Saturday 29 July 2017

Review kamera mirrorless Panasonic Lumix G7 Dengan harga Dibawah 7 Jutaan

Review kamera mirrorless Panasonic Lumix G7 Dengan harga Dibawah 7 Jutaan

abdullah-syuhada - uang 7 jutaan bisa dapat alat potret apa, agak susah buat saya jawabnya. Paling saya sarankan DSLR pemula seperti Canon 700D atau Nikon D5300, atau beberapa  alat potret mirrorless basic seperti EOS M3, Fuji X-A3 atau Sony A5100. Basic itu artinya ya fiturnya mendasar saja, tidak pakai jendela bidik sehingga hanya mengandalkan layar LCD saja untuk memotret. Nah review kali ini akan membahas Panasonic Lumix G7, sebuah lensa jepret generasi agak lama yang harganya sudah turun signifikan dari 10 jutaan menjadi 7 jutaan, sehingga jadi menarik untuk dibahas karena value for money yang sangat tinggi sehingga akan saya rekomendasikan sebagai alternatif tustel murah meriah mantap di harga 7 jutaan.


Masuk ke segmen mana sih sebetulnya alat potret G7 ini? Yang pasti dia adalah kamera mirrorless, dengan sensor Micro Four Thirds, desain mirip DSLR dalam bentuk mini (yang artinya ada jendela bidik dan punya grip yang cukup dalam). Kabar baik dari pemotret modern adalah meski dibuat 3 tahun lalu, banyak fitur dan kemampuannya masih bisa disejajarkan dengan kamera terbaru, karena teknologi yang semakin matang belakangan ini. Jadi fitur khas Lumix seperti post focus, 4K photo, DFD auto fokus hingga 4K video juga tersedia. Disamping itu dukungan layar LCD yang articulated (bisa dilipat ke samping dan bisa diputar) menambah kebebasan angle baik memotret atau rekam video, dan tentunya sudah touch screen.


Kita tinjau kamera Lumix G7 ini dari fisik luarnya dulu ya. Bodi G7 memang tidak kecil, banyak mirrorless lain yang lebih kecil dari G7, tapi dia juga tidak sebesar DSLR. Kamera berbobot setengah kilogram ini berbahan polikarbonat plastik yang dilapisi tekstur karet yang membuatnya mantap digenggam (tidak licin). Di bagian depan ada mount lensa Micro 4/3 yang bisa dipasang sistem lensa Lumix maupun Olympus.

 Yang saya suka dari bodinya adalah ada kendali yang lengkap seperti dua roda dial, roda drive mode, tuas mode fokus dan banyak tombol Fn untuk kustomisasi. Adanya jendela bidik OLED 2,3 juta dot yang jernih, lalu ada built-in flash serta dudukan lampu kilat untuk memasang trigger maupun flash eksternal. Layar LCD berukuran 3 inci 1 juta dot di kamera ini bisa dilipat putar, dan bisa dilipat menutup ke dalam untuk melindungi layarnya saat disimpan. Baterai di bagian bawah disandingkan dengan slot SD card, keduanya dalam satu pintu. Kamera ini sudah menyediakan input mic untuk memasang mic eksternal, cocok untuk rekam video yang lebih serius.

Spesifikasi Mirrorless  Panasonic Lumix G7 :





Body type
Body type SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor
Max resolution 4592 x 3448
Other resolutions 4592 x 3448, 3232 x 2424, 2272 x 1704, 1824 x 1368
Image ratio w:h 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9
Effective pixels 16 megapixels
Sensor photo detectors 17 megapixels
Sensor size Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm)
Sensor type CMOS
Color space sRGB, Adobe RGB
Color filter array Primary color filter
Image
ISO Auto, 160, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800, 25600
White balance presets 5
Custom white balance Yes (2)
Image stabilization Unknown
Uncompressed format RAW
File format RAW, RAW + Fine, RAW + Standard, JPEG Fine, JPEG Standard, MPO + Fine, MPO + Standard (with 3D lens in Micro Four Thirds System standard)
Optics & Focus
Autofocus Contrast Detect (sensor), Multi-area, Selective single-point, Tracking, Single, Continuous, Touch, Face Detection, Live View
Autofocus assist lamp Yes
Digital zoom No (2x, 4x)
Manual focus Yes
Number of focus points 49
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds
Focal length multiplier
Screen / viewfinder
Articulated LCD Fully articulated
Screen size 3″
Screen dots 1,040,000
Touch screen Yes
Screen type TFT Color LCD with wide-viewing angle
Live view Yes
Viewfinder type Electronic
Viewfinder coverage 100%
Viewfinder magnification 1.4×
Viewfinder resolution 2,360,000
Photography features
Minimum shutter speed 60 sec
Maximum shutter speed 1/16000 sec
Exposure modes Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual
Scene modes Clear Portrait, Silky Skin, Backlit Softness, Clear in Backlight, Relaxing Tone, Sweet Child's Face, Distinct Scenery, Bright Blue Sky, Romantic Sunset Glow, Vivid Sunset Glow, Glistening Water, Clear Nightscape, Cool Night Sky, Warm Glowing Nightscape, Artistic Nightscape, Glittering Illuminations, Clear Night Portrait, Soft Image of a Flower, Appetizing Food, Cute Dessert, Freeze Animal Motion, Clear Sports Shot, Monochrome
Built-in flash Yes (Pop-up)
Flash range 9.30 m
External flash Yes (Hot-shoe)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync
Flash X sync speed 1/160 sec
Continuous drive 7.0 fps
Self-timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10 sec (3 images))
Metering modes Multi
Center-weighted
Spot
Exposure compensation ±5 (at 1/3 EV steps)
AE Bracketing ±3 (3, 5, 7 frames at 1/3 EV, 2/3 EV, 1 EV steps)
WB Bracketing Yes (3 frames in either blue/amber or magenta/green axis)
Videography features
Resolutions 3840 x 2160 (30, 25, 24, 20fps) 1920 x 1080 (60, 50, 30, 25fps) 1280 x 720 (60, 50, 30, 25fps), 640 x 480 (30, 25 fps)
Format MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone Stereo
Speaker Mono
Storage
Storage types SD/SDHC/SDXC
Connectivity
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI Yes (microHDMI TypeD)
Microphone port Yes
Wireless Built-In
Physical
Environmentally sealed No
Battery Battery Pack
Battery description Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery & charger
Battery Life (CIPA) 350
Weight (inc. batteries) 410 g (0.90 lb / 14.46 oz)
Dimensions 125 x 86 x 77 mm (4.92 x 3.39 x 3.03″)
Other features
Orientation sensor Yes
GPS None
Dari penggunaan roda dan tombol, saya akui penggantian setting cukup terbantu dengan desain dua roda, plus adanya tombol di tengah roda bisa dikonfigurasi misal untuk mengganti WB, ISO dll. Roda tuas drive mode ditempatkan di kiri atas, mungkin jarang diputar-putar tapi saat kita ingin ganti dari single shoot ke continuous shoot cukup putar roda ini. Selain itu pilihan 4K photo, bracketing dan self timer serta timelapse ada juga di roda ini. Urusan auto fokus, G7 memiliki tuas mode AF yang persis sama dengan di GH4 yaitu tiga pilihan mode (AF-S/AF-F, AF-C dan MF) lalu ditengahnya ada tombol AE/AE lock yang bisa dikustomisasi jadi tombol tertentu (saya lebih suka diubah jadi AF-ON).
Masuk ke dalamnya, kita akan temui sensor LiveMOS 16 MP dengan low pass filter (beda dengan generasi sekarang yang tanpa low pass filter), dengan performa ISO terendah di ISO 200 hingga ISO 25.600 dan kinerja shutter sampai 8 fps dan sync speed untuk flash hanya sampai 1/160 detik. Bagusnya disini disediakan opsi untuk shutter elektronik yang sama sekali tidak menggerakkan shutter sehingga tidak bersuara dan memperpanjang usia shutter juga. Shutter elektronik juga akan otomatis dipilih bila kita meminta shoot kontinu yang sangat cepat, meski tampilan live view akan non aktif saat foto diambil. Prosesor di Lumix G7 sudah cukup kuat untuk mengolah banyak hal seperti 4K photo, video 4K, live view berbagai filter digital hingga memproses data yang banyak dengan cepat. Untuk mengimbanginya disarankan memakai kartu memori berkecepatan tinggi.

