"In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes"  – Benjamin Franklin

I LOVE SAVING MONEY don't you??  I am always looking for new tax tips and any new loop hole I can poke my head into. 

Ok, so as I see it, we are divided into two main groups.  Those who are super organized and sort their receipts and kinda do "tax-prep" all year long, and those who show up with a shoe box and shopping bag at their CPA every year.  Well which ever one you are…..no matter.  It all gets done in the end!  

I sort of assume (eek) that most everyone uses some kind of accounting program like Quickbooks and I wanted to share some other things that you can use to make things easier on you, or if you are the super organized one already, perhaps you can take advantage of some new technology that is out there.

My friend Andrew over at Money Crashers is really into Shoeboxed and uses it to scan and track everything.  A lot of companies are moving to posting everything in some sort of "Cloud"  type thingy and giving remote access to files to their VA's, Accountants, and other employees that way.  So many cool things happening in our lifetime now – I find it so amazing and e so lucky.

There are so many entreprenette tricks and tips that I called upon my experts to give you some out-of-the-box ideas…..check them out.  There are some really cool ones that might help save you time and money.

1. Tax time-time saver!

My Best Tax Tip: I bought a small expanding file folder that is separated by month and fits in my bottom desk drawer. When I make a purchase, I place the receipt in that months section. This keeps my receipts organized and easily accessible at tax time.

Thanks to: Janet Majoulet-Foust of The Social Media Queen.

2. A Sane and Serene Strategy

My Best Tax Tip: The only way to stay sane during tax-time is to plan ahead-just a little.

You've all heard the standard suggestions. Gather all your paperwork. Keep records up to date ahead of time. What I'm talking about is staying sane whether you've been faithfully organized or not!

Add into your calendar an hour-long 'tackle my taxes' appointment each week starting in early-mid January. This way you can work on catching up your paperwork and records a bit at a time instead of last-minute insanity!

Thanks to: Elise Adams of Adams Organizing.

3. Think Green and Save!

My Best Tax Tip: A tax credit that many homeowners and business owners often over look is available for installation of alternative energy products such as solar electric systems, replacement windows and wind turbines. If you've installed any green or energy-saving products for your home or office over the past year, be sure to ask your CPA about tax credits associated with going green. It can really add up!

Thanks to: Taylor Fontane of Dallas Traffic Ticket Lawyers.

4. Stay Semi Organized

My Best Tax Tip: Keeping up with donation forms, receipts and other business write-offs over the course of a year is one of the last things a business owner wants to do. Make it a point in 2012 to stay semi organized and at least keep a big box full of receipts that can be sorted through at the end of the year. You can even hire a college accounting major over winter break to organize them all for you at the end of the year for a nominal fee. It's a win-win.

Thanks to: Seth Owens of Tucson Roofing Company.

5. Your Not Incorporated??

My Best Tax Tip: Even though you are a small business you should consider becoming an S or LLC corp for tax purposes. Yes, you have to file a second set of tax returns, but your savings could be 10X the cost. I was going to incorporate one of my business once it hit a certain volume, but didn't. Tax guy says, "You should have, it would have cut your tax bill this year by $1,700.00!"

Today all my companies are incorporated from day one. A side note, the legal protection is also very important.

Thanks to: Harlan Goerger of H. Goerger & Assoc dba AskHG.com.

6. Lower net income = less taxes

My Best Tax Tip: If you have cash in your business at the end of the year or beginning of the year, you can lower your net income by contributing to a SEP-IRA for employees, no matter if you're the only employee. You can generally contribute up to 25% of an employee's gross salary, and can make the contribution up until your tax filing date--March or April of the following year, I believe. Lowering your net income means you'll pay less in taxes--yay!

Thanks to: Greg Miliates of Start My Consulting Business.

7. Find a brilliant accountant

My Best Tax Tip: Personally I hate tax time. I'm a creative so I'd much rather be painting or creating something with my time. So each year when tax time comes around, I found the best way to get the most out of it with as little time out of my day as possible is to have a brilliant accountant (preferably one with a legal studies background) do his creative tax stuff which will take no more than 20 minutes of my time. It's even better if he can do your book-keeping for you too!

Thanks to: Kaja Zu of Precious Arts & Stones.

8. Outsource it!

My Best Tax Tip: Yes, outsource it! I know it is not cool, and hype but that is what saved me a lot of trouble and money. Find a reliable person or firm close to you. The best way by reference from somebody you trust. Do your homework/recon/due diligence on top of that before you meet and contract them.
I have two companies and over the years I built the relationships with my accountants to the level that I can come overseas for 5-6 months and manage my companies from here.

