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Use Listing Agents To Get An Edge For Flipping Houses

Jeff Knize
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Use Listing Agents To Get An Edge For Flipping Houses

You can get a real edge over the competition when searching for foreclosure homes for flipping houses. In this post, I am going to show you the ways I was able to get houses even over the biggest home flippers in the industry.

The 2026 Edge: Why the Listing Agent Strategy Still Works

Hint: The edge has nothing to do with using a relative or friend that is a Realtor. It’s about understanding how the “Dual-Agent” dynamic can work in your favor when speed and numbers are everything.

Understanding the Modern Real Estate Landscape

As of 2026, the way agents are compensated has changed, but the roles remain distinct. There are two primary types of agents you’ll deal with: the Listing Agent, who represents the seller’s interests, and the Buyer’s Agent, who assists you in locating properties and navigating the sales process.

A major part of succeeding in this new landscape is knowing the property’s true value before you even call the agent. I recommend using a professional Home Value Estimator to identify equity gaps before other flippers even see the listing.

Leveraging the Listing Agent

A listing agent may list a property for a seller and also represent a buyer for that same property. When this happens, the Realtor is known as a Dual Agent. In Illinois, this requires written consent from both parties. While commissions are now more transparent and negotiable than they were in the past, the “leverage” for flipping houses remains the same:

By going directly to the listing agent, you simplify the communication chain. The listing agent becomes the “sole bridge” to the seller. When a listing agent can facilitate both sides of a transaction, they often have a much higher incentive to see your offer reach the finish line.

Typically when a listing (sellers) agent receives a commission from both sides of the deal, it ranges from 5-7 %, but there is no standard rate. On the other hand, when a buyers agent brings the buyer to the table, the commission is split between the two realtors, selling agent and buyers agent. This percentage is often 2.5 to 3.5 per agent.

Why Use A Listing Agent Opposed To A Buyers Agent For A Foreclosure? 

A listing agent is working directly with the lender selling the property. In many cases the lender has developed a strong business relationship with the agent. The lender has a comfort level dealing one on one with the listing agent they hired. If they can eliminate the hassle of a third party they will.

Cutting Out The Middleman

Eliminating the middleman makes the transaction run more smoothly in the transaction. Although this may be good for the lender and the listing agent, as a broker myself, I do know there are pros and cons to this method. Let’s take a look at a few of the cons below.

  • CON: The listing agent is the client of the lender so they are biased.
  • CON: The listing agent may not have your best interest in mind. Again, they work for the lender.
  • CON: Eliminates commission from another agent. You don’t spread the wealth to a family or friend agent.

Furthermore, the listing agent will work hard for you. They would love to assume the dual-agent status and receive commission from both sides of the deal.

In many instances a listing agent will discount their commission rate. Just ask prior to writing a contract with them! For example, say to the agent delicately, “I am interested in using you as my agent. Would you be willing to decrease your commission since I will be giving you dual-agent status?”

Remember allowing this to take place does not actually save you money on the purchase price. However, it does allow the lender to pay a lower commission rate – which gives you leverage.

The listing realtor is also making a far better commission because you found them and are allowing them to become the dual-agent.  Therefore, do not feel awkward presenting this question! When an agent does not have to work at finding a client and the client finds them, it is a blessing.

Let’s look at a few examples of how we will benefit as investors from receiving a decrease in commission.

Commission Example Demonstrating How You Get More Deals

Assume that a lender received a contract at $100,000 on a property. Also, assume that a lender will pay a 6% commission rate.  A 3% or $3000.00 commission would go to the listing agent and 3% or $3000.00 commission to the selling agent.

If a listing agent becomes a “dual agent” and cuts their commission to 4% vs. 6%, that is a $2000.00 savings to the lender.

1) Example 1- you put in a contract with a listing agent on a property listed for $100,000. You submit a contract for just under list price or $99,000. The listing agent has agreed to accept a 4% commission. Equal to $3,960.00 

2) Example 2 – the competitor puts in a contract using an outside agent or buyers agent on the same $100,000 property. They have a stronger contract coming in at list price or $100,000. The commission total is 6% or 3% each agent. Equal to $6,000.00 

Which contract would you presume is more favorable for the lender? Absolutely, Example 1 would allow for the lender to save $1040.00.

This is due to the commission difference from 6% – 4%. Although the contract of $100,000 was higher than yours by $1,000.00, the $2040.00 commission savings further offset the transaction.

This amount may not appear to be significant. However, the amount difference coupled with not dealing with outside agents, can make all the difference.

In many cases, listing realtors agree on less of a percentage than stated above. For example, a listing agent taking only one side of the commission at 2.5 – 3.5% is not uncommon.

Find Foreclosures to Flip & Get An Edge On The Bidding Process

Bought for $48,500 & Sold for $99,900 using this method. Address: 817 Violetta, Joliet, IL 60432

You can locate listing agents by driving or farming the desired marketing area in which you are seeking. Online services such as Zillow is an additional resource for finding the listing agent directly. When you come across a new for sale sign while in hot pursuit of a property, call the listing realtor on the sign for the details.

After you view the interior and exterior of the property of interest and all of your due diligence is completed, submitting a contract for purchase is your next step! 

How Much to Bid & When to Bid Over List Price?

This is an important aspect of acquiring a foreclosure. Here is an example…

A property is listed for $70,000. Closing costs when you buy would be estimated at approximately $2,000. Repair costs are estimated at $12,000. When you sell, your estimated real estate commissions and closing costs are estimated at $6,000. This brings your total expenses to $20,000.

On this scenario, if you bid $65,000 for the property and get it, you would be in the property for $85,000.

Based on comparable property sales in the area, an after repaired value of the property would be $115,000. This will give you a potential profit of $30,000.

While working with your agent on the bid, you are told there are multiple contracts coming in on the property. Now that you know the numbers, you must decide how much you wants this property. Should you consider putting in a contract above list price?

A $65,000 bid would likely reflect a $30,000 net profit margin. Offering above list price would change the profit to something under $25,000. Remember, you have the listing agent in your corner so this will give you leverage in this situation too.

You make the decision to go $2,000 over list price to stack the odds of getting the property in your favor. In this case, you are acting as a smart investor. You will still be looking to make a profit of $23,000. This will accomplish your goal if the contract is accepted.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a crystal ball and know the exact figure of all other contracts competing with you? Unfortunately, we don’t and we need to rely on our gut instinct, and all available resources to make a determination.

It is difficult to know exactly where your bid should be placed even if you are an expert in the market. If you are working with a listing agent, they may be able to offer you clues.

It depends on the state law but some agents may be able to disclose the price of the other offers. There is a fine line when discussing this with an agent but there is not a national law that prohibits this. However, an agent may be bound by a confidentiality agreement or the law by the state. Check the state you reside in for clarity.

Disclosure & Compliance Note: The links above redirect to the website of Buyrego Realty, LLC, an Illinois licensed real estate brokerage where Jeff Knize is the Designated Managing Broker. The use of the “Home Value Estimator” is for marketing purposes and general information only and does not constitute a formal USPAP appraisal of real property.

 

Railroad Worker To Six Figures: How Data-Driven Real Estate Changed My Life

Jeff Knize
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Railroad Worker To Six Figures: How Data-Driven Real Estate Changed My Life

Are you a blue collar worker looking to break away from the 7-3 or 9-5 job? Well if so, this might inspire you to get out of that dead end job and go off on your own.

As a kid, my first job was a paper route. I worked for the Southtown Economist delivering newspapers in the Southwest Suburbs of Chicago. It was a love, hate relationship because — 1. I loved money 2. I hated to work. 

I eventually knew that I had to get over the hate part if I wanted to keep making money. But what I really wanted was to make a lot of money quick and easy. I searched high and low and tried many get rich quick schemes but eventually came up empty. Can you relate?

Since the quick and easy road to riches didn’t seem possible, I ended up spending years working blue collar jobs. Working for the family cleaning business was dreadful.

Laying tile, building decks, unloaded trucks, stocking shelves and working 5 years at the Railroad wasn’t my idea of the ideal job either. All of these jobs left me feeling empty inside.

If you are ready to see where you stand in today’s market, discovering how much your home is worth is the best place to start.

TTX – I loaded and unloaded containers via forklift in the distribution center & shipped train parts to field maintenance.

Some might say: “The Railroad”? That is a good job with a great pension! This is true. With the Railroad job, I would not only get my social security check upon retirement but I would also receive a solid pension as well.

The Railroad was the best paying job with the best benefits up to that point in my life and I was in my early 20’s.

But my lifetime goal wasn’t to continue picking steel all day while wearing Herman Munster steel toe boots and a back brace. I guess the Herman Munster Show that aired in the 1960’s ages me a bit there.    

I Am A Dreamer

Entrepreneur That Dreams
Are You A Dreamer? Be an Entrepreneur that Dreams…

Are you a dreamer? I have been a dreamer my entire life and I was determined to figure out how to make my dreams come true no matter what anyone else told me. Failing and being dead broke was better than working for someone and being miserable.

Daydreaming started when I was about 5 years old and it didn’t matter where I was. I would daydream in class, at home, in church, wherever.

It continues to this day but it isn’t a distraction or looked at as a negative through my eyes. Because I am daydreaming about the things I want to achieve and some of those things have come true!

When I daydream, I don’t actually Zone Out and pull a Walter Mitty because I still know what is going on around me. Thankfully, right?

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Walter Mitty Zoning Out

The Real Estate Agents Postcard

Luckily, I stumbled upon my big break while calling a real estate agent from a postcard that was in the lobby of my condo building. There was always one real estate sales postcard in the foyer of my building. When I decided to sell my Condo, it made a lot of sense for this one agent to be my first choice.     

Right around this time (and pretty much always), I would research ways to get out of the grind and make Big Money with my own company. In the magazine I was reading, I saw an ad on how to be a Stockbroker and on the next page, it was how to be a Real Estate Appraiser.

Both pictures showed an astute gentleman type wearing a tie and glasses while working on some type of problem. This made me feel intimidated because it seemed so far off from who I really was at the time. Regardless of the magazine pictures, I was still intrigued. 

The Realtor Meeting With Bill That Shaped My Future

The Agent Meeting: When the agent Bill arrived at my condo, I felt relatively comfortable because he lived in my condo complex. He was just a few years older than me and he was a calm, cool, and a collected type of guy.

We had an immediate connection and there was a synergy between us. Maybe he was just a good salesman but that’s okay, because he made me feel comfortable enough to ask about the Real Estate Appraisal Industry.

To my surprise, his older brother was an appraiser! And when I asked him about it, he immediately said: “I am having a get together at my house with some friends and my brother will be there. You should come so you can pick his brain!” 

Real Estate Appraiser Gave Me Motivation To “Just Do It”

When I went to the gathering, I was super nervous but when I finally asked his brother Mike about appraising, he was incredibly positive! Mike said that making $100,000 per year is no problem! He also told me that he was going in another direction soon — he claims where the real money was at. I asked “what is it”. He casually said “selling real estate.” The rest is history…. 

Appraising Real Estate During The Biggest Refinance In History

Being an appraiser in the biggest refinance Boom in history was extremely rewarding and busy time. My appraisal business grew to 10 appraisers and office workers to boot. With the constant appraisals of foreclosures, I began flipping houses too. There were consecutive years in a row of $100,000+.

I recommend using a professional home value estimator to get the “Noise-to-Clarity” filter I wish I had when I was starting out.

It was a great time for mortgage companies, lenders, home inspectors, appraisers and real estate agents for sure!

The refinance boom of 2000 buried many in paperwork, for a while, I was one of them. Hiring more appraisers allowed me to breathe easily.

When the refinance market really starting to pick up steam in 2000, it was a bit overwhelming.

I am sure your heard the phrase “feast or famine”. Well it was a FEAST for quite a while!   

Property values were increasing at an accelerated rate in many areas and interest rates were at one of their lowest levels in history.

We are at a similar time now where interest rates are at an all time low but for different reasons. These are unprecedented times in the world.

If Bill’s brother Mike wasn’t a positive person, I don’t know if I would have even taken the plunge into real estate. I am forever grateful to my friend Bill and Mike for giving me this great gift. Bill and I remain friends to this day.  

Were you ever given a special opportunity like this in your life? Hopefully this story sparked something inside of you — in order to take your life to the next level. The next time you see an opportunity, reach out and grab it.  

The Refinance Bubble & Burst That Stifled America

In the United States, the refinance bubble started to burst in late 2006. Home prices continued to drop through 2012 but experienced it’s largest decline in December 30, 2008. These were trying times for the U.S. and there was a ripple effect in other countries.

Particularly, the appraisal work flow that I had went from 40-50 appraisal orders per week to roughly 4 orders. These orders were being distributed to my appraisers that included my mother, my sister and my sister-in-law. It made it very difficult.

At the time, I was making a transition to online ventures and that saved me from losing my house. Thankfully, this was also a new found passion so it was an easy transition.

