Online Business Opportunities For The Modern Entrepreneur
Internet business opportunities often have very low start-up costs and with so many proven business models in place getting started with an online franchise could be your fast track to becoming your own boss.But, when you enter the online business world, it is much more than just building a website, putting a few products on there and then expecting the customers to come flooding in.An online business is just like any business – it requires a solid business plan. If you are considering your online business opportunities, firstly make sure that you are opting for a legitimate online business opportunity. So how do you know what are genuine online business opportunities and what are just rubbish scams?First Steps for Online Business Opportunities
What is the product? Be careful of an online seller who offers vague descriptions of what the business is and how it will work.
You need to know what would you be selling or doing.
How and why will potential customers find and use your website?
Is it your responsibility to drive traffic to the website?
How would the business generate income and what are your specific expenses?
The internet is not an enchanted place for business online owners. Success with online business opportunities requires the same solid planning and hard work as in any other business venture. It’s your business and your reputation and you cannot jump in feet first without knowing what you are doing.When it comes to online business opportunities, affiliate marketing is one of the easiest methods is through. This is because becoming an affiliate marketer is quick and requires simple promotional techniques that will convert prospective buyers into customers.There are a multitude of different online business opportunities, niches, and markets to choose from. You can become an affiliate for just about anything from digital products to bicycles and everything in between.The concept of affiliate marketing is based upon on a regular sales position except that everything happens online and there is no face-to-face contact with the customer. Also, you don’t have to buy any stock or worry about fulfillment You sell products on behalf of a manufacturer or company and get paid a commission when you make a sale.It does sound like an easy business opportunity, but you will need to work your market to succeed. You will need to invest time and money, into making sure you have up-to-date training, knowledge and traffic to the websites which are selling your products.An affiliate business is just like any other “traditional” business, it has to be worked to be successful. You have to stay focused, do research to see what people are buying now, pick a niche product in that market, actually get started, make a schedule and then stick to it.
3 Things You Want to Know Before Taking the Telecommunications Administrator State Exam
In today’s article I am going to discuss preparing for your state Telecommunications examination. There are some important reasons why you should have your contractor license if you going to be working in the telecom Field.1. When you become licensed you become more reputable as a technician.
2. You gain access to location only large Telecom companies have access to.
3. Having license, bond and insurance give you added protection from lawsuits.I live in WA State they require each contractor to have a licensed Telecommunications administrator assigned to each them when performing networking installations. In order for you not to have to find your own administrator you can become the administrator for yourself. For me it took about two weeks of studying before I felt prepared to take the examination.The exam is open book. You can bring any publish materials to take the test. Below I will show you the manuals I used to study for the test. The testing will consist of three areas.1. Telecommunications Wiring and Standards
2. State licensing and Rules and Regulations
3. Basic Electronic TheoryI am going to do a brief breakdown on each area above. Telecommunications Wiring and StandardsThe NEC manual covers electrical wiring installation for all levels of electrical wiring. I guess you can consider it the bible of electrical installation. This is a must have manual because the testing will cover certain portions of this manual. State licensing and Rules and Regulations
Your state website will have all the information you need about the states rules and regulations. Go to your state website and look under L&I (Labor and Industries) for information on taking the exam and the exam outline for telecommunications administrator. The outline is important for saving time. If you know what you have to study you won’t waste time studying material that you won’t use the test. Basic Electronic Theory
There are a few questions in the area of basic electronic theory. I purchase a basic electronics book as a refresher. I had already completed an Electronics Associate at the local technical college.Lastly, I want to say that once you become a licensed contractor door will open in the business of Telecom contracting you would have never thought about. You began to get access to place like Mall, Hotel, Restaurants, Government building. It also provides you the ability to pull building permits on commercial sites. I have on a many of occasion had the ability to help someone with a last minute job. They were in need of someone to pull a building permit to do a small wiring job. Being licensed and bonded will be an overall asset to you becoming a successful Telecommunications contractor. Good Luck on growing your business.
What Newbies Need To Know About Investment Property Financing
Basics for Financing for an Investment PropertyYou have big dreams of owning real estate and retiring young. You simply don’t have the funds to go out and buy the properties in cash (most of us don’t either). This leads you down the path of financing with your local bank. Maybe you already own your own home and have been through the process of getting approved and signing the mortgage. This should be easy then right? Wrong, investment property loans are not like your traditional home loan.Lenders are more strict with underwriting an investment property than that of a personal home mortgage. You might be wondering, but why? It’s simple when you own investment property and a personal residence and then you lose your job or things start going south financially you’re going to pay your personal mortgage before anything else in a worst case scenario. You’re not going to want to default on your mortgage, because that’s where you live!Interest RateThe interest rate is going to be higher than that of your home mortgage, it just is. Add 1-3 percentage points more than the owner occupied loan rate. That means that if a lender charges 4.00% interest for homeowner loans, you’ll likely pay 5-7% interest for investment loans. That’s just how it works folks. The loans are more risky, so the banks want more for them.Credit ScoreAs with any type of loan your credit matters. It shows the bank a history of your previous credit experiences and basically says why you should get a loan or why you shouldn’t get a loan. Working to make sure your credit is top notch is something you need to do far before you get into the real estate game.With investment property your credit score does not have as big as impact as it does with home mortgages. You will still have options if your credit isn’t perfect. If you score is below 740 you should expect to pay more in interest rate, lender fees, and lower LTV’s. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t invest with a lower than 740 credit score, it just is stating what you need to expect.Lower LTV20% learn it, love it, live it. That’s the number the bank will want from you as a down payment for your investment property purchase. There are of course exceptions to the 20% down, however that’s what most banks are requiring.20% is a lot of money, right? Yeah I know, but the good news is you will not have to pay mortgage insurance! Nobody likes mortgage insurance. The bad news is, that’s the only good news. Also the 20% down is best case, if you have piss poor credit expect the bank to expect more or not even look at your deal at all. As a final note, plan on needing at least three months’ payments as a liquid cash reserve. Cash reserve is important, yes you may finally have saved that 20%, but if you don’t have more than the 20% in working capital for when the furnace goes out in the first month then the bank will again question giving you a loan.House Hacking to Get StartedThe idea behind house hacking is simply to decrease or minimize your own expenses and use the spread (money you are saving) to invest into acquiring properties to rent out. Living in a nice house with an indoor swimming pool and movie room is great and all, but that house isn’t making you monthly cash flow, it’s costing you monthly cash flow.The basic idea behind this “house hacking” mentality is to simply rent out part of your home to another person, or co-exist with another person as a roommate in your own home. Also it can mean selling your primary residence now and buying a multifamily property and living in one of the units while renting out the rest. Basically when it is all said and done you are renting what you already live in, to decrease your monthly expense to save capital for your dreams of real estate glory!If you have yet to buy your first home, or if you want to sell your home now to get into real estate a multi unit property might be the right fit for you. By buying a multifamily home you can live in one of the units and have your tenants pay all of your expenses this is generally more appealing to most people than having someone live in their home.For example, if you buy a 4 unit, live in one unit, and rent each of the other units out for $$600 a month, that would mean you’re making $1800/month in rents. If your loan, escrow (taxes + insurance) utilities, and other expenses come to just $1600 – you could get paid $200/month just to live in the home. Even better when it comes time to move out into your future home, you can rent that 4th unit out for even more income. Sounds like a great idea right?Key Takeaway:Investment properties have higher interest ratesLenders are slightly more lenient on credit scoreYou’re going to need 20% for down payment (exceptions do happen)Try house hacking to get started into real estate–America’s Favorite,The Small Time Investor