Real Estate

Do you have a passion for real estate? If yes, then maybe you should consider a career as a Real Estate Agent. The profeesion offers you the opportunity to work your own hours, and the option to work in residential or commercial. Once you have become a real estate agent there area an endless number of possibilities where you can expand. You could expand to become a broker, work in propery management, appraisals, and invesment banking.

HOW TO BEGIN

You would first need to acquire your license as a sales person. This is a twenty four hour course that can be broken down into weeks or one weekend. The course can range anywhere from $200 - $300 dollars depending on location. Once you work as a sales person for 1-3 years and gain the experience needed to be successful in the business, you can then go back to school to persue a career in one of the many other options.

The brokerage course, which is the direction many people go in, allows you to open your own rela estate office and have your own set of employees. This course requires an extra 30 hours of course work. The price of a brokerage course can range anywhere from $300 dollars and up, again depending on location.

WHAT IT TAKES

To be a successful real etstae agent one would need ot be able to think outside of the box. Some of the jobs you recieve will require you to be very creative. You will need patience. The average new sales person will need at least six months of expenses saved to get them through their intial hump. It will be a new experience and will take some time to get the swing of things and be able to sell real estate on a consistent basis.

RESOURCES

Career Overview - http://www.careeroverview.com/real-estate-careers.html

The Millionaire Real Estate Agent: It's Not About the Money...It's About Being the Best That You Can Be!

sold at amazon.com

(new) $14.93 (used) $3.60

Read more!

Is The Country Headed Into Another Recession

The new Election has americans wondering if the country is heading into another recession. Some people feel that the country will be in another recession for at least a year and some are thinking it will last more than two.

A new poll developed by CNN shows that americans are worried about the state of the economy. Americans felt this same way durinig the election year of 1992 when Bill Clinton became president. This election however, the economy is dealing with high gas and oil prices, increase in job loss, and the consistent decline in real estaste. CNN senior political researcher states "Whenever a solid majority of voters says the country is in a recession, it is bad news for the party holding the White House,”. The question is, will this statement hold true for the 2008 election?

click the title of this blog for a look at the CNN poll

Read more!

The New Investor

Many new Investors believe the stock market to be a win or lose situation. However, it is not that black and white. Successful investors understand that investing is a gamble. They watch the market and contribute some of their savings on a regular basis. The choices that they make are well though out decisions and are wise investments. You must stick with oyur investments when the market is up and even when the market is down.

You must remember that no matter what you choose to invest in there is no guarentee that you are going to make a profit. Your money is always going ot be at some type of risk meaing you may end up with less than you stated. However, with knowledge you can improve your chances of making a successful investment.

You must determine what kind of portfolio is going to serve you best. Every investor has a different amount of rewards that they want to achieve. The higher the amount return you are looking for, the higher your risk factor is going to be. You must balance your risks according to your circumstances keeping in mind your reward goal.

There are many different investment options. When first starting out you may be a little reluctant in choosing which type to try. Like the idea of investing a little bit at a time? The you should try the dollar cost averaging approuch. This strategy is a fixed investment that occurs automatically every week or every month through the pouorchase of a security. Again, this approach does not gaurantee a profit and it does not prevent you from investment losses, but the average cost of your sharwes tends to be lower than if had bought them all at once with the same amount.

source: ShareBuilder

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Mom of six dies in ER

June, 18 a woman was admitted to King county hospitals psychiatric unit where she later died on the waiting room floor.

She was required to wait in the waiting room for 24 hours. A video released by the New York Civil Liverties Union depicts this woman rolling off her chair and onto the floor at 5:32am on June 19. Several employees and civilians walked around the woman and did nothing. Help was finally summoned around 6:35am, hoever, she was already dead. Six employess have been fired.

click on the photo for further details Read more!

