Overcoming fear in starting a home based business is a fundamental first step in being successful. When I started in my home based business, the biggest decision was not whether it was a proven system, that was important.But really it was the fear of failure.I tried to dig around as to what was behind that fear. I don’t think it was solely a fear of being scammed. I’ve tried so many things over the years, I recognize when something is authentic now. It was more the fear of putting money into something I might not see results from. It was a fear of another thing not working.Fundamentally, I had to develop very strongly my belief in myself, that I could be successful.The system, the business itself was secondary to that. The fear of failure ran deep though, so it takes regular personal development to overcome the fear of starting a new home business.Here’s how you can build your own wall against fear when starting a home based business.Do your homework, what we call your ‘due diligence’. Make sure you identify a profitable business model, then you cannot fail. How so?Well, if you know that you are a disciplined person, that you are prepared to work hard at mastering the basics, who can focus, who is teachable, then if the business model is sound, it will work for you.What varies is the speed at which you achieve results. That’s dependent on your current skill set and how much time and money you invest in your home business, such as for tools and system, personal development, advertising etc. Once you believe that you can succeed in your home based business, the fear disappears and you can just get on with doing the hard graft. But too many people give up too early, then blame the tool or the system.It can take time sometimes to get results in a home based business. Believe in it, believe in your success, visualize it, give it a timescale, feel it, celebrate your progress along the way.So I want to encourage and empower you to feel the fear and do it anyway.Believe in yourself and you’ll be fearless moving forward. The fear is grounded in not doing the work – so do the work, create consistency in your daily and weekly activities, find ways to see the momentum growing to reinforce that things are working, that you are succeeding. There is nothing to fear but fear itself!

Whether you are in California or Chicago, Russia or Hong Kong, McDonald’s is almost always the same. Of course there is a little distinction per country, but you get the same service, the same high quality food, the same cleanliness from every store they have regardless which state or country. This is the reason for the success of McDonald’s stores. The name itself has proven to attract customers. In franchising, the reputation of the business is very important if you want it to be successful. If you want to go into home based business you can ask yourself, “What are Some Proven Home Based Business Franchises?”Jani-king is a top choice for home based franchise. They have been franchising since 1974 and now have over 13,000 franchises all over the country. This janitorial services marketing could be started with a capital of around $11,000 to $35,000. What started as a modest way to earn extra money has turned into a highly profitable business. Buildings and offices will always need janitorial services so you can’t go wrong with this business.Jazzercise, Inc. is another great home based franchise. Beauty has been highly regarded in our society ever since. To have a great body and maintain it is even the obsession of many women. You can make money while having fun with this type of business. But word of caution, you must be trained and certified first before you can have a franchise.Finding the right tools that you can use to do repairs at home could be frustrating. With Snap-on tools you can have a wrench with five interchangeable handle so that you can do five different works also. This is a great way to save hence a potential profitable business for you to go into. Ever since Snap-on started franchising in 1991, they now have more than 4,000 franchises all over the country.These are just some of the top home based franchises you can go to. Remember to trust always franchises that have proven themselves in the business already. So each time you ask yourself this question, “What are some proven home based businesses?” then you know the answer.

