Hubspot!!!

Friday, January 31, 2020

Side Job Hustles


  If you’d like to learn how you can begin your very personal side hustle in the next 28 days… so you can begin earning additional cash to repay your debt, make investments on your future, or simply so you have enough money at the finish of the month to enjoy with your loved ones… then this is going to be the most important message you've ever learn.
The FB Side Hustle Course is a step-by-step information that may present you the way to start your very personal side hustle managing Facebook adverts for local companies.
All, right now I have compiled a list of 35 advertising abilities that you can easily study in full-time remote jobs, then take and branch off into your own profitable aspect hustle working from house.
If you've a creative streak and need to make some money on the facet, launching an Etsy store is a good way to generate income from residence.



   With this in mind, I need to give you some ideas about how you can generate a passive income stream with an aspect hustle, without having to give up your day job (which again, is commonly your source of experience).
Another area of interest advertising skill that may be a lucrative facet hustle could be to succeed in out to authors of books, eBooks, and mainly any other kind of long kind written content material that can need a cover (or different visible marketing belongings), and become a e-book cover designer.
If you have creative marketing expertise, corresponding to graphic design, pictures, or you'll be able to shoot killer videos, this is the part for you to learn how to take that marketing expertise and turn them into a aspect hustle.
When you’re working a normal 9 to 5, you already spend a substantial amount of time and vitality on your day job, so that you’ll must be motivated to make a hit of your facet hustle.
You possibly can run your side hustle in solely 2-3 hours per week… and all you should get started is a couple of FREE tools like a Facebook profile, an e mail handle and a PayPal account.
If you could have great technical advertising skills, can arrange web sites, perceive some primary coding, or can turn knowledge into insights—this is the place you possibly can learn to apply some of those abilities to create a side hustle.



   Using that, you would begin a facet hustle the place you’re centered on how people are reviewing your company on-line—and put your advertising abilities at enhancing an organization’s picture to good use.
So, in case you have a talent for web optimization, social media or e-mail marketing you'll be able to turn these skills into a versatile side hustle, finishing up digital marketing work for businesses who don’t have these skills in-home.
If you've a day job or have connections that could result in a conflict of curiosity along with your side hustle, then it is not a good suggestion to continue with it.
You can take your marketing abilities on the earth of design and begin a facet hustle where all you do is create logos for people and businesses.
Today, I want to introduce you to a good friend and reader, Jake Kurtz, who’s taken the marketing expertise he’s been paid to construct via his day jobs in advertising over the past few years, and switch them into facet hustles on the earth of freelancing and blogging, himself.



   At the tip of the day, you have to ramp up their on-line presence and repair their advertising woes so that they can begin to get more leads, have higher search outcomes, achieve more social media followers, and in general, become a one-individual administration department for everything online advertising related.
With sturdy marketing expertise you can flip their side hustles into full-time jobs in a short time as a result of it’s a worthwhile niche when you can reliably deliver results and get referrals based mostly on your great work.
These facet hustles are built across the advertising expertise of making and promoting (usually written) content material, for the needs of positioning your consumer as an professional in a particular area, or serving to them rank higher organically.
If you’ve discovered the way to discover, evaluate, and run these kind of advertising campaigns, there are businesses you can attain out to who would be very interested in putting your advertising abilities to good use with booking native campaigns.



   Every day, I would work for 7-8 hours on my weblog… after which I’d spend an additional hour or two performing digital advertising services (which had been much like the one I’m about to inform you about) for local companies.
Finding high quality digital advertising jobs could also be probably the greatest belongings you ever do… especially when you love to create content, SEO, social media, and bringing your expertise to life.
Jump on the biggest advertising problems first and begin engaged on getting your shopper’s web optimization results, gross sales, decide-ins, social media followers, and site visitors built as much as greater and higher ranges.
While I have by no means personally labored as a virtual assistant I know many individuals who've made quite a bit of cash doing it, including my pal Sarah who after simply 3 months of launching her own virtual assistant business was able to quit her full time job and both earn more money and spend more time along with her kids.



   I really imagine that all of my experiences attempting to clarify in fundamental language how Google works and how the networks to small business house owners has helped me immensely in my YouTube channel… I'm able to break down advanced ideas into easy language because I sat down with enterprise homeowners dozens if not lots of times to go through that process with them.
A piece of advice, there are a ton of people who strive to do this so it’s exhausting to make a full-time business out of it, but I do know one guy who makes over $200,000 yearly easy shopping for and reselling live performance tickets to the large identify reveals.
After helping those first few clients get some superior outcomes, word began spreading round… and soon… he was waking up each single day with an inbox stuffed with messages from determined enterprise house owners who were asking him to manage their ad accounts… particularly as soon as his first consumer started bragging about how awesome of a result Mike got for him...
Make sure your list contains establishing a website (Squarespace is a superb device), designing a emblem, create/clean social media accounts devoted to your small business, outline your private brand, and set a launch date for yourself.