Flash Forward To Current Times

Today, after a long hiatus, I am back in real estate with an appraisal license and a real estate brokers license…

Getting back into real estate was an easy pivot because I learned online marketing strategies over time. If you know how to get leads online, you can do very well with a service related business.

A service business such as real estate appraisal or even a service business like house cleaning, is something people either need to have done or desire to have done. There is a strong demand and searches online are abundant.

Service related businesses continue to increase every year. They offer many opportunities to licensed professionals and non-licensed pro’s wanting to start a business from scratch.

Real Estate Licensing Changes

As of 2019 and 2020, the real estate appraisal education and real estate agent education in many states has eased. For example, the age to become a real estate broker in Illinois has changed from 21 to 18!

To become a real estate appraiser in Illinois, you are no longer required to have a bachelors degree and the licensing education hours have decreased from 90 to 75! You can find out more at the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation here (IDFPR).

Be sure to check with your state department for education requirements.

Disclosure: Links to Buyrego Realty, LLC are for marketing purposes. Valuation tools are not formal USPAP appraisals.

How To Find Foreclosed Houses To Flip For Profit

Jeff Knize
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How To Find Foreclosed Houses To Flip For Profit

Have you ever thought of buying and selling foreclosed homes for profit? Did you think there was just too much competition or thought it would be too complicated? Well, flipping foreclosures is not for everyone I can tell you that for sure. Did you think I was going to sugarcoat it for you?

2026 MARKET UPDATE (January 20):
The foreclosure landscape has shifted significantly since this post was first written. In today’s market, speed and data are your only real advantages. Whether you are an investor or just looking for equity growth, you must verify “Market Reality” against online estimates.

If I only gave you the candy-coated version, you might jump into this new venture thinking everyone that bought and sold a foreclosure made a $50,000-$100,000 net profit. It’s further from the truth. But if you educate yourself, you’re quick to act, and you’re diligent, you can do well. A major part of that diligence is accurately predicting your “After Repair Value” (ARV). For instance, if you are looking at distressed properties in the DuPage area, using a localized Naperville Home Value Estimator is a critical first step to ensuring the numbers actually work.

The 411 On Shows Like Property Ladder & Flip This House

In the past, shows like Property Ladder and Flip This House would show common people buying distressed foreclosed properties. They would attempt to fix and flip these homes for a tidy profit. But at the end of each show, the homes were listed for sale and often these properties wouldn’t sell at all. They would even flash forward several weeks and months. The homes didn’t sell even after being rehabbed!

Why did they fail? Most of the time, they overestimated the market. Whether you are an investor or a homeowner, you need more than a “Zestimate.” At Buyrego Realty, LLC, we decipher market discrepancies to give you the reality of what a home is worth before you sink money into a flip.

Here are two of my house flips. My very first and my second flip, Fun!

Personally, I have made net profits between $20,000-$25,000 on many properties. The profit may seem low but these properties were low end homes in the range between $45,000-$65,000.

These two houses were sold at $115,000 and $99,900. Remember, net profit is expected to be higher with increasing prices and risk.

In order to get an edge in securing deals on these houses, I didn’t use my real estate agent friend or a family member. I contacted the listing agent directly.

This strategy is discussed in another flipping houses post that I wrote here: Use Listing Agents To Get An Edge For Flipping Houses

I offer these details in an attempt to give you the reality. And speaking of reality, recent shows such as Flipping Las Vegas give you the quick and easy details – Purchase price, rehab cost and sales price. There are many details left out such as holding costs, closing costs, real estate commissions and taxes.

Buying Foreclosures While The Borrower Is In Default (not the easiest way)

Foreclosure In Default - Legal Notice
Foreclosure In Default – Legal Notice

After a borrower is in default of their obligation, the lender will file a notice of default. Lenders are required to offer the borrower 90 days to make good on the loan. This 90-day period is referred to as a redemption period. After this period, a lender must advertise the property in a legal newspaper for 21 days. To locate this paper, you can call or go to the county courthouse for guidance.

If you locate properties that interest you, determining the market value is the next step. It will be difficult to get a clear indication of the market value until you actually get inside the property. At that point you need to make a cost to cure list on the physical depreciation.

In order to track down the homeowner you can try by telephone, soliciting the property, or by leaving a business card or letter. This can be a difficult task in getting the owner to respond. However, if you have the gumption you should go for it. You might just strike a deal!

If you are able to locate or talk to an owner, you will need to be delicate and make it all about what you can do for them! After all, they are more than likely having a difficult time in their life. When talking to the owner you will need to find out what is presently owed on the property.

For example: If the market value of the property is $150,000 and there is $75,000 owed, that may present a great opportunity. It will depend on the condition and rehab costs.

On the flip side, if the property is worth $75,000 and $150,000 is owed, the investment would certainly not be in your best interest!

Many times when buying in this situation, there will be competition lurking around the corner. The current owner could be working with other investors and playing the market themselves. Therefore, it is imperative to stand out from the crowd with your character and to have a plan of action.

Buying At Auction (this can be tricky, still not the easiest method)

Buy Foreclosures At Auction
Buying A Foreclosure At Auction – Not As Easy As Buying On The MLS.

If a lender uses judicial foreclosure to recover debt, an advertisement for the sale of the foreclosed property and a public auction will occur. Anyone can attend the auction to observe or bid. However, in most cases the lender is the highest bidder. The lender has the mortgage dept as a bid and needs no additional moneys. We as bidders must have cash or pre-arranged financing. 

You can find out about upcoming auctions in your area by checking the real estate section in your local papers, contacting the county courthouse, or by searching the Internet. There is usually an ample amount of time to view the property prior to auction.

If you are interested in the approach of auction buying, it would behoove you to stay on the sidelines and observe for several weeks. You may even want to locate a mentor or experienced professional in auction buying. This will allow you to fully understand the auction process prior to bidding.

Buying Directly From The Lender (buy from small banks to increase success)

All lenders, large and small, have REO properties on their inventory. They do not advertise their misfortune due to it being a negative reflection on their business.

Buying directly from the lender is not an easy task. It can be somewhat intimidating walking into an institution and asking for information on REO properties. In most instances the bank or lender won’t even know what you are looking for and turn you away.

In order to increase your chance of success in this department, try working with a bank or lender that you have some type of relationship with. A good start is the bank that you or members of your family currently do business with. It is more likely for an REO department to work with one of its customers or a referred family member of one of its customers.

Small Non-Franchised Local Banks To Buy Foreclosures

Although I haven’t bought properties directly from small banks myself, I heard others doing so. One of my appraiser friends recently met an investor while on an appraisal. The investor was kind enough to share his investment strategy for buying foreclosures.

He buys several properties directly from local mom and pop type banks. Basically, he is buying from the banks that you and I have probably never heard of. He doesn’t even attempt to walk-in the big institutions like Chase, Wells Fargo or Bank of America.

That is his strategy! The small banks give him a loan for the property too. He doesn’t have to buy for all cash.

Buying Foreclosures Before Going On Multiple Listing Service

Buy Foreclosure House Before The Listing
Buy Foreclosure House Before The Listing

Realtors that list properties for lenders receive the property location and useful data in advance. I used to frequently receive information on properties from the agent prior to the properties being listed.

How did I get this information? I contacted several agents. One agent told me about a list of future properties they had coming in. I was like a kid in a candy store checking that list!

This gives you a huge edge over the competition! Because the list isn’t on the MLS so it will be limited to fewer people. Buyers agents and potential buyers likely won’t even have access to the list until the property listed on the market.

Locating the right real estate agent is key! Once you find an agent that specializes in listing foreclosures, they will be more than happy to send you the property information prior to completing the formal listing. As a broker myself, I know that the more connections you make, the more money you make.

Buying Foreclosures After The Multiple Listing Service

By far, this is the easiest way to find a foreclosure but it is usually the most competitive.

Real estate agents list foreclosures as they receive them from lenders. You could search Zillow or drive areas to find distressed properties for sale.

If you find a property as soon as it enters the market, in my opinion, you are best to contact the agent from the sign directly.

  • You will find the greatest number of foreclosures on the Multiple Listing Service.

Why Are Most Foreclosures On The MLS?

Answer: Because there are approximately 1.4 million realtors in the United States alone. Most lenders are more likely to use a trusted and licensed agent to handle their distressed properties.

Lenders also know that an agent has a vast amount of resources such as access to the MLS. Foreclosures will likely sell much faster with an agent vs. if they handled the properties themselves.

A Work Of Caution

  1. Many foreclosures are overpriced
  2. All foreclosures are not good deals
  3. Often good deals have multiple contracts
  4. Good deals can significantly inflate prices
  5. Seasoned investors are fierce competitors

All foreclosures aren’t the ugly duckling homes that you might think.

Homeowners in all walks of life lose their homes due to some unforeseen reason such as job loss, divorce or a death in the family.

This means that houses get foreclosed on in the $50,000 price range and the $1,000,000+ price range.

Sure the foreclosures are more prominent in the lower price range but they are still significant in the median range.

If you are selling your home in the future, you might want to consider buying a foreclosure.

Just be sure to due your due diligence. Also, think twice about buying a short sale due to the long and drawn out process.

I hope this post gave you some solid advice in the world of buying foreclosures. Please like it and share it, if you liked it! (-:

Disclosure & Compliance Note: The links above redirect to the website of Buyrego Realty, LLC, an Illinois licensed real estate brokerage where Jeff Knize is the Designated Managing Broker. The use of the “Home Value Estimator” is for marketing purposes and general information only and does not constitute a formal USPAP appraisal of real property.

7 Critical Keys for a Thriving Online Home Business

Jeff Knize
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7 Critical Keys for a Thriving Online Home Business

People have come in droves up to this point seeking to build successful online businesses. A staggering number of people have succeeded. Consequently, a larger number have failed.

Many are stay-at-home moms, laid-off factory workers, lawyers, accountants, landscapers, fresh out of school “kids”… The list goes on and on.

The one thing they all have in common is they were able to avoid the common pitfalls of “analysis paralysis” and “get rich quick”. But most importantly they were able to put each of these 7 “Critical Keys” into practice and spin them into some amazing results.

If you too want to experience the lasting satisfaction of starting your own highly successful online business from home – the right way – then these 7 “Critical Keys” are absolutely critical. Live by them and you’ll succeed beyond your dreams.

Ignore them and you’ll stay on the same unproductive hamster wheel that has ensnared so many people before you.

So dive in, put these keys into practice and see how fast your new business can take off.

Critical Key #1  

There’s No Magic Bullet

There's no magic bullet for making money online.

You don’t have to look hard on the Internet to find someone promising easy and fast riches with an online business.

“Get rich quick” opportunities flood the Internet like a Biblical plague.

The problem is they don’t work. “Get rich quick” has never worked online or off. Sure technologies online make certain processes like market research, prospect communication, and international business much easier.

But the way to “get rich” or just have a profitable business has never changed. It takes hard work. It takes realizing that you’re building an asset – possibly a very valuable asset – and that takes a lot of effort.

At least initially.

Because the beauty of having an online business is that ultimately, once you have it up and running, it allows you to leverage your time and the time of others to earn 4 or 5 times what you’d make punching a clock everyday.

But at first, it’s going to take some good old fashioned “elbow grease” to get your business positioned where it can be consistently profitable.

Just understand one thing: It’ll NEVER be perfect. If perfection is what you’re seeking, starting an online business is not for you. Things change. People’s interests and what appeals to them changes. Often on a dime. If you wait for your business idea to be perfect…you’ll never get off the ground.

Just get it going. Take action, start moving, and make corrections along the way.

Critical Key #2  

Picking Super Competitive Niche

For online success, don't choose a competitive niche.

One of the biggest mistakes new entrepreneurs make when trying to make money online is they decide to jump into some of the largest, most competitive markets online…

…And they get creamed!

The great thing about starting an online business is the markets available are almost endless. And many many of them are small with little or weak competition. You have to start thinking of easy points of entry.

For every large market there are hundreds of possible smaller niches and micro niches that cater to a smaller subset of the larger market.

For example, instead of jumping into the “weight loss” market, “organic smoothies” may prove to be a lot easier to crack and make a profit in.

To figure this out, it’s really important that you identify who your competitors are. The easiest way to do this is to head over to Google and start searching for some of your main keywords and see which sites come up.

So if you’re in the “organic smoothies” market, you might search with terms like “organic smoothies”, “organic smoothie recipies”, “weight loss with smoothies”, etc. Pay attention to the top 3 results especially. Those are potentially your competitors in the market. But that’s not all. You also need to pay close attention to the classified ads that run along the top of the page and along the right side.

These are Google Ads and they show up when you use a search term that they are bidding on. In other words, these are the websites that are PAYING to show up on Google for your search term.

If they are willing to pay, it’s because they are selling something. If you see a couple of sites always showing up in the ads for similar terms, chances are they are serious players.

