The Home Based Business, the New Wave of Prosperity.I am frequently asked about the viability of home based business ideas and if all this internet business stuff isn’t just a fad? It is confusing and scary, but to get a good measure of what it’s all about, read on.There are 4 points to be made here:Point #1. The market we are talking about on the World Wide Web is incomprehensibly huge. Never before has such an immense market been available to everyone with a simple internet connection.Point #2. We are in the age of instant gratification. The internet allows us to either get an immediate download of our heart’s desire or, with the help of UPS and the other world wide delivery companies, we can have a physical manifestation in our hot little hands within a day or two. The internet means speed.Point #3. Yes, the internet is here to stay and the home based online business opportunity has never been brighter. For example, just a few years ago, your bank would of demanded thousands of dollars up front before it would give you a merchant account to accept payment by credit cards. Now, with Paypal, Clickbank and others, you can have almost immediate access to credit card payment online at no charge! Business couldn’t be easier.Point #4. The internet right now reminds me of the old American wild west. Home based business ideas are taking the place of the robber barons, but the lawlessness is there. How do you control something high, wild and free like the internet? Like the old west, the internet will be tamed, but it will leave in its wake a massive marketplace that is robust and highly profitable for those who know how to mine it.Can you see how a home based business is limited only by the desire and imagination of its owner? The sky is the limit as this dynamic sales inferno continues to grow out of control.

If you are considering starting a gift basket business as a home based business, I hope to give you direction in this article. I personally started my business from home, then operated a storefront gift basket store for 13 years, then went back to a home based business. For me, nothing can top starting work in pajamas, taking a lunch at home between errands, then taking a family break and working a few more hours at night in busy times without ever leaving the house. To me, being a homebody, having my gift basket business from home is a great match. I urge you to start a gift basket business as a home based business to save on operating costs then, if you are so inclined, progress to a storefront.There are many steps to establishing yourself as a gift basket business in your local area and/or online. The first step is to choose a business name, register it at your local economic development office and get some business cards printed.The second step in starting a gift basket business as a home based business is to plan out where in your home to put your setup. Whether you are starting out of your home in a spare bedroom or a garage, you will need to setup an area for your basket creation with extra room for holidays. An extra long table or two that you can pull out as necessary is fine. For your main setup area, you will want shelves to stack baskets, stuffing and basket accents as well as two counters or tables to work on. You will also need rolls above or under your work area to hold satin or wired ribbons, curling ribbon and a few types of cello. On your table, you will need a tool caddy with scissors, wire cutters, wire, glue gun and glue sticks and clear scotch tape as well as disinfectant spray and wipes. While I encourage you to get these basic supplies before starting up, I do not promote the senseless buying of a whole whack of products to put into your baskets before you have sales.You will need to create yourself a portfolio so you will need to make a dozen or so mock baskets to showcase to potential customers. Keep in mind that to do this, you can reuse some of the content in one basket for another. For example, if you make a fruit basket, take a picture, then you can move the fruit to a larger basket, add gourmet items then take another picture. For the actual picture taking, make sure you setup an area with a neutral background so that your basket stands out and not the boxes of cereal at the back of your counter.

Almost certainly, you have observed numerous commercials posted on neighborhood or even national newspapers of various companies that are wanting staff. Definitely, thousands of people will respond to these job vacancy ads, getting an interview, however only a tiny proportion will get hired. However, there are tens of thousands of employees who have gotten laid off and combine to the increasing quantity of unemployed people. They’re going to bear the usual method, trying their luck in getting another insecure job instead of looking to other alternatives like an easy home based business.What these groups tend not to realize is that there are still alternate options of generating an income lacking the rat race game of employment where loads of mice are looking for just one piece of cheese. On the other end of the scale you will discover people who have heard of assorted business opportunities over the Internet, plucked up the courage and self-esteem to face this unique challenge, and luckily accomplished their business targets. In other words, these spirited folks accomplished success in the game of Online marketing where failing is pretty much out of the question-if you know the way to play the game and embrace an efficient marketing structure.These people who are now known as Internet entrepreneurs experienced the advantages of an easy home based business opportunity. They’re uncontrolled from the trouble and pressure of working in an office or factory, benefit from the flexibility of their operational hours and pressure-free situation of their homes, and spend most of their time with their friends and families. Many of them started their new easy home based business, built it up, and created streams of income that will cause them choose to either give up their regular career for good or not bother searching for a new career at all.The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) confirmed some of the benefits of starting an easy home based business through diverse Internet marketing possibilities:• The profiting and growth potential of the business alone is vast, considering the fact we now have growing numbers of individuals who prefer online purchasing as well as the greater than ever availability of the World wide web all over the world.• The risk is low when the Internet marketer masters the abilities and expertise needed in running his/her easy home based business on the Internet.• Your hard work and extended hours of running on your home based business will profit your completely rather than increasing the revenue of somebody else.• Running your business, particularly within the comforts of your own home, provides countless problems as well as education opportunities that you would be able to employ on further businesses.• You are now the boss, which is what a large amount working people desire to be.After you have your easy home based Internet marketing business, you are now joining the collection of online-based entrepreneurs who take pleasure in the advantages of working from their homes and being their own bosses.Online marketing offers a wide array of easy home based business ideas for everyone-affiliate businesses, online promotion, and further ventures. The great factor here is that these opportunities independently require skills, expertise, and knowledge that are extremely easy to learn and there are some great people out there waiting to teach you the vital things to point you in the direction of success.No matter whether you select to work full-time or part-time with your business, just beginning your home business will inspire the real emotions of freedom and independence since you like working on your own schedule and happen to the boss.Functioning at home and producing hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars every month in front of your computer or laptop? With Internet marketing, easy home based businesses are created and large income is always possible for anyone willing to open their mind to new opportunities.

