When you're starting a home business, it's all too easy to make mistakes -- after all, you've never done this before. Fortunately for you, though, you can learn from others' errors, by making sure you don't do any of these things.
Thinking Skills You Don't Have Aren't Important.
So you have no idea how to keep records and accounts, or you don't know how to maintain a mailing list. You need to learn these things! Too many home business owners just do the things that they know how to do, and assume that they can probably get by without everything else.
You need to realise that when you're running a home business, you're going to need to do as much as you can for yourself, especially when you're starting out. This means that you can't get by if your business skills are lacking. I always say that everyone who is thinking of starting a business should take an inexpensive and quick local business course, and I stand by it -- even if you think you'll be fine, it can't hurt, can it?
Not Managing Your Time.
When you're used to working nine to five, an easy trap to fall into is not managing your time effectively. Your home is full of distractions, and there won't be anyone there to tell you to get on with it. If you're prone to daydreaming or procrastinating then this can be disastrous -- whole days can go by with only tiny amounts of work getting done.
You need to be sure that you have a schedule, and you stick to it. Draw a clear line between work and non-work time, and don't cross the line in either direction. Apart from that, the word to remember is 'prioritise': appreciate that you won't always be able to do everything, but make sure you get at least the important things done.
Making Clients Think You're a Joke.
There are many home businesses where clients might need to visit your home -- but make sure it's fit for visiting! You can't lead them into a messy office, or be holding your dog back from barking at them when you first meet. Remember that professionalism is important, and it's too easy to end up looking silly if you don't plan how you're going to make a good impression when you invite people to your home.
If you can't afford a 'business annex' to your house, then consider hiring someone to look after your dog or children for a few hours while you have a business meeting there. It might also be worth paying a cleaner to give the place a quick once-over, if you haven't had time to clean up for a while.
Not Specialising.
Too many home businesses, when asked who their target market is, say 'well everyone, silly'. Your target market is never everyone -- if it is, you will fail. You can't just choose an industry and advertise your new-found profession to everyone, in the hope that someone will work out that the fact you're an electrician means maybe they should ask you about re-wiring their house.
The key to success is this: think about what you can do, and then market that to people who will want it. Advertise in places where these people are. If your business has no target market, then you have no business, period.
Making Start-Up Costs Too High.
Finally, too many people overestimate how much money it's going to take to start a home business. Do you really all brand-new equipment? If you're spending thousands of dollars before you've made any sales at all, you're setting yourself up for a disappointment.
Start your business on a shoestring, work hard, and expand gradually -- otherwise you're setting yourself up for a big fall. However much you might think you ought to do things 'properly', you need to make sure that you're minimising costs and maximising profit every step of the way, otherwise you're failing yourself as a home business owner. It's when you start to get some bigger clients and better cashflow that you can start paying a little extra to make your business life more comfortable.
The Biggest Mistakes That People Make When Starting A Home Business...
Common Mistakes Made In Home Business
Anyone who is trying to start a home business has probably seen the failure statistics for new home businesses, and avoiding some common mistakes made by new business operators will help make your home business more successful.
A lack of self discipline is one of the most common mistakes made by people who start a home business. Being your own boss is great if you have the discipline to work when you should, instead of running off to play. People who procrastinate or do not do well working with no supervision usually do not operate successful home businesses. If you plan to start your own home business, you have to be prepared to work even if you don't feel like it to meet your deadlines.
Not marketing their home business is another huge mistake that new home business owners make. Marketing is needed to bring in customers, and without it a home business may very well shrivel and dry up. Marketing can be done in numerous ways, and the cost varies from very cheap to very expensive, depending on the specific marketing campaign. Marketing will help you reach people and tell them about your home business. Not aggressively marketing their home business may cause many owners to watch their business fail.
A big mistake that is made by home business owners is to take customer service and concerns lightly. Customers are your profit maker and a sign of the success of your home business. By ignoring concerns or not correcting problems, your home business could lose customers. Word of mouth is the best advertising you can get, and it can not be bought. A satisfied customer will tell friends and family members about your home business, and this could lead to several more customers. If a customer is unhappy and you do not fix it, you can bet that they will tell everyone they know, and this could cost your home business many potential customers. Excellent customer service is a must for any business, including home businesses.
