Infographic: The True Cost of Homeownership Everyone is talking about how now is a great time to buy a home. And, on the surface, it looks like the perfect time. Home prices are low, and mortgage interest rates remain at near-record lows. When many people start thinking about purchasing a home, they usually get excited about figuring out how big a house they can get, and use online mortgage calculators to help them estimate monthly payments at a specific interest. The following infographic from CreditLoan.com offers a sobering look at how much it can cost to own a home. You can experiment with your own set of numbers at New York Times. There are a number of financial experts that recommend you plan to live in your home for five to seven years if you buy. Before you run out, willy-nilly, to buy a home just because it is such a good deal, it is a good idea to carefully consider the costs. Finally, consider other options before you buy a home.
How to become a millionaire Set your sights on joining the Rich List? Here are five tips to boost your chances. No lottery ticket required. 1. Consider the psychology of money in relation to your life Step back in time and take a look at your current financial success to date. 2. Successful entrepreneurs think differently to their less financially savvy counterparts. 3. Firstly, write down experiences in your past that may have influenced your attitude towards money. “My financial blueprint was set in the shadow of those around me who said that I would never become a successful football player," says 38-year old UK retired pro footballer, entrepreneur and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu champion, Corey Donoghue. 4. With your financial blueprint aligned, look at your personal and professional outgoings and make a commitment to better manage money – through different bank accounts that are fit for purpose. 5. No business will grow long term if you don’t have systems that work independently of you being there. Picture source
The smart investment account that's easy to use. No minimum balance. No... - StumbleUpon Top 10 Online Influencers - Fitness Methodology: How is influence measured? Influencers included in “SharecareNow 10: Fitness” have demonstrated influence within fitness conversations online. Influence is calculated through a proprietary algorithm based on more than 40 individual metrics, including disease-area relevance and online syndication, presence and reach. All metrics are based on content produced over the past year (from the list’s publish date) across multiple online channels, including Twitter, blogs, forums, mainstream news and video. About Sharecare Now, powered by WCG, is the healthcare industry's first and only digital platform offering real-time analytics on patient healthcare trends, conversations and influential authors.
Email Marketing Blog for Small Business: How to Make the Best Use of An Email Signature So many times email signatures are an afterthought and not really looked at as an opportunity to sell. What I mean by “email signature” is the signature you put at the bottom of your person-to-person emails, not on your email marketing campaigns (although you can use signatures for that as well!) And I don’t only mean your own email signature, I mean the email signatures of all of your employees as well, especially if you’re sending out a lot of customer service related emails. First things first, you’ve got to make sure that there are standard pieces of information your employees include when they’re representing your business. Name, company name, address and phone number.Twitter and Facebook links and encourage people to follow you.Website and blog address. There are also some creative ways you can utilize the email signature portion of your emails that might not be “necessary” but could be fun to add as well as help increase your sales! © 2010 – 2012, VR Marketing Blog.
How to Motivate Employees By David Austin on August 6, 2012 in Infographics What’s the secret to motivating employees? This infographic explains it. Hint: it isn’t just money! Motivating employees isn’t as simple as paying them more. There is an optimal level of arousal that is key to motivating people. There is a material impact to having disengaged employees.
Create a Killer Business Plan - Martha Stewart Community You've got the idea, now package it well! The way you present your company and vision will determine whether you get the right financial partners and the right deal. Marketing Your IdeaLife is marketing. We're constantly being pitched to as consumers, yet we also market our products, our ideas, and ourselves personally and professionally. But where do so many early-stage entrepreneurs go wrong? As a former entrepreneur and a start-up consultant today, I've certainly seen more business plans than I care to remember. Make your business plan shine with the three "Cs" to success: Be ConciseA concise plan provides a simple explanation for why the business is a great idea, as well as how it will be executed. Be CompellingThe goal is to make your company appear to be deeply compelling. Be CompleteYou must have a trusted third party review your plan to ensure it addresses all possible issues an investor may have. Wow! Here's how to do it: Do not use a business plan package.
