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Sunday, March 29, 2009

Auto Insurance Brokers - Can They Really Save You Money on Car Insurance?

by: David Ackland



Auto insurance brokers are the people that can actually write insurance policies. They are the ones that are licensed to operate an insurance agency and they are also the ones that hire and train the auto insurance agents that staff most agencies. They are typically licensed by the state and have more experience than the agents working under them, but can they save you money?

The answer is yes they can save you money, but not as much money as you could save yourself if you were to shop for your car insurance online. Some auto insurance brokers specialize in finding low quotes for their customers and for many years this was the only way to find a great deal on car insurance.

Now consumers have another option; they can shop online for their car insurance and cut out the middle man. Shopping for an auto insurance policy online is the surest way to find the best deal on car insurance.

The reason for this is that when you shop online for vehicle insurance you are able to view quotes from multiple companies. Car insurance is a very competitive industry so the companies will do their best to earn your business. As always competition benefits the consumer.

The car insurance quotes you receive from the competing companies will be estimates based on how you answer certain questions so to get the most accurate quotes it is important to answer the initial questions as completely and accurately as possible.

After you review the quotes and find the one to your liking make sure that it offers you the coverage level that you need before purchasing it. If everything looks good then you will have found the least expensive car insurance for which you are qualified and you should give yourself a pat on the back.

Auto Insurance Companies - The Difference between Auto Insurance Companies

by: David Ackland



People often wonder what the difference is between auto insurance companies. They assume that they are all pretty similar and so they don't bother to do a lot of comparison shopping when it comes time to purchase car insurance. This is a mistake that can come back to bite you were it hurts; in the wallet.

Car insurance companies are very competitive with one another which is good news for you as the consumer. These companies are competitive, but since insurance is so tailored to the individual consumer some companies will have better deals than others for certain classes of drivers.

This is where shopping for auto insurance online comes in. By visiting an online auto quote web page you can get quotes from as many as five different companies at a time. You may be surprised to know that the difference between these quotes can be several hundred dollars in some cases. The reason for the difference is that different car insurance company's use different statistical models when in order to determine a specific auto insurance rate.

The information that is currently available online gives the consumer all the facts they need to purchase the least expensive policy that is available to them. It is important to remember that the least expensive auto policy may not be the one that best suits your needs however.

When purchasing automotive insurance it is important to buy a policy that has the coverage level you need to protect you financially in case of an accident. Do not sacrifice coverage just to save a few bucks a month unless you have no choice. Many states have a minimum amount of insurance you are required to carry so you should check with your local DMV to see how much auto insurance you are compelled to carry before shopping for a policy.

Auto Insurance Company Ratings - How to Check Car Insurance Ratings

by: David Ackland



Many people look at shopping for car insurance as a chore that needs to be done, but in reality it is an opportunity. The opportunity to save a few hundred dollars a year doesn't come around very often so when it does you should take full advantage.

One of the great indicators that an insurance company is worth doing business with is to check the auto insurance ratings. These ratings are determined by independent companies who collect data from thousands of customers in order to determine a rating.

These ratings are great indicators of how well a company does as reported by its own customers, but they are not foolproof. Some people would be happy to trade a below average customer service rating for a less expensive auto insurance policy. So it is important to decide what is important to you when choosing a car insurance company.

The single most important thing that you can do when searching for automobile insurance is to gather as much information as possible. The consumer ratings are a good tool, but the online web calculators are also useful tools.

The online insurance calculator will ask you several questions and then tell you the appropriate amount of insurance to buy. Using this tool in conjunction with consumer reviews will give you a good indicator as to which company to look into for your auto insurance needs.

The last thing is the one that most people concentrate on and this is the cost of the policy. The quote you receive will likely be one of the main determining factors that influences your decision regarding which company you will buy your car insurance from.

By using all of the above mentioned tools in your search for inexpensive auto insurance you are more likely to reap the greatest savings and find a company that is highly regarded in the industry.

Local Entrepreneur Cuts Cost and Improves Efficiency with Predictive Dialer Lists

by: Peter Lessard



With almost every business in the world feeling the crunch of the economic decline, they are constantly on the prowl for a marketing method that can cut costs and improve efficiency. This need is especially strong in call centers across the globe.

Local Entrepreneurs are Getting Creative

They have jumped on the automation bandwagon. By combining an automated sofware with dialer leads lists prospecting could not be easier or more efficient!

Wish Every Call Was a Qualified Lead?

Now there is a way for you to make sure that your call center representatives do not waste hours of precious time trying to reach potential leads. Predictive dialer lists when used in conjunction with dialing systems can screen out all unnecessary calls and route only live leads to your call centers. Learn more about how you can earn thousands more each month with this unique method.

Stop Wasting Time

You save a great deal of time and subsequently money as well when you put a predictive dialer into use. Your call center agents will no longer have to spend hours waiting for a live person to get on the phone. With predictive dialer lists, your dialing system is automatically fed thousands of leads to sift through.

There is NO Need to Buy Expensive Lists!

You can save money by purchasing a lower cost targeted list from a company that is trusted in the field and automates the purchase for maximum savings. A failure rate of 30 percent is bound to happen with a cheaper product, but the dialer system will catch the failed calls so it will not cost you a penny to try them, and you can save thousands of dollars over the higher priced lists. You need to look at the cost per lead in order to get a better idea of value where lists are concerned.

Income tax and HRA

by: rupeetalk



House Rent Allowance (HRA) is an allowance given by an employer to an employee. The sole purpose of which is to meet the cost of renting a home. Here, we hope to clear the concepts of HRA and how the income tax exemption on HRA is calculated.

You can claim HRA if you fulfil the following three conditions:

1. HRA allowance should be a part of your salary package.

2. You are staying in a rented accommodation and paying rent for it.

3. The rent exceeds 10 per cent of your salary (basic + DA).

Tax treatment of HRA is a bit complicated and there are three figures that need to be computed:

* Actual HRA received
* Amount by which rent paid exceeds 1/10th of salary (basic + DA)
* 50% of the salary (basic + DA) if located in Metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata or Chennai and 40% of salary if located elsewhere.

The lowest of the above three amounts is allowed as a deduction from the HRA received and the rest is considered taxable. Let’s try and understand this through the following example:

Ram lived in Mumbai and paid a rent of Rs 10,000 p.m. His basic salary was Rs 25,000 and daily allowance Rs 3,000 p.m. He received an HRA from his employer of Rs 8,000 p.m. The 3 figures that need to compute his HRA tax liability are:

1. Actual HRA received = Rs 8,000

2. Amount by which rent paid exceeds 1/10th of salary = Rs 10,000 – (10% of Rs 25,000+ Rs 3,000) = Rs 7,200

3. 50% of his salary (Rs 25,000 + Rs 3,000) = Rs 14,000

The lowest among the 3 figures (Rs 7,200) will be allowed as a deduction and the rest (Rs. 800) will be taxable.

Launching a Business? Consider The Facts

by: Tina Lynn



You see it splattered everywhere you look; the most innovating "this" and the best "that". "You must join our business. This is revolutionary", some say. Or an even better one is the notion that everyone needs, wants, or already uses the product or service being promoted. How many times has someone tried to sell you on a business? You see so many of these claims because people become desperate, vulnerable and want to believe that there are actually programs that can earn them lots of money with little effort. But should a friend or family member suggest a certain business model works and can provide a decent income, what then? Do you go for it? Do you not? What does joining a home based business really mean? Will you earn loads and loads of money? Be able to quit your day job? Well before making any drastic transitions, allow me the opportunity to uncover some myths and facts related to home based businesses.

Myth:
I am my own boss.

Truth:
Not necessarily. Unless you create your own business or product, in direct sales, you are still working under someone else. The differences here are that you choose to work independently, and your training may be somewhat on an individual basis. It may be covered via online or by phone. You are still, however, creating more wealth for the owner and top executives of that particular company. Choosing a business does not guarantee any type of ownership despite your successful years of workmanship. And the closest thing I've seen to retirement income is residual income. This income is a percentage earned off of all of customer product orders and is sent to you as long as your clients remain customers.

Myth:
You have more time to spend with family.

Truth:
You may see your family more but this does not mean that you will spend more quality time with them. In business, your success is totally dependent on your production. In the beginning of building your home based business, you will find that there is a great amount of work involved; work that in the end will pay off. Being around your family more often may work against you and the quality of your work, if you do not lay some ground rules ahead of time. It's best to discuss your goals and plans with your family and give them a clear understanding of how they should treat your work home career and the importance of giving you the space you need to get the job done.

Myth:
I'll make a whole lot of money.

Truth:
This is one of the most common mistakes when deciding on a work home career. You should never assume that just because someone is earning a lucrative salary in a fraction of the time spent in the business, you are sure to have those same results. Everyone is different. We all approach and reach others on different levels and so on. What works for one person will not always work for someone else. If you join a business solely based on this, you will get burned out and will most likely quit. You must have a passion for what you do and you must believe in what you are representing. If you don't absolutely one hundred percent love what you do, how are you going to convince others to do the same.

Myth:
Working in business is more stable than having an outside job.

Truth:
This can be no more further from the truth. Businesses are not anymore stable than regular companies. Nothing in life is guaranteed. As an independent contractor working for a business, some contracts state the company does not even need a reason for letting you go. What does that tell you?

Myth:
There are no rules associated with working a home based business. I can work however I want.

Truth:
Wrong. You may be able to work "whenever" you want. But there are always going to be policies and laws in everything that has to do with “how” you choose to market the business and the manner in which you do. Some companies prohibit online marketing, or using their company name directly, and even using your own printing materials. That’s right, just because it’s free or cheap to join, does not mean there aren’t other fees associate with doing your job. Having the freedom to work from home comes with huge responsibilities. Unless you know what you are doing, wandering in unchartered territory can lead to sinking.

There are so many reasons for you to do your homework when reviewing work from home businesses. . Don't allow others to persuade you into entering an agreement you do not feel comfortable with or one you do not fully understand. You must honestly decide for yourself what is best for you. Can that be continuing to work outside the home or joining a home based business? That decision is for you to decide and you alone. But making your decision doesn't have to wreck your brain. Here are some pointers that you should consider within your search:

Company Reputation/Integrity

You want to check this carefully. Are there any ripoff reports on them? What is their standing with the BBB? Do they have any current or past lawsuits filed against them? What about customer reviews or the way they treat their clients? What about former contractors? Why did they quit? It’s amazing what you find lurking in forums, message boards, and online groups. If there is any negative feedback, and you are diligent in your searching, you’ll definitely find it. Remember that a business will only sell you. That is the job of everyone associated with it. So you will get nothing but praises from a current member. But ex-members will spill the beans and the beans, are exactly what you want.

Company/Business Policies, Rules and Regulations

Every company and business has their own policy statement. There is always something you sign that is associated with the job you accept or business you join. You want to read this carefully before signing. If you do not understand the jargon, just ask your en-roller or the company human resources. It is vital that you understand your rights and your obligations associated with the position you've accepted. I've seen some speak about a particular business that cancels your membership if you don't advertise in the exact manner specified in their policies. Just be very careful and know what you are signing.

Company/Business Training and Employee/Member Interaction

Another disadvantage. If you are trained by your down-line and for some reason, this person either sucks or the two of you do not get along, “tough”. You are either stuck or you have to be strung along through some long drawn out procedure to get switched. This is not the case for all, only some.

Termination/Voluntary Separation

Every business states a different policy relating to termination or "notice of separation". Some state they can terminate you for any reason at any given time. Others may state that once you are separated from the company you can no longer venture in a business that is related to theirs or even create one. If you are in a business and do not know your policies or what you can or can not do associated with this, please read carefully. The business does have a right to prosecute you if you violate these policies.


It's obvious that choosing a path such as this is not easy and comes with a hefty price. It could be time, money, heartache, pain or more. It could also be rewarding, worth your while and the best choice you’ve ever made. Predicting the fate is not always clear, but research and wisdom can guide your fate in a great direction. So know the cost and decide wisely for your family and for your future.

How To Survive In Time Of Recession

by: Tony Liu



Under the current economic crisis, it is easy for you to lose your job. There is completely no job security in Today’s world. You’ll get fired or lay off if your company find your job is duplicated or your technique is out of date or whatsoever….

You have to prepare for the worst, equip yourself with the proper knowledge or even start your part-time job if possible. Develop your part-time job and increase your extra income gradually. If the part-time job income becomes more than your full-time job income, then you can quit your full-time job and use your full time to develop this part-time job.

One possibility to start your part-time job is being an affiliate. An affiliate is one who sells other people’s product through internet and earns the commission.You can do this job at your leisure.

To become a successful affiliate, you must execute the following items:

* Develop a successful business plan for your affiliate website
* Choose the right niche or market
* Choose the right merchant
* Find the profitable keywords
* Prepare the content for your website
* Build your professional website or outsource this job
* Drive traffic to your website
* Create high-converting landing page or squeeze page
* Build and keep relationship with your subscribers
* Sell to your subscribers

Do a market research to choose your niche. Ask yourself the following questions:

* How to find hot and hungry market ?
* How to uncovers profitable markets ?
* Which product to sell ?
* How to determine the true competition of the market, so you know what you're up against before you even begin. ?
* How to do keyword research ?
* How to uncover buyer keyword phrases ?
* How to turn "ordinary keywords" into cash-sucking, buyer-hungry keywords ?
* How to create marketing messages that fit your prospect like a well-worn glove ?
* How to slip effortlessly into the mind of your customer, extract their emotional hot buttons, and turn their every desire into instant commissions?

Create a high converting squeeze page or landing page in your website to capture subscriber name and email address and grow your subscriber list ,. With this email list, you can start to build a trust relationship between you and your customers. With this trust relationship, you can sell to your subscribers and your subscribers will buy from you and become your customers. Ask yourself the following questions for this issue:

* How to grow your subscriber list on autopilot?
* How to create a high-converting squeeze page or landing page ?
* How to build your subscriber list even if you're promoting affiliate programs...?

Drive traffic to your website to grow your subscriber list. Ask yourself the following questions on this issue:

* How to drive thousands of visitors every month with article marketing ?
* How to get the top dogs to publish your articles whenever you ask?
* How to get your EzineArticles to the front-page of Google ?
* How to find hidden traffic sources inside YouTube ?

Create as many as possible backlinks to your website to rank your website well in the search engine for better placement in the search engine result. Ask yourself the following question for this issue:
* How to get your websites indexed and ranking in the search engines within minutes?
* How to Transform social media into a powerful tool to increase your search engine rankings, build thousands of high-quality one-way links to your website
* How to get unlimited backlinks from PR4 - PR6 sites?
* How to create customized RSS feeds for unlimited backlinks?
* How to strategically interlink all of your Web 2.0 properties, thereby creating a powerful network of high-quality links and bringing your traffic to a whole new level?

At last, you have to build up the trust relationship with your subscribers. Ask yourself the following questions on this issue:
* How to get your emails open every time?
* How to instantly create a connection with my market leaves my subscribers chomping at the bit to read my next email?
* How to avoid feeling of being a salesman even while you rake in affiliate commissions?
* How to instantly increase your profits by up to 20% with no more subscribers, no more products...?
* How do you create scarcity when you're dealing with unlimited digital products?

To do anything successful, you have to plan in advance. Else, you plan to fail. To be a successful affiliate, you should have a good business planning, you should be able to create your own website and fill it with the appropriate content. Additionally, you should be able to test your selected niche within a reasonable short time, using the proper methods. The Black Ink Project ( http://tinyurl.com/blackinkproject )created by Jeremy Palmer will help you on the following:
* Set realistic goals, based on your time and budget.
* Find a niche that you can succeed with
* Create a business plan so that you can evaluate opportunities without wasting too much time, energy, and money
* Develop and launch a campaign from start to finish. At the end of the course, you’ll have a complete action plan and checklist that you can use for future projects.
* Learn the applications and tools that will help you create and manage your affiliate business.
* The Black Ink Project ( http://tinyurl.com/blackinkproject )
* is a step-by-step video course that will show you how to plan, build, and market a profitable affiliate site from the ground up.
* Additionally, Jeremy Palmer had built a private member forum where participants can ask questions, share ideas, and get help from subject matter experts - including Jeremy Palmer.
* Kim Roach has created the “Instant Payday Formula” ( http://tinyurl.com/instantpayday ) that is one of the most complete A-Z learning systems for creating a successful online business in as little time as possible. It answers all the above questions. The “Instant Payday Formula” ( http://tinyurl.com/instantpayday) complements those skills missing the Black Ink Project. The course is so simple that a beginner fresh to the internet can easily implement each of these strategies and start a successful business. The videos in the course are simple enough for “newbie” to understand, yet full of advanced strategies for the seasoned marketer. There is no missing link, and absolutely nothing is left out. This is the type of information that will change lives in today's economy. Kim leaves nothing to chance.

A Review of Cheap International Calling Options

by: Bob Graham



There are a variety of low cost international long distance calling products on the market today but each has been designed to fit the needs of a specific group of consumers. Marketers and product developers have tried to broaden the appeal of their products but all have certain limitations. The purpose of this article is to review categories of international calling products on the market today and provide a brief overview of their strengths and limitations so consumers can make better choices.

One product does not fit the needs of all. People who are PC savvy and have high speed INTERNET connections may choose to use PC to PC or PC to Phone service or VoIP technology while others may want the convenience and flexibility of a phone card. Most people only make occasional international calls while others make multiple international phone calls each day. Therefore, some people are willing to sacrifice quality and convenience in order to save money while others are willing to pay a bit more for higher quality, convenience and flexibility. Consumers need to understand the limitations of each product type so they can make informed choices.

• Traditional Long Distance – Forget using traditional long distance from your home phone, cell phone or office phone unless you only make one or two short international calls each year and you don’t care about wasting money. There are products on the market today which offer the same quality at a fraction of the cost.

