17 Hosting Requirements And Other Terms Of A Website

Before you sign up a contract with any hosting provider, surf some other web sites on their servers, and try to get a good feeling about their network speed and services. Also compare the other sites against yours, to see if it looks like you have the same needs. Contacting some of the other customers is also a valuable option. Hosting services should include proper Email Accounts and Email Services.

1. Email Accounts

Hosting solutions should include email accounts for each person in your company.
Email addresses should appear like this:
stephen@mycompany.com
paul@mycompany.com
mary@mycompany.com
Most common is to use first name or first initial and last name.

2. POP Email

POP stands for Post Office Protocol. POP is a standard client/server protocol for sending and receiving email. The emails are received and held on your internet server until you pick it up with a client email program, like Outlook, Outlook Express, Netscape Messenger, etc. POP email programs are built into Netscape and Internet Explorer browsers (i.e. Microsoft Outlook Express).

3. IMAP Email

IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. IMAP is another standard protocol for sending and receiving email. The emails are received and held on your internet server until you pick it up with a client email program, like Outlook, Outlook Express, Netscape Messenger, etc. IMAP represents an improvement over POP because email stored on an IMAP server can be manipulated from several computers (a computer at home, a workstation at the office, etc.) without having to transfer messages back and forth between computers. POP was designed to support email access on a single computer.

4. Web-based Email

Web-based email services enable you to access email via a web browser.
You log into your email account via the Web to send and retrieve email.
Being able to access your email from any browser anywhere in the world is a very attractive option. Examples of web-based email services are Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail.

5. Email Forwarding

Email forwarding allows you to have multiple email personalities.
With email forwarding, you can setup aliases for other email accounts like postmaster@mycompany.com should be forwarded to peter@mycompany.com sales@mycompany.com should be forwarded to mary@mycompany.com

6. Mailing Lists

Some service providers offer mailing list capabilities. This is a valuable plus if you plan sending out email to a large number of users. This section describes some of the most common hosting technologies.

7. Windows Hosting

Windows hosting means hosting of web services that runs on the Windows operating system. You should choose Windows hosting if you plan to use ASP (Active Server Pages) as server scripting, or if you plan to use a database like Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL Server. Windows hosting is also the best choice if you plan to develop your web site using Microsoft Front Page.

8. Unix Hosting

Unix hosting means hosting of web services that runs on the Unix operating system.
Unix was the first (original) web server operating system, and it is known for being reliable and stable. Often less expensive than Windows.

9. Linux Hosting

Linux hosting means hosting of web services that runs on the Linux operating system.

10. CGI

Web pages can be executed as CGI scripts. CGI scripts are executables that will execute on the server to produce dynamic and interactive web pages. Most Internet service providers will offer some kind of CGI capabilities. And many will offer preinstalled, ready to run, guest-books, page-counters, and chat-forums solutions written in CGI scripts. The use of CGI is most common on Unix or Linux servers.

11. ASP - Active Server Pages

Active Server Pages is a server-side scripting technology developed by Microsoft.
With ASP you can create dynamic web pages by putting script code inside your HTML pages. The code is executed by the web server before the page is returned to the browser. Both Visual Basic and JavaScript can be used. ASP is a standard component in Windows 95,98, 2000, and XP. It can be activated on all computers running Windows. Many web hosting providers are offering ASP, as it is becoming a more and more popular technology.

12. JSP

JSP is a server-side technology much like ASP developed by Sun. With JSP you can create dynamic web pages by putting Java code inside your HTML pages. The code is executed by the web server before the page is returned to the browser. Since JSP uses Java, the technology is not restricted to any server-specific platform.

13. FrontPage

FrontPage is a very common web site design tool developed by Microsoft.
FrontPage allows users to develop a web site without any deep knowledge of web development. Most Windows hosting solutions support FrontPage server extensions for users that use FrontPage to develop their web site. If you plan to use FrontPage, you should look for a Windows hosting solution (meaning not Unix / Linux).

14. PHP

Just like ASP, PHP is a server-side scripting language which allows you to create dynamic web pages by putting script code inside your HTML pages. The code is executed by the web server before the page is returned to the browser.

15. Cold Fusion

Cold Fusion is another server-side scripting language used to develop dynamic web pages.
Cold Fusion is developed by Macromedia.

