Great Escapade Business

Archive for the ‘Investing’ Category

There are many, many ways that we can invest in the world. We live in a phenomenal time in human history when there are literally thousands of investment vehicles available to us. Many of them are confusing and hard to understand.

We want to get back to some of the basic investment strategies that have been proven over time, location, and destination to work again and again for many people who may not be spending 100 percent of their time trying to understand investing.

The secret to investment success is the consistent application of time-proven strategies, not the use of complex, hard-to-understand investment vehicles created by investment bankers out to take your money!

When most of us invest, we do not have the leisure of spending 24 hours investing and doing nothing else. But we still have to have investing strategies that work.

If you look at the world as a whole, most people make their money by doing what?

They do it by working.

They have a job and earn money.

But even if you are working for a living, you still need to invest that money to grow it, because if you want to master wealth, you need to be able to create, grow, and protect your wealth.

The mastery of wealth requires you to create, grow, and protect your wealth.

Investment is the primary means of growing your wealth.

Investment is the primary means of expanding your wealth!

Through investment, you are going to turn your money into something bigger than it was before.

There are many investments that a company can make. It is a financial manager’s job to help the management team evaluate the investments, rank them and suggest choices. This process is called capital budgeting.

Some investments, however, defy financial analysis; an example of this may be seen in charitable donations, which provide intangible benefits that financial mangers alone cannot evaluate.

It may be argued that investment decisions fall into one of three basic decision categories:

Accept or reject a single investment proposal

Choose one competing investment over another

Capital rationing – with this particular category, the limited investment pool is active deciding which projects among many should be chosen.

Whilst each corporation uses its own criteria to ration its limited resources, the major tools are:

Payback period
Net present value

Payback period method – many companies believe that the best way to judge investments is to calculate the amount of time it takes to recover their investments.

Analysts can easily calculate paybacks and make simple acceptance or reduction decisions based on a necessary payback period. Those projects that come close to the mark are accepted, those falling short are rejected. For example, the managers of a small company may believe that all energy and labour saving devices should have a three-year payback and that all new machinery must have an eight-year payback. Additionally, research projects should pay back in ten years. Those requirements are based on management’s judgements, experience, and level of risk.

By accepting projects with longer paybacks, management accepts more risk. The further out an investment’s payback, the more uncertain and risky it is. Payback criteria are desirable because they are easy to use, calculate and understand; however they ignore the timing of cash flows and accordingly the time value of money. Projects with vastly different cash flows can have the same payback period.

Another disadvantage of using payback is that it ignores the cash flows received after the payback.

Net present value methods

The same method used for valuing the cash flows of bonds and stocks is also used to value projects. It is the most accurate and most correct method. The further in the future a dollar is received the greater the uncertainty that it will be received, referred to as risk, and the greater the loss of opportunity to use those funds, referred to as opportunity cost. Accordingly cash flows received in the future will be discounted more steeply depending on the riskiness of the project.

The way a business wishes to fund itself are financing decisions independent of investment decisions.

In my own experience, I have only ever used the payback method, along with my fellow business colleagues, perhaps because this has always been easier to understand and use and calculate. This served us well but caused frequent conflicts between operations, marketing and finance, for understandable reasons.

In summary, whereas most companies may continue to use the payback method due to the aforementioned reasons, it is well worth noting that another option is there and, especially for the financial side of the business, gives a very interesting option.

If you are relying on the government to support you now or when you retire, you should know where the government gets its money; taxes from the people of this great nation funds the government. So that means the government is relying on you for support. You need to know how to invest and where to invest to take care of yourself and the government. Where is the best place to invest? They say that charity starts at home so why not start to invest at home? There are several ways a person can invest at home and in these uncertain times all of us should.

The first and foremost thing that you should invest in is education. I’m not talking about college education but education in things that will make you money. Getting education in things that interest you like businesses, stocks, precious metals, homes businesses, knowing the difference between an asset and a liability. Finding out how and what to invest in should be a top priority.

Financial education is one of the most important things to do if you want to make a lot of money. With this education you will know what to invest in and how to make your money work for you. You will also learn how the world bankers are really shaping the economy and increasing the gap between the rich and the not so rich. If you start a home business, with financial education, you will learn how to invest your profits to make the most of the money that you make.

The internet is the place that people go to look up information on anything. It is a great resource that has 1.5 billion users on a daily basis. If you want to start a home business then learning how to advertise on it should be a priority.  With this education you can advertise just about anything to the public with little to no cost. This will sky rocket your sales.

