“Virtual Real Estate Investing” is a relatively new concept. There are many variations on what this term means, encompassing everything from using the internet to aid in real estate investing efforts to participating in online games such as SecondLife.

To separate fact from fiction, I asked Bryan Ellis for comments. He’s the man many consider to be the father of this new form of investing.

Ellis says he adopted the term “virtual real estate investing” sometime before Y2K after he realized that making money online is conceptually very similar to making money with physical real estate.

Bryan Ellis cites the similar strategies one can employe to make money from “virtual property” and “physical property” as a primary parallel of the two markets. He points out that control of a domain name or even a specific web page is much like controlling a real estate property ” those assets can be monetized in similar ways: By selling them for a profit, by leasing them, by offering advertising, etc.

I must admit: Its easy to see the parallels. After all, if you own a valuable piece of real estate, it’s “valuable” because other people are interested in that specific piece of property. Likewise, if you own a desirable domain name, others will find value in it because it serves their purposes. So it doesn’t matter if you own physical real estate or virtual real estate - you’ll likely use similar strategies to turn them into money in your pocket.

In our next installment of this series on virtual real estate investing., Bryan Ellis will share the internet analogies to the physical concept of real estate development.

There are many types of loans designed for different types of buying situations: Auto loans, home-equity loans, and short-term loans for smaller purchases just to name a few.

All of these loans, although different in goal, have the same principles behind them.

Number one: You have to qualify for them by verifying certain financial information.

And…

Number two: You have to sign personal guarantees agreeing to pay back the loan according to terms; which typically includes interest.

All that being said, the most significant loan many people will ever secure is a mortgage loan.

Mortgages arer home loans which carry with them a few sets of parameters and benefits different from other types of loans.

Every year, we have to pay our income taxes.

It’s a duty we have as American citizens. And although many of us complain about them, without taxes, this nation would not operate.

Since I’m not an accountant, I don’t spend a bunch of time worrying about how my taxes are done.

What I do know, however, is that when you secure a Mortgage Loan for your home or other property, the interest is tax deductible.

This is one of the huge benefits of home ownership since the dollar amount is fairly high early on as you build equity.

Taxes are necessary, but so is home ownership.

If you have decided to take the plunge into running your own business your will be faced with several options. You can buy a franchise or build a company from the ground up. Different approaches suit different people.

There are many franchises available to buy.Franchises are everywhere.When you purchase a franchise you are basically getting a business in a box. When you buy into a franchise, many aspects of the business including marketing are taken care of off. There are many different franchises available. Some will give you the business name, equipment and everything you need for start up, others only give you the basics and you still have to buy or lease a location, purchase equipment and the inventory you will need.

The negatives of buying a franchise however are that There is little room for creativity on your part, and you must pay for the privilege up front. Visit the Key Mergers website for more information or if you would like to f you would like to buy a business or for details of available franchises.

Starting your own business from scratch however means that you can grow the business organically over time, you can limit your initial outlay and you can be as creative with the direction of your business as you like. Depending on how novel your new enterprise is, it is possible that your will have a steep testing curve and will have to make all of your own connections.

The bottom line is, the factors determining whether to buy a franchise or follow your own path are multi-dimensional Its a choice only you can make.

Internet home based business opportunity can set you free

Working towards developing a home internet based business opportunity can be one of the most rewarding things you’ll ever do. Either your shorts or blue jeans are the dress code of the day with an occasional pajama day off as well. While many suffer from a lack of focus and determination to stay at home those that fall in love with that lifestyle work vigorously to never go back to an office again. The home based internet business opportunity can be the perfect vehicle for you.

Modern technology gives us the ability to work all over the world with anyone, breaking down the logistical problems and associated tremendous costs normally ever present without the internet. I personally communicate with dozens of people in all the different time zones through email and theme targeted forums. Recruiting for my business has never been as easy either.

With the internet I make very professional presentations, train new folks and even help implement lead and prospecting systems. With my favorite drink by my side, the mouse and my computer I’m able to move my business forward. Its really not important to my computer what type of business I’m conducting either. I don’t have to go anywhere, put on my best attire or even comb my hair.

The revolution to working at home has frankly turned into a stampede for sure. Those that fail working at home in the home based business results from not having a solid business plan that incorporates all the things necessary for running a business.