Many of the challenges we face in the real estate sector are merely a repeat of what we experienced in the late 80s. What no one is talking about is the tremendous opportunity we have to create over 360,000 new jobs in our struggling economy over the next 12 to 18 months.

The domestic real estate industry represents $1.6 Trillion or 8.5% of the U.S.’s Gross Domestic Product. The global capital crisis is impacting all aspects of the real estate market including brokerage, development, asset management, lending, and the countless support industries to the real estate sector.

Background Information

As background, during the early 1980s, Congress granted the Savings and Loan (S&L) industry new powers. Among others, these powers included lower reserve requirements and the ability to expand lending products and invest in real estate ventures. It wasn’t long before Congress corrected this mistake and tightened regulations, but for many S&Ls, it was too late. In 1989, the Federal Government had to step in and bail out the S&Ls by forming the Resolution Trust Corporation (“RTC”). The RTC was charged with liquidating these financial institutions and disposing of failed real estate assets and mortgages from the S&L industry. By the time it all came to an end in 1995, 1,043 Institutions with more than $402 Billion in assets (much of it in commercial real estate loans) failed. This cost the United States taxpayer more than $153 Billion.

During the bailout, the Federal Government spent over $400 Million in administrative costs that were not billed back to individual receiverships. According to the GAO, those bill-backs plus the administrative costs totaled over $87.9 Billion. Data is not available on specific breakdowns, but it is reasonable to assume that these bill-backs included all kinds of service fees to vendors including lawyers, property managers, brokers, and countless vendors supporting the property disposal activities.

What we are experiencing today makes the S&L crisis pale by comparison. Guarantees and cash payments by the Federal Government now exceed $7.5 Trillion. So far in 2009, 45 financial institutions are now in the hands of the FDIC with assets exceeding $11.94 Billion as compared to 2008 where 25 banks failed with over $17 Billion in assets. Another 114 financial institutions have taken TARP money totaling over $168 Billion more. It has been estimated that hundreds of additional banks will fail over the next 12-18 months.

At the same time, both commercial and residential real estate values continue to fall in many markets around the country. CAP rates in many markets for high quality investment product are up over 300 bps from levels of just six months ago. This increase alone wipes out any equity from commercial borrowers utilizing traditional leverage ratios. Coupling this fact with plunging tenant demand and falling lease rates means that even high quality real estate assets are in trouble.

In the current real estate downturn, it is likely that commercial loan failures will follow a similar pattern as to the residential failures we are already seeing. Unlike the 1980s though, it is expected that the magnitude of failures we are anticipating will dwarf what we experienced during the RTC bailout.

Although many lenders still have performing loans in terms of debt service payments, it is likely that many will find that their borrowers are in violation of loan covenants due to declining real estate values. How these lenders treat these activities on the commercial side remain to be seen. Federal regulations dictate that when a loan is in default, lenders must set aside cash reserve at substantially higher levels. With cash in short supply, lenders will be challenged with developing a strategy that may include utilizing TARP funds.

Opportunity

After researching past history and integrating current challenges, we believe that the opportunity exists to generate over 360,000 direct and indirect jobs to deal with the disposition of problem loans on both the commercial and residential side during this down cycle. These new job estimates are supported by the over $42 Billion in estimated fees that will be paid for services required to work through the problem loans and assets that will be paid for services required to work through the problem loans and assets that we anticipate will be coming back to financial institutions.

Direct jobs are estimated to total over 145,000. Many of these jobs are high paying – including advisory, legal, property and asset management, appraisal, underwriting, and numerous other real estate-related jobs. Additionally, utilizing real estate industry multipliers, it is believed that another 210,000 jobs can be created that benefit from the spending generated by the direct job sector. These jobs include countless categories occupied by people who provide goods and services to the new consumers that the primary sector jobs will create.

It is not known exactly how many jobs were created during the RTC crisis. We can only surmise by reviewing the available government data that a large portion of the $87.6 Billion in RTC administrative costs related to industry jobs. With the Trillions of dollars in hard cash outlays and government guarantees, it is difficult to imagine that the size of the real estate challenges will not be substantially larger than during the S&L crisis. Therefore, we feel our assumptions are likely conservative.