If you are interested in learning how to advertise your home business or in excellent financial education then check out my website at www.bulldosethrudebt.com

Should Your Business Invest in a Key Box?

If you have a business with many workers on staff, surely you could benefit from a commercial key cabinet. How many times have you or an employee lost a key, been locked out, or had something taken from your office?  If it hasn’t been an issue yet, it will.  A high quality key box or key cabinet is the defense to this problem for both small and large businesses alike.

Which Key Solution is the Best Fit For You?

If you are just delving into your quest to find the perfect key box, chances are, you’re pretty overwhelmed with all the potential ways to go.  Do you want a key box or key cabinet?  A one tag or two tag system?  There are a lot of options, but selecting the one that is right for you doesn’t need to be a tough decision. Sizes of key boxes range from tiny boxes that can hold 10-15 keys to commercial key boxes that hold thousands of keys.

With so many key box choices, selecting a key box really is a matter of the the way you intend to use it.

The most important decision you need to look at is to decide if you need a one tag system of a two tag system.

One Tag System: In a one tag key cabinet application, the key tag hooks have no numbers on them. The key tags themselves number the key hooks.  In most cases this is the best choice in basic key box applications.

Possible applications for a one tag key box system might be golf courses, small office environments, or even taxi cab services.

Two Tag System: In a two tag key box system, every key and hook is determined by a number from one to 100 per panel, in consecutive order. The two tag key box has both a file key tag, as well as a duplicate key tag for each number.  This makes sure that will always be one key that is always on the hook – this adds improved security to the key box, as the secondary key is the only one that’s used.

Two tag key box systems are usually best in government or larger business situations.  Universities,clinics, and motels are all examples of facilities that should use a two-tag system.

Who is the Primary User of the Key Cabinet?

Almost all key boxes are made of high quality steel, but there are some other things to consider depending on who will be using the key box.  Do you need a thick glass door so that you don’t need to open the key cabinet to look at the keys?  This is particularly useful in one tag systems, where it is obvious to see if a key is missing.

The lock system you decide to apply will also be an important decision to make.  most of the time there are three options for locks – manual combination locks, key locks or digital lock systems.  Which lock system you select all depends on your application and how many employees will be accessing the key box.  If you’re going to have many people accessing keys, choosing an electronic lock system could work in your favor, as you won’t have a lot of keys scattered around, and the combination can be easily updated.

A GPS embedded iPhone may be a good business investment.  By linking the phone to your company’s software interface, you can perform a variety of actions from any location. You can check on order statuses and track shipments.  Communicating with anyone in the office is easy via email or text.

It could be a good idea to supply everyone in the office with the phones.  It makes sharing white papers and other documents easy.  It also allows for more telecommuting, which makes employees happy.

With available applications, it is possible to keep track of where your employees are in real time.  Owners of trucking fleets are making use of the technology to improve customer service.  They are reducing costs and the time it takes to make deliveries.

Air navigation applications can be used to create flight plans and locate nearby airfields.  This is a time-saving feature when you need to fly out in a hurry to meet with a client.  

Think of all of the things that you do from your desktop or laptop every day.  Most of those things can be done using a GPS embedded iPhone.  

Other brands have similar technological applications.   The Apple 3G is popular because it is user friendly.  But, you and your employees might be happy with another brand, assuming that you have a user-friendly software interface at your headquarters.

If you find that your employees often have complaints about your computer system, it might be time for a change.  Your equipment may be outdated.  Your database may be overloaded.  

The original system that you installed may be much slower than what your employees are used to using at home.  For any number of reasons, it could be time to update to a new software interface.  

Computer applications are changing more rapidly than ever before.  The products released over the last five years have made it possible for companies to communicate and conduct business more rapidly too.  

The time saved may be equivalent to money saved or increased profits.  So, investing in a GPS embedded iPhone could be another way to increase your company profits.  It might also be a way to grow your business in a totally new direction.

Every business owner knows that new growth is necessary.  You might be trying to figure out how to grow your business or increase your profits.  

You might need to attract new customers or offer new products.  Whatever direction you decide to take, you will need to make changes in your software interface and your database.

So, it might be a good idea to contact a good database designer before you invest in a GPS embedded iPhone.  The right design team can help you step into the future with ease.

Business investment Environment High-risk investments Environmental protection Guidelines will be issued ( HC Environmental Network with map )

Environmental Network HC China will soon release overseas investment and reconstruction projects of environmental guidelines to regulate the “going out” enterprises, to avoid environmental and social risks.

