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Before I reveal the 7 keys to the PERFECT home based business, let’s set the stage:

Imagine yourself earning a comfortable living of $60,000 or $100,000 per year, or even more from home doing things you love. Or maybe you would rather just earn an extra $500 or $1,000 a month to help with the bills or to buy a few toys.

Imagine being able to stop being a wage slave forever and going up to your boss with a big smile on your face as you say “take this job and shove it”, in a friendly way, of course:-).

Imagine yourself in a beautiful new home, a new car, or a new boat.

Or how about being able to spend more quality time with your family?

Think of the freedom you’ll have when you can take lots of great vacations without having to get an OK from a boss for the time off.

If you’re nearing retirement age like me, imagine being able to retire with money to spare. No more worries about Social Security going bankrupt.

OK. So, enough already about all that. Right? Who doesn’t imagine or want at least some of these things, if not all of them?

There are a lot of so-called home based business “opportunities” that promise all of the above and more. But, as you probably already know, not all of these opportunities are real opportunities. If you’ve ever tried to make money from home with multi-level marketing or envelope stuffing or any of a hundred other “opportunities”, you know what I mean.

Many of these so-called “opportunities” will have you spending so much time and effort just to earn a little extra money that you could end up earning less than the minimum wage. Sometimes there are so many demands on your time and money that the business ends up owning you, instead of you owning the business.

I know that’s not the kind of opportunity you’re looking for. Don’t waste any more of your precious time and money trying out the “next great opportunity” and then the next, and then one more, until you feel like quitting altogether. Isn’t it time to stop spending money on every new opportunity, and to finally start earning some money?

Well, what’s the solution then? How can you finally discover the one opportunity that is really the best?

Here’s the solution.

Every home based business opportunity that you consider needs to be checked out first to make sure it fits the definition of The PERFECT (TM) home business before you invest your time and money in it.

Then, once you’re convinced you have found the perfect home business, you can focus on that one alone and make it a success.

No more wasted time and money chasing after every opportunity that comes along. Wouldn’t that be refreshing?

Yes, you can discover and start the successful home business you’ve always wanted.

Here’s how:

The 7 Keys
Each letter in the word “PERFECT” stands for one of the 7 keys of a successful PERFECT (TM) home based business. Each key is something your home based business opportunity MUST have in order for you to enjoy the financial freedom and lifestyle you desire. Does the home business opportunity you are considering meet the requirements in each of these 7 keys?

The PERFECT (TM) Home Based Business must be:

P: Profitable
E: Easy
R: Real
F: Fits With Your Desired Lifestyle
E: E-Friendly
C: Competitive
T: Testable At Low Risk

This article is an introduction to the PERFECT (TM) Home Based Business concept.

There are seven more articles is this series. Each article shows you what each of the above 7 keys means and why it is so important. Stick with me now and read each of the 7 additional articles. You’ll be glad you did.

If you’re really to ready start making some money in a home based business without working 60 hours per week and without throwing your money down the “home business opportunity rat hole”, make sure the opportunity you grab now is the PERFECT (TM) home based business opportunity.

This is the first in a series of seven articles that tell you how to sift through all the home business opportunities you hear about every day, and find the PERFECT home based business for you.

Are you ready to start making some real money in your own home business without working 60 hours per week? Are you ready to stop throwing your money down the “home business opportunity rat hole”?

Read on and I’ll show you how to test every home based business opportunity to make sure it fits the definition of The PERFECT Home Business, before you invest your time and money. Then, focus on the one that fits the best, and make it a success.

Each letter in the word “P.E.R.F.E.C.T.” stands for one of the 7 keys to finding the perfect home based business. Each key is something your home based business opportunity MUST have in order for you to enjoy the financial freedom and lifestyle you want.

What makes an opportunity P.E.R.F.E.C.T.? The “P” in PERFECT stands for “Profitable”. If your business isn’t profitable, why do it? If it isn’t highly profitable, you won’t be able to earn enough to make it worth your time, or you won’t be able to grow your business by reinvesting your profits back into the business.

“Profitable” means:

• High gross profit margin (preferably greater than 65%) and net profits of 20% of sales or better before taxes.

If you sell something for $1.00 and it costs you $.50, your gross profit margin is 50%. That’s about the profit margin most retail stores get. You need to do better than that to survive and thrive in your home business.

All of your other expenses such as advertising, overhead, and so on, have to come out of your gross profit before you have any “net profit”. If you sell something for $1.00 and the costs of your product, including all of your other expenses, add up to $.90, you only have ten cents per dollar in net profit (that’s a 10% net profit).

