Long-term investing in the stock market can offer a passive return around 5-8% if you remain invested for 30 years; but, unfortunately, that return is before taxes and inflation. This is so low because the company founders, backers, early investors, investment bankers, etc., have removed all foreseeable profit from the company before it is ever offered to the public market. There is a spectrum of investments available to you that is dependent on how much effort you are willing to put into educating yourself, networking, and performing your own investment due diligence. If you dont want to do any work, you are going to receive the tiny return of a CD or mutual fund in exchange for supporting many people (in expensive suits) in between you and the actual business that is making money. For people willing to educate themselves and put forth added effort, they will be sitting across the table from business owners and managers; investing directly into a business that pays monthly or quarterly cash returns from 10 to over 20%.

For example, lets suppose that there is a great single-family rehabber in your area. This rehabber buys homes in bad condition, fixes them up, and then quickly sells them for a profit. If he or she were very good, theyd begin taking on several simultaneous or larger projects until they run out of money to buy any more homes. Once they run out of money, they start using their credit until that is used up as well. Once a successful entrepreneur is out of cash and credit, the only way to grow is to partner with investors. And to entice these investors, they offer higher than average returns. [I want to make a very important distinction between what I define as a start-up and an on-going business. A start-up is a few people that only have a business idea who want to spend your money instead of theirs never invest in them! Leave these to the professional evaluation of a venture capital firm. An on-going business is already being run by someone professional who has current customers, suppliers, location, products, or services these are the types of businesses you want to invest in].

You may be simultaneously networking with local business owners, educating yourself about their industries and the local economy, and checking the reputation of those with whom you are interested in becoming a partner. Introduce yourself as someone that has been watching their success, and indicate that might want to invest in one of their future projects. It could be a business owner who has four retail stores and that youd like to invest with them to open their fifth store; or the owner of a local manufacturer needs some capital to startup selling products overseas; or invest in a developer that splits large plots of land into residential lots; or an investor that packages privately held mortgages. There are many local investing opportunities that offer the investor greater control than buying public stock, along with higher investment returns.

Direct ownership requires a few skills that buying a CD or mutual fund doesnt require, but you will be well compensated for developing these skills. The first skill to learn is some basic accounting because financial numbers is the language of every business. You need the basics to start reading financial statements in order to evaluate potential deals. If your desire is to invest in car dealerships, you need to know the difference between a well-run or a poorly-run dealership from reviewing their financial statements. The next skill is networking to locate deals get your phone ringing, business card circulating, and e-mail account filling with potential deals. Private equity and debt financing is normally offered to family and friends, then acquaintances; and this will only happen if you are meeting people and talking about what you are looking for. The third skill is performing due diligence; which means independently verifying as much as possible about the individual, the company, and the transaction so that you can be reasonably confident in getting paid in full. Few local private offerings will have a prospectus written by teams of lawyers and accountants who have dissected the offer, so you, personally, have to do the work. No matter if this is a relative or a friend, there are people who will steal your money and disappear or people that mean well but are unable to follow-through and build a successful business. In either case, your hard earned money is long gone so you should take great pains to get independent third-party verification of all the facts and history that you can.

I personally know a few people that have built their wealth with the high returns from private placement offerings, and wouldnt invest in the stock market due to the lack of control and lower average return. If you have the willingness to put forth the effort, great returns can be yours as well.

Are you a small business owner who runs an online business? If you are, are you currently satisfied with your businesss profits? Even if you are happy with the money that you are currently making, you may be looking to make even more. If you are, you may want to examine the marketing tactics that you are using, if you are even marketing your business at all.

When it comes to marketing an online business, you will often find that it is easier to market an online business than it is a storefront business. One of the reasons for that is because of the internet. There are a number of different ways that the internet can help you with the marketing of your online business. A few of those ways are briefly touched on below.

One of the many ways that you can go about marketing your business online is by using online message boards, which are also commonly referred to as online forums. Online message boards or online forums are communities where internet users are able to come together and discuss activities or interests they may share. There are many online message boards or forums that allow participating members to have what is referred to as a signature. A signature is a block of print that always appears at the end of a members posts. It is not uncommon for an online message board moderator to allow signatures to include business links, like a link to your online store or online website. With using online message boards or forums, the more you post the more exposure your online store gets.