By the Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning Guide and complete preparation of the Global Environmental Institute, is currently under Environmental Protection Coordination of the Ministry of Commerce, is expected to officially release in the near future, this is the project leader of China Academy for Environmental Planning, Director of GE Cha-zhong recently integrated to the “China Daily” revealed.

Guidelines will require all of China’s overseas construction projects under construction have been supporting the necessary environmental protection facilities, such as sewage and Waste disposal The equipment. Meanwhile, China’s overseas investment or participating in reconstruction of the enterprise is required on the construction project environmental impact assessment, and brought the project to compensate for ecological damage.

Addition to complying with China has joined other international environmental conventions, the Chinese enterprises in overseas investment projects shall also comply with host country environmental requirements, the Global Environmental Institute project officer told Chi Ying marked “China Daily.”

“If the host country environmental standards than domestic companies will work in accordance with the standards of China,” Chi Ying-piao, “This can also be introduced to the Chinese experience to those less developed countries to help them improve the environmental management level. ”

Since 2001, the “going out” strategy, China’s foreign direct investment has grown substantially in recent years.

Commerce Department data show that last year’s non-China Financial Direct investment abroad reached 40.65 billion U.S. dollars, up 63.6% over 2007, and this data in 2002 only 25 million.

This year in April, the Commerce Department released the first batch of the 20 countries, “foreign investment Cooperation Country (Region) Guide “, although the contents of which relate to environmental protection, but the country still lacks a more comprehensive and operable environmental protection.

China’s foreign direct investment and aid mainly related to mineral resources development, Oil , Manufacturing and infrastructure construction sectors, and focus in Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin American and other countries. Ecology of these areas are very fragile and easily lead to environmental problems, GE Cha-chung, director, said. Overseas Investment in China’s current environmental disputes more concentrated in hydropower development and resource development and utilization of class projects.

Although the large state enterprises in the process of overseas investments are environmentally conscious, but there are a number of small and medium enterprises to reduce costs, and environmental requirements of the host country the lower the expense of environmental protection measures, but also the international community resulted in some negative effects .

Encourage the expansion of foreign investment as China’s implementation of the strategy, more and more Chinese enterprises? Particularly SMEs? To go abroad, compliance with environmental guidelines will help these companies to avoid environmental and social risks, Chi Ying-piao .

In overseas investment in the country focused on the investment environment, but also follow the international practice. Environmental Defense project manager Jian-Yu Zhang of China, said the U.S. government asked the United States in foreign investment companies must comply with the country’s environmental protection requirements.

Some well-known multinational companies have implemented not only in parts of more stringent environmental standards and requirements of its upstream and downstream industry chain to achieve green and environmentally friendly enterprises, UNIDO representative in China, Ma Jian, the “China Daily “, said.

GE Cha Chung also said that the environmental guidelines will encourage domestic banks to the credit system of the green, in a time when loans to enterprises as the marker of environmental circumstances. So far, the Bank has developed a green credit on the specific operational guidelines, and the Industrial Bank of China also joined last year to ensure sustainable development of the “Equator Principles.”

For a business that has just started, Phoenix small business investings experts know that financing is a challenge. And, in many cases it is what is needed to create growth in a company. Selling on credit terms increases the requirement of working capital. This can sometimes lead to a cash flow shortage in the business. Instead of borrowing money from the bank to finance more of the credit terms, the accounts receivables can be utilized to get finance.

According to Phoenix small business investing officials, there are many commercial credit firms ready to provide such service. They will charge a fee on the amount forwarded, which is called the factoring rate. The factoring service helps companies with uneven sales pattern or seasonal sales. Start-up operations and those with little or no financial base also benefit from factoring. Businesses with credit history that will not allow a loan from the bank or a credit increase can and do make use of factoring services.

Cash in on the financial strength of your buyer

If you have a buyer with good credit strength in the market, you can use his credit strength to get finance, provided you have sold to him on credit. Phoenix small business investing specialists state that this is a perk to business owners with bad credit because their credit is not focused on. Each buyer’s credit is what comes under question. Commercial credit firms make their assessments based on your invoicing process, the buyer’s credit rating and very little paper work is involved. Funds disbursement is almost immediate, and you can utilize the funds readily. The financial accounts receivables are treated as collateral in such cases. Accounts receivable financing is also called factoring and is not a loan.

Check if you are eligible for Factoring

There are some guidelines to be eligible for factoring. The primary requirement is that you should have sold to a creditworthy customer; have delivered completely as a final sale without dispute or contingencies; the product has been accepted by the customer; and finally, a verifiable invoice exists. Other than this, the service is available to all industries dealing with product delivery to commercial accounts, or to industries that provide service. Phoenix small business investing companies also state that it is an easy way for businesses to obtain cash quickly. They can receive money within 24 to 48 hours in most cases.

