You are here: Home / Archives for Financial Guidance

Starting Your Home Business: What to do

April 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

home business setup

If you enjoy your job, but you’ve gone as far as you can within the chain of command, it might be time to begin weighing in the possibility of choosing a different work environment. Before you to consider this more deeply it’s important to contemplate what you’re looking for. If you’re familiar with the ins and outs of the fashion industry and prefer to work from home, don’t dive into your backyard pool without water in it. Take one step at a time.

Working from home offers flexibility and comfort but also it involves careful planning prior to undergoing your endeavor. You’ll need enough money saved to establish yourself as an entrepreneur. It’s vital to have a plan of action in place for your new business. You may work wonders as a designer and seamstress, but will you create styles for all ages or just teens and young adults?

Think considerably about a sufficient office space for designing clothing and accessories. Make sure the location that you choose is quiet so that you’ll remain uninterrupted. If you rely on an answering machine it might be better to have voicemail, since other members in your household can accidentally delete messages on your machine. Many establishments have two phone lines and a fax machine installed.

You have an appealing clothing line, but to sell your fashions you’ll want to get noticed and build a steady client base by setting up a website. Some professional assistance might be necessary if you’re admittedly not computer-savvy. It also doesn’t hurt to have abundant cards on hand when meeting prospective customers. You’ll want to be prepared without hesitation.

Filed Under: Financial Guidance Tagged With: , ,

Human Resources

March 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The “Human Resources” department in companies wasn’t always around. Businesses used to run without the “human” component factored in – but as sciences such as psychology and sociology are taking center stage when it comes to ethical viewpoints, human resources is climbing to one of the most competitive fields in the business.

Initially, their job description seems vague – they have to instill a culture into the company – create a sense of ethics and integrity. How exactly do they go about accomplishing this? By creating team-building events and strategies that they make sure is executed perfectly. They even serve as legal advisors and culture coaches. They sort of function as the guidance counselors in high school – giving a helpful hand in the smooth running of things.

So, they don’t directly take part in the logistics of the corporation – why are they so important? In all honesty, a company couldn’t function without their Human Resources department. Not only do they ensure the smooth running of things and create a sense of community in the business (without which, the firm would have very unhappy employees), they also function as the means of communications between all the different teams of the firm. Further, they’re the people behind all the tedious, yet very important logistics of the firm – keeping rosters and tabs on all the members, and making those painfully long performance analyses of everyone in order to run the company better.

As of late, they have a new task assigned to them as well – that of talent acquisition. They are in charge of recruiting new employees for their constantly growing company. Easy enough? Think again, these new employees have to be a qualified, a good fit for the company, culturally diverse for the, reliable and retainable. That’s quite a hefty order! It’s no wonder HR is regarded as one of the most important parts of a company.

Filed Under: Financial Guidance Tagged With: , ,

Family Budgeting

March 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Having kids is not a cheap route in life! In fact, raising kids in a healthy, loving environment in which their needs are fulfilled can cost a lot more per year than you spend on yourself. This is particularly true if you’re still living, expenses wise, as you did during your college years, where thrift was the name of the game. Coming up with a family budget to spend on a reach card is the only way to keep the minor expenses from gobbling up substantial portions of your income. And when you’ve got kids, seemingly everything turns into a minor expense. They want this game and that electronic device, as much for themselves as so that their friends don’t make fun of them for not having an item. Mp3 players, cell phones, and other pricy electronics once seemed optional, but they are how kids keep tabs on the world and each other.

As a parent, it’s important to keep your kids up to date with the basics. But that doesn’t mean that you’ve got to blow the grocery, healthcare, mortgage, and utility budgets on them. It’s easy if you’re clear with your kids from the outset. Let them know that every flashy item that catches their eyes is not available to them. You can set a numerical limit, as in, one item per month from the impulse category. Or you can set a dollar amount just as you would on a reach card, which can teach them to be conscious of money values from a young age.

Using a Reach Card prepaid card allows you to keep your expenses down. You simply put onto the card the amount that you’ve got to spend each month, and don’t worry about going over budget on unnecessary items. Like a debit card, the card won’t allow you to overspend money that you don’t have. And to apply money to the card is as easy as using direct deposit.

Filed Under: Financial Guidance Tagged With: , ,

I am Rich

March 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The economic recession we are currently under began in 2007. Everyone in the country felt the lay-offs, cuts in salaries, and hike of prices -. However, there was still the elite few that refused to comply with the consequences of the recession such as the rest of America.

