Category Archives for Uncategorized

How to Purchase a High Quality Engagement Ring Without Spending High Quality Money

September 19, 2013
/ Uncategorized
/ By Jacob A Irwin
/ 2 COMMENTS

The following article was written by Alex Sebuliba. Enjoy!

Any engagement ring you buy for your loved one is a symbol of commitment, love and appreciation. Obviously, you want the engagement ring to be as perfect for your partner as is possible, ideally one which is both elegant, tasteful and – being honest- expensive! Unfortunately, however, bank balances seldom allow for such tokens of appreciation to be easily purchased. Luckily, there are a few ways in which savvy shoppers can buy a high quality engagement ring without breaking the bank. This article will discuss various options open to those looking to buy the perfect engagement at the perfect price.

Ebay

Ebay is undoubtedly one of the best resources for those seeking high quality, low cost jeweler. A quick search for engagement rings uncovers a vast array of beautiful items in every precious metal available. As many sellers are simply looking to earn a little extra cash for their pocket, it is common to find beautiful engagement rings which would, at one time, have cost double the price for which they are now available. Although many sellers put a reserve price on their listings, the easy bidding system makes the likelihood of snapping up a gorgeous engagement ring at a bargain price much more likely. Shoppers will need to be very quick, however because if you are watching an item, you can pretty much guarantee several others are also waiting to put in a last minute bid.

Antique Shops

Antique jewelry is growing in popularity, primarily because of the bespoke qualities attached to older items. Engagement rings are no exception and shoppers can usually find a selection of beautiful, handmade engagement rings at a fraction of the price of newly made jeweler. In fact, buying an antique engagement ring can prove a worthwhile investment as most antique jewelry will ultimately appreciate in value, meaning a ring bought for the purpose of a marriage proposal might just end up as a valuable family heirloom.

Bespoke Jewelers

If you want a Tiffany’s style ring at an affordable price, why not find a design you love and ask a local jewelers specializing in handmade jeweler to create your perfect engagement ring? This could be the answer if your partner has Cartier tastes but you have only high street funds.

It is evident that buying a high quality engagement ring without spending high quality money is easily achievable if you are patient, savvy and keen to research the various avenues towards buying the ideal ring.

How about you all? How did you / would you recommend saving money on buying an engagement ring?

Share your experiences by commenting below!

***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwarby/4859185569/sizes/m/in\

8 Investing Terms You Must Learn

September 14, 2013
/ Uncategorized
/ By Jacob A Irwin

The following post is by Dylan Adams. Enjoy!

Before you start investing your money in anything from stocks to real estate, you should learn several terms that will help you understand the industry. These 8 terms will get you started so that you can speak knowledgeably about investment opportunities.

Market Correction

A period of two months or less when the stock market loses significant value. Market corrections create excellent opportunities for savvy investors to purchase stocks at low prices. Investors can then wait for the prices to rise again, at which point they can sell their stocks to earn profits.

Bear Market

In some cases, investors might mistake a bear market for a market correction. Bear markets are longer periods of devaluation. These longer periods of stagnation and falling prices make it difficult for even the most experienced investors to determine when stocks have hit their lowest point.

Bull Market

When the value of stock indexes increase rapidly over a prolonged period, investors refer to it as a bull market. Bull markets can help investors make a lot of money. As of July Standard & Poor’s stock index’s value has grown by 70 percent over the past decade. Anyone who purchased stocks while prices were low have seen huge returns.

Navigating a bull market presents its own challenges. You never know when prices will start to fall. When timed correctly, though, a bull market can generate huge returns for smart investors.

Blue-Chip Stock

A blue-chip stock refers to stock that has a long history of growing value. If a company routinely pays strong dividends, investors often list it blue-chip. Buying these stocks is the closest thing that you can get to a sure bet in the investment world.