Thanks to: Attila Kovacs of The Solopreneur Mentor.

9. Spend the Money Honey!

My Best Tax Tip: Zero your checkbook balance as close as possible. Invest in something you wanted, pay yourself that bonus, and pay the bills down. These moves lead to a zero balance, shaves profit and that means less taxes paid. This is a tax strategy and if you are looking to look profitable for a business loan then your accountant can adjust your financials to look more appealing for the investors.

Thanks to: BeverlyD Dombroski of BeverlyD Luxe Organic Hair.

10. Cloud tools

My Best Tax Tip: I use a number of cloud-based tools for tax prep and lots of other things, which give me access to my data anywhere, and allow me to stay productive everywhere.

Tools like:
GMail
Google Calendar
Evernote
Dropbox
ToDoist
Google Voice (and Skype, though Google Voice is free)
EchoSign (for digitally signing documents)
FreshBooks (for time tracking, invoicing, accepting payments)
Basecamp (for project management)
GoToMeeting (for online meetings & demos)

Thanks to: Greg Miliates of Start My Consulting Business.

11. Don't wait for 1099s to arrive

My Best Tax Tip: Soon after the new year I start on my taxes. Getting the grueling part of it done BEFORE the 1099s come in. Like many of us, I have loads of work to do to tally numbers, get those property tax figures, get my 1099s out etc... So don't wait for your 1099's to arrive before starting on taxes and come April 15 you can already have your refund!

Thanks to: Corey Bornmann of AffPlaybook.

12. The government rewards you

My Best Tax Tip: The US government likes the idea of business so much that it lets us subtract our expenses from our taxable income. Remember that if you are using items you pay for in your business, you should deduct them. For instance, I constantly use my daily newspaper to prospect, congratulate clients and prospects, write articles based on info I find...and I deduct my subscription cost.

Thanks to: Shel Horowitz of Green And Profitable.

13. Keep it Simple

My Best Tax Tip:
The best change I ever made was having a dedicated business credit card. No more muddling through receipts and transaction lists. Also, I go in once a week to upload the bank info and reconcile the account. That saves lots of time at month end.

As a professional organizer I've seen first hand the dangers of procrastination! Don't wait until the last minute. It won't be any easier, and it will be much more stressful.

Worst case scenario? Move to Dubai where there are no taxes!

Thanks to: Sharon McRill of The Betty Brigade.

14. Write On! Saving Your Receipts

My Best Tax Tip: As you accumulate receipts for your expenses throughout the year, make sure to document in ink the date, amount, and reason for the expense. You will find that years later, the ink will fade on certain ones and you will not remember what or when the expense occurred, or why, rendering the receipt useless at a time when you may need it most.

Thanks to: Cora Parks of Tax Today.

15. Scan and Toss - Go Paperless

My Best Tax Tip: The IRS is encouraging taxpayers to scan their documents and receipts and save them to an external hard drive, mail them to a relative, or write to a CD.
The hurricanes in the South destroyed thousands of tax records that can never be recovered. Why not use the current technology and go paperless?
Use a scanner to save receipts, contracts, and other documents in one place to avoid that "Oh, my Gosh" (or whatever expletive) moment.

Thanks to: Denise Marinacci of Flaunt Inc..

16. Don't Forget Tax Deductions!

My Best Tax Tip: For my small business, I have three major categories: job-related expenses, unreimbursed medical expenses, and home-based business write-offs. Knowing these on the front end will help you categorize your receipts as they come in throughout the year, which will streamline the process of paying taxes. Remember that deductible job-related expenses are things like dry cleaning bills and travel costs, while deductible home-based business expenses involve hardware such as personal computer expenses.

Thanks to: Andrew Schrage of Money Crashers Tax Deductions.

17. Get a Big Tax Break For Saving

My Best Tax Tip: As we near the end of 2011, now is the time to be thinking about opening up and contributing to a tax friendly retirement plan now or before April 16, 2012 (April 15th is a Sunday). The cheapest option is to open a Solo 401(K) Plan granted you don't have any employees other than your spouse. You can personally contribute up to the lesser of $16,500 or your earnings plus 20% of your net self employment income for a total of $49,000 and if you’re older than 50, your limit is $54,000.

Thanks to: Ryan Himmel of BIDaWIZ.

