Category: Marketing

Have you invested in real estate yet? If not, read on to get an introduction to the topic.

Buying and selling houses and other types of property is a form of real estate investment. This business is divided into two main categories: one, residential and two, commercial.

Residential Real Estate involves houses and properties where a person or a family can live. Commercial Real Estate on the other hand, involves properties that are used by companies and businesses such as offices, buildings, bodega and more.

There are many mistakes that can happen in this business, especially when you venture into real estate in Chicago and in other cities where houses are selling like hotcakes. Approximately, houses in Chicago, Illinois take about 47 days to sell (compared to 2017 which took at least 53 days) and the median sale price rose 4.9 percent this year to about $300,000. In cases like this, sellers try to hold on to selling their home because they are debating the logistics of selling and whether they can immediately purchase a new home quickly and move to another house.

Before you start looking for places to invest your money on, you must know that many savvy investors still commit mistakes from time to time. Not surprisingly real estate for beginners can seem a bit intimidating. The list of tips below should help you take your first few steps as you embark on your journey to find financial success through real estate investment.

Always Do Your Homework

New investors who heard about the possibilities of financial freedom from getting involved in this market usually jump into real estate with both feet, quite unsure where they are going to land. There are times that first time investors get lucky, but joining this industry means you are opening yourself to the possibility of failure. But with hard work comes great rewards. So if you do not do your homework and study the niche you want to invest in, you could easily fall hard.

Be Firm and Optimistic

Real estate is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It is a lifelong pursuit to take control of your financial stability. As an investor, you must be firm with your beliefs as you will be experiencing failures, mistakes and struggles. The most successful real estate investors are the ones who can take their negative experiences, fuel their drive and turn them into lessons to improve their skills.

Get An Exit Strategy

Even if you are 100% sure about your decisions from spending long hours on real estate, you still need to minimize the risk. It is therefore crucial that you get an exit strategy just in case you realize this business is not for you.

If you fail to flip a property, you can quickly end up ruining the momentum of your plans, fall behind in interest payments, lose the property or even destroy your credit rating. To prevent this from happening, try to invest on below market properties that bring in cash flow first. That way you can quickly sell, lease, refinance, hold or even rent the property for future plans.

Consult Real Estate Experts

Real estate agents typically know more about the market compared to those who are self-taught. Some experts in the field conduct short seminars for interested investors. One such expert is Kale Realty’s D.J. Paris. As he manages hundreds of real estate brokers in the Chicago region, there is no one more informed about the best opportunities and the risks involved.

Moreover, there are also reliable forums for real estate agents who freely give away their wisdom and advice for beginners. Many experts are happy and willing to share their thoughts and significantly impact your success as a beginning investor.

Follow Your Passion

Some people engage themselves full time in real estate investment and end up loathing the job. The truth is, this type of work is not for everybody. Investing in properties has two facets: the investment side and the career side. You don’t need to spend time on both facets. For instance, flipping homes and wholesaling properties are examples of the career side of real estate.

If you do not see yourself doing this full time, then better follow your passion and work on the investment side by buying cash-flowing properties. One example here is purchasing an apartment or multiple condominium units where you can easily rent out to other people. Stick with the job that makes you the happiest.

Many beginners fail to commit to one or more to the tips above, giving them their first miserable real estate investment experience. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, it is still always a great idea to get as many advanced opinions as you can. Happy and profitable investing!

Mattress in a box companies are indeed growing fast in 2018. There is a reason for that. In fact, there are many reasons.

People are enjoying buying these mattresses, as they are quite convenient. Times have changed; innovations have been made in the mattress world and people are looking for discounts. Mattress companies are looking to reduce shipping costs. It all adds up to the mattress in a box solution.

When you look at the mattress in a box, take note of the companies that produce them, the product features and the sites on which they are sold. As for product features, you’re going to want to pay attention to the number of layers, the trial period, warranty and more. One product I see in the top rankings only has a 5-year limited warranty. Another product I see has a forever warranty.

