Business, Bling and; Brains

Warren Buffet & Jay-Z Forbes Interview

2010-09-23T18:46:00.000-07:00

Aboard The Most Expensive Yacht In The World ($300 Million)

2010-08-18T16:05:00.000-07:00

The Kevin O'Leary Story - The 4 Billion Dollar Man

2010-08-02T10:31:00.001-07:00

Kevin Oleary has a great story to tell. If you have not seen him on the show Dragon's Den or on Shark Tank, here is his personal story of how he sold his business for close to 4 billion dollars.

World Cup Payouts

2010-07-11T16:17:00.000-07:00

By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports

JOHANNESBURG – The motivation for Spanish and Dutch players in Sunday’s World Cup final is obvious – national pride, global glory and the chance at an enduring legacy. To hold the golden trophy is something most have dreamed of since they first kicked a ball.

All of which doesn’t mean money (quite a bit of it) hasn’t been used to provide a bit of extra reward. The winning team’s soccer federation will receive about $31 million in prize money from FIFA.

The Spanish Football Association has promised to give each of its 23 players a bonus of 600,000 euros (or about $758,000 in U.S. dollars) if they can deliver victory, according to the Sunday Times. The Netherlands reportedly will hand out 300,000 euros (or about $380,000) for each player. Coaches and support staff get less.

It makes Sunday’s game perhaps the richest in history. The total prize money is 61 percent higher than that handed out by FIFA for the 2006 World Cup.

And it’s just the cap on a wealthy run for each team’s players. FIFA will pay the final’s losing organization around $2.4 million. It gave out prize money to the tune of $7.5 million for a team getting out of group play, $9 million for reaching the quarterfinals and $18 million for reaching the semifinals. Losing in the semifinals was worth $20 million.

FIFA makes billions on the World Cup in global television rights, merchandise and tickets, among other things. The prize money goes to each nation’s football associations to help cover costs. They, in turn, negotiate with their players (who are paid professionals with their club teams the rest of the year) for their participation.

Most nations hand out player bonuses with each victory in knockout stage play. Each Spanish player has already earned about $130,000 for just reaching the final, according to the Times.

The most lucrative payout potentially would have gone to the United States, where U.S. Soccer had set aside nearly $20 million in player bonuses should they have won the World Cup. The Americans were knocked out in the round of 16, so only a fraction of that money was handed out.

English players left South Africa with no bonus money. Their bonuses were set to kick in for the quarterfinals only, but they lost in the last 16.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands and Spain play on – for their country, their personal fulfillment and a rather fine payday.

Do Business Ethically Or Go To Jail! (And get your toys auctioned)

2010-06-06T18:01:00.000-07:00

Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein’s toys went on the auction block Thursday. And the prices fetched suggest that the supply of wealth toys still far exceeds supply.

The auction netted $5.8 million for the victims of Mr. Rothstein’s scheme. He’s awaiting sentencing on charges that he used his law firm to run a $1.2 billion ponzi scheme.

The tally was about what was expected. Still, the mark-downs were huge. Granted, some of the sports cars held their value better than most cars. But the auction is worth noting at a time when hyperluxury purveyors are claiming their goods are “quality investments.”

Here is a partial list (and click here for photographs of some of the cars at auction):

2008 Bugatti Veyron. Typical retail price: $1 million plus. Sale price: $858,000.

2010 Lamborghini LP 670SV (only 100 miles). Retail price: $457,500. Sale price: $382,000.

2008 Mercedes-Benz SLR. Retail price: $362,339. Sale price: $301,000.

2005 33-foot Riva Aquariva Super boat. Sale price: $255,000.

2007 Rolls-Royce Phantom. Retail price: $338,350. Sale price: $240,000.

1999 55-foot SeaRay Sundancer. Sold for $220,000.

2009 Bentley Continental GTC. Retail price: $220,000. Sale price: $179,000.

2009 Maserati GT. Retail price: $130,000. Sale price: $90,000.

2007 87-foot Warren Yacht. Sold for $2.51 million.

So, do you think high-end sports cars and boats are good investments?

Self Made Millionaries - Common Stories Of Success

2010-05-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

By Kristyn Kusek Lewis

They’re just like you. But with lots of money.

When you think “millionaire,” what image comes to mind? For many of us, it’s a flashy Wall Street banker type who flies a private jet, collects cars and lives the kind of decadent lifestyle that would make Donald Trump proud.

But many modern millionaires live in middle-class neighborhoods, work full-time and shop in discount stores like the rest of us. What motivates them isn’t material possessions but the choices that money can bring: “For the rich, it’s not about getting more stuff. It’s about having the freedom to make almost any decision you want,” says T. Harv Eker, author of Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. Wealth means you can send your child to any school or quit a job you don’t like.

According to the Spectrem Wealth Study, an annual survey of America’s wealthy, there are more people living the good life than ever before—the number of millionaires nearly doubled in the last decade. And the rich are getting richer. To make it onto the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans, a mere billionaire no longer makes the cut. This year you needed a net worth of at least $1.3 billion.

If more people are getting richer than ever, why shouldn’t you be one of them? Here, five people who have at least a million dollars in liquid assets share the secrets that helped them get there.

1. Set your sights on where you’re going

Twenty years ago, Jeff Harris hardly seemed on the road to wealth. He was a college dropout who struggled to support his wife, DeAnn, and three kids, working as a grocery store clerk and at a junkyard where he melted scrap metal alongside convicts. “At times we were so broke that we washed our clothes in the bathtub because we couldn’t afford the Laundromat.” Now he’s a 49-year-old investment advisor and multimillionaire in York, South Carolina.

There was one big reason Jeff pulled ahead of the pack: He always knew he’d be rich. The reality is that 80 percent of Americans worth at least $5 million grew up in middle-class or lesser households, just like Jeff.

Wanting to be wealthy is a crucial first step. Says Eker, “The biggest obstacle to wealth is fear. People are afraid to think big, but if you think small, you’ll only achieve small things.”

It all started for Jeff when he met a stockbroker at a Christmas party. “Talking to him, it felt like discovering fire,” he says. “I started reading books about investing during my breaks at the grocery store, and I began putting $25 a month in a mutual fund.” Next he taught a class at a local community college on investing. His students became his first clients, which led to his investment practice. “There were lots of struggles,” says Jeff, “but what got me through it was believing with all my heart that I would succeed.”

2. Educate yourself

When Steve Maxwell graduated from college, he had an engineering degree and a high-tech job—but he couldn’t balance his checkbook. “I took one finance class in college but dropped it to go on a ski trip,” says the 45-year-old father of three, who lives in Windsor, Colorado. “I actually had to go to my bank and ask them to teach me how to read my statement.”

One of the biggest obstacles to making money is not understanding it: Thousands of us avoid investing because we just don’t get it. But to make money, you must be financially literate. “It bothered me that I didn’t understand this stuff,” says Steve, “so I read books and magazines about money management and investing, and I asked every financial whiz I knew to explain things to me.”

He and his wife started applying the lessons: They made a point to live below their means. They never bought on impulse, always negotiated better deals (on their cars, cable bills, furniture) and stayed in their home long after they could afford a more expensive one. They also put 20 percent of their annual salary into investments.

Within ten years, they were millionaires, and people were coming to Steve for advice. “Someone would say, ‘I need to refinance my house—what should I do?’ A lot of times, I wouldn’t know the answer, but I’d go find it and learn something in the process,” he says.

In 2003, Steve quit his job to become part owner of a company that holds personal finance seminars for employees of corporations like Wal-Mart. He also started going to real estate investment seminars, and it’s paid off: He now owns $30 million worth of investment properties, including apartment complexes, a shopping mall and a quarry.

“I was an engineer who never thought this life was possible, but all it truly takes is a little self-education,” says Steve. “You can do anything once you understand the basics.”

3. Passion pays off

In 1995, Jill Blashack Strahan and her husband were barely making ends meet. Like so many of us, Jill was eager to discover her purpose, so she splurged on a session with a life coach. “When I told her my goal was to make $30,000 a year, she said I was setting the bar too low. I needed to focus on my passion, not on the paycheck.”

Jill, who lives with her son in Alexandria, Minnesota, owned a gift basket company and earned just $15,000 a year. She noticed when she let potential buyers taste the food items, the baskets sold like crazy. Jill thought, Why not sell the food directly to customers in a fun setting?

With $6,000 in savings, a bank loan and a friend’s investment, Jill started packaging gourmet foods in a backyard shed and selling them at taste-testing parties. It wasn’t easy. “I remember sitting outside one day, thinking we were three months behind on our house payment, I had two employees I couldn’t pay, and I ought to get a real job. But then I thought, No, this is your dream. Recommit and get to work.”

She stuck with it, even after her husband died three years later. “I live by the law of abundance, meaning that even when there are challenges in life, I look for the win-win,” she says.

The positive attitude worked: Jill’s backyard company, Tastefully Simple, is now a direct-sales business, with $120 million in sales last year. And Jill was named one of the top 25 female business owners in North America by Fast Company magazine.

According to research by Thomas J. Stanley, author of The Millionaire Mind, over 80 percent of millionaires say they never would have been successful if their vocation wasn’t something they cared about.

4. Grow your money

Most of us know the never-ending cycle of living paycheck to paycheck. “The fastest way to get out of that pattern is to make extra money for the specific purpose of reinvesting in yourself,” says Loral Langemeier, author of The Millionaire Maker. In other words, earmark some money for the sole purpose of investing it in a place where it will grow dramatically—like a business or real estate.

There are endless ways to make extra money for investing—you just have to be willing to do the work. “Everyone has a marketable skill,” says Langemeier. “When I started out, I had a tutoring business, seeing clients in the morning before work and on my lunch break.”

A little moonlighting cash really can grow into a million. Twenty-five years ago, Rick Sikorski dreamed of owning a personal training business. “I rented a tiny studio where I charged $15 an hour,” he says. When money started trickling in, he squirreled it away instead of spending it, putting it all back into the business. Rick’s 400-square-foot studio is now Fitness Together, a franchise based in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, with more than 360 locations worldwide. And he’s worth over $40 million.

When extra money rolls in, it’s easy to think, Now I can buy that new TV. But if you want to get rich, you need to pay yourself first, by putting money where it will work hard for you—whether that’s in your retirement fund, a side business or investments like real estate.

5. No guts, no glory

Last summer, Dave Lindahl footed the bill for 18 relatives at a fancy mansion in the Adirondacks. One night, his dad looked out at the scenery and joked, “I can’t believe we used to call you the black sheep!”

At 29, Dave was broke, living in a small apartment near Boston and wondering what to do after ten years in a local rock band. “I looked around and thought, If I don’t do something, I’ll be stuck here forever.”

He started a landscape company, buying his equipment on credit. When business literally froze over that winter, a banker friend asked if he’d like to renovate a foreclosed home. “I’m a terrible carpenter, but I needed the money, so I went to some free seminars at Home Depot and figured it out as I went,” he says.

After a few more renovations, it occurred to him: Why not buy the homes and sell them for profit? He took a risk and bought his first property. Using the proceeds, he bought another, and another. Twelve years later, he owns apartment buildings, worth $143 million, in eight states.

The Biggest Secret? Stop spending.

Every millionaire we spoke to has one thing in common: Not a single one spends needlessly. Real estate investor Dave Lindahl drives a Ford Explorer and says his middle-class neighbors would be shocked to learn how much he’s worth. Fitness mogul Rick Sikorski can’t fathom why anyone would buy bottled water. Steve Maxwell, the finance teacher, looked at a $1.5 million home but decided to buy one for half the price because “a house with double the cost wouldn’t give me double the enjoyment."

The Rise Of The Mega Rich - By Kiyosaki

2010-05-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

The first decade of the 21st century is over. Many people find themselves off to a bad start. The new century began with the Y2K scare -- the threat of computers shutting down around the world. Then 9/11 came, followed by two long and expensive wars. The Nasdaq bubble and crash were followed by the real estate bubble then subprime crash, which led to the unprecedented printing of trillions of dollars in an attempt to prevent a global depression. The result is a lingering financial crisis that has expanded the gap between the haves and have-nots.

Most decades have their characters. In the 1960s, we had the hippies. By the 1970s the peace movement evolved into John Travolta and disco. In the 1980s, capitalists took center stage. Techies dominated the 1990s and suddenly geeks were cool.

The question is, what character will emerge to represent the first decade of the 21st century? Will it be the religious terrorists flying into tall buildings or the financial terrorists stealing our wealth from inside tall buildings? Will the first decade be known for Ponzi scheme notables such as Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford… or Social Security and mutual funds? Could it be known for odd couples such as Barack and Hillary or John and Sarah? Or will the first decade be known as the era of celebrity philandering with confessions from the likes of Tiger Woods, Elliot Spitzer, and John Edwards? (All three should get together to co-author a book entitled “Family First”.)

The Century's Exciting Start

All in all, the first decade was an exciting start to the 21st century. What will the second decade bring? What new character will emerge if hippies, disco-ducks, techies, and philanderers are yesterday’s news?

I believe there will be two newsworthy groups to emerge between 2010 and 2020. One big group will be the Dumpies, so named because life leaves them down in the dumps. Many in this group are old hippies who flourished during the ‘60s and forgot to grow up. Not all Dumpies were hippies. Many Dumpies became Dumpies simply because, like dinosaurs, they failed to notice the weather changing. They simply followed in their parents’ footsteps, faithfully believing that all they had to do was go to school, get a job, buy a house, save money, retire on a company pension, collect Social Security, and live happily ever after at the country club. The formula worked for their parents -- the WWII generation – so why shouldn’t it work for them?

The problem is, the rules of money changed. In 1971 President Nixon took the world off the gold standard and in 1974 the predecessor to the 401(k) plan emerged. Suddenly savers were losers as inflation took off, debtors were winners, and people turned to gambling with real estate and in the stock market as the guarantee of a retirement check for life disappeared.

In the coming decade, I believe we will be hearing more and more stories of Dumpies -- well educated, hard-working, successful, prosperous people who will find themselves out of time, out of money, and dependent upon government or family support in their golden years.

The New, the Young, the Prosperous

The second group you will hear more about is the new, young, global mega-rich. They are internationally minded plutocrats who are the beneficiaries of globalization and the technical revolution. They are being pushed along by the fall of communism, the spread of economic globalization, and the impact of the internet as technology makes information and communication free or almost free. Most are 40 or younger today.

This rise of the new global mega-rich is happening as established institutions are falling. The fall runs the gamut from the music business and traditional media to the Detroit automakers who find themselves obsolete, outmaneuvered, and out-priced by entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, Mumbai, Shanghai, and even Siberia.

We live in an era of unprecedented opportunity for the smartest, most persistent, and creative among us. Whole new businesses will emerge around breakthrough products as revolutionary technologies accelerate capitalism’s creative destruction of slower industries.

In this second decade, you will see the middle class of the West being hollowed out, creating the Dumpies of the world…modern dinosaurs of the evolutionary process. Both globalization and technology will have a punishing impact on those without intellect, luck, or chutzpah to profit from the changes. Machines, technology, and cheap labor in low-wage countries have pushed down wages in the West, aggravating the financial crisis for the obsolete and ill-informed.

Unprecedented Openness

We live in an age of unprecedented openness. As stated earlier, technology has made information and communication free or almost free. There is more opportunity than ever before…yet that opportunity is largely theoretical: In America social mobility will reverse as many in the middle class become Dumpies.

Between 1997 and 2001 the gap was as follows:

1. The top 1% earned 24% of earnings growth.
2. The top 10% earned 49% of earnings growth.
3. The bottom 50% earned 13% of growth.

Until 2008 none of this seemed to matter. The wonderful inventions, such as iphones, ipods, Twitter, Google, and Facebook kept us entertained like kids at Disneyland.

At the same time, the expanding bubble of debt created a surreal environment of monetary nirvana. You could buy what you wanted, max out your credit cards, and pay off the cards with a home equity loan, as Santa’s sleigh ride continued. Who cared if the bottom 50% were being left behind? Who cared if the top 10% earned 49% of earning’s growth? Who cared if 10% of the population got richer while 90% were left behind? We had toys, we were hip, we had designer bling from China that made us look rich, and we could buy the house of our dreams for no money down. What could be better?