Another way that you can market your small online business is by joining a pay per click advertising program, like Google Adwords. What is nice about pay per click advertising programs is that, just as the name sounds, you only have to pay when one of your advertisements gets clicked on. This type of advertising arrangement may be able to save you a considerable about of money, when compared to paying a flat rate fee for an advertisement that may never even be seen, let alone clicked on. Also, by doing business with a well-known pay per click advertising program, like Google Adwords, you are less likely to experience problems associated with malicious clicks, as the programs tend to be carefully monitored, to ensure that you don t end up wasting money on the marketing for your small business.

In addition to paying for advertising, you may also be able to get free advertising by doing what is known as a link exchange. A link exchange is when one website owner, like you, agrees to display the online website link or banner for another website owner, free of charge, as long as they do the same for you. If you are looking for free or low-cost ways to market your small online business, a link exchange may be the perfect option for you. The only thing that you want to make sure you do is not exchange links with your competition. You want to try and make sure that all links can be connected or related to each other, in one way or another, but you dont want to end up generating income for your competition.

When it comes to running a small online business, standard internet searches may also pay a large role in the traffic that you and your website receives. That is why it is important that your website, whether it is used to sell products or services, is optimized for the search engines. This process is commonly referred to as search engine optimization. When it comes to search engine optimization, content is important. Your website needs to be filled with content that the search engines will pick up, as well as content that your visitors can read. If you need assistance with this, you may want to think about hiring the services of a SEO specialist or a professional content writer.

The above mentioned marketing approaches are just a few of the many that you may want to use to help increase your small online businesss profits. For the best chance of success, you are advised to implement more than just one of the above mentioned approaches.

Healthcare Help For Entrepreneurs? Health Savings Accounts-What They Are And Why They Work

If you are in business for yourself, you have probably already discovered that individual health insurance is extremely cost-prohibitive. You may think paying outrageous fees is your only option. Or even that you cant afford health coverage at all.

What Are Health Savings Accounts?

A Health Savings Account (HSA) is an insurance policy that was actually designed with the self-employed and the small business owner in mind. According to Mark Baker, HSA specialist for Golden Rule Insurance Company, an HSA is a higher deductible health insurance plan that is coupled with a tax advantage savings account.

The difference between purchasing individual healthcare and investing in an HSA is similar to the difference between renting a home and buying one. If you rent, each month you write out a check to help your landlord pay off the home you are living in (and you dont even like him!). If you buy, you incur a higher cost up front with the deposit. But with every payment, you build equity.

The Bad and Good:

You start with a high deductible. Not an attractive feature but it gets better.

Your high deductible results in significantly lower premiums.

The money you save, you can keep tax-free in your HSA. When you encounter any kind of medical expense, you can use that tax-free money towards your deductible.

How it works:

Lets say youre in a car wreck and wind up getting saddled with tens of thousands of pounds in medical expenses. Even though your deductible with an HSA is high, say three thousand pounds, the money youve saved (tax free) in your HSA will likely cover it.

When your deductible is met, your insurance takes over payments for its percentage of all your covered expenses. Every plan is different, but the most common scenario is that once your deductible is paid, you are covered for the remainder of the year.

You can even use the pre-tax money in your account towards dental and vision expenses. Or out-of-pocket costs, like filling prescriptions.

And as long as you have a Health Savings Account, that money remains tax-deferred in your account for any medical expenses you encounter. If you find at the end of the year you have not spent whats there, dont worryit rolls over. In fact, it can just sit there and earn interest until you do need it. According to Mr. Baker, his company is now paying a 4% interest rate on their clients HSAs. If you spent that same money on the premiums of a plan with a lower deductible; that would just be money down the drain.

Small business is one that is organized for profit and also contributes to the economy by way of paying taxes and employment opportunities. A small business may be defined as a business with a small number of employees. The legal definition of small business often varies by country and industry, but is generally under 100 employees. These businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships.

