How To Achieve Success in Business?

I think this is one of the most sought-after goal in our present society. We all entrepreneurs want to have successful businesses. Whether you want to be promoted into high paying management positions, or wish to start your own real estate investment enterprise, you must gain specialized knowledge of the business world. Over the years what I have discovered is that success is within each of us. It is in your attitude towards challenges in our lives; how do you solve those challenges? For example, successful people create an aura of success around them. They dress that way and they speak constantly about their success; even though it has not materialized yet. Therefore, even if you're not in a high-income bracket, act as though you have already achieved it; of course without being egotistical or overspending.

Another aspect of successful business people is their constant search for wisdom. Develop an expertise in an area. Go beyond the basics, learn all you can about your industry/product/service you are offering. Gain from your strengths and develop your weaknesses into assets. Do not waste time in focusing on your weaknesses and feeling bad about them; focus on how can you improve and become better.

Another aspect is commitment. Many businesses and business people fail not because their business ideas are bad, they fail because of a lack of commitment to their ideas/goals. Success takes sacrifice, you do not gain something for nothing. The current misconception of the "Lazy Way to Success" does not work. It is one of the main reason people fail in business and one the main reasons we faced the recent financial and housing recession. People did not want to work for success, they did not want to think; they wanted everything digested for them. Stay focused on your goals regardless of the physical effort involved, you must mentally be engrossed in your business.

Finally, you don't need to conform to everyone else, specially if they are unsuccessful. Be unique, different, capitalize on your own self-image. Above all, use your integrity. If what you are pursuing is not a worthy goal, abort it; it wont work. If your methods lack sincerity and honesty, you will receive opposition and suffer the consequences. Do not become another of the many joker brokers in the Internet. Do not use scams in your pursuit of success. You may think that scams are a short cut to success, but it is only a mirage; it is only short lived. Because the same way you robbed someone; you will be too. It is an unbreakable law.

9 Tips To Increase Website Visits and Sales

Internet marketing is a fact in our business. More and more of the real estate transactions today occur through the Internet. Today having a website and/or blog is not a luxury anymore. Therefore, we must do everything we can to increase our visitors into our websites. Higher traffic translates into more prospects, which in turn translates into more sales.

Here I share with you eight simple steps that you can use in your business to increase visitors into your site. The best part is that these steps are free and easy to implement. I do encourage you to learn more about Internet marketing or hire a professional to help improve your presence in the Internet.

1. Create a mailing list - you may have already heard about this. This is the most vital tool for your business and success. Your list becomes the life and blood of you real estate business. Get visitors to sign up to your mailing list. Remember that once they sign up, they become prospects for your products and services.

2. Write a newsletter - this is a great tool to establish a connection with your visitors and keep them informed about your business, properties and services. Newsletters provide added value to your visitors. Keep your newsletters in a frequent manner (weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, etc), this will create followers for your business. Make sure that your newsletter is unique and informative - focus on providing value.

3. Build your own website - if you build it, they will come! Keep your website informative and inviting, so your visitors keep coming back. Avoid heavy sales on your website. Of course you build your site to sell your properties and services, but do not make the site only to sell. Remember that the focus is on building your prospects and customers trust in you and your business. Let your website reflect your knowledge and expertise. Once this is done, sales will come.

4. Limit your sources - as you search in the Internet, you will find companies that have a solution for everything and everyone. Stay focused. You could become an expert in your field a lot easier with a "laser tight product/service line".

5. Develop a "Unique Selling Perspective" - determine why your business is unique? what does your business have that differentiate you from the rest? why should a customer buy or contract you instead of your competition?

6. Become an expert in your field - your specialized knowledge will become your selling card. Being able to talk to your peers and your customers about the industry will put you in another stratosphere. Do not limit yourself with the superficial aspects of your industry, go beyond that.

7. Do no sell products/services-sell content - this may not make sense initially, but trust me on this one. This goes along with tip #6 above. Focus on gaining trust from your readers and visitors and your products/services will sell. Put some valuable articles content in your website or blog that will be of interest to your visitors to read. For example:
- offer free downloads for visitors to read at their leisure
- get visitors to sign up for your valuable newsletters
- provide web polls, surveys and opinion polls for your visitors to share their opinions
- provide feedback forms for readers to offer suggestions
- include testimonial pages in your website
- offer free "buying/selling tips" to your followers
- offer weekly promotions

8. Automate - with today's technology this is very simple to do. Automation is the key to your business success. Load your website with your policies and procedures and FAQs. This will save you time in answering repetitive questions and will help you screen your prospects. Your website should have free downloads, property lists and prices. You should consider setting up different emails for different purposes - for example information, offers, etc.

9. Add a signature line in your email - convert your emails as another marketing method. For example:

Thank you,

[Your Name]
Phone: XXXX
Fax: XXXX
Email: XXXX
Website: XXXX

-----------------------
Promotion Section

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Promotion Section


I hope these tips help you improve your customer retention and increase visits to your website and increase in revenues.

Investing in Real Estate in This Market; Are You Crazy?

Investing in this real estate market is for the brave. Books will be written about those of us that invested in the real estate recession of 2008 - 2011. You must be truly prepared to make it through this market; If you blink you lose. You must have research well done and all your documents in order. When I talk to people about investing in real estate now, the reaction I usually get is "Are you crazy?". Real estate investing in today's market conditions may seem like an impossibility, an action that only those who have lost a sense of the thinking faculties would even consider. I do not blame them, especially when there are so many "professional opinions" out there scaring everyone about how horrible the situation is.

Continuing talking about how "horrible" is not going to make the situation better. As we continue to talk about how bad the situation is, we focus on the bad and discard the good. Our attention has been on the bad, how bad the situation is, if mortgage rates are up or down, new construction data, etc. I am not saying that this information has no value for us as investor, but it should not be all we use to gage our investment decisions. There is data that does not make it to the national data bank, local data that is missed. We need to look beyond the data offered by the news media and focus on the good; the opportunity. You will find what you are looking for.

Regardless of the conditions of the real estate market in your area, there are still some important rules to follow, especially when you consider that the last few years have seen an economic recession which has led to a housing crash and a complete change in the mortgage industry. We should not ignore the current situation, the rules of the game has in fact changed. Only those who can see beyond the bad news, will succeed.

The current market is not one for quick flips, as we saw in the early part of the 2000's. If you are going to invest in this market, you must analyze how long can you wait to see your return on your investment. You must consider a potential valuation loss and higher vacancy rates (for those considering in renting their properties) in your financial calculations to determine beforehand if you can sustain the long run. Today's environment requires new strategies; new vision.

It may seem idiotic to buy a house in a depressed market, however as I have mentioned in many occasions "gains in investing are made in the purchase, not in the sale". If you can position your real estate portfolio now at bottom prices and sustain the ride, you are bound for real estate wealth.

Your Business Plan; The Key to Your Long-Term Success

A business plan is the foundation of any business. It establishes in writing the goals of any new or established business. It surprises me how many real estate investing companies think of going seeking investments for their ventures without a properly structured business plan. A business plan has primarily two functions; one is your business resume to potential investors in your real estate ventures and two it is a strong management tool. As an business resume it is your best presentation in raising capital; it tells your potential investors that your business is “investor ready”. As an internal management tool; it provides you with a written report of the vision of your business. You must focus on exactly what you are trying to achieve, where you want to go with your business idea, and how you plan to get there.

A business plan is a powerful internal management tool. During the preparation of it forces you to visualize your business five years down the road. It will force you to detail the many expenses involved to open your business, the projected sales and monthly expenses of actual operation, and the volume of business you will need to generate to meet your obligations. It will help you think about your real estate business and your strategies.

The business plan to be effective it must be professionally prepared to meet the needs of potential investors or internal use. For external use, the potential investor should be able to see your own project through the investor's eye and must be able to answer all the concerns of a potential contributor. If you are writing the business plan for internal use, the business plan must explain and illustrate your vision for the business. Therefore, to be able to prepare your business plan you must have a clear solid vision of what your business is going to be. It must convince not only you but others that your business idea is sitting on solid foundations and will be successful. Your business plan needs to tell others that you alone possess the expertise needed or collectively which will ensure that your real estate venture it will be both successful and profitable.

Your business plan is your key to the long-term success of your real estate business. It is the foundation of your business. No businesses are the same, just as no plans are the same. If you are having trouble writing the plan yourself, I am offering a special for the readers of this blog Real Estate business plans for only $500. Those who have subscribed to our mailing list receive a 10% discount. Here is what you will receive:

1. Professional business plans of 24-36 pages.

2. You will receive your business plans between 7-10 days.

3. FREE text edits/revisions for one full month from the date of delivery. After 30 days for a reasonable fee your business plan can be revised as needed.

4. You will receive your business plan via US postal service. It will be professionally packaged in a binder and ready to hand to a bank or an investor with your company name on boldly printed across the front cover. Additional copies already bound may be purchased for an additional $29.95 each plus $8.95 S & H. You may also purchase the electronic version (MS WORD file attachment) of your business plan for an additional $79.95. This will allow you print as many color copies as you need for your company and perform any edits in the future.

If you need FREE advice from a professional company before you get started, we strongly suggest that you contact the retired professionals associated with S.C.O.R.E at www.score.org - the advice is FREE!

How Can Business Credit Can Help Your Business Grow

Establishing your business is not easy. It is a dream of millions of people around the globe. Many never start their businesses. The main reason for the failure to launch the business can be summarized to two factors; 1) Lack of capital, and 2) Fear of losing their own money.

However, with careful planning, thought and effort, it is possible to raise some capital that can help to get the business started and it can be done through building a business credit. For short, you need to borrow against the business rather then from personal assets.

Carefully Produce a Business Plan and Structure

Setting up a business through business credit takes you in the world completely different from consumer credit. This only states that you are striving to project yourself in a business point of view. You must be able to prepare yourself for the transition it entails to ensure successful venture; from being an employee to being a business man. The more you think in the business point of view, the better it is for the business and allows growth in the future.

Maybe the hardest step in building a business credit is to convince the potential lenders that you are trying to achieve and set up a viable venture. The quality of your business plan and preparation is important. In order to set up a proper business structure, you must make sure that the prerequisites, i.e. licenses, documentations, are in place. You can use the business plan to show your lenders that you have placed a deep thought about the several elements in a business: the competition, pricing, products and the markets. If you are not sure about the business plan, you can always hire an advisor but it is critical to prepare yourself for the defense of your sales projections and the estimated costs of the start up and running.

Be an Excellent Credit Customer

There are materials that you will need before the business can become a reality and these are: the services, equipments, stocks and several other materials necessary for the business. Be on the lookout for vendors who are willing to grant you a credit though it may best to choose those companies that will be able to report your credit history to major business credit reporting agencies. Good scores in business credit are reserved for other large and stable business, but with careful and diligent business and credit practices, you can also achieve a good credit rating.

Get Hold of the Assessment for Your Credit

Preparing and doing a credit assessment is necessary before entering the business credit market. The credit assessment would determine if you are able to comply with the lender and the credit bureau's requirements. After achieving that, keep your eyes peeled for businesses that can issue credit without the need for an established business or personal credit checks or guarantees. Once you are able to transact the business with credit vendors, you will be able to use those references in order to build your credit profile with the agencies for credit report.

You can also take advantage of those retired or semi-retired businessmen. These people sometimes volunteer to help start up a business. You can build your knowledge as you start the journey to a successful business with a good standing in credit.

You can also utilize the advice they can give about pitfalls and disadvantages of starting a business to help you better prepare for the future.

Hackers Release BofA Emails; Company is Hiding Foreclosure Information

Hacker group known as "Anonymous" has released e-mails of former Bank of America employees where it links the bank with hiding foreclosure information from regulators. In the emails released it also involves Balboa Insurance employee rasing questions about removing from the record documents that were sent out in error. BofA bought Balboa Insurance as part of its 2008 Countrywide Financial Corp. acquisition. However, last month the bank agreed to sell the unit to Australia’s QBE Insurance Group. The group contends the emails prove the Bank of America affiliate purposely removed information from mortgage documentation. However, BofA has repeatedly claimed that the claims are untrue, and that the referred emails are just administrative in nature and are not foreclosure related. This recent disclosure comes as Bank of America still faces the potential leak of documents by WikiLeaks by Julian Assange, who said in November that he planned to release documents about a major bank, leading to speculation that Bank of America would be the target.

