There are some requisite traits that are very important for the entrepreneurs who get started with their home based business opportunity. Starting a business and being successful with it is not an easy job. You will need to have certain qualities of entrepreneurial traits in order to accomplish something really big in your business.In succinct, these exclusive factors are necessary because if you do not have them, your probability of success in your prospective business or accomplishing the work at hand is slim at best.
The necessary factors or characteristics are as follows:Judging the PerilThis considerable component of private enterprise is perhaps the most misunderstood one of all. Many home business opportunities owners are all willing to take the step forward and introduce wherever possible to achieve accomplishment.At the same time a professional entrepreneur takes enough time and effort to methodically evaluate or scrutinize the potential negative aspects of the new concept, product or service before implementing it.
Even after a thorough evaluation, there are many risks involved with a new business opportunity. This is where your judgment or decision making abilities come into play.A new business proprietor has to analyze, examine and determine if the majority of these doubts are worth the risk for a new commerce.This will take serious concern and a total due diligence assessment to make this decision and it should not be dismissed flippantly.Developing Leadership Qualities:Some people have natural leadership qualities but majority of them do not have the kind of courage it takes to lead an enterprise. Leadership is essentially an ability which can be acquired.
If you are not born with it, you can attain it through training, experience, and networking with associates and other business proprietors.So if you feel that you do not possess leadership skills, do not let that stop you from owning your own business. Skills of leadership can be cultivated in a fairly short time period if you really put your mind to it.
At present you will find many ways to learn the entrepreneurial qualities that can help you to authorize yourself as a leader in your business. It will also enable you to realize and take on the established basics of entrepreneurial leadership discipline, ideologies and practices.You will need to obtain consumer skills to influence, guide and direct others to work fruitfully in order to promote a successful home business opportunity.Exhibit Mental Robustness:Your intense insights, intelligence, and communication skills along with many other traits will help you with your business efficiency. In complicated and difficult situations today, it is very important for you to force yourself to exhibit shrewdness and alertness for the budding trends.In business, a lack of mental clarity and focus on business goals will only lead to failures 90% of the time.
These above mentioned characteristics allow you to develop and accomplish the work at hand. In fact, these qualities are essential to the future success and growth of your home based business opportunity.

