Why I love Mark Cuban!

 

    

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/2011/04/mark-cuban-2011-a-p.jpg

 

          To me Mark Cuban has had the best business career. First he sold his internet company, Broadcast.com to Yahoo for $5.7 Billion. Now he is the owner of the professional basketball team the Dallas Mavericks and featured on one of my favorite shows "Shark Tank". Although some people say that he is rude and so on, sometimes you have to show a little anger to accomplish what is right, like what Steve Jobs did. Looking at how far he has come it looks like he has used his anger pretty well so far (except maybe getting a little bit too upset for his team, but he is a fan too). Mark Cuban holds the record for the most expensive e-commerce purchase ever of $40 million for his private jet. Also I have herd that he bought his $14 million dollar house without even seeing it first (but I guess he could afford it). Although it may sound like he has made some bad decisions, give the guy props for being able to get where he is today and getting around all of his obstacles.

What is Lending Club?

        I was doing research on different types of ways to invest your money and came across this website called http://www.lendingclub.com. What it is is basically a financial community bringing together investors and creditworthy borrowers so that both can benefit financially. By removing the bank from the lending process, they make it possible for investors to earn a higher return and for borrowers to get a lower rate on personal loans.

        Lending Club was founded in 2006 and they launched there site it 2007. In 2011 and 2012 Forbes listed it as one of "America's most promising companies". The whole investing process is done 100% online and done quick and fast. My thoughts on it are that I believe it's an interesting borrowing process for investing but I'm not as comfortable with it because it's with other random people. Sure the platform is cool and I do believe it will be the next big thing but I am not sucked into it yet on something I will be involved in anytime soon.

Also if you have any extra time check out this great article on Investopedia on "6 Weird Ways to Invest":

http://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0910/6-weird-ways-to-invest.aspx#axzz2KjG9kWXN

Great Video.... "Millionaire By 25 - Ben Stewart Interview"

          Hey guys I was on the great teen business forum (www.jointbf.com) just checking out what's going on and all of that fun stuff but I came across this post that an admin posted and I really enjoyed it and thought you guys would enjoy watching it. So once you watch it feel free to comment below on what you think of it. Also do you believe you can do anything if you put your mind to it? Even if you believe it's impossible? Well sit back, relax, and enjoy this 25 minute show!

The Quick Guide to Start Investing With Only $500

Investing can be a lot of fun if you know what you are doing. It is fun but also teaches you a lot of information that you will need to know when you get older. When I first began getting interested in the stock market my dad told me that the first stock I buy should be a company that I am interested in, because then I will care about it more. One more tip before I get started because of it only being $500 don't let checking your current stock positions hurt work/school because they are more important!

1.
Do some research
Find a company that should have a positive upside for the next 20 years or so. Also check out what professionals have as a "buy now" stock. Don't forget to try to find a company that you are aware of and that interests you

2.
Do the Math
Decide how many stocks you want to invest in. I personally recommend two because of the low amount of money being invested but you are also a little diverse. Also decide how many shares you can afford of each of the stocks. I recommend stocks under $5 so you can buy more shares and hopefully have room for the stock to jump. Investing can make math fun.

3.
Choose your broker
I am personally a fan of Fidelity Investments (fidelity.com) because its only $7.95 per transaction (NOT per share). There are many other websites/companies out there... So do your research and find what fits your needs for a great transaction.

4.
Watch it grow
Last but not least watch your stocks grow to something you could never imagine. Hopefully it will make you wealthy!

Top Undergraduate College Programs for Young Entrepreneurs

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babson_College

          Hey guys so this will once again be another short post but it's more of a list post. Also this could be very helpful for Seniors or Juniors in High School that are looking/searching for colleges! So below I have done a fair amount of research and have come up with the top 15 best colleges to go for entrepreneurship. There are also many other lists out there, so you can check to get multiple opinions/ more information... this is just mine.

College:                                                

1. Babson College
2. Baylor University
3. University of Southern California
4. University of Houston
5. Brigham Young University
6. University of Arizona
7. Washington University in St. Louis
8. University of Oklahoma
9. Temple University
10. Northeastern University
11. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
12. Syracuse University
13. Clarkson University
14. University of Utah
15. Clarkson University

Below are the websites to the top 5 colleges on this list:

Babson College- http://www.babson.edu

Baylor University- http://www.baylor.edu/

University of Southern California- http://www.usc.edu/

University of Houston- http://www.uh.edu/

Brigham Young University- http://home.byu.edu/home/

Will the Apple Stock Recover Anytime in the Next 6 Months

         

http://nn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc.

 

          As I write this post the Apple Inc. (APPL) stock is at 442.32 per share. On September 19, 2012 the Apple stock was at a high of 703.99, that is more than a 250 point difference in a little over 5 months. I personally am not surprised that they had a large downfall but it is worrying some investors. Through my personal research I don't see Apple hitting the 700 mark at all until maybe October but I am no financial adviser. Apple is in the Technology Industry and I feel like that industry is always hoping around and not sure where to go. Apple can only improve on there products (at least we hope) so that's a positive for there future. There will never be the best piece of technology out there. So look for an overall positive future.
          Sorry for the short post today, but I just wanted to get this topic out there to you guys!