18. Tax Time Secret: Be Organized!

My Best Tax Tip: One year, I decided to file my own taxes using Turbo Tax. I learned a lot about various business deductions that could apply to my business that my CPA at the time never told me about! So since then I've created a spreadsheet of all the possible business deductions that apply to my specific business and record my expenses monthly by category. Being organized saves me valuable time and makes it easy for me to send my tax files to my CPA.

Thanks to: Rekha Krishnamurthi of Divine.

19. QuickBooks' Insides

My Best Tax Tip: Press F2 or Cntl-1 within QuickBooks to bring up a window with all sorts of information about the inner workings of your QB file. This window will tell you the location of the file on your computer (if you want to copy or send the file), the total number of accounts, names, vendors, and employees, the size of the file, your latest release version, and your license and product number.

Thanks to: Sheila Rickard of Loggins & Associates, PC CPAs.

20. Automatic Pilot Cash Receipts

My Best Tax Tip: Mobile warriors have a lot of cash receipts. To save time, in my car have a mini-plastic file labeled with receipt categories such as food, tolls, advertising, facilitation, etc. Cash receipts are immediately filed. Each quarter, I tally them, enter dollars into accounting system and file them away. During the last 10 years, I have saved hundreds of hours in sorting and organizing not to mention saved accounting fees. Once the habit is established, automatic pilot takes over.

Thanks to: Leanne Hoagland-Smith of ADVANCED SYSTEMS.

21. Make the Most of Credit Cards

My Best Tax Tip: If you use a credit card in your business, make sure you record the expenses when you make the purchase, not when you pay your credit card bill. This will help make sure you get all the tax deductions you are entitled to for the current year. The best way to do this would be to set up a credit card account in QuickBooks. If you go to your Chart of Accounts, and click on "Account" and then "New", choose "Credit Card" as your account type, and QB will lead you through creating the account.

Thanks to: Kim Fourman of Loggins & Associates, PC CPAs.

22. Make Two Appointments

My Best Tax Tip: Make two appointments with your accountant or tax preparer — we all have the usual one some time after the first of the year to get your taxes done, but I also make an appointment early in December to run my numbers by my CPA and see if there are any last minute steps I can take to improve my tax situation, such as investing money in a retirement account, before the end of the year.

Thanks to: Thursday Bram of Hyper Modern Consulting.

23. Taxes on Cloud Nine

My Best Tax Tip: The whole world is moving to the cloud, why should your taxes be any different? Instead of collecting all of your financials in various folders and desk drawers all year and then panicking in early April, scan your receipts, bills, and invoices into the cloud over the course of the year. Then, around tax time, shoot that digital data to your favorite online tax prep service and you're done! Plus your scanned data will be saved in the cloud in case of audit, which could occur up to 7 years after.

Thanks to: Jake Brereton of Shoeboxed.com.

24. Tax time saving tip

My Best Tax Tip: Outsource your bookkeeping and taxes. Plain and simple.

Thanks to: Shane Fischer of Shane E. Fischer, P.A..

25. Bookkeeping Made Easy

My Best Tax Tip: My two favorite tools to prepare for tax season are Freshbooks and Outright. I use Freshbooks for invoicing and collecting payments from clients and managing my expenses. Then Outright integrates with Freshbooks and other accounts like my bank, Paypal, and credit cards to import and categorize all of my transactions automatically. Best of all, Outright always shows my gross income and the estimated amount of taxes I will need to pay so I won’t be caught off guard when tax season comes around.

Thanks to: Alba Figueroa of Savvy Studios.

26. Organize a Filing System

My Best Tax Tip: You can make tax time super easy by putting together a filing system. Using a tool like Dropbox, all you need to do is simply scan and "file" away all your tax-related paperwork into a folder titled, "Tax". Then, when the time comes you don't need to hunt for anything. Just open the folder and print away. You can do the same using a traditional filing cabinet. However, remember to schedule time to review it. A weekly date with your filing cabinet will ensure a happier, stress-free tax season.

Thanks to: Prerna Malik of Social Media Direct.

27. The Secret Is Neat Receipts

My Best Tax Tip: The best tax tip we have for any entrepreneur is to always have meticulous records of your receipts. For me, I make sure that I scan any important receipts or documents so I will have multiple copies (physical and computer files). With so many items paid for in a single year, you need to keep everything in order when you are either doing your own taxes or handing the paperwork over to an accountant. Keep it organized and you won't have a problem.

