Perhaps the reason I still have my very UNcomplicated cheapo flip phone!!!

I can’t help but think about how nice it must be to look out that window every morning.  Tough work!  Giada’s an incredible cook, and a very lucky one!  Can you believe I have a friend who watches her show daily, and has never noticed the background!  Sometimes I find it hard to focus on the show!  Great “work at home” environment! 

Photo couresy of Food Network

How many of us have had it pounded into us that the customer is always right?  Well, after a couple of years in business for ourselves, we’ve determined that, although customer service is our number one goal, sometimes common courtesy escapes our customers. 

My husband was on his way home today when he received a phone call requesting a job be done this afternoon after 4 pm.  He turned around, headed back to the warehouse, picked up the glass, and headed to the person’s home to do the job.  He knocked on all three doors, waited for over 30 minutes, and called the customer several times.  Having spent over an hour just preparing for the job, he headed home with a windshield he doesn’t need, and $100 less than at lunchtime, as he paid for the glass up front.  He can return the glass on Monday, but we are less the money over the holiday weekend…a long weekend at that, with a bank holiday on Monday. 

I’m sure that this is a problem for big businesses, as well.  But the truth is, when you work for a big business, you’re paid regardless.  As a small business, we are affected by every cancelled job, every glass broken, every half tube of glue that goes bad, etc.  And wasted time is never beneficial! 

Over the last couple of years, we really have done our best to make our customers happy…100%.  And I know that we have succeeded probably 99% of the time, if not more.  We have had numerous calls from repeat customers, as well as many, many referral calls.  Most of our customers have been, at least, tolerable.  Most have been very friendly and helpful.  My husband has even become friends with some of the people he’s met on the job. 

What would have happened had the roles been reversed this afternoon?  What if my husband had simply not shown for his job?  My guess is that we would have seen one unhappy customer (or former customer). 

So…Is the customer really always right?  Yes…Sometimes!

Photo by borman818 via Flickr Creative Commons. 

SO…I don’t watch many Wes Anderson films, and I don’t use an American Express card. But it’s still a fun commercial to see.

Happy Friday!

Last night President Barack Obama offered his first State of the Union Address. One of the main issues addressed in the speech was employment. The jobs situation remains precarious, and the President wants to show that he is listening to the concerns of the people. As a result, it is little surprise that he offered some plans to encourage increased job creation, including a plan for tax breaks for companies willing to hire more workers.

In addition to addressing employment, the President also stressed the need to develop alternative energy technologies. He also talked of education reform, health care reform and financial regulatory reform. He also made sure to take responsibility for his mistakes, as well as point out that some things couldn’t be avoided, and that there is still a ways to go.

In the end, it will be interesting see whether any of his ideas can be put into play. While the President does have some influence over the direction of some policies, the bottom line is that actual legislation is in the hands of others.

It’s a new year, and if you are like most people, you thinking of how to improve your budget for 2010. For someone with a home business, budgeting is especially important. This is because you may not have a steady income each month. Some months you may make more than other months. As a result, budgeting becomes especially important. Here is a simple process that can help you budget for the new year:

1. Look at your total earnings for last year. Divide that by 12 to get a monthly average.

2. Look at your total expenses for last year. Divide that by 12 to get a feel for your monthly obligations.

3. Create a monthly budget based on your income and expenses.

4. On months when you actually make more than your average income, put the money in a high yield savings accounts.

5. On months when you fall short of the average income, you can use what you have saved up to make up the difference.

This process is easily done when you have personal finance software, or bookkeeping software. You can create a report that breaks it all down for you, including allowing you to see categories (entertainment, eating out, etc.) where you can cut back if necessary. If you don’t have personal finance software, you should consider getting some in order to more easily track your cash flow.

The mess surrounding the heath care “reform” debate continues. Republicans received good news with the win in Massachusetts by Scott Brown, who will fill the Senate seat vacated by the late Edward Kennedy. This changes things up a bit, and may force some serious looking at the current reform bill that the Senate has put forward. It differs on some very key points from the bill passed by the House, so the two chambers are trying to reconcile the differences. One of the big differences is an excise tax on health insurance benefits.

Here is what the New York Times reports about a possible excise tax:

The excise tax, as written in the Senate version of the health care bill, would impose a 40 percent charge on the value of health benefits above $8,500 for individual policies and $23,000 for family policies, with higher thresholds for certain high-risk jobs, some retirees and certain telecommunications workers. There would also be a higher threshold in certain states with high health care costs.

For those who pay for their insurance as self-employed folks, this tax probably won’t have a big impact. If your home business is mostly a side business, though, and you get your insurance through another job, you might find yourself staring at an excise tax if your health insurance benefits are valuable enough.

When you have a home business, it can be very helpful to have a blog. This can serve as a way to draw traffic, and to help you build a loyal community. Easton at Visionary Blogging offers some helpful hints on improving your blog community:

1. Create something worthy of interest: Have good content, a good product or some other draw. You want your community to be interested in, well, becoming your blog community.

2. Get people to use your blog: Invite people to stop by. This includes asking friends to “fan” your home business blog’s page on Facebook, among other things.

3. Ask people to share: You can ask your followers and current community to share your blog with others.

4. Reward: There needs to be some sort of reward, from praise to freebies to some other sort of kudos, you need to let your blog community know that you appreciate them.

My dad used to love watching MacGyver back in the day. So when I saw this classic MasterCard Debit commercial I thought of him.

Happy Friday!

I prefer to have my home business taxes prepared by a professional. There are lots of reasons for this. But I didn’t just head down to the local chain tax prep place and bring my stuff. Instead, I called around to different tax preparers and accountants. Finally, I chose an accountant that has served me well for the last few years, and who has been a great help to my home business finances. Here are some things to look for a tax professional:

* Services: Make sure that your tax professional offers the services that you need for your home business. It might make sense to have an accountant who can do other things on top of tax prep. Or it might be comforting to know that your tax professional will represent you in case of an audit.

* Fees: While price is important, it isn’t everything. In some cases, you get what you pay for. If the tax prep services are cheap, there might be a reason for that. But, on the other hand, sometimes a really expensive service is just that — really expensive. Shop around and get an idea of what is a reasonable fee.

* Trust: It’s a good idea to work with someone you trust and are comfortable. Meet briefly with your top candidates to determine whether or not you mesh well. You should also get references to double check and make sure that your preferred tax professional comes recommended.