|
These days there is a boom of social networking sites. Most of the sites are used for normal socializing. However, some like LinkedIn are meant for professional networking. The latest surveys show that LinkedIn has almost sixty million registered users located in at least 200 countries all over the world. The site has its official headquarters in California and offices in New York and London, UK. Of all the users of this networking site, eleven million are from Europe. Just like any other social networking site, LinkedIn provides the users with various functional features including second income generation.
The main aim of the site is to allow a person to maintain a list of trusted people in business referred to as connections. LinkedIn utilizes the principles of affiliate marketing whereby a network is built from ones direct connections, their connections as well as the connections’ connections. This makes quite easy to gain access to a large network in a short period hence developing business opportunities even for people who are off their prime such as retirees. LinkedIn can also be used to find jobs and business opportunities through recommendations from people in the contact network.
This is great especially for retirees who are looking to supplement their retirement income by finding a job in the competitive job market. The site does not lock out employers. So if you are planning or have started a home based business and you are looking for employees, the process will be made much easier. This will require you to have a comprehensive profile which potential candidates can review. This will also provide them with a chance to use some of the existing connections to introduce them or confirm they are skilled enough to handle the job. Unlike other similar service in the market, LinkedIn can be credited with providing useful advice to that person who is looking for a job.
For instance, you can research the company you are interested in working for to get details such as female-male ratio, company headquarters, common positions held in the company, redundancy age and lists of former and current employees. This information is great for those who are about to retire because they can know if the new company can be a good source of sustainable second income. The LinkedIn-Answers feature provides direct business related advice and can be instrumental in finding second business opportunities for those who are about to retire.
The feature works the same way as Yahoo! Answers whereby the user is allowed to direct the question to the social network community.
However this feature is outstanding because the identities of the person asking and answering the question are known. The final way you can benefit from LinkedIn if you are about to retire is by joining searchable LinkedIn groups. This way you can start your own UK home based business by joining industry, alumni, professional as well as other relevant groups depending on the type of business. The groups use two approaches, with some being specialized to one area while the others using a general approach. In essence LinkedIn does not provide advice on itself but opens up unlimited sources of information for those about to retire.
|
|
The UK is a very unique country compared to others in the developed world. This encompasses various aspects of daily life. The introduction of online marketing has created various home based business opportunities that serve as retirement income sources for many. Online marketing methods for UK home based businesses are quite different from those used in other countries. The parent companies usually have proven records of accomplishment as well as established brands. This makes the process much easier and reduces the chances of failure especially for the marketer who is not at his prime.
The start up costs is also minimal making it one of the best methods of earning a retirement income. Just like starting any form of business, the real work starts when you start looking for customers. This will require different forms of marketing. Marketing your UK business online may not use most of the suggestions found online because they are directed at the US market. However most of the free marketing techniques for distributors follow an almost similar approach to that of the US. First you have to ensure your site is registered in the main search engines such as Yahoo, MSN and Google. This can be done easily by including “adds url Google” MSN and Yahoo to the search engine which helps the site to be found quickly.
The other step is registering the site with UK business directories such as freeindex.co.uk or yelldirect.com. Remember to also post free advertisements with free classified directories such as ukclassifieds.co.uk. Remember, your main aim is to earn retirement money therefore expenses must be kept at a minimum. Other steps you can take include having a Google profile which can also be done free and building your site on bttradespace.com. Although this may take some time, building a good profile on bttrade will make your site reachable via Google. After building your site successfully, you can take different approaches to start earning your retirement income.
Unlike other people who may rate success as more people signing up for their newsletters or an increase in the number of traffic to your site, yours boils down to the amount you will earn. Some of the distribution related home based opportunities in the UK include drop shipping. Most companies will let you set up an arrangement to drop ship some of their wholesale items. This will allow you to set up your site as a storefront.
