Check, check and check again

February 24, 2015 by
Image2 courtesy of Stuart Miles from freedigitalphotos.net

Image2 courtesy of Stuart Miles from freedigitalphotos.net

Due diligence is VERY important, especially in real estate.  It is a fact finding mission to ensure all the information you receive is confirmed by the people qualified to give that information.  For instance, a neighbor of the subject property tells you the annual fee is $50 for the association but after you buy it you get invoiced $50 EVERY month.  That information should have been confirmed with the association BEFORE being purchased.  Your brother in law comes to look at that stain in the ceiling and tells you that is an old water stain from an ice dam but it turns out to be black mold and the roof needs to be replaced.  This can be a BIG problem. The advice should have been confirmed by a certified contractor BEFORE being purchased.  Please, please, please find confirm all information received from qualified people BEFORE you buy.

Is there any information you wish you had confirmed BEFORE you bought?  Please comment.

Filed Under: Real Estate Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Time for a raise?

February 23, 2015 by
Image courtesy of Ambro from freedigitalphotos.net

Image courtesy of Ambro from freedigitalphotos.net

If you think it’s time for a raise, start preparing your information and go get it!  Do research in your career field to figure out how much your job is worth from a site like salary.com.  If your research reveals you should be earning more investigate in a delicate way, what others in your company are receiving for compensation and benefits.  Then honestly consider your worth and contribution to the company.  Were there special jobs or projects that made you stand out from the rest?  If so be sure to include those in your pitch to your supervisor.  Be sure to carefully practice your dialog and role play to gain confidence for your meeting.  Then when the time is right, go get it.

Do you feel you deserve a raise?  If so, click the like button.

Filed Under: Career Development Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Market research is important!

February 20, 2015 by
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles from freedigitalphotos.net

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles from freedigitalphotos.net

Ever wonder if you are getting a good deal? You should know if you are or not! With apps and the internet making information more available there is no excuse. One of the best ways to review prices is to check sold items on ebay.com. To search, enter the item into the search field, hit the REFINE tab, scroll down to “Sold items” and select it, then click done. A list of sold items and their prices will be displayed. It is a great tool.

Another way is to check a price is on Amazon.com. There are also many price checker apps available, the one that we are most familiar with is Amazon price checker. It has a bar code scanner so that when you are in the store you can scan the bar code of an item and it will give you pricing information. It has saved us multiple times from paying way more than we should have! Do that research!

What other sites can provide market research?  Please comment.

Filed Under: Money Management Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Score some FREE business help

February 19, 2015 by
Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici from freedigitalphotos.net

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici from freedigitalphotos.net

Did you know you can get FREE business help? SCORE.org is a staffed with volunteer experienced business people who can provide a plethora of information. You can get a lot of help by requesting a mentor or as little help as emailing in a question.  They also offer events and workshops on a wide range of topics. There are even online business tools available. Be sure to take advantage and SCORE.org.

Please share any great business tips you have.

Filed Under: Business Boost Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

There are a lot of animals in the market!

February 18, 2015 by
Image courtesy of Michael Elliott from freedigitalphotos.net

Image courtesy of Michael Elliott from freedigitalphotos.net

Stock traders many times will use common animals to describe the market.  Here are some:

Bull or Bullish – describes an upward or increasing trend.  Signals the economy is strengthening and typically stock prices rise.

Bear or Bearish – describes a declining or decreasing trend.  Signals the economy is weakening and typically stock prices fall.

Chicken – used to describe someone who is afraid to lose.

Pig – used to describe impatience or greed.

Keep these definitions in mind when you hear them.  It will help guide you in your investments!

Did we forget any other animals?  Please comment.

Filed Under: Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Good things come to those who wait

February 17, 2015 by
Image courtesy of phasinphoto from freedigitalphotos.net

Image courtesy of phasinphoto from freedigitalphotos.net

When it comes to filling a vacancy in your rental property, patience and careful review are VERY important.  Create a non-discriminatory evaluation criteria for the potential residents of your property and follow it for each applicant.  The first thing to do is to have the applicant complete and sign an application.  From the application determine if they can afford to pay the rent given their income and debt ratio evaluation criteria.  Next confirm all the information from the application with the applicant’s employers and former landlords.  Be sure to ask open ended questions of the landlords so you can get a feel for what kind of resident they might be.  Then ALWAYS run a background AND credit check, to confirm the information you have been told verbally and on the application.  These are very important steps for a long term, happy landlord – resident relationship.  Take the time, you will be glad you did.

What other criteria would you include in the evaluation of a resident?  Please comment.

Filed Under: Real Estate Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Six figure income, no college degree required

February 16, 2015 by
Image courtesy of adamr from freedigitalphotos.com

Image courtesy of adamr from freedigitalphotos.com

There are potentially many fields where someone could make a six figure income without a degree but we were surprised to learn from nbcnews.com that one was being a court reporter.  According to the article “Court Reporter: A Job That Makes Six Figures, With No College Degree” the field is expanding.  To be considered for a job in this field there are many different certifications available and you need to research what is required by employers in your area.   Some additional skills required are typing at around 225 words per minute and having the ability to easily differentiate between voices.  It could be just the right career for individuals who are looking for a high paying job without the education requirement.  Or maybe for a career change?

Are you looking for a change in career?  If so, please comment on what field you are in and what field you would want to switch to.

Filed Under: Career Development Tagged With: , , , , ,

Cutting the cable

February 13, 2015 by
Image courtesy of arztsamui from freedigitalphotos.net

Image courtesy of arztsamui from freedigitalphotos.net

Do you remember a time when you could watch TV for free? Maybe you had to buy an antenna.  I know it is a radical thought in this day and age where everyone has cable subscription service, but do you enjoy it enough to keep it? Is it just a habit to pay the bill every month?  Take back control of your television watching!  There are currently many options for your viewing pleasure beside cable television and usually with less commercials!  One is to watch programing from your computer, which can be streamed wirelessly with Chromecast or connected with an HDMI cable.  There are many programs available for FREE LIVE or sometimes you may have to wait for a short period of time after the show airs.  There are also online pay services like Netflix or Hulu that charge a MUCH lower monthly fee, mostly under $10 per month.  Consider it!  I am sure you could find a use for that extra $100 or more per month.  Couldn’t you?

What could you do with that extra $100 plus per month?

Filed Under: Money Management Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Want to increase viewership, engagement and subscribers?

February 12, 2015 by

Just one word ANNOTATIONS!  They are text overlays can be added to your YouTube videos. Did you want to add or highlight a point in your video?  Add an annotation.  Do you want to ask a thought provoking question in print to emphasize a point?  Add an annotation.  Do you want to add a clickable link to your website from your video to join your mailing list?  Add an annotation.  Do you want to add a link to subscribe to your YouTube channel?  You guessed it, add an annotation!  The list goes on and on.  This is a fantastic tool to help your business grow.  Use it today!

Please comment on how you could use annotations in YouTube to help your business grow.

Filed Under: Business Boost Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Know your levels

February 11, 2015 by

An important part of stock trading is conducting technical analysis.  This analysis must include support and resistance levels.  These are important beSupport levelscause they tell you what range a stock’s value has historically traded at.

The support level is the price at which the stock generally does not go below.  It is where the demand for the stock keeps the price from going any lower.  Of course support breaks can happen, (bummer L) which will then create another support at a lower price point.

The resistance level is the top price for a stock.  It is expected that the price will not rise any higher.  Again a resistance break can happen,  (Yay! J) which will create a higher top price.

Know these levels and use them in your technical analysis so you can win!

Click like if you use levels in your technical analysis!

 

Filed Under: Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , ,