Personal Finance Online: Goal Setting With Students

Students come with a wide variety hopes, dreams and needs. While many of them share the same goal – getting an education – very few of them are prepared for this critical stage in their life when it comes to money. While they all practically live online and are permanently glued to smartphones, only the very smartest conduct their personal finance online.Goal setting with students is relatively easy to explain because they completely understand the concepts of choosing what they want and implementing a plan to achieve it, but while they are encouraged by educators who provide them with a goal setting template by way of lectures and seminar timetables, they each have to take responsibility to create their very own goal setting worksheet, timetable, study plan, and pin it to their wall.So why don’t people take the skills they learned while goal setting with students, and apply them to the world of personal finance? After all they ‘live’ online so why not train, learn and plan their personal finance online too? The answer comes in the tools available and knowing what to do with them.There are four areas where personal finance online can be enhanced with students, and goal setting is only one part of a process which touches all four areas.Earning Money As A Student First jobs are character building for students. They get to find out what they enjoy doing, and what they hate doing. Earning money as a student allows strong developments in skills such as influencing people, task management, reading situations, and making judgments.The best earnings goals though, are the ones which enhance entrepreneurial flair, independent choices, and return financial rewards. So many students ignore this, thinking a job equals money equals spending. The smartest thing to do when teaching goal setting with students, is to give them the skills of personal finance, knowing the value of their earning, and the ability to make money not take money.Saving Money As A StudentIndependent money is a thrill like no other for a student, and the impulse to use it to the fullest extent normally extends to living life large, in the moment.Yet remembering the famous marshmallow test by Professor Walter Mischel, one of the core principals of sharing goal setting with students is that of delayed gratification – the skill to wait until later to enjoy the money.Saving money as a student therefore is a pillar of personal finance online because when a student understands the concept of “Pay Yourself First” they will save. Tools which track and coach personal finance online help in this financial goal setting because it allows the student to see where their money goes, see what are expenses versus expenditure, and minimise the waste that can only come from the typical hedonistic student lifestyle.Spending Money As A StudentStudents need no help to spend money, it’s programmed into them long before concepts like personal finance online are ever introduced to them – but spending within a structured thought process is a central tenet of financial goal setting with students. Informed and considered thought before splashing out the money does not have to make a students life boring, and it can avoid a lot of pain later.Since there is a lot of shopping online as a student, it is easy to adopt these four questions when considering personal finance matters online. This as true in London England as it is in any other place with students.Do I need it?
Why Do I want it?
Will it impact the rest of my Month?
Does it affect my Debt?Investing Money As A StudentStudents are not known for their wealth,but considering the power of financial goal setting with students as described above, the principles of adopting personal finance online would not be complete without investing.Even a small about of money invested while a student will grow massively due to the magical impact of interest compounding. The rewards for students who invest significantly outweigh the risks, since rather than save, they are actually giving every penny a purpose when following the principals of personal finance online because it can be seen, tracked, followed, and enjoyed all through their core activity – being glued to the internet.Budgeting in personal finance is not the shiniest activity, but a concentration on this subject can be exponentially rewarding. Done effectively, it can become the core skill in money management and is a must-have objective while educating on goal setting with students. This way they can avoid or minimise debt, pay it back faster, live within their means and not beyond their means.

Alternative Financing Vs. Venture Capital: Which Option Is Best for Boosting Working Capital?

There are several potential financing options available to cash-strapped businesses that need a healthy dose of working capital. A bank loan or line of credit is often the first option that owners think of – and for businesses that qualify, this may be the best option.

In today’s uncertain business, economic and regulatory environment, qualifying for a bank loan can be difficult – especially for start-up companies and those that have experienced any type of financial difficulty. Sometimes, owners of businesses that don’t qualify for a bank loan decide that seeking venture capital or bringing on equity investors are other viable options.

But are they really? While there are some potential benefits to bringing venture capital and so-called “angel” investors into your business, there are drawbacks as well. Unfortunately, owners sometimes don’t think about these drawbacks until the ink has dried on a contract with a venture capitalist or angel investor – and it’s too late to back out of the deal.

Different Types of Financing

One problem with bringing in equity investors to help provide a working capital boost is that working capital and equity are really two different types of financing.

Working capital – or the money that is used to pay business expenses incurred during the time lag until cash from sales (or accounts receivable) is collected – is short-term in nature, so it should be financed via a short-term financing tool. Equity, however, should generally be used to finance rapid growth, business expansion, acquisitions or the purchase of long-term assets, which are defined as assets that are repaid over more than one 12-month business cycle.

But the biggest drawback to bringing equity investors into your business is a potential loss of control. When you sell equity (or shares) in your business to venture capitalists or angels, you are giving up a percentage of ownership in your business, and you may be doing so at an inopportune time. With this dilution of ownership most often comes a loss of control over some or all of the most important business decisions that must be made.

Sometimes, owners are enticed to sell equity by the fact that there is little (if any) out-of-pocket expense. Unlike debt financing, you don’t usually pay interest with equity financing. The equity investor gains its return via the ownership stake gained in your business. But the long-term “cost” of selling equity is always much higher than the short-term cost of debt, in terms of both actual cash cost as well as soft costs like the loss of control and stewardship of your company and the potential future value of the ownership shares that are sold.