As this financial crisis lingers on, the gap between the new plutocracy and the new Dumpies is becoming a pressing political issue. During the 1960s, the hippies dropped acid and dropped out. Today, as Dumpies, the largest demographic group (a.k.a. baby boomers, approximately 75 million strong…of which I am one) may wake up and drop back in. If they do, who knows where the political process, driven by their hippie values, will go? This is why the second decade of the 21st century will be more important than the first.

Financial education is an important objective for this next decade. We cannot allow the gap to grow bigger. We must have financial education in our schools. Money will not close the gap -- only financial education will. If we do nothing, who knows what creature will emerge as the mascot of the new decade?

To see the future, look to the past. Throughout history, political despots have emerged during times of economic crisis. Some famous characters are Mao, Stalin, Napoleon, and Milosevic.

In 1933, four years after the 1929 crash, two figures arose from the Depression. One was Adolf Hitler. The other was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Many people believe Barack Obama is modeling himself after FDR. Which leads to the question: Who will play Hitler?

SOURCE: http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/richricher/237392

The new BMW X6 M - A Thing of Beauty

2010-04-08T20:36:00.000-07:00

Oil Field Gifts - Gproducts.ca

2010-03-27T18:01:00.000-07:00

For the most part pretty much all of the posts which I make have to do with other people's business. On this post I will showcase a recent business I have undertaken. I currently live in Calgary Alberta Canada, which is at the heart of the oil & gas industry in Canada. While on Vacation overseas, I spotted some high quality gold plated executive oil field products. I instantly thought that there was a huge market for this back at home.

6 months later and some hard work later, I put together a website which markets the products to the local market here in Calgary. You can find the gold plated executive oil field gifts at http://www.gproducts.ca

These gifts are highly unique and cater to a niche market. I just launched the company last week and already have 3 products sold to customers in the northern oil city of Ft. Mcmurray. My plan is to market these to people within the oil and gas industry and get some sales streaming through.

I have created a small youtube video showcasing the products. Check it out below!

How To Make Your First Billion (BBC radio show)

2010-03-12T11:23:00.000-08:00

Interesting series by the BBC called how to make your first billion. Focuses on tech industry in silicon valley California.

Check it out

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p006h6pc/How_To_Make_Your_First_Billion_How_To_Make_Your_First_Billion_Episode_1/

Top billionaire business tycoons who did not need a college degree

2010-03-07T13:56:00.000-08:00

It is really surprising to know that some of the most powerful entrepreneurs and top business tycoons did not attend college or if they did, they never graduated.

Below is list of some very rich and successful people who did not go to college or need a degree in order to make it big:

Dhirubhai Ambani

Dhirubhai Ambani never went to college. He was only 16 when he left for Aden to work as a gas station attendant. He returned to India to start his own business at only 26 years of age. Dhirubhai Ambani set up Reliance, the largest private sector company of India. Ambani family became one of the richest families in the world, with the fortune running into billions of dollars. The business empire got split between his sons Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani in 2005.

Subhash Chandra

Subhash Chandra, the Indian Media Tycoon, dropped out of school in class 12. He is the man behind Zee TV, one of the most popular Satellite TV networks in India. At just 19 years of age, he started a vegetable oil unit and after some time he began exporting food grains. He ventured into packaging business in 1981, set up Essel World Amusement Park in 1988. He started Zee in 1992. Forbes’ 2009 estimated his net worth to be $ 1.1 billion.

Gautam Adani

Indian Entrepreneur and Self Made Billionaire Gautam Adani, is the man behind Adani Group, one of the leading diversified conglomerates of India. Gautam Adani a college dropout, was only in his teens when he came to Mumbai where he got the job of a diamond sorter. After some time, he started a diamond brokerage business. He entered the Plastics Business in the 80s. In the late 90s Adani diversified into infrastructure. Had net worth of $ 1.6 Billion according to Forbes’ 2009.

Bill Gates

The richest man in the world and the the Chairman of Microsoft, Bill Gates, is a Harvard University dropout. He dropped out of college to concentrate on software development business. He co-founded Microsoft along with Paul Allen. According to Forbes 2009, he had a net worth of $ 40 Billion.

Paul Allen

Paul Allen started Microsoft along with Bill Gates after dropping out from Washington State University. They became friends when they were at the Lakeside School, Seattle. Both of them had keen interest in computers. After schooling Gates went to Harvard University and Allen to Washington State University. Paul Allen dropped out after 2 years to work as a programmer. He convinced Gates to drop out so that they could focus on software development. His wealth according to forbes 2009 was $ 10.5 billion.

Larry Ellison

Larry Ellison is the CEO and co-founder of Oracle, the multi billion dollar enterprise software giant. He dropped out of University of Illinois and later from University of Chicago. He worked as a computer programmer for a number companies. Started Oracle in 1977 with an investment of $ 2000. Forbes’ 2009 estimated net worth to be $ 22.5 billion.

Michael Dell

Micheal Dell is the founder of Dell Computers. Micheal Dell dropped out from the University of Texas at 19 years of age to venture into the computer business. He started with just $1000 dollars which he turned into a multi billion dollar corporate empire. Forbes’ 2009 estimated his net worth to be $ 12.3 billion.

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, the co-founder and CEO of Apple, dropped out of Reed College, Portland, Oregon after completing just one semester. He started Apple 1976 along with his friend Stephen Wozniak. He introduced the Macintosh computer in the year 1984. He was also the co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios. Forbes’ 2009 estimated his net worth to be $ 3.4 billion.

Richard Branson

British business tycoon Richard Branson started his first venture at only 16 years of age. Branson established the famous ‘Virgin Brand’ which includes companies such as Virgin Atlantic Airways, Virgin Mobile and Virgin Records. Forbes’ 2009 estimated his net worth to be $ 2.5 billion.

Does this mean that one should dropout in order to become rich and successful? Well, I don’t think so. Dropping out is not a good idea. Starting a business without any qualification may turn out to be risky, the individual may end up losing everything.

Why these people succeeded is because they knew what they were doing. They had the necessary skill and talent. Also they had complete knowledge about the business they were entering into. And after all, everybody is not Bill Gates or Dhirubhai Ambani.

A Million Before Finishing School

2010-02-20T12:36:00.000-08:00

When Wells was bemoaning the price of his lenses, four retailers dominated the U.K. prescription glasses market; all relied on pricey retail stores to move their merchandise.

Wells figured he could move the entire purchasing process online. All he needed was a factory to make the lenses, assemble them with frames and package them. He would then ship them to shoppers, who would simply e-mail or mail in their prescriptions and pay for their glasses online. Without the costly infrastructure, Wells could sell glasses for about one-tenth the price of the established brick-and-mortar players.

Getting Started

A nifty new business model isn't nearly enough to launch a thriving company, let alone when you're 21 and have no track record. "I was knocking on the door of an industry, saying, 'The way that you're selling glasses is wrong, and I've got a better idea,'" says Wells.

Luckily he had friends and family members who agreed to put up a few thousand pounds to help him get started. Wells didn't disappoint: In the first year, Glasses Direct's revenue topped $2 million. And unlike many zealous entrepreneurs, Wells figured out how to manage his cash flow to bootstrap the business. The company took credit card payments upfront but didn't pay suppliers for another month. Wells used part of the float to hire a public relations firm to hype his low-cost strategy.

The next year Wells turned to professional angel investors. "With some investors, I simply walked in to a meeting with a sales graph and let that speak for itself," says Wells. As demand grew, Wells raised $34 million in venture capital from the likes of Highland Capital, Index Ventures, and Munich-based Acton Capital Partners. That should tide Wells over until he turns his first profit.

Asking for Help

Wells believes his age and inexperience helped him. "Having a young founder helps to add a lot of personality to a business," he says. Still, you can't cover payroll with personality.

Recognizing his limitations (yet another challenge for many entrepreneurs), Wells sought out mentors, including ophthalmologist Dr. David Spalton, and David Magliana, a marketing guru who helped bag the 2012 summer Olympic games for London. While Spalton lent credibility with the eye-care community, Magliana worked with Wells on getting the word out about Glasses Direct.

"As an entrepreneur, it's a lot easier than you'd think to reach out to people," says Wells. On the flipside, "entrepreneurs love to be written to and asked for their advice," he adds. "If your question is appropriate for them and they're emotionally interested in you, you will get a letter back, and you will get to meet them for coffee."

Running on Empty: Michael Furdyk

In 1996, as the dot-com boom started to simmer, Michael Furdyk started a Web site, called MyDesktop.com, an online computer magazine, in the basement of his parents' home in suburban Toronto. Furdyk was 16 and a bona fide computer geek. His site was filled with tips and advice Furdyk gleaned in online chat rooms, where he also came across fellow teenager Michael Hayman in Australia. The twosome figured they could turn their passion for technology into a paying business. Hayman was so convinced that he moved to Toronto to get things started.

Just one problem: Their only source of income was Furdyk's paper route. Solution: barter. In exchange for Web site storage space, they ran their host's ads on MyDesktop.com. They negotiated cheap rent on their modest office by designing their landlord's Web site.

Soon MyDesktop.com was bringing in $60,000 a month in advertising revenue from blue-chip clients like Microsoft and IBM. Furdyk and Hayman used some of their excess cash to scoop up smaller technology sites for $5,000 to $10,000 apiece. By 1999 the company was attracting 1 million unique visitors a month (serious numbers back then). Furdyk, Hayman and a third partner sold the company to Internet.com for "over $1 million," says Furdyk.

Absorbing the Blows

As part of the MyDesktop sale, Furdyk and company received a small amount of venture capital funding for their next project, a product review site called Buybuddy.com. They raised an additional $5 million and brought on an outside management team. But the good times were short-lived. In 2001 the tech bubble burst; Buybuddy suffered and shut down within three years.

Furdyk hasn't soured on entrepreneurship; indeed, he is promoting it via TakingITglobal.com, a nonprofit social networking site he launched for youngsters and educators interested in using technology to solve global problems. "Never be afraid of failure," says Furdyk. "Just learn from it. When you're young you have even less to lose."

MyYearbook.com: Catherine Cook

In 2005 Catherine Cook, 15, and her brother Dave, 17, were flipping through their high school yearbook and came up with the idea to develop a free interactive version online. The Cooks soon merged their social networking site with Zenhex.com, an ad-supported site where users post homemade quizzes, more than doubling traffic to their site. By 2006 MyYearbook had raised $4.1 million from the likes of U.S. Venture Partners and First Round Capital. The business attracted advertisers such as Neutrogena, Disney and ABC, grew to 3 million members worldwide and raked in annual sales in the "seven figures," says Catherine.

SOURCE

Will You Get Rich One Day?

2010-02-13T08:16:00.000-08:00

About a third of us think we will. And more than a few of us believe a ticket out of our workaday financial worries will have lottery numbers printed on it.

In this land of opportunity, Americans may believe that it's harder to get rich than it used to be. But when asked about the likelihood of getting rich personally, about one-third say it's very or somewhat likely that they will attain wealth because of their work, investments, inheritance or good luck.

On the other hand, 63% say it's not too likely or not at all likely they'll get rich. Just 2% volunteered that they're already rich.

What is rich, anyway?
Most people don't equate wealth with a yacht in the Mediterranean and a house on every continent. A meager 7% of respondents define "rich" by possessions such as houses, cars and boats.

Instead, for at least 33% of Americans, rich means having enough money not to worry, according to the survey. That's a subjective definition that varies with lifestyle and attitude. An additional 26% define rich as having enough money to quit their jobs.

"I think there is a paradox about it. People could live smaller than they do. There are a lot of McMansion inhabitants who could do that if they wanted to, but they slide on the golden handcuffs, and that is part of what keeps you from feeling rich," says Peter Rodriguez, an associate professor of business administration at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business.

Few people put dollar amounts on the definition of wealth. Just 17% say that being rich means having a net worth of $1 million or more, and 11% say a six-figure annual income makes someone rich.

Most people who are rich don't consider themselves rich. It's a relational feeling, Rodriguez says.

"For example, you take someone who has been earning $40,000 a year and bump them up to $100,000 -- they feel rich," he says. "Even if they increase their lifestyle, they don't have to worry about their old bills anymore. But if you take someone who is making $150,000, they feel poor unless they make $300,000."

How to get rich
One-fifth of Americans believe that starting a business is the most likely way to get rich today.

History supports that belief. Most self-made millionaires are small-business owners, says Greg McBride, Bankrate.com's senior financial analyst.

Choosing a high-paying job or career comes in second (19%) as the most likely path to getting rich.

Unfortunately for most people, having a high-paying job is the ticket to an expensive lifestyle and nothing more lasting, says Todd Tresidder, a financial coach at FinancialMentor and self-made millionaire.

Surprisingly, just 9% of survey respondents say real-estate investments offer a likely path to wealth. Though U.S. real-estate investors have gotten creamed in the past year, it's been a major moneymaker for some over the years, though it's by no means a sure thing.

"You do have to have deep pockets to play the game," says Dan Danford, the CEO of the Family Investment Center in St. Joseph, Mo.

Real estate offers a couple of advantages.

"The research shows that owning your own business and real estate are two of the most common paths to achieving wealth and financial security," Tresidder says. "There is a reason for that. Owning your own business and real estate have two principles: They have leverage and tax advantages."

Surprisingly, perhaps, 15% of people say that getting lucky via the lottery or an inheritance is the most likely road to riches, while another 15% point to living frugally and saving money as best.

Though living frugally may not have you living like a Rockefeller, it's a more likely route to wealth than winning the lottery.

"Living frugally and saving money are helpful, sure, but winning the lottery isn't even a plan. That's called hope," Tresidder says.

Motivations for becoming rich
Despite what advertising messages might convey, most people don't pursue wealth for material reasons. Only 11% of those surveyed say they want to be rich to afford material things and pursue leisure activities.

Instead, 41% of Americans say they wish to become wealthy so they can provide a better life and future for their children. And 18% say they'd like to be rich in order to take care of parents or other family members.

Americans sometimes sabotage themselves or are too anxious about current economic conditions to take steps toward prosperity. Danford has a fatalistic point of view when it comes to getting rich.

"I work with a broad spectrum of people, and one of the truisms I've come up with is: People who have money will always have money, and people who don't (have money) won't ever have money."

The majority of Americans appear to agree, according to Bankrate's poll. But optimism prevails with at least a third of Americans who aspire to be wealthy.

Source

SCENTEVENTS - 2+2 = CHA CHING

2010-02-08T22:14:00.001-08:00

Website Worth Over 10 Million In Less Than 2 years

2010-01-23T09:56:00.000-08:00

We’ve seen a host of deals recently in the Twitter app space, but here’s one that we now know didn’t happen: TwitPic selling out for north of $10 million.

Although he doesn’t say who the prospective buyer was, TwitPic (Twitpic) creator Noah Everett has revealed in an interview with Andrew Warner of Mixergy that he turned down an offer of “much higher than $10 million” at some point last year.

Beyond that, Everett says that Twitter (Twitter)’s most popular photo sharing site brought in $1.5 million of revenue during 2009, 70 percent of which went to the bottom line. Not bad for what started as one man’s side project without outside funding.

Check out the full interview below for some more details about one of Twitter’s biggest success stories to-date:

FOLLOW THE LINK BELOW TO WATCH HIS INTERVIEW

http://mashable.com/2010/01/14/twitpic-valuation/

source:mashable.com

Billionaire predictions 2010

2010-01-10T12:21:00.000-08:00

Even as most billionaires saw their wealth increase in 2009 along with rising stock markets, some remain cautious and believe that 2010 will continue to test the global economy.

We queried billionaires from around the world to get their thoughts on topics ranging from global warming and the weakening dollar to the price of gold and best places to invest in 2010. Ten answered our 10-question survey, but few agreed on most subjects. Whereas nearly all of the billionaires quizzed a year ago predicted an economic recovery, this year's participants were less unanimous.

