Currency Trading – Success Depends On One Critical Factor

Currency trading success depends on several factors but they all stem from one specific factor – If you don’t have it, you will probably join the 95% of losers. It’s a common error made by novice traders, so let’s look at it:You need confidence in the method you use. This requires some more explanation. It’s a fact that most traders don’t have ultimate confidence in their method because they do the following: They try and buy a method from someone else and don’t understand the logic it is based upon. Because they don’t fully understand the logic, they fail to follow it through losing periods and throw in the towel. If you want to succeed in FX Trading you need to follow a method with rigid discipline, through inevitable losing periods.
If you don’t, you don’t have a method in the first place!Furthermore most systems sold are junk. There sold by writers, or failed brokers and simply don’t work. These people rely on hypothetical track records and the greed of buyers, to make them think they will win, but of course they don’t. So how do you get confidence in the method you use? 1. If you are buying a system Only look for a track record in real time of 2 – 3 years duration – this proves that the logic of the system is soundly based. By looking for a real time track record you can get rid of 95% or more of FOREX trading systems that are sold. 2. Understand the logic However, even with a FOREX trading system that has worked in the past you still need to have confidence in it and that means understanding why it in depth, so you have confidence. You also need to be happy with the drawdowns it incurs some traders can take for example 50% drawdowns - others can’t.Look at the worst peak to valley drawdown and time to recovery. Make sure your happy with it and that you can follow your system through drawdowns of similar magnitude. 3. The best way to achieve currency trading success is to: Devise your own FOREX trading method. While this may sound daunting, it’s easy to do. You can build the system and test it and as it’s yours you will have total confidence and the discipline to follow it when the going gets tough. Building a system is easy, if you do a little research and we have in our other articles shown you how to do this. Many people think they can trade FOREX and have no real drawdown, but that’s not real life. Drawdowns are emotionally and financially draining and confidence gives you the discipline to stick with your system.

By: kelly price

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Stock Quotes – Things to Know

Stock quotes are the information about the price of stock at a particular time. They provide most valuable information about stock and stock market changes. They are also the primary tool for traders to trades. A stock trader can find stock quotes from a variety of resources.
Stock quotes are the information about the price of stock at a particular time. They are displayed either as fractions or decimals. Stock quotes provide most valuable information about stock and stock market changes. They are also the primary tool for traders to execute trade. Quotes are also available for other derivatives like futures, options, forex currencies etc. Stock quotes can be grouped into various types as historical stock quotes, delayed stock quotes and real-time stock quotes. Historical stock quotes are stock prices and change patterns before certain period of time - useful to understand and determine periodical stock trends. Delayed stock quotes are usually free stock quotes provided by various institutions, journals, portals, etc. which have 15 or 20 minutes delay. They are useful for most stock market investors and small scale traders. Real-time stock quotes, also known as live stock quotes or streaming stock quotes, are provided by specialized quote sites and through stock market trading systems with less than a minute delay.
Live streaming stock quotes are vital for online day traders trading according to very small changes in stock prices. The presentation of stock quotes can vary greatly, they may be graphs with values, simple line of phrase with alphabets and decimals, or tables showing values. Similarly stock quote presentation of different sources may also vary from single ‘last price‘ value to full details including the price change of the day, the trading range of the day, 52 week (one year) range, the volume of stock traded, the average volume of trade, market capitalization, earnings per share (EPS), dividend yield, P/E ratio, closing price, highest price of the day, and lowest price of the day. By theory, a stock has a set of stock quotes as 'bid price' and 'ask price'. The bid price is the price which market makers or specialists are ready to pay for the stock and ask price is the price at which the market maker is ready to sell the stock. The difference between the ask and the bid price is the spread, which is mainly responsible for liquidity in low priced stocks. The need of ask and bid prices in a stock quote is purely because the market need a market maker to buy the stock whenever one trader sells it and to sell the stock whenever on want to buy it. A stock trader can find stock quotes from a variety of resources. Free delayed stock quotes are available from newspapers, journals, company websites, stock market, market maker and stock broker websites, popular search engines and portals like Yahoo! Finance and MSN Money, and various financial websites. As told earlier real-time stock quotes are paid services. These services also provide timely alerts and triggers to automate and better execute traders, and are integrated with powerful mathematical and visual tools to formulate right trading strategies. Recently Google and CNBC have presented their readiness to provide free real-time stock quotes of NYSE stocks to SEC, which if come true will be an added benefit to all type of traders.

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Praveen Ortec works for NobleTrading.com, an online investing broker offering live streaming stock quotes on different online stock trading software.

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The Humility Advantage - How Less Ego Creates More Sales

See if this applies to you or your team members in your organization: You've been working in your industry for several years. Your responses to requests from customers, prospects and co-workers are fast and accurate. You know your stuff and your product knowledge is one of your greatest strengths. If this is the case, then the bad news is that your extensive knowledge may also be one of your greatest weaknesses. The reason - you may be inadvertently coming across as being arrogant and insensitive. I'm not suggesting that you have a holier-than-thou attitude or that you are unfriendly. It's just that you are so quick with your answers and recommendations that others feel like you haven't really been listening to their needs (even though you have). In other words, the greater your expertise, the more likely it is that you are unintentionally rubbing people the wrong way. The good news is that there's an easy way to prevent this misconception that I call The Humility Advantage©. Working with over a hundred sales and service teams over the years, I've found there are at least seven key opportunities where a little employee humility pays-off substantially. Here are three that I often share in my Influence with Ease® speeches and seminars.
1. Mention your Homework Several years ago, a couple of branding consultants approached me about enlisting their services. My first thought was that these folks knew nothing about my company or my industry, so why on earth should I pay their sizable fees. I only agreed to meet with them because a colleague said they'd done good work for his firm. When I sat down with the consultants, they did not start asking me lots of questions about me and my industry. (That would have confirmed to me that they really didn't know my business world and would have ended their chances of selling me their services). Instead, they began the meeting explaining that, by way of preparation, they'd been chatting with some of my colleagues and customers to find out their impressions of my company's services. Then, they asked if I would like to hear the word-on-the-street. As you can imagine, that got my attention. And the ensuing conversation led me to engage their services. When you talk with potential customers, do you begin the conversation by mentioning the homework you've done on their company? If not, you're missing an opportunity to let them know that you are truly interested in them. Rather than starting a sales conversation by asking about their needs, try commenting on something you saw on their website or read about them in an industry journal. It's a powerful way to confirm to others that you're knowledgeable without coming across as one who brags. It's one of the first steps in applying the humility advantage. 2. Confirm your Understanding If you've participated as an audience member in one of my live presentations, you might have seen me step off the stage pretending to be a waiter taking food orders from several audience members as if they're at a restaurant. During this skit, rather than order directly from a menu, each patron has a special request such as, “I'll have the salad with the meal.” or “I'd like to have fruit instead of fries,” etc. As the waiter, I don't write any of this down, and as you've likely guessed, when I walk away, the patrons assume that there is no way I'm going to get all the orders straight. There's the problem. I may have listened accurately to each request, but the emotions I left with my customers are worry and lack of confidence in my service. As an experienced professional in your industry, you may be a great listener, but are you perceived as such? Being regarded as a poor listener is a surefire way to kill a sale or curtail your career. Fortunately, by using a little humility, this is easy to correct. In the waiter demonstration, I redo the same order-taking scenario, except the second time after taking the orders, I say, “Let me make sure I've got this straight. You would like yours with fruit instead of fries...” (I then confirm everyone's special request accurately). Suddenly, the restaurant patrons feel good about the quality of my service. Here's the key; I repeated my understanding of their needs with the phrase, “Let me make sure I've got this straight.” Fact is, I knew I had it straight, but the customer didn't. The catch is, if my ego were running my life I'd never say, “Let me make sure I've got this straight.” Hence the Humility Advantage. Here's one more application: 3. Ask Permission to Present You've probably heard the expression that people don't like to be sold-to, but they love to buy. That means that before you present the benefits of your products or services, remember to ask for permission. When you thread all these techniques together, a sales conversation might start by pointing out the homework you've done on the other person. Then ask about their needs, confirming your understanding with, “Let me make sure I've got this straight…” Later, ask permission to present with, “Based on what you've told me, I do have some thoughts. Would you like to hear a couple of options that I think would fit for you?” Once the other person agrees, they'll feel less like they are being forced, and more like they are being helped.