• VoIP Phone Service – This may be a good option for saving money on home phone service but it is not the best option for saving money on international calls. There is a monthly charge for VoIP service and in most cases international long distance calls cost extra. The cost for making international long distance calls with VoIP is typically cheaper than the rates charged by traditional long distance providers but there cheaper options that are more convenient. A high speed internet connection is required for VoIP and most service providers require a long term contract. VoIP service providers typically charge extra fees for set-up, activation, early termination and some even charge for equipment.

• PC-to-PC or PC-to-Phone Service - This service is used to make calls over the internet from a personal computer. A PC-to-PC service like Skype is required along with equipment like a head-set and micro phone. PC-to-PC calls are typically free so this is a very cheap option but it is not very convenient since both parties need access to a PC and an internet connection. Calls can be made from PC-to-Phone but they are not free. This is more convenient but the caller still needs access to a PC and an internet connection. There are other methods for making international calls that cost about the same as PC-to-Phone but are more convenient and typically offer better quality.

• Phone Cards – Prepaid phone cards have ultimate convenience since they can be used to make cheap international calls from almost any phone (cell, home, business, pay phone or even VoIP). The cost for making international calls vary from being dirt cheap to expensive depending on the card used and the location or type of phone called. Calls to cell phones are generally more expensive than calls to land lines. Shopping and comparing phone cards can be complex because fee structures vary along with quality and usability. Most phone cards provide good rates to a few locations but poor rates to others. Shop for phone cards that offer good rates to the locations you call the most. Also, check for access number availability in the locations where you plan to use the phone card. Purchase phone cards from a reputable phone card supplier that fully discloses all fees and charges in an easy to understand format.

• Prepaid Long Distance – These are sometimes call dial-around plans. Prepaid long distance plans like Tel3Advantage are popular with frequent international callers since they offer a variety of useful features, low rates, high call quality and the convenience of a phone card. Tel3 Advantage also does not charge hidden fees or taxes so users actually pay the advertised rate for each call. Features include on-line account management, on-line call history with a complete record of each call, speed dial and PIN free dialing. Tel3 allows users to register up to 10 telephone numbers in each account. Calls made from these phone numbers can be made without dialing an account number or PIN code. Tel3Advantage has a wide network of local access numbers but can only be used to make calls from the USA and Canada.

• International Call Back Phone Service – This is a good method for making low cost international calls from almost any country. Many countries outside of North America, Europe and the developed countries in Asia have very high tariffs on international long distance calls. International callback long distance uses a clever method to avoid these tariffs by placing calls through long distance providers located in low cost third countries. There are at least three common methods used to trigger or place calls so potential users should conduct further research to determine the best method for their location and situation.

As summarized above, there are a variety of technologies available on the market today for making low cost international phone calls. Multiple companies’ market products using these technologies and some of these products are high quality and others are not. Consumers should shop and be smart about purchases. It is usually best to try a product by making a small purchase before making a large purchase or enter a long term contract. Most reputable VoIP providers will offer a 30 day (or longer) money back guarantee and most phone card providers will offer cards in small denominations so consumers can try the product before making a large purchase or commitment. It is best to stay away from those who don’t.

A Few Mortgage Tips To Help You Prevent Foreclosure

by: Casey Adams



If you fall behind on your mortgage payments, there are several steps that you can take to help prevent foreclosure. First, it's important to understand your mortgage. If you don't understand the type of mortgage you have, you'll be unhappily surprised when your payments adjust. Adjustable Rate Mortgages are not fixed, and your payments will change, you must be aware of whether you have a fixed rate or adjustable mortgage to begin making plans. If you have a hybrid adjustable rate mortgage, you'll need to know when you can expect your payments to increase.

Hybrid and Adjustable Rate Mortgages might be refinanced to a fixed rate if you foresee that you will have difficulty making the new payments. Don't give up and be persistent. Keep contacting your loan officer and request a refinance for your loan. Other options include devising a repayment plan with your loan officer, and can be used to prevent foreclosure. A repayment plan is effective for those who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments and would like to create a new schedule until they are caught up. You can also discuss a reinstatement plan. This enables you to arrange to pay your past due amount by a certain date, this method is also an effective way to prevent foreclosure.

Forbearance is another option that should be discussed with your loan officer. With a forbearance agreement, your payments would be temporarily reduced, or even suspended for a time period that you and your loan service officer agree upon. At the end of the agreed upon time, you resume your payments and regularly meet any other stipulations that were originally agreed upon.

Profiting From Short Selling

by: Christopher Muir



Selling stock short is still kind of a mysterious strategy to most people, who normally have simply purchased stocks or mutual funds in the past. Yes, this is a paradigm shift for most people, who don't understand how one could sell an investment that they do not actually own.

Here is a brief explanation of how short selling works: you just sell a stock with the intent to buy it a some later point. You obviously hope to purchase it at a lower price, if the investment continues to go down over time. There are often restrictions on doing this in normal accounts, but you are often able to do it in a margin account. If the stock does go down, buying it at a lower price will leave you with a profit, much like if you purchased a stock and it increased in value.

Now that we have defined short selling, lets go over how it is best incorporated into a market strategy. Firstly, you have to understand that not all investments represent relevant buying opportunities. If you don’t feel that the stock has very much growth potential, it frankly doesn’t make sense to buy it. However, if you believe that a stock is substantially vulnerable – be it because of a sector deterioration, like the financials at the moment, or a specific company weakness that you have noticed – there could be a good chance that it will lose value over time. In this situation, if you were to short the stock, you would just be wagering on the fact that the stock will likely decline in value.

This can be an extremely profitable strategy - especially in down markets like this; that said, it is not without its important considerations. First of all, short selling can be extremely dangerous for those that don’t have a considerable amount of short selling experience. If you buy a stock, you could potentially lose the entire investment if the stock goes to zero; however, when selling short, you could potentially lose an infinite amount of money, since the stock could rise against you by an infinite amount.

Fortunately, there are simple ways to assuage this concern. You simply have to put a stop loss at some point above where you sold short, where if the market rises to that price you will buy and close out the short position. Yes, in this case you would loss some money, but it will be a limited amount rather than an infinite amount. The price where you place your stop loss should be determined by the level that you would not feel that the investment to still be a good shorting opportunity. For example, if you sold Microsoft at $5, you may feel that if it went to $10 then it no longer would represent the appropriate level of vulnerability. You would thus place your stop loss at that amount, strictly limiting your total risk.

Another question is one of ethics. Some people have a moral issue with selling short, feeling that you are capitalizing from betting against the economy; or for the more nationalistic, betting against the USA. In many ways, this is true – you are betting that the stock is going to go down in value, but how is that immoral? It isn’t you that is forcing the stock down – it is the poor fundamentals of the firm or specific sector that will cause its price to decline in the long run. In fact, one could make the argument that selling short helps to move problematic investments closer to the fair market value. For example, if a firm is flawed – but is still being priced high – it is the function of short sellers to sell that stock, allowing it to move towards its fair value faster, where buyers will then be there to support it. Those who wrongly impose their ethics on natural market dynamics entirely miss the point.

Lastly, you should realize that the equity market isn’t the only opportunity to produce returns from the decline of prices. You can also sell futures short or sell various forex pairs against one another, both of which are generally much simpler to do than short selling stocks. You could also look into professional investment firms who sell short as a component of their financial strategies. Unlike regular mutual funds, a lot of alternative investment managers have elements of short selling in their investment methodologies: some are pure short sellers, and some do both short selling and buying, depending on the market conditions.

You should, however, at least learn more about the concept of selling short more closely, as it can be extremely profitable if you have a sound strategy. Traders like Jim Rogers have made lots of money from merely purchasing investments that are strong and short selling the things that are bad. In a recent press release Rogers disclosed that lately he has simply been buying the commodities (which he believes to be fundamentally sound) and short selling the financial stocks (which he believes to be fundamentally vulnerable). If you think about it, this makes much more sense than just purchasing things and thinking that they will go up.

No One Gets Paid Until Something Closes

by: Michelle Spalding



In real estate, one thing always holds true, closing is the ultimate goal and can result in a nice payday or a miserable experience for the real estate investor. No matter whether you are new or a seasoned investor, it’s no secret that keeping the deal together once you’ve put it under contract can be challenging and time consuming. However, with the right tools, systems and possibly an assistant, it can be a much less work and result in a more successful process. Here are a few things to incorporate into your real estate business:

1. Checklists – A simple yet comprehensive checklist that can remind you of the steps and actions needed to manage a transaction from contract to close. Knowing exactly what must happen and what has taken place can free you up to focus on finding more deals or just enjoying more free time in your life.

2. Calendar Reminders – Once you have the deal together and the contract signed, take a few moments to add reminders to your PDA, Smart Phone or other calendar to keep you on top of the deadlines. Knowing the inspection and financing deadlines can help prevent you from losing a lot of money and becoming frustrated

Insider Hint – when the contract calls for deliver of something by a certain date, set a reminder the day before. Calling someone the day before something is due and reminding them will catch them off guard. This will make them more likely to take or return your calls and help you not to forget to take care of this the actual day the item is due.