N.J. property taxes increase 7% in 2010

As real estate investors we need to be aware of the impact that tax has in our business. Today I would be looking at taxes from the perspective of owning a property, aka property taxes. I will be looking today closely at New Jersey. The main reason is to bring to the light one the of states with the highest property taxes in our nation. For your information, New Jersey consistently ranks highest in the nation for property-tax burdens (now averaging $7,544 per household).

Many residents have accepted these higher property taxes in the past in return for more generous local services. However, with the current economy how long can New Jerseyans continue to bear this burden? NJ.com reports a previous Star-Ledger story published earlier this month found that last year the average property tax bill, including county and school taxes, was $7,555, a jump of more than $274 from the previous year, based on taxation figures collected by the counties and reported to the state. The same analysis found that more than 100 municipalities saw double-digit increases in local taxes, and more than half increased local levies by 5 percent or more.

Another piece of information I found interesting is that New Jerseyans contribute 11.8% of their income toward just state and local taxes each year, compared to Pennsylvanians who pay 10.2% (11th highest in the nation) and Alaskans who pay 6.4% (the lowest state and local tax burden).

Top Five Real Estate Mutual Funds According Zacks

Some investors may find that investing directly into real estate properties may be more than what they can handle right now. Here I offer you an alternative, mutual funds. Mutual funds is a convenient and cost effective way to invest in real estate. Several studies have shown that real estate funds deliver better results on this count compared to precious metals.

Here I share with you 5 of the best performing real estate mutual funds over the last 12 months. The ranking is done by Zacks Rank:

Mutual Fund Zacks Rank Total Return YTD
ProFunds Real Estate UltraSector #2 Buy 5.3%
Delaware REIT A #3 Hold 3.8%
Delaware Pooled REIT Port II #3 Hold 3.8%
Rydex Real Estate A #3 Hold 3.6%
Cohen & Steers Equity Income A #1 Strong Buy 3.5%

The Importance of the Master-Mind Group

Those of you have followed my blog have heard me before mentioning that all real estate investor should have his/her "Master-Mind Group". This principle was borrowed from the classic book by Napoleon Hill "Think and Grow Rich". If you haven’t read this classic yet, add it to your reading list immediately. I am personally reading it right now for the 7th time. It is one of those book that you need to revisit more than once to grasp its full potential. To those that subscribe to our mailing list, I will send you a free copy.

So What Makes a Master-Mind Group? According to Mr. Hill the “Master Mind” can be defined as the "Coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose". The reason that I insist in the development of such group is that financial advantages are created by any person who surrounds himself with the advice, counsel, and personal cooperation of a group of people who are willing cooperate toward a common goal.

How to form your Master-Mind Group? If you do not have your Master Mind group, it’s time to form one right away! Here are my suggested simple steps to form your Master Mind group:

1. Read and Study Think and Grow Rich

2. Define your group's purpose - define how this group will forward your own and the other members’ real estate investing goals.

3. Set a date for your first meeting

4. Invite potential members

5. Establish regular meetings

Try it and enjoy the results of your group!

Filing for bankruptcy could save your home http://ow.ly/4b2K1

7 Tax Tips for Your 2010 Return http://ow.ly/49CTn

The Case for the Case-Shiller Home Price Index

Many of us have heard of the "Case-Shiller Home Price Index" in all of our reports about the housing condition. Many times is plastered all over the housing news to validate whatever scary news the media want to plant in your brain. It has gained popularity now during our recent Housing Crisis. However, it is not something new. The Standard & Poor's Case–Shiller Home Price Indices are constant-quality house price indices for the United States. There are multiple Case–Shiller home price indices: A national home price index, a 20-city composite index, a 10-city composite index, and twenty individual metro area indices. In other words the Case-Shiller Home Price Index tracks the value of single-family housing within the United States.