Kinerja yang saya ingin coba dari kamera ini salah satunya adalah auto fokus. Berbekal teknologi DFD, waktu yang diperlukan untuk mendapat fokus termasuk sangat cepat, lebih cepat dari kamera sebelumnya G6. Terdapat banyak pilihan mode auto fokus di G7, seperti AF-F dan AF-C untuk benda bergerak, lalu kita bisa atur area fokusnya mau auto, satu area, deteksi wajah, tracking hingga membuat sendiri area fokus sesuai keinginan. Tapi dalam banyak hal saya justru terbantu oleh kemudahan menyentuh area di layar untuk memilih fokus. Kamera ini bisa fokus di keadaan gelap sampai -4 Ev. Fitur lain yang menarik adalah Post focus, yaitu kita bisa memilih fokus foto belakangan. Caranya yaitu kamera merekam video 4K pendek yang meliputi semua area fokus, lalu setelah itu kita pilih foto yang kita mau dengan menyentuh area yang ingin tampak fokus di layar, kemudian akan disimpan sebagai foto 8 MP.

http://www.infofotografi.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Panasonic-720992944-dmc-g7_feature_eu_2-2-4_20151124-1024x555.jpg
Bicara pengaturan kamera, selain tombol yang disediakan, juga ada 5 tombol fisik yang bisa dikustomisasi, disebut tombol Fn. Biasanya Fn1 untuk kompensasi eksposur, Fn2 untuk Quick menu, Fn3-4-5 bebas kita atur sendiri. Kalau kurang puas, bisa ditambah Fn6 hingga Fn9 namun berupa soft button alias menyentuh layar. Pemula yang merasa bingung dengan banyaknya kendali di kamera ini bisa memilih mode Auto (iA) atau Scene mode, juga tersedia efek kreatif berupa filter digital seperti old days, pop photo, monochrome dll. Untuk videonya bisa langsung dari mode mana saja, atau bagi yang mau lebih serius ada mode Manual movie dengan kebebasan mengatur shutter speed, aperture dan ISO yang diinginkan. Bicara movie, ada pilihan format AVCHD dan MP4, dan untuk kualitas 4K 3840×2160 25p kita perlu pakai yang MP4. Bila penasaran dengan bitrate format MP4 kamera ini adalah 100 Mbps untuk 4K, 28 Mbps untuk 1080 50p dan 20 Mbps untuk 1080 25p yang mana termasuk standar untuk kualitas yang baik. Pengaturan audionya ada level mic, mic limiter dan fitur pengurang derau angin.

Bicara pengaturan kamera, selain tombol yang disediakan, juga ada 5 tombol fisik yang bisa dikustomisasi, disebut tombol Fn. Biasanya Fn1 untuk kompensasi eksposur, Fn2 untuk Quick menu, Fn3-4-5 bebas kita atur sendiri. Kalau kurang puas, bisa ditambah Fn6 hingga Fn9 namun berupa soft button alias menyentuh layar. Pemula yang merasa bingung dengan banyaknya kendali di kamera ini bisa memilih mode Auto (iA) atau Scene mode, juga tersedia efek kreatif berupa filter digital seperti old days, pop photo, monochrome dll. Untuk videonya bisa langsung dari mode mana saja, atau bagi yang mau lebih serius ada mode Manual movie dengan kebebasan mengatur shutter speed, aperture dan ISO yang diinginkan. Bicara movie, ada pilihan format AVCHD dan MP4, dan untuk kualitas 4K 3840×2160 25p kita perlu pakai yang MP4. Bila penasaran dengan bitrate format MP4 kamera ini adalah 100 Mbps untuk 4K, 28 Mbps untuk 1080 50p dan 20 Mbps untuk 1080 25p yang mana termasuk standar untuk kualitas yang baik. Pengaturan audionya ada level mic, mic limiter dan fitur pengurang derau angin.

Kesan dan opini saya

Dari beberapa kali saya mencoba kamera ini impresinya terasa positif, baik dari interaksi saya dengan kamera, kinerja dan hasil fotonya termasuk baik. Tampilan Menu dan Quick menu khas Panasonic tidak terlalu asing bagi saya, sedikit rumit tapi lama-lama akan terbiasa. Tombol dan roda terasa fungsional dan pas, hanya kurang beberapa hal kecil seperti tidak ada fitur Auto ISO yang berbasis minimum shutter speed, dan tidak ada tombol untuk langsung memotret pakai RAW. Grip terasa cukup pas, jauh lebih nyaman daripada saya menggenggam kamera mirrorless lain yang lebih kecil misal GX85 atau EOS M3. Informasi di LCD memang terasa ‘ramai’ apalagi kalau diaktifkan semua seperti touch tab (di sisi kanan), histogram, level horizon dan mic indicator, maka tampilan di layar akan terlihat penuh sesak.


Dari hasil foto saya merasa cukup puas dengan kemampuan sensor yang mampu menangkap gradasi, warna dan detail dengan baik, meski tentu tergantung dari lensa apa yang dipakai juga. Karena sensor 16 MP di G7 ini masih pakai low pass filter maka ketajaman yang dihasilkan sedikit kalah dengan sensor modern seperti GX85 atau G85. Memang karena ukurannya, sensor G7 (dan semua kamera micro 4/3 lainnya) di ISO tinggi (diatas ISO 1600) akan muncul noise yang lebih banyak dari kamera lain dengan sensor lebih besar seperti APS-C atau full frame. Tapi selama ISO dijaga dibawah ISO 1000 maka kualitas gambarnya masih bisa diandalkan. Yang saya suka dari kamera G7 adalah banyaknya pengaturan parameter gambar supaya sesuai gaya editing kita, mencegah untuk banyak edit lagi setelah memotret. Selain ada berbagai Photo style yang bisa diatur lagi tingkat sharpness, contras dan saturation, juga ada banyak pengaturan lainnya.