3. Communication Log – Keeping notes on your conversations, emails and other events in a transaction is essential. When you take the info out of your daily thoughts and put it into a communication log, you are giving yourself the opportunity to focus on something else other than your last conversation with the seller. Additionally, should you ever need to defend yourself, this detailed communication log can be critical.

4. Organization – This is without a doubt an ultimate MUST. Taking the time in the beginning of a transaction to set-up a file either online or in an old fashioned paper folder will enable you to handle more business simultaneously. No matter what your business is, you have to make the highest and best use of your time. Keeping your transactions organized will truly empower you.

5. HUD-1 Settlement Statement Review – Making the time to thoroughly review and understand this document BEFORE your closing is the key to making sure that the deal you put together is the deal that closes. Having the title company or closing attorney who is handling your transaction send you a preliminary HUD as early as possible will provide you the time needed for review. When the time comes for you to sign the HUD-1 Settlement Statement, you can simply refer to the preliminary one you received and compare the two.

Real estate is a wonderful and generally very lucrative business. It provides the business owner the opportunity for large financial payoffs, extreme flexibility and a small investment to get started. With the right training and tools, you can be a very successful real estate investor in no time. Having a team to help you with your business can speed up the process and enable you to have greater success and more free time. Experts agree hiring a virtual closing coordinator or virtual assistant will provide you more time and much less stress during this part of a transaction. For more resources on the contract to close process such as training, closing coordination services and reference materials, go to www.NoOneGetsPaidUntilSomethingCloses.com

In real estate, one thing always holds true, closing is the ultimate goal and can result in a nice payday or a miserable experience for the real estate investor. No matter whether you are new or a seasoned investor, it’s no secret that keeping the deal together once you’ve put it under contract can be challenging and time consuming. However, with the right tools, systems and possibly an assistant, it can be a much less work and result in a more successful process. Here are a few things to incorporate into your real estate business:

1. Checklists – A simple yet comprehensive checklist that can remind you of the steps and actions needed to manage a transaction from contract to close. Knowing exactly what must happen and what has taken place can free you up to focus on finding more deals or just enjoying more free time in your life.

2. Calendar Reminders – Once you have the deal together and the contract signed, take a few moments to add reminders to your PDA, Smart Phone or other calendar to keep you on top of the deadlines. Knowing the inspection and financing deadlines can help prevent you from losing a lot of money and becoming frustrated

Insider Hint – when the contract calls for deliver of something by a certain date, set a reminder the day before. Calling someone the day before something is due and reminding them will catch them off guard. This will make them more likely to take or return your calls and help you not to forget to take care of this the actual day the item is due.

3. Communication Log – Keeping notes on your conversations, emails and other events in a transaction is essential. When you take the info out of your daily thoughts and put it into a communication log, you are giving yourself the opportunity to focus on something else other than your last conversation with the seller. Additionally, should you ever need to defend yourself, this detailed communication log can be critical.

4. Organization – This is without a doubt an ultimate MUST. Taking the time in the beginning of a transaction to set-up a file either online or in an old fashioned paper folder will enable you to handle more business simultaneously. No matter what your business is, you have to make the highest and best use of your time. Keeping your transactions organized will truly empower you.

5. HUD-1 Settlement Statement Review – Making the time to thoroughly review and understand this document BEFORE your closing is the key to making sure that the deal you put together is the deal that closes. Having the title company or closing attorney who is handling your transaction send you a preliminary HUD as early as possible will provide you the time needed for review. When the time comes for you to sign the HUD-1 Settlement Statement, you can simply refer to the preliminary one you received and compare the two.

Real estate is a wonderful and generally very lucrative business. It provides the business owner the opportunity for large financial payoffs, extreme flexibility and a small investment to get started. With the right training and tools, you can be a very successful real estate investor in no time. Having a team to help you with your business can speed up the process and enable you to have greater success and more free time. Experts agree hiring a virtual closing coordinator or virtual assistant will provide you more time and much less stress during this part of a transaction. For more resources on the contract to close process such as training, closing coordination services and reference materials, go to www.NoOneGetsPaidUntilSomethingCloses.com

In real estate, one thing always holds true, closing is the ultimate goal and can result in a nice payday or a miserable experience for the real estate investor. No matter whether you are new or a seasoned investor, it’s no secret that keeping the deal together once you’ve put it under contract can be challenging and time consuming. However, with the right tools, systems and possibly an assistant, it can be a much less work and result in a more successful process. Here are a few things to incorporate into your real estate business:

1. Checklists – A simple yet comprehensive checklist that can remind you of the steps and actions needed to manage a transaction from contract to close. Knowing exactly what must happen and what has taken place can free you up to focus on finding more deals or just enjoying more free time in your life.

2. Calendar Reminders – Once you have the deal together and the contract signed, take a few moments to add reminders to your PDA, Smart Phone or other calendar to keep you on top of the deadlines. Knowing the inspection and financing deadlines can help prevent you from losing a lot of money and becoming frustrated

Insider Hint – when the contract calls for deliver of something by a certain date, set a reminder the day before. Calling someone the day before something is due and reminding them will catch them off guard. This will make them more likely to take or return your calls and help you not to forget to take care of this the actual day the item is due.

3. Communication Log – Keeping notes on your conversations, emails and other events in a transaction is essential. When you take the info out of your daily thoughts and put it into a communication log, you are giving yourself the opportunity to focus on something else other than your last conversation with the seller. Additionally, should you ever need to defend yourself, this detailed communication log can be critical.

4. Organization – This is without a doubt an ultimate MUST. Taking the time in the beginning of a transaction to set-up a file either online or in an old fashioned paper folder will enable you to handle more business simultaneously. No matter what your business is, you have to make the highest and best use of your time. Keeping your transactions organized will truly empower you.

5. HUD-1 Settlement Statement Review – Making the time to thoroughly review and understand this document BEFORE your closing is the key to making sure that the deal you put together is the deal that closes. Having the title company or closing attorney who is handling your transaction send you a preliminary HUD as early as possible will provide you the time needed for review. When the time comes for you to sign the HUD-1 Settlement Statement, you can simply refer to the preliminary one you received and compare the two.

Real estate is a wonderful and generally very lucrative business. It provides the business owner the opportunity for large financial payoffs, extreme flexibility and a small investment to get started. With the right training and tools, you can be a very successful real estate investor in no time. Having a team to help you with your business can speed up the process and enable you to have greater success and more free time. Experts agree hiring a virtual closing coordinator or virtual assistant will provide you more time and much less stress during this part of a transaction. For more resources on the contract to close process such as training, closing coordination services and reference materials, go to www.NoOneGetsPaidUntilSomethingCloses.com

Loan Mod - Know Your Options and Make The Best Decision!

by: Mike Ton



Know Your Options and Make The Best Decision!

We are providing this information so you can make the best decision for you, your family, and ultimately your future. Clearly understanding your options will allow you to move forward with confidence, knowing that you are doing everything you can for yourself in this challenging time.

It is advisable that you seek financial and legal advice from professionals as well, in order to help with a decision and a plan.

This is most likely the first time you’ve experienced an event like this, so make sure you take the time to learn your options. Realize that we will certainly do our best to help!

Below is a list of typical solutions available. The first option we cover is what is typically most beneficial to the homeowner.

1. Loan Modification: Many homeowners don’t think that a loan modification is an option for them. The last few months have brought HUGE changes for homeowners regarding loan modifications! In fact, Loan Modifications are the biggest trend right now with lenders. But BEWARE, because although the lender wants to give you a loan mod, they may not be looking after your best interests, they may be looking after their OWN best interests.

Statistics show that 80% of loan modifications done without an attorney result in the homeowner ending up back in default! Why is that? It’s because the lender does not take the homeowners situation (or best interests) into consideration when doing the loan mod. All they want is for the loan to be current again; they do not care about the homeowner long term or about future defaults. They are only thinking about the present.

Options other than a Loan Modification

2. Reinstating the loan: This is simply paying all of the back payments, late fees, attorney fees and any other fees that may be in place, and bringing your loan current. Simply call your lender (or foreclosing attorney) and ask for the reinstatement figure. Even if you have the funds available to reinstate your mortgage, it may not be your best course of action (especially if you have a high interest rate or an ARM). You may want to consider doing a loan modification instead of reinstating. A loan modification may not be available to you after your mortgage is current again! Yes, that’s right; your lender may do a loan modification for you if you are behind in your payments, but may not if you are current. We know, it’s crazy, but it is the truth. IF YOU ARE VERY NEAR A FORECLOSURE SALE DATE, AND YOU HAVE THE FUNDS TO REINSTATE, THEN IT MAY BE WISE FOR YOU TO DO SO!!!