   Mike joked around and stated he was a keep at residence dad… but he also talked about that he had a small business managing Facebook Ad campaigns for native businesses.
This module will present you the best method to “scale up” your advert campaign so your shoppers can experience a flood of new business… which can make them need to continue paying you for a VERY long time.
An enterprise proprietor can place an ad focusing on people in their town… or people who have a certain curiosity… and get clicks to their web site, guide appointments, or start making sales - in a matter of minutes.
I had the chance to work personally with two Millennial Money readers, Rob and Melissa who have three youngsters and run their very own facet business flipping objects they discover at thrift stores and auctions.
If you're employed eight hours per day on the two days you have off from your day job, then you possibly can add sixteen hours per week to work in your new business.



   When building your website, make sure to include an about page explaining who you are and what your hustle is, a shoppers page with info for current and/or past clients, an internet storefront should show you’re selling merchandise, a testimonial web page as a result of others bragging about you will at all times mean greater than you bragging on yourself, and a contact page to make it simple for potential companions/clients to reach out.
You’ll discover ways to find funny, cool, or shocking photographs that grab attention and make your client’s ads 10x simpler… giving them extra clicks and extra leads for a a lot lower ad spend.
It’s fairly straightforward to make no less than an additional $1,000 -- $2,000 per thirty days aspect hustling in your first few months, then if you hold at it and look for opportunities to grow you possibly can realistically get to $10,000+ a month in facet hustle earnings should you keep at it.
It’s the most effective because you will discover and make money doing something you like, and it’s the worst, because most individuals assume there are no guidelines to side hustling, so they end up making some cash on the aspect, however not as a much as they could possibly be making and find yourself losing time doing it.


   I advocate that you learn this text throughout and then return and look at the resources I posted in each section to get extra detailed info on each strategy and precisely how to make money on the aspect.
Scaling Your Ads. As soon as your shopper starts getting an outcome with the advertisements you set up for them, the first thing they’re going to need to do is pump MORE money in and actually take issues to the next stage. The key right here is that if you attempt to scale too much too quick, you lose optimization and lead prices go WAY up.
You want to move past simply buying and selling your hours for a restricted amount of cash, and transition to thinking about aspect hustling to become your own boss and create financial freedom.
An aspect hustle is anything you do to make more money outside of your full-time job.
Below is a list of the best aspect hustles that I even have personally used to earn more money, invest, and reach monetary independence.
So, let’s dive into the best side hustle ideas that’ll help you make more money, while working from home.


Sunday, April 29, 2018

Prospecting Can Change Your Business!

Five foolproof on line prospecting suggestions to sign up greater people into your commercial enterprise
written with the aid of William Floyd

Prospecting is one of the maximum vital abilities to increase sign ups as a domestic business owner. Without targeted leads or qualified humans to talk to about your commercial enterprise, you won’t get many sign ups. Yet, it is also one of the most feared topics since for most of the people it refers to, getting them out of their comfort region.
Prospecting shouldn't be frightening, even though, it doesn’t have to be hard. in reality, The more you practice this ability and get into a waft with it, you would possibly discover that you definitely enjoy the system.
So permit us to show you stress free ways of prospecting and give a few easy pointers you may begin applying so that you can create higher relationships and sign more people up in your business.

Fear kills many peoples dream. It stops people from taking any action at all  of fulfilling their dreams. that they made-up testimonies in their heads about what would possibly happen or possibly go wrong to keep many from even attempting. But while you honestly think about the worst possible outcome, you may foresee and comprehend it’s not so scary after all.
So what if some people choose to connect with you via their smartphone?  In all honesty, some peoples existence depends on smartphones ? Theirs! No person’s opinion of you should alternate or achieving goals.
Another thing to keep in mind is that as you broaden your prospecting capabilities and practice more, your self assurance will grow also , consequently casting off extra layers of worry and doubt. On every occasion you “live on” any other prospecting verbal exchange, you can take a deep breath and use what you found out from your communication to make your subsequent one even higher!

Ask more (and better) questions
How can you realize if your services or products is a match for someone if you don’t first ask a few questions? That is when you find out if your products or services provide value. Create exceptionally valuable product or service that you are able to provide to your customer or customers. your product is  exceptional and now we are making them for a particular time. Show how your product or service is “absolutely needed by everyone that uses them”. There will nevertheless be masses of people who have no interest in your products or services. This is why asking questions and certainly information about peoples wants and needs is such an critical part of the prospecting puzzle.
Ask questions to show the benefit or benefits of your product or services. You cannot direct anybody in the direction of a purchase that's correct for them till you get them to inform you what they need.” – Tom Hopkins
Ask Questions
At the end of the day, people are going to make their very own shopping  decisions irrespective of how strongly every other person thinks they want some thing. you could help guide them to that selection (if it's a fit) by asking questions that dig deeper and monitor any pain points. If what you have to offer is an answer for that man or woman’s pain point, it will make their selection to shop with you a no brainer!