So, for example, if you want to earn $50,000 per year from home with a 10% net profit, you would have to sell $500,000 worth of your product. Wow, that’s a lot of product. Wouldn’t it be better to only have to sell $250,000 worth of product, or even less, to earn your $50,000 income goal?

That’s why you need a business with at least 20% net profit. And, if you really could sell $500,000 worth of products, wouldn’t it be better to have 20% net profit and earn $100,000 per year on that $500,000 in sales? The PERFECT home based business may even enable you to earn up to 40%-60% or more (sometimes more than 90%) in net profit. Yes, really.

At 90% net profit you would only have to sell $55,556 worth of product to earn your $50,000 income. That’s my kind of home business!

• “Profitable” also means a net profit (your “salary”) before taxes of at least $50,000 per year. And $100,000 or more per year would be more like it (unless your goal is to supplement your income to the tune of $500 to $1,000 per month. But, would you turn down $50,000 per year if you didn’t have to work any harder than you did to earn $10,000 per year?).

Your goals may be different than mine and you may be satisfied with lower profits. But, I believe you need to set your goals high, yet at a reasonable level. Then, even if you fall a little short, you will still be very successful.

• Low overhead (less than 5% of sales). Overhead is all the “fixed expenses” of running your business such as computers, printers, other equipment, furniture, office supplies, and office space rental costs.

A home based business is ideal for keeping overhead low, but you still have to be careful to minimize the space needed, the cost for utilities, and the equipment needed to run your business. Don’t go hog wild buying an expensive desk and file cabinets with your first profits. Instead, reinvest those profits in your business and keep your overhead low. You’ll be glad you did.

• Low labor content for manufacturing, assembly, or shipment of the product(s).

You don’t want to spend all of your time assembling and shipping something you sell. Most of your time should be spent on marketing and growing your sales and profits. The PERFECT home business enables you to sell products that involve little or no labor cost to make them or ship them.

• A high average order. Believe it or not, it takes as much effort to sell a $5.00 product as it does to sell a $50.00 product or a $500.00 product, maybe even more effort. So, the PERFECT home based business offers products with a high perceived value and a price well above $20.00. The exception is when you want to sell a low priced product, or even give something away, just to get customers added to your e-mail list so you can sell them other more expensive items later.

• Low initial investment required (less than $1,000 preferred). I don’t know about you, but business opportunities that require $5,000, or $25,000, or more to start scare me a little, unless the return is well worth the risk. There aren’t too many people that even have that kind of money to invest in a business. Why not find the PERFECT home based business that only requires $1,000 or less to get started, perhaps even a few hundred dollars?

• Small inventory with rapid turnover, or no inventory required. Imagine your garage or basement stacked from floor to ceiling with products waiting for someone to buy them. Yuk! Much better to fill each order as it is received without having any inventory in your home, or at least a very small inventory. The PERFECT home based business will allow you to do that.

• Repeat or backend sales potential. One of the highest marketing costs is the cost of getting a new customer. If that customer buys your product over and over from you (repeat sales of a consumable product or a monthly membership fee, for example), or if the new customer buys other products from you later (backend sales), you can dramatically increase your sales and profit. This is a very important ingredient in the recipe for a successful home based business.

So, the PERFECT Home Based Business must be PROFITABLE. More to come in the rest of this article series.

It’s not of critical character if you’re a bit conservative and insist on utilizing the tools that are time-honored, try to adjust them to the modern requirements of your enterprise, and hope that everything will work out in the end. But what’s the use of reinventing the wheel? Why not give innovations a chance and reap the benefits onwards?

You must have heard about blockchain technology and if you’ve dared consider implementing it in your sphere – that’s awesome! And so as to get hold of the technology, avoid making any mistakes during the implementation process, and foresee every eventuality, you’d better turn to blockchain consultants for help. Be sure, that an excellent result is guaranteed.

Why You Should Resort to Blockchain Consulting Services

You’re bound to know that blockchain has carved its way in so many spheres that once you get down to counting them, you stumble quite quickly. Why so? Blockchain technology provides a plethora of options along with benefits to its users who are eager to experiment with this ingenious tool. But before entering upon, you’re strongly encouraged to avail of professional consultants’ services, and let’s figure out why.

First off, blockchain consulting experts possess the information and expertise needed to understand the specific requirements of each enterprise. They’re surely well-versed in applying blockchain and know it inside out. Another positive aspect is that blockchain consultants keep in the loop about the latest trends and opportunities, thus they’ll commit themselves to introducing the best blockchain solution possible.