3. Refinance: This is an option that used to exist and be a possibility. Since the downfall of the subprime mortgage industry it has become very difficult if not impossible to get refinanced if you have even 1 or 2 late payments. Be Cautious about getting tied up with someone who promises to get you refinanced. Make sure they do things in a timely matter, and choose another option if they don’t have it done within a specified time period (2-3 weeks!).

4. Forbearance: This is a program where your lender will take a down payment on the amount owed to them, and let you make payments on the remainder. It may require a substantial down payment – as much as half of the back payment amount up front and your monthly payment may go up significantly until everything is caught up. If you miss even one payment during this plan, the lender can go right back to foreclosing. Make sure you can handle the obligation!

5. Selling the Property: This can be a reasonable solution if you’re not able to handle the methods stated above. Selling the property and avoiding the foreclosure on your credit and the deficiency judgment is a suitable choice for many people. Be careful about simply listing your property with an agent and hoping for a sale. If your agent fails to do a good job selling, or if your buyer never appears, you could be in real trouble! What if your buyer’s financing falls through at the last minute?

Consider selling to an experienced investor. This can provide a “quick sale” that stops the foreclosure. An experienced investor can buy the property even if:

You have minimal equity: An investor can still buy your house by negotiating with your lender and doing what is called a “Short Sale”.

This is where the lender will agree to take a discount on the amount owed to them. This is an extremely advanced method that should only be trusted with an experienced investor who is trained in doing short sales. This is an ideal solution if you have minimal equity or if you don’t want to chance listing your property.

The foreclosure sale is very near: An experienced investor has the means to buy your property very quickly, or get the lender to postpone the sale until details can be finalized and closing can take place.

6. Deed In Lieu Of Foreclosure: This is simply giving the property back to your lender and walking away with nothing. Unfortunately, it has a very negative effect on your credit similar to having a full blown foreclosure. The lender can actually refuse the property back and still foreclose. It is advisable that you do your best to accomplish one of the options stated previously in this article. Deed in Lieu is like giving up, and can have a devastating effect on your credit.

7. Bankruptcy: Attorneys will sometimes advise a homeowner to file bankruptcy in order to avoid the foreclosure sale, telling them that this will solve their problem. Unfortunately, all bankruptcy does is temporarily postpone the sale. The lender can file for a release (relief of stay) and get around the bankruptcy, or you can fail to maintain the arrangement. If this happens, you will have a foreclosure AND a bankruptcy on your credit.

8. Do Nothing: Yes, we do see it. Unfortunately, homeowners will get so overwhelmed with the situation, that they simply do nothing. DO NOT fall into this category! You DO have options and if you take action, you can most likely get something done to help you with this situation.

We hope that this overview of options has been of benefit to you, and helped you to have a clear understanding of what to do next.

Please visit http://uslawfirmloanmod.com for more information.

—Important Disclaimer—

Although we have tried to provide accurate information within this article and on our website, you are encouraged to verify any statements by seeking additional legal and financial advice. Information is provided based on our own knowledge and experience, and recipient/reader of this or any information provided by us hereby holds harmless our company, members, managers, family members or anyone else associated with us for any damage that may occur directly or indirectly for actions taken by anyone reading this material. This material is meant for informational purposes only and is accurate to the best of publisher’s knowledge. Foreclosure is a serious matter and requires serious action. Get professional guidance immediately!

Information is not the same as legal advice!

Home Business Taxes - Give Yourself a Raise

by: Ron Sedlak




Your take home pay could go up next week.

What? You mean a raise?

Yeah ... sort of ... give yourself a raise.

Get serious! Okay, okay ...

This info came from Tax Expert Ron Mueller at a
conference I attended in Tampa in June 2008.

I was quite interested in the concept of immed-
iately increasing your TAKE HOME PAY from your
job starting next week.

You can use the extra money to build your home
business. This is exactly how it works.

You are allowed to change your W4 form with your
employer. This is a form that tells your employer
how much tax to withhold from your paycheck.

Legally, any time you have a 'change in financial
circumstances that could affect your taxes' you
can ask your employer for a W4 form, fill it out
and give it back to him.

Starting or expanding your business at home is such
a change. You adjust this form so that only the
absolute minimum legal deductions are withheld at
source.

Your boss is OBLIGATED to change your withholding
rate starting the very next paycheck. He does not
verify with the tax department first.

Check with a knowledgable tax pro IN YOUR AREA on
this before doing it, so you do it exactly right and
legally for your area.

If you think the above does not apply to you, you
have a 75 of employees
have $2,000 too much in taxes withheld during the
year and thus get a refund.

Getting a $2,000 tax return is bad! It means you
were overtaxed all year and essentially gave $2,000
as an interest free loan to the tax department for
the year!

And you do this every year? What kind of investment
is that? To heck with that! YOU could be using that
money to create MORE income for you and your family.

You could be building your home business with that
money.

HOW MUCH COULD YOU GET DONE IN YOUR BUSINESS
WITH $2,000?

And how about aiming for a ZERO tax return? That
means you are not overpaying taxes. Or maybe you
will need to pay a few hundred to the tax department
at tax time (you can have it in reserves for
the purpose).

Okay, so that is just a start.

You can save $3,000 to $5,000 per year in taxes
(additional to above) by creating and running an
Intenet business you have as home-based
businesses.

You can take ALL OF the TONS of tax deductions
legally due to you as a home-based business owner.
You do not need to prove anything to start taking
these deductions.

They are LAW passed by CONGRESS (USA).

Why? Because in a stroke of genius, Congress decided
that it would be good for people to have a home-based
busines so that if they got laid off or lost their job for
any reason, they would immediately have something
they could RAMP UP QUICKLY to a full time income!

This all applies to Canada as well and likely many
other areas. Check with a tax expert in your area
for exactly how this applies in your area.

You DO have to keep detailed records of what you
are doing so you can PROVE what you are doing is
valid should you ever receive a tax audit.

What is legally required in order to be able to take
home business deductions?

1. INTENT TO MAKE PROFIT, meaning you do some
advertising of your business and do other actions
that shows you are clearly trying to make money
with it.

Keep an accurate record of all this in a day planner
or log so you can prove what you are actually doing
in case of an audit.

2. Regularly work your business at least 45 minutes
per day 4-5 days per week. 4 hours a week is enough
to satisfy legal requirements.

Keep evidence of hours worked 'day planner' type
notes.

3. Run your business like a business. Have a
seperate bank account for it, do not mix business
and personal funds, have a seperate credit card,
records, books, etc.

4. Have an office of some sort in your home that
is VISUALLY IDENTIFIABLE AS ONE. This means anyone
can look and say, YES, that is an office working
space. It does not have to be fancy, BUT IT NEEDS
TO BE THERE.

If you have this, you are allowed to deduct a
percentage of many common HOME EXPENSES such as
mortgage, rent, home insurance, electricity, gas,
oil, etc. etc, AS BUSINESS EXPENSES.

There are books on this subject in your local library
or book store. Do some study and make the full list
and TAKE THE DEDUCTIONS!

How much of your home expenses can you deduct?
For home related deductions it depends on the size
of your office in relation to your home.

If your home is 2000 square feet and your office space
is 200 square feet, that is 10 of all these expenses as TAX DEDUCTIONS.

It's legal!

As far as car expenses go, you need to keep an
accurate MILEAGE log in your car which shows EVERY
TIME YOU USE YOUR CAR and whether it was business
or personal AS THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THE TRIP.

So every time you use your car (as much as possible)
you can make business your primary purpose. It does
not matter what the secondary purpose was.

You need to plan all your trips in advance. So if you
need to go grocery shopping for example, you schedule
your office supplies purchase run for the same time
and that is the primary purpose of that trip.

If you need to go to the post office to mail a letter
to your mom you need to be checking your business
P.O. box. Think of these things in advance.

Benefit: every trip by car that you can log as BUSINESS
as the PRIMARY PURPOSE increases the percentage you
can deduct FOR ALL YOUR CAR EXPENSES FOR THE
WHOLE YEAR!

So if you can prove with your log that 60 of
ALL CAR EXPENSES ...repairs, insurance, maintenence,
car washes, GAS, oil, etc.

That is a lot of extra money in your pocket right there!

I hope this is useful to you.

Will Interest Rate Cuts Save the Housing Market?

by: Philip Doleman



As the recession is taking its toll on business and the housing market the Bank of England has cut interest rates to 0.5 mark really do us any good?

With nearly everyone in agreement that the financial crisis is a global one, it is clear to see the effects that this is having in the UK. In the last year house prices have fallen by a record 16.5 in the last three months of 2008. UK spending has slowed to 0.4 rise in January.

So what does all this mean for the housing market? According to the land registry prices in England and Wales have dropped by another 2 to 16.5%. The average property value has now dropped to £153,862 down by £30,361 over the past year. The drop now means prices have fallen for 18 months in a row.

It is not all doom and gloom though with estate agents claiming enquires from potential buyers is on the up. Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has also said "Lower prices and the cheap cost of money has begun to fuel an increase in buyer interest as reflected in the RICS "new buyer enquiries" series which has risen for four consecutive months,". With better rates of finance and the lower costs of mortgages first time buyers with a deposit should now find it easier to take that first step on to the housing ladder, though those with savings will find it harder to save with lower interest rates on their savings.

