at home mom resource site: Work at Home Connections . Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com. More >>