Common mistakes in your home business could cost you customers and profits. By realizing some of the more common mistakes new home business owners make, you can avoid these mistakes and have a better chance of making your home business a success. Make sure that you have the self discipline that is required when you work for yourself. Market your home business aggressively. Marketing brings in customers and tells everyone about your home business. Make sure that you have excellent customer service. A satisfied customer is a repeat customer who will tell people they know. This leads to more customers and more success for your home business.
Copyright © 2007 Joel Teo. All rights reserved.
4 Deadly Mistakes Home Business Owners Must Avoid
We're all part of a very special group, us entrepreneurs. Yet, we don't all enjoy the same level of success. Why is that? We'd like to believe that the rich and successful have secrets that they're keeping from us, and if only we knew them, or fortunes would be transformed!
Well, there is no magic secret. Sorry. It all has to do with discipline and following a system. With that said, there are some very common mistakes that people make in the day to day functions of their business. These mistakes doom them to a life of mediocrity. They choke the life out of the efforts. Below are four of the most common:
Not Scheduling
The apparent freedom that comes with working from home can be a double edged sword, especially if you're just breaking free from the shackles of the corporate world. Unfortunately, whether you're working from someone else or working for yourself, you must have a schedule. Time is the scarcest of commodities, and you must treat it as such. It is the most valuable thing you'll ever have to manage, it is priceless.
If you allow yourself to just 'figure it out' each day when you wake up, you'll never get anything done. If you're honest with yourself, you'll realize this. With no scheduling and planning, you don't know what you're working towards and you don't know what you're accomplishing. Most likely, you'll end up spending most of your time doing tasks that do nothing for the growth (money) of your business. Tasks such as filing, cleaning your workspace, bills, calling customer service for that issue that 'has to be taken care of today'.
True, all these tasks are in some respect important. But they fall under the category of 'Operations'. They do nothing for your bottom line, and therefore should be relegated to either someone else to do, or to a block of time where they are addressed together and quickly.
Pick a day during the week – I use Sunday evening – and every week sit down for 20 or 30 minutes and plan out that upcoming week. Based on the goals and stepping stones you have set for your business, what needs to be done this coming week to reach your 1 month goals, 3 month goal, 1 year goal? If you have this process in place, your business will run smoothly. Also take this opportunity to look at the week passed and to review it.
Not Prospecting
For most businesses, you have to prospect. Just because you're now working at home does not mean that you do not have to associate with the outside world anymore! Quite the opposite – the very existence and success of your business depends on it!
I have my own preferred methods of prospecting, but I won't get into that here. There are various methods to use: be it cold-calling, search engine marketing, email marketing, offline marketing, etc. You have to do your homework and pick a mix of marketing methods that will supply you with prospects. Then you have to prospect them.
You need to take the time to learn and refine your communication and prospecting skills. It is an art and skill to be able to prospect and close someone effectively. Learn this, or your business will suffer.
Momentum – Not Running Through the Finish Line
So you now have goals and schedule – great. But what do you do when you reach a goal, especially at the beginning stages of your business? You absolutely should celebrate your successes, no matter how small – but then get back to work!
Watch a race, any race. It could be swimming, running, motorcycles, or car racing. How do these people finish the race? Do they race to the finish line, or do they go full speed right through it?
Treat your business the same way. One mistake I see too many people do is celebrate and relax too much at every little sign of progress. Give yourself a pat on the back and a smile and keep going. Building momentum is so key to making things happen in business. Every time you stop, you kill any momentum you have built and you have to start over. Keep refining your goals and adding to them so there is always a next step. Don't kill your momentum. Make sure you run through the finish line.
Marketing – Not Enough Of It!
Ah, the big one. Let's put it very simply: If no one buys from you, you have no income. If no one knows your business exists, then no one can buy from you. If you do not market, then no one knows your business exists.
Therefore, if you do not market your business, you have no income.
Agreed?
If you don't like marketing – start liking it. There are so many ways to do it, find a few that you enjoy and make it fun. The fact is, the majority of your time should be spent MARKETING. At least 60% of your time, if not 80% should be spent marketing.
Go through your typical day and think about what you spend time doing. How much do you spend marketing? If you're like most people, you probably spend less then 20% of your time marketing. Therefore if you're like most people, you're not making any money with your business and like most people, your business will fail.
Get the word out! Find the people that already want what you have, and get in front of them. There is not a lack of ways to do this, so get out there and learn and MARKET.
Agreed? If you need ideas or you're struggling with this, just get in touch with me and I'll help you out – that's not a problem. Just get out there and Market Your Business.
