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Posts Tagged ‘recession’

Despite a strong fourth quarter of 2008 online matchmaking sites like Match dot com and Yahoo Personals are now starting to feel the pinch of an extended Recession. Almost one year ago online matchmaking sites were touted as being in a Recession proof business, however times have changed and the large online dating sites are finally attempting to change with them. Several factors seem to have contributed to the situation the in which the large, popular dating sites are now finding themselves.

One of the reasons it took so long for these sites to catch on was the fact that most online dating sites were still earning revenue from members who signed up for extended memberships. When extended memberships ran out and members did not renew their online dating subscriptions, the revenue that the large matchmaking sites were generating began to drop.

This is a positive development for anyone who is currently debating whether to purchase an online dating membership. Internet personals sites are offering more incentives than ever before, especially to first time members. Match.com is offering discounted subscriptions and new members can take advantage of Yahoo Personals free trial offer.

Even now as the economy seems to be coming out of the Recession, there are opportunities for savvy online consumers to shop smart and win whether it comes in the form of a free online dating site membership or some other form. Despite what some internet dating review sites said earlier in the year, even the romance business has not been immune by our most recent Recession. There are still opportunities for good deals and now is the time to take advantage of the ones you find. It is up to the consumer to take the bull by the horns and reap the benefits that this current economic situation has provided. There is no way to know how long these deals will last.

Many people who are interested in starting an online business assume that because the country is in a major recession right now, this is not the time; however, I ask you to consider the facts:

1. As with most of the major life decisions, e.g., getting married, having a child, starting a business – there is never a “right” time; there is only today.

2. To become wealthy, you really need to own your own business (93% of the already wealthy do).

3. In 2006, Fortune magazine called direct selling, including network marketing, “the best kept secret in the business world” with a 91% growth over the previous 10 years. It has a market of $30 billion in the United States and $100 billion worldwide. That figure is expected to reach 6 billion by 2012.

4. Network marketing has been called a “recession proof industry”.

5. Warren Buffet called his purchase of a network marketing company the best investment he’d ever made.

6. Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence, called it the first truly revolutionary marketing shift in the past 50 years.

7. Internet businesses don’t feel the impact of gas prices, parking fees and childcare expenses.

8. There are significant tax advantages from owning an online business.

9. Online businesses are generally easy to start. All you need are basic language skills and the ability to point, click and follow directions.

10. The internet puts you in control; no more hoping your boss will give you a raise or promotion, no more hoping you won’t be included in the next round of job cuts – plus, the upside is incredible! The upside potential is great.

Affiliate programs are potentially the easiest paths to start a web organization, and a lot of them also include coaching regarding the product that you will be marketing for them.

The issue with many online opportunities is that their coaching is bounded, and often focused only on instructing you about their product (s). Sadly, you’ll require more knowledge and skills than that.

One superb starting place for picking up all the rest of the understanding about internet marketing that you’ll need is to join the Online Success for Beginners classes.

Regardless of the recession, business continues – hundreds of thousands of businesses will launch within the next 12 months. Is this the right time for you to join them? Isn’t it really time to leave the 9-5 routine behind you along with all the related job stress?

Carpe Diem! Seize the day! Now is the time to start an online business .

Retirement Risks

If you’re one of the “Baby Boomers,” you’re probably pondering stopping work – if you haven’t already retired.  Even if you have previously left the 9-5 rat race, you may be wondering whether you’re financially able to stay comfortably retired.

Present financial crisis complicates the retirement question greatly by compounding some significant retirement related economic contingencies:

1. Average Life Expectancy Has Been Extended

People are living longer than their parents’ generation. For example, in 1970, a 60-year old white male had a life expectancy of only 16.2 years; but, by 2008, his life expectancy had stretched to twenty additional years.

So how is the Baby Boomer going be able to afford retirement during those additional 3.8 years? Following are several probable responses:

> Increase current savings

> Work longer

> Live with with children or other family members

> Get by with a reduced quality of life

2. Health Care Costs Keep Rising

Adequately funding one’s health care coverage are among the most difficult financial activities, mostly because requirements are so individualistic, with needs differing substantially between spouses. Long-term care requirements are even more difficult to predict and fund.