There are two reasons you want this information. One is because if there are no or few competitors, chances are there’s no money to be made in that market. On the flip side if the competition is too stiff, then you’re going to have a hard time competing.

Follow the “video game” method of breaking into a market. In a video game, such as boxing, you typically start off fighting the weakest opponent for some easy wins. As you get better and advance the competition gets more fierce…but so do your skills. Eventually you’re fighting the toughest guy in the game with the skills to beat him.

That’s how you want to approach breaking into a market. Pick on the weaker niches first, get established, then as you grow you’ll be more successful taking on stron-ger competition.

Critical Key #3  

Sell Information Products Online

New Info Product To Sell Coming Soon

By far and away, the easiest and best products to sell online are information products. That’s the chief reason people go online… to find information.

Plus it’s the easiest type of product to quickly create and produce. Whether it’s a downloadable e-book, a video, set of audios, automated webinar or pre-selling a product. You can create your product and begin selling it, sometimes in a matter of hours.

Personally, I wrote two e-books, Foreclosures & Flips & Internet Business Made Easy. The foreclosure book was sold on Clickbank, the Clickbank Marketplace is one of the best places to sell digital products.

Another huge benefit to info products is there is almost NO overhead. You don’t have to fill your garage up with boxes of merchandise. You don’t have to worry about shipping and production costs. Since they’re either downloadable or accessed by a password protected web page, the only overhead is the initial costs of putting it together. And if you create it yourself, you’re only investment is time.

Finally, a big benefit to your customers is instant gratification. In the “microwave age” we live in, people expect to get what they want fast. With info products, you can literally have your product in your customers’ hands instantly after checkout.

It doesn’t cost you a cent in shipping. Not only that, but this also allows you to sell your product around the clock to anyone in the world. That means you don’t have to stay chained to your computer fulfilling orders. You can set up everything to run automatically whether you’re awake or not…or even at home or not! 

Critical Key #4

Figure Out Where The Puck’s Going To Be

Timing in business is critical.

Hockey Great Wayne Gretzky once said that his secret to making a lot of shots in the rink was to figure out where the puck was going to be… and be there.

When talking about competition, we said it’s important to see if your potential market has anyone selling anything right now. Competition is a good sign that there’s money to be made in that market.

There are very few, if any untapped markets online. Smart marketers have tested just about every conceivable market in the world. You can pretty much bet that if there’s no one selling stuff in a market you’re considering, it’s because no one in that market is spending money.

A good example is the “free video game tips” market. This is a group of people interested in one thing…finding ways to play their favorite video games FREE. There maybe a lot of “gamer’s” searching for these tips, but the chances that they’ll actually pay for the tips is basically nil.

So don’t be a Lone Ranger. You need to target what’s already selling… then think of faster, better, and/or cheaper ways of selling the same type of thing.

The only way you could potentially earn money this way is from a blog site. With this idea, your main objective it to offer blog entries with free tips. Your blog would make money when visitors clicked on Google Adsense links or if they bought through Affiliate Links.

Just be sure to check the competition prior to starting this journey. Because there are over 4.4 million blog posts created everyday!

Critical Key #5  

Just Do It – Take Action & Start Your Online Business

Just Do It if you want to succeed in making money online!

One of the biggest obstacles to succeeding online for many entrepreneurs lies within a six-inch space… their own head.

They study, they learn, they buy new programs or products about starting their own business. They think long and hard about what they are going to sell. They tinker with their websites. They attend seminars and daydream about their business.

But they never get around to taking action. They suffer from an infection common to most would-be entrepreneurs… analysis paralysis.

People analyze every conceivable outcome and potential problem their new business venture could possibly face. They may think they’re just carefully thinking things through. But the reality is they’re stalling. And usually because they are overwhelmed and afraid.

Afraid of failure. Sometimes afraid of success.

You’ve got to blast that sort of thinking to oblivion or you’ll never get started. Understand that your product and website will NEVER be perfect. Don’t wait for perfection.

Instead follow the advice of successful marketers through the ages…

…Ready, Fire, Aim.

What this means is it’s far better to take action, and clean up the mess afterword. Because in most cases, the “unknown” that you try to plan against, simply stays unknown until you take action.

Legendary copywriter and marketer John Carlton once said that marketers are like people standing around a pool. They ask questions like, “Is the water too cold,” “Is it too deep,” “What if I can’t touch the bottom?”

He said they just walk around the edge of the pool asking one procrastinating question after the next.

His response: “Just jump in the damn water!”

And this needs to be your response. Stop fretting over a thousand “what if’s.” Because, to quote Wayne Gretzky again…

“You miss 100% of the shots you DON’T take.”

Critical Key #6  

Don’t Reinvent The Wheel

To make money online, you don't have to reinvent the wheel.

A huge advantage of identifying your competitors and analyzing what they sell is you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. It’s not necessary to come up with a completely original idea.

In fact there’s probably no such thing as a purely original idea anyway. You’re fastest path to success is to look at what’s already selling… and sell a better version.

The advantage of modeling other successful websites gives you the chance to capitalize on what they’ve already tested and found to work in your market.

From their website, to their order process, to the product itself… everything your competitors are doing right is available for you to model and build upon.

A habit you need to get into is building a “swipe file” of ideas from your competitors or sites that compliment yours. This swipe file can contain samples of sales copy, graphics, notes on their site design… anything you see that you want to model.

Be careful not to plagiarize or rip off someone else’s work. That’s why we use the word “model”. You still have to make everything uniquely yours… you just don’t have to start with a black piece of paper (or computer screen) to make it happen.

Critical Key #7  

Law of Large Numbers

More specific keywords, equals better online results and success.

Whenever people go online to search for anything, they typically start off with a pretty broad search term like “golf.”

As they look at the results that Google returns, they’ll usually refine their search by being more specific like “beginners golf tips.” Search terms like this are called long tail keywords because they typically have 3 or more words in the phrase and they aren’t broad like the term “golf.”

Here’s the key. The more they drill down, the more specific they get, the better prospect they are. Because the more specific they get, the closer they are to finding what they are looking for.

By using free keyword tools like Google’s Keyword Planner Tool, you can get a pretty good estimate of the number of people searching for specific phrases. And this gives you an idea about the demand.

You can very quickly develop a list of long tail keyword phrases being searched for by tens of thousands of people.

Once you know this and you figure out who your competitors are and what they are selling to these same people, you have a much better idea about whether or not it’s a market you can compete and profit in.

The critical thing to keep in mind is you have to know your numbers. That’s what you hear on Shark Tank all the time. Never go into a market blindly and “hope for the best.” You need to know what the demand is for your market, what the supply is (competition), what the average price for products your competitors are selling is, and more.

And once you have your site up and prospects coming by, you need to track how many and where they are coming from. This will help you zero in on the best ways and places to find your market.

The Internet may make the world seem smaller. But the truth is it’s still a very large place.

CLOSING

Starting an online business is a dream for many people. Unfortunately, most have no idea how to get started. Running a successful business online is all about finding the right market and matching it with the right product using the right message.

Learn About Trading: Stocks, Options, ETF’s & Futures Q&A

Jeff Knize
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Learn About Trading: Stocks, Options, ETF’s & Futures Q&A

After becoming a proprietary trader at Maverick Trading and receiving my designation as an ETF Advisor (CETF®) through The ETF Institute, I created the trading website Tradologist™.

During ownership, I custom made educational quizzes and exams to educate people better on the Stock Market. The website was designed to provide a certification and a portal for members.

Although the site never materialized like I planned and was sold, I spent quite of bit of time and energy creating trading quizzes and an exam for the certification.

In this post, I am including the 100 questions from the exam. They will help you understand the overall market in regards to Stocks, Options, ETF’s and Futures.

On the site, there was a mission statement and a code of ethics. They are included below.

At Tradologist™, we hold members to high standards of ethics, respectability and professionalism. Members are expected to act responsibility and have integrity in the trading industry. Tradologist™ has executed a code of ethics for which you are expected to comply and abide by:

  • I will act with integrity and have respect to all prospective or existing clients, colleagues, or other industry professionals
  • I will not falsify, overstate or misrepresent my trading knowledge or trading performance as a Certified Tradologist™
  • I will carry out the continual improvement of my professional knowledge in the trading industry
  • I will adhere to regulations and laws in the investment industry as it is related to the trading industry
  • I will not use the Certified Tradologist™ designation during lapsed, expired or non-renewed certification periods

Here are the market areas you will gain knowledge in:

  • Trading Knowledge
  • Day Trading
  • Stock Trading
  • Options Knowledge
  • Futures Intelligence
  • Trend Trading
  • Rules & Regulations  

