A Brand Review, Anyone?

You’re counting the days. You’re doing things like taking stock, assessing your life, re-evaluating what you’ve accomplished in the last 12 months, and of course, you’re determined to make 2011 the best year ever. Yes/No?!Hurrah. So let me pose two questions: (1) Is taking an Unofficial Review of your Personal Brand on your To Do List in the last few days of December? (2) If you answered no, what’s the chance you’d consider taking a closer look at what you’ve accomplished this year with your brand?Let’s call this conducting an Unofficial Review of your Personal Brand, and see if you can squeeze it in before December 31. It’s bound to tell you where your brand stands. Look at it as an evaluation that will improve your brand’s rating for 2011. Does that sound like something you’d put on your To-Do List Yes/No?OK. Some more questions for you. See how you respond, if you relate to the following options, and how you’d rate your brand in 2010 in this Unofficial Review:1.) In the last 12 months, would you say your personal brand has been: (i) totally irresistible? (ii) awesome but that’s because you believe what your colleagues are telling you? (iii) in need of some serious tweaking?2.) In the past 12 months, have you had unresolved brand issues when it comes to: (i) creating your own power-packed brand? (ii) showing up so your audience can find you, see you and want to engage (ie. work) with you? (iii) not daring to have more fun with your brand?3.) In the past 12 months, have you been craving to find out how you: (i) really stack up in the marketplace? (ii) are going differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack? (iii) can truly create a hugely likable personal brand?4.) In the past 12 months, what’s your gut sense when it comes to your reputation? (i) it’s on the rise? (ii) it’s idling? (iii) it just might need a bit of kick start?If you could respond and relate to the questions (above), now let’s look at the next two steps in the Unofficial Brand Review that will help turn around your personal brand for 2011. Ready?Step 1º IMMERSION PROCESS Get clear on exactly what you want your personal brand to stand for next year. This is about getting a sense of your brand’s inner trajectory. Where do you want to go? Where do you want to land? What do you want to accomplish? Get immersed in your brand’s goals, objectives, strategies, tactics and expected outcomes. Next, make sure you have a process set up so you can evaluate your progress, month by month. (Otherwise, this process is rendered meaningless.)Step 2º REALTY CHECK OR, IN YOUR DREAMS… What message do you want your personal brand to send out to your audience next year? How do you want people to feel about your brand? What powerful clues are you going to embed in your brand that will captivate, engage and attract new audiences and keep them coming back for more? (As I said, this is in your dreams… and note, dreams do come true.)FYI The stronger your brand, the more powerful you are, and the better you can inspire, captivate and engage your audience.The good news After conducting your own Unofficial Brand Review, you’ll find your personal brand will emerge with a clarity and ability to make more meaningful emotional connections in a world with a low attention span. (That is seriously good news.)Remember Your brand is sending out thousands of snippets of dialogue, conversations and clues nonstop, whether you know it or not. Conducting your own Unofficial Brand Review is going to help you turn these around so you can create a more synergistic and congruent brand dialogue that will provoke and captivate your audience.On a final note, a few benefits from conducting your Unofficial Brand Review:• Your personal brand will land a clear spot in the psyche of your target market• Your personal brand will differentiate itself as a desirable client attraction magnet• Your personal brand will create immediate emotional connections with your audience• Your personal brand will create a more highly enhanced personal image• Your personal brand will give you a distinct competitive advantage (with competitors still scratching their heads)Last question Are you willing to add an Unofficial Review of your Personal Brand on your To Do List in the last few days of December Y/N? If you are, let me know what you’ve come up with and how your brand stands up for next year.Is that a deal Y/N?!