Misal ada pengaturan curve (Shadow highlight) dan bisa disimpan sebagai preset, lalu ada peningkat ketajaman (inteligent Resolution), mengatasi vinyet (shading compensation), dan inteligent dynamic range untuk kontras tinggi. Bahkan kita bisa memilih digital tele converter untuk menambah jangkauan lensa asal pilihan megapikselnya diturunkan (mirip seperti cropping, tapi ini langsung jadi). Yang agak mengejutkan adalah fasilitas bonusnya berlimpah, seperti timelapse, panorama, multiple eksposur hingga pengubahan dari RAW ke JPG yang banyak parameter editing sehingga membantu saat jauh dari laptop tapi ingin segera edit foto RAW. Hadirnya teknologi 4K photo dan post focus akan membantu saat kita memerlukannya.
Berikut foto yang saya ambil beserta penjelasan singkatnya :

Scene mode Food


Creative filter Sunset
 http://www.infofotografi.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/P1000294-iso-tinggii-1024x769.jpg

Kesimpulan

Sebelum ke kesimpulan tentang review Lumix G7 ini, saya singgung sedikit kenapa format kamera micro 4/3 yang diusung Panasonic dan Olympus ini bakal tetap kompetitif meski ada sistem APS-C atau full frame dari merk lain. Salah satu jawabannya adalah karena sensor Micro 4/3 yang lebih kecil dari sensor lain membuat desain lensa jadi bisa dibuat kecil tanpa banyak mengurangi kualitasnya. Sehingga ukuran kamera dan lensa jadi lebih proporsional, tidak besar lensa daripada kameranya. Ini membantu sekali untuk travel, atau foto sport, candid, satwa yang butuh fokal ekstra panjang tanpa harus memakai lensa yang sangat besar.

Sulit menemukan produk yang setara dengan Lumix G7 ini di kisaran harga sekarang, dengan 7 jutaan plus lensa kit 14-42mm OIS, kamera ini meski sudah agak lama tapi fiturnya tetap mumpuni. Biasanya kita sering terfokus pada hal-hal utama dari sebuah kamera, seperti sensornya, tapi tidak memperhatikan hal-hal lainnya yang mungkin esensial. Lumix G7 menurut saya seimbang di semua lini, dari hasil foto yang baik (sensor 16 MP Live MOS Micro 4/3), kinerja yang cepat (fokus DFD, 8 fps, prosesor cepat), pengoperasian yang mudah (berkat tombol, roda dan layar sentuh) dan banyak bonus (post focus, shutter elektronik, video 4K). Kecepatan proses data di jaman modern ini dimanfaatkan dengan baik oleh Panasonic sehingga bisa menawarkan fitur yang tidak terbayang sebelumnya seperti 4K photo, post focus, koreksi gambar otomatis dan sebagainya.
Kelemahan kamera ini saya anggap masih wajar untuk kisaran harganya. Setelah ada penerusnya yaitu G85 (13 jutaan), kita akhirnya melihat betapa fitur 5 axis IS (stabilizer di sensor) pada G85 memang lebih membantu, juga bodi G85 yang lebih kekar dan tahan cuaca membuat G7 ini terasa ada yang kurang. Selain itu kekurangan minor lain diantaranya belum mendukung USB charging, flash sync yang cuma 1/160 detik dan Auto ISO yang basic saya anggap bukan masalah berarti.


Tuesday 25 July 2017

crazy business ideas actually who make someone a millionaire

crazy business ideas actually who make someone a millionaire


Albert Einstein once said that if he had an hour to solve a problem, he’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions. That is finally the way of my approach. But not most people.
And I would also suggest you collaborate with your most creative friends. Creativity and innovation don’t often happen in a vacuum. As the author Steve Johnson says, chance favors the connected mind. When people are together, talking, laughing, thinking, exploring — they’re going to throw out ideas. These ideas trigger something in someone else’s mind, and it snowballs. Before long, this group of folks has developed an innovative solution that wouldn’t have been possible without the collective collaboration.
So how do you and your friends boost your creative (and crazy) ideas? Here are 10 suggestions to improve your ability to exercise ideation.

Encourage risk taking

Zappos as a company is known as much for its culture as for its innovative business model. The company has built a business that is growing rapidly by allowing individuals the freedom to take creative risks without that overwhelming sense of fear or judgment. They tell their employees to say what you think, even if it is controversial. Make tough decisions without agonizing excessively. Take smart risks. Question actions inconsistent with our values.
Another interesting example: A software company in Boston gives each team member two “corporate get-out-of-jail-free” cards each year. The cards allow the holder to take risks and suffer no repercussions for mistakes associated with them. At annual reviews, leaders question their team members if the cards are not used. It is a great way to encourage risk taking and experimentation. Think this company comes up with amazing ideas and innovations? Absolutely.

Be a detective

Creatives and innovators always have enquiring minds. Are you and the team asking enough questions to get deeper and understand the problem as much as you can?

Make quiet time.

Most ordinary days of the average worker includes an enormous amount of multitasking. Multitasking is, of course, is very destructive to the time and space of good innovative thinking. Set time aside for team members’ quiet time to stimulate and let the mind wonder until ideas flow.

Challenge good

The phrases good enough, this has always worked, and this is all the time we have to devote to this problem, etc. are very destructive to team innovation. Avoid these at all costs as they are enemy #1 to the best results.
Use these facts to your advantage: 6 Amazing Facts on Innovation You Need to Know

Foster autonomy

We all prefer control over our environments. According to a 2008 study by Harvard University, there is a direct correlation between people who have the ability to call their own shots, and the value of their creative output. An employee who has to run every tiny detail by her boss for approval will quickly become numb to the innovative process.
The act of innovation is one of self-expression. Granting autonomy involves extending trust. By definition, your team may make decisions you would have made differently. The key is to provide a clear message of what results you are looking for or what problem you want the team to solve. From there, you need to extend trust and let them do their best work.

Divergent thinking

Try the quantity approach to new ideas. Use brainstorming to improve divergent thinking. Study and then connect ideas to get new ideas.

Add play to equation

When looking for fresh new thinking to create more innovation, shake things up by adding some fun and play to the process. It always has the ability to shed the stress and pressure on a team

Explore new experiences

Open up your new idea thinking. Do things in new and untried ways. Avoid the set ways of being innovative.

Experiment

Do as much experimentation as you can. Don’t worry about failures and allow the team to question any and all assumptions and consider even the craziest ideas.

Always ask why

Here is a favorite story that explains this technique quite well. The story is about why you should ask why. It comes from Ideas Champions. A consulting company like us (but bigger and more well-known), who specialize in creativity, innovation, team building, and leadership. All favorite topics of ours. So we keep up with this team.
The story is about a big problem at one of our favorite monuments … the Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC.
Simply put, birds in huge numbers were pooping all over it, which made visiting the place a very unpleasant experience.
Attempts to remedy the situation caused even bigger problems, since the harsh cleaning detergents being used were damaging the memorial.
Fortunately, some of the National Parks managers assigned to the case began asking WHY as in Why was the Jefferson Memorial so much more of a target for birds than any of the other memorials?
A little bit of investigation revealed the following:
The birds were attracted to the Jefferson Memorial because of the abundance of spiders, a gourmet treat for birds.
The spiders were attracted to the Memorial because of the abundance of midges (insects) that were nesting there.
And the midges were attracted to the Memorial because of the light.
Midges, it turns out, like to procreate in places were the light is just so and because the lights were turned on, at the Jefferson Memorial, one hour before dark, it created the kind of mood lighting that midges went crazy for.
So there you have it: The midges were attracted to the light. The spiders were attracted to the midges. The birds were attracted to the spiders. And the National Parks workers, though not necessarily attracted to the bird poop, were attracted to getting paid so they spent a lot of their time (and taxpayer money) cleaning the Memorial.
How did the situation resolve? Very simply. They nailed the understanding of the problem, so an innovative but simple solution was much easier.
After reviewing the curious chain of events that led up to the problem, the decision was made to wait until dark before turning the lights on at the Jefferson Memorial. About as simple a solution as you could get. Right?
That one-hour delay was enough to ruin the mood lighting for the midges, who then decided to have midge sex somewhere else.
No midges, no spiders. No spiders, no birds. No birds, no poop. No poop, no need to clean the Jefferson Memorial so often. Case closed.
Now, consider what solutions might have been forthcoming if those curious National Parks managers did not stop and ask WHY:

Hire more workers to clean the Memorial
Ask existing workers to work overtime
Experiment with different kinds of cleaning materials
Put bird poison all around the memorial
Hire hunters to shoot the birds
Encase the entire Jefferson Memorial in Plexiglas
Move the Memorial to another part of Washington
Close the site to the general public

Technically speaking, each of the above solutions was a possible approach, but at great cost, inconvenience, and with questionable results. Not great solutions.
Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he writes about topics that relate to improving the performance of business. Please Bookmark his blog for awesome stories and articles.