One way they demonstrated their financial prowess was through the use of technology. In 2008, Heinrich, a German software developer, created an App on the iPhone called the “I am Rich” application. It’s premises were really rather simple. The app cost 999.99$ to purchase. Once bought it creates a large growing gem on the iPhone – indicated the persons, well, “richness”.

The sad thing is, this app was actually bought by four Americans in an effort to prove that they’re rich. In a time of economic crises, there were people actually willing to drop a 1000$ on an application that, quite practically, didn’t do anything. It’s no wonder the country is under such financial strain.

The sad truth of the matter is that Veblen goods, no matter what the economic status of the country is, will always be expensive and in demand at the same time. A Veblen good doesn’t function the same way as a normal commodity – that is, when the price goes up the demand doesn’t fall, au contraire, the demand increases as the price does.

Thus, it is important to remember that while people are talking about how badly the recession has hit the country – certain industries that carry an expensive brand nametag have not been affected. And neither have the people who purchase from them.

Filed Under: Financial Guidance Tagged With: , ,

Text Message Advertising

March 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Advertising and marketing has taken a whole new level with the latest advances in technology – we humans have never missed an opportunity to make money off of the tiniest of new inventions or discoveries. For example, although text messaging has been around for a long time, the new trend nowadays taking the United States by storm is text message advertising.

Companies have sprung up that specialize in the aforementioned job. They find clients who are willing to pay them a fee to send out text messages to the client’s database – endorsing promotions, special offers, or just the companies themselves even. By 2008, 89% of the major brands were said to have jumped on this new advertising bandwagon.

So who is sending out such texts? Everyone! Restaurants, department stores, and movie theatres even. And who is receiving these? Everyone who ever registered at these companies in questions by filling out a survey or questionnaire.

In fact, this job is getting so hot – writers are being hired to write creative texts to send to clients that will get their attention. Catchy limericks, cool graphics, and what have you – every eye catching medium possible is being sent out there through the technology of texting and the customers are going wild.

That’s right, this sort of advertising is actually working.  Because of the constant textual reminders from these companies, their customer retention rate has increased exponentially. Moreover, because of using texting as a means of advertising, companies are being able to reach out and attract the younger generations of consumers as well.

We truly do live in a world where one can make profits out of anything.

Filed Under: Financial Guidance Tagged With: , ,

College and Career

March 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

College is four years of one big party – but what happens when the party ends? Everyone’s gone and left you with the mess of cleaning up what once used to be your beautiful apartment. Graduating from college can be sort of like that as well – the guidance counselors and advisors that worked as crutches are now gone and it’s up to you to clean up your act and get a job.

So, here are a few types that play into the college graduate stereotype, and how to avoid it –

  1. Make connections early – a lot of college career centers hold events that can give ample opportunities for networking. As much as building a career is about hard work and dedication, it’s also about whom you know. Making connections with people that could potentially help you out, even though you’re too young to accept a job just yet is very beneficial – the longer the relationship has been growing, the better chances there are for you to land a job.
  2. Informational Interviews – at these networking events, it is also helpful to do some informational interviews of the companies of the people you’re meeting – it’s excellent research for when you’re taking the actual interview, to blow your interviewer away with your depths of knowledge on their company.
  3. Taking responsibility – as mentioned earlier, graduating college is a time where all the safety nets are taken off; thus, it is of utmost importance that you practice taking personal responsibility for your actions, so that your employers know that you are mature.

So these are a few tips on how to avoid the college graduate stereotype – now if only there were some to avoid the freshman 15 stereotype.

Filed Under: Financial Guidance Tagged With: , ,

About the Designer of Apple Bottoms Jeans

March 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Nelly, born Cornell Haynes, Jr., the Texas born hip-hop superstar, Grammy award winner, actor and a business man, was born in November 2, 1974 at Austin Texas. He was originally known in his first album which was launched in 2000 called “Country Grammar”, It had became a hit and made him a superstar by winning three Grammy awards. Two years later, in 2002 Nelly launched his second album “Nellyville” which entered the Billboard 200 chart and ranked No. 1 for three weeks and sold 9 million copies worldwide.

In 2003, Nelly, alongside with his cousin Yomi Martin and a friend, Ian Kelly, launched a fashion and lifestyle brand for women called Apple Bottoms. They all together started this business in August 2003. One of their popular products is called Apple Bottom Jeans which was worn by many popular celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Fergie, Ashanti. Apple bottoms has now become one of the most popular urban wear designers on the market today, and they have expanded their variety of products from jeans to fragrances, handbags, and accessories, footwear, swimsuits, infant apparel, girls wear and many more. Nelly launched his campaign in 2003 for a children’s print ad featuring other rappers paired with their daughters. He’s focused on Apple Bottoms to be a family-oriented line.

