Sixteen Indian nationals caught working illegally in UK

Sixteen Indian nationals working illegally have been caught by UK Border Agency officers during enforcement operations in the month of July.

The men were arrested at two factories, a restaurant and shop in the West Midlands and two restaurants in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Action is now being taken to return all the illegal workers to India.

A UK Border Agency spokesperson said:

“We are cracking down on companies that employ illegal workers and fail to carry out proper checks on passports and other identity documents. Any business that takes on a foreign national without permission to work is breaking the law and faces a heavy fine and possible prosecution.”

A fine of up to £10,000 will be imposed on employers for every illegal worker found in their business, unless the employers can prove that they carried out the correct right-to-work checks on the employees.

Separately, the UK Border Agency has been working with local Sikh community leaders and Gurudwaras in the West Midlands to provide advice to migrants, some of whom are destitute, and wish to return to India. The monthly advice centres are being held at the Gurudwaras in Smethwick; Sedgley Street, Wolverhampton; High Street, West Bromwich; Soho Road, Handsworth, Birmingham and Foleshill Road, Coventry.

Further information

1. Employers can find guidance on how to employ workers legally at the UK Border Agency’s Employers Helpline on 0044 (0) 300 123 4699.
2. Anyone who suspects that illegal workers are being employed at a business or has information about other immigration crime can contact Crimestoppers on 0044 (0) 800 555 111 where anonymity can be guaranteed.
3. Arrests are carried out by trained immigration officers. They conduct operations at businesses and private addresses, acting on intelligence received from the public and other sources. All intelligence is protected.
4. Indian nationals working illegally have been apprehended regularly in UK Border Agency enforcement operations on restaurants, catering facilities, factories, and construction sites, and returned to India.

Starting a company in an economic drought(DARE)

With so many people around the world focusing on holding onto their jobs, what would you think if a friend told you that he or she is thinking of starting a business now?

Around the world, economies are contracting, demand is falling, companies are cutting back their purchases, bank credit is increasingly difficult to obtain, and risky projects are being canceled. Perhaps India—one of the few economies in the world that still registered healthy growth in the past six months—is less hard-hit than others, but still, starting a new business during the economic equivalent of drought season seems like a mad idea. Or is it?

Our case in this month’s issue of DARE seems perhaps to tell a cautionary tale. Manish Sharma started his first company right after graduating in 1995. It was a web solutions provider that entered the market at the perfect time. Attempting to build on this success, he started a second venture just as the dotcom bust took hold, and this company was unable to survive that lean season. It took several years before he was ready to start his third venture, Printo, with his wife, and this venture has prospered in part by riding the rising tide of India’s remarkable recent economic growth. So is the lesson here “Wait until the business cycle is rising before you start a new enterprise?”

Such a dictum is far too general to be useful. Sharma’s second venture failed because it was the wrong kind of business to start at the time: an innovative product company. In contrast, rigorous academic studies show that many successful companies are started during down periods in the business cycle, and often they are more robust in the long run than those which were founded during good times. However, the kinds of businesses that survive in challenging times are not the same as those that thrive in more prosperous eras.

Businesses that typically do well in a downturn solve pressing problems (usually saving their clients money) without requiring much up-front investment or cash. This is not a great time to start a product company that requires a lot of investment and a long runway before it breaks even. It is also not a great time to start a company whose offering would make your customers’ lives better if they bought it, but which would not be missed if they did not. Companies that thrive in harsh economic environments usually save their clients money right away. Most businesses and consumers are looking for ways to conserve cash, decrease investment outlays, and lower their total cost of ownership. Firms that can help them achieve such goals often perform especially well during a recession.

If you have an idea that fits these times, there are still a few pitfalls to avoid. First, ensure you can reach prospective customers at low cost. If you have a product or service that will save people money, but you can’t make them aware of the opportunity until you spend a lot of money on marketing, you may run out of cash before you build up enough revenues to sustain your enterprise. Startups who grow via word of mouth or inexpensive search engine optimization are much more attractive than those requiring heavy marketing communications investments.

Another pitfall is paying insufficient attention to collecting your accounts receivable. Making money isn’t the only thing that matters in tough times—getting cash as early as you can is at least as important. Many an entrepreneur has grown impressively on paper, only to run out of cash because customers made late or partial payments for work that cost money up front. The more your business can be structured in pay-as-you-go fashion for customers, the brighter its prospects.