1. Pet Rock
This product just got a revival in 2012, and it definitely proved successful enough for Gary Dahl in the 1970s. Dahl was at a bar listening to friends complain about their pets in 1975 when he came up with the idea of a pet rock--the perfect, easy-to-care-for pet. This craze ended up with a 32-page training manual, detailed care instructions filled with jokes and gags, such as commands like "playing dead." It was incredibly cheap to produce (the rocks cost just a penny each). Dahl ended up $15 million richer.
2. Narrative Clip
This product is a tiny camera that clips to shirt fronts and takes two photos per minute as long as it's worn. Now, you might think that sounds useless, but there are a lot of people who would disagree with you. The folks behind the Swedish startup are claiming it's the only way to actually relive your life. It costs $279 and the company has already earned half a million on a Kickstarter campaign. It's a literal way to leave your legacy behind.
3. Facebook
Too kooky to work. That's what some people told Zuckerberg about his idea when he first launched an "exclusive" virtual yearbook. Certainly nobody thought it would become one of the most powerful companies in the world. Think about it: What's the point of a virtual yearbook when there's already a giant, well-loved social network called MySpace? The exclusivity factor worked, as did the more mature layout, and the rest is history.
4. Craigslist
Craigslist hasn't changed since the day it was launched, and people love it for its ugly simplicity. People criticized it, citing privacy and safety concerns, once upon a time. Founder Craig Newmark has never made revenue priority number one for the site. However, Craigslist is going stronger than ever. It's where you really can get almost anything; whether it be a job, apartment, girlfriend, casual hookup, or entertainment on the forums. A free community that's a veritable garage sale of sorts? It still works today.
5. PayPal
It's kind of crazy to think how trusting the first PayPal users were. They handed over their bank account and email information to a company that was in no way affiliated with a bank and had kind of a cutesy name. Would PayPal have been successful if launched at any other time in history? Who knows, but the founders definitely found success amid a consumer lack of tech savviness specific to the late '90s, along with a healthy dislike of dealing with mailing checks. This kooky idea helped push some great investors and entrepreneurs to the forefront, including Peter Thiel and Elon Musk.
6. Amazon
This is another example of a company that was way ahead of its time. Who wants a virtual bookstore when you can go to Barnes & Noble or Borders? Many an American can remember countless hours hanging out in one of those, drinking a coffee and reading magazines and books (for free!). As it turns out, a lot of people wanted a virtual bookstore, and brick and mortar stores weren't happy about it. Never underestimate the appeal of being lazy in your pajamas at home.



the best online business which can give a monthly income of $1000 a month

the best online business which can give a monthly income of $1000 a month

There are various business models that can bring you $1,000 a month but I will give you a business model that has worked for me and many others. Also it’s very easy to begin with and requires no programming skill or any specialized skill set for that matter. You just need to have some patience and decent addition/subtraction skills.

 


The business model I present to you is starting your own Amazon FBA selling business. FBA stands for fulfillment by Amazon. What this means is you provide inventory to Amazon for certain products of your choosing and send it to an Amazon warehouse. Once Amazon receives it they will take care of things like advertising, customer support, and selling the item itself. Let’s go a bit more in-depth now.
Let’s say you find a toy that costs $5 at Walmart.com. And then you do some searches on Amazon and you see that same toy is being sold for $20 on Amazon. As you can see there is a potential $15 profit margin. However, there are fees as you may have predicted. Because it’s Fulfillment by Amazon, they will charge some fees for their service. But remember, they are doing the hard work which is advertising, storage, customer support, and selling the item. You don’t have to deal with any of that. Amazon charges a small fee based on the items price and weight. Also there is shipping costs for you when you send products to Amazon. But when you sign up for an Amazon sellers account you will have the option to use UPS which is Amazon’s partner carrier and they have great shipping rates for merchants. I’ve shipped items for as low as $0.30 which is basically shipping heaven for every merchant. Anyways, you can expect the fees to be around $5 which include shipping fees. And let’s say your down to a $10 profit margin now. So each unit can make you a $10 profit. Now imagine selling 10–20 units of these. That’s an easy $100–200 profit. However, this is 1 product imagine listing multiple products with multiple units you can eventually scale this to a full time job or business.
Here is a real life example of a product and the calculations done. The net profit came out to $8.46 per unit after Amazon fees and shipping fees.

 
One thing I feel I should mention and is probably on everyone’s minds is “How the hell do I find these products?” Well my answer to you is you can choose to do manual sourcing or sign up with a sourcing service. Manual sourcing will involve you going to retailer websites such as Walmart, BestBuy, etc… and searching through their catalogs and thousands of products and cross referencing them with Amazon’s catalog to see if they are profitable. Although, finding one or even 2 products which are profitable can be extremely tedious and take up days of your time. And when you find the item you will realize it’s out of stock because someone probably got there before you. So now you just wasted a ton of time. Because I’m a college student I no longer do manual sourcing because it’s just a waste of my time and remember time is money. What I recommend instead is sign up to a reliable sourcing service that does the research for you and sends you profitable products sell. This saves me a ton of time and cuts down my daily work time from like 10 hours to 2 hours which is extremely valuable to me.
Anyways I hope you or anyone else looking to make income online will keep this business model in your arsenal of income sources. It’s always good to have multiple revenue streams and this business model can be one of them and is very easy to start and has low startup costs. I personally started this model with only $500 and flipped that investment to $850 within a week of working and selling items. I recommend starting with $500–700 at least as there are some startup costs the first time you do this.


Making $1,000 a month with an online business is relatively easy.
Currently, I’m bringing in about $3,000 a month and I spend the majority of my day working on my sofa at home.
How did I do this?

Freelancing.

With freelancing, all you need is some marketable skills and you can quickly earn $1,000 a month. There are plenty of online marketplaces which’ll help you find clients, and if you don’t have skills you can learn some through free online courses and certifications.
I made roughly $1,200 my first month by aggressively reaching out and selling to potential customers. After that, I’ve slowed down my sales activities and steadily added a couple hundred dollars of income each month. :)
There are plenty of guides to freelancing online and I highly recommend taking an afternoon to research how to start your freelancing business/career.