7 marketing mistakes to avoid when promoting your business
Many people rush into business thinking it will be easy to run, but very soon they realize that it is not as easy as it looks. A successful business is a finely tuned machine. In order to keep your business running smoothly it is important to avoid making mistakes.
Here are the 7 most common mistakes to avoid:
1. Not having clear objectives: Many business people start a business without clear objectives. They fail to set realistic goals for their marketing and consequently set themselves up for failure. It is important to make a list of goals and objectives based on a quarterly time line. If you do not have company goals and objectives you are like a car driving without a road map. Make sure all employees are briefed on company objectives. When your employees are not properly prepared you will not be able to achieve company objectives.
2. Neglecting to analyse your potential customers is a dangerous mistake. It can lead to many problems. When you do not analyse your customers wants and needs you do not know what products and services to develop for them. This will lead to targeting the wrong market and neglecting to understand your own niche market. It is important for any business to do their marketing analysis so that you can target your market and maximise your sales.
3. Not testing: By not testing your sales copy and places you advertise with split testing your advertising, you will be losing sales. Split testing is simple to do but many businesses fail to do this. This results in a lot of wasted time and effort. If you do not test your ad copy and marketing promotions you will not have a proper idea of the ads and promotions that are pulling and what is not working. It is simple to do by placing 2 ads for the same product in a publication or website etc. You can then see which one is performing the best.
4. Not budgeting: Budgeting is extremely important in business. Your business should never run out of money. This is especially true with your marketing and advertising ventures. It is important to have a monthly or quarterly budget for your marketing. Within that budget put aside money for each promotion you will be doing. Start small, test and then build on successes. This will allow you to always stay solvent and have enough for promotions.
5. Giving up too soon: Companies go out of business at an alarming rate these days. One of the reasons is that the owners give up too soon. Just when success might be just around the corner they give up and decide to close the business down. In exactly the same fashion marketing promotions can fail. You need to give your promotions at least 3 months before you decide to scrap them. Some promotions will take longer than others to bring results. As always, test all marketing tactics before you launch a larger promotion. Patience is one of the hallmarks of business and you need to implement it.
6. Poor sales copy: How often have you wanted a product but when you read the sales page you had serious doubts? Poor unprofessional ad copy will cost you sales. In fact without good sales copy you will not be able to sell effectively at all. It is critical to your business to get this right. If necessary get an experienced copywriter to do this. It is worth the investment, as you will see returns when you make sales.
7. Not screening your employees carefully: To handle the extra load for the Christmas season you will need to hire new employees. It is very important not to rush into this. There is no dearth of people needing employment but you need to screen them carefully before hiring. One rude customer service agent can cost you customers. Do not take this type of risk. You want to preserve the integrity of your company at all times and screening employees is the way to achieve this. You will then be able to build a core of loyal professional employees that will be an asset to the company.
The golden rule is to diversify. You should always use multiple forms of marketing promotions in your business. Do not just do one or two promotions and then wait for results. This will slow company growth and your business will stagnate. The last thing you need is to slow your marketing in the Christmas season. So remember to diversify and enjoy the increase in sales.
By avoiding these mistakes you will take your company to the success you deserve. You will be able to have year round success for your business and really be able to cash in on the Christmas season. So plan ahead and be careful not to make these common mistakes.
7 Critical Business Financing Mistakes
Avoiding the top 7 business financing mistakes is a key component in business survival.
If you start committing these business financing mistakes too often, you will greatly reduce any chance you have for longer term business success.
The key is to understand the causes and significance of each so that you're in a position to make better decisions.
>>> Business Financing Mistakes (1) - No Monthly Bookkeeping.
Regardless of the size of your business, inaccurate record keeping creates all sorts of issues relating to cash flow, planning, and business decision making.
While everything has a cost, bookkeeping services are dirt cheap compared to most other costs a business will incur.
And once a bookkeeping process gets established, the cost usually goes down or becomes more cost effective as there is no wasted effort in recording all the business activity.
By itself, this one mistake tends to lead to all the others in one way or another and should be avoided at all costs.
>>> Business Financing Mistakes (2) - No Projected Cash Flow.
No meaningful bookkeeping creates a lack of knowing where you've been. No projected cash flow creates a lack of knowing where you're going.
Without keeping score, businesses tend to stray further and further away from their targets and wait for a crisis that forces a change in monthly spending habits.
