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8 Myths About Trading Debunked

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The world of trading can be challenging and confusing, but it also offers you the opportunity to make a lot of money and diversify your investment portfolio so that you can remain financially secure as you get older. But there are some myths about trading that should be debunked, whether you are already involved in trading or you are thinking about getting into it. Keep reading to learn more so you can have a better understanding of what trading is all about.

1. Online Trading Is Not Safe

One of the myths that you may have heard about online trading is that it is not safe and secure. But the truth is that it can actually be totally safe and secure, and it can put you in the driver’s seat of your trades, rather than relying upon a broker, if that is what you desire. With high quality trading platforms like Stern Options, you have a lot of choices that will make getting into the world of trading easier, and you can also keep making money from your trades by doing it all online and from wherever you are located.

2. To Trade Options, You Need to Invest a Lot

When it comes to trading options, many people think that you need to have a lot of money to get started. But the truth is that you really do not need that much money. Every trader has to begin somewhere, and you often only need a few thousand dollars to get started. You can use this small investment to access the market and then reinvest any profits that you make so that you can keep watching your money grow over time. Besides, when you are first starting out and learning the ropes, you do not want to invest a huge chunk of money that you could risk losing.

3. To Trade Stocks, You Need to Be Rich

Too many people think that trading stocks also requires a lot of money, and that the stock market is sort of like a club that only rich people can get into. But with online trading making it easier than ever to research stocks and invest in them whenever you want, this myth is easily debunked.

4. A Popular Company Is Going to Have Great Stocks

When people first enter the stock market to start trading shares, they might assume that the most popular brands are going to be the most successful on the market. But this is not true. Just because you read news about a particular organization doing very well does not mean that you should invest in their stock right away. Instead, it is always wise to conduct a complete analysis prior to investing. You want to look into the company’s financials so that you can see just how sound the brand really is, and so that you can determine if the trend of growth will continue. And you also want to look at the valuation so that you can determine if the stock is valued expensively, cheaply, or fairly.

5. You Should Not Risk More Than 2% Per Trade

A lot of people are also under the impression that you should not invest more than 2% on a trade. This piece of advice is meant to help you avoid spending too much and ruining your entire account. However, the truth is that you should consider a few factors before deciding upon how much you will invest per trade. This includes the trading timeframe, your own tolerance for risk, and the system’s performance.

6. Complex Strategies Are Better Than Simple Ones

Depending upon whom you talk to, you might hear that a complex trading strategy is better than a simple trading strategy, or vice versa. The truth is that there is no one solution to trading. Some individuals are able to make a lot of money by following some pretty complex trading strategies, while offers are able to keep things simple and still make a great return on their investment. Basically, every trader will trade a bit differently than the next trader, and what works for you may not work for someone else, so it is up to you to test the market and try out different strategies until you find the ones that work best for you.

7. Trading Stocks Is Like Gambling

There are many people who, unfortunately, will view trading stocks on the market as the equivalent of gambling at the casino. This is simply not true. When you invest in stocks, you will need to do a good amount of research if you want your assets to grow. The right amount of research and diversification of your investment portfolio will help you minimize your risks and ensure your money will grow. The same can’t be said for gambling, for which there is little rhyme or reason. Besides, when you invest in stocks, you are investing in companies and you are following their profits and losses.

8. Stocks Inevitably Fall

Yet another common myth in the world of stock trading involves this idea that every stock, no matter how high it goes, must eventually come back down. But that does not always happen. If you are able to find a really successful business that has great managers and long-term success, you can ride that wave, and you will not need to worry about the stock price falling. Of course, there will be fluctuations no matter what, but there is no rule that says a stock price has to go back down to its starting point or below that starting point. You can invest and watch your money grow over time, even if you do hit a few days during which the price drops a bit before it recovers.

Now that you have a clearer understanding of some of the most common myths about trading, you can enter the market and start trading in a way that will ensure your money will grow. Remember, stocks go up and stocks go down, so you will hit some losses every now and then. The key is to stick it out and then sell high after buying low.

