For the Smart Money Cookie

I’m often asked: what is the best way to finance a new business venture. This question is usually followed by “So, do you ever invest in new business ventures?”

The answers, respectively, are: 1. there is no “best” way to fund a new business; and 2. I do invest in new business ventures, but darn it I can’t today because I left my checkbook in my other suit.

The truth is there are a variety of ways to finance a new business and which way is best for you depends totally on your product, your market, your financial requirements, your burn rate, and most importantly, your personal and financial situation.

So with that in mind, here are a few of the most common ways to finance a new business without hitting old Tim up for a loan. Keep in mind that all methods have pros and cons and some (or most) may not work for your specific situation. No matter what financing method you choose thoroughly investigate the ups and downs and don’t jump in with both feet until you’re sure you’ll land on solid ground.

Savings and Investments

The first source you should consider tapping is your own savings and investments. I’m a huge fan of self-financing when it comes to business because it doesn’t make you responsible to others should the business fail. The bad thing is that it if things do go under, it will be your money that goes down with the ship. If you’re not willing to risk your own capital you certainly shouldn’t be willing to risk anyone else’s.

Friends and Family

After tapping their own savings and investments, many entrepreneurs turn to friends and family for help. This works well for some, but here’s the creed I live by: NEVER borrow money from anyone you have to eat Thanksgiving dinner with. Nothing causes tension in a family like lending money that is never paid back. And notice I say “lending money” rather than investing money. Venture capitalists invest money. Your relatives lend you money. They will expect it back someday even if they say they won’t. Remember, when a loved one invests in your business they are emotionally investing in you. It would be tough to tell mom and dad that their favorite son lost their life savings because his business went down the drain.

Credit Cards

I financed my first business on credit cards, which was an incredibly stupid thing to do given the fact that my business could have failed and left me with thousands of dollars in credit card debt that would have taken until the year 2099 to pay off. It worked out in the end for me, but if you decide to finance your business on plastic keep in mind that you will be paying extremely high interest rates on the money you’ve borrowed and unless you hit it big you will be paying for that money for many years to come.

Mortgage The Farm

Bank loans are next to impossible to get if you don’t have collateral and a track record of business success, which is why many entrepreneurs use the equity in their homes to finance their business after being turned down for a bank loan. While this makes more sense than building a business on a deck of credit cards, the financial risks are no less abundant. You must pay this money back whether your business succeeds or not, but it is a good source of low interest money to get you started and the interest may be tax deductible (check with your accountant to make sure).

Angel Investors

An angel investor is typically a wealthy individual who invests in start up ventures for a share of the ownership. Angel investors are usually the first formal investors in a business and provide the seed money to get the business up and running. Some angel investors will write you a check and leave you alone to run your business while others consider their investment a license to “help you” manage and make decisions. If you do accept angel money make sure the terms are clearly defined on both sides. Angel money always comes with strings. Make sure you know whether those strings come in the form of a bow or a noose before you accept an angel’s check.

Venture Capitalists

Venture capitalists are to angel investors as pit bulls are to Chihuahuas. That’s not to say all VC are big, bad dogs, but they do have powerful jaws that can chew up your business and spit it out if things don’t go their way. VC money doesn’t come with strings, it comes with chains and locks and lots of legal documents. VC always have the upper hand in any deal they invest in. That’s just how it works and that’s the price you pay to get access to VC money.

If your business gets to the level that VC money becomes a viable option, don’t jump at the first bone a VC dangles before your eyes. If one VC likes your idea, others will, too. Present to multiple VC and carefully consider each offer before you accept the check.

Just remember, no matter how you finance your business, use the money wisely. Don’t buy $1,500 plasma monitors and $1,000 Hermann Miller chairs.

Have a very clear plan of how the money will be used and how it will be paid back.

And remember this, the more you can shoestring the business, but more of the business you will own in the end.

Tim Knox is a nationally-known small business expert who writes and speaks frequently on the topic.
For more information or to contact Tim please visit one of his sites below. www.dropshipwholesale.net www.smallbusinessqa.com www.timknox.com

More than ever, readers are turning to used books. The increased popularity of online shopping venues such as Amazon.com and eBay is fueling the boom in used book sales.