• Focus on your Main InterestsIf you have a stable career in a company, what could possibly make you decide to shift from an office work to an internet home based business? A simple answer would be to earn money in the easiest and most comfortable way. It is true, because working at home will lessen the pressure you may have when you are still working for a company. The idea is that you have to find a home based business that is within your interest. This will help you do things as easy as possible.Working hard because you have to is different from working hard because you love to. Imagine working with no stress, it’s like having fun while earning. What you just need to do is to properly identify the products and services that you feel comfortable to deal with.• Study the Market’s DemandThere’s a wide competition of home based businesses in Australia, while you want to choose something that’s within your interest, try to make that something as unique as possible. The key to survive a successful business is to find ways of standing out. You must know how to be charismatic. This may help you attract customers and will help you build a solid business relationship. It is important to consider what people might say about your business. To conduct a study or a trial run of what you have to offer would be worth it.• Create a Good WebsiteAn attractive website can persuade more customers. If you are making a fresh start in opening a home based business, building a visible website can do the trick of advertising your business online. There are many people who use the net everyday, putting your business contact and business information on the net would increase the chance of making your business acknowledged.• Use Multiple ToolsDon’t just limit yourself with one tool to promote your business. Consider other free online sites that are popular to the public. The use of social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and Multiply.com are just an option to support your business agenda. Since you are starting an online business try to maximize you knowledge with the different online tools that will help you deliver your business well. To measure your website performance, you may use Google Analytics, while posting blogs to blog sites will help you drive traffic that will make the readers informed about your business.An internet home based business can definitely be a good source of income. A home based business opportunity is something that can give you the advantage of working closer to your loved ones. But every business requires hard work and perseverance. Be ready to face new challenges when you start building your own home based business in Australia. Always remember that being in a network marketing field will let you make your own decisions. You must choose the right decisions in order to stay in the business. The tips mentioned above can be your helpful guide to be competitive.

What do you really think of when you hear the term “real estate”? Do these words conjure images of luxurious dream houses and expensive cars, the fruits of wealth through successful investing? Do infomercials promising the life of your dreams come to mind? Or does real estate remind you of today’s headlines, with words like “crisis” dominating the discussion?

The truth is that no matter what the market, real estate investors with confidence and skill will still make money. For anyone considering entry into the real estate business, however, or for those who want to step up their game, the question isn’t how well one can possibly do in a down market. The real question is: do you believe that you can be a successful real estate investor? Do you know that you could become a millionaire within 3 years working less than 15 hours a week?

When it comes down to it, every human being has fears that hold us back-fears so innate within us that we’re barely aware of how much they control our decisions. I know, because for 12 long years, I did nothing about my dream of becoming a real estate investor. I chose not to pursue something that I was passionate about because following in my dad’s footsteps seemed like the more “logical” choice. Why take risks in real estate when you can get a job earning a steady paycheck?

Instead, I had followed my father’s path step by step through corporate America, earning several promotions in a steel manufacturing company. Within three years of starting, I grew the company’s profits eight times over. I was earning a great salary and had what seemed like a bright future ahead of me.

That is, until life gave me a clue that there really is no such thing as certainty. My father, after giving 33 years of his life to the same company he had always worked for, was FIRED. That hit me hard-I had mirrored his career almost exactly. If something like that could happen to him, it sure as heck could happen to me too. What I learned at that moment is that anything you do in life can be risky, especially if it entails putting your financial future in someone else’s hands.

If your chances are just the same, why not take actions toward the things that would really get you stoked in life, the things that you know would bring you happiness, wealth, and freedom?

When I was 18 and dreamed of a career in real estate-yet did nothing about it-I told myself all kinds of things; the same kinds of things people tell themselves today: “This won’t work for me. It may work for them, but it will never work for me. The market’s too tough. Prices are going down. How would I sell? I’m not good enough. I won’t succeed, I’ll look foolish and be embarrassed if I try this and fail.”

It took me 12 years to find the courage to go for it. And for the next 13 years after that, I studied under successful millionaire mentors, used every kind of buying and selling strategies, and have bought and sold over 300 houses during up and down markets. For those who know anything about real estate, a so called “crisis” can often signal a time of opportunity. It just takes getting over the fear factor and learning the most effective strategies to buy and sell (as well as when to apply them).

