Items to Consider Before Buying an Investment Property
Tax Concerns and Other Costs. Potential buyers should consider costs for maintenance and interest. Depreciation is another concern. As the property depreciates in value, owners will have to make upgrades to keep the property marketable.

Determine which expenses will be tax deductible. Taxes are generally higher for investment properties. Higher taxes should be factored into the cost of the home. When interest costs, loan repayments and mortgage fees exceed the rental income, this situation is called negative gearing. The difference in the two creates an allowed deduction. This will effectively lower taxes on income.

Investment Plan. Buying an investment property can help clients build wealth in equity over a period of time. A long term investment plan should be devised to maximize the amount of equity wealth accumulated before selling a property. A financial planner or accountant can evaluate an investors’ portfolios to determine if investors are financially prepared to invest.

Combine Resources. Investment properties in prime locations may carry significantly more income potential than other property types. Experts advise purchasing a property with family and friends to reduce expenses associated with investment property. An investment partner may later use the equity in the investment property to purchase another home.

Perform Adequate Research. Consumers should research news articles, reports and business updates. This information may be used to determine the current value of the property, and the potential value of the property based upon future development in the area. Adequate research will help investors get the best price possible and also determine if the investment is a good one. Ensure the property is one others want to purchase if flipping is the goal.

Obtain Building Insurance. Obtain building insurance while renovating or building a property. Building insurance is also necessary when renting out a property to protect it in the event of fire, flood or other major disaster. Do not lose an entire investment because the building is not properly insured.

Know Comparables. Rental comparables and sales comparables are essential to purchasing a property at fair market value. For instance, an investor may want an investment property near public transportation in a gated community. To obtain the best price, check all the comparables in the area to determine the amount similar properties sold for in the area.

Loans. The type of loan chosen can make a difference in the amount paid on the loan. A mortgage broker can help investors find the best loans for an investment property. Potential rent gained from the property will be a major factor in the loan.

Other Items to Consider. Factor in the costs of hiring a property manager to maintain the property and collect the rents. If the property is not maintained, the value of the property will decline. The rent collected should cover the property costs and the maintenance for an ideal investment.

Reputable contractors are recommended to ensure the property is maintained optimally. When the property is maintained, the investor may request higher rents and earn a larger profit on a home. When someone else is paying the rent on an investment property, ownership becomes easier.

Summary
In general, an investment plan is necessary to map out the goals of the property. Investment brokers can devise a long term plan for investors to ensure the property will be profitable. Always involve experts to avoid losing money on the investment. Building wealth with real estate is viable if approached wisely.

I think the key to all three of these elements is to have the right people helping you. I’m an author, and I’m very good at what I do. However, when it comes to website coding and design; or building up my own business from scratch, I’m a small fish swimming in a very huge lake.

I’ve been recently toying with the idea of getting an online partner, someone who’s not a writer, but who’s able to fix a problem on one of my blogs in the click of a finger. I’ve seen some start up companies on the Internet which will help you with things like registering your online, company formation in Hong Kong etc. My blog needs something like this because I’m ready to hit a higher deck where writing and blogging is concerned. Please let me know if you’ve used anyone affordable.

This is a paid sponsored post provided by Startupr.com. The options of this article are not necessarily that of Dorm Room Biz or it’s owners.

If you are thinking about purchasing a bunch of Coke or Pepsi machines to strategically scatter around campus, you should contact some school administrators first. Universities usually have large contracts with major distributors and will fight you tooth and nail to secure every dollar going into campus vending machines. Instead of trying to compete head on, take a page out of your Marketing 101 textbook and find a niche to sell to.

Websites like 1800Vending.com offer selections on some of the most modern and convenient machines available. If you are looking to start a nostalgic trend throughout the campus halls, take to sites like eBay to find deals on refurbished vintage machines from iconic brands like 7up and RC Cola to make an impact.

The Japanese have a long and steady tradition of creating products that draw the curiosity of the western world. Everything from Sony to Pokemon has caught on in a big way in the US and vending machines are no different. Instead of purchasing a traditional “drop-and-grab” machine, take the Japanese approach. Everything from French Fries to noodles to eggs can be prepared and served in a matter of minutes through today’s vending machine technology.

If your school does not have one already, you could look into the Coca-Cola Freestyle Soda Fountain. According to an article on Fast Company, this piece of modern vending technology gives customers over 100 flavor options for a truly customizable soda fountain experience; sure to beat a plain bottle of carbonated Diet Coke.

If you are able to procure the funds and secure enough investors for your venture, it is possible to present your fellow students a truly innovative vending experience. Recent innovations have led to more touchscreen and computer technology being used at vending machines. These modern marvels can read your face, retinas, and fingerprints and memorize your favorite purchases if you are a repeat customer.

