Seven To Ten

Do you understand what it means to have an online presence? Everybody dreams of being their own boss and indeed, starting a business is effortless. The challenge is to survive and push the company to the next level of prosperity.

To expand, a businessman need not have the prerequisite knowledge, he can always seek advice from consultants or other compatriots who have been there, done that.

I know of one site, dTelepathy.com, which helps to design online business for budding entrepreneurs. They lend their expertise in Custom Web Application Development, user-interface design and branding, as well as business research, planning and executing to convert your great idea into the “Next Big Thing.”

They have a team of web designers and marketers who understand the industry well and are confident in propelling your website to the top based on ethical and sound principles. Treat the customers right and reap the rewards.

You can look forward to a different website which can stand out in the crowd. Choose the 15 day pathfinder services for relevant business strategies, or 45 day Boot camp for a blueprint design, or 90 day web app services for a comprehensive package.

For those who are interested, visit their website to find out more.

In modern society, we cannot do without leverage. If you do not carry debts, you can never get a home, car or start a business. It is important to recognize that there are good debts and bad debts. For those who have never used credit before, it is a good time to get started.

The best way is to just apply for a credit card, use it to pay a few bills, and then pay off the balance every month. Your credit score will increase as your credit history gets more reputable and when you apply for bigger loans in future, there is greater chance of success. Just don’t be tempted to splurge recklessly on fanciful and non-essential items, else it becomes a bad debt.

You can visit this site, credit-card-analyzer.com, for your first credit card and a bunch of promotions and offers. Over here, you can compare credit card features from different companies, in fact, even cards from the same company. With all the thousands of products out there, I really appreciate a resource like this to help us make a wise decision.

You can also transfer your old balance to the new card and start fresh with lower or non-existent charges. For newbies who want to establish their credit line, you can expect to have an Instant approval credit card from this site. Click on the link to to find out more details.

The most common complaints for people who want to start a new business is that they do not have enough money. If this is your dream and you need a small initial capital to fulfil it (and the banks are not willing to help because of your credit or business plan), AfsLoansOnline.com is ready to help. Over here, it is possible to get unsecured Business Loans.

The site specializes as a loan consulting company which finds the perfect business loans for you. Regardless of credit history, you just need to go through a 5-minute, 4-step application for your Business Loans. Consider their other advantages: no application fee, no hidden charges, free credit pull, and a 1-2 days approval.

If you are interested in Business Loans, visit the site to find out more.

1. Check your DUNS number

It’s a nine-digit identification number assigned by credit-rating company Dun & Bradstreet (DNB) that lets banks and other potential lenders see a snapshot of your company’s bill-paying history and general financial stability. To apply for one, go to D&B’s website and, under Customer Resources, click on “Get a DUNS Number.”

2. Clean Up Personal Credit History

Have a pristine personal credit history. For small firms, you are usually the guarantor of any loan a bank extends to your business, a loan officer will scrutinize your credit record. People who don’t honor their personal commitments generally don’t honor business commitments either. Macieira-Kaufmann notes.

3. Your planned use for the loan

Banks love to see a business purpose likely to boost revenues. They are also impressed if you’ve invested a significant sum of your own money in the business. It shows you have a stake in its success.

4. Cash Flow and Profitability

When it comes to your repayment ability, a bank checks out your firm’s cash flow and profitability. The issue of collateral doesn’t really come into play with small business loans, which are usually unsecured.

But in service businesses with few material assets, banks do sometimes consider accounts receivable to be a form of collateral.

5. Geographic location

The location of your business and the general economic condition, your industry and whether it’s growing.

6. Deposit Balances

It always helps to have your business account at the bank you hope to borrow from.

What is Warren Buffett thinking about Europe? The billionaire investor and Berkshire Hathaway chief will visit the Continent next month to scout out possible acquisitions of family-owned companies.

Angelo Moratti of Italian oil refiner Saras and Eitan Wertheimer of Israeli metalworker Iscar - a company Berkshire purchased in 2006 in its first overseas buyout - are arranging the trip, which comes as Buffet decides what to do with $40 billion in cash on Berkshire’s balance sheet.

Buffett said in Berkshire’s 2007 annual report that big acquisitions are necessary to keep returns up to par. “Though our managers may be the best,” he wrote, “we will need large and sensible acquisitions to get the growth in operating earnings we wish.”

Buffett has shown he prefers to buy into companies in which the owners are fully involved in operating the business, a preference that will no doubt help determine his itinerary next month.

The mammoth pay and disastrous performance of Countrywide Financial’s Angelo Mozilo, Citigroup’s Chuck Prince, and Merrill Lynch’s Stan O’Neal should be enough to make the public furious. Each CEO departed with $100-million-plus compensation after misadventures with subprime mortgages.

Now add the economic slowdown to the mix; ordinary Americans are worried about making ends meet while failed pooh-bahs rake it in.

The problem is that corporate boards can always find a way to pay the boss whatever they like. Over the past 25 years CEO pay has risen regardless of the economic or political climate. It rises faster than corporate profits, economic growth, or average workforce compensation.

