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When Doing Business in Indonesia Consider Making a Side Trip to One of These Island Paradises

There are few countries on earth with the beauty and allure of Indonesia. This fast rising economic power is recognized worldwide as a place where international businesses are focusing as…

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There are few countries on earth with the beauty and allure of Indonesia. This fast rising economic power is recognized worldwide as a place where international businesses are focusing as a new growth area. In addition, the country is a tourist magnet, attracting visitors from all parts of the world to its biggest city, Jakarta and also to its island paradises which include Bali.

Indonesia with its nearly 250 million in habitants is by far, Southeast Asia’s most inhabited country. This nearly 3,000 mile long archipelago sits right across the equator and consists of more than 18,000 islands with more than 12,000 of those inhabited. When one is interested to coming to Indonesia they usually intend to stay on either Java (the most populate island in the world and where Indonesia’s capital Jakarta is located), or Bali, (its southeastern tropical paradise). But as you can imagine there are many other islands to consider visiting. Some are rough and rugged with little creature comforts while others are well developed and overflowing with amenities. Here is a list of the islands to think about when you consider a vacation in Indonesia.

Java

Since the entire country sits on islands, we should introduce the most popular island destination in Indonesia to start. As mentioned its capital city, Jakarta is located on the island of Java which has more than 150 million inhabitants. Jakarta is a large urban metropolis with all of the usual big city features and amenities. There you can find great hotels, bars and restaurants and a nightlife that is vibrant.

Java’s second city, Yogyakarta is much less busy and serves as a cultural and spiritual hub. Here you will find ancient temples, art exhibits, and many creative performers doing their art out in the open. The city features glorious Prambanan temples, and even a ballet of the Hindu story Ramayana.

Once you leave these two cities, you will find that Java has many areas that are less developed and exceedingly beautiful. The island offers pristine rainforests and two popular destinations: the breathtaking Mount Bromo and the exquisite Kebun Rya Botanical Gardens. Each of these is an all-day affair and you should definitely bring a camera. You will also find many Buddhist temples including the most famous in Indonesia called Borobudur which dates back to the eighth-century.

The following islands are not very well known, but unlike Bali, which has its own magical charm, but is also always a bit crowded, these islands will offer you space, new adventures and undiscovered treasures. Each can be reached by a short plane ride from Jakarta or Bali.

Sumba

Just Southeast and a one-hour flight from Bali sits the beautiful island of Sumba. Sumba is not what one expects to see in this part of the world. Unlike most of the islands in the archipelago that are covered with lush rainforest, Sumba is renowned for its picturesque limestone hills and its covering of corn fields that can be found on all parts of the island. For sure, there is lots of forest on the island, but the island has its own distinct kind of beauty and many think it is one of the most beautiful in the island chain. The island of course also has its share of white sand beaches and topaz waves lapping its shores and with its perfect weather, there is no need to pack anything more than your swimsuit and light summer clothes.

Sumba’s natives are called the Kampung and are distinct from the typical Indonesian people. Their ancestry is Austronesian and Melanesian and they have a different culture and language. And where Indonesians are typically Muslim, Kampungs are mostly Christian. Of course their brand of Christianity includes many tribal customs that have remained throughout the centuries the most prominent of which is a festival held in March each year called Pasola. This celebration marks the end of a good harvest and allows the young male members of the community to compete against one another to show their strength and courage.

What you can do there: If you are a professional surfer or love to surf, you have surely heard about the outstanding surfing on Sumba. Its most famous surfing attraction is called Occy’s Left which is a rare left hand barrel wave. Surfers come to ride these waves and because the waves are large and consistent.

Sumba citizens are warm and friendly and there are a few mid-level hotels and resorts that can provide you with many types of amenities including tours of the island, hiking and water sports. The only high-end resort is the eco-friendly Nihiwatu Resort. So if you are eco-conscious and you want to have a great time, it is the place you should book. Sumba is an island waiting to be discovered by those who love culture hunting.

Mentawai Islands

If you want to experience a one-of-a-kind destination that will be a conversation piece for you, you have to visit the Mentawai Islands. These are a group of about seventy islands located about 90 miles off the western coast of Sumatra, with Siberut being the largest and most inhabited of the island group.