41 questions every business leader should ask (The Invisible Thread) Change is the only constant in the world, there’s no doubt about it. Today more than ever, businesses must face – and effectively manage – rising change and complexity. Uncertainty is everywhere we look. If you think about our organizations today, they are all part of a dynamic business network of relationships with customers, partners and suppliers that shape the way we do business. Bottom line is that the time is up for sitting on the sidelines. As you consider the processes that make your business run, here are 41 key questions you should ask yourself: Does your organization change effectively when it needs to? Tags: ceo business-agility business-leader featured change questions cio agile cto complexity it-leader
9 Reasons Why Now is the Best Time to Do Business Online If you’re a blogger, an Internet advertiser, or someone running an online business, then consider yourself lucky because you are operating in a world of near-endless opportunities. The World Wide Web offers tons of chances for people to make connections, find customers, and earn money. Markets are evolving, and more and more consumers are going on the Internet to find information, make purchases, and connect with others. If you’re thinking of doing business online but are still on the fence about it, check out the detailed explanations below on why there is no better time than now to become an online entrepreneur: 1. We are now in the information age and we will continue to be in it for years to come. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to get into the business of digital goods. 2. 3. And you don’t need to have a full-fledged online store or business to build an online presence. 4. Don’t get left behind and take advantage of the lucrative opportunities online. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
How to Start a Startup March 2005 (This essay is derived from a talk at the Harvard Computer Society.) You need three things to create a successful startup: to start with good people, to make something customers actually want, and to spend as little money as possible. Most startups that fail do it because they fail at one of these. And that's kind of exciting, when you think about it, because all three are doable. If there is one message I'd like to get across about startups, that's it. The Idea In particular, you don't need a brilliant idea to start a startup around. Google's plan, for example, was simply to create a search site that didn't suck. There are plenty of other areas that are just as backward as search was before Google. For example, dating sites currently suck far worse than search did before Google. An idea for a startup, however, is only a beginning. Another sign of how little the initial idea is worth is the number of startups that change their plan en route. People What Customers Want Should You?
Is Your Small Business in Need of Reinvention? [INFOGRAPHIC] In 1998, Steve Jobs triumphantly returned to the company he’d co-founded two decades earlier. At the time, Apple was at a crossroads: Success was anything but certain. “The cure for Apple is not cost-cutting,” Jobs said at the time. “The cure for Apple is to innovate its way out of its current predicament.” In 2012, countless small businesses are looking to exit their current predicaments. Innovation Nation Although many small-business owners have recovered from the psychological impact of the economic implosion that began in 2008, self-esteem still isn’t a commodity that’s easy to find. The good news: Throughout history, scores of small ventures have evolved into monster successes as a direct result of reinventing their operations to counter economic or competitive disadvantages. For example, few people were enthralled by The Point, a website that leveraged the power of groups to fund-raise and make other things happen. The Route to Reinvention Embed this infographic on your own site:
The Power Of The Mind: How To Train Yourself To Be More Successful : Managing How can you use the latest discoveries in brain science to improve your life? Here are some techniques. November 02, 2011 Leadership tycoon Warren Bennis once said, “We seem to collect information because we have the ability to do so, but we are so busy collecting it that we haven’t devised a means of using it. The true measure of any society is not what it knows but what it does with what it knows.” There is a wealth of information at our disposal today on the latest discoveries in brain science. We can either drown in this information or turn it into a lifesaver by extracting its practical knowledge. Use visualization to learn a new skill Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to continuously create new neural pathways. In a Harvard University study, two groups of volunteers were presented with a piece of unfamiliar piano music. Albert Einstein, who is credited with saying that “imagination is more important than knowledge,” used visualization throughout his entire life. Parker J.
Is Starting A Business Safer Than Your Job? [Infographic] What's Better - Getting a Job or Starting a Business? With a slow economy, many people have turned to entrepreneurship as a means to pay the bills. Which begs the question, what’s better today — getting a job or starting a business? We dug deep to find out the numbers and have compared the risk of starting a business to keeping a job. What do you think? Small Business Loans Made Simple Create a Free Lendio Account Overview “Laid off? “True entrepreneurs reduce risk to the point that action becomes quite logical.” Unemployment Rate: 9.1% 26% of North American workers are self-employedIn 2008 on average 2,356 people went into business for themselves every day.Their ventures accounted for 78% of U.S. businesses SELF-EMPLOYMENT There are only four paths toward business ownership: Start a business from scratchBecome a consultantBuy a non-franchise businessBuy a franchise (the most secure choice) Among the fastest-growing industries are: Reemployment figures: To reduce risk: Incorporated Self-Employed
How to Know if Your Business Startup Idea is Any Good You’re ready to start your own business. You’ve got a killer idea, and you can’t stand one more day in your office (or, let’s face it, on your parents’ couch). How do you know that the idea is a good one? What if you work your butt off and when you make your grand reveal, people don’t like it? These questions roar through the heads of entrepreneurs. Businesses evolve over time. I’ve compiled the best advice I’ve heard based on countless conversations with entrepreneurs, business books, startup blogs, and conferences. These frameworks can help you figure out if your idea has legs: Alleviate pain. While working through these thought experiments, it’s also important to do your research and get out into the world: Talk about your idea–a lot.