Whether the business is small or big, it needs fund to carry on its operation, because the returns in business are not stable. Sometimes the company or a firm can have huge profits; at times, it can have losses too. Nevertheless, in the period of financial depression, every business needs a financial help to support in its working.

On comparing small business with big business we find that the need of funds more often arises in the former case as the returns are not constant. Financial crisis in the company can affect the working adversely. Therefore, to stop the effect of this financial crisis a small business can rely on loan for assisting them in need of funds. Small business loan helps them to come out of this situation of crisis. Small business loan can also be used for starting a new venture.

Although small business firms are considered backbone of the economy, but getting a loan for small business firm is not an easy task. Lenders think number of times before lending a loan to the borrower as risk involved in small business is huge. It involves numerous formalities such as giving proof of income that depicts your creditability. Your credit history also plays a crucial role in it. The person with good credit history is always benefited in applying for a loan.

The most important factor that the small business owner should consider before going for a loan is flexibility in repayment. As most small businesses would experience irregular income for some period, so the flexible payment will help in making those repayments easier.

There is also an increase in the number of sources available for funding the small business. Traditional lenders like banks and financial institution also provide loans. In addition to that, loan can also be applied online, which also provides you three benefits

Fast : you have to just fill a form and get an instant match
Easier : it makes comparison easier between various lenders available in the market
Flexible: choose the lender which suits your needs.

The rate of interest charged in small business loans is generally higher since there is threat to the lender about non-payment of installment on time. Therefore, one can trust small business loans for their dream project.

October 2, 2007. Its a typical day at SEOhaus in the largest office located within the companys 1400sqft. space, employees sit in a semi-circle around a cordless speaker phone.

“We need to really focus on improving our PR,” a client says, his voice on speaker phone audible throughout the room.

“We can do that,” one of the employees says, glancing down at the yellow legal pad on her lap. “Lets come up with a solution.”

Ten minutes later, when the meeting ends, the employees disperse to their respective offices, and the companys owners, William Senn, 26, and William Canu, 25, take a short break from their hectic work schedules to share what its like being an entrepreneur under 30.

“Were growing so fast,” Canu says, leaning back in his office chair and glancing over his shoulder at the busy traffic below on Kettner Blvd. “Its amazing.”

The two Williams, who started SEOhaus from the proceeds of their last business venture’s mail-order DVD rental service, have seen their company grow from a single room with two employees (themselves) to a small business with approximately ten full-time employees and growing. Next week, the company will move to a much larger office suite down the hall.

“Were excited,” says Senn, a former Google employee.” The walls of the new office are being painted right now, and it (the move) is starting to feel official.”

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is all about the art of achieving increased traffic, presence, and page rankings (i.e. higher search results) for a website, and this is achieved by a variety of different methods, including, but not limited to: building links, writing and marketing SEO content articles, social bookmarking, and web design.

“SEOhaus is a boutique firm,” Senn explains, “We specialize in customized services, and our employees are very good at what they do.”

SEOhaus and its twenty-something owners, represent a growing trend in American business: young entrepreneurs making an impact in their respective industries and developing successful businesses before their 30th birthday.

Their generation, known as Generation Y (1981-1995) is a generation of young entrepreneurs. The online publication Inc.com recently released the list of the “thirty coolest entrepreneurs under thirty,” profiling individuals who began their own companies—some while still living in their parents houses, and have seen them grow exponentially in only a few short years.

Time was, you could just hang up a shingle and call yourself a business. As long as you didn’t shoot anyone, you were pretty much left alone. Not so any more. A glut of federal and state regulations have come into being, many just over the past few years, and many apply to small businesses. These regulations are meant to accomplish any one of several social goods, such as protecting an individual’s privacy and preventing identity theft, preventing corporate financial scandals, or lastly, or so it would seem, just to annoy small businesspeople by increasing their paperwork burden. Fortunately, if you understand these regulations, complying doesn’t have to be too difficult or expensive.