Detach your self from the outcome
That is a big one! While you first begin your own home commercial enterprise journey and generate some leads, it’s so clean to grow to be emotionally connected to the ones first few people beings signing up. The trouble is in those cases that you enter a prospecting communication with the goal of needing to make the sale, you completely restrict yourself from simply assisting that man or woman.
The fact is most people will say no to your enterprise. Understanding this, you could mentally equip yourself for the journey. In preference to getting disappointed or feeling rejected while a person says they’re no longer involved, simply thank them for the time, wish them well, keep the friendship, and move on. Don’t fear about trying to persuade or show yourself or your commercial enterprise to everybody. You may face heartache if you are too emotionally attached to the consequences.
Rather, cognizance on the procedure of sifting and sorting as you meet an increasing number of people. Via this manner, you may discover that some are a brilliant fit in your commercial enterprise at the same time as others may additionally just be a better in shape as friends. One huge clue in order to will let you recognize if you are being too emotionally attached for your consequences is how you treat a prospect when they let you know no. If you see yourself being harmed by the attachment to engage in that verbal exchange, then you recognize you’ve taken it too individually and went into the communique with the incorrect intentions.
Some other element to keep in mind is that simply due to the fact a person is not fascinated right now doesn’t mean they're not part of your destiny. Nurture the ones relationships as friends even as you continue to build your commercial enterprise. You never understand if somewhere down the road that friendship will blossom right into a super commercial enterprise courting. Preserve your thoughts and heart open.

Practice the regulation of averages
The notable Jim Rohn said, “even in case you are new in income, you could make up in numbers what you lack in competencies.” What this means is that as you're studying and growing those new prospecting capabilities, in reality just communicate to other people. There are absolutely two fundamental blessings to this method.
The primary is that it offers you a ton of practice! The more people you speak to and divulge to them your commercial enterprise or even the greater rejection which you face, the higher you may get. You may analyze a lot out of your conversations, which in turn will create more confidence to your prospecting skills. The greater confidence you have got, the better you'll get with your ability.
Practice is simply as precious as a sale. the sale will make you a dwelling; the talent will make you a fortune.” — Jim Rohn
The second element about the regulation of averages is that with enough time and consistency, you may subsequently see outcomes. maintain plugging away and hold your lead pipeline full always. You will gain so much self assurance and posture while you try this, which is a big attractor issue for your prospect. It’s a good deal less complicated to detach your self from the outcome when you have lots of people to speak to each day.

Leverage your gear
One of the errors many of us make when we first start a domestic enterprise is we truely communicate too much while we ought to as an alternative leverage the gear of professionals who've already done the work for us. Your company pays a variety of money to check the exceptional advertising substances and rent the high-quality expertise to help you grow your enterprise. Your task is to utilize it.
Consider your task as “display and inform”. Take what you’re given and proportion it with others enthusiastically. This sincerely takes away a ton of strain for you! In preference to looking to memorize or learn every single reality to proportion with a prospect, truly recognition on getting to know them more, asking questions, and supplying answers.
In some cases greater emphasis should be placed on asking questions after which simply pointing people to the first-class assets you've got to be had to assist them, it's going to get you better consequences and dispose of a ton of stress and worry. Communicate much less, share greater!
That sums up our five prospecting guidelines to help you rock out your commercial enterprise this week and get you greater sales.
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Friday, October 27, 2017

Moringa Changed The Way Many Lose Weight!!!

