How to Start an Herbal Business

Write a business plan for your herbal business. Outline your specific focus, such as whether you will cultivate medicinal herbs and sell them wholesale to wellness centers and naturopaths, or whether you will operate a retail store selling herbal products directly to consumers. Provide a marketing plan with concrete details about how you will reach customers interested in herbs and natural health, such as working cooperatively with holistic health practitioners. Attach financial information for your herbal business, including a balance sheet detailing your personal resources. Also include projections showing how much it will cost to buy the herbs and supplies necessary to start your business, and how much you will have to sell in order to break even and earn a profit. Provide specific information about profit margins for growing herbs and crafting herbal products.
Contact your city and state revenue departments and get the licenses necessary to run an herbal business. If you will be hiring employees for your herbal business, contact your state's unemployment insurance and industrial insurance divisions. Call the IRS and register as an employer to receive an employer identification number.
Follow FDA labelling requirements for herbal products, designating them as food supplements rather than medicines. Learn the specific language protocols for legally making claims about the uses and effectiveness of herbal products. Learn which herbs the FDA considers unsafe, such as ephedra, and do not sell them.
Set up a space for your herbal business. If you will be growing herbs, lease or buy a plot of land, as well as fertilizer and seeds. If you will be retailing herbs, lease a storefront in a part of town frequented by your target market, such as an affluent area with yoga studios and natural food stores. Outfit your retail location with shelves for inventory, books and accessories such as mortar and pestle sets. Purchase jars, scoops and labels for bulk herbs, as well as packages of herbs and tinctures, or liquid herbal preparations.
Market your herbal business by advertising in venues that appeal to your target market, such as local holistic health periodicals and food co-op newsletters. Set up booths at local wellness events. Network with naturopaths and other holistic health practitioners who recommend herbal products to their clients. Build an attractive, informative website describing your products and services. Include ecommerce capabilities to reach customers outside your immediate geographic area.
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How to catch accounting and bookkeeping errors

Why we make errors and mistakes Let's begin with with perhaps the # 1 reason why people will make mistakes on the job. And that is: You're extremely busy!You have so many things going on that your attention isn't entirely focused on any one task. And in bookkeeping and accounting, that's a receipe for disaster! These are fields that demand your close attention to details. So if you can, try to reduce or minimize the number of distractions.For instance, set some time aside where you'll be able to work pretty undisturbed. Not having people constantly running up asking you questions. Or see if you can let your phone ring and go into voicemail so you can concentrate on the task at hand. Not checking emails, writing letters, and other things that take your attention away from the main task.In fact, there are many bookkeepers and accounting professionals who work in a more closed or walled off area. That's so they can be free from others and distractions that take their attention off what they're doing. The same is often true for those who do payroll because their function is an accounting one.With students, the same issue applies. They may have other classes, assignments, projects, etc that take their focus and concentration away. Or they may not be majoring in it, so they don't put lots of effort into it. Sometimes, you'll work on things at the last minute or in the 'wee hours' of the day or night when your mind isn't very clear and focused.Once again, these are receipes for disaster! With accounting and bookkeeping, concentration and focus are extremely important. So getting enough rest, eating enough, and working in a more quiet spot help a lot!
Wrong amounts part 1A very common error happens when you write down or enter the wrong amount. Sometimes it happens because your finger hit the wrong key. Other times, it's because your eye wandered and you looked in the wrong spot.For example, you have 20 lines of info to enter. Right now, you're on line 10. It's not uncommon for your eye to accidentially look at something from lines 9 or 11. This is especially true when you're getting tired! And quite often, you'll enter info from the right line (10 in my example). But mixed in with it is something from a different line (9 or 11 in my example). This happens because your eye wandered as you're reading across. It can also happen when you're looking up or down. Your eye may periodically look towards the right or left, picking up a figure from there by mistake.To deal with these sorts of mistakes, I suggest you take a break. Why? Because you may be getting tired, bored, or both. Taking a short break will refresh and energize you so you can focus your attention better afterwards. During this time, you can simply relax a bit before you go back to it. Or you can work on something else to combat boredom. I've gotten up and walked around a little or stretched. Maybe have a little snack or drink something.In other words, use that time to focus your mind on something else! Then go back and work it a little later when you're more relaxed, focused, and energized. This will help you concentrate and lower the possibility of errors.
