There are many ways to protect yourself if you are seeking a commercial loan or a refinance loan.First, do some research online about both a commercial loan and a refinance loan. Find out your mortgage options, and also check and copy your credit report so you will be more prepared to negotiate for your commercial or refinance loans.You should interview several lending company’s and keep a journal of what terms they are offering for a new commercial loan or a refinance loan.Always price the other property in the area, the price should be comparable. Hire a licensed qualified home inspector, and before you sign the contract on either a commercial or refinance loan, decide who will be responsible for any repairs, the buyer, or the seller.Never lie on the loan application for any reason. Lying on a commercial or a refinance loan application is fraud and is a criminal offense.Never borrow more money than you can afford to pay back, or that will make your payments larger than necessary. You do not want to end up losing your property, and the equity in it.When taking out a commercial loan, or a refinance loan, never sign a blank document. If while reading the contract, you put a cross through the blank spaces, someone cannot add information after you sign. You will be liable for any surprises they might add.Do not sign anything you do not understand. Take your contract to a real estate professional or an attorney skilled in commercial or refinance loans.Always, if buying a government home, state honestly your intention to occupy the home, or if you plan to fix it up to rent or resell. Your commercial loan may be turned down if they find you have not been truthful.Some people get refinance loans to get a lower finance rate, and often borrow more money against the equity in their home. Some lenders may make this sound too good to seem possible. If so, it generally has some kind of catch.Make sure a refinance loan to pay off bills or for home improvement is the best plan for you, and do not let yourself be talked into something you do not want to do. Some lending companies offer a very low financing option, only for you to learn later that there is a large balloon payment due at the end of the loan. They sometimes also add more finance, but put it into your payment to fool you.Remember, there are many good, honest lenders that can help you with a commercial loan or a refinance loan. There are also dishonest people who will try to undermine you and trick you into financing more money than what you have planned. Stick to your original budget, and do not sign a contract if it is not exactly what was presented to you. This is a business where the representatives are paid by commission, so make sure you are trusting of this person. Asking friends or the Better Business Bureau is a good place to reference lending companies if they have had bad marks, or are considered a good business you can trust.
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Small Business Servers – A Need For Change
Many small businesses don’t have an IT department or anyone experienced enough to handle even basic IT tasks like backup, system restoration, patching or updates. In most cases, they rely on a local business partner (typically an IT consultant or local IT support company) to handle these tasks.Unfortunately, many small business IT solutions on the market today exacerbate the situation. Their complexity…
requires the need for ever more powerful hardware
results in frequent system crashes and downtime for upgrades
compounds security problems
necessitates frequent system restorations
increases the investment in resource to upgrade systems and fix problemsWhats needed is a new generation of ‘small business servers’ that deliver all of the essential IT & technology services for smaller businesses but without the usual costs or hassle.Challenges in supporting micro and small business customersTo stay in business small businesses need help with basic IT chores, which are becoming more mission critical than ever as they grow more time consuming to deliver.Just look at business continuity and disaster recovery in small businesses. A study by Gartner found that only one third of small businesses surveyed said they were prepared for a disaster within the next 12 months.In other words two thirds of all small businesses are not prepared for a disaster or protected. The reason, in most cases, is that small businesses don’t have the IT skills of solutions to perform common tasks like backing up critical data or developing a way to restore systems that crash or become damaged when a pipe breaks or there is a fire, flood or other disaster.Small businesses also need help just backing up and restoring files when someone accidentally deletes them. Such deletions in small businesses are quite common.Whilst everyone understands the need for data to be backed up, what many don’t realise is how expensive and difficult it actually is with traditional solutions. In fact, the traditional approach to backing up data is a time consuming and resource intensive task. The normal procedure requires tapes to be rotated, in the right