Deciding on a “Location Independent” Lifestyle

Making a lifestyle change is often difficult for people. Whether it is the choice to live healthier or to change jobs, a lifestyle change can be traumatic. Sometimes one may be motivated to make a lifestyle change to be “location independent” because they have experienced a significant event in their lives.

There have always been people who lived a “location independent” lifestyle. The growing use of the Internet has allows these individuals to communicate more easily so there is more information available. The lifestyle may seem very attractive to people who have not researched it thoroughly and learned about the disadvantages. It is important that people who are considering this change think carefully prior to doing so.

Changing one’s lifestyle does not remove the need to take care of some basic tasks. Individuals who are “location independent” need an income, they need to buy groceries, they must deal with the government. A person considering this lifestyle to get away from a routine may be disappointed. There is still a routine, it is just a different routine.

Many of the people who are living this lifestyle today conduct business on the Internet. They work like everyone else, just in different locations – sometimes around the globe, sometimes from different coffee shops in the same city. A person does not have to change their lifestyle to change their routine. If there is a particular vacation spot that one loves it is much easier to find a job in that area and buy a home or timeshare than to change one’s lifestyle.

Before deciding on a “location independent” lifestyle, one must take into consideration the people who will be affected by their decision. If an individual has very close family ties or does not want to leave an area then they may want to consider changing jobs and moving. If a person is “location independent” they must consider that they will not be near family and friends for long periods of time.

Income is very important in a “location independent” lifestyle. There are many instances when one is abroad that an unexpected emergency will require extra funds. If one has not got a plan in place to make money they can find themselves stranded in a foreign country with money to deal with the issue. Knowing the currency exchange rate before traveling to a location will help a person to live affordably.

There are numerous ways to establish a steady income base. One is to invest money made from selling belongings. With wise investment choices a person can set up a monthly income that will give them the flexibility they need. Another way is to start a website business and sell products on the site.

Talking to people who have been living “location independent” for some time will be of great assistance in making a knowledgeable decision. These individuals will be able to tell you what to expect and also provide tips on places to stay. If one does the research that is necessary to be successful a location independent lifestyle can be very rewarding and fulfilling.

New Homes, Furniture and Consumer Trends, Discussion

Some look back on the economy of 2000 through 2002 and say what a disaster 3 million jobs lost? Well one could also argue that the 43 million Americans who moved into new homes far outweighs the 3 million citizens who were looking for work. There are more people who are still looking for work who have gone into what they considered substandard vocations for instance they may be working as a manager at a Home Depot store when they were formerly an aerospace engineer with a Ph.D., this is a little disheartening to say the least but it is a fact of life in America. As people are tapped out and maxed out with their credit cards they do not have the buying power necessary to be able to continue with the trend associated with new housing starts in the average of $6500 been spent after the fact for the following period of one year.

I remember talking to a furniture sales rep, who in 2001 said he just gone through the worst sales year in his history as a salesman in 2000. Mostly due to all those new houses sold where the customers had come into buy furniture on time with companies who had in house credit which were now burdened with no pays, obviously these companies were not restocking and those competing against such companies had cut back in inventory having been out sold in the past. He decided on buying a franchise from us, The Car Wash Guys in San Antonio, Texas. The next year after he started his business mostly cleaning new car dealerships, which were very good due to the fact many people were buying new cars and Mexican nationals were coming over the border from Laredo, Texas gate to buy cars in San Antonio since their economy had picked up in response to the manufacturing which was moved over the border to cut costs in the downturn in the economy and the trend of folks coming here to work and sending money back to Mexico. The furniture salesman found himself quite busy with more business than any one person can handle and subsequently within a very short time, was able to make friends with all the major car dealership owners of the area in increase his business to four units and a detail shop. Still he was strictly working for car dealerships with only a fraction of the total business maybe 15%. Then what happened?

The housing boom picked up in people or buying furniture again, at the furniture trade shows everyone was preparing for in incredible year as a matter fact they were preparing for incredible five years, he could not help but moon light in his old profession as sales came easy once again. In 2002 the furniture business did pick up in response to new homeowners moving into new homes. These new homebuyers were expected to spend between 4000 in $6500 each on things such as upgrades to the home, swimming pools and furniture. Drought related issues cut short the number of people buying new swimming pools. Instead they bought barbecues, new decks, landscaping, SUVs, boats and FURNITURE. The cycle had come full circle and it is what every career person calls those golden years. Although the $6500 per new home sale did not quite pan out with the new ownership society it was substantial due to the number of new homes.

How Does Technology Support Small Businesses?

Technology is changing rapidly, and small businesses are enjoying access to better software at more affordable prices. Below are just a few of the many ways that today’s technology is supporting small businesses.