4 Considerations to Help You Choose the Right Investment Property for Income or Capital Growth

In the current climate where the stock market has been volatile and where income driven investments such as gilts or bonds are paying very low yields, investment in residential property has potential to offer improved yields and stability. There are several important factors which need to be understood and considered to get the best return from your investment such as management of your property investment, tax position, funding of your investment etc… Another aspect of these is the actual choice of property itself which can impact both bottom line income and also has consequential impact on other considerations. There are two types of strategy in property investment which are very similar to equity investments in their stance and risk position. The first is investment for income and the second is investment for capital growth. It is possible and desirable to achieve both but for the purpose of this discussion we should try to target each stance independently.Location – Income influencedThe question here is not specifically about the entry value per property but about the yield it can return based on it’s annual cost versus annual return. This yield is usually expressed as a percentage. Market rates vary drastically across the country but of course this is usually reflected by the cost of purchase and if applicable on-going maintenance costs. The interest from an income point of view is to obtain the higher rental income potential for the lowest given cost. Consider your location in terms of it’s past stability for rental market price and it’s potential in the future. The ideal situation is where your location has a stable rental market price at a reasonable cost position but also has potential to increase in desirability and achievable rents as the area around it grows or develops. Risk is lower than capital growth influenced investment due to past performance being a more reliable indicator of future rental income potential.Location – Capital growth influencedHere the influences depend largely on funding limits, timescale and attitudes to risk. It’s a given that you are looking to invest in an area which has potential to increase in desirability in the future. This may be driven by past performances or by some speculation or logical assumption of a change coming to an area. London is a good example where there is consistent growth history irrespective of other market forces, yet within that certain areas of London have grown faster in their own right. To some extent the amount for investment will dictate the areas available to you. Here research into future potential is critical as it’s easy to buy into a sales pitch and end up paying more than you should for a location which doesn’t have the right potential. Risk levels in capital investment are higher, generally the larger the single property value investment the larger return potential however conversely the larger the loss if it goes wrong. Market forces have a much more significant impact of capital based investment and location can play a significant part in this.New or old property? – Income influencedNew properties are attractive to income based investors in that they have a lower operating cost. The infrastructure in terms of heating systems, electrical etc is fully compliant and needs no investment or updating at least in the short term. However newer properties may not have the same prestige or image as old properties and may not be able to attract tenants as easily. Also newer properties tend to have smaller room sizes on average and be limited in terms of parking spaces and garden sizes. The downsides of a new property choice in respect to desirability may be offset somewhat based on it’s location. Watch out for new build areas in the city centres as the demographic changes.Older properties may command slightly higher rents and better overall desirability but come with a higher cost of maintenance. Older properties also are likely to need to be brought up to standard and need to meet current legal legislations.New or old property? – Capital growth influencedLocation really takes priority over property type. However the state of the property and it’s on-going cost may impact your investment over the time you expect it to grow in value. Here the older property is likely to cost you more but is also likely to be in the most desirable locations and growth potential areas. The older property can sell itself at a higher rate based on heritage and prestige providing it meets modern standards. Those who are interested in modernising and developing older property can also reap rewards if they find the right opportunity in the right location.Lease or freehold? – Income influencedFreehold properties provide the benefit of a more static cost base whereas a leasehold may have some variability in terms of ground rent charge. Depending on the length of any remaining lease period there may also be the legal cost of re-negotiating a new lease. However if the area that drives the best yield percentage is in a built up area such as a city centre, it may well be likely that your investment needs to be a leasehold as there is no freehold availability. In that event the extra rental income achievable needs to be weighed against the risks and extra costs of the lease status. Freehold obviously suffers in this event as it may limit availability of property to invest in. If a balance of income and capital growth is of interest then this choice may become more of an important factor.Lease or freehold? – Capital growth influencedLease costs need to be considered over the investment holding period and factored into the risk position. Outside of that the position of lease or freehold is more likely to take a back seat based on the location you choose to buy your property in. If the property is targeted to grow in value then the status of lease or freehold is less likely to impact it’s sales value.Serviced Apartments? – Income influencedApartments should be approached with care by income driven investors. There are several potential ongoing costs that need to be evaluated. Service charges, management charges, insurances and ground rents are the main ones to watch for. These costs can be significant and to some extent outside of your control, often subject to above inflation increases. These charges also greatly impact your bottom line should the property ever be empty for any period of time which adds additional pressure to avoid voids and may restrict your ability to command optimum rents. Using a local letting agent may help you to mitigate and manage that pressure somewhat. Overall before investing in apartments it’s highly recommended to check that the rental potential more than justifies the risks in terms of cost inflation and losses in void periods.Serviced Apartments? – Capital growth influencedWhilst operating cost is generally a lesser priority than for the income investor, here the costs can contribute to the holding period of your investment. If you are looking to invest in an area which may take time to develop and show potential then having increasing costs may cause difficulty and stress the ability to manage the investment effectively. Particularly where an investment is highly speculative and potential tenants are not always guaranteed. The capital investor in this case should have a gameplan to avoid tenant voids at all costs and have a more concise understanding in terms of their exit strategy and timing.Overall location plays the most important role for both the income and capital investor. But what’s also clear is that additionally the investor needs to understand their risk exposure, the length of time they plan for their investment and also the costs involved. To know the costs both for sustaining and maintaining their investment whether they be orientated towards income growth or capital growth.