About The Author
This article is based on the critically acclaimed book, Becoming a Service Icon in 90 Minutes a Month, by business strategist and international speaker Jeff Mowatt. To obtain your own copy of his book or to inquire about engaging Jeff for your team, visit http://www.jeffmowatt.com or call 1-800-JMowatt (566-9288).

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Getting the Most Return from Your Sales Time Investment (ROI)

Let's face it: you are probably working for far less than you need to. And the sad thing is, you may not even be aware of it or the options you have! As of now, we're going to change that for you, and possibly share with you not only a thought but a vehicle that can change your financial life. We are going to show you how to get much more out of your sales time investment. This probably applies more to the part time, home based business person than the professional...but we have seen, met, and talked with professionals who really are under- valuing their return on time investment. I know.. we are using that "time investment" word alot all ready. But you MUST consider it just as you do a cash or money investment. In fact, it's even more important because once spent or invested, you can't ever get that particular moment or minute back. It's gone. You can always invest more money, but you only have so much irreplaceable time. Your sales time investment is one of the most precious ones you can ever make. As we look at business models, we find on one end, the model that proposes high volume but low profit per sale. Walmart has certainly shown this works, and many, many, many supermarkets work this same way. It will work if you have the ability to create large volumes of sales. The question is: Do you. If you are a individual sales rep or a small business, just how much of an opportunity do you have to create really large volumes. The appeal to the small business person is to do this by creating some type of a multi-level (also and probably incorrectly referred to as a pyramid) sales organization. In the ideal world, IF you can do this, you can create volume. But this could take years to accomplish, and still never guarantee any income or security because (1)The company behind it could go out of business, be taken over.. or any number of things, (2) The pay plan could change, or (3) The group suddenly dissolve, particularly if or when a heavy hitter or group leader decides to switch to another business and takes his distributors or sales force with him. Did you make a good sales time investment if you chose this model?
Of course you still have the ability to sell the product or service yourself, but (1) Can you do volume, and (2) Is the profit per personal sale worth your time? The second business model, at the other end of the spectrum, is one that provides a relatively high profit or earning per sale. Sometimes we think of real estate people and car sales people in this category, as well as sales people of specialized capital equipment. But that's not the majority of us. The downside here is that if we are thinking about selling a high ticket/high profit item, we have to ask (1) Is there a large market and prospect base? and if we are thinking in terms of an ability for a part time person--possibly a "stay at home mom", can this high ticket, high profit product or service be first mastered in terms of the technology, and second, is the customer prospect base readily accessible? In most cases, the answer to those two questions is "no, not available". But if it is or was, then here's a fact that can be virtually carved in stone: IT TAKES NO MORE TIME OR SKILLS TO SELL THE HIGH PROFIT PACKAGE THAN IT DOES TO SELL THE MASS PRODUCT WITH ONLY PENNIES OR DIMES IN PROFIT! Think about that! This is ALL relative to your sales time investment, and once more: It's the MOST IMPORTANT investment y ou have to make. Ask yourself: "Am I working for pennies or dimes when instead with the right vehicle I could be working for dollars?" If the answer is yes, and this is so true of particularly home based business entrepreneurs who are involved in sale of nutritional supplements, skin care, fad gadgets, etc., then ask yourself, "Am I doing this because I want to earn a nice income, and do it as quickly as possible... or am I kidding myself about that goal and I just want to get products wholesale or discounted and have some fun?" Nothing wrong with that, by the way, if you have an hones assessment of what you are doing and why. But..... If your goal is in the area of $4000-$5000 a month or more, and you also don't want to spend all your waking hours "working your business", then it's time to change. As your article writer, I can tell you this is an article written from the school of hard knocks and one that really had us so emotionally involved with the businesses. Rah rah rah; recognition, pins, etc. Amway. Free Life. Primerica. Herbal Life. Been there, done that. Made some money? Yes, but far, far, far less than in other options. And that's just the part time side of things we did to supplement our "real" job. Made some money, but had no security, and worked for far less than we could have been doing. Plus we just sold our time for money there. No residual income.. but that's the subject for another article. We hope this has helped you focus some thinking and our resource block will point you to one tool that will let you change your life.

About The Author
Joe Leech has been involved in both conventional and home based businesses for over 40 years. He offers sound advice from his experience and at his website at http://www.wideworldinfo.com/abundant/opty.html he offers a way to do what he writes about.

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10 Reasons Why Your Company Should Own a Business Credit Card

No matter the size of your company, be it large or small, you may still benefit from owning a business credit card. This article presents 10 reasons why having a credit card that is specificly designed for business is a beneficial decision for both you, your company, and it’s employees. 1. Adds and air of legitimacy Owning a business credit card will bring a level of respect to your company. Whether you are taking a client out on a business related outing, or just making a general purchase, paying with a business card shows people that your company is a legitimate business. In order to get a company credit card, the business must be well established, and this shows that your company has a level of respect associated with it. 2. Builds a positive credit history Just like in your personal life, it is a necessity to build good credit for your business to ensure its future growth. Through the proper use of a company card you will establish a good credit history. This will help your business as you move forward, and look to expand your business in the future. 3. Better perks and discounts Most business cards offer better perks and discounts for their users than similar cards that are not specificly designed for business owners. Business cardholders receive special rates on gym memberships, cell phone plans and devices, office supplies and equipment, rental cars, hotel stays and airfare to name only a few. These discounts are a great way for you to save money when you are making normal business purchases.
4. Earn rewards There are business rewards cards currently available that allow cardholders to earn rewards when making purchases. Some of the reward categories that business cardholders can participate in are airline, hotel, gas, restaurant, and cash back. These rewards are earned when the cardholder makes purchases with their business card. Points or miles can then be redeemed towards discounts on future purchases. 5. Extra protection Business credit cards offer higher levels of protection for their users to help reduce the risk of problems that may arise. Some of the protection features available to users are traveler’s insurance, lost luggage insurance, auto rental insurance, as well as extra layers of identity theft monitoring. These additional features are a great way to protect you and your employees. 6. Higher spending limits Business cards offer a higher spending limit than a standard credit card. This allows companies to make larger purchases and gives business owners more room to carry a balance on the card. 7. Employee and company spending limits Business cardholders are able to set spending limits for the entire company, as well as for each individual employee. This is a great way to help you and your employees stay within a set budget. This allows business cardholders to control the companies spending habits. 8. Additional cards for free Business cardholders will find it easy to receive additional cards for their employees and other potential cardholders within the business, all of which will display the names of each additional cardholder. Most card issuers will charge cardholders a fee for additional cards, but with a business credit card account you will receive additional cards at no extra charge. 9. Eliminate need for cash and checks A major advantage of owning a business credit card is that it eliminates the need for cash and checks. Consider the advantages of this in situations such as business related travel. Business cardholders no longer have to give their employees cash advances, or take the time to add up receipts when they return from business travel to reimburse them for expenses. Instead, business cardholders can use a company card for their expenses, and all of their spending becomes far easier to track. 10. Expense reporting Another fantastic reason for owning a company card is the advanced expense reporting that is offered by the issuers. The credit card companies now offer expense reporting that is compatible with Quicken and Microsoft Money, which allows cardholders the ability to directly tie these reports in with their accounting data. This feature may be especially useful to cardholders during tax season, as it will give those that take advantage of the service exact amounts of their spending and provide useful backups for any receipts that may have been lost or misplaced. Now that you see all of the advantages of owning a business credit card, don’t you think it is time for you to go out and apply or one today?

by Ben Wilver

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baby

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Fixer-Uppers - An investment or a business?

