The credit crunch throughout 2008 and 2009 has put severe restrictions on the amount of money banks are willing to lend to their business clients. This situation is having large implications for business development in the UK. However, there are some perhaps less well known avenues for raising business finance which company directors and business owners should be aware about.

The economic downturn of the last 12 months has put severe restrictions on the amount of money banks are willing to lend to their business clients. This situation is having significant implications for business development in the UK. Day to day operations are impacted as there can be very few companies who have not been asked by their bank to reduce their overdraft facilities. In many cases, such facilities have been simply reduced or canceled without warning. Businesses who are trying to secure finance to support growth and development are constantly held back as banks and building societies want cast iron guarantees before they will lend. This situation is hugely limiting on business growth in the UK and strangling economic recovery.

Given this scenario, one would be forgiven for thinking that the outlook for businesses who are trying to raise finance is particularly bleak. However, there are some perhaps less well known avenues for raising business finance which company directors and business owners should be aware about. These are collectively known as business refinancing. The main types of business refinancing are described below.

1. Asset Refinancing

This is the process of borrowing against the value of any fixed assets which are owned by the business. For example, if the business has any plant or machinery which it owns outright (no finance or charge currently outstanding), money can be lent to the business against the value of these assets. The amount of the loan available will depend on the value of the asset as determined by a recognised independent valuer. The amount of the loan will vary but will normally be up to a maximum of 70% of the asset depending upon the underlying credit strength of the business.

Assets that are already on finance can also be refinanced as long as the existing finance company is paid off as part of the process.

2. Invoice Financing

Invoice financing is the process of raising money based on a company’s outstanding invoices. Invoice financing could allow a company to draw down up to 90% of the invoice value immediately on the issue of a valid invoice. The company still has the responsibility for ensuring invoices are paid and paid on time. However, the company does not have to wait for invoices to be paid before the relevant cash is available to it.

3. Trade Finance

The company may have landed a large new order but with tight cashflow not have the funds to fulfill it. Trade Finance can enable a business to receive up to 80% of the confirmed order value up front to pay the suppliers required to fulfill the order. The finance company will normally pay suppliers directly. Then once the order is fulfilled and accepted by the customer, the finance company will invoice the customer directly. Once the customer has paid the finance company, adhering to the typical payment terms, they will release any profits back to the business, less their fees.

Business refinance options are not only useful for companies which are on a reasonable financial footing. Where a company is facing financial difficulty it may be considering a business rescue solution such as Phoenixing, or an Administration Order. Often these solutions can be doomed to fail if the correct finance package is not available to support them. Business refinancing solutions can be considered to support these business rescue initiatives.

Clearly, business refinancing will will require the usual guarantees from company directors. However, this situation is quite simply no different to the requirements of the high street banks when considering the lending of overdraft or business loan facilities. In effect, business refinancing can be a very sensible and reasonable alternative to more traditional ways of raising business finance. Therefore, business owners should be actively pursuing these options when looking at ways to raise finance both today and into the foreseeable future.

Derek Cooper is Managing Director of Cooper Matthews Limited and a member of the Turnaround Management Association UK. With significant experience in working with small to medium sized businesses, Cooper Matthews specialise in providing straight forward insolvency advice for businesses with financial problems.

For free expert advice on Business Refinancing issues visit http://coopermatthews.com/business-refinancing.html

If you want the best education for your child but your finances won’t permit it, you probably need to find out free school grants. Many organizations, companies, churches, and the government offer educational grants. Unlike loans, these grants need not be repaid so that you can look forward to an unburdened future.

Government School Grants

To obtain Gov grants, you need to first find out what kinds of grants are offered and for which one are you eligible. This is easily accomplished by running relevant Google and Yahoo searches. There are many sites that offer this kind of information; check more than one to make sure you have the complete picture.

Most reputed websites also provide free application forms. Fill out the application form carefully. Make sure you enclose all relevant documents – residence proof, bank statements, salary slips. The application should be neatly filled out, with accurate information.

Most applications usually also require a grant proposal to be written. Proposal writing needs a fair amount of skill, and a number of people seek paid professional help for it. You need to persuade the reviewer of your application form to grant you the money.

Ensure that deadlines are met. It will be a pity to be denied the money because your application didn’t reach in time.