Nelly also started his business with men’s clothing line called Vokal and also an Energy drink called Pimp Juice. He also partnered with Nike and released a limited edition sneaker called “Air Derrty”. In the same year Nelly also became the Chief Executive Officer of Derrty Entertainment. Nelly also starred and became known of his role on a remake film with Adam Sandler and Chris Rock.
“

Filed Under: Financial Guidance Tagged With: ,

AIESEC

March 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Stand back wall-streets, the youth of today has become quite as business savvy as anyone with experience in the corporate workforce. Take the organization AIESEC for example. It stands for Association Internationale des Étudiants en Sciences Économiques et Commerciales. It’s the worlds largest completely student run organization, with its headquarters in Amsterdam – and branch offices in over 107 different countries in the world.  What’s even more amazing is that this company is completely not for profit, in fact, its mission statement is the “peace and fulfillment of humankind’s potential”.

So what exactly does this company do? Well, first off, their branches in different countries are called “Local Chapters” that take the form of organizations within colleges – very few colleges in the United States have an AIESEC chapter making it a very exclusive organization. Within their local chapters, they have a structure of a president and different teams, with different vice presidents that all come together to do the AIESEC job – which is to find students internships abroad, and to promote cultural diversity through events.

This is when the business savvy part of it all comes into play – these students are responsible for networking and selling their company to much larger companies in an effort to set their intern applicants up for a job with them. The skills they attain working at AIESEC are some that will really help them forward their career.

Moreover, AIESEC holds conferences every few months where these students go through leadership training and such – it is organizations such as these that are preparing our generation for a better future.

Filed Under: Financial Guidance Tagged With: , ,

How a Business Plan Matters

February 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A business plan is a critical aspect in any business, even in a small business. This plan is not just to use to get a loan, but it is helpful for many other aspects, too. You will find that a business plan can help you to organize your day to day needs and your business’s financial and structural makeup. Without it, you have a lack of organization. That can lead to problems that you do not expect to happen.

A business plan is a document that outlines a great deal of information. It should be created before you start your business but you can create and modify these at any time you need to. It is a document that you will use to organize your business in a variety of ways, including the following:

  • Outline the management structure of your business. Who is responsible for what within the business? This helps you to assign specific responsibilities within the business.
  • What does your business provide? It may seem simple but this is one of the more complex questions you will need to answer within the plan. What services or products are going to be offered?
  • What makes your product or service better than others? This is yet another question that you need to explore fully. It can help to show why your business is likely to be, or likely not to be successful.
  • Determine what type of expenses you will have and what amount of money you expect to come in from the business. This can show a lender, or a business partner, how much money you can expect to make.

A business plan is not a hard document, though. It will continuously change and develop over the years as your business changes. Keep it up to date to ensure that your business always has a direction to move in, hopefully a positive one.

Filed Under: Financial Guidance Tagged With: , , ,

Why Incorporate Your Business

February 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you are a small business owner, you may be thinking about the incorporation process. This process allows individuals to separate their personal and their business expenses, incomes and responsibilities. The process of doing this is significant and it can provide you with a level of protection unlike any other. Many businesses, however, fail to see the benefits of incorporating and that can be a costly mistake.

When you incorporate a business, you are separating personal and business funds. For example, as a small business owner, you may make a sale or provide a service, cash the check and go on to the next opportunity. When you incorporate your business, the business gets paid, which in turn pays you. There are a few reasons to do this including the following:

  • You separate your personal assets from your business assets. This way, you no longer need to worry about a business creditor coming after your personal assets. There is a division here.
  • Taxation changes, too. The business files its own taxes and that means there is a division between your personal and business incomes. This provides more protection for you and, for some, there is a level of protection security here, too.
  • Incorporation can protect your personal assets if you were to file bankruptcy. If you are in a partnership, and your partner files bankruptcy, your personal assets could be at risk of your partner’s creditors.
  • Your business can build its own credit because there is a division between personal and business tax filing numbers. Your Social Security Number is no longer used within your business.

Incorporation is a process that takes some time to process, but it is not expensive and it can protect your business and yourself. Work with an attorney to find out how this process works and to determine the best course of action to help avoid any risks.

Filed Under: Financial Guidance Tagged With: , , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »