This is a guest post from Jason Crosland, a Queenland-based commerce student who spends way too much time procrastinating. He can be found very occasionally on Twitter.

Studies consistently show that though the average Australian has a decent knowledge on the basics of their finances, they have trouble with the more complicated aspects of the world of finance. Unfortunately, this area of interest is plagued with the dual image of being both monotonously boring and incredibly complex, a stereotype that has been ingrained in our subconscious for years through depictions of accountants, stockbrokers and economists across a variety of media.

So with people, particularly Gen Y becoming more concerned with how finance affects their lives, how can members of the finance community teach more about the world of finance, be it about personal finance matters like this site is dedicated to, or to make people more understanding of the complexities of the stock markets and superannuation. There is now an opportunity to capitalise on this new interest and build the community. But how can we capture peoples’ attention?

Perhaps we can take notes from a similar industry that has recently changed its public perception. Advertising, which was once seen as only an annoyance, harassments from our TVs, newspapers and online to try and convince us to part with our cash. A stronger presence in popular culture has helped propel advertising into the mainstream view. Shows like The Gruen Transfer in Australia, which maintains a balance of entertainment, education and intelligent discussion and has gathered strong ratings and even two spin-offs extending the concept into politics and public relations is an excellent example of this. Despite the absurdity of a programme dedicated to ads, it’s an undeniable success at making viewers more comfortable with a complicated topic they are not fully familiar with. Heck it’s even helped inspire people to study advertising and enter the industry.

Would it work for finance?

It’s a way to communicate the subject that differs radically from the normal method of a suited professional giving a dry account of the facts that doesn’t involve tacky “making finance fun” schemes or rapping economists.

An American show in a completely different genre has helped grow a similar interest in advertising. AMC’s Mad Men is set in a New York advertising agency during the 1960s and actually contains a decent amount of advertising in-between the affairs, smoking and drinking that the characters indulge themselves in. While The Gruen Transfer focuses on intellectually stimulating discussion in an entertaining fashion, Mad Man instead has scenes of the characters performing their work weaved throughout each episode, and helps the viewer gain an understanding of the industry, terminology and processes. The success of the show has elevated the show’s protagonist to something of a pop culture icon, with Donald Draper being awarded the number 1 spot in the 2009 Askmens’ Top 49 Influential Men beating out Usain Bolt, Mark Zuckerberg and Barack Obama. The show, like Gruen has even created a new wave of interest in advertising careers.

So could finance do something similar? It’s possible, but it would to be designed well enough to not look like a blatant copy and is of high enough quality to keep watchers interested.

If these shows prove anything it’s that it is possible to gain a wider audience and break down previous misconceptions if you approach the subject matter in the right way. Maybe if finance can bring out something that can increase knowledge and awareness we can avoid some previous mistakes and help educate people to make the right decisions. Taking lessons from advertising is just the tip of the iceberg, there are bound to be other ways to encourage people to explore the world of finance more.

This is another post from Credit Card Compare Blog - The Credit Letter, a creative personal finance blog where we love to share money saving tips and credit card reviews to optimise your wallet!

The decision to go freelance is a big step, and handled well can lead to some huge benefits in both your work and in your wider life. There are many elements that one must take into consideration when working freelance, and one, if not the most important aspects is your personal finance. Despite being gifted in your chosen field, you may not be a natural when it comes to managing your accounts, invoicing, taxation and all the other money worries that come with being self-employed. This post outlines the issues to keep in mind for freelance finances, some simple steps and useful tools that will help you on the way to self-employed success.

Planning Ahead

Time is one of the freelancer’s most precious assets, so creating an accurate schedule for upcoming work is an essential consideration for planning your work, and subsequently your income. Your schedule should be broken down into days, weeks, months and even years if you’re brave or lucky enough to be able to make long term work commitments. When drawing up future plans you should also take into account how much time will be actual ‘work time’, leaving aside enough time for admin and, of course, leisure – the reward of the freelancing life. Once you have established the framework of you future schedule you are certain of how much time you can dedicate to a project, keep track of time and provide accurate estimates of project delivery. Clear timelines and accurate time-tracking help you meet agreed deadlines, keeping everyone involved up-to-date and happy.

1. Make a clear schedule structure, broken down into year, months, weeks and days, with clearly defined available work time, admin and leisure.
2. When receiving projects, plan exactly how much time can be dedicated within the schedule.
3. Establish project timelines, thus providing realistic delivery dates.
4. Plan ahead for income and expenses so you don’t run out of cash during a project.
5. Use time-tracking software to make the most of your time and money, juggle projects, plan ahead, meet deadlines and manage finances.

