We all try to avoid red tape whenever possible, but it seems to follow us around where ever we go. Establishing a Home Based Business is no different. In fact, making sure you have been successful in meeting all the red tape requirements before you open your doors for business is going to be less of a headache in the long run.The first thing you need to do is to determine the format of your business. Are you going to be the sole proprietor? Or would some other option like a partnership, a limited partnership, or even a corporation serve you best? Each of these business options have their pros and cons. Make sure to take the time to review each of them and determine which one will suit your interests best.For example, a sole proprietorship is the quickest business to set up, but it also has comes with greater personal liability. Incorporating will separate your personal interests from your business interests, but this will require legal oversight that may be time consuming or expensive. So be sure to take the time to review the different options and how they will affect your home based business.The next step in establishing your home based business is to check with your local government about laws pertaining to home based businesses. Most local governments require you to purchase a business license or reseller certificate. They certainly aren’t going to pass up any opportunity to get their hand into your tax pocket. So make sure you are properly licensed and certified to do business out of your home.While you are taking care of the licensing business, you should probably step over to the zoning office to make sure your home business will not violate any zoning laws. It would be a shame to find out after spending time and money in setting up a home based business that you do not live in an area that permits business to be carried out in residential areas.Now, you will need to check into insurance options. You need to face the fact that we live in a litigious society and liability insurance is probably a good idea. Not every home based business will encounter the same degree of liability, so not every home based business needs the same level of insurance. But it is always wise to check into the possibilities. You don’t want to find yourself in a mess down the road because you thought you could skip this step in the beginning.And finally, you need to purchase equipment and tools that will allow your business to function. Don’t skimp here thinking you can wait a couple months for profits to start pouring in before equipping your office. You need to be able to satisfy your customers from day one, and if you are lacking an important piece of equipment like a copier or fax machine, they will find that an annoyance, and look elsewhere. So take the time to fully outfit your home office before you open your doors on the first day.Remember that while red tape is annoying and it slows things down in the beginning, cutting through it in the beginning is going to save you headaches in the long run.
Establishing Your Home Based Business
Student Motivation: What Is Wrong With Education!
Working as an educator for the past 30 years, as a teacher, counselor and school psychologist a major interest of mine has always been student motivation. I have had the opportunity to have worked with students from the pre-Kindergarten to twelfth grade level in school systems in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. I have been in inner city, poverty-stricken districts and affluent districts. Which means I have seen students with significant social-economic disadvantages succeed, and ones that had “everything” going for them fail.
Personally, I fit into the first category. My parents divorced when I was 2 years old, my mother was a waitress that never finished High School and my stepfather who raised me (after age 7) never went to High School. My older brother quit school in the 10th grade. No one in my family attended college so I had very little family influence to pursue any academic goals. I remember as a child my stepfather telling me to get “C’s” in school. “C’s are good,” he would say. Perhaps, because he never even achieved that when he was in school. Of course, this was when I was repeating the first grade so he was trying to get me to do better at the time. I muddled through elementary school and do not believe I started to get any career interests until Middle School. There I began taking an interest in science. It was exciting times in science and technology in the late 60′s with the moon landing, Star Trek on TV, and Jacques Cousteau exploring the ocean and I was caught up in it.
However, I still had no clue on what it would take to succeed at something in life. Fortunately, High School sports changed that. I had a freshman football coach that didn’t accept excuses, and gradually it began to sink in that if you were to get anywhere in life you had to apply effort. I also started to get the idea that if other kids could go to college and have a good career, why couldn’t I? I was just as good as them. I began applying effort to my academics as well and did go to a four-year college after high school pursuing my interest in science.
As a teacher I was always very aware of how my background related to many of my students. With the students that struggled in school, the ones that had behavior issues and applied little effort to their academics, my first question to them was always, “What do you want to do after high school?” Unfortunately, most of these students had little idea of what they wanted to do. They had no realistic career ambition. Sure a lot of students up to 9th or 10th grade would say they want to be in professional sports for a career, but again few had any idea of what that would require. They were clueless to the fact that most professional athletes are recruited out of good colleges and that passing their classes is a requirement in high school in order to be on a school team.
I have learned that the key to student motivation is a career goal. A case I witness that exemplified this was a student I had in middle and high school. “Julie” was a severely behaviorally disoriented student up through the eighth grade. She would be noncompliant with teacher requests, would be augmentative all the time and swear at teachers and staff in most of her interactions. However, in the 9th grade a light went off within her. She decided she wanted to be a veterinarian and started to take school seriously. Her behavior problems disappeared and she went from a D-F student in a special education class to an A-B student in a mainstream class, all because she now had a goal in life!
Unfortunately, many students learn this much later in life. They are ten years out of high school, perhaps not having a high school diploma and they can’t stand their hourly paid position in a fast food restaurant or retail store. The most common statement I have heard from “drop-out” alumni is, “I wish I had done better in school.” Or, “I wish I had taken school seriously.” I have never heard, “I am proud that I failed in school.”