I get that question a lot.
Usually the question is not as direct, but more of a subtle, "Hey, I want to make a lot of money quickly in the real estate investment business. I've heard that you can do that with fixer-uppers. Can you find one for me where I can make a quick $10-50K"?
The short answer to the question is, "ain't gonna happen". The long answer is, "Well, if you're real handy and have established relationships with contractors who are, in addition to yourself; have a lot of excess time on your hands, are an exceptoinally good business person, or have a partner who is and will take care of all of the extensive bookwork involved; have good to excellent credit and have more than adequate reserves on-hand to fund the carrying costs (while you wait for the property to sell), then you might be a candidate to consider buying a fixer-upper". However, it would really much better if you were a full-time contractor, i.e. a professional flipper. This business is not for the faint at heart and it is definitely not a trivial undertaking. Can it be done, sure. Does it always result in success? No. It probably results in failure more often than success, and here is why.
A dentist spends three to four years in professional training before they are ever unleashed on the public to fix teeth. A doctor can spend six years to eight; a neurosurgeon can spend 8-10 years in training, before they are considered capable to perform standalone in their trade. And, in the flipping business, you can make as much or more money than any of these. Do you think this will just come naturally? I'm sure you don't but many do.
Yet, with housing, we all live in something like a house, and we look at the walls, floors, ceiling, sinks, toilet, electrical outlets, etc. every day, and some of us wake even spend a little time with a hammer and nails, yet just because we have had "exposure" to what looks like a good house does not mean we are qualified to take a sow's ear and turn it into a silk purse. (And, don't believe those informercials! What are doing up watching those any how. Get back to sleep!)
Instead of watching infomercials, or even listening bery long to me, I highly recommend the book by Bill Bronchick - Flipping Properties - before you consider "investing" in your first flip house. (That's flip house, not flop).
Here is a link http://www.amazon.com/Flipping-Properties-Generate-Instant-Profits/dp/0793144914 and another http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&an=bronchick&y=6&x=10
If, after you've read one of these and you're still interested in finding a fixer-upper in Des Moines, or surrounding suburbs, give me a call. I'm not opposed to working with the legally insane as your bird dog, representing you as your buyer's agent.
We'll need to establish a few ground rules first, so that we don't waste each other's time, but if we can get beyond those, then we can have some fun in the hunt. All I'll expect in return is the listing on the other side, should you choose to employ a Realtor (and, if you're a flipper and you don't employ a Realtor, you won't be a flipper for long -- I guarantee it!).
If that sounds fair, you've read at least one of these books, and you're still interested in a hunt, then email me. We'll meet and then make a decision whether there is a basis for further discussion. Finding a needle in the hay stack can be tough, and a good flip candidate is a needle in a hay stack, but they are out there.
Oh, did I happen to mention that flipping houses is a business, not an investment? I hope after all of that I did manage to convey that message. Party on, flipper ...

by Andrew Lietzow, MBA - Iowa Realty

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Retirement Investing. Use Your IRA or 401K To Invest In Condotel rental income properties

PLC International Marketing Networks continues to reward investors with exciting offshore investment opportunities in the Philippines by introducing the Self-Directed IRA/401K:
Beth Collingz, PLC Global Marketing Director for Pacific Concord Properties Inc’s Lancaster Brand of Condotels in the Phillipines recently announced that US investors can use their IRA to invest in Real Estate, collect rents and watch their investments grow tax-free or tax-deferred.
Historically, real estate has provided many Americans with a stable investment vehicle that provides both income and appreciation. One of the greatest tools available to real estate investors is government-sponsored retirement plans, such as IRAs.
Very few Americans realize that they have the option to self direct their IRAs and other retirement plans into real estate. Most investors believe that their only IRA investment options are bank CDs or the stock market and mutual funds, not real estate. If you currently are a successful real estate investor, or are just looking to diversify your retirement portfolio, the combination of real estate and your IRA can be very powerful.
Why Haven’t I Heard of the Real Estate IRA Before?
Most IRA custodians do not offer truly self directed IRAs/real estate IRAs. They will only allow you to invest in their approved list of investment options, not real estate. IRA investing at a bank will probably be limited to CDs; at a brokerage firm, to stocks, bonds and mutual funds.
In addition, pre-construction condos, such as the Lancaster Suites Atrium Condotels in the Philippines, are reported to be one of the most hassle-free, profitable real estate investments to use!
With stocks and mutual funds constantly fluctuating in value and the risk of loosing all your money, real estate is still the only investment with true value.
The tremendous advantages a real estate IRA and other self directed retirement plans offer Americans include the following:
• The power of compound interest• Reduction of taxable income• Asset protection• Estate planning
For further info please do not hesitate to contact us:
Beth CollingzPLC International Marketing NetworksPacific Concord Properties Inc., Manila Head OfficeShaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City. Metro Manila. PhilippinesPhone: Manila [632] 717 1958Fax: Manila [632] 718 1828
Pacific Concord Properties Inc., Cebu OfficeLapu-Lapu City, Mactan. Cebu. PhilippinesPhone: Cebu [6332] 340 0721Fax: [6332] 495 4938EMail: plcsales@pldtdsl.netWeb: http://www.lancastersuites.com [Lancaster Condotels]

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The Most Important Wealth-Building Element of Building Your Business

Reggie T. desperately wanted to start his own business, but his financial obligations made it impossible for him to quit his job and go without a salary until he could grow a business into profitability. And with his demanding hours as a low-level manager in a retail store, he just couldn’t find any time to start a business on the side.
To say that he was frustrated is an understatement.
Then Reggie got laid off from his job. At first, he panicked, but the layoff gave him the perfect opportunity to take the plunge and start his own business.
Reggie’s hobby was martial arts. Not only was he a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, he was a good instructor. And he realized that this gave him what Michael Masterson calls a "financially valuable skill" - a skill that other people will pay for. As a result, he was able to use his expertise and teaching ability to build a small business giving martial arts lessons.
All this happened five years ago - and Reggie thought his future looked great. He was doing something he enjoyed, and he was working for himself instead of someone else.
But here’s the problem: Reggie now finds himself in almost the same predicament he was in as a retail manager. He’s working long, arduous hours, and is barely making a living.
Yes, teaching martial arts is more fun than managing a stock crew and cashiers - but because he hasn’t been able to get ahead financially, Reggie’s business feels like a ball and chain holding him down. He spends so much time keeping it going that he has no time to develop another stream of income.
Here is Reggie’s critical mistake: He built a business that is solely dependent upon him. Without him, the business will fall apart. That’s a big burden for anyone to carry. If you develop this kind of operation, you don’t really have a business. All you’ve done is given yourself a job.
Reggie sold his lessons by focusing on his personal credentials. And his students loved the way he taught. When he brought in an instructor-trainee to ease his workload, attendance dropped. So Reggie decided to bring in an expensive, highly qualified instructor.
At first, attendance remained steady and Reggie thought he’d finally found an answer that would allow him to expand. But then he ran into another problem. His new instructor built a strong loyalty with the students he taught, and decided to start his own school … taking a lot of Reggie’s students with him.
If you want to become wealthy as an entrepreneur, you must build a business that allows other people to fill your shoes. This is true of any business, not only a service business like Reggie’s. In other words, as Michael Masterson said in ETR #1050, "If you want to be able to control your own time - to come to work when you wish, leave when the whim to do so hits you, and take long, worry-free vacations - you must become replaceable."
So… how can you build a business that will work with other people running the show? Here are some ideas:
1. Try to base your business on a service that is not dependent on your personal skills.
It’s a lot easier to grow a business if the nature of the service you’re providing makes it possible for you to hire other people to take care of your customers as well as you could.
For example, if you have a lawn-service business, your customers probably won’t care who mows the lawn so long as it’s done right. But if you’re a life coach or a masseuse, they will likely have a strong personal attachment to you, and it will be difficult to get them to accept an employee instead.
2. Groom your customers to expect that someone else may render the service in the future.
Now, I’m not saying you can’t be successful in a business where personal interaction is a big part of the service. However, you’ll need to plan ahead if you intend to start transferring your workload to an employee down the road.
If, from the beginning, you plant the seed that you have an associate who may sometimes provide your service, it won’t be a surprise when you gradually replace yourself with him. It helps to build customer confidence in your replacement before you make the actual change by talking about how talented he is.
3. Make it difficult for employees to steal your customers.
I’m not a lawyer, so I’m not offering legal advice here. But one way I successfully prevented employees from stealing my customers was to have them sign a "non-compete" agreement when I hired them. By keeping the contract reasonable, it was enforceable. For example, a court probably wouldn’t uphold an agreement that your employee could never start his own business in the same field as yours. But if the agreement prevents him from starting his own business within 10 square miles of your location for two years after leaving you, that could work. And two years is long enough for any loyalty your customers may have with him to evaporate.
I was advised by my lawyer that one of the elements a contract must have in order to be enforceable is "consideration." For example, if John signs a contract to clean Debbie’s house every week for 10 years without being paid, that agreement is likely unenforceable because John is not receiving any consideration in return for his work. And consideration doesn’t necessarily have to be monetary. I always worded my agreements in a way that made it clear the employee was making the agreement in exchange for the training he was getting. According to my lawyer, the training I provided qualified as consideration.
If you don’t feel confident writing your own non-compete agreement, I definitely recommend hiring a lawyer to do it. The small amount of money you invest in doing it could eventually save your business.
I like service businesses because they often require little capital and can be started on a part-time basis. But be sure to lay the groundwork so you end up with a real business that can expand (and even be sold)… instead of just another job.

