Video Professor

Make a Real Investment with Real Estate Investing

Nothing holds it’s value like property, and nothing makes you feel like you are not flushing your money down the toilet like not investing in real estate. Sure, you might think that real estate investing is a terrible idea in this market, right? Many people think that the market is nearly demolished because of the bumpy road of the past few years, but I say, do not fear. Not that I am, by any means, an expert on real estate investing, but I recently read an article called “Real Estate Bubble Theory is Full of Hot Air” by William Bronchick, J.D., and he is an expert on real estate investing. William Bronchick, J.D. is an author and attorney who regularly presents workshops and do-it-yourself seminars at real estate and landlord associations around the country. He is also the president and co-founder of the Colorado Association of Real Estate Investors. In his article, he refutes the idea that the real estate “bubble” is going to burst. He wrote the following:

A lot of hoopla has been floating around the news media lately about the “bubble” theory of real estate investing. That is, the theory that the real estate market is going to burst. In my opinion, the theory has no merit.

First, understand that there are three basic premises that undermine the discussion of a real estate bubble:

• There is no national real estate market.
• The real estate market doesn’t explode or crash.
• The market has limited relevancy to the shrewd investor.
• The real estate “market” is based on local economies.

When people speak of the real estate economy, they are using nationally-based statistics. For example, “Fortune” magazine reported recently that since the early 1960s, average residential real estate values have never had a down year. This statement is true. But while these numbers are measurable, they do not reflect the intricacies of local real estate markets.

The stock market is based on the national, even the world economy. The real estate market is based on local, and, in many cases, micro-local economies. What’s happening in Los Angeles does not directly affect what’s happening in Toledo.

True, certain factors such as interest rates affect all the markets. There really is no broad barometer to measure the entire housing industry in the U.S. average prices, average new homes sold, and average homes built nationally have little relevance to your market.
And, within a particular city that is doing well, there may be certain neighborhoods doing poorly for a variety of reasons, such as over-building of new homes.

So while statistics, calculations, and economic factors are relevant, so is common sense: Take a look around and see what’s really happening. Talk to real estate agents, investors and lenders in your area for a better picture of what is going on.

So do not run for the hills when you consider real estate investing. There are plenty of reasons to invest in something that will always have value. The market will inevitably go up and down, but real estate is a safe bet, so educate yourself, then invest.

QuickBooks® Training For Your Financial Troubles

Starting your own business is one of the most difficult ventures that you can undertake. It seems nice because you are your own boss, you can theoretically set your own hours, and you are more likely to deal with something you like. But there are few things you can get yourself into professionally that are riskier. Small, independent businesses fail at an alarming rate in today’s society as they attempt to go up against bigger stores with a larger selection and prime locations.

There are far too many obstacles when it comes to starting your own business, but QuickBooks training can help you learn this program so you have one less thing working against you. Keeping your money organized, centralized and easily traceable is very important as most small businesses have little room for error. There are also many different ways in which you can use QuickBooks, so make sure that you know all your options through QuickBooks training. Considering all the other complications that you have to deal with, think about whether you want to add unnecessary financial stress to that load. If not, seek out some QuickBooks training.

Employees are unreliable today. As a relatively young person I could say that it is just my generation and the work ethic goes down for each new generation, but I’m not sure that is the case. I have seen poor workers of every age and I obviously haven’t been working as long as a lot of people in this country. But there are entirely too many people who think it is no big deal to routinely show up late and slack off whenever it is possible. There is a selfish attitude in a lot of working environments and wherever that came from, business owners have to deal with it. Not only are bad employees frustrating, but they can cost owners money through poor production or wasted materials. You will have to do all you can to turn a profit, especially as you are getting started, so get some QuickBooks training and try to offset some of the damage your bad employees might cause.

Finding customers is difficult in most cases. No matter what kind of clientele you are trying to attract, it might be a struggle to track them down. It is also hard to know which avenues to put your money in. Advertising, the phonebook, donations and many other options can help spread the word about your business, but it might take some trial and error to find what works best for you. QuickBooks training will help show you how to track all your expenses so you can better analyze what is generating business for you and what is not.

