Author: Jennifer Brazer

Many people dream of starting their own business but better yet to start their own home-based business. The advantages of owning your own business and being at home while you do it are many. Besides the fact that you can work in your pajamas, be inches away from coffee at all times, and hold afternoon cuddle meetings with your pet if you want to, there are business advantages as well.

Because you will not be leasing space, you will have low overhead and even claim part of your home under your tax deductions. The commute savings will add up, especially when it reduces car repair costs and gassing up. Though this may all sound great, some people have no idea what kind of business to start in their home. Here are five really easy to start home-based businesses you could start today with little to no capital.

Online Sales

In the past direct sales required you to network with your friends and family and other potential customers in person. With the online environment and especially social media, you can sell anything and everything without having to leave your house or even meet face-to-face. You can post what you sell on your pages and social media profiles and even have business pages free to sell the products or services you represent.

You can also resell items you buy second-hand and repurpose or refurbish. This can also be done on social media marketplaces or apps that charge no fees to use them. The online environment can make your sales possibilities endless.

Tutoring or Lessons

Tutoring or giving lessons requires no degree nor any other requirement but that you are proficient at the subject of your tutoring or whatever craft for which you are giving lessons. If you are multi-talented, the possibilities are endless, and you could feasibly make a healthy living if the subjects are in demand. You can also have a lot of flexibility to tutor or give lessons in your home or travel to your student’s home. Also, some lessons can be done online through video chat and meeting platforms. The ability to give lessons online could open your business up to the world!

Home Baking or Food Prep

In the busy world, we live in. Many have less time to spend cooking, especially healthy meals. Also, baked goods, cakes, and other goodies are always on demand for special occasions. If you love to bake or cook, you could easily start a home-based bakery, catering, or food prep business. The most challenging part of this business, besides the possible weight-gain, is that you would have to figure out your delivery system. This might limit your business to local only though some baked goods ship well.

Freelance Writing

If you are a good writer, you can quickly start a freelance writing business. You must keep in mind that freelance writing is an extremely competitive market, so you will have to be creative and diligent to secure yourself enough work to earn a full-time income. There are sites that you can put yourself on as a writer for hire. You can also use various social media platforms and low-priced to free sites to run ads. If you can get your name out there and gain a reputation and build your writing portfolio, freelance writing can be a lucrative business that can also lead to bigger writing jobs.

Social Media Marketer

If you are social media savvy, you can make an outstanding living as a social media marketer. Many businesses, large and small, don’t have time to dedicate to social media marketing enough to do them any good. Many small to medium businesses will hire independent marketers to handle their social media presence. If you get a good client base, you can feasibly earn enough to do this full time from the comfort of your own home, pajamas, and bunny slippers.

There is an endless number of businesses you can run out of your home, but these are some home-based businesses you can start right now! What are you waiting for?

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Every financial advisor or guru will say the word savings more than any other English language. The reason is that savings are important for financial freedom. Still, it is crucial to your future, and in case disaster strikes such as job loss, a broken-down vehicle, or an unforeseen medical expense. If you are not saving now, you need to start immediately. You don’t have to start with large and unreasonable amounts of money. It would be best if you eased into savings until you get used to being without the income in your personal operating costs and increase as you can.

You can do some things to increase savings may seem like they are obvious, and they are, but regardless of this, many don’t do them. An astounding amount of adults with great incomes fail to save any of it even though to do so would be simple. So for those that are not saving or saving enough, here are five ways you can start working towards financial freedom through some savvy savings ideas.

Retirement Fund

An amazing number of those saving nothing at all work for a company with at least one retirement fund, if not multiple retirement funds or other types of savings plans. The best thing about all of them is that they take it out of your paycheck before receiving it, so you don’t even miss it and are forced to adjust your budget around your adjusted income without it. If you are not contributing to your company offered a retirement fund, you should immediately make an appointment with the appropriate department to rectify this mistake.

If you are unsure how much to contribute, there are a few ways to decide. If your company will match up to a certain percentage, contribute at least that percentage; that match is free money. If they don’t offer a savings match, figure out the minimum you can live on from your income with some padding and contribute whatever percentage or fixed amount you have remaining. The truth is, you are not saving now, so any amount will be a vast improvement over zero.

