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The Home Based Business: Look Before You Leap

Top 10 Home Business Opportunities | Home Business Ideas | Thursday, July 31st, 2008

Boxing is a great sport for children and adults who want an all-over workout. Develop agility and strength while practicing fancy footwork and swings. Fill the base with sand or water for stability. Includes one pair of adjustable boxing gloves. Assembles in minutes. Adjustable height from 32-48″, 15.75″l. Weight 4.5 lbs. (Age 5+)
Customer Review: love it!!!
Bought this for my 7yr.old girl and she loves it.Im a 45 yr.old man,weigh 200 lbs.and have been boxing most of my life and I like it.Every time I walk by I hit on it,no problems here.
Customer Review: Not durable
This is a great idea for a punching bag and for very young kids it may be ok. My 6 year old played with it and knocked the plastic base over, spilling the water from within all over the floor. It is pretty flimsy and the plug doesn’t work at all. I would not recommend this toy to anyone. It is expensive so I thought it was of higher quality but it was on the cheap side. Click to Buy Now!

The home based business look before you leap

The home based business seems to be the dream of many of us these days. It is a viable way out of the greedy corporate rat race that has affected so many of us.

If you are considering such an endeavor, I congratulate you. This is the very spirit that keeps America great.

I have read many fine articles on the subject and have seen many opportunities. There are a lot of ways to make a living from your home. It seem though a couple of important issues are overlooked.

It would be a shame to go to all the work of setting up your operation and learning how to operate it just to get shut down by an oversight.

If you are operating out of your home make sure before you start out:

a. Local zoning laws will allow your business to be there.

This one is easy to miss but could shut you down quicker than anything else.

b. Your homeowners insurance covers sales people, clients and delivery people.

What happens if a business visitor slips on your walk or your dog bites them? Nobody is better at getting out of paying than insurance companies. Check with your agent before anything happens.

c. What insurance will be needed for your business equipment?

If your house burns down, will your business be covered? Probably not without a separate policy.

d. Are your neighbors going to cause you problems?

A neighbor can cause more problems than you can imagine. Be sure to talk to them so they understand what is going on next door to them.

e. Make sure to understand any pollution laws including noise.

If your business makes noise you can get everyone in the area down your throat in a hurry. You must be a good neighbor also.

This just names a few of the possible issues that could arise out of a home based business. As is true in most business situations, it is best to look at as many possible issues as possible before you leap into regrettable actions.

Bill Shayler is a professional engraver and the owner of Shayler Engraving. For more information or to contact Bill, please visit: http://www.your-door-knocker.com a web site owned and operated by Shayler Engraving.

Copyright (C) Shayler Engraving 2007 All Rights Reserved

Londons Times Fish Fishing Deep Beneath Cartoons - Squid Entrepreneurs - Caps

Top 10 Home Business Opportunities | Top 10 Home Business Opportunities | Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Service businesses are a great field to get into, whether you provide offline or online services it?s an easy way to start your own business with usually very low start-up costs. With the number of businesses you can easily start from home there simply isn?t an excuse to not start your own business.

So if you?ve been thinking about it, here are a few in-demand home business ideas:

Transcription ? If you can type (or can learn how to, it?s really not too difficult), have a good eye for detail and want to work from home, this is a great profession to get into. You can find clients online and locally. You can transcribe for real estate agents, insurance brokers, online marketers, speakers, consultants and a huge range of other clients. Transcriptionists are in high demand and is a very easy business to start from home.

Virtual Assistants ? Similar to a secretary or administrative assistants, VAs (virtual assistants) are a growing field. Many entrepreneurs have home businesses now and need someone to help them run their business ? what better person to turn to than a VA. Similar to transcription this is a high-demand field and a relatively easy business to start.

Ghost Writer ? Just the name alone sounds exciting, but make no mistake, ghost writing isn?t some mysterious profession you see only in movies, it?s a very real in-demand field. This is especially true when it comes to online marketers and website owners who have a need for quality content. You can also write articles for local newspapers, magazines and a number of other publications. If you love to write, you can take that passion and turn it into a very profitable and cool at-home business.