And then there are the unexpected events that you should expect. Several things in your business will break and many of them will cost too much to fix. QuickBooks training will show you where all your money is going and help you track bills for everything. You have to keep a close eye on your money in order to succeed as a small business, so start your business with QuickBooks training and cover all your bases.

Start Investing Today!

Getting involved in stocks, bonds and mutual funds may not seem like a walk in the park. In fact, many people find the idea of investing to be nothing short of stressful and difficult. The reality of investing is not too far from this, but with the right tools and knowledge, getting in and staying involved in investments will pay off big. So, the question we need to ask ourselves is not why or when we should invest, but rather how to invest.

Investing 101

Let’s break down the long-standing stereotypes of who can invest and what investing is. For starters, many people believe that only the rich can get involved in investing. Ask yourself this, how did these people make their money? Do you think they all were just lucky enough to have been born with a silver spoon in their mouth? Maybe they all won the lottery? In truth, many people are able to make a sizable amount of money through investing. Whether in stocks, bonds or mutual funds, there really is something out there for all of us. Wall Street isn’t for the rich and powerful anymore. Online websites and companies have begun to infiltrate the niche market of lower income investors, this being you and me. Our paychecks don’t run in the six digits and we might now have the money to pay for our own stock broker, but today, we can get involved.

Investing is seen as a huge gamble. Invest $5,000 and lose it all in a shaky market. Truth be told, investing is a gamble, but it’s not like sitting at a blackjack table. You have more control of your money than you think. You know that part of the newspaper with the list of letters that look like GO and YH, well those are stocks and everyday you can monitor their progress. Did your stock rise or fall? If it fell, how far did it fall and if it rose, how high did it rise? By tracking your investments you can pull out when you have made a nice return or before your stock plummets any further.

Investing is just papers flying around, men yelling at a digital board and confusing graphs. Well, it may look like that on the surface, but if you do a little research and can understand the basics of how the stock market works and how bonds and mutual funds mature and grow, then you will find that the process is more in-depth, but the concepts are easy to grasp.

Where to Go When You Want to Invest

So, you’re thinking, “Hey, maybe investing isn’t such a bad idea, but where should I go to start out?” Great! Take a look on the Internet, there are lots of small brokerage firms out there that make it their job to make you money. When you make money, so do they. And online investing is becoming a popular way for people to learn about and control their investments. If you are confused about online investing, look for some tutorials. Video Professor has a CD tutorial called Learn Online Investing that will help you learn about what it means to invest, how to invest, and the basics of trading and selling online. The lesson takes about three hours, but you will learn skills that can eventually make your wallet and little greener and your friends a little more envious.

Learn QuickBooks® to Help Your Business

If you are a business owner, then you have enough to worry about. You have to attract customers, deal with potentially incompetent or lazy employees, order supplies, and deal with all the unexpected problems that have made themselves such an integral part of business. Do yourself a favor and reduce your financial concerns as much as possible. Aside from making sure you have enough business to keep afloat, you can also utilize a program like QuickBooks, which is specifically designed to help business owners organize and manage their finances. Learn QuickBooks before you get your business started, and you will have a solid foundation with as few monetary concerns as possible.

In the hope of reducing stress as much as possible, you will likely want the easiest and fastest way to learn QuickBooks. This is not something you want to try and guess about, your money is too important. QuickBooks has a lot of capabilities, and the manual can only help you so much. Learn QuickBooks with Video Professor, and you can feel comfortable with the program in as little as three hours. Video Professor’s tutorial plays atop QuickBooks so you can set up the program and work in it as you watch the tutorial. When you learn QuickBooks, do it right and do it once with the help of Video Professor.