16. Secure Server

A secure server can transmit data encrypted. If you plan to do online credit card transactions, or other types of web communication that needs to be protected against unauthorized access, your web host must provide a secure server.

SQL Server or Oracle for high traffic database-driven web sites.

Access or MySQL for low traffics database-access.

17. Web Databases

If your website needs to update large quantities of information via the web, you will need a database to store your information. There are many different database systems available for web hosting. The most common are MS Access, MySQL, SQL Server, and Oracle. Have A Good Day.

18 Web Terms And Their Meanings Online

1. PPC - (Pay Per Click) - It is a way of advertising in which you only pay when someone clicks on your ads.

2. PR - This is Google's Page Rank. It is part of the formula the Google uses to determine your position in the Search Results Pages.

3. Query - This is simply a search word or phrase submitted to a search engine.

4. Reciprocal Link - This is where 2 websites will exchange links from one to the other.

5. Referrer - This is the page from where a user has come.
6. Refresh Tag - This is a tag which defines how a page will refresh.

7. Robot - This is basically the name given to a search engine spider or crawler.

8. Robots.txt - This is a file that tells the search engine spiders how to crawl a website. It is often used to tell a spider not to include a page.

9. Search Engine - They are sites developed and used to search the web.

10. SEM - (Search Engine Marketing) - This type of marketing includes SEO and various paid advertising like banners and Pay Per Click.

11. SEO - (Search Engine Optimization) - This is what is done to make a website search engine friendly.

It is practiced to get the best positions possible in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS).

12. SERP - (Search Engine Results Page)

13. Spam - This is when various techniques are used to manipulate the search engines to rank better.

One example is keyword stuffing. Websites will be banned for spamming.

14. Spider - This is also called a "Bot" or "SpiderBot". This is a program used to visit web pages and bring information about that web page back to the source.

15. Stop Word - These are just common words that the search engines ignore when indexing a web page or when processing search queries.

16. Submission - This is simply submitting a website to a search engine or directory.

17. Traffic - These include the visitors and page views that a website gets.

18. URL - Uniform Resource Locator. The address at which a specific resource can be found.

 As an example: https://idearules.blogspot.com/

What Is The Fintech Challenge?

Group Banque Centrale Populaire is launching the first edition of its Fintech Challenge!

We look forward to collaborate with the most promising startups, in Africa and elsewhere, to co-build and implement innovative solutions to our key business challenges, in Morocco or in our sub-Saharan subsidiaries.

 Application Submission Closes December 23, 2018.

The Fintech Challenge offers to the selected startups the opportunity to boost their growth in the region, by working alongside one of the biggest financial groups in Africa.

what do we want to achieve?

• Co-build, with innovative startups, solutions adapted to the challenges we face,
• Create an ecosystem of high potential, agile and disruptive partners,
• Accelerate our transformation by staying connected to our ecosystem and creating a constructive dynamic for our customers. 

Why should you be part of the Fintech Challenge ?

1. Partner with a major African financial group and benefit from its expertise 

2. Access to new Markets and connect with the largest banking ecosystems in Africa 

3. Enhance your value proposition through an Acceleration program 

4. Get access to funding 

5. Scale your Startup and grow your business

The Fintech Challenge presented by Mr Kamal Mokdad, Co-CEO BCP Group

APPLY HERE 

Full details Here: http://www.bcpfintech.com/en/#apropos

25 Blogging And Web Development Terms

 1. Google Bot - These are Google's "crawlers". They crawl web pages to index them into the Google Search Engine.
2. Google Dance - As at this date (1/25/05) it refers to the period of time when Google is performing the update to it's index.
 Google has multiple data centers that have different results during this period. This occurs about every month or so.

3. Header Tag - This is an HTML tag which is most often used for page headers. For example: <h1>The Header Tag</h1>

4. Hidden Text - It is text the is invisible on a web page because it is the same color as the background. You can be penalized by search engines by doing this.
5. Hit - This occurs when a file is loaded on a webpage.

6. HTML - (Hyper Text Markup Language). This is a popular language used to format webpages.

7. HTML Link - This is a link from one page to another.

8. IBL - (In Bound Link) - This is also referred to as a back link. These are links that come from one website to another.

If you have 50 IBLs, then you have 50 links pointing to your website.

9. IP Address - This is a unique number that is assigned to a computer or system.

10. JavaScript - This is a scripting language (client side).

11. Keyword - This is a single word that is used to identify the subject or purpose of a web page.

12. Keyword Density - This refers to how many times a keyword or keyword phrase is repeated on a web page. It is based on a percentage.