Green Chia & Moringa Smoothie Bowl
You may have heard of moringa. It’s gaining popularity as a new “superfood” green, and it’s a pretty awesome plant. I’ve seen it and eaten it in Nicaragua, parts of Africa and the Philippines, and I love that it is coming over here now!
Moringa combined with chia seeds, which are high in essential fats, minerals and protein, are a super charged health combo in my Green Chia & Moringa Smoothie Bowl Recipe. (Yes, it’s time for another bowl recipe!!)
Let’s see how…
Remember that protein is found in a wide variety of foods- and both plant foods and animal foods contain it! Incorporating more plant protein to replace animal protein (though of course it doesn’t have to be all or nothing, especially when you are starting out!) is such a great way to boost your overall well-being.
Plant foods will not only supply you with protein, but tons of micronutrients, and fiber, which improves gut health, while animal protein has been shown to cause unfavorable changes in gut microbiota.
Animal protein contains no fiber, which is key in helping to keep your digestive tract healthy, clean, and functioning at its best. Nor does it supply any of the Omega 3s, antioxidants, or other vast range of thousands of micro-nutrients you can get from a plant-based diet.
When you ingest animal protein, you are placing added stress on your body (especially on the detoxifying organs of your kidneys and liver), and forcing its pH levels into a more acidic range. This is not what we’re striving for here in the Beauty Detox Solution.
Put less stress on your body by giving it the boost it deserves!
Rather, in the plant world, vegetables, grains, nuts, legumes, and seeds all contain significant levels of high quality, clean burning proteins.
Chia seeds are an example of a great plant food supplying complete protein (particularly from an athletic performance point of view). These miracle seeds also offer antioxidants, vitamins, and a variety of minerals, like calcium. Chia also supplies a rich plant-based source of omega-3 fatty acids.
As you can see, chia seeds are one of the best foods out there, and I eat them almost daily. One of my staple recipes is my Chia Seed Delight Recipe. There’s nothing easier than making a quick batch of chia gel to add to your afternoon smoothies and bowls.
I also love adding chia seeds to my Power Protein Smoothie for a long-burning, energizing and refreshing treat after a workout.
I recently tried to grow a moringa tree in my hard, but she didn’t make it :(. But it’s okay, as we can get powdered moringa at the health market, and add it into smoothies such as this one.
Moringa is loaded with health and beauty supporting vitamins, minerals, and enzymes—making it a true superfood in every sense of the word.
It is a super unusual “vegetable tree”, being incredibly nutritious and highly valued for its medicinal properties and every part of it can be eaten. I love adding fresh moringa leafs (or baby spinach, when I can’t find moringa), into stir-fry’s, like my Moringa Stir-fry recipe!
When ground into powder, Moringa can be used as a natural health and beauty promoting multivitamin. The powder can even be taken in capsule form, sprinkled into soups and sauces, and steeped in hot water as a soothing tea (I would add a sweetener of some kind though!). You’ll be fueling your body with tons of nutritional, alkalizing and purifying benefits.
A single serving of moringa contains about 3 times the iron in spinach, helping you enrich your blood, carrying life, energy and oxygen into your muscles, organs and tissues. No need for those sugary, high caffeine “energy” drinks when moringa can support your overall health and vitality, including glowing skin!
Moringa is also rich in antioxidants and Omega 3 fatty acids which reduces inflammation—contributing to healthy cell production and regeneration. These help your skin retain its suppleness, helping to keep your skin fresh and youthful looking, while boosting your immune system.
These Omega 3 fatty acids are so integral to our health and beauty and something our bodies must get from the foods we eat. Check out some of the ways these fatty acids can assist your body:


  • Reduce and regulate inflammation
  • Keeps blood from excessive clotting
  • Reduce cytokines (which are involved in inflammatory processes)
  • Improve insulin response
  • Promote healthy cell membranes
  • Regulate prostaglandin production [1]

  • Adding this plant in for vitality is well worth it. You can find powdered moringa at your local health market or on Amazon. Just try to find a brand that you can trust that is raw, organic, non-GMO, vegan and gluten-free.
    How about we get started on recharging our afternoon with this yummy smoothie bowl recipe and be sure to tag me on social with your creations!
    Green Chia & Moringa Smoothie Bowl
    Prepare ingredients.
    Green Chia & Moringa Smoothie Bowl
    Add the unsweetened plain coconut yogurt to the blender.
    Green Chia & Moringa Smoothie Bowl
    Add the unsweetened coconut milk.
    Green Chia & Moringa Smoothie Bowl
    Next, add the moringa powder, being careful how much you add (too much and you will have a bitter smoothie bowl!).
    Green Chia & Moringa Smoothie Bowl
    Add the banana.
    Green Chia & Moringa Smoothie Bowl
    Add the stevia to taste (you’ll want to balance the bitterness with this sweet!). Blend ingredients until fully combined.
    Green Chia & Moringa Smoothie Bowl
    Pour into bowl. Stir in the prepared chia seed gel.
    Green Chia & Moringa Smoothie Bowl
    If desired, add dollops of coconut yogurt, bananas, bee pollen and mint to decorate. Enjoy!


