15Aug
Starting Your Business After 50 – 7 Keys to Success

We 50+ Boomers are now the fastest-growing group of new business owners in the U.S.

We’re being attracted by the freedom to act upon our ideas as we see fit, the chance to achieve much better balance between our work and leisure lives and the opportunity to enjoy a source of income that’s only limited by our personal ambition.

But, as attractive as self-employment may appear at first glance, it’s important that you carefully consider the following seven criteria when considering whether to take the plunge.

Look for a business whose work will truly engage you. This is especially important if you’re feeling burnt out emotionally from the demands of your corporate career. A good starting point for identifying the right business idea for you can be to visualize how you can turn your favorite work activity in your corporate career into a business, or examine a long-held hobby to see if you can turn it into a full-blown business.

Understand the income potential and whether it matches your needs, and how much you are comfortable investing. Take a hard-nosed look at startup costs, your local competition, and your willingness to risk your savings. Take into account the fact that it takes most new businesses at least three years to break even – if they last that long. Later in life is not the time to shoot craps and risk your financial security. It’s worth sitting down with a reputable accountant who has worked with lots of startups and who can help you determine how much of a gamble you’re willing and able to take.

Match the physical demands of your chosen business to your energy level. A business that requires putting in long hours every day, or hard physical labor, may not suit you at this point in your life. On the other hand, if you love the outdoors, planning and planting landscaping or working in one of the building trades, by all means dig further into the possible business opportunities, but be honest about the sustained physical stamina that will be demanded to earn a steady income.

If day-to-day variety is important to you, rule out businesses that involve doing the very same thing for each customer. The idea here is to find something that will keep you passionately interested. Not every detail of running a business is equally interesting, but you want to assure that your business offers enough different experiences so that you remain eager to get up every day and run your business.

Do you love or hate technology? While most businesses require some computer use, consider the extent to which you’ll need to use other technologies – like wireless gadgets, the Internet, and various types of software – to help you manage your business. If you hate technology and would rather not bother with it, can you afford to hire technical help?

Consider if you’re ready to learn a complete new set of skills or primarily wish to build off of skills you already possess. Every new business owner has to learn some new skills, such as office administration or Internet marketing. But, it’s very important that you honestly assess how well you know the “nuts and bolts” of your prospective business idea, otherwise you face a steep learning curve your first year in business, at the same time you face the daily demands of selling your product or service.

If you find you’re drawn to a franchise opportunity, make sure you determine the total expected investment for the first two years. Be aware that, with a franchise, you will always have a business partner – the franchiser – who takes part of your income. Proceed with caution when considering a franchise: Talk with others who have bought outlets from the same company; make sure you understand everything the franchiser will expect from you (including how disputes, if any, will be resolved); and hire an attorney who specializes in franchising to explain the franchise agreement to you in detail.
1Aug
Doing What You Want to Do to Make Money at Home

There are so many people who are looking for advice from all sorts on how to proceed when trying to make money at home with their own business ideas. It is too bad that so much of this advice is either ill willed, or just bad advice from someone who means well. Ultimately, the choices you make will only affect you and those you are responsible for, not your friends, business colleagues, or neighbors. Make the choice because it is what you want to do, not because others think you should do it.
How many horror stories have we all heard about people who listened to others, knowing what the right choice would have been, only to fail because they thought someone else had a better handle on a specific business idea or more experience. The fact is that if your heart is not in it, you will most likely fail at it. This rings true in all aspects of life whether it is trying to make money at home or in a marriage. So stay with your gut feeling if you believe you have a good idea to market a product or service, and stop listening to your neighbors, friends, and people at the local coffee shop.
We all know that venturing out into an unknown place is scary, but listening to those who haven’t been where you are about to go will not help you either. If you were walking in the darkness and had two people hollering at you, one from behind you and another in front of you about the dangers ahead, who would you listen to? My money would be on the person in front of you who has already been down the path, not the one still not as far up the path as you. So ultimately, if you are going to listen to anyone, listen to those who have been down the road you are about to travel.
In the world of business there are so many shades of gray that can all lead to success, or failure. Sometimes two people can have the same exact idea and one will fail and the other will succeed just due to slight differences in how they marketed their idea, where they allocated their resources, and how well they budgeted their costs. Subtle differences could set the tone for your business life, and be your ticket to success.
25Jun
Online Business Idea – How to Protect Yourself Against Legal Troubles When Blog Posting