Cleaning Service ? Okay, this may not be the most glamorous business in the world, but hey there?s a lot of money to be made here. If you enjoy cleaning and take pride in your work you can easily set up your own maid or cleaning service. You can also take one step further and manage the business and hire a team of cleaners to do the job for you. With so many parents and single professionals working such long hours plus the increase of disposable income, you can certain ?clean up? with your own maid service. Those are just a few service businesses you can start from home.

Relatively easy to start, low cost and plain old easy, there?s no good reason NOT to start your own business.

To learn how to make it BIG with your own service business, visit http://www.MomsTalkBiz.com for a range of fun and profitable at-home business ideas.


Squid Entrepreneurs Cap is new commercial quality high resolution heat transfer product. Hat is perfect for any active lifestyle. It’s made from preshrunk 100% cotton twill and has a self-fabric overlapping Velcro closure. Click to Buy Now!

The Advantages and Disadvantages Of An Internet Home Business

Top 10 Home Business Opportunities | Top 10 Home Business Opportunities | Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

Click to Buy Now!

A growing disillusionment with life in the corporate world has resulted in a migration towards internet entrepreneurism and the dream of someday being able to enjoy a greater degree of financial freedom, leading to a much higher quality of life.

Now that the personal computer has become an essential part of most households in the civilized world, the home office has become a viable phenomenon. When you combine that with the exciting new advances in internet technology, it becomes apparent why more people than ever are now willing to start their own internet home business, or participate in the kind of internet work from home opportunity that would have been out of the question just a decade ago.

So what are the advantages and disadvantages of working from home with your own business? Let?s have a look, first of all, at the disadvantages.

Phone Calls Depending on the type of home business you’ve chosen, your clients will assume you are available all day, every day. Added to that, you will probably be working with international customers who forget about time zones! The plus side is that not all online work requires direct customer contact. Your Home is your Office There is no distinction between home and office, so you never get the feeling that work is over for the day. You can?t switch on and off as many do. However, there are no bells to work to and no boss checking his watch when you leave, so you have more time to complete your work.

You Must be Disciplined Because you work from home it may seem like the hours you work don’t matter. You can take a few hours off whenever you feel like it because you can make it up tomorrow. The problem is, ?tomorrow never comes.?

When the children and your spouse have left the house there is no human interaction like there is with a job. Friends may visit but they usually distract you from your work or feel that because you work at home you have all the time in the world and they can visit whenever they feel like it. You need considerable discipline to work when there is no boss to grade your performance.

Financial independence is a significant factor If your work at home business makes you financially independent, it doesn?t matter that you work at home. The hours you work don?t matter if you are happy with your standard of living. If your work at home income does not exceed what you were making from your job, you need rethink your whole work at home strategy and come up with a niche and a marketing strategy that will give you the income you desire.

Seems like a daunting list of disadvantages doesn’t it? I’ve got good news… An internet work at home business is certainly NOT doom and gloom! Now let?s discuss just a few of the advantages.

Convenience Long frustrating commutes are a thing of the past. Your commute is on foot and measured in seconds depending on the size of your home! There are no traffic jams, and you can start work whenever it’s convenient to you; one of the major pluses of working at home.

Safety You won’t be joining thousands of others under pressure to get to office by start time, so you will be less liable to have a road traffic accident. You can get out of bed each morning fired up with the enthusiasm you get from owning your own internet home business, go for a swim, then relax with a delicious cup of coffee while you read the morning paper and maybe even have some breakfast. All this before you start your working day.

Time with your family All the time you used to spend traveling back and forth between home and work can now be spent with your family. Work at home parents have the pleasure of being there while their children are growing up without the expense or the worry of daycare!

Lower Travel Costs How much does it cost you to commute? The maintenance costs of your car, gasoline or perhaps the cost of public transport? This must use up a fair amount of your disposable income. When you work from home your related travel costs are negligible, and the wear and tear on your vehicle is greatly reduced.

These are exciting times in the home opportunities marketplace, and finding a home based business that suits your individual style is easier than ever. But before you take the plunge into entrepreneurship you must weigh the pros against the cons and be sure that you’re looking with a realistic eye at all sides of the work at home opportunities you are considering.