Just because your school already has vending machines doesn’t mean it couldn’t use more of them. Before starting a venture, always do your research and make sure you know the regulations placed on in-school vendors.

• Content creators can do it with their clothes off — literally. There is no need to leave the house with content creation, so clothes are not necessary for this job.
• Content creators can procrastinate. This is good for people who have last minute things come up and may have to push their writing until close to the deadline. However, it is bad for people who love excuses to procrastinate and often miss deadlines.
• It is as close to traveling the world a person can get without leaving the house. Content creators talk to clients all over the world, if they network enough. They also get to research all kinds of interesting things that help them learn about the world through their clients’ needs.  And, to go along with this, there is actually a lot of people (students) who travel the world freely and fund their travels via freelance writing.  It can be done, but might take some time to establish yourself as a good writer.
• There is a cap to how much can be made in any business. However, when money is tight, content creators can work as many hours as they want to make up for it. There is no boss to say, “No more overtime.”
• Content creation lets trivial knowledge be put to good use. A content creator who has knocked a melted candle on the floor and successfully cleaned up the wax can write an article about how to do it.  You can write about virtually anything with a purpose.
• For people who make content creation a career, it involves finding clients and top-notch organization skills, but the level of participation all depends on the content creator. It is self-employment at its most flexible.

So where are some places where I can find freelance writing jobs?  There are hundreds and hundreds of sites all over the web that facilitate this process of connecting clients and authors.  Here are my top 5:

1. Elance – Best outsourcing site in general.  Professional platform, easy to use.  Personally have used it for manufacturing projects, not for writers but it basically has everything.
2. Scriptlance – Famous freelance writing site, probably most popular out of all writing-specific outsourcing sites.
3. Textbroker – Good built-in rating system, difficult navigation.  Must be US Citizen to write.
4. Pro Blogger Job Board – Exactly what the name implies.  Popular job site for writers.  Think Craigslist for freelance writers.
5. Craigslist – A lot of people (business owners, webmasters, etc) don’t know that freelance writer sites exist so they go to Craigslist to fulfill their needs.  Crowded space, but worth submitting to several cities.

What kind of schedule would you keep with this kind of flexibility?  Are you a freelance writer?

Jessica Silva is a Red Bull drinker, full-time mother, and PR manager of the bamboo iphone wallet case project, a start-up outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. 

First off, you need to find the funding. This can be done in a myriad ways whether it’s getting money from family, friends, or acquiring a small business loan. You’ll likely need to put up some of your own cash. There is a level of risk involved here because you don’t know if you’ll be successful or not but having your own company is always a risk. It’s important to note that banks are asked for money constantly and they’re going to be far more likely to lend you money if you have some capitol of your own to invest with. This shows them that you’re serious and you believe in what you’re doing because you’re also accepting a level of risk. This is only part of the equation though and you should also consider other variables before proceeding any further.

You need to seek legal advice and assistance before you launch any web site or business plan. Companies, large and small, have fallen victim to not properly trademarking their name or products. The likes of Apple, Amazon, and others have been all over the news lately because they didn’t research or get the proper trademarks for their programs. Other small businesses that have been using the names far longer are taking these companies to court over similar issues. If you’re starting up a business, don’t rely on a quick Google search to find out if a name is taken. There are legal advisors from Miami attorneys to across the country that will help you start with a good legal base so you don’t find yourself in court a few years down the road.

If you’re starting an online business, which many are these days, you’ll need to give a lot of thought to your online approach. You may have a great idea but simply starting a site and waiting for the business to come to you is a terrible business model. Search rankings are everything these days. You may have the best product or service around but if people aren’t aware they you exist, you’re going to get nowhere fast. Using online reputation management and search engine optimization, you can increase your online profile and get in touch with those who need your services most. There are many companies that can help you with this so do some research on various ways to improve your online visibility before you start throwing a lot of cash at your business because you might be tossing your money down the drain.

With so many businesses struggling to stay afloat, it’s important to consider some of these initial concerns before beginning your venture. There are a million ways to make money and improve online performance but unless you’re aware of the right steps, you could be killing your business before it has a chance to start.

Image from Roy Shaff's blog

During tough financial times, it’s not enough to have a solid, well-paying job that you can at least tolerate, if not enjoy. More and more people are turning to the Internet for low-cost start-up business

ideas that will help them augment their family’s finances and earn their way to financial independence.

The online marketplace has indeed paved the way for all sorts of small enterprises to be put up and operated by just about anyone with common sense and good business skills. Now more than ever, it’s important to choose just what kind of business you should get into because you don’t want to waste what little start-up cash you’ve scraped together.