One of the advantages of QuickBooks is that you can customize it specific to your company or business. Video Professor can show you the steps to take so the program works best for you. You can choose to connect your program to the Internet so you can get software updates for QuickBooks. When you learn QuickBooks, you will have different choices for navigation style so that the program has the right feel and convenience. The preferences section allows you to determine how information is stored and organized. Your accounting and checking are customizable in this portion of the program so you might want to take some extra time to make sure your information is centralized, accessible and organized to your liking. Another part of the preferences is deciding how you want your record keeping to work. There are several options as to how this feature will work for you, but it will, no doubt, be a very important aspect of your business, so pay attention to this when you learn QuickBooks.

In the attempt to get paid, your business will have to maintain an organized and efficient invoice system. This aspect is explained thoroughly by Video Professor’s tutorial so you can effectively take in money from your customers and have all your information properly organized for future reference. Learn QuickBooks so your money can smoothly flow in.

Learn how to set up and manage your payroll, organize different customer accounts, and make deposits all from QuickBooks. Having these features properly set up and organized from the start will help you deal with change and unexpected circumstances as your business evolves. Take the proper steps to protect your business from financial instability in the future.

Get Your Company on the Fast Track with Intuit® QuickBooks®

What is the most important focus of a company? Customers, of course! But in order to meet and exceed your customers needs, you need to get a few other things in order, and most of those other things are financial. Setting up interviews, manually setting up your company, item lists, invoicing, managing customer accounts, receiving payments, entering and paying bills, making adjustments to your check register, and so much more are essential things to maintaining a smoothly running company. And that is just what needs to be handled without a hitch so that you can focus your attention on what really matters … the customers. Are you scared yet? I sure hope not! There is no reason to be because all of components can be handled in one amazing program. That program is QuickBooks. QuickBooks was created to ease the daily burdens of a business owner and make managing business finances as convenient as possible.

Are you thinking that maybe QuickBooks sounds like it is just the program you need, but how in the world are you going to find time to learn and employ a brand new software program that you don’t know the first thing about? Do not fear, Video Professor is here with a 3-CD tutorial that will teach you the ins and outs of QuickBooks in as little as three hours. Why spend the money and time on enrolling in a QuickBooks class when you can bring the QuickBooks class to you! The Video Professor tutorial is a QuickBooks class, but one that revolves around your schedule and is taught at your pace. It is more like you have hired a personal tutor.

Why Take the Video Professor CD QuickBooks Class?

Aside from the simple fact that the Video Professor QuickBooks tutorial will be delivered to your home or office and you can take it on your own time, it has something that no other QuickBooks class or tutorial has; it has a patented “What-You-See-Is-What-You-Do” system. The tutorial screen will play atop the actual QuickBooks program. The tutorial also comes with fast-forward, rewind, pause and stop controls so you are never left behind or left bored waiting for the next point to be addressed. Also, the CD QuickBooks class is divided into three discs with each disc taking you to the next level of knowledge about the program. In disc one, you will learn how to set up your company manually, set up your QuickBooks preferences and manage QuickBooks. After that, you can move on to disc two where you will learn everything from invoicing and receiving payments to processing payroll. Finish disc three and you will have learned tracking accounts receivable, tax-related issues, and reconciling bank statements. After this QuickBooks tutorial you will be a skilled and organized business owner and can put your energy and time on what is most important to your business. Don’t spend hundreds of dollars on a time-consuming QuickBooks class, bring the QuickBooks class to your fingertips!

Speed Things Up with a Free Quicken® Lesson

It’s almost tax time, and every year about this time I decide that I am going to do more than just simply do my taxes … I am going to learn how to properly manage my money. Easier said than done? Not really. It is easier done, too, with a free Quicken lesson from Video Professor. It may be hard to believe that you could fully learn a program like Quicken, but you can because Video Professor really does have a great strategy for you. With its 3-disc free Quicken lesson, you can learn it all in as little as three hours. John W. Scherer, CEO and founder of Video Professor, created the unique “What-You-See-Is-What-You-Do” technique so you can view the tutorial as you are working in the program itself. And you can take the free Quicken lesson from the comfort of your home or office on your own timetable. The tutorial can stopped, rewound, fast-forwarded and paused so you are never left behind or bored.

