Im Making Money

This was probably inevitable: the minute that Dodd-Frank cracked down on the fees charged by credit cards aimed at students, some other bright financial innovation would crop up. This time, a debit card aimed at students. Which carries lots of fees. Ylan Mui reports that a company called Higher One has started signing up colleges around the country, taking on the burden of providing cash to students. In return, it gets lots of fees:

Students say several of the fees associated with Higher One’s card are particularly irksome, including the $19 inactivity fee, a 50-cent charge for using a PIN to make a purchase rather than a signature, and a $2.50 fee for using other banks’ ATMs…

Higher One said that only 1 percent of customers have been charged an inactivity fee and that more than half are charged the 50-cent fee only once. All fees are listed on Higher One’s Web site, along with tips on avoiding them.

“We have a big effort with educating students on how to use the account,” Smith said. “We’re very passionate about financial literacy.”

If the fees are listed on Higher One’s website, they’re not exactly prominent. I did find this page, eventually, via this blog entry, but it just says that “when you swipe & sign, you won’t be charged the PIN-based transaction fee”. I haven’t been able to find a page showing a 50-cent transaction fee anywhere*, although I did manage to find this page, showing a $25 fee for domestic wire transfers and a $50 fee for international wire transfers. “Higher One offers less costly alternatives for transferring funds”, it says, without giving any indication what they might be; I suspect that what they’re talking about is transfers to or from people who have already registered somehow with Higher One.

It should go without saying that any firm which is “very passionate about financial literacy” would encourage, rather than penalize, simple, cheap and safe PIN-debit transactions. It would not give students a debit card and then tell them that if they want to avoid fees they should select the “credit” option rather than the “debit” option when they come to pay.

And I can’t think of any good reason to charge a $19 inactivity fee to people who haven’t used their cards in 9 months.

The fact is that students are often very naive when it comes to money, and it’s easy to gouge them once or twice before they learn that banks are not necessarily on their side. If you can get your card accepted by a majority of freshmen every year, and then come up with all manner of weird fees to hit them with, that’s a great way of making money out of ignorance.

Meanwhile, all students should have a bank account: giving them a debit card instead only serves to maximize the number of unbanked students. So while I’m sure cards like this are attractive to colleges, it would be great if either the colleges or else the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau started being a lot more critical of them. Prepaid cards only ever make sense if the alternative is being completely unbanked; that should not ever be the case for students.

*At Southern Oregon University, Higher One agreed to waive the 50-cent PIN-debit charge, but only if there was a simultaneous “swipe-and-sign” campaign. If the campaign is unsuccessful and students do the sensible thing by using PIN debit, then the university can be charged $2 per student for “PIN fee elimination”.

Update: Higher One’s Donald Smith responds:

Higher One was founded 10 years ago by three college students (undergraduates at the time) who were looking for streamlining the way financial aid refunds were distributed to students. Today we work with more than 675 campuses across the country, have a 97% client retention rating, and an A+ rating with the BBB.

The OneAccount is Higher One’s optional, no minimum balance, no monthly fee, FDIC-Insured checking account created by students for students. We do not offer a stored value card. We are very open with our fee schedule. We post it on every program website for all to access, explain each fee, discuss how to avoid each fee, and provide students with a web page that tells them how to use the account for free (which you’ve already found). Because of this, we believe that our customers pay less than half the amount in fees that the average bank checking account customer pays per year.

Two of the fees you referenced in your blog are the PIN fee and the Abandoned Account Fee. The PIN fee is easily avoided by choosing a signature based transaction at the checkout. The majority of students uses it in this manner and is in turn protected by MasterCard’s Zero Liability Policy against fraudulent charges (a safer way of purchasing than a PIN based transaction). We do not have an inactivity fee on our fee schedule – we don’t penalize students who do not use their accounts. We do have an Abandoned Account Fee of up to $19, for those who have abandoned their accounts, but this has been charged to less than 1% of all OneAccount holders in our company’s history because of our proactive outreach plan.

Higher One offers no instruments of credit. As a matter of fact, we’re generally in favor of initiatives restricting students’ access to credit cards and promoting financial literacy. This is why we offer a full range of financial literacy resources along with the services we provide.

I particularly dislike the implication, here, that PIN-based transactions are unsafe. They’re not; they’re just less lucrative, in terms of interchange fees, than signature-based transactions.

"Two Large Cod and a Chainsaw.”  If that sounds like a Monty Python still life, then welcome to the slightly surreal world of Episode 5, which featured, among other oddities, bodies swinging over a fjord, fish dragged up a hill, a medieval knight straight out of “The Seventh Seal” and, for good measure, a decapitated farm animal.

This last item formed a kind of Satan’s Passover for doctor Kat, whose attempts to eat a sheep’s head (as part of what the Land of the Midnight Sun likes to call “a traditional Christmas ritual”) ran up against three serious obstacles.  1) Kat hasn’t eaten meat in 22 years.  2) Her meal was staring at her the entire time.  3) The ghost of Bernard Herrmann was cranking up the accompanying music to “Psycho”-like distress levels.  But Kat stayed cool.  “Crunchy romaine lettuce,” she murmured in a trance of denial.  “Calamari.  Cucumbers.”  Until at last she hit on the winning formula: “It tastes like money!”

Or at least victory.  By dint of their gustatory valor, Kat and fellow doc Nat vaulted straight to the finish line, where presumably some vomit bucket was waiting just offscreen.  Not so lucky were the beach-volleyball Amazons, who were eliminated just as I was beginning to tell them apart.  While undeniably lovely, Katie and Rachel have remained stubbornly undeveloped as characters, and in this final outing they were reduced to uttering Lombardi-isms like “We don’t lose” and “This is not ‘Amazing Friend,’ it’s ‘Amazing Race,’ ” which served to only underscore how amazingly far behind they were. 

You won’t find this, probably, in any contestant briefing, but “The Amazing Race” is really two races: one for bucks, one for hearts and minds.  And it’s the latter competition that is most definitely heating up.  Michael’s nutcracker mouth and fractured English grow more winning with each passing week.  (When informed that one challenge would require “strength, stamina and guts,” he proudly cackled: “I don’t have none!”)  Brook, with her verve and gumption, has accomplished the extraordinary feat of making me revisit my feelings about the Home Shopping Network.  I didn’t even mind when she invoked dead relations to get Claire up that rope of doom.  “Pray to your grandma!” shouted Brook.  “She’ll get you through this.  Just think of your grandma and how strong she was.  She’d be encouraging you the whole way.”  Personally, I think Grandma would be saying, “Why the hell are you dangling hundreds of feet over a Norwegian fjord?” but then again, the only thing my grandmother ever got dirty was her martini. 

And now, please, a moment of celebration for Vicki the Tattooed Lady, who is quietly exposing boyfriend Nick for the sack of bluster he is.  Despite “riding dirt bikes competitively” since he was 12, Nick was left gasping in Vicki’s wake as she pedaled toward the next clue.  And this was just after she’d hoisted herself up and down a rappelling line with nary a whine or grimace.  As Vicki herself explained: “I’m the one who has the guts in this relationship.”  Testify, sister.  And if you ever end up in a women’s penitentiary — as occasionally seems possible — the queenship of Cell Block H is yours for the taking. 

— Louis Bayard

Photo: Nat and Kat faced with the Norwegian delicacy of a sheep's head. Credit: CBS.

 

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News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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This was probably inevitable: the minute that Dodd-Frank cracked down on the fees charged by credit cards aimed at students, some other bright financial innovation would crop up. This time, a debit card aimed at students. Which carries lots of fees. Ylan Mui reports that a company called Higher One has started signing up colleges around the country, taking on the burden of providing cash to students. In return, it gets lots of fees:

Students say several of the fees associated with Higher One’s card are particularly irksome, including the $19 inactivity fee, a 50-cent charge for using a PIN to make a purchase rather than a signature, and a $2.50 fee for using other banks’ ATMs…

Higher One said that only 1 percent of customers have been charged an inactivity fee and that more than half are charged the 50-cent fee only once. All fees are listed on Higher One’s Web site, along with tips on avoiding them.

“We have a big effort with educating students on how to use the account,” Smith said. “We’re very passionate about financial literacy.”

If the fees are listed on Higher One’s website, they’re not exactly prominent. I did find this page, eventually, via this blog entry, but it just says that “when you swipe & sign, you won’t be charged the PIN-based transaction fee”. I haven’t been able to find a page showing a 50-cent transaction fee anywhere*, although I did manage to find this page, showing a $25 fee for domestic wire transfers and a $50 fee for international wire transfers. “Higher One offers less costly alternatives for transferring funds”, it says, without giving any indication what they might be; I suspect that what they’re talking about is transfers to or from people who have already registered somehow with Higher One.

It should go without saying that any firm which is “very passionate about financial literacy” would encourage, rather than penalize, simple, cheap and safe PIN-debit transactions. It would not give students a debit card and then tell them that if they want to avoid fees they should select the “credit” option rather than the “debit” option when they come to pay.

And I can’t think of any good reason to charge a $19 inactivity fee to people who haven’t used their cards in 9 months.

The fact is that students are often very naive when it comes to money, and it’s easy to gouge them once or twice before they learn that banks are not necessarily on their side. If you can get your card accepted by a majority of freshmen every year, and then come up with all manner of weird fees to hit them with, that’s a great way of making money out of ignorance.

Meanwhile, all students should have a bank account: giving them a debit card instead only serves to maximize the number of unbanked students. So while I’m sure cards like this are attractive to colleges, it would be great if either the colleges or else the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau started being a lot more critical of them. Prepaid cards only ever make sense if the alternative is being completely unbanked; that should not ever be the case for students.