Thanks to: Ian Aronovich of GovernmentAuctions.org.

28. When In Doubt, Save It!

My Best Tax Tip: Most Entrepreneurs eat, sleep and breath their business. In many cases there are so many possible deductions and business expenses that suddenly become 'mundane' and are easy to let slip on the expense sheets and the daily tax filing. What I've found works best, is to literally keep every single receipt even, those that are 'personal' and later take the time to go through the receipts (both printed and digital), it's amazing how many business expenses would have otherwise been overlooked!

Thanks to: JP Jones of Collipsis Web Solutions.

29. Tax Start-Up Exps..Must Knows!

My Best Tax Tip: If you started a business, how you treat your initial expenses can make a big difference in your tax bill. You can not write off any of your expenses until you have your first customer. Then you can elect to write off $5,000 of start-up expenses once your business begins and the rest is deducted over 180 months beginning with the month the business starts. Careful tax planning is needed as it may be better (or not) to save your expenses. Remember, it is not now or never...it is now or later.

Thanks to: Gail Rosen of Gail Rosen, CPA, PC.

Dear Sarah,

I've recently launched my home-based business, and my sales are inconsistent. Until I can get a steady income flow, what are some ways that I can save money in my everyday life?

Thanks,

Sandi Hochman  Lucky Puppy

Dear Sandi,

Thanks for a great question!  I reached out to my friend Andrew of Money Crashers as he has awesome ideas about how to save money and get ahead!

 Starting a home-based business is a huge challenge, and in the beginning, times can be tough. However, there is no reason to despair as there are a variety of ways to save money everyday to make running your business more manageable.

1. Spend Less on Groceries Many people leave a lot of money on the table when it comes to grocery shopping. The best way to impact this expense is by using coupons and learning how to extreme coupon. Pick up a Sunday paper, scan through the ads for the items that you buy the most, and capitalize on all discounts. Many national grocers will "stack" or "double" coupons, and shopping at multiple grocers will allow you to save even more. Additionally, see if you have a farmers market near your home. They offer the same fresh produce that your favorite grocer has at lower prices.

2. Lower Your Rent/Mortgage If you rent, contact your landlord to negotiate a lower rental price. You can offer up services around the property (e.g. home repair) or you can capitalize on the fact that you have been a loyal tenant. It never hurts to ask. If you own a home, on the other hand, consider refinancing your home mortgage. I have refinanced my mortgage several times over the years to save money, and there are a lot of options at your disposal regarding different mortgage plans. And if you're upside down on your mortgage (i.e. you owe more than your house is worth), see if you qualify to refinance under one of the Making Home Affordable government programs.

3. Adjust Your Discretionary Spending If you are intent on building and establishing your home-based business, temporarily cut back on discretionary spending to free up more capital for your business. Yes, going without your morning latte or favorite cable channels can be annoying for a while, but it's only temporary and the extra cash flow could give your business just what it needs to take off. Once you get established with a more steady income flow, you can resume normal spending activities.

4. Save on the Business Itself There are many ways to save on the business itself. Consider used furniture and computer equipment to outfit your office in the beginning, and investigate all free forms of marketing. Also, make sure you are aware of and take advantage of any tax breaks and write-offs related to your home-based business.

5. Put Investing On Hold I never like to recommend not investing for retirement, but if you need to free up capital to maintain your business, considering scaling back your retirement investment expenditures. If you can get your home-based business to the level that it will generate significant income, you can resume and increase retirement investing. But if you want to tap retirement accounts for business capital and are younger than 59 1/2, be careful! Most of the time you'll be hit with steep penalties. It's best to first consult with a financial planner if you want to withdraw from a previous employer's retirement plan or your traditional IRA.

Andrew Schrage is owner of the personal finance site and business, Money Crashers.

As the end of the year rapidly approaches for everyone, I know us product minded people are scrambling to make it the best quarter of the year, and some rely on 4Q sales to make their entire year!  My mind has been working overtime these days coming up with some out-of-the-box ideas for my clients and myself as I'm sure you are too. 

I want to share a few ideas that I have for you along with my Entreprenette Experts who offer some great tips too!  I'd love to hear your ideas too, so please share them in the comments so we can all have a great 2011 and encourage each other.

On-Line offers: I like to create a rush to purchase during the holiday season.  One thing I find to work well year after year, is to offer a different item on sale each day from Black Friday until Christmas.  If you don't carry enough items to cover that many days, you can make up different offers like 2 for 1 or buy one get 50% off on something else…. be creative and cross promote your own products.  You can even find other lines that compliment yours and offer something from theirs, and they from yours – gives you more exposure.