Some blue-chip companies include:

Apple
International Business Machines
Macy’s
Medtronic
PepsiCo

When you know how to buy and sell blue-chip stocks at the right times, you could find that you have more investment job opportunities. If you don’t know this and other terms, though, employers won’t give your resume a second glance.

Volatility

The term “volatility” has earned a bad reputation because most people associate it with stocks that lose value rapidly. In some cases, a highly volatile stock could crash in a matter of hours.

In reality, volatility refers to stocks that have a high risk of losing or gaining value in a short amount of time. Investors can potentially make quick returns from volatile stocks when their values increase. Given the high risk, though, it takes a lot of nerve to invest in volatile stocks.

Stocks with low volatility change value slowly over time. They’re more stable, but rarely present opportunities for investors to make money quickly.

Dividend

People who own stock in profitable companies might receive dividends. Dividends are cash payments that distribute the company’s profits amongst investors. In most cases, the company’s board of directors will determine how much money investors get for each share that they own. This is also called DPS, or Divided Per Share.

In other cases, the board can decide to pay a percentage of each stock’s value. This is called a “dividend yield.”

IPO, or Initial Public Offering

When a privately owned company decides to sell stocks to investors, the first round of sales is referred to as an IPO. Companies use IPO to increase capital and attract interest in their stock.

Early buyers hope to purchase stocks at low prices so they can benefit from the company’s future success. This is a somewhat risky move, though, because investors can’t base their decisions on the stock’s previous performance.

Facebook stock offers a good example of this. The company’s stock quickly fell below the IPO price, leaving many investors wondering whether they should sell before losing more money. It took Facebook nearly a year before the stock reached its IPO value.

PEG Ratio

The PEG Ratio is a more advanced version of the P/E Ratio.

P/E ratio stands for price-earnings ratio. It is the price of the stock divided by the company’s earnings. If you a company’s stock costs $40 per share and the company reports $2 per share earnings, then you divide 40 by 2 to get a 20 PE Ratio.

PEG adds growth to this equation. Many investors feel that it gives a more accurate picture of how well a stock will perform because it includes the company’s ability to grow.

How about you all? Now that you know more about investment terminology, do you think you’re ready to start investing your money? What other terms would you like defined to help you make informed investment choices?

Share your experiences by commenting below!

***Image via http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilamont/5538510845/sizes/m/in/photolist-9r

London On The Cheap

August 27, 2013
/ Uncategorized
/ By Jacob A Irwin

The following post was written by Alex Sebuliba. Enjoy!

There is no doubt that London is a fantastic city to visit, regardless of whether you’re visiting from a different country or a Brit from a different part of the UK. Tower Bridge, the Shard, Hyde Park, Piccadilly Circus and Covent Garden are just a few of the numerous tourist attractions that draw millions of people to London each year.

And while all capital cities are known for and expected to have higher prices, with shopkeepers and business owners looking to take advantage of the tourist trade, wouldn’t it be fantastic if you could have a holiday in London on the cheap?

Well, it’s not impossible! Follow our tips below and you can visit one of the greatest cities on earth for a lot cheaper than you probably thought possible.

Where to sleep

The first consideration that most holidaymakers make about visiting a new place is how they’re going to get there, when really it’s accommodation that can be the most expensive segment. While many holidaymakers still choose to stay in a hotel, did you know that you can make considerable savings by staying in a self catering apartment?

If you’re travelling in a group, an apartment can be a fun, inexpensive place from which to base your trip, as instead of being confined to hotel rooms you can enjoy a communal living space, while saving a great deal by cooking most of your meals in the kitchen.

Where to shop

Shopping in London, even for the basics, can be very expensive. But if you’re just looking for a snack, a drink or some food that you plan to cook in your apartment, then you can save a small fortune by opting to shop at the national supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s or Morrisons. As these are national chains they set prices on a national level, meaning you don’t pay a mark up just for choosing to buy in central London or from the shop owners who are fully aware that they can take full advantage of tourists with their ridiculously high prices.

