The Tanganyika Wildlife Park is home to this tortoise and about 400 other animals.

Image courtesy of GotCredit at Flickr.com

A loan will not solve all of your problems, but when used in an appropriate way it can be a great resource to boost your finances, expand your business, cover unexpected costs, fund a big expense and improve your credit score. No matter the kind of loan you are going to apply for, the strict lending process that applicants have to go through to get it can make you feel a little intimidated or unsure whether you would get an approval.  If you plan to apply, here are some steps and tips to keep in mind for improving the chances of getting your loan application approved:

Determine the kind of loan you need

New applicants often tend to ask about the best loan. However, the best loan for an individual depends entirely on the reason why this person needs the money, the required amount and the estimated time to pay it back.  Therefore, a better question to ask would be, what loan is best for me? Before heading to a bank or any alternative lender, answer the former question by researching existing options, interest rates, fees and policies, and the requirements for specific types of loans that must adapt to your needs and personal financial situation.

Get informed

Do not wait for the loan officer or bank to overwhelm you with offers you do not understand.  Make sure you take time to learn the basics of a loan and familiarize yourself with the bank’s loan requirements when you make an appointment with the loan officer or institution. Remember that financial institutions want to make money and will not approve a deal that will result in loss. This means that you need to approach the lender with a clear detailed vision for using the money and repaying it.  It also means that when you learn about your loan requirements you may realize that you need more time to save for a down payment or improve your credit report to meet the lender’s requirements.

You are allowed to compare

Once you understand what you need, it is time to shop around and start comparing both online and offline to get the best. For example, it is common for customers to want to go directly to their bank.  The bank might say that it offers special rates to its customers but there could be other cheaper loans available.

Comparing offline does not necessarily mean that you need to travel across the city visiting every existing bank or loan company, but at least a few.  It can also mean taking some time to visit websites to compare the best loans online. If you want a good deal, you don’t have to accept the first offer.

Image courtesy of Miran Rijavec at Flickr.com

Prepare your documents and be patient

Lenders require paperwork that demonstrates crucial information about your financial life.  Create a checklist of all the documentation you need to provide for the loan application (primary identification, payroll records, account statements, tax forms, etc.)  It can take time to collect all the documents and have them verified by the lender. Be patient.  It is interesting to know that a surprising number of loans are usually rejected simply because the applicant did not gather all the required documentation.  For this reason, be meticulous and always submit a complete application.

Fix your bad credit

Since your credit report matters a great deal when getting a loan, then it is paramount to make every possible effort to boost bad credit.  And by the way, it takes time.  Results will not be seen instantaneously, but it will be worth the effort in the long run. Here are a few pointers:

Be aware of your credit report; verify it.

Pay on time and, if possible, consider more frequent payments. If you forget about paying there is always the option of setting up payments automatically.

Keep your balances low on credit cards. Minimize major debts.

Abstain from applying for unnecessary credit.

Image courtesy of Rocío Lara at flickr.com   

If you haven’t heard about crowdfunding it is because you live in another planet or in a very hidden and remote island. In fact, if you are starting your business, have thought about it, have a friend that wants to be independent or even if you have some sort of contact with the world, you should know what crowdfunding is. If you don’t, well, crowdfunding is as simple as it sounds. It is a way to raise money for your idea where you can reach a big amount of people interested in your idea through collective efforts, usually with friends, family, customers and individual investors. The most common way is using social media and the internet, but also using mail-order subscriptions, benefit events, and other methods.

The focus of this post is to give the readers some of the best, and most wanted, crowdfunding companies around the world.

The ones that really have successful funding and big communities that actually help start-ups and new business go forward with their idea.

1. Kickstarter: 

Kickstarter is a platform for creative projects. Their mission is to “bring creative projects to life”.  This is one of the first platforms to be on the market. The music band De La Soul, an underground hip hop band, has benefited from their large community of 9 million subscribers. Filmmakers, artists and even extreme sport artists and projects can get financed through this company. It is not aimed at business ideas even though most of their projects have successful outcomes. They launched the company, which is now a  Benefit Corporation, in 2009 and their numbers are very exciting, with 10 million people backing a project, $2.2 Billion being pledged, and 99,908 projects being successfully funded.

2. GoFundMe:  

this crowdfunding company specializes in raising money for special events like celebrations and to overcome challenging circumstances like accidents or special illnesses. It is more of a fundraiser for personal causes. The idea is to share your story, similar to the stories you share through Facebook, and obtain funds to carry on your celebration or to pay for things you and your group really need. The most common topics or ways that people use GoFundMe are medical, educational, volunteerism, personal emergencies and sports and teams. Just the past year more than 1 million people were benefited to make up a total of 1 billion in donations.

Image courtesy of lulupinney at flickr.com 

3. Indiegogo:  

the success of this crowdfunding institution is that they accept almost anything in the market like music, hobbyists, personal finance needs, charities and whatever else you could think of except investment. They have been growing very fast in many countries due to their flexibility and approach of giving the opportunity to anybody that has an idea. They want to tear down the barriers that come up when the average person has an idea, a crazy, cool and genius idea, and wants the world to know about it and have a way to get out there to others that want to support, help, advertise or invest.

4. Crowdrise: 

this crowdfunding fundraiser is dedicated exclusively to causes and charities.  It was named as one of the “Top 25 Best Global Philanthropist” by Barron’s. They focus on raising money for important and amazing causes and also aim at having fun while doing it. Their community is based on doing good to other people and they have been very successful at it as they use the community around famous people and events to attract funds to invest in charities around the world. They also have many categories and are one of the most organized crowdfunding sites. Their celebrity backed charities are very successful among donors.

5. Pledgemusic: 

as it names states it, they are a crowdfunding community that wants to help new talents in the music industry,  get out there and be known by the public. Artists struggle at the beginning to come out to the surface as it is very expensive and demands a lot of advertisement, which is also difficult and expensive. This crowdfunding community wants to contact artists and fans from the very moment the project goes into the studio. They help artist with the tools, services and support that are required to create music, videos, merchandise and events to reach their fans and public. It is all about connecting music likes and dislikes with the new comers out there.

Image courtesy of BlackBox Innova at flickr.com   

There are many ways to help through local charities or well- known philanthropic institutions. This is one more way to help others and to get involved in the part of the world, the band or the idea the most interests you.

This globalized world gives us many options to get involved in the things that we like, and through crowdfunding websites is as easy as it gets.

Image Source: Bizjournals.com

David Kiger, the founder and CEO of the Dallas-based global freight shipping company Worldwide Express, recently shared his insights on the traits of indispensable employees. He began by stressing the importance of avoiding office gossip, advising employees to be smart, responsible, and respectful in their conversations with coworkers and superiors. Even when your superior is the source of the gossip, he says, keep the information to yourself. In order to be a truly valuable asset to your company, Mr. Kiger notes that you should also be flexible. A willingness to work additional hours or to assist with special projects demonstrates your work ethic and dedication, as does offering to help your boss during particularly stressful situations. Furthermore, it is important to adopt a “no whining” policy when it comes to requests in the workplace.