Our recommended planning tools: Harvest (tracking your time), Basecamp (managing projects), Assembla (tracking bugs and managing code versioning), Google Calendar (calendaring), Doodle (setting up meetings)

Invoicing Your Clients

Managing your invoices correctly keeps you finances up-to-date and, crucially, helps ensure you get paid on time. The simplest ways of invoicing are either sending an invoice at the end of a project or agreeing on invoicing at regular intervals for clients who provide on-going work. The invoice itself should be simple and easy to understand, so the client knows exactly what they are paying for, whom the money is going to and the best form of payment. Keeping track of all your invoices can become a headache when you have multiple clients, projects and timelines, but there are plenty of apps and online resources to organise your invoicing and provide your clients with professional and prompt billing.

1. Send invoices promptly at the end of projects or at agreed regular intervals.
2. Make your invoices clear and easy to understand.
3. Invoices should include the essential information: contact details; description of services/expenses; financial totals; payment details.
   Invoices should be individually numbered for reference and filing purposes. This is important for both parties.
4. Makes sure you have all your invoices filed and backed-up with copies; this is important for future reference, helps clear up any enquiries or disputes between parties, and is essential for end-of-year tax calculations.
5. Make use of applications and online resources to send and manage billing, send professional-looking invoices and ensure that you are promptly paid.

Recommended invoicing tool: FreshBooks

Taking Payment

Making sure you get paid properly and promptly is another essential part of the freelancer’s finances. Your clients are likely to have their own preferred payment methods, but you should also work out what is best for your circumstances. Many companies still go for a straightforward bank transfer, but handing out bank details can be somewhat insecure for online payments in today’s world of fraud and identity theft. If you don’t mind paying their fees, PayPal is a great way to receive and manage secure and fast payments, simplifying the whole process for both parties. Developments in mobile payments, effectively turning your smart phone into a portable card-reader, are transforming face-to-face payments and sales transactions for freelance merchants. There’s no shortage of options, but you’ll probably not mind how you get your payment, as long as you get it!

1. Agree with your clients on the best payment method to suit both your requirements.
2. Protect yourself with secure payments by using PayPal to receive and make safe, fast transactions.
3. Make use of mobile payments for face-to-face card payments and freelance merchant sales.

Recommended payment tools: PayPal (online payments), iCCPay or Square (credit card payments via your iPhone), wire transfers

Preparing Your Taxes

Completing tax returns is often one of the least appealing aspects of freelance finances, but if you keep your records in order and file returns complete and on time there’s really no need for them to become a major headache. Ensuring all you invoicing, expenses and bank account details are correctly filed and readily available makes the process easy enough.

If you work alone, producing piecework and projects for a handful of clients, then the annual tax return should be a relatively simple exercise. Tax authorities provide support and advice for self-employed freelancers and you can usually supply a return with a straightforward online form.

If, however, you have a bigger operation, with multiple clients, big expenses and out-sourced work, your tax return will become more of a complex affair, and it could be time to get some help. There is a wide choice of software available to help organise taxation, and online forums and resources can provide a wealth of helpful advice. It may also be necessary to employ the services of a professional accountant, someone trustworthy and reliable who you feel comfortable handling your finances. Finding the right accountant could be as simple as asking around amongst fellow freelancers, but make sure the person or company you employ has the correct accreditation and skills for the job.

Once your tax return is successfully sent, the next step is to pay the required amount. Throughout the financial year you should remain aware of roughly how much tax you are likely to pay, and try to put the money aside from each project to avoid any nasty surprises when the time comes to make the payment. Tax authorities often reward early payment (or penalise late payments), so pay on time to maximise your freelance business profits.

Finally, depending on the size of your income and the nature of your business it may be possible that you are entitled to tax credits, other benefits and breaks, so ask your tax authority or an independent citizens advice source for information on any savings you can make on you tax returns.

1. Keep all financial record up-to-date, accurately filed and ready to complete your tax return.
2. Keep accurate records of all invoices, expenses, receipts and banking information.
3. Make use of online resources and the best taxation software packages such as TurboTax.
4. If necessary, find a suitable accountant to help you complete your return.
5. Make sure you have enough money set aside for when the time comes to pay your taxes.
6. Pay early to make the biggest savings.
7. Research any tax credits, non-taxable income, tax breaks and other benefits you may be entitled to.

Recommended tax preparation tools: TurboTax (ties in with QuickBooks), Xero (easy cloud-based accountancy and tax preparation app)

Saving for a Rainy Day

Saving and budgeting may not seem like great fun, but can become the most rewarding parts of freelance finances. Managing you accounts, keeping an eye on all your income and outgoings, helps work out exactly what you need to spend each month and how much you hopefully, will have to spare. This money can be put aside for bigger out goings such as rent and tax, or for other bigger life expenses such a new car or towards a mortgage. Forecast ahead your income and expenditure for the upcoming weeks, months or even years, and you can put aside a pot of cash for a rainy day and treat yourself in any way you see fit. After all, the choice to go freelance is taken in order to take control of your working life, your finances and to enjoy the rewards. Once again, there are plenty of great online resources, apps and accounting software packages to help you plan your finances and save money for the future.

