Becoming a millionaire

Now that we can get back on track after our interlude with the GFC, here are some stats that may be of interest to the entrepreneurial woman:

• heading overseas has been of great benefit to the Entrepreneurial woman multimillionaire and buying up big when others were selling at bottom prices, yes, there's always an up to every down! Holding off shore interests has accelerated over the years as globalisation has become more widespread and accepted by the entrepreneur
  
• stick with property even though it was hit by the GFC it remains one of the best ways to become a multimillionaire due to relatively low barriers to enter the market as increases in valuations have grown. buy and hold is the most beneficial property tactic to have. the gain is relatively slow but consistent

Women entrepreneurs and property

Not all property investors, whether they are women or men, will reap the rewards of the next phase of the property cycle because our rising interest rates and lowered affordability which won’t affect everyone equally. The staggering house price boom is dividing our cities into haves and have nots. Higher interest rates will mean that fewer builders will be building the apartments we need to accommodate all these tenants of the future and rents will keep skyrocketing upwards. The expanding population which is increasing by around 9,800 people each week and a shortage of supply, means that despite rising interest rates home owners and investors are feeling confident enough to buy a new home or their next investment. Investors should expect interest rates to keep rising a few more percentage points over the next few years, but they should be comforted by the fact that this will occur because property values will keep rising. So to win “the game” of property investment you have to budget for higher interest rates and own the right type of property. One that has a level of scarcity which means it will be in continuous strong demand by owner occupiers (to keep pushing up its value) and tenants (to help subsidise your mortgage); in the right location (one that has outperformed the long term averages) at the right time in the property cycle (that would be now in many states) and for the right price.

More women millionaires

A new study, conducted by Tulip Financial Research in the U.K, has revealed that women’s incomes are thriving more than ever before, even through the GFC. The study found that the number of females earning the millionaire title has increased by a whopping 40 per cent over the past five years. A significant number of women are making more decisions about investments and the family income.
Men have traditionally invested in stocks, where great losses have been sustained through the GFC but women instead chosen to invest their money into the property market and businesses to make their cash.
Tulip’s John Clemens explained, "If you go back 15 years, 90 per cent of the decisions were made by men. Women are a little more risk averse, but they have invested in property which as been more resilient in the recession." Not only is it the women in high powered business profiles
that were gaining millionaire status, but also the stay-at-home women who are coming up with innovative and ground-breaking business ideas.
So find a niche market, promote it, make strategic alliances and "work smarter, not harder."