There are still plenty of reasons why real estate investing is a viable way to make tons of money and live a better quality of life. You still get more financial leverage than you would from other types of investments. You can be your own boss and make your own schedule. In fact, I became a millionaire in less than three years through real estate investing, putting in less than 15 hours of work per week while working a full-time job. Imagine what anyone can do if they put more time into it. I’ve narrowed down the process of developing a turnkey real estate business into Five Key Steps of Real Estate Investing, including:

Effective Marketing that attracts motivated sellers to call you.
Pre-screening Sellers so you’re only spending your time working on qualified leads.
Buying & Selling Strategies-construct and present offers to buy homes, all six of which do not require any of our own money or credit.
Automated Follow-up System for leads that may have potential at a future time.
Sell Your Homes Quickly.
Many people have turned to this industry as a full time career, making millions of dollars in the process, including myself. Real estate investing is potentially the most rewarding option that provides excellent returns on your investments of time and energy, and the freedom and satisfaction of turning your dreams into reality.

What is Value Investing?

Different sources define value investing differently. Some say value investing is the investment philosophy that favors the purchase of stocks that are currently selling at low price-to-book ratios and have high dividend yields. Others say value investing is all about buying stocks with low P/E ratios. You will even sometimes hear that value investing has more to do with the balance sheet than the income statement.

In his 1992 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Warren Buffet wrote:

We think the very term “value investing” is redundant. What is “investing” if it is not the act of seeking value at least sufficient to justify the amount paid? Consciously paying more for a stock than its calculated value – in the hope that it can soon be sold for a still-higher price – should be labeled speculation (which is neither illegal, immoral nor – in our view – financially fattening).
Whether appropriate or not, the term “value investing” is widely used. Typically, it connotes the purchase of stocks having attributes such as a low ratio of price to book value, a low price-earnings ratio, or a high dividend yield. Unfortunately, such characteristics, even if they appear in combination, are far from determinative as to whether an investor is indeed buying something for what it is worth and is therefore truly operating on the principle of obtaining value in his investments. Correspondingly, opposite characteristics – a high ratio of price to book value, a high price-earnings ratio, and a low dividend yield – are in no way inconsistent with a “value” purchase.
Buffett’s definition of “investing” is the best definition of value investing there is. Value investing is purchasing a stock for less than its calculated value.

Tenets of Value Investing

1) Each share of stock is an ownership interest in the underlying business. A stock is not simply a piece of paper that can be sold at a higher price on some future date. Stocks represent more than just the right to receive future cash distributions from the business. Economically, each share is an undivided interest in all corporate assets (both tangible and intangible) – and ought to be valued as such.

2) A stock has an intrinsic value. A stock’s intrinsic value is derived from the economic value of the underlying business.

3) The stock market is inefficient. Value investors do not subscribe to the Efficient Market Hypothesis. They believe shares frequently trade hands at prices above or below their intrinsic values. Occasionally, the difference between the market price of a share and the intrinsic value of that share is wide enough to permit profitable investments. Benjamin Graham, the father of value investing, explained the stock market’s inefficiency by employing a metaphor. His Mr. Market metaphor is still referenced by value investors today:

Imagine that in some private business you own a small share that cost you $1,000. One of your partners, named Mr. Market, is very obliging indeed. Every day he tells you what he thinks your interest is worth and furthermore offers either to buy you out or sell you an additional interest on that basis. Sometimes his idea of value appears plausible and justified by business developments and prospects as you know them. Often, on the other hand, Mr. Market lets his enthusiasm or his fears run away with him, and the value he proposes seems to you a little short of silly.
4) Investing is most intelligent when it is most businesslike. This is a quote from Benjamin Graham’s “The Intelligent Investor”. Warren Buffett believes it is the single most important investing lesson he was ever taught. Investors ought to treat investing with the seriousness and studiousness they treat their chosen profession. An investor should treat the shares he buys and sells as a shopkeeper would treat the merchandise he deals in. He must not make commitments where his knowledge of the “merchandise” is inadequate. Furthermore, he must not engage in any investment operation unless “a reliable calculation shows that it has a fair chance to yield a reasonable profit”.

