Author: business

Aug 27th

Entrepreneur Make It Big in Restaurant Business Is Now Venturing Into Internet Marketing Business

It is always inspiring to hear personal business stories of entrepreneurs who overcame all odds and doubts in venturing into business and make it big. Last Sunday, I just read about how a 35 years old Thai Express Founder Ivan Lee, who started his F & B business with $300K and eventually sold his controlling stake for a sizeable $114 million in the process netting himself $80 million.

What was even more impressive was Ivan had no background or experience in F & B business before he first ventured into his first F & B business. Despite all his doubters, including his family members, about the viability of his business when he first started, he persevered and carried on. Apparently, his father-in-law was also a successful entrepreneur who founded the contract manufacturing firm JIT Holdings and sold it to Fortune 500 company Flextronics for $1 billion in 2000. This deal netted the senior Mr Goh some
$300 million. When starting out, he had benefitted from the financial and advisory support given by his father-in-law, but, subsequently, he went against his father-in-law advise by venturing into other restaurant businesses which were highly successful and are now contributing about two thirds of the business turnovers. An element of luck also play an important part in his business success as he had opened close to 100 stores but about 10 to 20 percent of the stores were not profitable. So he was lucky that his first 10 ventures were successful which provided the cash flow for his subsequent business expansion.

He is now venturing into the internet market in China despite not being in the IT industry. When The Sunday Times journalist contacted him, it found the entrepreneur in Shenzhen, experiencing growing pains all over again. He says that his friends and family are again doubting his new venture. His remark was: “I am a rooke now playing in a much bigger league and I feel like I am nine years back, starting all over again.” This young millionaire is setting his eye on his next big venture where he wants to build the next Baidu (China’s equivalent of Google) or even the next Facebook.

Lesson learnt: To make it big in business you need to be bold, have perseverance and be unique and certainly having financial support from family helps and also an element of luck. He is certainly one hack of a brave entrepreneur!

My advise is learn about internet and social media marketing before plunging into the business and be better prepared for your business venture into the internet marketing world. I am making use of my internet skills to help develop and launch community websites Henley Brunel MBA Alumni (Singapore) and other commercial websites for corporate businesses.

Good luck to all of you out there running your start-up businesses!

Aug 25th

Profit From A Preschool Franchise Business

Kindergartens and preschools have become extremely popular. In bigger cities you will see big preschool franchises as well as smaller start ups. So if you are thinking of starting your own preschool, here are few things to keep in mind and why you should opt for a preschool franchise. To begin with lets look at some statistics. The preschool industry in India is estimated to gross about Rs 4,004 crore. The sector is likely to cross Rs13, 821 crore by 2012, a growth of more than 28% per year, according to estimates from brokerage firm CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets.

With over 40% of learning taking place from the 1 to 4 age group preschools have become imperative. Parents want quality preschools for their children and are willing to go that extra bit for their children. Rest assured if you opt for a preschool franchise and are a good task master you are bound reap profits in the near future.
Opting for a preschool franchise makes setting up a lot easier for you. You have to adhere to certain pre requisites and guidelines which enable you to be focused and do things in a streamlined fashion.

A preschool franchise comes with a reputation. It already built a name for itself, developed its own education system and done its fair share of branding activities and advertising. Parents will always trust an established over a smaller start up.
A preschool franchise caters to parents who have moved to new cities. Sending their children to same school as they did before is a comforting element for all parents. With the education system being the same it helps children adapt faster.

A preschool franchise works on a profit sharing model. Therefore some franchises will go that extra mile to make sure you do well, so they do well! This means extra guidance and support for you.
The different preschool chains in India are Roots to Wings, EuroKids, Kidzee, Shemroack schools, Bachpan just to name a few. The royalty and investment depends entirely on location. A preschool franchise can cost anywhere from 3 to 15 lakhs and the fees can be anywhere from 8,000 to 40,000 per annum. The need for preschools in India is only going to grow making it an extremely profitable venture.

Aug 25th

Loan Modification Process – A Waiting Game

Loan modification option is chosen by a homeowner only when he is overstressed by the non-repayment of his home loan and frustrated from the frequent reminder calls of his lender. This leads to a fear about the uncertain future and the threat of foreclosure. All these things work together and people apply for a loan modification process as the last and only hope. This in fact was the previous thinking but today with the efforts of the present government, mortgage modification process has been simplified and made feasible for every citizen of America.

Today loan modification can solve all issues regarding late payments of the home loan or the danger of foreclosure and restructure your loan into payments that you can easily afford and this will actually put you back to life. You need to stay positive and look into this loan modification matter in a different way because now this is your right and there is nothing like mercy sort of thing involved here. You need to hold your head up and keep the optimistic result in mind because the whole process will take some time and you will have to work patiently throughout the entire process.