So that’s the bad news and the good news is that all the systems and tools needed to work at home are so readily available. Most opportunities outlined what and how you need to do things along with even making tools, training and systems readily available to you.

The real decision that needs to be made is how much are you willing to spend to capitalize your new business venture. Don’t treat it as a hobby or something to try because your home internet based business opportunity can set you totally free from the rat race forever. Take your business seriously and you’ll win the race.

More about
the home internet based business opportunity

The Power Of Niche Marketing
16/08/2004

Have you ever been over whelmed by all the competition on the internet. All the other companies going after the same customers that you are. Well panick not the world wide web is a MASSIVE market place and the best strategy is to create your own market.

Dont Compete Be Unique

1. The benifits of niche marketing
2. Dont dissappear in the crowd
3. The importance of a niche business
4. Ways of creating niches
5. Dont re-invent the wheel

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1. Niche marketing is the best way for the smaller business person to level the playing field against the larger companies. Niche marketing is where you find a corner of your particular market which is exclusive to you. There are a few ways of finding your niche and this article is about some of the aspect concerning niche marketing

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2. The great thing about having a niche business is the fact that you are not struggling to compete against established marketers. Therefore you will not be invisible and you wont disappear in the crowd.Recreating products and concepts is a vital business skill I would go as far as saying it will keep you ahead of the game. Most big companies hire developers to improve on their products and service. So it is no difernt for the small business person.

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3. A way of developing a niche is to sell to people you are familiar with eg. You could be a ex chef selling Automatic self lighting ovens which cleaned itself every night.

Do you get it, if you are familiar with a certain business you can cater for it like no other company.

Also you can concerntrate on a smaller part of the market and become a specialist in that field. Like concentrating on helping diabetic people losing weight, instead of the whole weight loss market.

Just imagine for one moment that you were the only one selling automatic self cleaning cookers to the catering trade. You would corner the that market and make a fortune.

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4. The japanese are great at taking other’s ideas and improving on them and they are not doing to bad are they? Great inventors like Henry Ford and Edison have created great inventions and others have taken them to another level. The Japanese have shown the imortance of understanding the power niche business that is why they are one of the wealthier countries in the world today.

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5. Creating niche business doesn’t require you to invent the wheel, it only requires thinking of ways to improve it. That is where you will get more sales, and more referals. So that in the end your business will grow without competing with the bigger companies.

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In general you can see the benifits of niche marketing which is by cornering the market in your particular field,you differienciate your business. You avoid competing with the big boys. Therefore gaining your own exclusive market, which in turn will lead to more profits.

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Stone Evans publishes home business tips
a fresh and informative newsletter. Dedicated to supporting people like YOU! If you are looking for the *Best Rated* home business opportunities, the lates time saving tools and helpful support from an honest friend in the business come by and grab a F-R-E-E subscription today at: http://www.telnelbiz.com

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Terry Stewart

Killer marketing tips and tricks!

http://www.extraemoney.com

DO THIS AND YOU *WILL* SUCCEED
Dr Kem Thompson

Now that you’ve laid the right foundation for your life
(business included), you need to build on it.

The quality of materials you build with, however, will
determine the outcomes you get this year and in the future.

One thing you must do in order to succeed is to purpose in
your heart that you will be proactive in every area of your
life, rather than being reactive.

Be proactive. Don’t just let things happen to you. Dictate
the things that you experience in your life, as much as you
can.

In business, this means that you ensure that all your activities
bring you closer to your goals and targets rather than moving
you away from them.

It means that you are decisive, and you *act* on decisions
the moment you make them. It means you do not procrastinate
just because you don’t enjoy a particular marketing (or other)
activity.

It means you do the things you must do in order to succeed,
whether you like doing them or not. It also means that you keep
your desired outcome in mind everytime you act.

What are your business goals for this year?
What activities do you need to do daily, weekly, monthly, to
reach those goals?

Write down the answers to the above questions, then start NOW
to do those things. Make things happen this time around, friend.
Make greater things happen.

You have got what it takes to be the top player in your field,
in your team. Being the top player implies that you’ve served
a lot more people than others - it’s not about you per se, though
it of course has great rewards for you.

Commit to being proactive from now on, and not just in word only.
Refuse to get distracted from your goal. Do something everyday to
get you closer to your goal, knowing that you *will* get there.