How to get around

The London Underground is the oldest underground railway in the world, and this year it celebrated its 150th birthday. You’d think, with it being so old and, at busy times, uncomfortable, that it might be fairly cheap. Wrong. As a general rule, taking a bus is a much cheaper option for getting around London.

The city’s bus network is extensive, and some buses run all the way through the night. The TFL website allows you to find which bus you’ll need and, what’s more, the top deck of a red London bus can be a fantastic vantage point from which to view the sites and do some people watching.

If you do have to take the tube, then consider investing in an Oyster Card – for a £2 charge you’ll be able to top up your card and enjoy cheaper fares every time you’re in the city.

Don’t get caught in the trap

Every big city in the world has its share of tourist traps, and London is no different. If you know you’re heading to a trap, such as Piccadilly Circus, take a bottle of water with you – don’t choose to buy one when you’re there as the likelihood is that you’ll be ripped off.

Additionally, consider alternative ways to see things. The Shard, which opened earlier this year, charges £25 for an adult to enjoy its viewing platform. But you don’t need to go that high to enjoy great views – the view from Primrose Hill, or Greenwich Park, can be just as breathtaking if you’re there at the right time of day – and they won’t cost you a penny.

How about you all? Have you ever been to London? If so, did you find that it cost more money than you expected?

How did you save money?

Share your experiences by commenting below!

***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/timmorris/3103896345/sizes/m/in/photolist-5Jhhfe-61cFWM-61cG1F-62aLAf-62zuBt-62zzu

Saving Money In The Kitchen With Energy-Efficient Refrigerators and Freezers

August 27, 2013
/ Uncategorized
/ By Jacob A Irwin

The following is a guest post. Enjoy!

In the month of August, my family’s electric bill was $141.17. Even though I have spent a lot of time in the past dissecting and optimizing my budget and expenses, I realized that I have never actually dug in to the breakdown of how the various rooms/appliances in my house contribute to the overall costs of the electric bill. Specifically, I have never looked at how the KITCHEN of my house contributes to the electricity bill, with the main appliances which are on all year long being the freezer and refrigerator.

As such, the purpose of this post will be to look at how much a refrigerator and freezer contributes to the overall electric bill of the household and how much money can be saved by making sure you have an energy-efficient freezer and refrigerator.

What % of the electric bill originates from the kitchen?

According to this article, the average home electric bill is $2,000 per year. And, according to this article, the refrigerator/freezer alone contributes nearly 20% of this total, or $400 per year. That’s quite a nice little chunk of change if you ask me! Clearly, the kitchen is a place that deserves some focus in trying to cut down your family’s expenses.

How much money can be saved by using an energy-efficient freezer and refrigerator?

The first article above mentions that by purchasing energy-efficient freezers and refrigerators, you can save yourself $280 per year in electricity, cutting the $400 per year electric bill above in half! Pretty amazing stuff!

In the event that, like me, you’re a little bit of a nerd at heart, you may be interested in learning about HOW these energy-efficient appliances are able to save money compared to the older models. By doing a little searching around the Internet, I found out that a lot of technology/research has been put in to finding better ways to insulate energy-efficient refrigerators/freezers. One particularly interesting case was a refrigerator that featured vacuum panels to provide effective insulation and keep the coolness in.

How about you all? How much money do you think your family spends in kitchen energy use each year? Have you ever tried to save some money by buying energy-efficient refrigerators and/or freezers?

Share your experiences by commenting below!

***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/24736216@N07/7160436218/sizes/m/in/photolist-bUK7dS-8Uzv5m-cNLHg3-fBuiVa-fBJCH5-8VoFF5-aqUWoA-8zgC3n-fkciG1-93t9Lp-fjPucc-dXVopT-fk4CFL-fjPuzH-9Xvyyq-fk4CPq-fk4CN7-dpwJrk-8eGyZV-8eGyYF-8eGyVT-9yrbL1-b8p8p4-8uHZ9s-asdvUM/

How Do Chattel Mortgage Payments Work?