ProfitMarketer Janice Sharman, is an experienced Home Business Entrepreneur, who will take you by the hand and show you how you can start and successfully run your own Internet Home Business. For more information on how to start your own home business visit: http://www.profitsguru.biz or http://www.computer-work-at-home-job.ws

Time Management - Critical To Home Business Success

Top 10 Home Business Opportunities | Top 10 Home Business Opportunities | Monday, July 28th, 2008

If you are looking to start your very own internet home business, you?ve probably run into the brick wall of options. There really isn?t a shortage of programs promising you the moon and the stars and it seems like an impossible task to actually distinguish the garbage from the gems. And there are gems. Many people, from all walks of life and from all over the world, have and are, making a lot of money with their online businesses. If you are looking for a great internet home business idea then you have to realize that it?s not going to just fall unto your lap. The internet can be a tough place and by nature it is very competitive, but the sheer amount of opportunities still makes it the ideal option for starting your very own home business.

Apart from having the comfort of working in your own home, at your own time and determining your own income level, the internet really allows anyone to ?make it? with virtually any product or service. If you can?t find your clientele online, then they simply don?t exist. So how do you find that great internet home business idea then? Where do you start looking for the next best thing and how can you know that you are on the right track? After all, you don?t want to spent all that time and effort on something that simply doesn?t work.

Here is one of the best proven internet home business ideas - in very basic terms. Sit down and write down five to ten things you absolutely love ? preferably things you know a lot about or things that you are very interested in at least. Next you want to explore which of these ideas would be a potentially profitable market online and you can do this by doing some market and keyword research. By finding out what people are looking for you can determine what to offer them. Your keyword research will give you a pretty good indication of the demand and also the supply in that particular niche.

Next you want to explore the products available in these niches ? especially information products in Clickbank and Paydotcom?s marketplaces. There are several more refined strategies for testing the water before you enter, but essentially you want to make sure that you will be rewarded for the work you do. There is nothing worse than spending months developing a website, blog or ezine in a market that won?t spend money on it or a market that is too saturated.

Once you?ve decided on your niche, you can start your own website, blog, newsletter or community forum where you connect people looking for information on your specific subject with vendors selling their products through affiliate networks like Clickbank . You then get paid a commission for every sale that is made through your affiliate links (from your blog or website). Although this is not the most revolutionary internet home business idea, it is still the most fundamental and many of the ?new strategies? are only variations and improvements on this basic theme.

Not only does this internet home business idea allow you do and work on something that you love, but it gives you the opportunity to help people with your expert knowledge. There are many internet home business ideas that rely on ?black hat tactics? that work only for a while and when the search engines catch on you might find yourself out of a website (and income). This strategy for starting your own internet home business is still the one that?s stood the test of time as it really ads to the total value of the internet as a whole and your success will rely on the quality of your work and the quality of service you provide.

Don?t let this internet home business idea put you off by the perceived amount of work or the technical issues of building websites. These are really very minor issues and in this day and age anyone can do it. Probably the best aspect about this internet home business idea is that the income you generate from it is residual ? meaning that you keep earning money from it day after day (even while you sleep) for work done only once. Once your website is up and running it will keep pulling visitors and earning you money forever.

Article By Sincere Advice.com To learn more about how you can use this strategy to start and profit from your own internet home business, please visit http://www.sincere-advice.com/homebusiness_idea.html and gain instant access to this proven system.


If you are looking to become successful marketing online and effectively manage your time, this is the article for you.

People are so busy these days, but they are not as efficient as they could be. However, when you are dealing with your financial future, there is no time to waste.

So where are you going to come up with this time? You might be shocked at how much time an average person wastes each day. Conservative estimates say about 3 hours per day for the average person. That’s a lot of extra time to utilize.

Schedule Your Day

Sit down with a pen and paper and list your daily schedule. What time do you wake up? One by one list out all of the things that you do each day.

