African-American-owned firms increase
By Jim Hopkins, USA TODAYThu Aug 18, 7:46 AM ET
Cherie Ransom struggled to find work after Bethlehem Steel went bust in 2001, zapping her accounting job near Buffalo during the recession.
Ransom moved home to Virginia, but full-time permanent jobs were elusive, and some employers said she was overqualified. Ransom started a bookkeeping service from her Virginia Beach home, focusing on small-business customers.
Now, Ransom, 35, says she has enough work to consider hiring her first employee. "I was so busy last year, it was crazy," she says.
Her business is one of about 375,000 started by African-Americans from 1997 to 2002, new Census data show. That was surprising growth, given that African-Americans trailed Asians and Hispanics five years before, the last time the Census tracked the numbers.
The 45% jump in black-owned firms, to 1.2 million, was the highest growth rate among the largest minority groups, the Census says.
Virtually all that growth among black-owned companies was in mom-and-pop firms, often started at home. Annual revenue averaged $21,000. Few had paid employees.
Other minority groups also owed big gains primarily to growth in tiny start-ups. There are "clearly challenges ahead" in creating a sizable number of big minority-owned companies with multimillion-dollar revenues, says Betsy Zeidman, an expert on new markets at the Milken Institute, a think tank in Santa Monica, Calif.
Economists will spend years debating why black business ownership grew so much. The figures might be revised as the Census analyzes them further. Yet, clues emerge in government labor statistics and in interviews with new black entrepreneurs:
•Job losses. Compared with other groups, a bigger share of African-Americans lost jobs from 2001 to 2002 after the recession. That forced some laid-off workers to start companies.
Black employment fell 0.9%, vs. a 0.4% loss for whites, a USA TODAY analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data show. Asian-American employment rose 0.6%. Employment among Hispanics, who can be of any race, jumped 2.5% as their population swelled.
Ransom, hunting work in Virginia Beach, got a list of newly opened small companies from a chamber of commerce. She blanketed them with flyers advertising her skills and asking if they had a bookkeeper. A trickle of phone calls led to a handful of clients. Ransom supplemented her income with a part-time temporary accounting job. She now has four clients and several others she handles on an occasional basis. That's enough to support herself and spur a possible move to commercial office space. Adding an employee would land her in the more select group of African-American businesses, the nearly 95,000 with paid workers.
•Lower start-up costs. Technology boomed as the Internet took off and PCs and cell phones got more powerful and less expensive.
Lenders targeted more niche markets, including minority business owners. EBay and other Web sites made it a snap to buy second-hand goods cheap.
Near Cleveland, Ted Jordan spent $6,000 buying PCs and other gear for his two companies, a corporate computer trainer and a kids' computer camp. "Computers come so cheap," he says.
Jordan, 45, and his wife, Greer, 40, had dreamed of self-employment. The chance came in 1998 when his last employer, Sun Microsystems, wanted him to take a job he didn't like. "I said, 'Maybe this is the time.' "
North of Chicago, Robert Smith, 31, started a public-relations firm in 1998 from his kitchen table to advise companies chasing minority customers, especially African-Americans and Hispanics.
He first used computers at the public library, opening free e-mail accounts. Next, he bought used PCs for $450, then added a cell phone and a $700 photocopier.
He started Robert Smith & Associates in Rockton, Ill., when he couldn't find a job in his field, paralegal work. He began a child-support collection agency in 1996. While promoting that, he discovered he had a gift for publicity. "I was bitten by the bug," he says.
Smith expects at least $500,000 in revenue this year.
Pipeline to big business
The rise in African-American entrepreneurship comes as big companies and government agencies beef up supplier networks with more minority-owned companies.
In the auto industry, for example, "There is no American car made that does not have parts made by African-American-owned businesses," says Earl Graves Sr., founder of Black Enterprise magazine and a DaimlerChrysler board member. He says incoming Chrysler CEO Thomas LaSorda "is a proponent of doing business with African-Americans in particular and minorities in general."
As more corporate customers do business with minority start-ups, Zeidman says, the firms and their owners prosper. "They become more a part of the mainstream. It's creating opportunity," she says.

