Invest like Warren Buffett ...

Warren Buffett is the world's third richest man with an estimated fortune of over $52bn.

But unlike the other billionaires that feature in Forbes' list of the 10 richest people in the world, Buffett doesn't have a retail empire, an oil well or a brain for computing to show for it – simply a lot of share certificates.

The 76-year-old made his money through identifying companies that he believed were worth more than their market value, investing in them and holding that investment for the long-term. And it's certainly paid off.

Class A shares in his company Berkshire Hathaway were $15 when he first took over in 1965 – today they are valued at $109,800 per share.

It sounds remarkably simple, but given the ups and downs of the stock market, it takes a high level of discipline, nerve and conviction in your decisions. Although Buffett has never written a book detailing his investment style, much can be gleaned from the annual letter he sends to Berkshire shareholders.

He doesn't view the purchase of shares in a company as buying a stake in that business, but believes that the investor should feel that they are actually buying that business outright. Because of that he looks for quality management, a durable competitive edge and low capital expenditure.

Companies tend to have a strong brand name – Coca Cola, McDonalds and Gillette feature in his holdings – and a good history of solid earnings growth. We run through how Buffett invests his money.

Expert investor: Warren Buffett

'Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1.'

• Value investing

'It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.'

The basic premise of Buffett's investing style is buying something for less than it's actually worth. This sounds simple enough, but unearthing these stocks and prove difficult and it's easy to mistake a company that is unloved by the market because nobody has spotted its opportunity with one that is simply a dog. For that reason, Buffett applies some of the measures that are listed below.

Sample Business Plan Structure

• Sample Business Plan Structure ,,,

All plans should include at least the elements listed below, and perhaps additional sections:-

1. depending on the type of industry.
2. Executive Summary
3. Company Background
4. Products or Service Overview
5. Unique Selling Proposition and competitive advantages
6. The Marketplace
7. Operations
8. Leadership and management profiles including professional competencies
9. Professional Support
10. Risks and Threats assessment
11. Financial forecasts including key assumptions
12. Relevant appendices

Collecting the information for all the sections is time consuming and sometimes difficult. The business section of your local library is always a good place to start research. Ask your friendly librarian about how to look up market research reports, and how to investigate competitors.

If you are not familiar with spreadsheet software, constructing the necessary financial forecasts represents a significant hurdle. You have 2 choices:

Pay someone to put part or all of the plan together for you, or a small investment in some business planning software.

The advantage of using a professional is you will receive the benefits of their experience, combined with a professional looking plan.

The disadvantage is that it won’t be easy to make changes, and more importantly, because you will not have been as involved in its preparation, you won’t be as familiar with its contents as you maybe should be. Make sure to learn the contents well.

The advantages of investing in business planning software, are that you will save time and money over having a professional put the plan together for you.

You will be able to take advantage of the thousands spent consulting professionals, and users alike, by the software company in developing the product. You can disregard your worries about having any spreadsheet skills, or your lack of confidence in buiding a complete financial model, as this software will take care of that for you.

For less than the cost of having a professional put the plan together for you, you can produce a professional document, but more importantly continuously update your plan for new information. This means you’ll always have a first class plan ready to present to banks or investors at any time.

And Good Luck (*_*)

Ways to Encourage Business Ideas ...

• Ways to Encourage Business Ideas ...

If you want to have good business ideas you need to understand the way in which the market is going to work. This is often easier said than done and this is especially true in the current economic environment in which we find ourselves. Despite the fact that many believe that the worst is over, there are still bound to be hiccups in terms of the international economy for a while to come.

It is quite amazing that even though we have been through a very difficult economic situation, that there are still many people out there who are willing to take a risk with a new business venture. These entrepreneurs are going to be even more important as the new financial world order takes shape and one would want to encourage them wherever possible.

The advancement of the internet has shown us that there are a lot of business ideas out there that simply did not exist a number of years ago. These creative people could be the bread and butter of the next economic wave and we need to ensure that they are free to flow with their ideas.

They are going to be the next big things that hit the global economy.

While there is indeed potential for new businesses, there are two main issues that hamper their creation. Firstly there is a feeling amongst many people that they are simply not able to think of an original idea that would see them make a success of themselves. On the other hand, those people that do have the ability to come up with these ideas could find that they are just not able to commercialize this and turn it into a business.

Idea incubation is a key way in which to address the feeling that people have where they think that they are not able to come up with their own ideas. There are loads of examples of centres that have been established in order to assist people in this aspect of idea generation. It helps them to have a sounding board and it is something that governments can get involved in as a way of meeting their job creation targets.

Ensuring a successful business is possible if there are enough resources to help out with this. Having a virtual portal that helps people with all their requirements is probably the best way to do this. It is the way of the future and this where most business ideas are likely to come from as we move forward.

Profitable business ideas for you always and I wish you good luck in finding the business that fits you so get started today!