  • ½ cup unsweetened plain coconut yogurt (plus additional for design if desired)
  • ½ cup unsweetened coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon moringa powder (be careful how much you add, too much and you will have a bitter smoothie bowl!)
  • 1 frozen banana
  • 1 tablespoon chia seed gel (1/3 cup of chia seeds soaked in a bowl with 2 cups of water for at least an hour. You can soak enough for 3-4 days at a time.)
  • Stevia, to taste
  • Optional: spinach or other greens to make more green in color, coconut yogurt, bananas, mint, bee pollen
  • Add all of the ingredients to your blender, except the chia seed gel, and blend until smooth. Add additional greens if desired.
  • Stir in the chia seed gel.
  • Pour, serve and enjoy! If desired add dollops of coconut yogurt, bananas, bee pollen and mint to decorate

  • As always, happy blending!
    All love,Kimberly
    [1] Prostaglandins and Inflammation
    Picture of Lil Bub and Kimberly.
    Do your best to get some outdoor nature time in whenever possible, especially on the weekends! Spending time in nature a vital part of us reaching our optimal wellness :). 
    #moringa benefits and side effects, #benefits of moringa seeds, #how to use moringa powder, #moringa weight loss

    Tuesday, October 17, 2017

    Another Passing Millennial Life

    NerdWallet CEO On How City Life Changes The Financial Goals Of Millennials

    "NerdWallet has become a unique sort of startup success story: It’s both a credit card comparison platform and a media company that has produced more than 12,500 articles on personal finance. Last November, NerdWallet co-founder Tim Chen hired Tapan Bhat, a Realtor.com, Yahoo and Quicken alum, to be the company’s first Chief Product Officer.
    Bhat was hired as part of the company’s effort to develop tools to help the site’s visitors “know what they don’t know,” according to Chen. In early October, Chen and Bhat visited the International Business Times offices to chat about financial privacy, the difference between the financial goals of urban and rural millennials, and what they wish they would have done differently with their money.
    How did NerdWallet get started and how did the site break through the noise of the internet?
    Tim Chen: Back in 2008, I was in New York working at a hedge fund, and I got fired right after Christmas Day. So I was just sitting around twiddling my thumbs, thinking about what to do with my life. And my sister calls me up and asks me: “Can you help me find a credit card?” I was like: “Sure. It will take two minutes, I’ll find some site that compares credit cards and I’ll tell you which one to get.”
    But lo and behold, I found a bunch of marketing materials and no quality analysis at all. I was super pissed because I was like: “You can buy an airline ticket on Kayak and compare all the prices. Why can’t you do that with a credit card?”
    20160107_Tim_Chen_01 (1) (1) (1)Nerdwallet Co-founder and CEO Tim Chen. Photo: Nerdwallet
    So I created a spreadsheet, I got just about all of the cards from the six biggest banks, which is just about all the cards out there, and I just made an Excel file and sent it to her. Then the lightbulb went off: I realized this would be a really helpful website.
    I was convinced that this was a better mousetrap. But when I hit publish, no one showed up. And it was like the most depressing thing ever. What a lot of entrepreneurs assume incorrectly is that if you build a better mousetrap people will come via word of mouth. That’s the implicit assumption. It’s true in some markets maybe, but it's definitely not true in financial services.
    I wanted to get people to show up without paying them to show up because then we could actually show them content that was helpful, or help answer their questions, without trying to sell them stuff. That proved to be a really indirect six-year detour, where we ended up building all these products that people wanted but nobody had any incentive to build. So, for example, a FAFSA guide to help you figure out how to apply for financial aid for college. Prepaid credit card comparison tool to help you figure out prepaid cards. None of these things paid us. We did article after article, research guide after research guide. And the interesting thing is the media started really appreciating what we were doing because it was helpful for their readers. And ultimately we built our brand that way. So six years later we got to a much bigger scale. There’s like a 100 million unique people that come to our site every year. We crossed  $100 million in revenue.
    Now we’re thinking hard about we solve even bigger problems. So the big remaining problem I see in the world of financial services is that money is super complicated and people have no idea what they don’t know. They don’t even know what questions to ask! So rich people hire these Cadillac financial advisers that spot everything they’re doing wrong. They’ll be like: “Go buy an umbrella insurance policy, it's super cheap, you might get sued if somebody slips in your backyard. Open this trust, you’ll save a bunch of money.”
    But for most people there just isn’t that resource. You have people late on their mortgage payments that don’t know about home loan modifications that could save them from being foreclosed upon. And this is just a matter of not knowing what you don’t know. We’re thinking hard about how to solve that problem. That’s why we hired Tapan, and he’s taking a crack at that.