Even if you have a projected cash flow, it needs to be realistic.
A certain level of conservatism needs to be present, or it will become meaningless in very short order.
>>> Business Financing Mistakes (3) - Inadequate Working Capital
No amount of record keeping will help you if you don't have enough working capital to properly operate the business.
That's why its important to accurately create a cash flow forecast before you even start up, acquire, or expand a business.
Too often the working capital component is completely ignored with the primary focus going towards capital asset investments.
When this happens, the cash flow crunch is usually felt quickly as there is insufficient funds to properly manage through the normal sales cycle.
>>> Business Financing Mistakes (4) - Poor Payment Management.
Unless you have meaningful working capital, forecasting, and bookkeeping in place, you're likely going to have cash management problems.
The result is the need to stretch out and defer payments that have come due.
This can be the very edge of the slippery slope.
I mean, if you don't find out what's causing the cash flow problem in the first place, stretching out payments may only help you dig a deeper hole.
The primary targets are government remittances, trade payables, and credit card payments.
>>> Business Financing Mistakes (5) - Poor Credit Management
There can be severe credit consequences to deferring payments for both short periods of time and indefinite periods of time.
First, late payments of credit cards are probably the most common ways in which both businesses and individuals destroy their credit.
Second, NSF checks are also recorded through business credit reports and are another form of black mark.
Third, if you put off a payment too long, a creditor could file a judgement against you further damaging your credit.
Fourth, when you apply for future credit, being behind with government payments can result in an automatic turndown by many lenders.
It gets worse.
Each time you apply for credit, credit inquiries are listed on your credit report.
This can cause two additional problems.
First, multiple inquiries can reduce you overall credit rating or score.
Second, lenders tend to be less willing to grant credit to a business that has a multitude of inquiries on its credit report.
If you do get into situations where you're short cash for a finite period of time, make sure you proactively discuss the situation with your creditors and negotiate repayment arrangements that you can both live with and that won't jeopardize your credit.
>>> Business Financing Mistakes (6) - No Recorded Profitability
For startups, the most important thing you can do from a financing point of view is get profitable as fast as possible.
Most lenders must see at least one year of profitable financial statements before they will consider lending funds based on the strength of the business.
Before short term profitability is demonstrated, business financing is based primary on personal credit and net worth.
For existing businesses, historical results need to show profitability to acquire additional capital.
The measurement of this ability to repay is based on the net income recorded for the business by a third party accredited accountant.
In many cases, businesses work with their accountants to reduce business tax as much as possible but also destroy or restrict their ability to borrow in the process when the business net income is insufficient to service any additional debt.
>>> Business Financing Mistakes (7) - No Financing Strategy
A proper financing strategy creates 1) the financing required to support the present and future cash flows of the business, 2) the debt repayment schedule that the cash flow can service, and 3) the contingency funding necessary to address unplanned or unique business needs.
This sounds good in principle, but does not tend to be well practiced.
Why?
Because financing is largely an unplanned and after the fact event.
It seems once everything else is figured out, then a business will try to locate financing.
There are many reasons for this including: entrepreneurs are more marketing oriented, people believe financing is easy to secure when they need it, the short term impact of putting off financial issues are not as immediate as other things, and so on.
Regardless of the reason, the lack of a workable financing strategy is indeed a mistake.
However, a meaningful financing strategy is not likely to exist if one or more of the other 6 mistakes are present.
This reinforces the point that all mistakes listed are intertwined and when more than one is made, the effect of the negative result can become compounded.
Business Blog Web Design Mistakes
With more companies adopting blogs, we're starting to see what works and what doesn't work from a design perspective. As a cue from Jakob Nielsen's article on the topic, here are thing problems I often find.
Bad headlines. They're frustrating. Some bloggers like to get creative... but creativity can affect search engine keyword opportunities. The important thing is that readers have a hint of what the post is about.
Links. Readers like to know where links take them and most of us rely on the status bar, but sometimes that doesn't help. Some experts say to use "click here" to help those who are newer to the Web and others say that's wrong, wrong, wrong. It just depends on the content. When linking, try to pick the best words that give readers an idea of what to expect.
Calendars as the only way to navigate a blog and impossible to find archives or older entries are big problems. I almost always resort to search when I want to find postings no longer on the home page. Unfortunately, some blogs don't have search. That's why I put "archive" links in my sidebar in both meryl's notes and meryl's notes features. As my site goes through redesign, I'm making sure the archives are accessible especially in the features section. I found some old entries from 2001 that are still relevant today.
