Good Starting Point for Work At Home Ideas
If you are thinking about starting a business, the following 4 places will provide you with hundreds of valuable and profitable business ideas for free. The information provided offers a good starting point for brainstorming. However, when you have narrowed down your list to the most favorable business ideas, it may be worthwhile to pay for more detailed reports.

1. HOME BASED IDEAS
At ENTREPRENEUR.COM you will find an icon labelled 'business ideas'. You may click here to see the business ideas page. You will be able to browse ideas by category e.g. business services, sports and food. On the same page you will find 'home based', 'part-time', 'low-cost' and even 'unusual ideas'. This site also offers numerous 'how-to-guides' on growing your business and it is free.

2. DIGITAL PRODUCTS
If you are interested in selling digital products e.g. e-books and software either as a publisher or affiliate, then CLICKBANK.COM is the place to start looking for business ideas . At the top of the home page you will see the 'marketplace tab' which opens to reveal a list of product categories. If you click on your desired category, search for individual products using the 'sort by popularity' tab. You will see a list starting with the most popular products in the category.

If you wish to explore how you can sell the digital products as an affiliate, you may click here to read my article 'How I made my first internet marketing sale'.

3. CHEAP STUFF
If you wish to know what people are buying when they set their mind on bargain mentatility, then EBAY.COM is your starting point for low-margin product and business ideas. Ebay offers a lot of useful information although the pages keep changing. Right now you can see the hottest selling items by clicking here http://product-index.ebay.com/best_selling_1.html

If you want additional information on what is trending up or the most watched items, then you may click here www.pulse.ebay.com The products are listed in categories and sub-categories and you will also be able to see the top ten largest stores and popular searches.

4. BOOKS AND OTHER
For business ideas on popular books and other general items, AMAZON.COM provides a list of best sellers by category. Towards the bottom of the home page on the left side you will find a table of 'Features and Services'. Click on Amazon bestsellers. and start by browsing the 'movers and shakers' category.

I believe the above information will get you started on knowing what people are searching for online with their wallets open.

Since Clickbank, Ebay and Amazon are very successful businesses which offer a marketplace for buyers and sellers, it follows that you should be able to find at least 1 suitable and profitable business idea - and it will be free.

The 3 Prong Approach to Hanging In There

When the economy goes south and the media bombards us with grim news of escalating unemployment, company bankruptcies and home foreclosures, it sure sends a shiver down your spine.

However, If you go down history lane you will see that bad times and good times are just part and parcel of the cycle of life. It would be immature to expect global financial prosperity to increase positively ad infinitum.

As Jim Rohn, the great motivational speaker wisely put it, every 10 years is very much like the last ten years. Some years have more opportunities than challenges and some years will have more challenges than opportunities. You have guessed it right - these are the years when we are faced with more challenges. But all the same, opportunities do exist.

The good thing about all this is that bad times do not last forever and new opportunities arise amidst the doom and gloom. I will offer you 3 simple tactics to see you through the tough times. If you stay positive and search and ask and knock, you will survive and set yourself up for greater success when the tide turns.

Tip Number 1 - You need to learn new things. Albert Einstein, the science genius said we cannot improve our situation unless we first improve ourselves.

1a) You therefore need to learn new ways of making money to safe guard your current lifestyle or replace a failed source of income. Be creative and use the skills and knowledge you have or go to school and acquire new skills.

1b) You can also make use of the large availability of skills and knowledge of the people who have been laid of. Can you imagine how expensive and difficult it would be to tap into this labor market when the economy is at its peak? This is a golden chance to partner with others who are waiting for someone like you to shine a light in their gloomy tunnel.

1c) Reduce the amount of time you watch negative news and listen to friends and family complaints. If you commit your life to negative things you will feel discouraged and hopeless and hence attract the same things you fear in your life.