Remember that every single act you perform is either moving
you forward or drawing you backwards. So before you do anything,
be sure you’re happy with the direction it’s leading you to.

Also bear in mind that all the positive thinking and motivation
in the world will amount to nothing until you take appropriate
*action* .

This ability to get yourself to take action has been variously
called ‘personal power’, ‘will power’ and so forth. Point is,
it is a powerful trait, being able to get yourself to take
the action necessary for you to succeed.

Note that one difference between successful and unsuccessful
people is that successful people consistently DO what
unsuccessful people don’t (want to) do. It doesn’t matter
whether the task is unpleasant (eg some people consider making
cold calls to be unpleasant and, even though it can be effective,
they choose not to do it because of the personal discomfort it
causes them.) or not.

The main difference in fact, is in what the people *do* (or don’t
do, as the case may be.

I encourage you - nay, I challenge you, to become proactive
today. If you’re normally that way, then I challenge you to
become more so, for there is always room for improvement, and
there is plenty of room at the top for you if you choose to reach
for it.

That is the one thing you can do to guarantee your success.

Dr Kem Thompson is a Success Coach, Speaker, Author.
She can help you achieve better results at work, business,
play, spiritual or in your social life.

For resources you can use today to create a better life,
sign up for her FREE ezine (and get a thank-you gift)-
‘Days of Success’ by submitting the form at http://www.successeminars.com/

The number of office furniture manufacturing facilities is increasing in China to meet with the demand and need in the US. Offering an amazing price discount for basically the same products as their US competitors, they are gaining new business from office furniture dealers, both online and in retail establishments. When it comes to buying office chairs in bulk for an office environment, price can make all the difference in the decision making process.

The Chinese market for office manufacturing, as compared to other countries which also provide volume shipments, has a market which seems to be growing at a rapid rate. With many different choices listed on a site like Alibaba, a directory of international manufacturers and shipment companies, China comes up with the most listings.

New office spaces can require a large amount of working capital for buying furniture and buying in bulk can be necessary. It is also important to save time and make sure to get the right products necessary at the lowest cost. Imported chairs in bulk, such as task chairs for standard employee use and high-end executive models are all available from Chinese manufacturers at an amazing price point.

When ordering an entire room full of conference chairs or that very important wood conference table, imported models can offer a price that allows the executive to purchase the supplies and still stay on budget.

U.S. manufacturer’s are not out of the game yet. The US competitors still remain strong when it comes to producing a high-end ergonomic custom chair, with Humanscale and Herman Miller leading the pack. The United States has several different manufacturers of custom ordered furniture but China still holds strong for the standard office chair with mass production available to importers. For a standard office chair or furniture piece, Chinese imported models still provide the user with high quality and the lowest price.

Some large U.S. office furniture distributors such as Office Star, also obtain some of their inventory from overseas manufacturer’s in China and have been importing chairs and furniture for some time from overseas. With more large distributors tapping into the overseas market, the doors will open wider for the smaller businesses, leading to more overseas product available in the US. As more and more dealers are purchasing from China, it is hoped that the price will still stay as low as it can to both the customers and the importers.

Amy Lieberfarb has been in the office furniture and interior sales industry for 11 years and currently runs two online websites dedicated to Office Chairs and Furniture. Providing information on how to pick the right ergonomic chair and featuring hundreds of different chairs, the site is very informative.

http://stores.ebay.com/liebswholesale

Specializing in Office Furniture and Ergonomic Chairs.

http://www.liebswholesale.com

She is an expert in most things office chairs and is an eBay Powerseller with years of experience and great positive feedback from all of her loyal customer base.

Do you have more purchase orders than what you can handle? Is lack of financing preventing you from fulfilling those orders? One of the most frustrating things that can happen to a business owner is to turn orders away - good orders - because you don’t have the financial capacity to fulfill them.

Of course, you can try to get a business loan. However, business loans have their limitations as business financing tools. They are hard to get and have arbitrary limits, so they don’t grow with your business.

Wouldn’t it be great to have a business financing tool that could handle all your supplier payments - provided you had purchase orders from good customers? How many orders could you close then?

That tool exists and is called purchase order financing. Purchase order financing is a financing product that is offered by factoring companies. The tool’s premise is very simple. Once you have a confirmed purchase order, the factoring company finances all supplier payments, usually by letter of credit. Once the order is delivered and paid for, the transaction is settled.

