Buying Low Cost Health Insurance

There are many ways you can save on the cost of your health insurance but first you have to take into account the cover you want and if you are going to be taking individual cover or whether you are taking cover for the whole family. The cost of health insurance can vary greatly depending on the amount of coverage you need, if you were take all the options available in private health insurance then the premium would be astronomical and something which very few people can afford to do. Fortunately however, you can get good coverage for a decent premium by shopping around and following these tips. Always check the policy because it might include things which you don’t need, for instance if you are a single man and a policy includes costs for pregnancy then this obviously won’t be needed. While this might seem like common sense, it is surprising how many people don’t look into what is in the policy they are buying. So always look into the different packages that are available. If you are considering the lowest cost health insurance then look into purchasing a policy that only covers major illnesses. Limited cover is one of the cheapest ways to buy private cover but take into account that minor illnesses and accidents will not be covered. You can keep the cost of the premium down if you offer to pay a higher excess. All policies will require that you pay something towards the cost of treatment before the insurance will kick in, this can start from something as low as £100. You could offer to share a percentage of the cost which will also bring the premium down that you will have to pay. While most people take out private insurance to beat the waiting lists that the NHS are noted for, it can help to bring your premium down if you choose to have a waiting period. For instance, you could choose a waiting period of 6 weeks and if during this time you can be seen on the NHS then all well and good, if not then you go privately.

You Need To Get Several Health Insurance Quotes - Here's Why...

Health insurance quotes are free, in most cases and I recommend that you get several of them. The more contacts that you make, the better chance you'll have at finding not only the best cost for your health insurance plan, but also the poloicy that best fits your needs. Do not assume that all health insurance policies are the same or equal. The only way that you will know for sure what you are getting is to ask questions. Also, make certain that you read the fine print before you accept the policy. By getting more quotes you will have more leverage when it comes time to buy, especially if you are doing your research online with the intention of buying from a local agent. You can get a couple dozen free health insurance quotes, take out the three least expensive quotes and take it to your local agency and say "meet it or beat it". There are more and more individuals and families being forced to purchase health insurance in the private sector these days because most businesses simply can't afford to provide that benefit to their employees any longer. It's very important that you play the "numbers game" and ask a lot of questions when you get ready to buy your policy. Ask exactly what you are getting for your money. Ask for a list of coverages. Get different premium quotes by raising and lowering your annual deductible. The bottom line here is that you educate yourself in the field of insurance, especially if you've never had to deal with this before. You don't want to find out after you've been admitted to the hospital that your stay is limited to a certain number of days or that only a percentage of your stay will be covered or that you could have saved $50 a month simply by raising your deductible a little. You are the customer here and you need to act as such in order to protect yourself now and in the future. So get to work right now by getting some free health insurance quotes!

Affordable Health Insurance

As health insurance costs are increasing we have to take more responsibility for our health insurance coverage. With health insurance cost rising health insurance companies are constantly coming out with new health insurance plans. New plans offer you flexibility to customize your own health insurance plan. Most health plans in the past were pre packaged health insurance plans and we ended up paying for things we never use. We know that car insurance offers us flexibility to where you can pick your limits deductibles and the types of coverage that you want. It seemed that with health insurance it took at while for health insurance companies to realize that is how they can stay competitive. The world of five dollar co pays and no deductible plans are over. Most of us and our parents come from the world where large companies paid for their health insurance plans. Large companies do have advantage of numbers; more people are part of the group the more insurance companies are competing for their business. First I want to address or health insurance quote shopping. If you are looking for some great deal a plan that covers everything for small monthly premium you are going to get scammed. Health insurance prices are health insurance prices no matter what insurance company you go with. The main difference how insurance companies compete with offering more affordable health insurance rates is by being more creative in their plan design. Stays away from “good deals” in health insurance, chances are the plans are not going to cover anything when you have claim. Then you will end up with bills from the hospital and your health insurance premiums. Health insurance companies like Assurant Health underwritten by Time Insurance offer health insurance plans where you design your own plan. It is one of the only large reputable health insurance companies to offer customizable health plans. They offer five plan designs two of them are Health Savings Account qualified health plans and the other health plans are your standard PPO (Preferred Provider Organization). What makes Assurant Health unique is that every type of plan give you opportunity to customize that plan by choosing co-pay or no co-pay option, choice of deductible, prescription drug coverage deductible, dental discount plan or dental insurance and some plan specific options. If you are looking for simple to use and simple to understand HSA account plans, Assurant is one of the first companies to offer HSA plans. When designing your own health insurance plan keep in mind of your previous health insurance usage. Choosing deductible for your health insurance plans will make the largest difference in your monthly price. Keep in mind in most cases deductible applies only to when you are hospitalized. That meant when you are admitted to the hospital. Most health insurance plans will cover you doctor visits, physical exams, prescriptions drugs and your lab work with a co-pay before you meet the deductible. If you choose a high deductible plan and something does happen to you that you end up in the hospital for something major and you do not have money at the time to cover your deductible. Every hospital will work with you by offering you payment methods. This way you can take as much time to pay off that deductible. Therefore it does not make any sense in most cases not choosing a plan with high deductible. Get health plans with high deductible and you are going to save thousands on your health insurance. Some companies like Assurant Health offer you option to where if you choose a health plans with deductible of thirty five hundred of higher you automatically qualify for two year rate guarantee. Save money monthly and avoid rate increased. Just with little knowledge and understanding of how health insurance works you save thousands with the health coverage that you need.

How To Make Money Online By Sharing Videos

Making money online by sharing videos on the Internet may seem too good to be possible, but it does work. There are several websites, including some very popular ones, that will pay you to upload videos and allow them to be played on websites. Some of these websites demand exclusive videos that you personally own, but some of these websites allow videos that have been posted elsewhere. If you have a lot of videos stored, or you can take a lot of interesting video, then this may be a great way for you to make money online. The reason that a lot of these sites pay you to share videos is to draw more traffic to the sites that are full of ads. When you share videos on certain websites, the revenue that is generated by the traffic clicking on the ads is divided between you and the website, or you and the advertiser. You make money by sharing your videos, and the site gets interesting content that will help draw traffic to the site and the ads. Some of the more common programs that pay you to upload videos and share them are Flixya, YouTube, Metacafe, Associated Content, and VuMe. Some of these sites require you to register for a Google Adsense account, but they also offer a personalized URL for your use in sharing videos and ads. It is important to understand any restrictions on the photo uploads, because some of the websites require you to submit only exclusive videos, unlike Flixya, which allows videos to be shared from any source that is available to you, and allows the same videos to be posted anywhere on the web. This means that you can post these videos on more than one site, which can help increase your income from making money online by sharing videos. When sharing videos online to make money, it is important that you understand the regulations of the websites and the advertisers. Know whether video postings must be exclusive to that site. Some sites require a Google Adsense account, so make sure you know about this requirement as well. Make sure that your shared videos are appropriate for the audience as well. Do not post any graphic or obscene videos, as this may get you banned and cost you money. Also remember to continue to market your web page to increase traffic, because more traffic means more ads clicked, which means more income for you. Flixya.com is another website that will pay users to upload videos. The payment method works similar to most other paid-to-upload sites; they split the advertising with you. So, the more popular your videos are, the greater potential you have to earn money. Your submissions to Flixya are nonexclusive, as well, so you can post the same videos on YouTube, Associated Content, VuMe, and Metacafe. Before you get started, you are going to need to open a Google Adsense account. Flixya pays you by rotating your Adsense publisher ID with their's 50/50. Half the times ads are displayed on your page, you earn the revenue. I am going to assume that everyone already know what Adsense is and how to sign up for an account, but just incase you don't, I will briefly explain it. It's really simple, just go to the Google Adsense website and follow the instructions for creating a publisher account. Google will ask you to submit a URL for the site you will be displaying ads on, just use your Flixya URL. The next step, of course, is to start uploading videos. One of the great things about Flixya, is that you don't have to submit original content. You can use any video from sites like YouTube and MySpace. A lot of other sites that pay for videos require that you only submit original content, which makes it difficult to not only submit a large quantity of videos, but to also ensure your videos will be popular. The fact that Flixya allows you to share any video makes it easy to contribute content that will be well liked and get lots of views. Copyright © 2007 Joel Teo. All rights reserved.

