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It's tax season again. And that means it is time for you to start getting organized, gathering your receipts and figuring up how much you made -- as well as figuring out your deductions. Here are some common tax deductions for your home office:

*Supplies used by your home business
*Depreciation on your computer
*Internet use (what percent used for your home business)
*Mortgage or rent payment (percent of space used for home office)
*Utilities (based on percent used for home office)
*Cell phone use for your home business
*Cost of magazines and trade publications you use to improve your home business

It is important to note that these are items that must be used for your home office only. If you have questions, you can look on the IRS Web site, or contact your tax preparer.

One of the things that will help you in search engines, especially Google, is carefully optimizing your ad content for a network audience. You want your home business to get the best possible online exposure. Mark at Workboxers offers some helpful hints as to what you can do as far as improving your ad content for Google is concerned:

*Content campaigns should be separate from search campaigns.

*Ensure that your text ads are compatible with the pages on which they appear.

*Use calls to action in your content.

*Make sure to highlight offers and features on your home business Web site.

*Create customized landing pages on your home business Web site for links from text ads.

If your home business requires you to make phone calls, you know how expensive that can get. Especially if, like me, you make a lot of international calls. One thing I did was sign up for Skype. This is a voice over internet protocol (VoIP) service that allows you to make rather inexpensive calls using the Internet. This can be a great help.

My landline has unlimited long distance calling in the U.S., but once I call overseas, it can cost between 10 and 50 cents a minute, depending on where I call. Skype is much, much cheaper. I use a headset that I plug into my computer to talk (and listen!), but there are plenty of other products as well. PC Magazine offers a rather helpful look at some of the VoIP products you can use to help your home business save money in the long run.

This year, on February 11, marks the fifth annual Doing Business in Your Bathrobe Day. The first thing I do when I get up is put on a robe and head down to my home office to get in some work. I just didn't realize there was a day  for it!

WebMomz is sponsoring a contest in honor of Doing Business in Your Bathrobe Day. It looks like fun, so head on over and enter. And remember that working from home offers a variety of perks. Including the ability to get work done in your bathrobe!

I seriously need to change my online portfolio. It was configured when I first began freelancing. Although I have added information to it, my portfolio needs to represent my work better.

Karissa at The Daily Telecommuter asks "Is Your Online Portfolio Working for You?". My answer to her would be "no". She has some great tips that I am going to use when I change mine:

"Don’t complicate things. Focus on simplicity. If you are catering to too many different people with your portfolio, you may confuse potential clients with what your work is all about. Keep it simple, streamlined, and targeted. If the type of work you do is varied, separate these types of work into different sections within your portfolio. (i.e. Media Writing, Print Ads, Web Ads, Web Design, Poetry, etc.)"

Are you a good home office worker? This Friday Fun Video compares rather extreme versions of home office worker. Although I disagree quite a bit about the "pajamas" part. I love getting up and starting work in my jammies. :0)

Oft times, I get so wrapped in what the home business owner can do to improve his or her blog that I sometimes forget that it is important to look at what blogs are saying about the home business. Business and Blogging has an excellent article that points out that a business should know what others are saying about it.

When you look into which blogs mention your home business, and what they are saying about you, you can combat (politely, of course) negative comments. Additionally, reading what others say about your home business can actually help you make improvements in service, quality and other areas of concern.

There have been several times that after speaking with a client I had to ask "What is your main goal?". That might seem like a silly question but somehow it needed to be identified.

One example would be of a person that wanted me to promote his blog. That sounds straight forward enough. Yet I realized that the blog was just an outlet for his main profession. Rather than getting caught up in mass blog promotion, it was important to find the target audience that would benefit his ultimate goal.

Any time I have asked this of someone, the reply has usually been "That is a really good question". It made them stop and think of a more focused arena to enter. Once the goal was identified, we came up with a game plan that would help bring that goal to fruition.

There are so many ways to promote a business and it is easy to spread your efforts too thin. Before embarking on the latest promotion craze, ask yourself "Will this help me to achieve my main goal?". Getting sidetracked will only waste your time.    

Have a history of sales? Like to work from your home? Love our site? Well then, Shakadoo may need you.

We are looking for experienced and motivated individuals to add to our sales staff. If you think you might be a good fit or know someone who who would be, email your resume to us here at  sales@Shakadoo.com

Having a home business may have made you an expert of sorts. Indeed, it can be very important to develop the skills of an expert in your field. And once you have done that, it can help grow your home business to market yourself as an expert. Here are some things that you can do to show your expertise:

• *Teach a free seminar to the local Chamber of Commerce (or other business group).
• *Look for workshop opportunities in your area.
• *Go to local and online networking events.
• *Leave knowledgeable comments and helpful advice on related message boards and forums.
• *Guest post for other business blogs.