    How do you do that? The Google search route makes sense when people have specific questions. But how do you start when people don’t even know what the question is?
    Tapan Bhat: It’s not the easiest thing in the world to solve. That’s why no one’s done it. For us, it was about starting with the consumer and trying to figure out what consumers need. We spent hours and hours and hours going around the country, spending time in their homes, really understanding their financial situations. We did a bunch of surveys after that. Some really interesting things came out of that.
    The first one was that 88 percent of people have financial goals, things that they want to accomplish. So, check. No problem there. They have some kind of plan, very vague maybe, but have some kind of plan to do it. The issue is that 71 percent of them feel that they may have made not-so-great financial decisions in trying to get there. So there’s this lack of confidence, in the sense of “Hey, have I done the right thing?” And then you look at millennials, that number is even higher — it’s at 83 percent. So it's a very high percentage of millennials.
    What we realized is it's really important to help them find ways to accomplish their goals. And the goals can be as simple as helping them save for a pet, save for a vacation. Something really immediate, to much more long-term goals, like retirement. Most of the people we talked to, retirement was so far off.
    Chen: “It’s never going to happen.” We heard that so many times.
    Bhat: They don’t believe social security will be there for them. It’s like “Eh, let me focus on today, let me live my life.”
    But behavioral research suggests if you help people solve short-term goals, you can then ladder them into more long-term goals. It sort of builds confidence. That’s some of the approaches we are taking and we are going to be exploring over the next several months: How do we help consumers meet short-term goals?
    20161114_Tapan_Bhat_040_fb-570x225Nerdwallet Chief Product Officer Tapan Bhat. Photo: Nerdwallet
    Financial stuff almost seems complicated on purpose. Because it's complicated, the authority gets an extra level of authority because it becomes: “Just trust me, I know this stuff, you don’t.” Obviously, there’s been efforts to bring transparency to some of this. But is there anything that’s still a black box for people? What do you see that’s the most opaque that you’d like to shine a light at?
    Chen: There are some industries that are led by deception and big advertising budgets and stuff like that. But I actually think that's a smaller part. The bigger issue is people for the most part just don’t know what they don’t know. It's like no one is actually making money when somebody forgets to file for an earned income tax credit — well, maybe the government benefits a little bit — but no bank is making money off that, no consumer is benefiting off that. I think those are the biggest opportunities.
    I mean one opaque area is auto insurance. They know that people don't call in and renegotiate. The United Kingdom, by the way, has very different behavior. The regulators in the U.K. have forced them to engage in much more transparent practices. But yeah, you’ll see people raising prices every year because they can and because they know you have it on auto pay and aren’t paying attention. I think things like that are maybe more at risk as millennials get smarter and integrate their money into something that watches their back.
    If you have a product, you can usually compare that product to similar products other people have. Like, you can sort of immediately know if your friend gets better service than you if you're in the same place, and you have one bar and they have four. But your financial life is often private. You don’t really share it that much. I’m wondering how privacy and old notions of privacy around finances prevent people from say, seeing other outcomes and comparing information.
    Bhat: It’s interesting. Look at Venmo, for example. In their feed, you have what your friends are paying for. I think there is a generational shift to some degree for what is acceptable and what's not. People in my generation wouldn't ever think of doing that (yes, I’m old). My 22-year-old niece wouldn't think twice about it. So I think a light is being shown on this. To some degree, I just think consumer behavior will encourage more transparency.
    Chen: I do think it would be really cool if we get to a point where we’d be like: “I want to know what my neighbors are paying for Comcast. Because I’m pretty sure I’m overpaying.” I think things like that will become more possible on an itemized level as we sign up more people.
    Speaking of generational differences, there are all these cliches about millennials. They don’t marry, they don’t have cars, etc. Of course, these are generalizations. But I’m wondering what has surprised you about the millennials who you’ve met and the financial questions they have?
