Black Swan Management, LLC

Investments and Strategies for the Future of Business

Archive for April, 2010

Wealth Building Using 7 Principles

Apr 27

Posted by Ola Abitogun in business | No Comments

Wealth is the ability of choice and freedom of time and money. Wealth can be created simply and easily if one does not skip any of these important principles. Any success achieved without these principles is temporary and can be easily cut short by a third party, economical manipulation or shifts.

1. Quality Service or Product: Someone needs to be served in a repeated fashion if you want to create permanent wealth. You also need your consumer to need you and have the ability to refer more customers when they are happy with your service. Your product or service must be close to oxygen and water on peoples’ needs scale. Every business and corporate America is a pyramid scheme. The illegal ones are those that does not serve, provide services or sell any product.

2. Credibility: This can be acquired quickly by partnering up with an entity or person with a well documented track record of success and service. It is who you know and not what you know in life; not business only, but in life. The consumers, customers or whatever you want to call those you serve are naturally attracted to credibility. They would pay more for a bad product or service with good credibility if necessary.

3. Residual or Passive Income: This is the type of income that you generate when you do something only once and get paid over and over again; sometimes forever, either you get out of bed or not. True wealth is created only when your residual income outpace your residual bills.

4. Leverage: Every one physically has 24 hours in a day. One needs to strategically have more than 24 hours in a day to create true and permanent wealth. True wealth cannot be created with linear income regardless of how big your salary is; even $1 Million per annual. Leverage simply means doing more with less and the simplest way is to override residual income or others’ efforts.

5. Simplicity: Keep it super simple (KISS). One must be a able to explain your product and service in a simple and plain lay man language. Consumers that will continue to pay for your services are naturally attracted to simplified and friendly usability of product and services. Simplicity does not mean inferiority.

6. Initial Investment of Time and Money: Beware of any business opportunity that does NOT require this 2 things. If one does not invest time and money, it is as simple as they own nothing. Also, it psychologically removes the urgency and hunger for success by about 80%.

7. Education and Inspiration: Mindset is everything. One literally is a millionaire in their mind before it manifests in reality. The transition between being broke and being rich is a roller coaster and it can only be successfully done true constant education and inspiration. Most importantly surround yourself with successful people or people with same goals and a mentor.

Ola and Shola Abitogun are brothers and business partners. Ola Abitogun has a BS in Computer Engineering and MS in Engineering Management. However, he has successfully being involved in the Real Estate Business for 5 years. Shola Abitogun has a BS in Bio-Medical Engineering and MS in Pharmaceutical Engineering. He has successfully worked in the corporate America for 4-5 years and realized that true wealth cannot be created with any linearly paid or salary job. They have both achieved financial success, helped others do the same and dedicated their lives and careers to helping average people achieve financial freedom and true wealth through their organization, TBS Wealth Institute, Inc For more information on becoming a student and enrolling in their free Wealth Mentoring Program, visit http://www.TBSWealthInstitute.com

Author: Ola Abitogun
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Using Sector Funds to Construct Diversified Mutual Fund Portfolios

Apr 21

Posted by Sam Subramanian in investing, mutual fund, stocks, strategies | No Comments

Sector funds are too risky. I doubled my money with Fidelity Select Technology in 12 months! Avoid sector funds. If all of this sounds confusing, you are not alone. Sector funds are among the more misused and misunderstood investments. So, how should you use sector funds?

Before looking at one of the uses of sector funds in detail, lets review what sector funds really are: Sector funds confine their investments to a particular sector of the economy. Fidelity Select Healthcare (NDQ: FSPHX) is an example of a sector fund. By focusing on stocks of companies in the healthcare sector, the price moves of this fund are more dependent on factors that impact the healthcare sector rather than the economy as a whole. Demographic change, such as increasing age of the population, is an example of a factor that particularly drives investments in healthcare. By diversifying its assets across over 60 companies within the healthcare sector, Fidelity Select Healthcare provides investors with the opportunity to benefit from secular trends driving the demand for healthcare while mitigating company-specific risks such as failure of clinical trials conducted by a particular company.

Lets now look at a high-potential approach of using sector funds.

Using sector funds to create a diversified mutual fund portfolio By allocating assets across a group of sector funds, investors can effectively create a diversified mutual fund portfolio using sector funds. This approach gives the investor flexibility to over-weight or under-weight certain sectors versus broadly diversified indexes such as the S&P 500.