All in all it looks like the housing market is reliable on the state of the economy and the interest rates cuts can only help that. Though the effects of the cuts will take time to filter through, once the banks and lenders start to resume the business of lending we should see the housing market respond positively.

The Rising Unemployment Numbers

by: Russell Nadeau



The Rising Unemployment Numbers

The number of unemployed persons increased by 851,000 in February 2009. That brings the number of unemployed people in the United to states to 12.5 million. Over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed persons has increased by about 5.0 million.

When you read these numbers it is easy to let the numbers roll off your tongue without much thought. When you really sit and think about the numbers, and the people who ARE those numbers, then it becomes a reality.

Losing their job and struggling to pay the bills has become a reality for millions of Americans. They tell us the economy is improving, yet more companies are laying off workers every day.

I am writing this article in hopes that you can help me in giving a voice to millions of Americans. I have started an online clothing company called I LOST MY JOB CLOTHING. There are two main goals of the company. To give back to the people who need it most and to give Americans a voice by wearing the shirts and allowing them to share their stories.

We hope our site will help get the message out and put a face behind the rising unemployment numbers. $1 per shirt sold will be donated to a deserving family who needs help. For every 1,000 shirts sold we will donate $1,000. You do not have to purchase a shirt to receive a donation. We will also have a national wear your I Lost My Job Clothing T-shirt Day on August 7, 2009.

There is a “stories” section on the website where 10 stories of people who have lost their jobs will be posted every week. Giving people the opportunity to share their stories as well as read others is a way to let people know they are not alone.

3 Reasons To Treat Your Business Like A Workout

by: Seomul Evans



When you’re on the edge of burnout, or you’re not sure if you’re leading your business in the right direction, sometimes it helps to think of your business in terms of analogies. Hopefully, as a business owner, you make time to care for your physical health, and maybe you even go to a gym every once in awhile. Here are three reasons, taken straight from the gym, to treat your business like a workout.

1. Small Adjustments Make a Big Difference. If you’re like many people, you started out trying to teach yourself how to use the gym equipment. Later on, you may have enlisted the help of a personal trainer to give you even more details about how to use the machines most efficiently and effectively. Even just a small adjustment in arm or leg position could result in making you use an entirely different set of muscles altogether. Just a few inches can make a huge difference! And if you had never learned to use the equipment properly, then you would have never seen the benefits.

Compare this to the way you use your business website. Many business owners start out thinking they can manage their websites and their search engine optimization tasks. Then they realize that just a few hours of consultation with an SEO professional, plus a few tweaks to the website, can turn an unproductive website into a gold mine of traffic and leads. Much better than just giving up the business website altogether!

2. Create Deadlines and Appointments. If you’re trying to lose weight or reach another fitness goal, you need to set a time in which you expect to reach your goal. Otherwise it’s too easy to think to yourself, “I’m too tired to go to the gym today. I’ll just go tomorrow.” And then, as you know, tomorrow turns into next week, which turns into next month, and on and on. Another helpful thing to do is to make an appointment with a personal trainer or a workout buddy. You’re much more likely to show up if someone is expecting you.

The same is true for your business. You need to set clear goals and deadlines for yourself, otherwise you will put off those tasks that don’t motivate or inspire you but need to be done anyway. And if you find that you need to consult with someone about your business, pick up the phone and call them right away. Make that appointment as soon as possible, otherwise you’ll just continue to put it off.

3. Enlist Third-Party Help. Personal trainers are helpful in that they can analyze your physical fitness needs and help you design an exercise regimen to address those needs, but the most important thing they do is to encourage you and keep you motivated. The trainer might make your workout harder, but she’ll also be right there beside you to cheer you on.

Your business is very much the same. You know exactly what you need to do to get better and improve your business, but sometimes it seems daunting. And then when you do those things to improve your business, you give yourself a break. But it won’t be long before you need to take on new challenges to grow your business even more. And as you take on each new challenge, you need to surround yourself with people who will cheer you on and encourage you to continue, no matter how much you resist or want to give up.

Running your business is not unlike working out at your favorite gym. You need help making the right adjustments for a successful business, you need to dedicate yourself to deadlines and appointments, and you need to constantly improve your business despite the difficulty this may pose. And remember to surround yourself with supporters who will keep you motivated.

5 Keys To Small Business Success

by: Seomul Evans



You’ve been to business school and learned it all, right? Not so fast. Sometimes, the most important lessons come to us via mistakes we’ve made. Here are the top five keys to small business success that you never learned in school.

1. Don’t Be Such a Control Freak. One of the hardest things any small business owner has to do is learn when to delegate. Of course you want to do it all yourself because that’s the only way it’s going to be done right. But that only results in burnout and a bunch of employees who never learn anything. You’re only doing yourself and your business a favor when you learn to relinquish some control. The more hands you have helping you out, the more successful you will be.

2. Baby Steps. You might be of the mind that your business should be everything you’ve dreamed it would be right out of the gate. But consider the “baby steps” approach. Start out small. Spend as little as possible at the very beginning. Score some successes early on and then build on them. Get rid of the stuff that doesn’t work immediately. If you follow the “baby steps” approach, you have less to lose if you start off down the wrong path or have to scrap your whole plan and start over. Plus, it gives you a chance to research along the way by getting customer feedback as you go.

3. End Your Day Thinking About Your Business. Once you’ve left the office and finally spent some time with the family, your business is the last thing you want to think about. But spend just one more minute, right before you go to bed, thinking about one problem you’re facing in your business. The beauty of our brains is that our subconscious minds work while we sleep. If you spend a few minutes thinking about a problem right before you go to sleep, you’re essentially enlisting the aid of your subconscious to help you solve the problem. It’s the easiest work you’ll ever do.

4. Respect Your Computer Systems. Most small businesses take their computer systems for granted. They don’t back up their data, they don’t maintain their computers regularly, and they don’t enlist the aid of professionals to care for their computers. In fact, we don’t pay any attention to our computers until something goes wrong and we find ourselves in a crisis. If we treated our computer systems like factories treat their equipment, by regularly shutting down the whole works to perform routine maintenance, we’d get better performance and fewer problems from them.

5. Study the Numbers. It is a rare small business owner who actually likes to look at financial statements, at least when the business is just starting. Why? Because the numbers can be depressing. No one wants to look at the numbers when all they bring is bad news. But the truth is that you can’t improve those numbers until you have the courage to look at them and analyze them. Looking at bad numbers can bring about feelings of failure or despondence. So try this trick: Once every week, pretend you’re the accountant for your business. You have no emotional ties to the company. You’re only job is to crunch the numbers. When you separate yourself emotionally from the message that the numbers give you, you’re more likely to look at them objectively, without becoming despondent over or depressed about the news they bring. You’ll find that looking at the numbers is actually a very liberating experience. It can help you eliminate activities that don’t add value to your business and focus on the activities that help you profit.

Use these five keys to help you find success in your small business. You’ll be glad you did!

3 Reasons To Get Over Your Fear Of Competing With Big Businesses

by: Seomul Evans



Big corporations have huge budgets. They spend more on marketing in one month than you do on your whole business for an entire year. They have experts and specialists doing all of their branding. So how can you possibly compete? Start by remembering that your small business has some significant advantages over major corporations.

1. Finances. Let’s face it, the internet has really leveled the internet marketing playing field. There’s not much a huge corporation can do on the internet that you can’t do. You can both optimize your websites, you can both host your website on a web-based content management system, you can both post relevant and high-quality articles to your blog, you can both use social networking sites to connect to potential customers, and you can both optimize your landing pages to ensure more leads. All of those activities are critical to internet marketing, and you can do them with the same ease and cost as a multinational corporation.

2. Social Networking. Let the big companies do your work for you! Let them spend all the money they want on new marketing, because all they’re doing is attracting targeted traffic to social media sites. And if you’re in the right place at the right time, that targeted traffic will be exposed to your business as well.

Additionally, many big companies aren’t savvy enough to use social networking appropriately. Instead of becoming part of the conversation on social media sites, they’re interrupting it with their loud messages and demanding attitudes. They don’t realize that social media users are interested in creating connections rather than having marketing messages shoved down their throats.

If you use social networking appropriately by connecting with other people rather than trying to sell them something, you’ll have an enormous advantage over big businesses. Don’t be intimated by their presence on social networking sites. Keep making your connections and you’ll see a huge payoff in the end.

3. Customers. Sure, large companies are less affected by losing customers, but your advantage is that you can actually create relationships with potential customers. Social networking is a major piece in creating such relationships, and if you as a small business owner remain committed to the relationship-building task, you will see it pay off. If you’re patient with potential customers and share information with them rather than going for the hard sell, you’ll see that sales come much more quickly. Convincing and persuading, the primary tactics of big businesses, isn’t going to get you very far. Building relationships is.