Wholesale Sales:  While stores are offering their own buying incentives to their retail customers, it's a good idea to find ways to entice buyers on your end to help them sell more of your products.   You might offer free shipping with a minimum order, offer a free extra item if the order is over a certain dollar amount, find an inexpensive promotional item that you can include for free with large orders.  If you are feeling really confident, offer a money back guarantee on orders placed by 10/31.

Trunk Shows:  Pick a cool store in your neighborhood and offer to do a trunk show.  Engage the surrounding stores and restaurants in participating as well with raffles, give-a-ways and special offers the same evening making it into your own "Fashion night out".

Home Parties: Everyone wants to give to charity especially at the end of the year.  If you can find a person with a nice big home who has lots of friends (hopefully wealthy ones),  and is passionate about a specific charity, offer to do a sale at their home and donate a percentage to their charity of choice.  They invite their circle, the charity will usually help promote it, and you can invite your list too.  Everyone wins!  This is also a great way to get rid of old samples and slightly damaged seconds……make a basket (or table) of the discounted stuff and watch it fly out the door at super low prices.

Have fun and good luck!

Sometimes deciding on your business entity can be really confusing.  I spoke with Deborah Sweeny, CEO of My Corporation who demystifies what the difference is, and why you might choose one or the other.  Check out this awesome interview so you can protect yourself and can make an educated decision when necessary.  I have experience with both and highly suggest talking to your accountant to see which is better for you. 

If you missed my other interview with Deborah on Trademarks and Copyrights, you can catch up right now!

Deborah has generously offered a $20 discount coupon for all Entreprenettes who use the coupon code NETTE at checkout for any product they sell.  Woo hoo cool right?

Click here for additional information on LLC's  or Corporations

Follow My Corporation on Facebook and Twitter

DISCLAIMER:The information in this interview is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered.  It is presented with the understanding that neither MyCorporation nor Entreprenette is engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services.   If legal advice or other professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. 

What is your call to action?

The first time someone asked me this, I looked at them like they were from Mars.  I seriously had no idea what they were talking about and this was only about 3 or 4 years ago.  After getting over my embarrassment, I got really excited about it and implemented one on my Simply Sarah website – Join our list, Get 25% off instantly.  Can I share how thrilled I was when we started to get a flood of orders using that discount code – it was about 7 per week – it was amazing. Once I got into it, I really understood the power of a good call to action.

Whether you are selling a product or a service, figuring out what will get your target market to buy from you is the key to success right?  This awesome list of suggestions from my Entreprenette experts covers ideas from free samples, try-it-out-samplers, discounts, how-to articles, and specific language to get someone to click now.

Post a screen shot of your call to action on my Facebook page!

Dear Sarah,

I make these super cute round terry towels, that are incredibly absorbent, and have an unique button loop so you can hang it from almost anything; towel bars, stove bar, fridge handle, apron strings, high-chairs, cribs, strollers, tennis bags,  and gym bags.  I have targeted several celebrity moms, chefs, tennis pros and dog lovers who I want to send these to (I have your "How to get your products to Celebrities" CD) but how can I promote this if I can't get a photo of the celeb with my product since it most likely will be used in the home and not worn like a handbag or other fashion item?

Thanks,
Lana  Simply Lana

Dear Lana,

Thanks for asking this question. In this instance, I would proceed as planned to send to your target celeb list.  Perhaps you will see a tennis pro using one or a celeb mom with one on her stroller (cute photo on your website by the way) that you can find on TMZ or another celeb website or even in a weekly magazine.  But the approach you might want to take with this item in particular, is to find out what charities these celebs are into and offer to give a percentage of the towel of their choice to their favorite charity. That would give you the ability to put their photo on your website and drive traffic through social media and the celebs Facebook page as well.

Let me know how it works out!
xoxo
Sarah

So last weeks post inspired me.  I loved hearing what people disliked doing in their business and how they handled it.  The #1 way to handle their "icky tasks" was to outsource them…….which lead me to this post.  It seemed to me that almost everyone was using a Virtual Assistant (VA) to help with the things they disliked as well as things that are best left to an assistant.  VA's are a great choice for more than just the "having an assistant part" – you pay them on a 1099 as contract labor, instead of a W2, so you avoid payroll taxes making your dollars go further and their employment time longer!  Win win for both parties.