The most bullish of the group predicted double-digit stock market gains in the coming year. Time Square tycoon Leon Charney predicted a 12% return in 2010. John Catsimatidis, another American who made a fortune largely in supermarkets and gas stations, concurs, stating that the market has to go up and will probably double over the next seven years. The biggest surprise of 2010? "The market hitting 12,000," Catsimatidis said.

Others thought the recent recovery would be short-lived and that returns would be minimal. Asked what direction his country's stock market would move and what returns he anticipated, Canadian David Cheriton quipped, "Sideways at best. So, none or slightly negative."

The billionaire respondents also gave wildly varying advice when asked about the best asset to own in 2010. All but one who abstained recommended a different investment. Among their picks: high-end art, real estate, distressed debt, cash, gold and stocks. Stanford professor Cheriton, who made his billions from a chunk of Google stock he'd been given by former students Sergey Brin and Larry Page, named the Internet company's stock as the best asset. The most practical advice came from Pharmaceutical tycoon Randal J. Kirk: "The best financial assets for a person to own would be those over which he has peculiar knowledge of expertise."

While most were gold bugs calling the commodity a buy or hold, two were vocal dissenters. Hollywood producer of such films as Pretty Woman and Marley and Me, Arnon Milchan called it a "place to go when you're scared; I don't see gold as a player in a healthy economy." Concurred Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, "Gold is a religion; it's not an asset class. It is always a bubble, so I am a sell."

The question that seemed to provoke the most detailed and impassioned responses was the one asking billionaires for their thoughts on the most alarming trend facing the economy today. Answers included rising unemployment, government spending, inflation and the poor education system. "I'm particularly alarmed by the decline in our commitment to a public education that will prepare our children to navigate a society defined by science and technology," says Kirk. Catsimatidis finds alarming the dearth of lending to small and medium-sized businesses, with "great credit" a sentiment echoed by Cuban, who cited President Barack Obama's administration's ignorance of how entrepreneurs start small businesses.

As for the biggest surprises, both Charney and Cheriton predicted problems for President Obama. "Obama's approval rating will drop below the lowest level Bush ever had as unemployment continues to rise," said Cheriton. Perhaps a bigger surprise would be Obama's return to favor, but no one is predicting that outcome.

On a lighter note, Cuban is betting that the biggest shocker will be the news that Tiger Woods will remarry.

SOURCE

Breaking The Bank- Inside Look at Washington & Wall Street

2009-12-25T09:40:00.000-08:00

This reveals the inside story of two banks at the heart of the financial crisis—Bank of America and Merrill Lynch—the rocky merger, and the government's new role in taking over the American banking system.

The bets were huge and risky—billions of dollars on the housing market. The upside was undeniable—superbanks reaped billions of dollars, dominated the landscape, and gobbled up competitors.

Then the bottom dropped out—the massive losses on Wall Street nearly broke the banks. In the worst crisis in decades, brand name banks are on the brink. Now as the federal government implements an unprecedented intervention in the industry, FRONTLINE goes behind closed doors to tell the inside story of how things went so wrong so fast and to document efforts to stabilize Wall Street. Veteran FRONTLINE producer Michael Kirk (Inside the Meltdown) untangles the complicated financial and political web threatening one particular superbank—Bank of America.

Watch the full show here http://video.pbs.org/video/1168339502/

Check out the preview below

Here is the Preview

26 Year Old Internet Millionaire Interview

2009-12-12T19:25:00.000-08:00

High Risk Venture's - Tourism in IRAQ

2009-11-29T18:37:00.000-08:00

Two car bombs killed more than 150 people in Baghdad in late October, one of the worst attacks in years. Even so, British tour operator Geoff Hann has no plans to stop arranging trips to Iraq through his company, Hinterland Travel. “Bombings in Baghdad happen all the time,” he says, somewhat dismissively.

Hann returned home to England after his last trip just two days before the dual blasts, having spent the previous three weeks guiding a group of American tourists (and a couple of armed guards) through the country in a minibus. So far this year Hann has taken about 60 travellers from North America, Europe and Taiwan to Iraq — at an average $4,000 a pop — the first tours he’s led since the U.S. and British invasion in 2003.

Currently, his company is the only one providing trips to Iraq — but that could soon change. A recent report from market research firm Euromonitor International says tourism there is on the rise. Indeed, the Iraqi government has already gotten into the act, announcing earlier this year that visitors can spend a night in a room in one of former dictator Saddam Hussein’s palaces for US$175.

Iraq features some of the oldest historical sites in the world, such as the ancient cities of Babylon and Eridu, and the government is adamant about developing a tourism industry to attract some much-needed investment. Iraqi universities now teach tourism courses, and last year, the government held a contest for the best tourism poster design.

The number of visitors to Iraq plummeted in 2003, but has since recovered, climbing to 119,700 in 2008. Euromonitor estimates an annual growth rate of 6% until 2012. Nearly 95% of the visitors will be so-called religious tourists from Iran, mostly Shiite pilgrims who visit holy sites in the cities of Najaf and Karbala. But the government still needs to provide adequate accommodations (many hotels are in direpair) to attract religious tourists from other countries, and to provide a stepping-stone to develop the kind of leisure tourism Hann provides.

Kurdistan, a relatively safe region in northern Iraq, is already well on its way to meeting this goal. The region has been spared the violence that continues to shake the rest of the country, and boasts a friendly foreign-investment climate. Much hotel renovation and construction work is on the go. A Sheraton opened recently, and the Malia Group in Lebanon is building a 205-room luxury hotel to be completed next year. A handful of travel agencies offer trips to Kurdistan, including Bestway Tours & Safaris in Burnaby, B.C., which hopes to organize its first excursion for 2010.

But the rest of Iraq is a far tougher sell. Investment will only come once a degree of safety is established, and investors are still hesitant. Many plans have fallen through. A consortium of American private equity firms announced intentions last year to build an amusement park in Baghdad designed by Ride & Show Engineering Inc., the same company that developed Disneyland in California. But the financial backers pulled out months ago.

Hann, however, is unfazed. He’s already organizing his next trip for March. “I don’t like security travelling with us very much,” he admits. “It stops us from going to places we could otherwise quietly go to.” Any takers?

SOURCE

9 Billion in Sales From Imitating Cocaine!

2009-11-25T19:16:00.000-08:00

21 Year Old Kid Chooses Cards Over College & Makes $8 Million

2009-11-11T18:51:00.000-08:00

LAS VEGAS – A 21-year-old Michigan poker professional who chose cards over college won the World Series of Poker main event in Las Vegas early Tuesday, winning $8.55 million and becoming the youngest player to win the tournament in its 40-year history.

Joe Cada of Shelby Township, Mich., turned over a pair of nines early after 46-year old Darvin Moon called his all-in wager with a suited queen-jack, setting up an about-even race for most of the chips on the table.

But a board of two sevens, a king, an eight and a deuce didn't connect with either player's cards and gave Cada the win.

"I ran really well and I never really thought this was possible," Cada said. "It was one of those dreams and I'm thankful it came true."

The hand abruptly ended a final table that saw Moon, a logger from western Maryland, bounce back to a dominant chip lead after being down 2-1 in chips to start the night.

"I knew if I could catch, I got him," Moon said of the final hand. "I just took a shot."

Cada broke a record for the tournament's youngest winner set last year by Peter Eastgate of Denmark. Cada is 340 days younger than Eastgate.

The record was previously held for two decades by 11-time gold bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, who posed for pictures with Cada after the win.

He also posed with his mother, Ann Cada, a dealer at MotorCity Casino Hotel in downtown Detroit.

"My baby," Ann Cada said as she approached her son with cameras snapping.

When asked what's next for him after reaching the pinnacle for poker so early in his career, Cada said: "To win it back-to-back."

Moon and Cada traded the lead several times in 88 hands spanning nearly three hours of play, with one 20-minute break.

Moon erased Cada's lead in 12 hands, revealing a pair of queens during a showdown to rake in a pot worth millions of chips. Cada shook his head after he lost and briefly stood up from the table, walking over and chatting with two of his supporters.

After some chip-shifting, Cada was ahead by less than 4 million chips after 52 hands, with 194.8 million chips in play.

But Moon stormed to nearly a 100 million-chip lead after the break, visibly frustrating Cada and leaning on him to make tougher decisions.

Fortunes changed when Moon pounced on a board with two 10s, a nine and a five to put Cada's entire tournament at risk. After a sip of bottled water and several minutes of thinking, Cada called the bet and flipped over a nine for a pair.

Moon held a straight draw but didn't hit his hand on the river, giving the lead back to Cada and drawing roars from the crowd.

"I should have went all-in on the flop. He made a phenomenal call," Moon said. "That's why he's the champion."

Moon won $5.18 million for second place.

"I only play good when my back's against the wall," said Cada, who was nearly ousted from the tournament on Saturday when he held about 1 percent of the chips in play after 123 hands.

The players traded chips atop a table with a stack of cash and a gold bracelet on its felt, and in front of nearly 1,500 screaming fans in a capacity crowd at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.

Their tug-of-war ended an epic tournament that began with 6,494 players in July.

After a 115-day break, Cada and Moon endured more than 14 1/2 hours through 276 hands at the final table on Saturday and early Sunday, when they outlasted seven others to make it to heads-up play.

Unlike Cada, who said he regularly plays about a dozen tournaments at a time online or three at a time in heads-up cash games, Moon hasn't played a single hand of online poker. He doesn't even own a computer or have an e-mail address.

SOURCE

Goldman Sachs Compensation Package

2009-11-02T18:41:00.000-08:00

Who would've ever thought that a Wall Street bank would have a dilemma over too much money? Now that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) has blown away its third-quarter profit estimates, talk has turned to the boatloads of money the bank is expected to hand out in bonuses at year's end -- and the backlash that's likely to follow.

Thus far this year, Goldman has already set aside $16.7 billion for compensation, roughly 46% more than it did in the first three months of 2008, and just below the record amount of $16.9 billion set aside for the same period in 2007. So far the bonus pool is high enough to pay each Goldman employee $527,192 for the period, according to Bloomberg. Of course, all that bonus won't be divvied up equally, as John Carney wrote earlier this year.

* Goldman's senior executives -- known as PMDs for partner managing directors -- slice off a huge chunk of the revenue. In 2007, the top guys took around 20% of the total. This means that if compensation comes in at $20 billion this year, that's $4 billion for Goldman's 400 or so PMDs. If these guys and gals divided the money evenly, each PMD would take home a cool $10 million each.

* The guys who find the most favor with the compensation gods will likely take somewhere between $20 million to $40 million. Goldman has to disclose what they pay the executive management team -- guys like Lloyd Blankfein and CFO David Viniar.

* The next level down at Goldman are the executive managing directors. These are folks who didn't get tapped to join the inner circle of the partnership, but have been at the firm a long time or control a good book of business. They can probably expect to make somewhere between $2 million and $4 million a piece.

* The rest of Goldman's financial employees--the vice presidents, associates and analysts -- get paid according to their performance evaluations

However the bonus pie gets sliced up, the total size is what critics will be keying in on. There's a line of critics around the block formed by those who are already gearing up for a fresh round of Goldman-hating, something the bank's management and public relations department are working overtime to blunt.

The latest rumor is that Goldman will make a $1 billion donation to charity, something that hard-pressed charities would welcome with open arms. However, a charitable contribution, particularly one of that size, could backfire and leave Goldman open to charges of an attempt to buy good will.

Critics will also be digging up quotes from Goldman's own CEO Lloyd Blankfein, who's had much to say on Wall Street compensation this year. In September, Blankfein said that "compensation continues to generate controversy and anger. And, in many respects, much of it is understandable and appropriate."

Still, the answer may be that Goldman will just have to pay the bonuses and weather the storm since the employees that made all that money for the firm are likely to insist on what they see as their fair share of income. And while Goldman is sure to get plenty of heat over bonuses, it won't be alone. The 23 largest financial institutions in the U.S. are on track to pay employees $140 billion in aggregate this year, a record high, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, inciting outrage among readers. - George White

Source:

Man Buys Condo For 56.6 Million Dollars!

2009-10-20T18:35:00.000-07:00

HONG KONG — One of Hong Kong’s largest developers announced Wednesday that it had sold an apartment for 439 million Hong Kong dollars, setting a record, just hours after the city’s chief executive warned that the city might be facing a real estate bubble.

The developer of the "Conduit Road 39" building in Hong Kong announced that a 6,158-square-foot duplex apartment in the building has sold for $56.5 million.

The deal, valued at the equivalent of $56.6 million, set a record price per square foot for Hong Kong, and the developer, Henderson Land, said it was not aware of a higher figure’s having been paid anywhere else.

Henderson Land declined to disclose the buyer’s name but said it was a company registered in Hong Kong. The buyer’s representative spoke the local dialect with a strong mainland Chinese accent and appeared to be spending money earned on the mainland, a Henderson representative said.

As China’s economic recovery has gathered force this autumn, wealthy Chinese are pouring fortunes into Hong Kong real estate, producing a powerful surge in prices for luxury real estate. Hong Kong pegs its currency to the U.S. dollar and links its interest rates to American rates; with a flood of money pouring into local banks, adjustable-rate mortgages are available in Hong Kong for an initial rate as low as 2.05 percent, fueling real estate speculation.

Donald Tsang, the city’s chief executive, cautioned in his annual policy address Wednesday that the boom might not last.

“The relatively small number of residential units completed and the record prices attained in certain transactions this year have caused concern about the supply of flats, difficulty in purchasing a home and the possibility of a property bubble,” Mr. Tsang said.

International comparisons of apartment prices per square foot are difficult because different locales have different conventions on how to count terraces, common areas and other features.

Hong Kong in particular has had many controversies over whether developers have overstated the square footage of apartments and the value per square foot of often-complicated transactions.

Henderson Land said that the apartment on Hong Kong Island, near the top of a skyscraper overlooking Victoria Harbor, was a two-story unit with five bedroom suites. It measures 572 square meters, or 6,157 square feet, and has a garden of 340 square feet, for a price per square foot of 71,289 Hong Kong dollars, including the garden. That measurement includes common areas like elevator lobbies that are partially allocated to individual units.

Most real estate markets use a narrower definition of square footage, excluding such common areas. Henderson Land said the price per square foot of usable area, a more common international measure, was about 88,000 Hong Kong dollars, or $11,350.

The apartment building has its own ballroom, outdoor swimming pool, fitness center and outdoor yoga area. Another unit on the same floor just sold for 397 million Hong Kong dollars.

Last month, a local businessman bought a one-bedroom apartment of 816 square feet at a luxury development across the harbor in Kowloon for 24.5 million dollars.

Hong Kong’s real estate market is unusual because the local government owns virtually all of the land and leases it to developers for periods of as long as 99 years. Each lease contains strict zoning rules governing the square footage of the building that may be erected, how the building may be used and other uses; changes to the lease typically require lengthy negotiations with the government, as well as very large payments.

Hong Kong has more than 1,000 old industrial buildings left from its days as a manufacturing hub before almost all of the factories moved across the border to mainland China in the 1980s and 1990s to take advantage of low-cost labor.

Because of a strict requirement that they be used by manufacturing companies, many of the buildings are vacant or serve as warehouses for manufacturers across the border even though the buildings occupy prime locations. And here is the rest of it.

Still, the record price set Wednesday is not likely to last long. The latest deal was for an apartment on the second-highest floor at 39 Conduit Road; the penthouse has yet to go on sale, with Henderson Land expecting to price it at 100,000 Hong Kong dollars per square foot, or $12,900.

The Accidental Entrepreneur

2009-10-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

Davids Farm – The Redneck Resort

Davids calls his farm a “Redneck Resort”. You can watch his videos for yourself and make your own decision.

Good or bad; high class, low class, mid class, or no class – it doesn’t matter. These folks deliver the viewer ad click-throughs to google ads that appear on their video pages – and in return, they get compensated.

Here is David at the “Redneck Resort” showing off his $14,000 check from Google for the month of July.

$14,000 in a month, at the Redneck Resort, just having fun. Who needs a Business Plan – David is yet another Accidental Entrepreneur.