13. Keyword Phrase - This is a group of two or more words that are used to identify the subject or purpose of a web page.

14. Keyword Stuffing - This is when a page is stuffed with all kinds of keywords.

There is a lot of repetition in the Meta Tags or anywhere else on the website.

It is meant to increase the websites importance to the Search Engine.

It is considered spamming by most search engines.

15. Link Farm - This involves a set of web pages that have been built for the sole purpose of increasing the number of incoming links to a web site.

This type of activity will get you banned from Search Engines.

16. Meta Search - This type of search will search multiple databases and combine the results for you.

17. Meta Tags - This is content that is found in the code of a website. It is not seen by visitors.

It's only purpose is to give information to search engines etc..

18. Open Directory Project - This is a large directory of websites run by volunteers.

19. Optimization - This is something webmasters do to their websites to try and get higher positions in the Search Engines Results.

20. Outbound Link - These are links going from your website to others.

21. Page View - This is for the number of times a page is loaded.

22. PopUp - This is a window that "pops up" in front of you while viewing another window.

It can be triggered numerous ways.

Either by an action of yours or something predetermined by the person that programmed it.

23. PFI - (Pay For Inclusion) - It's simply paying for your website to be listed.

24. Pop Under - This is the same as a PopUp except it's another window that loads under the page you are viewing. You normally don't see it until you close the page you're on.

25. Portal - This is normally a term used to describe a website that is the first place people see when using the web.

Read More Terms Here. Have a wonderful time.

7 Effective Online Promotion Ideas To Boost Any Business

1.  Build strategic alliances – What other businesses in your area serve a similar target market to yours but don’t directly compete with you?

Consider partnering with one or several complementary businesses.

 

Your alliance can be as simple as having the other company write an endorsement letter for you, cross promoting each other’s services, or working more closely together to offer more complete services (e.g. a designer working with a printer).

2.   Look for newsletter contribution opportunities – Many local businesses who publish a newsletter may accept contributions from others. 

 Look for companies that don’t directly compete with you but share similar client profiles. Then, pitch topics their readers may find valuable.

3. Community Outreach
    Start or contribute to a fund raiser – Is there a local cause you are passionate about? 

How can you pitch in to market your business and improve your community at the same time? Try connecting with charities that match your key business demographic. 

Then, you can either hold a fund drive, volunteer your time, or donate a percentage of sales. Let people (and the press) know what this cause means to you and why you support it.
    Sponsor a community event – Get involved with your local community by sponsoring a local 5K race, a public play, a community project or a sports event. 

Make sure the event’s key demographics match your target audience, then start building your reputation as a community supporter.

4.   Offer services pro-bono – While this option isn’t for everyone, it can be great for people just getting started and looking to build their portfolio. 

When working pro-bono, set expectations up-front about what you will and won’t do for free.

The most successful projects will be those with a small scope and shorter time frame – get the quick win.

5.  Publicity

    Send press releases – Get to know the reporters who cover your local business beat. Then, pitch them a story. 

Journalists want real news, not advertising hype, so give them an angle. Why should they cover you? 

How does your business help or impact the local community? Can you comment on a current event or give another side of the story?

6.    Be an interview source – Get the local media (and local bloggers) to interview you. Pitch an angle, offer sample questions, and practice your talking points. 

After the interview, promote it! Send copies to prospects and clients, add it to your marketing kit, mention it in your newsletter, and use it in your online promotions.

  7.  Distribute press articles – If the press does write about you, request copies to distribute with your marketing materials.

Use attributed quotes from the article in your newsletter. This is a fantastic third-party endorsement so milk it for all it’s worth.

Building a profitable business means always being on the lookout for ways to get people into your sales funnel.

 If you also have additional suggestions and ways to market your business offline, please add them in the comments below, 

Happy holidays, Have a great day.

10 Lead Generation Ideas To Boost Any Business

1. Write a special report – People are skeptical of advertising copy, but are intrigued by editorial content promising valuable information. Create a free report that provides straight-forward information on how to solve a problem or achieve a goal. 

Then, give it away for free. Keep in mind, although it’s free, people still expect value, so don’t use this as a blatant sales tool. 

You can include details about yourself, your company and your services at the back, but make sure the main information delivers what the title promises.       