*At Southern Oregon University, Higher One agreed to waive the 50-cent PIN-debit charge, but only if there was a simultaneous “swipe-and-sign” campaign. If the campaign is unsuccessful and students do the sensible thing by using PIN debit, then the university can be charged $2 per student for “PIN fee elimination”.

Update: Higher One’s Donald Smith responds:

Higher One was founded 10 years ago by three college students (undergraduates at the time) who were looking for streamlining the way financial aid refunds were distributed to students. Today we work with more than 675 campuses across the country, have a 97% client retention rating, and an A+ rating with the BBB.

The OneAccount is Higher One’s optional, no minimum balance, no monthly fee, FDIC-Insured checking account created by students for students. We do not offer a stored value card. We are very open with our fee schedule. We post it on every program website for all to access, explain each fee, discuss how to avoid each fee, and provide students with a web page that tells them how to use the account for free (which you’ve already found). Because of this, we believe that our customers pay less than half the amount in fees that the average bank checking account customer pays per year.

Two of the fees you referenced in your blog are the PIN fee and the Abandoned Account Fee. The PIN fee is easily avoided by choosing a signature based transaction at the checkout. The majority of students uses it in this manner and is in turn protected by MasterCard’s Zero Liability Policy against fraudulent charges (a safer way of purchasing than a PIN based transaction). We do not have an inactivity fee on our fee schedule – we don’t penalize students who do not use their accounts. We do have an Abandoned Account Fee of up to $19, for those who have abandoned their accounts, but this has been charged to less than 1% of all OneAccount holders in our company’s history because of our proactive outreach plan.

Higher One offers no instruments of credit. As a matter of fact, we’re generally in favor of initiatives restricting students’ access to credit cards and promoting financial literacy. This is why we offer a full range of financial literacy resources along with the services we provide.

I particularly dislike the implication, here, that PIN-based transactions are unsafe. They’re not; they’re just less lucrative, in terms of interchange fees, than signature-based transactions.

"Two Large Cod and a Chainsaw.”  If that sounds like a Monty Python still life, then welcome to the slightly surreal world of Episode 5, which featured, among other oddities, bodies swinging over a fjord, fish dragged up a hill, a medieval knight straight out of “The Seventh Seal” and, for good measure, a decapitated farm animal.

This last item formed a kind of Satan’s Passover for doctor Kat, whose attempts to eat a sheep’s head (as part of what the Land of the Midnight Sun likes to call “a traditional Christmas ritual”) ran up against three serious obstacles.  1) Kat hasn’t eaten meat in 22 years.  2) Her meal was staring at her the entire time.  3) The ghost of Bernard Herrmann was cranking up the accompanying music to “Psycho”-like distress levels.  But Kat stayed cool.  “Crunchy romaine lettuce,” she murmured in a trance of denial.  “Calamari.  Cucumbers.”  Until at last she hit on the winning formula: “It tastes like money!”

Or at least victory.  By dint of their gustatory valor, Kat and fellow doc Nat vaulted straight to the finish line, where presumably some vomit bucket was waiting just offscreen.  Not so lucky were the beach-volleyball Amazons, who were eliminated just as I was beginning to tell them apart.  While undeniably lovely, Katie and Rachel have remained stubbornly undeveloped as characters, and in this final outing they were reduced to uttering Lombardi-isms like “We don’t lose” and “This is not ‘Amazing Friend,’ it’s ‘Amazing Race,’ ” which served to only underscore how amazingly far behind they were. 

You won’t find this, probably, in any contestant briefing, but “The Amazing Race” is really two races: one for bucks, one for hearts and minds.  And it’s the latter competition that is most definitely heating up.  Michael’s nutcracker mouth and fractured English grow more winning with each passing week.  (When informed that one challenge would require “strength, stamina and guts,” he proudly cackled: “I don’t have none!”)  Brook, with her verve and gumption, has accomplished the extraordinary feat of making me revisit my feelings about the Home Shopping Network.  I didn’t even mind when she invoked dead relations to get Claire up that rope of doom.  “Pray to your grandma!” shouted Brook.  “She’ll get you through this.  Just think of your grandma and how strong she was.  She’d be encouraging you the whole way.”  Personally, I think Grandma would be saying, “Why the hell are you dangling hundreds of feet over a Norwegian fjord?” but then again, the only thing my grandmother ever got dirty was her martini. 

And now, please, a moment of celebration for Vicki the Tattooed Lady, who is quietly exposing boyfriend Nick for the sack of bluster he is.  Despite “riding dirt bikes competitively” since he was 12, Nick was left gasping in Vicki’s wake as she pedaled toward the next clue.  And this was just after she’d hoisted herself up and down a rappelling line with nary a whine or grimace.  As Vicki herself explained: “I’m the one who has the guts in this relationship.”  Testify, sister.  And if you ever end up in a women’s penitentiary — as occasionally seems possible — the queenship of Cell Block H is yours for the taking. 

— Louis Bayard

Photo: Nat and Kat faced with the Norwegian delicacy of a sheep's head. Credit: CBS.

 

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: In Afghanistan, &#39;The insurgency seems to be <b>...</b>

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Fox <b>News</b> Crew Gets Scolded At Democratic Meeting (VIDEO)

A Fox News camera crew showed up unannounced at a Democratic meeting in Wisconsin Monday, prompting a confrontation that eventually forced the show's producer into a rather startling admission: he understands why Democrats are wary of ...

Juan Williams: Fox <b>News</b> Lets &#39;Black Guy With A Hispanic Name&#39; Host <b>...</b>

Juan Williams said Tuesday that he's still upset about his firing from NPR, and added that NPR does not understand the Fox News culture or audience. In an interview with Baltimore Sun columnist David Zurawik, Williams said he remains ...

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: In Afghanistan, &#39;The insurgency seems to be <b>...</b>

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

Fox <b>News</b> Crew Gets Scolded At Democratic Meeting (VIDEO)

A Fox News camera crew showed up unannounced at a Democratic meeting in Wisconsin Monday, prompting a confrontation that eventually forced the show's producer into a rather startling admission: he understands why Democrats are wary of ...

Juan Williams: Fox <b>News</b> Lets &#39;Black Guy With A Hispanic Name&#39; Host <b>...</b>

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managing your personal finance

Your Money: The Missing Manual

Cool Tools at 12:25 PM Monday, Oct 4, 2010 

This is the best user-guide to personal finance I've found, and I've probably read them all. It is certainly the sanest and most level-headed. There are no get rich quick schemes here, just plenty of ways to get rich slowly. Indeed, Get Rich Slowly was the name of author's very popular personal finance blog, which led to this book. J.D. Roth takes the great investing advice of Andrew Tobias in The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need, and he summarizes the life-earning wisdom in the previously reviewed (and still recommended) book Five Rituals of Wealth and he includes the needed crystalization of priorities found in Your Money or Your Life, and financial motivations from Suze Orman and the Millionaire Next Door and then adds key insights and tips from hundreds of other lesser-known money gurus.

Basically, Roth has read every book and blog on money managing, investing, saving, and earning and digests and integrates all this hard-won knowledge into an amazing selection of smart, practical ideas for today. I could hardly turn a page without learning a solid investing tip or two, or a clever way to save a few hundred dollars, or an example of something I already knew, but was looking for a vivid way to teach my kids. I like the fact that Roth emphasizes the value of sharing whatever wealth you have, and keeps returning to the long view.

I would not call this an inspirational book (plenty of those on the shelves), nor even a memorable book like the ones mentioned above. Rather it is what is advertised: a day-to-day operating manual for your money. Specific details, sources, methods, tricks. Dip into it when you are stuck, check it before trying something new, re-read it when you think you know it all. I've done pretty well financially, and if you were to ask me my practical advice -- like what to do tomorrow -- I would simply give you this book. It's slow, but true.

"Your Money: The Missing Manual," by J.D. Roth (2010, 336 pages)

$15 from Amazon.

Read excerpts and comment on this at Cool Tools. Submit a tool.

Are you an entrepreneur, solo business owner or freelancer? Are you keen to get regular business advice but don’t have the time to work out which blogs to subscribe to? Well, we’ve done the research for you.

Here’s a collection of business blogs aimed at entrepreneurs and small businesses. These have been chosen for their insights, advice, presentation and overall appeal to business people. Hopefully you’ll find these blogs cover all the business management advice and business trends analysis for your needs.

id="more-56526">

1. Harvard Business Review

Harvard Business Review is a staple in any entrepreneur blog collection. The blog delivers timely business analysis and professional management advice.

style="text-align: center;">

2. Young Entrepreneur

When you’re just starting our with your business venture, things can be a little tough. Young Entrepreneur focuses on the things you’ll need to know – financing, bootstrapping, identifying opportunities and making sales.

style="text-align: center;">

3. 64 Notes

64 Notes gets straight to the nuggets of gold by bypassing straightforward management tips and filling each post with those eye-opening things that change your business from alright to amazing. They also write a lot about how to avoid being the start-up that failed.

style="text-align: center;">

4. The Personal MBA

The Personal MBA is a blog dedicated to teaching all the tips and tricks you would have learned if you had done a degree in business. It recommends books, summarises books and draws on advice given freely by great minds in business. If you follow this blog you will learn a great deal about managing your business.

style="text-align: center;">

5. Instigator Blog

Instigator Blog is a very insightful blog, mainly discussing thoughts relevant to small business and entrepreneurs, written by an entrepreneur as he works on his business.

style="text-align: center;">

6. Fast Company

Fast Company is a major business blog, covering business news and trends. It’s vital information if you want to know where business is heading.

style="text-align: center;">

7. Entrepreneur Blog

Entrepreneur Blog is a site dedicated to providing business insights to entrepreneurs. It will analyse business failures, successes and trends, while offering sensible advice for any business owner.

style="text-align: center;">

8. The Entrepreneurial Mind

The Entrepreneurial Mind is a business blog written by a Belmont University professor of Entrepreneurship. His academic insight into the world of the entrepreneur is a great balance to the news and trends offered by other blogs.

style="text-align: center;">

9. Creative Web Biz

Creative Web Biz is a great blog for all the artistic entrepreneurs out there. This is a place for those people who are entrepreneurs, but don’t much care for all the business management advice and trends. This blog is entirely focused on how to get that art out there and sold. Highly recommended for musicians, artists, and makers of other crafts.

style="text-align: center;">

10. Work Happy

Work Happy is a blog offering advice for anyone in business for themselves. It’s useful for freelancers, small business owners and entrepreneurs alike. It features a lot of video presentations from entrepreneurs to keep things interesting.

style="text-align: center;">

Bonus: Entrepreneurship Interviews

Entrepreneurship Interviews added itself on to the list by being a wealth of information in the form of interviews with entrepreneurs. It’s not much to look at, but there is a lot to be gained by listening to what other entrepreneurs say candidly about their own business ventures.