Making A Statement- Presenting The 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost

2009-10-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

This is definitley one of the most prestigious brands in the world. Rolls Royce is he cream of the crop and enjoyed by the top 1% of the worlds population. What do these people have that the rest of the 99% of the world don't? 2 simple things, a highly successful business, and or a skill which is extremely high in demand ie) energy traders or professional athletes.

Nobody will tell you how to do it, or when to do it, but those people with enough drive and motivation can achieve extraordinary success and enjoy the finer things in life.

So with that being said, check out the preview for the new 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost.

High School Dropout Sells Brewery for $400 Million

2009-09-20T11:11:00.000-07:00

Here is another great motivational story about a high school dropout and ex Mcdonlads employee who went on to re-establish his family history of brewing and made it HUGE!

Born in Toronto and raised in Ottawa, John Sleeman spent his early adulthood completely oblivious to his family's brewing history; his father was an executive for Bell Canada, didn't drink, and their family history was rarely discussed.

At 16 John left school and his home in Ottawa to work at McDonalds. Despite his beer-less upbringing, John's life path was destined to include good brew. After getting married in England, he and his wife returned to Canada to open their own English pub stocked with authentic English beers.

Soon after, the two of them went into business with his wife's father to bring beer from around the world to Canada under the name Imported Beer Co.

After a few years in the business and a visit from his Aunt Florian - armed with an historic Sleeman bottle and the words, "...it's time you found out about your heritage," - and an empire was on its way to being reborn.

Source

Ideas That Take You Straight To The Bank!

2009-09-13T08:39:00.000-07:00

Now here's a great article I read on Forbes which highlights some of the unconventional ideas that turned into legit businesses and have created a pretty penny for the owners. The common themes from these stories is 1 thing and 1 thing only, EXECUTION!

Honestly speaking, an idea is just an idea until you plan and execute it, so before you come up with a great idea you should intend to create a plan and at least try to execute it, because you never know!

Below are 5 success stories that will have you wondering if only I did this! Check them out!

Best friends Adrian Salamunovic and Nazim Ahmed weren't looking for the next million-dollar idea. They were just two guys hanging out on a Friday night, enjoying a good bottle of wine, when the light bulb went on.

Ahmed worked for Bio-Rad, which markets DNA-imaging equipment. Salamunovic noticed Bio-Rad's brochure on the table and to his untrained eye, the images looked like art.

Turns out others saw it that way too. Smelling opportunity, in 2005 the twosome plunked down US$2,000 in savings for initial prints and a Web site to feature their work; they outsourced DNA imaging to a DNA-extraction lab in Montreal. Working out of Ahmed's apartment, they sold a few prints to family and friends.

As the work caught on, they were invited to showcase at an Absolut Vodka-sponsored party in Ottawa's SOHO neighborhood.

The new company, called DNA 11, sold US$40,000 worth of art in the first month. An 8"x10" mini-DNA portrait goes for US$200, while a 36"x54" wall canvas garners $1,300. The Museum of Modern Art features DNA 11 art in its museum stores in New York and Tokyo. The company's revenue in 2008: US$1.4 million.

Fairy Tales Hair Care
Passaic, N.J.
Revenue in 2008: US$6 million

Business ideas come from anyone, anywhere, anytime. In 1999, Risa Barash, a 33-year-old stand-up comic, heard from her then-fiancé's cousin (got that?) about a rash of head lice cases at his Hewlett, N.Y.-based children's salon. After doing some research (including a lot of chatting with relatives in Israel, where head lice was a big problem), Barash hit upon an organic preventative shampoo, as opposed to chemical-based products applied only after the louse has taken up residence. Her big break came one morning while watching The Rosie O'Donnell Show—Rosie was lamenting her own children's lice outbreak. Barash wrote a letter (in the voice of a fellow well-known comic), walked over to the NBC studio and told the security guard she was delivering some hair products for O'Donnell's kids. The next day, Fairy Tales Hair Care's Rosemary Repel Shampoo was the talk of the show.

The Fiero Store
Stafford Springs, Conn.
Revenue in 2008: US$2.3 million

Matthew Hartzog, 32, spent his teenage summers and school breaks working for his stepfather selling parts and accessories for GM Opels. But the long-defunct, two-seat, mid-engine Fiero was where his heart lay. Approximately 370,000 Fieros rolled off the lines between 1984 and 1988 before Pontiac stopped producing the car; less than 75,000 are currently registered in the U.S. Keeping them purring proved a tidy little business. Fanatics make great customers.

Jimmy Beans Wool
Reno, Nev.
Revenue in 2008: US$2.1 million

Laid off from her software engineering gig, Laura Zander decided to open a yarn store with her husband Doug in 2002. They plowed US$30,000 into hanks of yarn, a Web site and a lease on a new store in Truckee, Calif. Good timing: The knitting market spiked in 2003 after a few celebrities, such as Julia Roberts and Vanna White, were seen knitting and crocheting. Zander found success with walk-in customers; she could teach them how to knit in less than five minutes, and many walked away with $100 worth of novelty yarns, enough to make five scarves, a fashion craze at the time. Zander, 35, now boasts an average of 20,000 customers per month, mostly through the Web site.

PetRelocation.com
Austin, Texas
Revenue in 2008: US$2.5 million

"Pets aren't just household goods—they're beings, just like people are." Such is the mantra of Kevin and Angie O'Brien, the husband-and-wife team who sold a doggy day-care business to get into the pet-moving game. They invested US$97,000 of the proceeds in a new van, Google ads, a Web site, a USDA-backed carriers and intermediate handlers license (allowing the couple to transport animals over state lines) and a $300 membership to IPATA, an international trade association of animal handlers. The couple says it can move any live animal, anywhere around in world—say, a dog from Seattle to Shanghai, mole rats from South Africa to San Antonio and dart frogs from Switzerland to the U.S. It's a turn-key service, covering airline bookings, blood tests, vet check-ups, logistics, customs and quarantine. The company expects to pull in $3.5 million in revenue this year, has been debt free since day one and turned a profit in its second month.

SOURCE

Condo Buying Checklist

2009-09-07T12:32:00.001-07:00

I recently moved to a new city and as a result have been looking for a little condo to purchase mainly because renting isn't the smartest idea. But it also depends on one a person's situation. I was able to get in contact with a Realtor who also happens to be an investor and uses numbers and not emotions to acquire properties.

When it comes to a place you want to buy and live in, some of the rules change. Obviously your not going to go always by the numbers because of personal preferences such as location, style, and overall appeal. I have found this one of the challenging things to overcome. Because of my investor mindset and also my personal preference, I always seem to be stuck in limbo, but I was able to utilize this condo buying checklist to assist me for when I do make an offer.

The checklist is broken down into 3 components:
1) The building
2) Legal information
3) The condo coroporation.

Check out the list below. Hope it helps for those of you trying to purchase a condo!

Condominium Purchase Due Diligence Checklist

Building:
o How many units in the building? (25+ is best)
oWhat is the ratio of owner occupied to rentals? (look for potential anti-renter situation)
o What is the age of the building? (age important for financing, condition of building’s maintenance important for costs)
o Are there any Deferred Maintenance issues pending (see condo reserve fund study & last 24 months of condo board minutes.)

oIf YES review and estimate total cost of (remember each unit is responsible for their portion of the costs)
Roof replacement or repair? $........
Mechanical (does building need engineer inspection report?) $......
Interior or exterior refurbishment? $.........
Post Tension deterioration? $........
Parking lot resurfacing? $........
Intercom system repair/replace $........
Other

o Is the parking area adequate size (important to tenants and your exit strategy)
o What is the ratio of stalls to suits? (minimum 1 stall per unit advised)
o Can you rent additional stalls?
o Is there adequate onsite visitor parking?
o What is the typical rent for the property? $..........
o Does the opportunity to increase the rent exist?
o If YES by how much?
o What is the building’s previous year’s vacancy rate? %........
o How does that compare to area average? %...........
o What is the typical renter profile in the building? Ie) young professionals?
o Does this fit your desired renter profile?

Legal
o Is there any pending litigation against the condo corp.?
o The condo board must reveal this to you – also check board minutes?
o Is there a recent Phase 1 environmental study available?
o Is the property approved for CMHC financing?

Condo Corp
o Talk with the reps of the Condo Board to get a feel for the atmosphere.
o Review 2 years of Condo Board meeting minutes for potential problems.
o Review the Annual Condo Budget
o Compare last year’s budget for accuracy with actual operating costs.
o Review the upcoming year’s budget to see if appropriate adjustments have been made.
o Review the Condo bylaws.
o Do they hold any penalties towards renter units?
IE) renter restrictions, large damage deposit?
o Define whether there is an easy grievance arbitration procedure.
o What are the monthly condo fees and what do they include?
o If they seem high do they include heat and or power?
o If they seem low, is there an adequate amount allocated to the reserve fund for future repairs, or will a condo fee increase be needed?

o Read the rental management contract (and rental pool agreement if in place)
o Are the contracts coming due for negotiations?
o Are management costs slated to increase in the near future?
o Speak with management company representative AND on site manager to get a feel for their thoughts on the building.
o Is there a rental pool in place?
o What is the unit factor distribution of pooled rents?
o Who manages the pool? What is their fee? %........
o Is the Building Insurance Program adequate?
o Review the Condo’s financial statements for an adequate reserve fund vs upcoming required repairs.
o Are there any pending or current cash calls to be paid by the owners?

Logos With Hidden Messages!

2009-08-28T15:49:00.000-07:00

Did you ever wonder why some corporate logos are designed the way they are. Did you ever think that they had little hidden messages that conveyed something about their corporate strategy?

To most people, logos are just simple graphical depictions of firms which are in most cases globally recognizable, but to some people they portray something else. For example did you ever notice the amazon symbol, and how the arrow points from the A to the Z symbolizing Amazon's capability to sell anything from A to Z, while at the same time the arrow also looks like a smiley face symbolizing a satisfied customer.

Also the FedEx symbol has an arrow between the E and the X which is mean to portray their speedy service.

To the untrained eye, these little hidden messages usually go undetected, but once you start to recognize the little hints and subliminal messages you truly get to appreciate the value of a corporate logo. Anyways the reason why I am going on about this topic is because there was a very interesting post which deciphers about 25 or so corporate logos and their intrinsic meaning. Check out the website below I am sure you will recognize most of the logos in the post!

Enjoy!
CLICK HERE

Top Billionaire Universities

2009-08-20T14:35:00.000-07:00

Since I just graduated from university this past May, this article which was posted on Forbes peaked my interest. Its a study on which universities produced the most billionaires. When choosing a university I would want to definitley want to attend an institution with the best reputation. At the same time, most of these universities seem to be Ivy League schools with insane tuition.

Although I am sure many wealthy people will tell you that experience counts more than higher education, it is still interesting to see which educational institutions harness and foster the entrepreneurial spirit.

Check out the top 5 list below!

The Top Billionaire Universities

No. 1 Harvard University

Number of billionaire alumni: 54

Harvard has churned out more 10-figure titans than any other school on the planet (counting both undergraduate and graduate degrees). The school's roster of billionaire alumni includes Michael Bloomberg, Sumner Redstone, David Rockefeller, Sr. and William Randolph Hearst III.

No. 2 Stanford University

Number of billionaire alumni: 25
Stanford has the second-highest number of billionaire grads in the world, including Charles Schwab. Still, the Harvard of the West is probably better known for its billionaire dropouts. Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page earned master's degrees in computer science from Stanford before leaving Stanford doctorate programs to start the famously profitable search engine. Another (very rich) quitter: Microsoft Chief Exec Steve Ballmer.

No. 3 University of Pennsylvania

Number of billionaire alumni: 18
Early last year, U. Penn had 27 billionaire graduates, thanks to its famous business school, Wharton. But the financial meltdown last year shaved off almost a third of that list, including hedge fund tycoon Peter Briger Jr. and money maven Marc Rowan. Amongst the school's remaining billionaire grads: Ronald and Leonard Lauder, and Michael Milken.

No. 4 Columbia University (tie)

Number of billionaire alumni: 16
Amongst Columbia's grads is affable billionaire Warren Buffett, the world's second-richest man. While studying in New York (class of 1951), the Berkshire Hathaway chief learned from value-investing legend Benjamin Graham. Other rich alum: Wal-Mart Chairman S. Robson Walton and Henry Kravis.

No. 5 Yale University (tie)

Number of billionaire alumni: 16
Yale is alma mater to a slew of billionaire clans, including the Mars chocolate fortune (Forrest Mars Jr. and John Mars) and Cargill agricultural fortune (Cargill MacMillan Jr. and Whitney MacMillan). Investor Eddie Lampert and Blackstone Group co-founder Stephen Schwarzman also graduated from Yale; both were members of the infamous secret society Skull & Bones.

The Next Big Thing-“Ecoprenurial Ventures”

2009-08-13T08:12:00.000-07:00

According to media mogul Ted Turner, the next billionaires will be those who create businesses in the “green economy.” His statement seems to make logical sense due to the staggering “go green” hype in the media and all the other stories you hear about alternative energy. This entire eco oriented fashion of conducting business is the present and future of the business world.

During the 90’s there was a big push by giant corporations to keep the green movement down because they didn’t find it economical to “save the earth” but now the tables have turned and every business wants to brand themselves as eco-friendly or carbon neutral.

This presents many entrepreneurs with opportunities to capitalize upon. Who wouldn’t want to make some money and create a positive change within the environment? For me personally, I think green business is definitely something entrepreneurs should be researching. There is a great blog called http://ecopreneurist.com which deals with green ventures and the success that many entrepreneurs have had creating value within the industry.

Although many people want to create start ups within the industry, they often are not able to determine exactly what or where to start. Due to this reason I have posted below a few opportunities within many sectors that people could focus on. The list was found on the ecopreneurist website and was written by Scott Cooney.

There are plenty of ideas to be developed and a ton of cash in this industry. Check out the following list to get some ideas flowing!

I. Cleaning Service Businesses
1. Perc-free Dry Cleaner
2. Solar Laundromat
3. Waterless Car Washes

II. Ecotourism and Related Services
1. Ecotourism Operation
2. Green Bed and Breakfast
3. Ecotransport Rental Service

III. Entertainment & Events
1. Organic Foods Caterer
2. Wedding and Event Planner

IV. Home/Office Service Businesses
1. Carpet and Floor Cleaning
2. Floor Installation
3. Home and Office Cleaning
4. Landscaping Design and Installation
5. Landscape Maintenance
6. Organic Garden Creation and Maintenance
7. Painting
8. Pool and Spa Cleaning and Maintenance
9. Sustainable Property Management

V. Manufacturing and Wholesale Production
1. Biodiesel Cooperative
2. Gift Basket Service
3. Organic Farm
4. Plastic Recycling
5. Composting
6. Urban Farming and Permaculture

VI. Personal Services
1. Fitness Training and Diet Planning
2. Green Real Estate Brokerage
3. Organic Food Delivery Services
4. Sustainable Foods Prep and Cooking Instruction
5. Sustainable Travel Planner
6. EcoConcierge and Relocation Specialist

VII. Publishing, Local Media & Related Business
1. Green Product Catalog Producer
2. Publication Distribution Service
3. Free Magazine
4. Local TV and Radio
5. Community Newspaper
6. Green Blog

VIII. Retail Food & Food Services
1. Organic Community Supported Agriculture
2. Farmer’s Market
3. Mobile Food Vendor
4. Free-Range, Organic Fresh-Mex Restaurant
5. Organic Coffee Shop
6. Organic Juice and Smoothie Bar
7. Organic Pizzeria
8. Raw Food Bar
9. Sustainable Buffet Style Restaurant
10. Sustainable Fast Food
11. Vegan Cafe
12. Food Co-op

IX. Retail Non-food Operations
1. Organic Day Spa
2. Alternative Transportation Retail Store
3. Aveda Concept Salon
4. Commuter Bike Shop
5. Consignment Store–Women’s Clothing
6. Consignment Store–Kids Clothes and Toys
7. Consignment Store–Furniture
8. Consignment Store–Sporting Goods and/or Outdoor Gear
9. Edible and Organic Floristry
10. Floor Products
11. Green Building Supply Store
12. Building Product Salvage Store
13. Green Product Retail Store
14. Native and Organic Plant Nursery
15. Sustainable Printing Solutions Retail Store
16. Used Book Exchange
17. Kids’ Clothing, Apparel, and Toys
18. Car Sharing Service

X. Services to Businesses and NonProfits
1. Fundraiser and Grant Writer
2. Green PR
3. Independent Sales Representative
4. Restaurant Delivery Service
5. Specialty Advertising
6. Energy Efficiency Auditing
7. Carbon Offsets
8. Green Job Training

XI. Alternative Energy (See also Green Building)
1. Community Wind Power Development
2. Geothermal Developer

XII. Green Building (See also Alternative Energy; Financial)
1. Green Remodeling
2. Flipping Houses
3. Carpentry
4. Green Architecture
5. HVAC Contracting
6. Electrician
7. Co-Housing
8. Sustainable Roofing

XIII. Financial
1. Green Venture Capitalist
2. Green Investing and Financial Planning
4. Community Bank, Savings and Loan, Loan Funds
5. Community Micro-Finance

Scott Cooney is the author of Build a Green Small Business (McGraw-Hill), and hopes that someday the green economy will simply be referred to as…the economy.