                                                                 2.  Deliver a workshop – Offer a training seminar to show people how to do something. Your workshop can range from 60-minutes to full day training, depending on your purpose. Consider charging an attendee fee or sell a home study course to recoup some of your costs. Outline your talk and practice for the greatest impact.

3.   Record an audio sales pitch – Radio and TV commercials can be expensive, but you can easily make your own 2-5 minute audio recordings. Advertise a toll-free number and record a voice mail with your sales pitch.  People can then call and listen at their leisure. Use a compelling script that prompts callers to take further action for the best results.

 4.  Start a newsletter – Your in-house mailing list is your most valuable asset.                                   Keep in touch with prospects, clients, referral partners and journalists by publishing a monthly hard copy newsletter (or more regularly if sending via email). Include incentives, insider information, and interesting tidbits your target audience may find fun or helpful. Consider offering ways to get clients interacting, such as with photo or tip submissions, stories, or contests.

5.  Publish a book – A great way to position yourself as an expert is to write a book.  It’s not as challenging as it sounds if you break down the process into smaller steps. A book may have 10-20 chapters. And each chapter is comprised of 5-10 articles, that make up maybe 2-3 pages each.  

If you can write a few 2 page articles, you can put together a book. Having your own book can position you as an expert, land you publicity, and perhaps even help you make some residual income. Services like Amazon’s Create space make it easy for anyone to self-publish and sell online cheaply.

6. Networking
   Use both sides of business cards – Include your normal business information on one side and on the back, advertise your free special report, your social media accounts or make a special offer. Then, give our your cards to anyone who will take one. These should be your primary networking tool, so make sure they stand out.

 7.  Give to get – Recognize that every contact you make is a potential link to new business.  While most people don’t want to sit through a sales pitch on your latest business opportunity, they do care about what you can do for them, so always be giving. Be lively, engaging, and consider what you can do to help them solve their problem. 

Don’t ask for anything in return. Don’t talk about yourself, what you do, or your products and services much (unless they ask). Rather, seek to genuinely help. The worst you can do here is brighten someone’s day and spread some good will.

8.   Meet your community centers of influence – In any community, there are early adopters and community leaders who seemingly know everyone and seek to connect others. If you over-deliver to these people and do your best to take care of them, they will take care of you, often by becoming a great referral source.

9. Gift baskets create strong impressions – Whenever you want to express your appreciation but a small thank you gift card doesn’t seem personal enough, send a gift basket. Fill them with smaller items, and you can create the perception of quantity, without spending a fortune. Or search online for the perfect themed gift basket to purchase.

10.  Encourage word-of-mouth marketing – Influence who is talking about you by giving people a great story to tell. People love to talk about how they got a great deal, had a positive experience, or made a smart decision, so do what you can to create experiences that get people talking. 

Read Direct Mail  Ideas Here Have I missed any? If you have additional ways to market your business offline, please add them in the comments below, Have a great day.

Acting Into Appraisals In Real Estate

Investments, terms for loans, processes, and other parts of real estate can often be overwhelming to someone who hasn't received a degree in real estate.

If you are looking for definitions and actions behind those definitions, then don't forget about getting the right appraisals.

This will help you if you are looking for the right market for your home.

An appraisal consists of a professional opinion that is made about a property.

Included in this opinion are several factors that allow for this statement to be made.

Overall, the appraisal will lead to the conclusion of what the market value is.

If the market price can not be defined easily, then someone can look at the different parts of the property and determine what they believe the market price should be.

Usually, this will be done by an inspector looking at the various mechanics that may have been swept underneath the rug. 

An appraisal is a necessary requirement when one is looking into selling a home or having the property insured or financed.

It may use several external resources and definitions of what market value may include in relation to the opinion being made in order to determine the price value of a home.

When getting an appraisal, you can expect that the estimates will be based around the various factors that are related to the market at the time.

 Instead of just examining the parts of the property, an appraiser will also examine the neighborhood and see what everything else is worth in relation to the property. 

By appraising a property, you will know how much the home is worth in relation to your own needs on the property and in relation to everything around it. 

By observing the standards that are set both inside and outside, you will have the ability to know when the timing is right to get involved with your piece of real estate. 

How To Find The Right Affiliate Marketing Programs

Even though affiliate marketing is an excellent way to earn money, there are several pitfalls that you'll need to be aware of.