order and taken off site for secure storage.Plug In, Switch on & Start WorkingSecurity within smaller businesses is also an issue. Hackers today are after confidential information about businesses and their clients to commit fraud and identify theft. They employ increasingly sophisticated attacks that may use socially engineered phishing email messages. These spam messages are designed to fool even savvy computer users in to thinking they are from legitimate sources. An unsuspecting user might click on malicious executable file or URL link to a poisoned web site and automatically download malicious software.In their pursuits hackers increasingly exploit new vulnerabilities in applications and Windows operating systems as a means of infecting computers. To battle this problem, software vendors issue frequent system updates and security patches that must be installed quickly to minimize exposure to each new threat.In 2008, Microsoft alone issues 43 critical, 24 important and two moderate fixes, according to security experts. The previous year saw a similar amount, including 49 critical, 23 important and five moderate updates. Other application and browser vendors had numerous updates as well.Again, many small businesses don’t have the IT expertise to track all of these patches or the time to install them. Beyond security patches, there are typically many operating system updates that must also be applied. Such installations are often time consuming.Unfortunately many of these fixes incur downtime, which no business likes. For example, in many situations, a business must first test a patch or upgrade to be sure it does not cause problems. If the test goes well, planning must take place to be sure the changes are made at a time that least inconveniences its workers. Again, many businesses are looking for help with these matters from their business partners. The challenge for the business partner is that all of these tasks (testing, planning, applying etc.) are all time and labour intensive.Problems with traditional Small Business Server SolutionsEven the smallest business today requires certain basic capabilities. Workers need to share files and printers. Additionally, their data must be protected and their systems must be secure.The burden on the business partner to provide these services typically requires the use of multiple solutions from different vendors. The mix often includes a server OS and file system from one vendor, backup software from another, and security products including firewall, anti-virus, anti-spyware and anti-spam software etc from even more vendors.Managing such a mix can add to a business partner’s workload. Each product must be managed with its own administrative system, and each must be updated on its own. There might also be conflicts when trying to get different vendors products to work together.Additionally supporting such a mix of applications might introduce security issues. For example, if a firewall and anti-spam solution are not in sync with regard to the level of protection each affords, one might work in detriment of the other.The end result when using multiple solutions is that the time investment per client grows as the complexity increases. It also increases the time investment a business partner must make in learning/training. Their staff must be knowledgeable about many discreet products in order to support their small business client’s workers.Compounding matters, the traditional choices have had their problems. Solutions designed specifically for smaller businesses often could not scale to support a business growth. For this reason, many of the solutions commonly used are not designed specifically for small businesses. But this only adds to the management burden placed on the business partner because they must customize or scale down these solutions to meet the needs of small businesses.Additionally, such solutions are often bloated with features not needed in smaller businesses. For instance, directory services might be overkill for a company with fewer than twenty people. Yet, its administration is as time consuming for twenty as it is for one hundred or more.Similarly, an enterprise solution might be so narrow focused that it lacks key features for small business, thus requiring a patch work of solutions to meet a business’s basic needs. For instance, a firewall might need a third party anti-spam or anti-virus solution to provide more complete protection.In either case, trying to force fit an enterprise solution into a small business environment can add to the management workload.What’s needed: Desirable characteristics?With these concerns in mind, there is obviously a need for an alternative to the enterprise patchwork solutions that are currently being cobbled together and used in small business today.Any solution that addresses these pain points must be designed specifically for small businesses and the business partners who serve them. It must enable customers do email, create and share documents, centrally manage files, store and secure business data, control access to information, connect offices, employees and partners whilst