August 25, 2013
/ Uncategorized
/ By Jacob A Irwin

The following is a guest post. Enjoy!

Buying a car is almost essential for living anywhere in Australia except the most central of urban dwellers. But cars these days are expensive, and budgets are tight. One consideration is the chattel mortgage, which may be the perfect option for your next car purchase. It’s also known as an equipment loan or a bill of sale.

What is a chattel mortgage?

You might be used to hearing the term ‘mortgage’ in relation to homes. But in this case, the same idea is applied to a car. Instead of having a loan out for the car, a bank or financier gives you the funds in full to purchase the car. Then the bank creates a mortgage on the car itself, in this case called a “chattel” (which is just an old English word for ‘property’). The specifics of the agreement depend on the contract; in some cases legal ownership is with the bank, and in others it is with the purchaser.

The terms of the mortgage will state that should the purchaser default on their payments, the bank can take back ownership of the chattel. And just like in a normal mortgage, when the payments have been made in full, the car owner is free and clear and can trade the car in for another or sell the car.

Why should you get a chattel mortgage?

Chattel mortgages are often used by business owners, as the Goods & Service Tax (GST) can be claimed up front, and then as the loan repayments are made, interest payments can also be deducted, so there’s a significant tax benefit there. Other benefits of a chattel mortgage include:

Monthly payments are fixed
Lower interest rates
More flexible terms of contract (loans range from less than 12 months, up to five years)
Overall costs can be reduced with a trade-in or down payment

In general, you have a better idea up-front of all your costs and fees with a chattel mortgage, as opposed to other lending methods.

When considering the chattel mortgage option, it is good to speak with not only your bank but your accountant to understand how the costs will break down, since you wouldn’t be able to switch to a different kind of loan after-the-fact. Some banks and financiers have online calculators you can use.

How about you all? Have you ever heard of and/or used a chattel mortgage payment to purchase a vehicle?

Share your experiences by commenting below!

***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/59650561@N08/5454148183/sizes/m/in/photolist-9iXWeD-akTCzp-7P7EZe-94oVFW-94kQKH-94kQuZ-dNd85p-a8MEFX-ddF8Wi-ddF9Bg-9iESa7-89sJM3-dWGvgv-biHxvt-aMeAxz/

Gazelle Intensity Is Like Crash Dieting: Great For The Short-Term, But Not For The Long-Term

August 16, 2013
/ Uncategorized
/ By Jacob A Irwin
/ 4 COMMENTS

The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Melissa Batai. Melissa is a freelance writer who covers topics ranging from personal finance to business to organics to food. She blogs at Mom’s Plans where she shares her family’s journey to healthier living and paying down debt.

Have you ever gone on a crash diet before? You know, the kind where you eat grapefruit every day or you slash your calories to 1,000 or fewer a day?

Chances are, your extreme diet works great for the short-term, say a few weeks at most. If you need to lose 10 pounds to fit in your wedding dress, a crash diet may be just what you need.

On the other hand, if you need to lose 100 pounds, a crash diet will likely set you up for failure because you can’t thrive on such restriction over the long haul. Ultimately, you’ll likely follow your strict diet, and then, within a few weeks (or a few months if you’re really dedicated), you’ll be unable to take the deprivation any longer. You’ll be so ravenous that you’ll overeat. Sometimes you might overeat a lot. Before you know it, your weight is right where it was when you started the diet, or even higher.

How Paying Off Debt Can Be Like a Crash Diet

I know what you’re thinking. This is a personal finance blog. What does dieting have to do with finances?

Actually quite a lot, especially where debt is concerned.

Around the personal finance sphere, the most common advice that you’ll see is to pay off your debt first and as quickly as possible. Slash your spending and pay off the debt before you save for retirement or even build an ample emergency fund. Be disciplined, suffer through the deprivation, and then go on with your financial life when the debt is gone.