One of the most talked-about forms of financing, Equity financing (venture capital) was popular in the nineties. These companies raise money from investors in order to manage a portfolio of privately held companies. In short, they are intermediaries. They fund companies that are in early-stage development, expansion, or for special cases such as turnarounds or leverage buyouts.

You can seek equity from business partners who work with the SBA. Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) are privately owned venture capital firms that work with and are licensed by the SBA. These companies use SBA funds (obtained at favorable rates) and their own money to invest in promising small companies, grant long-term loans, and provide other debt capital. SBICs also assist management with experience, contacts, and business expertise.

Owner’s Investment. If you are forming a new business, be prepared to invest a certain portion of the start-up costs personally. Lenders rarely finance 100% of the business.

To qualify for SBIC financing, a company has to have a net worth of million or less, and the average after-tax income cannot exceed million for the last two years. Alternative size standards apply for companies to which the above criterion is too low. For more information, visit http://www.sba.gov/INV/forentre.html.

Note: The process for investment evaluation by an SBIC is similar to any other venture capital firm. Therefore, you will have to build a business plan, gather your financial statements, and—most importantly—research the SBIC that you plan to approach. For a list of SBICs in your area and their investment criteria visit http://www.sba.gov/INV/index.html .

One of the most talked-about forms of financing, Equity financing (venture capital) was popular in the nineties. These companies raise money from investors in order to manage a portfolio of privately held companies. In short, they are intermediaries. They fund companies that are in early-stage development, expansion, or for special cases such as turnarounds or leverage buyouts.

You can seek equity from business partners who work with the SBA. Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) are privately owned venture capital firms that work with and are licensed by the SBA. These companies use SBA funds (obtained at favorable rates) and their own money to invest in promising small companies, grant long-term loans, and provide other debt capital. SBICs also assist management with experience, contacts, and business expertise.

Owner’s Investment. If you are forming a new business, be prepared to invest a certain portion of the start-up costs personally. Lenders rarely finance 100% of the business.

To qualify for SBIC financing, a company has to have a net worth of million or less, and the average after-tax income cannot exceed million for the last two years. Alternative size standards apply for companies to which the above criterion is too low. For more information, visit http://www.sba.gov/INV/forentre.html.

Note: The process for investment evaluation by an SBIC is similar to any other venture capital firm. Therefore, you will have to build a business plan, gather your financial statements, and—most importantly—research the SBIC that you plan to approach. For a list of SBICs in your area and their investment criteria visit http://www.sba.gov/INV/index.html

Even in today’s economy, 35% of consumers are willing to pay more for green products, an increase from 33% a year ago. As many as 82% of consumers report that they consider a company’s environmental record before buying.  Still, some green initiatives cost more upfront.

So when can you justify green procedures in your office when you have to think about the bottom line?

• When going green improves the consumer’s experience. If you can present your eco-friendly changes as an upgrade for your customers, you’ve got two benefits from one change. For example, many consumers prefer online transactions, which also help reduce paper in the waste stream. With paper accounting for 40% of the waste in the U.S., any step that reduces paper waste also makes a difference. What’s more, a reduction in paper use also reduces the number of trees needed to produce the paper.
• When going green saves you money. Have you thought of used office furniture?  You might not think of using refurbished cubicles and workstations as an ecological choice, but it is. The used office furniture that would otherwise end up in a landfill ends up in your office instead. The resources that would have been needed to build your new office furniture don’t have to be used. At the same time, you save significantly. While hand-me-down desks might not sound good or even practical if you imagine haunting thrift stores and garage sales to get them, used furniture companies like EthoSource can change the experience completely. These used furniture dealers find what you need, fix it up, and bring it to you.
• When going green improves sales. If your environmental responsibility earns you customer loyalty, good press, and admiring words from customers at Twitter, you may find that your green efforts pay off far beyond the initial investment. The trick is to make sure that people know about it. You’ve changed the way your company fleet operates to reduce fuel usage? That should go in the company newsletter. You switched to reusable dishes in the break room? Send out a press release detailing the change as part of your commitment to going green.

Calculate the possible ROI for making some environmentally savvy changes in your office: energy-saving appliances, environmentally friendly building materials, recycling. You may be surprised by the number of opportunities you have to make a difference in the environment without doing any harm to the bottom line.  As for the changes that actually reduce costs, like reducing waste and reusing resources, make those changes immediately.