Applying for a loan modification process is a systematic procedure and you need to find out the requirements of your lender first. This will help you plan further and collect the documents and arrange them according to the sequence of requirement. The documents should be supportive to the declarations and statements that you make while filling up the application form. You are also required to fill the form properly and in fact you should double-check it very carefully before submitting it so that not a single point is missing or left out. There have been many rejections only because the application form was not duly filled.

Then there is hardship letter that needs to be written in which you have to give in details of your hardship that can be your job loss, illness, divorce, being overstressed due to loan repayments or any other one. The hardship letter has a big role to play in the approval of the loan modification as many lenders have made it the decisive criteria for this program. So you should write an impressive and motivating hardship letter that has the capability to earn the lender’s sympathy and make him feel that you are the most eligible candidate for loan modification program.

Aug 24th

Qiqqa Entrepreneur Wins 5k

James Jardine from the University of Cambridge in the UK won third prize in the post-graduate category of the Santander University Entrepreneurship Awards.

He scooped 5,000 for his company Qiqqa.com a company that provides free software which helps students and researchers manage information.

The awards aim to support and encourage university students to pursue their business ideas and are open to students from all 58 universities within the Santander programme.

To mark the fifth anniversary of Santander Universities in the UK, Santander chief executive, Ana Botn, announced an additional 1.5m of funding to UK universities, taking its total investment to 7 million during 2012, as well as 100 new mobility grants of 2,500 available to UK students to study abroad.

She also extended the banks support for small businesses with the launch of a new programme to place graduates from the countrys top universities on internships with SMEs across the UK.

The programme to encourage entrepreneurialism amongst graduates is a collaboration between Santander and its university partners and aims to promote the benefits of working for a SME to third-year or recently graduated students, while providing smaller businesses with an injection of talent not always easy to obtain by companies with limited administration resources.

Santander will work with its partner universities to find students and companies who will benefit most from the scheme and will help with placement and administration, including project management, as well as part-funding a basic salary for the students.

Ana Botn said: Youth unemployment and particularly graduate unemployment is one of the most pressing issues for the UK economy. We hope our new programme offering 500 student internships to SMEs can help provide our talented graduate community with the opportunity to gain vital experience in the work place, whilst opening their eyes to the benefits of working for smaller companies.

SMEs have not typically attempted to compete with the graduate recruitment schemes of the big FTSE players and we hope that this initiative will give a wider range of companies the benefit of fresh, young talent.

As the engines of progress and invention, universities have an important role to play in incubating the enterprises of tomorrow. Santander is proud to be supporting and recognising the entrepreneurial skills demonstrated by students through our Entrepreneurship Awards, as well as announcing an additional 1.5 million of funding to support British universities, taking our total investment to 7 million in the UK and 120 million globally, this year.
Photograph:James Jardine receiving his prize from Santander chief executive, Ana Botn

Aug 24th

Philippine Banking Industry Outlook Positive Despite Recession

The Philippine banking industry seems to be unaffected by the global financial crisis. And despite the liquidity crunch in various developed and emerging economies, the Philippine banking industry has been able to sustain the growth level.

According to a research analyst at RNCOS, -The banks in Philippines have benefitted from a series of reforms undertaken in past and intervention by the regulator to increase the capital base and to have better risk management strategies in place. The multipoint policy adopted by the industry during the last quarter of 2008 has resulted in minimum risk exposure to the banks in Philippines. Restricting dollar sales only for outward investment, enabling active lending between banks and low level of investments in foreign assets has resulted in positive outlook of the industry in current economic turbulence. Banks in Philippines have limited their investment in local blue chip companies because of the high yield from the Philippine Stock Exchange.-

Banks in Philippines are opting for high degree of penetration, mergers and acquisitions, and high credit growth rate at a time when banks in other developed and emerging economies are writing off assets base and slowing down credit disbursal rate. However, according to -Philippines Banking Sector Analysis-, a research report from RNCOS, the sector will manage to book a CAGR growth of 10% in its asset base through 2010.

-Philippines Banking Sector Analysis- contains comprehensive research and rational analysis on various segments, like assets size, income level and number of cardholders, in the Philippines banking industry. It also analyzes the current performance and growth opportunities in the sector, and helps clients to understand various products available in the market and their future scope. It also discusses the role of technology in the Filipino banking industry.

The report gives future outlook of different aspects of the banking industry such as financial cards, mobile banking, bancassurance, industry assets, mutual fund assets under management, number of credit cards, IT spending by banking industry, microfinance and life insurance product sales etc. The future projections are made after analyzing the current market scenario, past trends and regulations laid by the central bank.

