Thinking of starting my own planning site . . .

[Green Tea]

I got the $6,000.00 amount off of the State of Alabama Department of Revenue site.

http://www.ador.state.al.us/incometax/itfaq01.htm

But, I will call my husband's accountant to double check the info and make sure I am intrepreting it correctly.

That is regarding taxes due to the state. The federal income tax code is not the same as what state's set for themselves.

Plus, if you file jointly with your husband, all income is counted together. Say he earns $100 and you earn $4. The total income is $104. Not his $100 and you don't have to report.

Your accountant and attorney can help protect you in the business venture.

 

[DisMomme]

I like Mouse House Vacations.

Good Luck, keep us posted and let us know when you have a FB page or webpage set up.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Another one voting here for Mouse House Vacations....I give you credit for wanting to do this...I myself would love to have a grocery delivery service since I now live here and there seem to be only one or 2 that deliver to the resorts...haven't got a clue how to start one up....web site the whole 9 yards ..... so I will live my "dream" through you so keep us posted Good Luck

 

[dicar123]

I vote for Mouse House too. Wouldn't it be great to make money doing something you totally love, and probably would be doing anyway?

Here is what NOT to do!

I was planning a trip with my neice who had never been to WDW, and in the course of that, typed up a dozen pages or so of restaurant choices, rides she MUST ride, others that were more optional.

Later, I had friends who were taking about a Disney trip, so I added on a little reservation info, EMH days to avoid, park times, etc. The document grew bigger.

Several months later friends of my husband's were talking about going and their daughter has major allergies, so I added a section on allergies and contact info for people who will help with that.

This little document is, at last count, 35 pages long. NO ONE read it.

Both sets of friends came home and said they had a great time, which really was the whole point. But when they told me they only rode 5 rides all day because of the lines, I nearly choked.

Seriously, they paid no attention at all! I read 3 guidebooks and DIS boards for six months and they couldn't skim 35 pages for the really important bolded sentences that said, Ride Dumbo first! Be in the parking lot 30 minutes before the park opens!

So. Don't do that.

 

[Feralpeg]

All of Disney's dining reservations can be done on-line now. There are a handful of ADRs and shows that do require a credit card hold. In the past, when I have booked one of the CC hold reservations, I have told the individual prior to the making the reservation and they gave me their cc number. I will check into the possible liabilites in booking the CC hold reservations.

As far as self-imployment and taxes, I believe, I have to make over $6,000.00 to have to claim the income. If by chance, I make over that amount I will let our accountant know. My husband owns two tire and automotive businesses.

Thanks for your input.

I don't know about your state, but I made less that $6000 on my business and had to claim it all on my taxes. A lot of it depends on how you establish the business. If it is set up as a sole proprietorship, the money you earn becomes part of any other income you make during the year from any source.

You will need a business license. Check your state laws on sales tax. Since what you will be providing is a service, you may not have to collect sales tax.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I don't know about your state, but I made less that $6000 on my business and had to claim it all on my taxes. A lot of it depends on how you establish the business. If it is set up as a sole proprietorship, the money you earn becomes part of any other income you make during the year from any source.

You will need a business license. Check your state laws on sales tax. Since what you will be providing is a service, you may not have to collect sales tax.

I do have to check with out account about all of the tax issues, but I did find out that I don't need a business license because it would be run out of my home and we are outside of the city limits. Thanks for the input about the taxes, though.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

People have actually told me I should start a business doing this exact thing. My DH mentioned it again last night because this week we received an email from a friend who has a friend going to Disney and they wanted advice about what attractions they should focus on for their DD5. They came to me because they know I know a lot about Disney. And last night we were with other friends (who have a DD who is 1 1/2) and we started talking about when they should go and what things they should consider. I just started tossing out ideas, advice, tips...and they were amazed.

I think there's such a huge amount of info involved in a Disney trip that we (who keep up with Disney news and who are reading and sharing discussion boards like these) take for granted all the info we've amassed in our brains!! I can't imaging starting from scratch with no knowledge of the hotels, parks, etc.

All these factoids and details make a very big impact on the success of a trip...IMHO that is!!

Good luck with your venture!

I totally agree! Thanks for the well wishes!

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Another one voting here for Mouse House Vacations....I give you credit for wanting to do this...I myself would love to have a grocery delivery service since I now live here and there seem to be only one or 2 that deliver to the resorts...haven't got a clue how to start one up....web site the whole 9 yards ..... so I will live my "dream" through you so keep us posted Good Luck

That is a great idea too! You should totally follow up on that. Like you said, there are really only two services that really do that, there's definitely room for more. I say go for it!

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I vote for Mouse House too. Wouldn't it be great to make money doing something you totally love, and probably would be doing anyway?

Here is what NOT to do!

I was planning a trip with my neice who had never been to WDW, and in the course of that, typed up a dozen pages or so of restaurant choices, rides she MUST ride, others that were more optional.

Later, I had friends who were taking about a Disney trip, so I added on a little reservation info, EMH days to avoid, park times, etc. The document grew bigger.

Several months later friends of my husband's were talking about going and their daughter has major allergies, so I added a section on allergies and contact info for people who will help with that.

This little document is, at last count, 35 pages long. NO ONE read it.

Both sets of friends came home and said they had a great time, which really was the whole point. But when they told me they only rode 5 rides all day because of the lines, I nearly choked.

Seriously, they paid no attention at all! I read 3 guidebooks and DIS boards for six months and they couldn't skim 35 pages for the really important bolded sentences that said, Ride Dumbo first! Be in the parking lot 30 minutes before the park opens!

So. Don't do that.

Well, you know what they say, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink." lol!

Thanks for the post!

 

[terri01p]

 

[JoShan1719]

But, I've had people call me who had a very bad experiences with AAA and with local TAs who didn't have any real knowledge of Disney. One local TA told my neighbor she could get her on a wait list to stay in the castle!

And this is where a business like yours comes in handy. I work at a hotel and had a guest check in the other day whose reservation was wrong. He told the travel agent he wanted to stay at our "Yacht Club" and she booked him at our "Beach Club"

I know they sound the same, but the actual buildings are 10 minutes away from each other driving. One is literally on the beach and the other one isn't. Big difference. And this happens all the time and all I can tell them is they have to call their TA because they own the reservation so we can't touch them.

And while it's true that anyone can do what you're doing if they just do some research, a lot of people don't have the time. I've had people take one look at my planning books and decide there's too much involved and they get scared. That's when they run to your run-of-the-mill TA who doesn't know anything about Disney other than there's a castle in Orlando and everything gets screwed up. I think things will work out great for you considering you already have a following... those people will come back to you because their trips have already gone great. Word of mouth is powerful stuff. I wish you lots of luck!

 

[Jeanne B]

I like Mouse House Vacations but it limits you to just Disney planning...if you ever decided to expand and plan trips outside of Disney that name wouldn't fit your business any longer so I guess my vote is for Magical Family Vacations.

 

[Green Tea]

There are similar names to mouse house already used for vacation sites. You will have to find something that doesn't step on anyone else's domains