If you have not asked yourself the question you have probably heard it raised – ‘so what’s a better investment, property or shares?’ The forum is typically a backyard BBQ between family and friends and sure enough it will spark interest with certain ardent supporters of one asset class over the other, keen to add to the mix their 2 cents worth of home spun wisdom.Having heard one too many ill-informed responses to this question, I have decided to write this short article outlining my view on the question. As a property investor, share investor and qualified financial planner I will hopefully provide you with a more intuitive response than those you may have heard in the past.Let’s first take a look at the reasons for investing in property and shares respectively.Reasons to Invest in PropertyEasier to understand – Property investment is generally more easily understood than share investment. Although property investment requires a certain level of sophistication it does not require the same degree of technical understanding that share investing does.Tangibility – Property investment provides tangible evidence of where your hard earned money is going. It is much more satisfying walking through your own investment property than through the aisles of a Woolworths store in which you are a shareholder.Control – Investing in property provides the investor with a greater level of control over their investment. When making decisions the property investor has complete influence over their investment unlike a share investor whose influence is only as great as their voting power.Potential to add value – Property provides the investor with the opportunity to improve its value either through renovation or development. This ability is not available with shares short of becoming a member of the board or creating your own publicly listed company.High gearing – Property enables investors with relatively small amounts of money to obtain exposure to relatively large assets. Property is a favoured form of security for banks and under certain circumstances may be fully financed with no recourse beyond the property. Shares on the other hand are generally financed at a maximum of 70% and the lender has recourse by way of margin calls against the investor when the LVR is breached.Low volatility – Property has historically provided low volatility relative to shares, although the infrequency of its valuation does bias the results.High long term returns – Property has historically provided high long term returns, particularly in comparison to fixed interest and cash.Tax efficiency – Property has a high degree of tax efficiency for a number of reasons. Firstly, its returns are comprised of a growth component that may be concessionally taxed (if held for over 12 months) using the capital gains tax discount. Secondly, property can be highly geared which results in a high deductible interest component. Thirdly, property allows the deduction of a depreciation component for building write off and plant and equipment which improves the after tax return.Reasons to Invest in SharesHigh liquidity – Shares generally provide higher liquidity than property. Whilst a line of credit facility secured against a property can help the matter, it is not always desirable to increase ones borrowings when cash is required.High Divisibility – A share portfolio is much more easily divisible than a property portfolio so when small amounts of cash is required a share investor can sell down a similar value of shares where a property investor is forced to sell an entire property.Low minimum investment – Shares provide the opportunity to invest smaller amounts of money than property. If you only have $5,000 to invest you will have no problems finding shares to purchase but good luck finding an investment property for this amount of money.Low transaction costs – Shares involve substantially lower transaction costs than property. The only costs involved in transacting shares are brokerage on both acquisition and disposal. Property on the other hand involves stamp duty, inspections, and legals on acquisition and advertising, agent’s commission and legals on disposal.Low ongoing costs – Shares involve substantially lower ongoing costs than property. In fact, direct share ownership does not involve any ongoing costs whereas property can involve body corporate fees, insurance, land tax, letting fees, maintenance costs, management fees, rates, and repair costs.Diversification – Due to the lower price of a share relative to a property it is possible to obtain greater diversification for your dollar by investing in shares. For example, if you have $100,000 to invest you may decide to spread it in $5,000 bundles across 20 different companies from 20 different sectors of the market. For an equivalent amount of money you would be lucky to purchase just one property without gearing.Timely performance appraisal – Shares in publicly listed companies enable the investor to make a timely assessment of the value and performance of their portfolio. The share investor can simply call their broker or view their portfolio value online whereas the property investor must obtain market appraisals and or valuations on each of their properties before being in a position to appraise the performance and value of their portfolio.High long term returns – Just like property shares have historically provided high long term returns, particularly in comparison to fixed interest and cash.Tax efficiency – Shares have a very high degree of tax efficiency for a number of reasons. Firstly, its returns are comprised of a growth component that may be concessionally taxed (if held for over 12 months) using the capital gains tax discount. Secondly, shares can be relatively highly geared which results in a relatively high deductible interest component. Thirdly, many Australian shares provide franking credits with their dividends that may be used to offset the investors other tax liabilities. Put another way, the dividend income from a fully franked share provides tax free income to a share investor on the 30% marginal tax rate.The ReturnsAt the end of the day you can have all of the before mentioned benefits but the bottom line for most investors is returns. Whilst we all know that past performance is no guarantee of future performance we are all nonetheless interested in how asset classes have performed in the past. As such, let’s now turn our attention to property and share historical returns.Over the years I have seen ardent supporters from both sides of the camp waving research papers in the air substantiating their claim that their favoured asset class has historically provided the highest return. Some have property marginally outperforming shares and some have shares marginally outperforming property on either a pre tax or post tax basis.How is this possible you might ask? Well, it all comes back to the measurement period of the research. As with all other asset classes, property and share values move in cycles. It therefore stands to reason that a measurement period incorporating more peaks and fewer troughs will provide a greater return for the period. Given that property and shares generally do not move in harmony with one another they each have peaks and troughs at different times in the cycle. Different measurements periods capture this and can therefore provide substantial variations in results.Below are the results from an ASX commissioned report prepared by Towns Perrin. The measurement period is only 1 year apart and spans for a considerable amount of time to provide more relevant information. 10 Years To December 2003Property 12.7%Shares 8.0%20 Years To December 2003Property 15.1%Shares 11.7%10 Years To December 2004Property 11.6%Shares 11.7%To December 2004Property 12.9%Shares 13.2%Source: ASX Investment Sector Performance Report by Towns PerrinSo what can we make of these results. Well, simply that both property and shares have each provided relatively high long term returns in excess of any other traditional asset classes.ConclusionProperty or shares? Given the comparability in historical returns and the many benefits they each present it should be obvious that the question shouldn’t be property or shares, but instead how much property and how much shares.So next time you are at a backyard BBQ and your ill-informed friend pipes up about property or shares being far superior to the other, politely reveal to them their ignorance and encourage them to seek professional financial advice!Oh, and when it comes to purchasing property for your portfolio, don’t pay retail price like everyone else, acquire your property the smart way by developing it at absolute developers cost. It’s easier than you think…By Luke AndersenPartner of Positive Property Strategies and co-author of ‘Residential Real Estate Development: A Practical Guide For Beginners To Experts’

Increasing consumerism has given rise to the phenomenon of over expenditure by even an average earner and in turn has resulted in more and more people reeling under debt burden. The problem escalates because people care little about key aspects of personal finance. One can in fact benefit much if finance availing and management aspects of personal finance are especially taken care of.

Both finance availing and management of personal finance goes hand in hand. Main sources of personal finance are credit cards and personal loan. Credit cards have become most popular and easier way of both taking finance and making expenditure. Every item purchased goes to the cardholder’s bill. Lack of cash often encourages consumers to swipe credit card more. This only results in debt accumulation. To minimize credit card debts, take precautions. It would save you lot of money if you use credit card only when there is no other alternative to it because if the dues are not cleared in time the credit card issuing company slaps high penalties. This worsens the debt problem. Also, when applying for credit card, make sure you pick up the company that charges the lowest possible interest rate. Your interest outgo must remain lower so that you save enough for other expenses and rainy days.

Another way to managing Personal Finance is to prefer using debit card. You can spend only up to the amount you have in your account. Thus debit card keeps you away from overspending and resultant unnecessary loss of finance.