You’ll also be pleasantly surprised to discover that blockchain consultants can suggest arranging special workshops for your employees. This will allow them to learn the ropes of the sophisticated technology usage and share their forward-looking approach.

Needless to say, utilizing blockchain consulting services is deemed as more cost-effective in comparison with involving people who will work full-time (here you’re supposed to consider human resource issues, several employees bonuses, etc). Plus, it’s pretty evident that blockchain consultants aren’t needed on a permanent basis: they’ll help you get your business going, provide the necessary details about the tech, and undoubtedly, whenever you need additional assistance in the future, they’ll be by your side. So you can take into account this factor as well.

How You Can Benefit from Blockchain Consulting Services

The main advantage of working with blockchain consulting firms is that you can be a hundred percent sure that a team of out-and-out professionals will cooperate with you and ensure that you get a full coverage about the blockchain implementation in your enterprise. They’ll outline how exactly you’ll benefit from utilizing blockchains (it’ll be an all-encompassing detailed description including experts’ estimates and comments). Furthermore, they’ll investigate the existing issue, if there’s such, and explain to you how blockchain can resolve it.

Another important thing, which should be pointed out is that blockchain consultants are perfectly aware of how a distributed network functions. You might get bewildered and ask why this is important. Look, blockchain technology is based on distributed networks, on which smart contracts and decentralized applications run. Thanks to consulting services, clients get the gist of how the blockchain network functions and are able to suggest solutions themselves.

Besides, let’s consider one organizational aspect. The blockchain industry has specific regulations that all business owners are obliged to follow. Blockchain consultants, for their part, scrutinize these regulations and provide you with all the details that you are required to know. What’s more, they’ll be able to help tackle any issues that you might be experiencing, relying upon their previous experience working with other clients.

Role-playing games are a very specialist type of game that really need a far greater attention to detail than other less immersive genres. As the computerized version of the genre took off there were a lot of money hungry companies who decided to storm into the genre without really trying to understand what the vital elements of a role-playing game are. In some cases, these companies have actually had the audacity to buy out smaller companies who did know the genre and they destroyed long-held legacies of great traditional games.

Considering that this may have an impact on the future of computerized role-playing games I have felt it to be of importance to educate these gaming giants in an effort to help them understand the only thing that matters to them. In order to sell role-playing games you need an audience willing to buy the product and if a company consistently puts out dodgy shooters in the guise of apparent role-playing games they’ll only destroy their reputation and go bankrupt. I know that the word bankrupt is a word that these money hungry companies recognises and so I emphasise one point, try to sell dodgy shooters to role-playing fans and you will go bankrupt!

Personally, I have been a role-playing gamer for about thirty years and I fell in love with only two systems that I probably can’t name because of article writing guidelines. What I can say is that very few game producing companies have come even close to the pen and paper versions of the best role-playing games on the market, you know, the ones that people actually enjoy playing. I will say that I rejoiced when role-playing games became computerized as it meant I could do my role-playing without the need to hunt for people with similar tastes and even though some games have risen to become great role-playing games, they are sadly few and far between. On that note, of the styles of role-playing games that include pen and paper, computerized games and online games, there is only one type that can meet the fully immersive needs of a role-player and I’ll reveal why later.

Okay, what are the elements of a great role-playing game then? I’ll give you one at a time but the very most important piece of advice to keep in mind during this whole discussion is immersion. To be a truly great role-playing game, it has to grab the players attention and not deliver diversions that allow the player to slip back into the reality of the real world. The player must be kept in the fictional world if they are to feel that they have experienced a great role-playing game.

One of the most vital elements of immersion is a storyline; a really believable and yet gripping storyline. A role player doesn’t want to load up the newest game and find to their dismay that storyline consists of the flimsy idea that they have to kill heaps of things to get enough experience to kill the apparent bad guy. Who wants to play a game where the bad guy is designated the bad guy without good reason? Have you played a game where you are part of one group of people and you’ve been chosen to defeat the other group of people but there’s no actual evidence that shows why the other group is bad? The worst of these are the recent thug games where one criminal organisation wants to defeat another criminal organisation and you’re the hitman. Who is really that stupid to fall for such a terrible storyline? It’s certainly not for intelligent role-players.

A good storyline can’t be a shallow excuse for a war and it has to be something you’d want to be a part of. The storyline also has to be included in the gameplay itself and delivered in a way that doesn’t interrupt the reality of the gameplay either. There’s nothing worse than a big cut-scene that drops into the middle of the game and makes you sit idle for more than a minute or two. For role-play gamers, the immersion of the game comes from being the character, not from watching the cut-scenes as if you were watching television. What’s next… advertisements?