To implement this active approach to money management, it helps to have a diverse group of sector funds to choose from. Fidelity Investments manages 41 sector funds under the Fidelity Select Portfolios umbrella which makes this family of sector funds well-suited for this purpose. By dividing assets across, say, 8 sector funds in the Fidelity Select Portfolios, e.g., Fidelity Select Biotechnology (NDQ: FBIOX), Fidelity Select Computers (NDQ: FDCPX), Fidelity Select Energy Service (NDQ: FSESX), Fidelity Select Home Finance (NDQ: FSVLX), Fidelity Select Medical Delivery (NDQ: FSHCX), Fidelity Select Multimedia (NDQ: FBMPX), Fidelity Select Retailing (NDQ: FSRPX), and Fidelity Select Wireless (NDQ: FWRLX), one can build a customized diversified portfolio. With each of the sector fund managers actively scouting for the best investment ideas within their sectors, this cluster of Fidelity Select Portfolios packs a lot of power into your diversified portfolio.

Other mutual fund families that provide a relatively wide choice of sector funds include ProFunds and Rydex Funds. Exchange traded sector funds such as Select Sector SPDRs, iShares, and Sector HOLDRS, that trade on the American Stock Exchange, can also be used to construct diversified sector fund portfolios.

The wide selection of sector funds available provides you with the ability to take advantage of changing market conditions and continually optimize the risk-reward characteristics of your diversified portfolio. To employ this approach effectively, you need to understand and follow the dynamics of the individual sectors. You must also be able to make informed decisions on sectors to select and sectors to avoid. At the end of the day, you should be right more often than wrong with the sectors you select.

AlphaProfit.coms research suggests that by constructing diversified mutual fund portfolios using sector funds, investors have the potential to outperform the market averages on the basis of relative returns as well as risk-adjusted returns. The track-record of AlphaProfits model portfolios indicates the potential of this approach.

A Caveat

Diversification is one of the cornerstone principles of mutual fund investing. Sector funds that focus on high-growth sectors or narrow niches of the economy tend to be volatile. It is generally not advisable to commit a substantial portion of your total assets to a single sector fund. Maintaining adequate diversification across sectors in your overall mutual fund portfolio is good investing practice.

Key Points to Remember

1. Sector funds are investment vehicles that focus their investments on a particular sector or industry group. Sector funds provide investors with an opportunity to profit from trends impacting a particular sector or industry while reducing company-specific risks.

2. High-potential diversified portfolios can be constructed by dividing assets among a group of sector funds. This active investment approach requires investors to make informed decisions on sector selection. The power-packed cluster of sector funds may offer investors the potential to outperform the market averages.

3. Diversifying mutual fund portfolios across sectors is good investing practice.

Notes: This report is for information purposes only. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer to buy or sell securities or to give individual investment advice. This report does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation, and particular needs of any specific person who may receive this report. The information contained in this report is obtained from various sources believed to be accurate and is provided without warranties of any kind. AlphaProfit Investments, LLC does not represent that this information, including any third party information, is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. AlphaProfit Investments, LLC is not responsible for any errors or omissions herein. AlphaProfit Investments, LLC disclaims any liability for any direct or incidental loss incurred by applying any of the information in this report.

The third-party trademarks or service marks appearing within this report are the property of their respective owners. All other trademarks appearing herein are the property of AlphaProfit Investments, LLC. Past performance is neither an indication of nor a guarantee for future results. No part of this document may be reproduced in any manner without written permission of AlphaProfit Investments, LLC. Copyright 2004 AlphaProfit Investments, LLC. All rights reserved.

Author: Sam Subramanian
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Write a Business Plan – Nah! I Can Do That Myself (and Why You Shouldn’t)

Apr 14

Posted by Lee Lister in business | No Comments

There are three reasons why you need a business plan…

To obtain funding.
Every good potential lender or investor, be they bank, angel investor, venture capitalist or business partner, will require a business plan. They want to be comfortable that you have thought long and hard about your business rather than jumping straight into a business. More importantly they want to ensure that they have a good chance of not only having their investment returned, but also making a profit out of the arrangement.

Your business plan is your sales tool – it explains your business and your strategies to make this business a success. It shows how detailed and organized you are and how you intend to make a success of your business.

To introduce your business to potential investors.
The Executive Summary in undoubtedly the most important part of your business plan. Investors receive hundreds of business plans. They decide on their initial sort of who they want to investigate more thoroughly, by viewing the Executive Summary. Yours should be short, concise and eye catching. Investors like entrepreneurs who can concisely and accurately describe their business, products and potential. If you think of it, this is what an effective sales person does every day. If your business model is not planned well enough to be able to describe in a few well written pages then it is unlikely to be successful and very unlikely to be funded.

Once a potential investor has viewed your Executive Summary and become interested in your potential business, then they will read the rest of your business plan in order to gain a greater understanding of your business and investment requirements.

Your Executive Summary should be written after the main part of the business plan and should be no more than 3 pages long. It should summarize your business plan and include an overview of your business, your business models, what you are selling and in which market. You should also summarize your financial requirements and projections as well as provide your investor’s exit strategy.