That’s a pretty big difference, wouldn’t you say? Some of these products are cheaper than others, too. Are you wanting something a little different than a traditional bed? I’m considering this option myself, to be honest. After looking at the pricing, I’m thinking about ordering one when it’s time to get a new bed. I’m not sure yet, but it kind of sounds like a plan to me.

What’s going to be impressive is to watch this movement continue to unfold. You’re talking about high-quality mattresses by the way. These aren’t cheap mattress pads or uncomfortable bedding solutions. You’re talking about conveniently shipped comfortable beds in a box that are quite easy to set up and get going.

There are luxury hybrid mattresses and all kinds of interesting products on the market. What if you saw one of these mattresses and noticed that it had eight layers? That’s what one of the products is like, and the list of the top mattresses in a box is quite interesting. If you’re looking for the best product, there is no shortage of lists and reviews. These mattresses are taking the industry by storm.

You can see that it’s a win-win for both consumers and businesses. That’s why you’re seeing so many of these products hitting the market. With so many of these mattresses, it really does pay to check out the reviews. There are different types of these mattresses in a box, and you want to get what best fits your situation and your budget. Some of them are even a little on the expensive side, but you have to think about what you’re getting.

It’s supposed to be the most luxurious mattress at a discount. It’s a great deal that still gives you an amazing comfort at night but also doesn’t break your bank account. A great example of a bed that’s comfortable is sleeponlatexcoupon.org.

Do you even need a box spring or bed frame? That’s an interesting question to ask, and you should see what people have to say about how they are setting up these mattresses in different ways.

With enough research, patience, and hard work, you can build a successful online empire whether you want to sell goods and services, or you want to carve a name for yourself in the niche that you have chosen.

If you have been working for a while now and still has not achieved success, it is likely that you have not received the right information. Below are some of the knowledge you need to acknowledge to establish a flourishing online career.

Feedback Is Crucial

Solicit feedback whenever possible. It is a critical aspect in garnering success as how you comprehend materials may not always be the same as how other people regard them. You can collect feedback from your potential clients, peers, friends or even from experts.

By offering polls and surveys throughout your site, you can request for feedback from the users with ease. This can give you great ideas for new content, and help you populate your site with information your readers really want. Use the advice you have gathered to help you decide what to change in your marketing campaign.

Do Not Neglect Site Tags

Think about the tags you are going to use as they define what your business and website is all about to the users. These are huge factors in how your viewers see your site since it is visible on the window of the user’s browser. One of the quickest ways to drive users away from your site is when your tags do not coincide with the title and the information on your post.

Utilize Photos

One method to invite people to your website is to include images with links that carry a text about the item that you wish to promote or even sell. Have it blend nicely with the text on your page by using the same font.

Structure Your Site Well

You can add sections or pages to your website where your visitors can easily come and view products. It is also essential that these sections site maintain a fluid structure to avoid the users from becoming confused. Your main page should sum up what the readers can find on your site.

Records Site Stats

Detailed statistics or any information about your traffic and sales over time is valuable for creating a marketing plan and adapting to changing trends. Since they allow you to trace what is working and what isn’t, detailed stats can help you to tweak your marketing approaches.

Your hosting provider should keep records of all your visitors, including details such as country, time spent on site, browser, IP and many more. Make sure to back up such data, which is essential for you to understand your traffic sources.

Follow A Niche

Sticking to your business goals and plans can be terrifying, it can even be more frightening when you are incredibly prepared. Narrow down your interests until an obvious winner is on top. You should be interested in what you will be marketing.

Creating a tangible goal will make it much easier to market your website. For people who are aspiring to become influential bloggers, using a specific niche will draw a stable audience.

Consider Email Protection

Emails are necessary as these are used in communicating with potential clients and customers. This is the reason why you need to focus a lot on your emails and keep them protected. Avoid using free email services that lack functionalities that you need, such as the ability to store emails indefinitely.

