I discover a lot of business and life lessons in movies. While I dont get out much these days, and I rarely have occasion to kick back and watch them at home, I value the nuggets of wisdom that I take away from them.One night I actually put my feet up and watched Queen Latifahs movie Beauty Shop. I missed about 20 minutes of the movie, between her walking out on her old job and starting her own business. Still, I noticed lessons that we...more
The Christmas season is upon us, and children young and old take great pleasure in wrapping gifts for loved ones and friends.Now, a little family history here... my mother, Head Wrapper of our household at Christmas, was not one to 'fuss' with wrapping to make gifts look like those found in store displays.As a Capricorn born in the Chinese Year of the Goat, "pragmatic" should have been her middle name. No sense investing a lot of time in making...more
I live in a small rural community in Western Canada, sandwiched between a small city of about 80,000 and a major metropolitan center. Theres a lot of pressure to buy from local businesses in order to support our entrepreneurial base.Im in favor of keeping it local whenever its possible. I too have a small business and appreciate local business supporting my venture.However, I still believe that you need to EARN the business. Just because youre the only game in town right now, or the political pressure is to shop local, doesnt mean you can take your customers for granted, or diss other local businesses.1. Be gracious, even if you dont get what you would like.My sons hockey team just ordered some tracksuits from the bookstore at our local college. Several teams did the same. The college does not advertise that it can do this; someone just knew they could get these suits at a very reasonable price. And since the college too is a local business and supports the community, its still shopping locally.The only catch was that the disk with the logo to be embroidered on the jackets was not available to the college. It was only available to the two...more
Summary: By all accounts, it works. They claim 100% successful trades. The one live account I found out there indeed had 100% successful trades and a 170% net profit over 7 weeks. The drawbacks are that you have to manually trade (the robot only gives you signals), or pay an extra $97 a month for their auto-trade version. And the auto trade version...more
There is lots of talk these days about foreclosures. Investing in foreclosures can be a big money maker when it comes to real estate investing niches. While investing in foreclosures results in large profits when you choose the right house, ther are pitfalls that you must look out for before you buy a foreclosure. there are a lot of other factors...more
The unpleasant TRIGGER word in the IRS dictionary is "IRD" [I]ncome in [R]espect of a [D]ecedent, Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 691. Income in Respect of a Decedent (IRD) refers to those amounts to which a decedent was entitled as gross income, but which were not properly includable in computing the decedent's taxable income for the taxable year ending with the date of the decedent's death [or] for a previous taxable year under the method of accounting employed by the decedent. Pursuant to Sec. 691, the amount of the IRA distribution is included in the gross income of the beneficiary for the tax year when it is received. Simply stated, the government allowed you to post-pone the tax while you were alive. Now, they want to collect, period.The baby boomer generation needs to understand and master the total significance of IRD, because they have accumulated significant wealth creating Taxable Estates. IRC Sec. 2031 defines and controls the valuation of the decedent's gross estate to include the value of all assets at the time of the decedent's death, real or personal, tangible or intangible, wherever situated. A decedent's estate may include stocks and securities, real estate,...more
Installment loans are designed to assist people when unexpected financial emergencies occur. They are a fast, easy and hassle free way to get money to cover all your unexpected financial expenses. They are the excellent way out of all you financial...more
Whats the secret to reducing cost and accelerating the delivery of offshore software development? Move business analysis offshore, too! That's right. Theres now a growing body of evidence that doing so will reduce the costs of developing...more
When the word networking is mentioned, most people I know think about salespeople or business owners exchanging business cards any chance they can. Of course networking can be the card exchange. It`s also "doing lunch" and attending events and many...more
Safety is about company policies and procedures. It's even more about people; more specifically, your employees' natural behavioral style and safety attitude at work. Training plays an important role in workplace safety. But who your workers are, not...more
You are considering the trading of commodities, or the options on futures as a wonderful way to supplement your income. You can even go one step further and determine that trading commodities and futures is a wonderful way to make a living. This is a...more
Thinking of Investing in Residential Real Estate: Its Still Location, Location, LocationRemember this: land is the element of real estate that appreciates. Man-made structures begin depreciating from the day they are constructed.Think schools...more