A third pitfall is relying too much on credit, especially for investments in equipment or inventory. Entrepreneurs often fall into a growth trap when expanding their business requires them to borrow in order to sustain a growing stock of working capital. Even if your top line is growing, you may find yourself in a squeeze when you hit a credit limit and find that sources of debt financing have dried up. Work up a spreadsheet showing how your credit needs will grow as your business expands, then ensure your growth does not outpace the amount you need to borrow in order to sustain it. Then, build in a safety buffer and stage your growth accordingly.

Businesses with the right configuration—saving their customers money visibly and swiftly with low marketing costs, a short sales-to-cash cycle, and manageable investment outlays—enjoy a number of advantages when they are launched in tough times. Costs are lower and vendors may be more willing to help out an enterprise that has promising growth prospects. Talent
is more readily available and key employees will become more loyal if treated well and given opportunities. Niches are less crowded with rivals, and it is harder for competitors
to overwhelm you by spending lavishly on marketing, channel coverage, or direct sales.

Challenging times also present another opportunity: rejuvenating sound businesses that have run into trouble because they were configured for growth. In 1965, the US sociologist Arthur Stinchcombe introduced one of the most influential ideas in modern management thought: “organizational imprinting.” Just as a duck is imprinted at birth, attaching itself to the first object it sees and treating it like a mother, so organizations are imprinted by the conditions in which they were founded. For example, Stinchcombe studied college fraternities in the US, and found that in the 1950s, those started in the mid-18th century continued to be much different than those founded decades later. The environment at the time an organization was launched shaped it in ways that were still visible a century later.

The Printo case in this month’s issue of DARE is an interesting case in point. Any digital printing business founded by professionals in 2005 would almost certainly be configured around a fast-growth strategy, as Printo was. The kind of people one hires; the pricing strategy one pursues; the amount of attention that any one location gets before the founders open another, and dozens of other factors reflect the growth pressures that typically drive firms in eras of economic expansion. They are built for growth, and expanding rapidly is in their DNA. Printo is unusual because its founders recognized in 2008 that they had to rethink the fundamental nature of their business. Most entrepreneurs do not—they operate “bicycle” businesses that move forward smartly as long as they have momentum, but that tip over when their forward motion slows to a crawl.

If you start a business in 2009, you will have opportunities to take customers away from businesses that were started several years ago and have not yet gone through the painful change management required to shift gears and run lean. You will also have opportunities to partner with such ventures in cases where they have access to customers but are not configured to save them money right away. You will also have opportunities to buy cheap assets from businesses that are fundamentally sound but that have overextended themselves because they were built to succeed in a different era.

2009 is a great time to start a business for entrepreneurs whose ideas, abilities, and connections fit the spirit of the times. If you can get your first couple of customers very quickly, save them money in the short run, and soon generate more cash than you consume, then you will seldom find more fertile ground to till. If, however, your passions take you in a different direction—for example, toward wanting to invest in breakthrough innovations that temporarily raise your customers’ spending—then bide your time. In both good times and bad, it is important to understand what you love to do and do well, then pick the right moment to start the kind of business that feeds off your passions.

write a book ?

9 out of 10 professionals and small business owners have atleast one book or information product inside their head, butlack the time and organizational skills to get it out intodigital or print form.

You may cringe when you read this list of ten things keepingyou from writing your book, because it rings too close tohome for you. You may have already written a book or an

e-book, or have come close to starting it. It's hard, weknow it, and we've been there too. But go ahead and readthis list, see if you can identify, and let's discuss a

possible solution to the book writing problem.

1. I can't seem to find the time.

2. Every time I sit down to write I go blank.

3. I need an uninterrupted time period to immerse myself.

4. I need clarity on my message, but there's no one toconsult with.

5. I don't know where to start or how to organize all thechapters.

6. I'm afraid of losing clients and having my businesssuffer if I take time away from it to write my book.

7. I agonize over the writing, the grammar, the sentencestructure and punctuation.

8. I know what I have to say, just can't put it intowritten form without losing clarity and impact.

9. I keep thinking about all the time involved in writingthe book, and wonder if it will ever bring me the results I want.

10. Once I get it written, I have no idea how to get it formatted, let alone marketed.

Ok, you know why you haven't started writing your book. Doyou know why you need to write a book?

Why You Need to Publish a Book

Here are a few reasons why writing and publishing a book isimportant to you as an independent professional, smallbusiness owner, or solo-preneur:

1. Having a book, whether in digital, soft-cover, orhard-cover establishes you as an expert in your field.

2. People buy from people they know and trust; reading yourbook is one step in creating client confidence andrelationship.