Think about making your own email-archiving protocol, particularly if you collect sensitive information from the customers and consultants via email.

Use Less Banners

You can opt fewer banners to achieve a more pleasing web design. Though it is useful in online marketing, many visitors avoid them. One trick you can do is to disguise them as a link that the user can click to get more content.

Add Videos

Help your marketing strategies become successful by adding videos with viral potential, and be sure to include tags, description and a link to your page or site. Doing so can boost your stats and traffic your site receives.

When it comes to online marketing, there is not one right way to do thins. If it were that easy, everybody who attempted to do this would have been wealthy by now. But the truth of the matter is, as long as you stay updated and follow the correct online marketing techniques, you will find great success.

Shark Tank as is common knowledge is a TV show where inventors try to promote their product to potential investors in front of a live TV audience. While most of us will never pitch to investors on television, the pressure we feel in the investment “shark tank” can feel just as intense.

While some entrepreneurs can get things off the ground without investors, many can’t. They need to persuade investors to take them seriously in order to get their endeavor going. Unfortunately, all too often, stupid mistakes prevent that from happening.

Let’s look at 3 mistakes wannabe entrepreneurs made while presenting their case to the investors, and how you can avoid making these with the judicious use of common sense, paperwork, tools and partners.

1. Have Clear Plans (and Present Them Clearly)

During episode 24 of season 4, a stuntman named James LaVitola, along with his friend Brian Pitt, pitched the Shark Tank investors on a movie they had planned, called Track Days. They were asking for just $5 million: not much at all as far as movies go, really.

They didn’t get very far either.

In fact, they set a record nobody would ever want to have: the fastest “I’m out,” ever. Mark Cuban simply couldn’t convince himself to put up any cash for the movie.

Why?

Simple. James and Brian had barely introduced themselves before it became clear that the “movie” had no script, no producer, and no actors signed. With nothing more than stuntman James to bring any kind of expertise to the table, the Sharks had absolutely no reason to open up their wallets for a single dollar.

The logic behind their pitch was laughable. James and Brian were asking for $5 million so that they could get the talent they would need in order to get a good script and actors involved to make the movie.

Here’s the thing: James and Brian probably didn’t need to be filmmakers or have a script in hand in order to get money from investors. All they needed was a clear plan. Even if it’s all for fun, sticking to the basics helps give direction and legitimacy to the project (all the more because of the investment involved).

For example, they could have:

• Spoken with several screenwriters who had written profitable movies in the past.
• Got in touch with independent directors who had directed at least one profitable movie.
• Contacted several independent actors who had played parts in profitable movies.
• Spoken with a producer who could get involved and who could estimate the cost of the special effects, equipment, taxes, and other unexpected costs.
• Negotiate signed payment agreements with the parties discussed above.
• Add another 50% or so for good measure.
• Design an in-depth project plan using a multi-device collaboration app like WorkZone or Asana that all parties involved can actively put to use until project completion.

Then they could have approached the Sharks with a clear plan regarding what the money was going to be used for, who it was going to, and why the talent that they had on the books was going to turn a profit.

These lessons aren’t limited to Shark Tank. They’re valuable insights that you can carry with you when you approach investors, talk to banks, or even launch a crowdfunding initiative on a platform like Kickstarter.

As the entrepreneur, you don’t necessarily need to be the “product expert” or have a specific skill relevant to the product you’re producing. In fact, sometimes product experts make the worst entrepreneurs.

What you do need to have is a clear plan and proven talent. When you ask for money, you need to be extremely unambiguous about what it’s going to be used for, preferably with written agreements backing up where the money is going to be spent, and a track record of profitability.

2. If You Are the Product Expert, Find a Business Expert

This lesson doesn’t necessarily apply to everybody, but the uncomfortable truth is that most product experts are not business experts, and haven’t learned the skills to lead a team, market a product, talk to investors, or turn a profit. And while you certainly can learn those skills, it’s generally not worth the effort.

