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Reasons Why You Should Consider Setting Up An Online Business

admin — Fri, 12 May 2023 10:53:56 +0000

If you are contemplating setting up an online business from home, but are not sure if it is the right option for you here are some reasons that may help you to make up your mind. The internet has allowed many people to earn their living in a new and exciting way. While it is not as easy as some of the hyped up sales pages would suggest, there are real reasons why this way of working may be for you.If you are looking for security in the way you earn your income, setting up an online business is perhaps one of the best ways to ensure that your means of earning a living is secure forever. Why? Once you have learnt the skills needed to make money online, and like any other skills they are easily learnable, if you take the time and effort to do so – you will be able to turn your hand to earning money in a variety of different ways on the internet. It is a smart way of working rather than working hard at a single job over which you have no control. This single job may be taken away from you for a number of reasons like redundancy due to the current poor economy or the owner may decide to retire and close down.If you are a mother with young children at home then setting up an online business from home can be a solution to many problems like the costs of childcare, commuting expenses and office clothing costs too. With some careful consideration and organization you can work from home and take care of your children at the same time. During short breaks from your computer you can then attend to household chores such as hanging out the laundry, bringing it in, cleaning and care of your home, preparing evening meals for the family and be at home with school age children who may be ill for the day. Although these appear to be mundane issues, they can cause problems for working parents of young children. Working from home gives you the chance to take care of them and still be in a position to earn some income too.Setting up an online business allows you the freedom to choose a niche area in which to work, When choosing a niche market to serve with your online business you are able to make that choice yourself. This means that we are able to determine our own working conditions and environment, and do something that will make us happy. When you start a small business online you are in control of your very own destiny. This means that whatever you do will increase your income and not that of an employer. You can also decide when you want to work and when you will take time off to be with your family and attend important events without having to consult with an employer.As the internet has a global reach you will be able to compete on an equal footing with the “bigger boys” who in the offline world may have had more resources to reach customers further away than a smaller business who has a smaller budget with which to work. Setting up an online business allows you to expand your potential customer base and therefore gives you the freedom to think big.It is realistically possible to start a small business online with very little funds. When you are starting out all you really need is a domain name, hosting and an autoresponder service. You can begin setting up an online business for less than forty dollars. Of course you will short cut the learning curve if you are able to take a course on how to start an online business from home. Forty dollars would not allow you to start an offline, more traditional brick and mortar business.The biggest reason to consider setting up an online business is the potential to earn as much income as you want. When most people work in a normal corporate job their earnings are limited in the hours they can work each day. On the internet, you can set up an online business where you earn multiple streams of income and where you are not required to be there to make the money. Once you have set up a product and marketed it, that site, potentially, if done correctly, can earn income for you while you sleep or set up other sites.So, as you can see the internet enables you to work smart not hard. Don’t you think you owe it to yourself to consider setting up an online business to reap all these rewards?

Telecommunication – Sending and Receiving Signals

admin — Fri, 12 May 2023 05:33:29 +0000

Telecommunication is a process of sending and receiving signals over a telephone. Telephone here stands for the instrument which helps in making verbal exchanges at a distance. The word Telephone has been derived from the Greek for ‘Tele’ or ‘far’ and ‘phonic’ or ‘sound.’ Communication is a basic function common to all living beings, and merits no explanation.Since past few years we have witnessed extraordinary progress of the technology of Telecommunication. Though we still use wired telephones over shorter distances, radio or mobile telephony is starting to take over. Intercontinental communications are mostly wireless dominated.The story of Telecommunication began with Nikola Tesla demonstrating a method for Radio communications, about 1893. One year after, Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose, rang a remote bell, with the help of microwaves in the millimeter range. Bose was also the first to use ‘coherer’, which he invented, a semiconductor-junction detector in radio communication. He dedicated his invention to humanity and did not agree to patent it.Around the year 1896, Marconi used Wireless Telegraphy for conducting his experiments, and introduced the world to commercial telephony. From here, the march went only forward. After contributions from several inventors and discoverers, we talk to each other, using a variety of techniques like GSM, CDMA, Satellite telephony, etc. However, we use telecommunication not only on Terra firma. Explorer-I, a man-made satellite, which was launched nearly 30 years ago, and, which currently is on the extreme boundary of the Solar System, is still able to ‘Telecommunicate’ with us.