By : Larry Fredericks has owned and operated over half a dozen highly successful small businesses. Learn where to find a "goldmine" of investors for your business - and the step-by-step process to attract them - in his "Street Smart Business" program.]

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7 Tips On Claiming Your Tax Deductions for Business and Charitable Contributions

The tax situation for us last year is looking a little complicated, thanks to a combination of life events, business moves and tax law changes that have just recently come up. I have just finished speaking to my tax accountant and he told me jokingly, that we were in trouble.
My tax guy is not too happy about the additional work we are making him do, and as a consequence, he’s forced into filing for an extension for our taxes, despite our early preparation efforts. This isn’t altogether our fault though, because he claims that this year is one of the busiest his seen in a while, mainly due to some company bankruptcies affecting some of his other clients, some personal bankruptcies and foreclosures going on, as well as last minute changes in the tax law that have happened in the last year.

Here’s why our taxes are more convoluted this year than in previous years.

Our Tax Return Headaches
(1) We unloaded 75% of our company stock options in a very short span of time.I’ve mentioned this ad nauseam here, given how much it’s impacted our lives. Because of these financial events, we are seeing a bit of a bump in our income due to the option unloading that we did last year, despite our main breadwinner’s job loss. This one time only situation has pushed us into AMT territory, so we’re bracing for some bigger taxes this year. Not that we’re seeing any material benefits to any option gains we’ve made, as these are being poured right back into the new businesses we’re trying to establish. As I’ve said before, when those options were liquidated: bye bye easy retirement.
(2) I started a few home businesses and a consulting service.The loss of a steady job in our household has encouraged me to look into additional income sources to help support our cash flow needs at this time. This spawned some home business ventures which brought in a small profit last year. While some of these businesses worked, others didn’t. The tax guy has allowed us to look into applying home office and business expenses deductions against any profit, which has yielded some tax savings. If there were no profit, he wouldn’t have been keen on having us take a home office deduction as that would potentially trigger an audit.
As a reminder, here are the things you can expect to deduct as business expenses:
Home office
Travel, meals, entertainment and gifts
Professional fees and dues
Office supplies
Insurance premiums
Furniture
Retirement contribution
Other equipment
Social Security
Software and subscriptions
Telephone charges
Mileage
Child and other labor
Now the home office deduction can be part of what you decide to claim. It’s a neat tax deduction if you can qualify for it, because it permits you to deduct expenses you’re already paying for to run your household. The idea is that since you’re using a proportional amount of resources to run your office, that portion of your expenses can be taken out of your gross income for tax considerations. Just how much of the space is deductible? Measure your work area and divide by the square footage of your home. That percentage is the fraction of your home-related business expenses — rent, mortgage, insurance, electricity, etc.– that you can claim.
Here are the ingredients for your home office deduction:
Property insurance
Utilities/telecommunications fees
Home repairs specific to your office
DSL/other fees to support your home office operations
(3) I screwed up my charity tax deduction tracking process.Every year, I’m usually pretty good about recycling our surplus items to give away as charity donations. But we were somewhat distracted by changes in our usual routine last year, so that I wasn’t as meticulous with our financial record tracking as I normally am. In the past, this wouldn’t be an issue in the realm of charity deductions since that would mean that I could claim our donations of under $5,000 in our tax return without much question, though to be sure, I get Salvation Army receipts as well as refer to proper appraisals and valuations of property via books and software such as It’s Deductible. But since I’ve been bad, and because new laws have just been passed about stricter government regulations regarding charity donations, I’m out in the cold this time. It looks like the only things I can claim this year are the ones I’ve made in cash, since I have cashed checks to prove my donations. On this subject, find some interesting views in the financial blogosphere about dealing with charitable contributions here and here.
Tax Deductions Require Proof, So Sayeth Uncle Sam
How can we all make sure we have sufficient evidence to justify our business and charity deductions? Here are some tips to cover our assets:
(1) Take photos of your home office.
(2) Take photos of your donated items to charity.
(3) Cash donations now require receipts.This new requirement has now taken effect in 2007. If you plan to deduct cash donations to your church or to any other type of collection box, you’re now required to keep receipts.
(4) Store your various receipts and keep an actual record of your receipt amounts.If you’re running a business or just plan to itemize deductions, keep your evidence in one place. Organize and store your receipts, even in a shoebox at a minimum. Consider investing in a financial software package to help you with your record tracking and organizational tasks.
(5) Get software or books that help value your donated items.It’s Deductible is an example of such a book. It may also be available in software form.
(6) Itemize your donated items more carefully.You need to provide more descriptive information now such as “five shirts, two pants, one lamp, one chair” rather than just something like “two boxes of miscellaneous items”. Your deductions will need more elaboration in your tax return.
(7) For more expensive items, you may want to get an appraisal.I can imagine what a hassle this can be so it’s only something to consider for truly more valuable goods.
With our tax guy complaining, I’m just glad I have him to do all the work instead of us trying to wrestle with all the requirements on Turbo Tax. Knowing the esoteric kinks that exist in our financial situation, it would take me till kingdom come to work things out. So for now, I feel it’s worth the premium to pay our pretty fiscally conservative tax guy, whom I consider as a form of insurance against costlier tax mistakes and the potential for a dreaded audit. I told him that the only time I’d ever consider using Turbo Tax is if our lives ever got simpler, but I doubt things will ever be that way again. So I’m going to live by the saying: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Resources:AMT: Middle class more at risk than millionairesIRS cracks down on charity cheatsGive and grow rich with charitable deductions

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Wish You Could Quit Your Day Job? Do It the Smart Way!

It doesn’t take long to realize that you’ll have a hard time accumulating any significant wealth by working for someone else. Your check looks kind of puny after taxes take a big bite. Your expenses seem to grow in direct proportion to your salary. Your retirement fund… well, actually, you haven’t gotten around to funding it yet.
You’ve also got to deal with all the other downsides of having a full-time job – a demanding boss, difficult co-workers, a bumper-to-bumper commute. It’s enough to make anyone dream of self-employment. That dream leaves you with lots of questions – and if you don’t answer them wisely, you’ll find yourself crawling back to the world of employment.
What Are Your Skills?
In all your years as an employee, you’ve developed some skills that you can use in your own business. It may take some creative thinking to nail down a business that matches your skills. One way to start narrowing the field is to make a list of your skills – list everything, including things you haven’t done in years. Then, ask a few people to make similar lists about you. Finally, compare these lists to see which skills come up most often.
With those skills in mind, brainstorm about businesses that use them. Think outside of the employee realm. For instance, a teacher could start a tutoring business, become a consultant to educational publishers, or open an after-school program.
You’ll probably end up with a list of exciting options. Your best option is one you can start doing while you’re still employed. Your job will serve as training wheels, and help keep you from stressing out while you build your business. Your best bet is one that’s simple, that’s got a fairly short path from startup to profit, and that’s not heavy on initial expenses.
Think Things Through
Once you’ve decided on a business, you’ve got a long list of other decisions to tackle. You’ll need a business plan, a name, a tax entity structure, a business bank account, some marketing strategies, goals, and tactics.
As the business owner, you also get to cast the vision for your business. What do you want your business to offer its clients? This question goes way past the actual product or service you’ll provide to the benefit your business will bring to people. Answering this question thoughtfully will lead right into your marketing plan.
For example, the teacher who decides to start a tutoring business may want to give families peace of mind, and peace at home. A struggling student means worried parents, which often leads to dinnertime struggles. Students who receive the academic help they need experience success in school, and are better able to complete their homework independently.
So, this would be the teacher’s vision for her tutoring business – giving her clients a more peaceful family life. The marketing materials for the business should reflect this key benefit, meeting prospective clients’ needs as they see them.
You Don’t Have to Do It All Yourself
Many of the other particulars surrounding the business plan can be handled by professionals – a CPA to advise on business entities, a copywriter to develop marketing materials, and a banker to assist in opening accounts and credit lines.
Part of developing a business plan is revenue modeling. This is determining several different income streams for the business, developing strategies to bring that business in, and projecting how much income will come into the business.
Take Action
Once your business plan is in place, the next step is taking action. It takes boldness, energy, and dedication to get your new business up and running. You’ll need to learn all the different aspects of business ownership: marketing, sales, customer service, record keeping, budgeting, and management.
As money starts trickling in, it’s pretty exciting. But don’t quit your day job yet! Wait until your business consistently pulls in at least as much as you bring home from your job. You’ll have higher expenses (health insurance, especially), but they’ll come out of your revenue before taxes. Once your income’s steady and high enough to live on, you can take that long-awaited walk into your bosses office and say, “I quit!”

