Entries Tagged as 'BeeInvestors'

They’re just like you. But with lots of money.

Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires

When you think “millionaire,” what image comes to mind? For many of us, it’s a flashy Wall Street banker type who flies a private jet, collects cars and lives the kind of decadent lifestyle that would make Donald Trump proud.

But many modern millionaires live in middle-class neighborhoods, work full-time and shop in discount stores like the rest of us. What motivates them isn’t material possessions but the choices that money can bring: “For the rich, it’s not about getting more stuff. It’s about having the freedom to make almost any decision you want,” says T. Harv Eker, author of Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. Wealth means you can send your child to any school or quit a job you don’t like.
According to the Spectrem Wealth Study, an annual survey of America’s wealthy, there are more people living the good life than ever before—the number of millionaires nearly doubled in the last decade. And the rich are getting richer. To make it onto the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans, a mere billionaire no longer makes the cut. This year you needed a net worth of at least $1.3 billion.

If more people are getting richer than ever, why shouldn’t you be one of them? Here, five people who have at least a million dollars in liquid assets share the secrets that helped them get there.

1. Set your sights on where you’re going

2. Educate yourself

3. Passion pays off

4. Grow your money

5. No guts, no glory 

AND The Biggest Secret? Stop spending!

You can find more about every point  and more here. RD

Attracting Angels To Your Business

Pop quiz: If you try to raise money from investors, what’s your chance of success?Well, if you’re approaching those individuals known as “angel” investors, the answer is a surprisingly high 12%. That’s the result of a study just released by the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire. During the first half of 2006, one out of every eight businesses that pitched to angel investors received funding.Angel

While you may not think 12% is great odds, compare that with trying to raise money from venture capitalists (who receive hundreds, if not thousands, of proposals for every one they fund) or getting money from your brother-in-law.

The term “angel investor” covers a broad range of funders — all the way from a sophisticated financier who invests hundreds of thousands of dollars in a cutting-edge new technology, to your rich Uncle Bob who invests $25,000 to help you get your mobile dog grooming business off the ground.

What all these angels have in common is that they’re investing their own money in entrepreneurial businesses — usually start-ups. Venture capitalists, on the other hand, invest other people’s money, typically millions of dollars, and, increasingly, invest in later-stage companies.

* Rhonda Abrams in USA Today:

* Business-opportunities.biz & Dane Carlson