Event Planner

Event planning is a booming business right now. Many companies are busy with the techinical work and are often required to hire someone to do all of their plannig for them. Event planners can be responsible for planning anything from a small celebration or road trip to a corporate part or wedding. Many of these events are focused around significant occasions such as a grand opening or a banquet. These are often one time events which require extensive time management, planning, markting, communication and research.

According to Debora Meskauskas there are 6 steps that every event planner should consider.

Develop strategies for success

Make a checklist

Create a budget

Consider logistics

Plan publicity
Evaluate the event

You mus remember that though event planning may be a pleasure for you it is major to your employer. Therefore, adhereing to these steps will ensure that you will cover all aspects of your event. Make sure that you and your employer have a clear line of communication regarding the expectations for the event.

HOW TO BEGIN

Before beginning your event plannig business there are a few things that you must consider. As with any profession, you must first and foremost gain experience. Work on your communication skils, that being verbal, non verbal, and written. Explore an opportunity that will allow you to be creative. A good thing to consider would be to take courses at your local community college on event planning, budgeting, and time manangement. Next, your should determine you market. Go with an area where you already posess a lot of strength. For example, if you helped plan grand openings for new companies for 3 years, then you should probably make your market for corporate parties. Thirdly, as with any new company you must develop your business plan (refer to blog post Business Plan:Step by Step Guide for reference). Once the business plan is in place you should then determine what type of business organization you want to run and then obtain insurance for your business.

With the business structure in place you can then release a sense of peace. Now you get to go out and build your network. You are going to need supliers and staffing resources. These resources will be in place to help you support your events. Though we all like to think of ourselves as super heroes, lets face it...you will not be able to do it all on your own! Next define your services, establish a fee structure and secure some funding.

Congratulations, your business is now established. All that is required at this point is that you focus on the development of your business and market it as best as you can.

RESOURCES

Sold at AMAZON.com, this book provides information on how to develop and produce an event no matter what the focus of you business may be.

price: 23.07 (new) 7.43 (used)

www.eventplanner.com - A website with resourceful information for any event planner

NOTE: ALWAYS CHECK WITH YOUR STATE FOR CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

Read more!

Getting Started

When becoming an entrepreneur you must focus first on a fullfilling need. You want something that provides you with satisfaction and will not confine you to education or experience. To get started test your ideas through surveys and forcus groups (check out blog title resources for getting started for more information). Then find your market by researching industry profiles. Score is an organization that will allow you to speak with counselors and veterans of trade (Score.com).

Next you have to tackle writing you propsal (check out blog title business plan: step by step guide for a sample). Be prepared to answer the type of busiess youare in, your target audience, and start up capital requirements in your proposal. You could always visit your local small business development centers for help.

After writing your proposal, access your start up capital. When starting your biusiness you are going to need money to get you through the hard times and to maintain you business. Bad credit is typically a major issue for most entrepreneurs so make sure you have your credit in good standing. Websites like lowermybills.com has resources available for repairing your credit. You can also look into microloans for your first initial start up. The small business association is an excelent resource for small business.

Once you have everything in place, you want to promote your business. You should market your business any and everywhere you go. Know your message. If you sell it like you know it people will buy it. Create materials such as fliers and post cards for your your business. Attend trade shows and conferences, bring plenty of business cards. You want to have a letterhead, invoices, and a slogan for you business. You can also reach out to local newspapers, radio stations, and television studios. Create relationships with these people by sending news releases on your business, press kits, and information about your next appearance or openings.

Read more!

Money Tools

Knowing how to properly manage your money is the best asset you can have. Proper money management, as I have stated before, will train you to properly handle the finances of your business.

