Tips for Tea Marketing

Ever recall a shopping list which had items in the grocery listed as Dole bananas, Starbucks coffee and Danon yogurt. This typical list has so many brand names that we have unconsciously associated with these raw products. So how in the world do these companies successfully market these products and form a trademark on our mind? Their marketing strategies are so unique that it not only creates a brand value, but also has consumers in the form of fans attached to their products. As there are so many big corporations involved in marketing these products, it's extremely important to keep innovating the marketing plan and keep launching new products in order to gain a competitive edge over the competitors.

The strategy basically involves using marketing techniques like positioning tactics and various promotional strategies to market this basic product. Tea since ancient times has been used for beauty treatments, as a soothing agent, as dye colors used on clothes and as a cleaning agent. Even now, the ever expanding tea market continues to grow despite hitting saturation. Tea has always been termed as instant wisdom. So how do marketers explore this potion of wisdom to their benefit? Tea also has medicinal properties and is favored more than coffee now in the market. Also there are varieties in the tea market - black tea, green tea, ready-to-drink tea and fruit teas, which have already captured a major segment of the market. Following are some tips for tea marketing:

Researching the Market
It's necessary that you decide on the market you want your product to sell. Through market segmentation, you can divide the market on the basis of geographic, demographic, behavioral, psychographic factors and on price too. After segmentation, your goal will be more well-defined and it will help you to reach your customer in a more refined manner. Also, new strategies like finding out the motivation factor and social characteristics in the target market can serve as an answer to searching and reaching your goals. In your research, it is also necessary to conduct a survey and rely on the primary data, which will help you decide the future course of action related to your marketing goals.

Analyzing the Product through Matrices
Once you have zeroed in on the market, the next step is creating a matrix according to the needs of your product. This analysis will help you in identifying your product while measuring the relative market share and market growth. By identifying, your product can be classified as high earner or low earner.

Finding Suitable Channels of Promotion
After you have found your niche market, it's important to select a promotional tool that is effective in conveying the message. Promotional tools include television, radio, sponsorships, Internet and other advertising mediums. Also, the cost incurred while promoting the product should be taken into account. The new trend of promotion is making your presence felt at the new social websites.

Finding the Perfect Location
After choosing a suitable channel for promotion, location plays an important role. The product needs a strong distribution channel where your product can easily reach the customer at low cost. Also before the product is extensively advertised, the product should be before the customer's eyes. As it is a convenience product which is purchased through minimum effort, the product should be available at all possible locations. The plus point here is that as the customer doesn't have any strong preferences, new products are easily acceptable by the customer. This point can serve as an added advantage while marketing the product.

Marketing Audit
After your product has been successfully launched, it's time to keep a tab on your marketing plans, sales and profits. Through auditing techniques, one can find out the deviations between actual and expected performance. In this cut throat competition, marketing strategies need to be changed after a period of time. Therefore, auditing serves the purpose by measuring the performance of every plan and alerting the marketer if any changes are to be made.

In America, where convenience is of utmost priority, ready-to-drink tea markets have emerged as the best choice of customers. Now is the time for new innovations as many market segments have saturated. The positive aspect about tea market is that because of its positive health benefits, its market is never going to be extinct. In fact, declining sales in soft drinks and coffee has boosted the market for tea. Tea is finding its uses in many industries too, so there are more niche markets that can be developed. So the saying, "It's not your cup of tea" is certainly going to change with new product lines, new brands and new packaging.

How to Start a Dump Truck Company

Dump trucks are vehicles which are used to transport loose material like sand, gravel and stones for construction. Currently there's a huge demand for dump trucks because most US states are witnessing development on a huge scale. Construction of buildings, malls, condos, bungalows, hotels and resorts are in full swing. Contractors heavily depend on dump trucks because they are the primary mode of transportation for construction materials. Companies who supply these materials at construction sites generally don't have their own fleet of dump trucks, they hire these trucks usually from truck owners and pay them money for their vehicles.

Starting a dump truck business is a great idea, but it generally works for people who know about the business beforehand. Generally people who have been dump truck drivers for quite some time start the business of dump trucks. A high amount of investment is required in the start, but the returns are pretty good once the business is established. For people who wish to start this business, here is some helpful information.

How to Start a Dump Truck Business

In 99% of the cases, dump trucks are used to transport loose materials to construction sites. These trucks are equipped with a hydraulically operated open box fixed at the rear end which allows materials to be dumped out of the truck. Taking this private entrepreneurial route means having some dump trucks at the owner's discretion, so that they can be sent to the required location.

Starting the Business
The first thing to do before entering this type of business is to register the business name at a proper state or government office so that it can get the status of a legal company. By registering the business, clients will know that this is a genuine company and not a bogus truck company; many of which exist in large numbers. Having a copy of the registration in the office will surely help to get more clients, especially the big guns.

Initial Investments
As mentioned before, lots of initial investment would be needed, but this would also depend on the size of the business the individual is looking at. If he/she plans to purchase more number of trucks in the beginning the cost is bound to rise. To save heavy expenditure, it is advised to start small and see how things work out. People coming in this business should also understand that a lot of money will be spent in the registration and licenses of these commercial vehicles. Plus, employee salaries and the maintenance of these trucks shouldn't be ignored. A good way to cut down on expenses is to opt for used trucks. However, there is a risk attached to this practice as there are high chances of getting faulty trucks in hand. To make sure this doesn't happen, it is advised to take a test drive of the used truck before purchasing, or the vehicle can also be checked at a garage just to be sure of its quality.

Business Bank Account
Is there any need of opening a Business Bank Account? Yes. A Business Bank Account is probably the best way to stay connected with clients. Clients can directly transfer money through these accounts and this also proves that all the business happening between two parties is very legal and without any complications. Opening this bank account will also help the company get more business from various locations.

Advertise
Advertising is probably the best way to reach to a mass audience. Business ads are a popular medium to gain future clients and also expand the scope of the business. Opening a website is also great way to reach a global audience. Print the company's ads in the newspapers and yellow pages.

Another important thing to remember is to always keep in touch with local truck drivers because they are the ones who have full knowledge about the various changes happening in the business. With a little research and some investment, a dump truck business could be very profitable in the long run, should you make it a success.

Learn to Trade Forex

Forex Trading has become a hot topic all over the world today. The interest in the forex trading has 'compounded' post the big crashed in the stock markets of US and UK, as more proactive investors have already started searching for greener pastures. And amongst all this talk of forex market and currency trading, one can't help but feel the need to learn and keep oneself up-to-date with the present knowledge.

Before we start, let us get some answers about some basic questions you may have about the forex market.The forex market is a platform on which currency trading takes place. Why are currencies traded? Currencies are traded for two basic reasons. People trade currencies for operational reasons. If you are running a business in multiple countries, you are going to need currencies of those countries. Companies who want to expand their operations into other countries need foreign currency. People involved in foreign trade need currency of different countries too. The second lot trade foreign currency to make a buck from the fluctuations in the prices of the currencies. How do you measure the value of a currency? The value of a currency is relative to another currency (pair) with which it is being compared. For example, the only way we can 'measure' the value of a Dollar, is by comparing it to the value of another currency such as a Pound or a Euro. What determines this comparative price? Like the price of everything else in a free-market system, the comparative price of a currency is determined by the shifts in the demand and supply of both currencies.

I may have oversimplified the concept of forex market. Actually, estimating the demand of a currency depends on a multitude of factors and hence is really tough. Experts in this, spend their lives working to estimate currency price fluctuations and even they don't have a 100% accuracy rate. One could say that estimating share prices is a much easier prospect as the share prices depend only on one thing: the company's performance. Currency prices depend on several things such as the domestic industries of a country, political and economic stability, inflation, policy towards foreign investment, GDP, growth and employment, etc. All this is compared to the same factors of the country with who's currency, the domestic currency is being paired. So yes, estimating price fluctuations is no mean thing.

Forex Trading

Unlike the national stock exchange, a forex market is multinational and a lot more volume is traded on it. Hence you, as an individual investor with foreign exchange, might not have much of a say in the price fluctuations and demand, as there are other institutional investors that are trading in a much greater volume.

In case you are completely unaware of the market trading, it is essential that you first enroll yourself in some financial literacy classes that will teach you the basic economics of demand and supply and how it affects pricing.

