If you run a home business in which you sell items, you have probably noticed a rather dramatic drop in holiday sales this year as compared to last year. SpendingPulse, a division of MasterCard that keeps track of these sorts of things, points out that a number of retailers suffered large drops in holiday sales. And, while Amazon did spectacularly this holiday season, online holiday sales were down overall this year.

Unfortunately, your home business might have experienced this same thing. And you probably have a pretty good guess as to the cause: The economy. The Investing Blog sums up the main reasons that holiday sales were much lower this year than in years past:

A new year is coming, and that means it's time to re-evaluate your home business. Is it working properly in its current form? Last year, I decided that a sole proprietorship wasn't right for me, and I set up a Limited Liability Company (LLC). Setting up an LLC can be done on your own, but I found it totally worth the $150 I paid an accountant to help me set mine up (he does my taxes now, too).

Pinyo over at Moolanomy offers some simple steps to follow when you set up your LLC:

I'm glad I switched my home business to LLC. It's been beneficial in terms of taxes, and I found a good accountant on top of it!

I love this classic M&Ms commercial — the one where they meet Santa Claus.

Happy Friday!

May your Christmas be full of magic and wonder.

If you are a small home business, you already know how often your needs are overlooked. But this time it might different — sort of. Retailers are asking for their own economic stimulus through a sales tax holiday. If your home business collects sales tax, this might help bring more customers who are willing to spend more when sales tax isn't added.

The plan, put forth forth by the National Retail Federation, calls for 10-day swaths of tax free shopping in March, July and October 2009. States would be reimbursed for lost revenue by the federal government. While this might help stimulate consumer spending, a better idea might be offer individuals a bailout.

What do you think of this economic stimulus plan?

One of my issues during the holiday season is overindulgence. I love sweets. And I love other foods as well. And everywhere I look during the holiday season there are good things to eat. Craaaaazy good things to eat. Add that to the fact that I am stressed about getting everything done while having holiday distractions, and it's a recipe for weight gain.

And I'm talking more than the 7 pounds the average American puts on during the holidays.

But there are ways to avoid overindulgence this holiday season. Here are some things you can do to help limit your food eating (and beverage drinking) during the holidays:

Do you have any tips that help you avoid overindulgence during the holidays?

When you are working from home, sometimes you forget that you need to go on break. People working for "The Man" get a 15 minute break a couple of times during the day — you should as well. Remember that breaks are necessary to help us relax, energize and re-focus. Going on break is something that can actually enhance your overall productivity — as long as you take your breaks properly.

Going on break when working from home

Going on break is one of my favorite tips for increasing productivity when working from home. Here are some tips for making sure that you have a good break when you take one in the course of working at your home business:

If you are careful about how you go on break, and if you take proper steps to ensure that your body and mind are refreshed, you will find that you work better throughout the day — and your home business will have a better chance of thriving.

Everything changes during the holidays when you are working from home. Kids aren't in school, spouses are taking time off work. It means more distractions as you try to get everything (from cards to presents to baked goods for the neighbors) put together. So it makes working from home a little bit different.

I know my schedule is all sorts of messed up — and my son still has another day of school before the break!

The issue I have is that my husband is working on a Ph.D. He only has to go in for his assistantship for 10 hours a week, so, since the semester ended, he's been home most of the day every day (he goes in Tuesday and Thursday for 5 hours). And when he's home, he expects me to pay attention to him. This whole thing is getting out of hand.

Which is why my work schedule is waaaaaay off and I'm frantically trying to get things done. Distractions keep cropping up, and it's really hard to say "no" when all these distractions are in your work area. I may have a dedicated office, but my family can still find me rather easily.