5) A true investment requires a margin of safety. A margin of safety may be provided by a firm’s working capital position, past earnings performance, land assets, economic goodwill, or (most commonly) a combination of some or all of the above. The margin of safety is manifested in the difference between the quoted price and the intrinsic value of the business. It absorbs all the damage caused by the investor’s inevitable miscalculations. For this reason, the margin of safety must be as wide as we humans are stupid (which is to say it ought to be a veritable chasm). Buying dollar bills for ninety-five cents only works if you know what you’re doing; buying dollar bills for forty-five cents is likely to prove profitable even for mere mortals like us.

What Value Investing Is Not

Value investing is purchasing a stock for less than its calculated value. Surprisingly, this fact alone separates value investing from most other investment philosophies.

True (long-term) growth investors such as Phil Fisher focus solely on the value of the business. They do not concern themselves with the price paid, because they only wish to buy shares in businesses that are truly extraordinary. They believe that the phenomenal growth such businesses will experience over a great many years will allow them to benefit from the wonders of compounding. If the business’ value compounds fast enough, and the stock is held long enough, even a seemingly lofty price will eventually be justified.

Some so-called value investors do consider relative prices. They make decisions based on how the market is valuing other public companies in the same industry and how the market is valuing each dollar of earnings present in all businesses. In other words, they may choose to purchase a stock simply because it appears cheap relative to its peers, or because it is trading at a lower P/E ratio than the general market, even though the P/E ratio may not appear particularly low in absolute or historical terms.

Should such an approach be called value investing? I don’t think so. It may be a perfectly valid investment philosophy, but it is a different investment philosophy.

Value investing requires the calculation of an intrinsic value that is independent of the market price. Techniques that are supported solely (or primarily) on an empirical basis are not part of value investing. The tenets set out by Graham and expanded by others (such as Warren Buffett) form the foundation of a logical edifice.

Although there may be empirical support for techniques within value investing, Graham founded a school of thought that is highly logical. Correct reasoning is stressed over verifiable hypotheses; and causal relationships are stressed over correlative relationships. Value investing may be quantitative; but, it is arithmetically quantitative.

There is a clear (and pervasive) distinction between quantitative fields of study that employ calculus and quantitative fields of study that remain purely arithmetical. Value investing treats security analysis as a purely arithmetical field of study. Graham and Buffett were both known for having stronger natural mathematical abilities than most security analysts, and yet both men stated that the use of higher math in security analysis was a mistake. True value investing requires no more than basic math skills.

Contrarian investing is sometimes thought of as a value investing sect. In practice, those who call themselves value investors and those who call themselves contrarian investors tend to buy very similar stocks.

Let’s consider the case of David Dreman, author of “The Contrarian Investor”. David Dreman is known as a contrarian investor. In his case, it is an appropriate label, because of his keen interest in behavioral finance. However, in most cases, the line separating the value investor from the contrarian investor is fuzzy at best. Dreman’s contrarian investing strategies are derived from three measures: price to earnings, price to cash flow, and price to book value. These same measures are closely associated with value investing and especially so-called Graham and Dodd investing (a form of value investing named for Benjamin Graham and David Dodd, the co-authors of “Security Analysis”).

Conclusions

Ultimately, value investing can only be defined as paying less for a stock than its calculated value, where the method used to calculate the value of the stock is truly independent of the stock market. Where the intrinsic value is calculated using an analysis of discounted future cash flows or of asset values, the resulting intrinsic value estimate is independent of the stock market. But, a strategy that is based on simply buying stocks that trade at low price-to-earnings, price-to-book, and price-to-cash flow multiples relative to other stocks is not value investing. Of course, these very strategies have proven quite effective in the past, and will likely continue to work well in the future.

The magic formula devised by Joel Greenblatt is an example of one such effective technique that will often result in portfolios that resemble those constructed by true value investors. However, Joel Greenblatt’s magic formula does not attempt to calculate the value of the stocks purchased. So, while the magic formula may be effective, it isn’t true value investing. Joel Greenblatt is himself a value investor, because he does calculate the intrinsic value of the stocks he buys. Greenblatt wrote The Little Book That Beats The Market for an audience of investors that lacked either the ability or the inclination to value businesses.