As long as people have been earning money, people have also tried to figure out how to earn more by doing a lot less.

All you need to do is a quick online search for "work from home" or "making easy money".

You'll instantly find millions of websites, simply click on a few and you'll notice that they all start off
the same.

You'll see a guy with a big house and a lot of money saying if you sign up, this could be you - how far from the truth!

The only way you can earn a good, stable income is to put in the hard work it takes.

Before you join any affiliate program, you need to do the proper research.

That's one of the best benefits of the internet - finding the information you need.

All you need to do is search for the name of the affiliate program that your interested in, adding the word scam to it and see what pops up.

You should also join some work from home forums, and don't be afraid to ask the right questions.

There are a few ways that you can tell what program is most likely a scam.

If a program doesn't tell you their compensation plan unless you sign up, watch out.

A lot of programs won't tell you what you'll be doing unless you buy a kit for a set price.

With any program, there should always be 100% free disclosure.

You'll need to know what you are going to be doing before you even start.

If a program doesn't tell you what you are going to be doing or if you have to pay money first, you should avoid it.

Stay Safe.

The Operation of Your Video-Taping Business

Operationally it will be rather easy to get started.

Depending on your budget you have the choice of buying equipment outright which can be quite expensive, or you can finance, or rent it.

If you are on a relatively tight budget, or are not quite sure if you want to pursue this business long term it would be advantageous to go with the rental option.

You will be able to rent all the basic equipment required for the taping of most any event, such as as camera, player, color monitor, lights and sound equipment.

You can even rent editing equipment, or you may want to utilize an editing service in the beginning.
A van or station wagon to lug the equipment round will be very helpful.

Other expenses will be for basic office supplies, telephone and answering machine, a professional brochure or 2 to 4 page flyer, business cards, etc.

While specializing in a given area such as social events, business services, or something else will probably make good business sense over the long term, it may be advantageous to pursue all markets during the first year.

This will build revenue quicker and you will be able to determine which market you enjoy most.

Working social events can be trying. Some knowledge of social etiquette and how a certain event should be conducted will be very helpful.

Even more, be sure you know who is truly in charge of the event. Each event will have is own little idiosyncrasies depending on the participants.

It may be that a given relative should be taped more than someone else. Whoever calls the shots
will be able to direct you.

Surely this business is ideal to be started from your home. As your business grows a design a design studio can be rented.

Once you have the basic equipment in place, most of your revenue will go to the bottom line, unless you are renting equipment. It is therefore often possible to generate a profit relatively quickly.

While it may be necessary to grant credit to established businesses and organizations,it is not recommended that you grant credit for social events.

To do so is not commonly done even by hotels and restaurants and is generally considered quite a risky practice.

Steps To Becoming A Successful Videographer

Start-up Investment
Low - $1,000 or less for home-based operation

High - $100,000 and up for outside offices and acquisition of sophisticated equipment.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Break-even time - 2 months to 1 year
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Estimate of Annual Revenue and Profit

Revenue $30,000 - $800,000
Profit (Pre-tax) $20,000 - $250,000
-----------------------------------------------------------------

This is a market with continued major growth.

New video technology of recent years has created opportunities for a new segment of professional videographers.

While certain types of video-taping will require a highly skilled videographer in assignments such as sports events, or a stage presentation, other assignments such as the taping of individuals for a dating
service, legal depositions, insurance matters, and most social events will mostly require good knowledge of the equipment,experience, and the ability to work with various groups.

The marketability and demand for various services is almost unlimited. Video presentations are more commonly used now on sales presentations of all types, various insurance claim matters, real estate sales, all types of training material and in a variety of other situations.

The market is really only limited by the ability of the videographer to sell his services for a
variety of purposes.

Finding Customers Who Need Your Services

The Individual who has a good personality and enjoys mixing with people will have a marked advantage in this field.

Since many individuals, organizations or companies may never have considered to utilize video for their event or presentation the trick is to create the demand through the sale.

Networking your services through a group of friends and associates will be most effective along with advertising.

Advertising may be used to reach the social event buyer as in the case of wedding and advertising in business publications for a variety of business services.

Yellow Page advertising will also be an excellent way to get known in your community. Direct mail properly followed up in personal and telephone sales contacts will also be quite effective.

Churches, hotels, restaurants, florists, jewelers, clubs and other organizations and businesses servicing the social market will also be able to generate new leads.


