Business Bytes

Many members of the public are not fully aware of tracker bonds and the potential benefits they offer. They represent a low-risk way to save whilst investing on the stock market, but there are important things to look out for when seeking out the right tracker bond for you.

Tracker bonds are fixed-term investments where the majority of your money invested is placed in a deposit based account, and the remainder in the market. All major banks will be likely to offer them, and they can represent a secure way to save whilst potentially getting a relatively high gain on your money, compared to conventional savings accounts.

The part that is invested in the stock market yields a return corresponding to the performance of a stock market index or a series of indices, usually decided by one’s bank. One normally has to invest a fairly large sum (in the thousands- in US dollars- although some can be opened for less) and the term of one’s investment ranges generally between a one year fixed term deal to six years, during which time you will have no access to your money.

Read the rest of this post »

Twitter is a popular micro blogging website that can be used as an effective social networking tool for new businesses.  If you use it well, Twitter can help you connect to customers, drive traffic to your website, network and find information relevant to your business.     

Twitter is a micro blogging website where users broadcast short messages called "tweets".

These tweets are limited to a maximum of 140 characters.  Twitter has millions of users and millions of tweets every day.  With the potential to reach such a large number of people, Twitter can be an extremely effective social marketing tool for new businesses.  You can also use Twitter to "follow" other users that are of interest to you, which means that their tweets will be continuously updated in your newsfeed and others users can follow you.  Just a few of the many ways a new business can use Twitter  includes helping direct traffic to your website, giving you a direct means of communication with customers and allowing you to network and share business-related information.

Setting up a Twitter account is free and only takes a few minutes.  Twitter will ask you to choose a username and password.  You will have the option to upload a picture and give a brief description of yourself.  Make sure to choose a username that accurately reflects what you do.  If your business has a logo or physical store, you can use either of those as a profile picture.  If you do not have a logo, try to choose a picture that is relevant to your business.  You should also make sure the description provides an accurate and concise overview of your business with a link to your website.

If your business involves a website or blog, you can use Twitter to direct traffic to that site.  You can give a brief description, the title of the blog post, or a small sample of something interesting to pique reader interest and then provide the link to your website, where you explain in further detail.  If you plan to use Twitter to direct traffic to your website, it is probably a good idea to use a free URL shortening service so that you have more space to discuss the link (for instance: http://goo.gl/ or http://bit.ly/)

While using a Twitter account for self-promotion can help your business, make sure that not every tweet is related to self-promotion.  Occasionally, you should link to something that promotes a colleague or provides a bit of general information. 

Ultimately, the Twitter experience is about having a personal connection with other Twitter users and finding out what they like and are interested in. 

Twitter can also help you connect with your customers and improve your customer service.  You can see tweets that users have directed to your account and you can send public tweets or private direct messages to (some) users.  You can even have full conversations with users.  This allows a personal touch with your customers that you might not have otherwise.

In addition to helping your business serve existing customers, Twitter can help you make connections and find new customers.  One way to do this is to follow people who are interested in your competitors businesses and request that they follow you.  If they are following your business, you can tweet them directly. 

You can also post questions or discuss topics related to your business with more established businesses in your field.  Participating in active discussions will allow Twitter users and potential customers to find you as well as improve your reputation.

Learning how to use Twitter can be an efficient and effective way to help your business grow.  You can use it to discuss topics with leaders in your industry, gain new customers, build your reputation, and direct traffic to your blog or website among many other things. 

In just a few minutes, you can sign up and start working on promoting your new business.

Click on image to see larger version

Some people thought aviation done it all...but the progress is still on the map.

Yes, indeed!

Firstly, there is the Solar Impulse plane which made the headlines for the incredible challenge to fly uniquely by solar energy.

Secondly, Virgin Galactic has another vision. For more in depth information you can check this PDF document.

After a 45 minute climb to the desired altitude of 51,500 feet, SS2 was released cleanly from VMS Eve and established a stable glide profile before deploying, for the first time, its re-entry or "feathered" configuration by rotating the tail section of the vehicle upwards to a 65 degree angle to the fuselage.

Some amazing shots are available on the dedicated Flickr site.

Incredible work...and some are saying "this is only a start".