Your job as a small business owner is to gauge the challenges faced by your potential customers and to help them find solutions to those challenges. Big businesses too quickly lose focus on individual problem-solving in favor of getting their message out to as many people as possible as quickly as possible. When you keep in mind that internet users can frequently find the solutions to their challenges by searching the internet, and when you offer yourself in a consultative fashion, you are more likely to be attractive to potential customers who are looking for a partner rather than a savior.

4. Think Differently About Marketing. Experts tell us that companies will spend $1.9 billion advertising on social networking sites in 2009. But maybe we need to think about “successful marketing” in a different way. What if someone came to your website, downloaded a free ebook, passed it on to ten friends, and those ten friends starting talking about what you had to say? Would that count as success even though you made no money? Absolutely! So instead of looking at the dollar signs, listen to what your gut tells you about whether or not your marketing efforts are successful. Couple your instincts with efforts to calculate your internet marketing return on investment and you’ll see that you have significant advantages over big business. Make them work for you!

5 Great Tools From The Small Business Administration

by: Seomul Evans



If you’re a small business owner, you need to check out the Small Business Administration website. You may have been reticent to visit as the SBA has not always been perceived as the most helpful or efficient agency out there. But they do, in fact, have some really helpful tools for small business owners that you should see. They’re not only for businesses just starting out, but also for businesses that are well-established. Here are 5 tools to help you.

. Starting Your Business. This is a helpful section that provides great tips for individuals who are interested in starting their own businesses. The first piece of advice in this section is to find a mentor who can guide you through the many steps involved in starting a small business. SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) is a great mentoring group that is loosely affiliated with the SBA and provides free-of-charge guidance to those hoping to start small businesses. This section also includes comprehensive information about financing your startup, creating a budget for your business, and even a break-even analysis.

Other information included in this section covers buying a franchise, deciding on a business name, structuring your business, buying a business, obtaining a business license, and how to lease equipment for your business.

. Small Business Planner. This section includes questions to help you start thinking about what it takes to start your own business. It also includes a list of characteristics held in common by many successful entrepreneurs. Finally, an assessment tool can help you determine if you’re ready to start your own business.

. Business Management. This is a great tool to help you think about the management aspect of your business. It talks about leadership skills that you’ll need to be a successful business manager, as well as how to set up a business meeting, how to delegate tasks to employees, networking within your community, and running an ethical business.

. Exit Strategies. If you’re chomping at the bit to start your own business, chances are you haven’t given much thought to your exit strategy. After all, why would you be thinking about the end of your relationship with your business before even starting it? But an exit strategy is an essential part of starting your business because it will make a big difference in the way you start and manage it. This section talks about getting the most out of your company if you decide to sell it. It even goes so far as to discuss how to work with CPAs, how to determine the value of your business, and how to announce that you’re going to sell your business.

. Tools. The SBA website has a huge selection of tools for you to use. Do yourself a favor and just look through them. Chances are, you’ll find tools you didn’t even know you needed! There are sections on regulations and statistics, a glossary of business terms, and some stories of small business owners who have been very successful. There are even videos, podcasts, chats, and forms for download.

Given the reputation of general inefficiency assigned to most government agencies, you may be surprised to find out that the SBA website is so thorough and helpful. It certainly isn’t the only resource you’ll need as you prepare to start your own business, but it’s definitely a great resource to have at the ready as you go about the physical and mental preparations required of entrepreneurship. So add it to your toolbelt and enjoy your success!

6 Common Entrepreneurial Mistakes

by: Seomul Evans



One of the most difficult lessons for entrepreneurs is that the strategies they used to start their businesses are drastically different from the strategies they need to use to maintain their successful businesses. Here are 6 mistakes frequently made by entrepreneurs and how to avoid them.

1. Too-High Expectations. There’s a big difference between setting goals that will require you to stretch yourself and goals that are simply unobtainable. While it is certainly noble and honorable to set lofty goals, expectations that are too high mean that you have set yourself up to fail. Additionally, if you set expectations for your business that are too high, you will spend far too much money in the process of reaching those expectations. And that’s money that could be put to good use in the quest to reach obtainable, reasonable goals.

2. Focusing on the Wrong Things. Some entrepreneurs are so focused on costs that they forget to take a step back and look at the big picture. Yes, you need to be vigilant about what you pay in startup costs, but you also need to remember that you simply can’t make great strides in your business unless you are willing to invest significant amounts of money. Be bold about your spending, keeping in mind that only big investments yield big payoffs.

3. Looking Only at the Short-Term. When you’re just starting off, it’s very tempting to jump at almost any opportunity to make money. But consistently focusing on short-term opportunities means that you’re not taking time to make strides towards your long-term business goals.

4. Keeping Up With Everyone Else. As a new business owner, you’ll probably be tempted to compare yourself to your competitors and copycat the strategies that are working for them. But just because their strategies work for them doesn’t mean they’ll work for you. The reality is that you can only see part of their overall business plan, not the whole thing, so it’s impossible for you to replicate the parts of the strategy that you can’t see. This is a huge waste of time and effort for you, so stop worrying about what everyone else is doing and start focusing on your own plan.

5. Wearing Too Many Hats. Some entrepreneurs are obsessed with doing everything themselves instead of building a team. But when you take on the entire responsibility yourself, you’re too busy doing the everyday tasks to dream the dreams and have the visions that are going to carry your company forward. Build a team and delegate tasks, giving yourself time to continuing creating your business.

6. Sacrificing Customer Service. This is one of the biggest mistakes an entrepreneur can make. If you’re so focused on the bottom line that you end up sacrificing a customer’s experience, you will negatively impact your future revenues in ways that you can’t even understand at the time. An unhappy customer won’t hesitate to talk about his experience with anyone who will listen.

And what to do if you’re making, or have made, one of these mistakes? Don’t worry. All is not lost. Just remember these three philosophies:

Recognize the opportunities that will pay off in the end. They should always be in line with your goals, priorities, and values.

Slow down. Just because an opportunity looks good on paper or when pitched to you by a slick talker, doesn’t mean it’s a good way to use your time. Any opportunity put before you should motivate you to do a cost analysis before jumping on board.

Strategically Plan. If you have a strategic plan in place, you’ll always be ready to make wise decisions when new opportunities come down the pike. If you don’t have a strategic plan, you’ll be more likely to jump at anything that looks profitable.

5 Ideas For Dealing With The Credit Crisis

by: Seomul Evans



If you’re a small business owner, you’re all too aware of the current economic crisis and how it’s affecting small businesses all over the country. The most profound effect of the economic crisis is in the availability of credit. The news is grim, but it doesn’t have to paralyze your business.

Here are 5 ways to deal with the credit crisis and its effect on your small business.

1. Diversify Your Borrowing. Big banks have really gotten themselves into a quandary with messy mortgages, but local banks have primarily remained outside of the mortgage disaster. Try visiting community banks to find out what they have to offer you. Many local banks are highly interested in lending to companies that keep money within the community. Peer-to-peer borrowing is another option that you might consider, and is attractive to private lenders for the same reason that community banks are interested in lending to businesses who will keep money within the local area.

2. Offer Less Credit. You’ll be in a better position to deal with the credit crisis yourself if you cut back on the capital that you need to run your business. This necessarily means that you will be able to conserve your capital if you offer less trade credit for your customers. Another option is to reduce your accounts receivable by reducing amount of time you give your customers to pay you, and by offering incentives to pay you early.

3. Cut Back. This is a common sense idea, but the less capital you need to run your business, the less credit you require. This is a really a great time for you to step back and get a big-picture view of your business. What small changes can you make that will allow you to cut back on the amount you need to borrow? Some ideas include leasing your equipment instead of borrowing money to purchase it. You might also consider utilizing sales representatives who work on commission instead of hiring salaried employees.

4. Raise Equity. Since the debt markets are more immediately effected by the credit crisis, try other sources of equity such as venture capitalists, friends, family, angels, and strategic partners. And if that doesn’t work, you might try getting equity from your venture’s founding team. This necessarily means that you’ll be less diversified since you’re putting your own capital into your own business, but you’ll also avoid having to ask lenders who aren’t lending to give you money. A final option is to fund your business using retained earnings rather than funding your business through borrowed money.

5. Sell, Sell, Sell. Sell any valuable assets that your business might have. Selling your equipment and leasing it back is an effective way to avoid borrowing more money. And making the switch to leasing from owning might give you enough cash to keep your business going.

The obvious solution to the credit crisis is to wait it out. Things will eventually come back around and the future won’t look quite so bleak. But the bottom line is that you need to keep your business going until the future starts to look a little brighter. These 5 steps are just a few of the ways you can cope with the credit crisis without having to close up shop completely. You probably have a few of your own tricks up your sleeve. The most important thing is to be creative and to do whatever it takes to keep your business running. It’s your passion and your life, so keep it alive until change comes along!

Financial Prosperity with Streamline Cash Flow

by: Ron Settler



The purpose of this article is to explain to you how to gain financial prosperity. The way to accomplish this is to build a residual income online. Building a residual income online is one of the easiest ways to gain financial prosperity, because of its easy access. Many normal, average people are gaining financial prosperity this way, and they have not even read a book like “Financial prosperity for Idiots!”