If you have a publicly-held company, you’ll have to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which sets technological standards and reporting requirements for how companies handle their financial reporting. Passed in response to the recent wave of corporate scandals, fiscal mismanagement and outright theft, Sarbanes-Oxley puts in place a set of requirements for establishing internal controls that ensure the integrity of a company’s financial data. Although the requirements are generally the same for companies of all sizes, smaller companies have been granted some flexibility in terms of longer timeframes to become compliant. This Act calls for, among other things, security-related solutions to be put into place to regulate access to financial data, provide an audit trail, and generate detailed reports for the government. The good news is, if you already follow best practices in security, you’re already more than halfway there.

If you are in the healthcare industry, whether you are a healthcare provider, pharmacy, or a data processing agency serving the healthcare industry, you’ll have to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA calls for any company that handles private patient data to guarantee that it is secure and protected against unauthorized access. If your company handles healthcare information of any sort, for any reason, you will have to take technological steps to ensure that it is secure through measures such as encryption, strong two-factor authentication, and adequate firewalling.

And if you’re in California, or if any of your customers are in California, you’ll have to comply with SB 1386 (the California Information Practice Act). This law requires that your company provide notice to customers whenever any technological hack, or other attack has occurred and caused personal information to be exposed and vulnerable to theft. Meant to safeguard against identity theft, this state law also applies to any subcontractors of companies that maintain information about California residents. This particular law is ground-breaking, since although it is on paper just a California law, it has, in reality, become a federal law. California is the largest state, population-wise, in the U.S., and any mid-size company and many smaller ones have at least a few customers in California, regardless of where the company is actually located. If, for example, your company is in Maine, but your mail order division sold some products to someone in California, you must comply. Compliance simply means that if your network is attacked, you must notify your customers. Although this can be done individually, most companies actually make notification on their Web sites, or through issuing a public press release.

The Visa Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP) isn’t a state or federal law, but a mandate from VISA USA created to protect cardholder data. It calls on all vendors who accept credit card payments to adhere to a higher standard of information security for the purpose of guarding against identity theft. CISP calls on vendors to implement standard security measures such as firewalls, anti-virus software, and strong authentication to regulate who has access to customer credit card data. Visa also has set forth a set of best practices. Compliance is easy, and involves adhering to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard which includes a call for implementing standard security technology, restricting access, and encrypting the transmission of any cardholder data.

Do you sell products or services to commercial or government customers? If you do, then you must be very familiar with having to wait 30, 40 or even 60 days to get paid by your clients.

Most large businesses can afford to wait. Unfortunately, few small business owners can afford to wait and worse most small business owners do not take into account that they will have to wait to get paid when they first start their businesses.

But what if you cant afford to wait 60 days to get paid? The best solution is to factor your invoices.

Factoring is a financial tool (similar to a line of credit) that eliminates waiting to get paid by your clients. Factoring financing provides you with money for your invoices, usually 24 hours after you submit them. It provides you with the necessary cash to pay rent, expenses and take on new opportunities.

Invoice factoring is an ideal tool for cash intensive businesses such as trucking, staffing, business services, medical offices and IT. It works as follows:

1. You deliver a product or a service and generate an invoice

2. You submit the invoice to your client and send a copy to the factoring company

3. The factoring company advances you up to 85% of your invoice

4. The remaining 15% is held as a reserve to cover charge backs and credits

5. Once your client pays the factor, the transaction is settled and the reserve is rebated (less a small fee)

And how much does factoring cost? It varies on your business volume, how long your clients take to pay and their credit worthiness. Most factors will charge a fee of anywhere between 1% and 2.3% for every 10 days that an invoice is outstanding. However, fees vary and can usually be customized to fit your needs.

The biggest difference between invoice factoring financing and a bank loan is that factoring is easy to obtain. Since the factor is financing your invoices, their biggest concern is that you do business with strong credit worthy businesses. This means that factoring is available to small and new businesses, provided that you have good clients. And as opposed to a bank, a factoring company will not ask you for endless financial reports and three years worth of audited financials.

Everyone I have ever talked to that is an entrepreneur has had to come face to face with their fears. I have had to as well. I want to share with you some of the techniques that I have used to face them. The first step is not to be in denial. You have fears even if you dont readily acknowledge them. They sometimes take the form of that chatter in the back of your head that says you cant do it.