More Blogs

If you’re keen to see some more great blog lists from MakeUseOf, read on:

• Four Best Inspiring Blogs Every Life Hacker Should Subscribe To
• 3 Personal Finance Blogs That Will Get You Out Of Debt
• The 10 Most Stunning Photo Blogs
• 6 Best Web Design Blogs To Follow
• The 6 Best Blogs For Architectural & Interior Design Ideas

If you know of other great blogs for business people, let us know in the comments!

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Greenpeace dumps on Nintendo Wii <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Wii news of Greenpeace dumps on Nintendo.

Sad <b>news</b> for the New York baseball world

You probably didn't know Bill Shannon, but if you did, you would have liked him a lot. Bill died tragically on Tuesday morning, the victim of a fire in his New Jersey home. He was 69. Bill was the senior...

PalmAddicts: Traffic jam <b>news</b>

[From Mauricio Tanzi, Costa Rica] Hi Sammy! Just wanted to let you know that I'm stuck in traffic and in need for enerteinment.... What can I so? Just pop out my Palm Pre Plus and enjoy the rush hour with...

bench craft company complaints
bench craft company complaints

Greenpeace dumps on Nintendo Wii <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Wii news of Greenpeace dumps on Nintendo.

Sad <b>news</b> for the New York baseball world

You probably didn't know Bill Shannon, but if you did, you would have liked him a lot. Bill died tragically on Tuesday morning, the victim of a fire in his New Jersey home. He was 69. Bill was the senior...

PalmAddicts: Traffic jam <b>news</b>

[From Mauricio Tanzi, Costa Rica] Hi Sammy! Just wanted to let you know that I'm stuck in traffic and in need for enerteinment.... What can I so? Just pop out my Palm Pre Plus and enjoy the rush hour with...

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

Your Money: The Missing Manual

Cool Tools at 12:25 PM Monday, Oct 4, 2010 

This is the best user-guide to personal finance I've found, and I've probably read them all. It is certainly the sanest and most level-headed. There are no get rich quick schemes here, just plenty of ways to get rich slowly. Indeed, Get Rich Slowly was the name of author's very popular personal finance blog, which led to this book. J.D. Roth takes the great investing advice of Andrew Tobias in The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need, and he summarizes the life-earning wisdom in the previously reviewed (and still recommended) book Five Rituals of Wealth and he includes the needed crystalization of priorities found in Your Money or Your Life, and financial motivations from Suze Orman and the Millionaire Next Door and then adds key insights and tips from hundreds of other lesser-known money gurus.

Basically, Roth has read every book and blog on money managing, investing, saving, and earning and digests and integrates all this hard-won knowledge into an amazing selection of smart, practical ideas for today. I could hardly turn a page without learning a solid investing tip or two, or a clever way to save a few hundred dollars, or an example of something I already knew, but was looking for a vivid way to teach my kids. I like the fact that Roth emphasizes the value of sharing whatever wealth you have, and keeps returning to the long view.

I would not call this an inspirational book (plenty of those on the shelves), nor even a memorable book like the ones mentioned above. Rather it is what is advertised: a day-to-day operating manual for your money. Specific details, sources, methods, tricks. Dip into it when you are stuck, check it before trying something new, re-read it when you think you know it all. I've done pretty well financially, and if you were to ask me my practical advice -- like what to do tomorrow -- I would simply give you this book. It's slow, but true.

"Your Money: The Missing Manual," by J.D. Roth (2010, 336 pages)

$15 from Amazon.

Read excerpts and comment on this at Cool Tools. Submit a tool.

Are you an entrepreneur, solo business owner or freelancer? Are you keen to get regular business advice but don’t have the time to work out which blogs to subscribe to? Well, we’ve done the research for you.

Here’s a collection of business blogs aimed at entrepreneurs and small businesses. These have been chosen for their insights, advice, presentation and overall appeal to business people. Hopefully you’ll find these blogs cover all the business management advice and business trends analysis for your needs.

id="more-56526">

1. Harvard Business Review

Harvard Business Review is a staple in any entrepreneur blog collection. The blog delivers timely business analysis and professional management advice.

style="text-align: center;">

2. Young Entrepreneur

When you’re just starting our with your business venture, things can be a little tough. Young Entrepreneur focuses on the things you’ll need to know – financing, bootstrapping, identifying opportunities and making sales.

style="text-align: center;">

3. 64 Notes

64 Notes gets straight to the nuggets of gold by bypassing straightforward management tips and filling each post with those eye-opening things that change your business from alright to amazing. They also write a lot about how to avoid being the start-up that failed.

style="text-align: center;">

4. The Personal MBA

The Personal MBA is a blog dedicated to teaching all the tips and tricks you would have learned if you had done a degree in business. It recommends books, summarises books and draws on advice given freely by great minds in business. If you follow this blog you will learn a great deal about managing your business.

style="text-align: center;">

5. Instigator Blog

Instigator Blog is a very insightful blog, mainly discussing thoughts relevant to small business and entrepreneurs, written by an entrepreneur as he works on his business.

style="text-align: center;">

6. Fast Company

Fast Company is a major business blog, covering business news and trends. It’s vital information if you want to know where business is heading.

style="text-align: center;">

7. Entrepreneur Blog

Entrepreneur Blog is a site dedicated to providing business insights to entrepreneurs. It will analyse business failures, successes and trends, while offering sensible advice for any business owner.

style="text-align: center;">

8. The Entrepreneurial Mind

The Entrepreneurial Mind is a business blog written by a Belmont University professor of Entrepreneurship. His academic insight into the world of the entrepreneur is a great balance to the news and trends offered by other blogs.

style="text-align: center;">

9. Creative Web Biz

Creative Web Biz is a great blog for all the artistic entrepreneurs out there. This is a place for those people who are entrepreneurs, but don’t much care for all the business management advice and trends. This blog is entirely focused on how to get that art out there and sold. Highly recommended for musicians, artists, and makers of other crafts.

style="text-align: center;">

10. Work Happy

Work Happy is a blog offering advice for anyone in business for themselves. It’s useful for freelancers, small business owners and entrepreneurs alike. It features a lot of video presentations from entrepreneurs to keep things interesting.

style="text-align: center;">

Bonus: Entrepreneurship Interviews

Entrepreneurship Interviews added itself on to the list by being a wealth of information in the form of interviews with entrepreneurs. It’s not much to look at, but there is a lot to be gained by listening to what other entrepreneurs say candidly about their own business ventures.

More Blogs

If you’re keen to see some more great blog lists from MakeUseOf, read on:

• Four Best Inspiring Blogs Every Life Hacker Should Subscribe To
• 3 Personal Finance Blogs That Will Get You Out Of Debt
• The 10 Most Stunning Photo Blogs
• 6 Best Web Design Blogs To Follow
• The 6 Best Blogs For Architectural & Interior Design Ideas

If you know of other great blogs for business people, let us know in the comments!

Image Credit: Shutterstock

bench craft company complaints

Greenpeace dumps on Nintendo Wii <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Wii news of Greenpeace dumps on Nintendo.

Sad <b>news</b> for the New York baseball world

You probably didn't know Bill Shannon, but if you did, you would have liked him a lot. Bill died tragically on Tuesday morning, the victim of a fire in his New Jersey home. He was 69. Bill was the senior...

PalmAddicts: Traffic jam <b>news</b>

[From Mauricio Tanzi, Costa Rica] Hi Sammy! Just wanted to let you know that I'm stuck in traffic and in need for enerteinment.... What can I so? Just pop out my Palm Pre Plus and enjoy the rush hour with...

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

Greenpeace dumps on Nintendo Wii <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Wii news of Greenpeace dumps on Nintendo.

Sad <b>news</b> for the New York baseball world

You probably didn't know Bill Shannon, but if you did, you would have liked him a lot. Bill died tragically on Tuesday morning, the victim of a fire in his New Jersey home. He was 69. Bill was the senior...

PalmAddicts: Traffic jam <b>news</b>

[From Mauricio Tanzi, Costa Rica] Hi Sammy! Just wanted to let you know that I'm stuck in traffic and in need for enerteinment.... What can I so? Just pop out my Palm Pre Plus and enjoy the rush hour with...

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

Greenpeace dumps on Nintendo Wii <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Wii news of Greenpeace dumps on Nintendo.