By Sue LaPointe

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Home|Business Rental Problems

If you are renting a place to live and planning some major home renovation to improve the house, think twice before putting your hard earned money into it. Some people who rent sink some major cash or even go as far as acquiring a personal loan, multipurpose loan or even a business loan to finance the renovation project should be aware of some unscrupulous practices some landlord will do to take advantage of you. This also applies to people who rent their business establishment. Don't undertake expensive major renovation without first securing a written and notarized contract from your landlord prohibiting sudden rent increase, extending your rent contract for a couple of more years and prohibiting the landlord to sell the place you are renting during the contract period. I have two cases to share with you what are the consequence of undertaking major renovations without first securing a new contract.I have a businessman friend who rented a run down warehouse near the highway in Buendia, Makati City. He is into selling second hand vehicles, so he decided to open a showroom and secured a 3 month trail contract with the landlord. he obtained a loan from the bank and spent more than 500k renovating the warehouse into a nice showroom. The landlord noticed this and took advantage. During the second month of the rental, he decided to increase the price of the rent 3 folds upon the expiry of the original contract. The businessman was of course shocked about this but was unable to do anything because anything done to the place is to the sole benefit of the landlord and he is in no way obligated to pay the for the improvements. If we observe this situation carefully, the landlord knew he could rent his place at a higher amount to someone else due to the improvements. So he deliberately tripled the rent to get rid of the businessman so he is free to rent it to someone else. If the businessman bites to the three folds increase of rent, the unscrupulous landlord will be doubly happy. Either way its a win-win situation for him.
My businessman friend naturally refuses the new arrangement and has consulted a lawyer about his situation to see if there is some remedy to be done. Now he's depressed due to having taken out a loan from the bank and now he has to pay for legal consultation fees aside from the expenses of running his business and feeding his family. Renovations are necessary when moving into a new place but anything that requires some major cash investment should be thought of carefully by first securing a written guarantee so you will benefit from whatever improvements you spent in the property.

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5 Surefire Ways To Increase Your Sale

Every small businessman can have now the chance to become successful and popular on the market no matter what they sell. The key is a good marketing strategy, whether we are talking about the offline businesses or the online ones. By using the Internet to promote your business you can reach your goals in a short time and with a low investment. The only thing you must do in order to avoid any failures is to learn from your experiences or better, from others. If you will choose from the start the best methods to advertise your online business, the rate of success will be higher and you will be the witness of a fast and profitable ascension.The hardest step in the online businesses as a beginner is to achieve your first sale. Every time you sell an item make sure you add the customers name and email address to the opt-in-list. Than, you can send them free email courses through auto responders and monthly newsletters, making sure they will be informed about your new product releases and the advantages of purchasing them. A review of the product can inform the customers about the qualities of the product and consequently, attract new customers. It is a low cost method that can gradually increase your sales, no matter the product you are selling.
If you decide to use an affiliate program in the campaign of increasing your sales you should pay attention and choose an affiliate program that has a good reputation and that can assure you a higher profit. Providing them with the best materials and tools for advertising your website will seal the success of your business and increase your sales high sky. You can offer the possibility of joining the affiliate program to the people who buy your products and a happy customer that has already tried your product and has seen its qualities is the best person to promote it further. All customers love discounts, therefore a great way to promote your business and obtain a nice profit is to offer discount coupons. Getting the product to a lower price draws the customers and after they will enjoy the benefits of using it, they will more likely return and buy it at a whole price. You can also give them the chance to obtain an upgrade for a better or bigger product for a convenient price, such as having two products with a 10% off price than if you buy them separately.Even if it seems strange, you can promote your products in combination with other related ones. As long as you and the partner company gain, the possibilities are unlimited. A sample of your product given as a promotional item at the purchase of another related product is a good way to advertise your business, even if it isn’t as profitable as the other methods. We are sure that some of the above mentioned advertising methods can get you higher sales if you decide to apply them as a part of your marketing strategy, now it depends on you to choose the one that is the most adequate for your online business.

By: Steven Wong

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Five Factors to Consider Before Investing in Residential Real Estate

During the past decade, many people have jumped into residential real estate investing. This was never so true as during the recent real estate boom. People read all the “get rich quick” schemes that litter the book shelves of libraries and book stores — use other people’s money, use no money of your own, and make millions! A lot of people did make great sums of money during the most recent boom; but now those, who did not get out before the market cooled, are seeing those investments in foreclosure due to their inability to make the mortgage payments.Just because the real estate market isn’t over the top, as in the past few years, does not mean you no longer can make money in residential real estate. The difference between now (post-boom) and during the market boom is that the “get rich quick” schemes will not work.Do You Have What It Takes?Investing in real estate is not for the faint hearted, the non-risk takers. It is for investors who are in it for the long haul, who can easily sit on their investment (if need be) until the market shifts in their favor. It also is for those who truly enjoy this type of investment. They are the ones who are the most successful in real estate investing.
You must be willing to invest time — upfront and before each potential investment. If you do not take the time to research the properties and your target market, you probably will not be very successful. You also must gather knowledge on how to make a real estate deal that works in your favor. That requires educating yourself to understand the jargon and game rules. Today, it takes a careful, methodical approach to residential real estate investing, especially when acquiring your first property.Besides needing time and money, being a risk taker, and being willing to commit to a long-term investment, if needed, there are five additional factors you must consider each time before you make an investment in residential real estate.Supply and Demand — Where Is the Current Market?The economics of supply and demand is what makes the long-term investors successful in residential real estate. They are willing to weather the ups and downs of the real estate market, waiting for an advantageous market to sell their property.Supply and demand is influenced by many economic factors, which in turn affects the residential real estate market. Well-located residential real estate will endure fluctuations in the market and continue to appreciate in value. Knowing your market means knowing when to buy or not to buy, which deals will work when, and when to sit on an investment or sell it.Your CreativityAnother factor to consider is your own creativity in managing your investments. Residential real estate is one type of investment that allows for a lot of creativity:• You may invest for the long term, renting the property to continue making a profit while waiting to sell at a more advantageous time. You can purchase a home to fix up and resell immediately for a profit.• There are many financing options available for residential real estate, allowing for even more creativity. You also can invest on your own, with a group of partners, with a corporation, or even with a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT — a mutual fund with real property assets or mortgage securities).• There is an abundant variety of residential real estate types in which to invest — single-family homes, townhouses, condominiums, and duplexes.The more creative you are in creating and managing your real estate investments, the more profitable and successful you will be.Other People’s MoneyA third factor is knowing how you can use other people’s money to your advantage without landing in foreclosure, as so many people now are who subscribed to the “get rich quick” schemes during the boom.You can begin with only a few thousand dollars, using other people’s money to underwrite the remaining mortgage. You must know all the different ways available to finance your investment. This goes back to taking the time to educate yourself, before you begin investing, and creatively making the best use of financing.Other People’s TimeWhether you are fixing up real estate to sell or renting it, it will take time, effort and management. If you already have a full-time job and a family, you probably cannot do it all yourself, and I doubt you wish to be woke up at 2 a.m. by a renter with a plugged toilet.Using contractors to fix up the property or experienced property managers to handle your rental real estate makes for less profit in your pocket on your individual investment properties. However, it frees up your time to invest in more properties, making your overall profits much higher.Your Tax AdvantageResidential real estate investing is quite unique. It offers you tax write-offs not available in other types of investments. There are many deductions available to you — deducting the mortgage interest or refinancing without being taxed are just two examples. There are many benefits to real estate investing that reduce your tax liability and increase your profits.If you believe residential real estate investing is for you, begin by learning more about it. There are thousands of books and resources on the topic. Stay away from anything that sounds too good to be true. It probably is, especially in today’s real estate market.Click here for more information on San Diego Real Estate.
This article is free for republishingSource: http://www.articlealley.com

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Discover Your True Self

Discovering your true self is a crucial stage in your personal development

Just think of this: how well do you know your true self? And what is it exactly that you know? How many personal facts or character features do you know? What do you think of your true self? Is this the ultimate pride you’re feeling, or maybe shame or even fear? Your self-growth and the success of personal development efforts are entirely dependant on how well you know yourself and how you feel about your personality.

I hope you will forgive me for starting my entry with questions yet again. It seems to me that I quite enjoy starting some of my personal development articles this way. Probably, because no matter how much further I progress in my self-growth, I always get to some next level of self-understanding only to ask the next round of questions. It seems impossible for me to reach a point where I’m going to run out of all the questions and just sit there not knowing what should be done next, feeling that the quest for personal growth is over. I’m always full of questions. I’m always keen on learning something new. And sometimes it’s not clear at all whether it’s my questioning that makes me learn more or it’s my learning which makes me question everything.
My true what?