Risk Reversal - Make It EASY For Your Customers To Buy From You

To remove any obstacle that stands in the way of a sale. Most of us has at one time or another been ripped off by some unscrupulous individual or a business of dubious character. Because of this negative experience, we've become fearful of it happening again and so we're very careful about with whom we do business. Your prospects are no different. They fear being taken in some way. This fear often paralyzes them from making a buying decision. If the fear is too strong, they simply run for cover and avoid the potential pain. Your job as a marketer is to remove all the obstacles that may be stopping people from buying. By eliminating, or at least significantly minimizing all the hurdles, you are in effect eliminating or reducing the effect of a prospect's objections. People want to buy. They want to say yes. They desire what you offer. But the fear can often curtail even a strong impulse to buy. You can overcome this problem and improve your sales dramatically by removing the risk from your prospect/customer and assuming the risk yourself. In taking the risk away from your prospect, you make it easier for him to buy. And the less the prospect feels he is at risk, the more likely he is to want to do business with you. Here Are A Few Examples: You can remove the risk by offering a strong, money-back guarantee. Guarantees are a great way to relieve buyer anxiety and increase sales. The stronger the guarantee -- the more effective it is. A 90 day guarantee will usually produce more sales than a 30 day guarantee, and a one year guarantee is better than 90 days. The longer and stronger your guarantee, the more effective it will be in improving sales. Another way to apply the risk-reversal principal is to offer a payment plan instead of requiring full payment up front. Three monthly payments of $34 is a safer bet than one payment of $100 for your customer, because he actually gets to try out your product before having committed the full amount for it. As a vendor, you're assuming the risk - you're assuming you'll collect on all three payments. A third example is to accept a post-dated check as payment. You're assuming the risk because the buyer gets full advantage of the product for free, until the check is redeemable. There's always the risk that you've accepted a bad check, but from the buyers point of view, you must have a solid product that delivers what you say to make such an offer. How? You can implement this strategy by improving your existing guarantee. Extend the duration or remove unnecessary restrictions that weaken your guarantee. The more hassle-free you can make - the better. If you can create a guarantee that is far superior to that offered by your competition, you'll capture more sales and you'll baffle them in the process! They'll be astounded at your audacity, but more customers will flock to you because of it. Most buyers today have come to expect guarantees, so you might as well offer the best guarantee in the business. Make your guarantee a prominent part of all your marketing communications. Guarantees make it easier to nudge an undecided prospect in your favor. The interesting thing about guarantees is that with a solid product or service, you'll rarely be called on to honor your guarantee anyway. People tend to relax and forget about it. The longer a guarantee, the more likely they'll leave it for later, which means they'll forget and never pursue it. This is no excuse for putting out products of suspect quality, it's merely an interesting revelation about human nature. So, you might as well make it the most power-packed guarantee in the marketplace and enjoy additional sales because of it! One final note; in order to start making more sales and build your business empire – you must become an avid student of lead generation and marketing strategy – the high-payoff items necessary for you to magnetically attact new clients to skyrocket your profits. Copyright (c) 2007 Joe Heller

How To Earn Part-time Income At Home

Many people are aware of the common ways to earn a part-time income at home. Babysitting or in home daycare centers are often the number one choice for stay at home mom’s who want to earn a second income for their families. Stuffing envelopes or making jewelry are some other commonly known ways of making a part time income at home. But, in the new age of computer technology and internet commerce, there are many other ways that you can make a part time income at home. Anyone with basic computer skills can make money part time at home. There are many companies out there that rely on independent contractors to sell their products. Those with time on their hands can use internet marketing and call lists to make a part time income at home through sales and commissions. Some of the companies out there are scams, however, so watch out. Those who are not interested in sales but have basic typing skills can make a part time income at home by performing data entry tasks online. There are many opportunities available with companies, both positions and as an independent contractor. You can also find work in data entry through bid for work web sites. Those with more advanced computer ability can perform work as a virtual assistant. This can be a great way to earn part time income at home without getting bored from doing the same thing over and over again. As a virtual assistant you never know what type of projects you could get. You may be doing spreadsheets or you might be typing from scanned pages. Whatever you will be doing, you can be sure to earn a great part time income while staying at home. If you have writing ability you can also look into getting a part time income working as a copy writer. Copy writers write much of the content that you see on web sites, in advertising, and even in many online magazines. You can make a very good part time income while working at home, exercising your creativity, and enjoying a variety in work. There are many other ways that you can earn a part time income from home such as transcription, medical transcription, affiliate marketing, and through running a blog with Google AdSense. Whatever type of work you decide to do to earn a part time income from home, make sure that you check out the company thoroughly. For every legitimate income opportunity there is a scam. Make sure that you get involved in a legitimate income opportunity.

How To Create A Marvelous Business Opportunity From An Affiliate Program

If you are creating an affiliate program to improve the performance of your company in the Internet, you have to make sure that you’re offering your future affiliates the best tools to make their jobs easier. If you want to make your affiliate program into a business opportunity, you need to concentrate first on giving your affiliates the opportunity to earn as well. How to Create a Marvelous Business Opportunity from an Affiliate Program The most important thing to remember when managing affiliate programs is that its success will largely depend on how well your affiliates will perform. You can increase the chances that they’ll perform better by making their jobs as easy as possible. The Proper Way to Make Banners – These are the most eye-catching of all types of advertisements, but they can also be quite troublesome. Customers might be turned off at the amount of time required for downloading large banners in websites. While it won’t hurt to host and offer a few large banners for those inclined to use them, it’s better if you offer a greater selection of smaller banners for your affiliates. Compensate for the minimal size of your banners by making them as visually attractive as possible. Play with colors and choose words and graphics carefully. The Proper Way to Write Text Ads – Many affiliates prefer to host text ads of merchant websites because they use up lesser space and bandwidth without sacrificing effectiveness. When creating text ads for your affiliates, always make sure that they are short but detailed – they must clearly sum up the important benefits your products or services are offering. They must also have a catchy title – one that grabs the attention of the reader right away. Secondly, and in the odd chance that your affiliate might prefer to create his own text ad regarding your products and services, make sure that your program offers writing tips and suggestions to help them in this endeavor. Why Pop Ups and Pop Unders aren’t Cool – They used to be an entertaining novelty but not anymore. Nowadays, most people consider this type of advertisement – especially pop ups – as an online nuisance because they keep appearing when they’re not needed. As much as possible, avoid offering affiliates pop ups because they might just work to your disadvantage. If necessary, offer them pop unders instead. Etiquette for Email Advertising – Sending marketing newsletters through email is always an excellent strategy because it allows you one-on-one time with your reader to talk about your company’s products and services. Many people, however, have abused this opportunity by sending SPAM. In spite of its reduced credibility however, most consumers are still willing to give email marketing a chance…but just once, and if you still blow it off then you’ll have to suffer the consequences for eternity…or until you get a new and valid email address, that is. It’s important to brief your affiliates on the dos and don’ts for email marketing. The first rule that they mustn’t ever breach is the frequency of sending emails. Naturally, they shouldn’t flood a person’s inbox with the same email over and over. Secondly, they must always offer the reader a choice to not receive emails anymore by automatically taking off their names from the list. Thirdly, they must focus on keeping the content of their email as short as possible while managing to sound interesting at the same time. Always remind your affiliates to end their letters with a call for definite action. Regular Meetings – Hold regular meetings with your affiliates. Meetings must be done in both group and individual basis so that they can benefit from interactive learning as well as individual consultation. While you may not be their employer, you are still the person they’re looking up to for advice and support and it’s important that you give them these as much and as often as you can. Pay Them Right – Lastly, as this is essentially a business opportunity for you and your affiliates, money is the tie that binds both of you together. If you want them to display a stellar performance, make sure that you show them why they have to. Pay them the rates they deserve and equally importantly as well, pay them on time.

Why Should You Make Friends With Co-workers?

Cooperation is the key to success in any business and workers who can work together can mean the difference between success or failure. By making friends with co-workers it can ease competition for the affection of the boss and help allay any suspicion that you are going to stab the other folks in the back to further your own career. Being friends does not necessarily mean going out to dinner and having family picnics in the park together, but it does mean that in the workplace, a spirit of cooperation can go a long way to show that you and your friends have the best interests in the company at heart. There may also be times when you fall behind in your work and with friends in the office, they might be more tempted to help you through a few rough spots than if you treat them as adversaries in the workplace. They will also be more amenable to come to your defense if a project is not done exactly right. On the flip side, you will have to repay them in kind, by covering for them while they are on vacation or they require assistance on a project in which they are involved. The hard part comes in when the friendship exceeds the boundaries of the office. If for some reason the people develop a dislike for each other while participating in an activity outside the office, it could have detrimental effect on their workplace demeanor. While friendships between co-workers on the same level in the pecking order are generally acceptable, it is never a good idea to try to be friends with the boss. Others may see this as an attempt to cozy up to the boss and if the supervisor does become friends with an underling, it could prompt accusations of favoritism. Any one who supervises others should never begin a friendship outside of work with a person who reports directly or indirectly to them. If a friendship develops between to people on the same rung of the corporate ladder, they should keep in mind the possibility of one being promoted to higher position and know the friendship will most likely be in trouble as a result. It can really cause a friendship to become strained if one is appointed as the other’s supervisor on a temporary basis, as there may be attempts to use the friendship to receive special considerations. Whenever one is promoted over the other, regardless of what they say, there will probably be hard feelings directed at the one with the new position. Romantic friendships in an office rarely work out, and when they break up it can lead to uncomfortable consequences for them as well as for their co-workers. Friendships can work out in the office, provided they are maintained on a professional level.