The Liquidity Squeeze – Small Business Financing and Sub-prime Loans

admin — Thu, 11 May 2023 15:15:11 +0000

As news of the continuing problems in the sub-prime mortgage markets spreads, most people do not expect to be affected by it, since they do not have a sub-prime loan. Business borrowers especially may be wondering how problems in the residential markets could impact them, “How could someone else’s bad home loan impact my business?”What has happened? Almost everyone knows this part of the story by now. Throughout the housing boom, some residential lenders attracted “sub-prime” borrowers to the table with low, adjustable rates. The residential lenders then assembled them into packages and sold them in the financial markets as securities.As the fixed periods of these rates ended, the recent increases in rates (as an example, the Federal Reserve raised its key rate for 17 straight quarters from 2004 to June 2006 – from 1% to 5.25%) drove their home payments beyond their ability to pay. Although many of these borrowers were able to re-finance with fixed-rate mortgages, too many were not so lucky. Combined with a slowing housing market, these home-owners found themselves stuck in a mortgage that they could not afford. This has led to the “sub-prime meltdown” we are all hearing about.So, what does that have to do with the lease on my forklift or the re-financing of my warehouse, asks the entrepreneur? Well, over time, the financial markets have become globalized – like every other market. Many of the same investors who bought those sub-prime mortgage securities buy securities in commercial loans or invest in private lenders or equity firms. Now, these funding sources have become skittish and are wondering if they should hold on to more of their money – just in case something else is going to happen. Also, as the sub-prime securities exceeded their expected levels of default and investors stopped buying new securities, lenders were left with billions of dollars of securitized mortgages on their books and were unable to flip them to replenish their funds for new loans – residential or commercial.That means a decrease in supply and, as all of you business owners know, that leads to increased prices. Also, as with many markets, there is sometimes a “knee-jerk” reaction to raise prices because everyone knows you raise prices in this kind of situation. This is causing what many economists are referring to as a “liquidity squeeze”. A “liquidity squeeze” is where the riskiest borrowers are cut out of the market.What is next? Well, there are two main paths that this could take – bad and good – with varying levels of pain for everyone. The bad path is that the sub-prime problem is more massive than anyone can foresee, that millions more are on the verge of foreclosure, and that we go from a “liquidity squeeze” to a “credit crunch”, which is where no one can get a loan.The good path is that this is a temporary bump in the financial markets and that once the dust settles and everyone sees that there are not anymore shoes to drop, things can return to normal (normal being pre-boom with stricter underwriting standards) and rates will come back down some (there will still be less money out there and its owners will be more risk adverse).Which will it be? That is a tough call for experienced economists, but the consensus of what I am reading and hearing from them in person is that we will follow the good path. Based on their arguments, I am going to come down on the side of the optimists in this case.Why? The optimistic economists are pointing to a number of factors: 1) the global and US economies are still strong overall – in the US, inflation is low (though not low enough for the Fed to be excited about cutting rates, although that may be changing, growth varies from moderate to strong, and employment is high; 2) the Federal Reserve has room to reduce rates if necessary to improve liquidity; 3) estimates are that a significant number of the sub-prime borrowers were able re-finance their mortgages; 4) as a percentage of the overall, global financial markets, sub-prime residential securities are a relatively small segment (according to Ken Goldstein, an economist for the Conference Board, in a recent CNNMoney.com article, sub-prime makes up only 10% to 15% of a $10 trillion mortgage market and of that, only some 15% is at risk); 5) a portion of these sub-prime borrowers were investors with multiple loans who were stuck with too much inventory rather than primary homeowners; 6) although everyone is in agreement that housing sales will slow, many of the construction job losses associated with reduced housing starts have been absorbed by the economy; and 7) a total housing market collapse is generally triggered by people losing jobs in large numbers, which is not happening.Against this, the pessimistic economists point to the impact that reduced customer spending from higher home payments and reduced home equity (thanks to substantial drops in home prices) will have on the economy. However, as one economist noted at a recent commercial real estate event, the economy was already moving out of the “consumer spending” phase and into the “business expansion” phase and is not as dependent on consumers to keep it going. He mentioned that the “massive” drops in the number of home sales are just returning us to what were considered great levels prior to the boom (i.e. we have been spoiled). Also, people need to be in fear of losing their jobs and not see their income growing to really cut back on spending. Neither of these is the case and the Conference Board recently reported that consumer confidence is at a six-year high.What does all of this mean for your business? If we follow the path of the optimistic economists as I expect we will, this means that everyone is going to be forced to live with a spike in the cost of money for the short-term (probably three to six months) and real difficulty finding funding for less-than-perfect-credit businesses or higher-risk ventures until the markets calm themselves.Deals that were tough to do two months ago may not even get out the loan officer’s in-box and even the easier deals will take longer to fund. Lenders will want to prove to their investors that they are doing all necessary due diligence and will be sure to tighten their standards. It will be more important than ever to prepare a good, clean package that contains no surprises.As the market corrects in the long-term, there will be more news of sub-prime loan delinquencies in 2008 as another $500 billion+ of “teaser-rate” loans reset to market and it would not be surprising to hear that a few hedge funds and private equity firms have closed shop. However, these are now known problems and, unless there are more surprises, the market will adjust for them in advance.You can expect interest rates to be higher than they were prior to the sub-prime problem on average (it is more likely that lenders and investors will price more appropriately for risk) and that the more stringent lending requirements will remain in place. It will mean a need to plan further ahead as deals will take longer to fund. The tougher deals will be possible, but they will pay more of a risk premium and face much more attention than many in that market have been accustomed to receiving.However, we should move out of this “liquidity squeeze” and good deals with good packages will continue to move forward, albeit with a bit more scrutiny.