It is a good idea to learn to trade the forex with the help of a broker. At least in the beginning, a broker's advanced knowledge of this field will give you direction, if you intend to go solo someday. He'll tell you all the things about foreign exchange hedging, etc. Consult a broker with a good reputation. You may be lured by a firm that asks for less brokerage, but it is any day better to have a trustworthy broker charging high brokerage, rather choosing the former.

While your broker is managing your investment, you can keep a track on your investment using some charting software. You can also chart the progress of other currencies and keep notes. Keeping an eye on the news and the newspapers is also a good practice.

You can use fake forex trading websites for practice. There are fantasy websites that let you invest 'play money' and actually let you follow-up on real currency prices. As the actual price of the currency advances, you make 'profits'.

It is a very dynamic market and quite thrilling to observe. But it requires patience, a keen eye and regular follow-up. Use these tips and you will surely do well at forex trading.

How to Report Credit Card Fraud

Technological advancements give rise to more and more sophisticated crimes. One such area is the fraud associated with credit cards, which are also treated as identity thefts. Along with the increase in the number of credit cardholders, there is a corresponding rise in the number of crimes related to it. Any person can be a victim of credit card fraud and so, it is always better to have some knowledge regarding how does a credit card fraud happen and how to report such fraud.

What is Credit Card Fraud

It is a term which encompasses a very wide range of theft or fraud committed, involving credit cards. These frauds may be aimed at buying goods or obtaining funds using somebody's credit card. A credit card fraud can happen in any of the following circumstances. The most common reason for such fraud is a lost or a stolen card. Credit card statements or the credit card itself may be stolen from mail boxes. Dishonest employees of the business establishments can use the details of your credit card number. Even the customer care agents, who engage in telephonic conversations regarding credit card transactions, have access to the numbers and may misuse it. There are instances of stealing credit card information from those statements and other written transactions regarding credit cards. Even online transactions are tracked by criminals, who record these transactions by implanting high-tech viruses. Credit card frauds may include application fraud, which refers to a fake application by a criminal to open an account in some other person's name. It can also happen when the account of a genuine person is taken over by a criminal, who collects information about the victim.

Reporting Credit Card Fraud

As mentioned earlier, any person can be a victim of credit card fraud, as more and more sophisticated techniques being integrated into the crime scenario. The following are some guidelines about how to report a credit card fraud.

• The first step you have to take is to obtain a free credit report online. Otherwise, you can get one by contacting a credit bureau.
• The next move should be to file a police report. Either you can go in person to file the report or you can do it over the phone. Once the report is filed, you must obtain a hard copy of the report, which can be used in future.
• Another important step to be taken, in case of credit card fraud, is to intimate your bank about the fraud and request the bank to freeze your accounts. You may further request the bank to change the number of the accounts you hold in that bank, so that nobody can fraudulently gain access to these accounts.
• You must monitor the transactions made by using your credit card. For this purpose, you have to make a telephonic request to the number given behind the credit card.
• Apart from all the aforementioned steps, you must report the fraud to the Federal Trade Commission, which can provide you with the information regarding your credit history.The credit card company must also be intimated regarding the fraud.

If you are the holder of a credit card, you have to be aware of these facts regarding how to report credit card fraud. The moment you obtain a credit card, you have to take note of the relevant telephone numbers, through which you can contact the concerned authorities, if you become a victim of such fraud. Complying with this procedure can be beneficial to prevent any further financial damage.

How to Make an Advertising Flyer

Advertising flyers are one of the best as well as comparatively inexpensive ways to market your products or services. Moreover, because they are relatively inexpensive, you can target larger customer groups for sales. As such, this makes them unique as methods of advertising that allow you to have your cake and eat it too. Knowing how to use advertising flyers to your advantage is an art, the process of which begins with first making it in a manner that is appealing, and then covering the right area for distribution of the flyers.

Creating Advertising Flyers: The Process

You may have noticed a lot of flyers advertising different products/events in your locality. Using these flyers as examples, you could come up with different ideas and make your own. Making flyers is like putting together several different ingredients to come up with one unique recipe. A little bit of this, and a little bit of that, and you have the best of everything. Here are some helpful tips on making these flyers.

Content
The process of making advertising flyers begins by first deciding what you want to put into it. There are certain guidelines that should be followed when you make your flyers. These include what you are planning to advertise, who you are targeting as customers, when the particular offer you are advertising begins and ends, the venue of the event, and the purpose (if applicable).

• The product or service you are selling is of utmost importance while making an advertising flyer. It is important that you put in the important points regarding the product, so that people take it seriously. Include the product name with a small description and the benefits of including your product over another. Do not include the prices of the product or service, unless necessary.
• If you are offering any discounts on any product or services, or any other offers such as free products on the purchase of a certain amount, remember to include that. Include it in a manner that makes it more prominent to the customer. For instance, change the font, put it in bold or italics, and increase the size a little more than the rest of your text. Moreover, include the offer for a limited period to be able to attract more customers. This way they will get to you quicker than usual.
• Put in your contact details, an address where you can be located, your email, if necessary, and your cell number. Ensure all these are legitimate; you don't want people to think that you are running some sort of a scam.

Presentation
Your advertising flyer should be eye-catching and visually appealing in order to attract the desired and necessary attention from customers.

• Instead of making it black and white, you could make it colorful. Now one thing to keep in mind is that the overall costs are going to increase when you opt for a colorful flyer instead of a traditional black and white one. However, think of the net result and the benefit you are going to attain if you invest in the right advertising campaign.
• You can also choose from glossy, matte or regular paper finishes. If it is a small group you are targeting, you can invest in these colorful and high quality papers. If it is a larger group, keep it simple to save your overall costs.
• Depending on your product, the size of the paper could be the standard letter size, or you could divide one page to make two smaller flyers.
• Though the look of the flyer matters a lot, it is the content that is going to get you all the business. Always keep in mind, not to use fancy and wacky fonts. Stick to simple fonts such as Arial, Tahoma, Times New Roman, etc. These are easy to read, and will definitely stand out against the background you are planning.
• If necessary, you could include graphics in the background. This is more applicable if you are advertising an upcoming event such as a garage sale, or a fete, or a service such as yoga classes, or aerobics classes etc. Whatever the purpose, keep the graphics mild and not too loud as this will divert attention from the content of your flyer.
• If it is a product you are advertising, then try to include a picture of it so that the customer gets an idea about what he/she is in for.
• Once the flyers are ready, have the necessary amount printed, and prepare them for distribution.

Distribution
Your entire process is complete when you know where and when to distribute the flyers.

• When: If you are undertaking promotional advertising by means of an advertising flyer, or providing a limited offer on your product or service, ensure that you distribute the flyers when there is enough time for the customer to get in touch with you. Ideally, a minimum period between 7-10 days before the offer or the event is a good time to distribute the flyers.
• Where: Depending on the product or service you are advertising, decide where you will put up the flyer. For instance, if it is a yoga class, a health center or a health store would be the ideal place to put it up. On the other hand, if it is a garage sale, you could probably find out if it is alright to include the flyers with the newspapers in your locality. This will ensure that every house gets one, and your targeted customer base will be larger.

Lastly, if you find it difficult to work with these, you can use the various templates and samples available online. Follow these tips and create your own unique and eye-catching advertising flyers, to make the most of, and from your business.

Buying a Small Business

We all encounter restaurants, convenience stores, guest houses, small manufacturing units, hair dressers and so on. They are the most prominent and simple examples of a small business. These businesses are basically characterized by less sales volume, fewer number of employees and they are normally not very dominant in their field of operation. The best part about these businesses is that you get a lot of independence and there are quite a few concessions and benefits given by governments as well. That's one of the major reasons, why people sometimes quit their high flying jobs and set up their own business, and indulge in buying a small one. So, if you are contemplating buying a small business, here are a few handy tips.

Guide to Buying a Small Business

• Identifying the kind, size and location of the business you want to purchase, is the first step. Jot down the search criteria and be clear in your mind about the credentials of the business you want to own.
• Analyze your finances. Just take stock of how much you can spend and invest. Give it an extremely serious thought.
• In addition to that, analyze and clarify your expectations from the business. A business option chosen with discretion and a proper thought can prove to be very rewarding, but plunging in the dark waters of a wrong business, can make life hell for you. So what you need will be strategic planning for a small business.
• Check out the financial status while buying into a small business, especially the liabilities and glitches. Also find out the reason as to why the business has been put on sale.
• Another very important thing to look out for, is the growth potential. If there is hardly any, that gives you the answer to the earlier point.
• Anticipate, if the owner is going to make a dash for it once he or she sells you the business. Ideally you would be an amateur, so you would need some business training and support which should be given by the original owners. So make it a point to add that clause about training and support while you write a business contract.
• Negotiation is the keyword. Communicate and negotiate and get things started.
• Always keep tabs on the business till the time you fix upon it, and till you seal the deal. See if you get to know some wishy-washy stories from those who have been in the business for some time.