Loan Insurance Can Be A Valuable Safety Net

Loan insurance can be a valuable lifeline if the worst thing should happen and you are unable to work due to involuntary unemployment, an accident or prolonged sickness. A policy will cover you for a specific amount of money and for a period of time, usually around 12 months, sometimes up to 24 months, which means that you would be able to continue to met the monthly repayments on a loan, credit card or other borrowing. However it can only be a valuable lifeline if you have purchased the policy correctly. Policies have exclusions within them and these are usually hidden in the small print, so unless you specifically read the small print, they can go unnoticed. This could mean that if you try to claim for something that is excluded, then you simply won’t get paid and will have wasted the premiums as well as have the financial worry of how to cope. Unfortunately the majority of people buy a policy alongside their loan or credit card from their and do not bother to read the small print, believing that they have bought a policy they are eligible to claim on. In order to get the right policy for you, then it is essential that you shop around go with an independent specialist provider who knows the ins and outs of the sector and so can give you the benefit of their knowledge. Along with this, the standalone provider is able to offer you the cheapest premiums on a policy and this usually can make a huge difference compared to the price quoted by the high street lender. With finances often being stretched to the limit – after all, this is why you take on a loan in the first place - then it is of course wise to get the essential cover for the cheapest premium possible. The high street banks have been well known for charging premiums that are way above the odds in favour of making huge profits, even if this means giving the consumer poor advice when it comes to their policy. So loan insurance can be a valuable lifeline, but only when taken out correctly, so do thoroughly research the marketplace before you buy.

How to Evaluate a Franchise Training Program

Franchising has become a universally accepted business practice today. In fact franchise businesses account for almost half of all the retail sales in the United States. Therefore there is a significant trend among the general public to engage in franchise related businesses. This is confirmed by the survey results which reveal that “a new franchised business is opened every 8 minutes of every business day”. As many people are in search of franchise opportunities, we at bizymoms thought it would be highly relevant to discuss the things to consider in evaluating a franchise program so that you can ensure your dreams are achieved. So if you are a prospective franchisee, this article is just for you. One of the fascinating things you may find out about franchising is that most franchises don’t require you to have experience in their field. In fact, many of them don’t even want a franchisee with previous industry experience. They will train you to excel in a job you’ve never done before. So it is needless to say that training is the most important aspect which can determine your future success. Now do not assume that proper training of new franchisees is important only to the franchisee. In fact your success becomes the success of your franchisor. So they should do whatever it takes to make you ready for the challenge. A good training program should focus not only on the product or service but also on setting up the business, marketing, employee management, business procedures, financial reporting and many more. The best way of finding about a particular franchise program is to ask the existing franchisees. They should be able to tell you exactly why it is good or bad. You should never forget to ask them how prepared they felt when they opened their business and what ongoing training they were provided. Another important aspect of training is the documentary help provided during the training program. This means that everything you need to know is written down in easy access manuals or other training support sources like intranets. It doesn’t matter how best you fared as a student it’s impossible to remember everything. Therefore you need quick answers as and when the problems arise during the course of business. The surveys conducted by the famous research agencies show that the people are aware of the need to focus on the training program. But what they often forget is that the quality of the programs varies significantly over time. When you ask from the existing franchisees on their experience of the training program, you are accessing an outdated knowledge base. Most probably problems existed then may have been resolved and sometimes the so called fine training programs on those days are now outdated. Therefore in order to achieve proper results you need to focus on current and updated information sources such as new franchisees who have just stepped in to business. The main advantage of franchising for novice prospective businessmen is that it provides you a proven method of success. The franchisor has done many things before franchising the business to you. These may include establishing and building the brand, testing a variety of marketing concepts, finding the best way to deliver a quality service or product, and researching the best value in suppliers etc. Therefore provided you have received a proper training and you are equipped with necessary tools your success is almost guaranteed. So there is no trial and error but it’s more or less a matter of stand and deliver. However it’s up to you, of course to put in the hard work that will make that success a reality. Enjoy franchising!

Is Making A Good First Impression On Business Clients Important?

It has been said that it is important to always make a good first impression and you only get one chance to do that. After that opportunity passes, you will play catch-up in having your clients believe in you. You only rarely get a second chance to make a good first impression so you have to make the best of the opportunity. In business, the first impression begins with the first contact a potential client has with you. Whether it is on the telephone or in person, the first time a client has any type of dealings with you company can help him for an instant opinion. Unfortunately, for many business owners, they are not the ones holding the key to the first meeting. It could be hindered by the receptionist who answers the phone or the maintenance man who is supposed to keep the front sidewalk clear of litter. If they are not all on the same page in making your new clients feel welcome, you are fast approaching the point of being too late to make that good first impression. Even if the prospective new client gets into the office with no trouble for the first meeting, do not keep them waiting. While five minutes may not seem like a long time, but it could give the opinion that you do not think that person is important to your business. If they feel they do not matter to you, they will not believe you matter to them. It does not matter what industry you are in or what type of work you do, there are many others that can provide the same service or product. The new client wants to be comfortable knowing that you are going to say what you will do and then do what you say. If you make the client feel uncomfortable or make them wait, they will probably seek another place to park their business. If the new client feels good about doing business with your company and strikes a deal, that is only the beginning. That first impression can be ruined by bad follow up and not delivering on your promise. If you can do everything right, that first impression can translate into the best advertising you can hope for…word of mouth. It is a commonly accepted theory that if you make one client happy they will tell five others. If you do not treat them right they will tell two of their friends, who will tell two of their friends and so on, until business quits coming to you. There is no shame in doing what is right for the customer. After all, if the clients quit coming to your door, you may as well lock and stay at home.

Boost Your Business With Effective Financial Management

Working Capital, to put it briefly, refers to a business organization's total current assets (short-term ones), marketable securities, accounts receivables, inventory, and cash. Management of the financial segment is a great responsibility that demands equal attention on investments as well as sources of income (both long term and short term). In fact, a business firm can never enhance its value if it fails to survive initial hiccups in the short run. Hence, efficient management of finances is essential for any business to survive. Strategies to finance short-term working capital needs much greater attention than are usually practiced. Precisely speaking, there are two short-term working capital financing options; business cash advance programs and short-term commercial mortgage loan programs that have been often overlooked. But these two working capital funding options are excellent for small and new business ventures to ward initial financial obstructions off their way. Business cash advance is one of the best financing options for businesses accepting credit cards as mode of payment. Speaking of benefits, business cash advance offers great help even to prospering businesses. For instance, even thriving businesses need working capital that might not be borrowed from a bank. Under these circumstances, business cash advance or merchant cash advance programs come to the rescue. Retail chains, bars, and restaurants, service businesses are highly benefited from these finance programs. Receivable factoring or "credit card factoring" is another unique working capital management strategy, whereby the businesses sell their future receivables at a discount. However, it is not possible for all small businesses to document their receivables in order to qualify for this financing option. The documented sales volume and credit card sales activity of these small businesses serve as financial asset to attain a business cash advance or a merchant cash advance. Not negating the importance of short-term working capital loans, it is also necessary to understand the importance of long-term working capital management. While planning to finance your business long-term, make sure to get hold of a long-term commercial mortgage for at least 15-20 years. In a few cases though it becomes essential to avoid long-term commercial mortgage loans and opt for its short-term counterpart. This would especially be applicable for those who intend to sell or refinance their business within one to five years. In fact, availing short-term commercial mortgage loans comes with the added advantage of negating prepayment penalties and "lockout" fees, normally associated with long-term loans. There are few lenders providing effective services for both these financial strategies. Hence, working capital loan in the form of business cash advance programs or commercial mortgage loans should be chosen with great care.