3. Once people buy and read your book, they will want moreof what you have to offer in the way of services andknowledge. Your book can attract readers into your sphere of

potential clients; once they have bought your book, they areready to buy other services from you.

4. Having a published book is a great marketing tool, andpeople will actually pay for your expertise.

5. Books are one of the major sources of passive income forprofessionals; once it is published it can continue togenerate sales for you, over the years and while you sleep.

6. If you don't get a book out soon, your competitors willhave the edge, because many of them already have one andeven two books out.

7. If you are a speaker, they make great bonus gifts and

back-of-the-room sales.

8. They provide a platform for you to expose your readersto your mind and your heart, showing not only what you know,but how much you care. You can reveal your deepest

philosophies through your writing, as well as your personal stories.

Three Solutions to the Book-Writing Problem

Of course, there is no problem if you've got a lot of money.You just hire a book writer. There are many of them listedat Elance.com. Some professionals do this, especially when

they need to get something published fast and there are nota lot of complex issues to put forth. But is this reallywhat you want to do as a professional who has an important

message to convey?

Here is a list of solutions:

1. Hire someone to write your book for you (you can alwaysrewrite it in your own voice and add your own stories). Whenfinished, hire a publisher and then a publicist to market

it.

2. Hire a writing coach who will walk you through thesteps, chapter by chapter (again, for a substantial fee).Then when finished, hire a publisher and a publicist.

3. Bite the bullet, put your business on hold for a fewmonths, and devote your time to just getting it written. Youwill have to turn it over to a book designer and get it

formatted; search for the right publisher such asself-publishing or print-on-demand services, and then market it yourself.

Expensive? Yes, all three solutions are expensive. They eachhave their advantages and disadvantages.

The Fourth Solution

There is another solution! What if there was a way to helpyou get your book down in print and ready for formatting in90 days?

What if you could do this by following a system thatorganized you chapter by chapter, included testimonials,input from peers, professional editing resources, design and

formatting resources at low costs, and only took a half-hourof time per day?

Could you afford to invest that much time and energy out ofyour busy day? Would it be worth it to you even if it meantan hour a day for 90 days?

CIBIL panic or peace for life ?

CIBIL (India's first credit information bureau) is a repository of information, which contains the credit history of commercial and consumer borrowers. CIBIL provides this information to its members in the form of credit information reports. As on February 2009, CIBIL has an information base on over 132 million consumer trades, and 2 million commercial trades which continues to grow at a fast pace. CIBIL shares credit information with its 169 strong member base on the principle of reciprocity. CIBIL’s members include all leading banks, financial institutions, non-banking financial companies, housing finance companies, state financial corporations and credit card companies. CIBIL creates value for financial institutions by providing objective information that helps them manage risk and devise appropriate lending strategies, thus reducing cost and maximizing portfolio profitability. CIBIL benefits both credit grantors and consumers by collecting, analyzing, and delivering information on credit histories of millions of consumers and businesses. With information from CIBIL, credit grantors are empowered to make sound and informed credit decision. Origin of CIBIL The need of credit information system was increasingly felt in order to enable informed credit decisions and aid fact based risk management. It was also imperative to arrest accretion of fresh NPAs in the banking system through an efficient system of credit information on borrowers as a first step in credit risk management. In this context, the requirement of an adequate, comprehensive and reliable information system on the borrowers through an efficient database system was keenly felt by the Reserve Bank of India/ Government as well as credit institutions. A Working Group (Chairman: Shri N.H. Siddiqui) with representatives from select public sector banks, IDBI, ICICI, Indian Banks’ Association and Reserve Bank was constituted by the Reserve Bank in the year 1999, to explore the possibilities of setting up a Credit Information Bureau (CIB). The Working Group had recommended setting up a CIB under the Companies Act, 1956 with equity participation from commercial banks, FIs and NBFCs registered with the Reserve Bank. As per the recommendations made by the Working Group, Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd., (CIBIL) was set up in January 2001. CIBIL was promoted by the State Bank of India, Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited , Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India Private Limited and TransUnion International Inc. The shareholding pattern was as follows: SBI 40% HDFC 40% Dun & Bradstreet 10% TransUnion 10% TransUnion and Dun & Bradstreet are the technical and equity partners of CIBIL. TransUnion is one of the largest consumer credit bureaus in the world, and is recognized globally for its skills in advanced analytics and decisioning services. Dun & Bradstreet is world’s leading source of commercial information and insights on businesses. In 2004, SBI and HDFC divested a part of their stake in CIBIL to other shareholders comprising of leading banks and financial institutions in the country. •Business: CIBIL provides comprehensive credit information on consumer and commercial borrowers to credit grantors in India. CIBIL’s advanced analytic and risk management tools help credit grantors mitigate risk and ensure superior portfolio performance. CIBIL has two divisions- Consumer Bureau and Commercial Bureau. o Consumer Bureau was launched in 2004 with 4 million records o Commercial Bureau was launched in 2006 with 0.7 million records o CIBIL has grown phenomenally in the last five years, and houses credit histories on over 134 million trades across individuals and businesses Members: CIBIL’s 169 strong member base that includes all leading banks, financial institutions, non-banking financial companies and housing finance companies. Security Standards: CIBIL is ISO 27001:2005 certified- the most recognized security standard in the world. CIBIL is one of the 1000 companies in the world, which have achieved ISO 27001 certification, and one of the first few in India. Headquarter: Mumbai Managing Director: Mr. Arun Thukral Technical Partners: o TransUnion International- a leading global credit bureau with presence in over 30 countries o Dun & Bradstreet- a leading global provider of credit information and insights on businesses CIBIL’s Shareholders The promoters SBI and HDFC divested a part of their stake to other shareholders and the revised shareholding stands as follows: GE Strategic Investments India 2.5% State Bank of India 10% Bank of Baroda 5% TransUnion International Inc. 10% Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India Pvt Ltd.10% Bank of India 5.0% The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd 5% Indian Overseas Bank 5% Sundaram Finance 2.5% Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd. 10% Punjab National Bank 5.0% Union Bank 5.0% Citicorp Finance (India) Ltd 5% ICICI Bank Ltd 10% Central Bank Ltd 5% Standard Chartered Bank 5% Total 100.0% CIBIL aides in improving credit environment in India ? god knows !!!

call us 079-65498941

vijayrlodha@yahoo.com

START UP BUSINESS ? HOW TO GET MONEY???

Startup Business !!!!!!! GREAT FOLLOW THE STEPS TO GET MONEY

No matter what the economic situation, someone somewhere, eyes bright with potential, is looking to start a new business. Funds are often the biggest hurdle to what could otherwise be a lucrative opportunity. Here are some ways - traditional and/ or creative - to raise money for your startup business.

33 Ways to Raise Startup Money

1. Personal savings . There's nothing like having your own money saved, to put into your startup. You have the satisfaction of having saved it on your own, and the knowledge that you don't owe anyone.

Risk : It's your money, and if you're not successful, the money is gone, and with it the opportunity to do anything else with it later.

2. Partner savings . Having a partner helps spread out not only the business management but the financial burden. A good partnership is also synergetic, bringing more success than running a business alone.

Risk : A fed up partner who wants out; arguments; irresponsible partners who leave you with all the debt; broken friendships.

3. Sell your stuff . Sell anything you haven't used in a year or longer. The same goes for leased items.

Risk : Regrets, or worse: going out and spending to replace the item(s) you sold.

4. Windfalls . Invest any tax refunds, gifts, lottery winnings into your business.

Risk : Getting hooked on lotteries and gambling to "fund" your dream business.

5. Barter and resell . Consider offering product or services that you can barter in return for something that you can sell for a profit. A very extreme execution of the bartering principle is Kyle MacDonald's One Red Paperclip experiment. He started with a red paper clip, and through a series of swap/ barter transactions, he ended up with a house within a year, and is now trying to trade it, potentially for cash.

Risk : One Red Paperclip is a novel approach, though unless you have something well-thought out and as interesting (and you let your personality through), it's hard to do a successful followup act. You might find enough people to support you, but you'll need to find them and hopefully they'll know nothing about One Red Paperclip.

6. Retirement savings plan . Dip into your retirement savings, especially if there's a government incentive (i.e., qualified tax break). Or take advantage of home ownership programs from retirement plan funds, and use your original rental funds towards your business.

Risk : If you can't pay back your savings plan, there may be a penalty as well as having to declare the funds as earnings.

7. Credit cards . It might be easier to use your lines of credit (which you'll have if you have a good credit score).

Risk : Credit card interest rates are almost always higher than that of a bank loan or blood money. (The latter sometimes has no interest rate, but you pay for it in other ways, as indicated above.)

8. Credit card arbitrage . This is an extension of the credit card approach, and uses the "0% balance transfer " options that were so commonplace a few years ago. With the current credit crunch, this may not even be an option.