This was a rough idea about buying small businesses. The following text will give you a checklist to help you out.

Checklist for Buying a Small Business

• First and most important is opting and registering the name of your business.
• Then, fix and set up the legal form for your business.
• Writing a business plan would help you further in properly establishing the business.
• Develop relationships with bankers and other professionals and most importantly an attorney.
• Complete the legalities and fulfill all the legal requirements for making the business operation smoother.
• Another crucial thing is to get all the licenses and permits needed for your business.
• Setting a price of your product or service is a major aspect of buying a small business, or rather any business.
• The financing process and allied issues should be sorted and clarified.
• Plan for risks, losses and consequently arrange for insurance and get the office space, equipment and material suppliers.
• Decide and fix the record keeping systems and financial management system.
• You would also need to chalk out a marketing plan, then hire employees and finally develop a daily managerial plan.

Buying a small business is no mean feat. There are innumerable things on the anvil and you have to always be on your toes. But if you get in the right business, well, no one can stop you from earning a few good bucks. The only catch is getting the right business and business terms.

That's all about buying small businesses! Good luck!

Accounting Career Objectives

Accounting constitutes a large number of jobs at various levels in the accounting and finance industry. Right from entry-level positions like that of bookkeepers, budget assistants, cost and accounting clerks to senior positions like that of chief financial officers (CFOs), chief accountants, accounts managers, financial analysts and budget directors, there is simply no dearth of jobs in this mentally taxing yet rewarding field! Education coupled with extensive work experience are vital to succeed in this field. If you are aspiring for a job change or seeking a job in accounting field then what you write in your accounting career objective statement just below your initial details in the resume, matters a lot. It is taken as a blue print of your goal for applying in the job.

Accounting Career Objectives In a Resume

Resume writing remains the most explored art of writing in business communication. The first thing that catches the attention of your employer in your resume is your career objective. Being specific and straight forward in your career objective remains the most critical aspect of career objectives writing. The constraint of using limited words in a career objective makes it a little challenging to mention everything; ideally in just one sentence. So how can one be honest, to the point, accurate and even write interesting content in just one single line!

An ambitious financial analyst with three years of work experience seeks a challenging position in financial reporting market to help you improve your business through the excellent financial analysis.

Confident tax professional with a diversified four years work experience in tax accounting in growing public accounting enterprises, seeks a tax manager's position.

Young, enthusiastic management accounting degree holder, willing to relocate, seeks a management accountant position for offering expertise to the firm in capital budgeting and line of business analysis.

Dynamic financial accountant with six years of expertise in M & A, long term financial projections and company law seeks a challenging position in a corporate firm.

With a goal to help the firm achieve its financial objectives, a chartered accountant with 10 years of work experience seeks a managerial position in strategic planning and decision-making department of the firm.

A motivated fresher seeks a data entry position in an accounting firm where skills of spreadsheet development, troubleshooting and accounting knowledge can be utilized to boost company's profitability.

With a work experience of two years, I wish to offer my skills in payroll/accounting to a mid or large size firm, thereby aiming to help the company to meet is financial objectives timely.

A bookkeeper certified by the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers, with three years of work experience in payroll, billing, and purchases seeks to offer a mid size company his services.

A fresher, ambitious accounting clerk, willing to work in shifts, seeks an accounts payable clerk position to offer his assistance to senior accountants, in a small, mid or large size company.

Accounting career objectives examples as mentioned above can be used by you as a tool to understand what you should include in your objective, while applying for a job in this field. You have to ensure that you have mentioned the position you are seeking in the profession and some vital adjectives to describe yourself (an ambitious accountant..., an experienced bookkeeper... etc.).

A simple and well written career objective will help you simplify your resume in a well presented and factually correct document that will hint your employer about your clarity of thought and career aspirations. If you find it very difficult to write an objective for yourself, seek help from a friend or someone who is better than you in writing or expressing what you want to say. If you don't have the time to seek help from your friend, the Buzzle article, how to write career objectives will enlighten you on some really simple and yet effective methods of writing an excellent career objective.

Carpet Cleaning Business Plan

Every business needs a solid business plan to define its journey in future, and carpet cleaning business is no exception. This business offers lots of opportunities for the entrepreneurs, but one must consider all the risks before starting it. Once you have an idea about starting a carpet cleaning business, the next step is to draft a business plan to document all your ideas and expectations from your carpet cleaning business. A typical business plan will cover following key points, namely:

Executive Summary
An executive summary is a short description about your company and its future goals. Executive summary also defines the path of success for the company. Ideally, it should give all the necessary information about the company at a glance. It need not be complicated, nonetheless, it should cover all the important aspects of the company such as, overview, mission and keys to success.

Market Analysis
Market analysis for the carpet cleaning business includes two key aspects, identifying your potential customers and identifying your competitors in the market. Extensive market research is of utmost importance to understand what kind of services you should make available for your customers. Similarly, study the existing carpet cleaning businesses in the market and understand, how they promote their services and how they are likely to affect your business.

Marketing Strategies
Marketing strategies define the actual activities you are likely to undertake for the promotion of your business. Marketing business includes all the promotional strategies such as advertisements in local newspapers, email marketing and Internet advertising, mouth publicity, hoardings, billboards etc. This aspect of the business plan emphasizes upon the planning and implementation of the marketing of the business.

Management Summary
Management summary focuses on how you plan to handle the different aspects of your business. It describes the basic qualification for an individual to be assigned a particular job in your business. Management summary usually focuses on the human resource management of the company. It defines the skills required for successful implementation of the company policies. However, you will need to introspect to find out if you and your employees have the required capabilities to successfully run your carpet cleaning company.

Strategic Plan
Strategic planning involves the plan for implementation of all the activities of the business. It underlines the financial aspect of the company. It also defines, how you are going to arrange for the machinery required for cleaning. You'll either have to buy them or you can hire them from the shops that rent or lease steam cleaners and deep clean machines. Strategic plan also considers the challenges that you are likely to encounter and the ways to cope with them.

Although, you need not follow your business plan to the letter, it is always better to adhere to it as much as possible. Having a business plan helps you to understand the risks involved in your business and the available resources to deal with them. However, at the end, how you excel in your business solely depends upon your own entrepreneurship skills.

Instant Approval Credit Cards for Good Credit

Instant approval credit cards for good credit are the best offers that you can find in the credit card market. A good score implies that your credit rating is between 620 and 699, according to FICO conventional credit score range. This range is often termed to be a good credit score. The advantage is that owing to good credit ratings and credit history, the terms and conditions of the credit card are very favorable.

Instant Approval Credit Cards for Good Credit: Definition

These credit cards are provided for all people who have a good credit rating and history, plus a credit score that is between 620 and 699 or higher. The instant approval credit cards for good credit are characterized by a low rate of interest and a variable APR. The total cost of credit thus becomes very less. Apart from low rate of variable APR, you can also save a lot of money by making the APR fixed and low. Low fixed rate credit cards are easy to use and the total cost credit is fixed for every month but is considerably low. Apart from the cost of credit, the APR that is levied has reasonable upper limits. In addition to that, you will have lesser membership fees and service charges. Some charges may not be levied at all. Thus, if you are short of the 'good' credit score, have patience and improve your score from bad to good. And then apply for the card, as you are going to hit a bounty. It must be noted that the APR of these cards differs from 5% to 15% or, in some cases, even more.

The term instant approval credit cards means that the credit card processing to approve the service takes not more than a few hours time. First you will have to fill in a form on the credit card companies official website and submit a couple of identification proofs. Then, all you have to do is wait. The company will go through all your personal employment details, current account statements and then will have a look at your credit report. Since the credit history and rating are optimistic you would have no problem in the approval process. The entire process will take only a few hours and you will find the credit card in your mail box in a couple of days.

Instant Approval Credit Cards for Good Credit: Offers

When you go out in the market with a good credit report to search for a card, you will receive credit card offers in double digits. The companies love you, as you have been paying your bills exactly on time. The instant approval credit cards for good credit also have high credit limits, which the companies are eager to risk due to your past record of repaying the credit card debt on time.