Medical expenses have grown more than 5% (inflation adjusted) for the past 15 years – and that is greater than the increase in family income. Medicare costs are expected to rise at a comparable rate.

3. Government Actions May Reduce Retirement Income & Supplemental Programs

It has been widely reported that the costs associated with the major entitlement programs (e.g., Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid) are growing faster than other parts of the economy, and some experts question the long-term feasibility of these programs because of the combined effects of increased longevity, size of the Boomer population, and increasing health care expenses in general.

Further, current questions concerning ongoing health insurance in retirement, and at what financial levels, are rampant in today’s depressed economy – and these questions are given even more fuel by the reorganizations occurring, especially among the auto industry.

We are still witnessing much discussion about a national health care program – but such conversations have been active for decades, with few results to show for those efforts. Although President Obama will be leading such efforts this year, many people expect Congress to present a lot of opposition.

Many expect that seniors over age 55 will be exempted from cuts in these entitlement programs, but providing full coverage for them is a two-edged sword – doing so increases the probability of a new value-added tax, which would likely add to retirement tax burdens.

4. Sometimes One’s Retirement Date is Dictated, and not Totally Up to the Individual

Per the 2004 Health and Retirement Survey (HRS), 37% are forced to retire. This can occur due to bad health or recessions, etc.

5. 401Ks Have Been Decimated

Did your 401k and other retirement savings take a major hit with the stock market crash in 2008? My savings took a major hit. Many people saw their 401k and other stock market accounts take a 50% hit, which has led many comedians to rename them “201k”. For many people, their 401k was the bulk of their retirement savings, so this stock market meltdown has really damaged their retirement plans.

Humpty Dumpty Was Not a Retirement Expert

Not all the news is bad. You can fix a broken egg – a broken retirement “Nest Egg,” that is.

You can work longer, semi-retire and take a part-time job, work from home, start your own business, etc.

If you’d like to start an online business, but are hesitant because you’re not an internet expert, a superb starting place for collecting all the education about internet marketing that you will need to be successful is to enroll in the Online Success for Beginners program.

A study by Butrica, Smith and Steuerle (2006) indicated that working just one (1) extra year can raise annual retirement income by 9%, while working just five (5) extra years results in an additional 56% annual retirement income.

If you’d like to find out how to create a supplemental income, so that you can have a luxurious, financially secure retirement, check out Darren Salkeld’s new MaxPro Marketing System and get his FREE Report and FREE Audio describing the age-old secrets of creating wealth.

Many people believe that we may be through the worst of this current economic downturn, or perhaps they are just saying this in an attempt to restore some confidence back into the system. Over the last couple of weeks I have been asking my business contacts whether they have started to see any of those green shoots, the famous starting sign of a recovery. Here is what they said:

Out of all of the people that I asked or surveyed for want of a better word only fifteen percent stated that they had seen the first signs that things were starting to improve. I have to say that I had expected and had hoped for a much higher percentage than this. From the people I have spoken we may well be on the road to recovery however that this recovery is happening at rather a sedate pace. This recession has cut quite deep and any wound this deep can not heal overnight.

More surprising and perhaps worrying is the fact that sixty percent of those people interviewed thought that the economic situation had become even more severe over the last three months and that their businesses were finding it increasingly tough.

I am by no means an expert in the field of the economy however I do have a number of business interests including ones where people are able to obtain cheap calls and also with a group of cost reduction consultants. My main expertise however is with helping people to overcome their stuttering speech impediments.

So when can we expect the recovery to really start in earnest? Well this answer is, of course, very difficult to answer and calling the bottom of the market can only ever be guess work. I will however give my opinion, for what it’s worth. I personally think that 2009 will continue to be a tough year, that in 2010 we will start to see that all important recovery and that in 2011 we will see some very strong growth.