What Quicken Can Do for You

When you learn Intuit Quicken, you will learn how to

• monitor financial investments
• manage everyday finances
• plan for the future
• prepare for tax time

With a free Quicken lesson, you will understand how the program will help you to reconcile your bank statement, set up loans, make online payments and conduct investment research.

Take Home a Free Quicken Lesson

It’s amazing what Quicken can help you do around your home. With this revolutionary software, you will learn how to use data files to help organize your business and personal finances. Video Professor’s free Learn Quicken lesson will walk you through organizing your checking and savings accounts, credit card debts and mortgages.

Quicken permits you to directly retrieve your account information and update it for withdrawals and deposits.

Video Professor’s free Quicken lesson takes you hand-in-hand through Quicken’s bills and expenses page. By the end of disc one, you will fully comprehend how to set up a Quicken account. From there you can enter checks and deposits while maintaining a monthly chart of expenses.

Quicken Online

Few things have become so relied upon in the past several years as banking online. Online banking not only reduces the amount of paper used for transactions, it allows you to constantly monitor your accounts. With Video Professor’s free Quicken lesson, you will learn how you can be notified with bills’ due dates and also how you can pay your bills online. Leave your checkbook behind and learn the meaning of convenience! How about scheduling bank transactions or creating automatic bill payments and deposits? You can learn how! Simply take advantage of Video Professor’s free Quicken lesson.

Once you make a payment, Quicken will automatically update your account information and show you your new account balance. With Quicken® you can input:

• Utility bills
• Credit card payments
• Auto payments
• Household expenses
• Miscellaneous expenses

Using the Internet to pay bills is a new concept for many of us. As tricky as it may seem, Video Professor can help explain it all. With the Quicken program and Video Professor, you will be on your way to completing online transactions and calculating loan rates with ease. Becoming a comfortable Quicken user is easy with Video Professor.

Anyways, back to taxes, huh? Yes, they have to get done, no question about that. And Quicken will certainly not let you down in that department, but it doesn’t have to stop there. Maximize you fiscal experience by taking control. Invest in Quicken and a free Quicken lesson.

Expand Your Horizons by Investing in Art

I don’t collect anything like I collect art. Investing in art is a different way to invest your money. In my opinion, investing in art is an investment in your home and your quality of life. Art can encompass so many different styles, sizes, colors and experiences. Every room in your home can and should be an expression of what it is about. Everything from a child’s room to a bar area can transform into a one-of-a-kind, beautiful conversation piece by investing in art that entices you and strikes your heart in some way.

The thing about art is that it is absolutely original even if it is a print, but I personally love to buy original artwork. It is a true investment, and it does not have to break the bank. There are so many new, up-and-coming artists that sell their original artwork online and on eBay®. I prefer paintings but three-dimensional art is prevalent online for purchase, as well. Not only that, the realm of art is so expansive, any style you want, you will find. Investing in art will brighten your home, if you want it brightened, and add so many conversation pieces for your family and your friends.

Investing in Art at the Right Price

What’s your budget? It doesn’t matter when it comes to investing in art because you will find your fit. Whether you can drop thousands of dollars or only $50, I know you will find something that suits your needs. A lot of times when one mentions buying art, the word auction pops into our minds. That’s because auctions are a great place to buy art! Ever heard of Sotheby’s? Sotheby’s is probably the most famous auction house of fine art in the world. I wouldn’t be surprised if these items are out of your price range, but they are amazing to look at and consider. And who knows, you just might find something you can afford! Sotheby’s online lets you peruse their catalogues of art and submit an absentee bid form if you are unable to attend the auction itself. Investing in art is almost synonymous with the Sotheby’s auction house so give it a look. Even if you don’t find something you can afford, you will definitely learn a lot about the styles of art that peak your interest and the styles that are unappealing to you. This will certainly help you narrow down your future art searches.