Cut Expenses

Many people shy away from cutting expenses because, in this instant gratification, the high-consumption world we live in today, we often fulfill every desire of our heart when it comes to spending. In some cases, people spend outside their means for this fact. Now is the time for you to take yourself out of the race against the Joneses and create a budget so you can identify all your expenses, specifically the ones you can cut out.

It is not suggested you have no fun and don’t enjoy your life or hard-earned money. Rather, what is being suggested is that you don’t do so over having healthy savings. To do this, you need to create the dreaded budget, cut as many expenses as you can live without, and reallocate that money to debts first, then savings. If you have set up automatic savings account payments from your paycheck or other income with your banking institution, much like your savings at work, you won’t miss it and will adjust your budget around the new income without it.

Investments

Outside of the investments that would be made on your behalf through your retirement fund, you should participate in some level of personal investing. If you are a novice or don’t have a lot to invest, you should hire and consult a professional financial advisor or investment manager. This professional can help evaluate your risk tolerance and limits and make investments on your behalf accordingly. It is not to say you cannot or should not strike out on your own. However, unless you are knowledgeable in the intricacies of good investing, leave it to a pro.

Eradicate Debt

The easiest way to have income that can be put into your savings is to become debt-free. This freedom is not just beneficial to your savings account, but it is an accomplishment that can help you make big purchases such as a home or vehicle. Working towards eliminating debt and achieving it should be followed up with putting your new surplus into savings and then never allowing yourself to go into bad debt again. Getting into a mortgage or using credit to purchase a new vehicle is a good debt to carry as long as you pay it down as quickly as possible.

Savings Account(s)

There are many savings account types, some of which are lower in interest gains and lower risk. Others are investment savings accounts, which carry some risks but have higher interest payoffs. To decide what kind of savings account(s) to have, you should research the options, evaluate the risks or hire a professional financial advisor to help you decide best for you and your financial freedom.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Small businesses face challenges that may not necessarily be unique to them as businesses overall. In comparison to larger businesses, these challenges can overwhelm, overtake, and destroy a small business. The smartest small business owner will know what these challenges are and how to beat them into submission and make them turn from a challenge to a success. Here are four of the most crucial challenges a small business will face and how to overcome them.

Staffing

Medium businesses and larger corporations have issues with attrition; however, their size absorbs this attrition. Therefore they can afford to make staffing mistakes in the hiring process. However, a small business cannot withstand a lot of staff turnover, depending on how small the business is. The other issue that small businesses face when staffing that larger businesses don’t is that you can’t only focus on the skills of the person you hire; you have to consider how this employee gets along with others on the staff fits into the flow of the business. In a small business, you are often working closely together, and if there is one cog in this well-oiled machine that is not functioning, the entire machine ceases to function properly.

You can overcome this by being selective and engaging questions in the interview process that will give insight into the personality and work with others in the office. Another step you can take is to have more than one person on the staff conduct interviews when narrowing the candidates. These interviews should be independent, thus keeping the opinions separated until the staff comes together to discuss each candidate. Though these approaches don’t guarantee that the person hired will work out, it increases their chances.

Technology

Small businesses aren’t archaic just because they are small. Most small businesses that aren’t up on technology are so simply because they can’t afford the latest and greatest advancements or upgrade existing technology.

There are several ways a small business can face this and obtain all the technology or upgrades they need to be effective in their market. First, you need to get someone who is an expert in business technology (not a salesperson) to evaluate your needs. Once you know exactly what you need, you can seek free and reliable versions of what you need. Another way to overcome it is to approach your investors if you have them and give them a presentation of what you need and the costs. If you don’t have investors, you can do the same with a lender or use some of your equity to invest in new and upgraded technology.

Operations

Operational costs can be overwhelming if the costs are more than your profits. There can be a multitude of reasons this is occurring. These reasons include underpricing your services and products, overpaying for supplies and materials, overstaffing, or even something as insidious as embezzlement or fraud, to name a few. If your operating costs are consistently outdoing your profits, you should hire an impartial business consultant to evaluate. It is suggested that it be an impartial consultant because they will not insert emotions and can get to the core of the matter. They can also give you solutions that aren’t candy-coated but blunt and, again, free of emotion.

Competition

Competition is always going to exist, and in most cases, it is healthy to have or maybe undermotivated to succeed or seek out growth and change. While a little competition can be healthy, there are cases where the competition is trouncing you and killing your business.