Credit card companies based in the United States are issuing a wide range of instant approval credit cards for good credit. Orchard Bank Classic MasterCard provides an excellent offer for good credit bearers. This instant approval MasterCard for good credit usually has a regular APR that ranges from about 8% to 29%. The annual fee usually levied is within $35 to $80. There is also an instant approval VISA for good credit, services such as MTV VISA Card From Capital One and Capital One No Hassle MilesSM Rewards provide such a VISA card. Both the cards have a APR of 16.90%. There is also an instant approval American Express for good credit services with a good credit limit.

I hope that the elaboration about instant approval credit cards for good credit has been sufficient. To find the best card for yourself, all you will have to do is go on the web, have a look at the different offers and calculate a rough estimate of the debt that you would owe to the credit card company with every billing cycle. Good luck.

Business Flyer Templates

Business flyers are amongst the most common methods of advertising a business - and very often, one of the cheapest. The whole mechanism of marketing with flyers is devilishly simple - make the advertising flyer, drop it on the doorstep of the people you think would make great customers and then wait for them to call you. The cost associated with making business flyers too is very less and you can reduce it further by making the thing yourself.

Designing Business Flyers

Importance of Business Flyers
They are one of the best ways of advertising small business which operate on a low-budget. Especially local businesses such as pest control, cleaning, laundry and small restaurants which cannot afford - or for that matter, do not see much sense in - making avant garde TV advertisements, given the very local customer base that they cater to, business flyers make for a convenient mode of advertising. Examples of this can be seen in articles on babysitting flyer template and party flyer templates. The costs are less, the impact is strong and if there is a new person or family in the neighborhood, they are no doubt looking for services similar to yours.

For Small Businesses
All it takes is the name of your company, the services it offers, a nice color-scheme in the background and your phone number. Many small businesses who opt for flyer marketing are business which people really can't do without - the cleaners, the carpenters, plumbers, etc. Once you put a word out that your business exists and that you are willing to do an admirable job, the calls will start coming in!

For Bigger Companies
Small businesses aside, the bigger ones too often feel the need to look for examples of good business flyer templates. The bigger business houses use flyers predominantly to introduce themselves to other businesses. As such, business flyers are often a good tool of business to business marketing. These flyers are necessarily jazzier and are made on glossy paper.

Making Flyers

Making business flyers ranges from really easy to not-that-easy depending on what sort of flyer you're making. The simple ones need a little help from either Powerpoint, Word or Paint or a combination of one or more of these software. The not so easy ones will need more advanced applications like the Adobe Illustrator, Adobe PageMaker and CorelDRAW.

What is it that you ought to ideally include in the flyer

• The name of the business.
• The type of work you carry out. For example, a cleaning business flyer will have to mention the range of services that they offer.
• The price of their products or services.
• A special offer or two, so that the customer will be tempted to use the product or service of your business.
• A contact number, so that a willing customer can call you and order your wares.
• Customer reviews (if any) can come in pretty handy, so that the reader will know that others too have been calling your business and are favorably impressed by what they experienced.

A Sample Business Flyer

[Name of the Company]

[Services Provided]

[Name]

[Availability]

[Contact e-mail]

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Business flyers are effective because they are unobtrusive and people can see and use them at their convenience, unlike TV ads, which can be rather annoying.

Marketing Vs. Advertising

People feel that marketing and advertising are the same thing. However, it is not so. These concepts are different and understanding what they are exactly becomes essential. Marketing is related to all those activities starting from buying raw materials of the product, till introducing it into the market and selling it. The principles of marketing are involved in each and very stage of product development, product publicity and it also involves evaluating how much demand is there for the product and sales generated by it. Advertising, is actually a small part of the entire marketing activity. In other words, it is a sub set of marketing. It just involves making promotional campaigns by making effective use of the media and making the product introduced by the company more popular.

Comparison Between Marketing and Advertising

While we talk about advertising vs marketing, we must get that the principle difference between the two is that marketing is related to providing good service and quality products to the customers. On the other hand, we advertise our products to increase their familiarity. Advertisements are given in newspapers, newsletters, magazines and on the Internet which has become one of the best means of product advertising in this modern age. The television channels are also the most sought after way of advertising products.

Marketing is different from selling too apart from its difference with advertising. Selling just involves exchange of goods for cash. On the other hand, marketing is done for ensuring maximum customer satisfaction and client retention. Marketing helps companies to build a brand and advertising alone cannot help achieve that. Branding makes a product something more than just a mere commodity. This is reflected from the names of products who have an established brand.

Marketing is a long-term process than advertising. If there is no product ready, then what will the companies advertise for? The process of marketing begins from the idea of the product itself. So, advertising can be called the last or the final step in a marketing process. Another difference is that marketing is a never-ending process. It is a cycle which keeps repeating itself till the company is fully operational. This means that marketing involves reviewing the performance of the products in terms of sales, analyzing faults and technical errors in products, appointing committees of efficient managers to deal with the shortcomings, overcoming them and maintaining the market share of the company. Advertising may or may not be a continuous process. We often see that companies advertise on a large-scale while penetrating into the markets initially. It may happen in future that the company might not require advertisements to sell its products as the word of mouth, reviews and reports of the products would be so strong and positive, that they will themselves drive the growth of the company. Of course, to reach this stage, it will take a lot of time and efforts on the part of the senior management and lower level employees.

Advertising is something which helps a company connect with its customers. It also includes creating a great psychological impact on the customers by explaining to them how the product is superior and more useful than products of rival firms. So we conclude that both these functions are equally important and useful. Think over it and use this information practically. All the best!

Ways to Invest Money for the Future

The key to letting your wealth grow, is to invest the surplus cash you have at hand from your business or your job income into profitable businesses which generate good revenue (by buying stocks and bonds), investing it in commodities like metals (gold, silver) or into financial instruments like certificates of deposit and retirement schemes that offer good returns. If every penny that you earn is made to work for you in the best possible way, by putting it into good investment options, you are going to have a steady income stream in the future, to take care of your family and fulfill your personal ambitions. The trick is to develop a sound logical framework to choose the best investment options and let logic dictate your decisions, rather than emotions. In this Buzzle article, I acquaint you with some of the best ways to invest money for the future, which includes short term, as well as long term investments.

Best Ways to Invest Money for the Future

There are a range of investment options, ranging from the high risk options with high gains, to low risk options with moderate to low gains. With surplus cash at hand, you may wonder what options can you invest in, to secure your future. Here are the best investment which cover the whole range of risk spectrum.

Invest in Stocks
A stock or share is a quantum of ownership in any public listed company. Buying stocks in companies with growth potential is one of the best ways of investing for the future. You can trade stocks through a qualified broker on stock markets like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The key to make money through stocks is to buy cheap and sell dear. Stock prices keep rising and falling according to the performance of the company and investor sentiment.

The trick is to know when to buy and when to sell a stock, while remembering the fact that all bullish markets must crash some day. Study the basics of stock investing and know what you are getting into, before going ahead. A recommended reading option is 'Intelligent Investor' by Benjamin Graham. You can reap substantial benefits by investing in the stock market to secure your future.

Invest in Bond Market
A bond is a type of debt security issued by businesses, with limited maturity periods. Bonds are bought and sold like stocks, but they don't provide ownership of a company or equity. They are loans you extend to a business, which promises to pay back your principal value with a fixed return. The key to make profits through bonds is the same as stocks. Buy cheap and sell dear. On end of maturity period, the bond holder gets the principal value back, along with dividends. Smart investment in the bond market can yield rich dividends.

Mutual Funds
Another option is investing in mutual funds, which pool in the investor's money. The combined money kitty is used to invest in stocks, bonds and other securities. Investors are paid back returns after management fees are deducted. If you are not interested in managing securities investments on your own, investing in mutual funds makes sense. The risk involved, is almost same as that of investing in stocks and bonds. Research the track record of the mutual fund, before investment.

Government Securities
Some of the most low risk and moderate yield investment options are government securities like treasury bonds, treasury bills and treasury notes. These debt securities are the best long term investment options as they are backed by the US government. You may also opt for Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), which are bonds that provide returns, adjusted for inflation. Investment in government treasury bonds is one of the best low risk investment options.

Real Estate Investments
With the property prices down, there is a lot of opportunity to invest in real estate. You can invest your surplus cash in buying property, which can earn you money through leasing and rent. It can generate good long term returns. These are long term investments which need to be carefully made, only after a thorough research of the future trends in the price of the property.