How To Advertise Your Home Business The Smart Way

admin — Thu, 11 May 2023 10:08:23 +0000

When you start a new home business, it seems like you are the only one out there that is lost inside millions of other home business owners. You seem to not know what to do to get out of that pile so you can be seen. Well, many people advertise their home business to get out of that pile. In that pile without advertising, there is one percent chance to be seen. Some people like to advertise now and some like to advertise later due to budget problems. But advertising do take time and money.Advertising may cost a lot. It depends where you advertise your business. Some is expensive and some options are cheap. Even though you have the money to advertise, you have to do some research before you do so. Do not advertise anywhere and spend a lot of money, you might not get the result you want. Learn these information I am about to give you, you will learn how to advertise with or without a budget.The first way to advertise is with the newspaper. When you advertise in the newspaper, remember to find newspapers with the amount of twenty thousand plus circulations and what kind of people lives in that city. Do not aim for the highest circulations that there is because the higher the circulations the higher the expense. Aim for the mid circulation newspapers and you will find cheep ads placements. Aim for many different states, different states have different prices. Call up to a few newspapers companies and ask them for the price to place ads for the amount of lines you need and which section of the newspaper you want your advertisement in.Most of the time you’ll use a 3 line ad, some may limit you to how many words per line or all three lines totaled up. If you go over, you will be charged more. If the newspaper staff is pretty helpful, ask them for their main line so you can get back to them right away. If the staff wants to control you and gives you a hard time, call up again and find a new staff to work with you. If it is the same old staff on the phone, no need to work with that company.When you find out all the prices of the newspaper company that you are aiming for, you call them back and place the advertisement. Place the ads for about three weeks straight if it is cheap or once a week for three weeks. Here are the days that are best to place ads, Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday. Those days’ works for me but you can choose your own days.You want some way to keep track of the newspapers to see which one is rolling in customers and which one is not. If you have a website, get a few different URLS, one for each different newspaper. Now you can see which newspaper is helping you and which is not. For the not one, pick out another newspaper company and discard the old one. It takes time to find one that works perfect for you. Give it a little time and you will be successful in newspaper advertising for your home business.The second way to advertise is with business cards. Why business cards? They are easy to carry and pick up. When you make a business card, you will fill it up with your home business information on the front of the card. Remember to make a unique title that attracts people. Now on the back of the card, if you have any important information that you think is valuable, put it there. Other people that receive your card might think the information is also useful. They will be referring back to the card and that means they will see your information each and every time. Your message will get to them sooner or later as long as they still have that card.The third way of advertising is flyers. Flyers are cheap and effective. On the flyer, put a unique title and information that will attract your prospects. Next, remember to put your website and your business or eight hundreds number on that flyer. The best way to put flyers is on cars or put them in mail boxes. I love using white papers and black words. Be sure not to put your advertisement on papers or ink that is hard to read. Many people do not want something hard to read. Make your flyer easy to read for people. This will help you convert more prospects.Remember that there is one percent of the people you pass flyers to will not like what you gave them. They might call you and leave you a nasty message or send a nasty email. If you get those, just delete them. Do not deal with them or try to call them back. Just let it be and ignore them. By doing this you will be successful in your business, do not let negativity get to you.Fourth way of advertising is pay per click. Pay per click is expensive depending on what keyword you want to advertise in. The best way to learn pay per click is to buy an e-book. You do not want to go through learning it yourself. Someone has already been through that road. Let that person show you the way of success in pay per click advertising. Time is money! Learn it the easy way to save you time and money. If you want to learn it yourself, it is expensive. It is more expensive than buying that e-book.The last way of advertising is free advertising. Where? Free advertising is everywhere on the Internet. There are many websites out there that let you put your ads on their sites. Like forums, some classified websites, and craigslist have free advertising. When you find one, put your advertisement on their website to get more traffic to your home business website. Well, free advertising is better than no advertising at all. Free advertising is a good way to start if you have a budget.There are many advertising methods out there, even methods that you have not heard of before. Just play around with it a little longer, other methods will come to you sooner or later.

The Many Benefits of Mortgage Finance Loan

admin — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 17:55:21 +0000

Many people dream of owning their own houses, cars and properties. At times, a good mortgage finance loan plan can help one in realizing this goal. Any home or car buyer will agree that mortgage finance have offered more choices. With more choices, one can also have more options to compare to come up with a better loan suitable to him or her.Before deciding on a finance mortgage loan, ask if you can afford to pay it off within the given amount of time. Also, choose a good financial institution that can best assist you with your loan. Find out also which ones offer the best deals, the less interest and whose reputation in this type of financing and mortgage loan is beyond question.Where to Acquire a Good Mortgage LoanMost institutions that specialize in this type of financing are known as thrift associations. In the earlier times, these types of financial institutions were in demand because they offer various mortgage products. Most of the lenders operate in such a way that they deposit several savings of their savers and then utilize the money to enter into a certain kind of mortgage.Later on, as mortgage financing was in disarray, mortgage finance bankers replaced thrift institutions in terms of mortgaging, deposits and savings schemes. They specialize in initiating loans and then offering them to prospect investors may these be homebuyers, car purchasers or entrepreneurs.Mortgage buyers are still in demand, especially for consultation purposes. This is because they have great connections with lending institutions which places them in a better position to offer financial advice.In this modern age, the cyberspace is also a credible source of information for arriving at a final decision in getting a mortgage loan. The internet is a fast means of having access on any data regarding mortgage finance loan.How Can You Get a Mortgage Finance Loan?As a general rule, people who have good paying standing with any bank gets a loan with much ease and less hassle. If you have an excellent credit standing, most likely you will get a full loan that will cover the price of the house, car or property.People with poor credit can still get a loan, but on different terms. First time buyers and those with pending debts can still acquire a loan under different program paying schemes laid down by the financial institution concerned.What is also new regarding mortgage loans is that it can now be approved online. You can do away with very strict approval by simply visiting the website of the financial institution you wish to transact with.How Does One Qualify For a Loan?As discussed earlier, a person with good credit history best qualifies for a loan. After which, the company scrutinizes your bank statements, employment status, and credit scores. Upon verifying your documents, the financial institution will inform you of your eligibility forth loan. Take note that interest rates vary with each financial institution. Loan application is preferred online, but if you are not comfortable with this you can also process it offline or directly with the financial institution. GP