If this is the case, you can do a few things to overcome this and come out on top or at least be enough of a contender that your business will thrive. You can research what your competitor is doing that leads to success and find out their weaknesses. Whether a best practice or weakness, you will be armed with what to do and what not to do. You can also find a niche in the market that makes you stand out among your competitors. It could be one original product or service you offer that no one else does. You can also use their weaknesses as your strengths, which will bring customers to your door more often than not.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

There is an astonishing amount of people in the world who have no idea what their credit score is or how it even impacts their financial health. Even if you never need a loan or credit card, your credit score is used for many reasons that can negatively affect your life if your score is low.

• To determine your insurance rates and premiums
• To be able to rent a home, apartment, or car
• Down payments to get cable, internet, or phone service
• To make purchases with payment plans
• To determine if a company will hire you

Knowing that your credit score can affect so many aspects of your life, you must know how to get and keep a good, if not great, credit score. Here are six simple strategies to help you get and keep a good credit score.

Pay Your Bills on Time

Paying your bills on time should be a given when it comes to your financial health, but you would be surprised how many don’t realize that some of your payments hit your credit every time you’re late. While it is not suggested that you be late on any bill payments, sometimes life is difficult, and you have to shuffle some things around to make ends meet. Make sure you pay those bills that will affect your credit on time or before they are late work with the creditor on a payment plan that won’t damage your credit.

Experian Boost

Experian has begun a program to help anyone who wants to boost their credit to do it. One of the three major credit reporting entities did something brilliant. They are allowing bills that typically are not considered on your credit that you likely pay on time every month to be considered in your credit score. You can add your utility bills and your cell phone bills into the mix of payments that will boost your credit if paid on time and see a jump in your credit score by about forty points in 90 days! Hopefully, the other two entities follow suit as this could change the face of credit if you pay these bills on time but had some credit issues that lowered your score.

Deal with Debt NOW

Debt should be the most important concern you have financially outside of necessities. If you are spending on luxuries when you are carrying debt, you make a huge financial mistake. Start with making the largest payments towards those debts that carry the highest interest rates. If you have any revolving credit such as a credit card, do not use it until all debt is paid down, or you will be back in the same boat quickly. You need to stop this debt leak. That said, do not close unused credit cards as this adversely affects your credit. Keep them open and pay any fees they have but don’t spend on them.

Multiple Lines of Credit

Even if you pay every credit card and loan on time, it will still lower your credit score if you have many lines of credit. A potential creditor will not want to see that their bill will be one among many you will struggle to pay if you fall upon hard times. While if you are paying them on time, it will help your score but not enough to overcome the hit your credit took by having too many credit lines.

Stop Applying for Credit

Just because that department store will give you a 20% discount on your current purchase for just applying for their in-store credit card doesn’t mean you should do it. Every single time there is a hard inquiry on your credit score, it lowers it. Simply put, stop doing it. Hit sales or go second-hand shopping if you want to get great deals, don’t apply for every store you shop in’s line of credit.

Dispute Your Credit Report

Many credit checking apps and websites do soft inquiries on your credit score, which doesn’t adversely affect your score even if you check it every day, multiple times a day. You need to be checking your score as regularly as possible because if there are ever any inaccuracies if you catch them and dispute them immediately, they will be removed quickly. About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Though every financially responsible adult knows that they need to budget and save, many don’t know there are some financial strategies to add to their financial plans. These plans could make a huge difference in financial freedom, the ability to make large purchases like buying a home, and having an amazing retirement instead of one full of financial struggles like so many who count on social security.

Whether you have a financial planner or don’t have a penny saved, there are financial strategies you can start implementing today that will give you the boost you need in your savings and on your path to financial freedom. Here are five easy financial strategies that work!

Vehicle Purchase Strategy

While a vehicle can say a lot about us, the truth is that if you are looking for financial freedom, your vehicle purchase can make a significant difference in obtaining it or not if you are anyone other than a person who can own a car to match any outfit. Realistically, your vehicle purchase should be well within your means, as doing anything outside of that can be disastrous for your financial health and credit.

Never buy payments. You need to know the price they are charging you, the final and the total. A common sales strategy of recent years is to find out what payment amount you can afford and sell you a car with those payments over a period that, when added up, will, in some cases, be up to three times the value of the car. Also, know the interest rate you are being charged.