Efficient time management all boils down to planning what you’re going to do, and then doing it without diverting from the task at hand. Take note of the time you spend standing around shooting the breeze. This definitely involves the time you spend watching TV or talking on the telephone. Try to eliminate everything that is unnecessary. That doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy these things, but save them for your personal time and keep them to a reasonable time limit.

Be Disciplined

The essential thing that you need to do is to consider your time as your most valuable asset. As such a valuable asset, you should spend it wisely.

So what common thing do all financially successful people share? They are efficient, organized, and use their time wisely.

To become successful marketing online from home, you need to prioritize your to-do list. Things will pop up during the day that will rearrange you nice and neat to-do list. However, learning to be flexible is critical to effective time management. People are easily distracted with variances to their schedule, which in turn causes them to waste more time.

Free Time

Make sure that when you’re organizing your time and your business you set aside some time for relaxation. Allot special time when you and your spouse can be alone together. Do not involve yourself in anything to an extent that you exclude your loved ones from your life. It is possible to work hard, yet keep the lines of communication open between you and your loved ones.

In the end it all boils down to discipline and forming good habits that will help you to achieve your goals. You might have to make a few sacrifices along the way and focus on your priorities. However, if you commit to investing your time wisely nowFeature Articles, you will see exciting returns on your investment throughout your lifetime.


Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

If you are looking for a way to become successful marketing online, visit Brian’s Big Ticket To Wealth website. About the Author: Brian McCoy is an industry leading internet marketer and President and CEO of McCoy Marketing Group. His mission is to develop leaders into full time home business entrepreneurs.

Honest Home Based Business Oppurtunity For The Internet Beginner

Top 10 Home Business Opportunities | Top 10 Home Business Opportunities | Sunday, July 27th, 2008

Take two male figure skaters, throw in a preposterous storyline, and you’ve got Blades of Glory, a surprisingly funny film that almost makes you forgive Will Ferrell for his back-to-back 2005 clunkers Kicking & Screaming and Bewitched. This time around, Ferrell eats the scenery in his role as a sex-addicted, cocky skating champ named Chazz Michael Michaels. When he gets into an on-podium fight with his nemesis and co-gold medallist Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder, Napoleon Dynamite), both skaters are banned from competing in men’s figure-skating events. Forever. Their fall from grace is brutal. Chazz is forced to work for a D-list skating show, while pampered Jimmy is disowned by his wealthy and cold-hearted adoptive father (excellently played by William Fichtner), who only wants to be around winners. When Jimmy points out that he tied for gold, his dad cruelly says, “If I wanted to share, I would’ve bought you a brother.” Flash forward 3-1/2 years and Jimmy’s No. 1 stalker Hector (Nick Swardson) says he’s found a loophole. Jimmy’s been banned from men’s singles events, but there’s nothing that says he can’t compete in pairs skating. After a chance meeting with Chazz, mayhem ensues as the two rivals team up to go against the brother-and-sister team of Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg (played by Will Arnett and his real-life wife, Amy Poehler of Saturday Night Live and Mean Girls fame). The Van Waldenbergs will stop at nothing to beat the competition, even if that means literally beating up the competition. They have no qualms manipulating their sweet little sister (Jenna Fischer, The Office) to seduce both men to try to break up the team.

The finale will be no surprise to moviegoers who know that comedies like this aren’t set up to make its leading men losers. But there is one brief skating sequence set in North Korea that will surprise (and shock) many viewers because of its brutality. Ferrell and Heder make a great comedy team. Though he has been accused of playing the same role since his breakthrough performance in Napoleon Dynamite and, to a certain extent, plays a similar type of role here, Heder is spot-on as Jimmy. He manages to convey innocence, bitterness, and longing–all within the span of a few seconds and while wearing a peacock unitard (You can understand why Hector is so enthralled with him). Look for guest appearances by real-life skating champs Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano, Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, Nancy Kerrigan, and Sasha Cohen, who gets to sniff Chazz’s jockstrap. –Jae-Ha Kim

Beyond Blades of Glory


More “Blades” on DVD

More DVDs with Will Ferrell

The Soundtrack

Stills from Blades of Glory (click for larger image)

Customer Review: Silly humor.
Anyone who has seen a Will Ferrell movie knows that his movies aren’t meant to be taken seriously. Mix that with the weirdly funny Jon Heder from Napolean Dynamite, you know that this movie is perfect for a few laughs.

