For 2005, you must file a Schedule C for period of January 1 through February 28, when your business was still a Sole Proprietorship. And you must also file a corporate income tax return for March 1 through December 31.

Maybe that's no big deal. Maybe you enjoy filing one business income tax return so much, filing a second one doesn't bother you. And it may be that inconvenience of filing two tax returns in 2005 is far outweighed by legal and tax advantages of incorporating.

Keep in mind, too, that 2005 will be only year you have to do this "double duty". In 2006 you will only have to file corporate income tax return.

But if you are thinking about incorporating, best time to do it, from a tax paperwork standpoint, is as of January 1. Only then do you have a "clean break" from old sole proprietorship to new corporation.

This timing issue can also be relevant if you decide to make switch late in year. If effective date of incorporation is November 15, you will have to file a Schedule C for January 1 through November 14, and a corporate return for November 15 through December 31. In that scenario, you should ask yourself, "Do benefits of incorporating outweigh convenience of waiting until January 1?"

So before you decide when to incorporate, take a moment to reflect on tax reporting consequences of incorporating on January 1 vs. any other date.

Sometimes it may make sense to wait a few weeks (as in second example), and sometimes it makes sense to "do it now", especially when January 1 is nearby.

Wayne M. Davies is author of 3 tax-slashing eBooks for the self-employed, available separately or as a 3-volume set, "The Ultimate Small Business Tax Reduction Guide". http://www.YouSaveOnTaxes.com/ultimate-guide

Maybe your goal this New Year isn’t recruitment, but sales growth. Make a list of creative ways that you can encourage customers to consider your products. You can jumpstart this year’s sales by offering “After Christmas” specials, after-purchase freebies, contests and more.

One way that many home-based business owners online neglect to take advantage of is signature line in emails and when posting in forums. This can be a great tool to advertise your business, specials and contests. I receive many emails from business owners who do not include a signature line with their business name, and sometimes they fail to even put their name at end of email! This is not only unprofessional, but makes it much more difficult to find out more about their business. Every email sent this way is a potential sale lost.

The “freebie” is another great sales booster. Everybody (especially women) loves to get something for nothing. Consider offering a small thank you token when a purchase is made. No matter how inexpensive value of “freebie” may be, it can still be a great incentive! It can also foster customer loyalty and repeat business.

If you have an online business reciprocal linking can be a great way to jumpstart business. The more sites that link to yours, more visits your website will receive. Linking also helps you place higher in Search Engine listings. Take time to search for sites with similar content and request a link exchange. This is almost always a win-win situation for both sites.

Jumpstarting your business for New Year can be a challenge, but if you take time to be creative and put some effort towards it, it can be very rewarding. Use resources available in this information age: Leads Programs, Link Exchanges and signature lines. God Bless you in New Year!