The above opinion is given due to what we already know, if there is a lot more bad news out there of which we have not yet been told of then this opinion will no doubt have to be reviewed.

Small Businesses and Contractors Largely Affected by Nation’s Struggling Economy

As this nation remains in one of the largest recessions in the past {60 years, there are many industries that are adversely affected, but go unnoticed~Many industries and U.S. businesses are struggling indirectly because of the national recession~The biggest recession that U.S. residents and businesses have seen in the past 6 decades continues to indirectly affect many industries}.  The main discussion has been on the housing market, financial loans, stock market, and the banking business.  Many of these markets are inter-related in some way, but many major industries that affect millions of Americans are not far off.

Experts will concur that the housing market has taken a huge blow, and the property values in Phoenix, Arizona sits at the center of this issue.  These buyers all have property that has greatly depreciated in value over the past twenty four months (sometimes being down tens of thousands of dollars).  Loss of equity has caused many residents to just vacate their homes, in fact, bank repossessions are higher than they have ever been. 

For those homeowners who are not affected by unemployment, housing market decline, and stock market woes – they can quickly find out they are incorrect.  By keeping their money out of the stock market, many investors are keeping their money in their property and homes.  Local banks and credit unions can usually provide this type of home improvement loan.  Over the past 24 months, these loans have not been available for prospecting buyers of home improvements such as home remodeling, swimming pools and landscaping.

The swimming pool industry in Phoenix has been one of the largest businesses affected, since financing a swimming pool or landscape project was the best choice for over 65% of swimming pool customers.  If a pool loan is not obtained, swimming pool and construction companies end up losing the sale, or selling a job that is much less than expected.  Phoenix pool builders have taken a huge hit, often closing their doors, down-sizing, or diversifying into other markets.  Some swimming pool companies have diversified into other venues such as pool remodeling, general construction, and even landscaping.  Some general contracting companies and home remodelers have switched entire industries, trying their hand at completely different fields of work.  By offering other landscape features such as outdoor kitchens, Phoenix BBQ islands, fire pits, and travertine patios, many Arizona Landscaping Contractors are producing extra money.

Unique Landscapes and Custom Pools, a swimming pool and landscape Phoenix company, figured out how to diversify it’s products and services many years ago.  As Phoenix landscape and pool builders, along with a general contractor license, Unique Companies are able to provide its customers with many facets of residential landscaping and swimming pools.  “By diversifying a few years prior into swimming pools, landscapes and general construction, our company has been able to keep working during these challenging times.  However, the inability for our motivated buyers to get construction lending or loans has been crippling.”

“It’s tough to think about all the money that was given to banking industry just a few months ago for these loans, and now it’s near impossible for our buyers, who want to buy our products, to get this money” claims business owner Chris Griffin, of Unique Landscapes and Custom Pools in Mesa, AZ.  Maybe it’s time for the government to look a little further into some of the struggles of the smaller companies that are greatly affected by this struggling economy.  “I don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel yet, but I can tell it’s there….” claims Griffin, “Pool financing in Phoenix is getting a little better”.

When will this recession be over?

They talk about the green shoots of recovery; well I have not seen any, have you? I personally think that it is a form of increase confidence trick; an attempt to make people believe that the worst of this current recession is over.

They, and when I say they I am talking about the Government and business leaders, are no doubt hoping that this new confidence (false as it undoubtedly is) will spur people on to start spending money again; to start buying houses etc. Until these so called “leaders” realise that this crisis will only start to ease when the banks and building societies start to lend money again, the better. Already we hear stories of the bankers going back to their bonus culture, will they never learn? In a way a more important question is why is our Government allowing them to get away with it? There is a real lack of leadership at the moment and it is about time somebody at the top started to crack the whip.

Now I am not some financial whizz kid who thinks he has all of the answers. I am in fact just an average working class guy from the UK who runs a web promotion company and who also has a partnership in a company that offers a professional DVD duplication service. I do however watch and listen in amazement at times when I see what some of the politicians and greedy bankers say – they really are not in the real world – they probably would have absolutely no idea as to the average cost of a pint of milk or loaf of broad – they are complete jokers and a waste of space.