To give you a little history, The indices are calculated from data on repeat sales of single-family homes, an approach developed by economists Karl Case, Robert Shiller and Allan Weiss. Case developed a method for comparing repeat sales of the same homes in an effort to study home pricing trends. He was using data from house sales in Boston in the early 1980s, which was going through a housing price boom. While Case argued that such a boom was ultimately unsustainable, he had not considered it a bubble, a commonly-used term to describe similar market trends. Case sat down with Shiller, who was researching behavioral finance and economic bubbles, and together formed a repeat-sales index using home sales prices data from other cities across the country. In 1991, while Weiss was performing graduate studies under Shiller, he persuaded them to form a company, Case Shiller Weiss, to produce the index periodically with the intent of selling the information to the markets. Fiserv, an information management company, bought Case Shiller Weiss in 2002 and, together with Standard & Poor's, developed tradable indices based on the data for the markets which are now commonly called the Case–Shiller index.

What does that mean to us as real estate investors?. In today's information overload society, the Case-Schiller becomes another piece of information that sometimes creates more confusion. One of the challenges that most of the research firms encounter, Case-Schiller included, is that their research is based on data from previous periods and by the time the information is relesed many times it is useless. The Case-Shiller Home Price Index tracks sales pairings in 20 major U.S. cities. The problem is that the data is already three months old by the time it’s released to the public.

Should we ignore the Case-Shiller Home Price Index? I do not think so. I think it does have value and should be part of your arsenal of information. However, use it as is meant to be as a research data of events that already happened and not for you to over-react on the information. History teaches us a lot and we can use historical data to prevent repeating the mistakes of the past. Use your Schiller-Case data and keep your feet firm on the ground. Being in the now and on the ground will help you keep yourself real and ready to make the necessary corrections you need to achieve success.

Bad Credit Repair

As real estate investors, we must address our credit score. Eventhough there real estate investing techniques that do not depend on your credit score, you should strive to improve it. It will make it easier to obtain credit for your real estate projects.

Building your credit after repeated interruptions is a constant headache we all want to avoid. In this article I am going to break it on down for you, since there are many sources that will take full advantage of you when the opportunity arise. If you feel bad simply because you can’t meet your bills expectations at the moment they arrive, then you are not alone. The fact is, even the best of us are struggling to meet some expectation that the system has placed on us.

We calculate weekly the amount we spend on groceries, which are constantly increasing, as well as other bills that are constantly on the rise. It seems at times it is a no win situation, but the fact is there is always a solution to most problems. The problem most times is some of us do not have the means to find those solutions. This brings forth more stress and often we feel that we are alone. If you trying to build your credit status you need to find the resources that can help you get results. The marketplace offers credit repair kits, which can lead us in the right direction to repairing credit, but the disadvantage is that many of the kits are expensive. Let’s face it, not everyone has the money to spend on commodities that claim to help us. Some of us struggle harder than others just to survive.

Life is forever changing and in order to keep up with the changes we all have to find a solution. Therefore, I am going to tell you where you can get a free credit repair kit. Your local library stores a wealth of information and it is free to the public. In most libraries that have credit repair kits, credit repair books, or debt management solution books. Anything you want at your disposal and it is all free information. The library also has copy and fax machines often, and if you notice in the credit repair guide or kit, it will have copies of the letters you can write to your creditors. Make yourself some copies and once you fill them out as instructed, you are on your way to repairing your credit. The library also has guides or kits for filing bankruptcy.

If you do not see a way out, then you may want to go this route. In most cases, you can do a Pro Bono Bankruptcy, which means you will represent yourself in the courtroom. I just wanted to let you know that if you file a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, you will have monthly installments to make, but if you file Chapter 13 Bankruptcy then the courts wipe out all your debts. The problem is that bankruptcies remain on credit files for up to ten years or longer. If you can avoid bankruptcy do so, however it is not the end of the world if you do. I know people personally that filed bankruptcy and was able to get loans for mortgage, cars and so on. If you know what you are, doing you can do anything no matter how bad your situation is. Avoid Debt Consolidation, simply because it is means you will be paying fees and costs to others to get out of debt, which only adds up the bills. You might want to consider a Debt Counselor from a respected organization. It makes sense to check out any business first before spending money or asking for services. The BBB offers free information on organizations, businesses and corporations.