5 Business Opportunities To Consider In The Healthcare Industry

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article
Photo courtesy of Pexels

When you’re trying to come up with the right idea for your future business, you’re likely to find yourself faced with a range of different options. Not only might you like to go with something that’s going to be a success, ideally it’s also going to be something that you either enjoy, or know a lot about. Because you’re going to have to market it, sell it, and live and breathe it. If you have a medical background, or you’re looking to get into the healthcare industry and you’re willing to train, you might in interested in a health-based business idea. Of which there are many, yet here are five for you to consider.

Medical Practice

If you’re a trained doctor, or you’re thinking about going to medical school, you could look into opening your own medical practice. Starting your own medical practice might seem like big business, and in a lot of ways, it is. But, it’s also an incredible way to ensure that you’re able to reach your potential as both a medical professional and a business person. If you’re planning on become a doctor, or already work for another practice, your next step along could be to go it alone. So launching your own practice makes a lot of sense.

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Or maybe you’re not medically trained, and you’re not looking to wait much longer to get going with your business idea. When that’s the case, you’re going to need to go in a different direction. And that direction could be towards pharmaceutical manufacturing. At this point, you might be wondering if you need either experience or money, this post will give you an honest answer to that, and help you to get started.

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article
Photo courtesy of Pexels

Healthcare Consultancy

You could also think about consultancy. Maybe you’re interested in psychology, or you’re currently finishing up your psychology studies? Then why not think about starting your own therapist’s office, over working for someone else? Perhaps your medical experience is in another field? Well, then you could think about going into consultancy and providing your expertise and insight to hospitals that need the support.

Senior Care

But you could also think more along the lines of the care industry, rather than the medicine side of things. You should be able to find that senior care business opportunities provide you with the career choice you’ve been looking for. Combining both entrepreneurship and healthcare, you’ll be able to start running a profitable business that you can enjoy, as well as provide an incredible service to the seniors in your local area.

Healthcare Facility

Finally, there’s also the idea of starting a healthcare facility, like a senior care home. If you have experience in the elderly care industry and you’ve always wanted to be able to run your own show, this is the idea for you. You will need to find the right location, and look out for reputable staff that can bring your business to life, but if you’re serious about making it a success and creating a place the community can value, it will all be worthwhile.

4 Things You Must Consider Before Starting a Company

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship ArticleStarting a company will never be easy, especially if you are new to the business scene. There are several aspects to consider before beginning which can make things easier from the start. Have a solid idea, but know you may have to bend this to fit obstacles that come your way and you have the right mindset to begin. Friends, family and colleagues will all tell you different things about starting a company, the best people to listen to if you want advice is professionals. Before this, have these things sorted and you will find the transition to becoming a successful company owner a lot smoother.

Understand the Law

This is the boring bit, but unfortunately is such a huge part of owning your own company. If you are lucky enough to already have a law degree then you are pretty much sorted. If you aren’t that lucky (which most of us aren’t!) then the next step is some research. You need to know what regulations your company needs to follow, what taxes will need to be paid and any licenses you may need to have to run your company. There are professionals that can help you when starting your business if you are unsure, such as lawyers and accountants.

Check Your Company Name is Available

This seems like such an obvious step, but can be forgotten within all the legalities and plans you need to consider. The last thing you want is to start a business to find somebody already owns it, after you have put the time and effort into establishing your name and company. An internet search is not enough, as although you cannot find the name on the internet, somebody could have trademarked the name or it is a closed business- this means you are still breaching the law. CFS International Formations offer a trademark search on their website for those interested in offshore company formation.

Be Careful with Money

Knowing how much to put in a company is hard. You can over and under-spend very easily. You need to have the money, and know how much is going to go into your company before starting, as it can be very hard on you and your family. There are things that you will need for your company to be successful depending on what it is offering, and some things you may want to offer, that may have to take a back burner until you are more successful.

Perhaps purchasing adverts is something needed early on, rather than offering customers incentives to join your company, even if that was your original plan. A part-time job could be an option when first starting out, if your company isn’t taking up all of your time whilst it is still finding its feet. If you find spending money in the right places hard, there are many apps that can be used to keep track of your money and help you visualise what you have to spend.

Are You Ready to Begin?

