You don’t have to be a financial guru anymore to invest - INVEST NOW has been published

Invest Now: A Canadian's Guide to Investing ,by Dawn, A. ( 2008 ) Paperback

Invest Now: Ahmed Dawn

First Published: ADawnJournal.com Mar 8, 2008

I am writing this post to let you all know that Invest Now has been published and available at all major online stores.  Invest Now delivers a convincing case for avoiding daily spending temptations and then shows you the secrets to smart investing. With as little as $25, you can become a successful investor by following three simple and practical steps.

The must-have guide for Canadian investors, Invest Now delivers three surprisingly simple steps to safeguard your financial future.

You don’t have to be a financial guru to develop a consistent savings plan and accumulate wealth. Invest Now offers all the tools and motivation you need to start building a safe and secure financial future now for you and your family. Invest Now has won prestigious Editor’s Choice and highly prestigious Publisher’s Choice award for its editorial integrity and outstanding design quality.

I will issue a pres s release shortly stating the publication of Invest Now. Invest Now is not available at bookstores yet. Invest Now will take another two to three weeks to hit Chapters shelves. I will let you know once that happens and also will issue another press release.

Tips To Make Your Home Office Successful

Home Office Tips

As an entrepreneur, you are taking your future into your own hands and making yourself successful. Of course, being successful is not as easy as one would think. There is a great amount of things that need to be done to make it happen and it begins when you start out in a home office with no employees. So, what are some tips to make yourself successful in your home office?

1. One of the most important things to do is to separate your home office from the rest of the house. This does not mean you have to be in a shed outside the house, but it does mean that your work stays within your office at all times. You do not want your work moving into the living room, kitchen or anywhere else in the home. Keep your work space separate by keeping your work there. This will help you work more because you will feel as though you are actually going to work when you get in your home office.
2. Establishing hours for work is very important. The great thing about working from home is that you can set your own hours. If you work better from 5 p.m. to midnight, work those hours. If you want more typical work hours, then work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Just make sure that your work hours are set and you stick with them. You can even take time for lunch and breaks so that it feels like you are working.
3. Going into your home office in pajamas can feel good but it will give your brain trouble as it tries to figure out if you should be working or relaxing. Keep things professional in your home office by keeping the phone off, keeping from browsing the internet and dressing in a casual manner that would be good for an office.
4. Decorate your office in any way that makes you feel comfortable. You need to be professional with your décor, but at least you can put up things to make you smile throughout the day. Also try and choose an office that has good lighting because this will help you enjoy your day more and help you feel as though you are in a happy place when you work. The happier you are the better work you will do and the more you will get done. Having a comfortable chair, soft music and nice pictures can help. Another thing that can help is having a lot of space in your office. You don’t work in a cubicle anymore, so why feel like you are at home?
5. Set up a phone line for your business. You do not want your family answering business calls with “Hello?” You should be answering the phone with “Good morning, <company name>, How May I Help You?” This is professional and it will impress clients who call you. You also won’t have to compete with family members for the phone line, which is very important.
   First Published: EntrepreneurJourney.com Apr 11, 2010

How Expensive Are Toronto’s Fast Food, Street Food, and Restaurants?

My Last Video on Food Prices

I recently did a video on restaurant menu prices, fast food and street food prices in Toronto. You can watch this video by clicking the link on the top left of this article. What’s striking is that even after being a world-class city that ranks higher in various different global ratings, including one of the top ten cities most liveable on earth, Toronto’s food prices are still affordable and cheaper than those other most liveable cities.

In Toronto, you will find a Big Mac at McDonald’s at $5.49 Cad ($4.35 USD) and french fries at $1.49 Cad ($1.15 USD). At Subway, daily deals are $4.00 Cad ($3.19 USD) a sandwich and an Italian Hero Panini is $4.99 Cad ($4 USD).

A slightly upscale fast food chain called Hero Certified Burgers serves beef burger combo made without hormones & antibiotics for $17 Cad ($13.50 USD) that includes 2 4 oz. burgers, 2 ultimate fries and 2 drinks.

Chinese restaurants serving combos between $8 - $10 Cad ($6.35 - $8 USD), which are more than enough for one person and even 2 people can survive on it if you order another extra item a la carte.

Dining at an upscale restaurant (not super upscale) would cost $30 - $50 Cad ($24 - $40 USD) per person, which is still very cheap and reasonable. Similar dishes in another world-class city that’s on the top ten list would easily cost $80 - $100 Cad ($65 - $80 USD) per person.

The video has a variety of example items that you can watch and you can subscribe to my channel by going to my home page here: www.youtube.com/adawn

Why We Don’t Invest?

Invest Now: A Canadian's Guide to Investing ,by Dawn, A. ( 2008 ) Paperback

Why You Should Invest

Our main problem is a lack of information. Most Canadians were never taught any personal-finance lessons in school and in university. Also, we have this idea that in order to invest, we need a lot of money, a PhD, and status as an investment guru. Invest Now shows you how you can start investing with very little money—and even less expertise. Investing can be as simple as walking into a bank or picking up your phone.

First Published: ADawnJournal.com Mar 27, 2008

Award-winning book Invest Now is jam-packed with timely information and timeless advice for the beginning Canadian investor. To purchase a copy, visit Chapters Indigo or buy online - Invest Now: A Canadian's Guide to Investing

What to Do When Hackers Hack Your Websites

Tips to Deal with Blog or Website Ad Codes from Hacking

Recently, I had my first incidence of one of my sites being hacked by online intruder. Nothing can beat the learning that comes from experience – that’s why I have decided to share my experience with you today. Also, I will describe a few steps you all should consider to better tackle this type of situation.

About two weeks ago, I opened one of my sites in my browser and found out that the top widgets on the right column had disappeared. Also, the whole site looked disheveled - it was like someone had played around and tampered with the site’s programming codes.

My programmer was able to fix everything in time. But then, he gave me a valuable tip which I have never thought of. He mentioned that hackers usually hack sites to implement their own ad codes. So instead of the site owner, these high-tech thieves make money. If you are an Internet entrepreneur, you know that all ad codes such as Google Adsense, Infolinks, Chitika, etc. run on your site because of a few line ad scripts or html codes. The only thing makes these codes identifiable for the individual is a numeric value such as 54890245 or something like it. Now, if someone hacked your site and implemented their own codes replacing yours – it’s almost impossible to know by looking at it. We usually never check and match these numeric values assigned to each individual.

So, hacking your codes could go unnoticed for many months until one day you think: wait a minute, how come I have never made money in the past 2 months? What precautions should you take if your site gets hacked or even if it did not get hacked but you just want to be safe?
Follow these simple tips:

- Always backup your site
- If your site gets hacked, change your password ASAP
- Go through all ad codes to make sure they are indeed your codes, install fresh codes if necessary
- Always keep an eye on your revenue. If you see a sharp drop in income or no income at all, it means your site  
  has been compromised.
- It is a good idea to change your password periodically. 
- Do not use the same password for your ad accounts, email, and other programs. If hackers get thru your site,
  they will have access to everything
- Do not make your password too easy to guess
- Your programmer, editor, virtual assistant … should be someone you can trust. For example, I have been with
  my team of experts for a few years now and I trust them all, as they are very trust worthy.
- Always take precautions and be vigilant. Use your common sense and let it be your guideline.
First Published: EntrepreneurJourney.com Apr 3, 2010