Wrong amounts part 2 Two more reasons why we'll enter a wrong amount is because of a slipped decimal point or hitting the wrong key.For example, suppose the figure is really supposed to be 15,935.25I may accidentially type 1593.525Why? Because with spreadsheets and accounting software like Peachtree and Quickbooks, you don't have to type the commas in there. So most do not. And this can lead to errors because your eye basically gets confused and sees something else.Example: Instead of 15 thousand, it sees 15 hundred. So 15925.35 becomes 1592.525How do you combat this? Here's one very helpful solution: Slow down!By slowing down, you'll concentrate and focus your attention more on the actual numbers. Going too fast makes it very easy to miss things. And by the time you may catch it, there could be tons of errors already there. Complicating thing more is when you try to fix, you may miss one or more.But slowing down helps you see more errors and fix them. And it helps prevent them again because you're more watchful of what you're doing.Also, taking a break isn't such a bad idea. It'll help refresh you, give your eyes a rest, and energize you.
Swapped or transposed numbers Another common error in accounting and bookkeeping is transposing some numbers. This means putting them in the wrong order.For example: Writting 15925.25 as 15295.25They're extremely close and one could very easily miss the swapped 9 and 2. Especially when you have the same number(s) in other places. In my example, you have two number 2's and three number 5's. Your eye may be fooled into just counting how many there are, rather than focusing on the exact spot where they are.To help catch these errors, I suggest you print things out and take a close look at the numbers to verify you've got them right. Sometimes that piece of paper helps us focus a litte better because we don't have that screen glare. It also allows you to use a ruler to help focus attention on individual lines of numbers.If you prefer to look at it on screen, then I suggest increasing the zoom to make things larger. This will help things stand out better, making easier to spot.To help prevent these errors from happening again, work slower! By slowing down, you'll keep a more watchful eye on what you're doing. And that will lower the prospects of hitting or typing the wrong thing.
Incorrect amount Some people actually prefer doing things the 'old fashioned way,' using paper and pencil to enter things. Why? Because they can write it their way without a computer's interference.For example, I can setup Excel, accounting software, or a calculator so it automatically puts in the decimal point adjusting for dollars and cents. So all I have to type are the actual numbers. For instance, if I were to type 1830, the system would display 18.30However, some pefer to manually type the decimal point in there. Why? Because they can hit it exactly where it's needed. In other words, I know I hit it in the exact spot where it belongs. So there's no way the system can mess up.In other words, the 1830 you just typed that the system took as 18.30 may really be one thousand eight hundred and thirty. So you should have typed 1830.See the differenc? 1830 vs 1830.That dot (decimal point) at the end makes all the difference! a) 1830 = 18.30
b) But 1830. = 1,830So it's the difference between eighteen and one thousand eight hundred.Another problem with letting the system add in the decimal point is this. You may get so used to it that one day, when things aren't setup that way, you'll have a hard time adjusting to manually typing in the decimal point.This happens quite often when people switch offices, companies, or jobs. The system may not be setup the same way that you had it and are used to. Plus, I could setup the system so it doesn't automatically adjust for the decimal point. You may incorrectly assume it would and miss the fact it did not.So I suggest hitting that decimal point yourself rather than leaving it up to the system to put it in there for you. This way, you'll lower possible incorrect entries.
Wrong account It's not uncommon for someone to accidentially record or post something to the wrong account. This happens mainly because you're busy and weren't concentrating hard enough. In other words, you chose an account that was either above or below the one you meant to select.Once again, work slower to help prevent this from happening. And if you're posting manually, which many smaller businesses and offices do, then I suggest posting one account at a time.In other words, don't post all transactions for a period of time. Focus your attention on doing one particular account. This way, your chances of posting an entry to one account to the ledger of another will be lower.Another suggestion for accounting software programs like Quickbooks and Peachtree is to hide the inactive accounts. I've seen many students and workers accidentially pick an inactive account no longer in use when recording transactions. Why? Because it's in the list and they hit it by mistake.But hiding inactive ones will remove them from view, so you won't see them at all. Nor will they be available when selecting accounts. In other words, they're completely unavailable for use!And if you work at a place where they didn't even set certain accounts as inactive, which I've seen before, then change their status to inactive. Go into the chart of account feature, select the account, and make it inactive.