Convenience is another reason why consumers are turning to online bookstores. Special orders produce just 1 percent of sales at brick-and-mortar bookstores, due to the inconvenient, time-consuming ordering process. For example, economics researchers from MIT ordered the same book at a Barnes & Noble superstore and through its online store, bn.com. The purchase at the brick-and-mortar store took nearly an hour to place, cost $37.45, and took eight days to arrive. By contrast, the online required just three minute to place, was delivered in three days, and was $5.46 cheaper. And don’t forget the travel time required in visiting a store, that took 21 minutes of round trip driving.

Internet customers now have easy access to more than 2.5 million unique titles, while the regular mall-sized bookstore carries just 20,000 and the chain superstores carry about 100,000 titles.

Selection is better online, and the better online stores such as Amazon use several “product recommenders” to advise customers on what additional books they might be interested in. Already, 55 percent of used book sales take place on the Internet. Internet sales account for just 9 percent of new book sales, although the share is growing.

The efficiency of buying online has increased overall demand for more obscure titles not usually stocked by brick-and-mortar retailers. A 12-percent boost in backlist sales is directed attributed to increased availability of these scarcer titles by small online vendors, according to the MIT researchers. They estimated that about a third of the volume of Internet book sales involved sales of those titles not normally carried by a typical mall bookstore. All of this bodes well for the online used bookseller.

On top of the price savings and convenience factor for buyers, bookstores are just a horrible place to try to find a book. They might be great for browsing, but there is no easier way of finding a specific title than typing it into a search box on your PC.

See a real-time list of the most highly sought after used and collectible books.

Read more free articles on selling used books profitably online: http://www.weberbooks.com/selling/selling.htm

Steve Weber is author of “The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site” (ISBN 0977240606). Got a question for Steve? Send to: steve_weber@yahoo.com

Ah, coffee, the drink of choice when I want to share a special moment with friends, when I want to sit and ponder life or when I want a moment alone. I am an avid coffee drinker. I love coffee and I love the atmosphere of a good coffee house, a café.

And, even if I buy take out coffee, which I do frequently, I like to get my coffee from one of these special cafes.

I often take my two certified therapy dogs with me and go for a ride. I get the coffee, they get a little treat, and off we go. Those are some of my special golden moments of life.

Are you evaluating whether to start or buy a coffee shop & espresso café business?

Well, I was reading through some interesting information on the internet today. And, it taught me a few things as an internet marketer. First, when you are looking for that “niche”, the one that feels right to you, look for ideas in your own “backyard”. Second, when you get the idea, listen to your inner voice and pursue it, don’t say it’s too silly until the numbers tell you its too silly! And third, when the numbers are researched and they look good, go after it!

Have you researched the coffee shop business opportunities and business for sale classifieds looking for that “perfect little coffee shop?”

Are you afraid of failure? Are you letting that failure cripple your chances for success?

Let’s look at this success story. First, how many of you are “knitters”? How many of you share your knitting stories with other knitters? I bet quite a few of you do. How many of you are knitters, and at the same time are open for a business venture? How many are even looking for that special business venture?

Well, here is the success story. I mean, if you are into knitting, how good does this sound? What a great place to get away to for a while, pursue your hobby, and have a social life.

This is the story that caught my eye. Mabel’s Cafe and Knittery offers “knit-wits” a chance to feed their love for knitting and purling in a cozy Southeast coffee shop.

There are brightly colored skeins of yarn in different textures and thicknesses that can actually be purchased in the cafe, along with coffee and locally made pie. Now that part sounds good, even without knitting. There are tables, sofas, and chairs along with knitting books strategically scattered for inspiration.

The owner said, “It was a natural idea for me to mix knitting with other things. I also think that people need more opportunities to be social.” How very true. She was able to incorporate this need into a success story.

Mabel’s Cafe, even offers a variety of knitting workshops for beginners and seasoned pros alike. There are new mothers’ classes, and of course dads are welcome too. Here the parents can socialize and learn to knit while introducing their little ones to the neighbors. What a great idea. Somebody followed their dream.