To ensure that you have a carefully planned business
A well planned business is a business likely to succeed. Do you know who your potential customers are? Do you really know who they are, where they are and what they are looking to buy that you might be able to sell to them?

Do you know how to define your company within a sales environment? Where do you want your company to be in three years?

Do you know how many staff you will need? How you will pay for these staff?

Do you have a vigorous business model? Even know what a business model is?

Have you really thought through how you will run your business?

The answers to all of the above, plus many more will be discovered, decided and defined during the business planning process. If you use a professional business planning company, you have the advantageous of not only having a well written business plan, but you also benefit from the business knowledge of the planning company.

A well written and thought out business plan will help you to clarify your own thoughts about your business, how you want to present your company to your peers, customers and investors. It will help you find out who your best customers are, where they are, what they want to buy and at what price. It will identify any weaknesses you may have in your thinking. Lastly it will provide you with a business and marketing strategy combined with a robust financial model and business model that will give you confidence to make the leap into entrepreneurship.

…..and one why you need to have it professionally written.

Why use a professional business planning company?
A professional company will have experience of writing many different kinds of business plan for many different types of companies. A plan written for a Venture Capitalist is totally different to that which an Angel Investor or a bank requires. A professional company understands this and how to answer the particular concerns of each type of investor or lender. They will pitch you plan to your potential audience.

Investors are risking their hard earned capital by investing in your business and they are entitled to be comfortable that you have a clear business strategy a robust business model and have researched your potential market in great details. They also want to be comfortable that you understand all the risks that your new business faces.

Many business owners, who write their own business plans, often do not include all the information required or include information that is not required. Many amateur plans are unfocussed and discuss information that is not required in detail. An unfocussed and unstructured business plan gives off the wrong impression that you are also unfocussed and unstructured.

To a new entrepreneur you will be very short on time – in order to produce a business plan you will not only need a great deal of time to produce the plan but will also need to take time on a steep learning curve. A professional business plan company has climbed this curve and has enough experience to guide you through the whole process, set your mind working in the right direction and prompt your thought processes.

Hiring a professional allows you to concentrate on finding and servicing your customers, although a good professional will involve you at every stage and your input is definitely required to ensure that the plan reflects YOUR business.

Your business plan consultant will be objective in reviewing your business and have the experience to offer suggestions and advice during the writing process.

The money you pay for a business planning consultant will give you a quality, investor ready business plan with some very useful business consultancy as a bonus!

Author: Lee Lister
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Basic Technology History

Apr 7

Posted by Tyler D Falls in business, business history | No Comments

Online Technology Source

Computers:

First Computer Invented:

Most people when they think of first computer invented they think Bill Gates. This, however, is not true, for the computer was invented long before Bill Gates was around. Bill Gates only revolutionized the computer, buy creating a more compact and useful form of the computer and making it available to everyone with a job.

There are many people out there who would say that the first “computer” was the abacus, invented in Asia about 5000 years ago. I however, wouldn’t.

The first of the “modern” computers was invented during World War II, in 1941 by a German engineer named Konrad Zuse. Its name was the Z3 and it was used to help design German airplanes and missile’s. Then in 1943, the Allied forces developed a computer called Colossus. It helped decode German messages.

The Mark I, designed by Howard H. Aiken, an engineer working with Harvard and IBM. The Mark I was positively huge, taking up half of a football field. It was useful though and it helped to create ballistic charts for the US Navy during the war.

Shortly after this, came the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), developed by John Presper Eckert and John W. Mauchly, working with the government and the University of Pennsylvania. ENIAC was about 1000 times faster than The Mark I but no smarter.

The Use of transistors, ment computers that could store memory and even run programs. Soon after computer languages were invented so that people could change the programs run by the computer. Finally computer research brought us smaller, more useful computers, and eventually the kinds of computers that we have today.

First Laptops Invented:

Although it is a little hard to determine what the first portable or laptop computer was, and when it was invented, we can however say that there is more than one claim to laptop fame. There was even signs of laptops dating back as early as 1979. Designed by a Briton, William Moggridge, for use by NASA in early 1980′s. IT was one fifth the weight of any model equivalent in performance and was a 340K byte bubble memory lap-top computer with die-cast magnesium case and folding electroluminescent graphics display screen.

Since then notebook PC’s released in 1981 lay clam to being the first. It was the Epson HX-20, a battery powered portable computer, with a 20-character by 4 line LCD display and a built-in printer that started the new widespread desire for these laptop computers.

In January of 1982, Microsoft’s Kazuhiko Nishi and Bill Gates begin discussions on designing a portable computer, based on using a new liquid crystal display or LCD screen. LCD technology in 1982? Yeah that’s right! Believe it or not we had the technology to make the LCD tvs and monitors that you’ve seen only recently over 22 years ago. But that’s another story in itself.