Learn How To Trade For A Living
  • 1. In theory, the belief is that speculators contribute value to the market by: A. Often producing uncertain volatility B. Supplying liquidity in the marketplace C. Hedging positions D. There is no impact on market prices
    • Feedback: B. Speculators supply liquidity in the marketplace. This allows hedgers to offset positions in an efficient manner. (General Trading Knowledge)
  • 2. A customer buys a March E-mini S&P 500 (ES) Futures contract at 2300.50 per contract. The price quickly spikes to $2320.50 per contract. How does he offset his position in order to exit the trade and take profits: A. He/She buys a March E-mini S&P 500 (ES) futures contract B. He/She buys a March E-mini S&P 500 (ES) call option C. He/She sells a March E-mini S&P 500 (ES) call option D. He/She sells a March E-mini S&P 500 (ES) futures contract
    • Feedback: D. In order to offset / exit a futures contract, a contract on the exact exchange, same delivery month and of the same futures instrument would have to be sold (if originally purchased) or needs to be bought (if you originally sold short). (Futures Markets Intelligence)
  • 3. The use of margin to maximize the advantage of an investment is considered: A. Delta B. Positioning C. Leverage D. Volatility
    • Feedback: C. The use of margin to maximize the advantage of an investment is considered leverage. (General Trading Knowledge)
  • 4. In order to offset a short put option position, you would do the following: A. Sell a put and a call option B. Sell a call against the short put option C. Buy back the identical put option D. Sell the identical put option
    • Feedback: C. In order to offset a short put option position, you would buy back the identical put option. (Options Market Knowledge)
  • 5. A stock index futures contract such as the E-Mini S&P 500 (ES) can be settled: A. Cash B. Stock Shares C. Stock Certificates D. Both B & C
    • Feedback: A. A stock index futures contract such as the E-Mini S&P 500 (ES) is cash settled and can only be settled in cash. (Stock Trading Foundation)
  • 6. Your margin level dipped below the required maintenance margin level. Therefore, your account must go back to or exceed: A. Initial Margin Levels B. Portfolio Margin Levels C. Variation Margin Levels D. Maintenance Margin Levels
    • Feedback: A. Your margin level dipped below the required maintenance margin level. Therefore, your account must go back to or exceed initial margin levels. (General Trading Knowledge) 
  • 7. An option spread can be of a debit or a credit spread structure: True or False
    • Feedback: True: An option spread can be considered a debit spread or a credit spread: (Options Market Knowledge) 
  • 8. You lost your mobile device and your broker is unable to inform you of a margin call on your Crude Oil position. Your broker may: A. Use broken secure funds to make good on your account until you return B. Liquidate the Crude Oil position and forward you the debt for the loss in your account C. Contact your bank for direct wire transfer to your account D. Contact your agreement referrals for a wire transfer into your account
    • Feedback: B. Your broker may liquidate the position and forward you the debt for the loss in your account. (Futures Markets Intelligence)
  • 9.Your broker is required to use a written power of attorney to open a discretionary account: True or False
    • Feedback: True. Your broker is required to use a written power of attorney to open a discretionary account. (Rules & Regulations)
  • 10. A speculator profiting from daily moves in the market is a day trader: True or False
    • Feedback: True. A day trader profits from buying and selling intra-day. (Day Trading Essentials)
  • 11. When a speculator wishes to capitalize on the momentum of a trend, typically the trend trader will take a long position expecting prices to increase: True or False
    • Feedback: False. A trader may capitalize on the momentum of a trend by going long or shorting the market. (Trend Trading Techniques)
  • 12. What is considered a congestion area? A. Many buyers and sellers in one particular area preventing price movement B. An area where open interest is declining and buyers are entering C. Increased volatility with heavy buyers and sellers D. A level where a support area is broken and buyers are closing positions
    • Feedback: A. A congestion area is where there are many buyers and sellers in one particular area preventing price movement. Multiple Choice Checkbox (General Trading Knowledge)
  • 13. When a support area is held, buyers tend to come into the market: True or False
    • Feedback: True. When a support area is held, buyers tend to come into the market. (General Trading Knowledge) 
  • 14. The S&P 500 Stock Index encompasses: A. 500 of the most volatile stocks in the United States B. 500 large-cap companies traded in the United States C. 505 large-cap companies traded in the United States D. 502 large-cap companies traded in the United States
  • Feedback: C. Actually, as of 2015 the S&P 500 Stock Index encompasses 505 stocks due to two share classes of stock from 5 of its component companies. This was up from 502 stocks that was changed in 2014 and up from the initial 500 stocks that started in 1957. (Stock Trading Foundation) 
  • 15. A customer is holding a large call option position in TLT (Treasury Bond ETF) and fears the stock market will rally in the short term. In order to hedge against her TLT position, she should: A. Buy in-the-money call options in SPY (S&P 500 ETF) B. Buy out-of-the-money call options in SPY (S&P 500 ETF) C. Buy in-the-money put options in SPY (S&P 500 ETF) D. None of the above
  • Feedback: A. To hedge against a decline in TLT, she would buy in-the-money call options in SPY. If TLT decreases, SPY will increase and offset losses. Thus providing a hedge. (Options Market Knowledge) 
  • 16. Buying a put or a call option is a wasting asset due to its shrinking value as expiration approaches: True or False
    • Feedback: True. A put and call option purchase is a wasting asset due to its shrinking value as expiration approaches and the value sinks more rapidly as the expiration date nears. This is considered time value. (Options Market Knowledge) 
  • 17. Buying a deep out of the money call or put option can be like buying a lottery ticket because there is a very slim chance the option would become valuable prior to expiration: True or False
  • Feedback: True. Buying deep out of the money calls and puts typically expire worthless and the option writer who took the other side of your position keeps all of the premium. (Options Market Knowledge)
  • 18. If you sell a call or put option, you are considered the grantor or option writer: True or False
    • Feedback: True. (Options Market Knowledge)
  • 19. A long option straddle position requires: A. Buying a put and selling a call with the same strike price and expiration date B. Buying a put and selling a call with the same strike price and expiration date C. Buying a put and a call with the same strike price and expiration date D. All of the above
    • Feedback: C. A long option straddle position requires buying a put and a call with the same strike price and expiration date. If you are expecting a big move in one direction or the other, this would be a viable strategy.(Options Market Knowledge) 
  • 20. An exponential moving average (EMA) is a: A. Simple moving averages give detail on past price data B. Moving average that contributed less weight to recent prices C. Moving average that contributes more overall weight to recent prices D. Both A & C
    • Feedback: C. An EMA gives more weight to recent prices. (Trend Trading Techniques)  
  • 21. A market order is given when you are trying to get the best possible entry: True or False
    • Feedback: False. Market orders are executed promptly at current market prices. (Rules & Regulations) 
  • 22. When a contract is settled, the settlement price is pegged at the top of the closing range: True or False
    • Feedback: False. The settlement price is the average price at which a contract trades or the middle of the closing range. (Rules & Regulations)
  • 23. A limit order is a direction to: 
     A. Offset an existing position in the market B. Buy or sell at a specified price or better C. Provides a guarantee to be filled at a specified price D. Only fill an order at a better price than specified
    • Feedback: B. A limit order is a direction to buy or sell at a specified price or better. (Rules & Regulations)
  • 24. A customer places a limit order to sell eight contracts at the close. Four of the eight contracts are filled. The four contracts that were not filled were are broker error and should be reported: True or False
    • Feedback: False. Unless stated differently, all orders are assumed as day orders. Therefore, if not filled by the close, then the remaining order is automatically cancelled. (Rules & Regulations) 
  • 25. An “immediate or cancel” order is the same as a “fill or kill order”: True or False
    • Feedback: False. A partial fill can be given on an “immediate or cancel” order but not on a “fill or kill order”. (Rules & Regulations)
  • 26. Picking stocks using fundamental analysis involves analyzing a company’s financial statements: A. True B. False
    • Feedback: True. Analyzing company financials to determine current and the potential for future growth is fundamental analysis. (Stock Trading Foundation)
  • 27. Resistance is a level used by traders for exiting a position: True or False
    • Feedback: True. It is a common strategy for traders to sell at resistance. (General Trading Knowledge)
  • 28. How is leverage and risk similar when it comes to potential of profit margin: A. There is a negative correlation B. There is no correlation C. There is a direct correlation D. All of the above
    • Feedback: C. There is a direct correlation between leverage and risk. (General Trading Knowledge) 
  • 29. What is considered a Bullish outlook? A. A positive view on the market B. A negative view on the market C. A positive short term view and a negative long term view. D. None of the above
    • Feedback: A. A bullish outlook means you expect prices to rise. (General Trading Knowledge)
  • 30. You purchased an at the money call option the day Google is reporting earnings, the premium on the option must be paid: A. By the closing of the next business day because Google reported after the closing bell B. The day you purchased the call option C. Within 24 hours of the time stamp D. Within 1 hour of the purchase
    • Feedback: B. The day you purchased the call option. (Options Market Knowledge) 
  • 31. Delta is the comparison of how much the option price moves compared to how much the underlying asset price moves: True or False
    • Feedback: True. Delta is the comparison of how much the option price moves compared to how much the underlying asset price moves. (Options Market Knowledge)
  • 32. The Greeks in option trading are considered: A. Delta, Gamma, Theta and Vega B. Delta is only considered The Greeks C. Delta, Gamma, Theta and Vol D. Delta, Gamma, Theta, Vega and Rho
    • Feedback: D. Delta, Gamma, Theta, Vega and Rho (Options Market Knowledge) 
  • 33. You anticipate a sharp down move in a pharmaceutical company. You should consider: A. Sell call options B. Buy at the money puts C. Buy in the money puts D. All of the above
    • Feedback: D. All would be consider bearish positions. (Options Market Knowledge) 
  • 34. A vertical spread is also considered a: A. Horizontal spread B. Strangle C. Bull call spread D. Debit spread
    • Feedback: C. A bull call spread is also know as a vertical spread. They use two call options of the same expiration month but different strike prices. (Options Market Knowledge) 
  • 35. If you have a bearish view on the market, you would likely: A. Buy out of the money call options B. Sell out of the money put options C. Buy at the money put options D. None of the above
    • Feedback: C. Buy at the money put options is the only answer since you are bearish, and you expect prices to go down. (Options Market Knowledge) 
  • 36. A bona fide hedger by the CFTC would be considered: A. A speculator seeking profit in the commodity markets B. A cattle feeder who buys corn to feed his cattle C. A wheat farmer selling his wheat using a forward contract D. None of the above
    • Feedback: B. A cattle feeder buying corn to feed his cattle and would like the lowest price possible would be a bona fide hedger. (Futures Markets Intelligence) 
  • 37. You are bullish on the market so you buy one call option in the E-Mini S&P 500 futures. But after you place the order, you notice either the order number was defaulted to 10 or you changed the number to 10 by mistake. You now have 10 contracts. What should you do? A. Close the position immediately B. Wait and hope to see if the position goes in your favor C. Hedge the position and buy 10 puts D. Call your broker and tell them of the error
    • Feedback:A. Close the position immediately. Once you close the position, you will be able to act more prudently. (Futures Markets Intelligence)
  • 38. You are watching a financial network and you hear a recommendation by an analyst you admire. You should: A. Follow the advice only if a second opinion agrees B. Follow the advice since the analyst appears credible C. Complete your own due diligence D. Do the opposite of the recommendation
    • Feedback: C. Completing your own due diligence is the obvious choice. (General Trading Knowledge) 
  • 39. United States Security & Exchange Commission has a mission is to protect stock brokers: True or False
    • Feedback: False. This is a false statement. They look after investors, maintain fairness and order. (Rules & Regulations)
  • 40. A call option is purchased when a speculator anticipates a market to move down and is bearish: True or False Options
    • Feedback: False. If a speculator anticipates a market to go down and is bearish, she would buy a put option. (Market Knowledge)
  • 41. Generally speaking, a scalper is considered a: A. day trader B. An options trader C. A spread options trader D. A swing trader
    • Feedback: A. Generally speaking, a scalper is considered a day trader. (Day Trading Essentials)
  • 42. If you buy an E-Mini S&P 500 futures contract, you are the: A. Hedger B. Short C. Long D. None of the above
    • Feedback: C. If you buy an E-Mini S&P 500 futures contract, you are considered the long. When prices increase, you gain profit. (Futures Markets Intelligence) 
  • 43. European style options can only be exercised when the option expires: True or False
    • Feedback: True: European style options must be exercised when the option expires. (Options Market Knowledge)
  • 44. A vertical is a type of: A. Strangle B. Straddle C. Bull call spread D. Short position
    • Feedback: C. A vertical can also be considered a type of bull call spread (debit to your account) or bear call spread (credit to your account). (Options Market Knowledge) 
  • 45. American style options can be exercised at any time prior to the option expiring: True or False
    • Feedback: True: American style options can be exercised at any time prior to the option expiring. (Options Market Knowledge)
  • 46. If you sell an E-Mini S&P 500 futures contract, you are the: A. Hedger B. Short C. Long D. None of the above
    • Feedback: B. If you sell an E-Mini S&P 500 futures contract, you are considered the short. When prices decrease, you gain profit. (Futures Markets Intelligence) 
  • 47. After an option is purchased, it may or may not have intrinsic value: True or False
    • Feedback: True. If an option is out of the money, there is no intrinsic value. Conversely, if the option is in the money, the option has intrinsic value. (Options Market Knowledge)
  • 48. A hedger would primarily use the futures markets to: A. Scalp the futures for quick profit. B. Reduce exposure in the market. C. Offset risk of price movements. D. All of the above.
    • Feedback: C. A hedger would primarily use the futures markets to offset risk of price movements. (Futures Markets Intelligence)
  • 49. The sum of contracts either bought or sold in the futures market over a period of time is known as: A. Open Interest B. Open Supply C. Volume D. Volume & Open Interest
    • Feedback: C. The sum of contracts either bought OR sold in the futures market over a period of time is known as volume. (Futures Markets Intelligence) 
  • 50. Buying options have less risk than selling options naked because they are: A. Tend to be more reasonably priced B. Always have value at expiration C. Limited to the premium paid D. None of the above
    • Feedback: C. Buying options have less risk than selling options naked because they are limited to the premium paid. (Options Market Knowledge) 
  • 51. An order to buy or sell stock at a stated price or better is a: A. Stop limit order B. Limit order C. Market order D. Buy limit order
    • Feedback: B. An order to buy or sell stock at a stated price or better is known as a limit order. (Stock Trading Foundation)
