Small Business Blog

Long-term capital gains, as mentioned above, are incomes from the sale of assets. In accordance with prominent accounting standards, bylaws and by different types of compliances by authorities such as the Internal Revenue Services (IRS), the meaning and definition of the long-term capital gains can be interpreted as follows. Take a look… •Firstly, being long-term gains, this type of income is generated from assets which have been invested into or, held or owned by the company for time period which equals or exceeds a period of 12 months. In some nations and under some jurisdictions, the long-term gains, must span over an entire (financial) year, that is the opening date and the closing date of the year.

•Secondly, being characterized as capital gains, these gains/incomes need to be received on a non-regular basis and also need to be incurred, not from the regular business of the organization. Apart from that they should be of a substantial amount.

•The third feature is that they should not be a part of the regular revenue of the business. For example sale of a 5 year old pizza oven is a long-term capital gain, however a mass order of 1,000 pizzas is not a long-term capital gain, as this kind of income has been received in the due course of the business, and is a regular deal.

Thus in a nutshell, a long-term capital gain is chiefly, an income from the sale of an asset or an investment, which has been owned by the individual or a company for over a year, or 12 months and does not account to be an income from the regular business. The sale can be of almost any asset under the sun. In the United States the long-term capital gains taxation rate ranges from 5% to 15%. The taxation rate was set up and enforced in 2003, and was extended to 2012. On the whole, long-term gains are subject to lesser rates of tax, than the short-term ones, as per the progressive taxation system.

Examples of Long-Term Capital Gains Read the rest of this entry »

By no capital, I mean you start with the research, business idea development, and market study phase with no money. But you will have to generate the capital as you get closer to actually starting your business. The following points will guide on how to generate that capital.

Go Online
The web is a very good starting point for new businesses. And with the evolution of social media, its benefits have increased ten-fold. Start with a website or blog for which hundreds of free resources are available. Here, you can test the various ideas that you may have for your business. If you want to launch your own brand of T-shirts, you can start a website or a blog that gives unique T-shirt designs and reports the latest trends in the same. If your designs are really good, you will get good readership from which you can develop a community of people who really like your T-shirt designs. You can even earn money from your website or blog with the help of free tools such as Google AdSense. Then you can launch premium services on your website, and that will be the beginning of your brand!

Angel Investors and Micro Credit Organizations
If you have a path-breaking business idea, you can get your investment from Angel Investors or Micro Credit Organizations. They are individuals or companies who provide grants to small business start-ups in return of ownership equity or convertible debt. But to get someone to believe that your idea is really going to work, and that their money is not going to be wasted, is not an easy task. You have to be ready with your research for the idea, the business plan, the market study, the sales projections, and your commitment to the business.

Social Enterprising
If your business idea is inclined toward social causes, environment conservation, green technology, etc., there are many NGOs who will fund your venture. Although here you will have to convince them of your good intentions along with being ready with the complete plan. There are certain government schemes also which may be able to help you. Read the rest of this entry »

     Lacking of money is very common in our business.So getting access to the funding will do great help to you.

     Going the traditional way and opting for a loan from your bank wont really get you very far, especially when you consider the fact that they don’t like lending out money to start-up businesses that have no assets or history. But, before you allow this to dampen your spirit, it is time to take a look at all your personal assets. You never know, you might actually have the required ‘wealth’ to get your small business started.

     Some possible Personal Funding Sources

     Here are some sources:
     Life Insurance Policy
     401 (k) plan
     Friends and family
     Credit cards
     These are all potential sources that can be tapped into to fund your business. In doing so, you will become your own bank. This will give you full control over your own money. And this control is the very thing you wanted in the first place right? That’s why you chose to become an entrepreneur! If you do have a life insurance policy, then you can now put it to work. Though it sounds weird, think about it – a life insurance policy will provide money to your family and spouse in the vent of your death. What most people don’t know is that you can actually borrow against the cash value of the life insurance policy and then pay it back at flexible rates, on your own terms. Read the rest of this entry »