Do you want to discover your passion and turn it into an ethical online home based business? If you do, the internet makes it easier than ever to reach your target market. This article will explore steps you can take to build an online business around your passion.Here are seven essential steps for building your online home based business around your passions:1. Discover what you are passionate about. Find something that has meaning for you. You don’t have to find your passion to do something you love. I have found that people who aren’t interested in what they are doing, give up at the first obstacle they encounter.A technique I recommend is called the elimination technique. First, you write down all your interests and what you enjoy doing. Be sure to write everything down without censoring.Second, eliminate anything that doesn’t make much sense and arrive at a short list. Third, compare what’s left and decide on which one means the most to you.As an example, let’s say your short list consists of online home based business, personal development and real estate. Compare personal development to online home based business. Then I compared real estate to online home based business. The winner for me was online home based business.If you can’t use this elimination technique to arrive at just one, no problem. Perhaps, you can blend together your passions to create something valuable and unique.2. Determine the viability of turning your passion into a business. Find out if anyone is doing what you want to do. Competition means that people are making money. Look at what is working and what is not working, and determine your strategy for standing out. Ask for advice or find a mentor or coach.3. Focus on who you can help, why they should listen to you, and what you help them with. Everyone has a different set of problems, and you need to focus on a specific set of problems to be effective. This enables you to speak to customers in language they understand. The “why” tells them why they can trust you to know what you are talking about.4. Use a blogging platform. Blogging is one of the most effective ways of getting the word out about your business, if you know what you are doing. Blogs are excellent at attracting customers. You will need to build an email list to turn visitors into prospects who want what you offer.5. Give your readers what they want by asking, interviewing and researching. Look at their comments and emails, and ask them about what they are struggling with. Get into their minds. You need to help them come closer to what they want. The readers have problems, and they need solutions to those problems. If you listen to what your readers are saying, you will know what to write about.6. What are you going to sell? If you aren’t selling something, you don’t have a business. If you choose to create an information product or offer coaching or consulting, the focus has to be on who you are serving. Perhaps you can create an audio course, tele-seminar series, small e-book, or audio course. Once you listen to your readers and create a product to solve their problems, chances are that the product will sell well. Just keep the spotlight on your readers.Most importantly, take action. Create it and get feedback. Then improve it.7. “Feel the fear, but just do it anyway.” Yes, we’ve all heard that before. The fear is a sign that you are on the right track. Just decide whether you will give into the fear or not. Pushing the fear away doesn’t work. At least, it hasn’t worked for me. What does work is accepting the fear.Try this method that I learned from a coach: Observe the fear without judging or trying to figure it out. Then welcome it. Accept it. Let it be there. Take action anyway.If you are afraid of failing, understand that you are going to fail lots of times as you build your own business. The goal is to learn from your failures.Starting an online home based business is not easy. Get ready to put in the hours and work hard if you want to be successful. Building a business based on your passions will make it easier to stick it out when it gets tough. The steps above will help you turn your passions into a profitable online home based business.

Ah, the old-fashioned country auction! The idea of a country auction conjures up certain images for people. The image of a fast-talking auctioneer offering up an antique table or chair is a popular example.

People who are buying household goods or collectibles are looking to get their items at the lowest price possible. However, the people who are selling their items at auction are hoping for the highest price!

Unless a person is in the business of buying and selling antiques or other items, not a lot of thought goes into how goods are prepared for sale via the auction process. However, if you are one of the growing number of people using auction venues to sell your collectibles or other inventory, there are a few things to learn first about how to sell at auction before you bring a truckload of stuff over to the next event.

Tip 1: Make sure the things you want to sell are a good “fit” for the auction house you’ll be using.

Never bring a load to an auction house without actually having been to one of the previous auctions. It’s important to get a feel for the type of goods that the house sells. For example, at one very rural country auction it was common for the owners to sell live chickens, pots and pans, car parts, and farm equipment.

After close investigation, this would not be the right venue for selling your daughter’s “Hello Kitty” collection. On the other hand, the spare John Deere parts that you bought at last week’s yard sale might be just the right thing for the buying crowd at this auction.

Tip 2: Be sure you clearly understand the terms and policies of the auction house.

Visit with the auctioneer ahead of time. Call to find out what the best days and times are to visit. One of the worst possible times to drop in for an informational visit with an auctioneer is the day of the auction. Call ahead and ask. While you’re at it, find out what are the best days and times to drop your stuff off.