Dan Miller has been a very successful prosperity building entrepreneur, who authored the IPC instant cash program, which appears to be his best internet program ever. So this is the way the idiots do it, and how average people make their money online and build their financial prosperity.

Firstly find a web based program that is really producing results. To figure this out whether the program is actually producing results is to ask whether the public have been successful at it. A prosperity building program has to be connected to an online system that gives you a turn key money making website. It is useless to try to build your own money making website yourself. There are so many choices of pre made websites out there that were made by the best, and it is idiocy to try to compete with them.

Find an internet program that will build a residual income, and then take it from there. If you look around and surf the internet, you will find so many programs out there, and many will be legitimate. You will also run into some illegitimate programs, scams if you will, which demand a huge initial investment so stay away from programs like those. A prosperity building program on the internet should cost you somewhere between $100 and $200.

You would also find cheaper programs you could utilize just to get a feel for online money making systems, such as making $10 over and over again, or $20 or whatever. I bought into a program like that, and it has great potential. Check it out at ez20usd. But the competition might be a somewhat heavy and you cannot expect the customer support you can get from a money making, prosperity building program that cost just a little more.

I am not talking about $39 programs etc, that promise you the world but don’t deliver much. But once find online money making systems of $97 range and above, you are getting into the world of the more legitimate, proven and trusted money making websites.

These sites will have a website that is already built for you, which you would download to your desktop, follow instructions, and ultimately upload it. That is all there is to it to you now have your own money making, prosperity building website and can start the process building prosperity on the internet.

A very powerful money making, prosperity building website is Dan Miller’s IPC Instant Cash system. This program will pay you a $5,000.00 reward if you fail to make real money online. I am not aware of any online money making system out there that have made outrageous statements like this! Russel Brunson’s dotcom secrets might CHARGE YOU almost $5,000.00, but Dan Miller PROMISES YOU $5,000.00 if you happen to fail at it!

There must be a catch right? Is Dan Miller’s IPC Instant Cash system, found at streamlinecashflow a scam, or is it really a legitimate money making, prosperity building system. Will the IPC Instant Cash system found at streamlinecashflow really make you money? The statement has been made that this IS a quick way to make five thousand dollars. Buy the program for $97, then go through the program in every detail, fail at the program, contact Dan Miller and prove that you followed the directions carefully, and request your $5,000.00 reward check because you failed at making money online and building prosperity. Because that is what Dan Miller said: Fail at the system, and get paid $5,000.00.

I don’t want to get you too excited though because getting that $5,000.00 is not going to be easy. Not too many people, if any will be able to get the $5,000.00, because of the fine print. The fine print says that you have to follow directions carefully, and then give proof that you followed the directions. Here’s the catch, but it is a good one! If you follow the instructions, YOU WILL MAKE MONEY and build a residual income online!

But this is what you really desire! Don’t you rather want to prosper at making so much money residually, over and over again, several times over and make that $5,000.00 back many times over!?

I think that in your heart you have the desire to be successful. You have the desire to finally make it in life and gain financial prosperity. You want to show the everybody out there that you made it. You want to show the negative people who always told you you would fail that they were wrong. You want to prove to your family and all those good folks who betted on you that you were the right jockey to bet on. You want to treat the ones you love to the dinner night out they always wanted or buy your own boat and visit Bermuda whenever you want. You want to be the one who sponsor the basket ball team. You want to build a winning attitude in your children.

Some people don’t want to start building wealth and prosperity on the internet because they don’t want to give up their job. That is the beauty of making money online and building prosperity on the internet. Don’t quit working at a career that you love. Yu can make money online and continue to do what you love. First build a residual income online. An online money making opportunity can be an additional source of income, so that you can do that extra with the extra money you generate online.

Some people get started with StreamlineCashFlow or WebWealthCreation, or EZ20USD and quit their careers, just to be financially disappointed. Then they keep it against it everyone, but it doesn’t have to be that way. While retaining your current employment work on your computer a couple of hours a day, or between 17 and 14 hours a week. You can do this after your evening meal before you go to retire for the night. Don’t expect your income to roll in immediately, because you are not going to get rich quick. Building a residual income online and making money on the internet takes time, and takes discipline.

Successful individuals who make money online and build financial prosperity have to be consistent.. Just putting a weeks work into it then leave it will make you some money but not build you a consistent residual income and build you financial prosperity online. But the key to building a residual income online is to be consistent with the program. Residual income follows when you ad discipline system working to it.

There is no doubt about it. May people are going to get rich online and build financial prosperity. At my blogs and videos you can learn more, or you can go directly to streamlinecashflow.com and buy into the system. You can buy into webwealthcreation.com or ez20usd.com.

I wish you the best and hope that you too will build financial prosperity online and make your money on the internet.

Back to the Basics : Planning for Fundraising in a Faltering Economy

by: Lisa Yancey



Okay ... let me just start by asking, "What in the world is going on??!!" Although this is a common colloquial expression, we are living in a time when all types of people across annual earnings, professions, race, and partisan lines are collectively (and privately) pondering this question in our daily lives. We are thinking of it when we go to the grocery store, at the gas pump, reading the newspaper, listening to the radio, and checking e-news or receiving alerts from Internet sites.

The cause of this colloquial turned reality expression is due in large part to the American economy being hammered by four unforgiving realities—a declining labor market, a faltering real estate market, high fuel and food costs, and the credit-lending squeeze. All across this country, life as we have known it for the past ten years or so is changing right before our very eyes. We feel it personally; and those of us who are charged with the now daunting task of securing donor support for our not-for-profit organizations feel it professionally. Funders and senior management executives are playing the "We can't (fill in the blank), due to the economy" card left and right—trumping overdue pay raises, needed new hires, enhanced or even continued contributions, and other exigent operational expenditures. Staff is operating on eggshells, wondering if they will have their job next week, while expecting to successfully perform the responsibilities of at least two full time workers.

Changes are happening on all levels, but heightened scrutiny is given to those who are supposed to bring in the money—no, not the Board of Directors—the Fundraisers. These Fundraisers sometimes wear the hat of President, CEO, Executive Director, Development Director, Development Manager, or Fundraising Consultant. Often accountability unjustifiably starts from the bottom up; so many fundraising administrators are doing all they can to remain stoic despite the increased percentage of declination letters and decreasing levels of support...hoping for the best.

Do Non-Profits Receive Bailouts?

Why does it appear that the bar has been raised for senior not for profits administrators, but forgiven in the for-profit, public sector? Some of America's brightest minds, with deep resources, are (apparently) having a difficult time sustaining their operations without massive debt. How are not-for-profit organizations that are undercapitalized, understaffed, underpaid and overworked expected to perform comparatively better than these top executives with bloated salaries, annual bonuses, stock options, and exotic corporate retreats? Should not government bailouts be limited to entities in the business of service to the community, as opposed to capital gain? And at the very least, when taxpayers have to collectively bear the bailout burden, should it not be a burden for salaries befitting the middle class? We wouldn't want the poor and middle class taxpayers to have to finance the retirement plans of the wealthy elite—yes, I digressed.

But seriously, how on earth are senior fundraising managers supposed to optimistically develop fundraising plans or implement planned fundraising strategies when the sources of their contributed support have dwindling budgets and unrealistic performance standards?

Back to the Basics

The answer, although not necessarily easy to execute, is relatively simple. Fundraising executives are going to have to get back to the basics. There must be an authentic realignment with:

*Individual Donors (historical and present)
*Elected officials
*Local corporations
*Community board members,
*Ministers, educators
*All other uniquely identifiable stakeholders that inherently value the difference your organization makes in the community.

It is they who will carry the organization during these lean years. These stakeholders are not driven by planned funding priorities or political agendas, but by the good of the community. They want executive administrators to stay true to their missions, set high deliverable benchmarks, create mechanisms for real-time community feedback, and timely measure the success of targeted objectives.

In the arts and culture sector, these stakeholders want exciting cultural events to attend on the weekends and in the evenings. They desire youth-based arts classes to counter the diminishing arts programs in public schools. They want artists to have a creative space to develop their work and the community to benefit from the spillover economic impact received by local businesses. People want to believe and see that they are making a difference.

Fundraisers must reconnect to the heart of these supporters. They have to diversify their fundraising initiatives and passionately articulate the uniqueness and continued need of their programs in the community. The approach to each of these constituents must be driven by a values-based strategy, and then strengthened with supportive statistical data demonstrating the organization's impact. When fundraisers return to the basics, donors become more inspired than compelled to support the organization. Inspired donors often give more than they may have originally budgeted because they feel the need to sacrifice for the greater good of the community. These are the angel investors of the not-for-profit sector. Here are the low hanging fruit for fundraisers to grasp during these questionable financial times. Find them. Engage them. Realign them with your core values. Show them how your organization contributes to the greater good of the community. And let them feel that they too are making a difference by fueling your program with their support.