Personal loan is an effective source of personal finance. When opting for a personal loan, again, your concern should be to save as much as possible on cost of the loan. Personal loan makes you financially secure and stronger as you use the loan constructively. Avail it at lower interest rate so that you do not feel debt burden. The best way of bargaining for lower interest rate is to opt for secured personal loan. In this type of the loan any of the borrower’s property is placed as collateral with the loan provider. With the loan well secured, lenders are willing to reduce interest rate. Also, greater repayment term is offered so that monthly outgo towards installments is reduced to the comfort of the borrower.

Think of saving money because this habit will help you meet finance in an emergency. Open a wealth account where your money grows into your largest net worth as the money is not spent and invested only. Make all efforts in lessening debt burden. For instance, pay extra principal amount towards car loan or credit card so that you do not accumulate debts and managing finance becomes easier.

Personal finance is all about getting it from right source at low cost and managing it in such a way that any debt burden is avoided and life becomes enjoyable. Credit card and debit card should be used judiciously and personal loan or any source of finance should be given thought in terms of low cost and managing finance

Advertising Sales Reps Sell Institutional Advertising

What is institutional advertising? Here’s a definition: “Promotional message aimed at creating an image, enhancing reputation, building goodwill, or advocating an idea or the philosophy of an organization, instead of sales promotion.” (BusinessDictionary.com)

Institutional advertising promotes the name of the business and the brand but is not used to create sales. Large advertisers use institutional advertising to increase their name recognition and, hopefully, market share. With a larger market share, increased sales are expected to follow.

Most of the advertising we see everyday on television comes in the form of Institutional Advertising. It’s the big companies with household brands working hard to entrench their brand even further into our brains. While that may be an effective strategy for billion dollar, multi-national companies, it’s a devastating plan of action for smaller, local businesses.

Very few small business owners have a grasp on marketing. When they do advertise, they simply do the same things others are doing. Media salespeople do an excellent job explaining how advertising works when they’re selling the advertising. They also are great at explaining why an ad didn’t work. The number one reason: The business owner didn’t buy enough time or space. The number two reason: The ad wasn’t run for a long enough time period.

Beware of the Advertising Sales Representative

Ad sales people are not marketing experts. They actually do not know much about marketing at all. They have been trained to do one thing: sell ads. In that respect they are formidable. Ironically, most small business owners believe that ad salespeople are indeed marketing experts. Ad sales reps use this to their advantage and often help small business owners actually create the ads that will run on their network, publication, billboard, etc.

The entire system represents a conflict of interest. The goal of advertising is to increase sales for the business owner. But the ad sales rep’s goal is to sell advertising. The ad sales rep acts on behalf of his or her employer and does not maintain a fiduciary relationship with the client. So the advice of advertising sales reps is never given for the benefit of the small business owner. When they urge their clients to buy ads, they do not have the expertise or training to know if the ads will have any positive impact on sales or profitability. They are not qualified to suggest when an ad should run, how long the ad should run or even the frequency rate. They can not suggest other forms of advertising or marketing that might be more suitable because they are employed by a single media outlet.

This conflict of interest is unique to ad sales. Imagine if you had a medical condition; let’s say Acid Reflux. Instead of going to a doctor, you consulted with a drug sales rep. Like the ad sales rep, the drug rep works for one company. If she worked for Pfizer, she would recommend Viagra to treat your acid reflux condition. When you found this to be ineffective, the drug rep would suggest increasing the dosage or advise that you simply continue taking the drug longer and give it some time to work. Once you’ve run out of money, the drug rep would move on to the next patient.

Small business owners must learn that ad sales reps do not have their best interests at heart. The ad sales rep hopes that the ad works so that the client will buy more ads, not because their goal is to increase sales for the client. Only independent marketing experts have the ability to act objectively on behalf of their clients. This is an important distinction. They actually represent their clients’ best interests when it comes to marketing. As experts, they provide valuable insight as to which marketing program (or mix of programs) will generate the greatest return on their clients’ marketing investment.

Traditional Advertising is often Institutional Advertising

Most traditional advertising, be it local or national, is a form of institutional advertising. It is done with such repetition that people will remember the product or service when the time comes. The products or services are so commonly used that people have an easy time remembering the message. But local business can not afford to advertise in this manner. When they do advertise, they can only afford to run the ad for a short time, at an infrequent rate. Therefore, Institutional advertising does not work for small businesses. When it comes to marketing, local business owners need to market themselves in a modern fashion and expect a tangible return on their marketing investment.

So next time an institutional ad sales rep comes knocking on your door, remember, they are there to sell you something that is ineffective and does not provide a positive return on your investment. They do not understand marketing, they are sales people. Don’t trust their facts or figures. They are based on data that can not be analyzed easily and is only used to back their statements. Instead, search for a local, independent marketing expert. Not only are they much less expensive, they will be able to advise you based on your best interests, not their own.