Pay as large of a down payment as you can handle. If you are in a dire situation where you need to purchase the car immediately, then it is understandable that you don’t have a large down payment at the ready. However, if you have time, take that time to save to pay as much down as possible.

Do your research on the vehicle you intend to purchase and know its value. Figure out the basic payments, know your credit, run your own numbers, and be armed with them before you walk onto the lot.

Insurance Strategy

Insurance is an unfortunate necessity in every person’s life, and in some cases having insurance is the law. However, just because it is a must does not mean you have to accept what you get. It would be best if you exhausted every money-saving strategy at your disposal.

Shop, shop, and then shop some more. With healthcare, vehicles, homeowners, and other insurance that you may need, there is a lot of competition. Therefore if you are a savvy buyer, you can save hundreds a year in insurance. And don’t use those sites that say they will impartially compare. You do the research. You do the comparisons. This strategy will save you so much money.

Also, take healthy preventative precautions or driver’s education classes to lower your health and car insurance rates. Insurance doesn’t have to break your bank to be good and affordable.

10/10/80 Strategy

There are a few percentage financial strategies out there, but the 10/10/80 is among the most popular and easy to apply. This strategy says to give 10%, save 10%, and spend 80% of your income. This strategy is excellent and simple, but at some point, you will need to readjust those percentages if you want to make a more significant impact on your financial future.

50/30/20 Strategy

50/30/20 is another money allocation type of strategy with a similar formula to 10/10/80. The significant difference is that this strategy has savings built-in, but only after debt is paid. This strategy wants you to be at zero when it comes to debt before even thinking about saving. It breaks down as follows 50% goes to bills and necessities. There is no exception to this allocation. 30% towards paying down debt, and once your debt is zero. This percentage would go to savings. 20% goes to wants. This would be anything you pay for outside of bills and necessities or debt relief and savings. This is the lowest percentage on purpose. It would be best if you never were spending on wants and missing bills or leaving debt hanging over your head.

Down Payment Strategy

The down payment strategy was already touched on a bit when discussing vehicle purchases. It doesn’t take a mathematician to understand that your payments and interest rates will be lower if you put more money down on large purchases. It is suggested that you put down at least a 20% down payment, which is a great suggestion. When implementing the down payment strategy, the most important thing is that you put something down. This strategy can pay off big in the end.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

When running a small business, there are many aspects of the business that need your attention. While every aspect of your business operations is essential, marketing is essential as if you don’t have customers, the rest of the business will crumble. If your business has a good business plan, you should already have a marketing strategy. Still, there are a few areas of marketing you should highlight that can make a world of difference and drive customers to your business. Here are five simple marketing strategies you can implement that will boost your business.

Know Your Customers

Knowing your customer should be a given when it comes to business. Surprisingly, many business owners don’t take the time to get to know who their target customer or demographic is, which hurts them tremendously. First, no matter how big your business gets, you need to realize that your customers are responsible for your success and growth.

While it is understood that some businesses have a wide or unlimited target consumer, most businesses have a specific target clientele. Having this knowledge will direct your marketing strategies to have a laser focus on the intended target. This strategy will gain you customers, but it will save you valuable marketing dollars if you direct your marketing strategies this way.

Use Your Social Media

Social media marketing is perhaps one of the most popular marketing strategies because it’s free (or low cost) and easy to execute. Most people have an online presence on one or more of the three major platforms, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. All three can be effectively used to promote your business and specific products and services you offer.

Facebook has some fairly inexpensive adoptions, and you can create free business pages that will allow you to reach potential customers and interact with existing customers. Twitter and Instagram allow you to interact with customers and potential customers in real-time and inform them of what products and services you offer. You can also answer questions or concerns on all of these platforms and receive reviews on your business page on Facebook.

While you will need to supplement social media marketing with other marketing types, if you have a strong online presence through social media, you can focus the majority of your marketing attention on this area and have great success.

Reward Your Loyal Customers

Sometimes business owners and marketing strategists get hyper-focused on gaining new business and forget about loyal customers. Just take a look at any cable/internet provider and see how many offers they have for new customers and how many they offer loyal customers; those large corporations don’t have to care for you after they get you because they already have your dollars and regular payments. Small businesses should never take on this mentality even if they grow to be a corporation. If you take care of your loyal customer, you can trust they will tell everyone they know about your business. So place in rewards, make them feel loved and cared for at every turn, and keep them happy. Your most loyal customers can be key to ideas and changes that will improve your business, product, or service.