Reselling - Money On The Side

by Anthony Vita
Copyright 2005 Anthony Vita

The other night I had dinner with a friend who mentioned knowing quite a few people needing websites for their local businesses. Despite being a software engineer, my friend is not a web designer nor does he know enough about servers to actually host (store) websites. On the other hand, he suspected there was a way to translate contacts into some money on the side. That`s when I told him about reselling.Reselling is basically the business of selling web space that is already established by a web space provider (known as a host). A host sells you their space and, in turn, you sell it to your client. This arrangement is like buying at wholesale and selling at retail prices. It`s also like subletting an apartment for more than your own rent. In terms of websites, the ideal reseller scenario is one where you buy web space at a low enough rate so you can sell it to your client at your own price and make a profit.More specifically, if you purchase a web hosting plan for $5 per month and sell it to your client for $15 per month, you are making a 200% profit instantly each month. Who wouldn`t like spending $5 in order to make $10 profit? Ten such arrangements bring in around $100 per month or $1,200 per year. Sounds like easy money on the side. But what exactly is required of a reseller? This article isn`t meant to provide quick ways to simply make money off your friends and business contacts. It`s a legitimate way to provide them with something they need for a fair price. While you need to have a basic knowledge of what a host does, you won`t have all of the answers, not a first. This is where the experience and professionalism of your host comes into play. For instance, if your client has questions about setting up an email account, you need to respond in a timely manner with the answer. If you don’t know the answer to a support issue raised by a client, this is where you host can assist you.I have seen the roles of resellers vary depending on the host. One host may have direct contact with your clients and answer all their questions. This could be dangerous for you (the reseller) as one day your clients may wind up a direct client of the host and leave you out of the arrangement completely. More commonly, the web host has no dealings with your clients at all. The host bills and supports you (the reseller) and, in turn, you bill and support your clients. If your clients have a problem you can either handle it directly with them or, if you`re not sure of the solution, you can ask the host who will take care of it for you. Once you have been reselling for a while you will likely notice two things. First, you will find that clients ask the most questions early on. Once your clients have been setup and their site is running smoothly, you probably won’t hear from them much. Secondly, after you field some of the more common support questions from clients and see how your host handles them, you will soon be resolving many issues on your own.Now that we have established what is involved in becoming a reseller and the importance of good customer support, let`s talk about how to widen the profit margin. At the beginning of this article I mentioned my friend was not a web designer, but what if he was? What if you are a web designer looking to earn more money? Why build a website and then hand it over to someone else to host when you could be offering that service to your clients? Becoming a hosting reseller would be the perfect match for you. The more services you can provide your clients, the more money you will make. Earlier I mentioned that with only 10 reseller accounts you could be earning $100 per month. Imagine if you added fees for web design. The cost for web design is often a one-time fee, but if your client requires monthly updates to their site you could be adding $50 to $100 per month to your monthly profit. Add a few of these type arrangements and you could be earning $500 per month or more.If you have access to people interested in starting websites they can quickly become a paying client. Web hosts are there to handle everything you don`t know how to do; including the management of servers, ensuring your client`s data is not only backed up, but protected from natural disasters and hackers. Just because you don`t have a degree in server management doesn`t mean you can`t get into the web business.Many hosting companies offer reseller packages and most are unique arrangements so shop around and find out which works best for you. Reselling can be very rewarding in that you are genuinely helping others get a website and also you can quickly start earning some money on the side. The trick is to partner up with a host you can trust, one that provides you with the same quality of service and professionalism you want/need to show your own clients.
Author Info:
Anthony Vita started his own successful web hosting business, Web Feat, Inc, in 1997. Since then, Anthony has been helping businesses and individuals worldwide ahieve their online presence.Contact Anthony today:Email: avita@webfeathost.comWeb: http://www.webfeathost.com


© 2005 workonlineguide.info

On Your Side: Make Money On Used Books
Selling Books Online Can Make You Money
POSTED: 3:57 pm CST March 25, 2004
UPDATED: 4:21 pm CST March 25, 2004
MADISON, Wis. -- If your office looks like a used bookstore, you can make good use of your old books. Consumer Reports says now anyone can sell books on-line for fast cash. But you need to know the basics before you try to turn your books into bucks.
Video