For FREE SAMPLE of this report visit:

Check DISCOUNTED REPORTS on:

About RNCOS:

RNCOS, incorporated in the year 2002, is an industry research firm. We are a team of industry experts who analyze data collected from credible sources. We provide industry insights and analysis that helps corporations to take timely and accurate business decision in today’s globally competitive environment.

Aug 24th

Are You Ready to Buy Bank Foreclosure Homes

The desire to buy bank foreclosure homes may have been growing in you for quite some time. This feeling may also be accompanied by the gnawing thought that maybe it is time to be free of the restrictions of renting and be more responsible in terms of homeownership. You check your salary versus the cost of buying a pre-owned house and decided that you could afford to have a house of your own.

But wait. Are you sure ready for it?

The Checklist

Your salary may qualify you for a loan to purchase one of those bank foreclosure homes advertised. You may even think you can still haggle down the price with the seller. But have you checked if you could afford the monthly payments for the house? Your cash flow may have only allowed you to accommodate rent, but can you take a debt of 35 years? It may even eat up 30 percent of your cash flow.

Your emotions can get the better of you. You may have been arguing with yourself, your spouse or your parents that you need a bigger space, more freedom and a place for your business/side business. While it may be logical, you have to do the math first and see if your arguments outweigh the monthly cost of owning a home. Will the new house require you to have a car because of its location? Or will it allow you to ditch the car, save some money by taking the public transport since it is in the middle of the city? Will it allow you to expand your business/side business?

Another thing to consider is the time you need in maintaining your own home? Do you have time to mow the lawn, dig through the snow in your driveway, or do the repairs? These chores may eat up the time that is supposedly devoted to your business/side business and/or family.

Also worth considering is your ability to come up with the down payment for one of those bank foreclosure homes you have been wanting to buy. The era of “no-down payment, introductory low interest rates” is over. Banks have tightened their lending since the credit crisis, so they may require you to make a down payment of at least 20 percent. Without it, you would be paying for a higher interest rate, which would hurt your pocket in the long run.

These questions may help you see clearer if you are really ready to buy your own house – even one of those bank foreclosure homes that are sold below market value. But if your answer to the questions above is “yes”, then proceed in making your monthly budget and long-term financial plan to allow you to take on a new or additional debt for your planned purchase.

Aug 23rd

Financial Content Development Services

When it comes to publicizing a business on the internet, content development acts as the key to success as content rich websites draw the attention of target audience. Commercial websites have different types of content depending on the products and services they have to offer. Financial content is one such type.
As a business owner, if you need any kind of financial content for your website, it would be advisable for you to take the help of an expert. Since:

He/she is well versed with financial terms; they will be able to avoid the use of jargon so that common people will also be able to understand what they view.
This expert will adopt certain financial content development techniques that will help your website with SEO and social media marketing as well.
Here are a few financial content development services that an expert can assist with:
Content for portals
It is found that many businesses utilize portals to communicate information to target audience. So, equity and sector research along with detailed information about a companys operations with relevant data and analyses will be provided by the expert.
Blogs
The world of internet is awash with blogs. From a survey, it was found that 47.1% of bloggers were influenced after they read about a product or a service in a blog. This expert will research, analyze and formulate content. He/she will also update blogs on a regular basis with fresh content to ensure that visitors return to the site on a regular basis.
eBooks
The experts create eBooks based on the research that they do. These eBooks usually contain new financial ideas, information, and analysis presented through interactive text and rich graphics.
Newsletters
They also publish newsletters with valuable financial information like recent financial news, updates from the money market, and events and analyses in order to reach the target audience.
Research
The expert also provides research services on custom markets, investments, analytics, emerging markets, finance and businesses.
Analysis and valuation
They also provide an insight into a companys operations, based on information gathered from the companys website; like sales, valuation, mortgages and loans and trading movements.
Now that you are aware of the services that an expert can offer you, it would be easier for you to do a need analysis of your website. Once you have analyzed your needs you should get started on your search for an expert. You can also log on to the website of Pi Media Services that has a team of trained experts to help you with a number of financial content development services after analyzing your needs.

Aug 23rd

Singapore Company for Foreign Entrepreneurs and Business Entities

There are three business arrangements in Singapore that have been specifically created for foreign entrepreneurs and business entities planning to have a presence in the country: a subsidiary company, branch office, and representative office.

These are the basic differences between these business entities for foreign entrepreneurs and investors:

1. Subsidiary company

This is probably the most ideal business entity for foreign companies planning to form a Singapore company or expand their presence in the country. This is because this formation provides countless of benefits especially when it comes to tax incentives and limited liability.

As a separate legal entity from its parent company, a subsidiary company may have a different name and is allowed to conduct any business activities in the country as long as these are legal.

