There are many advantages and benefits for owning one’s own business and I believe an Internet home based business has to be the best. The benefits of home based businesses are becoming clear to many in the US and across the world as more and more people set up to work from home. Working the hours they want. Working around a young family and tax benefits are just some of the great benefits to working from home. The World Wide Web is an easy accessible location to start searching for a home based business opportunity. The Internet is full of business opportunities, you just need to type in the correct key terms into your Google address bar to see millions of opportunities that come up and that may change your life. It can be very overwhelming to see that you had not realised how many different online businesses there are.Your job is to evaluate the business opportunities that are right for you from the BAD. From my own experience I know there are many bad businesses out there. This is where you need to put some time in to doing your home work before you go ahead and join any business. Here are 3 key tips for your success with your own home based business opportunity.DO YOUR HOME WORKThere are millions of opportunities out there on the Internet but you have to make sure you pick the right one for you. You need to decide whether the business is going to be part time to give you an extra couple of hundred dollars a month or is it going to be full time to replace your current income or even greater to give you freedom of time and to give you the opportunity to do the things you have only dreamed of doing.PRODUCTSProducts are the key to any business and you have to ensure that your products are in high demand. Will you get repeat orders? Do you have a lot of competitors? If there is a lot of competition for your products, so why should a customer buy from you and not your competitor? You now have your products, now you need to market them, and the best place to do this is on line. Traffic to your web site is key to your success and you need a lot of traffic. The more you get the more money you earn. It’s that simpleCOMMISSIONYou need to ensure that you are getting a healthy commission from the products you are selling. You need to find a home based business opportunity online that will pay at least 50% upfront commission with a strong residual income on the backhand. I would advise you to look out for a company with a top tier direct sales system. Top tire direct sales companies often allow for a larger commission, between 1K and 15K per sale! This shows that you do not need to make between 50 – 100 sales a month to earn a very decent income.So let’s look at the key points, first do your home work, take time to look into the masses of opportunities that are out there for you. Second make sure you pick the right product; this can be the difference between success and failure. Lastly your commission has to be enough to cover your expenses and give you a very good profit. Implement these steps and you are on your way to a successful and profitable future.To your success, Nigel Warner
Why Is It So Difficult To Lend To Small Businesses
Small business have always had a hard time finding and securing financing – regardless of the state of the economy. But, why is this so?There are several reasons:There are mainly two types of organizations that provide small business loans.First – Funds:1) Your typical bank or traditional financial institution. These organizations normally get the money that they lend out to businesses from depositors – individual and businesses that expect their money to be there when they need it. Thus, these organizations have a further fiduciary duty to protect those funds from any harm.2) Private Lenders. These organizations typically get the money that they lend out from investors. Now, these investors know (or should know) that there is always risk in any lending or investment activity. And, for that risk, they expect higher than average returns on those investments. Those who manage those funds (the private lenders), in order to stay in business and continue to receive those investment dollars, know that they have to both lower any risk as well as meet return expectations.Why this matters: Banks have to ensure that they are not taking undue risk with other peoples money. If they fail in this duty, they can be fined, regulated or closed. Thus, they are really tight about risk.Private lenders are essentially in the same boat. While they want to take more risk (in hopes of getting more reward for it) they just can’t really pull it off out of fear of losing too much on that risk and thus losing their investors – no investors, no business.As a side note – all these organizations are in business to make money – not lose it.Second – Regulation:The financial industry is one of the highest regulated industries in the world. Banks bare the brunt of these regulations (has to do with the other people’s money aspect).One of the most detrimental regulations to banks, when it comes to lending, is the Allowance for Loan Losses (ALL) Accounts that these organizations have to reserve for.In a nutshell, a bank has to typically reserve up to 10% of all outstanding loan balances in a separate ALL account. Thus, if a bank puts out a $1 million loan, they also have to reserve in their ALL account 10% or $100,000 – money that they have to hold back and can’t put out in other loans.Now, history has shown that small businesses tend to be more risky. In fact, according to the SBA, small businesses have averages between 12% to 18% default rates – and, up to 60% for some of the SBA’s more risky loan programs like micro loans.Further, when the regulators come to visit these banks and see a higher than average level of small business loans, the regulators can require these banks to increase their reserve amounts to 15%, 20% or higher to cover the potential risk.Banks tend to frown upon these reserve requirements as it takes money out of their lending coffers – money that they can’t put out in any loan type and thus can’t earn any revenue (interest and fee) from. Thus, they tend to do all they can to avoid having their reserve requirements increased and, in some cases like our current economy, tend to pull back all loans as not to have to