Fear is such a huge issue preventing people from becoming entrepreneurs. I have heard from the CEO of a real-estate based network marketing company that even though he has people packing out company seminars, that maybe 2-5% of people will actually go out and apply the knowledge by putting offers on real estate. He is convinced that the rest are paralyzed by fear.

Here are some of the techniques I have used as I learned them from the entrepreneurs I know:

Think about what you do want. When you find yourself spinning the wheels in your mind over and again about your worst case scenario, turn it around and focus on what you DO want. Visualize yourself getting what you do want. See the new house. See yourself talking to the interested person as they become a part of your business. You get what you focus on.

Change the voice. When you hear yourself telling you that youre not good enough youre going to fail. Just change the voice from yours to that of Mickey Mouse or Jim Cary or something that would hold little weight with you anyway! Who cares if Mickey Mouse thinks youre not good enough? Is Mickey Mouse an entrepreneur?

Voice them to a trusted friend or associate. Hopefully you have been able to find some level of support from at least one other entrepreneur. Ideally, you have a significant other that supports you. If not, then you should have some kind of support network from your team, upline, or corporate that you can talk to. Some people may tell you that it is silly you could even believe that youre not good enough. For me, my wife has been a constant source of support. However, dont go looking for support to all those people who doubted you and told you it was crazy to go out on your own. They will never understand the entrepreneur.

Have a personal development library. I draw tremendous support from my library. It is not just filled with how to resources, but also stories of others who conquered their fears. I couldnt begin to list the many sources I have, but if you email me I can recommend something based on your own description of your circumstances.

Go ahead and do it. Sometimes just making the smallest step will help get you going enough that the fear of not doing something can go away. An example would be neglecting to write an article such as this one out of fear of failure. Just starting it can create enough momentum to see it through.
Visualize the result, but make the action the goal. There is a subtle difference here for the entrepreneur. Of course you want the result, but maybe thats not in your direct control. Visualize the result in your mind, but make your goal the consistent and persistent action of the entrepreneur. The action will eventually produce the result and you can certainly achieve that goal.

Never, ever quit. I hate to even use that q word. If you do quit, you cease to be an entrepreneur otherwise youre not beaten, you are moving ahead!

Opening a new business in the real world or online in cyberspace requires thinking beyond all the money you will make. Most small business owners are clear on their ultimate goal, yet often many fail to spend time planning their marketing image. To succeed, first impressions are critical, or you may violate what I call My 5 Second Rule:

When a new prospect finds your web site, you have 5 seconds to convince them to stay.

The rule applies in the physical world, also. Your printed materials may be dumped in the trash just as quickly, or a visitor to your company may browse briefly while in fact the no sale decision was made in those critical first few seconds.

Regardless of your business, your image as a professional and credible source for a product or service depends on making a positive first impression. While most people don’t realize the subconscious dynamics that occur during an introduction, how you are perceived is clouded with prejudice.

In a face to face meeting, subconsciously your prospect will categorize you immediately by sex, age, and race. This fact may be hard to believe, however, individual life experiences connect your combination of these 3 characteristics into a fixed profile based on past encounters. Overcoming any negatives begins when you speak. A warm and friendly approach while being prepared to offer the benefits of doing business will help you succeed.

In print, your business card, ad, or brochure tells a similar story without the subconscious human preconceptions. The message will still elicit a reaction, good or bad, so how you present your company in print needs to get past My 5 Second Rule. This is equally true for the home page of your web site. Here’s some advice.

Customers have a need (problem), and you provide a product or service (solution). Matching these 2 for a successful sale is easier than most people realize. Front door selling, printed ads, or online web offers should all address the benefits (solution, again) and not the features (it’s about the customer, not about you).

Your marketing materials need to project a mental image in the mind of the viewer. Stimulate their imagination so they picture themselves enjoying the benefits of your offer, and you can overcome My 5 Second Rule. Here’s an example that was created for a used car dealer. How do you glamorize a business that is the subject of so many disparaging jokes?