How to Use Inbound Vs Outbound Marketing [Complete Guide]

admin — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 16:17:04 +0000

Should I use inbound or outbound marketing? Where do you find that balance between outbound and inbound marketing to maximize and grow the flow of leads? What should you consider when concocting a synergic marketing mix to include both? To answer all these questions, let’s start by understanding each of the marketing techniques, its strengths and weaknesses.What is Outbound Marketing?
Outbound marketing can be simply described as a straightforward business exchange proposition. “Hey there, want to buy my thing?” is your basic message and approach of outbound marketing. It’s the oldest and most fundamental part of any marketing strategy, and is also what non-marketers assume marketing is all about.Examples of outbound marketing include telemarketing (“cold calls”), paid mailings (both electronic and “snail mail”), advertising (banner ads, radio ads, billboards, etc.) and even door-to-door sales. It’s all about reaching out and pulling the prospect in.Strengths of Outbound Marketing
Not only is it the older and better polished set of techniques, outbound marketing generates sales leads almost immediately. It goes beyond saying that it’s no magic wand, but when it comes to “sealing the deal”, your go-to tools are those in your outbound toolbelt.1. Easier to measure ROI2. Quicker to show impact3. Potentially PersonalizedWeaknesses of Outbound Marketing
Many businesses and brands love outbound marketing for its quick and easily measured results. However, they equally hate the cost and too often the reaction of the target audience, which can easily manufacture a negative sentiment toward the brand.1. Intrusive2. Expensive3. Ineffective on its ownWhat is Inbound Marketing?
In short, the idea of inbound marketing is to create a pull effect to bring in pre-qualified leads instead of pushing intrusive messages.Inbound marketing activities include opt-in email marketing, content production and promotion, social media, and search engine optimization efforts (SEO), among other things.Using this method, a type of funnel is created with leads coming in at the top of the funnel (TOFU) and being “nurtured” down the funnel with marketing messages tailored to the stage that the lead is in until they are “ready” to be approached with a message directed to start the purchasing process.Strengths of Inbound Marketing
Though it existed long before social media and even online sales, the inbound methodology has taken over digital advertising by storm in the past decade. With growing banner blindness, do-not-call lists and the rising cost of users’ attention, it’s no wonder so many brands and businesses include inbound marketing in their strategies.1. Cost-effective2. Unintrusive3. BroadWeaknesses of Inbound Marketing
For B2B marketers, it’s often hard to explain the value of inbound marketing to executives who just want to see those leads flowing in and converting. It’s no longer a new approach and methodology, and yet there are reasons brands sometimes hesitate to prioritize inbound marketing activities.1. Slow to show results2. Harder to measure3. ImpersonalBrewing Your Marketing Mix
Let’s go back to the question we started with: which should you be using – inbound or outbound? Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each, you can see why both are necessary ingredients in your marketing mix. But how much of each, and when?A number of variables affect the inbound to outbound ratio of every brand, product, campaign, and even specific transaction. The impact of some might be less than of others, depending on your unique business and product.Deal SizeProduct TypeFunnel StagesThe Marketing Mix and Match
Combining inbound methodologies and outbound marketing techniques in your marketing mix is not always easy, but is usually worth it. By defining the correct balance between the pull techniques of inbound and the push techniques of outbound, you can combine both to create an optimized lead nurturing and conversion process. It all depends on how well you know your target audience, and how willing you are to make the effort to cater to their needs along the journey down the funnel.

Complete Digital Marketing Strategies for Leads Generation

admin — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 14:35:26 +0000

Digital marketing services are the latest way of marketing. They provide a 360-degree view of the marketing sphere and can help you to ensure that you reach your goals.Digital Marketing is a tricky area, where you need to take into account many factors in order to succeed. That’s why it’s important to hire a company that has expertise in this field and can help you plan your strategy for lead generation.One of the most important aspects of digital marketing is lead generation, which is why it needs careful planning and implementation.How to create Strategies for Leads GenerationDigital marketing services are a type of service that typically offers a selection of digital marketing options, such as email marketing, social media advertising, pay-per-click advertising, and search engine optimization.A successful strategy for lead generation is one that offers an ROI to the client and the provider. The provider should be able to get a return on their investment by getting the desired level of sales or leads from the client. The client needs to be able to get sufficient data on which they can base their campaign decision-making process.Identify your customersIn today’s digital world, customers are no longer satisfied with a one-way conversation. They want to be active participants in the way your business runs. In order to meet their expectations, you need to identify your customers and understand what they want from your company.The first step is understanding who your customers are and their needs. After that, create a dialogue with them by providing them with what they want and need from your company. If you do this, they will likely become a happy customer who will continue to use your services for a long time because now they feel like part of the team.Decide your budgetOne of the most important things to consider when choosing a company for your marketing needs is how much you are willing to spend. Marketing services can range anywhere from $25 per hour for digital marketing services to much more than that?There are three main factors that affect cost: the time spent on certain tasks; what will be delivered; and the number of assets the company has at its disposal. When it comes down to it, you want to compare apples with apples when comparing what will be delivered and how many assets are used by different companies in order to get a true comparison of what is possible for your budget.Use right platformAs a business owner, you should always choose the right platform for lead generation. The digital marketing services that you choose to use should be a perfect fit for your company and your needs.You can generate leads from social media, email marketing, search engine optimization, and many other sources. Each of these channels has advantages and disadvantages that you should be aware of before making any decisions.Hire good companyDigital marketing services are essential to the success of any company. They are important for businesses of all sizes, from startups to multinationals.One such service that digital agencies provide is SEO (search engine optimization). SEO is a huge part of digital marketing as it helps companies rank higher in SERPs (search engine result pages) and attract more customers.Digital agencies also provide other services such as social media marketing, content management, and design, web development, and app development.Target your customersThese days, it’s not just about the product. If a company doesn’t have a digital strategy, they are going to lose a lot of potential customers.What is the value of a company without reaching its customers? Without identifying your target audience and targeting them, you can’t sell your products and services effectively. The first step to solving this issue is knowing who your customer is. There are three different types of people that you might need to sell to:Prepare your strategyThe first thing that you have to do is to figure out what your marketing goals are. Then you have to set up a strategy for reaching these goals.The marketing strategy needs to be well-defined and focused on the needs of the business. It has to be feasible, achievable, and sustainable for future development.Strategies should have a clear focus on ROI, KPIs, and conversion rates. For example, setting up a Facebook page with the objective of increasing website traffic over the next year is not enough if you don’t know how it will happen or if it’s realistic.A digital marketing services company can help you with this process by providing high-quality digital marketing plans with step-by-step instructions for execution at reasonable costs.Increase your growthDigital marketing services have the potential to help you grow your business.Digital marketing services have been in demand in recent years with a huge increase in usage and revenue.This has been a result of the fact that people are increasingly turning to digital channels for shopping, banking, and other services. It’s also because of the increased competition from traditional media outlets such as TV, print publications, and radio.This is why it’s important for businesses to invest in digital marketing services from an experienced company like ours. We’ll work on strategies and campaigns that will help you reach new audiences and gain more sales leads.Monetarize your customersDigital marketing services are in demand in this age of digital transformation. As customers are getting digital savvy, marketers need to find new ways to bring them back into the store or stay in contact with them. The rise of social media platforms has led to a huge increase in customer awareness. Digital marketing strategies have become important for businesses looking to retain customers and create loyal customers.The best way for companies looking to monetize their customers is through free offers. These free offers can range from discounts or trials on subscription-based products, access to reports, coupons or vouchers for your products, etc.