The 2008 recession is still profoundly felt in many parts of the world, and as an entrepreneur-to-be, it’s your job to ensure that your money is invested into the right money-making machinery that will provide you with good profits in the shortest time possible. Here are five of the most in-demand and most convenient ways for you to earn more in this time of great financial setbacks:

1. eBay trading assistant

eBay, one of the world’s first online marketplaces, has grown to become not just a source of great bargain buys but also as a good source of extra income. Some individuals resort to auctioning off unused or unwanted items on eBay just to make ends meet.

If you’ve ever tried selling something on eBay, you know how hard it is to capture the attention and imagination of your target market and convince them to purchase the item you’re auctioning. You can capitalize on your photography and copywriting skills and turn yourself into a professional trading assistant to help other people sell their items on eBay.

2. Freelance jobs

From software development to article writing to graphic design to website development, freelancing has become one of the most in-demand online jobs today. Put your creativity and technical proficiency to good use and sign up with any of the online freelance marketplaces today like elance.com, odesk.com or guru.com.

If you feel that you can pull off the job on your own without having to go through a middleman, you can also set up your own online agency and offer your services straight to potential customers. There are a lot of webmasters who own more than two websites, so they need other people to take care of the day-to-day content management and upkeep of their websites. As a freelancer, you get flexible work hours and pay terms and can even choose the things you want to work on.

3. Virtual assistant

A virtual assistant or VA is similar to that of a freelancer, but your creativity is not the number one thing that employers will look for. To streamline operations and cut down on labor costs, some companies simply outsource administrative tasks to VAs that they can hire online. This way, they can focus on their core business activities and still be assured that miscellaneous tasks like collating mailing lists or telemarketing are being done properly.

A VA needs good grounding in simple office tasks because you are an all-around assistant for whatever business needs your client may have. It may not be a very glamorous job but you are being trained in several different fields like accountancy, web marketing and advertising at the same time.

4. Internet marketing services

As a tech-savvy Internet marketer, it is your job to help other webmasters and bloggers to build site traffic and drive online sales despite the bad economy. This is akin to working as a business consultant, only now you are focused exclusively on Internet-based businesses that are in need of a serious boost in readership and sales.

Your first priority is to teach fellow online entrepreneurs how to make their content relevant, fresh and exciting so that site visitors will flock by the thousands and eventually end up purchasing their products or services. Not all online businessmen know the ins and outs of Internet technology, so you have to take them through the basics and teach them the tools of the trade in order to increase their profits.

5. Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is yet another popular money-making enterprise that a lot of people are going into. If you run a few websites with high and consistent readership, you may want to consider signing up for an affiliate program so you can earn money from advertisements placed strategically on your web pages.

As an affiliate marketer, you don’t have to do much beyond choosing the products or services you want to advertise and putting the links on your website so that people can see them. With every click that goes from your website to the affiliate company’s website, you earn a handsome commission that can tide you over the hard times.

This is a guest post from Ally Tobias. Ally is part of the team that manages Australian Credit Cards, a personal finance blog that covers business credit card tips. You can follow ACC on Twitter if you like to stay updated on their latest contents. Before joining ACC, Ally was a Media Planner with McCann Worldgroup Philippines, Inc., with award-winning executions, including the Levi’s 501 “Live Unbuttoned” global campaign.

Primer, a critically-acclaimed independent film released in 2004, tells the tale of a couple of business-minded buddies that accidentally discover a way to travel backwards in time while trying to invent an error-checking device. While the story mainly focuses on the tragic flaws of toying with time travel, it demonstrates cost-effective entrepreneurialism pretty accurately. To evade the curious and do so cheaply the film’s characters conduct their experiments in a storage unit.

It makes me think of a Canadian friend of mine who recently started operating her own traveling vintage clothing store. She rented out a couple of Toronto storage units to keep her total inventory, then picked up items in the van she used as her “store” When gas and the rental costs are added together she tells me her costs still run under $200 a month!

Most storage centers are happy to accommodate activities beyond mere storage. Many storage center websites encourage people who need a place for band practice or need a workshop to rent out a storage room. They promise clean climate controlled environments that are accessible at any point in time. Most offer great deals on the first months fees, and the superior storage centers that exist make it just as easy to cancel your rental agreement as it is to sign up for one.

I’d check before aspiring to run an actual business straight from a storage center – storage facilities probably have a problem with people coming by to visit your flea market – but so long as you’re simply using the space for a business and not for housing one, you shouldn’t have a problem. It really comes down to whether or not you interfere with other storage customers.

In the meantime before renting office space becomes necessary and affordable, see about renting a storage unit to have access to space you can use cheaply and casually for an indefinite amount of time. Starting a business drains a lot of your worry power, so don’t make things worse by adding the burdens of a lease or compromising for space with family members, roommates, or loved ones. If all you need is the bare minimum space for your business to grow, look no further than self storage centers.

