Regina P. Brown, e-Pro Realtor®

During the presidential election race, "Joe the Plumber" asked Presidential candidate Obama, "I'm thinking about buying a business that makes over $250,000 per year, would I be taxed more?"

The BIG problem with this trick question: Is the $250,000 GROSS profit or NET profit? That's a big difference! And unfortunately most people don't know the difference -- not even many self-employed folks such as real estate agents.

It's flattering to go to a party and throw around that you "earned over $200,000 last year" -- but you really know that once you deduct your expenses, you only earned (netted) $50,000. So it doesn't sound as great as the gross income you bragged about at the party.

To simplify it in a nutshell:

• Your GROSS income is the TOTAL amount of money you earned (and collected).
• Your NET income is how much of the gross income you actually kept once you deduct all your expenses.

For example, when you (finally) close that big escrow and make $10,000 gross income (in California, that is an average $400,000 house with a 2.5% commission on 1 transaction side, and assuming that the agent gets to keep 100% of their commission with Allison James Estates and Homes). BUT then you must deduct your advertising costs, marketing, ad signage, open house expenses, travel & car expenses, meals with your client, phone calls, etc. Once those are deducted, perhaps you've netted $7,000 gross income. That is still great, because now you have money left over (your profit) to pay yourself! And that's the whole point, isn't it.

If you are self-employed, you should be preparing a Profit & Loss statement quarterly or monthly, and also at the end of the year. This can tell you where you stand at any given time. If you need help getting started, ask your colleagues to recommend a good bookkeeper or accountant in your area.

Join my NEW group for professionals who work from their home office at http://activerain.com/groups/virtualoffice.

Any feedback from the field? Please share your experience and input. I'd love to hear from you!

Regina P. Brown
Allison James Estates & Homes
www.ReginaBrown.AllisonJamesInc.com

During the presidential election race, "Joe the Plumber" asked Presidential candidate Obama, "I'm thinking about buying a business that makes over $250,000 per year, would I be taxed more?"

The BIG problem with this trick question: Is the $250,000 GROSS profit or NET profit? That's a big difference! And unfortunately most people don't know the difference -- not even many self-employed folks such as real estate agents.

It's flattering to go to a party and throw around that you "earned over $200,000 last year" -- but you really know that once you deduct your expenses, you only earned (netted) $50,000. So it doesn't sound as great as the gross income you bragged about at the party.

To simplify it in a nutshell:

• Your GROSS income is the TOTAL amount of money you earned (and collected).
• Your NET income is how much of the gross income you actually kept once you deduct all your expenses.

For example, when you (finally) close that big escrow and make $10,000 gross income (in California, that is an average $400,000 house with a 2.5% commission on 1 transaction side, and assuming that the agent gets to keep 100% of their commission with Allison James Estates and Homes). BUT then you must deduct your advertising costs, marketing, ad signage, open house expenses, travel & car expenses, meals with your client, phone calls, etc. Once those are deducted, perhaps you've netted $7,000 gross income. That is still great, because now you have money left over (your profit) to pay yourself! And that's the whole point, isn't it.

If you are self-employed, you should be preparing a Profit & Loss statement quarterly or monthly, and also at the end of the year. This can tell you where you stand at any given time. If you need help getting started, ask your colleagues to recommend a good bookkeeper or accountant in your area.

Join my NEW group for professionals who work from their home office at http://activerain.com/groups/virtualoffice.

Any feedback from the field? Please share your experience and input. I'd love to hear from you!

Regina P. Brown
Allison James Estates & Homes
www.ReginaBrown.AllisonJamesInc.com

Hello fellow Real Estate Pros! I am debating the benefits of receiving mail at a PO Box vs. a Private Mail Box. The PO Boxes are at the U.S. Post Office and the PMBs are at private stores, such as PostNet, Mail Box etc. and The UPS Store.

Work-from-home professionals need a mailbox address to protect their privacy and security. Did you know that ANYONE can find your Dept. of Real Estate mailing address online?!? I certainly don't want everyone to know my home address with my family!

PO Boxes

Benefits:

• 24-hour access
• Inexpensive
• Can easily get stamps & send out mail also
• More anonymous than PMB store
• Buy stamps at cost

Drawbacks:

• Not a street address, may also need to give out your street
• Limited services (see benefits of PMB

Private Mail Boxes

Benefits:

• Can receive private shipping, such as FedEx & UPS
• Can receive large packages without hassle
• Can send out private shipping, such as FedEx & UPS
• Can easily get stamps, send out mail, and do other services, such as: faxing, copying, purchasing office supplies
• Staff will gladly pack your shipping boxes for you if needed (extra cost)
• May be able to set up a monthly charge account, and pay for all services once per month
• Small staff, get to know them well, they will do extra favors for you (full service)
• You can call in and ask what's in your mailbox (before making the trip down to pick it up)
• Staff can call you if you receive a fax, package, etc.
• May be able to get mail early due to personalized service

Drawbacks:

• May not offer 24-hour access (although most do)
• PMB slightly more expensive than PO Box
• Mailing services are more expensive
• The owner may move or close their store, leaving you in limbo
• Mail delivery in boxes may depend on staff workload (early AM or late PM)

What experiences have you had with either PO Boxes or PMBs? Please share your thoughts, we'd love to hear from you!