    Chen: That tour we did where we met 100 random people all over the country has really skewed my view on a few things. I was really surprised by the attitude towards retirement. We met this one young woman, she was making a pretty good income, she was living in Boston. I think she was making $80,000 to $90,000 doing sales at a tech company. She was literally like “none of my friends or I will ever retire. It’s just impossible given city life and all this stuff. And that’s okay, these are the other things I care about and focus on.” That to me was like “Wow, really?”
    I heard that a lot on the coasts and in the cities, and then it was completely different when you go to Sacramento or Charlotte. People there are getting married and want to retire, and they’re millennials. There’s something about the cost of living that creates such deviation between these two groups of people.
    Bhat: For example, conventional knowledge goes: “Home buying? Millennials don’t care about that.” They really do care about it. When you go outside the big urban metros it's like: “Oh, I’m saving money for a down payment and I’m living with my parents right now so I can save money and buy a place of my own with my boyfriend.” That kind of thing is a real goal that people have. It’s always fashionable to — I won’t say diminish — but to make fun of the aspirations of the next generation. The baby boomers did it to my generation, the Gen X people. Now it's like they are doing the same thing to the millennials.
    But when you actually look at the core human aspirations of what they want to do with their lives, those really don't change that much. Now there’s a huge thing we see in the urban areas, where — to the points that Tim mentioned — the cost of living and certain dynamics change what's possible. But even then, everyone said millennials want to live in cities. Now they are starting to move out to the suburbs as they start having kids.
    So when you tie all these data points together, you have a generation of a vast number of people who have huge financial aspirations that society needs to find a way of solving. I think that's where we come in.
    Chen: One other thing I would note: Almost everyone I talked to over the age of 36 was like: “Nerd who? I would never connect my accounts — are you crazy?” The 22-year-olds were all like: “Yeah sure, take my social security number, I’ll totally hook up all my stuff.” And then there was some gradation in between. That one was really noticeable to me.
    Bhat: These people grew up with being online all the time. They don’t know a world where they weren’t connected.
    Chen: One thing that blows me away is, I’m 35, so on the end of the millennial spectrum. Five years after me, everyone went on a Yelp for professors and read reviews and choose professors based on that. That expectation and mindset are very illustrative of what they expect out of everything, whether its financial services or whatever else.
    In terms of technology, is there anything on the horizon that makes you think, man, I can’t wait to get my hands on that? Like AI? Not to get too sci-fi here.
    Bhat: I think what's on the horizon are systems that tap expert systems — more than AI — to help provide personalized information. People have applied that to trading stocks and index funds. Now robo-advisers are doing things like that. But how do you come up with rules and expert systems to help guide these?
    Now, we’ve got opportunities: How do you transfer those to financial advice for everyday consumers? I think there’s going to be something there. I think we see voice as something that's going to be transformative to the industry. I don’t quite know how. You see Chase did something with Alexa. Right now these are science experiments. The question is how they end up. They have the potential to be transformative.
    If you could go back to yourself at 20, what would you do different financially?
    Chen: Oh man. For me, I would do low-cost index investing. I feel like at that time, I was just trying to gamble, trying to get rich — trading in and out. Ultimately, it's a zero-sum game with huge fees. I don't think in hindsight it was a very smart thing to do. But that was me. I guess everybody is different.
    Bhat: I did something like that. But I always maxed out my 401(k) though. (Laughs).
    How do you feel about cryptocurrency as an investment?
    Chen: Well, I’ll start off by saying I am not an expert. This is a personal opinion. But I just feel that when Chinese grandmas are using leverage to buy something because they think the value of it will go up, and there’s no fundamental underlying value, that’s a bad sign.
    I read this book a while ago about all the historical bubbles that have ever happened, and there are a couple common attributes. One is that people think that the people who are investing in that asset class are geniuses. The second is that retail investors start using leverage to buy that asset class. I think this has signs of both of those. But then again, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Gold is the same way, gold has no intrinsic value, gold is purely based on what people are willing to pay for it. And cryptocurrency has a lot of similar characteristics. There’s a finite amount — it can be traded. I guess that’s about it. But who knows? I wouldn’t be betting my own money on it going up though.
    This interview has been edited for length and clarity."