Source

How Did You Get So Rich - A New TV Show

2009-08-06T03:43:00.000-07:00

Joan Rivers, the comedian is starting a new show where she essentially goes around the U.S. and knocks on the doors of the wealthy and asks the million dollar question "how did you get so rich?

I was able to watch a small promotional clip on a morning show the other day. She went to a massive mansion and the individual who owned the place is worth over 50 million dollars!

He attained his wealth making "billy bob teeth." Yes you read that right! Those ridiculous teeth that make people look like hicks! Anyways here's a short article and video clip from the new show!

"How'd You Get So Rich?"

That's the title of Rivers' upcoming TV Land series, in which the no-filter comedienne knocks on the doors of mega-mansions, and approaches drivers of luxury cars, to ask how the heck they have all that money.

"She'll knock on a door and say, 'How did you get so f-ing rich!' " says Mark Burnett, the reality maven ("Survivor") who's producing the show.

Set to premiere early next year, it finds Rivers visiting mansions all over the country - from LA to Montana to Long Island - and stopping people on glitzy streets like Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.

The people in the mansions are caught unaware (although their families know).

"It's amazing content," Burnett says. "On Rodeo Drive, Joan sees someone getting out of his Ferrari to have lunch and she asks him, 'How did you get so rich?'

"The guy says, 'I inherited my money. My father invented the earpiece for the [cell] phone,' " Burnett says.

"Then we have her knocking on doors; in the first episode, she visits a 90,000-square-foot house where the master bedroom has a full kitchen in the bedroom.

"Joan says, 'Is this your house with the second wife? Let's see the house from the first wife.' "

And the people approached by Rivers aren't shy about sharing their stories, Burnett says.

"People are happy to explain how they made their money," he says. "They're proud. And Joan is so recognizable and funny, they don't mind."

Burnett said the recent economic downturn didn't affect the show.

"They may be spending a little less . . . but this show is about the super-rich and, in this climate, the super-rich get richer.

Source .

8 Steps To Creating A Million Dollar Company

2009-07-27T00:09:00.003-07:00

Here is a great example of what I call "Idea Arbitrage" which essentially means taking a great idea/product in one part of the world and creating a similar idea in your home country.

Check out this video!

The Money Saver VS The Leveraged Investor

2009-07-17T02:05:00.001-07:00

I came across this article which was originally posted on http://thegeekboys.com/ and it essentially separates the people who are financially literate from the illiterate and the impact that can have one a persons personal finance. As time passes you will see that one financially smart individual can create alot more wealth in the same as someone who doesn't have the slightest clue on how things really work.

Enjoy the Read

The Money Saver

The saver is someone we’re all familiar with. He likes to save a certain amount of money every month into investments so he will have a nice nest egg when he retires. He likes to avoid debt at all cost because that is what everyone who don’t know squat about finances tells him.

Let’s assume our saver socks away $500 per month, every month for 20 years, into long term investments (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc). Let’s also assume our saver average a return of 10% per year. Some years will be up, some will be down but over the long term, 10% is about what the stock market has returned to investors.

At the end of the 20 year period, and after socking away $120,000, our saver has a nice retirement nest egg of $378,015. Not too bad!

The Leveraged Investor

In this scenario, our investor wants to be like the saver and put $500 per month into long term investments. However, instead of putting the $500 directly into investments, he goes to his bank and sets up a home equity line of credit for $120,000. He takes the $120,000 and uses it to buy the long term investments. So, instead of spreading the $120,000 out over 20 years like the saver did, the leveraged investor borrowed $120,000 to invest everything right now.

Every month, our investor needs to make a payment to the line of credit. Payments can be as low as interest only to as high as the entire outstanding amount. Interest on a line of credit is generally done at Prime. Let’s assume it’s 5%. Prime is a lot lower than that right now but over 20 years, it will average out. If our investor pays interest only on the line of credit, he would need to pay $500 every month to maintain the line.

Because the $120,000 was used to buy investments, the $500 interest payment is tax deductible so our investor can look forward to a $6,000 tax write off every year. That will result in a $3,000 tax refund if our investor is in the 50% tax bracket. If our investor was smart, he’ll put this refund back into investments. But let’s assume he’s just blows it on women instead.

Comparing The Numbers

If we assume our leveraged investor makes the same 10% return as our saver, that $120,000 will turn into $807,299.99 in 20 years. At this point the investor can take out $120,000 to pay off the line of credit and will be left with a net of $687,299.99.

By taking average of good debt, our leveraged investor manged to build a nest egg nearly twice the size of the saver, with the same $500 per month. In addition, the $500 per month the investor paid was tax deductible, while the saver got no tax benefits. Had our investor put the $3,000 yearly tax refund back into investments instead of blowing it on women, he would have made $996,307.49 at the end of 20 years. Women are expensive!

Most financial planners won’t tell you about leveraged investments because they are prevented from doing so. Unless you’re an Accredited Investor (net worth

over $1 million or income over $200,000 per year for the past two years) a financial planner cannot legally show you some of the more sophisticated investments available to people with money. This access to higher yielding investments vehicles is one more reason why the rich get richer. It was never a level playing field.

Forbes 2009 Hip Hop Ca$h Kings

2009-07-11T03:46:00.000-07:00

Forbes dropped their annual Hip-Hop Cash Kings list of rap’s biggest earners today.

The past year has been even crueler to rap than it's been to Wall Street. Over the past 12 months, hip-hop's top 20 earners banked $300 million, down 40% from a year ago. The culprit: declining record sales and the disappearance of the mega-deals that once enriched hip-hop stars and corporate executives alike. Still, rising stars like Akon and T-Pain continue to brighten the hip-hop firmament, finding ever more creative ways to make money.

How Forbes Get the Numbers

The Forbes Hip-Hop Cash Kings list includes male recording artists whose work is primarily classified as hip-hop or rap. Earnings estimates, which include income from record sales, digital downloads, touring, films, TV shows, endorsements, books and other entertainment ventures, are calculated between June 2008 and June 2009. Management, agent and attorney fees are not deducted.

In order to determine otheir list, Forbes interviewed numerous sources within the music industry--including lawyers, media buyers and many of the artists themselves. We also conducted research via Billboard, Pollstar, Nielsen SoundScan and the Recording Industry Association of America, among others.

Check out the list below

1. Jay-Z - 35 Million
2. Diddy - 30 Million
3. Kanye West - 25 Million
4. 50 Cent - 20 Million
5. Akon - 20 Million
6. Lil Wayne - 18 Million
7. Timbaland - 17 Million
8. Pharrell - 16 Million
9. T-Pain - 15 Million
10. Eminem - 14 Million
11. Dr.Dre - 13 Million
12. Snoop Dogg - 11 Million
13. Ludacris - 10 Million
14. Common - 8 Million
15. Will.I.Am - 8 Million
16. T.I. - 8 Million
17. Swizz Beatz - 8 Million
18. Andre 3000 - 7 Million
19. Big Boi- 7 Million
20. Flo-Rida - 6 Million
21. Rick Ross - 6 Million
22. The Game - 6 Million
23. Young Jeezy- 6 Million

High School Dropout Worth $300 Million at 26!

2009-07-07T02:19:00.000-07:00

I was about to head to the gym this morning and I was flipping through the TV and came across this interview with Gurbaksh Chahal on Oprah. The interview was really inspiring especially for people interested in business and entrepreneurship, so I decided to share it here on my blog.

Im not going to spoil the video clip for you, but basically this guy created a company at age 16, sold his firm at age 18 for 40 million dollars. He then started another company called Blue Lithium and sold that a few years later for a stunning 300 million dollars to Yahoo.

Anyways Enjoy the interview!

How to Setup an Affiliate Marketing Site for Under $15

2009-06-27T04:30:00.000-07:00

If passive income is the name of the game, then having an affiliate marketing website can make you an active player in the online world of making money. Now I am not going to sugar coat anything but rather tell it like is based on my experience.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Basically, affiliate marketing is when you establish a website which sells many products from certain vendors such as Amazon or any other website which has an affiliate marketing program. All you need to do is set up a website (or have the company do it for you) and promote the product. If someone purchases a product from your website, you then become eligible for a commission. The rates vary from site to site depending on the product but they are usually in the range of 4-15%. No need for inventory, upfront merchandise cost, warehouse space and all that other stuff which comes from your typical online store model.

What You Need To Do!

All you need is a customized website domain, some Microsoft word art skills, and a creative mind of an elementary school kid!
If you want to setup a customized affiliate marketing website for under $15 all you need to do is follow the steps below.

1) Choose a vendor that has a product, or range of products you are interested in selling and promoting. For example let’s choose Amazon.com’s affiliate program called Amazon associates. I personally have created a website selling hookah pipes through them.

2) Now choose a website name that is customized and describes your product or something that is catchy and has a ring to it. You can check domain availability at www.godaddy.com. For example I selected www.hookahprince.com for the affiliate marketing website I have setup.

3) All you need to do is just register the domain name, DO NOT GET hosting because I will show you to get the company to provide the hosting for you. The cost of domain name registration will run you about $10-12 dollars and will be valid for 1 year. This will be the only cost you will incur before setting up your website.

4) Now that you have your own custom domain name, go to your vendor’s associate website. In Amazon’s case its https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/

5) In Amazon’s associate program they have a new feature that enables you to create your own customized Amazon “astore.” This essentially creates a website for you while you can choose the products you want to have.

6) All you have to do is sign up to their associate program and click create an Amazon “astore” and then the website will walk you through on how you want to create a website.

7) If you want a complete custom website with a logo, you will need to click “custom CSS” under the “color & design” option and play around with the code in order to get the look you want. If you want some pre-established amazon templates go to http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=975476 A bunch of people have posted custom codes which you can cut and paste into the CSS template to get a more professional look.

8) If you want to make a custom logo you can use Microsoft word art or Paint to create a logo you want to put together. My logo can be viewed on www.hookahprince.com

9) After you have customized your website and added the products you want you will get a custom amazon URL.

10) Now all you need to do is re-direct your purchased domain website to your Amazon “astore” link. When you sign in to your godaddy account, click the domain you purchased and then click on “forward” which should be on the domain manager task bar.

11) After that you will get a pop up, and you should enter your Amazon astore website link into the “forward to” box and then click “302 move to permanently” this will redirect all your hits to your Amazon astore.

12) After you do this it will take a couple minutes to update. To test if it works, just enter the custom domain name and see if it redirects you to your Amazon astore. By using this method you don’t have to pay a monthly hosting fee which will save you about $10 a month.

And there you have it. Now all you need to do is market the website and get the hits flowing. Stay tuned for those and other great tips soon!

How To Invest Like Warren Buffet Part 2

2009-06-22T03:46:00.000-07:00

So I hope you were able to digest the first part of the buffet style investing tips. If you want to view the first part click here So here goes part 2, the final installment. This part will focus on three key components which include shareholders equity, the balance sheet and cashflow statement analysis.

In the past I never knew exactly how to analyze a stock and I was all over the map. Recently due to the large dip in the stock market I was able to use this analysis to pick up a few stocks and they have done extremely well.

For example I picked up EXM (Excel Maritime Carriers) for $4.00 and it recently more than doubled and was hovering around $11, it has since come down to $8, but still not bad for a 100% return on investment! So stick to the plan and happy analysis.

Shareholders equity/Book value

1)Absence of preferred stock
a)Firms that have no preferred stock have a durable advantage due to their lack of obligation for preferred dividends.

2)Retained earnings
a)The rate of growth of a firms retained earnings is a good indicator of whether or not it is benefiting from having a durable competitive advantage

b)The more earnings that a firm retains, the faster it grows it’s retained earnings pool which in turn will increase the growth rate for future earnings.

3)Treasury Stock
a)Firms that have a durable competitive advantage tend to have lots of free cash that they can spend on buying back their shares which appears on the balance sheet under treasury stocks.

b)A company that buys its own shares and holds them as treasury stock is effectively decreasing the firm’s equity. Since a high return on shareholders’ equity is 1 sign of a durable competitive advantage, it is good to know if the high returns on equity are being generated by financial engineering or good business economics, or a combo of the two.

c)To distinguish the two, convert the negative value of the treasury shares into a positive number and add it to the shareholders equity instead of subtracting it. Then divide the firm’s net earnings by the new total shareholders’ equity. This will give us the firms return on equity minus the effects of financial engineering.

4)Return on shareholders’ equity
a)Net earnings / shareholders equity =return on shareholders’ equity.

b)Calculates how good a job management does at allocating our money so we can earn even more.

c)Firms with a durable advantage show higher than average R.O.S.E. ie) coke 30% Wrigley’s 24% and Hershey 37%.

d)High returns on equity will add up and increase the value of the business which will be reflected over time in the stock market.

e)Note- If a firm shows a negative number for shareholders equity, but has a long history of strong earnings then it is probably a durable company with an advantage. This is because some strong firms don’t have any retained earnings and pay them all out to shareholders, so the balance shows a negative.

f)Stay away from firms who use a lot of leverage.

Balance Sheet

1) Cash & Marketable securities-
a. If we see a lot of cash and marketable securities and little or not debt, then the firm will sail through troubled times. If the firm has little cash and a mountain of debt, then it is considered a sinking ship.

b. Look at the past years to see if the cash has been coming in steady or in one shot from the sale of bonds and shares. If we see a ton of cash piling up, with little or no debt, and no sales of new shares or assets, and we note a consistency of earnings, then it is an excellent business with a durable competitive advantage.

2)Inventory-
a.Look for inventory and net earnings that are on a corresponding rise. This indicates that the firm is finding profitable ways to increase sales.

3)Net Receivables
a.If a firm is consistently showing a lower percentage of net receivables to gross sales than its competitors, it usually has some kind of competitive advantage.

4)Property Plant & equipment –not having them can be a good thing
a.Firms that constantly have to update manufacturing facilities to try and stay competitive before equipment is worn out are not durable which keeps adding the amount of plant and equipment the firm has on its balance sheet

b.A firm that has a durable competitive advantage doesn’t need to always upgrade their equipment to stay competitive, also they will be able to finance new equipment internally without having to finance it using debt.

5)Goodwill-
a.If there is a constant increase in goodwill, then a firm has been acquiring different companies which ultimately can give them a durable advantage.

b.If the goodwill account stays the same year after year it is because the firm is either paying under book value for a firm or the company is not making any acquisitions.

6)Long term investments
a.This figure is carried on the books at cost price. So even if their investments have grown considerably, it will only show up on the balance sheet for what they bought it for.

b.This figure can also tell a lot about the firm’s management in terms of if they invest in durable firms or lousy firms.