A sound online business idea involves blogging. Creating blogs is a good way to communicate to people what you think, felt as well as share ideas. Blogs are usually used by people who are starting their own business online in order for them to receive comments from customers regarding the quality of their products and services. This is also something that you can use to know your customers suggestions. There are steps you need to take when starting your own business to make sure that you and your business are lawsuit-free.
1. Check the information – This is very important before you post any blog or writing content. If you know you need to use either quote or sort of information which is not a common knowledge, make sure to check the information in order for you to represent the information you are writing about in an accurate manner. For instance, if you post a blog about a famous person and what his or her activities at a certain place where you saw him or her, ensure that you are certain of what you say. You need to check it out for real. You can do reference check when in doubt, which includes references to the information that is common or paraphrased. It would be best to give credit when it is due rather than to try to restate anyone else’s work affirming it is your own.
2. Don’t be presumptuous – Never assume anything on any topic when writing a blog. Take this as an example; do not assume that attorneys earn $100,000 annually. There are even some public attorneys who earn not over $40,000 every year. If this is the topic of the blog that you are writing, people would be skeptical with your write-up. As said, it makes a lot of sense to check information. In case you have chosen to discuss the salary of the attorney, you can give a range of probably $0 – $1,000,000. The $0 is representing pro bono or unpaid services and on the other hand, $1,000,000 is representing high profile cases and corporate attorneys in big cities.
3. Think all the people – When searching for a new online business idea, it is not enough to say that you write a blog. Your blog should be supported by facts and consider not only those who will read it, but also think all of the people. This should include their religion, race, class, gender and orientation. As you know, anyone can access your blog online which means anyone can read it. The last thing that you want to do is to offend anyone. If you can offend someone can set off legal chain reaction which results to a class action suit if you failed to be careful. Take note that when you post blog, your IP address is recorded for people to know your identity when you are posting a blog.
4. Take time to review – Before you post a blog, make sure you review and see if what you wrote is something that you want to let the world know. Think of the content and what you want to say. You should also consider what the average people will have in mind when they read it. Is the writing positive to them or will only lead to negative criticism. It is therefore important to be careful most particularly online.
5. Refrain from using negative words – If possible use words that are neutral and refrain from incorporating dirty jokes, profanity and vulgarity. Unless there is something positive that you will write about a person, you should avoid from posting something about someone. Note that once it is placed there, it will be considered written evidence and can be used as evidence inside the court room.
Blogs are good communication tool and a smart online business idea that anyone can use. But you need to follow these steps first to be free of lawsuit.
19Jun
Top 10 Small Business Ideas for 2012