Starting your own company does take a lot of time, effort and cash. Even if it is your dream and you have your idea and you want to get started right now, you need to know you are in the right place to do so. Many people start a business too fast and for this reason, life gets in the way and they may not succeed. Are you in a place where you can give up most of your time to your new company? If something is happening in your personal life, it may be best to sort this out first before venturing into this new adventure. Life will always throw obstacles at us, but we know best when we can cope and with how much. Do not take on so much it overcomes you.

You also need to be aware of money. When thinking about the money you have to put in to your company, your personal life needs to be taken into account also. Have you worked out how much your living costs, transport, rent and any of other bills may take out of your budget? If you cannot afford to live, your company may need to take a time out until you’ve saved up the appropriate amount to look after yourself too.

There are many people out there that can help you when starting your own business, but getting these 4 steps in place before you consult them, can save you a lot of time and money. The most important thing to consider when starting a business is you. You need a good understanding of the legal side, enough money behind you to still have a personal life and the knowledge that starting your own company is going to be stressful and hard, but extremely rewarding.

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

Cut The Costs of Your Business Without Cutting Corners

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In business, being able to keep costs as low as possible is key to get the maximum return for your business. But what many businesses get confused with, is the fact that cutting costs doesn’t have to jeopardise jobs or quality in your business or product. If you think honestly about how to resolve the business’ insufficiencies, then it can really make a difference. So here are some good ways to reduce costs at work, without having to reduce quality. Because in the long-run, if quality is reduced, it is going to affect your bottom line after all.

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article
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Reduce Overhead Costs

If you have reduced costs of where you work from, then it can make a big difference. Your office and employees can cost you a lot of money. So could you arrange a rota where half work from home on certain days and then swap on other days? When you need a smaller office space, or don’t need an office at all, it can make a massive difference. You could also look to outsource or always hire remote employees from now on. Those are both ways to cut down costs, but still get the job done to a good quality.

Outsource

Along similar lines, outsourcing is a great way to cut down costs but still get some exceptional work done. The reason being, you get experts in their fields working as freelancers. They will dedicate their time to your project to get it done and then that is it until you might need them again. So it makes things cheaper than having a full-time employee. It also helps to work to timelines, which is helping to still delivery a top quality product or business to your customers and clients. Look at your current tem, though, to see where their existing skills lay. If you have someone that is quite capable to achieve the same task, then it could be cheaper for them to do it. It all depends on what people are already able to do.

Avoid Company Cars

Company cars can be a massive expense for the business, particularly when it come to tax. So if your business involves a lot of driving to see clients, then using your own car and expensing the cost of the fuel can be a cheaper way to go. It can also work out cheaper to lease cars, from somewhere like Flex Fleet, for instance. When you only need cars or trucks for a set amount of time, then it means you only pay for what you use, rather than it taking a chunk of money out of the business.

Talk To Suppliers

If your business involves working closely with suppliers, then make sure that you are doing just that. Your costs are going to affected by their costs. So talk to them regularly about how to improve systems as well as reduce the cost of things. It may be that they need a new piece of equipment to make something quicker and cheaper in the long-term. If so, you could help them towards it, for example. It is certainly worth having that conversation, though.

The 6 Most Common Mistakes New Online Business Owners Make & How to Avoid Them

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | The 6 Most Common Mistakes New Online Business Owners Make & How to Avoid Them

Growing an online business is as much about learning what we should be doing, as it is about learning what we should not be doing. It is important to have a solid plan in place with a trusty list of your ‘to-do’s which can be satisfyingly ticked off as you go along. However as you move forward with your new business it is also just as important to be aware of the things that you should avoid and the common pitfalls involved in starting an online business. Whilst the obstacles to starting an online business are low, the potential initial mistakes, that can affect the long-term success of a business can be high. Read on for our list of the six most common mistakes that new online business owners make and our tips on how to avoid them.

A Weak Business Plan

It is all very well and good having a fantastic idea but if you don’t have a solid plan of attack then you could be on a backfoot before you’ve even gotten started. Whilst it’s not necessary to have a formal business plan, a plan of sorts is extremely necessary. In order to build an effective business plan you need to be considering the following: Who is is your target market and what do your customers look like? What is their ‘pain point’ and how will your product or service help them with their problem or issue? What are you selling and why would anyone be willing to pay for your service or product over your competitors? What makes your business different and how do you plan to position yourself to stand out alongside your competitors?