For those with more humble budgets, eBay is the auction for you. eBay is where most of, if not all, my original artwork comes from. And let me tell you, they are not boring art pieces. They are beautiful, unique works that I enjoy looking at and people always comment on. Simply enter the keywords for what you might be looking for in the search bar and start your hunt. Be sure to be aware of sizes and materials for each piece. You don’t want to think that the painting you bought will take up that space above your mantel only to find out it is 8 inches by 12 inches.

I think everyone should start and/or continue investing in art. It will help to flesh out your home and your tastes. You can learn so much about yourself by what art you gravitate towards, so good luck on your art hunt!

Speed Thing Up with Intuit® QuickBooks®

Starting a business can a stressful endeavor, and it is not always necessarily as rewarding as the entrepreneur hopes. But mixed in among the stress and challenge is also a lot of hope. The key is to get started on the right foot and to have the right game plan, and when it comes to starting a new business, the game plan includes a lot of financial planning. That is why it is a great idea to use QuickBooks accounting to manage your business. More can be done in this program than you might think.

The bottom line when building a business from the ground up, there is very little room for error. That’s why by utilizing QuickBooks accounting capabilities, you can make your business run so much more smoothly.

Step One for Accounting with QuickBooks

The first step when setting up for QuickBooks accounting is called the EasyStep Interview. The EasyStep Interview is the interview process that personalizes QuickBooks to your company’s computer. After you go through this process in the QuickBooks accounting program, you will be alerted of the important points to kick start your business on the right foot.

The next step is to set up the QuickBooks accounting program for your company. You will be able to connect QuickBooks to the Internet for automatic updates of new software while also leaving selected information open for others to see. Customization is the name of the game when utilizing QuickBooks accounting.

QuickBooks preferences are also a feature that needs to be understood in order to maximize your software experience. These controls determine how information is stored and reported. Learning how to tell the differences between your preferences and your company preferences will help keep them separate. Your QuickBooks accounting records and checking records are customizable in this section.

Get Paid Using Video Professor and QuickBooks

The bottom line for most companies is to turn a profit. The point of your business is most likely to make money. In order keep profits in order, you must learn how to invoice effectively. Fortunately, QuickBooks can manage this entire process for you. Once you have QuickBooks accounting set up to the conditions of your company, you can utilize it to deal with change. Manage various accounts, make deposits, receive payments and do it right the first time around with all that QuickBooks has to offer. Imagine how easy setting up payroll could be. Using a program like QuickBooks when accounting for employee time will allow you to focus your energy on more important aspects of your blossoming business. No sense in spending hours sorting out employee hours.

The Best Way to Learn the Quickbooks Accounting Software

Have you ever heard of Video Professor? Video Professor is an easy 3-CD program that will give you a hands-on approach to learning QuickBooks inside and out. In less than three hours and at your own pace, you can master QuickBooks without any expensive classes or bulky hard-to-follow manuals.
Let Video Professor help you. You need not go it alone. Learn all the facets of QuickBooks accounting with the convenient and thorough Video Professor Learn QuickBooks tutorial.

Create Payroll With QuickBooks and Get Your Employees Rolling

Get your small business on the right payroll track by creating payroll with QuickBooks. Few things are as important as paying your staff in a convenient and accurate manner, which is why you should utilize QuickBooks to create payroll for your company. It is truly one of the best programs ever created to create payrolls for small businesses all over the country. Pcmag.com even did an article last summer (www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2151049,00.asp) about the payroll plans that can be created with QuickBooks. This is what the article had to say:

Finally, QuickBooks offers as many plans as Peachtree and MYOB combined: five. Basic Payroll ($69 first year, $99 annually thereafter for new Payroll subscribers) is designed for companies with three or fewer employees, and works within QuickBooks financial software, integrating all appropriate data. Tools provided by QuickBooks walk you through the process of building employee records and entering withholding information, then creating and processing payroll, bringing data in from timesheets if you use them. Then you’re on your own for taxes, though the databases you’ve built and the updated tax tables supply you with the numbers you need.