This client had a featured monthly special vehicle that they wanted to promote on their web site. The photos taken in a chain link enclosed parking lot didn’t convey the excitement or mental picture necessary to stimulate the viewer. The chosen vehicle was an upscale Jeep, and the client specialized in exports to Puerto Rico. To add pizzazz, I did an edit of the photo to remove the background, and placed 2 views of the monthly special on a bluff overlooking a gorgeous beach in Puerto Rico. If my descriptions succeeded creating your mental image referring to the chain link and gorgeous beach, the subtle difference in presentation should be apparent.

Bonus Tip: What to Say When a Customer is Wrong
As a small business owner, you know your business and as an expert, reacting to an email or face to face comment that you know is absolutely wrong will work wonders if you answer with two magic words: “You’re right!”. This works for several reasons. Most importantly, your customer may be expecting an argument, so they will only hear half of what you have to say if you reply saying they are wrong. The listener will be busy mentally sorting comebacks and supporting evidence, and may not hear any of your expert advice.

Telling someone “You’re right” will have them on the edge of their chair waiting for your next comment. Shifting your argument to what you know to be the truth is easy. With a brief pause after your magic two words, continue with “…and there are many people who feel the same way. From years of experience, I’ve found that in fact (insert the truth based on your expertise here)… etc.” and you give them the opportunity to accept your slant on the subject without having their opinion challenged. It works. For those concerned about ethics, the phrase “You’re right!” is simply an acknowledgement that they have one view, and it is valid because that’s how they feel.

In summary, a professional image includes a wide range of materials for making a positive first impression. Consider the feelings of your prospect and how your product or service will benefit them, and you’ll do well in converting first introductions into sales.

How Your Small Business Can Benefit from Custom Screen Printed T-Shirts

America is the land of opportunity and with that the land of small businesses. The U.S. has made it easy for just about anyone to work up the courage and capital and start up their own business. Having realized that you can do it, one arrives at the paradox that so can everyone else. How do you make your small business stand out and rise above the competition? One way is to use custom screen printed t-shirts as a way of looking more professional and as advertising.
When it comes to looking professional the importance cannot be stressed enough. People are very hesitant to trust a company or individual who doesnt look like heshe is capable. In a sense the clothes make the man here. Those who appear qualified will have a much easier time attracting customers, employees, and even be courted by vendorssuppliers. People are by their very nature timid and worrisome. If you can appear professional and legitimate it appeals to primal urge to feel secure and that will make people instantly feel more comfortable with you and your business. Screen printed t-shirts do just that by making you appear like you have it all together. Think about the following two scenarios. In the first a people from you firm show up to do a job in a hodgepodge of random and assorted clothing. They look, although are not, unprofessional because they offer no sense of order and thought. In the second scenario, the crew arrives wearing the same t-shirts with bear your logo and demonstrate the legitimacy of your business. If I had to guess, the second scenario is how you as the owner of a small business would like to present your business. If you do nothing more than have the appearance of thought before hand, your business appears to be professional and inspires confidence.
The second way custom screen printed t-shirts can help out your small business is through the wonder of advertising. Custom printed t-shirts are among the best ways to advertise for small businesses. Think about your target audience and it is easy to see that small businesses benefit exceptionally well. Small businesses more than likely want to target people in your area. That is what custom printed t-shirts do. They walk around and give you unlimited advertising in your own local area. Give the t-shirts to your friends and family and they can wear them around and advertise for nothing more than the cost of the t-shirt. Another idea I find often works is giving a t-shirt to people for whom you do a job. These people will unlikely make it their favorite piece of apparel, but even if they wear it to the gym then they offer advertisement and can offer their own form of advertising. Consider if you will Ralph as he stands outside washing his car one Saturday morning. His neighbor Jim walks by and sees Ralphs shirts offering services that Jim is looking for himself. Ralph now has advertised for you and can do even more by saying that he loved your services and describe the great job you did. This strategy offers both printed advertisement as well as word of mouth advertising. My company keeps the images that you used on file, so ordering more t-shirts down the road is a snap.
I hope have found this article to be somewhat informative and thought provoking. Small business are the majority of my clients and Im always happy to help come up with design ideas and ways to improve not only their t-shirts but promotional products as well, all with the same idea of advertising and looking professional. After all those two key points can really set you own small business above the completion. Isnt that what you want?