The Flugpo Blog is now holding weekly contests every Wednesday. This provides an opportunity for free ad space if you are the winner. Here are some details about the weekly contests from the blog:

Every week, there will be a new contest. Nothing fancy or complicated, just some simple fun. Here is how it will work:

• Every Wednesday a new contest will be posted AND the winners from the prior week's contest will be announced
• There will be three winners each week
• The three winners will get free ad space starting the Wednesday they are announced as the winners. Winners choice, 125x125 button or a text link. You will need to provide the button HTML or text link HTML once you are notified as the winner. Your free ads will be on the right sidebar which is currently identified as "Home of Future Wednesday Winners"
• Your free ad will end the following Wednesday when the next winners are announced.
• The contests will be different but the prize will remain the same

This week's contest (it starts today) asks for a little creative writing. Check it out!

For many a home business owner, the idea of a franchise seems appealing. You can start a new business, but with the support system already built into place. However, it is important to be careful. Sean at Franchise Pick talks about "Hot New Franchise Syndrome," pointing out that new franchises labeled "hot" may be more risk than they are worth:

When someone buys a “hot new” franchise concept, they are saddled with both the financial burden and restrictions of a franchise AND the uncertainty of a new, experimental startup. 

Before turning your home business into a franchise, or before buying a franchise so you can own your own business, do your homework. You want to be able to continue your success, not end it abruptly.

Everyone has a reason for starting their own home business. I have met a woman who has a special cause for proceeds made through her business.

She has opened her home to two little children that need her love and support for a better future. I would like to share her story here with you:

"Our 2 special needs adoptions (one completed, one in process) have incurred a debt near $30,000.

Ouch. Unfortunately, grants assisting couples in adopting special needs kids are virtually nonexistent, so we are using all our talents to generate the funds to pay back our expenses.

Many families have fund raisers or bake sales. Since I'm a professional artist, artisan and designer, (and can't bake or cook anything that anyone would pay money for), we are selling our fine handcrafted gemstone artisan jewelry created by me, Cherie, a.k.a. Mama!

I've created an online shop at Artfish to help us give our kids a chance at a brighter future. My blog, The Artsfish Salon) is an extension of our online shop. Our kids had a rough start in life, they were each abandoned in China due to a correctable congenital condition called clubfoot. We're dedicated to giving them the best life possible, but in order to do that, we need to reduce or pay off our debt. I'm also available for graphic and web design.

Read Kai Dong and Ming Qiao's story

We're happy to accept contributions, but what we'd really like is customers! Please either Google "artsfish" or go directly to Artsfish Thanks! Cherie"

When it comes to freelancing, especially freelance writing, many of us know what it is like to start out. Usually we have to settle for taking whatever someone will give us. But after a while, as reputation builds and experience grows, it is possible to start charging higher freelance rates. Skellie at Freelance Switch does a great job of describing what you can do to increase your freelance rates. But make sure you follow this essential advice before you put the tips into practice:

If you’re struggling to make ends meet, I’d suggest building a stable financial base before attempting to charge your dream rates.

When did you realize you could start charging higher freelance rates?

I think the refrigerator qualifies as the vending machine for a home office. However, there are times when the stock in your refrigerator does not match up to what a vending machine has to offer.

Medical Transcription: What's in it for you? tells us about "Hanging around the water cooler" in her home office. She has some great ideas.... especially the part about George Clooney. Yum!

'Oh, but I just thought of something else my home office needs now...a vending machine. I'll start small, maybe buy a bubble gum machine from the toy store, and then work my way up to a full-fledged vending machine with badonkadonk butt candy bars, little packs of musty potato chips, squishy sandwiches, maybe even packs of over-priced cigarettes for my husband. The vending machine would need someone to come and restock it regularly; I picture a handsome man, tall, a full head of wavy dark hair, a twinkle in his eyes. Yes, George Clooney would come by regularly to restock my vending machine. I'll put this on my goal-setting worksheet for the year."

This video is about making money from home. With sock puppets. It made me laugh. Not sure what I think about the wealthycowboy.com and its legitimacy, but the video does illustrate the common tactics used in many schemes.

I have been running very late with work this morning. I can't blame it on traffic, shucks! I got up at the same time as usual but somehow have not been able to get on track.

