Simple Strategies That Will Help You Succeed In Home Business

Starting a home business is a dream that many employees have. Unfortunately, many people never end up starting their own home businesses because of the many daunting challenges that await any entrepreneur. However, with the right advice, starting your own home business is easier than you think. This article contains tips and advice for any home business owner.

Ask the other members of your household to refrain from interrupting or otherwise compromising your work. Keep regular work hours so that they know what to expect. If you have kids, schedule work hours while they are occupied at school or extracurricular activities. Don't leave work materials in common areas where they might be moved or damaged.

If you are looking for ideas for a home business, start by looking at what you are good at making or doing, like your hobbies. A home business that is built upon your skills will have a better chance of being successful than something that you are not strong in.

You can write off the cost of new furniture, electronics and other expensive items for your office, on your tax returns. Having an up-to-date computer and a comfortable work-space, can help your efficiency greatly. However, to avoid trouble with audits, make sure that anything you write off is being used mostly or exclusively for your business.

It is important for all home business owners to have a backup plan, a list of steps to take in case things don't go as planned. What will you do if you lose a major client? How are you backing up your data? Preparing for the worst will help safeguard your company.

Find a local group focused on home business ownership. Join that group and participate in its activities. This gives you a network of contacts outside the home to interact with, plus a pool of potential contacts or resources if you need advice or support. Often these groups feature speakers or events built around home business considerations. So, the time investment is well worth it!

There are several home business opportunities out there these days. Take the time to learn about many of them before making the decision about which one you are going to invest in. This is an important step. Try to find a product or service that you are enthusiastic about. Use the Internet, books and magazines to learn about the different opportunities that are available for you.

Choose a name with meaning. Your business name is your brand name and your brand name should relate to your customers what products you are selling. Your brand name might have an inspirational or quirky story attached. This will help build your customer loyalty and give your brand a direction.

Beginning your home based business is not as difficult as you may think. There are many simple business models you can successfully run from your home, which saves the expense of a storefront or rented office space. Think of what products and services you would like to see in your area, then think of what would be required to start offering that.

When starting a new home business, good customer service will keep them coming back for more. Thank your customers frequently; send notes offering specials or upcoming events to make them notice that you remember them. When people feel a sense of friendliness and appreciation, they feel comfortable coming back!

As the beginning of this article mentioned, starting a home business is a common dream. However, many people never end up starting a home business, perhaps out of fear of the unknown. With the right advice, any person can start a successful home business. Use this article's advice and be on your way to starting a home business.

California's overtime law requires employers to pay those employees who are eligible twice their rate of pay when they have worked more than 12 hours in one workday or more than eight hours on their seventh consecutive day of work. Employees who qualify for overtime in California are paid 1.5 times their normal rate when they work more than eight hours in a workday and more than 40 hours in one workweek. Sometimes employees may file a lawsuit against their employers seeking compensation, the employer can only get through successfully if they know how to defend and win a wage claim in California

1. Tips to Help Win Your Claim

Overtime laws in California are not as simple as they may seem. Here are a few tips we hope you will find useful when it comes to winning your unpaid overtime claim:

2. Record the Number of Hours You Worked.

Your employer may not have kept up with the number of hours you actually worked. This could be because your employer inaccurately classified you as an “exempt” or “salaried” employee. In some cases, employers also misclassify employees as “independent contractors” in order to avoid paying them sick and vacation pay and medical benefits.

Do not let any of this stop you from maintaining an accurate record of the hours you've worked. If you can provide a detailed and accurate record of the hours you've worked, your claim will be significantly strengthened. You may keep track of your hours using a notebook, computer, or whatever method works best for you.

3. Keep Track of Any Work You Did off the Clock.

It is becoming increasingly common for employers to require employers to work “off the clock.” This is just a nicer way of saying that they want you to do the work but won't pay you for it. However, if you are doing this work on-site and doing something that benefits the employer, you should be getting paid for it. Some examples of “off the clock” work include but aren't limited to any type of “prep work” such as filling out paperwork, putting on a specialized uniform, or getting equipment or tools ready. It is important that you keep track of all the hours you work. Log the hours you spend doing prep work as well.

4. You Are Not Bound by Labels.

One strategy commonly used by many employers to dodge paying overtime is to tell employees they are “exempt” from the Fair Labor Standards Act. This may be because they are paid a salary (as opposed to being paid hourly) or because they are independent contractors. In some cases, employers will misclassify an employee as a supervisor or manager even though they may be taking orders from other supervisors most of the time. Do not buy into these labels. If you believe that you are not being paid overtime, it is important that you contact an experienced California wage and hour lawyer to find out if you are entitled to overtime compensation.

Plaintiff, the litigation trustee for the bankruptcy estate of a lumber company's subsidiary, filed suit against the State of California, alleging claims of breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and promissory estoppel. The Superior Court of Sacramento County (Califoria) granted summary judgment to the State. The litigation trustee appealed. The litigation counsel were small business attorney Los Angeles.

Overview
The action arose from an agreement between the lumber company, the federal government, and the State, pursuant to which the lumber company transferred 7,000 acres of old growth redwood forestland to the State in exchange for other forestland and $495.5 million dollars. The court held that the express terms of the agreement did not promise the lumber company a particular harvest level. The covenant of good faith and fair dealing did not operate to supply a term that the express contract did not otherwise contain, and the term that the litigation trustee for the bankruptcy estate of the lumber company's subsidiary sought to imply, a guaranteed harvest level, had been specifically rejected in negotiations. Moreover, such term was not necessary to prevent the agreement from being illusory or unenforceable, because the agreement was otherwise supported by adequate consideration. The court concluded that the litigation trustee's claim of promissory estoppel failed because the lumber company's alleged reliance was the bargained-for consideration it promised as its part of the agreement. Promissory estoppel applied only when consideration was lacking.

Outcome
The court affirmed the judgment.

Procedural Posture
Defendant insurer appealed a judgment from the Superior Court of Orange County (California), which found the insurer liable to plaintiff insured for compensatory and punitive damages in a bad faith action.

Overview
Based on a total pollution exclusion in a commercial general liability policy, the insurer denied a claim arising from a sewage overflow. The insured alleged that the insurer had acted unreasonably in denying a defense. The insured presented evidence that representatives of the insurer had induced it to renew its policy by orally promising to cover future claims based on release of sewage. The complaint did not include any cause of action based on the oral promise. The trial court ruled, in an in limine motion, that the insurer had breached the contract unreasonably. The court held that in light of unsettled case law regarding the exclusion at the time the insurer rejected the claim, the insurer acted reasonably, taking into account the rule of contract interpretation prescribed in Civ. Code, § 1649, for ambiguity; the insurer therefore could not be held liable for bad faith tort damages, for attorney fees, or for punitive damages under Civ. Code, § 3294, subd. (a). Absent an amendment to the complaint, the oral promise could not serve as a basis for recovery. The insurer's reservation of rights, based on a reasonable legal position, did not deprive the insured of any benefits.

Outcome
The court reversed with directions that the insured take nothing by way of its complaint. However, in light of the complexity of the record and the legal issues in the case, in the interests of justice, the court decided that each party would bear its own costs on appeal.