The division of labor is the hallmark of capitalism’s success, allowing us to focus our efforts on the skills we’re good at, and contract out the ones we aren’t so great with.

This is a lesson that Donna McCue of “Fat Ass Fudge” could have used when she went on Shark Tank.

Donna is a former comedian who has been making gluten-free fudge based on her grandmother’s recipe since 2008. She’s had experience making it in several restaurant kitchens in her area. Made with organic goat’s milk and butter, the fudge is a good choice for people with both gluten and lactose intolerances, and those who have a preference for organic foods.

She’s also been selling the fudge from her “Fudgemobile” as well as online, and she seems to be making a profit.

But when she asked the Sharks for $250k in order to get a 5% share in Fat Ass Fudge, she fell flat on her face.

Why?

The Sharks loved her fudge, it was apparent that she is making a good product; it was obvious that it had a market, and with $60,000 in sales, she was profitable. Why would the investors turn her down?

Her personality was just a little bit too colorful.

Donna’s background as a comedian shines through during her presentation in front of the Sharks. The Sharks liked Donna. Mark Cuban was the last to say he was out, and said he felt she would probably do fine without his investment. But, at the end of the day, the investors simply weren’t willing to trust their money with somebody who had so little business experience, and such an outrageous, if enjoyable, personality.

Her appearance on the show has helped business, and as Cuban said, she probably will do just fine. But if she ever wants to scale, she’s going to need to partner up with somebody who isn’t a product expert. Somebody who can talk to investors, market a product, and grow a business.

3. Patent Your Tech (and Have Some Humility)

Ben Wood pitched his apparel company called Viewsport to the Sharks during Season 3. His company sells shirts with sweat-activated technology. When the wearer sweats in the shirt, a motivational saying like “No one has ever drowned in their own sweat” appears on the shirt.

While Barbara Corcoran found the idea of the shirt disgusting, the guys were interested at first. Unfortunately, Ben made two decisions that killed it for the investors.

For starters, the technology was not patented.

This is a big problem for products whose primary selling point is innovation. Obviously, not every product idea should be patented and many can’t. But when the idea can be patented, and it’s your product’s entire unique selling proposition, you obviously need to just get it done.

At bare minimum, you need to be in patent-pending status.

In Ben’s case, he was patent-pending. This was a good step and it might have been enough for the Sharks if he hadn’t made another crucial error that left them skeptical.

He asked for too much.

Way too much! Ben asked for a $500k investment in exchange for a 20% stake in the company. In other words, we was valuing his company at $2.5 million. When he went on Shark Tank, he only had $140k in sales. While most of the sales had taken place in just the 3 months prior, this was simply asking for the moon from the investors.

Both errors were fundamentally the same. Ben Wood was asking for too much, too soon. If he had given himself the time to reach a fully patented status, and demonstrated enough revenue to justify his asking price, he probably would have succeeded.

Like “Fat Ass Fudge,” Viewsport will probably be a successful company, but it will struggle with scaling until Ben can get his tech patented and his asking price under control.

Master the Basics

While all three of these mistakes might seem obvious in retrospect, it’s surprisingly common for entrepreneurs to make them when they talk to investors (or try to run a business in general). Most entrepreneurs fail not because they failed to learn some crucial piece of expert advice, but because they failed to master the basics.

To recap:

• Know exactly where the money is going to go, preferably with written agreements in place, and present those plans clearly.
• If you’re a product expert, you’re probably not a business expert, and you need to partner up with somebody who is.
• Don’t pitch too much too soon. If you’re in an innovative space, get your product patented. Ask for reasonable investments and value your company based on existing revenue or conservative projections.

So there you have it. Stick to the fundamentals and you will put yourself ahead of many of the entrepreneurs competing for attention in the investment shark tank.