What is a Business Technology Coach?

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 12:07:42 +0000

There are countless computer consultants out there. You have the geeks, the gurus, the evangelists, the computer guys, techs, nerds, network consultants, computer consultants and technologists, just to name a few. At the end of it all, regardless of what they call themselves, each provides a different level of service and technical know-how. Too many IT consultants solve every problem by asking you to throw money at it. New computers, new servers, new monitors, new printers, but every time you spend money, you are cutting into profitability. The key is for you to identify the right person for your needs. If you run a company, what you really need is a business technology coach to help you make the right decisions about your technology.A computer consultant is usually only interested in fixing your computers. He is not versed in any business functions and is therefore incapable of assisting you with many additional services that will maximize your information technology investments. The computer guy is great when the printer breaks or when the computer goes haywire, but a business technology coach can offer you significantly more value. Large corporations hire a Chief Information Officer to fulfill this role, but a small to mid-sized business may not need that degree of full time support. In these cases, a business technology coach will serve you well.Business Technology is any technology that serves the needs of business, including accounting, networking, and other office systems. So, while an office productivity software suite (e.g. Microsoft Office) is considered business technology, the Microsoft Xbox is not. The realization that there is a growing divide between recreational gadgets and technologies that can directly impact the business world has led to a new way of examining the direct value of technology. Business technology must add value to your company or else it is just a waste of money. There are so many products to choose from, all with competing philosophies and learning curves. More often than not, you simply accept what came with the computer when you bought it and you make due. Or, worse yet, you fall prey to that fantastic salesperson that promises the answer to all your prayers and delivers another expensive nightmare. So, the next fact you need to accept is that not all business technology is valuable to your business!The key to modern business success is to be sure to align your business goals with your technology plans. Business and technology alignment has become a Holy Grail for large multinational corporations. Because these industrial monsters are so large, anything they can do to make themselves more flexible, more responsive to their customers, is mandatory. Fortunately, most small and medium-sized businesses are agile and fast to respond. Chances are your top customers know how to get in touch with you at any time of the day. However, just because you do not suffer from the problems of these huge dinosaur businesses does not mean you cannot benefit from business / technology alignment. A business technology coach will assist you in aligning your business goals with your technology investments.The second benefit you can derive from a business technology coach is an understanding of your business processes. No two businesses operate exactly alike. Chances are your business practices have developed organically as your company overcomes new challenges. However, organic growth has a tendency to develop substantial inefficiencies that can impact profits. I have seen cases where companies print and mail out zero dollar invoices ($0.00) simply because the system was poorly automated. This is inefficient and expensive, and can easily be remedied. A business technology coach will analyze how you work to pinpoint and correct these inefficiencies.A business technology coach will then use his knowledge and understanding of your computer systems and business processes to assist you in building competitive advantage. According to a 2007 IBM study, a business technology coach should be “…engaged as a strategic partner for process and culture change.” This means that the lonely computer geek typing away for hours without human contact is not the right choice if you want to succeed. A business technology coach will be capable of working with others and must possess advanced communication and social skills to act as an agent of positive change. The computer geek that is incapable of communicating ideas or is lacking in social skills is not what you need.Also, a business technology coach understands that his job is to make recommendations. Remember, you are the ultimate decision maker, so your coach needs to present you with options, instead of ultimatums. In some rare cases there is only one course of action, but in my experience I have rarely encountered them. A business technology coach will present you with multiple options to achieve your goals. However, if so instructed, your business technology coach will make decisions on your behalf based on solid experience and understanding of your objectives.Technology is a fact of life. From cell phones to computers, technology has become a part of our everyday lives. Whether it’s to improve efficiency or to develop new services, companies all over the world are harnessing technology to improve the way they do business. Don’t trust your technology to someone that doesn’t understand business and how you work. A business technology coach can make the difference to your success.

What Is Community Media?