Alternative Financing Solutions

But what if your business needs working capital and you don’t qualify for a bank loan or line of credit? Alternative financing solutions are often appropriate for injecting working capital into businesses in this situation. Three of the most common types of alternative financing used by such businesses are:

1. Full-Service Factoring – Businesses sell outstanding accounts receivable on an ongoing basis to a commercial finance (or factoring) company at a discount. The factoring company then manages the receivable until it is paid. Factoring is a well-established and accepted method of temporary alternative finance that is especially well-suited for rapidly growing companies and those with customer concentrations.

2. Accounts Receivable (A/R) Financing – A/R financing is an ideal solution for companies that are not yet bankable but have a stable financial condition and a more diverse customer base. Here, the business provides details on all accounts receivable and pledges those assets as collateral. The proceeds of those receivables are sent to a lockbox while the finance company calculates a borrowing base to determine the amount the company can borrow. When the borrower needs money, it makes an advance request and the finance company advances money using a percentage of the accounts receivable.

3. Asset-Based Lending (ABL) – This is a credit facility secured by all of a company’s assets, which may include A/R, equipment and inventory. Unlike with factoring, the business continues to manage and collect its own receivables and submits collateral reports on an ongoing basis to the finance company, which will review and periodically audit the reports.

In addition to providing working capital and enabling owners to maintain business control, alternative financing may provide other benefits as well:

It’s easy to determine the exact cost of financing and obtain an increase.
Professional collateral management can be included depending on the facility type and the lender.
Real-time, online interactive reporting is often available.
It may provide the business with access to more capital.
It’s flexible – financing ebbs and flows with the business’ needs.
It’s important to note that there are some circumstances in which equity is a viable and attractive financing solution. This is especially true in cases of business expansion and acquisition and new product launches – these are capital needs that are not generally well suited to debt financing. However, equity is not usually the appropriate financing solution to solve a working capital problem or help plug a cash-flow gap.

A Precious Commodity

Remember that business equity is a precious commodity that should only be considered under the right circumstances and at the right time. When equity financing is sought, ideally this should be done at a time when the company has good growth prospects and a significant cash need for this growth. Ideally, majority ownership (and thus, absolute control) should remain with the company founder(s).

Alternative financing solutions like factoring, A/R financing and ABL can provide the working capital boost many cash-strapped businesses that don’t qualify for bank financing need – without diluting ownership and possibly giving up business control at an inopportune time for the owner. If and when these companies become bankable later, it’s often an easy transition to a traditional bank line of credit. Your banker may be able to refer you to a commercial finance company that can offer the right type of alternative financing solution for your particular situation.

Taking the time to understand all the different financing options available to your business, and the pros and cons of each, is the best way to make sure you choose the best option for your business. The use of alternative financing can help your company grow without diluting your ownership. After all, it’s your business – shouldn’t you keep as much of it as possible?

Pharmacy Technician Course – New Pharmacy Profession Opportunities For You

Pharmacy technician course it’ s a great chance for all the students that want to embrace a career in pharmacy but do not want to go on with their studies with a post secondary intensive learning course. A pharmacy technician course may have many recognition types. As a result, the basic stage is equal to a 6 months instruction program and scholars who attain this short-term course gain a certificate. The following stage encompasses generally twelve months preparation course, and its completion is in the end rewarded with a certificate.The superior stage for an accredited pharmacy technician course is in fact an associate’ s degree and its completion calls for a 24 month training program. A pharmacy technician course may vary in accordance to on-campus study or web-based study or any other distance preparation program. Accredited preparation must be your primary target when you would like to get certified as a pharmacist. After graduation, your accomplishments will be rewarded with a bachelor’ s diploma, and if such be the case with a master’ s diploma in pharmacy.A pharmacy technician course is a subject of great interest for many students. This training is absolutely reckoned due to monetary factor, to the increasing opportunities on the labor market and to the flexible attendance elements. A profession as a pharmacy tech could be the appropriate option for you. The most important responsibilities of a pharmacy tech are: the sale of drugs and pharmaceutical products, office duties, database operations and other. It’ s not so easy to execute these tasks, but with professional preparation courses you will be able to do it.As it is has been earlier stated, aspiring technicians may either take the first step with on-the-job preparation, or with an accredited pharmacy technician course. The first selection is quite limited, because pharmacists generally credit better proper accredited instruction. The pharmacists which already attended a formal pharmacy technician course are familiar with the technical terminology. The accredited preparation program already took charge of their lab and medical practice (they should be capable to calculate a sure amount of chemical substances using the proper technology). Additionally, the scholars are taught how to handle clients. It is essential to pay attention to the legislation regarding the pharmaceutical field. That is why, certified pharmacy technician course provides the necessary information on how technicians should deal with ethical issues and to avoid legal problems.Certification in this activity is optional, but successfully enhances your chances for promotion and for upper monetary compensation. The Pharmacy Technician Board and the Institute of Certification of Pharmacy are 2 institutions in US that offer certifications for the aspirant pharmacy techs. This activity demands permanent preparation, as the drug market enhances permanently its provide. A pharmacy tech course is as well intended to improve the essential skills for young aspiring pharmacy techs. If you consider that a career in pharmacy is interesting to you, get informed and choose the course that suits you best.