5 Business Success Planning Tips

Plan, Do, Achieve - Business Success Action planning can help you get there fast! Let me ask you three questions - Does business success planning sound more fun than business planning? To be successful in business, do you need to take action? Do you take action more quickly and easily when you are having fun, or when you know that your action will make a difference? Answering 'yes' to any of the above questions indicates that you are ready for business success planning - an action-oriented approach to help build your business faster. The driving force behind this is the thought that you can move faster and with more ease when you focus on doing what you enjoy and when you understand key requirements to grow your business. This eliminates the worry and loss of time that results when you have no business success plan. Knowing your ultimate destination, planning and considering your options along the way, and taking focused action to meet milestones, will help you reach that destination one win at a time. This is a key aspect of business success planning - a fun variation on old-fashioned business planning. It's not just creating a plan document. It's an action-and-results oriented approach to plan, do and achieve business successes, which helps you to maintain business building momentum and, also, adds to your credibility along the way. Plan, do and achieve, starting with 5 Business Success Planning Tips to move forward fast: 1. Get clear on your purpose and products, and pace yourself – Understand and be able to convey your vision, your mission and why you are in business. Identify and plan competitive products/services to sell today and tomorrow. And, pace yourself. Outline timelines for milestone achievement that will help you to reach your ultimate destination, and get into action. Think about what products and services you will sell to meet your goals. How will you do it? Why are you the one to deliver this, and what sets your business products and services apart from the competition? Do you have a mantra and mission that propels you forward? Do you know that this is not an overnight journey? Have you identified milestone achievements, so you can pace yourself to get where you need to go? 2. Write it all down – Document everything along your business journey! With good documentation, you will be surprised how much of the work will already be done when you need to share information for marketing, sales, financing, staffing or other business requirements. Think about customer needs, existing and future products, competitors, suppliers, human resources, etc. Write you findings down to keep track and make sense of them as you explore your business development and take action. It will help you to understand and think through your business, how it will work and the requirements to be successful. Compiling your business success plan along the journey assures that the documentation will be ready when you need it. 3. Validate your plan, share it and always be open to revising it – Share your findings and action results with "independent parties." Listen carefully to their reactions and recommendations. Be open to making revisions that will help you achieve your milestones and your ultimate goal. Think about what it will take to be successful, including predictions and thoughts on products, services, financing, market demand and competition. Consider how you will respond to market, technology, financial and other business changes today and tomorrow. 4. Get help to develop and maintain your success plan in order to meet milestone commitments, and be willing to adjust your course as necessary – While you definitely need to commit to milestone achievements and testing your plan out, you may need to change course slightly or shift your business to reach your destinations. Working with a business consultant or coach can help you navigate shifts and stay on track to meet your mark. Think about what help you need to commit to milestone achievements and testing your plan out. Identify and hire qualified resources who are committed to milestone achievement and your longer-term business success. Where will you find this help? 5. Do the math – Think through (and document) the financial requirements for your business in the near, medium and long-term. Think about the capital you need to realistically prepare for and attain milestone achievements. How will you track business progress to measure efficient capital deployment and to remain in business? Your investment in the business in terms of time, money and effort is only worthwhile if you know and understand your business financial requirements and can fund activity along the way. This is key to reaching milestone achievements and, then, longer-term vision. Use these tips to make your business ownership journey success-oriented and rewarding. You can even aim to make it downright fun! © 2007 Time2Market Inc. All Rights Reserved

The Power of Attraction

The power of attraction concept has become very popular in recent months. The power of attraction is a mindset that you can have things attracted to you if you take the right steps. For example, if you change your mindset from worry to confidence then you will attract the things you desire. Another example is to let your desire be known and send this information out into the universe. The universe will respond by sending the things you desire your way. Many people believe that this concept is extremely powerful. Are you looking for ways to improve your business? What specifically do you desire? Do you want to make more contacts? Do you want to earn a higher income each month? Begin by writing down the things that you desire. For example, you might want to earn $10,000 per month. Then set a goal a little higher than this amount. For example, make your goal $15,000 per month. Believe that you can achieve this goal each month. Set your mind on a positive path. In other words, look for the impulse that comes from within and act on it. You have planted a seed within yourself. Your job is to act on the signals from this seed. Those actions will set you in the direction of your dreams and intentions. Here’s an example of the power of attraction at a conference. There are hundreds of people at the conference. They were instructed to get out 3 business cards. On the back of the first card, they were to write down something they wanted that someone on this planet can provide. They had to be specific. For example, they are looking for a particular product or person. The power of attraction dictates that they can find somebody in the room that has what they are looking for or know someone who does. They repeated the process with the two other business cards as well. They have planted their order in the universe because these people wrote their desires down. Here’s another example. One man wanted to talk to the famous business man Richard Branson. This man thought about it in the airport and suddenly a magazine article about Richard Branson appeared to him in the airport gift shop. The man now has a chance to contact the author of the magazine article so he can eventually meet Richard Bronson. This shows the power of attraction and networking. This also shows you that your desire can come to you in some surprising way. Follow this exercise and get your desire out in the universe. They may just come true.

Fear: Your New Best Friend

Do you know the three steps to creating wealth? Creating wealth for your business depends upon your ability to sell, sell, and sell your products and services. Let’s look at the three steps to creating wealth beyond your wildest dreams. Following are the three steps to creating wealth that will have you raking in the cash: Step #1: Fear. You need to find out what people fear. If you haven’t created a product then find out what people fear in life and make a product that helps get rid of that fear. If you already have customers then find out their fears so you can create even more products. Step #2: Promise of relief. So you’ve found out the fear of your customers, now what do you do with this information? You create a product or service that provides relief. You promise that your product will save the day and alleviate their fear. Step #3: Money. To maximize your sales you need to let people know why you are the person to solve their concerns. You have to provide credibility so that they will give you their money. If you don’t provide credibility then they won’t have faith that your product will actually solve their problems. You can provide testimonials, show results, and give your credentials so they will literally throw their money at you. Fear is a very powerful feeling, so you can use fear to your advantage. What are examples of these three steps in action? Let’s look at a couple of examples. Example #1: Do your customers have concerns about earning the most profit from SEO on their website? You could provide an informational product that helps relieve this fear of losing out on money. Example #2: The diet industry. The diet industry preys on the fear of being overweight and provides an easy relief solution through diet pills, programs, and gadgets. They prey on the fear that people feel like they will never be able to lose weight unless they order their diet products. Take the lead from the diet industry and uncover the fears of your customers. If you can provide the magical solution, with credibility to stand behind it, then you maximize your profit in no time. If you don’t then you could lose out on thousands or even millions of dollars in profit.

Forex: The Keep It Simple Stupid Guide

A wonderful way to diversify your investment portfolio is to learn forex trading. Many new investors have discovered the world of foreign exchange trading to be an exciting new challenge. One that is filled with rewards that are beyond what they were achieving as stock traders. Currency forex trading is a great way to branch out into new investments. Experience a completely new world of investing by stepping outside of the chaotic domestic economy. The unique thing about the forex market is that it never closes, if you feel like trading at 2am it's not a problem. Unlike with other markets, such as the stock exchange, you can continue dealing with the currency trading market without worries over it closing at the end of the day. Websites give you 24-hour access to monitor what has been happening in the world currency markets at anytime. Through these sites you are able to learn all the basics about the market. The websites will include tools and tips to guide you through the beginning steps of trading. This is a clear advantage because you can hone your trading skills before laying down your own money in the market. When you think of it, the forex firms are training you to become skilled at trading for free by providing guidance, demos and news at no additonal cost. In a short while you will start feeling confident in trading and investing in forex. It only takes about $300 to start getting some good returns. Learning forex does not require that you have a degree in economics or that you study the markets for years. The forex trading websites have made it easier for you to become successful. Forex brokers will give you access to the market for your currency trading. Just like stock brokers, they can provide you accurate information and advice on how to deal with Forex trading strategies. Advice includes all the aspects of the Forex trading market which extends to research approaches and technical analysis to improve the member�s trading performance. Naturally, because this market has apparently been providing a great return on investment, large financial institutions have been proactively monopolizing the market. However, with the trading firms, small-time individuals also have the opportunity to earn money through Forex trading brokers. As I mentioned earlier, the online firms have been providing powerful website tools to become familiar with the whole idea of the currency market. Your choice of Forex trading broker will largely depend on your need in the trading market. Many brokerage sites will provide trading simulators and expert advice as well as research and analysis designed for first time traders. Furthermore, these websites typically provide experienced online Forex traders who offer in-depth advice to forex traders of all levels. All of these tools are available to beginners to try out. You really can earn money by taking the time to learn forex trading. The availability of investment simulators and 24-hour customer support enables new investors to learn quickly. Not only can you be trading in no time, you will also be showing a tidy profit. Start researching forex trading. You might be shocked to see how many large companies are involved.

Fear – Your New Best Friend

Do you know the three steps to creating wealth? Creating wealth for your business depends upon your ability to sell, sell, and sell your products and services. Let’s look at the three steps to creating wealth beyond your wildest dreams. Following are the three steps to creating wealth that will have you raking in the cash: Step #1: Fear. You need to find out what people fear. If you haven’t created a product then find out what people fear in life and make a product that helps get rid of that fear. If you already have customers then find out their fears so you can create even more products. Step #2: Promise of relief. So you’ve found out the fear of your customers, now what do you do with this information? You create a product or service that provides relief. You promise that your product will save the day and alleviate their fear. Step #3: Money. To maximize your sales you need to let people know why you are the person to solve their concerns. You have to provide credibility so that they will give you their money. If you don’t provide credibility then they won’t have faith that your product will actually solve their problems. You can provide testimonials, show results, and give your credentials so they will literally throw their money at you. Fear is a very powerful feeling, so you can use fear to your advantage. What are examples of these three steps in action? Let’s look at a couple of examples. Example #1: Do your customers have concerns about earning the most profit from SEO on their website? You could provide an informational product that helps relieve this fear of losing out on money. Example #2: The diet industry. The diet industry preys on the fear of being overweight and provides an easy relief solution through diet pills, programs, and gadgets. They prey on the fear that people feel like they will never be able to lose weight unless they order their diet products. Take the lead from the diet industry and uncover the fears of your customers. If you can provide the magical solution, with credibility to stand behind it, then you maximize your profit in no time. If you don’t then you could lose out on thousands or even millions of dollars in profit.