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 09:03:01 +0000

Community media is described by Ellie Rennie (2006), in a broad sense, as “community communication.” Fundamentally, it is elusive to define the term in an absolute manner because it can take so many forms, be applied by so many different groups of people, and be directed at such a wide range of issues. The premise, however, that community media is a facilitative tool for discussion and engagement of the ordinary citizenry has some inherent implications. A major implication is that community media is for the most part independent of the market-driven commercial and mainstream media outlets. This, in turn, allows for different models of community media to offer either a wide open editorial policy or a more fine-tuned approach that is still loyal to the encouragement of community participation. The key characteristics of community media convey a more clear understanding of its definition as well as its depth and dimension in terms of how it takes shape in the civic landscape (Rennie, 2006: 208).The South African definition is that community media are either a geographic community or a community of interest. Ideally then, community media are produced, managed and owned by, for and about the community they serve, which can either be a geographic community or one of interest. “Community media is a two-way process, in which the communities participate as planners, producers and performers and it is the means of expression of the community rather than for the community.”It appears easier to posit an ideal definition of community media than to extrapolate a definition from the actual community-based media initiatives existing on the ground (McQuail, 1994). The media used are different and, as is the case with video, sometimes the medium used itself poses challenges to the notion of community participation. The ownership and management patterns are diverse, even though they can be broadly defined as non-governmental and non-corporate. The levels of community participation are equally diverse. And the aims are quite specifically different, although again, in general the aims are all for some aspect of community development.The concept of community media implies that for communities to be heard at national level, they have to be heard at grassroots level first. The potential to communicate and receive communication is a social good, which should be fairly, universally and strictly equal. Curran and Gurevitch (1991) state that the full concept of citizenship presupposes an informed participant body of citizens, most generally, if we suppose there to be a right to communicate then it implies an equal individual claim to hear and to be heard. Similarly, Freire (1990) observes that the less people are consulted, the less democracy a nation has.Community broadcasting seeks to foster debate about, reach consensus on and build solidarity in promoting and protecting human rights and achieving sustainable development, including peace and reconciliation (McQuail, 1994). Community broadcasting is about both access to and dissemination of information. It acts as media for the flow of information to and from communities, on the one hand, and the national and international levels, on the other hand (McQuail, 1994). It provides access to needed external information as well as advocacy on issues of concern, with relevant policy making levels informed by experiences at the community level and solutions generated therein. In a broader sense, community broadcasting enables greater participation by communities in national and international affairs. It has a dual role – that of a mirror (reflecting the community back at itself) and that of a window (allowing the outside world to look in at its experiences).Fraser, Colin and Sonica Restrepo Estrada (2001) argue that community media provide a vital alternative to the profit oriented agenda of corporate media. They are driven by social objectives rather than the private, profit motive. Community media empower people rather than treat them as passive consumers and they nurture local knowledge rather than replace it with standard solutions. Ownership and control of community media is rooted in and responsible to the communities they serve, and they are suitable approaches to development, (Buckley, 2000). The nature and purpose of community media initiatives should be the most important determinants. Resource shortcomings of any kind can be addressed through alternative strategies. Steve Buckley (2000) observes that democracy and communication are inextricably linked, so much so that the existence or otherwise of certain forms of communications can be a measure of the limits to which democracy itself has developed or is held back.Curran & Gurevitch (1991) state that the nature of community media is participatory and its purpose is development, “processes of public and private dialogue through which people define who they are, what they want and how they can get it. Community participation is thus seen as both a means to an end and an end in itself. The processes of media production, management and ownership are in themselves empowering, imbuing critical analytic skills and confidence about interpretations reached and solutions found. The medium chosen must, therefore, be one that enables, enhances and sustains community participation.From the above considerations, it follows that the choice of media to be used in a local community is necessarily specific to that community. What works in one community may not work in another (Lesame, 2005). For example, gender and age are factors to be taken into account when discussing sexuality, but the manner in which they are taken into account differs across communities. Literacy levels, access to radio receivers in the community at large, familiarity with symbolism and other visual devices used in audio-visual media are other considerations. The choice of theatre, local language newspapers, radio or video – or any combination thereof – is and should be dependent on both internal and external factors (Bessette, 2004).Internally, the choice should address the development aims of the community concerned and build on what forms of communication already exist, especially where the community concerned has a history or tradition of educational music and dance. And externally, the choice should ensure ease and effectiveness of impact on the national and international actors the community wishes to speak to. For example, video is a powerful medium to raise awareness about human rights concerns, but it is also a medium which does not necessarily or typically allow for the complexities of a situation to be expounded on and can thus lead to simplistic interventions for resolution. Participatory community-based planning to make the choice of a medium should take these internal and external considerations into account.