Gold & Silver
When in doubt, invest in gold and silver! That is the golden rule of investing as the prices of these metals are always on the rise. Buying and stocking gold is one of the best ways of investing for the future. That is because of the guarantee that it will fetch good returns in the future.

IRAs & 401 (k) Plans
One of the best and low risk options for the future are individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and 401 (k) plans that lets you save your money tax free, for retirement. There are limits set by the IRA, on how much you can contribute to these savings accounts, but they guarantee you with good returns in the retirement years.

Certificates of Deposit
Investing in a time deposit with a bank is one of the best short term investment plans. One such option is a certificate of deposit (CD). How do CDs work? You keep your money with the bank for a fixed period of time ranging from 6 months to more than 5 years. After the conclusion of this period, you are then paid back your principal along with the interest accrued. They are some of the best low risk options to opt in to.

These were some of the best long and short term investment options varying in the degree of risk involved. As most expert financial advisers will advise, the best way of minimizing your financial risk is to spread your money over the whole range of investment options. Let your investment portfolio be like a pyramid, with a large share of money invested in secure low risk options and increasingly lower amounts invested in high risk options. That way, you can keep the overall risk to a minimum. Wish you all the best for the future!

Medical Savings Account

A medical savings account unites the advantages of a highly deductible health insurance policy with the benefits of a personal savings account. Federally authorized medical savings accounts have been available to Americans since 1997 and is used by nearly 2000 companies worldwide. The traditional health insurance plans in existence, reduce individual patient costs to such an extent, that they make the individual research on the lowest possible cost, redundant.

In contrast to that, a medical savings account makes the patient aware of the rising costs of health care and allows him to choose the lowest priced, health care service available. The participants save the money in a tax sheltered account, which can be used to cover low cost and routine health care expenses that is currently tax deductible. For the unspent fund accounts, there are two options available, either the money can be saved for future medical expenses and the interest accrued would be tax free or the participant can withdraw the money from the account retaining a minimum balance. If the user's medical spending corresponds to the insurance policy's deductible, the insurance covers other inclusive needs.

Individuals need to first purchase a health insurance policy before deposits to the savings account can be made. There are a wide range of medical expenses that are covered under this scheme which include long term health coverage, disability, dental care, vision care etc. There are financial restrictions on the insurance policies that one can take. The people who qualify for a policy are limited financially as - an individual can take one deductible between $1,650 and $2,500 and a family can have deductibles between $3,300 and $4,950. Along with this, the maximum allowable out-of-pocket expense is $3,300 for individuals and $6,050 for families.

Taxation of the Medical Savings Account
These accounts which are state authorized, provide a state tax advantage to the holders and are subject to federal income taxation at the time of deposit. Spending on allowable medical expenses is tax free, however under most state laws any non medical spending from the account is subject to a tax penalty. On the other hand federally authorized plan established under The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (the BBA) are not subject to federal income tax. The deposits made to the savings account as well as the interest income earned, is not subject to taxation.

Medicare Medical Savings Account
This account is a type of Medicare Advantage plan, which links the highly deductible health plan to a savings account. First proposed in The Balanced Budget Act of 1997, under this scheme any Medicare beneficiary is eligible to acquire this account. The beneficiary will need to acquire a high deductible health care insurance policy to link to the savings account, deposits to which may not exceed $6000. Only beneficiaries with both Medicare Part A and Part B can enroll in the plan.

Advantages
The advantage of this account is, it allows users to spend the funds held in personal accounts. This not only sensitizes the user to the costs of health care but also allows him to shop for the least costly service. As consumer pressure builds up with consumers looking for the best prices, the widespread use of medical service accounts will create price reductions in the health care market. The other advantage of this account is, it gives individual patients the freedom to make cost conscious health care spending decisions. Along with this, a medical savings account might serve as a hedge against future expenses and provide long term health care and retirement benefits.

Criticisms
The introduction of this account has been criticized on many fronts. Critics argue that these plans will be more attractive to healthy people who would not be likely to spend from the account. As they start acquiring the plans they would be moving out of the health insurance risk pool, leaving behind much sicker individuals for whom the premium prices would rise. There is also the risk of the increase in Medicare program costs, as spending on beneficiaries choosing MSA with Medicare, will take an upward turn, as opposed to those without MSA.

There are other possible problems linked to this account, like the possibility that people may be reluctant to spend from their savings account and the tax free nature leading to widespread adoption of the plans and loss of state revenues. With the escalation in the health care costs, largely driven by patients who do not make intelligent cost-effective decisions while shopping for health care insurance policies, a medical savings account might be the answer to the problem.

What is a Triple Net Lease

It's always better to start from the very basic level to understand the things that need higher level of understanding. Hence, let me define what exactly a net lease is! This term is constantly used in real estate, where besides the rent, a net lease asks the tenant to pay some or all property expenses, which otherwise would have been paid by the property owner. The expenses include maintenance, repairs, taxes, etc. There are actually three kinds of leases. They are:

• Single Net Lease
• Double Net Lease
• Triple Net Lease

Triple Net Lease

A commercial lease agreement on the property in which the tenant or lessee has agreed to pay all real estate taxes, insurance, all the maintenance, etc. on the property, in addition to the conventional fee (e.g. rent) that are under agreement is known as triple net lease (also referred to as Net-Net-Net or NNN). In such cases, the lessee is responsible for all the expenses or cost that may be hidden or visible. In short, lessee is accountable for all the ownership expenses, leaving the owner free from such hassles.

Triple net lease is also called 'Triple Net', 'NNN', 'Net Lease', and "Net-Net-Net'. All these words are interchangeable. Normally, most of the NNN leases are between 10 to 25 years that include cost of rent, that always increases. In many modes, income from the net lease are like payments, the lender receives from an owed loan to a homeowner. The rent continues for a full term of net lease, making credit rating of the lessee very crucial.

Benefits of Triple Net Lease

• Properties that are net leased alleviate the owner from the everyday management hassles.
• The owner gets a steady income paid by investment grade tenant.
• NNN properties are generally built for retailers who have researched the market to find middle income areas and hence, have high residual value.
• Getting a mortgage loan at favorable rates, become easier for long term lease to a tenant with credit rating.

Triple net leases have long been used for large properties because of the benefits on taxes, cash flow, etc. However, agents have started using the lease in properties rented by small tenants (low value properties). From long, the lease has been used for long term periods but, leases for 2 to 6 years are becoming popular nowadays.

Sometimes, a triple net lease may get risky for the owner, when the tenant isn't able to pay the fees. In extreme cases, tenant may damage the building purposely to collect the insurance money. This is the main reason, why some triple net leases include a reserve fund. In this case, the tenant has to make regular payments to the reserve fund, that can be used to compensate at the time of emergency. The terms of agreements are sometimes made tougher to protect both the parties, in any emergency situations.

At any point of time, when considering lease options as a landlord or tenant, always read the full agreement before signing it. However, consulting a lawyer specializing in real estate is the safest bet.

Best Mutual Funds for Young Investors

The concept of mutual funds is interesting as well as easy to understand. Mutual funds are a form of systematic investment that can generate huge returns in the long term. However, choosing mutual fund largely depends on the following factors:

• Age of the investor
• Risk taking ability of the investor
• Time span for investment
• Amount to be invested

At a young age, a person has relatively less responsibilities, and the savings ratio is high. If these savings are invested in certain cheap mutual funds for young investors, they would be able to get decent returns after five to ten years which can be utilized to make bigger purchases. Youngsters should not keep idle cash with them, as this can affect their wealth creation targets negatively. Given below are some of the best mutual funds for young investors.

Mid Cap Funds
Though most of the top 10 mutual funds for young investors are large cap funds, some quality mid-cap funds can be helpful for young investors. These funds mainly invest in mid cap stocks which are considered to be pretty volatile. However, with proper fund management and investment in established companies, risk can be considerably reduced. Returns from mid cap funds can be as high as 25% in a good market.

Sector Funds
Sector funds can be the best investments for young investors. The sector funds concentrate on particular sector of the economy. While one sector fund will concentrate on banking and financial services, the other can have stocks from the construction and infrastructure sector. Because of this, investors can benefit from the 8 advantage of high growth in this sectors and protect their capital from losing in other non performing sectors.

Diversified Funds
Diversified funds can be among the best mutual funds for young investors. These funds average out the risk by having good stocks from all sectors of the economy. So, in a poorly performing market, a diversified mutual fund can protect your wealth from reducing greatly.