On Your Side: Turn Your Used Books Into Bucks
"The first thing you need to know is which types of books are worth your time, because you will not be able to resell every title," said Laura Washington, of Consumer Reports.
A mass-market paperback will not fetch much money. Neither will hardcover titles that have since come out in paperback.
Consumer Reports' Money Adviser says your best bests are books, such as "The Da Vinci Code," that have been on recent bestseller lists. Literary fiction, found in Oprah's Book Club, is also worth selling.
Consumer Reports also suggest sticking with EBay and Amazon.com because these sites have the most customer traffic.
"Another benefit is that these sites have a third-party payment system. And that takes the hassle out of collecting you money from the buyer," Washington said.
There are some differences between the sites. It costs less to list your books on Ebay, but its auctions only run 10 days. Amazon costs a little more, but lists books for 60 days that give you a better chance to find a buyer.
In addition with selling books online, you will have to open a seller's account. To set up an account on Ebay and Amazon, you will need to give personal information to the Web sites. If you are worried about security, you may want to stick with Amazon. Its policies are ranked much higher in Consumer Reports' security assessments.
Then you decide on a price and check around to see what others are charging.
You will be notified by e-mail when there is a buyer. Finally, you wrap the book in a bubble wrap envelope and mail it. It does take a bit of work, but if you are a real bookworm, it can pay off.
All Consumer Reports material copyright 2005 Consumers Union of U.S. Inc. All rights reserved.

How to get rich
The Basics
Start on your first $1 million at age 16
It's easier than you think to become a millionaire. The magic combo? Getting an early start saving and having the discipline not to raid the piggy bank. By Scott BurnsHere's a simple recipe to become a millionaire:
Work four summers, starting at age 16
Save the income in a Roth IRA account
Invest it in a simple, low-cost equity portfolio
Simmer slowly for 47 years
Serve ungarnished (and untaxed) at age 67This is the first recipe in my new Small Change Millionaire Cookbook, an occasional series of columns with a single purpose -- demonstrating different ways small amounts of money can be turned into a large amount of money. Just as a mere 10 calories a day of additional food can pack on a pound a year, small change can become large amounts of money. The good news is that money grows faster than fat. Calories don't have the benefit of compound annual growth.Many people fail to diet because the end goal seems so far away. So it is with saving and investing: Most people fail because it is nearly inconceivable that a few dollars a day or a well-timed gift can be turned into that magical sum.
Start investing with $100.Explore ournew ETF center.Fast-food millionairesA million dollars. It has such a nice sound.So let me show you how four summer jobs can become your first million.Let's suppose that you are 16 years old, in high school, and willing to work. Let's also suppose that you can clear about $2,000 over the course of a summer, if only because a doting grandparent puts money in the Roth while you take your earnings to school. If you invest in a Roth IRA, it will grow, tax-free, for as long as you have the account. All withdrawals from the account after age 59 1/2 will be tax-free.If your money is invested in common stocks and you achieve the average compound annual rate on large-capitalization U.S. stocks, 10.7%, your account will grow to $9,378 at the end of the fourth year. You will be 20 years old. Invested in the same way, with no additional savings, the account will grow to:
$25,917 by the time you are 30
$71,625 by the time you are 40
$197,943 by the time you are 50
$547,037 by the time you are 60
And $1,114,423 by the time you are 67And you will have started and finished all of your saving before turning age 21.Worth the risk Note that this plan does not require investment brilliance. It does depend on two things, an early start and tenacity. If you invested in small company stocks, whose long-term annual return clocks in at 12.5 percent annually, you could have much more money. (Try $2.4 million.) Similarly, you could diversify to reduce your risk and make your 47-year ride more comfortable. But you would do it at the expense of a somewhat lower return.The "Yes, but" crew will be happy to tell you that $1 million isn't what it used to be. I can remember people telling me this in the '60s. It is as true now as it was then. Millionaires are, well, just dreadfully common.Even so, the number of millionaires is relatively small. And being a millionaire is a better choice than being a pauper.The same crew will be happy to tell you that the future won't repeat the past, that SARS, terrorism or some other misfortune will cripple the future, or that we will be crushed by a rising China. Similarly, an actuary might tell you that you have a substantial chance of being dead by 67.Perhaps.But so what?All you've got to risk is four summers.