1. Keep accurate records and track accounts, income and expenditure.
2. Forecast short and long-term expenditure to estimate future savings.
3. Use software packages such as inDinero to monitor the financial health of your accounts and predict future savings.
4. Use savings for life’s bigger expenses or simply treat yourself to the rewards of your hard work.

Recommended tool: inDinero (designed to manage business cash flow), Mint (consumer orientated money management)

Getting New Clients

You can be the very best in your field of expertise, but if you have no customers you’ll get no work. Building and maintaining a wide variety of clients maximises the possibilities of winning new contracts and increasing your income.

A website and blog is one of the finest means of advertising your work and your skills. By preparing a showcase of your best output and abilities, you have an online portfolio to advertise to any potential client. WordPress is a great platform for building websites and blogging niches, and you can easily customise WordPress to suit any product of service.

Both real-world and online networking are great ways of spreading the word about your work, building up a web of contacts and clients. Ask around with friends, past colleagues and current clients for new work contacts and potential jobs; Facebook and Twitter et al take care of your online networking.

As your network of customers and work-related contacts grows it will naturally lead to new work and further customers. This makes sure you don’t over-rely on particular clients and can pick and choose the contracts you want to chase.

1. Create a website and blog to showcase your skills and share new developments.
2. Make use of social networking sites.
3. Use contacts from your friends, past colleagues and current clients.
4. Make sure you have plenty of client contacts in your address book.

Recommended tools: WordPress (websites/blogging), Facebook and Twitter (social networking)

Ditching Costly Clients

Once you have built up a good list of clients, it’s time to analyse where your most rewarding jobs are coming from and where you are wasting time and therefore money. Many companies operate on the Pareto principle: that 80% of income comes from around 20% of clients. You should consider your own situation with a similar ratio in mind. If you find that certain clients are draining your time with difficult, protracted jobs or generally wasting your time for little reward then it’s time to ditch them.

The clients who provide you with plenty of work and productive contracts should be rewarded with your loyalty and time, even providing free-of-charge help if you feel it’s appropriate. The reverse of this is that customers who are eating into your valuable time and damaging your finances should be fired. Life is too short and your resources too precious to be wasted on bad business.

If you feel that your relationship with a client is no longer beneficial and it’s time to ditch them, it’s best for all concerned to do it in the most polite yet conclusive manner, maintaining your professional image and removing any ambiguity from further dealings.

1. Analyse where you are expending your work time and effort; work out if you’re wasting time on an unproductive client.
2. Reward productive clients with loyalty and time; ditch wasteful clients because life’s too short.
3. When the time comes, cease business with bad clients politely and conclusively.

Conclusion

As we have seen, when it comes to managing your freelance finances there are a number of key issues: planning and tracking your time; invoicing; taking payments; preparing your taxes; saving money; building your client base; ditching costly clients and rewarding your valued customers. Each of these areas can, of course, be explored in much greater depth but it is hoped this outline offers some useful advice and tools to get you started. Your finances shouldn’t be a headache as long as you keep on top of them and stay organised. The important thing to remember is that freelancing should be a financially rewarding lifestyle choice, and most of all – fun!

Got Any Freelance Money Tips?

Let your fellow freelancers know how you manage your finances in the comments.

This is another post from Credit Card Compare Blog - The Credit Letter, a creative personal finance blog where we love to share money saving tips and credit card reviews to optimise your wallet!

Here’s a light Friday-avo post for our Credit Letter readers, about financial scams and bit of insight into why people get sucked in.

Financial scams can be costly to those directly involved, but can also have significant and far reaching effects among societies, nations, and even worldwide. Many people have their own definition of what might constitute a huge financial scam. Some would probably toss Social Security or the mortgage mess into the bucket of massive scams. But Social Security, while it might currently look like a failing Ponzi scheme, was not meant to be so, or even meant to be a long lasting government program. Nor would the mortgage mess as a whole look like such a horrendous example of financial institutional greed had more investors conducted their due diligence before accepting certain loan agreements or had home prices remained high. That being said, certain players of the mortgage meltdown certainly had their far share of responsibility for aspects of their own demise.

After the jump there is a list of some of the biggest financial scams in history that is comprised not only based upon the dollar value lost, but upon the impact the scams themselves had upon the people involved as well as those watching from the sidelines.