I did further research on this subject, and here is another success story. The Knitty Gritty Cafe is “a one-stop place for women who love to knit and love the smell and taste of freshly brewed coffee. Whether you are an expert knitter or a beginner, they also sell a variety of products ranging from books to tote bags to a wide selection of yarns”.

Here are some more interesting ideas people have had for coffee shops.

l’Abracadabar
The second Monday of each month: evening aperitif games at the Abracadabar (19th), the biggest free evening of board games in Paris.

les Trois Bornes
The fourth Sunday of each month : round off your Sunday by playing board games at the Trois Bornes café (11th).

Le Cafézoide
If you’ve brought the kids, this is for you: you’ll only find one of its kind in Paris and even in France: a café exclusively reserved for children from 0 to 16 yrs (accompanied by a parent).

It’s the Cafézode, a café where you won’t find alcohol or cigarettes, but a real café nonetheless, with a bar, games, shows, cosy corners and workshops.

So, if this is what you want, and if you have your own “personal niche” well, at least do the research, do the numbers. Who knows, you may come up with a real winner. You too may have your dreams come true. And lets face it, coffee “is where it’s at”.

My Name is Ruth Bird. I have 2 therapy dogs, and I love coffee. I am always impressed by those that have dreams, and follow them. Besides health for pets and people, I am an internet business person.

http://www.mimfreedom.com
http://www.marketersinmotion.com

The Internet is now a new frontier. There are new millionaires being made everyday. There are so many different ways to make money on the Internet. You could……

Sell information: You can become a day trader in Stocks

Sell a product: Futures

Sell a service: Forex

There are just so many ways to go. You can even play Texas Holdem and win your way to a final table to win millions like Chris Moneymaker.

All you have to do is find your niche. Something that you are very good at or something you are willing to learn. Like what are some of your hobbies? Do you collect stamps, build models, remote controlled cars, planes and boats? This is just a few. Do a search on your talent or knowledge. What did you find? Could you say more? Could you say it better?

What about paperhanging, tilefloors, lead glass windows just a few more ideas. Many peple would pay for how to ebooks. So search your hobbies and your knowledge areas. You can learn how to write an ebook and then sell it on the Internet. You would be surprised how easy and profitable it is. If you really would like to change you life here is a very good way to do it.

Just find your special niche an then learn to market it. There are millions of searches done everyday on Google, MSN, and Yahoo just to name a few. You can learn to sell you ebook by using articles, emails,{no spamming}safelist, ebay, banners, paid per click and of course your website. Learning to build your own website can be exciting and fun too.

One of the things that have made Internet marketing a bad word are the affiliate programs that you get talked into and all they do is give you a website and tell you to show it to your family and friends. They give you banners and emails to mail out to all your friends and family. You get a few sales from them . But then you find it hard to get any more. Then they get disappointed and quit. But if the company only makes 1 or 2 sales off each affiliate that still hundreds of sells for them.

If you create the ebook on how to do something and sell it you can start your own affiliate program. Then you become the person getting everyone else selling for you.

Mike Pachuta
Would you like to learn more?
How about 12 hours free video training?
http://www.marketing-successfully.com/internetprofits.html

Among Its Many Other Successes, Google’s Google News Has Redefined Internet Standards for Media Reporting and Organization

With so many services available on the World Wide Web it is often a difficult task to pick out the contenders from the pretenders. However, Google, based in California makes it easy to differentiate the fakes from the real news providers.

Breaking news on Google is easy to access. Google news is completely automated and made its debut in 2002. Finally, on January 23, 2006, the beta trial ended and now the breaking news on Google service is available in over 20 languages.

One of the most refreshing aspects of Google News is the elimination of journalistic bias: the service is completely automated so that no human judgment works its way into the equation.

These days it seems like all major news reporting services are slanted. Left wing, right wing - it is contamination of honest, truthful reporting. It is refreshing to have an outlet that just reports news instead of tuning it to fit certain needs.

