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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