12 Ways Leaders Tell Their People They Are Important

Leaders know the old saying "How you act shouts so loudly I can't hear what you're saying" is the truth. They use it to their advantage. Leaders know the greatest sense of accomplishment and importance often comes from non – monetary rewards, and from positive recognition from the person who is the boss. And they know they can do it without "breaking the rules" or incurring big expenses. Many managers feel constrained by the rules and regulations of their organizations. They feel that their hands are tied when it comes to rewarding their people – that their actions are controlled by others, and there is little of any real value they can do to motivate their people. Here are 12 Ways leaders let their people know how important they are: Way #1 – Leaders truly believe the work performed by their people is important. This may sound pretty basic, but that is an absolutely essential belief. Without it there is simply no way people can be convinced that what they do is important.. How often have your heard – or been guilty of saying – or thinking – "Oh, she's just the receptionist" or, "He's just the janitor" or "They're just trainees" or "They're just a staff weenie?" Way #2 – Leaders expect the best from everyone, and settle for nothing less. Nothing makes people feel more important than high expectations for their performance. Leaders make sure their people share in setting the expectations. Way #3 – Leaders create goals that are shared and that show the tie in of individual work with the success of the organization. Way #4 – Leaders select the best – in every opening they have. Every tool is used to ensure that the best possible decision is made on who is selected. People watch very carefully to see who is picked – they need to be involved in the selection process whenever possible. Leaders know that actions taken in selection communicate how important the open position is. Who is selected is seen as a direct reflection on the quality of the people in the organization. Way #5 – Leaders are their people's institutional champion! What's that mean? When their pay is wrong, leaders get it right. When their reviews are scheduled, leaders ensure they are done accurately and on time. When their raises are due, leaders make sure they are handled properly and on time. Leaders jealously guard their relationship as the go to person for their people. Institutional support people can help, but leaders know they are the key contact for their people. Way #6– Leaders are absolutely intolerant of unsafe, disruptive or other negative behaviors. They act on them quickly and decisively, and never let their people see them knowingly ignore a bad situation. Leaders know these situations will not go away, regardless how much "wish'in and hop'in and pray'in" might be done. Way #7 – Leaders know that trust and respect are not the same thing as being liked. It is nice to be liked, it is absolutely essential that people trust and respect their leader. As a comedian said: "If you want to be liked, get a dog." Way #8 – Leaders cultivate a climate of civility for their people. In their relationships with their people, they make sure their actions reflect a fundamental respect for others. Way #9 –Leaders get every one of their people some form of self development activity on a regular basis. It may be a seminar, it may be tuition refund, it may be a book, it may be a CD set, it may be reimbursement for a Webinar or a podcast, it may be a Community College course – it does not have to be expensive and time consuming, but the act of creating added value through the investment of personal effort supported by organizational resources is a powerful way to express importance. Way #10 – Leaders respect their people's time – it's their most valuable asset. Leaders start meetings on time, end them on time, keep meeting commitments. They do what they have to do to ensure their people have the use of as much of their work time as possible. Way #11– Leaders keep the rules and policies to an absolute minimum. If there is workable set of cultural and organizational "Way's Of Doing Things" then the basis for treating people with individual regard exists. If they don't exist, leaders set them in their own area of responsibility. Way #12– Leaders celebrate the successes – they create the opportunity for group recognition to happen all over the place – if Safety is an issue, they create a Safety Award process that celebrates progress. They make the celebration events frequent, the rewards modest – but they do it all the time. Leaders know the frequency of awards and the opportunity for celebration are as important, actually more important, than the annual lunch or dinner or whatever. Did you notice one thing about all 12 Ways? Not one of them deals with lots of money, or more capital, or new policies or procedures. All do require beliefs and behaviors – and they are the most challenging, most high leverage efforts that can be made to improve an organization. It's always tempting to do a feel good seminar, or buy something, or take some action that shows a high level of commitment to the people.. But the truth is that the way to greater success is through a focused, day to day effort to improve the level of commitment of the people in an organization, and that takes hard work, leadership and the acceptance of change. If you can see Ways that can help you organization or your work group or yourself in this article, take them and run with them – they are the basis for successful managers becoming successful leaders.

The Magic Move to Being in Business

Lots of entrepreneurs that I speak to spend a lot of time "being busy." They're attending meetings, answering emails and a ton of activity that fills up their schedule. They have great ideas in the middle of it all, but are so overwhelmed they fall into "productivity paralysis" and are just plain perplexed about how to really get to that next level. There's a magic move to being productive and profitable in business that no one is talking about. Before we get to the "Magic Move," we have to first acknowledge that as an Entrepreneur you should always be striving to work on your business rather than just in your business. You open up the energy around this by setting up systems. This approach allows you to be set up for growth and actually implement all those fabulous ideas you have. For example, if you're an acupuncturist instead of only treating patients all day you can explore ways to treat and reach more people at once-leveraging your time and your income. Strong systems in your business operations will create that space. I have entrepreneurs I coach who either set up or strengthen their systems as a must. For the sake of this article, we accept that as a given. Now, step into the magic move-the one that has you in joy with everything you're doing, rather than just trying to catch your breath and stay one step ahead (or filing you your time with "stuff" because you secretly feel lost about what to do next). Often, I've found that even when you have the tightest of systems, you can find yourself feeling like something is missing. Your energy is a bit blah and you don't feel jazzed to create. Even though the systems are crankin', you feel stuck. Just about every time I hear this from an entrepreneur, I know the magic move is missing; there isn't anywhere in the systems that allows for time to just be. Incorporating this move makes all the difference in the world and it's the one that is most resisted (including myself at times). Interesting, right? Let's get clear about exactly what I mean by "time to just be." I'm not talking about time to watch TV or be with family and friends-although this is important and should be part of your systems, too. I'm talking about time to really connect to that part of yourself which is a direct connection to divine, inspired action. These are the ideas, solutions, and "how tos" that cannot be conceived of, created, or tapped into when you are busy "doing" and "going 24-7." And it's the powerful, magic move that no one in business is talking about. Frankly, I believe it's because they're scared to. Traditional business doesn't operate from a place of stillness. The battle cry is, "if you're not in motion, you're losing money!" Meanwhile, money is being left on the table everywhere because folks are rushing by and too busy to see it. Even all the latest buzz about the Law of Attraction is filled with insistence to, "use this tool, this exercise, this strategy." Be sure to understand, these are very helpful, but the point of them is often lost; to bring us to that deep place of knowing that comes from being able to be. Every time I've coached a client around this magic move more money has appeared. I have one client who just created $4,500 in a half day. The inspiration to pursue this means would never have appeared had she just still been going, going, going. It works. Call To Action: Start by scheduling some "be" time. Just take it and see what happens. Write down anything that comes to you. Let it go and then return to it a week later. Mark what that experience is like (you might be surprised what happened in the week between!).

Are You Famous or Focused?

Are you famous or are you focused? Let's start with "famous". When people look at you, what do they say that you are famous for? Are you famous for procrastination…negative words…poor time management…What are you famous for? Let me share with you what I am famous for. I am famous for consistent, structured, focused daily strategies and techniques to live a victorious life. I know…that is a pretty strong statement! You see, I would rather be "focused" than famous. I am focused on success. I am focused on assisting you in achieving you dream and discover the greatness that is inside all of you! Forget about being famous, let's be focused. Be focused on your dreams…be focused on providing for your family…be focused on building a huge team…be focused on Finding Your Why! Let's commit today to become focused and start changing people's lives. Millions of people world wide watch shows like "Who wants to be a Millionaire" or "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". The interesting thing is that everyone sitting on the couch with a bag of popcorn watching these shows are broke. Why? Because they are famous for sitting back and watching shows on other people being famous. How about we flick the switch in life from famous to focused. Stop dreaming of other people being famous and start being focused on your own destiny! You must laser-focus in on your success and demolish procrastination and create action. Demolish resolutions and create results! Let's demolish fear and create faith! How is this all possible by simply being focused. How do people become gold medalist, super bowl champions, etc? They take charge of their lives, hire a coach and become focused. What are you? Who are you? Where are you going? How are you going to get there? More importantly, why are you not focused? Those that know their "Why" are very focused. I am focused on my Why of changing lives of Champions worldwide through my coaching, mentoring, seminars and success library and creating massive success in those Champions lives! Do not allow famous to get in your way of being focused. Make a commitment today to forget fame and become laser-focused! Let's get focused and know your Why! Let's go out and impact the world one heart at a time. Focus creates success and Fame creates problems. It's your decision…become focused and live your dream!!!