Bernie Madoff (Cost: estimated as high as $50 billion)

Probably one of the most memorable examples of a nasty financial scam on this list, the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme was probably one of the most, if not the most widely publicised cases of fraud. This was largely due to its effects upon not only upon the rich but upon the famous as well. Among the ranks of affluent and notables to feel the sting of this financial scam were actor Kevin Bacon, and Steven Spielberg’s Wunderkinder Foundation.

What may have made this scam especially shocking to many was Madoff’s history as a NASDAQ chairman and his position as a well-respected man and business owner among the Wall Street elite.

Enron (Cost: estimated at $60 billion + to shareholders)

Names like Jeffery Skilling, Ken Lay, and Andrew Fastow harkens back to what is probably one of biggest and best known of all financial meltdowns, the Enron scandal. This case was an especially sad story since it was many of the everyday employees of the company itself that lost large sums of money — in some cases nearly their entire retirement savings. These people were not wealthy, powerful, famous, or elite, but in many cases just regular people who thought they’d found a sure thing, only to watch their financial futures crumble along with their careers and company.

AIG (Cost: estimated at $180 billion + to taxpayers)

Maybe not a scam in the true sense of the word, but when taxpayers spend $184 billion dollars to bail out a company, and then see that company not only continue to operate, but turn around a year later and pay out bonuses to their employees, it certainly might appear to be one. To many, it felt like a punch in the gut to see the company, which after becoming the biggest corporate bailout to date, seemed to get off the hook with what amounted to a slap on the wrist.

Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac (Cost: estimated at $154 billion + to taxpayers)

The government rescue of these mortgage mavens came as an acute shock to many. Their failure, paired with other massive industry collapses during the financial crisis, brought the “too big to fail” myth crashing down. Now taxpayers are left hefting the burden to what could end up being a well over $200 billion bailout, and wondering once again if the main street American has been scammed by the powers that be.

Charles Ponzi (Cost: trillions of dollars)

While Charles Ponzi himself may not have been responsible for the loss of extreme wealth as compared to those who followed in his footsteps, or even the Ponzi scheme itself, he lends his name to the scam that has cost investors untold trillions of dollars. Running a postage stamp scam in the 1920s, Ponzi pulled a fast one on his investors, promising them a huge return on their investment in only a matter of months. From small time frauds to multi-billion dollar investment scams, the scheme that is named for Charles Ponzi has probably cost investors trillions of dollars over the course of history. You would think people would eventually catch on to the fact that when something appears too good to be true, it probably is.

Whether you agree that those on this list are indeed the biggest financial scams in history, it’s difficult to deny that they have certainly made a significant impact upon the financial world around us. From individuals to entire companies, those comprising this list weren’t the first to scam their investors, and certainly won’t be the last.

This is another post from Credit Card Compare Blog - The Credit Letter, a creative personal finance blog where we love to share money saving tips and credit card reviews to optimise your wallet!

Becoming a business owner can be a wonderfully freeing step in your life. It can also be a quite frightening one as well, and one in which you may sometimes feel very alone in your endeavours. It can be difficult to know where to turn for advice and whether, and even then, it may be questionable whether the advice you are receiving is relevant to your situation and worth investing your time in.

So where can a busy entrepreneur learn more about running a business, without having to spend hours sorting the wheat from the chaff. Well, in my opinion the humble podcast is a great way to learn and develop your knowledge, and even get new ideas applicable to your business. What’s more, listening to podcasts is a time-efficient way to get the latest when it comes to business ownership advice – just sync a few to your iPod and listen to them on your commute or at the gym.

Here are some podcasts that could provide great information for business owners. Subscribe today!

1. Mind Your Own Business

Described as “a forum for real Entrepreneurs living in the real world sharing their business knowledge”, Mind Your Own Business podcasts provide business insight on numerous topics. With over a hundred current and past podcasts from which to choose, there are plenty of options to find what you’re looking for relating to business and business ownership.

2. Manager Tools

Even as an owner you’re still the manager of your business and as a manager you’ll likely be deficient without the proper tools. Manager Tool’s podcasts delve into a huge number of issues, tools, and techniques when it comes to running and managing a business.

3. Mixergy

One of the best ways to learn about running a business is by learning from other people’s mistakes and experiences, which is what makes this podcast unmissable. If you want to learn the tricks of the trade from entrepreneurs who’ve been there and done that, then this is the podcast for you. Featuring interviews with names you’ll recognise, Mixergy’s podcast is packed full of interesting ideas and techniques that you can apply to your own business. Highly recommended!

4. Startup Bizcast

Geared more toward small businesses, Startup Bizcast hosted by Steve Mullen touts itself as, “the small business advice podcast that’s shorter than your coffee break”. Seeing as how many of the podcasts are between 10 and 15 minutes long, it seems that they are correct.