Sad <b>news</b> for the New York baseball world

You probably didn't know Bill Shannon, but if you did, you would have liked him a lot. Bill died tragically on Tuesday morning, the victim of a fire in his New Jersey home. He was 69. Bill was the senior...

PalmAddicts: Traffic jam <b>news</b>

[From Mauricio Tanzi, Costa Rica] Hi Sammy! Just wanted to let you know that I'm stuck in traffic and in need for enerteinment.... What can I so? Just pop out my Palm Pre Plus and enjoy the rush hour with...

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

Making Money Ebay

Attacks On 'Frivolous' Startups, Sound Like Misguided Attacks On 'Frivolous' Blogs & Social Media

from the cat-bloggers-of-silicon-valley dept

We hear it all the time when it comes to various social media offerings. Blogs were dismissed early on by all important people who said they "don't care about what people wearing pajamas sitting in their basement have to say about their cats." Twitter was dismissed by people who "don't care what so-and-so ate for lunch." And on and on. But what's interesting is this same sort of attitude seems to also be playing out on a larger scale, in how people look at innovation. Investor Peter Thiel is apparently complaining that Silicon Valley companies aren't doing anything really important any more. But, I think, like the complaints about Blogging, Twitter and other social media efforts (some of which Thiel invested in), he's focused too much on all the fluff and ignoring the fact that plenty of serious things are going on. However, there's almost always been random silly startups that get lots of attention (and some of them later turn into being serious, important companies). Google, Amazon and eBay were all derided as being frivolous in their early years, but all turned into something much larger.



Along those lines, Dan Lyons has perhaps his most ridiculous column to date (and that's saying a lot), in that he sets up by complaining about the same "frivolous" innovation going on in Silicon Valley, and then uses Nathan Myhrvold of Intellectual Ventures as the counter-example of a company taking on the real hard problems. Uh, yeah, the real hard problems of hoarding patents, waiting for someone else to do the real work, and then shaking them down for money? Lyons, like so many others, seems to not recognize the difference between ideas and execution. What has Intellectual Ventures actually executed on. What product has it brought to market? Absolutely none. The only thing it's done to date is collect hundreds of millions of dollars from a few tech companies so that those companies can avoid getting sued, and can dig into IV's patent database to countersue those who sue them. Lyons quotes Myhrvold making the following statement:

"The old Silicon Valley was about solving really hard problems, making technical bets. But there's no real technical bet being made with Facebook or Zynga," says Nathan Myhrvold, the former chief technology officer at Microsoft who now runs an invention lab in Seattle. "Today almost everyone in the Valley will tell you there is too much 'me-tooism,' too much looking for a gold rush and not enough people who are looking to solve really hard problems."

Myhrvold is being misleading yet again. There's always been "me-tooism" in the Valley, and sometimes it works out, and often it doesn't. Microsoft, where Myhrvold worked for many years, was pretty damn famous for its brand of "me-tooism." And, oh yeah, it too could be dismissed in its early days for not being "about solving really hard problems." And, of course, there are plenty of tech companies out there that are working on solving hard problems, so cherry picking a few you don't like does not make for a representation of the entire industry.

"What bothers me is the zillions of wannabes who will follow along, and the expectation that every company ought to be focused on doing really short-term, easy things to achieve giant paydays. I think that's unrealistic, and it's not healthy," Myhrvold says.

So don't worry about the wannabe and followers. They've always been around Silicon Valley and the ecosystem tends to take care of them over time. Focus on building what you're building (which in Myhrvold's case, still appears to be nothing) and let the market take care of the rest. It always seems to do just fine.

6 Comments | Leave a Comment..

Update: As far as availability, PayPal tells us, "Mobile Check Capture is currently available in the US only. The underlying technology that makes this possible is based on legislation passed by US Congress in 2004 as a result of the 9/11 attacks. The legislation, called "Check Clearing for the 21st Century," or "Check 21," gives US financial institutions the opportunity to clear checks using imaging technology rather than transporting the paper itself. We use technology provided by Bankserv to make this possible for our US customers. We are always on the lookout for ways to improve our customers" experience in all 190 markets in which we operate and decided to implement this great new service in the US. If the legislation changes in other countries, we will look to offer the same service in those countries."



Original Article: The feature has been rumored to be coming for a while, but PayPal announced today that the latest version of its iPhone app lets you transfer checks into your PayPal balance for free, by simply taking a photo with your iPhone. 

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/26 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! We have a full day of Kansas City Chiefs news. O-line love and praise for the running game and a shout out to DJ are ahead. There are also a few articles on the Buffalo offense and how productive they've been recently.

<b>News</b> - Charlie Sheen Found Drunk, Naked in NYC Hotel - Celebrity <b>...</b>

He is hospitalized after allegedly trashing his room.

Poll Has More of the Same Bad <b>News</b> for Democrats, Worse <b>News</b> for Obama

Congressional Democrats hold their own reasonably well against their GOP counterparts when voters are asked who would better handle key issues. By contrast, they trust Republicans more than Obama on most of those issues.

bench craft company complaints
bench craft company complaints

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/26 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! We have a full day of Kansas City Chiefs news. O-line love and praise for the running game and a shout out to DJ are ahead. There are also a few articles on the Buffalo offense and how productive they've been recently.

<b>News</b> - Charlie Sheen Found Drunk, Naked in NYC Hotel - Celebrity <b>...</b>

He is hospitalized after allegedly trashing his room.

Poll Has More of the Same Bad <b>News</b> for Democrats, Worse <b>News</b> for Obama

Congressional Democrats hold their own reasonably well against their GOP counterparts when voters are asked who would better handle key issues. By contrast, they trust Republicans more than Obama on most of those issues.

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

Attacks On 'Frivolous' Startups, Sound Like Misguided Attacks On 'Frivolous' Blogs & Social Media

from the cat-bloggers-of-silicon-valley dept

We hear it all the time when it comes to various social media offerings. Blogs were dismissed early on by all important people who said they "don't care about what people wearing pajamas sitting in their basement have to say about their cats." Twitter was dismissed by people who "don't care what so-and-so ate for lunch." And on and on. But what's interesting is this same sort of attitude seems to also be playing out on a larger scale, in how people look at innovation. Investor Peter Thiel is apparently complaining that Silicon Valley companies aren't doing anything really important any more. But, I think, like the complaints about Blogging, Twitter and other social media efforts (some of which Thiel invested in), he's focused too much on all the fluff and ignoring the fact that plenty of serious things are going on. However, there's almost always been random silly startups that get lots of attention (and some of them later turn into being serious, important companies). Google, Amazon and eBay were all derided as being frivolous in their early years, but all turned into something much larger.



Along those lines, Dan Lyons has perhaps his most ridiculous column to date (and that's saying a lot), in that he sets up by complaining about the same "frivolous" innovation going on in Silicon Valley, and then uses Nathan Myhrvold of Intellectual Ventures as the counter-example of a company taking on the real hard problems. Uh, yeah, the real hard problems of hoarding patents, waiting for someone else to do the real work, and then shaking them down for money? Lyons, like so many others, seems to not recognize the difference between ideas and execution. What has Intellectual Ventures actually executed on. What product has it brought to market? Absolutely none. The only thing it's done to date is collect hundreds of millions of dollars from a few tech companies so that those companies can avoid getting sued, and can dig into IV's patent database to countersue those who sue them. Lyons quotes Myhrvold making the following statement:

"The old Silicon Valley was about solving really hard problems, making technical bets. But there's no real technical bet being made with Facebook or Zynga," says Nathan Myhrvold, the former chief technology officer at Microsoft who now runs an invention lab in Seattle. "Today almost everyone in the Valley will tell you there is too much 'me-tooism,' too much looking for a gold rush and not enough people who are looking to solve really hard problems."

Myhrvold is being misleading yet again. There's always been "me-tooism" in the Valley, and sometimes it works out, and often it doesn't. Microsoft, where Myhrvold worked for many years, was pretty damn famous for its brand of "me-tooism." And, oh yeah, it too could be dismissed in its early days for not being "about solving really hard problems." And, of course, there are plenty of tech companies out there that are working on solving hard problems, so cherry picking a few you don't like does not make for a representation of the entire industry.

"What bothers me is the zillions of wannabes who will follow along, and the expectation that every company ought to be focused on doing really short-term, easy things to achieve giant paydays. I think that's unrealistic, and it's not healthy," Myhrvold says.

So don't worry about the wannabe and followers. They've always been around Silicon Valley and the ecosystem tends to take care of them over time. Focus on building what you're building (which in Myhrvold's case, still appears to be nothing) and let the market take care of the rest. It always seems to do just fine.

6 Comments | Leave a Comment..

Update: As far as availability, PayPal tells us, "Mobile Check Capture is currently available in the US only. The underlying technology that makes this possible is based on legislation passed by US Congress in 2004 as a result of the 9/11 attacks. The legislation, called "Check Clearing for the 21st Century," or "Check 21," gives US financial institutions the opportunity to clear checks using imaging technology rather than transporting the paper itself. We use technology provided by Bankserv to make this possible for our US customers. We are always on the lookout for ways to improve our customers" experience in all 190 markets in which we operate and decided to implement this great new service in the US. If the legislation changes in other countries, we will look to offer the same service in those countries."



Original Article: The feature has been rumored to be coming for a while, but PayPal announced today that the latest version of its iPhone app lets you transfer checks into your PayPal balance for free, by simply taking a photo with your iPhone. 

bench craft company complaints

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/26 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! We have a full day of Kansas City Chiefs news. O-line love and praise for the running game and a shout out to DJ are ahead. There are also a few articles on the Buffalo offense and how productive they've been recently.