Build Your Network

Networking over the years has almost taken on a negative reputation. When people think of networking, they dream up scenarios of people wandering around, drink in hand, handing out business cards, and having pretentious and shallow conversations. Today’s networking is done more in the digital world and, when brought into real-life, usually culminates in meeting for coffee one on one or social events that have more of a “getting to know you better” vibe than hitting as many people as possible in the palm with your business card.

With this in mind, when building your personal network, keep the word personal in mind. Your network needs to be filled with true “go-to” people you can call upon when you have a need, and they will do the same. Some of the best businesswomen and men have strong relationships, even with their competitors. There are times when your business or theirs cannot fulfill the need of a client, and if you send them their way, that will be bankable networking credit that can prove useful and profitable.

Change Your Strategy

Change is good, especially when it comes to marketing. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it is an old adage that carries over in our business world today. However, if your marketing strategies that were working before are now letting you down or not as effective, change it up! Nothing says you have to do the same marketing you did at the beginning week over week or year over year. Your business should be a living and breathing thing, and so should your marketing strategy. Why do you think large and even medium businesses have entire marketing departments? Do you think they would need them if they were doing the same things repeatedly?

Conclusion

When it comes to marketing strategies, something is better than nothing, but if you follow these simple strategies, there will be a large and positive impact on your business. None of these take a lot of time or focus, but they do take some time, focus, and strategy. Try these ideas and see what happens. What have you got to lose?

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

A surprising amount of working Americans have little to no savings, nor do they have a working budget. There are multiple reasons savings and budgeting take a backseat when it comes to household finances. These reasons include living paycheck to paycheck, spending more than your means, the time it takes to make and keep a budget, and worry that they will have to give up their lifestyle to save, to name a few. The truth is making a budget and saving is easier than people think, and there are some things that people can do to decrease expenses and increase savings. Here are five easy ways to increase your savings that you won’t even feel.

Make a Budget

Making a household budget is not as challenging as most people think it is. Gather all your expenses and sources of income and use a spreadsheet or even a calendar or planner and input the amounts in categories that make sense to you. Some free online budget templates will help make this process simple. The vital part of the budget is that you add savings to your expenses and make it your most crucial expense. Financial planners and advisors agree that if you pay yourself first by making savings a priority, all other financial responsibilities will benefit because you will be more thoughtful about spending.

Make it a Habit

Saving money is just as much a psychological endeavor as a physical one. Most don’t save because they think it is too difficult or that they don’t make enough money to spare some of it to save. The truth is no matter the amount you save, just doing it regularly, even if a few dollars, will build a savings habit. As you find more places in your budget where you can spend less, you will already have a savings habit and grow the amount you have saved more quickly.

Make it Automatic

Most banking institutions not only have savings accounts, some that even gain interest. They also can directly deposit a portion of your paycheck directly into the account. Setting up a direct deposit and allocating a certain amount to be deposited into your savings account each payday does a few things to boost your savings. It helps with the psychology of saving because the amount is not in your main account of disposable income, and often people don’t miss it and budget accordingly. It also sets a certain amount of savings that is consistent and can add up quickly.

Seek Extra Income

When you are working on your budget, you must find places you can cut spending and put 100% of that money into your savings. If you cut out some unnecessary expenses, you might be surprised how fast your savings grows when you transfer those funds into your savings account. When considering your budget and savings, you may also want to consider earning more income through side gigs or other income streams such as investments. It is easier to find side work in our gig economy that doesn’t take too much of your time and can generate enough income to build your savings fast.

Use Company Benefits

Most people who work for corporations are aware of company savings plans like a 401(k). Generally, it is talked about in your orientation. Still, employees often don’t understand exactly how it works or what contributing to company savings and retirement plans can achieve their savings goals. A significant amount of the companies that have a 401(k) also have a matching program. When deciding on what percentage of your income to contribute, consider contributing the percentage your company will match. If your company matches up to say 10%, you should be contributing at least 10% of your income. You can, of course, contribute as much as you can afford. Remember, however, you won’t have easy access to the savings with this type of account, and when you do pull money out since it is not taxed going into the 401(k), it will be taxed upon withdrawal.