fund these ALL accounts at all.Private lenders on the other hand, do not face many of these same government regulations but do face scrutiny from their investors – which can result in the same type of pulling back loans to small firms. Also, these private lenders are regulated in how much they can charge in interest rates which puts a floor on the level of loans they are willing to underwrite and fund.Example: A bank might be able to charge say on average 8% for a loan. This 8% covers their cost of funds (2%), their overhead (3%) and their profit margins (3%). Private lenders also have the same overhead costs (3%) and profit requirements (3%) but have to return some 10% or more to their investors – their cost of funds.This means that they have to charge higher rates – which could be capped by regulations. Thus, many of these lenders will try to work around these higher rates by focusing on larger loans from less risky borrowers – not to essential earn more but to reduce their level of defaults.Why does this matter? It is hard to lend outside the box when the walls of the box keeps getting higher and higher to overcome.Third – Cost:Most businesses that bring in more customers can achieve an economies of scale by spreading overhead costs over more customers. But, it’s not so in banking or private lending.Let say that it takes 10 man hours to underwrite a loan – regardless of size. Man hours used to meet with borrowers, collect documentation, perform analysis, create documentation and manage the loan process. Thus, a lender can underwrite 10 small business loans of $100,000 each and spend some 100 man hours doing it. Or, they can underwrite a $1 million loan and only spend 10 man hours. Both would provide the same return (provided they both had the same rate and term) yet, the 10 loans would cost 10 times as much – eating into the lenders profit or investors returns.Why does this matter? Because managing costs is a great way to improve a business’s profits (and, that is what they are in business for).Thus, why it is so difficult to lend to small businesses is due to the trade-off between risk and reward. Small businesses have too much risk for such little reward potential.Why, you might ask, do I bring this up? Because I am seeking input from others on new, innovative ways in which we can change lending to small businesses – ways that may take away or mitigate the risks involved and to help ensure adequate returns on these loans.I have been in the small business lending industry for decades and have been racking my brain on ways to improve lending. But, as most of you know, I am not the sharpest tool in the shed and thus am appealing to others to see if we can’t innovate and change the way financial companies provide small business loans.So, tell me your thoughts and let’s discuss.
Differences in the Types of Auctions That Take Place Around the World
Auctions are those events where properties or goods are sold to the highest bidder. Auctions are mostly public events, where bidders make a series of bids and purchase a particular item for a high price. During auctions, bidders decide the price of an item rather than the seller. It depends on bidders to decide the amount they would want to pay for a specific item. During an auction, a bid is a proof of a legal binding. Bidders agree to pay the amount that they have bid. In a high profile auction, bidders may have to pay a deposit in escrow accounts or give a proof that they can pay for those items.
Types of Auctions:
Different types of auctions take place around the world. Below mentioned are some types of auctions:
1. English auction:
This is a basic type of auction. In this type, people can see the item and then start bidding. Bidders slowly raise the value of their bid until everyone gives up. The highest bidder is the winner. An auctioneer manages an auction, keeps records of the on going bid and decides the winner. Sometimes, the seller will quote a minimum amount for an item to the auctioneer, below which the auctioneer cannot sell that item.
2. Dutch auction:
In this type, the auctioneer sets a particular price and then gradually lowers the price. People in public will start bidding and later decide which prices are suitable for the item. A seller may use this type of auction to sell large quantities of same products to the public. For instance, a seller may want to sell a large amount of hay and will thus, decide to sell this hay to people for the same amount, once a reasonable price is decided.
3. Silent auction:
In this type, the bidders in public will present their bids in a sealed format. These sealed bids open at the same time and bidder with the highest bid wins. There could be a modification in this type of auction. The bidders are allotted a specific period to bid. They can roam in a room displaying the items, and write their bids on an associated sheet of paper. The bidders are allowed to see bids of other bidders and can choose a higher price for an item. At the end of the allotted time, bidder with the highest bid is the winner.
Examples of Auctions:
Auctions can be of two types either public or private. Sellers may trade any kind of items in both types of auctions. Some areas where auctions take place are:
1. Antique auction: An antique auction consists of a trade opportunity as well as provides entertainment.
2. Collectable auction: In a collectable auction, the seller may put up collectables like coins, vintage cars, luxury, stamps, real estate, and luxury for sale.
3. Wine auction: In wine auction, bidders can bid for rare wine, which may not be available in retail wine shops.
4. Horse auction: Bidders can bid for young horses of the best breed.
5. Livestock auction: In livestock auction, bidders can buy pigs, sheep, cattle, and other livestock.
The other examples of auctions may not be public. These auctions are for bidders from corporate levels. Some examples of private auctions are:
1. Timber auction
2. Spectrum auction
3. Electricity auction
4. Debit auction
5. Environmental auction
6. Auto auction
7. Electronic market auction
8. Sales of business auction
Bidders in an auction need to examine the items displayed and decide an appropriate price for an item. Thus, auctions help buyers in getting the best deals and in gaining better profits for sellers.