Amazon FBA is the clear winner! And it is shocking how easy it is to do, and how much money can be made!
I started with less than $100.00 and in just a few short months I have over $6k in revenue. You can do it too! My family can’t believe the money I have made and I tell everyone who is interested how to do it.
Here’s a very quick way to get started with less than $20. I mean seriously, where else could you start a real life business with less than $20?
You can go to dollar tree and buy products for $1 and re-sell them on Amazon or eBay for 3 times what you paid for them. It is really true. You can go to Walmart and buy products and sell them for 3, 4, or sometimes even more than that. The secret is you have to know which products to buy.
Now, how do you know which products to buy? You need to know these things:
  • Not everything sells well on Amazon. Amazon has a sales ranking system where the ‘sales rank’ is displayed as a number. The LOWER the number, the higher the rank, and the quicker the product sells. If a product has a sales rank of, say, 1,000,000 - that product is going to be sitting on Amazon shelves for years without selling. Sales rank of say, 1000…that product will sell HUNDREDS a day. Just about anything with a sales rank of 50k or lower is going to sell. Its just a matter of buying it, shipping it, waiting for sales, and collecting the profits! I recently bought 10 copies of a board game for $19.98 at Kmart and resold EACH of them for $85.00.
  • Not everything sells for a high enough profit to justify the cost of the item as well as your time buying, boxing, and shipping the item. You’ll need some help identifying the sales rank of a given product. (More on that later).
  • Amazon does take their share of the profits if you choose to use their Fulfillment by Amazon service. (FBA). You have to ensure the price of the item on Amazon is at least 3 times what you pay for it in the store.
There is a lot to learn, but I’ve found it is fun. And when those sales start rolling in, that certainly gets me excited.
I think the best way to start out is to purchase inexpensive ‘product lists’. There are people who sell lists of the products to buy. These lists may go for $5 or $10 or some are even cheaper. You don’t even have to worry about finding the products yourself - it is already done for you!




 Ever heard of binary options trading? If you haven't, binary options is a highly profitable online trading financial tool in which you’re to determine if the value of an asset would increase or decrease over a certain period of time, the pay-out is a fixed amount of ROI (Return On Investment) or nothing.


FREE binary options trading software?
Yes there is, which is Optionrobot. I've been using the software for almost 8months with steady income, the software trades binary options for me on autopilot and I make money and withdrawals everyday from my trading account.



What are some business models that can make me 5-6 figures per month online?

 

 

What are some ways to start a small business in 2017 : Top Secret From Zero To hero

What are some ways to start a small business in 2017 : Top Secret From Zero To hero



 



Your startup will own you.

 
But, as a pharmacist, you already know what long hours are like.
And you're clearly smart enough to have acquired a degree in pharmacology. So now, all you need is an idea and commitment.


 
 Here's a sad story, and a lesson:
A few years ago I helped a guy launch a cool product called StairCycle. It was a really solid product idea. And he even had it manufactured like a pro. No problems there.
We got him on a Yahoo Small Business Contest - and he won! Richard Branson (yes, THAT Richard Branson, of Virgin fame) had us Fedex a StairCycle to his private Island. He loved it, and crowned it Best New Product of the Year. He even had the founder of StairCycle meet him in Times Square, announced on national TV, with a PR campaign, and $100,000 in advertising and web development provided by Yahoo.
It's a home-run, right?

 Wrong.

I called the owner a few weeks later to ensure everything was on schedule (production, the new website, ads, PR, deliveries, channel relationships with bike shops, Target, etc...).

Guess where he was?
Sitting on his new Barcalounger, watching his new 50" TV. And he told me he's tired, and didn't feel like he could handle the pressure of the startup life. His day job as an X-Ray tech gave him enough money that he didn't feel the burn a true entrepreneur feels for his vision, customers, products, employees, partners and investors.

The company died that day.
He could have owned a multi-million dollar company with just that one product. It was slick, easy to ride, fun, and a great workout.

But being an entrepreneur means more than a great idea and a killer product launch. It means you invest yourself, your soul, into your work. Maybe not forever. But definitely long enough to get momentum, stability and the resources to hire real players to fill-in your team. Even a CEO/President to run the dang thing when you're about ready to die from too many 100 hour weeks.

But... it's worth it.
Even when you fail.
Because you've become a greater contributor to the world through your actions, commitment, learning, and hopefully, giving.







The first step towards your starting your business should be getting your business incorporated. The incorporation of business can be generally done in 5 ways:
  • Sole Proprietorship Company
  • Partnership Company
  • One Person Company
  • Limited Liability Partnership
  • Private Limited Company
Sole Proprietorship Company

This is the easiest way to start a business in India. When the business is owned and managed by a single person Sole Proprietorship Company may be formed. A business can be up and running in this format within 15 days
There is no separate registration required for Sole Proprietorship firm. Tax and other mandatory registrations like VAT, Service Tax, Professional Tax, Shops & Establishments Registration, etc., will certify the existence of this firm.
It is best for business owners with no or few employees, such as consultants, who can handle legal risks with adequate insurance or do not have assets to protect but this model is not suited for ventures where there are two or more founders.
It is also good if there is only one founder who wants to experiment with the venture and gauge feedback before diving deep.
No foreign investment is allowed in a sole proprietorship.

Partnership Firm

In a partnership firm two or more individuals manage and operate a business in accordance with the terms and objectives set out in the Partnership Deed. Getting the registration of a partnership firm done is optional and a partnership firm can be registered under Indian Partnership Act, 1932.
The Partnership deed has to be printed on a Stamp Paper and has to be notarized. After this, an application is to be made to registrar of Firms of the state to get registered. The registrar of firms accepts the request and allots a registration number to the firm.
This registration can be done anytime i.e. either at the time of starting the company or during the continuation of the operation of the company

Advantages of Registering a Partnership Firm

The Partner of the registered Partnership firm can file a case against the firm or other partners of the firm.
Case can be filed against Third Party by having the partnership firm as one of the Parties.
If the venture is an experiment and the founders are unsure of how it will run, then a partnership firm is a good option. One of the biggest advantages that a partnership firm has over its competitor entities is that it is less cumbersome to wind up if the partners so desire. That is why, this is a big factor when the founders are looking to start a venture more as an ‘experiment.’
No foreign investment in allowed in this too.

 

One Person Company

One Person Company is the improvement over Sole Proprietorship firm which gives complete control to one founder and gives a benefit of Limited Liability to the founder.
OPC is registered with Registrar of Companies (ROC) under Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).

In terms of capital, an OPC, requires a minimum authorized and subscribed capital of Rs. 1,00,000. In case the subscribed capital goes beyond Rs. 50,00,000 or the turnover exceeds Rs. 2,00,00,000, OPC has to file the requisite forms with the ROC to get its status converted into a private limited. Winding up of OPC follows the same process as that of a private limited company. It takes time and can be fairly expensive.
OPC is best suited for a single founder who wishes to launch his/her/its product/service in a more structured manner and get a taste of how to run a private limited company. However, like a private limited company, it is not meant for a founder who is still looking to ‘experiment’ with the venture.
Foreign investment is permitted with subjects to OPC-centric thresholds.

Limited Liability Partnership

LLP is a significant improvement on Partnership firms, which give Limited Liability to the Partners involved and also it has lesser compliance's compared to a Pvt Ltd Company since the working of an LLP is solely dependent on the Partnership deed that is drafted between the partners and is filed with ROC.


It gives operational ease to partners to manage the business and creates a system of accountability through the mandatory ROC filings. However, conversion of a LLP into a private limited company is still a grey area. Therefore, if the founders wish to convert their LLP into a company, they will have to independently incorporate a company and have that company acquire the LLP.
Foreign investment is permitted in this but only after government’s approval.

Private Limited Company

Private Limited Companies are the most preferred option for any startup that is looking at scaling up by external funding as it is very easy in Private Limited Company to issue fresh equity shares in lieu of funding received.


Unlike a sole proprietorship or a partnership firm, in case the co-founders decide to shut shop because the venture did not work, winding up a company is not easy. It is a completely court driven process and can take anywhere between one to two years. No founder is happy about spending (more) money just to wind-up a company, especially since the company is being wound up because it did not make enough money!
So clearly, if the founders are only experimenting with their idea or don’t want to invest too much money in the entity but use it towards their business, a private limited company may not the best option. From an investor’s perspective, a private company is a stable structure because not only is their investment relatively secure (due to the ongoing monitoring by regulatory authorities), it also demonstrates the seriousness of founders to do business.
To understand them you can visit : Business Incorporation in India - Wazzeer

Further, one needs to get the tax registration done for his business and also, one needs to make a bank account.
You will also need to get the clearances and licenses obtained from the municipal corporation of the locality for your shops/ warehouse/ godowns, etc.
Also, you need to establish certain more licenses depending upon the nature of your product in which you deal like for example if you are dealing in food products then you need to have a license from the FSSAI.
You should also do some market research on how and where to target and how to fetch cheap and good products.


I have successfully started a number of business and I use the following strategies:

1) Ideas that are within my skill set and that I could understand and conceive a step by step plan.
2) Cash Flow Rich: the idea would have to be cash flow rich, ideally I would get paid first and then pay out contractors, etc.
3) Minimal Effort: the idea has to be such that I can manifest it with minimal effort, time, etc.
4) Dynamic Partners: I have the potential to involve current partners or new partners in the project.
5) High Margins: I strongly prefer ideas with very high margins. I would rather sell 1 product per year for $1m than a million products for a $1.
6) Affordable Loss: ideas that would cost me no money to test or such a low amount that it wound not adversely effect my finances.

Once you have an idea like this, learn as much as you can about the ins&outs and try to SELL. I strongly prefer selling products/services before I even have the said product/service in hand. I want to know the dynamics of trying to sell which will give me feedback and a slew of information. In the process my goal and direction might completely change.

there are many good answers on the same. But i would give u some of tips from my understanding :-
  1. Find the problem, solve it. Untill and unless you are solving a problen, you wont be able to run business in a long run. If you think an idea is great, then you should make sure that idea solves a problem.
  2. Be financially strong. Make sure you do not lack funds. It doesnt mean that you should he financially strong before starting of business. But you should be able yo raise funds from sources and you should be able to have backup plans in between the cycles of business.
  3. Dont take anything for granted. Be it marketting or sales or accounts or production or customer support or anything. Dont take anything lightly. The things you took lightly would be only problem you cant remove in feature.
  4. Grow. So you had a great deal today with a big company and u got the order. Dont stop urself and dont live in the moment. Take more orders from same company and other clients. Grow and merge as much you could.
  5. After Order. If you took a big order and you want to take more big orders from client and maintain the market image. Dont lose focus on operations after the order has been placed. Deliver the products on time and fulfill all the commitments.
  6. After sales. So everything is done. Products have been delivered and payment is received. What to do next ? Dont stop. Follow up the client and maintain good customer relation. If you want more orders, dont forget to follow up.
  7. Work smartly and work hardly - Parallely. Working smart is fast. Working hard is promising. Work in both ways parallely. Dont skip any important process in any cycle of business.
  8. Be something different. Now something new. I know innovation is the key to survival. But you dont have to play on the Trend trick. If you think ur products will create a Trend, then that trend will end someday. Make sure that you offer something better than competitors.
  9. Dont fight in competition. Dont take competition personally. You might end up with low profits and bad market image soon. Have good or nuetral relation with competitors.
  10. Be badass. If you want to be the boss, Then you need to be THE BOSS. Have that attitude, confidence and never giving up passion. Management skills and. Entrepreneurship in your heart.
Starting a business is not the big task. Maintaining the business is way more difficult.

How much would it cost to open a small business


Many small businesses cost absolutely nothing to start.

A simple drop-shipping model with a focus on sales and marketing will net you about $2,000 a month working from home. Optimize your sales funnel with the right tools and processes, and voilà. You're set.
First, find yourself some high margin products whose supplier is willing to drop-ship them. The beauty of "drop-shipping" is that you do not have to stock or touch any product. You don't pay the supplier until your customer places an order and pays you!

When it comes to pricing, the sweet spot is between $75 and $175 at an 8-10x mark-up. Let's say a customer orders this beautiful, $100 picture frame from you. You then send an invoice for the frame to your supplier. They charge you $13, and ship the frame straight to your customer. Meanwhile, you collect $100 for a profit of $87.

This margin will be plenty for advertising these frames on Google/Facebook. Let's assume it takes $17 worth of ads to make a sale and you have little to no no other operating costs. That's a net operating profit of $70/frame. Great! Your ad campaigns will run while you sleep.

The question I am most often asked is, "How do I find great suppliers offering me profitable margins?". This is what separates the great drop-shipping sites from the rest: finding the right suppliers, getting the right deals, and branding and pitching your products so they are perceived as high-value.

Finding suppliers and negotiating ideal contracts is a rigorous process. You should not delve too deeply into it until you have already established your niche as viable (ie. you get sales with reasonable marketing spend).
Instead, consider drop-shipping and wholesale directories. These middlemen already have relationships and contracts with suppliers in place. They will make your life a million times easier.

This directory has been my favorite for years, they have a lot of recognizable products, both brand-name and generic. Their interface is also very easy to navigate. If you don't already have an idea for what to sell, you will find one there.

Of course, you will need to build a website to showcase and sell your products. But you won't need to write a single line of code. In fact, it only takes a few hours to get an awesome site up and running with a content management system. You can pick your color scheme, drag and drop the images you like, and write your own content. Still, your site will appear more credible and professional than 90% of e-commerce sites.
Shopify is the most popular CMS out there for a reason. I’ve been using it for 2 years now and recommend it to everyone I can because it’s easy as hell to use and it’s optimized for e-commerce purposes. You list your products the way you want to and customers pay right there.

If you alternatively want to drop ship products from AliExpress instead of directories and/or simply want your store to work on auto-pilot, add this free plugin to your store. The plugin will allow you to automate practically everything inside your store, from pricing to shipment tracking and auto-fulfillment. But keep in mind that this will make you less money than using directories.
Drop-shipping is awesome because it’s incredibly inexpensive to start. Begin with a specific niche and expand later. Test, track, and improve your marketing efforts over time. As you refine your sales funnels, your profitability will grow exponentially



 I would say from a previous blog post I created the main reason being your business is not unique, you picked a highly competitive market and you are not niche enough.





That would be my number one con!





1. LOW SALES – The most obvious signs would be low sales. We’re not talking about a quiet quarter through the summer holidays here (which can be expected ) but rather an all round annual slump. Without sales, it will become impossible to invest in future ideas and more importantly, to pay your employees.





To try to rectify it, it’s vital you research the issue as soon as possible. Do not underestimate the knowledge of your own customer service team. I don’t think I have EVER worked with an employee that was transparent enough to walk over to the customer services team and simply ask, what do you think? What are the customers saying? when we have signs of a drop in figures. In general, a company will hide this uncertainty from their employees thus to avoid any discomfort and try to continue along seamlessly….. while the sales continue to drop. ASK your staff!





NO ONE TALKS ABOUT YOU – If no one is mentioning you on social media, then it simply goes to show you are not interacting with a huge amount of customer potential.