<b>News</b> - Charlie Sheen Found Drunk, Naked in NYC Hotel - Celebrity <b>...</b>

He is hospitalized after allegedly trashing his room.

Poll Has More of the Same Bad <b>News</b> for Democrats, Worse <b>News</b> for Obama

Congressional Democrats hold their own reasonably well against their GOP counterparts when voters are asked who would better handle key issues. By contrast, they trust Republicans more than Obama on most of those issues.

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/26 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! We have a full day of Kansas City Chiefs news. O-line love and praise for the running game and a shout out to DJ are ahead. There are also a few articles on the Buffalo offense and how productive they've been recently.

<b>News</b> - Charlie Sheen Found Drunk, Naked in NYC Hotel - Celebrity <b>...</b>

He is hospitalized after allegedly trashing his room.

Poll Has More of the Same Bad <b>News</b> for Democrats, Worse <b>News</b> for Obama

Congressional Democrats hold their own reasonably well against their GOP counterparts when voters are asked who would better handle key issues. By contrast, they trust Republicans more than Obama on most of those issues.

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/26 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! We have a full day of Kansas City Chiefs news. O-line love and praise for the running game and a shout out to DJ are ahead. There are also a few articles on the Buffalo offense and how productive they've been recently.

<b>News</b> - Charlie Sheen Found Drunk, Naked in NYC Hotel - Celebrity <b>...</b>

He is hospitalized after allegedly trashing his room.

Poll Has More of the Same Bad <b>News</b> for Democrats, Worse <b>News</b> for Obama

Congressional Democrats hold their own reasonably well against their GOP counterparts when voters are asked who would better handle key issues. By contrast, they trust Republicans more than Obama on most of those issues.

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

Kids Making Money

In yesterday's Go Home Already, I linked to a story which talked about the results of a report conducted by Wider Opportunities for Women. The report discussed the amount of money that people under certain conditions in different areas around the Washington metro area need to make in order to feel financially "secure." Of course, there's serious wiggle room in that phrase, and plenty of commenters argued the validity of the numbers cited -- for instance, a single person without children to support in the District was deemed to need a yearly income of $32,000 per year to be "stable."

I finally got a chance to peruse the report, titled "The Basic Economic Security Tables for the Washington, DC Metro Area," this morning, and thought that I'd share some of the information inside of its pages for you to squabble over. Specifically, the data on single people and what they need to get by.

One failure of the study is that it never comes out and explicitly states what its definition of "economic security" is. Based on the literature out there, the term appears to mean having enough money coming in every month to build a stable future. (I know, we're defining relative terms with yet more relative terms. Best I could do, though. If there are any economists in the audience, please feel free to define the concept to me in concrete terms.)

That said, what does the study consider basic budget items for workers? "The core BEST Index contains basic budget items essential to all workers’ health and safety: housing, utilities, food and essential personal and house-hold items such as clothing, household products and a landline telephone," says the report, which also notes that the Index also assumes that all work occurs outside of the home (incurring transportation costs) and that everyone pays their taxes. Aside from the fact that most single people I know carry a cell instead of a landline, that seems somewhat fair. The Index includes a provision for their progeny's higher education (obviously null for those without children) and homeownership saving. The chart to the above right represents the amount that those with "employment-based benefits" (read: health insurance) need to make call themselves financially secure.

Audrey left the following comment on my post on renting (I’ve edited it a bit for space reason, but you can read it in it’s entirety here):

I know you talk about all these ways to save money, and anyone can do it, but it just doesn’t seem possible for us! I use coupons to save money, but even then we have no wiggle room in our budget for anything. We never have. My husband makes $1400/month (sometimes $1600) after tax.

I guess I just feel discouraged a lot, because we want so badly to save money (we don’t ever want debt), it just doesn’t feel possible. We’ve been trying for four years to save money and it just gets depleted because my husband’s hours get cut (which seems to happen to us a lot, no matter who he works for) and he can’t find more work. Any advice or encouragement for those of us who do rent because it’s cheaper, but have to use up more than half our income on our housing?

We’re paying $900/month here (water, sewer and garbage included). That leaves $500/month to spend on the rest of our bills — phone, electricity, internet, etc. We don’t have cable (for obvious reasons), and we have a great deal on internet and phone, and I use coupons like crazy to save money on everything, but with our two kids (3 and 1), it’s just barely enough to get by (well, it’s not right now, we’re getting behind on bills).

I hate how broke we are all the time (and always have been). Thankfully, the only debt we have is a bill we’re a couple months behind on. But we don’t have a car payment (our old car is desperately in need of repairs though — I’m afraid the tires are going to fall off, but we can’t afford to fix it!), we tithe, we don’t have credit cards, etc. But it just seems impossible to set money aside for big purchases (or even little purchases, like getting the car fixed!).

I have no idea how to remedy this situation. I do odds and ends from home. I clean houses when I can, and that sort of thing, but that brings in an average of $25/month, and my husband is already burnt out working as often as he is. He’s had no luck finding a second job (he’s already working so much already), either. I’m just not sure how to get ourselves out of this hole!

I wish you lived closer, Audrey, and I’d have you over and give you a big hug and sit down with you over a cup of tea to try and encourage you. I know how it feels when it seems like you’re working so hard and getting no traction. You’re wondering how on earth the ends are going to meet at the end of the month or what you’d do if your car breaks down or how you’re going to pay your utility bill.

Five years ago, that’s exactly where we were. And it was really, really hard. I’d grown up being taught to trust in God, but in those first few years of marriage, the rubber met the road and I realized that actually trusting God was a whole lot harder than it sounded.

The lessons we learned during those times of feeling pretty desperate financially were so hard but, oh so good! And we wouldn’t trade them for the world. It strengthened our trust in the Lord, it strengthened our marriage, it matured us as individuals and it inspired us to learn all sorts of creative and entrepreneurial things we never dreamed we’d learn or attempt!

Here are some things which helped us to pull through that time and start making traction little by little:

1) Pray

God delights in providing for those who trust in Him. Claim His promises. Pray His Word back to Him. Cry out to Him for provision, for wisdom, for guidance, for creativity, for open doors. Pray about the little things and the big things; nothing is too small or big for God.

And realize that He will never, never, never, no never leave or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)!

2) Stick To Your Budget

Be very, very vigilant in adhering to your written budget. While it might seem like you’re not getting traction, sticking with your budget will ensure that you’re not sliding backwards or getting any farther behind than your possibly have to.

3) Realize That Your Attitude Can Make or Break the Situation

I wholeheartedly believe that you’re not stuck unless you choose to be. You can always be learning, growing, improving yourself and seeking to improve your financial situation — even if it seems that your actual income is staying the same.

Have a cheerful, grateful spirit. Focus on counting your blessings rather than all the difficult things in your life. And determine, by the grace of God, that you are going to do all you can to make the most of your situation, to stretch your resources as far as possible and to use any extra time you have in your day to increase your income.

4) Set Microscopic Goals To Begin With

No matter your income or financial situation, you can set goals, even if they are microscopic. You likely can’t save $100 this month, but I’m guessing that if you squeezed, you might be able to save $2 or $5 — or maybe even $10. Start there and set this aside in a savings account as your Emergency Fund (or however else you want to designate it) and add to it each month. Over time, you just might be surprised at how it will grow!

In addition, don’t just set goals for saving money, set goals for earning money, too! You said that you’re usually doing around $25 per month cleaning houses. What if you were to challenge yourself to bump that number up to $35 this coming month? And then little bit, by little bit, continue to bump it up.

I also recommend setting goals for improving yourself — such as skills to learn and books to read. Choose things which will help you be able to increase your income, make wise financial choices and which will encourage you in your current situation.

As always: don’t bite off more than you can chew. I’d suggest starting by setting two to four tiny goals each month. Once you accomplish those, add a few more. When you feel ready, increase the goals by a tiny little bit and then a little bit more. Setting goals — even if they are teensy-tiny — and then actually reaching them can give you enormous encouragement and you just might be amazed at the momentum it gives you!

5) Look For Any Extra Cash You Can Come Up With

You mentioned that you clean houses, if you are looking to expand, consider contacting local multi-unit rentals to see if they need someone to clean their units when a renter moves out. Or make connections with realtors and ask them about cleaning foreclosed homes for them or having them recommend you to sellers who want to have their home professionally cleaned after they move out.

Think outside the box of what normal professional cleaners do and you’ll likely land upon some really successful ideas. Contact business owners and offer to clean their office space. Advertise your business on Craigslist. Offer a discount to your current customers if they refer you to others who then end up using your services.

You also said you have a blog and that you’re currently making about $2 per month off it. I’d suggest you try to learn and implement some of the suggestions on BloggingWithAmy.com in order to steadily increase that each month.

While some may disagree with me, I think almost anyone who is willing to put in some time and effort can earn at least an extra $50 to $100 per month by spending three hours of blogging each week. You already have your blog set up and running, so I’d encourage you to work on monetizing it and growing it — if it’s something you enjoy.

6) Improve Yourself

Seek to make the most of every opportunity to learn, to grow, to glean. Always be learning new things, trying new things and coming up with new ideas. Don’t be content with the status quo.

Read good books which challenge and motivate you. As much as is possible, remove negative influences from your life which just suck time and energy. Replace them with things that encourage and inspire you.

7) Don’t Give Up

Finally, do not give up. Your situation will not change overnight; gaining traction is not instantaneous. But if you’re willing to keep working hard, to keep experimenting, to keep setting goals, to keep pressing forward, to keep sticking with the budget and to keep going when the going gets tough, it will pay off.

