Starting a home based business and accomplishing personal goals is more difficult with a family, full time job and responsibilities but not impossible.Many people reading this article may have given up on their goal to start a home business or accomplish personal goals in their life because they put responsibilities like their family, their job, bills and household duties before themselves and at the end of the day they are just too tired to devote any time to their dreams.This article will give you some easy to use techniques that will help you find more time in the day to start your home based business, accomplish personal goals and get to where you want to be in your life.Step 1 – Define your visionIn starting anything big it’s always important to have a vision and know where you want to go.Where do you want to be in six month, one year, five years etc? Write those things down.In defining a vision it’s also important to have visual examples of where you want to go, things you want to do, items you want to buy etc so get creative and start looking for pictures of these things and when you find them tape them to your wall, refrigerator, car, bathroom etc. Keep these pictures everywhere you can see them to keep you motivated and to build the image in your mind that those things are real and you can attain them.Remember this saying “If it exists it’s attainable”.Step 2 – Set realistic goalsWhen setting goals don’t go crazy and write down things like “Make one million dollars in six months” “Own a private jet in one year” etc. Start with the most basic things in your life and work your way up to the big things.Are you able to pay your bills on time? Maintain car repairs? Mortgage payment?Start with what needs to be accomplished at home first before moving on to the big things because the average person will quit trying to accomplish their goals because they set them too big and were not able to accomplish them when they thought they could.Step 3 – Find a business that’s right for youDo your research and find a business that offers a product or service that you would be comfortable promoting to your friends and family.Find a product or service that you can relate to, will feel comfortable using and is at a price anyone can afford.Don’t invest in your home based business with credit cards. Use only the money that you have to use.Step 4 – Get your spouse or partner involvedInvolving your spouse or partner in accomplishing your goal of starting a home based business will make the road a little easier because if they are involved you will have someone who is willing to work with you to see the shared vision come to fruition.Step 5 – Get your kids involvedIf your children are old enough set them down and talk with them about the importance of goal setting and accomplishing their goals and then talk with them about the goal that you have set for yourself. Why is this important? It’s important because they will hold you accountable and when you accomplish your goal they will get to see a real, life experience of someone having their dreams come true.Step 6 – Define your work spaceFinding a place to work at home when you have a family can be difficult but not impossible!To set up a work space find any area of your home that’s away from the action and set up your work space there. This is an important step because when anyone sees you at that area they will know that you’re working and will leave you alone.A work space doesn’t have to be fancy, doesn’t have to be at a desk, doesn’t need to involve a chair, it just has to be a place where you can be alone and get some serious work done.Step 7 – How much time can you devote to it?What’s your schedule like? How much time can you devote to your home business?This is the most important step of this article because most people often invest in home business opportunities without a realistic idea of the work it will take to see those opportunities succeed.Think about the amount of time you spend every week in front of the TV or doing stupid things when you could be spending that time on your business.Devote a set amount of hours per day or night to your business and then tell your family those hours so they will know that’s when you’re working

Now that you have made an offer to acquire a commercial property and are waiting to close escrow, you may want to start looking for a property manager to professionally manage the property. Your real estate investment advisor should present you with 2 or 3 local companies, each with its own proposal. Your job is to decide which company you will hire. The property manager will be the main point of contact between you, as the landlord, and the tenants. Her main job is to:
Receive and collect the rents and other payments from your tenants. This is typically simple until a tenant does not send the rent check. A good property manager will somehow get the tenant to pay the rent while a lousy one will throw a monkey on your back!

Hire, pay, and supervise personnel to maintain, repair and operate the property, e.g. trash removal, window cleaning, and landscaping. Otherwise, the property loses its appeal, and customers may not patronize your tenants’ businesses. The tenants then may not renew their lease. As a consequence, you may not realize the expected cash flow.

Lease any vacant space.

Keep an accurate record of income and expenses, and provide you with a monthly report.
A good property manager is critical in keeping your property fully occupied at the highest market rent, the tenants happy and in turn helps you achieve your investment objectives. Before choosing a property management company, you may want to:

Interview the company with focus on how the company handles and resolves problems, e.g. late payment.

Talk to the person who will manage the property day to day as this may be a different person from the one who signs the property management contract. You want someone with strong interpersonal skills to effectively deal with tenants.
The property managing company normally wants a contract for at least one year. The contract should spell out the duties of the property manager, compensation, and what will require the landlord’s approval.Agent’s Compensation: you will have to pay someone to manage and lease the property. You may have one company to manage the property and a different company to lease the property. However, it’s best to work with one company that handles both managing and leasing to save time and money.

Management fee: the fee varies between 3-6% of the base monthly rent for a retail center, depending on the amount of work needed to manage the property. For example, it takes much less time to manage a $2M retail center with just a single tenant than a $2M retail strip with 12 tenants. So, for the center with 12 tenants, you may have to pay a higher percentage to motivate the property manager. You should negotiate the fee as a percentage of the base rent instead of the gross rent. Base rent does not include NNN charges. Ideally, you want a lease in which the tenants pay for their share of property management fee.

Late fee: when a tenant pays late, he is often required by the lease to pay late fee. The property manager is allowed to keep this fee as an incentive to collect the rent.

Leasing fee: this fee compensates the property manager to lease any vacant space. In a typical lease contract, the leasing company wants 4-7% of the gross rent over the life of the lease. It also wants the leasing fee to be paid when the new tenant moves in. In addition, the leasing company wants around 2% of gross rent when the lease is renewed. The tenant may also ask for Tenant Improvement (TI) credit, typically between $10-20 per square foot to pay for construction expenses. So if a new tenant with a 10-year lease goes under after one year then you may lose money. As the landlord you should:

Approve a long term lease (10 years or longer) only when the tenant’s financial strength is solid. Otherwise, it may be better to reduce the lease to 3-5 years.