protecting their network and systems from unwanted disruptions and intrusions.It should be less complex so that it requires less IT support than traditional solutions. Additionally the solution should be Linux based. The reason: Linux is stable and reliable. This would simplify management and make solution subject to less downtime than some alternative solutions. Additionally being Linux based reduces many security problems, as far fewer attacks, generally speaking, are aimed at Linux than traditional operating systems.Furthermore, most operating systems are packed with drivers, utilities and services that are seldom used. An ideal solution would only use the parts of the Linux Kernel that are needed to perform the desired functions. This would reduce potential vulnerabilities.To simplify matters further, the solution should be very easy to deploy. For example, it should be offered as a simple plug and play solution in the form of an appliance. And the solution should support remote management to troubleshoot and correct small problems, as well as recover from a system crash.A solution with these characteristics will save a business partner valuable time that would otherwise be needed to administer solutions at every client’s site. This saves time and money. It allows a business provider to provide services in a more economically efficient manner to existing customers. And it frees up time to solicit and support new businesses.Enter: An affordable solution designed specifically for small businessesSmall Business Server Appliances are a new breed of Small Business Server Solution they are delivered delivered as a plug and play hardware appliance, everything is included. Its pricing structure is simple and straight forward. Business partners do not have to deal with multiple and complex licensing agreements as is the case with many alternative offerings where you are required to switch platforms (or upgrade hardware) above 75 and 100 users, or when email and data storage requirements reach a certain limit.Small Business Server Appliances offers file and print sharing; firewall, anti-virus, anti-spam protection; email, calendaring, contacts, tasks; secure remote access; data backup and disaster recovery features; office productivity tools; and automated system updates.Everything is included within the appliance as a single solution. And business partners can use the platform to deploy other applications that a client might need.The high performance appliance hardware allows a powerful solution to be delivered in a small footprint. This also provides the ability to scale solutions as a clients business grows up to 500 users without artificial licensing barriers. Furthermore, the appliance format also makes the solution very easy to deploy, typically it can be up and running in about 20 minutes.Setting the solution apart: Autonomic features and benefitsSmall Business Server Appliances are designed to run on their own at a customer’s site with little intervention from the business partner. To accomplish this we make use of autonomic features that automatically handle many routine tasks and can correct many problems on its own as they arise. These autonomic features ensure that the small business stays up and running and its systems and data are protected, all while off loading time consuming IT tasks from business partners.For example Small Business Server Appliances comes pre built and pre configured and can usually be implemented in around twenty minutes. There is no monitor or keyboard, the admin interface is accessed via an IP address securely through HTTPS which enables you to manage the appliance remotely. In contrast, alternative solutions often require the business partner to load 5 to 15 CD’s to get a system running initially.Small Business Server Appliances also has the ability to self manage automated backups to a disc based storage device (on or off site), to a hosted backup service in addition to traditional tape or USB based storage devices. A few Small Business Server Appliances also provide the option for integrated hot swap backup discs to be used which enable data to be backed up continually throughout the day.SummaryWith Small Business Server Appliances, business partners get an easy to implement and easy to manage solution that has specifically been designed for smaller businesses.Small Business Server Appliances come pre built and ready to be used this solution offers a rapid time to value.All of the attributes of Small Business Server Appliances pay dividends twice over. First, the small business client is happy, because they can do their jobs without computer related interruptions. And second, a business partner can deliver a high level of service while dedicating minimal IT resources and staff to each client.The autonomic features of the solution reduce the time and resources a business partner must invest to begin work with a new client and to support existing small business customers. For example very little training is required to become familiar with the solution, so business partners quickly leverage the solution and immediately become more profitable.