So what’s this movie about? Of course it’s about ice skating but what would a Will Ferrell movie be without a crazy storyline? Blades of Glory places two gold medal skaters face to face when they are banned from ice skating after a fight between the two. They find a loophole in the rules and ultimately learn that they can still compete in the pairs division. Two men skating together? Should be interesting.

Let’s talk about the positives first. As I already mentioned, this movie contains two of the funniest (or should I say stupidly funniest) actors out there. Jimmy, who is played by Jon Heder, was adopted at a young age and was basically forced into skating. He became a pro and was known for his beautiful, graceful moves on the ice. Chazz, played by Will Ferrell, is Jimmy’s complete opposite. Chazz is sex-crazed and he incorporates sexy moves into his routines. Other interesting actors of note are Amy Poehler who plays half of Chazz and Jimmy’s enemies, Jenna Fischer as Miss Poehler’s sister, and there are even some appearances by well known skaters such as Nancy Kerrigan and Scott Hamilton.

As for the jokes, you have to have a certain sense of humor to truly appreciate them. If you can’t find humor in Jon Heder’s character wearing a peacock outfit while emulating a peacock’s moves, this movie may not be for you. I guess the funniest bits in the movie are when the characters say/do something ridiculous with a serious look on their faces. Overall, this movie is very entertaining.

And now for the negatives. Although this movie clocks in at just about an hour and a half, I still felt as though it was really short. This could be because much of the scenes were randomly thrown in just for laughs and not having to do with the plot so I was left wanting more. Yeah, there was a general plot but it seemed a bit thrown together. And I understand that movies such as this aren’t supposed to “wow” the audience but it should at least have a turning point/climax to keep you entertained. I guess the writers just assumed the audience cared more about silly humor than following through with the storyline.

Don’t get me wrong, this movie isn’t horrible. But I personally think it’s good only for a few laughs. Nothing more. If you must see Blades of Glory, I suggest renting it. If I could, I would have given this movie 3.5 stars but I don’t think it’s worthy of 4 stars.
Customer Review: Perfecting the Will Ferrell Formula
Blades of Glory spins a delightful yarn about two feuding figure skaters who, having been banned from the sport for fighting during an awards presentation, must team together in order to continue competing and restore their credibility. Will Ferrell plays a hairy-chested manly man who is outwardly tough and sexually crazed but turns to often-hilarious binge drinking to ease the pain from his deep insecurities, and Jon Heder plays Napoleon Dynamite playing a fay, orphaned skating wunderkind.

So, you have an idea of what to expect. However!, do not dismiss this movie as more of the same, because, while it is more of the same, it’s more of the same done exceptionally well. Ferrell’s lines are delivered with precision and laser-guided timing and Heder is actually very well suited to play the girl of the pair. The bottom line is, the setup provides ample opportunities for these two to play off of each other, and the movie nails nearly every chance they get. The skating scenes feature just enough homoerotic INNUENDO! to keep the most immature of us amused and there’s some solid physical comedy to boot.

They really use the setting to its full potential, successfully skewering everything from Olympic mascots to ________ on Ice shows. If writing funny scenes containing these things is shooting fish in a barrel, Blades of Glory just launched the barrel into the sun and then blew up the sun anyway for good measure. Drawbacks are minor, thankfully. The movie hits a minor rough patch transitioning between plots point but generally moves along at a much better clip than either Anchorman or Talladega Nights. In fact the movie just plain kicked Talladega Nights` tail. The soundtrack is a regrettable non-factor, with the exception of the songs actually used for the skate performances. Which are superb.

The one other gripe to be had is the misuse of some great comedic actors. The cast features a fool-proof bit performance from Will Arnett but doesn’t quite take advantage of Amy Poehler or Craig T. Nelson. Rob Corddry continues the losing streak he began on The Winner by doing a poor imitation of Jack Black. See also: Wasted cameos. Team Pam will be happy to know that Jenna Fischer essentially plays Pam, except this Pam is in a wonderful universe in which Pam wears frilly lingerie.