5. Dave Ramsey

Probably the best known podcast on this list, Dave Ramsey serves up a one-hour podcast pulled from his three-hour show each weekday. The podcasts are largely focused on money and a variety of money issues. Although more catered towards people with personal finance problems, Ramsey’s approach to and philosophy on money management is also highly applicable to business finances.

6. Business Owner’s Toolkit

This weekly podcast covers a variety of subjects relevant to small business owners and entrepreneurs. With shows like “Employee Recognition”, “Finding the Right Health Insurance” and “Social Media Networking” the show touches upon an array of small business topics.

7. Project Management War Stories

Project management can be key to operating a successful business. At Project Management War Stories, you can pick up monthly interviews with what the site claims are “the most seasoned and recognized practitioners, thought leaders, project managers, and executives on industry-specific business problems to help C-level executives achieve success.”

8. Accounting Tools

As a business owner, you’ll likely need to be aware of and stay updated upon the most recent developments in accounting and financial tracking practices. At AccountingTools.com, you can take a listen to The Accounting Best Practices Podcast with Steve Bragg, which touches upon various accounting subject matter once every three weeks.

9. The Startup Success Podcast

Starting a business can be difficult, especially in a tough economy. If you are looking for a little helpful advice or just want to make sure you’re on the right track with the startup of your business this might be the podcast for you. Taking a listen to The Startup Success Podcast could provide you with information regarding “Lean Startup Practices”, “Effective Startup Market Practices”, and similar topics as well as interviews.

10. Work-At-Home Success

It’s hard to deny that many business owners have probably contemplated the option of working at home. If you are one of the people who think this might be a possibility or have already started working from your home, you might want to check out the Work-At-Home Success podcast.

Over to You

There are many more podcasts aimed at business owners. So if you can recommend any, please let us know what they are and why we should subscribe to them in the comments. Thanks!

Image: Looking Glass

This is another post from Credit Card Compare Blog - The Credit Letter, a creative personal finance blog where we love to share money saving tips and credit card reviews to optimise your wallet!

If you have the right tools in place, you can manage and run a business even when travelling or on a holiday. However, you have to stay organised, be in consistent contact with staff, and know what you hope to accomplish back in the office while you are gone, otherwise you might not have a business to come back to!

It is, of course, possible to travel and run your business remotely – there are many examples of business people living the dream by doing it day in, day out. So if running your business from the beach or from an apartment in an exciting foreign city, these tips are the basis of your new mobile lifestyle!

Tips for Running Your Business Remotely

To do this successfully you’ve got to be more than simply active, you have to be proactive… take an interest in the business, development plans and milestones. If your staff perceive you to be active, they’ll be less inclined to take it easy when you aren’t around.

1. Schedule Regular Check-ins

Even if you are out of the office, you should take the time to check in. This means calling the office, checking up on your staff individually and as a unit, and conducting video conferences, or online meetings, too. Let your staff know you are still present, and they are more likely to stay on task.

2. Create a To-Do List & Monitor it Closely

People always do best when they have tangible or concrete projects on which to work. Make a list for the office as a whole and for individuals so that they know what needs to be accomplished before you return. Update the list regularly so that the most pressing tasks, the ones your business depends on, are at the top priority. This will keep people on point, and it will offer them guidance when they come into the office.

3. Send Updates Regularly

Read staff’s work and update them regularly on how they are doing, what you expect, and how things are looking. These updates should happen both via email and via telephone, if possible. Shared documents and files so that people have all the information they need to stay focused and complete their work. A decent customer relationship management tool comes in very handy when you’re on the road, allowing you to keep an eye on the interaction between staff and your customers/clients.

4. Reward Staff for Meeting Targets

When people complete assignments, try to reward them with an extra comp day off, or with something tangible like a gift card. People like to work towards goals so that they can earn rewards and it’s a win-win situation where you get stuff done faster and the staff member gets a nice pat on the back Without you around, it may help to have an inter-office competition or to offer people incentives for completing work on time or early.

5. Break Projects Up into Smaller Milestones

If your staff has a big project to complete, try to divide this up so that there are smaller assignments that make up the whole. This shows you that your staff is working hard, and it gives them tangible things to focus on, which in turn helps maintain their motivation as there is a plan clearly plotting the way to the light at the end of the tunnel.

Essential Tools for Running Your Business Remotely

It is important to have the right tools in place if you want to succeed in business, and the range of tools available is better than ever before. Thus, you can do everything from talk to staff to share important documents and read up on staff members’ progress while you are lounging around the pool or taking a train to your next destination. The following are some tools you can use for this exact purpose.

1. LogMeIn (Remote Computer Access)

With the help of LogMeIn, you can gain access to your computer via the internet no matter where you are in the world. Once you have your account setup, you can use your remote computer as usual including the ability to back up, retrieve and edit files stored on your office computer. This makes it much easier to take a hands-on approach even when you are not near your office computer.