We can only avoid social media for so long before we realise it’s an integral part of our business. Facebook alone can provide small businesses with up to 50% of it’s customers when used correctly, so it would be foolish to underestimate the dramatic benefits a digital marketer can bring to your business. Designated PA brought in digital marketing support 6 months ago and now we have more than doubled our UK target audience.





YOUR BUSINESS IS NOT UNIQUE – Every business will have their competitors, but when it comes to releasing a product that has already been in the market for over 10 years, with recognised global brands, then it’s a completely different ball game.





Hopefully you would have conducted market research before launching to see if this is an already saturated market. If not, try to jot down all the things that make your business unique. This could even be something as simple as we are a green company as we use recycled produce. Use this as your marketing strength.

 
CONS



Hard to get going, hard to get investors, no proof of concept, risk of failure, existing businesses like this, lots of hours to run it (expect 40–60 hrs/week) etc.



PROS



Flexible, much potential, work your own hours, and simply determine the direction of the business.
First of all I took it as if you were talking about starting your own business and that you want to get some information before you continue with your plan. Second of all my answer was fairly limited although it did cover some of the big topics in owning one’s own small business; there are many more pros and cons you can find online so I would urge you to continue your research. Know that if you are going to start a business that it will be difficult and that you do risk losing a lot, do extensive research before you start and I hope I was helpful.



What is a good business to start for 2017?

 




AI Startups

As you might remember, some intriguing headings like “2016 was the year AI came of age”, “AI was everywhere in 2016”, and “The Great A.I. Awakening” were all over the place in media last year.
Fair enough. In 2016, technology’s progress was sufficient to let even smaller companies take part in the AI development. Several universities started to educate students about AI’s possibilities. According to Ludo Ulrich, head of startup relations at cloud CRM provider Salesforce, this development is “creating a larger talent pool” of AI professionals, resulting in a much quicker innovation’s pace in 2017.



 





Here’s what he says on the matter: “Now that the true importance and impact of AI has been discovered and has become more accessible than ever before, 2017 will be the year where the knowledge that used to be possessed by a select few will now become imbued throughout the tech landscape — allowing for younger startups to truly innovate in the space”.
For many years, artificial intelligence has been regarded as an unreachable science fiction fantasy. And now it is our reality – machines analyzing behavior patterns and making predictions based on those patterns.
So what is the good news for you then?
AI will continue to gain solid ground in 2017 and startups will have more opportunities to make a contribution to further AI’s development. The current accessibility of AI will allow new players to diversify the startup arena with their brand new ideas.

As everybody knows, a chatbot is a computer program which simulates a conversation with real humans through a chat interface.
This technology went totally mainstream last year, but there’s even much more to gain in 2017. “Thanks to AI, we’ve seen chatbots take center stage in 2016, and as we break into 2017, we expect this trend to spur even more innovation, specifically in the enterprise,” predicts Ashu Garg, general partner at Foundation Capital, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm.



For instance, Taco Bell’s TacoBot helps clients to make orders on Slack chat. Sephora lets their customers order on the messaging app Kik, and Ticketmaster has recently presented a new website chat widget – in other words, the examples are numerous.
Gartner forecasts that more than 85% of interactions with customers will not include a human being by 2020, and chatbots will be the AI’s weapon of choice during the next five years when it comes to customer service, according to research from TechEmergence.
This way, more and more businesses are thinking of providing their customers with a personalized chat experience. This results in a chance for your startup. And you better be quick as in 2016, over 50 startups were building chatbots for the enterprise, according to Betaworks. We expect this number to grow in 2017.




Cybersecurity Startups

Cybersecurity was a frequent newsmaker in 2016 – just remember Apple’s iOS encryption dispute with the FBI or attack on NASA’s website. This year has been marked by major data breaches, bank heists, account hijacking, hacktivism, DDoS attacks – you name it. This panic has been caused by cyber-criminals as they are more tech-savvy and organized these days.
Results? Well, it’s evident! The percentage of Americans who said they were extremely or very concerned about cyber threats increased to 55% compared to 45% in 2015.
Thus, many professionals in this field expect some continued growth in the cybersecurity space in 2017.
Companies looking to beef up their security defenses invested in software and other appliances. We anticipate businesses will start investing less in endpoint solutions and more in managed services that help them make sense of their existing infrastructure.” says Nate Locke, partner at investment management firm Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors

   


AR and VR startups

For lots of us, 2016 was the year of Pokémon Go’s craze. No wonder that augmented reality (AR) is on many people’s radar in 2017. Virtual reality (VR) is also something not to be neglected in 2017 and beyond.
All this year through, 30% of customer-oriented Global 2000 companies are expected to experiment with AR and VR in their marketing initiatives, IDC – the market intelligence company

 

Here’s what they say: “Interfaces are the essential gateway to customer engagement and they are evolving much faster than many have anticipated.”
IDC expects AR/VR to reach global adoption by 2021 when more than a billion people will access apps, content, and data through an AR/VR platform. But VR won’t simply be a technology for entertainment. Today, VR is used in healthcare, entertainment, automotive, space industries among others. Next year, we can expect a much wider application of VR and it’s not just about gaming or entertainment.

What business should I start in 2017?

 






 




For both sellers and buyers, intense housing market disintegration is now producing different experiences in a broad range of locations and divisions. All over the country, home prices are anticipated to keep going up, even though at a snail’s pace, say 3.5% in 2017, vs. 4.5% in 2016, but even more so than in current years, and your situation is now going to hinge on what and where you are buying or selling. This piece of article will explain certain decisive factors of 2017 real estate.
Flexibility factor
Are you a first-timer looking for a starter home with the hope of cashing out and scaling down? Then being flexible is said to help and it will provide you with more choices. Moreover, you can face the real estate market with ease, irrespective of some taxing factors like low supply, uptight market, fluctuations and fierce competition.




 Seeing the fact that, not all are ready to take up the major overhaul, buyers who are willing to be flexible are finding better deals says a popular real estate database company.
Growing families should consider making a move
In case, if you are planning to move to a larger home, then you are in the housing market’s sweet spot where a combination of factors is going to result in a maximum response for the amount of effort you put in. A good time to strike is the first part of 2017.

Fix yourself to a lower loan rate and don’t procrastinate
Procrastination is the biggest enemy. If you are planning to buy an investment property and thinking when to buy, then you would sit all-time thinking of it. To your surprise, now is the good time to pull the trigger because this year has reached a record-low mortgage rate which is not expected to last long. And if truth be told, average rates could rise as much as half a percent in the next year that would mean a greater increase in percentage. Now that if you are going to fix yourself to a lower loan rate then 2017 is going to b0e a golden year for you.

This is how you should position yourself when it comes to real estate 2017 and talking about the fluctuations, you will have to take heed and analyze the market conditions and buying preferences coupled with the neighborhood value. As a well-informed buyer or as a well-positioned seller, you need to make wise decisions that will produce fruitful results.
Zack Childress is a real estate entrepreneur who helps real estate enthusiasts by teaching real estate principles, markets, and finance. His boot camps and seminars are a blessing to people who wanted to make it big in the field of real estate. Sign up for Zack childress real estate reviews to stay up to date on real estate concepts and make secure investments with the guidance of this connoisseur who will guide you every step of the way





What's the best business to start in 2017 if you have 100-200k to get started?