Private School Grants

Private grants are not easy to obtain. Most of them are offered by private benefactors who support particular schools. There are, however, many organizations that donate money to schools, which are set aside for educational grants. Many churches also sponsor such grants in schools within their area.

Since the money comes from within the school’s budget, the grants are usually not very large and may often not cover all your child’s educational expenses. The number of applicants and availability of funds greatly affect the amount you might receive.

The availability, eligibility, and procedure for application for these school grants can be found out through relevant net searches. If you have already identified a target institution, it will be best to go and speak with their financial aid office. You may be required to fill out a financial aid form. Various financial documents, such as salary slips, bank statements, and child support documents, may be required and should be kept ready.

Both parents must present residence and income proof as well as documents confirming lawful guardianship. It is best to anticipate these requirements and be ready.

Parents who wish to enroll more than one child in an institution may want to inquire about sibling discount from the financial aid office. A number of schools offer concession on tuition fees for siblings of students already enrolled or enrolling together.

Many schools award grants on the basis of a child’s academic, artistic, or other merits. It is better to find out from the institution if your child is eligible to apply for such a grant. Do keep certificates and awards handy.

Early bird catches the prey. The soon you are ready with the relevant documentation; the earlier you will be able to submit your application. Often that makes all the difference with school grants.

School-grants.org is a portal for information on all kinds of school grants. You can find out all you need to know about grants for women, housing grants, and nursing grants. This is the best time to find the best school grants and save thousands.

The Internet is chock full of home based business opportunities and you see them just about everywhere you go, not to mention the emails you may receive. They promise big rewards for little to no effort or investment. If there is anything life should teach you it is that when something looks too good to be true, it usually is.

Here are a few things to look for when you get those business opportunity emails or offers.

First and foremost, again, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. An offer saying you can make $5,000 a week for an hour of work each day is insane and you should really look at that as being a big scam. This is especially true if you have to send of money to get all the information you’ll need to start your own thing and make all that awesome money.

Which brings us to another point. Never, ever pay someone else so you can make money or to work for/with them.

This is how it works:

1)You pay for a short e-book on how to make all this money in some business opportunity.

2)You get the e-book and read it only to find out that it’s all about how you can get other people to buy the same e-book from you.

3)You are now in a pyramid scheme and this is a very common “business opportunity.”

In the end, you normally lose out on the deal because there will be a lot of other people out there selling the same thing, in the same way and it quickly becomes a known scam.

Oh, and the testimonials, anyone can grab a picture from a stock set of images, put it on a website and make up a quote and name to say how awesome the product was. If you see a testimonial on a website about how much money they make from the product, get the person’s phone number and address and try to call them. Odds are, they don’t exist.

So how can you tell a good business opportunity from a bad or scam one? Well, that is a tricky one because the scam one models themselves after are very similar to the legitimate opportunities.

What are some things you can look for in a business opportunity to see if it’s for real?

1)Contact information other than an email. If there is a phone number or an established customer support system, you may be on the right track. Scams won’t be there to help you at all.

2)Do a search for the same exact opportunity, if you find a few of the same exact thing in other places with slightly different names, you’ve found a scam.

3)Unsolicited emails are a total scam, delete them or, better yet, unsubscribe from the feed.

4)Do a search online for the program and see who has posted stories about their experiences in different places. It’s hard for one person to post all over the web about how great their service or product is but people who had problems will post everywhere.

In the end, remember, if the business opportunity seems too good to be true, it usually is.

Are you tapped into the YouTube phenomenon? Viewing habits are changing and television viewership is declining as more and more people turn to YouTube for their entertainment. We’re no longer locked into the viewing preferences of a network executive, but can now search out channels and videos that contain content the viewer wants to watch.

This creates several unique ways to make money on YouTube. An aspiring television writer can find an aspiring television director to shoot their own sitcom or one camera set up in their living room, edit and score on their home computer, and post to YouTube. If it attracts enough attention, it can lead to pitch sessions and perhaps a television or movie deal, with a big payday. Young movie makers can create no budget films posted in sessions on the site, and monetize the production through back end DVD sales.

