By: Fabian
Many people these days come to a point in their lives where they consider starting their own business. A home business is becoming increasingly appealing because it's low-cost to start and it can be extremely lucrative.
If you are looking to grow your home business into a global empire, then here are 5 proven ways to do just that:
1. Advertise and market your business extensively. It doesn't mean if you have a website or a business set up, that means you will make money. You need to get traffic (customers) through the door, whether virtual or otherwise. Make marketing and advertising one of your prime activities that you focus on.
2. Set up a home office in your home. It doesn't have to be anything too complicated, but you do need essentials like a PC (of course) that does the job, a printer, a comfortable chair, and maybe a fax machine. You may also need essential software like word processors, web design programs, and HTML website editors. There are free versions of these online.
3. Register your business if it is necessary in your country or in your local state. You can start of a sole proprietor and then move on to incorporating your company when it gets bigger. It is recommended that you consult a professional or a lawyer to set up your business for you.
4. Create a website. Every reputable business these days should have a web presence. Many home businesses these days do their business entirely on the Internet, as it is efficient and profitable to do so. You can have a corporate website or a sales website that sells your products.
5. Be patient. Building a successful home business takes time. Realize that there is no such thing as overnight success. You will need to work at it and hone your craft, so to speak, so you can earn a professional's income from home.
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Tuesday, September 7, 2010
A Guide to Investing Money & Money Management
By: Jim
Much of money management focuses on investing money to reach a financial goal. You can get low-cost investment management help and still be your own money manager. Here's your basic guide to investing and money management on a budget.
As a financial planner I worked with people who needed help with money management, acting as their personal guide to investing. The first step in the financial planning process was to establish financial goals and to get a handle on the client's financial position in terms of income, assets, liabilities and risk tolerance. Then we'd set an appointment where I would come back and make recommendations... usually in regard to investing money to reach their financial goals. In the simplest terms, I got paid if and when people decided to invest money with me. I didn't work for free; at least not most of the time.
Most people have the same primary long-term financial goal: a secure retirement. Whether you are young or older, this requires good money management and translates to investing money. If you don't want to trust and pay a financial planner you can take charge of your own money management by defining your own goals and taking an inventory of what you have to work with. Then, you'll likely need some help with the investment management end of things. This you can do the hard way like most folks do... or the easy way like I'm about to explain in this basic guide to investing.
Most people invest money in a number of places: scattered around in banks, with insurance agents, stock brokers, and other securities salesmen. They get confused and lose control over their investment management; and often pay high commissions and fees in the process. There's a better way to do this and save money at the same time. Open an account(s) with one or two no-load mutual fund companies. As a general guide to investing: there are mutual funds to fit just about any investing need. Here's how investing money in no-load funds (no sales charges or commissions) works.
When you invest money in these funds you do the money management by picking which funds to invest in. The mutual fund company does the investment management according to each fund's financial objectives. You act as your own money manager by matching your goals or objectives to the appropriate type of fund and account. For example, let's say want to invest money for retirement with a tax break. You can open an IRA account and invest in both stock funds and bond funds. Or, you are retired and want to consolidate money from a few different retirement plans. In this case you can do a rollover to a no-load mutual fund company IRA.
Within your mutual fund accounts you can invest for safety, or for higher interest income, or for the higher potential profits that stock funds offer. Investing money doesn't get much easier, and investment management doesn't get much cheaper. Your total cost of investing can be less than 1% a year, with no commissions or sales charges.
A retired financial planner, James Leitz has an MBA (finance) and 35 years of investing experience. For 20 years he advised individual investors, working directly with them helping them to reach their financial goals.
About the author:
Jim is the author of a complete investor guide, Invest Informed, designed for average investors or would-be investors of all levels of financial background and experience. To learn more about investments and investing and his new financial guide go to http://www.investinformed.com.
A Guide to Investing in 2010 & Beyond
By: Jim
The traditional guide to investing or investing guide tends to focus on stocks and bonds and the benefits of the balance achieved by owning both. In past years this basic investment strategy has worked for the most part. Investing in 2010 and beyond might be a different story.
Any guide to investing or investment strategy for 2010 and beyond will need to make adjustments in focus. For many years the major investment houses have recommended a balanced portfolio consisting of stocks and bonds. Conventional wisdom assumes that investing 60% in stocks and 40% in bonds should produce good long term returns at only a moderate level of investor risk. Little attention has been given to the other asset classes or other major investment options.
Over the years investors and money managers tended to act and react to the economic environment in a somewhat predictable fashion. In bad economic times they sold stocks and bought bonds, which sent stock prices down and bond prices up. As the economic picture brightened they moved money from bonds to stocks sending stock prices higher. Both investments did well in the 1980s and 1990s as the economy generally grew and interest rates generally fell over that time period.
Even in more recent times a portfolio of stocks and bonds worked, as losses in one asset class were at least somewhat offset by gains in the other. Together they offered the investor both the higher income from bonds and the higher growth and profit potential of stocks. Plus, this basic traditional investment strategy produced a balanced portfolio with only a moderate level of risk. Investing in 2010 and beyond won't be that simple.
The real problem with the guidance provided in a traditional guide to investing or with the conventional investment strategy discussed above is the level of today's interest rates. In 2010 interest rates hit record lows, approaching zero in the money markets. When rates reverse direction and head upward in the future bonds will fall in value, period. Stock prices will fight an uphill battle as consumers cut spending, causing corporate sales and profits to fall.
Think "diversification" as your guide to investing in 2010 and beyond, and move some of your investment dollars outside of the traditional box of stocks and bonds. Include the other two asset classes in your investment portfolio: safe cash equivalents like money market funds, and alternative investments like real estate, gold, and natural resources mutual funds. The first will pay interest that increases as interest rates go up; and well selected alternative investments can produce profits to offset losses in a falling stock market.
A retired financial planner, James Leitz has an MBA (finance) and 35 years of investing experience. For 20 years he advised individual investors, working directly with them helping them to reach their financial goals.
About the author:
Jim is an author of a complete investor guide, Invest Informed, designed for average investors or would-be investors of all levels of financial background and experience. To learn more about investments and investing and his new financial guide go to http://www.investinformed.com/.