 


 
When comes to starting a business, focus on problems you can help others to solve.
Instead of focusing on how much (money) you need to start a business, focus on coming up with good business ideas.
Observe what product people want that isn’t available on the market yet OR what services people need that you can provide.
When you get this right, you can start a business with no money. On the other hand, more money doesn’t help if no one wants your product or services.
Think about your own problems is a good place to start. Ask yourself: What are all the problems you have where you can't find a solution?
Even if the product exists somewhere, that’s OK. If you haven’t heard of it, it means there's room in the market — or you can beat any competitors doing better marketing down the line.
These business ideas are what I call “shower thoughts.” Write down any idea that comes to mind, even the dumb ones.
Seriously, go off-the-wall crazy. After all, Facebook began as a website with names and faces. Dumb ideas are not necessarily bad.
You’re not trying to come up with the most brilliant idea worth billions right now.
Instead, look for a problem you're facing yourself, create a solution. Make things easy for yourself and get started NOW.





1 - Consulting/Service Business

I am sure you are good at something. Right? Think about things like…
  • Writing
  • Marketing
  • Designing
  • Development
  • Business
Can you find people who need help with any of those? If you are not sure go check out websites like Upwork and Fiverr. Lot’s of people need help and are actively looking on those sites.
So how do you get clients?
  1. Make a killer profile (on Upwork or Fiverr) and start sending proposals/bids
  2. Attend local events in your city. Exchange business cards and follow up consistently (This is how I started building my social media agency)
Investment = $0

2 - Teach online

Online education is booming ($300+ billion industry) and online teachers are making good money.
How do I know? I do teach online on platforms like Udemy and SkillShare. :)
So here is how you start an online education business.
  1. First, take some classes on Udemy and SkillShare (related to your niche)
  2. Identify a couple of things you are good at
  3. Create a class and launch it
  4. Once you get comfortable with teaching online, I would suggest building your own platform i.e. sell your classes on your website. You can potentially make more money by selling on your own website.
Investment = $0
Actually I would suggest getting a good microphone so your investment will be ~$50

3 - Flip stuff on eBay and Amazon

This is another simple and easy business. Here are the steps
  1. Find garage sales in your city (Use Craigslist)
  2. Buy cheap stuff for $99 or less :)
  3. Flip it and sell it on eBay and/or Amazon
And before buying something, you can even check its average selling price.
Investment = $99

4 - Blogging

Being a blogger will not generate money quickly but you can start with less than $100. All you need is a domain and a hosting account.
But in order to make money, you have to become an expert in your niche. Don’t forget to build an email list from day1. If you have a decent size email list, affiliate marketing can create some opportunities for you.
Let me stop here! There are so many other ideas you can start with less than $100 but the question is are you willing to execute?

Go with eCommerce. It’s the thing to do with low budget.
I taught 100s of people to start and I consistently get people to make their first sale within 24 hours (that’s after them going through a few days of training though, lol, but once they start - it’s quick). The longest case I had so far was 3 weeks and 4 days. Let’s chat on Facebook, I’ll help you out personally.
I’ll give you a few guidelines that will help you understand the process.

RULE NUMBER 1:
If it’s your first business, you want as few moving parts and variables as possible in the business. That means you won’t make a million tomorrow, because the big money is in the complex variables. But you will make your first sale within weeks or even days. And probably your first $1000 too.

BIG MISTAKE
I see most people starting with Shopify. Then perhaps they try to go to AliExpress (which is a place where you can buy cheap products from China often direclty from manufacturers) and list items on their Shopify store (which is perhaps the most popular platform to use to build your online store, think of it as Windows OS for PC or Android for Samsung). Then, they do FB ads.
Well guess what. To make that work you will need to understand:
  1. Driving cold traffic (people that don’t know you = don’t trust you yet). It’s very different from just listing a product on Ebay for example - people trust Ebay. They don’t trust you.
  2. Tactics to use with FB ads - the FB pixel (very important), demographics, interest targeting, good visual (and you would need to know whether it is best to use an image or a video - depends on the product and the circumstances). Every thing below can be divided into many other little things you need to understand just like I did here with FB ads, so the rest, I will just list:
  3. Re-targeting
  4. Follow up and nurturing the leads
  5. Merchant accounts
  6. Shipping and dealing with Chinese (importing from abroad can result in additional taxes - you need to understand that as well)
  7. You need to pick the right products in the first place.
  8. Build a Shopify store. A good functioning store I might add. Buying a Shopify account is not enough, you need to build it too.
  9. Beating competition that is making TENS OF MILLIONS PER MONTH. One of my friends did $164,000,000 last year mostly from FB ads on his Shopify store. Can you beat him? You see, this kind of platform can make a lot of money and that is exactly the problem - it attracts very bright minds. I personally would never get into any business now that would not make at least a million dollars a month NET income. Meaning everything that does not have that potential - you will not be competing against a guy on my level, which is good for you.
As you can see, that is quite a few variables. I didn’t even mention simple stuff like incorporating. Obviously, following this model would be like putting a 7 year old straight into 8 grade instead of sending him to grade #1. Can you see the difference?
I teach something much simpler and that’s why my clients are so successful so fast (you can check out my FB account, I just posted Matthew’s results after 3 weeks).
With what I teach you only need to understand this:
  1. How to title your products.
You do NOT need to understand any of the following below:
  1. Cold traffic
  2. FB ads
  3. Re-targeting
  4. Follow up
  5. No need to understand foreign culture to buy products from
  6. You don’t need to ponder whether your product will sell or not - everything sells
  7. And you don’t need a Shopify store. Abracadabra.
  8. You will not need to compete against super bright minds. However, you probably won’t make tens of millions from it. But you can make $30,000 a month. To me that’s not interesting, so I won’t compete with you, it’s just not worth my time. But to you it could be life changing.
  1. Go to Amazon. Grab pretty much any product you want
  2. Put it on Ebay with 10% markup.
  3. Now do it 100 times. A day after that you will most likely get your first sale, unless you messed up your titles, which is the tricky part. That would take too long to teach in this post, but you can message me on FB, I’ll help :)
$100 can not make you overnight millioner unless you win the lottery for buying a lottery  ticket for 3 dollars at the gas station, just saying, do not do it anyway even if there is a tiny chance.

Example 1 provides more opportunities and may lead you to a great wealth and succes.
First of all forget about the money ($100)  for a minute and think what you can do without it.
Start with assets, what do you have, what are your skills, e.g. you are good at writing or painting, singing or sports etc. Figure out what you do best of all and proceed from there, if you start doing something in what you are proficient in, most likely you will succeed in it quickly. Keep the money for possible expenses. If you are good at chess, start teaching  kids the basics of playing or bring the board to the park and play a game for 1 buck with someone there. (A real example); in this case you might need to spend cash for buying chess.
You got the idea, chess is just an example of many possible. Ask yourself what am I good at ?

Example 2 is a fast way to double your cash. 


Find the events in your city which generate a lot of passing traffic like sport games, concerts, festivals etc, then buy a pack of water $3-5 and sell a bottle for $1 dollar or even 50 cents. That will triple your profit even if you sell just a few bottles. The only disadvantage is it is seasonal. 

Example 3 just came up in the mind.
Stand in a line for 2 hours to get a ticket for any sports game which sells out and resell it for twice more before the game. Baseball, hockey, football are the best practices. Just watch the local "ticket mafia", it's been a very good business for a long time already.
There are plenty of ideas to make money even without any investment just think about it and keep trying.

What are the craziest startup ideas you have seen people execute successfully?