The Secret to Becoming Rich

Napoleon Hill, the author of Think and Grow Rich, believes that a person does not have to be a genius to become rich. Any person can become wealthy if he thinks positively and has a deep desire to achieve his goal. Positive Thinking: You must see your financial dreams and know that you will be able to attain them. You must already own them. If you begin making up every rationalization under the sun why you can't succeed, pinch yourself. You have to discipline your body and mind to think positive thoughts. Teach yourself that those kind of thought patterns are unacceptable. You can obtain greatness, even if you are not the smartest, most talented, or best looking person in the world. Success is your if you'll just allow it to come into your life. Don't underestimate the power of your thoughts. Burning Desire: Hill tells a true tale of a man named Edwin Barnes who desired to become Thomas Edison's partner. Most of us would have scoffed at him had we lived back then. Edwin Barnes was a nobody. Nevertheless, he had a deep desire, a life dream, and he was determined. He went to Thomas Edison and convinced him to hire him. He did not instantly achieve his dream, but he worked hard and ultimately became Thomas Edison's partner. This was a feat everyone thought was impossible. Edwin Barnes followed these 7 steps to gain this great success: 1. Choose a definite dream. 2. Put all your energy into that dream. 3. Be willing to do menial work at first. 4. Visualize your dream. 5. Form a strategy. 6. Endure through the hard times. 7. Eliminate any way to retreat. As you focus on obtaining your goals, answer these questions: What is the exact amount of money I want? What am I willing to sacrifice for it? What exact date do I want this money by? What is my strategy? Don't forget, to successful people, there is no such thing as "defeat." What looks like defeat is no more than a great opportunity. Start creating opportunities out of failures and being successful today! NOTE: Use of this article requires links to be intact.

Learn Forex Trading to Expand Opportunities

Capitalize on the opportunity to learn forex trading so you can begin the process of branching your portfolio out of domestic stocks and into the global market. Any financial advisor worth his weight will tell you that it is important to diversify your investment portfolio and this is by far the largest volume market in the world. Daily, it does nearly four times the volume of trading than the New York Stock Exchange does. Anyone who holds a basic understanding of how money is converted and exchange rates work can learn forex trading. The sale or trading of currency is at the heart of what forex is. Using one currency to buy another means that your counterpart is using their currency to buy yours. As exchange rates fluctuate and the economies of nations surge and recede, these investments in cash behave in value very much like a traditional stock. As with any new venture, you will need to master the vocabulary that is an inherent part of forex. When you begin to learn forex trading you will be introduced to terms like pip, spread, cross, base currency and trade currency. Foreign exchange trading does have some unique terminologies. While they may be new to you, you will learn them quickly because they describe certain parts of forex quotes that you will need to understand in order to trade. There are quite a few resources available to those who wish to learn forex trading. The reliability of internet access has opened the door to online forex trading, which means that more investors have the ability to participate in trading activity. Since the foreign exchange trade is considered a spot market, the ready availability of internet access is crucial. Business is done on the "spot," thus the name. You can capitalize on many benefits when you learn forex trading. The availability of a 24-hour a day market is one. Since forex involves the trade of currency at banks across the globe, the market never closes. The market is also remarkably liquid, meaning that you will never have trouble finding trading partners. Since most of your trading partners are banks and the medium is cash, you will never be at a loss for customers. Another benefit is the lack of commissions. Since you make the trades on your own, you don't have to spend part of your profit on brokerage commission fees. Taking the time to learn forex trading opens one more investment door for you. As you continue to realize the importance of diversifying your investment portfolio, it may be a good idea to begin looking at what kinds of opportunities are available to you in foreign exchange trading. You may be surprised to see who else is capitalizing on this market and just how easy it is.

How to Find a Broker for the FOREX Trading Market

It's not always easy to know what to look for in a broker in any market, much less a market as complex as the FOREX. But, if you want to trade in FOREX you need a broker. While it might be tempting to simply ask the brokers what they can do for you, you can't always depend on them to give you a straight answer. Here are a few things to consider when choosing your broker. You will want a broker that has low spreads. Since FOREX brokers don't charge a commission, this difference is how they make money. Low spreads will save you money. Along with this, you should be looking for a broker attached to a reputable institution. Unlike equity brokers, FOREX brokers are usually attached to large banks or lending institutions. The broker should also be registered with the Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) as well as regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Once you've narrowed your choices down to brokers that won't cost you too much, and that are reputable, consider the trading tools that they are offering you. FOREX brokers have many different trading platforms for their clients, just like brokers in other markets. These often show real-time charts, technical analysis tools, real-time news and data, and may even offer support for the various trading systems. Before you commit to any one broker, request free trials of their tools. Brokers generally provide technical as well as fundamental commentaries, economic calendars, and other research to help you make good trades. Shop around until you find a broker who will give you what you need to succeed. The next item that you will need to evaluate carefully is the number of leverage options your potential broker has. Leverage is a necessity in FOREX trading because the price deviations in the currencies are set at fractions of a cent. Leverage is expressed as a ratio between the total capital that is available to be traded and your actual capital. For example, when you have a ratio of 100:1, your broker will lend you $100 for every $1 of actual capital you have. Many brokerage firms will offer you as much as 250:1. If you have low levels of capital you will need a brokerage with high levels of leverage to make reasonable profits. If capital is not a problem, any broker that has a wide variety of leverage options would be a good choice for you. A variety of options will let you vary the amount of risk you choose to take. For example, less leverage (and therefore less risk) may be preferable if you are dealing with highly volatile (exotic) currency pairs. Along with different levels of leverage, look for brokers that offer different types of accounts. Many brokers will offer you two or more types. The smallest account is known as a mini account and it requires you to trade with a minimum of around $300. The mini account also generally offers a high amount of leverage. The standard account allows you to trade at a variety of different leverages, but it requires minimum initial capital of $2,000. And finally, there are premium accounts, which often require significant amounts of capital. They also generally have different levels of leverage available to the traders who use them, and often offer additional tools and services. You will need to make sure that the broker you choose has the right leverage, tools, and services for the amount of capital that you are able to work with.

Forex Trading

Forex trading, or foreign exchange current exchange trading, is a global phenomenon. This is the single largest market in the world. There are many different market sectors that are involved with Forex trading. These include, but are not limited to; " Banks" Corporations" Governments" IndividualsWhat is Forex trading you ask? At its simplest, Forex trading is currency being traded for another currency. However, Forex trading is anything but simple. The market has massive trade volume and is very fluid. Not to mention the hundreds of different currencies being traded and their ever changing value.Forex trading is a very focused area of trading, but the amount of time andenergy most people and companies spend getting trained and educated on Forex trading and its inner workings and pitfalls, is at least as much time as it takes to learn the stock market.Because of the complexity, Forex Trading is not your typical overnight success operation. There are many large corporations, such as GCI Financial which is a market leader in this space.Forex trading is unique in that everyone does not have access to all of the same information and prices at the same time, as they do with the stock market. I won't get into specifics here, but basically there is a tiered level whereby different levels of access are given to the Forex traders and Forex firms.The other main thing to remember about Forex trading is, until such time that the world adopts a single currency, Forex Trading will be around for a very long time.

A Look at Online Forex Brokers

An online forex broker is a firm that facilitates retail trading using Internet technologies. Global Forex Trading (GFT), one of the popular online forex brokers. It provides retail traders with a free demo trading account, allows users to open a live account, gives live help, provides software called DealBook FX 2, and allows viewing of account documents. (DealBook FX 2 can be downloaded for the demo trading account).Gain Capital Group's Online Forex offers 200:1 leverage. In some cases, the total return on investment is higher due to leverage. For example, with $1000 cash in a margin account, the investor can control up to $200,000 in notional value. Of course, trading on leverage magnifies both the investor's profits and losses. GCI Financial Ltd. offers commission-free online trading in forex. GCI offers Internet trading software, fast and efficient execution, and 0.5% margin requirements. This broker offers USD or Euro denominated trading accounts. The spreads are 3 pips in EUR/USD and USD/JPY, and are 4 to 5 pips for other major commissions. Clients can hedge by opening positions in the same currency in opposite directions. Risk to the investor is limited to the deposited funds. Market analysis and research, real-time charts, and forex trading signals are available at no charge.ACM, part of the REFCO group, offers 3 pip spreads on all major currencies, which works out to between 0.02% and 0.03% on the dollar value. They also offer commission-free trading, and forex trading with a 1% margin, which means that a trader can control $1,000,000 with $10,000 in his account.There are many online forex brokers that offer free demo accounts for potential forex traders to practice trading. It is only a matter of registering and starting demo trading to get a feel for forex trading. In addition, at most sites, traders can find free forex news to assist them with their trade strategies.