So if that isn’t enough for you to see the movie, fans of lingerie, you may very well enjoy it for myriad other reasons. There are explosions, chase scenes, intrinsically funny skating outfits and some surprisingly well done genre satire. Don’t bother if you’re annoyed by The Will Ferrell Role or overblown, perpetually devolving pop comedies, but do bother if you want to have some laughs at the cost of elitist nerds calling you a conformist lame College Guy. It was better than I expected and not at all a bad way to spend a night. Click to Buy Now!

Honest home based business opportunity to achieve success. Discover the truth for making money online?!

Making money online is the number one task of any web site owner, yet 95% of home business websites never make any money. Web surfers spend billions of dollars online every year, but only 5% of home based business entrepreneurs actually see any of that money!

The truth is, you have very little chance of making money on the internet, you should go back to working in a real job, and you have failed before you start

?Why do you fail when you should be successful??

Making money online is easy, so easy, anyone could do it, at least that is what people think, and that is why you will fail! Making money online is the hardest job in the world, anyone who tells you different is not telling you the truth.

You will not find a genuine home based business opportunity by wasting money on an e-book. You will not get rich from reading 120 pages of internet marketing information.

Making money is a science; if you want to achieve home business success, you must learn the science!

The rules for making money have not changed in a thousand years, and the ?internet marketing spin? you see on web sites is replicated from those ?old fashioned rules?. You must do the same, you must learn the rules and you will make money; it is as simple as that!

Making money is not easy, but the rules are easy, when you know the difference, you will achieve financial success beyond anything you could imagine.

My secret tip for you is this..

Follow the essential rules for making money online, learn all you can, master them, and you will make money. Once you understand the rules, find yourself an internet marketing professional and replicate him, or her. Copy everything they do, in your own unique way, but copy them, never the less.

Remember, business success has not changed in a thousand years, how do you think people become successful? Replication is the secret for making money from a home based business. Of course, I am not suggesting you steal other peoples work, I am saying replicate them.

That is how you achieve success, and that is how you make money from a home based business. Do not try to re-in-vent the wheel. The one we have is perfect!

People fail because they think they know better. Home based business beginners fail because they ignore the essential rules. The sooner you learn to follow the rules, the faster you will achieve success. The sooner you realize the importance of replication the wiser you will become.

Let the professionals guide you to home business success; do not think you will achieve long-term success without help.

I highly recommend you do the same.

If you need more information to help you achieve Honest Home Based Business Success go to Honest-HomeBusiness.com

John Adams has been a successful home based business entrepreneur since 1987 with more business Ventures than you can shake a stick at!

Owner of multiple websites and off-line businesses.

You are unique. You have the potential to earn more money than you can count!

Like to find out how?

Start by going here: Honest-HomeBusiness.com

An Introduction to Option Trading Success [DVD] with James Bittman

Top 10 Home Business Opportunities | Top 10 Home Business Opportunities | Saturday, July 26th, 2008

Praise for Smart Start-Ups

“Silver’s new book is a masterpiece of clarity concerning the next great entrepreneurial wave, and my only problem with it was the charley horse in my elbow I got turning the pages.”
-Robin Richards, founding President, MP3.com, and CEO, Notification Technologies Inc.

“Silver is a modern-day Prometheus. For community entrepreneurs, Smart Start-Ups contains the secrets of fire from the heavens. If you work with communities of any kind, you ignore this book at your own peril.”
-John Szeder, former senior game developer, Digital Chocolate, Inc., and CEO, Mofactor, Inc.

“Silver dives in and pulls the naked truth out of the world of online communities. There’s nothing like it on the shelves. He speaks with the best and brightest in the mobile and online community markets.”
-Sean Malatesta, founder, Yack Media Services, and Vice President, Indiagames, Inc.