You can also sell the items using well established retail sites. This will allow you to earn commission hence acting as a second business opportunity. Other forms of distribution use an indirect format. These are referred to as affiliate programs whereby you are required to help them with marketing and in the process you earn a commission. When looking for opportunities, it’s important to take your time to avoid falling for scams which are rampant these days. After all it would be bad to try supplementing your income when you retire only to lose what you have already earned. |
|
|
Strategies and advice in case of redundancy Substantial redundancy payment is, in a way, a consolation for losing your job. You could receive the largest cash amount you ever had in your hand during your entire life. However, you have to carefully choose an option after a deep analyse. Use your money wisely As redundancy payment can represent the biggest lump sum you ever get, it represents a great opportunity to radically change your life. On the other hand, this money is expected to last a number of years and not to be spent all at once. If you expect benefits, there are some constraints on how you spend your redundancy payments. Pay off your debts Repaying your most expensive debts, those with highest interest rates, is perhaps a good move before starting to look for investing in other opportunities. Also consider reducing or paying off your mortgage. This should grant you a certain relief in the future. Search for qualified financial advice It is wise to consider taking qualified financial advice. There is a large choice of advisors. You could choose a person who is paid from commissions on products you buy or you could choose someone to whom you have to pay a fee. Some people think that commission payments are a sign that those advisers are not fully independent. This is due to some companies paying more in commissions than others. You have to know that the advice from independent financial advisers who are paid by commission is free of charge to the client. Most people think fee based advisers, are more likely to provide genuinely independent advice. Also be aware that many financial advisors, and we are talking about many bank managers, building societies and others, are tied agents, which means they are only able to sell a particular product of the respective company. Your emergency fund Make an emergency fund if what you are getting as redundancy payment is a decent sum. If the sum is smaller, make sure your savings are at hand in case they will be needed to pay bills. Consider this option rather than borrowing money, which is more expensive. Put the money in the best-paying account and easy accessible you can find. Probably three months expenditure will be enough for many people. Investment options These are many options for investments and they need to be carefully considered to find the perfect solution for you. Although you may feel somehow under pressure to make fast decisions, do not hurry. Take your time because it is very easy to make bad investment decisions and it is much more difficult to make good ones. Analyze your options carefully and only invest when everything is clear to you, i.e. you are sure to understand what you are investing your money in. Investing your redundancy money in setting up a home based business is considered by a lot of people having lost their jobs. There is also a risk that your business fails and you may lose everything, so be careful. General advice is to keep any redundancy payment lumps in accounts that are easily available until you decide to use them elsewhere. Once your debts are cleared and a new job is found, you can consider tax-efficient investments for your lump sum, such as ISAs or National Savings. |
|
The concept of residual income which is very common in network marketing can be a bit confusing to some people. To understand this better, you need to divide income into different groups. The first group contains the earned income. This results from a job that you have put a lot of effort into. This can come as a weekly or monthly salary and will stop flowing once you stop working. The second group is passive income which is received on a regular basis without necessitating a lot of effort. The last group is portfolio income which results from investments such as stocks and shares.
In ordinary cases residual income can result from property rentals, royalties or pension. In network marketing, residual income refers to the income generated from a product or service that is renewed regularly. This income can also be referred to as second income especially for those who have no pension plans. Looking for a retirement income has resulted in the growth of different home based businesses in most countries. In the UK, some companies have taken a different approach. Telecom Plus is one of those companies. Through its subsidiary, Utility Warehouse, they have been able to offer their business and personal clients saving on their monthly bills.
Using their plan, you can be able to combine your electricity, mobile, gas and internet services into one single monthly bill. Apart from this, you will be able to get a five percent discount in some of the retail stores such as Sainsbury’s, Argos and Boots using the cash back card from utility warehouse. Although this may not qualify directly as residual income, it allows you to save for your future today if you use the plan continuously. This plan by telecom plus has a promise of cheaper prices than the local electricity providers, British gas and broadband providers.
If you are looking for a second business opportunity without affecting the first one, you can join the utility warehouse distribution channels. Unlike other companies that use TV and other conventional advertisement channels, this UK Company relies on the distributors to spread word about their services and sign up new customers. This allows them to earn a residue income. Over 30,000 customers all over the UK are already benefiting from this plan by Telecom Plus. Apart from the financial benefits offered by this plan, there are no contractual obligations for the customer.
This implies that the customer will find the service beneficial and will also have the chance to opt out in case the deal does not suit him. This has also added to the success of the program making it a lucrative source of second income for the distributor. To start earning your residual income, you only need to sign up and maintain a minimum of six customers. For every customer you get you can earn a one-off payment of £45. Those who are highly successful in this program get rewarded with all expense paid holidays, loan a Porsche for a month and branded mini or cash bonuses from Utility Warehouse. |
|