About Small Cap Funds
As the name suggests, the small cap funds are known to have shares of small companies in their portfolio. Since these stocks can be beaten down heavily in a bear market, investors with low risk taking ability should avoid them completely. For the adventurous investors, such funds can be an opportunity to pocket unexpected gains.

Ideal Funds for Young Investors

• American Funds - Capital Income Builder
• Templeton Global Bond Adv
• Vanguard Wellington
• Vanguard STAR
• Pax World Balanced
• MainStay ICAP Select Equity I
• T. Rowe Price Spectrum Growth
• Fidelity Contrafund

Mutual Fund Tips for Young Investors
Here are some of the important mutual fund tips for young investors:

• Before you choose a fund, study its offerings carefully and check whether you would be able to meet your goals with them
• Check the reputation of the mutual fund company before you sign up
• Mutual fund ratings can help you select a good fund without falling prey to poorly managed funds
• Have long time term plans to get maximum benefits of mutual funds
• Take help from an experienced financial planner to choose the correct fund for yourself
• Avoid taking too many funds and concentrate on the top few funds for assured returns

So, this content will definitely help you plan your investments. This is a much safer route for investors than direct stock investments and so, make the most of this opportunity. Good luck!

DISCLAIMER: This article is just for reference purposes and does not recommend any investments.

Business Grants for Women Owned Businesses

Grants or funds are money given to people who are in urgent need of it. Grants are given by government and private financial institutions to women who are planning to open a business venture. Women in general, are often sidelined and they face a tough time gathering finance for their venture and some support from people. If this is a case with you, then you can always expect a helping hand from small business grants designed especially for women. These business grants are provided by private, non-profit and some government backed financial institutions.

How to find a Business Grant for Women

The federal government does not provide any loans for starting a business. It helps some financial, non-profit and some private institutions to help women get loans for their business ventures. The good thing about business and government grants are that you don't have to pay them back. You can find such business grants for women on the Internet and your local Small Business Administration office (SBA). Some large financial institutions also market themselves through ads in papers.

Business Grants for Women Owned Businesses

The Small Business Administration (SBA) office is really working hard to ensure that women in the United States women gain financial independence and support the needs of their families. Since 1953 it has helped millions of American women to set up businesses which have now turned into successful corporations. Today, you can find a SBA office in every state ready to help you and hear your business proposal with open ears. The SBA has also joined hands with thousands of educational and finance lending institutions to make sure you get the appropriate help. Women owned businesses make billions of dollars every year.

Government backed financial agencies also provide small business grants for women owned businesses. To apply for any business grants for women owned businesses, you should have an impressive business plan. You should be excited and you should believe in your business idea. Fill the grant proposal very carefully, if you don't understand anything you can always call up the respective office and clarify your doubts. Make sure you submit your business proposal early, so that it arrives on time at the funding agency. Contact them after a few days to confirm that they have received your grant proposal.

According to market research, women own 35% of all independent businesses in the US. Research also claims that these small businesses have generated more than US $940 billion a year. Most of these successful business women have received their funds from financial institutions backed by the SBA or the government. Many large and private corporations also offer funds to women who have talent and faith in their business ideas. Such huge companies, select women on the basis of interviews. In these interviews they see your business plan and its future scope. Here the grant money is decided by the top directors of the company. Organizations such as the local chamber of commerce also help with grants for women to start their own businesses.

Read more on:

• Grants for Small Business Startup
• Small Loans and Grants for Women

Qualifying for business grants for women owned businesses is not that tough. You just have to believe in yourself and have an impressive business plan. I am sure that by reading this article all you women now have a better idea about how to apply for business grants for your commercial ventures. Best of luck!

Types of Investment Risks

Do you know what actuaries of insurance companies and underwriters of leading corporations and financial institutions do? They mathematically try to ascertain the 'risk' associated with a certain insurance policy or an underwriter tries to ascertain the risk associated with a certain number of securities or a loan. In case of insurance policies, there is a probability that a person will face risk and make claim. For example, a sports car has a higher probability of risk of ending up in an accident, and there are higher chances of claims, and hence a higher premium. Similar is the case when you invest money in sources such as mutual funds, variable annuities, shares, stocks and securities. Some prominent Systemic Investment Plans (SIP) and Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) also tend to have an element of risk embedded in them. In such investments, which are directly associated with the stock markets and investment destinations, it is not possible to bring about a specified mathematical figure to depict the risk. Conditions and probabilities or possibilities associated with the risk are simply too diverse and infinite. These risks can however be classified into several categories and classes. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) of the United States has indicated two important and superseding types of investment risks, namely, systematic risks and non-systematic risks. There are some secondary classes such as 'investing (read as verb or the actual executed action)' related risks and assessing risks.

In the following paragraphs, we shall be concentrating only on systematic risks and non-systematic risks, which are quite commonly observed, though there are some uncommon and very scarce risks which are also involved. An important point that needs to be noted is that 'a risk' is chiefly a possibility or probability or rather a chance that in the future you may incur a loss with respect to your investment.

Systematic

A systematic risk is the one which is associated with the markets and the general economy. A systemic risk is sometimes also known as a market risk. In such a kind of risk, there is a possibility and probability that the profitability or net worth of a said investment (say a 200 blue chip shares), is affected in a negative manner as a result of domestic and international economic and security and money market related changes. There are 6 prominent sub-categories of the systematic risks.

• Interest Rate Risk: Interest rates are determined in accordance with the performance of the economy and the company or investment destination where you have invested. For example, if you have invested into the stock of a specified company then the annual dividend becomes the interest rate. Here risk is that there is a possibility that due to the poor performance of the company the inward cash flow and profits for the year have been affected and as a result, the company would not be issuing any dividend. The effect is that current stock price of the shares is drastically affected, and the drop affects not only affects your personal balance sheet, but you cannot sell off the stock at a good profit and yield. Thus you are stuck with a bad priced stock.
• Inflation Risk: The element of inflation and continual price rise is an inevitable element in all economies. Inflation as a risk is based upon the investor's psychology and the general price levels. For example, 10 years ago I, invested $10,000 into a systematic investment plan and I got the returns today. Problem is, in 10 years the general price level has gone up so drastically that the value of the returns is not much. In some cases the returns may be negligible. In case of inflation and interest related risks, the worst affected investments are securities (bond and debentures) and stocks, in some cases money market investments also play a key role. When general price levels rise and interest rates drop, the securities and instruments that we hold currently lose value. In such a case, new securities when issued have better interest rates and hence the value of all prior securities falls, leaving you with low priced securities.
• Currency Risk: In the modern world, mutual funds, systematic investment plans, annuities and other such investment 'vehicles', often tend to invest into Forex and foreign currency, off shore production processes, high yield off shore funds and in general, in several destinations where some foreign currency comes into the picture. In such cases, international events often tend to effect the currency value of our nation. For example, an investment into Indian INRs (Indian currency), is rated to be $1 = INR 50 today, then after a few months it may drop down to INR 45 for every Dollar which is basically a loss, or a rather a risk of loss. Such a risk is known as a currency risk. Now it must be noted that the value of the Dollar may also climb to an exchange rate of say INR 52 for every Dollar.
• Liquidity Risk: Now, what is a successful investment? It is the one where you pay an amount to invest and liquidate or sell off the investment at a higher value, making profit. All market related conditions, economic events and conditions and also the aforementioned risks result into situation where the liquidity value or the current market value or the selling price is lesser than the total amount that you invested. Here you will face the risk of loss.
• Sociopolitical Risk: Unpredictable events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, wars, frauds and other such countless events influence market and economies world wide. Thus in case of any such incidences, you will find that investments and securities are threatened by falling prices in the market. Result is loss of net asset value, a liquidity risk and another risk of facing after effects of the event such as inflation or hyperinflation or recession in some cases.

There are countless solutions to such risks, hedge funds, deposits and funds, alternative investments and even simply being alert or patient till the price rises and goes beyond the break even point.

Non-Systematic

The non-systematic risks are quite unpredictable and are also not usually related the general economy and the business environment. Non-systemic risks can consist of the following:

• Management Risk: Management risk is the risk where the management of specified company, fund or the destination where you have invested your funds, take a wrong decision that may result into loss. Potentially you can suffer from things such as loss of share value or the net asset value. This kind of risk is prevalent for security investments such as stock and bond investments. Mutual funds and annuities rarely suffer from such risks.
• Credit Related Risk: The credit related risk is the probability that your bond or instrument is defaulted and not repaid in full. Such risks usually arise due to very bad economic conditions, but they can be faced for any investment destination.