  • 52. An order to buy or sell stock once the stock reaches a stated price is a: A. Limit order B. Stop limit order C. Stop loss order D. Market order
    • Feedback: C. An order to buy or sell stock once the stock reaches a stated price is a stop loss order. (Stock Trading Foundation)
  • 53. A stop order becomes a market order once the stock reaches a specified price: True or False
    • Feedback: True. A stop order becomes a market order once the stock reaches a specified price. (Stock Trading Foundation)
  • 54. Your customer buys a Treasury Bond call option at 1-24 and after an increase, sells the option at 1-46  (there are 1/64th ticks in bond options at $15.625 per tick). The profit gained was $443.75: True or False
    • Feedback: False. The gain was $343.75. Calculation: 1-46 – 1-24 = 22/64ths. 22 x $15.625 = $343.75 (Options Market Knowledge)
  • 55. You are anticipating the market to sell off and decide to buy a Treasury Bond futures contract at 1-45. Your stop loss is triggered at 1-29 (there are 1/32 ticks in bond futures at $31.25 per tick) and commission is $30.00 per contract. The gross loss was:  A. $5300.00 B. $500.00 C. $530.00 D. $531.25
    • Feedback: C. The gross loss was $530.00. Calculation: 1-45 – 1-29 = 16/32. 16 x $31.25 = $500.00 + $30.00 = $530.00 (Futures Markets Intelligence)
  • 56. It is a bull market and the moving averages you track are positive. The market has pulled back and continues to hold support at a major level. To take advantage of this trend, you would sell the market: True or False
    • Feedback: False. If a major support level is holding, you would buy the market here. (Trend Trading Techniques)
  • 57. You have advised your client to liquidate a Dec E-Mini S&P 500 futures position and buy a March S&P 500 futures position since the Dec E-Mini S&P 500 futures contract is expiring. This is know as Transfer: True or False
    • Feedback: False. This is known as rolling over. (Futures Markets Intelligence)
  • 58. You forecast an increase in inflation rates. How would an increase in inflation rates impact interest rates: A. Interest rates would increase B. No impact on interest rates C. Interest rates may decrease or increase D. None of the above
    • Feedback: A. Inflation is a component of interest rates. When inflation increases, interest rates are also expected to increase. (General Trading Knowledge)
  • 59. You customer sells one SPY ETF put option at a premium of $5.00 ($235.00 Strike Price). If she exercises her put option, the minimum purchase price shall be $235.00: True or False
    • Feedback: True. A buyer of a put option has the right but not the obligation to sell the underlying asset at the strike price. As a result, if she exercises her put option, her sales price will be $235.00. (Options Market Knowledge)
  • 60. You have done your due diligence and fundamental analysis suggests Apple stock will increase. You have a $10,000 account and you are willing to risk 5%. At the money call options in the expiration month of choice are at $500.00 per option. You will:  A. Buy 1 at the money put option B. Buy 1 in the money call option C. Buy 10 at the money call options D. Buy 1 at the money call option
    • Feedback: D. Buy 1 at the money call option. $10,000 X 5% = $500.00. Therefore, buying 1 call option at the money is correct. (Options Market Knowledge) 
  • 61. All are true in regards to stocks/equities and futures being similar except: A. They both expiration dates B. They both limits on price and position C. They both have a short for every long D. They both have contracts and ownership
    • Feedback: D. All are true except both having contracts and ownership. Stocks give ownership and Futures offer contracts. (General Trading Knowledge) 
  • 62. U.S. Stocks are regulated by the: A. FINRA B. CFTC C. SEC D. FDIC
    • Feedback: C. Founded in 1934, the U.S. stock market is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). (Stock Trading Foundation)
  • 63. The U.S. Futures and Options market is regulated by the: A. CFTC B. FINRA C. NFA D. SEC
    • Feedback: A. Founded in 1975, the Futures and Options market is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). (Futures Markets Intelligence)
  • 64. An Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is similar to Mutual Funds except: A. They bundle securities B. Are subject to volatility C. They trade throughout the day D. Diversified portfolios
    • Feedback: C. An ETF trade throughout the day. Mutual Funds only trade at the end of the day at the net asset value (NAV) price. (General Trading Knowledge) 
  • 65. A swing trader: A. Typically hold positions over thirty days B. Typically hold positions less than two days C. Typically holds positions two days to two weeks D. None of the above
    • Feedback: C. A swing trader typically holds positions two days to two weeks. (General Trading Knowledge) 
  • 66. An Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is an investment fund that holds assets and has a primary function of tracking indexes: True or False
    • Feedback: True: An Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is an investment fund that holds assets and track indexes. (General Trading Knowledge)
  • 67. When a futures contract is bought or sold, the price is determined by: A. CFTC B. This is prearranged by brokers in the pit C. SEC D. The Exchange
  • Feedback: D. A futures price is decided by bids and offers through the exchange. The CFTC or SEC is not a part of pricing decisions. Brokers are not allowed to make prearranged trades. (Futures Markets Intelligence) 
  • 68. A clearinghouse is a corporation associated with an exchange for confirming and settling transactions. Since is makes itself the counter party on every trade, traders can liquidate positions promptly and efficiently without having to wait for the other party to liquidate.True or False
    • Feedback: True. (Rules & Regulations)
  • 69. The futures exchange has a principle function of: A. Allowing hedgers to transfer price risk B. Offering a market for selling commodities C. Offering speculators opportunity for profit D. All of the above
    • Feedback:A. The futures market was founded for the purpose of hedging. (Futures Markets Intelligence) 
  • 70. As an option approaches expiration, the premium decays at an accelerated rate: True or False
    • Feedback: True. The closer the option reaches expiration, the more the premium declines. (Options Market Knowledge)
  • 71. The margin requirements in the futures market are the same for long and short positions: True or False
    • Feedback: True. There is no bias for long and short positions. (Rules & Regulations) 
  • 72. A hedger may be required to pay less initial margin than that of a speculator due to the hedger: A. Pays interest to the exchange B. Adding risk C. Reducing risk D. Having no initial risk due to the hedge
    • Feedback: C. A hedger may be required to pay less initial margin than that of a speculator due to the hedger reducing risk. (Rules & Regulations)
  • 73. After hearing a tip regarding a potential company buyout on the CNBC Network, you should purchase call options to take advantage of the opportunity: True or False
    • Feedback: False. You need to complete your own due diligence prior to acting on any tips. A financial network is not considered as a valuable resource for speculators to generate trade ideas nor complete their due diligence. (Options Market Knowledge)
  • 74. You liquidate a transaction by the sale of an equal and opposite position from the one you originally initiated. This is known as: A. Offset B. Transfer C. Forward D. All of the above
    • Feedback: A. If you liquidate a transaction by the sale of an equal and opposite position from the one you originally initiated you are offsetting your position and closing it out. (General Trading Knowledge) 
  • 75. A broker is found to be trading a discretionary account excessively for the purpose of gaining commissions. He is known to have been: A. Scalping B. Front running C. Churning D. Self dealing
    • Feedback: C. A broker is found to be trading a discretionary account excessively for the purpose of gaining commissions he has been churning. This is an SEC and CFTC violation. (Rules & Regulations) 
  • 76. The intrinsic value of an option is: A. The underlying asset value B. The options remaining time value C. The amount the option is in the money D. None of the above
    • Feedback: C. The intrinsic value of an option is the amount the option is in the money. (Options Market Knowledge)
  • 77. Being able to have a considerable position with only a small amount of capital is considered: A. Ratio B. Leverage C. Asset Allocation D.Margin
    • Feedback: B. Being able to have a considerable position with only a small amount of capital is considered leverage. You will have a favorable ratio using leverage but the best answer is leverage. (General Trading Knowledge)
  • 78. The premium on an option is influenced by: A. The strike price of an option B. The volatility and price of the underlying security C. The time until expiration D. All of the above
    • Feedback: D. All of the above are influencing the premium of an option. (Options Market Knowledge) 
  • 79. When are brokers required to provide trade confirmations: A. When opening and closing a position B. When opening a position C. When a positions value is changed D. When offsetting a position
    • Feedback: A. Brokers are required to provide trade confirmations when opened and closing a position. (Rules & Regulations) 
  • 80. A Penny Stock is a common stock with a value that is less than one dollar: True or False
    • Feedback: False. Recent changes by the SEC considers all shares that are traded below $5.00 are classified as Penny Stocks. The $1.00 definition has been revised. (Stock Trading Foundation)
  • 81. Penny Stocks are considered to be valued by the SEC as shares under $5.00 and therefore are highly speculative: True or False
    • Feedback: True. Penny Stocks have significantly lower prices than value stocks and therefore they are regarded as being highly speculative. Changes by the SEC considers all shares traded below $5.00 as Penny Stocks. The $1.00 definition has been revised. (Stock Trading Foundation)
  • 82. Momentum trading deals with stocks or other securities that move quickly as well as significantly. A momentum trader may: A. Buy the stock on earnings B. Sell the stock on earnings C. Buy the stock on a spike in volume D. All of the above
    • Feedback: D. All of the above are options for momentum based trading. (Stock Trading Foundation) 
  • 83. A thin market is a market that: A. Is Typically less liquid and subject to more volatility B. Has relatively few buyers and sellers C. Is also considered a narrow market D. All of the above
    • Feedback: D. All of the above is true. (General Trading Knowledge)
  • 84. A Pump and Dump (P&D) involves: A. Artificially inflating the price of a stock B. Uses fake and erroneous statements C. Attempts to sell low-cost stock at higher prices D. All of the above.
    • Feedback: D. All of the above are true. In addition, it should be known that this is an illegal act and once the stock has surged to a specific level, it is then dumped and sold for a profit. Well-known celebrities may even endorse the product and fall victim to the fraudulent act. (Stock Trading Foundation) 
  • 85. A new trader should consider trading spreads on options because they offer more profit and less risk: True or False
    • Feedback: False. Neither statement is true. It’s possible to have less profit and more risk. (Options Market Knowledge)
  • 86. All speculators have significantly less position size than hedgers. Therefore, speculators have little impact on the number of bids and offers:True or False
    • Feedback: False. Speculators provides market liquidity and contribute to overall market efficiency. (General Trading Knowledge)
  • 87. In trading, a speculator uses the stock markets to: A. Gain an edge on the market B. Hedge a position C. Attempt to gain trading profits D. Earn profits on futures
    • Feedback: C. The primary reason a speculator uses the stock markets is to gain profit. (Stock Trading Foundation)
  • 88. Trend traders may use the existing trend in multiple time frames on a chart for entry and exits decisions: True or False
    • Feedback: True. Trend traders may use the existing trend in multiple time frames for entry and exits decisions. For example, a trader may confirm an uptrend on a 15 and 60 minute chart and make a decision when the 5 minute also aligns. (Trend Trading Techniques)
  • 89. A trading plan commonly offers: A. A journal of your trading activity B. Defines stop loss and profit targets C. Has a set of rules to follow D. All of the above
    • Feedback: D. A trading plan commonly offers all of the above. (General Trading Knowledge) 
  • 90. The ETFs used to track the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial, Nasdaq, and the Russell 2000 index are: A. SPX, GLD, DIA, TLT B. SPY, DIA, QQQ, IWM C. SPDR, DJIA, QQQ, IWM D. SPY, DJIA, QQQ, IWM
    • Feedback:B. SPY is the S&P 500, DIA is the Dow Jones Industrial, QQQ is the Nasdaq and IWM is the Russell 2000. (General Trading Knowledge) 
  • 91. A one lot SPX call option is equivalent to buying: A. 5 SPY ETF options B. 1 SPY ETF options C. 10 SPY ETF options D. None of the above
    • Feedback: C. A one lot SPX call option is equivalent to buying 10 SPY ETF options. (Options Market Knowledge)
  • 92. Hedge Funds and Commodity Trading Advisors (CTA) that manage funds commonly have management fees and performance fees. It is common practice to charge: A. 5% management, 50% performance: 5/50 B. 1% management, 20% performance: 1/20 C. 2% management, 20% performance: 2/20 D. Both B & C
    • Feedback: D. Common practice and industrial averages suggest 1-2% management fees and 15-25% performance or incentive fees for a Hedge Funds or CTA managing client funds. (Rules & Regulations) 
  • 93. You anticipate the stock market to increase and buy 4 E-Mini S&P 500 (ES) futures contracts  at 2225.25 (1 point = $50.00). The contract changes considerably and you offset your position at 2270.50. After a total commission of $8.00, what is the net gain? A. $1,304.50 B. $11,304.50 C. $11,272.50 D. $1,272.50
    • Feedback: C. Long position at 2225.25 and offset at 2270.50. The profit per contract is 45.25 points. The gain is 45.25 points per contract x $50/point = $2,262.50 – $8.00 Commission = $2,254.50 x 5 contracts = $11,272.50 (Stock Trading Foundation) 
  • 94. Buying a deep out of the money put or call option would be: A. A smart decision because it is cheap B. A high probability to expire worthless at expiration C. Likely to have intrinsic value at the time of expiration D. None of the above
    • Feedback: B. Buying a deep out of the money put or call option has a high probability to expire worthless at expiration. (Options Market Knowledge)
  • 95. Trading advisors are required to: A. Not mislead their clients in anyway B. To have the high standards of ethics C. To not fabricate or promise trading profits D. All of the above
    • Feedback: D. All of the above are required by trading advisors. (Rules & Regulations) 
  • 96. An automated trading strategy: A. Is similar to discretionary trading but not traded in the pit B. Uses a systematic approach for entry and exits on a trade C. Typically takes automated trades on bearish trends D. Can only use the coding Python for developing the system
    • Feedback: B. Uses a systematic approach for entry and exits on a trade. (General Trading Knowledge)
  • 97. If you are speculating in Treasury Bond futures, you will not have a higher margin requirement than a hedger: True or False
    • Feedback: False. Since a hedgers position may be less risky than a speculators position, an exchanges may set a higher margin requirement. (Futures Markets Intelligence)
  • 98. Trend trading strategies are beneficial because they: A. Allow you to take advantage a moving average breakout to ride a trend B. Can be used for long or short term strategies C. Eliminates researching financials using fundamental analysis D. All of the above
    • Feedback: D. All of the above are beneficial for trend trading. (Trend Trading Techniques) 
  • 99. The option writer also know as the seller or grantor has: A. Has limited opportunity for profit and an unlimited liability B. Has unlimited opportunity for profit and an unlimited liability C. Has limited opportunity for profit and a limited liability D. Has unlimited opportunity for profit and an limited liability 
    • Feedback: A. The option writer also know as the seller or grantor has has limited opportunity for profit and an unlimited liability (Options Market Knowledge)
  • 100. Moving Averages are often used for establishing a trend: True or False
    • Feedback: True. Moving Averages are used for establishing a trend. (Trend Trading Techniques)
Learn About How To Trade Stocks & Options