Join my NEW group for professionals who work from their home office at http://activerain.com/groups/virtualoffice

Regina P. Brown
Allison James Estates & Homes
www.ReginaBrown.AllisonJamesInc.com

Hello fellow Real Estate Pros! I am debating the benefits of receiving mail at a PO Box vs. a Private Mail Box. The PO Boxes are at the U.S. Post Office and the PMBs are at private stores, such as PostNet, Mail Box etc. and The UPS Store.

Work-from-home professionals need a mailbox address to protect their privacy and security. Did you know that ANYONE can find your Dept. of Real Estate mailing address online?!? I certainly don't want everyone to know my home address with my family!

PO Boxes

Benefits:

• 24-hour access
• Inexpensive
• Can easily get stamps & send out mail also
• More anonymous than PMB store
• Buy stamps at cost

Drawbacks:

• Not a street address, may also need to give out your street
• Limited services (see benefits of PMB

Private Mail Boxes

Benefits:

• Can receive private shipping, such as FedEx & UPS
• Can receive large packages without hassle
• Can send out private shipping, such as FedEx & UPS
• Can easily get stamps, send out mail, and do other services, such as: faxing, copying, purchasing office supplies
• Staff will gladly pack your shipping boxes for you if needed (extra cost)
• May be able to set up a monthly charge account, and pay for all services once per month
• Small staff, get to know them well, they will do extra favors for you
• You can call in and ask what's in your mailbox (before making the trip down to pick it up)
• Staff can call you if you receive a fax, package, etc.
• May be able to get mail early due to personalized service

Drawbacks:

• May not offer 24-hour access (although most do)
• PMB slightly more expensive than PO Box
• Mailing services are more expensive
• The owner may move or close their store, leaving you in limbo
• Mail delivery in boxes may depend on staff workload (early AM or late PM)

What experiences have you had with either PO Boxes or PMBs? Please share your thoughts, we'd love to hear from you!

Join my NEW group for professionals who work from their home office at http://activerain.com/groups/virtualoffice

Regina P. Brown
Allison James Estates & Homes
www.ReginaBrown.AllisonJamesInc.com

Overwhelmed? Too many distractions? Busy all day but not producing income? Wonder where your time goes?

Last year I received a critical time management tip: I ask myself at the end of each business day, "What did I do to make money today?" And then I examine where I spent my time, and how much of it was spent on money-making activities.

When you're your own boss, it's easy to get caught up in "busy" work and get distracted: responding to emails; doing errands; opening and reading mail; searching for stuff on your desk; thinking, planning, and daydreaming; answering the phone; surfing the internet; writing blogs ;) ...

One day I worked so hard I was exhausted (mentally), but at the end of the day I couldn't name one single thing I did to make money. I was busy, but was I productive? I reviewed my day's work, and everything seemed important and productive... What was I doing wrong? Help!!! My days were simply getting away from me.

For those of you who often receive divine inspiration, you'll understand this: God just dropped this list to me the next day. Then I polished it and finalized it, and would like to share with those who can use it. It's a very rough draft, I'll probably write out full explanations for my next book. Here it is:

Your Keys to Time Management Success - Prioritizing & Scheduling Management Tips

All these activities are important; the goal is to do activities that are HIGHER on the list in lieu of doing those that are lower on the list.

A. Make Money

1. Actually performing work
2. Collecting $ due from work
3. Submitting bids for new jobs
4. Reconciling $ due

B. Cultivate Customers create Targeted Relationships (future money-making activities)

1. Retaining existing clients (service them, communicate with them)
2. Communicate with new prospective clients (hot leads)
3. Put prospects in the pipeline (get warm leads)
4. Market, Network, Request referrals (develop new leads)

C. Manage Business

1. Organizing & Scheduling: daily to-do list; writing items down, making notes, following up; Delegating
2. Paperwork (contracts), bookkeeping, & IRS reporting; P&L; calculate hourly earning; measure results
3. Design vision / goals / future; reflect; determe philosophy & mission
4. Product & service development - determine & add new services (R&D)

D. Invest in People

1. Yourself - education and knowledge, training, industry brainstorming
2. Staff & Contractors - delegating; training staff/others
3. Partners - strategic partnerships with other businesses
4. Others - community involvement / mentoring others

Hope this list helps you the way it did for me! In fact, I've printed it out and posted it above my computer, I refer to it during the day. When doing an activity, I ask myself, "Can my time be better spent doing something else higher on the list?" Because if I'm not making money every day, I'm going to be out of business soon!

Join my NEW group for professionals who work from their home office at http://activerain.com/groups/virtualoffice

Regina P. Brown
Allison James Estates & Homes
www.ReginaBrown.AllisonJamesInc.com