Alongside exploring the above questions you will also want to be thinking about the budget that you have available to you and how long that will last. You will want to be submerging yourself in a constant learning curve about how best to market yourself utilizing social media platforms and other avenues that will benefit your business. You will also need to be thinking about the details such as logistics, hiring staff, your accounting and your website content and strategy. You will realise that as your business develops so will your knowledge and understanding of all areas of business. You will essentially be ‘learning on the job’. However having at least a basic plan of the above will help you to avoid coming up against unexpected surprises and bumps within the initial first few months.

Becoming Obsessed with Detail

It is very natural to want everything to be perfect before we launch the fruits of our hard labour. We completely concur and agree that there are many things that need to be in place and fully functional before launch date. However becoming too hung up on the minute details of a new website has delayed many a business from launching and therefore has resulted in months of lost business revenue. You would be surprised how easy it is to fall into the routine of carefully analysing every last detail, tweaking, changing, moving, shifting, then changing it back to how it was in the first place. This process stalls the process of moving your business forward so try to be relaxed with the smaller details and keep modifying and playing with the details, as you go along in order to experiment with what works and what doesn’t.

Being a Bit Too ‘Old School’

Regardless of what generation we are from there is no denying that we are all now living in a digital age. For many of us that have been in business for a while and have different tried and tested ways of promoting and growing businesses it is easy to dismiss elements of modern technology and software as a ‘passing fad’. However there is so much technological support now available that will benefit your business that it is essential to be getting your head around the modern developments that will help you to grow your online company.

Regardless of what type of business you are planning, the bread and butter or the ‘first impression’ of your business, is going to be your website so this is always a good place to start whether you are focused on investing in software to prevent enterprise-level disasters with SEO alerts to ensure that your content is doing your business justice. Or perhaps your problem area is keeping on top of the finances in your business in which case you should be looking into the software and programmes available to support you in that area. There really is a whole world of wealth when it comes to the software, technology, apps and programmes available to you that will help you to grow your business to future and long-term success, so make sure you are taking advantage of it.

Not Focusing on Finances

One of the most common areas where businesses fail is through lack of proper financial planning. Many new online businesses fall foul of running out of money before they get to the point where they are making any and there is no other choice but to abandon the project. Therefore long-term financial projections are essential in order to plan out your time efficiently. Look into how much money you have in order to be able to run your business, how long that money will last whilst also factoring in a contingency budget that will cover you for unexpected costs and expenses along the way. Too often online business owners have to quickly try to pull funds together after realising that their budget is almost gone. By then it is probably already too late. So plan effectively in advance and keep your eye on your finances on a regular basis in order to avoid burning yourself out too quickly.

Lack of Confidence in Product or Undervaluing Your Service

It is very common for businesses in the initial months to want to just get the orders and the business rolling in and commonly that is to the detriment of a solid pricing structure. This is a big mistake however as lowering the price of your products or service is essentially devaluing your product and damaging your business. You should not be creating a business in the first place if you don’t believe in your product, so make sure that you are staying true to the proper pricing of what you are selling in order to build your business in a solid way.

Customer Service Focus as Secondary

As the sales come rolling in, a common mistake is to feel content that success is yours and that your job is done. However major value in your business is how you take care of your customers after their purchases. It is a dangerous mistake to see customer service as an afterthought for your business, as good customer service can be the make or break of any company. Living in the online age makes business easier in a lot of ways but it also makes the world of business pretty cut-throat too. Customers are savvier and more demanding than ever and if they are made to feel unimportant or unhappy, in any way, by a company, you will certainly know about it.

Dealing with customer service as a priority for your business means that you can look after your clients in a way that makes them feel valued and important to your company. That will keep them coming back and loyal to you and your business. Ignored requests, enquiries or complaints can, and very often do, lead to damaging public reviews that not only ensures they are never coming back to you again, but will also work as a huge deterrent to any new potential customers.

A good way to improve your customer support is to incorporate a Messenger chatbot. With SendPupulse you can build one even if you don’t have coding skills and it’s free.

Recognising the above mistakes and taking great strides to avoid them will go a long way in steering your business in the right direction and keeping it on track for long-term success.