Internet Business and Online Money Making

Internet Business These Days

Another type of business that is getting very much popular nowadays is the internet business. People who own a successful internet business are enjoying the financial benefits and also maintaining a luxurious life style. There are a lot of internet marketing experts who are available for live support online and also they write article or blogs on various websites which can be easily accessed to know the tips and tricks of the trade. There is quite a lot of online money making tutorial websites now present on the internet and people have learned the necessary details and have managed to become the entrepreneurs and have earned mil lions through the internet business. All you should know is to make yourself aware of the internet business strategies. In order to reach the place where you can be an entrepreneur of you own internet business, you must first know all the tools, resources and necessary technical know how.

The very first thing that you need to know for online money making is that you need to decide what sort of product you would want to launch and promote through your website or what sort of internet services you may want to provide to your visitors. You will then need to register a domain name for you and a web host who will host your website. Some website host servers charge as low as $80 per month.

There are many popular ways to make money online for example, blog writing, social networking or a search engines. Blog writing is more fun filled and creative form of activity and plus once you have the internet traffic on your website, your blog site can earn you thousands of dollars per month. A lot of visitors visit blog sites to read and share the information on various topics. Once this becomes viral it will start giving you the kind of promotion you need to be successful in your internet business.

Social networking is another source to earn online. You must have visited a lot of social networking websites who offer a platform for the people all over the globe to know each other and make friends. There are also dating websites and lot of people subscribe to these sites. Social networking also has proved to be a great deal of a help for internet business and money making. And if we talk about the Search engines optimization or SEO it is also getting very much popular. SEO is basically based upon the back links. You can place back links in your articles and place them at article web sites or other blog sites etc. The SEO (search engine optimization) of your website affects the popularity of your website and bring you to a higher ranking at famous search engines. The SEO also promote the web traffic to your page. One important point that a newbie should never ignore is that making money through online business is going to take a lot of hard work and time as well. You should be very clear in the beginning whether you want to choose the internet business for a part time or full time option and which methods of marketing you would consider. The best trait for you is to believe in yourself and this is the only trait you need to make things happen.

First Published: Feb 13, 2010 EntrepreneurJourney.com

Bill 791 to 134 - Rewards Credit Cards & Loyalty Programs Survive in Quebec

Rewards Credit Cards & Loyalty Programs in Quebec Canada

Part 1

I wrote Part 2 before May 1, 2017. But just before publishing, I found out that the Quebec government is pursuing a different bill, Bill 143, instead of 791. Bill 134 does not have the clause prohibiting devaluing loyalty programs as I mentioned in point 3 below. As a result, the Part 2 article below is no longer valid. Had Bill 791 passed, it would have been the end of rewards cards and programs in Quebec. However, I am publishing Part 2 anyway for your information and reference purposes.

Part 2

Will This Be The End of Rewards Credit Cards & Loyalty Programs in Quebec Canada?

Bill 791 Puts Rewards Programs at Risk of Extinction

One of the Canadian provinces, Quebec, has introduced a bill Quebec 791. This bill proposes three new legislative requirements for loyalty programs that operate in Quebec to protect consumers.

What Bill 791 means (if comes into reality) in simple terms is that rewards or loyalty programs will have to abide by these rules:

- Inform public how to collect + use the rewards

- The rewards won’t expire (once collected)

- The program or value cannot be changed when you use the rewards, devaluing the program

Loyalty or rewards programs can accept rule # one or two mentioned above. But rule # three is one with which no loyalty companies can comply. In theory, this sounds like a great idea because you are guaranteed to retain the value of the points you are collecting, whether it’s airline, hotel, or other points. In reality, this is not sustainable by any hotel, airline, or other rewards programs.

Changing the award chart, adjusting rewards redemption rate, or devaluing loyalty program, whatever you call it, is a necessity for the loyalty programs and it’s a must to survive. It’s kind of like inflation making grocery prices going up; whether you like it or not, it will happen.

Restricting loyalty programs to make necessary adjustments to survive will only make things worse and chase these programs away from Quebec. Quebec residents are the one who will suffer in the end.

And there is no need to wait to see the consequences. It’s already happening – MBNA Alaska Airlines MasterCard has already pulled out of Quebec. Other programs like SPG, IHG, Hilton Honors, Aeroplan, Avios, Amex, and many more will have to follow the same path.

If this bill passes, it will possibly be the end of rewards credit cards and loyalty programs in Quebec, especially those are international. Quebec residents and point collectors should take a hard look at this bill before it’s too late.

Is it possible to hold an annual fee credit card and still pay no annual fee?

Annual Fee Credit Cards

Is it possible to hold an annual fee credit card and still pay no annual fee? I am not talking about a no annual fee credit card. I am talking about credit cards with attached annual fees. Let me answer the question now. Yes, it is possible to have an annual fee credit card and pay no annual fee whatsoever.