• Standard Payroll offers the same tools as Basic, though you can print federal tax forms from the program.
• Enhanced Payroll adds the ability to print state tax forms, as well as including extra time-saving features like Workers’ Compensation tracking.
• Assisted Payroll does it all, including tax deposits and filings, guaranteed accurate and on time. There’s $49 one-time setup fee, a $30 annual fee for W-2 printing, and it costs $3.75 per W-2.
• The fifth option is integrated with QuickBooks Online Edition. QBOE looks and works much like the desktop version, as does its payroll system, which any business owner can create payrolls with. After you’ve built employee records, entered withholdings and downloaded current tax tables, Online Payroll prepares your federal forms for you, ready to sign. The State Tax Summary report gives you the numbers you need to fill out state forms. Watch for our review of QuickBooks Online, coming soon.

For all of these QuickBooks options, direct deposit costs $0.99 per paycheck plus a $3 transmission fee per payroll run. There are two support plans for those who create payrolls with Quickbooks.

• The QuickBooks Monthly Support plan with online backup service costs nothing for the first 30 days (if purchased with QuickBooks; $75 if purchased separately) and $25 every 30 days thereafter, for unlimited questions. Annual Support Plan (with online backup service) is $249 if purchased with QuickBooks; $299 if purchased separately. QBOE includes support in its subscription price ($19.95/month; 30-day free trial).
  If you’re not using a desktop or online accounting program, you should be. And QuickBooks is our choice for the best payroll options, period. Its ease of use, integration, and multiple payroll choices earn it top honors.

As you can clearly see from this pcmag.com article, QuickBooks is the right program for you when it comes down to which system to use to create payroll for your employees. It can’t be beat. As pcmag.com says “It pays to do payroll right!” So use QuickBooks for your payroll needs.

A QuickBooks® Lesson Can Help Your Business

An alarming percentage of small businesses fail and an equally alarming amount of them fail within the first two years. Needless to say, if you are starting your own business, you need all the help you can get. Between training an entire staff, supplies, repairs, the unexpected troubles and the initial cost of getting any business off the ground, there is little room for wasted money.

That’s why it is always a good idea to take some measures to ensure that your business runs as efficiently as possible. With that in mind, a small business might not have the resources to hire someone to keep track of their books and make sure everything is running smoothly on the financial front. One of the ways to stay in good financial standing without depleting too many of your resources is to stay organized with a program like QuickBooks. This can help organize your financial information and bring it together so it is more accessible. If you find yourself cramped for time, which is likely when starting a new business, you might want to look into a QuickBooks lesson to help you learn the program. Cut down time rather than trying to learn it yourself and erase mistakes by learning it properly the first time. One recommendation is a Video Professor QuickBooks lesson, which is updated for newer versions and is more interactive than many other learning tools.

Video Professor’s QuickBooks lesson can get you started with the EasyStep Interview, which is the first step in getting the program working for your business. This series of questions will help customize the program for your business so the features that suit your business best are readily available. This helps gather information about your business and alerts you of some important options to consider.

Part of successfully using QuickBooks is feeling comfortable with the navigation style and the manner in which the record keeping works. Both of these functions have different options that you can customize so that you enjoy the overall feel of the program. Take extra time to learn from the QuickBooks lesson about all the aspects of the record keeping options because you will be using this frequently, and it is a rather important aspect of your business.

Your QuickBooks lesson will show you how to set up the invoicing portion of QuickBooks so you can properly collect and track money from your customers, because that is sort of the point of business, right? Make sure you know the most efficient ways to track all the money coming in and going out of your business.

Doing things right the first time will always save you time, money and stress. When it comes to the anticipated tasks of setting up customer accounts, organizing your payroll and making deposits, it helps to have a QuickBooks lesson to show you the easiest ways to organize these functions. As you become more familiar with the program, you can learn how to use some of the tools, like journals and customized reports, to help you assess the overall health of your business and see if you need to make changes.