Australian women entrepreneurs in property

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens warns of a housing bubble and we should take note of what he says, for a couple of reasons. First, he's the man who controls the levers, and when he says that he is going to lift interest rates to calm us down and resume our seats at the housing auctions, he no doubt will raise the interest rates again. Second, we must remember that interest rates can be blunt instruments, whose early effects are not always quickly seen. Even with the best of intentions the Reserve Bank may overshoot and pop the bubble rather than have it deflate gently.Here's the message: in the short term property can fall like anything else. In the US, the average home is now worth less than it was in 1980. As Percy Allan's newsletter Market Timing points out, this is asset deflation on a scale not seen since the Depression of the 1930s.According to BIS Shrapnel, the average Sydney house, at $600,000 is worth 7 1/2 times what it was 30 years ago. The situation in other state capitals is similar. "Americans are joining tea parties to vent frustration at their diminishing wealth brought about by a housing glut," says Allan. "By contrast Australia's [huge] housing shortage is creating two classes of city dwellers; those with property who fear further residential development will compromise their lifestyles and tenants who know that home ownership is getting beyond their reach."A country the size of Australia should not have a residential land shortage, but it does.Allan says: "Until the concentration of population in a few state capitals is reversed, the housing crisis will grow worse since urban consolidation is meeting growing resistance in the absence of mass transit systems to alleviate metropolitan congestion."Certainly that's true, but does that mean that the interest rates will be cranked up some more? The answer to that is a "yes" and when that happens, things could get even trickier. The median price of a single-family home during the past 40 years in the all-important US real estate market between 1991 and 2005, housing prices increase at a rapid rate, as did the rate of increase.Housing prices have dropped 35 per cent from the 2005 peak. A buyer who purchased the median priced single-family house at the 1979 peak has seen that house lose value (a bit more than a 4 per cent loss).Not an impressive performance considering that it has taken place over three decades. Could Australian house prices fall in similar manner? Sure, says Intelligent Investor research director Greg Hoffman. "The US property market meltdown should dispel this myth immediately that property prices cannot fall," he says. "Anyone who is not convinced should look at some compelling evidence from around the world that shows that property prices can, and do, fall."Initially it can be hard to accept that prices may fall, especially in, say, Japan, where it is possible to get a mortgage loan at interest rates of less than 2 per cent a year but prices in Japan have fallen uninterrupted for more than 15 years. Hoffman says the reason people don't buy is the exact opposite to how Australians justify incredibly low yields: What use is a high rental yield if the value of your capital depreciates every year?There are substantial differences between Japan and Australia: the former is earthquake prone, it's bad form to live in someone else's house and people don't move often. If they do, they'll often knock down the previous owners' perfectly good dwelling and build a new one. In the early 90s, the economy was motoring, absolutely everyone had a job and interest rates were low."These were all reasons provided to justify high prices. Not only that, but Japan has 128 million people to squeeze into a land area half the size of NSW, " says Hoffman. But fall they did: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development data shows real Japanese property prices are more than 40 per cent lower than their 1992 peak.Europe provides further examples. OECD data shows German property prices falling since 1991. Again, it's a country where mortgage rates are lower than rental yields, but past experience is scaring off investors.The Swiss endured 11 straight years of falling property prices through the 90s and into this decade. There has been some relief in recent years, but those who bought in 1990 are still a long way behind.Hoffman suggests Australians need to be wary of the most dangerous thought in investing: that property prices cannot fall."None of the European movements mean property prices have to fall in Australia," he says. "They have looked expensive for a number of years now but, despite rising interest rates, we're yet to see a market-wide correction."But to believe that prices can't fall is exactly the thinking that allowed the banking gurus to turn NINJA [no income, no job, no assets] loans into supposedly indestructible mortgage-backed securities in the US."The run-up in house prices has coincided with an equally impressive run-up in debt owed by Australian households. Despite record low unemployment and an 18-year economic miracle, our savings rate at one point fell below zero. At least now we're spending less than we earn, but we're still not saving much, even with superannuation.Australian house prices rose 13.6 per cent last year and their strength seems to have continued into this year. House prices in Australia have performed far better than those in Britain and US, thanks in large part to the stronger performance of the Australian economy. That's even stronger than in China where house prices are up 10.7 per cent during the past year.So where to from here? AMP Capital's head of investment Strategy and chief economist Shane Oliver is not overly fussed. He agrees that Australian housing is expensive but points out that it is supported by an undersupply. "Worsening affordability is likely to constrain average house price growth to around 5 per cent over the year ahead," he says. "Expensive housing and high household debt levels are a risk, but in the absence of higher unemployment, much higher interest rates or a big supply increase, a US-style collapse in Australian house prices is unlikely. None of these seem likely in the short term. In fact, none of these seem likely any time soon."

Investing in Property caution

Many home buyers and investors are being swept up in a frenzy of fear and greed as property markets hot up. These buyers are setting themselves up for problems in the future.Traditionally when we come out of the slowdown phase of the property cycle and enter a more buoyant market, buyers who were hesitant to make a move start to emerge and in turn, activity increases.However, now many investors, who feel they missed out over the last year as they watched others make good money in property are snapping up properties the day they come on the market, sometimes at thousands above the asking price.
Many of these “green” investors are making poor judgement calls, buying properties without doing their due diligence and paying the same high price for their mistakes as others have before them.
The take home message is that now, more than ever, you need to avoid getting swept up in the housing market hype and keep a level head when it comes to purchasing property, whether you’re a homeowner or investor.

With the market being selective as to which properties are increasing in value, it is critical that you do your homework and remember that you can’t just buy any property and become a successful property investor. You need to look for the type of property that will out perform the averages in the long term, regardless of cyclical highs and lows.

How to successfully promote your entrepreneurial business

To succeed as an entrepreneur, especially a woman entrepreneur you need a good dose of self confidence is a prerequisite. Pushing yourself into the market place is at times a necessity.But what guidelines should be followed when interacting with potential clients?Getting super-promotional is understandable but can cause a difficult situation to arrise. In order to promote your entrepreneurial idea you may find that you are ready to promote your business or product or idea and you may be ready to sell it but the timing may not be right for the client and they are not ready to listen let alone buy or support in any way.

Before jumping in with the sales message and an over exhuberant confidence consideration needs to be given to the context of the situation and the people involved. There is always a need to stop, listen, and appropriately connect when the situation either lends itself or you are able to steer the conversation into the appropriate direction. So to promote your entrepreneurial business don't just tell everyone about it and then take off. You need to placate a relationship, listen and respond appropriately, build your credibility and offer your services when the situation presents itself and you have the foundation on which to successfully build your entrepreneurial business.

time to flower

watch trends in the economy both local and global, take note, think laterally, find niche and flourish