4 Easy Low Cost Ways to Start a Business Online

How to get started online can be a daunting task. Where do I start online? What do I sell on the internet? What kinds of businesses are online? Can I start a business on a budget? These are all questions that can come to mind when deciding to start a business online. This article will tell you a little about a few ways to get started online on a budget.Affiliate Sales-Is the easiest and most cost effective way to get started making money online. You don’t need your own product and you don’t even need a website in some cases. That is not to say a website isn’t important and it can be something as simple as a blog to review products. You can go to an affiliate network such as Clickbank and chose a product in the niche of your choice and start marketing it with articles, free ads, pay per click marketing, video reviews, blog reviews and even offline marketing. You can market with free or paid marketing depending on how quickly you wish to start bringing in a profit. Many have been successful with no cost marketing it just takes a bit of work.Drop Shipping- Is a perfect way to start online if you want to start an online retail business. You can sell physical items online without having to store or ship the products. There are all kinds of wholesale companies,that will drop ship products directly to your customers. Doba is one that comes to mind that is reputable and there are many others. Of course they will charge a small premium for this benefit but it is well worth the cost if you consider the alternative of storing and shipping these items yourself. If you charge a small handling fee you will never feel the extra cost.Service provider- Maybe you have an expertise in a special area you could market your services online and get clients around the world or maybe just in your own backyard. Website designers, writers, graphic designers, programmers, tutors, consultants, trainers, and many many others have grown a business online. You can too. Some services can even stay online like the website designers, virtual assistants, and tutors and others. You may want to check out Elance or Odesk for available jobs and get some ideas about where to start. You can bid on a project and start making money tomorrow.Creating Your Own Digital Product- You can also create your very own digital product in whatever niche you are passionate about. Doggie training video course, Makeup application, housekeeping, gaming tutorials, housekeeping tips, cooking guides you get the idea.You can put these in the medium of your choosing and sell them online to be downloaded. This can even be made to be completely automatic. Once you set up one from beginning to end and getting it to bring in say $100/ day. You can then concentrate on making another one thus creating multiple streams of income. Imagine building eventually 20 sites over a year or so all bringing in $100 dollars or more a day. Even just $50 per site per day would be a nice income.

Resume Software – What to Look For

The old method of using a word processor to crank out a resume is slowly dying out due to the necessity of producing perfection in a short space of time which is what resume software offers. The current unemployment rate is as high as it has ever been which means an almighty scramble for work. Job vacancies that once produced 20 replies have seen this number increase tenfold. Hiring managers have become more impatient than ever before and resumes with even the slightest errors, discrepancies or inconsistencies are dumped without a second glance. Resume software sales have increased exponentially as employment seekers are looking for the edge that a computer program gives them.

The Basics Aren’t Enough

It is tempting to opt for free resume software because it delivers the basic requirements. However, it has already been established that average doesn’t cut it in today’s job market so look for something that offers plenty of options, regardless of the cost. If you are serious about gaining employment, $50 should be a drop in the ocean compared to the thousands you will earn from a rewarding, challenging and lucrative job.

Stand Out From The Throngs

Look for resume software that enables you to depart from the traditional chronological format that focuses on your work history. While this is the ‘done thing’, you may be looking to place greater emphasis on your skills rather than your experience. After all, if the end product of resume software is the same as it would be from manual production, there is little point in having it.

Keeping with the increased options theme, resume software should enable you to produce something unique. A major problem with most software is that they create something that looks dull and bland. There is nothing in the resume that makes you stand out. If you’re paying money for a product, it has to produce something remarkable that forces the employer to immediately drop the application and call you. Remember, a hiring manager spends days looking at the same type of resume. Find software that deviates from this trend and puts you at the front of the employment queue.

Tailor Made

The best resume software enables users to tailor an application to their every need. It should have templates which can be used to quickly draft up a killer resume. It must have different design choices, an accurate spellchecker and additional cover letter assistance. A big flaw in certain resume software is its inability to create copies. It seems unbelievable that software would prevent an individual from possessing a personal copy but it’s true. Some software only allows you to create a resume and send it there and then.

What usually separates resume software is its added extras such as tips on preparing for job interviews as well as a list of common mistakes made by applicants. Assuming the software is successful and you get called for an interview, it is important to be ready. The best software acts as an all-in-one package that helps you from the beginning of your job search to your first day of new employment. There should also be a dedicated customer service team on hand to answer queries and solve any problems you may have with the software. Resume software should be an all-encompassing method of finding work, not a creator of bland, unoriginal job applications. Read resume software reviews to find a package that suits your needs.

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