Yes, you’ve read it correctly. Your true self! And if you think you don’t know what I’m talking about, think again. Your true self is how you feel yourself when nobody’s watching. It is where your deepest thoughts live. It is what you ultimately think of yourself, how you treat yourself and what you fear others might see inside you. It is your most native and real personality.

Strangely enough, up until some quite recent point, I honestly believed that your true self is something you’re always aiming for as a person. It is the much better you which lives in your dreams – a successful guy or a beautiful girl which you always wish you could become one day. I thought becoming your true self is only about improving or gaining something about yourself. Turns out, I was wrong.


Your worst fears

Have you ever done something you wish no one could ever find out about? Chances are, you have. Do you still remember what exactly it was, and why you didn’t (and maybe still don’t) want anyone to find out about it?

Quite often, we do something and then try and justify our behaviour using things, events and people we see around us. A little bit less common but still very popular is to go through this process the other way around – justifying our actions, and then actually making them.

We do something only to realise how stupid it was, and this is when you can easily hear the inner voice of yours. That’s your true self talking there right now. This is the voice which, depending on your character, will either encourage you to take even more actions or discourage yourself as much as possible. This is the inner voice which easily controls a great part of your self-esteem. And like it or not, your true self is absolutely right in most cases.

So what happens then? We hear ourselves thinking about some events and we hear quite reasonable explanations inside our heads on the subject. We get to hear all the truth on the topic, and nothing but the truth. And if we’ve just made a mistake, most likely this is the moment when we feel ashamed. We look at what we’ve just done again and again and we simply can’t comprehend how something so stupid could be so easily done.

What’s the next usual step you take? Honestly now? Most of us will try and cover the tracks. We’ll pretend we didn’t notice something, or we’ll make it look like we don’t feel so good and we can’t possibly be held responsible for whatever just happened. Sometimes we won’t even bother with inventing or showing anything, we’ll just try running and hiding away. And we succeed at this, too! So quite often after doing something, it is really only ourselves who know what really happened and have the power to explain or fix the things done. But we very rarely do.

Why? Because that’s the human nature. We always have this fear. The fear of showing our real self, the fear of being exposed, the fear of being rejected for what we really are. This is because on top of our true selves, we’ve always got some layers of our personality – and as we go through our lives, these layers just keep adding up unless we do something about them.


Layers of personality and your personal growth

I personally don’t think it’s very important to know how many layers your personality has. As long as you’re conscious about having SOME layers, you’re fine. This means there is still hope that you can try and lift these layers, slowly and carefully peel them off and see (and maybe even show, if you're adventurous enough) your true self.

You see, your true self is always right about everything. But our personality layers make us hide this truth, disguise it and then explain why we did it in such a way that we can live with it.

For instance, if you’re at work and you’ve got some task on your to-do list which you hate even thinking about, you’ll definitely try reasoning with yourself and explaining why it is very important that today you’re busy doing something quite different. Anything, in fact, except this one task you hate thinking about. It takes some training to finally find the courage to accept and explain things the way they really are. To absolutely agree with your true self and to accept what your course of actions should be.

We all have layers of personality for various reasons. Not all the layers serve the only purpose of making you look better in someone else's eyes. Sometimes you need these layers to feel (to appear) less vulnerable to others. Quite often people add negative layers simply to hide how really weak or fragile they are. But it's important to stay conscious about having few sides to your personality, and even more important to learn how to skip some of these layers and avoid their demonstration. You will make a great progress in your self-growth as soon as you master dealing with your personality layers. You don't want to be hiding them. Instead, you should probably make it one of your personal development goals to ensure you take a closer look at every side of this personality of yours, and to analyze how much of a benefit it is to maintain or cultivate it, and to decide what parts of your personality are better for you to show and to hide.


Rediscover yourself

You can still probably remember the times where you could speak or act freely, without any fears regarding the impact your behaviour may have. Do you remember how good you felt back then? And can you spot what exactly have changed since then?

While I'm sure you have your reasons for changing over the past years, not all the changes you've gone through were really that necessary. And luckily for you, there is still time to revert some of these changes. And here are just a few steps which will help you rediscover yourself:
Listen to your heartYou still get these moments in your life where you face some difficult situation and you even when you see the next logical step to the resolution, there is some resistance which makes you stop and think more before taking the action. I'm talking about the moments where your true self suggests you should do something, yet you know you can't do just that due to some reasons imposed by the environment or the situation you're in. A good example of this is any difficult argument with your better half or a true friend, especially when somewhere deep inside you know and you feel you're not right.
How many times did you have to force yourself into such an argument and you couldn't let yourself get out of this simply because you were thinking that if you give in, this would show you're a weak person? There are many other reasons of the same kind, and if you actually take some time and go through them after the argument, many of them would make no sense whatsoever. They seemed to be important to you at the time of an argument, but they're suddenly not anymore. This is exactly the situation I'm talking about.
When your heart tells you to stop arguing because what your opponent feels is much more important to you that what this person thinks, trust your feelings and stop. You'll be amazed how many times such an act of yours will be greatly appreciated by the person you were arguing with.
Focus on giving value No matter what you're working on, focus on giving value, and not on what impression you're going to make. There are many prejudiced people around - no matter what you do, they will not change their opinion about you. As long as they have the slightest suspicion you're doing something for you, and not for them, they're not going to change their point of view.
But what if you could just forget about the impression? Forget about people who might find your questions or actions silly. Focus on the value you're going to give my taking some actions. Focus on the people who will benefit from your actions, and how exactly they're going to appreciate the value.
This is true for many aspects of our life. If you forget about yourself, and concentrate on giving value to others, you're bound to improve their attitude. People like getting value, and they appreciate it even if they don't openly tell you.
Maintain your integrity There are many situations when doing something conflicts with your inner feelings or thoughts. Get into the habit of analyzing such situations.
Quite often we conflict with our principles for the sake of looking good or making some progress. That's why it is very important to always make sure you know if such a sacrifice is really necessary. If it's something not important, you should never conflict with yourself, because in many situations you're acting in a certain way simply because of the situation you're in. What happens then is that the situation will change, while you will be left on your own with your thoughts and conflicts.
Maintain your integrity - many problems are not worth the self-conflicts you're getting into.
Respect your goals and values This is probably the most important aspect of staying in peace with yourself. If you don't respect what's important for you in long term, you're putting yourself under a risk of becoming a slave to other situations and people who will manipulate you.
Yes, it's always good for you to give value to others, but you should avoid doing it at your own goals and values expense. If you know that helping someone else make things worse from your own goals and values point of view, take some time and reconsider.
In many cases, the little value you're going to force yourself give to someone else will not be worth the personal goals of yours which you may not meet as the result.

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Why success online requires persistence (and a good strategy)

Good online business & marketing ideas aren’t short of coming up with. I know this because on any given week people email and call me asking for advice. These ideas usually equate to them seeing the end result - “I want to sell more of XYZ online” or “I want to build a social network around my brand”. However, what often happens is that they fail to see the small details that make up the bigger picture and how these work in unison with each other. This is why a web strategy is important.
You see, you may have great online business ideas but you probably won’t make a success out of them if you don’t follow up with a solid, measurable strategy. Amongst other things, a web strategy defines predetermined goals and milestones, the expected results, and the ways in which they will be attained. Furthermore, a web strategy should facilitate incremental growth based on successes. What do I mean by this?
Web marketing consists of an array of online activities all aimed at communicating with a targeted audience to deliver a return on investment. These activities integrate with the overall marketing and communications strategy but require that we break them down into steps, both in terms of measurement and rollout.
I’m a firm believer in developing a platform that becomes the heart of all further web marketing initiatives. Often the website is this platform (but not always the case). This platform then becomes the core of the online communications strategy.
Building this core and ongoing successes takes time though. The key to building and growing it is measurement. There are two reasons for this:
Measurement allows you to see what works and what doesn’t, in turn giving you the data needed to optimise for results in an almost real-time basis.
Measuring your online successes fuels you with the motivation to keep at it, constantly evolving your ideas and businesses with the Web.
By nature, we are humans who like instant gratification. However, credibility and experience takes time. Credibility often results in relationships with target markets and experience often results in rational decision making. The two are fundamental on the Web.
Success online is achievable by anyone really. It just needs a good strategy that can be regularly measured to be effective.