Our hope this time, is that the Federal Government takes a different approach to disposing of the real estate assets that will be coming back to the lenders. Rather than creating new government entities and jobs to work through troubled assets (FDIC and a potential new government agency), it appears to make much more sense to take advantage of an experienced and existing distribution network (our existing banking systems) specifically those who have received TARP funding.

As taxpayers we have already invested in TARP funds to banks plus the takeover costs of over 70 financial institutions in the last two years alone. With an estimated investment exceeding $200 Billion, It seems to make sense to utilize, that infrastructure, to work through the problem loans and assets. The $42 Billion in estimated fees will go a long way to stabilizing these banks and helping them repay some or all of the debt they have borrowed from the American taxpayer.

Some may believe that Government has all the answers. But, there are many others who have faith in the ingenuity of American business and the entrepreneurs that are out there, working every day, creating private sector jobs. A wonderful opportunity exists for the Federal Government to take advantage of our existing real estate and banking infrastructure to put countless people back to work.

Introduction

Traditionally investing has been seen as the preserve of the wealthy and has a reputation for being a minefield to the uninitiated. As western standards of living continue to increase, more and more people are beginning to realize the benefits investing even small sums can bring. This article seeks to explore some basic principles to help you get started with investing.

1. What’s the basic premise of investing?

The Collins English Dictionary defines the word invest in the following way; “To lay out, for profit or advantage.” To layout refers to the fact that something of value is needed in the first place in order to generate more wealth. In essence investing is a means of taking a pre defined sum of money and using it in such a way as to increase its original value, therefore generating a profit.

2. Why Invest?

This is one of the most fundamental questions that any person looking to invest needs to ask. The general answer is pretty obvious, to generate a profit, but the reason behind the investment are far more important and will directly influence how and where you chose to invest. In addition the answer will also determine the level of risk you are willing to expose yourself to and which will be explored in more detail later.

Reasons as to why people invest are varied and may include some of the following; to build up a nest egg for retirement, to provide a financial safety net, to pay for future education or university fees for children, for fun because of the buzz investing can create.

3. How Should I invest?

This is also a deeply personal question and will depend upon the amount of money an individual has at their disposal. It is important to stress that investment takes many different forms all of which facilitate differing levels of investment. A single mum might decide to invest $20 or a business entrepreneur $1 million but both will seek a return on their capital outlay and how they go about achieving their investment goals may differ substantially.

4. What level of risk should I expose myself to?

Such a decision is very important as ultimately it will dictate the profitability of your final investment. In many respects this question will also be determined by the answer to the previous question, why invest? If an investment is being made to safeguard a financial future the level of risk taken may be lower than an individual investing for fun.

Generally investments are made in three distinct categories low, medium and high. Low risk investments include Government bonds and savings accounts. Medium Risk investments could include certain types of shares or property. High Risk investments will almost certainly include shares in rapidly expanding companies exploring new markets. The dot.com crash in the late nineties, in which thousands of newly established technology companies went bust, is an example of a high risk investment going very wrong.

What types of investment are there?

This is not an easy question to answer because in theory anything that earns a profit from an initial outlay can be classed as an investment.

There are however some common forms of investment that deserve further explanation.

a) Government Bonds

These are deemed low risk investments as money is invested in Government related projects and assets. It is unheard of in the western world for a Government to go bankrupt.

b) Shares

This is a means of holding a stake in a company trading on the stock exchange and investors benefit from its profitability. Whilst share dealing can be low risk particularly if you are investing in established companies in the FTSE 100, most share investments are deemed medium or high risk. This is because such investments have the potential to return excellent profits but there is also a raised risk of losing your total investment.

c) Antiques

Antiques are often a great source of investment given that they hold their value at the very least and have the added benefit of being easy to sell if you need a quick cash injection. In addition if you wish to leave a sum of money to family after your death they won’t be hit with inheritance taxes often associated with large amounts of physical cash. Perhaps one of the major drawbacks to investing in Antiques is the requirement of a level of technical expertise, or access to those skills, to ensure that suitable items are invested in.

d) Property

Property can also be a very lucrative source of investment as property prices continue to increase across the developed world. Generally property prices increase in value in the long term.

e) Savings

Whilst banks often make the distinction between savings and investments, in essence savings are a form of investment as the money you save with the bank is invested in low risk shares on your behalf, which ultimately enables financial institutions to make interest payments to you.

How to invest

Now that you have more information to help you get started with investment the next step is to speak to an independent financial advisor. These consultations are almost always free and you can get specific advice tailored to your individual needs concerning investing. In the UK there is an excellent site for finding Independent Financial Advisors called unbiased, see the link at the end of this article

Summary

This article has attempted to provide advice to enable individuals to get started with investment. Discussion has taken place about the basic premise of investing and the profitability of such a decision, along with examining different reasons for investing. Attention has also been given to how much might be invested and at what level of risk this might be undertaken at. Finally we have explored the vast array of investment options available and what the next step is for a budding investor.