Don’t lose heart! Keep looking to the Lord and asking Him to provide and guide you — and see Him do amazing things!

After <b>news</b> of Google tax dodges, Obama raises money with Google <b>...</b>

Google, according to a report by Bloomberg News, has used paper transactions to shift $3.1 billion of its income to Bermuda and other low-tax havens in recent years. The company's aggressive use of such tax dodges has reduced its ...

Energy and Global Warming <b>News</b> for October 22nd: Five renewable <b>...</b>

Polls, including the one from Wall Street Journal/NBC News released Wednesday, have shown that some voters are disenchanted with the Democrats and many voters remain undecided. Speaking at the Solar Power International (SPI) conference ...

Sharp to stop selling and manufacturing PCs « Akihabara <b>News</b>

To pursue its growth Akihabara News is seeking for several more editors via an intership program for 6 to 9 months. Please send us a mail @ jobs@akihabaranews.com. Message. We are moving away from Feedburner, please update your RSS ...

eric seiger eric seiger

In yesterday's Go Home Already, I linked to a story which talked about the results of a report conducted by Wider Opportunities for Women. The report discussed the amount of money that people under certain conditions in different areas around the Washington metro area need to make in order to feel financially "secure." Of course, there's serious wiggle room in that phrase, and plenty of commenters argued the validity of the numbers cited -- for instance, a single person without children to support in the District was deemed to need a yearly income of $32,000 per year to be "stable."

I finally got a chance to peruse the report, titled "The Basic Economic Security Tables for the Washington, DC Metro Area," this morning, and thought that I'd share some of the information inside of its pages for you to squabble over. Specifically, the data on single people and what they need to get by.

One failure of the study is that it never comes out and explicitly states what its definition of "economic security" is. Based on the literature out there, the term appears to mean having enough money coming in every month to build a stable future. (I know, we're defining relative terms with yet more relative terms. Best I could do, though. If there are any economists in the audience, please feel free to define the concept to me in concrete terms.)

That said, what does the study consider basic budget items for workers? "The core BEST Index contains basic budget items essential to all workers’ health and safety: housing, utilities, food and essential personal and house-hold items such as clothing, household products and a landline telephone," says the report, which also notes that the Index also assumes that all work occurs outside of the home (incurring transportation costs) and that everyone pays their taxes. Aside from the fact that most single people I know carry a cell instead of a landline, that seems somewhat fair. The Index includes a provision for their progeny's higher education (obviously null for those without children) and homeownership saving. The chart to the above right represents the amount that those with "employment-based benefits" (read: health insurance) need to make call themselves financially secure.

Audrey left the following comment on my post on renting (I’ve edited it a bit for space reason, but you can read it in it’s entirety here):

I know you talk about all these ways to save money, and anyone can do it, but it just doesn’t seem possible for us! I use coupons to save money, but even then we have no wiggle room in our budget for anything. We never have. My husband makes $1400/month (sometimes $1600) after tax.

I guess I just feel discouraged a lot, because we want so badly to save money (we don’t ever want debt), it just doesn’t feel possible. We’ve been trying for four years to save money and it just gets depleted because my husband’s hours get cut (which seems to happen to us a lot, no matter who he works for) and he can’t find more work. Any advice or encouragement for those of us who do rent because it’s cheaper, but have to use up more than half our income on our housing?

We’re paying $900/month here (water, sewer and garbage included). That leaves $500/month to spend on the rest of our bills — phone, electricity, internet, etc. We don’t have cable (for obvious reasons), and we have a great deal on internet and phone, and I use coupons like crazy to save money on everything, but with our two kids (3 and 1), it’s just barely enough to get by (well, it’s not right now, we’re getting behind on bills).

I hate how broke we are all the time (and always have been). Thankfully, the only debt we have is a bill we’re a couple months behind on. But we don’t have a car payment (our old car is desperately in need of repairs though — I’m afraid the tires are going to fall off, but we can’t afford to fix it!), we tithe, we don’t have credit cards, etc. But it just seems impossible to set money aside for big purchases (or even little purchases, like getting the car fixed!).

I have no idea how to remedy this situation. I do odds and ends from home. I clean houses when I can, and that sort of thing, but that brings in an average of $25/month, and my husband is already burnt out working as often as he is. He’s had no luck finding a second job (he’s already working so much already), either. I’m just not sure how to get ourselves out of this hole!

I wish you lived closer, Audrey, and I’d have you over and give you a big hug and sit down with you over a cup of tea to try and encourage you. I know how it feels when it seems like you’re working so hard and getting no traction. You’re wondering how on earth the ends are going to meet at the end of the month or what you’d do if your car breaks down or how you’re going to pay your utility bill.

Five years ago, that’s exactly where we were. And it was really, really hard. I’d grown up being taught to trust in God, but in those first few years of marriage, the rubber met the road and I realized that actually trusting God was a whole lot harder than it sounded.

The lessons we learned during those times of feeling pretty desperate financially were so hard but, oh so good! And we wouldn’t trade them for the world. It strengthened our trust in the Lord, it strengthened our marriage, it matured us as individuals and it inspired us to learn all sorts of creative and entrepreneurial things we never dreamed we’d learn or attempt!

Here are some things which helped us to pull through that time and start making traction little by little:

1) Pray

God delights in providing for those who trust in Him. Claim His promises. Pray His Word back to Him. Cry out to Him for provision, for wisdom, for guidance, for creativity, for open doors. Pray about the little things and the big things; nothing is too small or big for God.

And realize that He will never, never, never, no never leave or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)!

2) Stick To Your Budget

Be very, very vigilant in adhering to your written budget. While it might seem like you’re not getting traction, sticking with your budget will ensure that you’re not sliding backwards or getting any farther behind than your possibly have to.

3) Realize That Your Attitude Can Make or Break the Situation

I wholeheartedly believe that you’re not stuck unless you choose to be. You can always be learning, growing, improving yourself and seeking to improve your financial situation — even if it seems that your actual income is staying the same.

Have a cheerful, grateful spirit. Focus on counting your blessings rather than all the difficult things in your life. And determine, by the grace of God, that you are going to do all you can to make the most of your situation, to stretch your resources as far as possible and to use any extra time you have in your day to increase your income.

4) Set Microscopic Goals To Begin With

No matter your income or financial situation, you can set goals, even if they are microscopic. You likely can’t save $100 this month, but I’m guessing that if you squeezed, you might be able to save $2 or $5 — or maybe even $10. Start there and set this aside in a savings account as your Emergency Fund (or however else you want to designate it) and add to it each month. Over time, you just might be surprised at how it will grow!

In addition, don’t just set goals for saving money, set goals for earning money, too! You said that you’re usually doing around $25 per month cleaning houses. What if you were to challenge yourself to bump that number up to $35 this coming month? And then little bit, by little bit, continue to bump it up.

I also recommend setting goals for improving yourself — such as skills to learn and books to read. Choose things which will help you be able to increase your income, make wise financial choices and which will encourage you in your current situation.

As always: don’t bite off more than you can chew. I’d suggest starting by setting two to four tiny goals each month. Once you accomplish those, add a few more. When you feel ready, increase the goals by a tiny little bit and then a little bit more. Setting goals — even if they are teensy-tiny — and then actually reaching them can give you enormous encouragement and you just might be amazed at the momentum it gives you!

5) Look For Any Extra Cash You Can Come Up With

You mentioned that you clean houses, if you are looking to expand, consider contacting local multi-unit rentals to see if they need someone to clean their units when a renter moves out. Or make connections with realtors and ask them about cleaning foreclosed homes for them or having them recommend you to sellers who want to have their home professionally cleaned after they move out.

Think outside the box of what normal professional cleaners do and you’ll likely land upon some really successful ideas. Contact business owners and offer to clean their office space. Advertise your business on Craigslist. Offer a discount to your current customers if they refer you to others who then end up using your services.

You also said you have a blog and that you’re currently making about $2 per month off it. I’d suggest you try to learn and implement some of the suggestions on BloggingWithAmy.com in order to steadily increase that each month.

While some may disagree with me, I think almost anyone who is willing to put in some time and effort can earn at least an extra $50 to $100 per month by spending three hours of blogging each week. You already have your blog set up and running, so I’d encourage you to work on monetizing it and growing it — if it’s something you enjoy.

6) Improve Yourself

Seek to make the most of every opportunity to learn, to grow, to glean. Always be learning new things, trying new things and coming up with new ideas. Don’t be content with the status quo.

Read good books which challenge and motivate you. As much as is possible, remove negative influences from your life which just suck time and energy. Replace them with things that encourage and inspire you.

7) Don’t Give Up

Finally, do not give up. Your situation will not change overnight; gaining traction is not instantaneous. But if you’re willing to keep working hard, to keep experimenting, to keep setting goals, to keep pressing forward, to keep sticking with the budget and to keep going when the going gets tough, it will pay off.

Don’t lose heart! Keep looking to the Lord and asking Him to provide and guide you — and see Him do amazing things!

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Facebook is nicking Google's staff. Over 10 percent of Facebook's staff used to work for the Big G in the past, according to the New York Times.

Around 200 of Facebook's current employees are ex-Googlers. Facebook has roughly 1,600 employees, making the infiltration, we mean, crossover around 12.5 percent. Significant, with recent talk, especially by us, of Facebook and Google set to become bitter rivals.

A few high profile Google employees have jumped ship, such as Erick Tseng, who was Senior Product Manager for Android. He's not heading Facebook's mobile business, which may result in a Facebook branded smartphone in the future.