Mint.com is a money management program that allows you to trck all your finances from bank accounts, credit cards, and stocks. This program will even notify you when you go over your budget. It is a free service that can benfit you in many ways. www.mint.com

OBO Pay is a mobile payment service that will store money for you in an account until you need it (IT IS NOT A BANK). This service works striclt through your mobile phone. It is free to sign up and withdraw money. However, it costs 10 cents to send money. This would be a good way to save money for all of you that help your family financially. It provides you with a cushion for them, once the money is gone they will have to exhaust another option. www.obopay.com

Woman & CO is a financial membership program that provides numerous financial resources such as estate planning, 401(k) plans, and protecting retirement assets. They have a number you can call that will also assist you live with any help or research that you may be doing. The membership costs $125/year. www.womanandco.com

Money Matters Kit is a financial organization kit that comes with several workbooks that will assist you in getting financially organized. The kit costs $25, but applying the things the kit teaches you will produce you with a return ten times that. www.mymoneykit.com Read more!

Side Hustles

Being an entrepreneur does not mean that you have to have this big booming business with an office and staff. Many people choose to have a "side hustle". Side Hustles are part time businesses that require minute expenses and little time. They provide an extra source of income for expenses that you or your family may have. These type of entrepreneurs are somtimes called freelancers, i.e. freelance writers, and freelance photographers. Freelancers pick up work through websites or personal advertisments. There are many websites available for freelancers to search for work such as

http://www.gofreelance.com/

http://www.guru.com/

http://www.allfreelance.com/

http://www.craigslist.com/

Choosing a side hustle is simple. You want it to be somehting that you are good at like a passion. A side hustle could be a business that you run just on the weekends for instance. No matter what your side hustle is, it should not interfere in any way with you 9-5 job. It does not matterw what you choose as a side hustle, just remember that there are only 2 ways to get rich

1. increase your income

2. reduce your expenses

Read more!

Resources for Afrian American Businesses

Wells Fargo - offers information, access to capital, and services for African American business owners to succeed financially https://www.wellsfargo.com/biz/intentions/AfricanAm_bus_svcs

Business Reference Services - has a list of various resources for African American Businesses http://www.loc.gov/rr/business/black/

African American Web Connection - promotes African American busineses http://www.aawc.com/Zaab.html

African American Busniess Directory - list your company in their directory for free http://www.africanamericabusiness.com/

Small Business Notes - a site geared toward providing resources for African American that want to run a business http://www.smallbusinessnotes.com/interests/africanamerican.html

Entrepreneural Web - resources for African American businesses http://www.loc.gov/rr/business/black/aahwr01.html Read more!

Freelance: Setting Costs

Determining your costs in your proposal

cost estimates can be presented in various ways, including per hour, per project, per page, and per word. Based on your area of expertise, you must determine the best way to present your cost estimate. While it is common for writers to calculate their fees per word or per page, many employers may be unfamiliar with this industry standard. You want to present your cost estimate in industry and layman's terms. Once you have decided how you will present your cost estimate, use these suggestions to determine a price suited for the work requested.

1. Call around to firms that offer the services you are offering and check their prices.
2. Check with friends or colleagues who are freelance professionals in the same industry to see
what they are charging
3. Check with professional organizations that cater to your profession. Many of them maintain
cost statistcs to help their members gauge their rates

NOTE: Always base your rates on what you quoted in the past for similar work. Read more!

Business Plan: Step by Step Guide

A business plan must be well developed and include certain pointers in order to be complete. It is not an easy task developing a business plan. However, funders will not fund a business that does not posess a clear and visable plan of action



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
provides a summary of your business, your financial projections, where you currently stand, and what you need to be successful


COMPANY HISTORY AND BACKGROUND
immediately follows the executive summary, should be about 1 page long and will differ in that a startup business will have a different history than an established one


CLEAR DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS CONCEPT AND VALUE PROPOSITION
explains your vision of the company and the value of your service or product. Explain why you are the one to offer the service or product as well as your growth potential and uniqueness


MARKETING ANALYSIS INCLUDING COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS AND MARKET DEVELOPMENT PLAN
contains your 3C's company, competition, customer. You want to explain all of these in this section as well as how you are going to get your product into the hands of your customers


PRODUCTION AND OPERATION ASSESSMENT AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN
an explanation of how your production and your startegy for operation. You should include what role will operations play in your company and where will you get your sourcing materials