Although the islands are only a short distance from Sumatra, the Mentawai people developed completely on their own and as a result have a set of beliefs distinct from the main islanders. The local Mentawaians had little contact with the outside world before the 19 century and as a result developed their own culture which remains nearly intact.

What you can do there: Like many of the islands in outer islands in Indonesia, the Mentawai Islands are a surfer’s paradise. They offer some of the best and most consistent breaks throughout the year. It is also a place where the waves are so radical that many are named.

The islands also offers kayaking and boating and have lots of great coral making it fantastic for snorkeling and scuba diving, but a guide is needed to ensure you keep safe.

The fishing off the Mentawai Islands is some of the best in Indonesia with a large variety of large and small fish in great abundance. There are boats on the islands that you can charter. They provide everything you need to catch any of the fish in the waters, so all you need is the desire and they will do the rest.

One of the biggest attractions on the islands is hiking through the dense forests. There are tours that take visitors on excursions to the local villages which lie in the forests and give them a chance to interact with the villagers. Although some are into teeth sharpening and major body tattoos, they welcome visitors and often expect new company to spend the night.

These destinations are chosen to allow you to see some parts of Indonesia that often do not get discussed. They will offer amazing amenities and a cultural experience that you will remember for a lifetime. When you are doing business in Indonesia ask the locals about these places and you will see how loved they are.

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How to Make Your Business Trip Run Like a Dream

I recently went to Paris on my very first business trip and it wasn’t until I got home and started assessing how it went, that I had the chance to…

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I recently went to Paris on my very first business trip and it wasn’t until I got home and started assessing how it went, that I had the chance to work out what I would do differently next time around. From a business perspective, the trip went just as planned, I wasn’t late for any meetings and I closed the deals that I was looking to close. With that being said, there was many areas of the trip that I could have made better and I wanted to share them with you so that if you are planning a business trip, you can learn from my mistakes.

Airport Transfer

I wish I had booked an airport transfer in Paris because although the flight wasn’t a long one, I was nervous about the meeting the next day and I could have done without trying to negotiate the public transport system upon arrival. Getting straight to the hotel, getting some food and prepping is all I wanted to do so I would recommend that wherever you are heading to, make sure that someone is waiting for you at the airport.

Entertainment

I had no idea how much down time that I would have as I was waiting for meetings or even in my hotel room alone at night and I wish I had planned some entertainment a little better. If you are heading away, take the time to download some movies or games to your electronic devices, it is a great way to switch off and after a day of meetings, you will need it.

Sim Card

One near-fatal error that I made was not realizing that my phone couldn’t accept foreign SIM cards and so I was forced to duck into cafes for their wi-fi whenever I needed to make a call. You should check before you go that your phone is able to accept the local SIM or buy a cheap phone which can, being out of touch when you are in the midst of a business trip is most definitely not recommended.

Day Before

I flew the day before my first business meeting and whilst it worked out alright, I was quickly reminded how fine I had cut it. The flight that went to Paris from London just after mine, was delayed by 9 hours due to mechanical break down, had this been mine, I would have missed my first meeting, not the impression which you want to give prospective clients. If you are booking your flights then I advise you do it 2 days before your first meeting, just to be sure.

Paper Copies

If you are taking important information with you, make sure that you do so in both paper and digital form. Shortly before one of my meetings, my tablet suddenly died and I was forced to ask the receptionist to charge it up for me. I managed to get my information in time but I won’t be running that risk again, print off your info before you go and take it should anything go wrong.

What business trip tips do you have? Feel free to share it with us in the comments section below.

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The Best Websites For Finding an Accountant for Your Business

Starting a business can be an incredibly overwhelming process. As well as doing the work that you love to do, you’ll have to account for a myriad of factors that…

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Starting a business can be an incredibly overwhelming process. As well as doing the work that you love to do, you’ll have to account for a myriad of factors that you might never have thought about before; things like taking care of all of your marketing needs, ensuring that you’re following all of the necessary legal protocols, and managing your finances can seem like intensely complex tasks.

Fortunately, there are ways to outsource all of this work. Today, we’ll take a look at some of the websites you can use to find an accountant for your business. Starting with…

Upwork

Upwork (formerly known as Odesk) is owned by the same people who own Elance. As someone who has worked for clients on the site numerous times over the years, I can vouch for its functionality and infrastructure.

