When you are shopping around for a television package from the different providers in your area, you’ll notice that the vast majority will offer you a number of different bundles. These “value packages” are supposed to give you the best bang for your buck, and on a per-channel basis, that may be true. However, you could be paying for channels you don’t actually want.

For this reason, you may be more inclined to look at some of the “a la carte” options where you pay for single channels at a time. This works out to more money on a per-channel basis, but you are only paying for what you want. The trouble is that many cable and satellite providers may have limited a la carte options, forcing you into certain bundles if you want particular channels.

Is this really the best business practice? On the one hand, some customers may appreciated the added value that bundles can provide, but others can be very frustrated with being “forced” into a bundle just to get a couple of channels that they actually want. The same concept extends into other industries as well, like cookware sets, cell phone plans, and so on.

It may complicate the billing process, but it may be in a company’s best interest to offer both value packages and “a la carte” options. The former can work out to be “more worth it,” so to speak, whereas the latter can make for a more customized product.

The date seems to get bumped up further and further each year. Inevitably, we will soon be seeing Christmas decorations in many stores and we will soon be bombarded with a huge assortment of holiday products for sale. The same thing can be said about other major holidays throughout the year, like Easter, Thanksgiving, and Halloween.

So, the question as a brick and mortar business (or even as a web-based one) is, “How early is too early?” On the one hand, you want to be able to capitalize on the keeners who like to get their holiday-related shopping as early as possible, cashing on that opportunity. On the other hand, many people are turned off by stores that jump into the holiday spirit, so to speak, much earlier than they would have liked to see the stores do it.

It’s only September and we have at least two major holidays (Thanksgiving and Halloween) between now and Christmas, but I’m already starting to see several dollar stores, for instance, selling holiday decorations and other related items. Is this too early? It really depends on your kind of business as well. If you sell unique items that take time to produce for customers, like custom photo books and the like, it makes sense to have a bigger window of opportunity. For a dollar store, I’m not so sure that it’s the right way to go.

What are your thoughts? What is the earliest that you’ve seen a store set up for the Christmas holiday shopping season? How early do you think is too early?

In order for your business to reach its utmost potential, you need to ensure that the business model is scalable. You are just one person and, eventually, you won’t be able to do the entirety of the job on your own. That’s only natural and to be expected. It’s also a good problem to have.

However, you will then be faced with the ethics of subcontracting and outsourcing. This is especially true when it comes to service-based industries like advertising agencies, freelance writers, and other creative types. When a client approaches you, they usually expect that you will be doing the work. That may or may not always be the case.

So, how do you handle these situations? When a customer approaches a large company with a task, he usually doesn’t expect the CEO and Founder to do the majority of the work, but what about smaller businesses? It’s not unusual for a large ad agency to outsource its work and profit from the difference. It’s common practice.

In this way, you do need to tread carefully when you reach this juncture in your entrepreneurial career. The professionals that you hire for the subcontracted or outsourced work have to be up to your own standards, first and foremost, so that your clients will not be disappointed with the results. Whether you choose to disclose the subcontracted nature of the work to your clients, however, is an ethical question that you’ll need to answer on your own.

Let me preface this by saying that I am not an accountant nor do I claim to be. It is always in your best interest to consult with your tax professional for confirmation and advice, but this post may prove very useful for all the small business and home-based business owners in the audience.

What happens when you purchase something for the purposes of your business, but you do not have a receipt to record the purchase? Can you still “write it off” like any other expense that your business may incur over the course of its daily operations? The short answer appears to be yes, but it comes with several caveats. It is always easiest if you are able to get some sort of proof of purchase, even if it is just a hand-written receipt from the seller, but this isn’t always possible.

In order to “write off” this expense, you have to ensure that the transaction is properly recorded in your books. Note the date of the purchase, the name of the seller (whether it is an individual or a business), the contact information of the seller (if available), the product or service being purchased, the effective sale price, and any other information related to the transaction. You can hand-write a note to document this, as well as entering it into your books.

If you take care to note as much as possible about the transaction, you can then show this information to the government in case you get audited. This information can also be forwarded along to your accountant, who can then have it included as part of your annual tax files.

You see it everywhere, so it must be effective. So many companies offer a range of different promotions, all of which are designed to lure customers into their fold, attracting them away from suitable alternatives and competitors.

With cell phone companies, you oftentimes see the offerings of free or severely discounted (subsidized) mobile phone handsets in exchange for lengthy service contracts. With home Internet service, you can oftentimes see a promotional rate that is only good for the first six months, after which the “regular price” is substantially higher. They bait you and then they make the switch.

Is this ethical? On the one hand, it is very attractive to see promotional prices that are substantially lower than the regular price of the next competitor, but it is very upsetting when the promotional price ends. This is especially true of consumers who don’t bother to look up what the regular price will be at the end of the promotional period, particularly if they lock themselves down into a multi-year contract.

Should the “regular price” be more prominently disclosed up front? Or is all fair in love, war, and marketing? Should the onus fall on the consumer to perform the suitable research needed or should the responsibility fall on the businesses to offer full disclosure?

More and more people are working out of their homes and an increasing number of these people also happen to own their own businesses. They may be independent real estate agents, freelance writers, or professional web designers. Whatever the case, they have legitimate businesses and many have business cards for this reason.

When it comes to most conventional business cards, a standard set of information is included: name, company name, job title, phone number, office address, and email address. That much makes sense, but what if your home also happens to be your office? This could run into some privacy concerns, melding the personal and work worlds a little too much. Do you want your clients and colleagues to know where you live?

On the one hand, you want them to have a mailing address where you can receive letters, shipments, parcels, and the like. On the other hand, it is advisable to separate your work and personal lives just a little bit. One way to overcome this conundrum is to rent a post office box somewhere or to use a mail receiving service of some sort. These are added expenses, however, that not every business owner is prepared to absorb.

And here’s where we turn to you, the Bluefur community: What do you think about the matter? If you own a home-based business, do you include your home address on your business cards?