Just like a crash diet, this is great advice if you have, say $5,000 to $10,000 of debt to pay off. Depending on your income and discipline level, this can be knocked out in a few months to a year. Sure, you can put off emergency and long-term savings for 12 months. You can even live a life of deprivation for a few months to a year.

But, what if you have a lot of debt to pay off? What if you have $50,000 in debt to pay off (besides your mortgage) and you only make $50,000 a year? You can be as frugal as possible, but that debt isn’t going anywhere fast. In this case, you’re like the person trying to stay on a crash diet to lose 100 pounds.

Putting your life on hold, not saving for a rainy day and pouring all your money into the debt isn’t going to work in the long-term.

Change Behaviors First

We’re creatures of habit. Our habits can be good or bad. Just like an overweight person probably got that way by eating too much and eating the wrong foods, the same is probably true of someone in debt. If you’re in debt, you likely spend more than you earn each month, and you may be reliant on credit cards to buy something NOW rather than waiting and saving your money or finding a cheaper alternative.

If you’re going to successfully pay off debt and stay out of debt the rest of your life, that means you need to change your behaviors.

You need to be able to save money in an emergency fund. You need to be able to save for a replacement vehicle if your car is old and you know it will need to be replaced in the next few years. You need to save your money for smaller purchases that you want to buy like a new computer so you don’t go further into debt.

You need to get rid of the all or nothing view on debt repayment. Despite what bloggers and Dave Ramsey say, throwing all of your money on debt might not be the best idea if you have a large amount of debt to pay off.

Our Experience

I was a gung-ho-gazelle-intensity debt payer. My husband and I have credit cards and student loans to pay off, and we wanted the debt gone as soon as possible. I worked too many hours and my health and our relationship suffered.

I pulled back a little on the work and tried to reduce my stress, but I still embraced gazelle intensity. Over the next year, we made good headway on our debt while leaving our emergency fund at a measly $1,000. (Not smart, in my opinion, if half of your family income is variable as mine is and you also have children.)

As you can guess, we were hit by some unexpected expenses, and our emergency fund wasn’t enough. We went a few thousand dollars back in debt.

We recovered from that bump in the road and continued on with gazelle intensity. About 6 months later, we were hit with nearly $3,000 in-car repairs, and my income had a large dip for four months. This time, we went several thousand dollars back in debt.

After this, I decided enough is enough. I finally realized that for us, gazelle intensity just doesn’t work. Like someone who has 100 pounds to lose, we had too much debt to go gazelle intense for years and years.

Our car is 9 years old and has 120,000 miles on it. Even if we don’t replace it for several more years, it will likely have expensive repairs. A $1,000 emergency fund isn’t going to cut it.

My recent income cuts showed me that I was risking my family’s security by skating by on such a small emergency fund.

Simply put, Life wasn’t waiting for us to pay off our debt.

Instead, we agreed to make a plan to get out of debt completely in 5 years.

Here’s what we have done:

Now, we’ve created a one month buffer.
- We have enough in our checking account to pay this month’s bills with last month’s income.
We’re also saving for expenses like a car replacement/repair fund as well as our irregular expenses.
While we are paying down debt on our 5 year plan, my husband’s employer is taking 8% of his gross salary out for our retirement savings. I recently rolled over my retirement (complete with employer match) from my previous job, so luckily, we’re on track for retirement savings. When we’re on better financial footing, we’ll begin to also invest in a Roth IRA.

Why This Works

Let’s go back to the overweight person trying to lose 100 pounds. If she learns to make smart food choices and to eat just when she’s hungry and to stop when she’s full, she’s already instituted the behaviors she needs to be a thin person who stays thin. Yes, she has extra weight on her that is a reminder of her old lifestyle, but that weight will take care of itself as a byproduct of her new lifestyle.