Not only are you able to customize the application process for Accountants who want to apply for your job, but you can also ask for examples/certificates to prove that they have the necessary skills and qualifications, while the site’s in-built feedback system allows you to vet candidates according to how their past clients have rated them following the completion (or termination!) of their contracts.

Upwork is also the world’s largest freelancer marketplace, generating three million jobs annually worth a total of over $1 billion. The site has its own dedicated category for accountants and accountancy jobs; however, you will need to pay Upwork in order to advertise your positions there.

Reddit’s /r/forhire Subreddit

Another forum that I have personally used to find a lot of my work is the less formal /r/forhire message board on Reddit.

For those of you who don’t know, Reddit is essentially a massive discussion forum where users can create their own small areas to discuss specific topics. Because there are so many people visiting the site in general (more than 113 million people go there each month, as of April 2017), the dedicated board for posting and find work is actually an incredibly useful resource for both clients and contractors.

While you won’t be able to scour your prospective accountant’s feedback (because, there’s a good chance they won’t have any at all), there are some real benefits to this method: you can set your own terms, you won’t have to factor in a cut to Reddit when calculating costs, and you open your job up to the possibility of being easily shared (which Upwork, unfortunately, does not allow us to do right now, especially with friends who aren’t registered on the site).

PeoplePerHour

I can’t vouch for how easy PeoplePerHour makes the experience of hiring a good freelancer, but it is fast becoming one of the most popular sites for doing so.

Based in the UK, they have been running since 2007 and they do have physical offices in Britain as well. They offer access to thousands of freelance experts across hundreds of fields, and based in countries around the globe.

In 2012, they were named as one of Europe’s 100 Hottest Startups by Wired UK; since then, they’ve established a foothold as one of (if not the) biggest freelancing marketplaces in Europe. Well worth a look, but make sure to check out some of the site’s reviews on Google before you go ahead with investing your time and money into the site!

Hiring an accountant for your business – especially if they’re going to be freelance – can be intimidating at first. However, these sites will allow you to advertise according to your own level of comfort, while still being able to set your own terms for your jobs. Keep checking back for more great posts like this, especially if you’re just starting a small business.

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Keeping Track of Your Small Business Finances Using Online Tools

Starting a small business is, of course, an incredibly overwhelming experience. There are always factors that you haven’t accounted for, and trying to keep a good overview on everything that’s…

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Starting a small business is, of course, an incredibly overwhelming experience. There are always factors that you haven’t accounted for, and trying to keep a good overview on everything that’s going on can sometimes feel completely impossible.

Nevertheless, tracking your finances can be a much easier burden to manage than you may originally have thought. Using the tools we’ll be sharing with you today, you can start to keep a closer eye on your finances without needing to become the kind of number-crunching accountant you always thought you needed!

Wave

Since it first hit the market back in 2010, Wave has grown in popularity exponentially; in fact, over two million people have used it to handle their account, payroll, and invoicing requirements.

To make things even easier, the app has its own receipt scanner, meaning that you don’t need to use a bulky desktop alternative just to track the costs of the lunch you treated your latest client to!

One of the most useful features the app has is its ‘Find an Accountant’ option; should you run into any serious financial trouble or concern, you can find someone to help you sort things out without even needing to leave the app!

Wave is free, and we definitely recommend it for anyone who needs to track invoices and accounts, whether you’re a freelancer, business owner, or an accountant yourself.

Due.com

While Wave is an incredibly useful app, Due.com does have a significantly prettier design on its side. The invoices it allows you to generate wouldn’t look out of place next to those produced by an actual accountant, and the unique colour-coding system allows you to keep an eye on the progress of your affairs at a quick glance.

If you have less than five clients per month, Due is free. Otherwise, pricing options start at just $3 and this will open up some seriously useful features, including unlimited invoicing, recurring payments, and paypal integration.

You Need a Budget

We recently wrote about You Need a Budget (YNAB) in another article where we were discussing useful apps for tracking personal finances; but would you believe it, it’s also a great tool for small business owners to use to track finances.

Much like its behaviour with personal accounts, YNAB helps you to make informed decisions based on actual calculations. This means that you’re not spending money that you expect to have at a later time, only the funds that are already in your account.