Risk : This is a dangerous way to run a business, but the very disciplined entrepreneur with "sure" income can pull it off. Prior to the current economic crisis, type of card choice would have been the 0% cards. Even before such cards existed, some entrepreneurs have successfully built businesses on multiple credit cards. Others have gone into heavy debt and gone bankrupt. Having a business plan that has been carefully scrutizined can make the difference.

9. Blood money . Borrow from family, friends, colleagues, or employees . An alternative to this is to have one of the aforementioned cosign a bank loan for you.

Risk : Meddling lenders, constantly reminding you of what they gave you; ruined friendships.

10. Get a bank loan . If you have a solid business plan and the lender agrees, this can often be the cheapest (interest rate-wise) loan sources available.

Risk : Besides the fact that it's often hard for a startup to qualify - since there's little evidence you'll be profitable - if you do get a loan, it can be like a ticking time bomb if your business isn't doing well.

11. Home equity . If you have equity in your real estate holdings, some lenders will accept that as collateral against a business loan. Alternately, you could refinance your home, taking a mortgage with a lower monthly payment, thus freeing up some funds for business.

Risk : You put your home at risk, and potentially your family and marriage, if that applies to you. With refinancing, you end up paying far more interest over the lifetime of your mortgage.

12. Cash out your life insurance policy . This has been a common way for entrepreneurs to fund their startups.

Risk : The payout is usually a lot less than the policy is worth. It's not recommended if you have a history of illness because you can't afford to get sick, injured, or worse.

13. Grants . There are often a variety of government grant programs for specific types of startup businesses. for more information, search online on government websites. Unless they're reputable, don't pay money to sites that tell you they'll give you a big list of where you can get grant money.

Risk : While grants are rarely required to be paid back, accountability is higher, and you might have to work within a difficult deadline, to show your progress. If you do not achieve the progress you indicated in your proposal, there may be some sort of penalty.

14. Donations via social media . For example, the Tweetsgiving drive via Twitter pulled in over US$10K in just 48 hours, simply from donations of $5 or $10 dollars. This sort of approach works thanks to online payment processing services such as PayPal .

Risk : Generally only effective for charity organizations, and not necessarily one that is yet to be established. Requires a large group of followers, or enough "power" accounts in your Six Degrees of Separation chain.

15. Microloans . Kiva , Prosper , etc. These may be relatively small, but if combined with a technique such as bootstrapping (discussed below), might get you through the early stages of your business. If you have a good plan in a potentially lucrative niche, microloans might be easier to get than a bank loan or investment funds.

Risk : Everyone knows your business. Or at least more people than you might otherwise want, from the website in question. What's more, the U.S. government has put many microloan sites (e.g., Prosper) on notice to file with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission). This might or might not raise transaction fees, or simply limit the pool of funds since they're currently not accepting new lender registrations.

16. Startup incubator . Business incubators such as YCombinator exist in various industries, but more likely for tech niches than anything else. They tend to be more accepting of a promising idea and a smart entrepreneur. This type of funding is sometimes known as "seed financing."

Risk : Their funding offers are typically smaller than from angel investors or VCs. Incubators are sometimes found at university campuses, funded by industry, but less visible to anyone outside of the community. They might fund very fewer projects and with smaller budgets.

17. Investor capital . Get angel investments or venture capital. Convert blood money lenders into investors or silent partners. Or find angel investors, who tend to give smaller loans than VCs (Venture Capitalists). Venture capital is less of an option for most startups, but might come at a later stage. Note that at a later stage, your customers and suppliers could very well be investors.

Risk : Not enough money, or difficult repayment terms. Many investors expect to sell the company at some point in the future and cashout. That means offering an IPO, which locks your payout thanks to SEC rules. You also have to be incredibly careful about not falling into insider trading issues.

18. Leasing . Leasing is not so much a way to raise funds as save them, since equipment leasing reduces your initial startup costs over buying outright.

Risk : Leasing means having to pay interest, sometimes at high rates. If you run into any cash crunch, it could mean losing equipment that you need to operate, or having to come up with funds to make lease payments.

19. Factoring companies . Factoring companies buy your pending invoices (accounts receivable) and give you cash, minus a transaction fee.

Risk : You get paid sooner but you lose profit that might be crucial in the future.

20. Check rediscounting . This is similar to factoring. However, check rediscounters take a postdated check you have written and pay you now, minus a fee.

Risk : This is more risky than factoring, since you're make an assumption that you'll have funds in time. If you don't, and if you don't have sufficient bank overdraft protection, then this could spell serious financial problems.