Another part of a great game play experience is being aware that you have been a part of the fictional world since you were born. This is conveyed by knowing where things are in the world and knowing who the current leaders are, along with knowing current events. This can be done cleverly by feeding snippets of information in a natural manner during conversations with non-player characters. Some extremely vital information can be revealed in otherwise meaningless banter, just like in the world you’re immersed in right now.

One thing that will jolt a role player out of a game is a sudden unwanted conversation with a hastily introduced character who explains where the next local town is and that you have to be careful because there’s a war on or some such thing. This is only done in games where the maps are updated as you discover places of interest. Making a major city that lies not ten miles from your current position something that you have to discover is ridiculous at best and only suits scenarios where you’ve been teleported into a new reality or you’ve lost your memory although the latter should be used sparingly as there are already too many games out there that rely on the character having amnesia. Discovery can be implemented in far more subtle ways by having secret areas within already well-known places and it is this that gives a role-player a sense of discovery.

Another immersion problem is the introduction of a love interest in a game without any participation on your part. You’re playing away, minding your own business and then all of a sudden, one of the infatuated characters that you never knew existed, has an impact on gameplay because of a supposed vital role they play in the group you’re a part of. They should, at the least, allow a bit of flirting in the conversation paths before a love interest is thrust into the mix. For me, someone suddenly having that kind of interest is an immersion breaker because there was nothing at all that prompted a relationship. If there is a love interest possibility in the game, then it needs to be introduced in a believable way and shouldn’t be out of the characters control.

There was one game in which this happened and the involvement of two love interests was the excuse for one of the non-player characters to do worse at being a support while the other became a great support. Sure, the idea was novel but it was also very childish because it assumed that these two love interests were so enamoured with the player that neither could do without him. It was worse than watching Baywatch or Desperate Housewives.

I’m only going to add one more element to the mix because I just wouldn’t reach a conclusion if I allowed myself to point out every requirement of the best role-playing games. As I stated before, the important factor is immersion. A real deal breaker for me is the inability to develop the type of character I want. I’ve encountered this more often than not in games where you have no choice over the skills that you character can develop. Of course, this is the worst scenario and there are many games that allow limited development but there are only a handful of games that allow a real sense of development.

A truly great role-playing game has to allow players to develop in any direction and compensate for this flexibility by incorporating multiple paths through the game. There’s no point in creating a computerized role-playing game if the character does the same thing in every single play through of the game. The most annoying of these issues is a game where you can have a spell wielding character but they develop the exact same spells at exactly the same point in every run of the game. It’s a little more forgivable for warrior types but even in this case there are many games which allow for dozens of different fighting styles.

Now, if I were to continue with this discussion I’d add other topics like the renaming of attributes with no good cause, allowing for more than one quest to be given at a time, real world purchase requirements during the game and other ridiculous practices.

I did promise to show which game type was the best for role-playing games though so, here it is. Non-online computerized games are the only games that allow for full immersion and I’ll explain why.

Unlike table-top games, you aren’t interrupted by the requirement to physically reach out and move pieces which takes you out of the role of the piece itself. Compared to pen and paper games, you aren’t required to look up tables or enter long boring discussions on how rules should be interpreted. Massively multiplayer online role-playing games don’t meet the requirements either and I know some of you will be surprised but when was the last time you were playing a computerized role-playing game and one of the other players had to leave because they had to go to work and they informed you it was a different time in their part of the world.

Computerized role-playing games are the only role-playing game type where the characters stay in the game, you don’t have to suddenly work out if something is allowable by the rules and the user interface stays consistent so that the immersion is most efficient.

In conclusion, the best role-playing games are stand-alone home computer based and don’t involve interaction with other real world people who will throw a spanner in the immersion works. The storyline must be solid and delivered in a natural manner, a deliverable assumption that your character already knows the fictional world, no instant love interests out of nowhere and the ability to develop your character in any direction seamlessly along with plot paths that allow for these developments.

I only hope that the gaming companies pay attention to this and realise that they are making role-playing games for role-players and if they’re not in the market for role-players, then they should call their games by a different genre.

Would you like to learn some highly effective digital marketing strategies? But first of all, what is “digital marketing”? Some people believe it’s a different form of internet marketing, but in truth, it’s actually the same thing. These days people come up with all different kinds of terms to re-describe the same thing. Digital marketing is the same thing – people are just trying to profit off of a different wording of the same topic.

I’m sure you’ve probably also heard the terms: “inbound marketing”, “influencer marketing”, “outbound marketing”, and etc. But all of those are the same concepts of internet marketing strategies that have been already tested and proven to work. These people are just now figuring this stuff out. So digital marketing is just internet marketing. And also, some people get it confused with eBook marketing.