Beside the tax benefits, (of course) are the benefits of having more time to concentrate on the things that only you can do in your business that bring in the money!  I reached out to my experts to find out how they use their VA's and where they found them so you can bring one on board to help you out this year. 

If you are not sure what an assistant can do for you…….make a list of all the things you do each day for a week and then put the things that ONLY you can do in one column and try to outsource the rest!

I remember when I decided to patent my Handbag Hanger back in 2003.  I did as much research as I could on my own via the internet – searching google and scouring every organizing store on the planet to see if they had something similar. Once I was fairly certain I had a unique product, I called an attorney to start the process.  It was pretty easy going from there for me back then as not as many patents were being filed.  I did however choose a Design patent over a Utility patent to save money as I was sure no one could reconfigure my product and patent over my design patent……but they did……and I learned  lesson.  Fortunately the "copy" has not really infringed on my business but that was a stroke of luck!

So many people are afraid of the Patent office right? 
I mean they seem to wield such power over us and our inventions. Do you ever wonder………….

• If your product even be patented?
• If the patent even protect it?
• How long will the process take?
• How much will it all cost me?
• How does it all work?

The USPTO has a  relatively new section for inventors that they are pouring a lot of resources into, and I wanted to bring it to your attention in case it can be of use to you.  I was lucky enough to sit next to someone from the USPTO on the airplane last month and he was excited to meet someone who had connections to so many entrepreneurs……and connected me to John Calvert – The Administrator of the Inventors Assistance Program. John and I chatted this week and I recorded our conversation for you to hear. 

If you are thinking of patenting, have a patent in process, or want to file a provisional patent…..listen up!

John shares some insider tips and had generously offered up helpful links to help this process move more smoothly. Did you know you can just pick up the phone and speak to someone about your patent?

Here are some quick links to get you around the PTO website faster!

Read the latest copy of the Inventors Eye Newsletter

Quick 411 list of sections to help you navigate the website

Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program

P.s John gave me an insider tip and let me know that Mid January is the next on-line chat if you want to partake…..I'll let you know as soon as I know the date and how to access it.  If you want to see transcripts of past chats click here.

I got so many great comments and emails on last weeks post on how to maximize 4th Q and questions galore about drop shipping and what it means and how it works…….so you ask, and I answer!

So what is Drop Shipping?

This is usually when a website displays your product for sale, but does not buy and stock it in advance.  They sell it "like" they have it in stock, but in reality, they send you the order and have you ship it.   What is so great about drop shipping? I like that other people are marketing and promoting your brand while you are doing other things that require your attention. Be sure you have done your due diligence in reference to the merchant – be sure you like their website, feel it is the right place for your product line to be sold, and I'd be sure to check out their marketing techniques and be sure you are satisfied with their business practices before you sign on the dotted line.

This relationship can work out nicely if you up the charges a bit. What I am saying,is that instead of offering them the items at wholesale plus shipping (follow your shipping standards) you add on 25% of the wholesale price as a handling fee to cover your costs of shipping out one item at wholesale. 

For example: Let's say your item's wholesale price is $10 x 2.5 = $25 retail.   You would require them to pay $12.50 wholesale ($10+25% of wholesale + shipping) as the “fee” for doing drop shipping.  The website retailer will usually email you an invoice to put in the box.

I advise you to have the merchants credit card on file (see sample of drop shipping guidelines from my company) and charge their credit card for the item + shipping, before you ship directly to the customer.  If you use a fulfillment house this 25% extra usually covers the fees involved so it doesn’t eat into your margins.  If you are shipping yourself then you just made extra money!  Go out and celebrate!

Download Drop shipping guidelines from my company Simply Sarah

Download sample credit card authorization form from Simply Sarah

There are tons of websites that do drop ship programs……even Saks.com does a HUGE drop ship program!

We are well into 4^th quarter and I want to get you all cha-chinging away, so let’s go over a short check list to see what else you can be doing to make the most of the rest of this year.

• Get your best customers on the phone and offer them a deal. Offer free shipping to one lucky person. 
• Email your friends a special offer on your website and ask them to send it to 5 friends for you.
• Ask friends to repost your deal on their FB pages.  
• Post about your last minute deals on forums, meet up groups, networking groups and any on-line budget fashionista website you can find. 
• Find your relevant target market……. mommy groups, lactation centers, large corporate offices, or the YMCA and see if you can go sell your stuff there.