Make sure the new lease has a provision for some kind of rent escalation, preferably based on Consumer Price Index (CPI), i.e. inflation which is 3-4% a year instead of lower fixed 1-2% annual increase.

Consider TI request from the tenant as one of the factors to approve a lease. The TI credit depends on whether you need the tenant more or the tenant needs you more.

Negotiate for a flat rate renewal fee, e.g. $500 instead of paying a percentage of the rent for the life of the lease. The negotiation is easier with one company that handles both leasing and management.

Negotiate to pay the leasing agent a lower percentage, e.g. 4% when no outside leasing broker is involved.

You can see that it’s very important to minimize tenants’ turnover rate as it has a direct impact on the cash flow of your commercial property. A good property manager will help you achieve this goal.Monthly Report: each month the property manager should send you a report on income received, expenses incurred, and property status. You should Review the report to see if the numbers make sense. You should:

Request a report showing both rent and CAM fees received.
Request a separate bank account for your property and have a monthly bank statement sent to you. Without this, the property manager will deposit and commingle all the rents from all properties that she manages into her company’s bank account.
If you instruct the property manager to send you the excess cash flow then you will also get a check.Landlord’s Approval: the management contract should specify the dollar limit for exceptional maintenance expense above which would require your approval. This amount varies from landlord to landlord as well as the type of property. However, it’s typically somewhere between $500 to $2,000 dollars.Communication with property manager: in the first few months, you and the new property manager should communicate often to make sure things go smoothly. You should give instructions in writing, e.g. email, to your property manager and keep records of all your correspondence. If the property manager does not do what you instructed, you may refer to your records and minimize disputes.If you want to work hard for your money, you may want to manage your own property. However, if you want to work smart, your partner should be a good property manager.

Feeling financially secure in your future is a comforting thought. Learning how to manage your personal finances is a goal everyone should strive to as it brings about rewards rather than despair.

To help get you started you should first assess your current financial status. This is the essential first step as it outlines where all you personal finance sits. This can be a daunting task for anyone, and something most people avoid, however a basic understanding of your financials can improve your lifestyle and reduce your stress ten fold.

Understanding of your personal finances requires three things: current expenses, current income and awareness of any financial problems and desires.

Take note of how much you are spending. Make notes on your monthly expenses and match them off with your total income.
If you find your expenses are more than your income then you need to make some decisions about reducing your expenses in order to avoid taking out unnecessary loans to get by.

A good approach to have when creating your personal finance plan is complete honesty. Be honest with yourself when deciding on how much you can really afford and your total expenses. By doing so you will have an accurate overview of your financial standing. If you are not honest then your assessment will be skewed and the possibility of worsening you financial situation is a high possibility.

Perhaps the single most important factor in your personal finance plan is discipline. Admittedly this is easier said than done, however strong discipline will allow you to decide on what you should spend your money on and what you should not. Discipline is imperative if you strive for a stress free financial future.

Build a solid understanding of financial terms and money saving methods. Before investing be sure you understand the market or deal.It is never too late to for a financial education and by doing so will allow you to make decisions surrounding your personal finance much easier. Seek out financial advisors such as your accountant, or financial planners. Research and understanding will allow you to achieve your financial goals much sooner.

Visualize you facial dreams as this provide the motivation to discipline yourself and stay on track. You will be able to decide on which financial desires are achievable and within realistic reach. Focus on realistic goals as they will provide success and keep you motivated to continue.

Without question, spending wisely is a very effective method of improving your personal finances. Very simply do not spend more than you can earn or make sure your outgoings are less than your incomings. You can easily manage your own personal finance matters with a bit of honesty, discipline and financial knowledge.

Many small business owners struggle with obtaining business finance, and there is absolutely nothing unusual about this. Getting a business loan for small businesses, such as retailers, restaurants, garages and so on, is not as simple as one would think from the bank.

This is not to say however, that getting a business loan is not possible. It all depends on where one goes looking for the loan. Typically, there are two primary options that business owners have, approaching their local banks and going to a private funder or lender.

Banks and small business loans

Banks look at applications for small business loans from their perspective and their perspective is determined by their criteria. When we speak of criteria, there are numerous criteria and these are all non-flexible as well as stringent.

Typically, banks require high credit scores, which should be around about 700 or over. If a business applying for a loan with the bank lacks excellent credit, their application will be rejected simply based on that one criteria. In conclusion to banks and credit scores, business funding with bad credit with a bank is not a possibility.

This is not to say that there are not a number of other criteria, which banks follow carefully and take equally seriously as well. The criteria of banks have been established over the decades based on shared experience, and these criteria are across the board.

As is generally acknowledged, banks are not very keen on funding small business loans. The reasons for this are many and one of the primary reasons is that, small businesses are considered to be high risk investments from the banks perspective and experience.

Private funders and small business loans

With a private lender the situation is completely different from what a business owner will experience with a bank. Private lenders have a completely different list of criteria to provide cash advance for business owners.

As private lenders primarily offer MCA (Merchant Cash Advances), the criteria for these is simple. An MCA loan is an unsecured loan, and does not require high credit scores either. As a result it’s easy to qualify for this kind of funding.

However, many a small business owners don’t look upon MCAs from a friendly perspective, and they do have their reasons. The interest rates are higher than traditional bank loans, and most business owners want low interest rates.

The point with MCAs is however not to compete with bank financing, as they are both in quite different arenas. Apart from the fact that they are both financing for businesses, the entire process, requirements, features and all other details related to the funding are completely different.