7)Total assets and ROA
a.Important in determining how efficient the firm is putting its assets to use

b.ROA is found by dividing net earnings by total assets

c.Really high ROA may represent vulnerability in the durability of a firm’s competitive advantage.

d.Sometimes more can actually mean less over the long term.

8)Short Term Debt
a.Less is more; Wells Fargo has 57 cents of short term debt for every dollar of long term debt.

b.Although financial institutions in general borrow a lot of money, look for those that lend long term and borrow long term.

9)Long term debt
a.As a rule, companies with a durable competitive advantage require little or no long term debt to maintain their business operations and therefore have little or no long term debt ever coming due.

b.Dividing the total current assets by total current liabilities one can determine the liquidity of the company, the higher the current ratio the more liquid the company

c.Most durable firms have a current ratio less than one. This goes against the traditional way of thinking as having a ratio of 1 or higher is desired. This anomaly renders the current ratio as being void in identifying a firm with a durable competitive advantage.

d.Any time we are buying into a firm that has a durable competitive advantage, but has been going through troubled times due to a one time solvable event it is best to check the horizon and see how much the firms long term debt is due in the years ahead. Too much debt coming due in a single year can spook investors, which will give us a lower price to buy in at.

e.Look at the long term debt that the company has been carrying for the last 10 years, if there has been 10 years of operations with little or no long term debt, then it has a durable competitive advantage.

f.On any given year the firm should have sufficient yearly net earnings to pay off all of its long term debt within a 3 to 4 year earnings period. Little or no long term debt often means a good long term bet.

10)Total Liabilities and the debt to shareholder equity ratio
a.Debt to shareholders equity ratio= Total liabilities/shareholders equity

b.In order to get the real picture, convert the negative value of the treasury
shares to positive and add it to the shareholders equity, then the debt to equity ratio should drop.

c.Simple rule here is that unless we are looking at a financial institution any time we see an adjusted debt to shareholders equity ratio below .80 (lower the better) then the company has a durable competitive advantage.

Cash flow Statement

1)Capital expenditures
a)A firm with a durable competitive advantage uses a smaller portion of its earnings for capital expenditures for continuing operations than other firms.

b)Coke over the last 10 years earned $20.21/share and used only $4 per share or 19% of its total earnings for capital expenses.

c)Firms like GM tend to have higher capital outlays which indicates that they are using leveraged cash.

d)Look at capital expenses in relation to net earnings by adding up a firms total capital expenses for 10 years and comparing it with the total earnings for the same year period.

e)Firms with a competitive advantage use a smaller percentage of their net income for capital expense. If a firm uses 50% or less of its annual net earnings for capital expenditures, it usually indicates a competitive durable advantage.

2)Share buyback
a)To know if a firm is buying back its shares go to the cash flow statement under the cash from investing activities, under the title Issuance (retirement) of stock, Net.

b)If a firm is buying back shares year after year it is a good chance they have a competitive durable advantage.

And there you have it, the complete warren buffet analysis. Use this when analyzing your stocks and you will do considerably well in the long run! Stay tuned for more great information on personal finance and wealth!

How To Invest Like Warren Buffet Part 1

2009-06-11T06:22:00.001-07:00

So who's the old dude with all that money? If you do not know who Warren Buffet is yet, then you might want to look near the top of the Forbes top 100 rich list. Warren Buffet is one of the world's most successful investors in the world and at one point in time he boasted a net worth of over 50 billion dollars. Yes that's right, billion, and guess what he still lives in the same house he bought before he attained a majority of this wealth! Talk about humble.

Either way, this guy can take a shower in money at any given point. Today we are going to see how he analyzes a firm, so we to can strive to attain some of his knowledge and wealth.

If you aren't familiar with financial statements, you can normally break them down into the following four sections.
1) Balance Sheet - This is where you can get a picture of firms assets and liabilites

2)Income Statement- The purpose of the income statement is to show managers and investors whether the company made or lost money during the period being reported.

3)Shareholders Equity/Book Value - Shareholders' equity represents the amount by which a company is financed through common and preferred shares.

4)Cash Flow Statement - is a financial statement that shows how changes in balance sheet and income accounts affect cash and cash equivalents, and breaks the analysis down to operating, investing, and financing activities.

Now in order to figure out if a company is worthy of your hard earned dollars to be invested in, you need to do the following for each of the statements above.

Consistency and Competitive Advantage

When Buffet invests in firms, he usually has two requirements. First, he looks for a firm with a competitive advantage. This usually consists of firms who sell a unique product or service such as Coke or Moody's. Secondly, he looks for firms that are consistent in terms of products, gross margins, money in R&D, growth etc. The firms who are consistent will always have a durable competitive advantage.

The first statement we will look at is the income statement as this will indicate alot of key information right of the bat.

Income Statement

1) Gross profit margin = Gross Profit/Total Revenue
a. Firms should have consistently higher gross margin profits 40% and above.
b. Gross profit margin of 20% and below shows high competition
c. Track the gross profit margin for 10 years to see consistency

2)Selling, administrative and General costs- a. The lower the better. Look for a range of 30-80% of gross profit

3)Research & Development –
a. firms that have to spend a lot on R&D have an inherent flaw in their competitive advantage which puts their long term economics at risk and should be avoided.

4)Depreciation-
a. Always consider depreciation as a real cost, the less the better. Look for a range of 0-12% of gross profit. The higher it is means they have high capital expenditures

5)Interest Expense – Higher interest represents higher debt.
Look for firms that have an expense of less than 15% of operating expenses as their interest.
a. Banks have a higher ratio due to leverage
b. The firm with the lowest interest expense in a given sector has a durable competitive advantage.

6)Net Earnings-
a. Look for a historical upward trend 5-10 yrs (lookout for share repurchases which could affect net earnings and the per share profit)
b. Look at the percentage of net earnings to total revenue. Good firms like coke earn 21% and Moody’s earns 31% on total revenues.
c. Rule of thumb is 20% for firms with a long term durable advantage.

9)Per share earnings-
a. Look for an upward consistent trend for the past 10yrs
b. Avoid erratic EPS on a long term basis, it shows inconsistency

The next statement to be analyzed will be the Balance Sheet and Shareholders equity. Stay Tuned!

12 Keys to Finding a Boom or Bust Town Part 2

2009-06-05T23:43:00.000-07:00

Here is the second part to the 12 keys to finding boom or bust town.

These factors are active factors meaning that the individual has the control to change the outcome. The first 6 factors were passive (and can be seen if you scroll down)

1)Creating the Highest and Best use
a.Highest and Best Use indicates that a property is being used to its potential. As an investor, opportunity lies in finding properties that are not being maximized and changing their use.

b.For example, if you live near a university, you can maximize the property by renting out rooms

c.Or you could rent out a garage for an additional $50-300 per month.

d.By creating a change to use you will increase the profit potential to your property, not all investments will have a change, but a small portion will allow you the opportunity to take advantage.

2)Buy Wholesale, Sell retail
a.You purchase a multi family property or entire apartment building, and convert the property so that each suite has an individual title.

b.This is also known as condo conversions or condominiumization.

c.Now you can sell each individual unit to make a profit. Although this strategy is used by experienced investors with deep pockets, one should learn from others.

3) 10 Quality Marketing
a.By using proven marketing strategies, you can attract the type of buyer, seller or renter you want, while at the same time reducing the effort it takes for you to run your business.

b.It allows you to maximize your income, minimize your purchase price, and maximize your selling price.

c.This is true for rental properties a well as you can attain above average rent if marketed correctly.

4)Renovations and Sweat Equity
a.Doing renovations on a property can have a positive affect on its value.

b.Areas of transition are a great source of properties that need improvement, so look for well built and somewhat neglected properties in areas that are showing increasing pride in ownership.

c.The first step is to buy a property in a location poised to boom.

d.Make sure the property is structurally sound and just needs simple things like lumber, new flooring, drywall paint, cabinets etc.

e.You buy it, improve it to increase the value then sell it or rent it out.

f.Understand which upgrades give you payback and which are a waste of money.

g.Look for properties that need a touch up and renovations-non structural improvements that have an immediate impact and an appeal of the property.

h.If you have to fix something that a prospective buyer or renter can’t see, for instance, structural repairs, you will often not get your money back.

i.You will really start to make money when you focus on buying properties with great investment potential and let the others do the physical work.

5)Speculation- The secret trip that turns out not to be so secret

a.Although there is money to be made in speculation, it is not part of the ACRE system, because there are too many variables that are out of your control.

12 Keys to Finding a Boom or Bust Town Part 1

2009-06-02T07:40:00.000-07:00

Wow, Its already June which means that half of 2009 is almost over. Its pretty crazy how time flies. Soon enough it will be 2010, I still cant beleive that the year 2000 was almost a decade ago. In that time span alot has changed some for the good and some for the bad. But we all must continue to change with the times.

So with that in mind I will summarize a small portion of a real estate book that I currently read. It basically shows a system of how to successfully invest in real estate in good and bad times while providing a step by step guide. The author of the book is Don Campbell and its called Real Estate Investing - Creating wealth with the ACRE system.

After I read the book, decided to make some jot notes so I could refer to them in the coming months when looking at properties. Here is a portion which I thought was pretty interesting. C

Check it out.

“By removing emotions you are left with making decisions based solely on economic fundamentals which will give you a huge edge in the marketplace. If you focus on fundamentals, you will keep a level head during the markets inevitable gyrations. While others are buying and selling their properties based on an emotional reaction to a news event, you will be able to stick with your system.”

12 keys to finding a Boom or Bust town

Passive Factors – factors you don’t have control over, micro and macroeconomic forces that drive market values of property

1)Mortgage Rates
a) Lower mortgage rates will help drive values up and keep an investors expenses down, but this positive effect is offset by the increase in the vacancy rates that low rates bring. If you are flipping properties, low interest is good for business. If you are buying and renting, then a little increase in interest rates can prove to be a very good thing over the long term of your investment.

2)Increase in Average Incomes
a)If a town’s average income is increasing faster than the provincial average, real estate prices will do the same. As average incomes increase, so do property values.

b)Look for a town that will outperform the rest of the marketplace. Even if the higher values across the whole province are increasing, a town with a higher gross income increase will do even better.

c)Be aware of towns where demand is driving the values upwards while the average incomes remain flat or decreasing, this is where retirees are.

d)Focus on towns where income and retail sales are increasing at a higher rate than the provincial/state average.

3)Increase in Migration and Demand
a) Look for cities, towns and neighborhoods in high demand because of an increase in jobs or access to jobs. You want to find areas where the population is growing faster than the province/state average that are gaining a reputation as a good place to stay.

i.Immigration-People from other countries moving into the area

ii.Intra-migration- People moving from other parts of the country into the area.

4)The Ripple Effect
a.When a specific area has a boom in prices, the real estate in the surrounding areas follow, but not at the same rate as the initial splash.

b.Also works on a micro-scale when a neighborhood is redeveloped, the areas around it also increase in value.

c.A specific strategy is to look for these redeveloping areas and then purchase in areas surrounding them where it’s still possible to find good properties at great prices before the positive boom ripple affects the area.

5)Local, Regional & Provincial political climate.
a) Watch for areas that are attractive to businesses because you will find those areas have the strong long term potential.

b)Look for politicians who are making it attractive to do business in their province/state while cutting taxes.

6)Transportation Expansion
a)When you know about new transportation expansion, or improvement, go check it out.

b)Transportation means population inflow, which means demand which drives property value.

c) Statistics show that real estate markets increase by 5-11% when they have easy access to rail or rapid transit.

d) Investigate the location of the stations and buy within a short commute from them

E) The sophisticated investor waits until the project is actually started and then takes action.

F) Also expansion of regular scheduled airline service indicates growth

7) Area in Transition
a)Areas in transition are neighbourhoods that are moving up from one economic class to the next. These tend to be older areas that are rediscovered or redeveloped.

b)You will see a mixture of old rundown homes that have a lot of character and houses that have recently been fixed up along with new homes being built where older ones were torn down.

c)Pride of ownership will be shining, telling signs are window and fences, and well maintained gardens.

d)Never be the first into an area you believe is going to be in transition, although they have long term profit potential.

E)These places will have tougher tenant profiles and lower than average rents, but the situation will improve.

The remaining six factors are active factors which the investor can control and will be posted on the 5th of June. Stay Tuned!

Green Business Billionaire - 10 Years to Forbes Top 13 Rich List

2009-05-25T07:27:00.000-07:00

So I was checking up on a stock that I had purchased to see its progress. I had bought into a company called Agrium (AGU) right about the time the stock market hit a new low in Novemeber or so. I bought in at $37 and now its above $50. Its 52 week high was at about $90. So if the fundamental demand for fertilizer picks up, this stock could bring me a decent return.

Anyways I saw an article about green business in China within Agriums news feed on Yahoo finance. According to Ted Turner, the new billionaires are going to be in the green business. He was dead on, as the case blow shows.

Basically this guy graduated university started a company, became successful, invested in solar panel wafers and became a billionaire.Now thats a great success story.

Get the details of the story below in the article!

Investor's Business Daily
Entrepreneurial Spirit Thrives Among China's Wealthy Elite
Norm Alster

By now, there's no shortage of numbers attesting to China's remarkable economic ascent: Three decades of double-digit growth in GDP. An economy that by many measures ranks fourth in the world. And despite persistent poverty, spreading wealth.

More than 320,000 Chinese have assets of 10 million yuan ($1.46 million), according to a study by Bain & Co. and China Merchants Bank.

China had two dozen billionaires last year, Forbes China reports. Though down from its peak due to the plunge in stock values, that's up from 15 megarich in 2006.

Still, for most Westerners the emerging leaders of China's economy have remained faceless and unknown. But behind all those numbers are real people who have lived through decades of massive economic, social and political change. To help humanize China's economic story, IBD spoke with several leading business figures about their childhoods, education and careers. And about the old China of their youth and the transformative changes they've seen.

All three men have similar experiences. Their parents -- doctors, teachers, business executives -- had a measure of status at a time when most Chinese were very poor. That probably helped them get better educations and made it easier to study in America.

Early on they displayed an entrepreneurial and inventive nature that would be familiar to many Silicon Valley self-made giants. They share an incredible drive to succeed as well as an ability to recognize and take advantage of new opportunities and ideas.

Xiaofeng Peng: Founder and chairman of LDK Solar.

As a college student, his interest in optics earned him the nickname "Light." Since then, Xiaofeng Peng has certainly, almost improbably, lived up to that name.

In 2005, he founded LDK Solar , now one of the world's leading solar wafer manufacturers.

Last October, Forbes China listed Peng as No. 13 on its China rich list, estimating his fortune at $2.5 billion (likely much smaller now due to LDK's tumbling share price).

Peng was born in 1975. His father, a rural doctor in Jiangxi Province in southern China, treated mostly farmers. But with economic reform, in the early '80s he started a trading business, selling items like shoes and garments.

The young Peng had his own ambitions. "When I was a boy, I wanted to be a scientist -- like Einstein." As he grew older, he also began to think of business. But Peng also had an insight that would help him in his career. He decided that he needed to learn English.

"If you can't speak English, it's very difficult to do well in international business," he told IBD in a phone interview from China. And yet, opportunities to learn English were scarce.

"At that time, in our province, very few colleges taught good English," he recalled. But Peng was able to choose a school where he could learn the language. "It's helped a lot," he said.

After earning a degree in international business, Peng took to visiting conferences and fairs looking for a business idea. In meeting business people from Europe and America, he found one.

Peng felt sure he could make a go of it selling protective gear -- helmets, safety glasses, gloves. He began by sourcing the products. In time, he invested in his own research and manufacturing, building Liouxin Industrial Group to more than 10,000 employees.

"After seven years, this was one of the biggest manufacturers of safety products in Asia," he said.

But Peng was not done. "In traveling a lot to Europe, especially Germany, I found some customers talking about green energy," he recalled. "I thought this could be a very, very interesting business."

Peng spent two years talking to consultants, engineers and business people, trying to learn more about solar energy. His conclusion: the industry's bottleneck was inadequate production capacity for silicon wafers, from which solar cells are built.

