A Publication of The Handmade Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Vol. 5, Issue 32
To subscribe, click here.

Absolutely Yummy Tropical Butter is a new recipe offered by an HBC reader in Hawaii. I'd rather go there, but until I get the chance, perhaps this recipe will smell and feel good enough to transport me there -- if only temporarily.

When you visit MakeYourCosmetics.com, it's easy to buy the ingredients you need by clicking on our Selected Supplier links:

Essential Wholesale: pure essential oils, over 200 cosmetic bases, hundreds of carrier/fixed oils such as meadowfoam, cranberry, jojoba and shea butter plus a new Short Run Private Labeling Program!

Bramble Berry, Inc.: over 105 different fragrance and essential oils (including their exclusive "Energy" and "Relaxing"), all soap tested, soap molds and unscented soap bases!

SunRose Aromatics, LLC: pure essential oils (many organic & wild crafted), carrier oils, solvent free shea butter rare & exotic perfume materials (visit the Perfumers Emporium), supplies, accessories and more. GC/MS tested to ensure quality.

The Scent Shack: fragrance oils and soap supplies. Fragrance oils are pre-tested in cold process, melt & pour soap, and candles, and test results are listed at the Web site. Scents tested by soapers for soapers!

From Nature With Love: over 1,600 ingredients and supplies, including cosmetic ingredients, spa supplies, bath accessories and packaging supplies!

This Week's Question: The Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002 was signed into law with the purpose of encouraging employers to hire members of specific groups that experience significant barriers to entering the workforce. The law, also known as the "welfare-to-work" program, allows employers to enjoy a tax credit of a certain percentage of wages paid to persons who have qualified as a long term recipients of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families or Aid to Families with Dependent Children. To win this week, state the percentage of the welfare-to-work tax credit.

These are just some of the praises for the Handmade Beauty Cookbook!! Don't miss this sneak preview of our book, which will be made available for purchase exclusively from Handmade Beauty Network members soon!!

Enjoy recipes like Citrus Spa Salt Glow by DK Mind & Body, Eczema & Dry Patch Balm by Essential Wholesale, Cocoa-Castile Soap The Scent Shack and Island Blossom Cream by Fallen Muse WebWorks and so many more!

\Life.Style CEO\n.  A person who owns and manages a business, not solely for financial gain, but also to enjoy the personal rewards of entrepreneurship, independence, flexibility and fun.

Throughout my business life, I have heard it said that if you have any income no matter where it comes from, you should always "pay yourself first". That sounds good. It also sounds kind of easy, especially if you have a regular 9 to 5 job where someone else can worry about automatically deducting funds from each paycheck and placing them into an IRA, money market fund, savings account or other financially safe location.

But for Lifestyle CEOs, in particular those who rely entirely on income from their businesses to make a living, contributing to savings it's rarely so simple. While saving is wise in whatever form it can be practiced, it's a sad but true fact of entrepreneurial life that the capital needed to run a business usually exceeds the capital on hand. It is especially difficult to plan a financial future when discretionary funds are needed to sustain the business. The business owner usually gets the leftovers. As it becomes less and less likely that we will be able to rely on Social Security and other traditional savings means far into the future, it is even more important that we be proactive about finding ways to pay ourselves first. No doubt, it's hard. But there are some exciting ways to build saving for the future into your everyday business plan one small step at a time. Here are a few tips for doing so.

1. IRA Plans.

These plans are set up by banks to allow small businesses with a small number of employees to contribute funds to an investment account and choose how to invest the contributions made in their behalf. The contributions are usually tax deductible and the accounts are relatively easy to set up and maintain. You can contribute generally up to 15% of annual compensation, or up to $3,000.00 (or $6,000.00 if you are married) to the account and you may be able to vary contributions annually to account for leaner or more profitable years. Over the years, these contributions can add up to a substantial sum of money and they are generally tax deferred so you only pay taxes on them when they are withdrawn and used. In the meantime, they are tax deductible. IRAs are attractive plans for Lifestyle CEOs who are just starting to invest for retirement.

2. Buy A Home.

Depending on where you buy, the wealth you could accumulate through increased property values and home improvements could be significant. My friend Shari runs her home-based business making children's clothing on a shoestring budget. Shari and her husband are not in a position to consider committing to monthly deposits into IRAs or 401K programs, but they used a substantial financial gift from their parents to buy a home in an area where the property values continue to climb. They consider their home as an investment which will pay off in the future. Considering that they would pay nearly as much per month to rent an apartment, the monthly payment toward a home of their own only makes sense. Assuming property values continue to soar, and if Shari and her husband maintain and improve their home, they could sell it in 20 or 30 years and pocket a substantial net sum for retirement, even after taxes.

3. Good Old Fashioned Savings.

My friend James is a bit of a control freak. He likes to have as much control of his money as he can, and he feels best when he has a savings account where he can directly associate money in the bank with a deposit made into an account. Money markets and investment accounts seem sort of "vaporous" to him and he prefers to make a deposit and see it in the bank the next day. The good old fashioned savings plan has worked well for him over the years. At the beginning of each month, he simply tallies up the receipts from the previous month and deposits 1% of the total into a savings account. How simple is that? It may not be the best way to maximize savings but it at least gets the ball rolling. If you have no savings plan and no time to investigate the alternatives at present, this may be a great way for you to get the savings ball rolling.

4. Reduce Debt.

If you are not in a position to save anything and cannot afford to buy a home because of outstanding debt or a poor credit rating, reducing your debt as quickly as possible is also a great way to save money. Maintaining debt at a higher interest rate than you can earn through a savings account makes no sense. The better alternative is to pay down the debt as quickly as possible, thereby minimizing interest charges. This is a great alternative for anyone who has gotten into credit card trouble and for whom debt free living is a goal. Since you have to pay off the credit cards anyway, consider that for every dollar paid in excess of the minimum payment required, you save significant interest charges. In this way, you really are saving money and as the interest charges decrease, the difference can be saved a little at a time. 

I am not a financial advisor, and it's a good thing because by now, I would probably have escorted a lot of people to the poor house! If you're like me, considering these financial issues can be a real drag -- and scary too since many of us feel incompetent when it comes to handling money. But don't let a healthy respect for money lull you into complacency. Even if you cannot save anything now, you owe it to yourself, your business and your family (if you have one), to investigate the most feasible ways to pay yourself first so that you can live as comfortably as possible into the sunset of your life.

The information provided here is not intended to render legal, financial, accounting or other professional services or advice. For assistance you can count on, contact a professional financial services advisor in your area. Consult the American Savings Education Council for helpful information.

Visit our suite of Web sites serving the handmade toiletries industry:

HandmadeBeauty.com: the leading industry trade organization
MangoButter.com: 450+ suppliers of raw materials and packaging, updated weekly!
MakeYourCosmetics.com: ingredient encyclopedia & original cosmetics recipes
DonnaMaria.com: sound advice for your small business, Create The Life You Love™