2. Webex (Web Conferencing)

Webex will help you conduct, run, and participate in online meetings even when they are on vacation. This tool helps you conduct video conferences from any computer, or even from your iPhone using their custom app. Using Webex, or a similar conferencing tool, ensures that your voice can be heard concerning all the important matters and that your staff will know you are present even when you are physically far away.

3. Skype (Communications)

Skype offers it all: phone calls from a computer or smartphone, a textual chat function, and a video conferencing feature that’s free for small one-to-one or small group meetings. You can also set up a SkypeIn phone number, which could be a local number similar to the one you use at the office, and have calls forwarded to your laptop or smartphone. Skype is without doubt an indispensable communications tool.

4. Basecamp (Collaborative Project Management)

Managing a business, whether you’re on the road or not, revolves around getting things done in a timely manner. Using Basecamp allows team members to share and collaborate on files, exchange messages and also keep up to date with todos and project milestones. It’s an elegant tool that’s make organisation beautifully easy, even for the most disorganised of us!

5. Google Docs (Collaborative Document Editing)

Google Docs’ functionality overlaps with that of Basecamp in some regards, but doesn’t offer the same ability to collaboratively work on a project. Nevertheless, what it does, it does well. Google Docs allows people to share and collaborate on documents, spreadsheets and presentations like never before. You can even see them updating the document live as you look on, perhaps while discussing it with them on Skype.

Top Credit Cards with Rewards to Help Businesses Manage Expenses

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	Citibank Business Credit Card 0% on balance transfers & purchases for 4 months. Bonus 40,000 reward points. Half price annual fee.	0%	0%	4 months	$74	Featured Card more info
	American Express Gold Business Credit Card No annual fee for 1st year. Free travel insurance.	-	-	-	$0	Editor’s Choice more info
	American Express Qantas Business Credit Card Use points for Qantas/Jetstar Any Seat Rewards.	-	-	-	$299	Editor’s Choice more info

Image: Giorgio Montersino

This is another post from Credit Card Compare Blog - The Credit Letter, a creative personal finance blog where we love to share money saving tips and credit card reviews to optimise your wallet!

We live in a world surging with entrepreneurs. Many of us enjoy the idea of engineering something using creative ambition and like the thought of being head of our own operation. Unfortunately, some of these at first unyielding business minds have failed due to the frosty climate of recession, and with it confidence in their ability and business acumen has also withered. It isn’t often we come across those that have really hit the big time and turned their businesses into lucrative multi-billion dollar empires, but when we do, the amazing story of their journey can encourage, move and inspire us. These incredible people featured in our gallery have, against all odds, fought tirelessly for success and given us all hope to reach for even the most impossible of goals.

1. Andrew Mason (Groupon)

Image: Inc Magazine

Andrew Mason dropped out of school when an investor offered to fund a business based on his idea for online collective action and fundraising. After a few failed attempts at starting other businesses such as The Point, he launched Groupon in 2008 which took his original idea for getting people to take collection action as a group and applied it to commercial realm. Its simple: lots of people can band together and get a big discount off a popular deal in their city. The recipe is simple but revolutionary: collective buying + community + local business.

Two years later, Groupon is going gangbusters. Sales have blown past US$100 million, Groupon employs more than 4,500 people worldwide and there’s 100′s of sites around the world trying to clone their business. What’s more they have turned down a US$6 billion takeover bid from Google and have attractive the attention of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. An IPO of $15 billion could be coming this year.

2. Chris Gardner (aka ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’)

Image: Wikipedia

Chris Gardner penned a book about his journey towards becoming a self made millionaire in 2006. The story inspired the box office smash ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ starring Will Smith, which depicted the moving story of Chris’ most incredible rags to riches tale. Chris didn’t have the best start in life, his past is full of countless children’s homes, alcoholism, physical abuse, family illiteracy and poverty. But despite this shaky start, Chris fought to overcome these limitations. He relentlessly trained as a stockbroker on a pitiful trainee salary which caused him and his son to battle with homelessness and extreme poverty.

But Chris managed to open his own stockbrokerage firm called Gardner Rich in 1987. It was in a small apartment and the start-up capital was just $10,000, the ‘office’ contained a single piece of furniture: a wooden desk that doubled as the family dinner table. Gardner reportedly owns 75 percent of his stock brokerage firm with the rest owned by a hedge fund and recently sold his stake for a multi-million dollar deal. This extremely courageous and inspiring man has come from the depths of poverty to achieve phenomenal financial success, and his best selling memoirs and motivational talks have encouraged others to pursue their dreams, whatever their situation or background.