First PDAs Invented:

First of all PDA stands for personal digital assistants in case you didn’t already know. In 1993, Apple Computer Inc. released the very first PDA(personal digital assistants) “The Newton”. For the next three years, PDA sales dwindled, and were almost off the charts. Then, in March 1996, Palm, Inc. delivered the industry’s first truly compelling handheld computer, the PalmPilot. Today there are to many PDA companies and products to even bother mentioning.

Some Things You Can Do On A PDA:

Get a Wireless Connection

Surf the Web

Play Music and Video Files

Watch movies Using PocketTV

Play a Game

Use Your Pocket PC as a backup device

Update Office Documents

Download and read E-books

Listen to Audio Books

Connect to Windows servers using Terminal Services

Use Messenger Tools

Change the theme of your Pocket PC

Project the Pocket PC screen onto your desktop

Study

Do Your Taxes

Some PDA Software:

Medical/Drug Resources PDA Software

Medical Calculators PDA Software

Learning Tools PDA Software

Patient Tracking PDA Software

Document Readers PDA Software

Medical Equipment PDA Software

Databases PDA Software

Printing PDA Software

News and Information PDA Services

Street Finders and Maps PDA Software

Bible Study PDA Software

Voice Command PDA Software

Language Translator PDA Software

Tax PDA Software

Home Entertainment Technology:

Home Entertainment really is just a collaboration of all our entertainment technologies into a package that surely will not disappoint us. Home entertainment systems have many different parts that together give us the feeling of being at the movies.

Plasma TV

LCD Panel TV

DLP Rear Projection TV

Video Projectors

Surround Sound Audio Systems

Speakers

DVD / CD / VCR Players

Accessories and Furniture

Satellite Television

Media Center HTPCs

First Television Invented:

The first signs of a tele date back to the 1862 when Abbe Giovanna Caselli invents his “pantelegraph” and becomes the first person to transmit a still image over wires. In 1900, at the World’s Fair in Paris, the 1st International Congress of Electricity was held, where Russian, Constantin Perskyi made the first known use of the word “television.” In 1930 Charles Jenkins broadcasts the first TV commercial. The BBC begins regular TV transmissions.

Then throughout the years the inventions came one after another. In 1950 the FCC approves the first color television standard which is replaced by a second in 1953. Vladimir Zworykin developed a better camera tube – the Vidicon. In 1956 Robert Adler invents the first practical remote control. In 1973 giant screen projection TVs are first marketed. Followed by Sonys release of the first home video cassette recorder in 1976.By time 1996 came around there was a billion TV sets world-wide.

First DVD/Player Invented:

We can only assume the transition over from cd’s and cd players over to dvds and dvd players wasn’t that hard. The technology was already there for them. So the dvd player was surely invented before or right after the dvd was invented. DVDs are the work of many companies and many people. The DVD evolved from CD and related technologies. Companies such as Sony, Philips, Toshiba, Matsushita, Time Warner, and others announced the new “high density” dvd in September of 1995.

Online Technology Source

Author: Tyler D Falls
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Warren Buffet Essays are a Classic for Corporate Governance

Apr 1

Posted by Lance Winslow in business, investment gurus, warren buffett | No Comments

The Warren Buffet essays are as good for Corporate America as Milton Friedmans papers were for Free Markets or Henry Kissinger’s essays for Foreign Affairs. The stuff Warren Buffet wrote about is timeless. They are old now, but could have been written yesterday. Remember he is old school not a stock flipper, although today you could say he is a market maker, as his investments move stocks and industries. Well, I guess Kramer on TV is too these days.

The Warren Buffet essays on Corporate Governance should be considered classics. My copy is a hard copy, so I do not even know if they are digitally available on the Internet, I bet they are somewhere;

http://www.amazon.com/Essays-Warren-Buffett-Lessons-Corporate/dp/0966446119

Yes this is the copy I have. I think if you will set your mind in efficiency mode, you will indeed think like that anyway. I do automatically now, even wrote a few essays myself.

Well I have bunch you should read on the Flows of Civilization; Water, Energy, Raw Materials, Transportation, Monetary, etc.

Let me know if you are interested in more of the philosophy of efficiency, flows and realities human civilizations? Most importantly you must concentrate on what you are doing and then constantly feed you mind as you do, it helps the thinking, problem solving and innovation process.

Really it separates the men from the boys in industry, government, research and development or your personal life. Those who succeed and those who also ran; You know what I mean? I hope you have enjoyed this thought I have shared with you today and I hope it helps you in your quest to be the best in 2007.

Author: Lance Winslow
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Excise Tax

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