If you’ve ever heard of someone say “digital download”, that means that a product will be available for you to download immediately after you order. This is called a “digital product”. This is not digital marketing in its full form. Digital marketing is just a familiar term that people interchangeably use to describe tactics for promoting your products on the internet. With that out of the way, would you finally like to learn some highly effective digital marketing strategies?

I want to go over a few concepts that will allow you to soar past your competitors and get you the increased traffic, sales, and profits that you are looking for. These tactics are easy to use and implement, and are simple ways that you can improve everything that you’re doing within a short period of time. Let’s take a look at the first strategy that you can use to improve your digital marketing efforts:

1) Guest blog posts

It doesn’t matter what industry or niche that you operate in. With guest blog posts, you can stand out and position yourself as the “go to person” in your niche for whatever you do. You will stand out as the authority and the expert that people will instantly think of whenever your line of work comes to mind. This is essential to know, because credibility is everything online, and standing out as the obvious expert is a crucial step in gaining more new sales.

So I guess you’re wondering what guest blog posts are huh? It’s okay if you don’t know. A guest blog post is simply a lengthy and informative blog post about something that you’re knowledgeable about. The blog that you submit your guest blog post to should be in your niche, and shouldn’t be a rival competitor of yours. Do you know why this is such a highly effective strategy?

Usually high traffic and famous blogs in your niche will have a high readership. This means TONS of free promotion for you and your website – should your information be good – and should the blog owner request that you send more blog posts. If you can get a partnership where the blog owers wants to exclusively collaborate with you because you offer great content, this could be an endless supply of free traffic for you.

Plus, you have to think about the syndication that this will get you also on social media. The more blogs you post on, and the awesome job that you do, the more your reputation will increase, and the more you will become an expert on your subject. Soon people will be coming to you, looking for more of your great information that they can use in their lives. Here’s another highly effective digital marketing strategy that you can do:

2) Viral eBook marketing

Viral eBook marketing can do wonders for your website traffic and your business. Imagine writing a free eBook about a topic in your niche, and having it available for download on your website. You can put your website link(s) all over it, and tell the readers that they can offer it for free on their website (as a form of free content), and that they should pass it around to their friends and colleagues.

This can be an amazing free traffic tool for you. The more people who download it will have the ability to use it for themselves, offer it for free, and recommend it to others. Soon with enough people downloading your free eBook, it can take off on its own and be a major traffic tool for you without you doing a thing. As long as the content is good and it benefits people, offer it on your website and let it do its thing.

You will want to include your homepage link inside of it, your affiliate program link, a link to your blog or articles page, and a link to a page that has your products or services on it. That way while people are reading through your book, they will have the chance to click through to your site multiple times and potentially sign up for one of your offers. This can be a big deal.

Not only that, you can submit it to the free eBook directories. eBook directories store your eBook for people to read, download, and use for promotional content on their site. Plus on some eBook directories, they require a direct link – thus giving you a high quality and relevant backlink to your site. This is digital marketing 101, and once you put it into use, you’ll see how well it can work for your business.

How are most small business owners losing thousands of dollars every year? Eva Rosenberg, author of Small Business Taxes Made Easy notes, “Many small businesses are cheating themselves out of at least $2,000 to $3,000 worth of tax benefits a year by not knowing the deductions and credits available to them.”

For travel agents, travel is a tax write-off — whether to an industrial center or an island resort! If a purpose is to discuss business with other travelers, have business appointments, or to attend a business-related seminar, you go tax free. Travel agents may also deduct their travel if it is simply for the purpose of familiarizing themselves with a resort, ship, tour, etc. This means that almost any travel an agent does can be a tax write-off! It is helpful if prior to the trip you can substantiate prior planning for familiarization or for making business contacts. Your spouse’s travel can even be deductible if the individual is part of your business or his or her presence is helpful in conducting your business.

Transportation expenses include all those costs incurred getting to and from your destination: airfare, vehicle, on-the-road expenses such as lodging, meals, laundry, dry cleaning, and others. For fees under $75 it is not necessary to keep receipts. For example, if while traveling you pay $20 for dry cleaning, the IRS does not demand a receipt. The only exception is for lodging. If you stay overnight, you must get a receipt for your payment. If you drive your car, 300 miles per day is allowable tax free.

For foreign travel, you can deduct all weekends and holidays that fall between business days and you can deduct on-the-road expenses for days in transit. In the case of cruise ships, you can claim it as a deduction if you can substantiate that you used the trip to familiarize yourself with this cruise package/ship.

