Your Money eZine by eZines Limited

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BUSINESS LOUNGE

Best Of Both Worlds:

Danny Williams & Chris Williams, give Entrepreneurs practical advice on the JSE Junior Market

ever there was a poster-child for the proposed benefits of taking a company public, it would have to R. Danny Williams, founder and past chairman of Life of Jamaica (LOJ), now Sagicor Life Jamaica Ltd. The business magnate, who spoke at a recently held forum dedicated to educating entrepreneurs about the potential benefits of becoming a publicly listed company, used his natural charm to impart his story of being a pre-teen cigarette dealer to a legend in the Jamaican business landscape. When fellow guest speaker Chris Williams, Managing Director of NCB Capital Markets and Jamaica Stock Exchange Deputy Chairman, drew reference to the elder Mr. Williams it seemed only natural. “Jamaica at this juncture is not dissimilar to the occasion in 1970 when Danny Williams would have had a dream and A passionate Danny Williams decided that he wanted addresses young entrepreneurs to start Life of Jamaica”, & professionals at a recent forum held by the Young Entrepreneurs said Chris Williams in his Association of Jamaica presentation.

Unfortunately, not all entrepreneurs have found the mythical “El Dorado” of ideas and as a result, not all companies will benefit from the establishment of a Junior Stock Exchange. The minimum threshold is still a bit out of the reach of most entrepreneurs and it is in this stead that both speakers urged business people to think big. Chris encouraged his audience to “search for a Google while Danny simply reminded us that what he had done was unprecedented and ambitious to a fault. Will the Junior Stock Exchange yield another LOJ? There is no easy answer but the reality is that the success or failure depends on the ability of our business people to give their ideas life and then to do whatever it takes to see that idea flourish.

With a story that sounds quite like a well crafted tall tale, Mr. Danny Williams outlined how he took his natural entrepreneurial spirit and harnessed it into producing a business juggernaut. While Chris Williams’ presentation read like a primer, introducing the rapt entrepreneurs present to the idea of reaping benefits by being publicly listed, Mr. Danny Williams story was a real life example of how to put all of what was said into practical situations. A fact is that most entrepreneurs arise from a stirring within motivated individuals which cause them to strike out on a path which leads them to be their own boss. Both of the guest speakers addressed the issue of “losing control”. Chris spoke of the responsibility and the drive that occurs as a result of the fact that one knows that he is personally culpable if anything goes wrong while Danny stated quite poetically,” Ten percent of 1000 is a whole lot better than 100 percent of 10”.

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money smart - Raise Your Financial IQ!

10 Smart Questions to: Understand Inflation

Question:

I hear financial experts talking about inflation and how bad it can be for our economy. I don’t understand a lot of the terms they use, so I need a simple explanation of this problem.

Answer:

Even though we may not easily comprehend the concept of inflation, we definitely feel its effects on our pockets everyday. Here are ten smart questions to help you learn more about inflation:

1. What is inflation? Investopedia.com defines inflation as a ‘sustained increase in the general level of prices for goods and services, which is measured as an annual percentage increase.’ 2. What effect does inflation have on your money? Inflation will cause you to spend more money on the things that you normally buy, as the prices of goods and services are going up, while the value of your money is going down.

3. What is the annual inflation rate? Jamaica’s

inflation figures at the end of December 2008 showed a 16.8 per cent increase in prices over the previous year. The means on average, an item that cost $100 dollars in December 2007 would cost $116.80 one year later.

4. How is the annual inflation rate calculated? The

Bank of Jamaica calculates the inflation rate by periodically tracking the changes in costs of a large basket of basic goods and services including bread, agricultural produce, clothing and electricity.

can curb the spending habits of both individuals and companies and cause a reduction in a country’s growth and development.

9. How can we prevent inflation from devaluing our savings? Increase

monthly investment amounts in line with the inflation rate every year; and include investments that have traditionally outpaced inflation, like real estate.

10. What about inflation’s effects on our income? Look for multiple ways to generate extra money, as this will help you to maintain your spending power even when prices are increasing.

……………………………………………………… Financially S.M.A.R.T. Services is Jamaica’s number one source for practical, down-to-earth and independent answers for all questions relating to personal finance. Get more money smart advice at www.financiallysmartonline.com. Email advice@financiallysmartonline.com with comments or questions. .

5. What causes prices to increase in the first place? Two main things result in inflation - when people’s demand

for goods and services exceeds their supply (too much money chasing too few goods), and when companies raise their prices to combat increased input costs such as salaries and raw materials.

6. Wouldn’t it be better if prices didn’t increase?

It would actually be bad for the economy if prices didn’t go up at all, as price increases can signify growth. The problem arises when the level of the increase is unplanned and unexpected.

7. What are some negative effects of inflation?

People on fixed incomes will not be able to maintain their standard of living; while savers can experience a negative return on their investments if the savings interest rate is less than the inflation rate.

8. How does inflation affect the economy? High

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inflation can lead to a general uncertainty about the economy; which

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Mind Yo ur Busin e s s

Hiding from the internet may cost you big bucks Provided by: Francis Wade

ost Jamaican professionals know that business is built on trusted relationships, but only a few actually use the latest internet technologies to build their networks.

Most remain wary and suspicious of “putting themselves out there,” afraid that the worst will happen: identity theft, fuel for the gossip columns or a juicy fact “gone abroad” that they would rather keep to themselves. Unfortunately, this attitude keeps them from learning that there are safe ways to build relationships with people that they can only meet via the internet, and will never, ever see in person. In my free e-book, “The New Networking: Caribbean 2008,” I describe many of these strategies. In a recent article, Robert Middleton goes a step further and says that building your online network is a function of passing through four phases that build on each other. Together, they reduce the risks of doing business globally.

Phase 1 is Visibility, which includes generating written internet content in the form of blogs, ezines and social media. If someone Googles your name today and finds nothing, you have a problem. If they find something negative, then you have a bigger problem, as Bill Clarke discovered when an impostor created a Facebook account in his name. In 2009, trying to hide from the Internet has a high cost and a better strategy is to get busy writing and sharing unique ideas.

They simply don’t get stuck doing trying to do business with the same 2.7 million, and ensure their success by engaging with a much wider world. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Francis Wade of Framework Consulting is the author of “The New Networking: Caribbean 2008” which can be downloaded for free at http://fwconsulting.com/newnetworking. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Francis Wade Author of the upcoming book “Perfect Time Management” www.fwconsulting.com 954-323-2552 / 876-880-8653 Tweets @fwade Framework Consulting logo 1 gry Solving companies’ toughest people problems.

Phase 2 is Credibility, which comes from giving speeches, seminars and doing podcasts that can be broadcast to a wide audience. Audios and videos are powerful ways to reach wide audiences. Phase 3 is Intimacy, which is developed through live conversations that take place either in-person, on-line, on the phone or in meetings.

Phase 4 is Reliability, which is built only when actual projects are undertaken that demonstrate your ability to deliver. You become known as someone whose promises can be trusted and has the kind of integrity that other professionals find compelling.

The irony is that networking effectively has a great deal to do with who you ARE, rather than who you KNOW. Professionals that are visible, credible, intimate and reliable are the ones that attract others of like mind and have the ability to keep growing their networks.

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