How To Make 7 Figures In The Speaking And Training Industry
Putting it in perspectiveThe first thing that comes to mind when we talk about the speaking and training industry is to think about the huge annual seminars, conferences, and conventions usually conducted by industry associations, societies and professional bodies. Added to this are the corporate training by elite universities, polytechnics, colleges, giant consulting firms, and the like. Not far left behind are the global motivational speaking giants and celebrity speakers such as Tony Robbins, Brendon Burchard, Darren Hardy, Jack Canfield, Victor Mark Hansen, Les Brown, Brian Tracy and hundreds and hundreds of other giants. Then you have super-celebrity business moguls such as Donald Trump and Richard Branson that get paid up to $100,000 per appearance. These business moguls are in a class of their own. Some books have spawned global movements such as Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, and Guerilla Marketing by Conrad Levinson, to mention a few. So it’s a huge market out there.How big is the industry?Training Industry.com estimated the global market for training expenditures in 2011 was about $287bn. They expected the market to grow to about $292bn by 2012. Market Data Enterprise estimated the Motivational ”Self-Improvement” market to be about $10.4bn. In my opinion these are extremely under-reported figures as they may reflect at best market of OECD countries. Putting all countries in the picture may result in figures three times bigger, so it’s a huge industry, that clearly overlaps with other industries such as ICT, and education, where formal education, certification and the like take place.Who are the key players?The key players as we mentioned at the beginning include corporate training arms of almost all universities, with elites such as Harvard, Wharton, Stanford, Columbia, and MIT taking global lead. Then you have global leadership institutes such as INSEAD in France, IMD in Switzerland, and Cranfield in England. Then you have global consulting giants such as McKinsey, Accenture, PWC, KPMG, that don’t only consult and audit, but also train their clients in best practices. In the speaking segment the global leaders are Toastmasters International, National Speakers Association (NSA), and International Federation of Professional Speakers.How can you belong?A whole book can be written about how you can become a trainer or speaker. The best place to start is to visit your local library or neighborhood bookshop and look up books on the training and speaking sections. To help you jumpstart, the best place to begin is to decide which niche you wish to serve. While you may play in different niches, the biggest earners are niche players who have developed expertise in their niches to the point of becoming celebrities. To become a trainer, the best place to start is to become an expert or at least, a knowledgeable professional in the area you wish to train on, for example, sales, leadership, and communication. To really gun for the seven figures, seek out the experts, submit to their mentorship and coaching, then join their networks. The best mentors will open up their networks for you.What can you sell as a trainer and/ or speaker?The training and speaking industries have overlapped so much so that sometimes it is difficult to say these days where one ends and where the other begins. For all intents and purposes, the two industries are tending in one direction and are coalescing into one huge information industry. For the purposes of this article, however, we will keep the two industries separate, at least for now. To be a trainer, the most lucrative segment to focus on is corporate training. Most quoted companies dedicate huge sums to their annual training budgets, sometimes as high as 10% of their profit before tax, so there is huge money to be made there. As I said earlier, the more focused you are, the better. In the speaking or motivational segment or niche, while you also sell expertise as a trainer, unlike the corporate trainer, you’ll be selling directly to individuals most of the time. So to really succeed in the speaking industry, you need to develop your unique spin of what you want to sell to your target audience. As the saying goes, there is nothing new under the sun. If you look back far into how the industry developed from the days of Napoleon Hill, W. Clement Stone, Earl Nightingale, Jim Rohn, Bryan Tracy to modern day icons such as Tony Robbins, Darren Hardy, Marcia Weider, and Brendon Burchard, the one thing that sets the most successful speakers apart was and remains the ability to develop a unique style that gets you on the radar.How to make 7 figures Thanks to technology and the proliferation of media, the training and speaking industries are merging into one huge industry that people now refer to as information marketing industry. When you are selling corporate training, what exactly are you selling? If you look at it closely, you are selling information and ideas. Maybe, how to carry out certain tasks better, how to hone a particular skill, or how to direct a change in attitude or behavior in a more desirable direction. The same applies to the motivational speaking. The outcome you desire is the same, you are conveying ideas and information that your audience can use to better their lives in various areas, such as health, wealth, self confidence, time management and other dimensions. While in the past, an average speaker if he or she was lucky could get ten or twenty people into a hall to listen to what he or she had to say, today you have a global audience, thanks to the internet. So the first step towards your 7-figure earning is to leverage the power of the internet and the associated technologies to your advantage. According to Janet Switzer, there are more than 50 information products you can market. Assuming you have 20 products, and you are able to sell to just 10,000 monthly at the rate of just $20 per person, you can make about $4,000,000 per month. Not bad for a start, but it will not happen overnight. You have to keep at it, and be willing to pay the price. I know celebrities that are making more than that figure per month, so jump in, the water is warmer than you think.