So, what is wrong with education? We are not motivating our students or providing them with enough realistic career choices.
Not every student is going to go to a four-year college, or, should. The majority of four-year college graduates today do not find work in their majors and have huge college debts to pay upon graduation. I obviously believe in education, as I became a teacher and psychologist, however, my experience in inner city schools has taught me that 90 percent of the students do not go to or finish a four-year degree. Yet, 90 percent of the high school curriculum and emphasis is on going to a four-year college! This creates a huge educational disconnect among many students that increases behavior problems and lack of student motivation. Sure, if we continually work on student’s self-esteem issues and expose them to a number of professional career role-models that could increase the likelihood of them attending a four-year college. But, again that will not work for the majority of inner city children as they have too much negative peer and family pressures around them.
I believe education needs to be about offering choices to students based on where they are. Students do need to have realistic career options after high school. For the students that find learning difficult, that can be identified before middle school, more emphasis should be placed on vocational options. Middle and high school programs should offer vocational career exposure in addition to their mainstream academics. Career education needs to be emphasized at all grade levels (Kindergarten on up) letting students know what it takes and the difference in being (for example) a carpenter, builder, architect or engineer. Most of our public high schools are failing because they are not meeting student’s needs. Public high schools, particularly in urban districts, need to be vocational centers, teaching students real-world skills that can lead them to careers that will give them higher standards of living. I have three brothers that never went to college. One is a carpenter, one is a plumber, and one is a police officer, all have as good a standard of living as I do with my B.S., two masters and PH.D degrees.
Depending upon the school district, high schools should still offer college prep programs, for that top ten to twenty percent that are headed in that direction. However, I believe the charter schools are more equipped to get their students ready for four-year college programs. They require parent involvement and continued student performance in order to be in the school. In charter schools students have to pass their classes, be in class and not be behavior problems, or they are asked to leave. This is why charter schools will always outperform public schools. I realize there are always exceptions, I’m aware of some outstanding high schools across the country, however, they often adopt a charter school mentality in order to succeed.
Teachers at all levels need to continually talk about career options and what it takes to achieve them. I have had countless high school students over the years that had no idea that you had to go to college to be certain profession, or what it takes to get into a four-year college. Often they find out in their senior year and it’s too late. I have a nephew, who has an above average IQ that refused to do homework in high school. His grades reflected that decision. Reality hit him the end of his senior year when he couldn’t get into the college he wanted.
Teachers can have a huge impact on student motivation in so many ways! They of course, can be excellent role-models in education, teach and inspire students in career education, but they can, and often provide students with a positive and caring adult in their student’s life. When a teacher conveys the attitude that they care about their students and where they are going in life they can help a student become motivated to succeed. In my crisis intervention trainings with school staff I always ended with my favorite quote:
“Students don’t care how much you know; until they know how much you care!”
My second career interest in life was in psychology because of my 11th grade psychology teacher. In many ways a positive and caring teacher can have more impact on a student’s success than a parent.
What is wrong with education? In this country is our public educational system meeting the needs of the majority of the students? Or, is it letting 80 percent of our students down by not motivating them to pursue some form of postsecondary education and training because of antiquated notions that all students need to go to a four-year college? In order to make education viable today it needs to motivate students and help them get a career that they are interested in and suited for. This is how we can motivate our children and create a skilled workforce at all levels. This is how we motivate students and change education!
3 Reasons You Should Set Up a Home Based Business
Do you wake up in the morning and hate your job? Do you feel depressed when you get out of bed? Is the morning commute a struggle? Would you rather make money without needing to change out of your sleepwear? If you answered yes to any or all of these questions then maybe it is time that you set up a home based business.Here are three great reasons that you may want to work from home.You don’t have to answer to anybody else- Many people passionately dislike the people that they work for. You don’t have to stay stuck in this situation. With a home based business you do not answer to anybody else. You can be your own boss. If you work from home, you can structure your business in a way that suits you. If you would rather work at night, there is nothing stopping you. If you hate getting up in the morning you can stay in bed. You don’t have to live by the 9-5 conventions of more traditional jobs.You can meet many other business owners at networking functions- Working from home does not mean that you never leave the house. You will want to go out and attend functions where you can meet other business owners. You can share advice and create strategic alliances. It is a good idea to get out occasionally and meet other people so you can keep your finger on the pulse of traditional society, You should organise lunches and coffee catch ups.You can turn a hobby of yours into a business- Many people set up home based businesses so that they can make money out of their hobbies. Do you have a passion that you can share with others and make a profit? You could do this as a great part time earner or, if you get big enough, you could do this to replace your current job. Hobby businesses are great online. For example, you could write ebooks or guides related to your hobby and sell them to other enthusiasts throughout the world. Chances are that your hobby is not unique and there are people with similar passions. If you position yourself as an expert, they will look to you for more enjoyment out of this hobby. Once you get used it, you could write eBooks on a variety of topics of interest to you to make more moneyI have outlined in this article three great reasons that you may want to start a home based business. Do yourself a favour and get started today.