Breaking news on Google is a valuable resource for anyone interested in what is happening in the world. Today, since there is so much going on that is newsworthy, the Google News service is a tremendous resource for academics, journalists and businesspeople.

Google News can be received in HTML, text and by RSS/Atom feed. The stories can be organized and sifted through to give a chronological perspective on the news. In terms of the media it is always interesting to see how a story progresses, how it changes over time and as new information becomes available.

The success of Google in a variety of industries is truly revolutionary. This is why it is not a surprise that Google news has excelled in media reporting. Breaking news on Google is also customizable. This means that you can select what kind of news you would like to appear on your page.

Visit Mary’s site www.bestgoogleinfo.com for more about Google News and other related Google Info.

Is a Leather Office Chair really your best choice of Office Chair? A lot of Office Chair users, particularly males believe that a Leather Office Chair is the best chair there is.

Why is this? I think it’s largely an image thing, if you see a top executive’s office on TV, in the movies or in the news a very high percentage have Leather Office Chairs.

Not surprisingly therefore people tend to have this belief that a Leather Office Chair has got to be the best choice because that’s what all the top guns have.

Nonetheless, there are certain drawbacks with Leather Office Chairs that you need to be mindful of before you rush out and buy one.

First, there are some truly appalling office chairs that are upholstered in leather and people become blinded by the thought that it must be a quality chair because its in leather. Nothing could be further from the truth, there are any number of Leather Office Chairs being sold at unbelievably cheap prices that are little better than junk.

The grade of leather used on them is extremely poor and the frames and mechanisms are as bad if not worse. Very often only the facings are leather the rest is in vinyl. So bear in mind this simple maxim, if the price is too good to be true, then it probably is.

Second, leather being a polished or shiny finish can actually quite quickly put a shine on your clothes. If you wear expensive suits or outfits for work you may find that they wear a lot quicker with a Leather Office Chair.

Third, the smooth finish of a Leather Office Chair can find you sliding about in it and you may find yourself shuffling around in it a lot as a consequence. Leather Office Chairs with a forward tilt mechanism can be particularly prone to this. So, if you work at your screen a lot I would definitely avoid leather upholstery for your Office Chair.

Fourth, if you don’t work in an air conditioned office you can often find that a Leather Office Chair can cause you to sweat and perspire, particularly in summer.

So these are the things to bear in mind about Leather Office Chairs. However, if you have set your heart on a Leather Office Chair what should you look for and what should you expect when selecting one? Get this right and your Leather Office Chair should give you many years of good service.

First, you need to accept that a good quality Leather Office Chair is unlikely to be cheap, now that’s not to say you should buy on price and that a high price guarantees your chair will be suitable. But, you can say with a fair degree of confidence that if a Leather Office Chair is amazingly cheap then avoid it, you’ll be glad you did.

Second, a quality Leather Office Chair will be upholstered from the same piece of hide throughout. Ask your supplier to provide details of the make, grade and quality of the leather that the chair manufacturer uses. A good supplier will be very happy to provide these details and will recognise you as a discerning buyer.

Lastly, consider how you work and decide if your work style is suited to a Leather Office Chair. If you use do your screen a lot and need a forward tilt action on your chair to maintain a good posture, a Leather Office Chair could be a bad choice. This type of chair will have you constantly sliding forward on your chair and would be better upholstered in a conventional fabric.

If you bear in mind the above points and choose your Leather Office Chair with care, it will give you years of good use if you look after it properly.

Duncan MacIntyre has over 25 year’s experience of the Office Chair market. During his involvement in the Office Seating business he has supplied thousands of quality chairs to clients and end users. Visit Duncan’s website at http://www.OfficeChairInfo.com for detailed information on Office Chairs including tips and advice on Chair selection and how to avoid costly mistakes.

There are so many rules that search engines follow to determine which site gets ranked number one for certain search words and so on and so forth. However, one of these criteria includes links so that is something you should focus on if you are interested in increasing your traffic and rankings with the search engines.

You may not know how to go about getting one way links to your website, but it really is pretty easy. All you need to do is start listing your website in different web directories and before long you will have plenty of links pointing back to your website. This is really important and something you want to focus on because if you do not have links to your site then getting ranked high in the search engines will be difficult.