You can use it to automatically pencil in payments, split transactions, and schedule upcoming bills.

And even better – if YNAB appeals to you and you find it works well for your needs – there’s no need to subscribe to a monthly or even annual plan. Instead, you’ll be given a free trial upon signup and, once it expires, you can by an unlimited license for $60.

So there you have it; a selection of our favourite tools to use when managing your small business’ finances. Keep checking back for more great articles like this in future, as we’re just getting started!

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Investing in Apps for Future Profits

Thanks to the app ecosystem growing in such a significant fashion, there’s now a booming market of mobile apps designed to help you make money. Whether you’re a seasoned FOREX…

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Thanks to the app ecosystem growing in such a significant fashion, there’s now a booming market of mobile apps designed to help you make money. Whether you’re a seasoned FOREX trader or a rookie, everyone can do with a little extra cash in their pocket at the end of the year.

That’s why, today, we’re going to show you how you can invest in apps and start making a small nest egg for yourself. By signing up with any of these services, you can get to work on your portfolio and start seeing some serious gains; you won’t be like Gordon Gecko (though that’s a good thing, right?) but you will have a little change to throw around.

Acorns

Investing in Apps can turn your phone into a profit center

Acorns is a pretty ingenious idea for an app. Basically, it’s an iOS and Android app (which you can download for free) that helps you turn your spare change into returns that are actually significant – over a long-term basis, of course.

So how does this work? Well, first, you download the app and sign up to their service. Link your account to whichever bank card you’d like to use, and then forget about it. Whenever you use that card to pay for items in the real world, Acorns will deduct it from the next highest dollar value (which is a fancy way to say that it rounds the price up to the next dollar).

The difference is then invested into your portfolio, and Acorns allows you to decide how risky you’d like your trades to be. The lowest risk will, of course, offer the steadiest returns, but at a rate some of you might find boring. The higher risk, on the other hand, may pleasantly surprise you one day – but don’t say we didn’t warn you if you end up broke!

Betterment

For those of you who’d like a more traditional type of experience, Betterment is somewhat like having your own personal stock trader, except its behaviour is completely controlled by a series of algorithms.

You’ll create your own account, and then pledge an investment of anywhere between 0.15 to 0.35 percent of your annual salary. By specifying the kind of returns you’d like to see (whether that be to build wealth or create a nest egg), Betterment will start to make the kind of investments that are suited to your goals and hopefully get you there.

Openfolio

Openfolio is a great idea for an app which isn’t directly related to making trades, but will definitely be of use to anyone concerned with keeping a comprehensive overview of their financial affairs.

Essentially, you can connect the app to every aspect of your financial life. In fact, Openfolio proudly boasts compatibility with over 100 banks, meaning that you can keep an eye of your cash flow and assets while also being presented with some very easy-on-the-eye analytics to help you understand how all of them are working together.

Likewise, it can provide advice on how you can make your cash work better for you without needing to actually do any work. This one is highly recommended by us!

For more great posts about trading, remember to keep checking back. It’s obviously a notoriously intricate thing to get involved with, but these apps can help you start to build a better future for yourself with a minimum of time invested.

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How to Pack Minimally For Your Next Business Trip

So, you’re getting ready for your next big trip to take care of some business. Maybe you’re just there going there for a meeting, or perhaps you want to spend…

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So, you’re getting ready for your next big trip to take care of some business. Maybe you’re just there going there for a meeting, or perhaps you want to spend a couple of days at a conference. In any case, you’re probably wanting to make things as easy as possible for yourself, and hopefully avoid incurring any nasty extra baggage fees from your airline along the way.

And even if fees aren’t a factor, that’s not the point; it’s always nice just to know that you’re packing light, taking only the things you know you’re going to need and leaving the rest at home. So, without further a due, today we’re going to share some tips to help you pack minimally on your next business trip.

Pack Efficiently

Learn How to Pack Minimally and you will avoid having to pay excessive fees

So, this is the most obvious point, but one that needs to be reiterated anyway. Whether you’re going to be taking a duffel bag, a suitcase, or a hanger bag, consider how much space you have.

You’ll probably also have a carry on, and you may even be able to bring on a “personal item” free of charge as well (such as a laptop bag or small briefcase – check with your airline for specifics).