I personally believe that this current credit crisis will last until the end of 2010, at least. I know that this seem rather negative but it is just my opinion on the situation. With a stronger leadership this would no doubt change but while the Labour cronies continue to bicker and squabble what chance have we got? Bring in Vince Cable I say as the new Labour leader!

The current recession is causing a definite shift in consumer behaviour. During the boom years of the past decade, we saw a huge number of small startup businesses trying to compete with the big boys. Many of these websites have gone local to global in a very short space of time, thanks to their prices. Then consumers were used to choice and less demanding of reliability in their brands, they wanted the cheapest items and they wanted them now. Things have changed however and hundreds of website companies are going under, the fall out of which is a growing lack of customer confidence. What this means is that people are going back to preferring known and recognisable brands, even if it means spending a little more.

Although in times such as these when people are worried for their jobs or loosing them, some start to consider their dream business online and of being their own boss. Research from Barclays last year showed that there were 98,000 start-ups created in the UK within a three month period, despite the credit crunch. It can be a thankless route to success. When you take into account that around 80,000 new businesses failed during the same time period, kind of puts it into perspective doesn’t it!

I believe that most new online business fails due to bad branding. When a customer hits your website, what does your logo say about your business. It’s crucial to what people use to judge whether you are trustworthy or not. But it’s so often the case that startup owners put off paying professional logo design in the initial stages. All to often its “Lets see how many customers we can get before we think about branding”.Then they design one themselves in photoshop and thinking that looks fine, load it up to the site. Many go for free clipart template business cards and stationery design from somewhere like vista print.

This isn’t acceptable for a Brand. All web business now more than ever, need to look much bigger and much more capable via good marketing, to retain customers and encourage new ones.  In these anxious times the image of stability and reliability is more crucial than ever. Very small businesses need to look like a much bigger business, its possible. As i have mentioned, consumers are now more then ever going to the big brands for what they need. So basically, these days users care more about who a brand is and less about what they are, a good brand is much more likely to be recommended to friends than one that consumers are less sure about.

The bottom line is this. Bankruptcy will hit around half small business very early on in their life, usually within two to three years. Many experts say that one of the top causes of business failure online is bad marketing. A custom logo design helps you create the right image for this marketing to succeed. So do yourself a favour – start looking at some sample logos in your industry and see what the successful ones have in common.Finding yourself a talented graphic designer is key to your business, not only surviving but thriving in this current climate.

How to Install a Low-flow Faucet Aerator

You may have noticed a new trend lately in going green, but this choice doesn’t have to put you in the poor house. It can be as simple as attaching a $2.99 attachment to your kitchen faucet. Remember, it’s easy to make more expensive mistakes if you don’t spend some time on research. Many manufacturers label their product as “earth friendly” or “green” but there are no government standards in place currently to define what makes an item eco-friendly or not.

Follow these 5 tips to assist you on your journey to create a kitchen that will save you money, give you a fresh new look, & save the world all at once:

1. Buy a low-flow water faucet/aerator

• Why: A shiny new faucet is a simple upgrade, but kitchen faucets can vary from 1.5 – 4 gallons per minute in the amount of water that come from them. Low-flow bathroom faucets with the Environmental Protection Agency’s new WaterSense label are usually 30 percent more efficient than older models.

• Simple Eco Upgrade: Until the government comes up with some industry standard for low-flow kitchen faucets, for $3 to $11 you can make most new or existing taps more efficient simply by attaching an aerator. These simple devices save water plus lower utility bills as well, because less hot water is consumed. Because of this, low-flow aerators will typically pay you back in about 90 days.

• Cons: With lower flow, it might take a bit longer to fill that 2 gallon pot for spaghetti night.

• Suggested Purchase: Look for a gallon per minute rating of less than 2 gallons per minute or GPM (some are as high as 4 GPM). Many Kohler models offer an aerator that can reduce the GPM rate by about 25 percent. Don’t forget, even though it’s more expensive, you can purchase an adjustable aerator for your faucet. Keep the aerator on the slow speed when using the sink for typical use and set it to high speed to fill up big pans with water. Another green choice is a hands-free faucet, like the Danze Parma D421058, $480 or other low-flow Danze faucets.