Once you have a little time with the auctioneer, you’ll be able to find out what type of commission he or she takes from consigners (which is you), and what type of paperwork might be needed. Some auction houses send out Form 1099 tax forms at the end of the year. An auctioneer may need to see your identification and have you fill out a W-9. Be prepared.

Find out what happens to your items if they don’t sell. For example, some auctioneers may have a minimum starting bid. If, for some reason, one of your items does not sell, it may be grouped with another one of your pieces. Know the auctioneer’s strategy beforehand so that you aren’t surprised on pay day.

Tip 3: Make sure the auctioneer knows what you’re selling.

It might be perfectly obvious to you that the signed print you are consigning is a rare and valuable piece of art. However, the auctioneer may not know this particular artist. Make a note of anything particularly special about your items, and leave the note with the piece. Be sure to tell the auctioneer about it as well. He or she might determine that this is something to highlight on the company website or in the newspaper listing.

Tip 4: Present your items neatly.

No one likes to have to dig through a box full of grimy and greasy car parts to see what treasures might be in there. Separate the parts and lay them out on a flat, or use more than one box to de-clutter the lot.

There is no need to buy fancy display boxes. It’s easy enough to go to the local convenience store or supermarket and ask if you can have the emptied boxes or flats that they are discarding.

While it’s good to present clean items, take care not to ruin the value of anything by over cleaning. For example, if you find some old cast iron cookware, clean the obvious dirt and grime, but don’t scrub it to its original finish. For many people, this ruins the value of the item. So, clean and tidy and organized is the key here.

Tip 5: Don’t complain to the auctioneer if your stuff doesn’t sell for as much as you’d like.

The phrase to remember here is, “You win some; you lose some.” That’s just the way it is. There are some days where an auction house is loaded with people who all seem to want what you’re selling. There will be other days where the crowd is sparse, and the bidding is simply not competitive.

Remember that it’s in the auctioneer’s best interest to sell your things for the highest possible hammer price. But sometimes, it’s just not going to be a stellar sale. The auctioneer is only human, and is also disappointed if a sale doesn’t go as well as planned.

If you notice that every time you bring a bunch of goods to sell that you’re not realizing as much as you think you honestly should, try another auction venue and compare apples to apples. That is, bring the same types of items to the new auctioneer and compare the results.

Unless the auctioneer is particularly disagreeable or inconsiderate to you or buyers, there is no reason to confront him or her about a sale. If you find you just don’t care for an auctioneer’s style or methods, find another one. Believe me, there are plenty of them out there!

The primary thing to remember as you learn how to sell at auction is that the business is unpredictable at best. You will have good days, some not-so-good days, some great days. The more you sell, the more experience you will gain, and the more enjoyable the business will be.

If you are new to running an Internet home based business or even if you are an experienced entrepreneur, it is crucial to understand that you must file a tax return. Here are some tax tips and guidelines to make filing your next tax return trouble-free:First and foremost you need an accounting ledger booklet. You can deduct the cost of your mileage and the accounting ledger. Keep a mileage tracking sheet in your car and record all business related travel mileage.Keep Track of Household Utility CostsIf you have a room in your home that is used only for your Internet business and nothing else, you will be able to deduct a portion of your utilities. Yes, that is correct, home utilities such as gas, electricity and even garbage pick-up are allowable tax deductions. It is critical to keep your payment receipts in your accounting ledger.Other Allowable Business ExpensesYou will also be able to deduct payments to your Internet service provider. If you have a created a website that you paid for, you will be able to deduct costs for domain name and a hosting plan. Other allowable items could be anything you have purchased to maintain your business such as; copy machines, scanners, ink cartridges, office furniture and supplies.Advertising Expenses and Membership FeesYou can also deduct marketing and advertising expenses as well as home business opportunity affiliate membership fees.In conclusion, keep track of any money earned with your Internet business. Income earned has to be reported to the IRS as well. Be sure you keep track of all your mileage, utilities, office supplies and income in your accounting ledger. Do not be concerned about being audited by the IRS. If you have all supporting documents and filed properly on time, there is no reason for you to be audited.If at any time you are not sure about something when filing your taxes, by all means, seek the services of a tax professional for your Internet home based business.