Dow Jones Breaks 14,000... Our Future?

         

http://www.google.com/finance?q=INDEXDJX:.DJI

          The Dow Jones broke 14,000 on Friday for the first time sense October 2007. The low of the Dow Jones sense 2007 was March 2009. So it has been slowly going up sense then. At this time of year in 2010 it was at about 10,000, in 2011 it was at about 12,000, and at this time last year it was at about 12,800. A big question with the 14,000 mark for the Dow Jones is will we have a downfall like we had in 2007. Will we enter a time of Americans losing jobs, the real estate market losing its value, the automotive industry getting attacked, and so on. I personally do not believe this will all occur any time in the next 10-15 years.  We currently don't have any strong signs of an upcoming economic downfall in the soon future like we did in 2007. To me an important sign of a positive economic future is that the housing/real estate market is getting stronger and stronger every month, unlike in 2007 where every house was losing it's value. Also jobs are being created and there are no hints of a stop in rise for that . So to me I believe we are looking at a positive future for our economy in the next 5-6 years... or maybe even longer. Although I do know more than the average teen about business, don't use me as your financial adviser because I don't have 10 to 20 years of experience. 

How Long Will Social Networks Last?

http://www.webhostingmadness.com/blog/hosting-help/which-social-networks-are-right-for-your-brand/

         
       Social networks are the big thing right now. Facebook, Twitter, Pintrest, or one of the many others, they all attract the online surfers. Once one person gets an account they tell there friend who tells there cousin who tells there teacher. Online websites and content travel very fast through people and everyone want s to be able to say the have a Facebook account for example. But the question is will they last for much longer? To me, I believe that they have another 12-15 years and then social networks will start to slow down. I do believe a lot in businesses using social media for marketing, but I don't think they can rely 100% on it for the next 10 years. So that brings up another question, and that is what will the next great online marketing tactic be?
          To conclude it up I do believe social networks have some time left but not too much time. So if you are running a business and putting a lot of money and/or effort into social media marketing, keep on doing it for the next 5 years and I would then began to look for the new best online marketing way!

Books for Business Smarts

          To me reading is the best way to learn about business. There a tons of great business books out there that are filled with gold information. As I said in yesterday's post... The content is what matters, and there are a ton of business books with great content! For example a few well written business books are The Google Guys by, Richard L. Brandt, Crush It by, Gary Vaynerchuk and Rich Dad, Poor Dad by, Robert Kiyosaki.
          I started off learning about business through content in books, and on the Internet. Although I do believe there is a ton of great business information online, I do believe books are a better choice because there is a slim chance that the book gets off topic and also there are no annoying ads. :) You won't learn anything if you are reading something that you don't enjoy. So make sure you only read content that you enjoy and will help you in a positive way. Also don't forget what many librarians say when your looking for a book "don't judge a book by it's cover", a lot of times the best business books have the most boring covers. So as I said reading will help you learn a lot and you can never learn too much. So have fun with it and let it assist you in your entrepreneurial journey!

http://www.bookworld.com.au/ebook/the-google-guys-inside-the-brilliant-minds-of-google-founders-larry-page-and-sergey-brin/24887548/

Content or Design?

            Is design just as important as content on a businesses website? To me content is everything where as website design is just the icing on the cake. You could have a top notch and beautiful website but have horrible content. In the end the customer or client reads what's on the website and that's what they really care about. Many possible clients a lot of times won't even know that it was the websites content that brought them in to get your business. For example Forbes.com has a original and cool design but has amazing content that brings almost every reader in to read more. They have been a successful business website for a while now and I can tell you it was 100% because of the content that they have presented through the years.              

          

        www.Forbes.com  

        So the most important tactic for creating a nice website is having the best content and beating up your competitors with it.

Welcome... A little Introduction

          Hey there guys, my name is Alex, I am a teen that loves business and entrepreneurship. Everything from the Stock Market to fun Startups I love. I am amazed at all of the possibilities available these days in business, and how one idea can change everything in an industry, or the world. To me our country runs mainly through business, and how us American's think. Whether it's a new piece of technology or a way to help others in need in a different country, it all helps shape the world around us. Without new ideas popping into our heads we would most likely be sitting on dirt and grass looking at each other, and most likely everyone would go crazy!
          The reason this blog is called Tied Business is because this blog will have content from different areas of business, and will draw them together. Learning Business at a young age is also something I believe in strongly, hence the reason I have already started. So if you have a son/daughter or a friend in school tell them to read a book on business, or check out this blog because the earlier you start the better you will feel when you get older, emotionally and financially.
          So I hope you enjoy the content on this blog and I wish you the best of luck in your future! :)