A recent study by the compensation consulting firm DolmatConnell & Partners found that CEO pay in the companies of the Dow Jones industrials increased at a blowout 15.1% annual rate over the past decade.

A more sensible alternative to the current compensation system would require CEOs to own a lot of company stock. If the stock is given to the boss, his salary and bonus should be docked to reflect its value.

As for bonuses, they should be based on improving a company’s cash earnings relative to its cost of capital, not to more easily manipulated measures like earnings per share. They should not be capped, but they should be banked - unavailable to the CEO for some period of years - to prevent short-term gaming.

Oil hit another record high but has since pulled back. The dollar showed some strength and corporate earnings were pretty good.

Boeing blew away earnings estimates. Ford posted a surprise profit. And even though investors were disappointed by Microsoft’s quarterly forecast, they issued a healthy outlook for its next fiscal year. The worst of the credit crunch may finally be behind us. No more major bombshells from financial institutions, a sign that the Fed’s six rate cuts since last September and massive injections of liquidity into the banking system may be working.

In fact, Merrill Lynch indicated yesterday that it would pay its dividend this quarter, relieving investors who were anticipating a cut. There seems to be cause for optimism about the markets. The Dow is active again and the bond market is not acting as if it is in recession anymore.

Bonds have fallen in recent weeks, raising the yields. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions and lower yields are usually associated as a sign of economic weakness. And for consumers, even though it’s still a painful time because of rising food and gas prices, the first of the government’s tax rebate has hit mailboxes.

Of course, it still is a rough economic environment. The surging price of food threatens to disrupt U.S. consumer spending patterns and the global economy. That’s where the Federal Reserve will hopefully step in. Many fear that more rate cuts could lead to a further weakening of the dollar, which in turn, could fuel more speculation in the commodities markets and drive food and gas prices even higher.

So higher interest rates, not more cuts, might be exactly what this market and economy needs. Hopefully, the Fed will send a strong signal to investors Wednesday that it is getting ready to sit tight.

Stocks futures rose as investors eyed a possible $22 billion deal for chewing gum giant Wrigley, an investor’s $170 million bid for more shares of Ford, and turned their focus to this week’s Federal Reserve meeting.

Investors are expecting the Fed to lower rates yet again at the end of its two-day meeting on Wednesday. Many economists expect the central bank will hold rates steady after that cut in a bid to keep inflation in check.

A slew of high-profile economic reports will come out this week - Tuesday (consumer confidence report), Thursday (Inflation issues for personal and income spending report) and Friday (government’s monthly jobs report).

Oil prices hit another record trading high near $120 a barrel after a refinery strike in the U.K. Shares of automaker Ford soared in pre-market trading after billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian’s Tracinda Corp. said it would make a bid for 20 million shares valued at $170 million. The $8.50 a share offer represents a 13.3% premium to Friday’s close. Kerkorian, who already owns 4.7% of Ford, is looking to control more than 5% of the company.

Verizon posted first-quarter earnings results that met Wall Street’s expectations. Sales were up 5.5%, but shares were flat in pre-market trading.

In major deal news, Mars and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway are near a deal to buy chewing gum giant Wm. Wrigley Jr. for more than $22 billion. Microsoft’s deadline for Yahoo to respond to its takeover passed on Saturday, which means the three-month battle for Yahoo may soon turn hostile.

Also over the weekend, Continental Airlines said it would not pursue a merger with another carrier. Media conglomerate Walt Disney could be hurt by a controversial photo of 15-year old singing and acting superstar Miley Cyrus which appears in an upcoming June issue of Vanity Fair.

The photo which shows her posing topless, although with her chest covered by a bedsheet, was seen as too racy for the wholesome “Hannah Montana” franchise, which produced $1 billion in sales for Disney last year. Disney shares were up nearly 1% in early trading in Frankfurt despite the news of the photo over the weekend.

In global trade, Asian markets headed mostly higher. European shares also rose in early trading.

In recent years, a pseudoscience has emerged around the theory that left-partedness signals leadership potential, while parting on the right suggests a little something off-kilter. Among CEOs of the 50 largest companies in the Fortune 500, only three part their hair on the right. Here’s a sampling of top execs and their ‘dos.

1. Warren Buffet

America’s richest man and chief of the 500’s 11th-largest company comes across as the classic left-brainer: rational and assertive.

2. Jamie Dimon, J.P. Morgan

Banking’s alpha dog swooped in and got Bear Stearns for the fire-sale price of $10 a share. Was it moxie - or the left part?

3. Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo

As CEO of the $39 billion consumer giant, the leftie ranks No. 1 on Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Business list.

Having a husband and wife in the same business is tantamount to a rocky marriage. Experts feel that two CEOs who share management of the same business can be stressful.

On the other hand, spouses with separate businesses can be successful in their own regard and share their successes with one another without feeling like they are in competition.

Being a small business owner is often a 24/7 job. It is important to sit down with your spouse to discuss familial responsibilities. For instance, who will handle the household duties, such as cooking and cleaning? Who will take care of the kids if one has to stay home sick?

Love is not enough to get you through everything. Crystal clear over-communication should be the rule of the day.