The same method would work for any product salesman who can demonstrate the use and value of their product on the site, with a link to direct sales. The rules of direct response advertising would apply requiring a very short, less than three minutes, infomercial that creates attention, interest, desire, and the action, which is the order.

An author can make money on YouTube by reading portions of their book, with links back to the book for purchase, or to a website with a landing page that offers a newsletter subscription or some form of opt in e-mail subscription. While it doesn’t create an immediate income stream, a newsletter audience is a platform that can be monetized through future promotions or joint ventures. Think of what Oprah does to her audience of millions. She recommends a product or book and it instantly hits the best seller charts. While your YouTube platform may not command the audience that Oprah holds, although it can, because the most popular videos get as many views as the average Oprah show, a smart marketer can utilize a platform of any size to create money.

Another way to make money on YouTube is to post the most highly viewed videos into your blog or website and put Google Ad Sense ads on the side. As the much talked about video gets searched, its position on your blog can get indexed on the search engines and give you higher rankings. That traffic can view the video you’ve embedded on your site, and perhaps click through on the ads, thus earning you PPC. This is a very passive form of income, and requires some tweaking and testing, but it can work. If you post a video to your site, and link back, then post comments to other blogs, or link it to a social networking site, like Facebook or MySpace, then your friend list may drive traffic to the site.

The key to making money on YouTube is to think outside of the box. Even the YouTube executives are spending their creative energy searching for ways to monetize their site. The best way to utilize the site is to embrace the power of video, combine it with classic direct response techniques, and make it funny, unique and interesting so that people want to watch the video and join your platform.

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I recently read a great book by Richard Templar called The Rules Of Wealth. He also wrote The Rules Of Life and The Rules Of Work which are also very good books that I would recommend reading. The Rules Of Wealth is quite different from your usual get rich quick books and is very straightforward and easy to read.

It is split into 5 parts – Thinking Wealthy, Getting Wealthy, Get Even Wealthier, Staying Wealthy and Sharing Your Wealth.

I will give you an overview of some of the ideas in the book and hopefully this will help you in your quest to be wealthier. I think we could all do with some extra money I bet you agree!

You have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else to take as much as you want, in other words anybody is allowed to make more money. There are no rules anywhere that state what colour, race, political leanings, or even who your parents were to hold you back in making more money.

Decide on your definition of wealth; what does being wealthy mean to you? Is it just about money? I feel wealthy in other ways than financially. I have a loving wife and three wonderful children who mean the world to me and no amount of money would replace them.

Set your objectives, if you do not have an objective how long do you think it will take you to get there? I always set an objective for everything I do. For example if I am out playing golf I will aim to beat my best score on the course. The way I do that is by looking at what my best score on the first hole was and aim to better that and so on throughout the course. I don’t always beat it but I play better because I am focused.

Most people are too lazy to be wealthy, it is true. Most people want to be rich but cannot be bothered with all of the hard work required to get there. That is why only a small percentage of the population are wealthy. If you really want to become wealthy you need to work hard and work effectively until you reach your goal.

Understand that money is a consequence not a reward, If you work hard at becoming wealthy (as in the previous paragraph) then you will achieve it. Money is a consequence of your actions not a reward for your intelligence. If you work hard at what you are good at and stick to your plan then money is produced as a by product of your actions. So do not chase the money, make your plan, work hard on the tasks and it will happen.

I hope you enjoyed this excerpt from the book. You can find a reasonably priced copy on Amazon its well worth a read and you will make more money if you do what it says!

The Wealthy

As an affiliate webmaster, you promote another company’s products or services in exchange for a commission on any sales you refer. Whether you run several sites or just a single site, joining in the affiliate webmaster program is one of the quickest ways to start earning money online. However, if you want to generate a serious income, you have to promote your site.

These webmaster programs are almost certainly one of the finest ways to make money online. You do not need to have any inventor in order to start the business. As an alternative you will promote the products of the advertisers, and you can earn money if someone orders the products from you. It may sound that it is very easy to make money with webmaster affiliate programs. There are plenty of webmasters who give up because it is not as easy as they originally think. Although it is not that easy to make money with affiliate programs, there are still some ways you can follow so that you can really make a fortune by being an affiliate.