First and foremost, whether you’re in the travel business or some other, the IRS’s primary requirement is that you legitimately treat your home business as a business — not a hobby. That means regularly working your business. Hand out your business card, talk to people, all the time, everywhere you go about travel. Let them know you are a travel agent and would appreciate their business.

When you’re out to lunch or dinner with other travel agents, prospects, or friends and you discuss “business”, your meal is 50 percent tax deductible. Some try to also write off trips to the theater, opera, or sports events because they’re “entertaining a possible client.” Be careful with this one. Entertainment expenses are generally non-deductible. If you try to claim deductions for sporting events, gala or social nights, concerts or other similar functions you’d better be able to substantiate that you were dealing with possible customers. If you definitely discuss business matters with a client or possible client while at the event, this does open the door to a possible deduction.

Home to work travel is deductible in limited circumstances – for example, if you are engaged in itinerant work, but many independent travel agents have a home office. A home office deduction is available if a portion of your home is used as a principal place of business, you meet or deal with clients or customers, you use it to conduct administrative or management functions, or you store some sort of inventory or product samples. You should use your office at least three to four days per week or 10 to 12 hours per week. In regard to indirect business expenses, you can receive a deduction of approximately 12 to 16 percent based on the square footage or the number of rooms in your home. Home computers, fax machines, telephones, office supplies, and office furniture are tax deductible. But it’s important to have your home office on business cards, have business visitors sign a logbook, keep a work-activity log for time spent, or be able to demonstrate work you have accomplished online from your home office.

It is wise to keep a separate “tax diary” of appointments, general transportation, meals, trips, business appointments, contacts. If the IRS ever questions your claims and you don’t have receipts for everything, this tax diary will be of great assistance.

So what in heaven’s name are you waiting for? If you love travel and have some time to travel, becoming a travel agent is a no-brainer. It is easy and inexpensive to become an agent and between hugely discounted trips and the tax write-offs, the savings can be almost unlimited.

The author, Debra Fortosis, is a travel agent. She owns a travel business named MnD Getaways and she loves helping people book travel. She will even help individuals set up their own travel business for a tiny fraction of what might be expected.

When you are going on a trip to attend conferences or to have fun like going to a safari, it starts with searching for travel packages online or getting help from a travel agency. However, before deciding, you must know what you can expect from an online agency to find out the best way to match your needs. The level of service you need would depend on your personal preferences as well as the requirements of your trip.

There are lots of options available whether you choose self-service wherein you can do the searching and booking by yourself, or full-service travel agency that would take care of everything on your behalf – accommodation, meal plans, sites to visit, etc. Depending on the type of trip you will have, there are also different choices you may consider. Some travel agencies only offer packages and others offer a la carte travel services, where you can pick items and pay for each separately.

Expectations on Online Travel Agencies

There are also expectations that are common to every online travel agency. It has something to do with the affordability and quality of the services as well as the level of service offered. When going on tours, the travel expert must meet these expectations before choosing them as your travel plan partner.

Variety of Packages and Destinations

It is not important what specialty the agency have – from niche travel, such as unusual destinations or cruises, to full-service travel. Regardless of what they sell, you need a travel agency that offers options. If you think that the first option you find has the best value, you have no way of verifying that unless there are other options available for you to compare. A reliable self-service or full-service online travel agency provides comparison information to help you decide.

Offers Same Types of Travel from Different Providers

An example of this is when you choose among available flights between two airlines for the same flight leg. An online travel agency cannot be considered as such if they represent only one brand, and if so, customers have no way of determining whether the products or services they offer are valuable or useless. If you can choose among several providers, it means the travel company updates their website with the best options and prices available.

Price Competitiveness

When going on a tour, such as the safaris, some travel companies charge fees to their customers in order to offset their expenses, but those fees should be fair. The rates for the travel services indicated online must be simply what you need to pay if you decide to directly deal with the provider. You should actually pay less for a package plan with other services.

Make You an Instant VIP

Sometimes, it is just hard to get a reservation in some restaurants, and a good travel agency can get that for you. They can even provide you private guides, access to exclusive exhibits, and cheaper premium airfares.

Service-Level Guarantee

This will ensure that you will be treated in a polite manner and you will get what you pay for. They can also take care of little details such as a car hire to make sure that you will not be ripped off. They should also provide you with an assurance that no probable action on their end or the service provider will disrupt your travel.

Possibly the best thing about going online when looking for a travel agency is that you can see customer reviews. You can read their comments about their experiences on the tour, even things such as their transportation from the airport to the hotel and other destinations. You can expect a lot of things from an online travel agency, but if they have these qualities, it guarantees that you will have the best deals.