Tip number 2 - You must change your habits and attitudes towards money. According to David Bach, author of "Start Late, Finish Rich", 50% of Americans have less than $50,000 in savings. In fact almost a third (30%) have less than $1,000 in savings. This means the average family does not save for a rainy day. Well, it is raining heavily now and it is hurting badly because families do not have adequate savings to sustain them as they look for alternative sources of income.

2a) Create a budget, examine your bank accounts and credit card accounts with a surgeons scalpel and slash off unnecessary expenses and stop the bleeding. Remember to focus on the big expenses too. We all have a habit of focussing on the small stuff and we forget the items which have a large impact on our finances.

For example. If you cannot afford to rent a 3-bedroom apartment, i am sorry you worry so much about the Joneses but please down grade next month and save a couple hundred bucks. Downgrading your lifestyle is an economic strategy and should not mean you will never rise up again.

2b) You also need to stop spending what you do not have. Most people confuse credit cards with money and they assume available credit means money in the bank. If you recognize the difference you will save yourself high interest fees and unnecessary and unaffordable expenses.

Tip number 3 - Invest your money. Keep your money in accounts that generate income. Avoid keeping money in non-interest earning or low-interest earning accounts e.g. checking accounts and bank saving accounts.

3a) Look out for high interest earning money markets and certificates of deposits which are federally insured to protect you against bank failure.

3b) Longterm investments should mainly be in stocks that pay dividends. This ensures you will receive an income as you wait for the stock market to improve and for stock prices to rise.

Above three tips can be summarized as personal development that creates additional sources of income while investing funds in accounts that generate income in excess of the rate of inflation.

You can also read the following hub on money saving tips http://hubpages.com/hub/Ten-Common-Mistakes-About-Money

 

Investment Strategy 101 for the Newbie Investor

 Stock picking is in many ways similar to choosing a spouse. If you have a lot of money, your options are countless. If you have no money, then you may not have to bother and everyone will understand your position. For many people, their money situation lies somewhere in between the two extremes.

In this article I will assume you are a first time investor with very little investment knowledge but with a big desire to succeed and a lot of hope and confidence

Inorder to pick the most suitable stock, you only need to follow 3 simple steps.

Step 1 - LIST. Make a list of prospective stocks by listing 10 companies that you know to be successful and which you believe have a promising future.

How? Examine your lifestyle and look at the products and services that you pay for repeatedly. This means that you like the products and you believe in the companies that make them. For example if you regularly eat the big Mac, you shave with Gillette blades and drink Coca Cola, then put McDonalds, Gillette and Coca Cola on the list. You do not have to go with these obvious examples. Examine your expenses and you will see many more public companies that you spend your money on.

Why? Investing is about taking a step of faith. You are more likely to take my advice if you generate a list of companies that you are familiar with and those that have earned your trust

Step 2 - WEED. Examine the list and weed out the stocks that are not great candidates at this time.

How? Remove from your list all companies with stock prices less than $50. Google the companies in the revised list for expert reviews and remove a company if at least 2 investment experts indicate negative future performance or possibility of negative news regarding the company.

Why? If a company has a price above $50, it means the public already has considerable confidence in the future success of the company. Negative news and performance generally will adversely affect the short term price of a stock. You should not invest in a stock that is likely to lose value as soon as you buy it.

Step 3 - PICK. . Choose the stock with the best of the following 3 aspects. Highest price, Best expert reviews and Most consistent price growth over the last 3 years. The following statement is the most important thing about this whole investment strategy. If you forget everything else, please remember this one statement.

When? Invest in the chosen stock when and only when you notice that a large investor has started to buy this stock. Sell this stock on the day you notice that a large investor is selling this stock.