21. Private offering . Turn your blood money lenders into part owners, so that they have an emotionally vested stake in seeing your business succeed.

Risk : You might lose partial control of the business, and if you have to have meetings to make simple decisions, that could hinder your ability to work effectively.

22. Public offering . A public offering widens your potential for selling shares and thus getting operating capital when you need it.

Risk : Shareholders expect something in return, whether it's dividend payouts or increase in stock value. There's also the issue of now being bound by all the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) rules.

23. Consignment . This isn't so much as a fund source as it is a source of product to earn revenue and then pay "suppliers" after their products sell. Small boutique shops often take this approach, thereby reducing their operating costs to rent, electricity, phone and few other items. Stock costs drop potentially to nil.

Risk : If you're not disciplined enough to sell the product, product takes up space and suppliers get upset.

24. Employer intrapreneurship programs . Companies sometimes have programs that allow qualified employees time, resources and even funding to explore a business idea or technology.

Risk : You may have to live up to certain milestones or expectations, or will likely have to turn over any inventions/ technology to the company. That is, even if you get credit, you might not be able to profit from your effort.

25. Entrepreneurship programs . This is similar to intrapreneurship programs but is not limited to employees of a company or organization.

Risk : Once again, you may have to live up to certain milestones or give up some control in your startup.

26. Online ad revenue . This is an option that has only become available in the last few years. If you have the skills to build, promote and monetize a web site - which you can start for practically nothing - then you might profit either by selling it or using advertising or other revenue (premium content sales, subscription fees, consulting, etc.) to fund your startup.

Risk : The risks are multifold. First, despite that some website owners earn substantial income from just advertising, that source can drop unexpectedly due to changes in search engine ranking systems. You also have to put in considerable early effort to build a website to a monetizable state. This means less time for you, which might delay the launch of your startup.

27. Freelancing or contracting . You may not be able to hold down a regular job while also running a startup, but part-time freelancing or contract might be an option for producing extra income.

Risk : Time spent freelancing or contracting is time that you cannot spend on your startup.

28. Auctioning your name . If you don't like your personal name or are otherwise willing to change it to a company or brand name, you might be able cash in for many thousands of dollars.

Risk : Usually the potential of being ridiculed by friends is enough, but part of the deal might mean having to change all your official documents. There could be negative publicity as well.

29. Selling your body . No, not like that. Sell advertising space on your body . Options include wearing signboards, t-shirts with company logos, or temporary or permanent tattoos. A less drastic option is to sell ad space on your car.

Risk : Do you really want to be associated with someone else's brand while trying to build your own? If it's a permanent tattoo, don't be surprised if you have regrets in the future.

30. Awards/ competitions . Universities and companies occasionally have business/ entrepreneurial competitions.

Risk : The payoff may not be large enough for the effort you put in to win. Some contests may require you to reveal more details than you're comfortable with, or possibly have to give up ownership - depend on sponsor requirements.

31. Dividends . If you have mutual funds or stocks in your investment portfolio that pay out regular dividends, this could be a potential source of startup funds. This way, you do not have to cash in your portfolio, and it can continue to earn for you.

Risk : Depending on tax laws in your country, some types of dividends might be taxable at source, if you are not reinvesting them. So your actual "take," minus any brokerage fees might leave you with very little.

32. Real estate . Sure, the market is a mess right now, but if you have the down payment and will have enough cash flow, consider acquiring some real estate because of all the deals available. Move in to part of the property and rent out a portion. Not only do you build equity, you might even have a positive cash flow to put towards your business.

Risk : While a renter's mortgage is often offered at a lower interest rate, you're reliant on tenants for part of your payments. If your tenant moves, there's the time and cost of finding a new one.

33. Bootstrap . When none of the other options are viable or available, bootstrap your wayto success . Put all or most of the profits of your business right back into to it until it becomes self-sustaining.

