Intellectual Business Community

  Money Is Not Evil One of the greatest failures of the educational system is the failure to provide financial  education to students. Educators seem to think that money has Some sort of quasi-religious or cult-like taint to it, believing that the love of money is the root of all evil. As most of us know, it is not the love of money that is evil—it is the lack of money that causes evil. It is working at a job we hate that is evil. Working hard yet not earning enough to provide for our families is evil. For some, being deeply in debt is evil. Fighting with people you love over money is evil. Being greedy is evil. And committing criminal or immoral acts to get money is evil. Money by itself is not evil. Money is just money.   Your House Is Not an Asset The lack of financial education also causes people to do stupid things or be misled by stupid people. For example, in 1997, when I first published Rich Dad Poor Dad and stated that “Your hou...

BUSINESS PLAN TIPS 1. Create a Vision It's tempting to roll up your sleeves and plunge right into the details of your business -- evaluating products, studying market segments, and sizing up your competition. But don't, at least not yet. Before you get lost in the details, outline a clear vision and a coherent set of values for your company. Develop a mission statement, and use it to define short-term goals and priorities. Once you have a clear, big-picture road map for your business, you can plan your journey with more confidence. 2. Know That a Budget Isn't the Same Thing as a Plan You can't create a solid business plan without a budget and a financial forecast. But a budget should ultimately reflect all the other elements in your plan. If you don't have a clear picture of your industry, customers, competitors, and market conditions before you develop a budget, your numbers aren't likely to reflect reality. 3. Don...

  MARKETING STRATEGY. How you project your image, how you make yourself appear different from your competitors, is with your marketing strategy, or what professional marketers call the MARKETING MIX. The marketing mix is the particular combination of marketing elements that a business uses to find and satisfy its customers; the marketing strategy, usually describe in terms of its product/service, price, distribution, and promotion elements. Marketing mix and marketing strategy mean the same thing. Over the years, a fairly standard method has evolved to explain a firm’s marketing mix, and this is probably the best way to describe it in your business plan. The marketing mix is typically broken down into the following elements: • Product or service strategy. • Pricing strategy. • Distribution strategy. • Promotion strategy. The better you get to know your market, the more accurately you will be able to tailor your business to give customers what ...