I am not just saying this because I know it. I am saying this because I actually do it. I have an Aeroplan Credit Card which comes with an annual fee and so far I have managed to pay no fee year after year. How I do that? Follow these tips to start enjoying an annual fee credit card without paying any fess:

You have to have lots of transactions on your card. Your credit card company will not waive an annual fee on a card which has no or a few transactions. The more transactions you have, the better it is. Instead of using many cards, use only one. A few hundred dollars annual expenses may not be enough but a few thousand dollars will be enough for your card company to waive your annual fee.

Keep an eye on your monthly statements. Once you see an annual fee charge on your statement, call your credit card company and ask that you would like this annual fee charge to be reversed or you won’t be able to keep your account.

Do not expect the customer service associate to say yes right away. They are trained to hook people into a fee paying card. Once you tell them that you don’t want to pay any annual fee and would like to cancel your account, they will give you many reasons to keep your existing card or switch into another annual fee bearing card. Let me give you some examples to give you an idea of what you can expect to hear from your customer service associate -

If you cancel your account, you will lose all your credit records involving this credit card.

I can switch you to a different credit card with a lower fee.

Do not be intimidated by what you hear. Be firm and stick to your point, you will get what you want. One point worth mentioning here is that this article applies only to those who pay credit card balance in full every month. If you carry a balance and not able to pay your balance in full, there is no point calling your card company as you have no cards in your hand to play.

First Published: Aug 23, 2007

Being Your Own Boss Is Easier Than Ever

Taking Your Employment into Your Own Hands

In tough economic times, you may want to find ways to secure your employment and secure your paycheck. There are many ways to do this, and pretty much none of them involve working for someone else. In the 21st century, more and more people are beginning to learn that working for someone else is not the way to go. When you work for someone else, you are putting your life in their hands and as has been seen with corporations over and over, shareholders are more important than employees. Why show loyalty for a company that may fire you to save money? In addition, if you work very hard you might get promoted but the chances are you will not. The harder you work, the same you will get paid. Why should those above you benefit from the work you do?

This is why being an entrepreneur is such a great idea. When you are in charge of your own life and you are in charge of your own career, you get several benefits. First, as an entrepreneur, you can work in an industry that you love. If you like doing yard work, start a yard work company. If you love graphic design, then begin doing graphic design from home. All of this can easily be done through being the owner of your own business. The other big benefit of being your own boss is that when the company does well, you do well. If you work hard and make an extra $50,000 for the company, then that entire $50,000 goes to you. If you have employees, you can treat them the way you wanted to be treated when you were an employee. Being your own boss puts the power in your hands and it can be one of the most satisfying things in your life.

These days, being your own boss is easier than ever. In the past, when you owned a business in your area, your customer base was only the people who could get to your store. This would greatly limit the potential for your company. However, with the creation of the internet, your customer base goes from a few hundred to a few million thanks to the ability to make money online with an internet business. Whether it is selling services online, or just selling products, the sky is the limit when you are working for yourself from your home with a business that you have online.

Another great thing that the internet does for you is it allows is it provides you with the resources of individuals who have been their own boss for years. These resources can teach you how to be a boss and how to make your business successful. Websites like EntrepreneurJourney.com help you by giving you the ability to be successful with your online business. Whether you are delving into e-commerce by selling products online, marketing yourself through social media marketing, or just doing some freelance writing, being your own boss is something you will come to love, especially when you are making a good living at it.

First Published: Feb 28, 2010

What Is IHG Points Break?

Photo Courtesy: IHG.com

How to Travel Cheap Using IHG Points Break

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) Rewards Club is the loyalty program of hotels such as InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Candlewood Suites, and Staybridge Suites. IHG has over 5000 hotels across the globe.

Usually it costs to stay 10,000 to 60,000 points per night. However, IHG runs a promotion every three months (called IHG Points Break) that lets members to stay in hotels for 5000 points only. About 170 IHG hotels participate in this program.

A participating hotel can be booked for a maximum of two stays/reservations for unlimited nights. For example, you can book 2 rooms in the same hotel or book 2 different dates to stay as many nights as you want (if it’s available) and they will be considered 2 reservations. However, that same hotel cannot have more than two reservations/bookings. You can view the list of hotels under points break here.

There are several ways you can accumulate IHG points. I will not go into detail on all of the possible ways to accumulate IHG points in this article. You can find out easily by searching online. My favourite way to earn IHG points is to buy them when they are on sale. At the regular rate, 5000 IHG points cost $67.50 US. However, IHG runs points sales often with 100% bonus points, making it 5000 points for around $34. This means that you are staying at a hotel for $34 per night.

If you act right away when IHG announces their next segment points break, you maybe able to get a hold of an expensive hotel for 5000 each night. The steep discount sometimes can be as high as 90%. To make the most out of IHG points or their points break, learn the ins and outs of the IHG Rewards Program and here is a good article to get you started: The Complete Guide to IHG Rewards