AltunQotka Business Blog

Archive for May, 2011

You can make it easy if you really want to. Although there are those who would give the usual advice of attending a meeting with the famous Toastmasters in order to hone your impromptu speaking skills, this is not as necessary as being aware of yourself and the skills you could objectively define as good, better, best, or needs improvement.

If you know the level of your ability and if you feel you are ready for an actual job speaking in public, the following could be a convenient and effective means to land that speaking job you have always wanted.

Search, search, search and search

Google and Yahoo search is there to help anyone and everyone so make use of it. It is free and is also a quick and efficient way to find what you are looking for. You could enter the words, speaker jobs, or wanted speakers, in the search bar and click search.

Wait for a few seconds and opportunities will be right there at your feet in your easy beck and call. Note down the companies, organizations, or seminar conferences that you are interested in. Or follow the links. There is a definite pot of public speaking job gold to anyone who seeks it.

Patience is the key

Sometimes it happens that there are few websites that teems with jobs in public speaking. Do not lose hope. There may be an instance where you will hit a jackpot and get lucky. There is a forum for speakers that is available on the internet. You could also try to check them out. What you would call a usual good fortune might actually be your perseverance paying off.

Take notes of schedules of conferences

Usually, there are organizations who annually or semi-annually host a seminar or conference where a lot of speakers are needed. This is the perfect occasion to put your foot inside the public speaking door. The typical search for speakers normally begins about six months or eight months in advance. The best thing to do is to check out their schedules and call or communicate with the organization at that time.

Try your hand at training companies

It wouldn’t hurt if you try or at least apply. There is such a company named CareerTracks which hires speakers on a contract basis. The job requires a bit of traveling as well as the skill to be able to sell products to audience attendees. For speakers who are just starting out, this experience is a good one to actually take a crack at.

If you are looking for a mortgage refinance, it never hurts to shop around for the best rate and deal. Shopping around could mean the difference between paying or saving thousands of dollars in closing costs, and interest fees’.

If time happens to be on your side, and you don’t need to refinance your mortgage immediately, take some time to educate yourself about the mortgage industry.

By educating yourself about the mortgage industry, you are essentially putting yourself into the driver’s seat.

There is so much mortgage jargon, terms, and definitions that will be thrown at you when considering a mortgage refinance, that it is impossible for any one person to understand everything.

It is not necessary to become an expert in the mortgage industry.  You just need to have somewhat of an understanding. This way, while you are shopping around for a mortgage refinance, your decision on which lender you want to work with, will be all the more educated.

The mortgage industry is a very competitive one, so by shopping around, and making it clear that you are shopping around to the lenders or brokers you are dealing with, they will be forced to come back at you with the best deal possible. They know that they are competing with other mortgage companies, and they will not want anyone else to get your business, so they will offer you the best rate available to them in order to keep your business.

Keep in mind when a loan officer or broker offers you a deal that sounds too good to be true, it just may be, so be careful. You don’t want to get to the closing table only to find out you are not getting what you thought you were getting.

Remember, before you commit to a lender, ask for everything they told you to be sent to you in writing, this way you won’t have any surprises at the table.

This is why it is so important to educate yourself about the mortgage industry.

With just a fair amount of knowledge, you will have a general understanding of what you are being offered, and you will be able to determine whether or not the deal is reasonable.

My suggestion to you would be to allow for up to four loan officers or brokers to assess your situation. Whichever one comes back with the best, and most reasonable deal, should be the one for you to consider.

As the real estate market in the US takes a nose dive, alternative investments like Costa Rica real estate could keep you afloat and in the sun! In times like this it’s good to have an alternative to futures, options, and hedge funds. The real estate market in Costa Rica is said to be one of the most stable in the world. It has been quietly booming for a few years and is expected to continue on its path.

What makes Costa Rica real estate such a promising investment?

About 15 years ago, you could buy a piece of land 50 meters from a beach of powder white sand and aqua blue water for $10,000 and it would be worth $500,000 today. There are still investment opportunities like this available in undeveloped costal areas, and up and coming trendy tourist destination. Although there are fewer than in the past, steals like this can still be found.

But more importantly, foreigners continue to move to Costa Rica, bringing their savings with them. Many are retiring or buying a second home, some are retiring young and some are coming to do business. There are several reasons for the influx. Property is cheaper than in the US, as is the cost of living, and a familiar standard of living can be maintained with the added benefit of beautiful beaches.

Furthermore, in 2010 the baby-boom generation will start to turn 65 and retire. Baby-boomers will retreat from their failing retirement plans and insufficient Medicare system and move to independent retirement in the sun. Costa Rica will become the new Florida, and you can already see the retirement developments going up and banking services for transferring Medicare checks.

Real estate has always been a great investment in terms of providing cash flow, assets and tax breaks. With the US market in the dumps, Costa Rica offers the opportunity to invest in a new growth market, in a country with a stable economy, and a friendly foreign policy. Costa Rica real estate is an excellent alternative investment offering high returns with low risk.