One of the biggest competitions of today is staying fit. It seems like people nowadays want to lose weight instantly as if there is no tomorrow or it is as if it is a passport for the general population. Losing weight and staying fit is never easy. Following health fitness tips requires a lot of behavioral changes to be able to attain the desired fitness. With modern technology and medications, weight loss treatments have sprouted everywhere like grass and weeds in a garden. Due to its high demand, statistics show that up to 40 to 50 billion US dollars are spent annually for weight loss alone. Together with unproven medications containing dangerous components, health fitness tips have also swarmed the Internet, for determined followers to turn to. They either have to take in the pill or follow a lenient lifestyle modification.

The main factors that help one lose weight are diet and lifestyle. Diet, more than anything, dictates the shape of one’s figure. With today’s rampant fast food chains, food may just be as sinful as it can be. Some simple tips on diet may help with a few instructions. What ought to be eliminated initially on one’s diet is red meat. Red meat is hard to resist as they come in different displays such as mouth-watering burgers and the like but risks of certain health conditions are linked to consumption of red meat. Since red meat is high in purine, daily consumption of red meat can lead to gout. Red meat is also high on fats, which may eventually help in faulty weight gain. Instead, eat fish meat, chicken or turkey meat. Health Fitness tips also recommends eating baked, grilled, broiled or boiled foods instead of fried ones. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables are also in the list of Health Fitness tips. Only be sure that the dressing is not high on caloric count otherwise, the healthy green is pointless.

Health fitness tips also point to lifestyle modification. Diet always come hand in hand with exercise to obtain maximum effect of fitness. Exercise comes in a very broad range personalized for different body mass indexes but the main point in exercise is to slowly increase the workload as time progresses. Health fitness tip number one on exercise is to stretch first before the workout. Strenuous exercise can produce too much lactic acid in the muscles, which will then cause muscular pains. Another health fitness tip on exercise is to prevent doing the same exercise over and over. Eventually, when the body adjusts to the activity, it is recommended to increase or change the exercise regimen to explore different ways of maximizing body potential.

Health fitness tips also recommend that vices should be stopped. Smoking predisposes one to vascular conditions such as arteriosclerosis and heart diseases. Alcohol consumption need not be eliminated but should be limited to 30 jiggers a day only. Alcohol still has health benefits such as vasodilation. These are just some of what Health fitness tips recommend.

Remodeling an investment property and then selling it on is a very common strategy nowadays and one that has attracted a lot of investors. Some will remodel and sell immediately, but others will remodel and hold the property for a couple of years after having installed tenants.

The term “you make money when you buy” is well known because when involved in property investing it is advantageous to buy the property at the cheapest possible price. This attitude does upset some sellers, but on the other hand there are hundreds of sellers who ‘need’ or ‘want’ to quit a property very quickly and a cashed up investor is just the person they need to help them out of their predicament.

The question then is, “where do you find such properties?”

There are hundreds of properties that come on the market every year where the owner is prepared to sell below market value. Of course there are circumstances that cause this situation and they range from:

· A job transfer

· A marriage break up

· An estate

· A financial crisis

· Plus other forced situations

When these situations occur the owner is more than happy to sell below market value because it suits their situation to do so and they are prepared (sometimes happily other times not) to wear the cost of the lower sale price.

Renovating.

If you are buying the property to renovate then you are well in advance if you can knock say 15% off the market value at the time of purchase.

Say you bought a property for $170,000 and it was worth $200,000, you spend $45,000 on a quality renovation which takes 3 months, and you sell it for $295,000, you have made a handsome profit – $80,000 less costs of sale and purchase.

On the other hand if you paid the full price of $200,000 and did the property renovating at $45,000 and sold for $295,000 you have only made $45,000 less buying and selling and costs, making a lot less for your work.

Making money from remodeling investment properties.

Now you see how you can make a profit from one job.

Here is a process that you could consider to make serious money from your property investment remodelling on a full-time basis if you have sufficient capital behind you.

1. Go to contract on property #1 on a 60 day contract and get busy doing your remodelling plans.

2. Settle the property and take 3 months to do the renovation job.

3. When you have settled #1 property, go to contract on the #2 property for a 90 day settlement and get those remodelling plans drawn up.

4. Complete and sell #1 property then go to contract on property #3 on a 90 day contract.

You can see how rolling over the contracts and allowing the time in between contracts you can do 3-4 renovations a year with a satisfactory profit each time.

