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Have you ever envied, as I have, those fortunate individuals who seemed to know from a very early age exactly what they wanted to do with their lives? And who seemed easily to avoid the series of false starts and disappointments with which most of us have to contend early in our careers.
They had their setbacks, no doubt, but dealt with these confidently and comfortably in the knowledge that they were securely embarked on their true course in life.
Most of us are not so lucky, and if we come eventually to the idea (the very sound idea) that our future lies in having our own business we face a bewildering range of possibilities, to say nothing of the untold hazards and pitfalls.
So the question is: just where do you start?
Richard Branson, multi-millionaire creator of the Virgin Empire, is one stupendously successful entrepreneur who has no doubt. “Have fun and the money will come”, he likes to say. Easy enough for him you might think; for who needs to worry about their niche when their empire includes music, media and books; an airline; holiday and rail companies; personal finance and credit cards; cell phones and now, with Virgin Galactic, even space tourism!
But Branson’s first successful operation was a student newspaper, which quickly branched out into selling records by mail order, for more detail visit www.dream-revealed.com almost an archetypal niche operation. Why did he start there? Simply because it was what he knew about, and what he loved to do.
So in business as in life, it might be said that finding your niche is the key to success. And the things which you are truly passionate about are as good a place to start as any. I suggest you begin by brainstorming a list of ten such things. Start with a blank piece of paper and be totally honest. But don’t restrict yourself to the things you do now or have done in the past. Include your dreams – the things you’re certain you’d love to do if you only had the chance (and getting this business going, by the way, is far the best way to give yourself that chance). The reality check comes later. 
Now that you’ve got your first list, put it to one side for the moment. And get ready to begin the next. What we want now is a list of the things you know most about, are good at doing, for more detail visit www.greatindustrialguide.com or would like to spend time researching (such as the things you dream of doing from your first list). One tip: don’t neglect your day job here. As much as you may long to escape from it, your work experience can be a rich source of skills, knowledge and expertise. And I use the word “rich” advisedly, here. Customers will often pay handsomely for this kind of “hands on” know-how.
Now’s where things gets serious, because now you have to match the thing you love to do, and which you’re good at doing, with the fundamental motivations of your prospective customers.
Because for an information products business, which is where I strongly suggest you start, you need to understand this key point. Information in this sense is not just a collection of facts or anecdotes about the passion which you and your potential customers share, as fascinating as they may be. Your prospects on the Net aren’t coming to you for that. They’re not passive consumers, but dynamic hunters of active information which they can put to work to help them achieve their goals.
http://www.activities-little-fingers.com
http://www.greateducationonline.com

Vibhu Arya

Dave Ramseys general advice to work hard, make your marriage a priority and avoid debt is excellent. In fact, any one who religiously followed Daves suggestions would have experienced far less trouble in the recent financial crisis. In far, some people probably side-stepped the whole mess by applying Ramseys ideas.

Nevertheless, in a handful of specific areas, one can find some minor yet important faults with the financial planning advice that Ramsey gives–and in particular with the financial calculations Dave shares in, for example, his books.

Overly Optimistic Rate of Return Assumption

One of the first problems that appear to certified public accountants and chartered financial analysts looking at Ramseys materials concerns the commonly quoted “12%” rate of return used in examples.

Thats way too optimistic an assumption. Yes, some years investments do generate 12%. And some specialty categories of investments (like small company stocks) may return roughly 12% over lengthy periods of time. But a traditional portfolio of diversified stocks and bonds will probably over long financial planning horizons deliver average annual returns of more like 7%-9%.

You will not, sadly, find it possible to consistently earn 12% on a well-diversified, moderate-risk investment portfolio. No way.

Inflation Ignored Only Leads to Future Disappointments

Inflation represents another issue that an accountant or good financial planner will want to include in financial plans but an issue that isnt always thoroughly discussed by Dave. Inflation can be tricky to incorporate. But inflation will probably eat away at the value of the savings you accumulate.

If youre earning 9% on your investments, for example, but inflation runs 3%, youre not really making 9%. Youre making 6%. You can more implicitly recognize inflation in your financial planning calculations, by the way, by using the net-of-inflation return in your financial calculations. To adjust for inflation when you expect a 9% return and 3% inflation, make the computations with a 6% return.

Expense Ratios Matter

One final investment issue (for some investors) needs to be highlighted. While investment expense ratios often dont matter much for people just starting to save money–probably this is Ramseys typical reader in fairness–by the time one accumulates a more size-able investment nest egg, investment costs matter. And they matter a whole lot.

In fact, if an investment pays a 2% expense ratio–and that sort of expense might be pretty normal once all the investment costs are tallied–that amount doesnt sound so bad. But its pretty outrageous in most circumstances.

Consider the situation, for example, where youve got a 9% rate of return from an investment but suffer from a 3% inflation rate. In actuality, youre really only earning 6% on your money. (The inflation thats baked into the return is not really profit to you.)

If out of your net 6% investment return, you pay 2% in investment fees–in other words, if you pay out 2/6ths of your profit for investment expenses–thats equivalent to a 33% income tax. Ouch.

In the end–just to play this sad song to the very end–while you start with 9%, after you subtract 3% inflation and 2% in investment fees–youre left with only 4%. And note that value is a pre-tax return. So if you pay income taxes on your investment profits (and you probably will eventually), youll actually end up with something less than 4%. Double ouch.

Putting These Financial Planning Insights Together

The nit-picking shared in the preceding paragraphs may seem a little unfair. But to illustrate how significant the mistakes become when combined, ponder the following scenarios:

If you and your spouse save $5,000 a year into a retirement fund for 30 years and say youll earn 12% annually, the calculated future value equals roughly $1,200,000.

Note: If you know Microsoft Excel, you can copy this formula into a workbook to double-check the statement: =FV(0.12,30,-5000)

In comparison, if you and your spouse save the same $5,000 a year in an IRA or 401(k) plan for 30 years but admit (sheepishly) that youll really only earn 4% once you adjust for inflation and that friendly financial advisor, the calculated future value equals roughly $280,000.

Note: Again, if you have access to a personal computer and Microsoft Excel, you can copy this formula into a spreadsheet cell to test my math: =FV(0.04,30,-5000)