FINANCIAL ASSESSMENT AND PROJECTIONS
you should be getting comfortable working with spreadsheets, they allow you to change your projections easily, plus investors want to see cold hard numbers. Since it is hard to project your resources for any number of years down the road, spreadsheets will work best


MANAGEMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCES ASSESSMENT AND PLAN
this section should describe your organizational structure, who will have what job and what will that job entail. You want to include the number of employees you intend to have, how you will manage them, and what it is going to cost you


IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
here you will show how everything is going to play together, you want to include objectives (which must be crystal clear), tasks that must be accomplished in order to reach your goals, determine deadlines, and chart your progress


IDENTIFICATION OF RESOURCES
here you will need to identify everything that you are ging to need for your business, i.e. equipment, staff, cash etc.


PROPOSED DEAL STRUCTURE FOR INVESTORS(IF APPLICABLE)
if you plan to use investors you must keep their interest in mind. Here you will explain how your business will provide them with a profit. You want to remember corporate structre, preferred shares, returns, restrictions, state laws, future offerings, most importantly remember to include a protect your equity with a non-compete clause (you will want to know that your investors will not leave you for your competitors)


SURVIVAL STRATEGY DESCRIBING INHERENT RISKS AND MITIGATION STRATEGIES
this will explain how you will deal with any changes in which you will have to react quickly. Many businesses experience a tough time and you will have to be able to show how you are going to get through those tough times. some strategies to consider are maximizing oyur cash holdings, diversify you products, be aggressive in your approach, use freelancers or part timers (they typicaly cost less), look for substitute materials, anything that you can do to stick out from your competition


GROWTH STRATEGY
here you will explain how you plan to grow your business once it is off the ground, investors want to know that you have a plan to bring your product or service to new customers and new markets whether it is through multiple locations, new client base, new products, frnachising, an online strategy, marketing, decreasing costs, etc.


EXIT STRATEGY
this will explain how you plan to leave your business, it may not be something you want to think about but investors want to see that you have a long term strategy. This is something that you need to keep in mind as well because the way you plan to exit your business will determine how you run your business from opening day


APPENDIXES Read more!

Making Money on the Web

Many people have the notion that the internet is an easy way to make money. It's not. Do not use the web as a means of fast cash. Making money through the internet requires you to invest time and money. The people that have made a successful business on the web provide a service that offers value to their customers. They know the product that they are promoting inside and out.

When starting your website be sure to ask yourself who is it for, what interests them, what do they like, and especially what turns them off. You have to know how to reach your market inside and out. Don't expect a killing because the internet business is not a very profitable business that occurs overnight. But think success. The key to success is not the internet, it is what you know about your product.

Once your website is up and running you must promote your site. People are not going to drop from the sky and onto your site, rather you must appeal to them. You can upload your url to numerous search engines as a means of promotion. However, popularity counts with search engines meaning the more visits you have to your sites the more likely a search engine will put you closer to the top. www.SearchEngineWatch.com is a website with information on how search engines work. Another key is to make sure your site is easy to use. The less the content the better. Don't place to many ads or pics, use words as they can be just as powerful. You can use RSS feeds as a way to add free content to you site on a daily basis. RSS feeds will not clog your site and will still allow for easy use. Read more!

Networking

All successful professionals have a network of their peers. It is like a chain reaction. When you work closely or communicate with people that have the same goals and objectives as yourself, you are less likely to fall off. Being an entrepreneur you are going to need a strong network due to the fact that you are in your business alone. Things are going to get tough and there may come a time when you feel like giving up. Don't give up, instead turn that frustration into productivity. I have put together a list of internet sites that provide networking for professionals, check them out.

http://www.eonetwork.org/
http://www.networkingentrepreneurs.com/
http://www.boston-enet.org/
http://www.princetonen.org/
http://www.wenportal.org/
http://www.ciozone.com/
http://www.intronetworks.com/

NOTE: MOST OF THE WEBSITES ARE FREE TO JOIN BUT I HAVE NOT CHECKED OUT THEM ALL Read more!

