This is an interesting topic which I personally love to discuss. The other day I was visiting my friend and we were generally discussing about new ideas of business. It was than we ended up discussing about home based business ideas. Yes, you heard it right, we were discussing about home based business ideas.Today, having a family and being with them is what we all long for. If most of the time we are away from our families working for someone and doing a 9 to 5 job, what remains with us for spending quality time is hardly anything viewing the time it takes to reach home after bypassing heavy traffic and other chaos enroute on our way. That is when we though about beginning some home based business.We both came across some cool home based business ideas. Apart from our profession, we have listed down few of the common home based business for self employed entrepreneurs.1- Accounting – Since we both are from Accounting background, we were planning to set up an Accounting business at home, where we can contact companies and prepare their financial reports, accounts receivables and payables, tax planning, payrolls, balance sheet etc. This will allow us to work peacefully within home environment and without much distraction. What we will require is a separate telephone connection, a computer with an internet connection and a fax machine.2- eBay – If you love online auctions, than this is one great home based business idea. Whoever is willing to sell their items such as a car, bike, boat, or even houses can contact you to place their advertisement on eBay. Get clients, show them the item and make a decent commission on the sales made by you. Believe you me; this is something that can get a person addictive to eBay.3- Pet Grooming Centre – I have personally seen my friends who have started their own pet grooming centre at home. All it takes is just 1 pet per day. And mind you, people don’t mind paying pet groomers any amount as long as their pet is happy with the groomer. A little bit of experience and a pet training course is mandatory but nevertheless, this can be one enjoyable job and one of the best home based business ideas.4- Answering phone call business – Many clients whose calls are transferred to a voicemail often hang the phone without the need to speak on voicemail. This happens when the business hours are over or when the proprietor of the company is traveling. During such period they want someone to attend their business calls and inform them accordingly. You will need a separate phone connection and good diction of English language and local language to begin this business. If you can get 3-4 such clients, you can definitely make good income.5- Freelance photographer – If you are one among the few who are frequently complimented for beautiful photographs, this can be some of the great home based business ideas as freelance photographers can even auction their photographs over eBay or even conduct photography exhibitions where people can view and purchase the photographs at a premium paid to you. You will require a SLR high resolution top of the class camera for this business.
Hiring An Auction Company
Estimating your assets value:
Typically, one of the first questions a business owner will ask me is, “how much will the assets bring at an auction”. After taking the time to review the assets, the auctioneer should give the client a conservative estimate of the sale based upon his experience and the current market trends. It is important that the company give realistic expectations so the seller can make informed decisions based on their best interest.
Compensation and Expenses:
Is the company you are considering working for you or against you? The agreement you decide may determine this.
A business owner should carefully consider how the auction company is compensated. The most common commission structures include: straight commission, outright purchase of assets, guaranteed base with a split above to both auctioneer and seller, guaranteed base with anything above going to auctioneer or a flat fee structure.
In a straight commission structure, the company is paid an agreed upon percentage of the total sale.
In an outright purchase agreement, the auctioneer simply becomes your end buyer. The company purchases your assets and relocates them. While this can be an option in some unique situations, keep in mind that they will want to purchase your assets at a very reduced price to make a profit at a later date.
In a minimum base guarantee, the auction company guarantees the seller that the auction will generate a minimum amount of sales. Anything above that amount either goes to the auction company or split with the seller. While a seller might feel more comfortable doing an auction knowing that he is guaranteed a minimum amount for his sale, keep in mind that it is the best interest of the auction company to secure a minimum base price as low as possible in order reduce their financial liability to the seller and secure higher compensation for the sale.
In a flat fee structure, the auctioneer agrees to show up for the sale and call the auction. There is no incentive for the auctioneer to get the best prices for your assets. The auction company is compensated regardless of the outcome of your sale.
What is the best option for business owners? In my experience, an agreed upon straight commission structure. This puts the responsibility on the auction company to offer the best outcome for everyone involved. There is an incentive for the auction company to work hard for both parties, set up and run a professional sale, get the highest bid and sell every item on the inventory. Successful auctions translate to a higher bottom line for both the seller and the auction company.
Auction Expenses:
In most auction agreements the expenses to conduct an auction are passed to the seller. If the auction company pays for the expenses, it is simply absorbed in higher commission rates.