If rehabbing properties is your thing and you really enjoy it then you most probably will look at doing several a year and live off the income as well. Many a property investor has left their day job and gone into full-time property investing using this strategy.

Remember to always err on the side of caution, do thorough checks before buying, when writing up your materials checklists and at all times during the process. Ensure that your contractors are registered and insured for their work. Keep a buffer up your sleeve as not all renovations go as projected and you may need some extra money for unforeseen expenses to complete the job. Otherwise, enjoy the experience of remodeling an investment property.

The occurrence of a politically motivated terrorist attack grabs the immediate attention of travelers. This is especially true when the attack takes place in a country the traveler is scheduled to visit or is already visiting.

How can travelers protect their travel costs – and ensure medical care and evacuation coverage – in the case of a terrorist attack?

Most insurance companies rely on the U.S. State Department to publicly declare an attack to be terrorism as the deciding factor that allows for coverage. Once that is established, there are two separate time periods during which most travel insurance plans will cover insured travelers:

after they buy their insurance plan but before they leave on their trip
during the trip

Insurance for Terrorism Before Your Trip Leaves

Consider this situation: You are leaving on a two-week tour of India next Wednesday. Your prepaid itinerary includes a scheduled visit to the city of Mumbai. On Saturday before your trip a bomb explodes in downtown Mumbai killing people. The U.S. State Department publicly declares that this was an act of terrorism. When you booked your trip you bought a comprehensive travel insurance policy with terrorism coverage. Now you want to cancel your trip to India.

How does the travel insurance plan protect you?

You may cancel the trip because the terrorism occurred within a city on your pre-booked travel schedule, within 30 days of departure, and after the effective date of your trip cancellation coverage.
You will normally receive up to a full refund of your prepaid trip cost.
Some plans, however, may only reimburse you in the form of a credit allowing you to rebook a future trip.
If you want a cash refund, you need to check insurance plan terms before buying. But be sure it provides a refund, not a travel credit.
Purchasing Tip: Usually a travel insurance plan you buy from a travel agent or from an insurance company will have stronger coverage than a plan you buy directly from the travel company taking you on the trip.

Insurance for Terrorism During Your Trip

Consider this situation: You are on your trip to India. While riding the train into the city of Mumbai, a bomb goes off in the passenger car in front of you. People are killed and you are rescued uninjured with others from the damaged train. Now you want to return home from India as soon as possible.

How does the travel insurance plan protect you?

Trip Interruption coverage will reimburse your additional expenses for transportation home not included in the prepaid trip cost.
It covers your prepaid costs of unused, non-refundable land or sea travel not yet taken before your trip was interrupted.
Worldwide emergency travel assistance from a good insurance company will help arrange to get you home, or to safety and then home.

Medical Coverage

Consider this situation: You are seriously injured during the same terrorist attack on the train going into Mumbai. You need immediate medical attention.

How does the travel insurance plan protect you?

Your emergency medical expenses and medical evacuation expenses are normally covered.
Your insurance company will provide a medical consultant to arrange your medical transport, treatment and payment with healthcare providers.
A good insurance plan will pay to fly your dependent child or children home. It may pay for an adult to fly to your bedside if no one is with you.
Your coverage will prepay or reimburse your additional expenses for transportation home not included in the prepaid trip cost.
Worldwide emergency travel assistance will arrange to get you home, with a medical attendant if needed, when you are able to travel.

Why Would You NOT be Covered for Terrorism?

When does travel insurance not protect you for terrorism and why?

You have already booked your trip to India and hear Mumbai might be a terrorist target. You want to cancel even though nothing happened yet.
You are scheduled to travel to Mumbai, India, on May 15. The terrorist attack occurs on March 20. You want to cancel. The attack did not occur within 30 days of your scheduled departure so there is no coverage.
You are scheduled to visit Mumbai, India, and a terrorist attack occurs in Goa, India. You are not scheduled to visit Goa so there is no coverage.
Your prepaid itinerary does not include visiting Mumbai. During your trip you go there on your own. A terrorist attack occurs while you are there. There is no coverage. You did not include Mumbai in your prepaid plans.

To cancel prior to your trip and obtain coverage that might otherwise be denied, such as due to fear an attack might happen, a “Cancel for Any Reason” upgrade is an option that most travel insurance companies offer. It allows you to cancel up to two days prior to departure, usually for a partial refund of up to 75% of prepaid trip costs. Most such plans must be purchased with 14 days of your initial trip deposit.

How will travel insurance protect you in the face of terrorist threats and actual acts of terrorism? It pays to know the facts. If you purchase travel insurance for terrorism coverage, make sure you fully understand your options.