Risk Disclaimer

DoughStream™ is not responsible for any losses incurred as a result of using our quizzes, or exam questions. We do not guarantee the accuracy of our quiz or examination questions. Trading stocks, options or futures involves risk and is not suitable for every investor.

3 Ways to Make Money from Home – Blogging, Affiliate & New Product

Jeff Knize
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0
3 Ways to Make Money from Home – Blogging, Affiliate & New Product

Times are tight for a lot of people. Higher costs for everyday items like food and other necessities… has people pinching pennies tighter than ever. Or, in many cases, they’re racking up credit card bills that could snowball out of control – just to keep their heads above water.

So the need for additional income options has never been greater. But what are the BEST options – especially if you’re already stretched to the breaking point trying to juggle your current job, family, or other obligations?

And how do you keep from getting sucked in by the gauntlet of screaming hype-marketers promising you instant riches with little or no work? I am sure your’e seeing offers by the dozens on Facebook alone!

Well the good news is there are REAL ways to make money from home while balancing your schedule – without being taken advantage of. And that’s what this post is all about. Over the years, I’ve helped hundreds of people make real money online using some proven, rock-solid principles that anyone can use.

The goal of this post is to give you an overview of some of the most reputable ways to make money online. You can use one or more of these methods to bring in a few hundred dollars a month – or even several thousand and replace your day job if you like. The best thing to do though, is to crawl before walking. Learn the basics of bringing in some supplemental income, then scale up if you desire.

 How to Best Use This Content     

Each section highlights a different income method by focusing on:

  • What the method is
  • What you need
  • Get started now
  • Recommended resources

Pick a method that suits your interests and schedule and take action. It’s really that simple. The post is designed to be used, so I’ve tried to make it as “take action friendly” as possible. The methods profiled here really do work with some time and investment. But NO method, no matter how good will work if you don’t take action.

So are you ready? Great! Let’s dive in.

Ways to Make Money from Home #1: Affiliate Marketing     

What it is: Affiliate marketing is basically when you get paid a commission to promote someone’s product. The commission could be anywhere from 3% to 75% or more on products costing a couple of dollars to thousands of dollars.

And affiliate programs are available in nearly ANY market you can imagine, from golf to health care products to dog training to courses. Whatever your interests are, chances are there are people willing to pay you a commission to promote their products.

What You Need: Affiliate marketing is one of the least expensive ways to get started making money online. All you need are the products you want to promote, a blog or website (which can be free), and visitors to your site.

The products you choose to promote will give you a special link, unique to you. Then when someone clicks the link on your site, they’ll be taken to the product’s site. If they buy, you get a commission. It’s that simple.

Get Started Now: To get started, pick a market you’re interested in. Then go to Google and run a search for “your niche + affiliate.”

Use Google to Check for Affiliate Programs to Make Money Online

You can also check out Clickbank.com and Commission Junction (CJ.com). Both of these sites are considered to be leaders in affiliate marketing directories.

Then set up a blog at WordPress.com. It’s very easy to do and straightforward. To get a domain name for free and pay just $12 for a year of hosting, check out the Consulting Business post.

Start writing blog posts about your market niche and articles (500+ words minimum, best results 1,000+ words) and include a review of one of the products you want to promote (don’t forget to use the affiliate link).

If you want to know the amount of words your top competitors are writing, you can copy and paste their content into a free counter at WordCounter.net

Finally, start sending people to the site. There are a lot of ways to drive web traffic. One of the most effective free ways is by posting in social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter. You then link back to your site. Make it a goal to post frequently.

Recommended Resources

Ways to Make Money from Home #2: Blogging for Bucks      

What It Is: This method is an off-shoot of the affiliate marketing method just discussed. In fact, combining both of these sections can create even more income opportunities for you. Basically, you create a blog (again, you can use WordPress.com) and start posting blogs on the topic you’re interested in.

Use WordPress to Make Money from Home Blogging

But on the site, you’ll also have ads that are automatically posted by the Google’s ad network Adsense. When people click on an ad on your site, you get paid. It’s that simple. This method though is highly dependent on your site getting A LOT of traffic. So generally, it’s best to get your site established and bringing in visitors before activating Adsense.

What You Need: All you need is a website or blog (blog works best) with some content on it and some visitors coming by every day.

Get Started Now: The best way to get started with Adsense is to view Google’s excellent tutorial section. Google wants you to succeed and you can get the very best training on Adsense from them. Plus it’s free.

Go to Google.com/adsense and open an account. Again it’s free. Once inside your members section, click the question mark “?” in the upper right hand corner. This will allow you to browse all articles and visit the help forum where you can get up to speed very quickly.

Recommended Resources 

Ways to Make Money from Home #3: Your Own Product

What It Is: Selling your own digital information product online is widely considered one of the best ways to make an extra income – or even a lucrative full-time income. Your product can take the form of an e-book, a set of audios, videos or a webinar.

And you can create it on any topic you like. Just note, that this method is more advanced than some of the others, so you may want to get grounded in affiliate marketing or blogging with Adsense before diving in here.

What You Need: You’re going to need a way to create your product. If your product is an e-book, then you’ll need to write it (or outsource the writing) and format it as a PDF document. There are a lot of PDF creators online if you Google it.

Audio products can be easily made with free audio software called Audacity, which will create an mp3 file of your recording. And for videos, you can use Snagit or Camtasia. I used both and I prefer Snagit, it’s less pricey and works great.

Finally, you’re going to need a website to sell your product from as well as a way to process orders. Clickbank is the leading digital products directory online and is a great place to sell your product through. They’ll process your orders, collect your payments, and handle refunds. Go check out Clickbank and look at how other marketers are selling their products for ideas.

Using Clickbank for Affiliate Marketing

ClickFunnels is another good option that you can integrate a payment processor into like Stripe.com. You can setup a landing page for selling products but it is more advanced. The monthly cost starts at $97.00 too. This may be better once you get some experience.

Get Started Now: The first step is to determine if people are already buying products similar to what you want to create. There are a couple of ways to do this.

Go to Clickbank and see how similar products are selling. Also, Google your main search terms and see if any ads show up on the right-hand side of the page. These are Google Adwords advertisers and they’re paying good money for their ads to show up. If there are ads, then that’s a good sign people are spending money in your market.

You also want to research your competition, other products that are similar to yours, and the wants and needs of your market. The idea here is to understand as much about your market as possible so you know what sort of problems they have that you can solve with your product. You want to do this BEFORE you create your product.

Once you do this, decide on the content you want to create, make a plan, and create it. Once you’ve made your product, you need a sales letter on your site to sell it. Again, check out how others on Clickbank are selling theirs for ideas. I would only look at the top 3 in the category, they are likely all making good money!

As for getting visitors to your site (and this goes for all the methods above), there are dozens of strategies. We’ve already discussed social platforms a bit. You can also create videos and post them on video sharing sites like YouTube.

Get involved in related forums and answer questions, it’s all about being helpful. Don’t be promotional and spam forum members with links, this is frowned upon. Just continue being helpful by answering their questions. These questions can also be future articles or blog posts.

You can also test out paid advertising using Google Adwords or Facebook Ads.

There’s not enough time to really get into this method in detail in this post. A lot of the skills you’ll need to pull this off can be learned by following one of the other methods above.

Recommended Resources

Closing      

Those are 3 of the top ways you can supplement (or replace) your income online. And to be honest, we barely scratched the surface. Though you can go very deep in each of these methods, keeping it simple to start with is very important. Getting overwhelmed will just keep you on the sidelines.

So take a deep breath, pick a method that interests you the most and dive in. Try not to hop from one method to the next. Pick one and stick with it.

DoughStream

Good luck and keep your eyes peeled for more helpful posts to get you off the ground fast!

Flipping Houses 101 – Get Savvy on Foreclosure’s & REO’s

Jeff Knize
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0
Flipping Houses 101 – Get Savvy on Foreclosure’s & REO’s

When locating a diamond in the ruff foreclosure when flipping houses, it’s super exciting! A foreclosure business can be very rewarding, whether it’s part or full time.

The knowledge you will gain in this post should help separate you from the competition. Besides, not all investors are looking for properties at the same time.

What is a Foreclosure? A foreclosure is a process in which a lender takes back a property after a borrower is in default. When this takes place it is known as an REO or Real Estate Owned.

Many Investors Are Fierce Competitors & Cash Buyers

When there is an all cash buyer, it can make it difficult on buyers needing to obtain a mortgage to purchase a foreclosure. Therefore, the quicker you locate these properties and lock up a contract, the better. You want to beat as many people investors to a contract as possible.

In saying this, sometimes with foreclosures, agents may wait to review all sales contracts with their client on a specific date.

If an agent prices the property competitively and there is demand, the agent may add a specific remark in the “broker remarks section” of the listing. The remarks may say something like: “submit your highest and best offer by date _________”.

The lender will then look at all contracts on the specific date and accept the contract that is in their best interest.

What Is An REO?

Real Estate Owned or REO refers to lenders such as banks or other institutions owning real estate. They are very common and abundant nationwide. The largest percentage of foreclosures is typically stacked on the segment of the market referred to as “entry level” homes.

In the height of the refinance boom in the early 2000’s, I appraised many real estate owned properties for banks. Many of these properties were in lower priced areas.

I became very intrigued when appraising REO properties & it made me want to flip houses myself… 

With an REO property appraisal, as an appraiser, I had to complete a regular full appraisal and a Supplemental Real Estate Owned Addendum. 

The REO Addendum is detailed information on the foreclosure property, the listed price on the property if any and listings of competing properties for sale in the general marketing area. 

Foreclosures Often Resell For 50-100% Over Their Original Sales Price

The REO Addendum would also include a total estimated cost of recommended repairs. Finally, the REO Addendum required and “as-is” estimated value, an “as-is” repaired estimated value, an “as-is” estimated market value based on a minimal exposure time in the market and an as-is repaired value.

What fascinated me the most was when I would see foreclosures resell for 50-100% over the original sales price. That’s exactly why I started Flipping Houses myself! 

Foreclosure Repairs and REO Listing Addendum.
A supplemental real estate addendum shows repair items, the subject property information and listings.

Foreclosures are historically more abundant in lower income areas rather than higher income areas. The percentage of foreclosures typically decreases as the price increases in an area.

When a lender has an REO, it reflects negative on their books and is considered a liability not an asset. If a lender has too many REO’s on their books, a lender can become very motivated to sell which in turn provides an investor with an opportunity.

Buying an REO is a great way to obtain a property. The investor usually gets a clear title and they are typically cleaned out prior to being shown. Often, they are priced far below market value to reflect needed repairs and deferred maintenance. 

After a lender takes back a property through the foreclosure process, they are often listed through a real estate agent.

In my experience, I have discovered that many agents are from outside of the general marketing area of the property. When this occurs, the realtor may not have the expertise to list the property appropriately.

The property is often listed above or below market value. When listed below market value, this opens the door for investors to reap a nice profit. But it can also open the door for many investors and contracts may come in too high. This will chip away at your profit margin and can even put you in the red upon selling.

There may be different processes in place for bidding on foreclosures. Some processes are very simple. For example, you contact the agent, asking for a showing and if interested, you put in a sales contract. However, there are other processes that are more tedious.

As a certified appraiser and a real estate broker, I recently had a friend who inquire about a property in his area. It appeared to be vacant and possibly foreclosed on. It was listed for sale and he was interested in placing a contract on the property. 

In order for us to put in a contract, we had to sign up to a specific portal online and upload documents. Once we submitted the documents, we received a simple “Submission Accepted”. 

It took several attempts to get through to the agent to find out about our offer. It was a lot of red tape to get a simple response. As it turns out, the property received multiple contracts.

Are All Foreclosures Good Deals?   

Many properties that are listed as foreclosures are not good deals.
Caution: All foreclosures are not good deals!

No, not all foreclosures are good deals! Sometimes properties are listed over their market value and the price drops several times before having market reaction and selling.

Properties can be listed, cancelled and re-listed for long periods of time and often remaining on the market for over a year.

For example, a lender may have a property that has been neglected by its owner and the property has depreciated significantly. It is in need of major renovations.

The property is worth $50,000 but the lender has a $100,000 loan on its books. The lender isn’t ready to absorb a $50,000 loss so it’s sits on the market. In many cases, the property is listed and re-listed each time with a decreased asking price until market reaction presents itself.

Do your own homework and also work with local realtors to get an accurate value of a property prior to placing a contract.

Finding your diamond in the ruff foreclosure can be as easy as contacting a local real estate office. Consider contacting an office in the same area as the properties you are potentially looking to rehab. An experienced agent can provide you new listings of foreclosures on the market. 

When Searching for a Real Estate Agent to Locate Foreclosures, Ask the Appropriate Questions.

  • Are you familiar with foreclosures in the area?
  • How long have you had this experience?
  • Are you currently listing and selling foreclosed properties?
  • Are you aware of properties that are in pre-foreclosure?
  • Can you offer me insight in this current market?

Indicate to the agent that you are a real estate investor and that you flip houses. Tell the agent that you are interested in possibly buying and selling properties with them. If you are serious, a credible agent should be willing to assist you.

Agents are paid on commission and buyers agents typically average 2.5% at the closing. A $100,000 sale is a hefty $2,500. This is one of the reasons I decided to become a broker myself.

Although it’s important to use a realtor to understand the market, it’s more important for you to gain expertise. Knowing the area you are investing in, just as a mail person knows their route, is critical to your success.