Gail Warrioe Lawrence

Gail Lawrence is a 39 year old African American woman. She posesses her MBA and a bechelors degree in accounting. Lawrence sits on the board of directors of numerous organizations including the Womans Business Council Southwest and the African American Museum.

Lawrence took her education and has established a profitable small business. The Warrior Group Inc, a modular construction company, was founded in 1997. Lawrence started her company with the help of friends who offered office space and compnay supplies for a monthly fee. It took 2 years before Larence's company was turning in enough revenue to lease office space. Now, The Warrior Group Inc. has their own building and 22 employees. With a steady list of clients and multimillion dollar contracts, the Warrior Group Inc. is moving steadily ahead in the modular construction industry.

Gail Warrior Lawrence is an African American entrepreneur in an industry that has very few African American faces. She stuck out the tough times that all small business have to endure when first starting out. Lawrence is merely one role model for all entrepreneurs venturing out on their own. As I have stated before, the road is not going to be easy when you first began, but with hard work and determination you could start and maintain a profitable business in which you love to work. Read more!

Career Woman

In today's economy it is hard getting ahead. Around every corner is another lay off or company cut back. The people to feel the effect the most would be woman. Woman sacrafice their careers without hesitation. We have children, take care of our families, take care our households, all of which only twenty years ago at most were our only duties. Why might woman feel the most pressure in the work force? Many femenist feel that woman are already judge differently when applying for jobs. There is this term called "the glass ceiling"which is used to emphasize on the lack of promotions to high positions for woman. So what must we woman do?

Woman these days are going into business for themselves. There are many programs and organizations that are geared toward helping and training woman on how to be successful on their own. Some states, like Georgia, have funds in place to assist woman with starting their businesses. Woman are making a new mark in history and becoming very wealthy in the process.

Angela Coleman of New Jersey knows what it is like to struggle to get ahead at work. She started her own business which originated as a hobby. Coleman and her peers go around talking to young black woman to uplift and aid in their development. The community embraced Coleman, and in turn funded her organization while encouraging her to speak to all kinds of woman. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_6_112/ai_n20510880?tag=rel.res5

Angela Coleman is just one woman that made her own business out of something that she loved. As a woman we must educate ourselves and use the most out of our resources. Research the areas that interest you most, then use that reaserch to figure out how you can turn your passion into a profitable business. Contact your local agencies to determine what programs they have to offer. Locate grants and other aid available. Take a grant writing course at your local community college to gaurantee that you land as much funding as possible. Whatever, you do ladies, don't be afraid. 2008 is a new year and we must make our place in it.

LOOK OUT FOR THE POST ON COMPANIES FUNDING SMALL BUSINESSES

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Barack Obama

Barack Obama, a man creating history on the books. It wasn't that long ago when African Americans couldn't vote. No one would have thought in a million years that we would have an African American nominated for president by a major party. Many feel that the situation is being overrated. Some people feel that Obama will only be voted for because he is African American. I think what many forget is the fact that Obama has realistic goals. He acknowledges the problems that the country is currently involved in and offers a solution. Obama is not getting endorsements from people that he will owe an obligation to once in the white house. Obama is a smart man that offers the opportunity for growth.

Aside from Obama's goals for this country, he offers guidance to many of the nations young black men. The average black male of the twentieth century longs for the street life. It is what they see on television, it is what they see in their neighborhoods, a street life is also what some of these men's parents set as a path for them to follow. Obama's nomination tells black men that life isn't as much of a struggle as they think it is. Society is coming out of this idea of "a white mans world". Obama's nomination tells black men not to give up but to endure their trials and tribulations to achieve the goals that they have for themselves.