• Keep in Mind: When you find a faucet that fits your budget and style, make sure it has a lifetime warranty that covers stains and water-wasting leaks. Also, some kitchen aerators will allow you to flip between two flow rates without affecting the water temperature

2. Switch to low wattage lighting

• Why: Modern kitchens can use up to 2,000 watts for lighting (especially track lighting) because standard incandescent, halogen, and xenon lights are energy vacuums. All that burning heat from your inefficient lights might motivate you to turn down the A/C to keep the room cool.

• Simple Eco Upgrade: Switch to cool-burning compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) in your fixtures, and also consider adding some LED or fluorescent under cabinet task lighting. This simple remodel costs a little under $200 for 5 fluorescent fixtures.

• Cons: A handful of CFLs and LEDs cast a bluish or other odd color light. Before you buy, double check the return policy to see if you can return it even if you don’t like the way the light looks with your décor. Better yet, try the brand new light in your local Ace Hardware or ask an associate for their opinion.

• Suggested Purchase: Strips are the most common type of task lighting, round “hockey puck” lights are best for casting pools of light onto a counter and linear lights are best if you need more versatile fixtures. Both round “puck” lights and linear lights can be discovered with LEDs.

• Keep in Mind: If your cabinets don’t have a built-in valence to hide task lighting, either add one or choose a fixture with a sleek housing that’s not as noticeable.

3. Install a ceiling fan

• Why: Kitchens get hot, and if you use an air conditioner to cool things off, it will gobble up a lot of energy and money.

• Simple Eco Upgrade: A ceiling fan in the kitchen will use only a fraction of the electricity that an A/C would.

• Cons: Aesthetics, few people have ceiling fans in kitchens for a reason, it doesn’t usually look good.

• Suggested Purchase: There are a number of great models from Hampton Bay, Harbor Breeze, and Hunter, and most circulate air about the same. So rather than shop for a particular brand, go for a style the lady likes and you find on clearance and remember that lighting affects energy use.

• Keep in Mind: You might be able to find CFLs designed for ceiling fans that can replace the original bulbs and save energy. You need to remember CFLs on the market now don’t function correctly with fans that have light dimmers.

4. Refurbish with second hand materials

• Why: A new countertop or cabinet face can change the whole look of your kitchen, but producing them keeps coal power plants polluting the air and some “earth friendly” materials aren’t as green as they might seem.

• Simple Eco Upgrade: Before you buy new, see if you can find used materials.

• Suggested Purchase: Salvage shops are stocked with new or lightly used stone countertops, hardwood flooring, decorative lumber, and kitchen cabinets, so they’re a great place to look for bargains. Even better, Habitat for Humanity sells used and surplus building materials at outlets called ReStores.

• Keep in Mind: If you will buy brand new, at least search for greener cabinets and other products made from sustainable lumber and materials.

5. Trade in/Sell the biggest energy hogs

• Why: The appliances in your kitchen that take the most energy to operate are refrigerators and dishwashers. The more geriatric these appliances are, the less energy efficient they are and the more expensive they are to run.

• Simple Eco Upgrade: Only open the doors when you know what you want. Open fridges are the biggest energy hogs so don’t waste time & energy browsing with the door open. Also, it usually doesn’t pay to salvage working appliances with new ones. But when you choose to update, search for models that require less energy & are quieter. Though energy efficient models can cost more, you’ll recoup the money as your utility bills shrink.

• Suggested Purchase: Look for appliances that are Energy Star qualified. These ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerators need only half as much energy as models manufactured before 1993. Also ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerator models use high efficiency compressors, improved insulation, and more precise temperature and defrost mechanisms to improve energy efficiency. Switching out a dishwasher manufactured before 1994 with an ENERGY STAR qualified dishwasher can save you more than $32 a year in utility costs. These also use significantly less water than decade old models. This can help extend the life of your septic tank.