by Gino Cosme

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Why Seed Investing Is Less Risky Than Later Stage Investing

Ever since I've been in the venture business, some 20 years now, it's been accepted wisdom that early stage, particularly seed stage, investing is inherently more risky than later stage investing. I guess it depends on how you measure risk. In the financial markets, risk is defined as tbe variation of returns around the expected return (the standard deviation from the mean). The more variability in the returns, the more risk there is. And from that perspective I am sure that early stage investing is more risky than later stage investing. But that's largely the limited partner's perspective.
My personal experience suggests something else. As a VC making direct investments in companies, I think we take on way more risk when we invest in a later stage company than an early stage company. Here's three big reasons why:
1) You can't play the poker game. I blogged this before so click on that link and read the whole post, but my basic point is in seed/early stage investing you ante a little, see your cards, decide if you want to invest more in your hand, see some more cards, etc, etc. You get to stage your risk capital as the investment shows itself to you over a number of years. You can manage all kinds of risk this way; management risk, valuation risk, technology risk; and market risk. Classic later stage investors want to be in the last venture round and in that scenario, you are putting all your chips on the table before you've really seen your cards.
2) Later stage investors can't impact the development of the company. They have to accept the direction that has been put in place before they came in. We typically invest in pre-revenue companies. Usually they have the technology platform in place and in most cases, they have launched something with some success. But getting the business model and market entry strategy (the angle of attack) right is key. Is this going to be an enterpise software model, an advertising model, a commerce model, or something else? That's as important a decision as any company can make. Later stage investors have to accept the direction of the company. It's very unlikely that they can change it after their investment, and if they find themselves doing that, something has gone wrong with their investment.
3) Later stage investors take "past sins" risk. When you invest at or near the formation of the company, you are involved in all those decisions that can come back to bite you later on. You can impact the choice of the other investors, how the securities are structured, how the technology is protected, how the employees are compensated, how employees are let go, how the contracts with customers are structured, etc, etc. You can insure that its' done right. That people are treated fairly and equitably so that nobody comes back to bite you in the rear end later on. When you invest in a later stage company, you can diligence this stuff, you can get indemnified, and you can try to protect yourself, but my experience is that when something comes back to bite a company, it bites everyone including the people who were not at the table when the mistakes were made.
When I go back over time and look at my personal portfolio, some 50+ companies, I see this fact so clearly. The returns are higher on the seed/first round investments I've made and the loss rates are significantly lower as well. I suppose that's also an indication that I am better at seed/early stage investing and that there are others who are better at later stage investing than me. But I'd be curious if others in the venture business feel this way too.

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How Not To Run a Business - The Sheep Strategy

As I read this post about the "herd mentality," I couldn't stop thinking about how it applies to running a business. In the post, Stephen Dubner writes about how he regularly waited in line for a crowded bus, only to realize that walking to the next bus stop (which is visible from the first one) cut his wait and allowed him to sit with his daughter, instead of stand during the ride.
Once we hit upon this solution, we haven't boarded a single bus at Point A. We get to sit; we get to listen to the iPod together (we both love Lily Allen, and I don't worry so much about the fresh parts since Lily's British accent renders them nearly indecipherable for Anya); we don't arrive with a smushed lunch.But what I can't figure out is why no other bus passengers at Point A do what we do. To anyone standing at Point A morning after morning, the conditions there are plainly bad. The conditions at Point B are clearly better since a) Point B is close enough to see with the naked eye and b) the buses that arrive at Point A from Point B often have room on them, although only for the first 10 or 20 passengers trying to board at Point A.Personally, I am happy that more people at Point A don't go to Point B (which would make me have to consider boarding at Point C), but I don't understand why this is so.
There's a saying on Wall Street that no one ever got fired buying IBM. It's probably true. If you do what everyone else does, you share the pain of failure. That's why business strategy is such a "me too" game. "We do what they do, only a little better (cheaper, faster, whatever)." That's how some companies do strategy.Take web tv as an example. It's a hot market, and I'm not knocking it - I think it has huge potential (hint hint - watch this blog...) but some mainstream companies are pouring money into it just to say they have a web show division. Listen to them talk for 2 minutes and you realize they are doing it out of fear - out of the desire not to miss the boat. I know because I heard some of them speak at SXSW. It was like a chorus of "me too, me too." But many of them are doing it wrong. Here's the thing - web shows aren't for big budgets. Producing them like tv shows is a sure way to lose money. Yet, that's what some of these companies do. Strategy is built on strengths. Me-Too strategy rarely works because your strengths aren't the same as those of your competitors. If they are, you should build new strengths. Following the herd is a sure way to mediocrity. If that is what you're going for, then ignore this post. Otherwise, don't let the safety of the herd make you too comfortable.

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Will our ego control us or will we control our ego?

The ego, or that part of our minds that constantly thinks in terms of “I”, “Me”, and “Mine” is one of the buttons that people can press deliberately or unintentionally with the result that we are temporarily taken off our desired path of effective personal development or self improvement and onto a road of mental turmoil.
One of the conscious efforts we can make is to try to control our ego, or the ego’s reactions, particularly in terms of our inner responses to events triggered by other people’s behavior that we would normally find irritating.
We all know at least some of the circumstances that can rile us up.
Someone says something to us that we find disparaging or insultingSomebody disagrees with one or more of our beliefs or opinionsSomeone pulls ahead of us into the exact parking space that we have been heading for at a shopping center
Our normal reaction to events like these normally could range from mild irritation to an intense anger coupled with constantly reviewing the disturbing events or comments over and over again in our minds and thereby disrupting our enjoyment of life for hours, and perhaps even days.
“He/she can’t say that to me!”“How could anyone possibly disagree with me on (name the belief or opinion)?”“How dare someone beat me to that parking spot!”
This is the ego at work, making our thoughts run in directions that we really don’t want them to. One of the tools we can use to reduce this tendency is to make a deliberate effort to control the reactions of our ego. But it’s not easy.
Controlling or managing the ego does not mean we become doormats and put up with unacceptable behaviors from other people. But it does mean that we try to keep our reactions to untoward events in perspective so that we are managing our thoughts rather than having our thoughts manage us.
This is an introductory short post to discussions about the ego — a topic I hope to write on in more detail in future articles. There are many behavioral options to work with, ranging from simple anger management, to a concentrated program of inner work to reduce our dependence on “self” and gain more awareness of what constitutes our true inner consciousness.

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Investing Like You’ve Been There