“Smart Start-Ups is a must-read for any aspiring Internet entrepreneur. Silver cuts right to the heart of the important fact that communities are like entire nations, but without geographic borders, and they’re creating the greatest transformation since the Industrial Revolution.”
-Clarence Briggs, founder and CEO, AIT.com

“Silver’s book is an excellent, captivating, ingenious, and essential read for anyone who wants to know how to create wealth by starting an online community. One mark of a great book is that it makes you see things in a new way; Silver certainly succeeds in that respect.”
-Kyle E. Gillman, founder and CEO, Forgefinder, Inc.
Customer Review: He seems a little nutty to me
On page 63 he makes the claim that if Telecoms want to stay in business they will need to switch to the real estate business and sell all their downtown property that houses their switches and where their employees work NOW. In the next three to five years, downtown land will be worthless because retail stores are moving online and people will be tele-commuting from their country homes. He also predicts the demise of many industries over the next 3-5 years: Advertising, Automobile, Insurance, Banking, Mortgages, Law, Movies, Music, Computers and more.

I was tracking with what he says until he started claiming that Telcos would go away and then he lost credibility with me.
Customer Review: A Must-Read Book
I read a lot of business books, and Smart Start-Ups is one of the best I’ve read in a long time.

I’m extremely passionate about entrepreneurship and online communities, and David Silver’s book makes 3 key points that really hit home with me on a personal level:

1) The historical perspective of “Second Age of Communities” and moving away from infrastructure building to community building. This idea was intuitive to me, but the analogy of past guilds/unions rising to power compared to the present growth of online communities gave me an immediate “ah-ha!” moment.

2) Online communities need multiple potential streams of revenue to succeed. David draws from a few proven business models (like Mary Kay) to give very useful ideas on monetization. The idea of creating float to fund online communities is also extremely powerful.

3) Online communities not only as a business opportunity, but as an artistic expression and social movement. This part is excellent. Many business writers tend to be more one-dimensional and I found it inspirational that David alludes to artistic and historical contexts within his book.

In addition to all the innovative ideas, Smart Start-Ups provides useful tools for assessing the robustness of business ideas using David’s First Law of Entrepreneurship and the Eight DEJ Factors scores.

Smart Start-Ups is a must-read if you are at all interested in online communities and entrepreneurship. The historical context provided in the book gives entrepreneurs and investors conviction that online communities are a macro trend and not a mere fad, while the example business models give concrete ways to approach the market for many years to come.
Click to Buy Now!

An Introduction to Option Trading Success with James Bittman Thinking of testing the waters in options, but haven’t yet taken the plunge? Eliminate your fears and jump in with the CBOE’s top options trainer, James Bittman, as he introduces first-timers and fledgling traders to the exciting options arena. Bittman explains in concise, step-by-step terms exactly how options work, providing clear explanations and examples of the most common - and valuable - option strategies. This thorough presentation covers all the options basics you need to get started on a successful trading path. You’ll discover how to develop a solid options trading plan - and tailor it to your own goals and risk limitations. Traders and longer-term investors alike will find an excellent overview of what it takes to start trading options profitably, including … - 3 key steps to any successful options investment - Learning to “think” like an options investor - Using options to “invest” - rather than for pure speculation - Understanding “delta” and its affect on option pricing - Planning ahead: Preparing an exit strategy for every trade - The primary principles of time decay - The importance of taking a loss when your strategy goes bad Bittman also reveals the critical “two D’s” to options trading success-discipline and decision making. With Bittman’s basic strategies, this comprehensive video-and its complete online support materials - your entry into the options market will be far more focused, effective and, ultimately, triumphant.
Customer Review: A little pricey for a basic options introduction.
I’m not sure that this type of brief introduction should cost more than about $20. It was simply a taped seminar and very simple concepts that, in my opinion, could have been handled in a 10 page pamphlet.

The Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE) website has free computer-aided training that is probably more useful (www.cboe.com/LearnCenter/default.aspx). Again, that is my personal opinion based upon having spent several months now looking for information and training on options.

On the positive side, I enjoyed the instructor. He seemed very knowledgeable and I would recommend future DVD courses from him and others if they were in the less than $20 range. I also purchased “High Impact Options Trading” from the same producers and will review it separately but my opinion is about the same for it. Click to Buy Now!

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