All expenses should be agreed upon in advance in a written contract. Typical expenses will include the costs of advertising, labor, legal fees, travel, equipment rentals, security, postage and printing. A reputable auction company will be able to estimate all expenses based upon their experience in previous auctions. An agreement should be actual costs charged as expenses, not an estimated amount.
Advertising is typically the highest cost in conducting an auction. The auction company needs to set up an advertising campaign that will promote the sale to its best advantage and not overspend to simply advertise the auction company.
Once the auction is complete, the auction company should provide a complete breakdown of all expenses to the seller, including copies of receipts within the auction summary report.
Buyer’s Premium:
What is a buyer’s premium? If you attend auctions regularly, you are very familiar with this term. The auction company charges a fee to the buyer when they buy an item at auction.
The buyer’s premium has been around since the 1980′s and is standard auction practice. It was first used by auction houses to help offset costs of running brick and mortar permanent auction facilities. Since then, it has spread to all aspects of the auction industry. It is prominent in online auctions and allows auction companies to cover added expenses incurred from online sales.
It is the responsibility of the auction company to provide clear disclosure of the buyer’s premium to both the buyers and the sellers. Those not familiar with auctions are often taken back by the buyer’s premium. They looked upon it as an under handed way for the auction company to make more money. Reputable auction companies will provide full disclosure within the auction contract, advertisement and bidder registration.
Typically, an auction company will charge online buyers a higher buyer’s premium percentage than those attending an auction in person. Extra fees are incurred with online bidding and are charged accordingly to online buyers. This provides the seller a level playing field for both online buyers and those attending the auction in person. Without the buyer’s premium, there is no way to do this.
Pre-Sales:
We’ve all been there. We’re looking forward to attending an auction only to find that some items were sold prior to the auction date.
As an auctioneer with over thirty-six years of experience, I can honestly state that pre-sales will hurt an auction. When a company decides to liquidate their assets, it is easy to sell off high-end pieces of equipment through online sources, equipment vendors or to other businesses. The seller receives instant cash and avoids paying a commission to an auction company.
Auctioneer’s find themselves appearing to acting in a self-serving capacity when potential clients say they are planning to sell off parts of their inventory prior to an auction. It’s hard not to consider the auctioneer’s commission when they warn you not to pre-sell anything. Yes, the auctioneer wants to earn a commission on those sales but it is more important that the auctioneer protect the sale from potential negative backlash that comes from pre-selling. The buying public knows when an auction has been “cherry picked” prior to the sale and it reflects in their bidding. It becomes a sale of “leftovers” and that impacts prices.
A buyer who purchases prior to the auction usually does not attend the sale. They already bought equipment at a good price with no competition. If they do attend the auction, they tend to let others know of their great pre-sale purchases which again, impacts prices and the overall excitement of the sale.
It is important to understand that auctions work best with a complete inventory. You want competition on your higher end equipment. The easy to sell items make it possible to gain respectable prices for hard to sell items.
When a business owner decides to liquidate their equipment assets, there is only one opportunity to do it right. Hiring a reputable auction company will assist you with a professional, orderly and timely liquidation.
Higher Education Loans – The Best Helper After Your Guardians
Students today are curious to get more and more education that they can afford. It is hence, rightly been said that there is no end to education. No age bar can limit one from getting higher education. The highly educated you are, the more honored and successful person you will be. Therefore, everybody today aims at being highly educated. Money in such circumstances however, matters a lot. Without it you cannot dream of pursuing higher education and that is why the higher education loans are especially been designed.
These loans will help you in each and everything that comes your way while going to pursue or while pursuing the course. As soon as you start the loan period, all the responsibilities of your higher education will be headed on it. It will support you in:
- Taking admission
- Buying study materials
- Arranging food
- Paying room rent
- Getting medical treatment
- Making projects
- Going out for excursions and
- In travel expenses
Two choices will be given to you in whom you have to choose either the secured loans or the unsecured loans. You first should know your requirements and ability and then should approach these loans. Secured loans are not for all. These can be adopted only by those who possess the capacity to offer collateral. Moreover, even if you have valuable property but do not want bigger amount as loan then there is no use of adopting these. Thus, it is clear that those who can offer collateral and want big amount should go for the secured loans. For smaller monetary requirements the unsecured loans are better where no security is required.
For repaying the higher education loans you will not at all have to take any tension. These can be paid off 6 months after the completion of the course or after getting a job too. So, there is nothing for a borrower to take tension and can approach it for higher education without any hesitation.