Why Do you Need Links for the Search Engines?

Nobody knows for sure exactly what formula the many search engines use to rank websites, but it is known that links to your website make up a big percentage of where your website is ranked. Obviously, the higher your website is ranked in the search engines the more visitors will click on your site and the more traffic you will have. Because of this the success of your website just might depend on how many links you have pointing back to your site on the Internet. Think of it as a popularity contest and the website with the most links is the most popular and wins a high ranking in the search engines as a result. So, the higher your site ranks in the search engines the more visitors your site will receive and the more money you will make! One way links and search engines rankings have a great cause and effect relationship so you should get started today.

Web directories are one of the best way to get the needed one way links to your website and they offer many benefits to your site other than helping your site get a high ranking with the search engines. Also, web directories all you to submit your site to a category and then a human edits your site information in order to approve it for the directory. Many people use directories to find information and websites as opposed to search engines, so when you use a web directory or web directories for linking purposes you will also be able to attract traffic due to the individuals who visit the directory looking for website.

When you use website directories to list your website or even websites you will quickly realize an increase in your sites rankings with the search engines as well as increased traffic due to this as well as traffic from the directory. GO ahead and increase your business and website traffic and start listing your site with the many web directories today!

Article supplied by Ian Walsh, owner of Villas2u - Orlando Villas as well as editor of the Categorized Web Directory and Directoree Website Directory.
Want to know more about one-way links? Visit www.categorizedweb.com or www.directoree.net or www.categorizedweb.com

STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT. Enhancing Community Business (ECB) can assist organisations with all facets of strategic development including Strategic Planning, Operational Effectiveness (systems reviews and developmentHR, Quality Management, Staff Surveys, Communication), expansion of services, infrastructure development, service and support modelling. Business Development, Risk Management, and Corporate Governance.

MANAGEMENT SUPPORT. ECB can provide expert support with Manager Mentoring and Coaching, Management Skills Audits, Management Practice Forums, Staff Performance Management Systems.

AGENCY RESOURCING. ECB can assist agencies with Full Service or Business Unit Reviews, Unit Costing and Benchmarking Agency Costs (internally and externally), and Analysing Administration Costs.

PROJECT SUPPORT. ECB can deliver expert advice with Project Management Activities (including the development of new services or the restructure or devolution of existing services), and Support in Accessing Funding (through tender writing or advice and agency to agency negotiations).

EXECUTIVE RECRUITMENT. ECB has developed a partnership with a leading national recruitment firm. Together we can offer Not-For-Profit agencies a specialised executive Search and Recruitment specifically designed for the human services sector. This service can be utilised to find middle, senior or executive managers for your organisation.

Andrew Williams
Enhancing Community Business was created by Andrew Williams who has spent over 22 years within the Human Services sector. He has worked at all 3 levels of government as well as holding executive and general management roles in a large National Not-for-profit agency. Andrew’s particular expertise includes:

* Significant experience providing short, medium, and long term business strategies within Human Service Agencies.

* Significant experience developing risk management and other key business processes within not-for-profit environments

* Significant experience managing complex multi-site community based services across large geographical areas

* Significant experience developing and preparing tenders and submissions

* Sigificant experience in the development and assessment of service viability models

* Significant experience communicating and consulting with a broad cross section of people, communities, and environments (government, service users, families, staff, boards of management, volunteers, etc)

Andrew Williams
Enhancing Community Business was created by Andrew Williams who has spent over 22 years within the Human Services sector. He has worked at all 3 levels of government as well as holding executive and general management roles in a large National Not-for-profit agency. Andrew’s particular expertise includes:

Pokers Nation, the newest poker site on the net, is currently offering a Thanksgiving Day cash prize giveaway. This contest will run until November 24, 2005. To be eligible for the contest you simply need to go to http://www.pokersnation.com and register for their featured site. All prizes will be paid out on or about December 15, 2005. There will be multiple winners of this contest. The contest is divided into groups of ten and there will be three winners in each group of entrants, with a payout of $300 per group of ten. Winners will be notified by email and are offered many types of payment methods for prize delivery.

