Problem: Article: Discuss with your spouse how much time you would like to take off and what you can afford financially. Be aware that most maternity leave is unpaid in the U.S. Keep track of your monthly expenses in order to estimate how much you are spending, then make a post-baby budget that adds in things like increased insurance premiums, diapers, and baby formula. This will allow you to determine how much money you need to cover you time away from work. In the United States, you may have guaranteed unpaid leave lasting 12 weeks or more, or even guaranteed paid leave, depending on the state where you work. In all other nations save Lesotho, Swaziland, and Papua New Guinea, you are guaranteed paid maternity leave, typically lasting 3 months.  In the U.S., if you work at a company with 50 or more employees, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1983 guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a newborn or an adopted child, provided you have worked in the country for over a year.  Also check the maternity leave policies in your state. California, New Jersey, and Rhode Island provide 4 to 6 weeks of paid maternity leave. Other states have laws offering disability insurance or requiring maternity leave regardless of the size of the company you work for. Check here for an overview of the applicable laws in your state. If you belong to a union, it may also offer maternity benefits. Consult the employee manual or talk to someone in HR. Your company may offer paid leave or unpaid leave in excess of that guaranteed by law. According to a 2012 study by the Family and Work Institute, the average company policy allows for 14 weeks of leave, though much of that is typically unpaid. If talking to someone in HR, consider asking:  Does the company offer paid maternity leave? For how many weeks? Does it offer short-term disability insurance? For how many weeks? At what percentage of pay? How many vacation, personal, or sick days do I have? Are there limitations on how I can use them? Can I take vacation or sick days in advance (i.e. ones you have not yet accrued)? Will taking unpaid leave delay any raises or promotions? Will the company continue to cover my health insurance, or will I need to pay the premiums if on unpaid leave? Will any of my other benefits be affected? Even if there are no official company policies, you'll want to ask around to find out how other employees have handled their maternity leave. Here are some questions to be sure to ask:  How did your boss / the upper level managers respond when you asked about maternity leave? What did you do to ensure your work responsibilities were taken care of? How much time did you take? Did you feel it was enough? How did you transition back? Were you able to arrange a flexible schedule, such as working several days from home? Is there anything you wish you had done differently? You'll want to be armed with facts and figures so that you can make your case to your manager or the HR department that maternity leave is good for business. Try to find out what companies like yours are doing. Susan Wojcicki, current YouTube CEO and the first woman at Google to take maternity leave, offers some good points on why companies should offer paid leave:  A 2011 survey by the Center for Economic and Policy Research found that after paid maternity leave became the law in California, 91% of employers experienced increased profits or profit neutrality, while most noted improved productivity and morale. Paid maternity leave also greatly decreases employee turnover – by 50% with new moms at Google. HR departments are usually pretty rigid when it comes to sticking with policy, so you'll likely have more luck approaching your manager. Start by assuring him or her that you plan to return to work. And instead of framing your request as an exception to the rule, try framing it as an exciting new approach to solve your problem and to attract other qualified candidates. The healthier your company is financially and the better your job performance, the more you can ask for. So don't ask for extra time if your fellow employees are being fired or if your boss doesn't like you. As in any negotiations, you must be ready to suggest or accept alternative solutions. Most companies will be more willing to give additional time than additional pay. Consider asking for a flexible work arrangement, where you ease back into work with several days a week working from home. The days off guaranteed by the FLMA do not have to be continuous. By working 3 days a week, you can stretch the last few weeks of your FLMA time into a month our more.
Summary: Decide how much time and money you need. Know your rights. Learn your company's policies. Ask other women at your company. Gather information if you're the first employee at your office to have a baby. Start with your manager. Be realistic. Be flexible.

Problem: Article: The most successful printing entrepreneurs start a printing business by finding a niche in a specialized area, such as digital printing. Instead of trying to be all things to all people, success is more attainable by targeting a need and fulfilling it. One of the best examples of this strategy can be seen by the success of franchise sign printing businesses, which target budget-minded business owners who only need occasional signs and banners, which can be spotty (inconsistent demand) or loaded with competition. They do not attempt to offer anything but quick-turnaround signs and leave brochures and envelope printing to traditional offset printing businesses. Realize that the niche for color printing and the better quality grade of printing may be in a certain number of dots per inch (DPI), which can be very demanding and tricky to match. Remember, as a business owner, you will be responsible for the timely completion of jobs to your customer’s satisfaction. Caution: Any verbal or written agreement like You [the printer] know what looks right, so you can okay the proofs for color and quality is loaded with the danger of customer rejecting the finished product. For example, they may require:  Product match, excellent quality – very precise color, hue, and tone for high end products. Color match, excellent quality – usually precise Process Matching System (PMS Colors) by screen values (tones created by dot sizes) of the 4 process colors (cyan, magenta, process yellow, and black). Or just pleasing color, of medium quality – which is not so precisely matched. Caution: that means pleasing to the customer, not to you. Commercial quality printing is probably a cut above desktop publishing, done in your-office (above typical office printer, copier, or duplicator quality). It requires sharp line art and text – fineness of line work does not vary from page to page, screen color or halftone detail is consistent. Any choice of printing process (or brand of paper) shown on a quote to your customer is for them to choose. No, you can not substitute a more profitable method or material. Unless they agree in writing to a change, they can demand that it be redone at your expense -- if you did not follow written specifications precisely.
Summary:
Find a niche within the printing industry. Familiarize yourself with the business standards. Be careful with your words.