Driving or farming an area is a good way to learn the market. Attempt to locate new properties coming into the market and the prices of closed sales. Visit real estate offices and contact agents directly on real estate signs. To familiarize yourself with the market, ask agents for a list of sold properties.

Obtain your own information on listings and sold properties by Google searching the area by town or zip code. You can also go directly to popular sites such as Zillow or Redfin.  

Do not be discouraged if you do not catch a property the day of or the next day it goes on the market. Because Lenders often have their agents submit all contracts only after the property has had a reasonable amount of exposure to the open market.

Finding the right foreclosure to buy is just a numbers game. You only want to rush into a contract if you are 100% sure! Remember, you make money when you buy, not when you sell. This is important to remember each time when you flip houses.

You Need To Know The Numbers!

  • How sure are you about the “as is value”
  • Do you know the “after repair value” ARV
  • What are the “as is” Comparables in the area selling for?
  • What are the similar rehabbed properties in the area selling for?
  • What are the marketing times for those rehabbed properties?
  • How long are properties sitting before they have a contract & then close?
  • What are the repair costs? Always assume more repairs than less – add 10-20% on top of your estimate%.
  • Don’t forget about closing costs, realtor costs and tax credits when you sell. They add up quickly!

These are the questions you need to ask yourself before placing a contract on a property. Your due diligence is going to make or break your deal. Good luck!

Start A Cleaning Business – $61 Billion in U.S. Revenue

Jeff Knize
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1
Start A Cleaning Business – $61 Billion in U.S. Revenue

#1 House Cleaning – In-Demand Service Business

Do you know how to clean? If you said yes, I am happy to hear it! And if you said know no, sorry… but I am a little worried about you. Just Kidding, Lol. 

All jokes aside though, the janitorial services generated $61 billion in U.S. dollars in 2019. There were approximately 3.24 million people in the United States working as janitors and cleaners. This does not include maids and house cleaners.  

When I was just 12 years old, I realized the potential of a house cleaning business…

Sweep up solid profit margins with a cleaning business.
Sweep up profit margins with a cleaning business.

I realized early on in life that Service Businesses were in high demand. I also knew that these types of businesses could be started on a shoestring budget because we barely had any money when this journey began.

The cleaning industry is a service industry that my family tapped into! Before my teenage years, my mom and dad started a house cleaning business.

This was a good transition for my family since my dad was already working as a salesman, selling chemicals and cleaning supplies to schools. 

When I was 12 years old, I was basically required to deliver flyers for our family cleaning business. I remember my Dad dropping me, my brother and a friend off in nice neighborhoods with stacks of flyers.

I remember my dad’s old white Chevy van and the bright colored flyers like it was yesterday. I only remember the company name and the slogan on the flyer though: “Mighty Maid’s – Have it made in the shade with Mighty Maid’s.” 

This business was started by my mom and dad basically coming up with a name (it wasn’t even incorporated), making a flyer, running copies and having us kids deliver the flyers in neighborhood mailboxes.

By the way, it’s illegal to physically put flyers in mailboxes & we got caught.

Tip: Always put flyers on the outside of the mailbox or put rubber bands around the flyer and secure the flyer on the front door handles.

My dad was really proud of the name and the logo he came up with. He located an animated image of Carol Burnett holding a mop next to a bucket and used that image on the business cards, letterhead and flyers. I don’t think he figured anyone would pay much attention to trademark infringement at the time and they didn’t.

Carol Burnett - Home Based Cleaning Service

The cleaning business grew in record time. There were several cleaning crews coming over to our home each morning to get their daily schedules. This created complaints from our neighbors.

We discovered this after the Police showed up at our house (kids never forget things like that) and informed us that we couldn’t continue having so many cars on the street.

This is a solid industry that can be scaled! Cleaning businesses have stood the test of time and they continue to increase in overall growth year-over-year. You might want to consider this service business.

Do you think you could start a cleaning business today? I bet you can!

40 Commercial Cleaning Accounts

Since my dad was already selling cleaning supplies to commercial companies and the house cleaning business was a success, he decided to take the business to the next level. This involved selling Commercial Cleaning.

Commercial Office Cleaning Accounts for Approximately 31% of the Cleaning Industry Revenue. 

As with anything, it took some time to close cleaning account but he eventually built the business — Abbott Building Systems to 40 commercial cleaning accounts! Each account was in the several thousands per month. The 40 accounts brought in significant revenue.

My dads progression to Commercial Cleaning really paid off for our family. He was known for having the big house at the top of the hill. He always inspired me and had an incredible entrepreneurial spirit.

Starting A Small Cleaning Business (KISS)

I have seen many articles and blogs online over complicating how to start a cleaning business. I strongly believe these article and blogs can be extremely counterproductive and are the reason people decide to not take action. The reason for this is because they don’t follow the Keep It Super Simple (KISS) method.

For example, the last article I read after searching “how to start a cleaning business from scratch” on Google goes into required topics such as: You must create a business plan, you must form a business entity, hire an accountant, consult with an attorney, etc.

All of these things seem to be designed to scare you off from starting a cleaning business in the first place! They are obviously written by people who have absolutely no experience with starting a cleaning business. It’s hard to believe these actually rank #1 on Google.

It’s my goal to give you real insight and keep everything very simple. At the same time, I want to be realistic and give you real world experiences when I can.

Lastly, starting a service business on a shoestring budget is about being as cost efficient as possible. Especially in the beginning before you earn your first dollar. You don’t want to start spending money unless it is absolutely necessary.

Cleaning Business Market Ideas

  • Create a Facebook Business Page (share your page with friends).
  • New Facebook Post on Your Business Page then Boost it (as little as 1.00 per day).
  • Google Ads (when doing a Google Ad, target zip codes).
  • Free Business Listings: Yelp, Angie’s List, Thumbtack.
  • Buy a Business Domain on GoDaddy (create a free 1-page insta-page website using GoDaddy. Be sure to use the free version, there is one type on GoDaddy that will give you a free trial but will then auto-renew. You want to call and make sue you are redeeming your free credit for insta-page.
  • Put Flyers on Bulletin Boards in Local Grocery Stores.
  • Get The Word Out: Call, text and email family, friends and neighbors about your new cleaning business and offer them a introductory special discount.
  • Local Newspaper Ads Offline and Online.
  • Yellow Pages Offline and Online.

HOUSE CLEANING RANGES

HomeAdvisor reports hiring a Maid Service ranges from $116-$235 with a median price of $167.00. Per hour costs range between $50 and $90 per hour. This is accurate data as it is taken from their reported 65,906 HomeAdvisor members. With these types of numbers, you could even begin hiring help in no time!

House Cleaning Start-Up Basics:

Business Flyers, Business Cards, Free Email Address (i.e. patscleaning@gmail.com), Cell Phone, Car Magnets, Appointment Book, and a Car. That’s it. You could even borrow a car! Tip: Appointment book 94 cents at Walmart or use your free Google Calendar!

Buy & Sell Cars Wholesale & Flip for Big Profits

Jeff Knize
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Buy & Sell Cars Wholesale & Flip for Big Profits

I have a good friend that owns a used car dealership. He buys and sells cars wholesale for a living. He wasn’t just the typical car salesman, he was also a Chicago Policeman. 

He had a near-death experience in 1990 after a horrible car accident. While heading home from work, he was hit head-on from a drunk driver crossing the median on the expressway. The man who hit him had no car insurance. 

He was in a coma for almost two weeks and he nearly died. I met him roughly a month after he came out of the coma and was released from the hospital.

Around that time, he placed an ad for a used car salesman. When I noticed the ad, I really wanted the job. I continued calling until he finally caved and told me to come in for an interview.

The meeting went well. I think he could tell that I was genuine and eager to work. Since he wasn’t 100% physically and needed the help fast, he took a chance and hired me.  

Dan had a real knack for the Car Business

He would buy cars at the auction and I would be flipping the cars on his lot for a big profit. He taught me how to go after the big hits, not the small $200-$400 profits here and there. He didn’t believe in just turning over the car inventory for small profits.

Flipping Cars Manheim Auto Auction
Manheim Auto Auction for Car Dealers – Matteson, IL

Since I basically had full reign over the lot, I would always move the cars around in different places and when doing this, it gave people the perception of the lot always having new cars!

I was surprised at how many people would say that they always see new cars on the lot — even if we weren’t selling many cars at the time.      

Being a policeman, Dan had a lot of connections with the police department and he would sell to them month after month. I met a lot of great people while working for him over a two year period. I started flipping cars myself and partnering 50/50 on the cars and motorcycles we bought.

I Started Flipping Cars & Motorcycles

I would even buy cars out of the paper when they were a great deal, not just from the auction. One time, I remember it being a hot and sunny Saturday afternoon at the car lot and I was flipping through the paper ads and saw a motorcycle ad that caught my eye.

Flipping Motorcycles for Profit
Kawasaki GPZ 550 Bought $1,000 & Sold $2,850 in 5 Days.

It was a great asking price on a Kawasaki GPZ 550. I went out and looked at it immediately. The bike was in excellent condition and I bought it for $1000.

I drove it for the weekend and I flipped it on the car lot the very next week for $2,850. That was a nice hit!  

Dan taught me a lot and I’m forever grateful. We are still friends to this day and he is still a wholesaler selling cars in the Chicago area and in Arizona.

He even buys cars in one state and sells the cars in another state for a profit. I setup a website for him in order to get him car buyer leads. In exchange for setting up his site, he charges me very little to buy cars at auction using his license.

Here is the car lead website that I setup for Dan (previously mentioned in post).

Car Buying Lead Website
Dan’s Car Lead Website – WholesaleAutoService.com

I Lost over $4,000 On A Bad Deal & Wholesaling Cars Helped Me Recover

I discovered the importance of Dan’s wholesaling and exactly how to become a wholesaler when I got myself into a real pickle. At the time I was working at a dead-end, low paying job. The job may have seemed descent to some people, but it certainly wasn’t my dream job.

At the time, I was very unhappy in my current situation so I started looking at get rich ideas. Not the best idea right? I know, I know!

By desiring something new, I ended up getting myself talked into a situation on a phone call and there is no turning back.

It was a $4,000 training on how to sell “seller carry-back notes”. I flew to Vegas to learn about this strategy. I paid the $4,000 in advance. Along with my plane ticket, hotel and expenses. So I was out $5,000 before I even catching my flight.

While in Vegas I immediately knew that I got myself into a real pickle. I knew this seller carry-back notes thing was definitely not something I felt capable of doing. Maybe it was for some people but it definitely wasn’t something I felt ready for.

I remember getting home and being so sick to my stomach. Just knowing that I financed the $4,000 through the companies finance program at a high interest rate made things worse. The only chance I had to get out of this was to contact the company.

I was basically manipulated and swindled over the phone while at work. The way their sales guy Todd finally got me to sign on the dotted line after several attempts was by saying that he had family in my area and he was coming to visit them.

Todd aid that he would meet with me and take me under his wing. He also claimed we would have a deal done before I even got on the plane for the Vegas training!

Of course that never happened and he made excuses why he wasn’t able to meet with me. I know it was stupid on my part but I was desperate and I hated my job. I know better now and learned from this experience.

Once I called and told the owner about how I was sold, he was shocked. So long story short, I had to come up with the $4000 but they waived all of the interest on the loan.

I Had To Find A Way To Make Money

So now I had to figure out what I was going to do… And all I could think of was to call my friend Dan McCormick and find out how I can start wholesaling cars. My friend Dan was similar to my dad.

My dad used to tell me “Jeff, why don’t you just get a couple cleaning accounts or start selling cleaning supplies and chemicals that I sell, you could do very well!” I would always tell mu Dad that I wasn’t interested.

My friend Dan used to say the same thing. “Jeff, why don’t you pick yourself up a couple of accounts!” Dan meant for me to get new car dealer accounts where I would walk into new car dealers and buy their used car trade-ins wholesale and flip the cars on the lot or at auction.

When people buy brand new cars at new car dealerships, they trade in their old cars. Well, that was the opportunity. Used cars is where the money is to be made!

To get an account, you would have to walk into the new car dealer and ask for the used car manager. Next, you would let him or her know that you’re interested in buying their new car trade-ins. You wanted the high mile cars that they didn’t want.

In the past, I wasn’t interested in doing this. I was too shy and didn’t feel comfortable with doing it. I would always tell Dan “no thank you”.

I Had No Choice, I Was Broke – I Needed To Wholesale Cars

But now, I had no choice. I needed a way to make money fast and this was the only idea that came to mind. I called Dan and he immediately told me what I needed to do. He gave me the blueprint for wholesaling cars for profit.

How I Bought Used Cars Wholesale At Dealers & Flipped At Auctions:

Used Car Off-Lease Lane at Auction - Buy & Sell Cars to Flip
Nissan Off-Lease lane. I bought Nissan Pathfinder’s & Infiniti’s out of this lane in order to drive them as a family car and then flip them at a later date. That’s another benefit to flipping cars! If you like a car, just buy it wholesale and enjoy the drive. You could always flip it in the future for a profit.

