What is the number one way to prevent failure in business? Take a minute to really think about your answer. What comes to mind? Increasing patients or customers served? Effective marketing? Location, location, location? Improving patient or customer care? Being the best in your industry? Although these are all essential aspects of business, the answer isn't any of the above. The number one way to prevent business failure is to...more
There can't be many traders who haven't at least considered the idea of telling the boss what they think of him, throwing it all in and going off to trade the stock market for a living. It's a big risk financially, and that uncertainty is what stops most from jumping ship. Is it really possible to trade for a living?The DreamYou know how it is, you're sitting in a traffic jam at some unearthly hour of a particularly wet and miserable morning, on...more
In part 1 of this article I started to look at the financial implications of giving up the day job to instead start trading full time for a living. There are more than just monetary considerations as we will see later, but for now, there are some more costs to ponder.More Costs!Let's move on to equipment. Presumably you already have a PC and internet connection by virtue of the fact you are reading this on the internet. But are these both up to the job of trading full time? Again the specifications for both hardware and ISP will depend largely on your trading style, but if you're relying on a 100Mhz Pentium II and a dial up service, you're setting yourself up for failure. So budget for quality equipment, budget to keep it up to spec, and budget for some repairs too - expect the unexpected. Many traders make the mistake of saying "This will do me whilst I start out, and I'll get something better when I make some real money". This is quite simply false economy, you are unlikely to ever make real money with a substandard setup (and this applies equally to substandard software and data feeds). This is a cut-throat business and 95% fail, you must give yourself every advantage you can....more
Recently, my family and I took a trip to Maine to visit relatives. During our stay, we toured the rocky shore lines and took in the beautiful architecture of the old towns.One sunny morning, three generations of Wardlaws boarded a lobster boat and set out on a guided lobster trapping excursion.We quickly learned lobstermen lead a life of hard work...more
OK, so you are up to your head in debt. You are stressed out, it is now affecting the way you function and absorbing most of your daily thoughts. You have no idea what to do. OK, first things first. Take a step back and try and look at things with a clear head. Your debt is manageable. If you have many bills and just can't afford them all,...more
Morningstar now provides Fiduciary Grades on mutual funds. How does Morningstar determine these grades? How can mutual fund investors use these grades to better manage their portfolios?Mutual fund investors use Morningstar Rating as a sign post of mutual fund performance. These ratings have proved to be a valuable tool for objectively comparing the performances of different mutual funds.In 2003, New York Attorney General, Elliott Spitzer launched actions against some mutual fund companies for allowing their privileged clients to profit from improper activities such as late trading.In the aftermath of these developments, investors realize that they need more than the historical performance based Morningstar Ratings to evaluate mutual funds. The Morningstar Ratings do not get at critical intangibles. How seriously does the mutual fund company take its fiduciary responsibility to mutual fund investors? How aligned are the interests of the mutual fund manager and the mutual fund company with those of the mutual fund investor?To address this need, Morningstar has embarked on a system called the Fiduciary Grade. Morningstar has so far graded about 635 mutual funds, including 500 of the...more
Putting a piece of paper in a file folder is easy; finding it again is the hard part. There are ways to make your files easier to use and your papers easier to find. Invest in a sturdy, four or five-drawer file cabinet. Spend the extra money it takes...more
One of the hardest things for most individuals working from home is to stay focused. One of the best ways to stay focused is organization. In addition, being organized will help your time management skills. The two are very much intertwined. Planning...more
Every day we get emails and telephone calls from people who want to get started in Real Estate. We hear, I am just checking out your program. Or, I've been researching for the past six months to try and find a program. While researching and checking...more
An Ann Landers column "Parenthood is not a job for the weak at heart" caught my interest.Job Description for a ParentPosition: ParentJob Description: Long-term player needed for challenging, permanent work in chaotic environment. Candidates must...more
A big source of managerial churn is lack of clarity around the decision process. The biggest source of confusion is the Team Decision. Does this mean that the boss wants lots of input and discussion before deciding or does it mean that a decision...more
As a sole proprietor, it*s wise to familiarize yourself with the some key deductions that may reduce your tax bill for 2004. Small-business consultants generally recommend that you hire an accountant to prepare your tax returns, payroll and financial...more