Why Trade the Forex Market

Trading the Forex market has become very popular in the last years. Technology advances like the internet have spawned this new trading craze, where anyone with a secure internet connection prepared to undertake a small amount of training can engage in trading foreign exchange on the forex market. Before the Internet, only corporations and wealthy individuals could trade currencies in the Forex market through the use of proprietary trading systems of banks, often through private banking. The foreign exchange market is one of the largest in the world if not the largest. It is more than 3 times larger than the stock/equities market and more than 5 times bigger than futures, give Forex traders nearly unlimited liquidity and flexibility. It has been estimated that approximately $2 trillion USD of currency exchanges hands each and every day. The foreign currency markets are very liquid because worldwide, the most powerful international banks provide a market around the clock. The Global foreign exchange market daily averages of the Bank for International Settlements in 1998 were $660 billion and now have increased to $2.3 trillion (2006). There is really no insider information in the forex markets. Since exchange rates are calculated by actual money flow as well as by the outlook of financial flowage, which takes into consideration such things as inflation, GDP changes, trade and budget deficits and surpluses, as well as interest rates, it would be difficult to come across so-called 'insider information'. All of these factors are self-evident, though different projected outlooks may prove more accurate than others. There is less room for market manipulation is there may be for thinly traded stocks. A equally important property of forex market is the fact that trends in forex market last longer and are more clearly defined than in any other trading instrument. Analysis of forex market charts also often displays identifiable chart patterns of price movement and once a pattern is established, the trend or pattern becomes the most probable course of future price action until the market changes. Because the FOREX market is so huge, there is no possibility of someone controlling the market price for a long time. When there are a lot of buyers and a lot of sellers, you can expect to buy or sell at a price that is very close to the last market price. The market maker in the forex market is usually a bank or brokerage company that provides during the trading day a bid and ask price. Example of forex market makers include CMS Forex, GFS, Forex, Forex Capital Markets (FXCM), and Global Forex Trading, all of which are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) of the USA. Brokers offer clients access to online FX trading system, platform or software that can make it easy and fun to trade the market and usually there are usually no commission charges. With these trading systems and platforms you can trade the forex markets for free using the same state-of-the-art software packages that professional Forex traders use to help them make real-time, live currency trades. So individuals with a few hundreds of their own currency hope to buy and sell something for a smiling profit. Speculators trade to make a profit by purchasing one currency and simultaneously selling another. In conclusion I think the FOREX market is one of the best investment opportunities around today. There are great opportunities in the FOREX market because of the constant movements of the exchange rates. There is no surprise that more and more traders are turning to the foreign currency market to take advantage of the fluctuation in exchange currency rates as a way to speculate and trade to increase their capital and wealth.

Unique Commodity Trading Strategies To Survive And Prosper During Tough Markets

Surviving the rough times to be present for the big moves is the name of the game in commodity trading. With some luck we can even break even while the other participants are getting chopped to pieces. It requires giving up something to get something else. Learn how a few of the big hits can be avoided for a small price. Read about ways to participate in the long haul moves while still sleeping well at night.Let's say our forecast makes us bullish on the market. We want to check out the possibility of buying a future contract and hedging it by buying a put option. There will always be a choice here - either buying an option spread (as in the previous example) or buying a future with an option hedge. One method will always be better than the other. We need to determine this to get our strategy edge on the market. Much depends on the option premiums. Again, this is where it's handy to have an automated option evaluation program.Now we can get creative and more flexible. Let's say you have faith in your forecast that the market is going to rally within 2 - 3 weeks. If it doesn't happen by then, then the trade is suspect. Let's buy a futures contract and also buy a put option as close to the current market price as possible. Hopefully we pay a reasonable price for the put option. The closer you buy it, the less loss and risk if the futures contract declines sharply against you. However, the option premium will be higher too.The put option becomes a synthetic stop loss order for the futures contract. You will lose until the market hits that option strike price and then no matter how far the market drops, the futures contract loss is fixed and limited. Now here's the trick and edge...Select an option with only a small amount of time, like 30 days or so. The option will cost less because of having a short time remaining. If your future contract moves up within 2-3 weeks as you expect, the put option will lose its value quickly and expire within 30 days anyway. The option is the sacrificial lamb that has done its job for a few weeks and then dies. It has protected you against the big potential hit. We dodged the ball. Now it's up to the futures contract. That's where the profit will come from, if the trade is destined to work out.Once the futures contract gets far away from your entry point under the initial protection of the option, you can then move up the future's stop loss order to break-even. A new option could always be bought later if desired to synthetically lock in some profits. However, this is option overuse and the premiums start to catch up with you. We must take on risk or the market will not pay us. We become parasites if we hedge too much, add no liquidity or load risk onto others. In this example we economically used an option to lay off large risk at a critical time. After that brief, partially-hedged window, we again assumed the risk. There are other ways to do this, but beyond the scope of this article. More later.So far we have discussed entry techniques and ways to lower our risk at critical times when our exposure is the greatest. Remember that we are trying NOT to get hit by the dodge-ball and are happy making singles and doubles. Let the newbies swing for the fences and strike out 90% of the time. The idea here is survival until we identify a big market forecast and the move starts. That's the only time to swing for the fences. You want to play it conservative 90% of the time and swing hard 10% at most. To do otherwise is the road to consistent losses. Trade like a guerrilla warfare fighter. Survival first, shoot at our own time and place...sparingly. Let the others line themselves up and face off to their heart's desire. In another article we will discuss methods of using futures and options for synthetic exit strategies. This will include option granting, and futures hedging of options. Good Trading!

Learn Forex Trading In An Innovative And Easy Way

Why Learn Forex trading?The forex market is by far the largest market in the world. It is estimated that around $1.5 TRILLION is traded every single day. By far more then all the stock, bond and futures markets of the entire world combined! Forex or currency exchange is the term used to describe the trading of world currencies. A trade occurs when a trader simultaneously buy of one currency and sell of another one. E.g., to buy British pounds with US dollars. The currency combination used in a trade is called a pair.What does a forex trader do? Simple, buy a currency at a low value and sell it at a higher value, and in the process profit from it! For example, buy Great British Pounds with US Dollars, wait for the Pound rate to go up and make money! This can be done several times a day if the forex trader is a day trader or several times a week or month if the trader is a forex swing trader.What are the main benefits of trading in the forex market?Many currency pairs are very volatile. Volatility means that they move a lot during the day, from side to side, allowing traders to capture sometimes 5-6 price swings per day, each one potentially allowing the trader to make impressive profits.5-7 currency pairs to monitor (instead of over 10,000 stocks!), no commission trading, guaranteed fills for stop losses and limit orders, impressive leverage. The forex market is a 24 hour market. Never stops. This means that as a forex trader you can chose exactly when to trade. Some traders have day jobs and do not have the necessary time to trade during the day so they can trade at night. People who make their living as forex traders can chose to trade any time of the day or night. The point being, a 24 hour market allows the trader a lot of flexibility.What are the Exclusive benefits offered by forex trading?An incredible benefit of the forex industry is that today all forex brokers allow traders to open free demo accounts. This demo account has the full capabilities of a "real" account including live market rates, access to real-time market analysis, and the ability to execute trades off streaming prices. This means that the trader can test his or her strategies without risking a single dollar! No other business opportunity allows you to see if it works before you spend money!Making a living as a forex trader allows you to be truly free! No office, no workers, no inventory, no marketing worries, no advertising, no selling. Learning the right forex trading system allows the forex trader to trade by just following simple rules. If A happens and B happens then do C. This is called mechanical trading. It requires absolutely no discretion, interpretation or thinking from the trader.In conclusion, Learning forex trading provides all level of investors with a lot of opportunities that many markets and industries do not provide. The reason many people have not heard of this opportunity until recently is that until not long ago trading currencies was reserved to the big dogs (banks, institutions, companies etc). Today with the help of the internet anyone can take advantage of on-line currency trading that was once reserved to an exclusive group.

Perks of Automated Forex Day Trading

Are you interested in automated forex day trading? There are many things that you should know about automated forex trading, and this is a great place to learn about it. The idea of automated forex day trading is recently getting more and more popular. Futures exchange was the first to adopt this system and later on, the FX market followed suit and employed automated forex day trading.- EfficiencyThis system is very efficient and successful because of its capability to carry out a deal or a trade - real time. This means that there are no lags and fewer complications when trading and these results to more income generated. Achieving this level of efficiency is very hard to do by manual means especially if the decision to trade or not to trade can only be done in a time window of a few seconds. There are even instances wherein the window of opportunity is just a few milliseconds! There are instances wherein the trader is not in his desk and the opportunity suddenly presents itself, while sometimes a trader will skip deals for a while if he recently came from losing deals. These factors are eliminated by an automated system.- VersatilityAn automated system allows you to trade in diverse fields. It makes it possible for you to trade in varying markets as well as an array of time zones. Many trading models can be used by the trader since the system will be the one managing each trading model. Short term data can be analyzed by the system and this provides you with an advantage since you can use the data analyzed for making decisions based on what is currently happening in the market. Analyzing where the market will go in the next 15 or so minutes is impossible without using an automated forex trading system.- Improved liquidityLiquidity is greatly improved by the use of automated trading systems. This can be deduced by observing the behavior of the futures exchange market after employing an automated forex trading system.- SetbackTraders are foreseeing that a problem may arise when the time comes that all traders will adopt the automated system. The volume of orders may be so great that the existing bandwidth as well as current equipment used may not be able to accommodate this influx of information in real time. Existing systems might be able to carry the load and crash which will result to chaos in the market. As of now, safety controls have been created and set in place to prevent this scenario from happening.- Risk ManagementAnother big issue that concerns forex traders is risk management. Even automated forex trading systems require a risk management tool to ensure that there are no errors while trading. Risk management tools requires that before opening a position, checks should be conducted to ensure that no excessive correlation is present in already existing positions. To be 100% sure that the check is accurate and free of error, the whole system must first be synchronized. But as the technology used in forex trading progresses and evolves, these will no longer be issues to be concerned about.There are even instances wherein the window of opportunity is just a few milliseconds! There are instances wherein the trader is not in his desk and the opportunity suddenly presents itself, while sometimes a trader will skip deals for a while if he recently came from losing deals. These factors are eliminated by an automated system.These are some of the things that you should know about automated forex day trading. The information provided here will give you a better grasp and knowledge about this topic. Hopefully this will be helpful when you are deciding to try this kind of business.