Wrong side Another common mistake people will make is to enter something on the wrong side. In other words, they'll debit something that should have been credited, and vice-verse.Sometimes this happens because you lost your concentration or became bored. Once again, working slower and taking a short break can be extremely helpful here!But another reason why this can happen is you see the opposite side first.For instance, I've had students who needed to record the following transaction: Sold $500 worth of merchandise on account.They'll immediately see the 'sold' first and say, 'Ah ha, I need to credit sales.' So that's exactly what they'll do: Credit the sales account.Now as far as software like Peachtree and Quickbooks are concerned, they don't care if you enter the debit side first or the credit side. All they care about is that the two sides balance. So if you entered that 500 credit to sales first, the computer wouldn't have a problem with it. And your ledgers, trial balance, and financial statements would all be right because you did credit the proper account.Yet we all know that in bookkeeping and accounting, debits come first! So when you record transactions, the debits to accounts would be entered before your credits.In my example, the student would need to first enter the debit to accounts receivable. And then put in the credit to sales.Now if you find yourself in a position where you've identified the account(s) to credit because that either jumped out at you or was easier to identify, write it down on paper.This way, you won't have to go back and make a correction to the system later on. Believe me, you'll forget you made that mistake as time goes by. And when you look at your books, you'll focus on the fact that the debit and credit sides balance. So entering something on the wrong side can very easily go unnoticed.But writing it down on paper will help lower these errors because nothing has been entered into the system yet. Once you've found your offsetting debit(s), then you can put those into the system, and then transfer what you wrote on paper to the credit side.Now you're good!
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Easy Way to Make Money Online Without Buying Anything

Sign up at paid-to-click sites. There are many sites that will pay you to click on ads, pay you to read emails and pay you to post in forums. The work can be a little boring, but it is definitely an easy way to make money. Some sites will pay you only a few cents per click or email but those cents add up. You can visit sites such as Cash Crate or Treasure Trooper.
Write articles. You do not have to be an English major or a writing expert to make extra income. If you can write a simple sentence, you have what it takes to make money by writing online. Many sites pay you $3 to $20 an article. You can sign up at sites such as Break Studios. Many sites will require a sample of your writing, so send them your best work. For most of these sites you can write as many or as few articles as you like.
Complete offers. Sites such as Treasure Trooper and Cash Crate will pay you to complete trial offers. You have to be careful because it is possible to lose money. When you sign up for an offer, many businesses will ask for a credit card. For example, if you sign up for a one-month trial and do not cancel your account before the trial is over, you will be charged. The key to making money with this is to cancel the offer before the end of the trial date. Once it is verified you completed the offer, you will get a payment. Make sure you have a separate email account specifically for completing offers because you might get a lot of spam.
Complete surveys. Some surveys can be short, and others can be long and tedious. Apply to as many survey companies as you can. Survey sites will ask you to complete a personal profile. Fill out as much of the profile as you can. The more you fill out, the more likely you will be chosen to complete a survey. Some sites also will choose you for more surveys if you complete the surveys on a consistent basis. You should never pay to complete a survey. You can sign up to take surveys at sites such as Survey Savvy , Hcd Research and Esearch. Create a separate email for receiving surveys because you can get a lot of spam.
Sell photos. If you like taking pictures, there are sites that will pay you for submitting your digital pictures. Some sites pay you from 20 cents to$28 per picture every time someone downloads your photo. The more photos you submit, the more you can make. Remember never to put all your eggs into one basket. Sign up with more than one site. Sites that will pay you for your photos include Dreamstime, Crestock, Fotolia, Shutterstock and 123RF.
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