Getting your name out to as many of these companies as possible will be a major plus.

It is easy to track social events yourself. Check the social pages in your newspapers for engagement announcements.

You can then match names against those in the phone book and will be able to mail your brochure or
flyer.

You may even consider specializing in a certain market segment as, e.g. legal videographing.

Before you embark on this market find out what laws are in your state pertaining to videotaping for legal purposes.

They differ substantially by state. An excellent way to get started may be to try associating with court reporting service.

In states where it is legal, many of these services now tape the deposition in addition to keeping a written record of it.

Another fertile market may be to initiate a direct marketing campaign to an affluent neighborhood to sell video-taping services of valuables for insurance records.

In your sales presentations to various businesses, the time savings that can be accomplished through video presentations should be stressed.

A real estate agent can save hours of time which can be utilized to generate more sales by utilizing video presentations of residences rather than driving potential buyers all over town.

You may be able effectively use bartering to get your business going. For example, you may want to video-tape one or more catering events for a carter and in return have the carter recommend your company.

The free video-taping of a social event for the owner of a graphic design business or for a printer may
get you a free brochure.

4 Reasons To Create And Use Portable Applications For Business

Today, Smartphone users are increasing daily. According to a recent study, the populace of a Mobile client was at 4.43 billion users as at 2017 and it is projected to hit 4.78 billion users by 2020, Which already did,  a little above 5 billion now.  

Do you a website for your business? Fantastic! In any case, not having a Mobile Application can reduce considerably some guests and Potential clients towards your business especially order, eCommerce websites or online shopping websites. 

To stay above of the merciless rivalry of different businesses, Your versatile application will give the better and successful help for your business. According to another review, many individuals nowadays tend to scan fora almost everything on the web through their cell phones. Regardless of whether they are utilizing an Android phone or iPhone.

 

By building an application for your business, you will have a more extensive scope of guests to your online business products. It will also assist your business with getting better sales, development while having contenders. Below are 4 specific reasons why the significance of having a portable application for your business is  important:

1) Availability whenever and wherever:

The portable application gives your business to demonstrate your items to clients anyplace whenever. 
A potential client can see your items while working different works like having morning tea or eating. They can likewise have benefits like appointments, survey the costs and enrolling from their cell phones. An Average cell phone holder burns through 2-4 hours on their telephone on a day by day bases, An Application can be a compelling stage to be obvious before your clients.

2) Provide your business with a superior and successful showcasing channel:

With the appropriately created versatile application, you will give your services, most recent offers or some other item data ideal to the hand of clients. This will give time-to-time updates to your items and services to your application clients. An awesome method to focus on the client isn't it!

3) Improve the deal and Service:

All things considered, It is absolutely obvious that application will give more commitment to your business and clients than some other stages. Greater commitment implies more potential customers. With this proportion of commitment, you will have the capacity to pick up your deals and blast! Your business is developing!

4) Build your image:

An Application will expand your permeability and business commitment by giving an acknowledgment towards the clients through building your image of the business. It is a damnation of a compelling technique to make your promoting adequacy and deals producing. These are a few focuses that can comprehend that how Mobile application development can be useful for the business and having an application can build your business deals and clients. 

You can reach a reliable Mobile Application Development Company to build up a custom portable application for your business or buy an item from them. The expense relies upon the working modules, highlights or the word sum. 

A custom application can be much more helpful on the grounds that it will be created under the necessities of the customer. They have huge of Mobile application designers with a lot of involvement and excitement to finish troublesome errands with given timetable. 

Have a wonderful time and stay safe.

The Three Trend Line Strategy Forex Trading Tool

There is no one single super smart Forex trading tool which gives you profit, profit and more profit.

The only possible solution is to use a combination of different tools to identify the favorable market forces to get a maximum number of high probability trades over a period of time. 

Trend lines are the most popular and reliable Forex trading tool which many successful traders give their testimonial for.

The Three Trend line Strategy

Trend Lines are an important tool for trend identification and confirmation in technical analysis.
It is a straight line that connects two or more price points and then extends into the future to guide you.

There will be lines drawn across significant lows in an uptrend, and significant highs in a downtrend. To roughly classify trend lines, we can divide them into three as short term trendlines, medium term trendlines and long term trendlines.

1. Short Term Trendlines

Draw these lines across the most recent two lows for an uptrend or across most recent two highs for a downtrend. Best observations are found on a smaller time frame such as a 15 minute or 30 minute chart.