Just turning 30, he founded LDK with $30 million in capital in 2005. In 2008, LDK took in over $1.6 billion in revenue.

Now 34, Peng marvels at the enormous change he's witnessed in the material lives of the Chinese. As a child, he recalls, supplies of everything -- rice, meat and clothing -- were "limited."

"Twenty years ago it wasn't easy to get a TV or a phone. The biggest asset for many people might have been a watch or a bicycle. Now, so many families have houses, cars, electronics."

Peng was asked what he enjoys most about the wealth he has achieved. "I am enjoying working a lot," he replied.

How hard does he work? "I'm working seven days a week. I'm always up late." He might begin at the somewhat leisurely hour of 9 a.m. But his "normal" working day often stretches to midnight. Indeed, the IBD interview took place between 8 and 9 p.m. China time on a Saturday night.

3 Million For Candy?

2009-05-20T02:19:00.000-07:00

3 Million For Candy?

If you have not heard about Domain reselling yet, then start to look into it. This niche buying and selling activity has been quite lucrative for those individuals who know what they are doing. If you didn’t know, the domain Mercury.com sold for 750K, and was probably purchased for $10/yr or so. That is a phenomenal return on your investment.

Some recent rumours have also suggested that the domain Candy.com just sold for 3 million dollars. That amount is enough to grasp anyone’s attention on this non mainstream money making method. I have been recently researching domain reselling and have found out quite a lot on the activity and some resources I will be sharing.

I recently purchased 3 domain names. The first one I aimed at selling it to a potential hookah company and the other 2 are focused on the renewable energy industry which is going to be HUGE.

1) http://www.hookahprince.com
2) http://www.windonomics.com
3) http://www.passingenergy.com

Check this step by step guide I discovered on Ehow.com which explains exactly how to get started.

Step One

You need to first understand what makes a good domain name to resell. The easiest to resell are called generic domain names. These are domains that people may type directly into google address bar to find our information about the product. For example televisions.com sold for $215,000 last year. The best way to learn what makes a good domain name is to read online and check out the domain forums listed in the resource section.

Step Two

Next you have to be realistic on what type of domain names you will be able to register starting out. The reality is very few of us have $200,000 to shell out for a domain name so we need to look a little further afield. Instead of Televisions.com what about PlasmaTelevisions.com or CheapPlasmaTelevisions.com. These are called 2 key word and 3 key word generic domains.

Step Three

Another option is to buy and resell domain name that is only partially generic. For example EliteTraining.com would be great for a training school called Elite. Just be sure you don't register any domain names to resell that are trademarked. For example Wiigames.com will get you a quick Cease and Desist letter from Nitendo.

Step Four

Try branching out to other TLD (top level domains). Most of us are use to the .com domains, but there are also .net, .org, .tv, and .us domain names. The value normally drops the further from .com you get, but for newcomers it is a good place to discover possible domain names to resell. Please realize opinions differ greatly on the value of non .com domains.

Step Five

When your first purchasing domains don't buy more than 10 starting out. They usually only cost about $7.00 through GoDaddy or other domain name registers. Limit yourself until you really understand what you need to look for in a domain name. Check out some of the sites in resources for more information.

Step Six

Once you have registered the domain names you plan to resell time to start selling. When your first starting out the domain name forums can be intimidating but they are the best place to resell your first domain names. Just get a paypal account list the domain name any traffic if there is any in the appropriate location in the forum. People will be quick to tell you if you selling it for too high a price. On the other hand if you sell it right away your probably selling the domain name for to low a price. Check out the E-how article on domain pricing in the resource section.

Step Seven

Once you have some experience pricing domains check out the major domain name marketplaces like Sedo.com, Moniker.com, Snapnames.com, etc. The links in resources can give you some places and make sure you check out DNJournal.com for the latest news and domain sales. The marketplaces tend to resell domain names at a minimum of $250 or higher so you need quality domain names. They also take a cut normally 10% but this includes an escrow service normally which is good thing to have for higher end domains.

Step Eight

Finally try selling to an end user. Whenever you resell a domain name to another domainer you lose 20%-30% of what you would have made selling to an end user. For example a Vienna car dealer will pay a lot more for Viennacars.com than another domainer. Just watch out for trademark issues. You can contact potential end users by e-mail, in person, or even good old snail mail.

Step Nine

Once you have successfully resold some domain names then invest a little more time and money. There is nothing like finding that diamond in the rough that gives you a 100 times return on your initial investment. Most of all study and check out other domaining sites.

Resources

* MiscDomains.com - Choosing Domain Names
* Godaddy.com Domain Name register
* DomainState.com forum on Domain Names
* How to Park a New Domain Name
* Sedo.com marketplace to sell domain names
* Moniker.com another domain name marketplace
Source: http://www.ehow.com/PrintArticle.html?id=4834585

From 40K a year to 40K a month

2009-05-13T13:45:00.000-07:00

The 4 Hour Workweek – From 40K a Year to 40K a Month

My friend had recommended that I read The Four Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris. At first, the name of the book sounds like a classic scam, but based on the bestseller reviews and legit comments I decided to pick it up and read it on a long flight home.

Most books about personal finance and wealth usually are extremely vague and do not clarify the steps needed in order to get on the right track. From my experience, those books typically set the mindset for entrepreneurs and the rest usually follows.

The difference about The Four Hour Workweek is that the author breaks down exactly what steps a person should be taking in order to achieve solid results and Tim offers examples from himself and from other people he personally knows who have accomplished the same.

The book itself is about a young guy Tim, who quit his job and started an online health supplement company around 2002/03. After a year or so he had revenues of 80K a month, but as with any growing business, he soon found that all of his time was devoted to the business. He didn’t really have the freedom to do what he wanted and was bogged down by inefficiencies.

After the breaking point, he decided to take a much needed vacation to think about what he was doing and how he was going about doing it. After some preliminary research, he decided to outsource a majority of his tasks to overseas virtual assistants in India. He also broke down exactly what he needed to do in the most efficient manner and reduced his hours to a simple 4 hours a week.

Tim also provides tips on how to work where and when you want even if you are still an employee working for a large company. The book also offers some great resources such as websites and other tips that people can utilize when starting their own operations.

The ultimate goal of the book is to teach the reader how to setup a business and have it run on auto-pilot resulting in the owner doing whatever he/she wants to do such as traveling the world, spending time with family, creating other businesses or just turning into a certified rich beach bum. It portrays a view that a 9-5 is no longer the primary choice of work and that the times and technology are changing.

I definitely would recommend this book to anyone looking to start an online company for passive income or to find ways to work from home more often based on the tactics suggested. Overall it is a must for any entrepreneur young and old.

The Importance of Planning

2009-05-09T07:07:00.000-07:00

So I graduated university on the 3rd of May with a degree in Finance and I have secured a J.O.B with a large oil company aka (just over broke). I decided to take the summer off not purely for vacation, but to start planning but I will get into that later.

According to most people this would be a great start out of university especially with the global recession still kicking around.

So now what?

Should I just stick with the job and work 30-40 years and then retire? Or should I use the summer to plan how I will try to get multiple sources of income and then execute that plan So I don't have to rely on that single pay check for the rest of my life.

Now I could have easily just taken the summer off and be lazy, but that's not the best way to become financially free. The framework of my multiple sources of income plan which I have thought about includes 5 to 6 sources of income which will include:

1) Real Estate- Buying a property for myself while renting the room out. This will pay for my mortgage while I accumulate equity.

2) Stocks - I have recently invested some money into the markets due the fire sales and the bust that followed with this whole economic crisis. Now I just have to ride the wave upwards and then sell.

3) Drop Shipping- Starting a drop shipping business is a great way to earn some passive income while not taking on too much risk. It pretty much entails me opening an online store while having a manufacturer or wholesaler ship the products directly to the customers as they order. This will prevent me from purchasing initial inventory

Heres a chart that illustrates how it works
4) Affiliate Marketing - This essentially will allow me to gain passive income by referring products to other people via websites and essentially getting a commission on them. For example if I started a website that compares lap top computers to 5 or 6 different online stores. If a customer clicked on the one they preferred, it would redirect that person to the companies website. If they actually went through with the sale, then I would get a commission.

Here is a picture that illustrates the process

5) Monetizing a blog- I eventually plan on monetizing my blog once I get everything set up and acquire more traffic. This will allow me to get passive income.

So overall I will utilize my summer time and plan out each of the above and then execute them come September when I start work.

Its not going to be an easy road, but that's the challenge of becoming financially free. You have the opportunity to follow my journey through this blog and hopefully learn from my mistake and endeavors.

Until next time.

R.V.

Real estate investors: Secrets of my success

2009-05-02T12:15:00.000-07:00

Real estate investing pros reveal how they manage their businesses today.

By Alex Mlynek and Calvin Leung

In tumultuous times, it's often prudent to turn to those who know how to make money no matter the situation. That's why we combed the Canadian Business Rich 100 to find some of this country's most successful (and wealthy) real estate players. David Azrieli, Tom (son of Bob) Gaglardi and Peter Gilgan share their strategies, and their thoughts about where the sector is heading and what pitfalls to avoid.

DAVID AZRIELI
Founder and president, Canpro Investments Ltd.

What is your most recent acquisition?
We bought a parcel of properties from General Electric at the Toronto airport. It's approximately $100 million.

What was the strategy behind going for that acquisition?
I believe it's a quality property. And we have the cash. Some people need the cash, and they want to sell. We have also made an acquisition in Israel. We bought a major shopping centre at the end of March, for about US$200 million.

Is that the Givatayim Mall?
Yeah. And, of course, we have quite a number of projects on the drawing board that we are proceeding with.

What is your strategy in this market?
We have the cash, and we want to take advantage of opportunities. As a matter of fact, in the over 50 years I have been in business, we have always taken advantage of slumps in the market, and we were buying. I can say that we've increased our portfolio nearly every time there was a recession.

So in a way, it's a good thing for you?
No. We are part of the general economy, so it's not very good. But, yeah, we are looking at opportunities, and if we find them we have the ability to proceed.

You have holdings in Canada, the United States and Israel. Which country currently has the best opportunities for the commercial real estate market?
All three. The market in the U.S. will definitely improve, but it might take a bit longer. The prospects in Canada are fantastic, because commodities will be needed in the future, and the banking system in Canada is strong. And I also believe that the ripple effect of the depression touched Israel only slightly.

When do you think the market is going to come back?
Ha ha. I don't know if I ever told you, but that's an unfair question to ask me because I'm the eternal optimist. I think in the second half of the year we will see a very positive change.

Which of the countries that you hold assets in has the best outlook?
We have very nice, very good, very selective properties. And we suffered virtually nothing at all in terms of loss of tenants or rent. Surely there are some places here and there. But I wouldn't say that any of them is different.

You have holdings in various sectors within the commercial real estate market. Office space, malls, hotels. Which of those specific sectors has the best outlook?
Shopping centres. Hotels will undergo a bit of a slowdown this year.

Why?
People may not travel as much. People may not spend as much money on vacations. But people are still buying, they're still going to the grocery store, they're still buying shoes.

What advice would you give someone interested in getting into the commercial real estate market now?
The big problem in commercial revenue-producing real estate at this moment is the ability to finance. And if someone's credit is good enough to get 60% to 65% to 70% of a loan, or to identify a project that comes with a loan he would be worthy of assuming, then I would say that a capital return of 7%, 7.5% or 8% would be a very good investment. But that's, of course, limited, because so far the banks are not lending yet sufficiently. Some properties come with existing mortgages, but, even there, there's a question whether the buyer can assume them.

Have you had any difficulties to work through in this downturn?
Some tenants want to downsize; some want to reduce their overhead. So we talk to them. We see how we can accommodate them. If we can, we do. If we cannot, we don't.

What has been the key reason for your success aside from that?
We were never overextended. The leverage which we have was never used to capacity, so we have very few mortgages. We try to do one project at a time, and do it well. And above all, we are very excited about every project we do, and we love it. A.M.

Tom Gaglardi
President of Northland Properties Corp.

What's Northland Properties' business model?
We buy bare land, construct the buildings, put in our brands and operate them. We've occasionally opened restaurants on leased land and bought existing assets, improved them and then rebranded them. We've always kept as much in-house as we possibly can. We have a construction group, purchasing group, our own designers, architects, engineers. Other than the Denny's brand, we own all of our brands. Our approach to business hasn't changed since the '60s.

What are the advantages of the model?
We can typically create assets at a lesser price than our competition, because services you buy outside the company have a profit margin attached to it. On the operating side, by owning our brands rather than paying franchise fees to a third party, we're able to run at higher margins than our competitors.

Have you had to lay off people in this environment?
No, other than normal adjustments, when business begins to soften, like cutting back on hours. The great thing about us is we're private. We don't answer to anybody. We don't answer to the market. These are tough times for guys who need to worry about maintaining their next quarter's earnings.

What factors do you consider before buying a piece of real estate?
Population, airports, highways, density of business and residential areas, parking, visibility.

Are you staying away from Alberta now?
We're more cautious. Having said that, we have two big hotels under construction that will be completed by the end of the year. But both of them — one is in Calgary and the other is in Edmonton — are in super strong markets that are going to perform fine. My view is that oil is not going to stay where it is for a long time. Alberta is still a strong place; it's just not as strong as what it was. Depending on who you talk to, Ontario is the worst place to go now. But we're performing great there. For example, Moxie's in Ontario, even in this market, is performing fantastically. A lot of guys might say you shouldn't be doing well. But these are strong locations and they have strong fundamentals.

Northland Properties went from being a minority to the majority owner of Revelstoke Mountain Resort earlier this year. How did that come about?
In 2007, we became a lender and were given a minority interest as a sweetener. It was a way for us to invest some surplus cash and participate in an exciting project. In British Columbia, as you build ski capacity and add ski lifts, the government permits you to build bed units tied to that capacity. Potentially the project will have over 5,000 homes, and that's potentially very profitable. The big thing for us was we could participate in a deal like that but not have to run it.

What made you change your mind?
The world changed in October '08. Don Simpson, who was the majority shareowner, saw his working capital disappear. But he loves the resort so much, he didn't want to see it stop. He basically came and said, "I'll do anything." We seriously considered acting like a lender, which would have meant a foreclosure action. As corny as it sounds, I think there is a moral feeling. Our name was attached to it. Once we better understood the opportunity and knew itwouldn't disrupt our core businesses, we stepped in to carry this thing through a difficult time.

Isn't the ski business quite a different business than hotels and restaurants?
It is, but there are similarities. You have guests and you sell them services. But as for the ski business itself, it is an absolutely new industry for us. There's a learning curve, and we're learning every day.

What advice would you give to someone looking to invest in the hospitality business?
It might be a fantastic time to get positioned. There are some unbelievable buying opportunities right now, whether it's raw land or existing assets that are in some cases selling at half their value of 18 to 24 months ago. But you'll need access to cash. The credit markets are in clear disarray. C.L.

Peter Gilgan
Founder and CEO of Mattamy Homes Ltd.

What's your real estate strategy?
We're known for building whole communities in a very organized fashion. We're in and out very quickly so you're not battling delivery trucks for six or seven years. We win, because it's obviously an efficient method, and our customers win, because they get a more efficient pricing structure and get to enjoy their places more quickly. We tailor our offer to people within five miles of our communities, because that's where most of the buyers come from.

How are you enticing customers to buy in this tough economic environment?
Our prices are less today than they were two years ago. You price to the new market reality. We're also aware of the change in consumers' importance rankings. I read in the newspaper this morning that guys are not buying the Belvedere vodka anymore; they're buying Absolut. We're no different. We recently ran an ad. The message was house prices go up and down. Enjoy where you live and love where you live, and in the long-term you'll win big.

Mattamy recently began selling houses in Airdrie, a community just north of Calgary where demand for new homes has significantly dropped over the past few months. Why there and now?
Real estate is a long-term business. I don't play a six-month game. I play a 20-year game. Westarted investing in Calgary four years ago.

