Perhaps you are starting a home business offering professional services. Whether you are an electrician or a proofreader, your biggest question is: “How do I make my business known?” Here are some tips from others who have faced this question. They can help you build a thriving business–right from your home.

Keep track of the business miles that you are driving, since the federal government assigns them a monetary value each year that is deductible. Business miles include all miles driven in order for you to be able to conduct business. It is best to keep a ledger in your car, and use it fanatically to log every mile. This will aid you greatly when it comes time to do your taxes.

When you start a home based business, make sure to choose a product or service that you are truly passionate about. Chances are that during the first few years of business, you are going to be spending a great deal of time working. If you choose a product or service that excites you, it will be easier to stick with it no matter how much work it takes.

Don’t let yourself get stressed out. If you do begin to feel this way, take a break. Go for a walk around the block or get a snack. It can be hard enough starting your own home business, but trying to balance everything out can be overwhelming for most people.

When you start a home business, you need to consider whether you want to carry the responsibilities of every aspect of the business or if you would like to hire outside help, to take care of things. You may want to hire an accountant to keep the books for your business, so you do not find that you have made several mistakes come tax time.

When you are trying to run your own home business, it is of utmost importance that you are very organized when it comes to your paperwork. You must keep track of all financial papers and any other documentation that you have. Often times, if this is not organized you can get yourself into trouble.

If you are able to sell your home business product wholesale, look for businesses that would benefit from your product’s presence. After you’ve narrowed down your search results, email each company and ask if they’d like a free sample pack of your product. This tip tends to yield excellent results!

Get a “DBA” or “Doing Business As” license through your state to get your business registered. Your local chamber of commerce, or even your bank, can help you do this. You can keep your business and personal money separate, and this method is usually not very costly.

Determine what your budget should be and stick to it. One thing that causes new business to fail is not making or not sticking to a budget. The cost of running a business can add up quickly so make your decisions carefully and track every penny you spend and account for it in your budget plans.

A good home business tip is to order your own business cards. In the professional world, having a business card is not only important, it’s expected. Having a clean, presentable business card can go a long way in helping your home business look more professional. You can order them cheaply if you search online.

A great home business tip is to do everything you can to make your business stand out. Customers will always go with a business that’s more experienced and distinct. A great way to make your business stand out is to offer excellent customer service as well as great products.

The internet is the perfect place to promote your home business. Create a customer friendly website, or hire someone to do it for you. Provide useful content for your customers, and give them the opportunity to order your products online as well as maintain contact with you. Look for more ways on how to make a great website for your company.

When in doubt, speak with a professional accountant or business adviser before you consider writing off certain items and services related to your home business taxes. The government has very specific regulations defining write offs, and the penalties for writing inappropriate items off on your tax returns can be very costly.

Always track the miles you drive for business. This can be deducted from your taxes but you must be sure that any logs you’ve kept are accurate. You also should be able to back yourself up with proof.

A great tip for your home business is to not only hold contests on your website but to also widely publicize the contests. This will bring in a wide variety of customers that might not have ever considered going to your site. Having contests almost always will give you a good name.

You can build great backlinks to your website, raising your Google Page Rank, through posting on forums which are related to what your home business is selling. For example, a landscaper could post advice on a gardening forum and include a link to his site in his signature, if he is permitted by the rules of the forum!

Diversify your home business until you find what will make you the most income. If you are a landscaper in the summer, offer leaf raking and snow blowing services when your summer work is over. If you’re an English tutor, offer editing or transcribing services to local businesses. You may find that you love doing the new services even more than your original offerings, and they could pay better!

These tips have given you a lot of sound advice. You are probably planning your Linked-In entry and your Facebook page right now. The internet is a big help. But as these tips have shown, there are also other ways to make your business known. Diligent effort can bring you a thriving business and an important place in your community.