So what is going on to prompt Google staff to join Facebook's ranks? It could simply be that both companies share similar interests and are operating in the same sector, with people wanting a change of scenery. Maybe Facebook pays better. Or maybe Facebook is trying to steal Google's staff. Or maybe Google is trying to plant spies to steal Facebook's secrets. Or maybe we're just throwing ideas out there.

All we know for sure is that the exodus to the social notworking site represents less than one percent of Google's estimated 22,000 staff, and Google can really afford to lose a few people here and there when it's rolling in such vast sums on money.

For the past few years, Melissa Petro has been teaching art at P.S. 70 in the Bronx—and more recently, she's been writing about her past as a former sex worker in various publications. Earlier this month, she wrote on the Huffington Post, "From October 2006 to January 2007 I accepted money in exchange for sexual services I provided to men I met online in what was then called the 'erotic services' section of Craigslist.org." Now, the Department of Education has reassigned her during its investigation as P.S. 70 parents say things like "She's not a good role model."

That mother also tells the Post, "I do not want my daughters to find out about this and I do not want my daughters to be around that kind of person," while another says, "I don't want nobody that used to do that to be around my kid. People like that should not be allowed to be anywhere near children."

Petro, who has a MFA in creative nonfiction from the New School, wrote on The Rumpus over the summer about being a stripper in Mexico (she didn't mention the Craigslist sexual services work) and how her past was catching up with her present, thanks to the Internet:

I recently had the experience at my job of being warned by a colleague that other coworkers have begun Googling me. The concern is that I’m an elementary school teacher (teaching art/creative writing at a public school in the South Bronx) as well as a writer, and my writing- at least that which has been published and is therefore “Google-able”- is primarily about my experiences as a sex worker, which occurred some time prior to my becoming a teacher.

Since becoming a teacher I have known- hoped, even- that this would be a conversation I’d someday be compelled to have, and while I’ve done nothing at work to encourage such controversy, as a writer and an activist, not to mention former stripper, I’ve never been one to shy away from publicity. I welcome this debate in particular, not only because it explores issues of freedom of speech and the rights of workers to live self-determined lives outside of the workplace, but because, ultimately, here is another opportunity to call into the light the persistent and erroneous insinuation that once a prostitute always a whore- not “whore” in the pro-industry reclamative sense of the word but in its opposite, everything society has told me I am from the moment I first bared my breasts at a tit club, if not before...

...This article is not—not yet, at least— in defense of my job. I also realize it is a not a question of whether an individual can, at one time, have been a sex worker and, today, be a teacher. The reality is that a person can, as I have served at my current position competently for a nearly three years. For me, it is a question of whether society is ready to adapt their schema to accommodate our reality.

It would be better, I suspect, if I were ashamed.

In an off the record conversation, a sympathetic administrator kindly asked if I couldn’t publish under a pseudonym. I wish, for her sake, I could. But for sake of the rights and integrity of myself and every other man or woman who makes or has made choices similar to mine, and then tries to make sense of these choices, I cannot. I learned along the way that “you are only as sick as your secrets.” My writing and performing my work has been my salvation. I wrote myself out of the hell of secrecy and into the body of the woman I am today, capable of making meaning of myself and my experience— more than qualified to manage a classroom and teach kids about art but also, like anyone else, to be more than just my job.

robert shumake detroit

Watershed debuts Waterproof Bag for iPad | iLounge <b>News</b>

iLounge news discussing the Watershed debuts Waterproof Bag for iPad. Find more iPad Accessories news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

Small Business <b>News</b>: BlogWorld Wrap Up

BlogWorld 2010 has come and gone with more than a few new revelations imperative to the small business community. This post will feature as kind of a wrap up of.

ABC <b>News</b> Exclusive: Tea Party Candidate in Nevada Senate May Tip <b>...</b>

Scott Ashjian calls himself the “Tea Party of Nevada” candidate for US Senate, but he tells ABC News that he would be “at peace” knowing he helped re-elect Harry Reid by siphoning votes away from Sharron Angle. The Note, authored by ABC ...

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Facebook is nicking Google's staff. Over 10 percent of Facebook's staff used to work for the Big G in the past, according to the New York Times.

Around 200 of Facebook's current employees are ex-Googlers. Facebook has roughly 1,600 employees, making the infiltration, we mean, crossover around 12.5 percent. Significant, with recent talk, especially by us, of Facebook and Google set to become bitter rivals.

A few high profile Google employees have jumped ship, such as Erick Tseng, who was Senior Product Manager for Android. He's not heading Facebook's mobile business, which may result in a Facebook branded smartphone in the future.

So what is going on to prompt Google staff to join Facebook's ranks? It could simply be that both companies share similar interests and are operating in the same sector, with people wanting a change of scenery. Maybe Facebook pays better. Or maybe Facebook is trying to steal Google's staff. Or maybe Google is trying to plant spies to steal Facebook's secrets. Or maybe we're just throwing ideas out there.

All we know for sure is that the exodus to the social notworking site represents less than one percent of Google's estimated 22,000 staff, and Google can really afford to lose a few people here and there when it's rolling in such vast sums on money.

For the past few years, Melissa Petro has been teaching art at P.S. 70 in the Bronx—and more recently, she's been writing about her past as a former sex worker in various publications. Earlier this month, she wrote on the Huffington Post, "From October 2006 to January 2007 I accepted money in exchange for sexual services I provided to men I met online in what was then called the 'erotic services' section of Craigslist.org." Now, the Department of Education has reassigned her during its investigation as P.S. 70 parents say things like "She's not a good role model."

That mother also tells the Post, "I do not want my daughters to find out about this and I do not want my daughters to be around that kind of person," while another says, "I don't want nobody that used to do that to be around my kid. People like that should not be allowed to be anywhere near children."

Petro, who has a MFA in creative nonfiction from the New School, wrote on The Rumpus over the summer about being a stripper in Mexico (she didn't mention the Craigslist sexual services work) and how her past was catching up with her present, thanks to the Internet:

I recently had the experience at my job of being warned by a colleague that other coworkers have begun Googling me. The concern is that I’m an elementary school teacher (teaching art/creative writing at a public school in the South Bronx) as well as a writer, and my writing- at least that which has been published and is therefore “Google-able”- is primarily about my experiences as a sex worker, which occurred some time prior to my becoming a teacher.

Since becoming a teacher I have known- hoped, even- that this would be a conversation I’d someday be compelled to have, and while I’ve done nothing at work to encourage such controversy, as a writer and an activist, not to mention former stripper, I’ve never been one to shy away from publicity. I welcome this debate in particular, not only because it explores issues of freedom of speech and the rights of workers to live self-determined lives outside of the workplace, but because, ultimately, here is another opportunity to call into the light the persistent and erroneous insinuation that once a prostitute always a whore- not “whore” in the pro-industry reclamative sense of the word but in its opposite, everything society has told me I am from the moment I first bared my breasts at a tit club, if not before...

...This article is not—not yet, at least— in defense of my job. I also realize it is a not a question of whether an individual can, at one time, have been a sex worker and, today, be a teacher. The reality is that a person can, as I have served at my current position competently for a nearly three years. For me, it is a question of whether society is ready to adapt their schema to accommodate our reality.

It would be better, I suspect, if I were ashamed.

In an off the record conversation, a sympathetic administrator kindly asked if I couldn’t publish under a pseudonym. I wish, for her sake, I could. But for sake of the rights and integrity of myself and every other man or woman who makes or has made choices similar to mine, and then tries to make sense of these choices, I cannot. I learned along the way that “you are only as sick as your secrets.” My writing and performing my work has been my salvation. I wrote myself out of the hell of secrecy and into the body of the woman I am today, capable of making meaning of myself and my experience— more than qualified to manage a classroom and teach kids about art but also, like anyone else, to be more than just my job.

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Watershed debuts Waterproof Bag for iPad | iLounge <b>News</b>

iLounge news discussing the Watershed debuts Waterproof Bag for iPad. Find more iPad Accessories news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

Small Business <b>News</b>: BlogWorld Wrap Up

BlogWorld 2010 has come and gone with more than a few new revelations imperative to the small business community. This post will feature as kind of a wrap up of.

ABC <b>News</b> Exclusive: Tea Party Candidate in Nevada Senate May Tip <b>...</b>

Scott Ashjian calls himself the “Tea Party of Nevada” candidate for US Senate, but he tells ABC News that he would be “at peace” knowing he helped re-elect Harry Reid by siphoning votes away from Sharron Angle. The Note, authored by ABC ...

robert shumake detroit

robert shumake detroit

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Watershed debuts Waterproof Bag for iPad | iLounge <b>News</b>

iLounge news discussing the Watershed debuts Waterproof Bag for iPad. Find more iPad Accessories news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

Small Business <b>News</b>: BlogWorld Wrap Up

BlogWorld 2010 has come and gone with more than a few new revelations imperative to the small business community. This post will feature as kind of a wrap up of.

ABC <b>News</b> Exclusive: Tea Party Candidate in Nevada Senate May Tip <b>...</b>

Scott Ashjian calls himself the “Tea Party of Nevada” candidate for US Senate, but he tells ABC News that he would be “at peace” knowing he helped re-elect Harry Reid by siphoning votes away from Sharron Angle. The Note, authored by ABC ...

robert shumake twitter

Facebook is nicking Google's staff. Over 10 percent of Facebook's staff used to work for the Big G in the past, according to the New York Times.

Around 200 of Facebook's current employees are ex-Googlers. Facebook has roughly 1,600 employees, making the infiltration, we mean, crossover around 12.5 percent. Significant, with recent talk, especially by us, of Facebook and Google set to become bitter rivals.