Software as a Service

Remember when it used to cost thousands of dollars for business software plus expensive licenses for each user? New software investments also often meant investing in new hardware capable of supporting that software. None of this came cheap, making it hard for business owner to keep up with larger ones with deeper pockets. Today, powerful software is readily available in the cloud “as a service.” Rather than paying huge amounts up front, Software as a Service costs are typically spread out and billed on a much lower per month basis.

What types of software can you get as a service? Here are a few popular types of SaaS offerings:

. Small business accounting software
. Customer relationship management software
. Content management software
. Asset management software
. Office suites (word processing, spreadsheets, etc.)
. Email marketing software
. Project management software
. Human resources software
. Team collaboration software

Cloud-based software is accessible via a Web browser, making investments in hardware virtually unheard of. Cloud service providers take care of all maintenance and upgrades, freeing small business owners from having to figure this out on their own or hire an IT tech to do it for them.

“As a service” solutions also grow with your small business. You can start out with just a few licenses and then add more (or remove) users as your needs change.

Data Archiving

It’s not just software that now resides in the cloud. Document storage has also moved to the “as a service” model. For example, you’re likely familiar with Dropbox, Box, and Google Drive. A recent innovation in this space has to do with data retention and archiving.

According to Dolphin, SAP Cloud Computing Solutions such as Content Archive Service for Cloud allows small business users to archive data and documents in the cloud for transparent “anytime, anywhere” access (Source: Dolphin, Cloud Storage for SAP Archived Data and Documents). Dolphin’s Content Archive Service for Cloud is a Storage as a Service solution that connects to major public cloud providers like Google Cloud and Amazon S3. Cloud storage allows for cost alignments between SAP storage and the value of your data. For example, data you frequently use can be placed on high performance storage devices whereas data you need to archive but not necessarily access regularly can be placed in a lower-cost cloud storage service — at significant savings.

Merchant Services

Cloud-based credit card processing solutions allow small business users to ditch the traditional credit card processing terminal and process transactions online — or even on a smartphone with a small card reader attachment. Not only that, many cloud-based merchant services can be integrated directly within other applications such as billing software or an e-commerce store (Source: Accounting Today, Understanding How Technology Supports Small Business Success).

Small businesses now have access to the same enterprise-level applications their larger counterparts use, but without the need for huge upfront expenses. From Software as a Service to data archiving, merchant services, and beyond, cloud-based technologies are changing how businesses operate.

Works Cited:

Accounting Today, “Understanding How Technology Supports Small Business Success,” – http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/payroll/understanding-how-technology-supports-small-business-success-72015-1.html

Online Education (Teacher Education) Training Opportunities

Are you interested in becoming a teacher and wanting to know what training options are available? There are a variety of educational training programs including online schools and colleges that allow students to train for their desired career from home. You can gain the skills and knowledge needed to enter into the teaching career you desire. Accredited online educational programs can provide you with the opportunity to pursue a career in elementary, middle, secondary, and post-secondary education. Completion of a bachelor, master, or doctoral degree program will provide the training needed to enter into your desired education career.

When looking to gain the training needed for a career in education you can enroll in a number of accredited online schools and colleges. Training is available at various levels allowing you to choose the one that’s right for you.

  • Bachelor degrees in education can be obtained by completing four years of accredited study. With a degree at this level students can become a general education teacher and choose an area of study to teach.
  • Master degrees in this field will prepare students to teach specific subjects or grades and can require an additional two years of online training.
  • Doctoral degrees in education will take students an additional four years to obtain and can provide the means to teach secondary and post-secondary educational programs.

With an accredited degree in education you can gain the training you need to pursue a variety of exciting careers. Areas of study will vary based on the level of degree and desired level of teaching desired.

Coursework will cover a variety of topics, and students who choose to specialize in certain subjects will complete more focused courses. Online educational training programs can allow you to learn:

  • Mathematics
  • Social Science
  • Art
  • Physical Science
  • Music
  • Literature
  • Philosophy of Education
  • Teaching Methods
  • Psychology of Learning

…and much more. By gaining knowledge in these areas you will be able to pursue your desired teaching career. You may also be required to complete some supervised teaching in order to complete all graduation requirements.

By choosing to gain an accredited online degree in education you have the opportunity to choose from a number of specialized studies. You can pursue a career teaching:

  • Elementary
  • Middle
  • High School
  • Post-Secondary
  • Special Education
  • Preschool

…and more. You have the options of deciding when, where, and how you study, as well as the level of teaching you would like to pursue, when completing an online training program.

By looking to gain an accredited online degree in education you can prepare to become the teacher you desire. Full accreditation is provided by various agencies like the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (www.ncate.org). Accreditation is provided to online schools and colleges that meet the criteria needed to prove that they can offer students the best quality education possible. You can start by researching various online schools and colleges and begin training today.

DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERIC OUTLINE and may or may not depict precise methods, courses and/or focuses related to ANY ONE specific school(s) that may or may not be advertised at PETAP.org.

Copyright 2010 – All rights reserved by PETAP.org.

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