In order to be successfully, you need to have your own website. Although you can just post on forums and put the affiliate links in your signature, it will be more difficult to succeed by this way. You have to bear in mind that webmasters of the forums may not welcome affiliate links in the signature. They may ban your account in the forum. To this end, you will know that it will be better to have your own website to promote the products. For example, if you are planning to do article marketing, most marketing site will have no problem with your website, but they may not allow direct affiliate links.

Besides, having your own website can have another advantage that you can target your niche keywords with SEO techniques. You will miss this chance if you do not have your own website. There is because other affiliate webmasters will probably use these banners and the target audience may have already seen the banners many times. Finally, there are some well established and experienced websites are offering these affiliate webmaster programs to their valuable clients. For more information and details, please do not hesitate to visit their website.

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Self storage houses have become the need of today. Whether you are relocating to a new place or traveling to a city, you need the services of a warehouse. A lot of money goes into moving and transporting goods from one place to another. However, you can save a huge amount of money by making some sensible decisions. First know your requirement and then identify the kind of service best suited to your needs. Here are some tips to fire up your imagination on affordable storage solutions:

Make A Time Frame

It is important to know for how long you need storage. If you are moving to a new place, you should opt for permanent storing facility. While temporary self storage is recommended for those traveling to other cities for a short period of time, mini storage solutions are recommended for light goods.

Use The Available Space

Sometimes we have a lot of space at home itself but we rent a warehouse to get rid of a cluttered space instantly. You should rather consider an extra space in the basement or garage. It will save money as well as the hassle of moving goods from home to the warehouse and vice versa. You can also construct a store shed at the backyard of your home. This is a perfect way to cut down expenses.

Know The Kind Of Storage You Need

It is imperative to determine what kind of storage is required. The selection of the unit entirely depends on the type of goods you are going to keep in the unit. Opt for weather-resistant storage units for delicate items, such as artifacts and crockery. Consider covered and non-dusty areas for car storage. However, make sure that it doesn’t increase the total cost.

Do The Cost Comparison

People often choose big warehouses in far-off places that ultimately increase their expenses. Do a comprehensive research, and opt for a nearby facility. Choose the kind of store according to your needs. If you don’t want to store delicate items, choose a general unit of a climate-resistant unit, which is usually expensive. So make a list of famous storage units available in your area and compare the prices.

First Calculate Then Hire

Calculate your annual or monthly cost before hiring a store. It will give you an idea of your total expenditure. You can probably look for some extra space at home if the total expenditure goes beyond your budget. It will help bring down the cost and save time.

Know Your Insurance Policy

You must ask the warehouse operator about the custom clearance process if you are moving abroad. There are a number of warehouses in the United States that provide professional assistance for documentation and custom clearance for the customer shifting abroad. Therefore, it is advisable to hire a professional moving storage facility that provides a proper insurance policy.

Efficient storage is all about good planning and management. Remember, your goal is not only to get rid of a cluttered space, but also to make your storage solutions affordable. So make a proper plan and choose the right kind of unit.

Welcome to our website to get more information about Self Storage. Find more information by clicking on the link.

Mother earth has given us so much and continues to do so. It is time to express gratitude for her benevolence. We can do this simply by vowing not to exploit our natural resources. We can strive to keep our surroundings clean, and reduce pollution and damage to nature. We can serve the nature in many ways.

Reusing and recycling are two great ways in which we can serve the nature. Conserving natural resources would mean that we could prevent the colossal damage of global warming. Preventive measures are an individual’s social responsibility. Although, corporate social responsibility is being practiced by many corporate entities, this awareness is lacking among individuals. Many people are oblivious of the effects of global warming. Misuse and over use of natural resources continue to pose a serious threat. The gravitas of this issue needs to be explained to an ordinary person. Educating the masses about global warming and its dangerous effects can serve the purpose of controlling further damage.

A simple step taken today in this direction will certainly make a difference tomorrow. In this article, we shall discuss the benefits of re-using. Rather, to be more precise, we shall talk about re-using textbooks. Books are made of paper and paper comes from trees. The felling of trees is proportional to the amount of paper we consume. If a high number of trees are cut down for manufacturing paper, it will damage the environment. Trees are man’s best friend. They consume carbon-dioxide and convert it into oxygen, which is released in the air. If trees are cut for the purpose of manufacturing paper and related products, they should be replaced with new plantation. However, this does not happen and the result is that we have less number of trees. Sometimes, trees are felled for the purpose of urbanization, which leads to deforestation and affects wild life too.