Risk : Bootstrapping can feel like a thankless activity for quite some time. It can break the spirit of some people.

what is CIBIL

What is CIBIL (Credit Bureau) and why is it so important today?
Most customers in India, who have Credit Cards and Personal Loans are unaware of the existence of CIBIL (Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd.) which will definitely play a very important role in their financial planning in future.
Take for example case of Mr.Tomar who dropped his Credit Card Cheque on the Payment Due Date in the Skypak Dropbox. However, for some reason the payment got updated against his Credit Card a day late and he got levied a hefty late Payment Fee of Rs.300 in addition to service tax. Not someone to be taken for a ride he called the bank and registered a complaint for reversal.
Most Credit Card Issuers get several such reversals every month amounting to Crores of rupees. Based on some internal thumb rules, they reverse out some charges and decline other reversals. (I would like to highlight the policy adopted by HDFC and Deutsche Bank where they give the customer the benefit of doubt and confirm the reversal on the call itself – the first complaint on reversals is always resolved in the customers favour) Very often it is very difficult for the bank to judge if the customer is telling the truth or there has been some inefficiency at the cheque pickup agency. Mr.Tomars request was declined and he did not get the reversal. His next recourse was to write to the Head Service department in the bank and after 30 days write to the Banking Ombudsman. I completely agree with him.
However what Mr.Tomar does not realize is that in the intervening period his other statement has already got generated and as his complaint has not got resolved he has not paid the Rs.300 late payment Charge he has been levied. As a result in the following month he gets reported to CIBIL as a defaulter who has not paid his Credit Card Minimum Amount Due. Two more statements get generated and now the amount with Interest and service tax has inflated to Rs.600. He has been reported to CIBIL thrice for not paying his Minimum Due – the impact of which is as follows.
Next time Mr. Tomar applies for a Credit Card or a Personal Loan which he desperately requires, the changes of it getting declined are extremely high.
Why does this happen?
1. Every bank before giving you a Credit Card or Loan will check your CIBIL Record
2. The CBIL Record gives the performance of the current Cards and Loans that you hold
3. The following can ruin your CBIL record completely
a. Not paying your EMI / Credit card Minimum Due every month
b. Not paying the dues for a longer period of time
4. Every time you do not Pay your Credit Card or Personal Loan outstanding the CIBIL score dips further and the amount of outstanding and the number of days outstanding is visible to other banks as well
In the current scenario banks will think a million times before giving credit to a customer who has a bad record on CIBIL. If you have a bad record on 2 or more relationships or have not paid your Credit Card Outstanding for 6 months (write-off case) then please forget about it. This will definitely impact you as more and more banks start using CIBIL, which eventually may be used for Pre Employment checks, Utility Payment checks as well. The day when the interest rate given to you depends on your CIBIL score is also not very far away.
Please keep the following in mind!
1. Whatever happens, try to be regular with your payments
2. If you have a dispute on the Credit Cards, you can take up the issue, but please continue to pay your Minimum Amount Due every month. You can ask for the subsequent reversal later.
3. Head Service Departments as well Banking Ombudsman are useful authorities and my experience with them has been great, they do take fair decisions – so pursue your case with them while you continue to make the Minimum Payments to keep your Records from going to CIBIL
4. It is not worthwhile ruining your CIBIL record for a few hundred rupees of Late Payment Fee. Do realize that the bank does not care about the consequences of passing your records to CIBIL – it is only a file upload for them. You should definitely fight your case – but do not hurt yourself.
I think my details have already been reported in CIBIL. What do I do?
You can be reported to CIBIL because of 3 reasons
1. You have not paid your dues – You definitely need to be reported. Once you pay your dues over a period of 24 months your score will improve provided you start making regular payments again.
2. Erroneous updation by bank – Due to an error at the banks end due to inefficiencies in their Cheque Pickup agencies etc. they may not receive the payments in time and they incorrectly report your details to CIBIL, then they initiate the process to delete the name from CIBIL or sometimes the customer finds out when the application gets declined and needs to rush bank to the bank to get the record rectified
3. If you are currently in a dispute with the bank (especially payment not received etc) – I would suggest you settle it quickly and as a pre condition as for settlement, ask the bank to delete the reporting they have done to CIBIL.
Remember that your CIBIL score will improve over time once you start making regular payments. So do not worry, if your record is bad and CIBIL score is low, just continue making your Loan and Credit Card payments on time and it will pickup.
Personally, the biggest problem I have with the CIBIL system is that Customers cannot view this data and point out any incorrect reporting. Due to deficiencies and inefficiencies in bank there are several incorrect uploads on CIBIL and these uploads affect the customer’s Credit Record in a big way. There is no way the customers can get to know of these goof ups and rectify the same. They will get a rude shock one day when they go to seek Credit. This is a broader consumer battle that we will need to fight.

How to Catch Clients

Every rainmaker realizes that one of the most important aspects of building a successful practice is to provide the most comprehensive service to current clients, including understanding the client's business and industry, knowing the key individuals' personalities and helping the company reach its overarching business objectives. Effectively monitoring social media sites offers an avenue to information that can help attorneys better serve their clients.