In any case, you should immediately start getting rid of the superfluous; that means taking your phone and tablet, while leaving behind your laptop, cords, your kindle, your paper notebooks, and your paperbacks.

For the vast majority of things, a phone and tablet will provide more than enough functionality to keep you ticking over for two days. If not, take a laptop, but try to keep the number of tech items you’re taking to a minimum; there’s no reason to take every portable device you own “just in case”.

Be Simply Elegant

Basically, what this means is that you should pack your clothes according to keeping things simply functional. If the weather’s going to be warm, that means you can pack thinner clothes which is all the better.

So, start thinking about outfits that you can wear which won’t take up much space but will work when worn together; often, a shirt rolled up to the sleeves and worn over a white tee, along with some well-fitting chinos and snazzy shoes will allow you to look smart and together without needing to share the fact that you’re skimping on clothes!

In fact, a suit jacket is especially light but can also work with a variety of tops depending on how you use it. Just make sure to leave your hoodies and coats at home.

Buy Disposable

Unless you’re particularly attached to the ones you own, feel free to buy cheap disposable items when you arrive at your destination. This means investing a small amount in a toothbrush, razors, deodorants, and anything else you need to keep yourself looking sharp. The upside is that it will save valuable space in your luggage, and – if you do the math – may even save you money by avoiding excess luggage fees.

So there you have it – our favourite ways to keep things minimal when you’re on the road. Obviously, this is an art in and of itself, so feel free to get creative! For more great articles on biz travel, remember to keep checking back.

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Three Great Apps for Collaborative Working

It can be a huge task trying to choreograph a team that are often working from different locations. With the advent of remote working, it’s not hard to suddenly find…

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It can be a huge task trying to choreograph a team that are often working from different locations. With the advent of remote working, it’s not hard to suddenly find that you have twenty different iterations of the same file in different states in your inbox. Likewise, two users simultaneously updating different versions is a similar complaint we hear all too often from frustrated business managers.

However, there are apps designed specifically to make working as a collaborative team much easier, no matter how far away you are from each other. Today, we’re going to look at three particular apps which we think will make managing projects for your team much easier.

Evernote Business

Evernote Business is basically an enhanced version of their premium personal service, designed to allow teams to work together more fluidly. As well as the ability to have in-app discussions, shared work presented in order of the most relevant updates first, and easy user management, the app is built on top of a fundamentally sound design to make utilising these functions as intuitive as possible.

In fact, those of you who use it with teams of more than 25 people will even get a personalized service from Evernote, helping you to get the most out of the service. User management is particularly easy, while the included TLS/SSL encryption with two-step verification means that your work is always as secure as possible.

Dropbox

Everyone’s favourite tool for seamlessly backing up their files to the cloud provides many features that will benefit large teams working on the same files. It’s designed to work fluidly across all major operating systems (including Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android), while everyone who signs up will immediately receive 2.5 GB of free storage space indefinitely.

While that might not sound like a lot of storage space, we guarantee that it will take a long time to fill up if you stick to using it exclusively for word documents, PDFs, and compressed images. Dropbox is a great place to start for those teams that don’t need all the bells and whistles of the other services on this list, but just want to easily keep each other updated with which files they’re working on.

Salesforce

While Salesforce is really only going to be useful to sales teams, it’s safe to say that those who work in the field will struggle to find a more useful, purpose-designed service.

It is in fact several apps which can be integrated together to provide a seamless working environment. These include The Sales Cloud, which is the company’s own CRM app. It has a lot of really useful features, including sales leader-boards, and it provides instant access to all of your top leads (each of which can have their own personal page with their contact details and links to their social media profiles).

Likewise, the social.com service from Salesforce is incredibly useful for maintaining your ad campaigns on any major social media network. You can use analytics to tailor your ads to appear for certain target demographics at a specific time, and it will automatically identify and prioritize your higher-performing ads over time, meaning that you will be getting the best returns from your campaigns.

Lastly, The Service Cloud enables you to manage your company’s customer relations in one unified place. There’s a lot of great bespoke features here, including the ability to natively Facetime any of your customers who require assistance, as well as the ability to immediately escalate urgent situations.