Starting a small business takes a lot of planning and the ability to execute your business plans. Though it doesn’t require a big capital for a small business however you cannot lose your capital as this will cause a serious trouble on the financial front at the same time your future expansion plans. If you have knowledge about how to run a business successfully, you won’t be able to take a wrong move that can affect your business plans. Before we go on further to the small business ideas, refer to the tips for running a small business.
• Can it sustain your everyday expenses and can it profit you.
• Can it raise enough funds to get it running for a long time and can become a profitable venture.
• Is it something that is needed everyday and does it has an appeal to sell on a steady basis?
• Is it something that you know how to do and can you do it well?
• Is it something that you like to do and doesn’t mind you at all doing it over and over again?
Now that we know our objective in putting up a small business let’s go forward and see what are the best idea for small business this 2012.
1. Online business – this may include article writing/blogging, virtual assistant, translator, copy writer or bookkeeper, data entry, etc. This is one of the ideal business ideas for beginners would be to take advantage of various online business opportunities. By doing online data entry and online paid survey jobs, you can earn money per hour for your work. The more accuracy and consistency you show in your job, the more work you will get.
2. Mobile apps development – almost all people nowadays possesses a mobile phone and included on the mobile phone is application that people always uses. Calendars, Alarm Clocks, notepads are some example of applications that are commonly downloaded. Whether this is a businessman, a politician, an artist or just an ordinary person has a lot or even tons of mobile application.
3. Make-up artist or hair salons – Providing either makeup artist services or hair salons is yet another interesting small business idea. Makeup artists are in great demand in the fashion and entertainment industry. If you have the required makeup skills and talent, you can start your own company and do the makeup of television and movie stars. By providing good service, you can get long-term contracts which will increase your revenues greatly. The great thing about hair salons is that they are a sure thing. No matter how dismal the economic climate, women will still scrape together the money to get their hair done, even if they have to let their nails go. So hair salons with talented stylists and well-priced services will still be real money makers.
4. Cleaning services (pool, yard, garage etc.) – A cleaning service is a good business proposition for a person who relishes the idea of cleaning apartments, homes and commercial establishments. Housekeeping is an art and people are typically deterred by the prospect of getting grease, tough stains and odors out of carpets, keeping their bathroom clean and eliminating odors from their refrigerator. Hence, a cleaning service can be a steady source of income assuming that there are no immediate competitors. Otherwise, one would have to spend money on advertising and this may eat into one’s profits. Cleaning services can operate round the clock since residential apartments are generally cleaned during the day while commercial buildings are cleaned after office-hours. Considering that cleaning services earn popularity and goodwill through word of mouth, a job that is well done will rarely go unnoticed.
5. Elder assistant or baby sitting – being a babysitter doesn’t require you to have a license, with more parents needing to work and offering a home based child care can be a great way of starting your own business while taking care of your own kids too. The growing numbers of senior baby boomers also provide growing business opportunities for senior care. In-home care and senior residences are the obvious ones, but don’t forget all the related opportunities such as driving, delivery, catering and cleaning services for seniors who want to stay in their homes. You can certainly develop your own business providing care for seniors.
6. Recycler – the best thing of being a recycler is that you’re not just earning your own money and you’re also helping the environment. Average homeowner doesn’t always know where or how to recycle the stuff they’ve got. A pickup truck are all you’d need to start buying or simply offering to remove scrap metal, old computers, electronics, ink cartridges and other recyclable materials.
7. Event management/party planner – Event management or party planning can also be a good option for a small business. Event planners have to organize a particular event by taking into consideration the suggestions given by their clients. This job requires creativity, patience and ability to get work done from people on time. It can help you be a successful event planner if have a good team of creative professional that can help you organize the event under you.
8. Online selling – whether this is a pre-loved or brand-new stuff you can still earn big bucks. This is being popularized by e-bay. There are still some people who have a whole lot of money and are willing to spend it on the name products that matter. Luxury handbags, scarves, and shoes for women are still selling well, for instance.
9. Social media consultants – With the ever rising of the social media era and the giant social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and You tube, businesses have been taking advantage of this to gain more exposure for their brands and products. With more than 800 million active users in Facebook alone, business promotion in this top social networking site is now a priority for business owners and marketers. If you have the social media marketing skills that can outsource likes and follows for your client’s business, then this business can help you earn cold cash on the Internet.
10. Pet related services such as pet sitter, pet cleaning and grooming services – Most Canadians and Americans loves pet especially dogs and feeding, caring for them and pampering their pooches a spending priority. Kennels, doggie daycare, dog treat bakeries and dog resorts are few of the things that you may want to venture in.
These are not necessarily ideas for businesses that anyone can start however you can get some idea on the list above. But in my opinion, these are business opportunities that are going to provide real chances to make money in 2012 and beyond. Business that is done right, in the right place and for the right people may be profitable enterprises for years to come. If you’ve been considering a sale in 2012, take your time and do it right. Plan ahead, research your market and stand out from the competition. Knowing the sales process is half the battle. With proper preparation, you can ensure a stress free transition and a financially successful exit from your business.
23Apr
Internet Business Information For a Genuine High Income

Internet business information is being offered all over the Word Wide Web, with many of them claiming that they help you in making tons of money. However, most of them prove to be just scams and you only lose your preciously earned money and waste valuable time, without getting anything in return. Unless you have the support and guidance of experienced professionals that had burnt themselves in the fire of Internet home business idea and had extracted the secrets of crossing the minefield of Internet home based business opportunities, you do not stand even a remote chance of making any decent earnings on the Internet.
On your own, you are free to try all the ideas and concepts, follow all the rules and advices offered by self-proclaimed experts in the field of Internet business information, and purchase all the books and materials on ‘how to make money on the Internet’. Still, chances are good that you are going to end up only with empty hands, loss of money and waste of time. The main reason for this colossal failure is quite simple. Either these people just want to cheat you out of your precious money or they just do not know the actual secrets of achieving success through the most appropriate Internet business information. However, it is possible with the right information to generate online windfall profits on a regular basis. It is also possible to research and learn the strategy and learn the intricacies of making considerable amount of money through proper guidance from experienced professionals.
This useful Internet business information is fundamentally based on the statement ‘you may simply look at what everyone else around you is doing and do the opposite’. This expression might appear to be a bit crazy but the sad fact is that the majority of persons in the real world are following the same principles and ideas of doing business on the net as everyone else, just because others had done it and are doing it. With such ideas and principles that everyone is exercising, because of saturation over time, a few might have succeeded by sheer luck but the number of persons who had failed far exceeds those that had actually succeeded.
As such, it becomes necessary to think in new fashions, to change our deep-rooted mindsets, and travel in a direction that had not been trodden so far by the majority. This requires a hard look at every idea and concept that all of us had been following until now and clearly understand the mistakes that had been part of the process and the pitfalls in continuing the old or outdated methods of online money making. If we really start applying our minds on this subject, it is not very difficult to find a new path, take a new direction, and implement ideas and concepts that majority are not using. Therefore, actually allowing the stunning results that provide a nice income from home with the help of useful Internet business information.