Bloggers must be regular. No bathroom jokes here, please. :) When a blog looks abandoned for a month... your audience is gone. They'll take you off their feed reader and blogroll. If you plan not to do it again or take a long sabbatical... prepare to start over again when you return.
Keep the boss in mind even if your the head honcho. Always blog with a boss in mind. Will your boss (current and future) be offended by your posting? Not only do people get fired for their blogs, but also they could cost job offers. It wouldn't surprise me if managers are Googling applicants while going through the interview process.
Junky URLs. Nielsen says having a typepad.com or blogspot.com equates to having a yahoo.com or aol.com email address. Some of the bigwigs use Blogspot or Typepad URLs. Guess what? I never remember their URLs. I have to rely on Google. So this makes sense, BUT I wouldn't call it unprofessional.
Business blogging has many benefits and problems. Companies tread carefully when entering this new world. It's wise to have policies on the approval process and what can and can't be said. Like anything else in a business, blogs need to be evaluated to determine whether or not they fit the business' model.
Business Entity Mistakes – Criminal Conduct and Independence
In this age of information, most small business owners understand they need the protection provided by a corporation or limited liability company. Such protection, however, can be lost though certain actions.
Criminal Action
Creating a business entity only protects a business and shareholders from civil liability. Civil liability arises from a body of state and federal law that allows for compensation for alleged wrongs. These wrongs can arise in the form of negligence, contractual breach and so on. If an entity is found civilly liable, it must pay compensation, but no jail time is involved.
Neither a corporation, limited liability company nor any other entity will protect anyone from criminal liability. Claims to the contrary published on various web sites are simply wrong. A person forming a corporation to front for a ponzi scheme or scam to defraud consumers is going to receive no protection from criminal prosecution. If you have any doubts on this issue, simply consider the recent criminal convictions of the Tyco and Enron executives.
Standing Apart
Both corporations and limited liability companies are considered to “stand apart” from their investors for legal purposes. In essence, both entities are considered to be “persons” under the law. This legal fiction is, of course, what gives rise to the asset protection element of both entities. Unfortunately, many small businesses don’t understand this distinction and lose the asset protection when the most need it.
To maintain the asset protection benefits of a business entity, you must treat it as an independent party. For instance, you do not “own” a corporation. Such statements can come back to haunt you when a plaintiff’s attorney presents them in court while arguing the entity is a sham. To avoid this problem, you can simply say you are the President of the business entity or whatever position you hold.
In Closing
Forming a business entity is a necessary step for most small businesses. Once the entity is formed, make sure you follow the necessary formal procedures to maintain asset protection.
Business Marketing Mistakes: 3 Biggest Marketing Mistakes Every Business Manager Makes
Who hasn’t let a typo slip by or misspelled the CEO’s name or printed the wrong phone number somewhere? Those marketing mistakes don’t warrant an article. In fact, just one word of how-to-fix-it advice is sufficient: proofread!
Here are a few more important marketing mistakes that just about every business manager out there makes, along with a recommended fix that will help you attract more business and get better results from your marketing, regardless of how big or small your marketing budget is.
Mistake #1: We think that marketing is something we 'do'.
"We need to do some marketing." It’s the first thing you think when you need to boost business. Problem is, when you think of marketing as something you 'do', you’re usually thinking about publicity, direct mail, flyers, email, ads and promotion. Marketing is much more than merely promotion, and it’s rarely a quick fix.
The real fix is to expand your definition of marketing. Instead of thinking of it as something you 'do', think of marketing as anything that helps or hinders the sale or use of your product or service. This includes: your location, the attitudes of the person who answers the phone, your name, pricing, policies, proposals, personality and more.
Before you write a promotional word, do a 'help or hinder' once-over. Make a list of what’s helping you attract business and what’s getting in the way. Figure out what obstacles you can quickly fix or remove? What 'helps' can you enhance or spotlight? Until the help-or-hinder homework is done, working on promotion is premature.
Mistake #2: We breathe too much of our own exhaust.
We are such big believers in our businesses that we can’t wait to show it off. We admire our attributes and inhale our excellence. Then we exhale it all into our marketing communications. The problem is, when you do that, your marketing is all about you. And people don’t care about you. They care about themselves.