Understanding the risk and the possibility of the loss the comes along with it is of crucial importance. Hence when you make a standard analysis of a certain investment, take a look at the entire picture of the investment channel or destination.

Classroom Leadership Games

In the corporate world today, leadership skills are a must-have to succeed. A person is considered a good leader, if he possesses a number of skills and qualities such as good communication, problem-solving and decision-making abilities, good interpersonal skills, ability to handle pressure and work productively in teams. These skills, if inculcated right in the childhood, when one is studying, can contribute to a person's professional as well as personal growth immensely! That's why, these days, teachers not only stress that students should learn various subjects in the curriculum, but they try to teach these life skills as well, by way of some interesting games and activities.

Obstacle Race...
Divide the students into teams of six each and appoint one leader. Mark a starting and a finishing line. Ask the leader to stand at the finishing line and the rest of the team members at the starting line. Blindfold all the team members, except for the leader. Place books, chairs, stationery, plants and whatever you have handy in between the starting and the finishing line. The rule of this game is that the team leader has to guide his entire team from the starting line to the finishing line, ensuring that none of them touches or steps on the "obstacles". The leader which takes minimum time to see his team through to the finishing line is the winner. By participating in this game, the leader learns how to give instructions and be in charge and responsible for his entire team, while the team members learn how to trust, depend and follow the instructions of the leader of their group.

Knotty Affairs...
To play this game, you would need a long rope of approximately twenty inches, for each group. Start with dividing the students into groups of eight to ten each. Next, give each team a rope which the team members have to hold with their left hand. The rule here is that the team members have to together tie a knot with the rope, without even once releasing it from their hands. The students are not allowed to use their right hand during the entire activity. During this game, the students will share opinions and derive strategies to make a knot. This will definitely contribute to their problem solving, decision-making and leadership skills.

Down the Woods...
You would need a wooden log for this activity. Blindfold all the students and have them stand in two lines, facing one another. Next, ask them to bring both their hands forward, with their palms facing the roof. See to it that there is enough distance between the students that they do not end up touching each other's hands. Now, place the wooden log on the stretched palms of the students and give them instructions that they have to lower it to the ground, as a group. While carrying on this activity, the students will learn how to co-ordinate with one another. For instance, if a student lowers the log in a haste, it can become imbalanced! So, the student will have to adjust according to the group's speed! There will obviously be some students who would guide and give opinions on how to go about the activity. This activity is sure to teach the students how to work effectively in teams.

Let's Perform...
To conduct this game, divide the students into teams of eight to ten each. Next, give them instructions that you would be giving them a topic or a scene, which they have to recreate with their body parts of actions, within one minute, as a group. For instance, if you say "cinema hall", some of them have to probably become a ticket counter, some of them have to behave like people watching a film, some may even have to become a chair! The group which looks the most authentic is declared the winner. While carrying on this activity, students will learn teamwork, improve upon their communication and at the same time some of them will emerge as leaders, who would be guiding others on this task!

By making the students participate in quizzes and debates on current topics, teachers can further add on to the student's leadership skills in the class. Sports activities such as soccer or basketball, is another effective way to inculcate team spirit and leadership in students. Teachers can choose any of these activities and games, conduct them from time to time and help the students become socially confident adults!

Importance of Ethics in Business

We have seen successful businesses fail, we have witnessed profitably running businesses suffer from a downfall and some seemingly effective corporates receive a great fall in their profits and popularity. One of the main reasons behind these surprising failures was the lack of business ethics. A true understanding of the right and the wrong and the ability to distinguish between them is ethics. Ethics is an important part of life and running a successful business is no exception to this. To become successful, a business needs to be driven by strong ethical values. The mindset of a businessman creates a mindset for his/her company, which in turn sets the work culture of the business organization. For a business to prosper and maintain its wealth, it ought to be founded on certain ethical principles. A business that is based on ethics can run successfully for long years. Moneymakers who do not heed to ethical values can only earn a short-lived success. To last long in the market, business ethics is essential.

For a business to achieve long-term profits, customer relationship is of utmost importance. To gain a long-term relationship with customers and achieve customer return for the business, the business needs to be based on ethics. The trustworthiness of a business, its customer service, its customer care, its way of dealing with customers and its urge to retain their old customers, is a part of ethics in business. Business ethics leave a long-lasting impression on the customers and the impression on their minds builds trust, fetching a business more customers while retaining the older ones.

Most of us are concerned about making money for our business and we cater to the legalities in business. But we seldom bother to base our business on ethics. At times, ethical duties of businessmen and project managers could be more abiding than even the business laws. Ethics is a far-reaching concept and goes beyond the idea of making money legally. Ethical values are way ahead of earning money. Ethics is more about earning long-lasting relationships in business.

People who seek motivation behind being ethical should understand that they are ethical by definition. Ethics is an integral part of running a business and hence ethical values accompany business by default. Without following certain ideals in business, one cannot become successful. Success that is attained without a foundation of strong ethics is bound to be short-lived. A business cannot continue to prosper without an ethical base. A few successes can be coincidences or flukes but persistent success can only be a result of a strong foundation of ethics.

The benefits given by the business organization should not be used in an unfair manner. The use of company resources for personal benefits and taking an undue advantage of business resources is completely unethical. Using the wealth of the business for personal reasons is not ethical. Using company funds for personal reasons is unethical. A thoughtful and a careful utilization of company resources is a part of business ethics. A vigilant and a prudent use of resources is an essential component of ethics in business.

Accepting bribes, pleasing the so-called 'important' clients, favoring a part of the customers while being unfair towards the others is against ethics in business. The primary aim of business is not just to maximize profits. It is rather to cater to the needs of society and work towards benefiting the masses.

Experts in business management and researchers have endorsed the need for businessmen and company professionals to study ethics. They have asserted the importance of founding business on ethical values and following them. They have urged management professionals to adhere to ethics and accept it as a part of business. Ethics remain being important in business and strong ethical values shall take the business a long way!

Balance Sheet Analysis

A balance sheet is a financial statement that depicts a company's current financial status. It basically depicts assets and liabilities of the company. The balance sheet can be used as a tool in order to forecast the company's income projection, growth and development. The process of financial analysis is used to derive concrete figures about the company's revenue, assets and liabilities. This analysis helps investors, share brokers, investment bankers and financial institutions, to check the profitability of investment for a particular company. The balance sheets of companies are available in the annual reports of the company. The elements of balance sheets are at times also disclosed on websites of the company. Before we proceed to the analysis of balance sheets, it is important to know the meaning of the elements of balance sheets.

Basics of Analyzing a Balance Sheet

It must be noted that a balance sheet can be prepared by any type of business organization. The balance sheet and nature of financial statements depend on the form of business organization. The following are some of important elements that one must thoroughly analyze before making an investment.

Assets
An asset is any property owned by the company, that has monitory value and can be sold. Assets are generally divided into fixed assets and current assets. Real estate and machinery are examples of fixed assets, whereas the bank balance and investments are examples of current assets.

Liabilities
A liability of a company is any sum of money that the company owes to other people and organizations. A loan is very prominent example of a liability. The amount of equity share capital is also an important liability, as the company raises its capital with the issue of shares. Amount of liabilities exceeding amount of assets is not a very good sign.

Return over Assets
The return over assets means the value of returns and revenue in proportion with the assets and liabilities of the company. This figure is expressed either in ratios or percentages.

Expected Payments
Often, it so happens that a customer of the company is unable to make timely payments. Such payments are charged with an interest and are included in the assets. These assets are included in the calculation of return over assets.

Credit Rating
The current credit rating, credit scores and credit history are depicted in the final accounts. It is necessary to analyze credit rating while analyzing a balance sheet, as it reflects a company's credit worthiness and ability to raise credit for a new project.

How to Analyze a Balance Sheet

Balance sheet analysis is not a very difficult task and here is a step-by-step guide that will help you to review a given balance sheet very quickly. The procedure also describes some specific ratios which depict financial management and general cash flows of the company.

Step 1
The first step is to add the liabilities and paid up equity share capital. The total must tally with that of the assets. After tallying, the next step is to compare the total assets with liabilities. In this comparison, do not include the amount of issued shares in the liabilities. If the total number of assets exceed the total number of liabilities, then the financial standing of the company and its performance is very good.