So, hopefully this list will help all of you looking to make a shift into the field of collaborative working. Remember to keep checking back for more great articles like this, as we’re sure to be discussing more apps which you can use to help your business grow!

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SEO Tricks to Boost Your Business’ Online Presence

The world of Search Engine Optimization (or SEO) can, at first glance, seem to be almost hopelessly complicated and mercilessly fickle. However, it’s not as much of a dark art…

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The world of Search Engine Optimization (or SEO) can, at first glance, seem to be almost hopelessly complicated and mercilessly fickle. However, it’s not as much of a dark art as many small business owners might initially believe.

While few of us have the luxury of hiring dedicated staff who can manage our business’ web presence on a day to day basis, you will be relieved to know that not all hope is lost; in fact, by incorporating the tips that we’ll be sharing with you today, you can be on your way to boosting your online relevancy right away—sometimes without needing to spend a dime (just a little of your time will do!).

Use Relevant Hashtags on Twitter

You may already be a maverick when it comes to using the micro blogging site, but without proper foresight, all of your hard work will be going to waste. For example, you might be using hashtags to try to make your messages concise and easily understandable to people who happen to see your messages flash by on their screen.

However, by doing some prior research and seeing which tags people are already using, you will be able to potentially grow your audience significantly. So, next time you think about using “#hairstyletips”, do some research on your competitors first; it may be the case that they’re using “#easyhairtricks”, and by incorporating this into your tweets, you’ll become exponentially more visible.

Post Good Content on Your Blog

Your blogs don’t have to read like poetry in order to help your online presence grow. In fact, keeping things simple and sticking to what you know can often be a much more effective way to get seen online.

Put your heart into what you’re writing; is the topic itself interesting? Are you providing the right amount of information, so that it can be skimmed quickly but also providing worthwhile information? By breaking your posts down to smaller paragraphs, and adding some appropriate images, you can make them significantly more readable for those who stumble across them.

Link to Websites You Respect

Even if you’re not getting any traffic from others linking to your site, make sure to link (with moderation!) to sites that you genuinely respect and which relate to your field. By doing this, Google will consider it as a factor when performing its search algorithms. Over time, it can greatly increase your ranking on the search engine.

Use Well-Produced Videos

This may be the most expensive tip on this list, but it could also earn you the greatest rate of returns. Having well-made videos by someone who knows what they’re doing to promote your business can dramatically improve the way others see it.

You can get in touch with local film-makers to get a ball-park figure of how much you’ll need to spend, but many freelancers in the industry will charge a reasonable rate to help you out for a day or two. Likewise, they’ll take care of all the editing work that you don’t want to be involved in, so that all you’ll have to do is upload the video to your YouTube channel and slowly watch the number of views increase!

Mastering SEO is, as you might expect, an arduous slog and will likely result in an epic quest that grows arms and legs along the way. However, it is fascinating; what you essentially learn is a guide to mastering the internet! If you don’t want to do any of the above, though, you can always just hire a web designer who specializes in SEO to help you boost your web presence. Remember to keep checking back for more great posts you can refer to to take your business to the next stage!

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Flip a Home in These States and Make a HUGE Profit

According to a 2016 report by ATTOM Data Solutions, house flipping is once again proliferating among property managers following its sharp decline after the 2008 financial crisis. In fact, the…

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According to a 2016 report by ATTOM Data Solutions, house flipping is once again proliferating among property managers following its sharp decline after the 2008 financial crisis.

In fact, the report showed that from 2015 to 2016 alone, the number of houses flipped (i.e. sold for the second time in a 12-month period, usually with no-one actually moving in to the residence) rose by 3.1%; that means it’s at its highest level since 2006, with 193,000 homes and condos being flipped.

So, you might be wondering about how to get started with house flipping yourself and – while it is an extensively intricate topic to really cover in a comprehensive sense – we thought we’d take a look at a few of the states providing the most lucrative flipping opportunities in today’s post.

San Jose, California

San Jose is an amazing city to live in, and the rich are shelling out significant sums of cash to get on to the property ladder in the area. This has provided a lot of eating for house flippers, who managed to receive an average of $145,000 for all of their flips in 2015/6.

In fact, out of 110 metro areas studied, it was ranked as the joint number one place to make a profit for those looking to flip a home.

