Good morning YPs,

A friend of mine suggested I check out this clip of this 14 year old kid who is already investing his money in the stock market and has accumulated $50,000 in doing so. After checking out the clip I was immediately impressed on how he got involved in what most of us view as extremely complex. Basically he wanted a pair of Nike sneakers but his mother told him instead of wanting the sneakers he should want a piece of the company. Now he’s able to afford any pair of Nike sneakers he wants.

A lot of what we learn about money (good and bad) comes from what we’re exposed to when we’re young. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been pretty disciplined with credit cards and haven’t fallen into the traps that so many young people fall into. I’d like to sit here and say that my parents played a huge role in my discipline but the truth is they didn’t. I think it’s very important that parents really talk to their kids about money, debt, and how to accumulate wealth at an early age. The biggest thing that stuck out to me in this clip is that the young man is investing in things he enjoys. As a result, his investments probably seem more like fun than anything else.

Check this out and definitely take a look at where your money is and what it’s doing for you.

YPRichB, YoungProfessionals Writer

Maureen Farrell, 09.01.09, 06:50 PM EDT

Tips for maintaining peak performance in the wake of stress, fatigue, sickness or tragedy.

Susan McBride was riding high back in 2006. The 42-year-old author was about to publish her fourth mystery novel in a five-book series for publisher Avon. Harper Collins added another deal, that one for a young-adult series. She also bought, with her boyfriend, a three-bedroom house in a St. Louis suburb, near both of their families. Wedding bells were nigh. “I had so much happy stuff going,” she recalls. “That’s when the bad stuff happens.”
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I once heard that a major characteristic of a genius is being able to ignore distractions. It’s also knows as SELECTIVE creating.

Imagine athletes, when they are playing at the top of their game they are focused, alert and ready for the ball to be passed to them. They don’t stand around looking at the crowd and paying attention to the loud noise in the stands! They know that those are just distractions. Why then do normal, functioning humans tend to focus a lot of attention on all the distractions in our minds and in our lives, vs. following what athletes teach us? Well, a few reasons.
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One of the most important pieces of powerful networking is building successful, long-term relationships. That’s why people who take a short-term view to networking usually fail – you can’t take shortcuts to building relationships. Just as your personal relationships take time to nurture and grow, so too do your professional connections.

It does take time to build connections with the people in your network, but you can accelerate the process by focusing on the quality of your interactions – and always keep your networking goals in mind. There is an old sales adage that says “people do business with people they know, like, and trust.” These are good guidelines for building your professional relationships.

Know – For your network to be an effective source of business, people have to know who you are. You have to come to their mind when they think about your field or industry; so that when they have a need or a referral in your area of expertise, you come to mind first.

Like – How do you make someone like you? It’s not about pandering to them and being inauthentic. The best and easiest way to get people to like you is to find connections with them. We like people who are like us, so find the common ground that you share with individuals in your network.

Trust – The best way to develop trust is to always have the other person’s best interests in mind. Be focused on finding win/win scenarios, and always follow through on what you say you’ll do. You build trust in the professional world the same way you build trust in your personal relationships.

David J.P. Fisher is a business coach and president of RockStar Consulting. He is the author of Step by Step Networking, a powerful program designed to teach the foundation skills necessary to make business networking an important and profitable part of your marketing plan. You can find more information at http://www.stepbystepnetworking.com or by emailing him at david@stepbystepnetworking.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_J.P._Fisher

Entrepreneurs and small business owners are facing a new era when it comes to applying for business financing. Banks, lenders, vendors, leasing companies and others are making adjustments, adopting new rules, and facing new regulations in the lending arena.

The National Small Business Association (NSBA) says 55 percent of the small business owners it polled in February had been affected by the credit crisis and that number has now increased to 67 percent. The three biggest concerns in this survey were general economic uncertainty, rising energy costs, and the rising cost of health care.

Now more than ever I believe entrepreneurs and small business owners need to be pro active and embrace a new level of preparation, compliance checks, and business credit preparation in order to stay ahead of the game.

Here’s my ‘Top 10 Business Credit Strategies for Entrepreneurs’
Strategy #1:
Establish a well written business plan
When it comes to bank financing a business plan that supports a loan request provide a greater chance for funding.
Strategy#2
Incorporate your business
Treat your business like a business and avoid being a sole proprietorship.
Strategy#3
Obtain a Federal Tax ID for your business
You’ll need an EIN in order to open a corporate checking or bank account. Also, if your corporation is planning on hiring employees in the near future the corporation will need the EIN for payroll taxes, state taxes, and in order to make tax deposits (federal) on a timely basis.

Strategy#4
Open a corporate checking account with a bank that subscribes to one of the business bureaus
While there is thousands of banks across the country not all report your business loan payments or business loan payments to your business file. Do business with banks that report your payment history!

Strategy #5
Separate your personal credit file from your business file
This can be accomplished after you carefully follow corporate conformity guidelines that prevent your business from being ‘flagged’ by the business bureaus. Dun & Bradstreet conducts over 2,000 compliance checks alone!

Strategy #6
Do business with vendors who report your payment history
There are over 500,000 vendors extending credit to businesses in the U.S., but less than 6,000 of them report your payment history to your business profile. You have to make sure you choose the right vendors to do business with.

Strategy #7
Apply for SBA financing only after you have established a business credit score
The SBA recently reported that 97% of applicants for a small business loan are declined. Why? Entrepreneurs who go directly to their banks inevitably fail to meet the compliance requirements. And most have no business credit established.

Strategy #8
Apply for bank financing only after you have established a business credit score
There are 5 factors lenders use to extend business credit. Familiarize yourself with these factors before applying for financing.

Strategy #9
Improve and maintain a strong personal credit rating
When applying for bank financing some lenders may request a personal credit check as consideration for approval. If you’ve experienced personal credit challenges then you may want to consider credit restoration.

Strategy #10
Apply for ‘real’ business credit cards
There are over 500 business credit cards in the U.S., but less than 70 reports solely on business credit profiles and not on your personal credit profile. ‘Real’ business credit cards require you to provide your Duns number and Federal Tax ID during the credit application process. If a business credit card application only requests your personal social security number run the other way!

Remember – The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools. ~ Confucius

Marco Carbajo is a business credit specialist, author, speaker, and founder of the National Entrepreneur Club. An online business credit community for entrepreneurs and small business owners providing business credit strategies, vendor credit lines, cash credit lines, bank credit sources, and funding search engine. For a FREE Business Credit Seminar ($597 Value) visit http://www.businesscreditblogger.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marco_Carbajo