The Costs of Passive Fund Investing

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 19:50:54 +0000

There are many options for buying a group of securities in one product. The most popular ones are mutual funds, segregated funds and exchange traded funds. What they have in common is that these products are an easy way to buy a group of securities at once instead of buying each security individually. The fund can also proportion the securities so you the individual investor does not have to. There are two main classifications for what type of fund you can purchase in terms of costs. It is important to know how these costs work so you can avoid paying too much for this convenience. These products differ in terms of how they are administered, access to the products and their costs.Active Versus Passive InvestingBefore getting into which of the products are suitable for you, there are some aspects that need to be considered so that you understand what the variations are among the products.Active investing is when someone (a portfolio manager) picks the stocks that are in the fund and decides how much of each one to hold (the weighting). This portfolio manager would also monitor the portfolio and decide when a security should be sold off, added to or have its weighting decreased. Since there is ongoing research, meetings and analysis that must be done to build and monitor this portfolio, this fund manager would have research analysts and administrative personnel to help run the fund.Passive investing has the same setup as active investing, but rather than someone deciding what securities to buy or how much of each one to buy, the portfolio manager would copy a benchmark. A benchmark is a collection of securities which the fund is compared against to see how well it is doing. Since everything in investing is about how much money you can make and how much risk it takes to make that money, every fund out there is trying to compare to all of the other funds of the same type to see who can make the most money. The basis for the comparisons is the benchmark, and then it becomes comparing between peers or funds managed the same way. Comparisons in general are done only for returns. The risk aspect of the equation is handled by looking at what type of securities the fund holds or how specialized the fund is.How Do I Know By the Fund Name If it is Active or Passive?The short answer is that you have to get to know how the fund manager operates the fund. Some clues to know more quickly if the fund is active or passive are given next. If they are intentionally trying to pick securities according to some beliefs that they have about the market, this is active management. If the fund description talks about “beating the benchmark” or “manager skill” then it is actively managed. Another clue is to look at the return history. If returns vary versus the index by different amounts each year, then the fund is actively managed. Lastly, the fees may be expensive and have sales loads.If the name of the fund says “Index” or “Index fund” there is a good chance that the fund is passively managed. If the name of the fund says “ETF” this could be a passive fund, but you need to make sure of this because some ETFs are actually active funds, but they are managed in a certain way. Most of the passively managed ETFs are provided by BMO, iShares, Claymore, Vanguard and Horizons in Canada and Powershares, Vanguard and SPDR (or Standard and Poors) and others if the holdings are from the U.S. Most of the other companies would have actively managed funds only. If the fund description states that the fund is trying to “imitate” the performance of an index or benchmark, then this implies that it is copying the index and this is passively managed. From the return perspective, passively managed funds will be very close to the index that they claim to imitate, but slightly less due to fees each year. The amount that the returns are under the index will be close to identical each year unless there are currency conversions or variances in cost which may come from currency fluctuations or hedging that the fund may do. Passive funds typically do not have sales loads as they are geared toward people who invest for themselves.There are some funds that try to mix active and passive management. These funds can be assumed to be actively managed, although their results will be closer to the benchmark than most of the other funds, so this is something to consider if the variation from the index is a factor.Types of CostsWhatever product you buy, there will be a cost associated with buying it, keeping it and selling it. This will be true whether you have an advisor versus doing it yourself, and whichever institution you go to. Even buying your own individual stocks will have trading fees which you must account for. How much you are paying for each product however as well as the advice will make a large difference in what return you will get after everything is done.There are many types of costs to be aware of when you are deciding which products to invest in. This article will focus on the passive funds that make up a growing selection of products for retail investors.The Management Expense Ratio (MER)This is the largest cost for most funds and represents the cost of managing the fund. “Managing the fund” means running the investment company, advertising, overhead and the cost for the advisor or sales person when it applies. Administrative costs like GST within the fund and accounting for trades and record keeping are also part of this cost. The MER is given as a percentage, which is the percentage of the assets that the fund manages or invests over a year of time. If you have $100,000 invested in a fund, and the MER is 0.5% per year, you are paying $500 per year to keep this fund. The cost is subtracted from the return and what you see in your investment statement is your return net of fees, or after fees. The Management Expense Ratio is the management fee plus the administrative costs. The administrative costs are usually between 0.05% and 0.1% of the assets of the fund. If the information you obtain states a “Management Fee” instead of a “Management Expense Ratio” you would have to add on the administrative costs to get the true fee. Seek out the prospectus and look up fund operating costs to find exactly how much the number is.For American funds, this would be called the “Expense Ratio” which is the same thing as the Canadian MER, but advisory fees are not included in the ER. They would be included in Canada for the MER if the product is actively managed. If the product is passively managed in Canada or the U.S., the same names apply, but no advice would be part of the cost since these products are used by people who invest for themselves and would pay for advice separately if they retain it.What Is Tracking Error?In many cases, when you are buying a passive investment, you want to imitate an underlying benchmark or index. Another way of saying this is that you want to achieve the average rate of return in a given market all the time. Since every fund has costs to operate it, you will not get the benchmark 100% of the time because this means that you would be investing for free. The tracking error is the difference between the measured return that the benchmark provides and the actual return that the passive fund or imitating portfolio provides. As an example, if the S&P/TSX index had a return of 5% for a 1 year time period and 10% for a 2 year time period, and your fund had a return of 4.5% for 1 year and 9.5% for 2 years, then the tracking error would be 0.5% each year. Tracking error tends to be pretty consistent over all time periods but not perfectly consistent because the costs of running a fund will vary, and sometimes the act of trying to follow an index can get tricky if that index is very volatile or illiquid. The tracking error is not a fee per se but it is a way of measuring the costs of owning the real fund versus the index that it is being compared to. Tracking Error is also useful in determining how consistently the fund is being managed from a cost perspective.Early Redemption FeeSome companies charge an early redemption fee if you sell their fund within a short period of time. How short the period is will depend on the institution. In some cases, it is 30 days, but it can be 90 days, 6 months, 1 year or some other time period. This fee is designed to discourage quick redemptions or short term trading of the product.Sales LoadsSales loads for passive funds would only apply to a fund that is sold through a sales person. You may be able to get the same fund without the sales person in most cases. Passive investing generally does not have sales loads – but the exception would be if an advisor recommends these funds and charges you some type of fee for the selection. This