Forex For The Future

A non-geographical, existential market, the foreign exchange market exists wherever one currency is traded for another. Far and above the largest market in the world, the $2 billion traded every day includes trading between large banks, individual investors, corporations, governments and various other institutions.Established in 1971, Forex trading has only recently become an individually traded market. Until the present time, only major institutions could trade on this market. Retail traders are currently a small, but constantly growing, part of the Forex.Ten years ago, the Wall Street Journal estimated the daily trading volume in the forex market to be in excess of $1 trillion. Today that figure has grown to exceed $1.8 trillion a day. Based on the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1945 aimed to stabilize international currencies and prevent money fleeing across nations, the U.S. dollar became fixed at a rate of $35 per ounce of gold.Thus, the gold standard was formed and Forex trading became a possibility. But only in 1971, when the Bretton Woods Agreement was abandoned, was the Forex market established. By 1973, major currencies became free to the push of supply and demand. The power of speculators came to be.With the advent of technological innovations like computers in the 1980's, money was soon able to be traded across time zones. Within minutes, like never before, massive amounts of currency could be exchanged. Today, London holds the world's largest international financial center and the major site for Forex trading.The interbank market is beneficial for both the major commercial turnovers and large amounts of purely speculative trading that takes place on an everyday basis. Some large banks trade billions of dollars daily. While some of that trading is on behalf of the bank's customers, much is for the bank's own account. Until recently, brokers on the market did most of the business of trading for a small fee, but now individual investor's can jump in on their own.The benefits of individual investors gaining hands-on access to Forex trading really came to be when the large inter-bank units began to offer small traders the opportunity to buy or sell smaller units (or lots) on their own.At present, the Forex market is appealing because of its massive trading volume, extreme liquidity, the number and variety of traders in the market, long trading hours, factors that affect the currency exchange rates and the geographical dispersion of the market.Between April 2005 and April 2006, Forex trading increase by 38 percent and has more than doubled since 2001. This can be attributed to the increasing importance of foreign currency exchange as an asset and an increase in fund management assets. Also, the vast array of execution venues, like Internet trading platforms, has also made it easier for retail traders to trade.In May 2006, a European exchange survey company found the top 10 investors in the Forex market were mostly American banks such as Bank of American and JP Morgan Chase, as well as international investors like Deutsch Bank and Barclays Capital.Trading on the foreign exchange market is up and coming

Forex - You Need A Real System!

Although it has been some years since I was actively involved in trading, I have just returned to the markets and have begun to trade a small account on my own behalf. This has perhaps given me a slightly skewed perspective of the markets, almost like a new entrant, but one with a lot of experience.There have been some big changes whilst I have been inactive, not least in the number of online brokerages fighting for every dollar.But many things stay the same, at the heart of which is one, I guess, unbreakable truth. Trading is basically a very simple business, with any trading stocks, options, FOREX, whatever only really involving three steps:1. Find several possible trades evaluate them and decide which to go for,2. Calculate how much to trade, and decide at what points to enter and exit the market3. Keeping an eye on, or monitoring, open market positionsNow, these three steps were basically all there was to it a few years ago, and they still And, guess what, people are still getting totally bogged down right here, at this early stage of the trading process, generally, for one of two reasons.The first possible reason is that they simply are not aware that these are the steps involved in the trading process, or (the second reason) they have no clearly defined rules for actioning these steps. Thus, less experienced, more nervous, traders can often take hours to evaluate a small number of potential trades.Experienced day traders, on the other hand, are fully aware that, with little time available to execute their trading, they must have a process plan and they must stick to it.
A day trader will set out his (or her) plan of action something like this:1. Recognize the opportunity, enter the market2. Stay in the trade for as long as possible if it is going for him or3. Get the heck out of there with minimum losses, as soon as it is clear it is going to go the wrong wayThat s it! That s essentially what a day trader in any market was doing years ago, and that is what a day trader is still doing today, with little or no change to their working practices brought about by the vastly more advanced technology of today.Savvy day traders learn very quickly that they must plan ahead of time, so that they are in prime position to take full advantages of the opportunities that occur in real time.Thus, day trading, which on paper at least is a pretty dangerous and risky manner of working markets is, in fact, one of the most disciplined trading schools! By the nature of market movements and the way they operate, day traders simply cannot afford to run their trading business on a wing and a prayer!

Choose Your Online Forex Broker

Online Forex brokers are known to be a required evil if you are going to trade in currency. There are also those people who are eligible to trade without outside assistance, but for the normal trader, enforcing to trade on the Online Forex market with no broker is like trying to chase a grizzly bear with a soup spoon. Your chances of achievement are actually very low, and there is a distinct option you would get hurt quite badly. Of course choosing the incorrect forex broker might return results same as to the sick fated bear hunt. That is why it is significant that you select a broker in the right way.First thing to be considered is to be sure that the broker you choose has the proper qualifications. When you look at the brokerage firms in the United States, immediately exclude those that are not registered as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This is again important as this designation means that you are confined against scam and any possible abusive forex trading practices. Covering your personal security before a forex trade has been made is a high-quality way to wade gradually into the forex currency market.
Once you have removed the ones who do not have the required qualifications, and now have a short list of potential, the internet comes into picture. Just don't go with the brokerage firm, which has the best profitable, or gets the most excellent "Law and Order" individuality to assist in the following advertising, research your choices. A superior idea is to send some effective emails to your customer service people. Estimate how long it takes them to get in touch to you. This is, after all, a customer examine ambitious profession.
Once you are pleased with a firm's experience and customer service practices, its time to get down to your self-assurance tacks. Online forex trading speed is forever an issue, so find out how fast it takes your own potential online forex broker to carry out an order. Also, you would desire to know how much slippage could be expected. This needs information, which could be discovered in a phone call, or any email to customer service. You would desire these answers not only for regular markets, but for fast moving ones as well.

Forex Trading

Forex trading, or foreign exchange current exchange trading, is a global phenomenon. This is the single largest market in the world. There are many different market sectors that are involved with Forex trading. These include, but are not limited to;" Banks" Corporations" Governments" IndividualsWhat is Forex trading you ask? At its simplest, Forex trading is currency being traded for another currency. However, Forex trading is anything but simple. The market has massive trade volume and is very fluid. Not to mention the hundreds of different currencies being traded and their ever changing value.Forex trading is a very focused area of trading, but the amount of time andenergy most people and companies spend getting trained and educated on Forex trading and its inner workings and pitfalls, is at least as much time as it takes to learn the stock market.Because of the complexity, Forex Trading is not your typical overnight success operation. There are many large corporations, such as GCI Financial which is a market leader in this space.Forex trading is unique in that everyone does not have access to all of the same information and prices at the same time, as they do with the stock market. I won't get into specifics here, but basically there is a tiered level whereby different levels of access are given to the Forex traders and Forex firms.The other main thing to remember about Forex trading is, until such time that the world adopts a single currency, Forex Trading will be around for a very long time.

Swing Trading For Profit a Live Example

Swing trading is one of the best ways to make money in forex trading, it's also a lot easier psychologically than trend following.It's therefore a great way to trade for novice traders. Over the last few weeks we have looked at some live examples:Banked 4 profits, scratched one trade at break even and have one open. Let's look at it and another potential opportunity.First why is swing trading an easy way to trade?When we say is easy, we mean psychologically.You get in quick with low pre defined risk and you're normally out in 2 - 5 days with a good profit.This is much easier than long term trend following, in that you do not have to wait for months and see dips eat into your open profit.Long term trend following is highly profitable but requires a lot more discipline.We personally mix the two ways of trading to gain some diversification of style and smooth the equity curve.Swing trading basicsWe normally look for important chart support and resistance and trade contrary to it.We wait for prices to test these areas and watch for stochastic momentum to fall against resistance or rise against support.Then we know the level has held and trade off it.We also use RSI and Bollinger bands to define targets and that's it.Nice ands simple, but can be very profitable you can read more about this method in our other articles.British PoundWe are short at recent nearby highs and would look for a pop to the downside to Fridays low or near the middle of the Bollinger band.Stochastic is weak at present and odds favor a bit more to the downside.With swing trading you don't want to hang around to long, get out on specific target and that's very close now.Another opportunityLets look at another potential opportunity that's could be shaping up. The euro is trading near its highs and the spike high on the chart is resistance. Stochastic momentum is waning and a cross with bearish divergence will put the odds in favor of the bears.The important point is to wait for confirmation of the crossover - the target is then Fridays low just above the middle of the center of the Bollinger band.FinallyThe tools used swing trade are simple and easy to use, but that doesn't mean they can't make profits as we have shown.Importantly, for novice traders the discipline needed to trade this way is a lot easier.If you practice a bit and learn to spot the set ups you will soon be able to spot some great low risk high reward trades - Good Luck