I knocked on a lot of doors at new car dealerships. I knocked on one door after another after another. I told them that I was a wholesaler and I was interested in buying the used cars that they brought in on trade. I wanted the cars with high miles (over 100K) that I could resell through the auction at a higher price. 

What I found was, most of these new car dealers did not want to do business with me. They already have someone in their back pocket buying all of their trade ins. I also discovered some of the used car sales managers already had these cars pre-sold to buyers that were lining their pockets with cash under the table.

The 11th Car Dealership Sold Me A Van to Flip

It was around the 11th car dealership when I got my break. The used car manager was someone that I met through my friend Dan. They knew each other from the old neighborhood.

They were old friends from the Chicago neighborhoods and when they saw each other, their conversation went something like this (seriously):

Joe – Hey Danny, what’s going on?

Danny – Hey Joey, same old thing, what’s goin on?

Joe – How’s biz Danny?

Danny, biz is good! You gettin a lot of actiont?

Joe – Yeah, we had 8 ups in the last hour and I just delivered 3.

That’s how the conversation usually went. It was really more like the sounds and dialogue from The Sopranos series. At first, it took me a little while to catch on to the car business jargon, but it was very interesting to say the least!

So that was my break. This was somewhat of an in for me even though Joe already dealt with several car buyers. Regardless, it still took me several more visits before they got sick of me and finally offered me a car to buy.

My First Wholesale Find At A New Car Dealership

It was getting late on a Wednesday evening and it was right before closing time at 9:00 PM…

It was clear from the look in his eyes that he wanted me off of his back, the general manager that is. He looked at me and looked back out the showroom window. He pointed to a Chevy Astro Van and said “tell you what, I’ll give that van for a quarter”. 

So what he meant was the van was mine for $2,500. The previous owners just bought a brand new car and they were clearing out the van. It was a new car trade-in and it was absolutely filthy. But I didn’t care! That is exactly the kind of vehicles you want to buy. They look horrible on the outside but can be cleaned up and turned into beauties.

I contacted Dan while looking up the value of the van in my used car auction books. These were books from the auction showing prices of vehicles that sold the previous weeks. I looked up the van in the books and saw the price ranges between 4,200-4,700. I immediately knew there was an opportunity for a good profit!

Making $2,000.00 Profit

We ended up buying the van. Dan put up 100% of the money and since I found the deal, I would get 50%. We detailed the vehicle and ran it through the auction the next week. I’ll never forget when Dan called me. He said “Jeff, the car did $4,685”. After expenses, I made nearly $1,000 and Dan made $1,000 too. I was so excited! I couldn’t believe it actually worked!

I kept doing the same thing over and over with buying cars and Dan would front the money. We would detail the vehicles and run them through the auction. I ended up flipping enough cars to make up for the $4,000 that I lost plus more — in record time.

It was an incredible learning experience as well. Dan was shocked when I told him that I wanted to take a break from wholesaling cars. But at the time, I felt done. I accomplished exactly what I set out to do. 

I CURRENTLY BUY CARS WHOLESALE & SELL CARS WITH MY DEALER CARD

To this day, I still have my dealer auction card under Dan’s license and I buy cars wholesale at the dealer only auction. Actually, I recently bought a few cars at the auction to drive and later sold them for a profit. It’s a real thrill!

If you’re looking to buy cars wholesale and flip the cars for a higher wholesale price at auctions, you will need to become a wholesaler. You could also buy cars wholesale and flip them to the public retail for even higher profits.

There are a couple ways you can begin wholesaling cars this way:

  • Look in your contact list and see if you have any family or friends that are in the car business. And see if you can partner with them.
  • Visit used car dealers in your area and connect with the owner. Try and work out a partnership where you will pay them a percentage of the profits on the cars you buy.
  • Google search; “car dealer license” + your state. You will find companies that you can pay monthly that will allow you to get a wholesale dealer’s license. I actually did this in the past before working again with my friend Dan. 
  • Your Own Dealer License: This way is more expensive but you can also consider getting your own dealer’s license. It does take time and it can get costly, but if you do it this way you will make 100% of the profits.
  • Buy wholesale out of the paper, Craigslist, etc. and flip for a profit. There are restrictions set by the state for the amount of vehicles you can transfer in your name and sell in a given year. Check with your state for confirmation.

Did you ever wholesale cars for profit? Leave a reply and let me know!

How to Flip a Website for the Most Profit

Jeff Knize
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How to Flip a Website for the Most Profit

When I get an idea for a new website to flip, the first thing I usually do is check the availability of domain names on GoDaddy. I also search Google to see what competition there is locally, organically and in the ad space. I then use a keyword tool to check and see how much search volume there is. 

I used many keyword tools in the previous years but I recommend using the Google Keyword Planner. It’s free and gives you great information. You get to see the competition bids, the Google Ads bid range, volume trends, locations and mobile vs. desktop.

Google Keyword Planner Tool

When doing this, I am always thinking about three things:

  1. What is the monthly income potential of this new site 
  2. How long will it take this site to start getting traction
  3. How much can I flip the website for in the future  

Buying and selling websites can be very rewarding. For buying a website, I recommend Flippa.com or EmpireFlippers.com.

For selling a website, I recommend the same sites but if you are selling a site for over $100,000, I recommend a broker like WebsiteProperties.com, I used them in the past.

I have bought sites in the past but I mainly enjoy the process of creating a website from scratch. It’s not nearly as time consuming as it used to be. These days, there are so many available resources for building your own website.

For example, you can build many types of websites on WordPress, it isn’t just for Blogs anymore. I talk about WordPress and how to start a site for $12 here: New Consulting Business

Treadmill-World ranked high in the search engines for many keywords.

I flipped many of my own websites including the #1 ranked “Treadmills” website on Google at Treadmill-World.com. Once I grossed over 100K per month for consecutive months in a row, I decided to sell the site. I sold the site for 3X’s annual earnings. 

The capture below shows my site when it was #1 on Google for Treadmills:  

   

Setting up a website can be relatively easy. But getting it in a position to flip, takes quite a bit of hard work. It’s not just the setup, it’s everything in-between and it’s especially a challenge if you are brand new at building websites. 

Tip:An exit strategy includes a monetary goal complimented with good timing.

Since this takes a ton of effort on your part, wouldn’t you want to bank as much profit as possibly when you flip the site? Remember, you are making a big fat -0- for all of your efforts over an extended period of time until the site starts getting traction. Plus, there is no guarantee that you will generate any income at all.

Does this sound daunting and a bit negative?

Sorry, it’s the reality and my real world experience from having failures over the years. But in saying that, there is also the potential for massive rewards beyond your wildest dreams.

A Solid Income During Ownership

Even if your end goal is to flip the site, your primary objective should be to make a solid monthly income during ownership. The consistent income will help to ensure you receive a nice payoff when selling.

If you are building an online business with an exit strategy in mind and your profit is increasing month over month, you should push the envelope a bit and get as much as you possibly can. Buyers love it when income is increasing month over month! 

Here are some rules you should follow to maximize success…

18 Month Business Should Have 12 Strong Months:  Typically, an internet business sale requires a 12 month history of earnings because buyers want to see income generated for each month. Therefore, selling your website when having a strong 12-month history of income is key. 

In most instances, your first few months of income will be low until your website becomes established in the search engines. Just as a fine wine gets better with age, your website will too. 

This means better authority, better rankings and better revenue. This is very common and exactly what I went through with my Treadmill-World website. The 1st month was 5K, the 2nd was 12K, the 3rd month 23K and so on…    

The reason a 12-month history is key for bigger profits is because a listing price for your site is derived from a website’s annual earnings of net profit (NP). Depending on market conditions, a website sales price could warrant three, four, five or even ten times annual net profit.

Buyers may be willing to pay an exorbitant amount of money or exceed typical annual earnings based on demand and/or speculation. However, this typically isn’t the case for general niche or e-commerce websites.

Keep in mind, if your first month in a 12 month cycle is lower than average; i. e. first month is $2,000 and months 2-12 are $7,000, wait a month for the $2,000 month to fall off. This will put the most money in your pocket when selling.

Consequently, if your insight tells you there is a high probability of a spike in future months, then consider using the hold strategy a little longer.

When thinking about a buying and selling website business, it isn’t much different than a buying and selling real estate business. There are two types of investors in real estate:

  1.  Buy and Hold
  2.  Buy and Flip

An internet business is similar:

  1. Build or Buy and Hold
  2. Build or Buy and Flip

To get a jump start on things, consider buying a struggling internet business. You can then just give it a makeover and work on monetization. Depending on your objectives, you can decide to hold it or flip it.

When buying an internet business, there are a few things you should consider:

  • How many visitors does the site get per month
  • What is the monthly revenue being generated
  • How long has the site been indexed by search engines

The two above internet strategies are completely different, right?

You could use the build and hold strategy. But building and holding doesn’t really mean hold on to the site forever. In most cases, a sale would eventually occur. Similar to the typical homeowner selling their home within a five to seven-year period. There are pros and cons to both. 

Let’s first look at the pros 2 building and holding a website.

Build and Hold Website Strategy: PRO

  • Continued growth with increasing Revenue 
  • Increased search engine rankings due to age domain, aged site pages, etc.
  • Brand recognition and repeat customers 
  • Consistent Revenue month after month; bread and butter 
  • Potential for an even bigger payoff due to long-term established business: repeat customers, large list of subscribers, Etc.

Build and Hold Website Strategy: CON

  • Dependent on market conditions 
  • Dependent on search engines 
  • Married to customers in business 
  • Dependent on monthly income and less focused on new business opportunities

Build (or buy) and Flip Website Strategy: PRO

  • Substantial payoff at closing potential 
  • Rinse and repeat business model 
  • Long vacation in Endless R&R days upon sale 
  • Low investment opportunity
  • Profit while preparing for exit strategy 
  • Enjoyment of watching your business grow

There are a few more key things you need to be prepared for:

Use a business broker for top dollar:  you might balk at a commission rate to 5 to 10%, but you have to consider the benefits. Your broker serves as a mediator and negotiator on your behalf and buyers simply feel more comfortable dealing with a broker then the owner themselves.

The experience and professionalism of a qualified and experienced broker can be priceless. It sure was for me when selling Treadmill-World.com.

Keep Good Records: If your records aren’t clean, you may have problems that surface during the buyer’s due diligence process.

The fact is, if your records are less than perfect your human, but if there are noticeable gaps in your books, you should be ready for the buyer to ask you serious questions. You will need to show clear documentation on all discrepancies.

Keep Good Records throughout the course of ownership. Also, when filling out a website prospectus, (detailed report about your business), you should be as accurate as possible. I learned from personal experience that documentation is critical to a successful sale. The buyer I had for my Treadmill-World.com site was a real stickler and for good reason!

So the question is: When your next website reaches a solid profit, will you be ready to sell for top dollar?

Here is a short list of top selling websites. Hopefully this inspires you to gain a big payoff on your next website!  

  • Linkedin.com sold to Microsoft for 26.2 billion
  • PayPal acquires honey for 4 billion
  • Chewy.com sold to PetSmart for 3.35 billion
  • Zillow buys Trulia for 2.5 billion
  • Google acquires skip it for 2.1 billion 
  • Youtube.com sold to Google for 1.65 billion 
  • News Corp to buy move Inc. for 950 million
  • Zappos sold to Amazon for 850 million 
  • Howstuffworks.com sold to Discovery for 250 million
  • Techcrunch.com sold to AOL for 30 million
  • Hotornot.com sounds for 20 million
  • Bankaholic.com sold to Bankrate.com for 15 million
  • DHD.com sells to Mail.com 14 million
  • Consumersearch.com sold 2 About for 14  million
  • Postlets.com sells to Zillow.com for 1 million
  • Treadmill-World.com sold for 250,000 (Jeff Knize past site)
  • Retweet.com  sold for 250,000
  • School – grants.com sold for 80,000
  • Pontoonguide.com sold to a private party for $74,000
  • Blogcatalog.com sold for 40,000
  • AutomobileInsuranceReview.com sold for 18,999
  • Articletale.Info sold for 10,000
  • Beeadvised.com sold to a private party for 10,000 (Jeff Knize past site)  
  • Mygokarts.com sold on Flippa.com for 9,000 (Jeff Knize past site)  

CONCLUSION

Whatever type of website you decide to buy and sell or build and sell, be sure to do your research. You want to know who you are competing with and how fierce the competition is. This will determine where you will fit in the marketplace. 

As a website entrepreneur, your goal is to increase income month over month and have the potential for a big payoff. In order to achieve this, you need to do a lot of things right and be 100% dedicated to your goal. If you do this, you’ll be glad you did! I know I was when I closed on my $250,000 Treadmill-World.com website flip.   

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