A small initiative taken by an individual will help in saving the environment largely. It is a collective effort and each of us has to do our bit. Re-using textbooks helps in saving paper and subsequently trees. Education is about enhancing your knowledge and used books too will have the same content or information.

How Much You Can Save

Although you cannot calculate how many trees you have saved, you can certainly check how much money you have saved by reusing. As you progress each grade, the cost of textbooks can go high. College books can be very expensive, as high as hundreds of dollars. However, used textbooks can cost you half the money. You can save almost 50% or sometimes more. In addition, you also contribute to the cause of global warming. Indeed, it is a unique step in saving both, money and natural resources. Some publishers will also offer e-books at a reasonable membership fee. You can save up to 80% by reusing books. Whether you buy a physical copy or an e-copy, there are several benefits. Here are some of the benefits of buying e-textbooks.

Benefits of E-Book

Easy search – Online e-books offer the convenience of searching for content under different categories. The search criteria can be narrowed by selecting the category and keywords. This option serves as a boon since you do not have to flip pages while looking for information. Simply type the desired information in the search box and you can instantly read the contents.

Email – You can also subscribe to email alerts and download the content of online textbooks to your personal computer. When the data is readily available on the system, you will not require internet connectivity to fetch information. The downloaded data can be used for future reference. Moreover, if there are any updates, the same can be downloaded from time to time.

Cost cutting – This is one of the most obvious advantages of reusing books. It can help you save a lot of money without compromising on knowledge enhancement.

A small initiative taken by an individual will help in saving the environment largely. Re-using textbooks helps in saving paper and subsequently trees.

1. Banks don’t like doing short sales

The fact is that all banks do short sales, some are easier to work with than others and some banks approve more short sales than others but regardless of how easy or hard they are to deal with banks have large departments set up to do nothing but handle short sales. So why do banks like doing short sales? Because of one reason only… it makes financial sense for their balance sheet and their shareholders. Banks are not in the business of owning property, there are in the business of lending money. Banks are required to set aside a loan loss reserve fund against their foreclosure assets. This is money that is not available to them to lend out to new borrowers. A short sale helps a bank to clean up its balance sheet and frees up money to lend.

2. A short sale will still hurt my credit so what’s the point?

It’s true that you will experience a drop in your credit rating following a short sale, however if you see yourself owning another home again in a couple of years then a short sale will definitely be beneficial. Under current Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines you will have to wait between 5 and 7 years to qualify for another mortgage. Following a short sale that wait will be as little as two years and in some cases maybe less. Foreclosures are reported twice on your credit report, once by the lender and once in the public records section, a foreclosure on your credit report will be there for at least 7 years.

3. Nobody wants to buy short sales

Finding a buyer that will not only make an offer but will stick around and see the process through is the Achilles Heel of the short sale process, this is why it’s an advantage to use a real estate investment company that specializes in short sale negotiations. Not only will you have your buyer right away but also they will still be there at the finish line.

4. You Must Be Behind On Your Mortgage To Negotiate A Short Sale

While this may have previously been the case, today’s lenders are looking for verifiable hardship, monthly cash flow shortfall, or pending shortfall and insolvency. If you meet these requirements and believe that you soon may be unable to afford your mortgage, act immediately. Any delay could limit your options. Do not wait until you fall behind or receive a Notice Of Default before you take action.

5. I can’t do a short sale because I have a second mortgage

A large percentage of the people we help have second mortgages or HELOCs. In this situation we have to negotiate with all parties. A second lien holder will only receive a small payoff but they realize that they will usually get nothing if the home goes to auction.

6. The auction date is in two weeks, there isn’t enough time to negotiate

Once the bank sees a serious offer they will usually postpone the auction date, they know a short sale is there best chance to recover more of their losses. This is another advantage of working with an investor, an offer can be submitted right away, there’s no waiting around trying to market the property and find a buyer before you can start talking to the bank.