Many website owners offer incentives to entice players to hit the tables online. These incentives vary from sign up bonuses to free poker supplies to contests. One of the best incentives on the net today is Pokers Nation’s Thanksgiving Day Giveaway.

Pokers Nation has also stated that 10% of the money generated from this contest will go to the Red Cross to help Hurricane Katrina victims. The more players that sign up for the contest means more money for the families that have been devastated by Katrina. While the contest will not bring millions of dollars for the relief effort, every penny counts in the eyes of Pokers Nation.

Online Poker has been the fastest growing epidemic that the world has ever seen. Recent figures indicate that there are over 200 online card rooms operating which are generating a staggering $2 billion a year in collective revenue. The number of players has nearly tripled over the last 12 months. Playing online has become very popular since Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 World Series of Poker after gaining entry from playing in a satellite at an online Poker site.

Pokers Nation will continue to offer incentives to players on a monthly basis. This is sure to be one of the best contests for online poker this year. Don’t delay get signed up today for your chance to win.

While there are many poker websites on the internet for people to choose from, Pokers Nation strives to be your best source for online poker bonus codes, contest, and customer satisfaction.

Complete details on Pokers Nation’s Thanksgiving Day giveaway can be found at http://pokersnation.com/My_Homepage_Files/Page10.html

We may not be aware of it but the simplest of materials we use for covering our food has been around for over centuries. Take a peek inside your pantry and try to see if you can find a milk carton, a carton full of eggs or even a carton of your favorite breakfast cereal.

Indeed, this centuries old packaging material is the carton.

Carton is often made out of a composite or of materials made out of two or more components. Cartons can be made out of a mixture of paper, pulp, wood or leaves. Its durability and stiffness makes it ideal for packaging heavy materials.

The carton has existed even before food manufacturers have used it for carrying eggs, milk, cereals, baking powder and other types of food. Although there have been a lot of materials discovered and used for wrapping and encasing, the carton still remains one of the most often used for packaging.

The carton first appeared in the 15th century in China and served different purposes. However, the first commercial carton was not used up until the 1817 when it was first produced in England.

The durable and sturdy carton that we know of today, on the other hand, would not have even existed if English hat makers in 1856 did not think of using it to line the bases of the hats they made. In fact, before this, carton was just a flimsy, thin type of paper that was not even considered to use for packaging.

The corrugated carton is the type of carton that has pleats attached to sheets of carton. These pleats of carton serve as support for carton sheets as it makes it more rigid and suitable for carrying weighty materials.

When the first corrugated cardboard was patented in 1856, it was mainly used in England for the bases of tall hats that were of fashion to English gentlemen.

It was only in December 20, 1871 when Albert Jones of New York, New York filed the patent for the corrugated carton. However, the corrugated carton Albert Jones patented back then only had a single-sided sheet of carton with the pleats attached to it.

The corrugated carton, from which the modern corrugated carton would be based from, was not produced up until 1874. During this time, Oliver Long, took Jones’ design and incorporated another sheet to make it more stiff and suitable for packaging heavier materials.

Now bear in mind that these cartons were just sheets and were not yet the carton boxes that we know of today.

In 1890, an American named Robert Gait “accidentally” invented the corrugated carton box. Robert Gait was a printer and paper bag maker. While printing an order of seed bags, the metal ruler used to crease the bags swung and cut the bags instead.

Through this, Gait discovered that creasing and cutting the bags would make it easier for manufacturers to make pre-constructed cartons.

Instead of using the seed bags that he was printing on, he creased and cut corrugated cartons instead. So when the 20th century rolled in, wooden crates were replaced by cardboard boxes made out of corrugated carton.

Today’s corrugated cartons are more intricately designed than those of the cartons used in earlier centuries. At present, the outer sheets are made to be puncture resistant. The pleats are also made up of a stronger wood-based type of paper to make the cartons sturdier and compression resistant.

Who would have thought that a piece of carton used to hold your day’s breakfast can have so much history?

James Monahan is the owner and Senior Editor of
TopCartonSites.com and writes expert
articles about cartons.