would be another question to ask if you are being advised to buy a passive fund and are not seeing any direct cost to buying the product.Currency Hedging CostsThis type of fee will occur in funds that trade in non-Canadian currencies and hedge them back so that the price you receive would be in Canadian dollars. The cost of transacting the hedge itself is the fee being described here, and it can range from 0.5% to 1% per year. If the fee is not disclosed, assuming a 0.5% fee is the cheapest that it will likely be. If you are investing in emerging market currencies or non-developed market currencies, the hedges are much more expensive to put in place and can go higher than 1% per year. This is a cost embedded in the return of the fund, but should be examined to flesh out exactly what you are paying to have the return hedged.The alternative would be to keep the securities in their home currencies and whatever changes happen to the foreign exchange rates would be reflected in the price of the product. The fact that currency exchange rates can change is a risk of your investment, but it is not considered a fee like the other fees discussed in this article. This fee does not apply if the fund price is in your home currency. You may have a U.S. dollar account, buy a fund that trades in U.S. dollars and then redeem this fund for U.S. dollars. Until you convert the money on your own to Canadian dollars, there is no currency charge. You would have a conversion charge when you change the final dollar amount to Canadian dollars.Other Passive CostsPassive investing has some unique fees such as account administrative fees, trading fees, foreign exchange conversion fees, spreads on trading, opportunity costs and separate advice fees which are not seen in the active investing world because the account will capture all of these fees.Account Administrative FeesThe account administrative fees are charged by an institution for opening your account, transferring securities in or out of your account, or an annual administrative fee to keep your account open. These fees may depend on how much money you have with the institution, and can be reduced or waived as your account balance increases. These fees tend to be a flat amount as opposed to a percentage, which means they are comparatively small versus the assets that the account may have.Trading FeesTrading fees are fees charged for trading stocks or exchange traded funds. These fees will typically be a flat fee per trade and will depend on how often you trade and what type of investments you trade. Generally, the more frequently you trade and the more exotic the product that you trade, the more the expense. The further you are from home in terms of what you trade, the more expensive the trades are is a rule that applies most of the time. The longer you hold onto an investment, the less trading you will do, and the cheaper the trading fees become over time since this cost would be spread out over the life of the investment.Foreign Exchange FeesForeign exchange conversion fees will occur each time you exchange currency. This could be for withdrawing, exchanging securities, rebalancing among the holdings you have, or getting into securities or funds that are denominated in other currencies. Most of the time, the currency exchange rate has to do with the U.S. dollar, but it can be any currency if you have foreign accounts and do the investing passively.Bid Ask Spreads and Opportunity CostsSpreads on trading refers to the bid and ask price for a given security. When you buy something, you always pay the “ask” price or the higher price that the seller wants to receive, and when you sell something you would receive the “bid” price or the lower price that the buyer wants to receive. The difference between them is called the spread. To know how much this would be, examine a price quote for the fund you want to buy when the market is open and you will see the bid-ask spread when you look at any quotation for the fund. The difference between the bid price and the ask price would be the amount you are paying in dollars. This difference divided by the price of the purchase price of the fund would be the costs in terms of a percentage. As an example, if a fund has a bid price of $8.00 and an ask price of $8.10, you would be paying 10 cents per unit or share as a spread. If you bought the fund at $8.10, the cost would be $0.10/$8.10 or 1.2%. This percentage is a “one-time” fee for every buy and sell pair of trades. The longer you hold your investment and assuming the price rises, the cheaper this spread will get in terms of percentages since the value of the investment tends to rise higher over time. The reverse would be true if the value goes down for a given investment. The spread can vary over time and depending on how much volume is trading at a certain time of day.If you decide to fix the price for buying or selling a security instead of going in at the prevailing price in the moment or “the market”, you run the risk of not getting the security or having to pay much more for it at a later date. This is called the opportunity cost and it will vary a lot with each trade but it does exist and would be considered if you are trying to time your trades and if you are doing it frequently.Advisory FeesSeparate advice fees refer to a scenario where you would pay separately for advice and the products you are buying. This would be relevant if you hire a fee for service financial planner, advice only financial planner, money coach, or consultant who charges a flat fee for advice separately from whatever products you invest in. If you do it yourself, there are costs for research, courses or software that you would purchase to help you do the passive investing. Once again, if you have a traditional advisor, you are not seeing these costs itemized anywhere because they are part of the MER of the funds you hold in their account, but these costs would be standing on their own if you invest for yourself and buying your own securities.Fees of Holding One Fund Inside of Another OneIf a fund that you want to invest in has other funds in it as part of its holdings list, then you will pay the MER fee for the fund you are buying as well as the fund(s) that the fund holds. The best way to check if this is happening is to look at the holdings list. If a fund holds another fund, it tends to be a large holding so a fact sheet with a top 10 holdings summary should provide good information. If you want to be really thorough about this, you would have to get an entire holdings list with each and every holding in it so you can see if there are minor holdings that may be funds. This is typically not necessary as the further down the holdings list a security is, the smaller its weighting is and the less impact the fees will have on your total cost.The actual numbers for each of these items will differ depending on specifically what the fund is and how it is managed. If the fee is necessary to operate the fund, like currency hedging, then this would be included. Whether a fund holds stocks or another fund can also impact withholding taxes if the fund is investing outside of Canada – particularly for U.S. products. This topic can get complex, so it will not be discussed here. Some funds will contain other funds to get access to illiquid markets, or to trade in parts of the world that have hundreds of securities. Buying a fund in these cases would actually save on time and trading costs, so it can be justified depending on the market being invested in.Intangible CostsThe key takeway is that you need to do a cradle to grave analysis of what you have and see the costs from beginning to end to get an idea of what is really happening. Ideally, the costs should factor in time spent, effort spent on research, tools used for investing and costs of discipline and assurance which would be available when dealing with an advisor that may not be there when you are doing it yourself. When comparisons are done to the market index or benchmark, this is really an ideal (free) comparison which is not realistic. You cannot buy a free version of the index – the ETFs come closest to this and are represented as the passive way to invest.Where to Find These Costs?The most comprehensive place that will contain the most detail regarding fund costs is the prospectus. This can be found be searching for the product name and the word “prospectus”. If you do not know the exact product name, you can search the fund management company only and then search for the product name on their web site. The fund companies will have these documents with the regulator as well as their own web sites and they will be typically in PDF format which can be read and downloaded from your computer. A simplified prospectus would also have the same data that you would be looking for regarding fees.