Passive Income Opportunities While Working the Job

LET THE MONEY OVERFLOW...

There are all kinds of advertisements across the Internet about work-at-home opportunities that pay thousands of dollars monthly to homemakers, students, and retirees.  Some of these, of course, are scams because anything too good to be true is exactly that - too good to be true.  Doing the research to determine which ones are real takes some time to make sure you are not involved in some Ponzi scheme.  But where can you realistically put time and energy to create your own wealth of passive income with real tangible opportunities?

1)  Technology apps.  Mobile and tablet devices are the way to go and have surpassed the desktop computer on so many levels.  Netbooks started selling quickly for the lower-end market as laptops became too pricey for the purpose of only surfing the Internet.  This means that access to do business, make reservations, play games, watch sports, handle finances, catch up on favorite television shows, or book salon or gym services is open-sesame.  Priced anywhere from $1.99 to $9.99, there are apps that work on an iPad, iPod, iPhone, Chromebook, Galaxy, Surface and tons of other devices of which people are willing to pay.  Just think 10,000 purchases of $1.99 app is almost $20,000 in chump change.

2)  Real Estate.  Let's face it.  The real estate market has not bounced back and we can stop reading all these promising outlooks on how great the economy is doing with 1st time homebuyers, existing mortgages, and refinances.  Look for the deals that are on the market, in foreclosure, pending auction or bank sale, or owner-financed.  If the location is marketable and can sustain true rental income that pays the mortgage, taxes, and maintenance, this is passive income that should not require a lot of effort (barring repairs are done upfront and the weather is optimal for the housing area) and can be passed down to the next generation.

3)  High Return Businesses.  Find a business that has low start-up costs and high return on the investment. If it is a product-based business, determine what it costs to make (manufacturing), ship the product (shipping and handling), and how much customers are willing to pay for it (selling price).  Selling price - (manufacturing costs + shipping and handling costs) should generate a profit that will allow casual sales to generate the income you need to live comfortably if the main paycheck ceases to exist.  If it is a service-based business, determine the expenses (travel, expenses, products, rents, staff), labor (what is paid to the people providing the service including you), and the charge to the clients.  Client charge - (labor * service(s) provided + prorated expenses) determines how residual the income will be.

Passive income is not hard to make if there is just as much focus to get it as there is a perceived steady paycheck.   Make the move to have steady overflow and be the millionaire next door with multiple streams of income.  Why not!

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Posted in: and smallbusiness,Get A Clue,passive income,real passive income,residual income,work-life balance

ObamaCare and The Business Fare

BUSINESS STRATEGY FOR MEDICAL CARE..

Almost half of America's uninsured are small business owners, independent contractors, employees, or their dependents because independent insurance plans are exorbitantly priced.  Unless there is an option to be a part of a professional group, trade group, or special-interest group, the age, location, and preexisting condition factors can cost a small business and independent workers nearly the entire profit. Larger corporations with more than 50 people get group discounts that enable them to contribute to health benefits at lower costs and use that as leverage when hiring employees.

For the small business and independent workers group, ObamaCare introduces the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) as part of every state's health insurance market for group health plans to be purchased by companies employing less than 50 full-time workers.  In 2016, the limit will be raised to 100.

But what does ObamaCare, the act that goes into effect today regardless if the government is shutdown, mean in general for all businesses?  It's good and bad based on the number of full-time equivalent employees (FTE) and their annual wages.

1)  If there are fewer than 25 FTEs with an average annual wage below $50,000, tax credits will be provided to help pay for employee premiums.
2)  If the business makes over $250,000 in profit, there will be a .9% increase due on the current Medicare Part A tax.
3)  If employers with over 50 FTEs yielding an average annual wage above $250,000 don't purchase health insurance for their FTEs, a penalty will be assessed by 2015.  Companies barely hitting this limit will be exempt from the fee on the first 30 full-time workers. Nonetheless, the employer mandate, a written notice, must be provided to employees informing them that a) they may be able to obtain insurance based on their income at a lower cost through private insurance and b) purchasing insurance through their states healthcare exchange may reduce or eliminate the company's contribution to their health benefits.

Clearly the smaller the business the better the tax breaks.  However, there will be executives enticed to reduce costs by modifying the normal 40 hour work week for some FTEs to that of part-time status or reducing the average annual wage by furloughing higher paid individuals and possibly bringing them back in as contractors or hiring more "temp workers" rather than employees.  But some of that is just good business anyway after learning how to run lean in a down economy.  Whatever category your business falls, the fare can be cheaper or costly but requires planning.

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Posted in: 2013 government shutdown,and smallbusiness,Government Shutdown,ObamaCare,small business expert,Temeko Richardson,The Truth about Obamacare