So, in short, lets lay off Obama a little bit and give him some credit. His family, like much of the country, did not come from some rich wealthy background. The Obama family had to work their way up the corporate latter to get where they are. Obama, is merely a symbol that we can accomplish even the unthinkable in today's world. Read more!

Saving

The key to accomplishing any goal is saving. Saving allows you to build up the money for items that you may need as well as learning the basic skills of budgeting. When you get into the habbit of seperating your money and saving some, you are teaching yourself how to run your business. Once you establish your business you will have to pay certain bills, employees, as well as puting money away for ay sudden expenses that may arise. These same skills can even be used in your home, which can provide you with a cushion for retirement. Below you will find some different types of saving options available at the moment.

Online savings: Many internet companies such as ING Direct provide high yield interst saving accounts for free. These high interest options will allow you to let your money grow even faster.

CDs: An option offered through most banks, allows you to put a designated amount of money away for a designated amount of time to collect interest. CDs are typically high yield interest options as well.

Bonds: Like CDs, allow you to put a designated amount of money away for a designated amount of time. However, unlike CDs, bonds usually do not have interest rates as high.

Regular Savings: These provide a means of saving money for any sudden occurances. Not really recommended as a way of saving for a long term goal. Regular Savings accounts have barely any interest

Envelope System: A way of saving that will also allow you to learn budgeting skills. Each envelope will have a bill title written on the outside, as well as the amount of the bill. You devide your check into the categories designated on its outside, including an evelope designated to savings. One all your evelopes are filled, whatever money is left over is what you have to spend. Read more!

Calculating Start Up Costs

The reason Many new businesses fail is because people do not acurately calculate their start up costs. People will often calculate how much money is needed for them to open their business door and forget to include how much money they will need to run the business until they began making a profit. Some journalists feel you should have at least six months worth of monthly expenses calculated into your start up cost. However, to be safe I would recommend including the expenses for one year.

When calculating your cost always begin with research. Locate other people that had started businesses similar to yours. Don't be afraid to shoot them an email or phone call. You would want to find out how much their initial costs were, and obstacles that they may have ran into. You could attend conferences, community business meetings geared toward your business interest. Locate business conventions. All of which will provide you with an opportunity to meet other people in your industry and build networks or ask questions. Another very useful resource would be your local library. Libraries house tons of information that you may not know how to access, and with the help of a librarian you leave with a lot.

Alwaya determine your expense. However, you also want to differentiate between your initial expenses and your ongoing expenses. The initial expenses are going to be the ones that you will incure to start the business (i.e. licenses and permits, marketing materials, supplies and inventory, remodling, etc.). The ongoing expenses are the expenses you will pay on a monthly basis (i.e. payroll and owners draw, insurance, taxes, debt repayment, advertising, etc.)

With a well constructed analysis you should be able to put dollar values to the expenses in parenthesis. Crunching your numbers is a simple calculation.
ongoing expenses x 12 months = money needed to keep door open
money needed x initial expenses = total cost to start your business

Read more!

Qualities

Do you poses the qualities required to be an Entrepreneur? Click this post title to find out! Read more!

Always Remember

Suitable life in the job market is far harder to come by now days than ever before. The prices of goods are rising more and more each year but the salary employers are paying is not rising with inflation. This techinicality is causing many americans to struggle day to day to survive. Many are looking at the situation positively and choosing to go into business for themselves. The number of aspiring entrepreneurs is rising each year. People are taking their famillies wealth into their own hands. Anyone can become an entrepreneur, all you need is an idea and a passion.

Some things to remember:
1. It is important to check with your local offices to see what is required as far as licensing to
to start your business
2. 80% of all new business fail within the first five years, not to discourage you but to show you
that the road is not going to be easy
3. Develop a well thought out and realistic plan for your business as well as establish some goals
that you would like to accomplish along the way
4. You are going to have to be budget savvy
5. Your credit score will determine the amount of financing you get for your start up costs
6. Brainstorm some of the opportunties you want your business to provide and who you want
your target audience to be Read more!