What is not as well explored, however, is how these sites are being used for research that can help attorneys not only with business development, but more importantly with client service, industry insight and competitive intelligence.

Clients increasingly are reading blogs and participating in social media because they can find important industry information more quickly and with less time investment than with traditional media -- partly due to a less rigorous process of editorial review and shorter articles. According to Technorati's report, the number of American blog readers grew to 60.3 million in 2008.

With so many business professionals consuming and generating social media content, savvy attorneys are making use of the stream of insights and information that these sites deliver. However, with more than 50 million blogs and hundreds of social networks in existence, attorneys also need to make use of the time-saving tools available (often for free) on the Web that help with the synthesis of this information.

REGISTER FOR NEWS ALERTS

An easy way for attorneys to start gathering information about what is happening in a key client's industry or business is to register for news or follow VERITAS. Attorneys can enter keywords that pertain to the client, including the company name, and receive e-mails with links to articles, press releases and other posts that include those words. The e-mails can be received on a daily, weekly or "as it happens" schedule, based on the attorney's preferences. This saves the attorney the time of having to scour the Web manually.

A digest of relevant news can keep attorneys informed about developments affecting their client and their client's industry, as well as about news from competitors or key suppliers. Quickly browsing this type of news feed and mentioning a timely development to a client demonstrates a clear commitment to knowing the client's business.

To aggregate news posted on a variety of online sites, attorneys can use Really Simple Syndication feeds such as Yahoo. With these free tools, an attorney can track new information in one central location by subscribing to the feeds of various sites and authors. Attorneys can stay current on information that is most relevant to their client, without having to visit multiple sites. Given that social media often deliver news before the mainstream media, they can be an indicator of larger issues ahead and provide an opportunity to reach out to a client to discuss the news.

Attorneys also should know whether their clients have a company blog, Even if clients are not generating Web 2.0 content, company leaders may still be following their favorite industry consultant or reporter via social media channels such as blogs.

Attorneys should ask their clients what they are reading and also suggest podcasts or blogs that the client might find helpful. Clients will appreciate having additional information that relates to their business and an attorney who makes them more informed.

GET TO KNOW THE CLIENT

In addition to all-important face time and one-on-one conversations, social media can help attorneys understand individual client personalities. Do the key leaders within a client company have LinkedIn or Twitter accounts? This information can be useful in selecting a team to complement the client's personality. Social media can provide previously difficult-to-find data and aid in developing the best approach for a client.

Developing a personal connection with a client and building a partnership based not only on professional respect, but also on personal interests, can aid in the trust required for a strong attorney-client relationship. Social media are useful vehicles for identifying ways to enhance connections. The information learned can be woven into a communication with a client over a Web 2.0 channel or used as background for traditional communications such as a phone call or lunch meeting.

Attorneys should get to know LinkedIn. It is a powerful professional network, with members from each of the Fortune 500 companies, more than 40 million users and a focus on business. It offers attorneys access to an unprecedented database of entrepreneurial professionals.

LinkedIn often can provide an attorney with the profile of an individual client or client competitor, including educational and professional background. It can also show professional groups affiliated with the individual and connections the attorney and client may share.

Furthermore, if an attorney needs to find a contact with a particular organization to aid in a strategy for a client, LinkedIn may be the perfect tool for locating an important relationship.

If an attorney has a client who personally is "tweeting" or who is part of a company with a corporate Twitter account, the attorney should periodically monitor the posted information to stay informed about the individual or to learn about the company's latest news and communications strategy.

Similar to the business intelligence that can be gained about a client, understanding the client's competition or business partners can also be useful. Tracking other key stakeholders can provide intelligence for litigation, business combinations, partnerships and more.

Furthermore, knowing what consumers, analysts and industry experts are saying about a company is important information that factors into a company's decisions.

Social networking chatter on blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn and other Web 2.0 sites may be the most current information available. An attorney's RSS feed should include updates from different types of audiences in order to advise clients on the public's perception of developments.

Last, as part of any research process, attorneys should look for information posted on blogs, forums, wikis, micromedia, video-sharing sites and photo-sharing sites, as these data create a discoverable record. It should not be discounted as part of the due diligence of a case.

Becoming better lawyers involves being viewed as an invaluable business partner for clients. One of the best ways to demonstrate value, as confirmed by panel after panel of in-house counsel, is to know the client's business. Social media are an important source of business intelligence, supporting superior client service, preparation, time savings and attorney-client relationships.

vijayrlodha@yahoo.com

079-65498941