Once you have investigated the service then you will know if the people are really trying to help you. Any service that tells you they can get you out of debt in no time at all is pulling your leg. The fact is even when you pay your bills your credit will continue to list all the bad debts, it will only say after the debt listed…Resolved. Finally message while I am thinking about it. It is important to get copies of your credit reports from TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. You can find any information you need online. Knowing your status in life is the beginning of repairing bad credit.

If you are interested in learning more about how to repair your credit, I recommend How To Improve Your Credit Score One Step at a Time. Extremely easy to read and to apply. It will be the best investment you will make towards the improvement of your credit score.

Four Tips to Achieve Success

Many of us that get into real estate investing have and will encounter many challenges throughout our professional lives. I have said before, this is not an easy profession. It is rewarding for those that follow certain simple principles and stay focused towards the achievement of success. By the grace of God, I have seen many ups and downs in my professional and personal life. My strong faith in God has kept me in the path and confident that once again we will prevail and that I will achieve higher standards and success.

Obviously our definition of success varies for each one of us. One of my favorite definitions for success comes from Earl Nightingale, “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.” Therefore, success is anyone who is realizing a worthy predetermined ideal, because that’s what he or she decided to deliberately do.

In today's market condition, it is very simple to feel down and for many to find an excuse to quit. Napoleon Hill, one of our greatest thinkers of our recent time said, "Before success comes in any man's life, he's sure to meet with much temporary defeat and, perhaps some failures. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and the most logical thing to do is to quit. That's exactly what the majority of men do." We are going through a rough time, however I also believe that these times will create great success stories. Many will defy the barriers ahead and succeed against all odds. Only the strong will make it.

Here I share with you four simple tips that you can implement today to make an immediate change in your lives and profession.

1. Get Over the Fear of Failure

As I mentioned before, this is one of the most dangerous behaviors that keeps most from achieving their goals and success. Fear is nothing more than a state of mind. However, it is a behavior that cripples most people. Thomas Edison was known to have failed 10,000 times before he succeeded in achieving electric light. To achieve success you must believe in yourself and the burning desire that you can achieve it.

2. Make Opportunities

Rather than wait for the opportunity to find you, you must go out and find the opportunities. George Bernard Shaw said: “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.” You will find that people that have reached financial success will tell you that they look for ways to seize opportunities, not wait for opportunities to come knocking on their door because it will not happen that way.

3. Set up Goals

Have you ever wondered why so many people work so hard and diligently without ever achieving anything in particular, and why others don’t seem to work hard, yet seem to get everything? They seem to be "lucky". The difference is goals. People who are successful set up goals, they know where they’re going. The opposite happens to people who are a failure, they believe that their lives are shaped by circumstances, by things that happen to them, by exterior forces out of their control. Goals are dreams with a deadline. Once you set up goals, you become like a vessel with a captain who has a clear vision as to where the vessel is going. It surprises me how many people pretend to achieve success without having clear goals. Can you imagine getting into a cruise and once the ship is in the middle of the ocean you find out it does not have a compass to determine where they are, it does not have a GPS to guide them and the captain of the ship has no idea where they are going, "where are taking by ear" or "we will see where the ship take us".

4. Think Who You Want to Be

It has been proven that our thoughts have a tremendous effect in how we perceive ourselves and other. Marcus Aurelius said: “A man’s life is what his thoughts make of it.” Dr. Norman Vincent Peale said "If you think in negative terms, you will get negative results. If you think in positive terms, you will achieve positive results.” We become what we think about, it is that simple. You have the power to change in an instant who you want to become. Your past is behind you, stop labeling you based on your past experiences.

To conclude, I would like to remind you of being thankful. In moments like this, we all must be thankful for where we are. You need to be thankful not only for your accomplishments but also your failures. I share this with you from personal experience, every adversity or failure carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit. Determine what can you learn from the current situation and take action. Having a grateful attitude is important. It will help you stay humble, which in turn, will help you continue striving for greater success.