Step 2
The next step is to have a look at the current assets and liabilities. More current unsecured liabilities is sometimes considered to be good sign. However, if the amount of total liabilities exorbitantly exceed the asset total, then it is not a very good sign.

Step 3
The third step is a very important one, as one needs to calculate the ROA, return over assets. The ROA can be calculated very easily by dividing the net income by assets. Some companies also depict their forecasted ROA in their annual reports. The rate of ROA depends on the type of business that the company follows. For example, producer companies have a high ROA, leasing and real estate companies have a lower ROA. Consultancy companies have a mammoth ROA as they have less capital investment but a very high wage rate. It is essential to take these factors in consideration.

Step 4
This step involves special consideration for patents and copyrights. Every company invests huge amounts in research and development, which is of course rather costly. One must take into consideration the ratio between the amount invested for the research and the returns over it.

Step 5
The debt asset ratio signifies the ratio between the amounts payable in comparison to the assets of the company. This ratio can be effectively calculated by dividing the total liabilities with total assets. The lesser the liability dimension, the better is the company's performance.

Step 6
The receivables turnover ratio is a ratio between sales and accounts receivable. This ratio basically signifies the relation between the investments in sales and money receivable. The more money receivable, the better is the financial status of the company.

Step 7
The inventory turnover is another very important ratio that establishes the relationship between sales and value of inventory. This ratio is particularly important for producer companies, as it signifies the company's ability to produce goods with available assets.

Step 8
The last step is to analyze miscellaneous features of the company such as goodwill, current projects and credit ratings. This analysis would help you to analyze the companies activities of the near future.

While doing the analysis of a balance sheet, it is extremely important to believe your own instinct. Any exorbitant monetary figure is bound to set your brain in a thinking-overdrive. Analyzing all the related elements of balance sheets, is bound to give you the answer to exorbitant figures. For example if you notice a bulk issue of preference shares, have a look at the major share holders column. You are bound to see the name of financial institutes or banks in there, as the bulk issue of preference shares is actually a loan that is being given by the institution, but in the form of share application money.

Target Marketing Strategy

Marketing is an important function that plays a vital role in the running of the business. If the product is not marketed in the right manner and fails to reach the end customer, the business will fail. This is why, marketing strategies play crucial roles. While marketing a product, the company has to decide a target market. Target market is nothing but that specific set of audience to whom the product manufactured is meant to cater to. Target market is more like dividing the vast sea of customers into smaller segments and using the 4Ps of marketing (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) on this segment effectively to achieve maximum sales and profits. Target marketing strategy helps tap that subset of the customer population that are most likely to purchase and use the product.

How to Identify a Target Market
The whole concept of target marketing stems down from the fact that we cannot please everybody! Target market, unlike mass marketing does not dole out a single product to the entire market. Instead it marks out a specific range of people to whom the product must be effectively marketed to. As a marketing professional one needs to identify the target market correctly and tap as much profit as possible. To identify the target market one will have to look at the product being manufactured and sold. Ask a few questions:

What does this product do?
Who is it helpful to?
Which regions of the world will accept this product?

How to Divide the Market into Segments
To target a particular sector, the entire market has to be first divided based on different criteria. This can be done in the following ways:

Demographic Segmentation: This segment involves categorization of customers based on factors such as age, income, family size, gender, education, nationality, race, etc.

Geographical Segmentation: As we already read above, segmentation based on the region is important while dealing with specific products like desert coolers, fur coats, blankets, snow boots, raincoats, etc., the climatic conditions will determine one's target area.

Behavioral Segmentation: This form of segmentation clubs factors like brand loyalty and value of quality. For example, several IT companies market their products specifically to customers loyal to their products. Then again, certain companies target their high scale products to people who cherish, value and are ready to shell out extra cash for valuable pieces.

Psychographic Segmentation: This type of categorization involves clubbing of people's interests, lifestyles and personalities.

Technographic Segmentation:This type of segmentation differentiates people based on technology they use. With technology becoming such an ingrained part of our lives, technographic segmentation becomes all the more important.

These five types of segmentation are only the broader approach to slicing a market into segments. Even when you consider demographically, within it, one will again have to segment the market. Most marketers use a combination of these kinds of segmentation to narrow down on the most effective target market.

Let's consider some simple examples:

Low waist jeans: The product is catering to the fashion taste buds of the young, teenage generation. Thus, the target market would be based on the age group ranging from 14-25 years of age. Besides demographic segmentation, one will also have to consider geographic segmentation, because not all countries will accept this product. The Arab countries have a strict dress code and such products will not sell there.

Cosmetics: Cosmetics are gender-based, exclusively for men or women, thus, segmentation based on gender will have to be done. However, just dividing the market on the basis of gender is not enough. Lifestyles of men and women come into play, because cosmetics come in all ranges and thus depending on the cost of the product, it will require psychographic and behavioral segmentation.

Desert Coolers: If your company is selling desert coolers, it is but obvious that the target market will be extremely hot regions of the world and not the cold regions.

Baby Products: Marketers selling baby products have to segment their market in terms of age group, but they also have to consider physchographic segmentation, because sales will depend on the lifestyle of the parents. If the parents have a lavish lifestyle, they will agree to spend money on high-end baby products.

Hand-Crafted Bufori Cars: Now, if you are dealing with such high-end cars like hand-crafted Bufori, you cannot market it to everybody. It has to be divided on the basis of psychographic and behavioral segmentation. Geographic segmentation has to be considered as well, because economically backward or developing countries won't have people willing to shell out a fortune on such luxury products. One will have to identify the filthy rich and market it to them.
Cohort Marketing
Something else that should be done before selecting a target market is cohort marketing. Cohort analysis or marketing is something that is extremely useful for existing businesses that are aiming at greater sales. It involves the analysis of the customer base and finding the common thread between them. It is something that identifies the common experiences shared by people in a particular group. However, cohort analysis requires a good balance of data to identify the common factor.

TESCO's Target Marketing Strategy
Target marketing is not confined to just new entrants, but is also important for growth of existing business. Let's take the example of Tesco's South Korean chain of stores, Homeplus. Being the second-largest retail chain in South Korea (after E-mart), Tesco's Homeplus was doing well, however, they wanted to be the number 1 retail chain. So what measures did they take to achieve their goal?

Objective
Increase sales and profits

Research Results
Seoul, South Korea office of marketing firm Cheil Worldwide conducted a study on South Koreans and found a majority of people came under the working class, who though had money, had less time on their hands. They also found out that this working class of people found the weekly task of grocery shopping cumbersome. Their research also revealed how commuters wished they could spend the time waiting for their trains more effectively.

Target Market
The South Korean busy, working class

Probable Marketing Strategy
To increase sales, the logical decision would be to increase the number of stores, where customers can come to the nearest outlet and shop. However, this would involve a lot of money. Online marketing was the other option. Since a majority of South Koreans own smart phones, Tesco decided to come up with something unique. They decided to take the store to the customers instead and came up with a completely unique online shopping experience by introducing the 'Virtual Store', on the subway platform in Seoul (August 2011).

Plan Execution
The virtual store is nothing but getting the subway station walls with virtual life-size images of groceries, as available on shelves of the supermarket. The virtual items on display have QR codes, which have to be scanned using the smart phone (Homeplus App). The selected products are then delivered to one's home at the time requested. Commuters going home from work can purchase the necessary groceries from the platform itself, thereby optimizing their time.

Post Analysis
Tesco viewed 130% increase in sales, in a span of just 3 months. Moreover, the customer base rose by 76%. As per their aim, they have become the number 1 online grocery store, with only a small margin of difference between them and E-Mart. So they did bring more stores to the people, without building them.

Conclusion
Tesco started off with cohort analysis, wherein they studied their customers and found majority of them to be the South Korean working class, who had the money but less time to shop for groceries. Busy lifestyle was the common factor uniting their customers. Then, their target market became the busy South Korean working class. However, something to note is that technographic segmentation was taken into consideration. This strategy worked in South Korea, because a fifth of the total population own smart phones. Had Tesco tried this out in a country, where majority of the people don't own smart phones, it would fail.
It's a simple fact of life that no matter how hard we try, we cannot please everybody. There is no product in the market that has managed or will ever manage to satisfy every customer. Thus, the wisest thing to do would be to focus on a particular segment or target market, investing all efforts and money into this potential customer pool. Once you hit the most suitable target market strategy, the sales of the product will begin to climb rapidly.