"In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield."
Warren Buffett

By Andrew M. Gordon

You’ve heard it all your life: Great opportunities come with great risks. And 98 percent of the time, risks come from not knowing what you’re doing and not knowing what’s around the corner. But I’m going to show you a way to find great investing opportunities with hardly any risk at all. And - with apologies to Warren Buffett and his quote above - I’m going to do it by providing you with a windshield that is just as clear as the rearview mirror.
I do it all the time. Like a lot of my investing ideas, I learned this one when I used to do business overseas. Let me tell you how I came across it…
In the early days of my global business dealings, I sold a lot of high-tech equipment - biotech, advanced medical equipment, sophisticated machinery, etc. And I was doing pretty well. So when this businessman I knew - GJ - dropped by to show me some of the technology he was selling to the sheiks in the Middle East, I almost laughed in his face.
"This is ancient stuff," I said. "We did this years ago in the U.S."
He smiled. "You’re right. We went through this phase with our gasoline distribution systems back in the 1960s."
"Let me get this straight. You’re selling decades-old technology to billionaire oil barons in the Middle East who can afford the best the world has to offer?"
His grin got wider. "Not only are we selling it… we’re getting swamped with inquiries."
"How the heck are you getting away with that?"
He then explained to me the secret of his business success and why selling technology whose time has come and gone in the U.S. is the easiest way to make money overseas.
"Because there’s nothing they can ask me about it that I haven’t seen before - first in this country, then in Europe, then in Japan, then in Australia, and now in the Middle East. In all of these countries, the market followed basically the same script."
"Yeah, like the script of a bad horror film," I was thinking. I wasn’t yet sold on his unusual business philosophy.
Then he sat me down and filled me in on the history of the technology. He told me how furious oil companies had been over air-quality legislation that required them to overhaul all the gas depots and stations in the U.S. It was going to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
And then he explained how they changed their minds a few years later when they discovered that recovering vapor from the evaporation of gasoline and pumping it back into their storage tanks was extremely profitable. For every dollar they spent on the overhaul, they got one dollar back each and every year from then on.
It sounded so promising that I invited GJ to come with me on my next trip to Asia. We decided to target China, Indonesia, and Thailand.
It was a good partnership. My people set up the meetings, and he went around telling his story. And there wasn’t any question that fazed him.
When he was asked, "Why don’t we simply wait for the next generation of equipment to come along?" he replied: "There is no next generation of equipment. The users who adopted this strategy in the U.S. and Japan merely ended up paying more for the same equipment later on. And, in the meantime, they lost customers as cars and trucks gravitated toward stations using cleaner and faster-pumping equipment."
To the question "Why should we want to represent you and market this technology in our country?" he replied: "The market begins in the major cities. Depending on the configuration of gas stations and depots, you’ll make $15 million every year on projects costing between $15 and $20 million per major city. And for every major city you do, you’ll win projects for approximately five smaller cities."
"And how do you know that?"
"Because that’s how the market unfolded in the U.S., Europe, and Japan."
And on it went with GJ. He knew which technologies succeeded and which failed. He knew the profit margins. He knew how the technology spread. He knew exactly how the market was going to evolve in the countries we visited, because he’d seen it all before.
When we had our first post-trip strategy meeting, he knew exactly what we should do. For example, he told me that China’s market was huge but way too fragmented. It would take time. We needed to be patient and grab a giant company like China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to help us pull a few projects together.
As it turned out, we were a little early in China and a little late in Thailand. We decided to drop both of them.
But for Indonesia, our timing was just right. We decided to focus on Jakarta and Surabaya. A few trips and about 500 marketing hours later, we landed our first vapor recovery project.
From the outset of the project, we nailed everything: The blueprint of the new distribution system, the costs, the timetable, the equipment and manpower needed. GJ told me that Indonesia wasn’t so different from Saudi Arabia.
When I began to spend more time investing, I wondered: Could I recreate this amazing advantage that practically lets you see into the future? Could I use it to help me find opportunities I knew would grow and wouldn’t stab me in the back?
I didn’t see why not. Plenty of technologies besides our vapor recovery technology travel from west to east (or north to south). Markets across the globe don’t rise and fall in unison. Countries are early adopters in some markets and latecomers in others.
Sure, no two countries are exactly alike. But they don’t have to be.
One market that’s worked wonders for my portfolio is the auto industry, home to some of the worst deadbeats in the U.S. Ford, Chrysler, and GM are all taking their lumps. Back in the 1920s, 40s, and 50s, the auto industry fed on a rapidly rising middle class, growing population, and cars that became affordable to a majority of the population.
But competition from Japan and other countries proved too much to overcome. The heyday for the American car industry has come and gone. Toyota and Honda would certainly make better investments than U.S. companies, but they’ve grown so much in the past couple of years that they’re due for a pullback.
Too bad. If you had invested in Toyota back in 2003, you would have tripled your money.
And if you had invested in Ford back in the early 1980s - when its stock went for a buck - you would have made over 30 times your stake (if you got out in early 1999 when its shares peaked).
If you could invest in a young Ford or Toyota, you’d jump at the chance, wouldn’t you?
In Japan and the U.S., more than one out of every two people have a car. But I know a big country where only seven people out of 1,000 own cars. And its middle class is growing like gangbusters. Cars are fast becoming affordable in that country. As a matter of fact, there’s one company in that country that has designed a car that will cost around $2,000. Here’s what I said when I recommended that company for subscribers to ETR’s Wealth Advantage service:
"Looking at this country’s auto industry, its demographics, its growing middle class … well, it’s almost deja vu. I’ve seen American cars grow up. I’ve seen the Japanese and Korean cars grow up. I can pretty much close my eyes and also see how this company will grow up."
There are plenty of other markets that fit this profile - the airline industry, tobacco, appliances, cellphones, snacks and drinks, big-box hypermarket retailers (like Wal-Mart), and many more.
But those markets can be volatile. So this is what I do. I find big, solid U.S. or European companies that have found a way to ride those overseas markets. Or I find very stable and reputable local companies to invest in.
By investing in what you know, you also participate in markets with exciting growth potential when you follow this strategy. Yes, it still takes some work. You have to find the right company to carry the ball for you. And you should always follow developments in the sector and country you’re invested in.
And you should realize that no investment follows a straight path up. Even Ford, on its way to 3,500 percent gains, had setbacks along the way.
Of course, you know this already. You’ve been there and seen it all before.
[Ed. Note: Let Andrew’s experience help build your portfolio with safe and profitable recommendations for investing in the U.S. and overseas. You could get a total return (dividends plus capital gains) of at least 14 percent this year with the high-dividend-paying companies you’ll find with his INCOMEinvestment service.]

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Comparing Billionaires

There are two billionaires that I talk about in this column, but truthfully, you’ve probably only really heard of one of them. The first, Donald Trump is, in many ways the complete opposite of our second billionaire. He is rich and famous. He seems to enjoy his significant wealth and is focused on cash—building it, investing it, growing it, and using it.
Trump’s show, The Apprentice is reflective of Trump’s tastes. He spends an hour each episode working on beating up some twenty and thirty-somethings who aspire to be his apprentice. Only the best will do for Mr. Trump and he quickly dispatches those who are not worthly of his apprenticeship. It is interesting, but perhaps it has something to do with their jobs. Trump, it would seem, from the beginning was focused on being a businessman.
Keeping Score
When it comes to business and finance, once the necessities of life are met, food, water, clothing and shelter, what I would term the supplemental luxuries come in. I think of these items as things that most people have, but are generally considered luxuries because you don’t need them to survive. A car, a house or condo that you own, and a computer, cable or satelite tv, and a cell phone are all examples of these supplemental luxuries.
Ultimate luxuries are things that are generally not even in the vicinity of “necessary” but are things that are fun to have. There is a line somewhere between supplemental and ultimate luxuries. Vacations, multiple cars, pricey dinners out, and investments are all examples of these types of ultimate luxuries. When you are a billionaire like Mr. Trump, it is all the same. Standards are different. And the way that a businessman like Trump measures himself is by comparing his luxuries to the next guy.Buying Happiness
It is not to say that Trump is unhappy. I think that people foolishly like to claim that money cannot buy happiness. However, I’ve seen very few people be unhappy about having too much money. But people who are poor are often worried about not having enough.
Our second billionaire’s name is David Cheriton. He became a billionaire by founding a startup in california and then investing some money in google when Google’s founders presented him with a search engine that already worked well even in its test phases.
Finding Similarities
Both billionaires have become rich as a result of business. Each of these men have a keen eye for opportunities and this talent makes them able to manage risk. Probably in a much more efficient way that we could. The takeaway here is that getting into business is the way to build serious wealth. It is not to say that you shouldn’t work as well. Both billionaires still work, but clearly it isn’t because they have to.Spending Silly
Trump, as documented on his show, spends incredible sums on luxuries. He flies and takes a helicopter and also is always taken care of by his staff. Cheriton clearly could afford that, but he is content with a 1993 Honda Accord and living in the same house he’s had since 1981. This type of living sets Cheriton apart from Trump. Cheriton still works, and if I had to guess, is doing what he really loves. The money doesn’t seem to be a score for him as it is for 100% professional businessmen. The upside for both billionaires though is that they’ve both achieved a position where they could stop working and easily support the needs of their entire families. What a great feeling that must be.
You Can, but Should You
The most interesting thing when it comes to people’s net worth to me is discovering how they handle their wealth. Some people choose to live lavishly like Trump. Enjoying the money that they have seems to be interesting to them and also part of a status. Others like Cheriton live simply, and essentially never really get to the point where they “need” their money to live their lifestyle. Neither one is moderate in my opinion. Each is at the far end of the scale.
Everything in Moderation
Sometimes, in an effort to gain riches we can become overly cheap and perhaps even a little stingy. In order to save enough for your goals, it is absolutely necessary to live below your means. However, how much below your means may be something that you are able to choose and regulate. Saving 50% of your income after your expenses and retirement while sacrificing nice things for others, yourself, and charity might carry an unpleasant stigma. Conversely, running up debt to spend 140% of your income is just as bad, if not worse.
Give yourself permission to spend, to donate, and to enjoy some of the wealth you’ve accumulated. As the addage goes, “you can’t take it with you” so wouldn’t it be a shame if you spent all your energies accumulating for ’someday’, when the day may never come? Perhaps if these two billionaires took some of this advice, we would have some better role models when it comes to spending money.
One thing is certain though, if there seems to be a lack of money in your life, it may be because of how you handle the money you actually do get. This is where Cheriton’s example is really worth something.

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