    Monday, October 16, 2017

    Fear, caution and joy: The mixed feelings of Kirkuk's residents


    Iraqi forces walk in front of an oil production plant as they head towards the city of Kirkuk during an operation against Kurdish fighters on October 16, 2017Image copyright AFP Image caption Iraqi forces have been advancing towards Kirkuk
    Waking up on Monday, the residents of Kirkuk found themselves facing the possibility of conflict engulfing the streets once more.
    "The Iraqi government had sent its troops to retake the city which had been under Kurdish control for three years, ever since the national army fled ahead of the advancing Islamic State (IS) militants.
    As day broke over the city - one of Iraq's richest, thanks to its huge oil reserves - no-one knew exactly what would unfold between the two sides.
    But there were those unwilling to wait to find out.
    Fakhir Hamid, 45, who is a Kurd, decided to flee the city fearing the advancing Shia militias.

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    Media captionIraqi federal police advance towards disputed city of Kirkuk
    "Because my family were afraid of Hashd al-Shaabi [Shia-dominated militias] and I am politically active with a Kurdish political party, I had to leave," Hamid told the BBC.
    Others decided to stay, to defend a city which they say is the heart of their homeland, despite it falling just outside of the autonomous Kurdistan region.
    "As citizens of Kirkuk, we promise to fight to the last drop of blood in defence of the city," one unnamed man told Reuters news agency.
    "We will fight to the death and we will prevent the filthy Shia Hashd ("Popular Mobilisation" militia) entering Kirkuk."
    Image copyright AFP Image caption Iraq's prime minister said government forces were heading for Kirkuk to protect the country's unity
    Kirkuk is not just a city of Kurds - it is also home to Arabs and Turkmen, who were less fearful of the coming army.
    Even so, Adnan al-Jibori, a 40-year-old Sunni Arab videographer, told the BBC: "We do not want clashes, people are afraid of a war."
    He added: "Many of my friends are Kurds, so we want a joint administration where all participate."
    His was a view echoed by Hussein Ghassan.
    "For us, the only thing that matters is a good government that provides security and jobs," the 35-year-old said.
    "If we have these two, it does not matter what the ethnic background is of whoever rules us."
    Image copyright Reuters Image caption Troops were greeted by cheering crowds, as thousands of others fled ahead of their arrival
    These cautious feelings were nowhere to be seen as Iraqi forces pulled into the city later in the day - the Kurdish forces appearing to have all but dissipated.
    People greeted the troops rolling through the streets with cheers and Iraqi flags.
    "Most of the Turkmen were happy with the advance of the Iraqi forces, because most of the Hashd are Turkmen," explained Mohammed Abdullah, 30, himself a Turkmen.
    For Jawdat al-Safi, a self-described "pro-Iranian Shia Turkmen", the fact that anyone would not be full of joy as the sun set over the city was inconceivable.
    "There is no-one who will not be happy," he told the BBC."

    Thursday, October 12, 2017

    Listen to the Sound That US Diplomats Heard When Attacked by a 'Sonic Device' in Cuba

    Listen to the Sound That US Diplomats Heard When Attacked by a 'Sonic Device' in Cuba


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    "The steady trickle of information about the strange case of attacks on US diplomats in Cuba through alleged “sonic devices” continues. On Thursday, the Associated Press released what it claims are recordings of the sounds that diplomats heard before experiencing mild brain damage and hearing loss. And you can listen to them!
    Article preview thumbnailUnexplained 'Sonic Weapon Attacks' Are Blowing Up Relations Between the US and Cuba
    Following a report on Monday that claimed US spies working under diplomatic cover were the primary…
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    According to multiple reports from the AP and some reluctant statements from the US State Department, diplomats stationed in Havana were repeatedly attacked by “an advanced sonic weapon that operated outside the range of audible sound” in various locations including inside their homes and at a hotel. The exact details of the situation have continually shifted as more victims have been revealed and a variety of circumstances and symptoms have been reported. The audio recordings released today constitute the most solid public evidence from the incidents yet.
    The AP reports that these recordings were what led investigators from the US to suspect that a “sophisticated sonic weapon” or “sonic wave machine” was being used against the diplomats by a malicious party that still has not been publicly identified. From the report:
    The recordings from Havana have been sent for analysis to the U.S. Navy, which has advanced capabilities for analyzing acoustic signals, and to the intelligence services, the AP has learned. But the recordings have not significantly advanced U.S. knowledge about what is harming diplomats. Officials say the government still doesn’t know what is responsible for injuries to its personnel, but the U.S. has faulted Cuba for failing to protect American diplomats on its soil.
    Not all of the victims (of which the State Department has acknowledged at least 22) complained about hearing the sounds. Those who did hear something described “a deafeningly loud sound similar to the buzzing created by insects or metal scraping,” that seemed to be isolated to specific areas of the room. When the AP played recordings of the sound back to some of the victims, they confirmed that it was the sound they heard. So far, there’s been no definitive proof that the sound was connected to whatever caused the symptoms experienced by the diplomats. And those symptoms have varied from victim to victim, covering a wide range of maladies, including “hearing loss, dizziness, tinnitus, balance problems, visual difficulties, headaches, fatigue, cognitive issues and sleeping difficulties.”
    Played through standard speakers or headphones, the audio should be no more dangerous than any other recording. Even if those frequencies were present, experts have cast doubt that ultrasound (high frequency) or infrasound (low frequency) could be reasonably weaponized in a way that would be consistent with what the State Department has said about the victims. “The physics don’t add up,” one official with knowledge of the situation told the AP.
    Spectrum analysis of one recording revealed around 20 or more different frequencies. “What it is telling us is the sound is located between about 7,000 kHz and 8,000 kHz,” Kausik Sarkar, an acoustics expert and engineering professor at The George Washington University told the AP. “There are about 20 peaks, and they seem to be equally spaced.”
    One theory for the attacks has been that microwaves or radio waves were used in the attacks, and there has been some precedent for that kind of tactic, but it wouldn’t produce a sound. Still, the sound could just be a form of psychological warfare. “None of this has a reasonable explanation,” Fulton Armstrong, a former CIA official said in September. “It’s just mystery after mystery after mystery.”
    What is certain is that the situation is rapidly deteriorating the fragile new relationship between Cuba and the US. Despite Cuba’s repeated denials that it has had nothing to do with these incidents and no knowledge of who is responsible, the US has dramatically cut its staff in Havana, asked Cuban officials to leave Washington, DC, and warned American travelers that it might not be safe for them to visit."