• Keep in Mind: You don’t have to get rid of all the old appliances at once. Start with the ones that are the biggest energy hogs. When repairs would cost more than 50% of a new appliance, it makes sense to go ahead and replace them with a new one.

If this is all seems complicated some online retailers make it easier for you such as Designer Plumbing Outlet with the help of Site Search technology by SLI Systems. When looking for kitchen items on their e-commerce store you can easily refine your search by “Eco-Friendly” results. This helps makes the search easier and makes going green even simpler when buying new.

As we descend into an increasingly crippling financial crisis, private and public sector organizations alike are having to be more intelligent with their budgets to avoid getting into trouble. Something that’s not often considered is holes in the way your business does its accounts which can lead to asset leakage. By making sure you have a good handle on the fixed assets your organization owns you can identify these leaks, put a stop to them, and save a surprising amount at the end of the tax year.

What is a fixed asset?

Let’s begin by defining what fixed assets are. Any business owns two different types of assets. Items such as machinery and computers, as well as property and buildings, are known as tangible or fixed assets. Essentially they are physical objects that have value. The assets you can’t touch are called, unsurprisingly, intangible assets – such as trademarks or patents. It’s the first kind we’re concerned with here.

Why do you need to know about fixed assets?

You need to know about them, fundamentally, because its illegal not to – it needs to be part of your tax return. If you don’t know about them you could get in trouble. But more than this, the more clued up you are on the status of your fixed assets, the more prepared you are to save money within your organization. You need to be aware of where they are, their value and the depreciation of their value. In a sense asset tracking is a way for a business faced with financial hardship to pull cost savings ‘out of thin air’.

How do you track and control your asset inventory?

Well first of all you need to make a record of each of your fixed assets. You have probably already done this bit, since the taxman forces you to. Most commonly this is recorded on a humble spreadsheet, but increasingly savvy organisations are using more sophisticated asset management software. The reason is that you really need to go much further than just recording assets – you need to be able to keep track of them as your organization grows and develops. That means where it moves to, how much it’s worth, how often it breaks down, and so on.If you’re a one man or woman show that doesn’t mean much more than looking around the room and noting down the model of your computer and desk lamp.With bigger businesses and organizations, this job becomes a lot more tricky. And this is where dedicated asset management software really comes into its own. With it you are able to take care of the whole process with ease – auditing, creating an asset register, tracking, maintenance, and accounting. Crucially, a well made package will be able to pinpoint where the largest cost savings in your organization can be made. The real question is, how can you afford not to invest in it.

Maybe it’s all the doom and gloom of the financial and metrological climate here in the UK. But more people are investing in second homes in the UK and abroad to create some extra revenue throughout the year and also using it as a cheap holiday break. Others still have chosen to leave the UK altogether and find that piece of heaven they have been looking for by moving abroad.

No matter what your reason for leaving or age group you fall into, it’s become even easier to escape the UK and choose to live abroad, however, just like the UK, you will still need to protect your new property. Finding a company that will give cost effective cover for second home insurance and overseas property insurance isn’t as easy and can often be more costly than you might imagine.

Finding a suitable insurance company that you trust can be a hard job, especially when you consider the costs and amount of companies out there. That’s due to the fact that these second homes could be left unoccupied for extended periods, especially during winter with the associated risks of burst pipes and freezing damage. Even if you overcome those hurdles, there’s also the concern about damage by or to any guests that may occupy the property.

If you do obtain cover you will probably find that most holiday home or buy to let insurance policies have restrictions in the small print. Because of this, unless you make sure you comply with every requirement, you can get a shock when you insurance is invalid next time you make a claim. There are some providers who understand that most holiday home and second home owners only use their property occasionally.  

Because of this reason, there are some policies available that won’t end up leaving you with no water or electricity as they have no restrictions or exclusions in the small print. Also, with these policies, there are some advantages when it comes to renting out the house, for example, protection of your content if it gets damaged by the current guests.