If your marketing is going to get any response at all, the first thing it must do is connect to something prospects care about. Connect before you convince. Try this four-step exercise:
1. Describe your products and services. Get the exhaust fumes out.
2. Identify one or two attributes or attraction factors.
3. What is the benefit, the need or the want, that is satisfied by those attributes?
4. Why is that benefit important, personally, to the target audience?
For example, Joy dishwashing liquid (descprition) has real lemon (attribute) that cuts grease and leaves dishes shinier (benefit). What a nice reflection on you! (Connects to what a mother cares about.) Connect to what people want. Not to what you do.
Mistake #3: We all look alike.
A bank is a bank is a bank. Realtors, lawyers and consultants are a dime a dozen. The list goes on. But here’s the good news: the more two businesses look alike, the more important each difference becomes, and the more impact even the tiniest difference will have on setting you apart. Why?
Consider identical twins. What’s the first thing you do when you meet a pair? You try to find a little something to tell them apart. The same is true for your business. Your prospects are looking for a point of difference (just about anything )they can use to set you apart from your competition.
To find your points of difference, start with your points of contact, or 'touch points' in your company. Make a list. Business card, fax cover sheet, invoice, phone greeting, front door, home page, etc. Then look at what the competition does and ask yourself how you can do it differently. Just a little bit will make a big difference, because your prospects are looking for them.
For now, try the Help or Hinder, Connect Before You Convince and Find Your Points of Difference tools to make your marketing more meaningful and effective. Be wary, too, of unrealistic expectations, faulty research, deadly bullet points and lack of follow through-- four other common marketing mistakes.
Investing Mistakes to Avoid
Along the way, you may make a few investing mistakes, however there are big mistakes that you absolutely must avoid if you are to be a successful investor. For instance, the biggest investing mistake that you could ever make is to not invest at all, or to put off investing until later. Make your money work for you – even if all you can spare is $20 a week to invest!
While not investing at all or putting off investing until later are big mistakes, investing before you are in the financial position to do so is another big mistake. Get your current financial situation in order first, and then start investing. Get your credit cleaned up, pay off high interest loans and credit cards, and put at least three months of living expenses in savings. Once this is done, you are ready to start letting your money work for you.
Don’t invest to get rich quick. That is the riskiest type of investing that there is, and you will more than likely lose. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it! Instead, invest for the long term, and have the patience to weather the storms and allow your money to grow. Only invest for the short term when you know you will need the money in a short amount of time, and then stick with safe investments, such as certificates of deposit.
Don’t put all of your eggs into one basket. Scatter it around various types of investments for the best returns. Also, don’t move your money around too much. Let it ride. Pick your investments carefully, invest your money, and allow it to grow – don’t panic if the stock drops a few dollars. If the stock is a stable stock, it will go back up.
A common mistake that a lot of people make is thinking that their investments in collectibles will really pay off. Again, if this were true, everyone would do it. Don’t count on your Coke collection or your book collection to pay for your retirement years! Count on investments made with cold hard cash instead.
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Investing Mistakes to Avoid
Along the way, you may make a few investing mistakes, however there are big mistakes that you absolutely must avoid if you are to be a successful investor. For instance, the biggest investing mistake that you could ever make is to not invest at all, or to put off investing until later. Make your money work for you – even if all you can spare is $20 a week to invest!
While not investing at all or putting off investing until later are big mistakes, investing before you are in the financial position to do so is another big mistake. Get your current financial situation in order first, and then start investing. Get your credit cleaned up, pay off high interest loans and credit cards, and put at least three months of living expenses in savings. Once this is done, you are ready to start letting your money work for you.
Don’t invest to get rich quick. That is the riskiest type of investing that there is, and you will more than likely lose. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it! Instead, invest for the long term, and have the patience to weather the storms and allow your money to grow. Only invest for the short term when you know you will need the money in a short amount of time, and then stick with safe investments, such as certificates of deposit.
Don’t put all of your eggs into one basket. Scatter it around various types of investments for the best returns. Also, don’t move your money around too much. Let it ride. Pick your investments carefully, invest your money, and allow it to grow – don’t panic if the stock drops a few dollars. If the stock is a stable stock, it will go back up.
A common mistake that a lot of people make is thinking that their investments in collectibles will really pay off. Again, if this were true, everyone would do it. Don’t count on your Coke collection or your book collection to pay for your retirement years! Count on investments made with cold hard cash instead.
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