Boston, Massachusetts

The capital of Ma is a great place for families to move to. Highly regarded for its schools and culture, it has been recognised over the years for its lauded intellectual reputation. In fact, Mark Twain once said of the city:

“In New York, they ask, ‘How much money does he have?’ In Philadelphia, they ask, ‘Who were his parents?’ In Boston they ask, ‘How much does he know?”

Such is the desire to live in the city that, like San Jose, it has become a great place for house flippers to buy and sell property; flippers there made an average of $140,000 in profit in 2016.

San Francisco, California

It may often be dull, dreary, and wet, but San Francisco still manages to lure millions of visitors both domestically and internationally every year. In fact, just like its fellow California county, San Jose, San Francisco flips averaged $145,000 over the one year period.

Daren Blomquist, the senior Vice President over at RealtyTrac (a company devoted to providing information which puts together analytics for house-flipping transactions across the states), discussed this during an interview. “That’s a big one”, he said when talking about San Fran. He noted that it’s particularly “hard to flip in those [Bay Area] markets”, but also that – for those who manage to make it work – “you get a big bang for your buck”.

Avoid Like the Plague

For those of you who were wondering, the bottom of the list was occupied by many of the states you’d expect; the worst place to flip a home, though? Detroit.

“You’d have to do about seven flips in Detroit to equal one flip in the Bay Area”, said Blomquist during the same interview.

Nevertheless, there are countless opportunities in any state to start growing your income using house flipping. Equipped with the necessary knowledge and funds for investment, you can start to see massive returns, and we definitely recommend it to anyone out there who’s interested in trading.

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Awesome Apps for Managing Your Finances

We live in an age of constant stimulation; if you’re not being told exactly what to buy by the television, internet ads, blogs, and YouTube videos, then you it’s just…

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We live in an age of constant stimulation; if you’re not being told exactly what to buy by the television, internet ads, blogs, and YouTube videos, then you it’s just as likely that you’ll be consumed by work or addiction to online technology.

With this fast-paced lifestyle, it’s not hard to lose track of what’s going on in the background; namely, the state of our own personal finances. Thankfully, there’s a slew of great apps out there which we can use to keep tabs on how much we’re spending.

Today, we’re going to look at a selection of our favourites for doing just that.

You Need a Budget

Also known as YNAB within its community, this app is pretty spectacular. Its goal is to help you visualize your finances, so that you can stop living on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis. In fact, its emphasis on assisting you in tackling your debt and dealing with unexpected circumstances is a breath of fresh air in the free-flowing world of app releases; because, when all things are considered, the only thing better than an original app idea, is an original app idea that helps you to drastically improve your standard of living.

Instead of allowing users to set their own disposable spending limits, YNAB analyses your funds by gathering information about your regular income and expenditure, and then creates a budget around that. This means that, instead of merely having saving goals, you’ll be living within the most realistic income of all – your actual earnings! Genius.

Acorns

Another great tool for helping you to build your own nest egg is Acorns. By helping you to develop good financial habits, this simple app can let you start making the steps you need to build up a considerable nest egg.

How does it do this? Well, every time you make a purchase using a bank card which you’ve pre-configured with the Acorn app, it will round the amount to the next-highest dollar. By investing the difference between the price of your purchase and how much is actually deducted from your account into low-cost exchange-traded funds (and you can actually tell the app how risky you want your investments to be), you’ll start to see your rate or returns significantly grow.

After all, who doesn’t want to find an extra $500 or $1,000 in their investment account at the end of each year? We’re serious guys – try this one!

Microsoft Excel

Yes, it’s ghetto, but it gets the job done. In fact, in the years before the proliferation of genuinely useful mobile apps for managing finances, I used to manage all of my expenses using a fairly straightforward Spreadsheet I put together in Excel.

Even with the most rudimentary formulas, you can tally up how much you’ve been spending, how much has come in to your bank account, and identify those sinks where you’re spending too much money and take the necessary action needed to close them up.

Of course, there are countless ways to manage your personal finances using today’s mobile technology. In fact, for those of you who are really into it, you can combine several different tools to create a kind of monolithic, terror-inducing master method for saving money. However, for those of you who just want to save a little, any of the above options are going to get you on the right track starting today.

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