And how much does purchase order financing cost? Well, it depends on the size of the order, the complexity of the transaction and the commercial credit worthiness of the company paying for the products (your customer). On average, the financing cost will be between 2.5% and 4.5% of the order.

Although purchase order financing is a great tool, it is not for everyone. It works best if your profit margins are between 15% and 30% and if your customers are medium sized (or large) companies or government agencies. If you meet these criteria, purchase order financing can almost eliminate your out of pocket expenses.

If you own a reseller or distributor and have more purchase orders than financial capacity, consider purchase order financing as the tool that can help you close those orders and grow.

Commercial Capital LLC

Do you need purchase order financing? We can provide you with a purchase order financing and invoice factoring quote. Please call Marco Terry at (866) 730 1922 for more information.

Last week the city of San Francisco accepted a joint bid from Google and Earthlink to bring universal wireless access, or “Wi-Fi” to that city by the bay. Residents will be able to log in wirelessly to the Internet from home, work, cable car, or wherever. San Francisco is among the first cities of a number going “muniwireless”- that is, citywide free Wi-Fi; Philadelphia has already cut a similar deal with Earthlink, while Austin, Boston, and Chicago have also announced plans to do the same. I believe this trend will continue and foresee the spread of Wi-Fi connection to most cities in upcoming years.

This endeavor, a pet project of San Francisco’s mayor Gavin Newsom, is good for his career and, more importantly, good for San Francisco. The civic adoption of universal Wi-Fi is rather progressive as it tackles a hi-tech social issue by providing Internet access for all. I truly believe this to be a kind act and, additionally, believe San Francisco’s stature in the tech community will be greatly enhanced. Let’s not hold our breath waiting for free laptops, however.

It’s fun to work in online advertising because brainstorming is a natural part of the job. When industry announcements are made water cooler chit-chat inevitably leads to idea formation. In this particular case we know that San Franciscans are all for it, but what will this mean for Google and Earthlink, who are providing the Wi-Fi free of charge? The consensus: plenty. Their service, while donated, also serves as terrific PR and quite possibly an opportunity for future business. As a provider of advertising, Google is on to something good.

Not only does this announcement add the word “muniwireless” to my vocabulary, but it may show us how personalized search can be. A co-worker at ConductSearch.com stunned me by pointing out that this Wi-Fi could conceivably deliver search ads that would be relevant to the very city block you’re logged in from. Contemplate the possibilities.

Thanks to signal boosters every few blocks and a mandatory Google sign-in (no shocker there) they’ve got your location covered. Some are crying foul and citing Big Brother tactics. I disagree. Free Internet access is not a guaranteed right and if electing to take advantage of this offering means logging into a service under reasonable conditions, well, so be it. At best, detractors come off as misguided; at worst, ungrateful.

Some critics of this free buffet are even turning up their noses at the fare. While Wi-Fi is that much better than dial up (Google says the free connection will be about 300 kilobits per second), it’s not quite broadband. And this too, apparently, has ruffled a few feathers. Whether it’s a free lunch or just a snack, just enjoy it already.

For those of us who can live with free Wi-Fi here’s an example of how local advertisers will be able to tailor ads to meet their opportunities: It’s a beautiful Saturday in the park, you know, the kind that makes everyone feel like a kid again. At some point the proprietor of a nearby ice cream parlor, call it “Biggie’s”, realizes his ice cream sales aren’t justifying the foot traffic he sees outside.

An idea comes to our good-humored purveyor and he takes action by accessing Google’s localized search. It takes only a few minutes to create and run an ad over the local platform that reads: “Today only: 2 for 1 Ice Creams at Biggie’s Ice Cream Parlor. 2-5 PM, All Welcome”.

The only thing that will keep the crowds from his business is a rain storm. Not only would park goers with online access via laptop or handheld device see these personally relevant ads, but they’d be sure to spread the word. As a buzz is built in the park Biggie’s Ice Cream will have a big day. Targeted and effective local advertising like this should be a hallmark of muniwireless cities in years to come. Good for San Francisco. I hope it comes to New York soon.

Jeff Conduct
Director of Marketing
ConductSearch.com
http://www.conductsearch.com
marketing@conductsearch.com