Remember a good social media campaign is executed with long-term goals in mind, but we all have to start somewhere. As an entrepreneur short on time and money, try these short, quick hits to get your hands dirty before you move on to bigger things.

Step 1: Define your goals. Are you interested in driving traffic to your e-commerce site? Or are you interested in generating leads for your professional services business? Or perhaps you’re interested in only building awareness for your organization? Figure all that out and then you’re ready to move to Step 2.

Step 2: Get inside the mind of your customers and prospects. Don’t launch any social media campaign without first thinking through why your customers and prospects are interested in connecting with you. What’s in it for them? How is connecting with you in their best interest? What will they learn by connecting with you?

Step 3: Focus your initial energies on a handful of platforms. Start by putting a company profile on LinkedIn. Then create a Fan Page on Facebook. Follow that by creating a Twitter account. But don’t do any of these things unless you will put some serious effort behind it. Don’t create a Twitter account and ignore it—that’s a waste of everybody’s time.

Step 4: Drive people to your LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter channels. Remember, a social media channel is similar to a television channel—it’s your specific connection to your “viewers.” If you’re going to drive people to your channels, make sure they have a reason to go there. Will they be able to get helpful information or a white paper? Will they be able to participate in a sweepstakes or a promotion? Will they be directed to a blog post that helps them in some way?

Step 5: Repeat Step 4. We’re serious. Don’t move on until you’ve repeated Step 4 and spent a good amount of energy driving people to your LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter channels.

Step 6: Upload content regularly. Now that you’ve driven an initial batch of people to your newly uploaded channels, you need to continuously update them with new and interesting information. Remember, your goal is to build a long-term relationship with your customers and prospects, so be sure to upload information that answers the “What’s in it for me?” question.

Step 7: Keep your initial channels running while you explore other platforms. Don’t move to other social networking channels until the first batch is running smoothly and you are continuously updating them. After that happens, you can shift gears and start exploring some of the other platforms that help you network. Remember, the key is to build (or rebuild) relationships with people before you start doing the hard sell. But when the relationship is established, you can say, “Did I mention that I sell insurance?” or “Have you seen our new e-commerce site that sells premium coffee?”

Now you’ve planted your business-development seeds, begin the harvest!

Jamie Turner is Chief Content Officer for The 60 Second Marketer, an online magazine providing resources for marketers and entrepreneurs. For 20+ years, he has helped firms like AT+T, Cartoon Network, CNN, Motorola, and Coca-Cola grow sales and revenue through high-impact marketing. A frequent media guest and speaker, he was recently profiled in Advertising and Promotion, a leading marketing text. Reshma Shah, Ph.D., Asst. Professor of Marketing at Emory’s Goizueta Business School, has worked in procurement for IBM, litigation consulting for Price Waterhouse, strategic planning for Unilever, and account management for Leo Burnett.

Adapted from HOW TO MAKE MONEY WITH SOCIAL MEDIA: An Insider’s Guide on Using New and Emerging Media to Grow Your Business by Jamie Turner and Reshma Shah, Ph.D. Copyright 2011. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as FT Press. All rights reserved.

They have started to put together a series of interviews and Q&A sessions with different industry figures, experienced entrepreneurs, and successful business people to build a Mentor Series. Wednesday will the second event.

Head over to Under30CEO and sign up today for tomorrow’s small business mentor series with the Editor of Inc.com Mike Hofman.

Mike has been the editor of Inc.com and a deputy editor at Inc. Magazine since he joined the company in 1996. Inc.com was nominated for a National Magazine Award for Digital Media in 2010, and was named the best business website by Folio Magazine. In 2006, Hofman was part of a team of writers nominated for a Webby Award for best business blog.

The event will be about 1 hour long where all attendees will have the chance to ask Mike their small business questions. The session will open with a handful of pre-determined questions.

Don’t forget:  Wednesday, May 4th at 3PM ET

Also, if you are interested, here is a list of some of the people that are already lined up for future Mentor Series events:

• Rod Kurtz, Editor of AOL Small Business
• Mike Micalowicz, Author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur
• Carl Grant, Cooley LLP
• Donna Fenn, INC Magazine
• Pam Slim, Author of Escape From Cubicle Nation
• Barry Moltz, Author of BAM! Delivering Customer Service in a Self-Service World

You Call the Shots: Succeed Your Way– and Live the Life You Want– with the 19 Essential Secrets of Entrepreneurship

The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur: The tell-it-like-it-is guide to cleaning up in business, even if you are at the end of your roll.

Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition

Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion

Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t

Have you read any of these? All of them? What did you think? Leave a comment below!