How have sales been?
We're not setting the world on fire by Mattamy standards. We sold 20 houses on the opening weekend, whereas in the past, we might have expected to sell twice that many. But we've reset our expectations according to the times. Like somebody once said to me: you can't go broke making a little bit of money. You find better ways to make money. You reset your cost structures, because free market inputs as opposed to regular costs are more flexible. In other words, a carpenter will work for a hell of a lot less this year than last year, to put it in simple English.

What's your biggest challenge?
In Ontario, the approvals regime over the last 20 years has become so difficult I have postponed or aborted further acquisitions in the province for a number of years now. Approval times have lengthened and become unpredictable. Approvals in north Oakville have been two years away for the last five years — if you get my math on that. Conditions for approvals have made it not affordable for the middle-class home buyer.

What's causing that?
A small faction of people, for reasons that are inexplicable to me, are either misinformed or choose to misinform approval authorities asto the merits of development. The authorities have a lack of deep comprehension on how integrated the building industry is into the financial and social health of the community. A community where no houses are being built is consistent with a community that's dying a slow death. The evidence of that is all over the place. The communities need that renewal, corollary employment and tax base.

How have you dealt with that particular challenge?
We'd rather convince than fight. That's our mantra. That's how we've run our land development division for over 20 years, since I really got into the business: Have a convincing and compelling reason why a community should approve a project in a manner that we can approve. But we're struggling, even though we have the best relationships possible with most of the municipalities.

When do you think the housing market will improve in Canada?
Your opinion is as good as mine — maybe even better. The turnaround will be significantly about consumer confidence and affordability.

Any advice for people in the residential real estate business?
Going into these kinds of periods you want to de-leverage. But it's important when you start the process. If it's when the bogeyman is at the door, it's a little late. We started de-leveraging two years ago.

What made you think the economy was heading for a downturn?
My bones. C.L.

source: http://www.canadianbusiness.com/managing/strategy/article.jsp?content=20090427_16703_16703

When A Billionaire Talks, You Listen.

2009-04-23T08:44:00.000-07:00

I found these interesting clips online, and thought I would share them with you. The current and future trends are going to be all about going green and green technology. The way to capitalize on this would be to create a business which caters to this new sector.

Watch the videos for some inspiration

Keep It Simple Stupid (K.I.S.S)

2009-04-09T19:04:00.000-07:00

I have been extremely busy with university recently. Exams are next week followed by my graduation in early May. Things are definitely coming to an end as far as the school year is concerned.

For the summer I will be traveling all across Asia and then will be starting starting at a new J.O.B (gotta start somewhere) while I will be creating my business on the side. I already have a power team in place at the city I will be working in. I will get into the details of that in the later posts, but basically the goal is simple. Have more passive income coming in then expenses going out.

On the note of keeping it simple, I came across this interesting email I had gotten from a family member. It just reinforces the idea of thinking outside the box!

Check it out!

Simple Solutions

The Difference between FOCUSING on PROBLEMS and FOCUSING on SOLUTIONS

Case # 1 : When NASA began the launch of astronauts into space, they found out that the pens would not work at zero gravity (ink will not flow down to the writing surface).

Solution # 1 : To solve this problem, it took them one decade and $12 million. They developed a pen that worked at zero gravity, upside down, underwater, in practically any surface including crystal and in a temperature range from below freezing to over 300 degrees C.

Solution # 2 : And what did the Russians do...?? They used a pencil.

Case # 2 : One of the most memorable case studies on Japanese management was the case of the empty soapbox, which happened in one of Japan 's biggest cosmetics companies. The company received a complaint that a consumer had bought a soapbox that was empty.

Immediately the authorities isolated the problem to the assembly Line, which transported all the packaged boxes of soap to the delivery department. For some reason, one soapbox went through the assembly line empty.

Management asked its engineers to solve the problem.

Solution # 1 : Post-haste, the engineers worked hard to devise an X-ray machine with high-resolution monitors manned by two people to watch all the soapboxes that passed through the line to make sure they were not empty. No doubt, they worked hard and they worked fast but they spent a whoopee amount to do so.

Solution # 2 : But when a rank-and-file employee in a small company was posed with the same problem, he did not get into complications of X-rays, etc., but instead came out with another solution.

He bought a strong industrial electric fan and pointed it at the assembly line. He switched the fan on, and as each soapbox passed the fan, it simply blew the empty boxes out of the line.

Moral
· Always look for simple solutions.
· Devise the simplest possible solution that solves the problems.
· Always focus on solutions & not on problems

She Earns 500K Doing What?

2009-03-30T18:52:00.000-07:00

I am always on the look out for ways to create passive income, mainly because I love making money when I sleep. Alright so if you guys are not familiar with affiliate marketing, its basically directing people to certain websites that sell products and based on the type of program, you can become eligible for a commission.

Its a great way to automate your income streams and ordinary people who work smarter and not harder have generated a great amount of wealth. The video below shows a lady who is making 500K from affiliate markeitng.

To make things less complicated, I have linked a video below.

I am currently in the process of researching this and getting started. Like all the finance types say, "its good to diversify" and getting a job to me is like putting all my eggs in one basket. Multiple streams of income is what everyone should be focused on getting.

Its a great way to live a comfortable life!

Rana

On a 2.5 Billion Dollar Offshore Real Estate Project

2009-03-23T15:56:00.000-07:00

So I had the opportunity to travel to Doha, Qatar and get a first hand glimpse at the Pearl Project. Its a multi billion man-made island covering 985 acres (400 hectares) of reclaimed land offshore the Arabian Peninsula state of Qatar - the Arab world's wealthiest per capita country.

The Pearl-Qatar is the country's first international urban development venture, its largest urban development and the first to offer international investors freehold. It is a four-phase mixed-use development comprising 10 distinct, themed districts to be developed over five years housing beachfront villas, elegant town homes, luxury apartments, exclusive penthouses, 5 star hotels, marinas, schools as well as upscale retail and restaurant offerings. It will be a destination in its own right - a lavish, secure and exclusive island retreat with a Riviera-style community.

Check out my video

Here are some pictures....

Obviously this project is directed towards individuals who make alot of money....just some motivation to get you up off the couch and do something other than get a 9-5 job, because lets face it....most people living here will have their residences as summer or winter homes. Properties start from 1.4 million all the way to 15 million for penthouses.

This is the best of the best.

Theres money to be made...even in a recession.....thats for the next post.

R.V.

50 Properties in 10 Years?

2009-03-20T14:53:00.000-07:00

Alright so by now everyone knows about this recession and how it is going to last for a minimum of one year.

Everyone is talking about cutting back, not spending and playing it safe. Most people are withdrawing from the stock markets and holding cash. But is this the smart thing to do right now?

Recall that in the past recessions there have been individuals that have gone on a spending spree.....why? BECAUSE ASSETS ARE ON SALE. And what puts more money in your pocket...even more than hookers to a Pimp? One thing and one thing only....ASSETS.

Wealthy people rely on assets to pay them...regardless of weather it is real estate, a business, stocks, or a new product you are putting out.

If you go through life acquiring liabilites IE) things that take money out of your pocket like cars, clothes and all that other crap....then you are just plain dumb. Wealthy people use assets to pay for those "toys" which keep them from working and saving just to spend it on a liability...which is what most of us have been taught.

Ever hear the words "Im saving up to buy a car" well here is a scenario between 2 people....one person who has a rich mindset and the other a poor mindset.

Scenario 1 - Person with a poor mindset would work a 9-5 save about 20K and purchase a car. After which he will need to pay insurance, gas etc....by which he will continue to work 9-5 to pay those bills.

Scenario 2- Person with a rich mindset would work 9-5 (if they have no other way) use that 20K to purchase on lets say a storage unit. Then rent out that storage unit for about $300-400 a month.

Use that money to pay for monthly car payments.....then after a number of years that person will have paid off the car...still have the rental unit and continue to get passive income every month. In this method...the person gets it all! And isnt't that what we want?

Rana

Earned Income Is The Worst Kind Of Income!!

2009-03-15T16:29:00.000-07:00

Alright, so judging by the title you are probably wondering exactly what I mean. Its plain and simple, income you actively earn, for example working at a job trading one hour of your time to get one hours worth of pay, is in my opinion the worst way to accumulate wealth!

I am near graduation (May 3rd) to be exact, and I will have a degree in Finance, but as you may think this could be a cause for celebration, in fact I just graduated into the rat race! I had the chance during my 4 years at university to complete a work term.

I managed to find a placement in one of the biggest oil companies in the world. In my mind, I was set because after I graduated I knew this company would hire me back.

Fast Forward a couple years, and that's exactly what happened, but what happened to me at my 16 month placement changed my outlook on money, life and wealth in general.

During my term, I realized that everyone in the company essentially did not want to be working there, but they were so caught up in the rat race they didn't know what else they could do. They all sat like faceless drones in front of their computers day in and day out, and that is what they called their life.

Pretty sad huh....well I knew that there has to be a better way. This is when I met a few entrepreneurial minded people at a real estate seminar. They brought up the idea of passive income and how there are so many wealthy people who generate money per month without working.

I was instantly interested, and since then I have been on a quest to generate passive income.

The formula is really simple....lets say my expenses are $4,000 a month which would include housing, food, entertainment, beer and all the other things that would make me live comfortably.

Now instead of going to work everymorning and earning this 4K a month, I could find ways to create that money in a passive manner. Now this won't happen overnight, but once I match my expenses of 4K with passive income of 4K, I am free from the rat race, and I can spend my time making more money, or doing anything else in the world other than sitting in front of a computer day in and day out!

This is why I have purchased a couple books to help me. The first one is 4 hour work week by Tim Ferris, and the other one is called Real Estate Investments In Canada.

I know true wealth lies in becoming financially stable on your own, and I also know that there a few teachers on this topic because those who teach are the ones who cant do!

I will come up with a list of ways to generate passive income and select the most feasible and try to start my path to financial freedom.

You should to.

RV

Cars of Dubai

2009-03-08T16:37:00.000-07:00

Alright, so check out some these crazy cars. They are all pictures taken from Dubai. If you have not heard of this place by now, you definitley have to Google it.

Its the new business hub of the Middle East, and it has been and will be growing Fast.

ENJOY!

10 Million A Year for An Hour Per Week?

2009-03-06T05:17:00.000-08:00

Alright, so if you have not heard of www.plentyoffish.com, then you are about to find out the work of a genius.

I was browsing the net when I came up with this success story. Its pretty crazy so please check it out.

Plenty of Fish : A $10 million dollar website that started as a hobby and runs itself?

Well I was curious too, and that's what lead me to learn more about this Canada native. So what exactly does he do? He runs a free online dating service, plentyoffish.com . And no, he didn't have oodles of start up capital. Frind built it as a hobby, with almost no money, no fancy business plan, no investors and little if any knowledge about running a business on the web. Yet today, five years later, his site serves up 1.6 billion web pages per month and is the largest dating site in the United States and perhaps the world. Even more impressive is that coming into 2007, he did all by himself.

So where's the catch? Unfortunately I haven't found one. The key to his business success and his limited work hours was basically building a site that runs itself. According to Frind, “I usually accomplish everything in the first hour, actually in the first 10 to 15 minutes.” Further research reveals that his site really does run itself and most of how it runs itself is through free software (including the software that runs his ad inventory).

So you might be ready to call me a liar... sure he did it with no money, but he must be a brilliant b school graduate or engineer. Wrong on both accounts. Markus didn't even go to a four year college. And until he started plenty of fish, he bounced aimlessly from job to job. But don't let or his work hours fool you. He has three things all entrepreneurs need: ambition, a great idea and a competitive personality.

After graduating from technical school in 1999 with a degree in computer programming (yes – he does at least have some background related to what he does), he got a job at an online shopping mall. However, as we all know, the dot com bubble burst shortly thereafter. And for the next two years, he bounced from startup to start up.

When asked about his experience during these years, he said it was like torture. Not only were the companies shrinking quick, but the engineers were writing terribly complex code – making building the sites and the businesses terribly inefficient. But this experience seems to have taught him two things:

How not to run a web business and how to keep things simple as well as focused.

Tired with this vicious cycle and with the economy not bouncing back all that quickly (sound familiar?), he decided to devote some time to mastering ASP.net. And he decided to do it by building an online dating site (which he said was the hardest thing he could think of). So working a few hours each evening and part of the weekend for two weeks, he built a crude dating site. But although crude, it promised something none of the others did : it didn't cost a dime to join.

When asked where the idea came from, he said basically from using Lavalife. He thought that an online dating site was a good idea, but couldn't believe that a rinky-dink little site like that could charge money for something anyone could make. So through his side project, a site whose slogan is “put away your credit card,” he attracted users and made money selling ad space to fee based online dating services. And he did it using Adsense, the free service from Google that let's you profit from Google placing ads on your site.

So the last question, one that all online business owners ask, is how did he get traffic? SEO and word of mouth. Basically, he went to online forums and free sites (like SBI+ M) and learned how to get his site to show up first in Google's rankings. And in under a year, his site grew from 40 members to 10,000 and was turning a profit of $3,300 / month off advertising alone.

And that's the abbreviated story of how an unlikely character with an ugly website turned into our first entrepreneur success story.

Source: http://sbimonline.com/content/entrepreneur-success-story-plenty-fish-%E2%80%93-more-just-online-dating-site

Self Made Billionaire - We Should Learn From This Guy!

2009-03-04T07:15:00.000-08:00

A buddy of mine sent me this article from Forbes.com. Its a great little article about a guy from Canada who started a company before the whole online gambling thing blew up all over the internet.

Check it out.

The World's Billionaires
Catch Me If You Can
Matthew Miller 03.27.06

On a warm, bright morning just outside San José, Costa Rica, Calvin Ayre, slightly hungover, was lounging in his bathrobe at a poolside office in his new $3.5 million, 10,000-square-foot compound. Sipping coffee poured by one of his five servants, the entrepreneur declared, paraphrasing Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, “I’m going to win this war without fighting battles. I’ve put a lot of energy into finding ways not to fight my enemies.”

Read the rest of the article here.

http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2006/0327/112.html

The Global Financial Crisis Visualized

2009-03-02T19:49:00.000-08:00

This is a great video that illustrates the people and transactions involved which lead to the global financial crisis.

Very interesting.

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

First Things First

2009-03-02T17:10:00.000-08:00

Seeing that is my first post of this blog, I will try to keep it simple. I am sure a lot of people have heard the famous saying that goes, keep it simple stupid (KISS) but maybe not have understood its entire meaning.

This saying pretty much takes it back to the basics. It emphasizes that although things may appear to be complicated, they are pretty simple.

Many people who may see individuals who are living the good life and not trapped in the 9 to 5 rat race think they are doing something magical.

Its quite the exact opposite. If you want to eventually stop working your 9 to 5 job, you need to do one thing and one thing ONLY. You need to build passive income.

Passive Income? What the hell are you talking about?

If you are wondering what this is, its money that you make while you sleep, eat, watch t.v. or any other activity other than working. Many people attain passive income, and most of the time these people are the ones who are considered "rich". They constantly have time to do what they want and seem to enjoy life to the fullest mainly because they aren't renting their brains out for a yearly wage and working on things that they actually like to work with.

Examples of individuals who may attain passive income are

Authors (books they sell)
Musicians (CD's on the shelf, royalties, etc)
Real Estate Investors (rental income)
Sales people getting residual commissions.

For the normal folk who don't happen to have multi-platinum cd's or NY times best sellers, there are various ways to create passive income, the main one is through real estate.

Now I could write a book about real estate and how to make money from it, but thats another blog post. The one thing that you need to remember is that once you know what your monthly expenses are in a month ie) rent, food, beer, clothing etc... all you need to do is match those expenses with passive income.

IE) $3000 a month in expenses when matched with $3000 of monthly passive income = NO JOB.

With all this free time on your hand you can now look into other opportunites to increase your passive income.

Robert Kiyosaki, a famous real estate investor and best selling author of Rich Dad Poor Dad attained financial freedom by bringing in $10,000 of passive income and having expenses of only $3,000 a month.

Now that is living the good life. You don't have to be a millionaire, you just have to work smareter and not harder.

Thats all for the first post,

wishing you success and nuttin' less!

RV