3. Coco Chanel

Image: Nummy Nims

Coco Chanel is considered by TIME magazine as one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, and it isn’t hard to see why. The brilliant and revolutionary designer is best known for her simple but elegant creations, and the invention of the classic LBD ‚Äì the little black dress. The legendary designer generates hundreds of millions from her company, which was carried on after her death in 1971. She lived a lavish existence, embarking in affairs with rich and powerful figures and made Hotel Ritz in Paris her home, but Coco Chanel’s past is far from glamorous. Coco’s mother died when she was young and her father left the family shortly after, leaving a young and abandoned Chanel to spend 6 years in an orphanage.

This sad start in life soon proved to be the making of her, as in the orphanage Coco Chanel learnt the art of sewing. After leaving the orphanage she came to Paris, and became a rich heir’s official mistress. He bestowed on her an indulgent lifestyle where she came in close contact with luxurious designer attire. She opened her very own clothes shop in Paris in 1913, specialising in fashionable raincoats and jackets. Her beautiful clothes soon caught the eye of the rich and famous and catapulted her into the wonderful and buzzing world of fashion. Her trademark perfume Chanel no 5 was introduced in the 1920s and further secured her in the fashion industry, still remaining today as the world’s best selling perfume. She died in her apartment in the Ritz in 1971 at the age of 70, but her legend lives unremittingly on.

4. Richard Branson (Virgin)

Image: BusinessPundit

What started as a small business selling discounted records from a car boot is now a hugely successful multi-billion dollar empire, and Richard Branson is at the fore front of the brilliant and booming enterprise that is Virgin. The British born entrepreneur launched his first Virgin shop in Oxford Street, London, after his small record business proved successful. Later he started Virgin records and surprised critics when he signed controversial bands such as the Sex Pistols. The dyslexic Branson, who is considered by many to have poor academic capabilities, then founded Virgin Atlantic Airways, Virgin Rail, Virgin Mobile and Virgin Blue in Australia.

His phenomenal success is laced with brushes with bankruptcy and his mother was once forced to remortgage the family home to cover a hefty fine Branson had received due to tax evasion accusations. It must have been worth it, Branson is now worth an estimated $3 billion and owns his very own island in the British Virgin Islands named ‘Necker Island’. He is an ambassador for drawing attention to the global warming issues which allegedly derived from a breakfast meeting with Al Gore. He says of his success: ‘My interest in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable challenges and trying to rise above them…from the perspective of wanting to live life to the full, I felt that I had to attempt it.’

5. Steve Jobs (Apple)

Image: Wikipedia

When Steve Jobs dropped out of his first semester at college I wonder if he ever dreamed that he would create a collection of the most influential and popular icons of our day. Steve Jobs is now the CEO of Apple and co-founder of Pixar animation. After dropping out of college, Jobs’ strong interest in technology drew him to work in a video games manufacturer. He then went on a trip to India with a friend to get in touch with his spiritual side, and on his return he co-founded Apple computers in 1976 along with his childhood friend Stephen Wozniak, in the Jobs family garage. The first personal computer was sold for $666.66. And by 1980, Apple had already launched three improved versions of the personal computer; it contained a highly successful IPO, which made both founders millionaires many times over.

Jobs then founded Pixar, the computer animation company which released popular films ‘Toy Story,’ ‘Monsters Inc’ and ‘Finding Nemo.’ Jobs’ employers often describe him as an erratic and temperamental director, but the genius in his ventures cannot be argued about. Apple ipods launched in 2003 are a revolutionary invention, having sold 200 million worldwide. Steve Jobs’ die hard motto captures the true entrepreneurial spirit: ‘Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.’

6. Bill Gates (Windows)

Image: Microsoft

Gates is acknowledged by many as being one of the great pioneers of the personal computer revolution. He is consistently ranked as one of the richest men in the world and admired by many as leading worldwide change in how we view and use computers. Gates dropped out of Harvard University to launch Microsoft Corporation in 1975, his goal was to make the computer more accessible and easier to use, and soon, its developed software made it a commercial success. Gates set about protecting the royalties that he could acquire from computer software by aggressively fighting against all forms of software piracy, effectively creating the retail software market that now exists today. This stand against software piracy was to be central in the great commercial success of Microsoft.

Unfortunately Gate’s aggressive business philosophy where he endeavours to dominate every market with acquisition and aggressive business tactics bought with it much criticism, consequently causing Microsoft to endure countless battles in the court room. Gates’ net worth is estimated to be $53 billion and his position as richest man in the world currently remains untouched. He is also a notorious philanthropist and runs the Melinda and Bill Gates fund, which helps to improve health in foreign countries, so he puts much of his vast wealth to good use.