How? You can track stock price and investor performance on websites that provide free charts on publicly traded stocks e.g. bigcharts.com and stockcharts.com . You can buy the stock you choose using websites such as Scottrade.com, etrade.com,

Why? Large investors such as mutual funds buy and sell stocks in large quantities worth millions of dollars. This means they cannot sell or buy the stock they want in one transaction. They normally take more than a week to buy or sell stocks. If you examine the volume and price chart of a particular stock, you can be able to tell when a large investor is buying or selling. Since price is determined by the economics law of supply and demand, when a large investor is buying the stock the demand is high and the price will increase. When a large investor is selling a stock, the supply is high and the price will fall.

If you find this information helpful, or if you have something to ask or add, please let me know by writing your comment.

You can also read my other article on Ten Things To Know Before You Invest at http://hubpages.com/hub/Ten-Things-To-Know-Before-You-Invest.

 

The most important things for a newbie marketer are the following;

1- FREE, FREE, FREE. Where do you get business ideas, tools and information for FREE. Most newbies do not have much money to risk. The good thing is that the internet is full of FREE stuff. If you have time on your hands then you can always search and find a low cost solution for almost any problem.

2- SYSTEM, SYSTEM, SYSTEM. There are millions of ways to make money on the internet. Some are simple, others are complex and many need alot of information and experience. The best question to ask yourself before you embark on any venture is whether you fully understand how the SYSTEM works all the way from product selection to receiving money in your bank account. If you don't understand the system you will get frustrated and lose interest in the business.

3- INFORMATION, INFORMATION, INFORMATION. Birds of a feather flock together. Join at least 2 internet marketing forums and blogs and participate consistently for at least 2 hours every week. Within 6 months you will have acquired enough information to fine tune your business and branch out to something more suitable to your ability and taste. The advantage of a forum is that participants have a common purpose and you will benefit from questions posed by other newbies and answered by experienced marketers. Join the free blogs and forums at first.

When you start making money then it is time to pay to become an apprentice to one of the I.M. gurus. The gurus will teach you the secrets of catapulting your business to the $100,000 a year range but be prepared to pay for most of the tools. The good thing is that by this time you will cease to be a newbie and you will be able to make better cost-benefit decisions for the business.

Read the article "How I made my first internet marketing sale" at http://hubpages.com/hub/How-I-Made-My-First-Internet-Marketing-Sale

This article offers a simple step by step guide on how you can make your first sale.

The price of gas here in the US has shot right through the roof. However, there are 3 simple ways you can reduce the cost of fueling your car.

1) Travel less often and shorter distances. It seems obvious but it takes effort to change your driving behavior. For example, It is good exercise to cycle to the store and it doesn't cost a dime but how many times have you actually done so.

2) Comparison shopping. The nearest gas station is not necessarily the cheapest. However, along your way to work there is one that's the cheapest and you don't have to drive out of your way.

3) Take it easy on the pedals. Experts say this is the most important of all gas saving tricks. Be slow to break and slow to accelerate.

I know some of you are thinking about various gadgets and gas additives that are sold to save gas. Most of the reviews i have read indicate that the fuel cost saved is swallowed up in the cost of the gadget or additive.

Safe driving and more riding.

In order to achieve anything worthwhile, you must pay a price. Or as others would put it, you must sacrifice something to get something else.

While i was studying financial management, i was taught that i should always make my day-to-day financial decisions with respect to my long-term goals. I never quite understood the impact of that lesson until several years after college.

There are events which seem very good or satisfying today but they have a negative effect to your well being in the long-term. Let's consider two simple examples.

1) Making several un-necessary purchases totalling $200 a month may seem insignificant. But if you consider that investing $200 a month for 30 years in a mutual fund that earns 12% interest a year amounts to $1.3 million dollars, you can then understand the pain of regret suffered by 96% of retirees today who only have $25,000 in their retirement account.

2) If you are 30 years old and you delay to start your investment account by 10 years, your nest egg on average will be less by $500,000 compared to what it would be if you start investing today.

It takes a lot of discipline to invest $200 a month for 30 years. What would you rather have? The pain of investing $200 a month or the pain of regreting at age 65 that you blew away a chance to retire with a million dollars?