2. Medium Term Trendlines

These are best observed on a higher time frame like a 60 minute chart. It either connects the nearest significant low to current price action to the previous significant low in an uptrend or the nearest significant high to current price action to the previous significant high in a downtrend.

3. Long Term Trendlines

It uses higher time frames such as the 4 hour chart or the daily chart to draw long term trendlines using the same method of Medium Term Trendlines. The long term trend line is considered as an effective Forex trading tool. The daily chart is used mostly by traders of big institutions who do not usually engage in small moves on an intra day level.

By drawing a trend line on a daily chart you can graphically analyze where price is and where it is likely to bounce. But employ trendlines as a Forex trading tool with caution and discretion. Covering your charts with every trend line possible will result in confusion and blurry analysis.

It is not a good idea to rely completely on a short time trend line.
They merely give you a defined picture of current price action.
These are broken often during the course of a day.
Their main use is to give you a clear, instantly recognizable graphical representation of current price behavior. If you notice price coming back to test a trend line on the higher time frames, look at other factors. Draw in horizontal lines to mark key support and resistance using previous highs and lows.
Draw Fibonacci retracement and extension levels.
Calculate the daily pivot points and put them on your chart. Have the 200 EMA (Exponential Moving Average) shown on your charts.
Enjoy your day.

10 Websites To Buy Cheap Quality Items Online For Business

If you are thinking about starting a simple importation business or just wan to buy cheap quality items online, there are many things you have to think about and make decisions on, but no matter what decision you make, like getting some funds, how to purchase, etc, you need trusted website(s) to make the purchase online.. 

Below is a list of ten websites to possibly make your Purchases.

1. eBay - eBay.com is the best online shopping websites, it is recommend for anyone, there are millions of quality goods and products from top-rated sellers to choose from. 

 You can also get almost anything you could ever think of buying at a very reduced and affordable price through auction (bidding) where the highest bidder goes away with the goods.

Also, eBay uses buyers protection to make their marketplace a very safe and secured one.

2.  Amazon – Amazon is also very similar to eBay, being the largest online shopping website, they have different type of products with reduced price ranging from refurbished and used to new Electronics, Apparel, Computers, etc.. 

Amazon features numerous services including one-click buying, extensive customer and editorial product reviews, gift registries, gift certificates, wish lists and photo processing. 

 

3. New Egg – You can buy many things on New Egg but they put more attention on the Technology part of life unlike other websites in this list e.g Laptops, Computer parts, Accessories and so on.

 

4. AliExpress – Aliexpress is also a good place to buy cheap Electronics, Appliances, Fashion Stuffs etc. 

But note that Aliexpress is located in China thereby most (not all) of their products are Chinese products. 

Aliexpress currently offer more than 11 million unique consumer products across more than 4,000 categories, ranging from apparel and accessories to consumer electronics to jewelry and more. 

5. Ever Buying – This is another stop spot to shop for Mobile Phones, Cheap Laptops and Tablets but the site is mainly filled up with Chinese products just like Aliexpress.

 

6. DH Gate – DHGate is a Chinese Wholesale Marketplace for Small and Medium Buyers interested in purchasing Directly from China Manufacturers with Extensive catalog, free drop shipping, wholesale discount, express door-to-door shipping, escrow service.

 

7. IP mart – IPmart is an Online shop specializing in GSM unlocking device, china phones and some other china gadget and accessories.

 

8. Dino Direct - DinoDirect.com is an Online Store With so many products you need to buy which also includes Free Shipping depending on the type of product.

 

9. Cellular Country – This website only sell Used, Refurbished and New Phones. check the sites for more details.

 

10. Made In China – The name already justifies what you are going to see, They provide online marketing platform for both Chinese enterprises and global buyers.

 

Note that the sites listed above are just recommendations, you can check the websites to see how they look like, the prices and what they have to offer you.  

If you know some other website(s) where online shopping /importation is not expensive?

 Kindly share using the comment box below.

Hope This Helps.

 Have a good time. !!!

4 Major Challenges Of Running Microfinance Banks

Speaking of the Nigerian business environment, running a Microfinance business can be a highly profitable and importantly can also be a huge challenge. 

There are many obstacles, problems and threats which could both slow down or even stifle your success in the business. 