A foreign company with a subsidiary company enjoys a limited liability, an arrangement in which it is not liable for any losses, liabilities, and debts of its Singapore auxiliary business.

And because a subsidiary company is incorporated in Singapore, it also enjoys local tax benefits even if it is 100 percent owned by foreign businessmen and entities.

However, this business setup is required to appoint at least one resident director who may be a Singaporean citizen or holder of EntrePass, Employment Pass, or Permanent Residence Status.
Meawhile, a subsidiary company may have one to 50 shareholders who may be a foreign or local individual or another business entity. To know more abour subsiday company follow this link:

2. Branch office

A branch office, being an extension of its business headquarter, is only allowed to conduct activities performed by its parent company.

Unlike a subsidiary company, a branch office is not provided with local tax benefits since it is treated as a legal extension of its parent company. And with this arrangement, the headquarter is directly liable for all the losses, debts, and liabilities of its Singapore branch office.

Meanwhile, it is a legal requirement for a branch office to hire two Singaporean resident agents who will oversee its business operation.

When it comes to government-imposed disclosure requirements, this business entity may not be appealing for some shareholders since they are also required to submit the audited accounts of their parent company. To know more about branch office, follow this link:

3. Representative office

Legally speaking, a representative office is not really a business entity as it is not allowed to engage in any revenue-generating activities.

A representative office is generally ideal for foreign companies who are not yet sure of the business viability of their services or goods in Singapore and want to conduct an extensive market research before engaging in a full-blown operation. To know more about representative office, follow this link:

Aug 23rd

Do You Have What It Takes To Become An Online Entrepreneur

What does it take to become an online entrepreneur you ask? It is not always easy. It takes a serious, burning desire to become an entrepreneur.

I am not kidding either. You need to want this more than anything else. (There are a couple of exceptions to this, but not very many.) >

You need to be willing to focus on the end result, which should be, becoming an online entrepreneur. Will you do whatever needs to be done to accomplish your immediate goal?

To become an internet entrepreneur you must have the ability to ignore all the outside negative words and influences of family and so called friends which are said, not meaning to hurt you, but to in their eyes, keep you from making a fool of yourself or them.

Realize also that most likely, you will have some failures and that these failures will only help you learn.

Becoming an Online entrepreneur also requires the ability to accept that you will probably will be doing the same thing over and over again. After all, that is basically what you will be doing, having financial success doing a certain technique, then repeating it.

Let’s not forget organization and the ability to manage your time. If you are organized, you are more likely to know where everything is, which will in turn, give you more time to work. Time management most likely means that you will have written out a schedule as to when to do everything required for a internet entrepreneur thus saving you even more time.

Becoming an online entrepreneur may sound difficult, but the reward for your stick to it attitude will be more then you could ever imagine. I am very excited to offer you the ability to join me, so read my resource box because it will be worth it.

My name is Samantha Livingston and I am an active member of the millionaire society. Come and join me on my journey to becoming a millionaire online. Just follow me to see how, I guarantee you’ll will be amazed at www.whatismillionairesociety.com

Aug 22nd

Iraqi Dinar A Good Investment Option

Iraq has third largest oil reserve in the world and the Iraqi dinar is considered as a good investment option owing to an increase in oil production. The popularity of this currency has increased considerably over time. Many people prefer to buy dinar online.

Oil trading being the main asset of Iraq, it attracts a lot of investment from foreign countries every year. Oil trade has helped a great deal in developing the economic conditions of the country and many private investors are purchasing Iraqi dinar as investment. It is estimated that once the government there reach stability, the investors will make huge profits.

If you are planning to make an investment in the Iraqi currency, there are a few steps to follow:

– Do a proper research before investing and gain a good knowledge about new and old Iraqi dinar.

– There are good chances to get scammed in such an investment. Gather information about the anti counterfeiting measures of the foreign currency.

– It is very important to find an authentic dealer or else you may lose your money. The best way to buy is contacting your local bank. If they sell foreign currency, then that is the safest option. Another place to buy currency is online. It is not only fast but easy too. A good dealer will provide you with all the details and the information related to buying and the risk involved. You can easily browse online and contact a number of dealers.

Finding a credible and trustworthy dealer is a very important thing. You must write down all the doubts you have in mind and ask questions before finalizing the dealer. You can enquire from the dealer about their ratings with the Better Business bureau to check their credibility. Look for a dealer who has been in business for over 4 years. Also check with them the certificates of authenticity to see if the dinars are real. You should also see a copy of US treasury registration. Dont trust everything that a dealer has to say to you without verifying the facts.

You should also keep in mind that the return on any foreign currency is not guaranteed. Your profit will depend on a number of market factors. A lot of people have got good returns by investing in this currency over the years.

Be sure to do proper homework and take some advice from the experts before making any investment.