7. By listing my home as a short sale everyone will know we are in default.

If you have received a Notice of Default from your lender it is already a matter of public record. It may be small comfort but just know you are not alone. Nationally as many as 1 in 5 homes are underwater and in some areas such as Las Vegas, NV that figure is as high as 64%. Short sales are predicted to increase by 50% in 2010. You have already taken the right step by educating yourself on the short sale process. The next step is to seek help in negotiating with your lender. Investment companies, such as ours, have helped many people in your situation put this behind them.

8. My home is worth half what I paid for it, banks won’t accept that large a discounted payoff

This comes back to the reasons banks do short sales; the amount of discount on the payoff is based on the current market value not the original loan amount. The bank knows if the property goes to auction they will most likely end up taking the property into it’s REO department, this will involve holding costs such as insurance, maintenance, HOA fees, in addition empty houses are a liability to the bank and are often vandalized or attract squatters.

9. I was told I can get money at closing

If anyone has offered to negotiate your short sale and told you they will be able to get you money at closing be very wary. Your lender is taking a large loss because there is negative equity; they require you do not get any proceeds from the sale.

10. If I short sale I will get a deficiency judgment

Most banks are now actively seeking deficiency judgments, in states that allow it, against “walk aways”, this means if you do nothing and just let you home go to auction there is a strong possibility the lender will exercise their right to a deficiency and will pursue you for their loss. Often times this will lead to bankruptcy, if the homeowner could not afford the mortgage they will not be able to pay any deficiency. A short sale is your best chance to negotiate a no deficiency settlement. As long as the bank puts this in writing in their approval letter they will not be able to pursue you in the future.

Rich Griffiths is an experienced real estate investor specializing in short sales in Las Vegas, Nevada. Through his investment company he is able to help homeowners get out from under their over leveraged properties. Check out his Las Vegas Foreclosure & Short Sale Blog and learn how to Stop Las Vegas Foreclosure.

If you are planning to start a business, this article has been put together to provide you with guidance on how to go plan your entrepreneur journey. You may have heard people saying that starting a business is not for the fainthearted. Allow me to add that starting a business is not for people trying to escape a bad situation in their 9-5 job, in the false belief that being their own boss will solve their problems.

Starting a business with the wrong motive will jeopardise one’s chance of success. Indeed, many people who have carelessly gone down the road of starting a business without adequate mental, spiritual, financial and emotional preparation for the business world eventually find it an uphill struggle. It is always prudent to start a business after carefully considering the demands that it will put on your time and on those closest to you. This is because there will come a point when you need support of others and it is not uncommon to find those who are in your inner circle finding it challenging to support you because they do not have the mindset of an entrepreneur and can therefore offer you the real assistance you need. Such an event will call for a change in how you perceive the world and of course a radical change in your social life. Doing things the way you always done it will be crazy because that just not going to work. Knowing what works and taking the courage to step out of your comfort zone will be critical for you if you are to make it in the journey.

Starting a business is more than making money and this is the first thing you need to know. Many entrepreneurs starting a business primarily do so because they want a lot of money. This predominant lust to make money at all cost without seeing the other side of the coin often becloud the judgement of entrepreneurs and create more tension and stress that undermine the success of the journey. Don’t get me wrong, a business should be profitable and growing if it is to be viable. But focusing on the money at the expense of satisfying customers is the worst possible mistake you can make because your desire to make money will soon be cut short when the reality of business hit you as your customers or prospect bypass you for other suppliers. In business, you boss is your customers and so your number one priority should be about serving your customers.

A business will only exist if it serves its market effectively and efficiently. Effectively, because it must offer the market what it wants; efficiently, because it should do so within the resources it has and at the same time makes profit. Remember, money is simply a reward for serving others. So if you are planning to start a business, let it be known that service should be at the heart of everything you do.

In my book ‘My Business Is My Business’ I have set out the steps for starting a business in a succinct manner covering the emotional, spiritual and technical management/leadership skills you need to develop to be able to develop confidence and move through the process. In fact you can download a copy of this book (the first three chapters) and learn about the emotional and mental dimension as well as access tools that will help you prepare well.

Sheila Elliott is an expert in business and personal development strategies. She is the founder of Business Services Support Limited and the author of My Business Is My Business- Learn How To Earn A Fortune. For more information about are free articles visit： http://www.businessservicessupport.com and http://www.sheilaelliott.com