For instance;

1. Internal Bank Fraud
 
While the CBN, EFCC, NDIC, NDLEA and the police have played crucial roles in limiting internal fraud in many Microfinance bodies, there are still instances of where bank staff make away with depositors funds. 

  Some Microfinance banks have even folded up because a director made away with huge sums of money under various pretext. 

This is a reality which still happens till date.

2. Loan Defaults from some Customers
 
In comparison to commercial banks MFBs tend to record less loan defaults. 

Sometimes Farmers, petty traders and artisans who are less educated seem more likely to repay a loan than a formal business run by educated people, depending on determining factors. 

But there are indications that loan defaults among Nigerian microfinance have been on the increase year on year by very small margins.   

Loan defaulting has a way of frustrating revolving loan schemes which in turn can discourage further savings.

3. Misapplication of Loans
 
Some people will approach a bank to raise a loan for their business but divert it to pay house rent, splash on wedding or cater to another non-business need which could lead to them either not repaying the loan or taking longer than they should.

4. Mini Commercial Bank Syndrome

A newspaper report quoting the CEO of an Microfinance noted how many MFBs in Nigeria are struggling to stay afloat. 

In fact most of them are close to closing down as over 40% of the entire market is captured by just 10 out of 991 existing MFBs. 

This was attributed to ‘mini commercial bank syndrome’ where the MFBs function like commercial banks and target more of middle level customers than low income earners and micro businesses. 

According to the CEO when you neglect the core microfinance practice you are heading for insolvency which most Micro Finance Banks in Nigeria are currently doing.

Setting up a Microfinance Bank offers great Returns

You can actually start a microfinance bank in Nigeria with about N10 million operating from just one unit location within a state. 

Alternatively, you can startup as a state Micro Finance with  about N50 to N100 million startup capital or N1 billion for national Microfinance bank. 

The return on investment (if you manage the business well) can be as high as 30% and this can be realized by your 3^{rd t 4th} year. 

Your first year is capable of generating over 20% ROI.

Setting up a Microfinance in Nigeria has stringent requirements but they are not too difficult for serious minded individuals who want to invest in it. 

Secondly while the market is growing, there are challenges to deal with and but sound management practices can handle most of them. 

Have a good time.

3 Reasons To Setup A Microfinance Bank In Nigeria

Microfinance banks as we have them today evolved from pre-2000 community banks and cooperative societies which carried out informal financial services to the benefit of low income, rural dwellers who were too far from accessing retail banking services from commercial banks or earned too little to even be worth saving or approaching them for loans.

The Central Bank of Nigeria saw this situation and noticed that despite the huge acceptance of the Esusu System (local/informal revolving, interest free loan scheme) was very well received in Nigeria only a few corporate organization were tapping into this.
Nigeria’s rural poor cumulatively could generate over N280 billion in savings annually (as at  around 2005) and cheap access to loans and other business funding meant a lot of people could move out of poverty as they fund their micro businesses – especially rural subsistence farmer, petty traders, artisans, low income salary earners and other unskilled labour.
1. Huge demand for affordable Loans to Micro, Small and Medium sized Businesses
The number of small and medium sized businesses in the economy that need finance to fund their operations but are unable to do so is really huge.
Less than 54% of Nigerians have bank accounts and interestingly many of these people not captured own farms, run small sized commercial ventures and have their eyes set on doing bigger business which without additional funding they will be unable to do.
At least over N500 billion is requested for by SMEs annually but less than N300 billion is granted.

2. Increase in Population of SME Businesses Captured in the Formal Sector
More hitherto informal businesses are migrating into the formal sector.
For instance, small food retailers like 5 years ago would have grown into medium sized businesses employing from a few to dozens of employees.
These employees would somehow need to be captured in a payroll system which would require documentation.
The business would need to start paying taxes, pensions etc.
But this same business may be better served by a microfinance bank which is closer and more compatible than a commercial bank.

3. Microfinance Banks are strong drivers of savings among low income earners
Many low income earners may be know the benefits of savings but microfinance banks offer greater services in mobilizing them to save than commercial banks.
 Low income earners who prefer Esusu scheme for target savings are more likely to patronize an MFB than a commercial bank to open and operate a savings account - the reason being that savings can be a major source of credit and financing to them, which commercial banks are less likely to deliver on.
The future of Microfinance in Nigeria will likely improve as more people in the informal sector have increased access to financial services.