If you take the steps to live a financially responsible life by living within your means, setting aside emergency money, setting aside money for replacement items and irregular experiences, your lifestyle will support a healthy financial life. The debt, just like the weight, will eventually be gone.

You might not be debt free in an incredible 18 months had you been gazelle intense, but you have something even better. You have changed your behavior and mindset, which sets you up for financial success for the rest of your life. Perhaps it takes you 5 years to get rid of all your debt like it will take us.

That’s fine.

Let me say it again.

That’s fine.

The debt will be gone, and you won’t go into debt again. You will have freed yourself from the shackles of debt for life. That sounds infinitely better to me than racing to pay off debt just to go back in the hole because you haven’t prepared for the future and changed your habits.

How about you all? What do you think? Change behaviors and pay off debt slowly or knock it out with gazelle intensity?

Share your experiences by commenting below!

***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/sklathill/

Currency Update – August 2013

August 6, 2013
/ Uncategorized
/ By Jacob A Irwin

The following is a guest post. Enjoy!

The euro and the pound were within touching distance for most of the week, the euro strengthening by about quarter of a cent. Against the US dollar, it was down by half a cent. The eventual outcome was determined partly by a new crisis in Club Med but mostly by a change of tack at the European Central Bank.

The crisis appeared quite suddenly in Lisbon, with the resignation of two government ministers, apparently because of their disillusionment with austerity. Were the coalition government to collapse, investors fear the abandonment of austerity and a possible sovereign default. The Outright Monetary Transactions (OMTs) (government bond purchases) envisaged by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi in his “whatever it takes” strategy could not be brought into play because Portugal cannot borrow money without external assistance. Even though a default by Portugal is not the most likely outcome, even the outside possibility weighed on the euro.

It was a much different burden that the ECB president placed on the euro’s shoulders at his monthly press conference. Throwing aside the mantra of the last two decades which had it that the Bank “never pre-commits” to monetary policy, Sig. Draghi stunned his audience and the world’s investors by doing exactly that. In his prepared speech he said; “The Governing Council expects key interest rates to remain at present or lower levels for a considerable period of time.” As the reasons for this approach he cited a subdued outlook for inflation, broad weakness in the real economy and subdued monetary dynamics. Sig. Draghi refused to enlarge on how many months there might be in “a considerable period of time” but it was fairly clear he was thinking of double figures.

The ECB is not alone in providing this sort of “guidance” to future policy. That same day the new governor at the Bank of England issued a statement saying much the same thing and the US Federal Reserve has been at it for more than a year. But the ECB’s pledge is a first and it looks as though the central bankers in Frankfurt are hunkering down for the long haul. This latest development might not send the euro lower but it is hard to imagine how it could send it higher.

***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/epsos/8453271596/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Do You Still Need Soft Skills in Technical Positions?

August 2, 2013
/ Uncategorized
/ By Jacob A Irwin

The following is a guest post. Enjoy!

Information technology has become a fundamental fixture within nearly every possible professional environment, creating a massive demand for people with the relevant skills to fill a wide range of different IT positions.

Although some smaller companies will only have one or two IT professionals to carry out general tasks, larger businesses will often have dozens of specialist positions requiring a very specific set of skills and qualifications.

As demand for these skills continues to grow, reports from the BBC have explained that there is still a skills deficit in the industry within even large corporations like Facebook and Google struggling to find suitable candidates.

If you’re looking to work in IT then it’s vital you have both the technical aptitude and the soft skills – but just what are they?

Communication skills

Remember that every project an IT professional works on will be related to helping employees within the company communicate effectively and securely. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that IT professionals should be skilled communicators, being able to understand and appreciate their employees’ specific IT needs. This will allow them to develop bespoke solutions to certain issues and become more responsive to problems which may arise in the future.

Training skills

IT professionals will usually be the first within every company to experience a new piece of technology and become acquainted with how it works. Therefore when the new technology is rolled out to the company at large, it will be the IT professionals tasked with preparing instructional and educational material to help other employees understand how to use it effectively.