7. Sergey Brin (Google)

Image: Geek

Another pioneer of the computer technology world is Sergey Brin, best known for his creation of Google.com, the world’s largest internet company. The Russian born computer scientist immigrated to America at a young age and acquired a PhD in computer science at Stanford University where he met his future business partner, Larry Page. They spent countless hours in their dormitory applying Brin’s new data mining system to build a superior search engine, an early Google.com. The program became so popular at Stanford that the two students postponed their PhD studies to start up Google in a rented garage.

Google popularity increased dramatically, forcing the company to constantly expand its computing power, improve its technology, and move to bigger premises. It became a publicly traded company in 2004. Google is now a huge thriving enterprise and Brin and Page are said to be worth $16 billion dollars each, making them the 16th richest people in the world. Google has been commended as being responsible for ‘fundamentally changing the way information is retrieved today’. In 2003 they received an honorary MBA from IE Business School for ‘embodying the entrepreneurial spirit and lending momentum to the creation of new businesses.’

8. Pierre Omidyar (Ebay)

Image: DayLife

When Pierre Omidyar initially set up an early version of Ebay, all he expected to get from it was to score a few points with his girlfriend. But within 5 months the online auction which had started out as a hobby had become a $3 billion empire with over 200 million subscribers. Omidyar was at the foot of one of the most profitable and popular web based businesses in history.

The entrepreneur was a former worker for Apple where he developed a program to help the computers manage memory, but most of his early jobs amounted to nothing and he spent most of his time as a freelance web designer. It was when Omidyar met his soon to be wife when he really took off somewhat unexpectedly. His girlfriend was fond of Pez dispensers and complained she had trouble finding like-minded people to share her passion with, and so Omidyar set up a small online auction service for people to trade all over USA in a bid to appease his girlfriend. Ebay (electronic bay) was launched in 1995 and sped to popularity, eventually making Pierre Omidyar a billionaire.

9. James Dyson (Dyson)

Image: Ian Jones

UK based James Dyson was busy vacuuming his home one day when he had a classic ‘eureka’ moment. His vacuum was losing suction and clogging, and he thought he could possibly invent a sophisticated vacuum which would solve the problem. An industrial designer by trade, he went about creating his invention. Taking the idea of cyclone separation technology, which uses 150,000 g’s of centrifugal force in the cyclones to filter dust and remove dirt from the airflow efficiently, he went on to develop a vacuum that, because there is nothing to obstruct the airflow, doesn’t clog and doesn’t lose suction.

The initial attraction of the Dyson wasn’t the sophistication of the technology, but that the new model didn’t require the constant replacing of bags, and at that point in time the cleaner bag market was worth $100 million. The slogan of ‘say goodbye to the bag’ was the most attractive attribute of the Dyson, and went on to help it achieve worldwide success and recognition. Dyson’s inspirational design has been honored with many awards and has granted Dyson the prestige of being an entrepreneurial billionaire.

10. Madame C J Walker (Hair and Beauty Products)

Image: About

Madame C J Walker was the first ever African-American woman to become a resounding success when she revolutionised the black hair care industry with her hair care and cosmetics business. She was born in poverty ridden Louisiana and was an orphan, the daughter of former slaves. Her brothers were barbers and from them she learnt the hairdressing trade. When she started to suffer from a scalp ailment, she put the skills she had learnt to good use by developing a mixture of home-made remedies. She named it ‘Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower,’ which was a scalp conditioning and healing formula.

To market her products, she embarked on a time consuming and exhausting door to door sales demonstration crusade, driving through the South and Southeast of America. Eventually her Walker products, including cosmetics, established themselves as a nationwide phenomenon and provided countless jobs for many black women. Having amassed a lifetime fortune in just 15 years, and honoured as the first ever black woman to become a self made millionaire, she died at age 52. Her remarkable perseverance, faith in her achievements and desire to create meaningful employment for others is utterly inspiring.

11. Estee Lauder

Image: Wikipedia

Josephine Esther Lauder, nickname ‘Estee’ had an un-deterring passion for beauty and glamour which led her to build the huge billion dollar company Estee Lauder. She was an emigrant from Eastern Europe and resided in Queens, New York. Her uncle, a chemist, began her ascent into global financial success by helping her brew a special face cream to sell to customers, and she went tirelessly to salon after salon, demonstrating its effectiveness and persuading women they could attain beauty through her product. Estee got her big break after she convinced Saks on Fifth Avenue to grant her counter space, and was now able to pitch her product to a wider audience.

She had a small initial advertising budget, so helped to lure consumers in by inventing what is now a mainstay in the industry – a ‘gift with purchase’. Her ‘Youth Dew’ bath oil was a big success and convinced people to buy perfume when normally it was perceived to be reserved for the very wealthy. She died at 97 in 2004, and left a $10 billion empire and a huge pair of shoes to fill to her son, Leonard.

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