Conclusion

Budgeting and having savings are the most crucial part of your financial health and future. Using these five easy ways to increase your savings will have your savings account fat in no time!

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Are you looking for a loan to finance your small business? Banks no longer have the monopoly as the only financing source for companies in Europe and the US. The lack of financing options for small businesses and the self-employed in our country has facilitated the development of alternative ways to obtain financing that has nothing to do with traditional banking institutions.

Business owners are tapping into and exploring new routes of financing their businesses, and banking advancements are taking the financial world by storm. It’s time to hop on the bandwagon and devise strategies for your business, even if it means taking the big plunge in a new direction. By utilizing these tools, chances are your business will grow and increase its returns. All in all, if you dread raising finances for your business, untraditional financing options might be the way to go. Here are five alternative financing options, what they offer, and how they work.

Personal Microcredits Online

Online loans are one of the best financing options to not only finance your business quickly but to do it without so much bureaucracy. These are small loans that can be requested online through platforms such as Credit Cashier and ranging from $50 to $300. This financing option offers flexibility in terms and gives you thirty days to repay the loan from the time the loan is approved and issued. It also has a lower threshold of credit score requirements. While this loan is not large, it is fast and can help you with immediate needs less expensive.

Angel Investors

If what you need is not just a small but a more significant investment, from $50,000 to $200,000, you can seek out angel investors. These investors often provide financing, business experience, and contacts that will further your business. Angel investors are professional investors that are both entrepreneurs and philanthropists. In some cases, they invest without expecting a return. Other angel investors will look for some level of return on their investment. These investors tend to finance riskier businesses that other investors and lenders won’t approve.

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is based on a model of mass financing or multiple investor financing. Different people interested in the start-up and promotion of a project become its prominent investors or patrons. In collective financing, the endorsement of the project is through the financing and confidence in it. The internet and social networks make it possible to quickly publicize the business idea, which triggers many potential investors.

Public Subsidies

The aid of official government or public subsidies that offer grants and loans is another option that is unconventional and outside the traditional banking institutions. This type of financing can boost your business or fund a specific project without paying it back. While these grants or loans are ideal since they are free money, they are difficult to obtain.

Tips When Requesting Financing

To successfully obtain financing for your small business or project, there are a few things to keep in mind.

• A matter of Faith: You must believe in your idea and trust in its success. Convincing investors to finance your business or project will depend on your belief in your business and yourself.
• Time and Dedication: Do not give up after the first rejection. Finding investors and financing is possible, but it is not an issue that happens overnight as it requires a continuous search.
• Initial Financing Plan: This plan accounts for financing needs and available resources. It is usually presented in the form of a table, either through an investment or financing plan or through a complete financial study with cash flow and analysis of key ratios and magnitudes.
• New Technologies: Take advantage of the internet and social networks’ connections to help you find and attract future investors.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Cloud hosting is an IT environment designed to allow consumers to use shared resources over the Internet. Many entrepreneurs and businesses adopt cloud hosting services as it provides several benefits to help manage business activities efficiently.

Cloud hosting allows you to access all applications of your company from anywhere in the world. With the implementation of cloud hosting, businesses have changed how they run their applications and store information.

Instead of using desktop applications to store and access data, everything is now shifted to “cloud,” mainly used for hosting purposes. It is important to know that cloud hosting is not for everyone, so before deciding whether to use cloud services, it is necessary to look at cloud hosting’s pros and cons.

Pros of Cloud Hosting

Computer costs

You don’t need a high-powered and large capacity computer to run cloud-based applications. This is because these applications run inside the cloud, not on the computer. When using a less expensive PC with less memory and a smaller hard disk, one can easily use the cloud as it doesn’t have any hardware or software requirements.

Improved Performance

Only a few programs and limited memory need to run on a PC to use cloud hosting services. As a cloud consumer, you put your computer on a cloud system, then boot, and your computer will run at high- speed because only a few programs are loaded into your computer memory. 

Storage Capacity

The main advantage of using cloud services is that cloud consumers have virtually limitless storage. This storage space can be hundreds of petabytes. This space allows the cloud consumer to store anything they need without limitations.