This will also inevitably involve plenty of troubleshooting sessions with the employees as they gradually become acquainted with the new tools. This relies on a good degree of patience and willingness to appreciate the fact that non-technical people are likely to have issues.

Compromising

For every project within a company, there are likely to be many different ways that IT can provide solutions to make things more effective. It’s important to regularly compromise your own initial ideas with what works best for the other employees and the wider business.

For example, although you may favour a particular operating system for certain tasks, this may cause problems with employees who don’t feel comfortable using it on a regular basis. You should compromise and find a solution which everyone is happy with while still helping employees to work more effectively.

Thinking creatively

Remember that all IT Jobs involve different skills depending on the nature of the company’s business and you’ll often need to develop technology solutions which are specific to that particular organisation. It’s important to keep an open mind about creating new processes rather than following familiar ones which you’ve implemented in the past elsewhere.

How about you all? What “soft skills” are important for you in your line of work?

Share your experiences by commenting below!

***Photo courtesy of http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Rajive_Kaul,_Rana_Kapoor_and_Suni_Godhwani_(Horasis_Global_India_Business_Meeting_2010).jpg

Making Business Conference Venues Run Smoothly

July 30, 2013
/ Uncategorized
/ By Jacob A Irwin

The following is a guest post. Enjoy!

Organizing a business conference is a high-pressure task, and we’re sure you’re already expecting the pre-launch-day jitters/nightmares. Remember not to take all the tasks onto your shoulders – spread around the responsibility to ease the burden. And try to get some rest – you’ll need it!

Your Venue

The venue should reflect what your company is all about. For example, if you’re a very modern business, you might want to choose a posh hotel with state-of-the-art interior design. Whichever venue tickles your fancy, make sure that it has bags of space.

Transport

If your venue is out in the middle of nowhere, choose somewhere with suitable transport links and hand out detailed directions in advance, so no-one gets lost. There should also be ample parking for guests.

Internet

Getting together the best and the brightest in business is no mean feat, but you better make sure they have a reliable Wi-Fi connection, otherwise you may have a mutiny on your hands. Also, if any of your presentations rely on online sources, let’s not embarrass ourselves with a poor internet signal.

Technology

To hold everyone’s attention, you’re going to need technology on your side. Your venue should either come with all the gadgets you need to hold a great conference or you need to be able to install them yourself. Either way, make sure presenters have microphones and projectors to work with.

Climate

The environment usually makes or breaks a conference. If everyone is boiling or freezing cold, they won’t be paying much attention to the presentation and they will associate negative feelings with your company. Keep everyone comfy with climate control and fantastic seating.

Refreshments

Most businesses run on caffeine, so always have a platform full of tea and coffee for your guests. Also, keep everyone in good supply of water and snacks. We don’t want cranky business people at the conference.

Man The Ship

Get as many employees as you can muster to help run the conference on the day. You’ll be amazed at how many pairs of hands you’ll need. If you don’t have enough members of staff, try enlisting work experience students to help you out.

Stagger The Day

Don’t hit the conference guests with a wall of presentations. Allow them regular toilet, tea, and leg-stretching breaks. Even if you’re keeping to a tight schedule, the guests’ comfort should come first.

Be Interesting

The last thing you want to do is bore everyone senseless. Keep things interesting by letting your company’s personality shine through. When providing character for a business conference, you need to deliver an experience that will stick in everyone’s minds. Be different to everyone else and stand out from the crowd.

Don’t Make Assumptions

Don’t assume that everyone will arrive fully prepared. Have a stash of notebooks, pens, refreshments, and cards ready to hand out to your guests. They’ll be thankful if they run out of ink or they miss breakfast!

How about you all? Have you ever organized a conference for your personal hobbies or full time job? How did it go? What lessons did you learn?

Share your experiences by commenting below!

***Photo courtesy of http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Chicago_Campus_Conference.JPG

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