A few high profile Google employees have jumped ship, such as Erick Tseng, who was Senior Product Manager for Android. He's not heading Facebook's mobile business, which may result in a Facebook branded smartphone in the future.

So what is going on to prompt Google staff to join Facebook's ranks? It could simply be that both companies share similar interests and are operating in the same sector, with people wanting a change of scenery. Maybe Facebook pays better. Or maybe Facebook is trying to steal Google's staff. Or maybe Google is trying to plant spies to steal Facebook's secrets. Or maybe we're just throwing ideas out there.

All we know for sure is that the exodus to the social notworking site represents less than one percent of Google's estimated 22,000 staff, and Google can really afford to lose a few people here and there when it's rolling in such vast sums on money.

For the past few years, Melissa Petro has been teaching art at P.S. 70 in the Bronx—and more recently, she's been writing about her past as a former sex worker in various publications. Earlier this month, she wrote on the Huffington Post, "From October 2006 to January 2007 I accepted money in exchange for sexual services I provided to men I met online in what was then called the 'erotic services' section of Craigslist.org." Now, the Department of Education has reassigned her during its investigation as P.S. 70 parents say things like "She's not a good role model."

That mother also tells the Post, "I do not want my daughters to find out about this and I do not want my daughters to be around that kind of person," while another says, "I don't want nobody that used to do that to be around my kid. People like that should not be allowed to be anywhere near children."

Petro, who has a MFA in creative nonfiction from the New School, wrote on The Rumpus over the summer about being a stripper in Mexico (she didn't mention the Craigslist sexual services work) and how her past was catching up with her present, thanks to the Internet:

I recently had the experience at my job of being warned by a colleague that other coworkers have begun Googling me. The concern is that I’m an elementary school teacher (teaching art/creative writing at a public school in the South Bronx) as well as a writer, and my writing- at least that which has been published and is therefore “Google-able”- is primarily about my experiences as a sex worker, which occurred some time prior to my becoming a teacher.

Since becoming a teacher I have known- hoped, even- that this would be a conversation I’d someday be compelled to have, and while I’ve done nothing at work to encourage such controversy, as a writer and an activist, not to mention former stripper, I’ve never been one to shy away from publicity. I welcome this debate in particular, not only because it explores issues of freedom of speech and the rights of workers to live self-determined lives outside of the workplace, but because, ultimately, here is another opportunity to call into the light the persistent and erroneous insinuation that once a prostitute always a whore- not “whore” in the pro-industry reclamative sense of the word but in its opposite, everything society has told me I am from the moment I first bared my breasts at a tit club, if not before...

...This article is not—not yet, at least— in defense of my job. I also realize it is a not a question of whether an individual can, at one time, have been a sex worker and, today, be a teacher. The reality is that a person can, as I have served at my current position competently for a nearly three years. For me, it is a question of whether society is ready to adapt their schema to accommodate our reality.

It would be better, I suspect, if I were ashamed.

In an off the record conversation, a sympathetic administrator kindly asked if I couldn’t publish under a pseudonym. I wish, for her sake, I could. But for sake of the rights and integrity of myself and every other man or woman who makes or has made choices similar to mine, and then tries to make sense of these choices, I cannot. I learned along the way that “you are only as sick as your secrets.” My writing and performing my work has been my salvation. I wrote myself out of the hell of secrecy and into the body of the woman I am today, capable of making meaning of myself and my experience— more than qualified to manage a classroom and teach kids about art but also, like anyone else, to be more than just my job.

robert shumake twitter

robert shumake twitter

Watershed debuts Waterproof Bag for iPad | iLounge <b>News</b>

iLounge news discussing the Watershed debuts Waterproof Bag for iPad. Find more iPad Accessories news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

Small Business <b>News</b>: BlogWorld Wrap Up

BlogWorld 2010 has come and gone with more than a few new revelations imperative to the small business community. This post will feature as kind of a wrap up of.

ABC <b>News</b> Exclusive: Tea Party Candidate in Nevada Senate May Tip <b>...</b>

Scott Ashjian calls himself the “Tea Party of Nevada” candidate for US Senate, but he tells ABC News that he would be “at peace” knowing he helped re-elect Harry Reid by siphoning votes away from Sharron Angle. The Note, authored by ABC ...

robert shumake twitter

robert shumake detroit

Watershed debuts Waterproof Bag for iPad | iLounge <b>News</b>

iLounge news discussing the Watershed debuts Waterproof Bag for iPad. Find more iPad Accessories news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

Small Business <b>News</b>: BlogWorld Wrap Up

BlogWorld 2010 has come and gone with more than a few new revelations imperative to the small business community. This post will feature as kind of a wrap up of.

ABC <b>News</b> Exclusive: Tea Party Candidate in Nevada Senate May Tip <b>...</b>

Scott Ashjian calls himself the “Tea Party of Nevada” candidate for US Senate, but he tells ABC News that he would be “at peace” knowing he helped re-elect Harry Reid by siphoning votes away from Sharron Angle. The Note, authored by ABC ...

robert shumake detroit

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BlogWorld 2010 has come and gone with more than a few new revelations imperative to the small business community. This post will feature as kind of a wrap up of.

ABC <b>News</b> Exclusive: Tea Party Candidate in Nevada Senate May Tip <b>...</b>

Scott Ashjian calls himself the “Tea Party of Nevada” candidate for US Senate, but he tells ABC News that he would be “at peace” knowing he helped re-elect Harry Reid by siphoning votes away from Sharron Angle. The Note, authored by ABC ...

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Watershed debuts Waterproof Bag for iPad | iLounge <b>News</b>

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Small Business <b>News</b>: BlogWorld Wrap Up

BlogWorld 2010 has come and gone with more than a few new revelations imperative to the small business community. This post will feature as kind of a wrap up of.

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Scott Ashjian calls himself the “Tea Party of Nevada” candidate for US Senate, but he tells ABC News that he would be “at peace” knowing he helped re-elect Harry Reid by siphoning votes away from Sharron Angle. The Note, authored by ABC ...

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robert shumake hall of shame

Do you want to make money online, but are not sure the best way to go about it? Then you will be happy to know you're not alone. One of the first things you must do to get started making money online is to have a website. The truth of the matter is you will not make money right away online, there are no get rich quick schemes. Anytime you come across something like that, that is exactly what it is, a scheme. That is something that you should avoid like the plague.

The best way to make money online is to get a website or blog set up and then optimize it. You are building the foundation that is going to help you get started on your road to being successful on the Internet. It does take time to build up rankings on the Internet but then again, that's just a fact of life. Anything worth doing is worth doing right, and this is going to take time.

You need to optimize your site properly, something that many people don't take the time to do. Yes, fresh new content is one of the most important things, but still so is search engine optimization. You can have the best product or have the most interesting content on the Internet but if you are doing things with your website which will not let the search engines find you, then it isn't going to help you.

One of the first things you want to make sure that you don't have on your website is something called JavaScript. JavaScript pop ups are all those little windows set to automatically pop up when you visit a website. I'm pretty sure that anybody that has been on the Internet has experienced them. Usually they're very annoying to Web visitors, so you wouldn't want to have them just for that reason. Additionally, search engine can't read javascript, so never have any of your information in this format.

Making sure that you have fresh content that is updated at least three times a week is a must have. The search engines just love fresh ideas and fresh content, and so do your readers. The best way to go about it would be to publish new content at least three times a week. Make sure that your content is interesting and engauging to your readers and a general rule of thumb is to have your posting be at least 300 words. Go to Google Trends and check out what is hot right now. If there is anything pertaining to your sites content, make a post about it.

Another thing you want to avoid is using too many graphics and pictures. The reason for this is you will have many different types of people accessing your site, some people might be on dial up. Yes there are some people out there still using dial up. Too many graphics will make your website load very slowly, especially to somebody that is on dial-up. So what's going happen if you website is loading so slowly? Yes you guessed it. People are going to close out the window to your website and move on. Additionally for SEO purposes if you do have pictures on your site make sure that you have the alt image tags filled out, this putting keywords where the picture would be, especially useful for the search engines which cannot see pictures.

Ensure that your website is pleasing on the eye. Having too much confusing content and colors that don't go together will make it difficult for your reader. If you have a website put together that is glaring and is going to practically blind your readers, they're going to be quick to click off and go somewhere else. Additionally, a good navigation format is essential as well. If readers cannot find what they're looking for on your site or it's confusing to get to the next page, they're going to get frustrated and leave. Make sure that your site is as user-friendly as possible.

An additional consideration which goes along with having a pleasing website is to not have too many ads. We've all been to those websites that are so cluttered with advertisements that you can't find any useful content on it. This is another reason that people are going to run, not walk, from your website, so to speak. People come to your site looking for information not to see a bunch of ads.

So this is the basis of setting up a successful and readable website. Once you get your website in place correctly, then you just continue to build on that. You'll start to have loyal readers that come to your site to read what you have to say. Once you have established yourself in this way, it will be much easier to be successful at what ever type of online business you are interested in doing. But the real secret to getting started in being successful is to have a really great, informative website. If you follow these instructions then the search engines will find you, and so will your readers who will eventually turn into your clients.


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robert shumake detroit

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BlogWorld 2010 has come and gone with more than a few new revelations imperative to the small business community. This post will feature as kind of a wrap up of.

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Scott Ashjian calls himself the “Tea Party of Nevada” candidate for US Senate, but he tells ABC News that he would be “at peace” knowing he helped re-elect Harry Reid by siphoning votes away from Sharron Angle. The Note, authored by ABC ...