I would settle in my chair comfortably to start typing and then one of my little boys would need something. Okay, back to the chair. My fingers hovered over the keyboard again only to hear "Mom!!!!!" again... and again... and again!

Thinking I had my boys settled, I tried to approach work once more. Then the phone rang. My phone has rung five times already this morning! That is most unusual and very counter productive.

So, here I am. My oldest is at school, my middle man is at preschool and Baby D is taking a nap. The beautiful sound of silence. Sometimes my day does not go the way I wish it would but I wouldn't trade my office for anything!

There was a pajama discussion on a blog forum that I visit frequently. The question was "What time do you finally get out of your pajamas while working from home?".

I was very interested in seeing everyone else's answers. My pajama guilty self was not ready to be the first person to answer! Much to my relief, it seems as if a lot of people wear their pajamas late into the morning.

Let's see, it is after 9:00 a.m. where I live. I am still in my pj's. That is not so bad, but there have been days I looked at the clock and was horrified to see it was almost noon!   

How about everyone here? Come on, fess up :)

Blogging can be a great tool for your home business. However, you want to make sure that your work from home blog adds up  to a "good" blog. Over at Business and Blogging, criteria are provided so that you can evaluate business blogs.

Take a look at the criteria, and then take a look at your home business blog. What category does it fall under? Does it have characteristics of a "good," "bad" or an "ugly" blog? Chances are, your work from home blog has some characteristics of each category. The important thing is to weed out the "bad" and "ugly" characteristics and replace them with the "good."

Today, Kelly asked a very interesting freelance blogging question: Is blogging for ad revenue share worth it? (You can share your experiences in the comments section on her post.)

As always, it depends on your circumstances. I am a freelance writer who uses the income to support my family. Which means that blogging for ad revenue share only is not worth it for me. I either require a set amount per post or per month for blogging for others.

The exception? If ad revenue share comes with a base pay as well. Companies that offer base pay plus ad revenue share usually pay a low per-post or flat rate. But it can be a great opportunity if you can make the blog popular. Incidentally, I only work with companies that offer at least 40% of the ad revenue share to their writers.

Another thing to consider are blogging networks that offer base pay plus pageview bonuses. This is better than ad share revenue, since you get base pay plus a set amount per 1,000 pageviews, no matter how many "clicks" an ad on the blog gets.

Yesterday I was offered a job to blog. It sounded interesting until I found out it was only an ad revenue share opportunity. I am still undecided as to whether or not I am going to pursue it.

The fact that I have three children and work at home means that I have to make every working moment count. I don't have the time to put into a project if it does not provide a set amount of income. At the same time, you just never know if you are passing up a great opportunity.

I would love to hear your thoughts on blogging for revenue share only. What do you think about it?

There are a variety of working from home jobs out there, and one of them is programming. Freelance programmers can find a great deal of work if they look in the right places. From bid site like Guru.com to freelance job posting boards, it is possible to find work for freelance programmers.

If you are considering going out on your own, or are "out there" already, Virtual Hosting offers a handy list of 100 Essential Resources for Freelance Programmers. Check it out.

I have a new guest blogger at my freelance blog. Her name is Kerith and she is making some great contributions. I want to share her most recent post. She listed some sources for freelance jobs that I didn't even know. Thanks Kerith!

5 Ways To Get Freelance Jobs Into Your E-mail Box

Some of the more interesting assertions in the business world is that bad publicity is still publicity, and that any publicity is good publicity. This is true to a certain extent. But, really, it depends a great deal on what you do when your home business is the target of bad publicity. How do you react? Doing Biz Abroad offers this poor example of handling bad publicity with regard to China and that whole toy thing last year:

Unfortunately, the official response sounded a whole lot like stonewalling, which only made the situation worse, casting a shadow on Chinese manufacturing as a whole.

If your home business gets bad publicity, your response is important. If you get out in front, apologize, and then clearly state a plan to fix the problem, you will be in much better shape.

I would like to know more about what you do. What type of home business do our WorkShakkers have? Please vote in the poll and leave your comments to expand on your answers.

This is a humorous British video about a work from home dad.

There has been a lot of speculation about when the next Google PageRank update would be. A lot of people have been talking about it this week and were wondering if it was taking place. Websites and blogs have been running more slowly and everyone thought it might have something to do with a PageRank update.

They were right! Google has updated PageRanks. Will this be good or bad for your sites? There is only one way to find out! Go take a look and I hope your rank is all that you hoped for.