New Audio Recording: House-call Grooming with Laura Hearn, Author/Speaker

[Admin]

http://tobtr.com/s/10506429

Excellent information and resources for anyone thinking about house-call grooming. For any newbies on the board, house-call is generally the term applied to groomers grooming in the homes of pet owners, and not with a mobile vehicle. Essential information and resources. Laura Hearn is a noted speaker at trade shows on this topic and author of A Practical Guide to House-call Grooming.

[Emma123]

Useful interview.
I was surprised that she had what sounds like a hard time with the IRS due to underpaying taxes. I made the same error. For me, it was very easy to apply for a payment plan online at the IRS site. I wish I had been smarter and not underpaid, but once I did, the IRS just needed to know I was on a plan for repayment. There was a fee, but not an outrageous fee.

[Stephen]

Most people not familiar with working for themselves, self-employment, don't accurately follow two guidelines required by the IRS.
1) Not making estimated tax payments during the year and waiting to pay them with annual returns only. On a quarterly basis you add up sales income, deduct operating expenses for that quarter, and the net is taxable subject to Fed Inc Tax, a double dose of FICA/Medicare (see #2 below) and the same for state level taxation. It used to be if you didn't make these estimated tax payments during the year, and waiting for your final 1040 long form and you owed $500 or more, you got a stern warning letter or worse.
2) Forgetting the extra taxes for self-employment, the Schedule SE form. Here is where the individual pays FICA/Medicare TWICE the rate normally deducted from a paycheck as an employee. This one can add up quickly.

It's actually worth having a bookkeeper assist you with quarterly estimates. It doesn't have to be a CPA to estimate your quarterlies, most bookkeepers can compute this for you for a reasonable fee. Save the CPA for annual filings if looking to save $$.

I have seen many groomer books over the years, and many forget to keep mileage log for personal use of their car running errands for their businesses. You usually get over 50 cents a mile, and it is business expense, and not taxable income. For some that can add up.

Probably 3/4 of newly self employed sole proprietors run into this same problem.

[TootsiePie]

Laura I think you did a great job and I bet your book is great for house-call. You can tell just by listening to you. I have a friend who is probably going to switch from sitting only to sitting and grooming, I will let her know.