Data Reliability

In desktop computing, a hard disk crash is enough to delete all vulnerable data of any business. But in the cloud, if your computer crashes, the data will not be affected as it is stored in the cloud and can be reaccessed easily using another computer.

Group Collaboration

Using cloud services will allow cloud consumers to share documents with multiple users at once. It enables several users to collaborate on projects and documents as they are hosted inside the cloud, not on personal computers.

Cons of cloud hosting

Availability of Internet

To use cloud services, it is most important to have a good internet connection as cloud services can never be accessed without the Internet. In simple words, without the Internet, cloud computing won’t work.

Slow Loading

Whether cloud consumers have a good or poor internet connection, there can be times when web-applications take time to load. This slowdown is because the entire program is sent from your computer to the cloud, and then after completing requests from the cloud consumer, it is sent back to the personal computer. This whole process takes time to complete. As cloud consumer is requesting and in return, the cloud provider is responding to user requests.

Unsecure Data

With cloud hosting, all data is stored on a cloud-based server online that can be subject to hacking and other cybercrime forms. It is necessary to ensure that the cloud is secure. Several unauthorized users somehow manage to gain access to the company’s confidential data if an eye is not kept on who has to access what information.

Lost Data

Stored data in the cloud may not be completely safe as it is replicated on multiple servers. To rely completely on cloud hosting can put the user at risk because data could be lost on a server and be difficult to find.

Any users contemplating using cloud hosting should consider the pros and cons before making any decisions. Undoubtedly, cloud hosting has many advantages to cloud consumers, but it is necessary to consider the risks and do some research before putting your data into the cloud. 

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Owning a home is a dream many people never realize, but for those who do, homeownership is not only satisfying but a great investment. Simply put, home equity is the portion of your home you have paid off. The growth of your home’s value and paying down your mortgage’s principal will grow your home equity. This equity can then be used to get a home equity line of credit (HELOC) and can be used for various needs a homeowner may have.

Credit’s home equity line is a way to borrow a large amount of money with a low-interest rate and be useful in multiple situations. Here are five ways you can use your home equity line of credit instead of a high-interest loan.

Home improvements

Home improvement is likely the number one reason homeowners take out a home equity loan. Renovations can be a costly endeavor, and many homeowners will put off renovations or repairs, which can lead to possible disasters that could be more devastating financially. Whether you are looking to upgrade, add on, or beautify or fix issues such as foundation cracks or an old and broken air conditioner, having a home equity line of credit can be a quick way to get repairs, upgrades, or improvements started.

College costs

Most parents dream of sending their kids to college but oftentimes don’t have the money to do it. While your child may get scholarships, full-ride scholarships are difficult to get, and the alternative to scholarships or grants is for you or your child to obtain a student loan. Rivaling credit card debt, student loan debt is among the top types of personal debt people carry. Many graduates spend years working towards paying off student loans. This is especially true of those whose education goes beyond a four-year degree.

A home equity loan is perfect to put towards a college education. Simultaneously, it may not cover the entirety of the debt. It can be a low-interest line of credit that will be easier to pay back and minimize the time it takes to pay this debt down.

Debt consolidation

Because the home equity line of credit has a lower interest rate, it is a great way to consolidate your debt. If you have high-interest credit card debt or other loans such as a car loan, using your home equity to roll these high-interest lines of credit into one lower interest payment will give you some relief. Paying off these debts will also improve your credit score.

The only danger is that if you decide to use your credit card while paying down the debt through the home equity line of credit, you could potentially get yourself back into debt and now have two payments. It is suggested you put yourself on credit card restriction until your home equity loan is paid back.

Emergency expenses

Every person at one time or another has had an emergency happen that called for a sum of money you didn’t have built into your budget: sudden car repairs, hot water heater burst, an unexpected medical expense. No matter the emergency, if you don’t have an emergency fund set aside, this can be a financial disaster. Using a home equity line of credit can not only take care of the emergency but can prevent financial devastation due to unexpected financial burdens.

Long-term investments

Many people don’t have the funds to invest in the stock market or real estate. Using a home equity line of credit can be an excellent source to finance long-term investments. This use for the home equity line of credit is the one that has the potential for a great financial pay off for years to come. If you invest well, not only could you potentially have income for years, but you can pay off the loan from the dividends you gain from the investments. If you invest in some rental properties, the payoffs could be a great source of passive income that you have to finance your future.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.