Reverse Piercing and the Myth of Limited Liability – Beware of the Alter Ego!

A novel situation has presented itself in recent court decisions. In 2004, the New York Court of Appeals ruled in favor of granting a new type of remedy, “reverse piercing.” Piercing the corporate veil is a fancy way of saying that the shareholders of an entity are personally liable for the debts and liabilities of that entity. This means that if the entity does not have enough money to pay all debts and liabilities, creditors came attack a shareholder’s personal holdings.

Reverse piercing is different. In a reverse piercing situation, an entity is held liable for the debts and liabilities of its shareholders. This is an amazing theory because the whole point of a limited liability entity is to protect the personal assets of its shareholders and vice versa. In other words, the shareholders and the business are two completely separate entities. However, many of the factors used by the court to determine whether an entity should be pierced are used in determining whether a reverse piercing should take place.

The main inquiry is whether the individual shareholder is the alter ego of the entity. In other words, are the two distinguishable (in a legal sense)? In the New York case, the defendants were sued by two creditors. The defendants contracted to buy a house and formed a corporation for the purpose of buying the house. The defendants, and not the defendant’s corporation, paid the property taxes and mortgage principle and interest on the house. The defendants then deducted the payment of these taxes and mortgage interest from their, and not the corporation’s, tax return. The court concluded that the defendants bought the house in a way to avoid the creditors’ claims, and the defendants utterly controlled and completely dominated the corporation. As such, the court held that the defendants were the alter ego of the corporation, and the house purchased by the corporation (and therefore the property of the corporation) was subject to the creditors’ claims.

Let this be a lesson to all you aspiring entrepreneurs! If you have a corporation, or any legal limited liability entity, make sure that you keep the entities affairs separate from your personal affairs. If you do commingle these affairs, you may be subject to personal liability or, under a reverse piercing theory, your entity may be liable for your personal debts and liabilities.

Piercing the Corporate Veil

Piercing the corporate veil is a fancy phrase that means that somebody or something is attempting to hold the shareholders of a corporation personally liable for the corporation’s debts. Veil piercing is not an easy task and requires many factors to be proven. The main inquiry is, “has the corporate form is being misused?” If it is concluded that the corporate form is being misused, the court will disregard the corporate entity and hold the shareholders personally liable.

Each state has different factors that in considers in determining whether to pierce the corporate veil. It would be inefficient to list all the various laws from all fifty (50) states, however, I will discuss some common factors.

Undercapitalization is a commonly considered by most states. Undercapitalization means that the corporation was not equipped with a reasonable amount of capital for the nature of the business involved. What is reasonable? If there was a clear answer to that, there would not be a need for lawyers! Reasonableness depends on many factors including type of business, size of business, etc. If a corporation is undercapitalized, this weighs in favor of the court piercing the corporate veil.

Another commonly considered factor is the failure to observe corporate formalities. Like I stated in previous posts, failure to observe corporate formalities will tip the scales towards the court piercing the corporate veil. Corporate formalities need to be observed by all corporations (except a close corporation).

Lastly, most courts consider whether a corporation was used to promote fraud, injustice, or illegalities. Let me put it this way, if you use the corporation to engage in illegal activity (for example, defraud somebody out of money or other valuables) the court will most likely pierce the corporate veil.

It is important to note that these are just some of the commonly considered factors. Every state has a different set of factors, therefore, check your local laws. Also, no one factor is controlling. Therefore, veil piercing does not turn on the absence or presence of a single factor. Last, even though no one factor is controlling, the factors are not weighed evenly. Factors such as illegal use weigh more than whether or not corporate formalities were observed.

Once again, this post is intended only to give you a brief overview of some corporate issues and in no way constitutes legal advice or a legal opinion. Always consult a professional before attempting anything stated above.

The Corporation

The corporation is probably the mother of all limited liability entities. The case law is vast and the complexities are many. However, a corporation can be a great business form if you know what the differences between the various corporations are.

As I stated in a previous post, corporations are subject to double taxation. A dollar earned by the corporation is taxed once as a corporate earning and then taxed again upon distribution to shareholders. However, this is not true for all types of corporations. An S-corporation (named after sub-chapter S in the relevant IRS code) is a pass-through entity. This means that the corporation is taxed as a partnership. Therefore, no double taxation! Unfortunately, with benefits come disadvantages. I do not have the code book open in front of me, but I think some of these disadvantages include, amongst other things, limitations of the number of investors you can have (I think you can only have seventy-five (75) investors for an S-corporation), and limitations on who can invest (no other entity, such as another corporation or limited liability company, can be a shareholder).

Keep in mind that when you form your corporation with articles of incorporation, filed with your Secretary of State, you do not form an “S-corporation.” Subchapter S status is received from the IRS, not your state! However, some states require that you state your intention to be an S-corp. in your articles of incorporation. Therefore, check your local laws!

A close corporation is the same thing as an subchapter S corporation, but with stricter limitations (for example, I think some close corporations can only have thirty-five (35) investors). A great advantage exists with close corporations. Close corporations do not have to engage in corporate formalities. Why is this important? When somebody sues the corporation and tries to pierce the corporate veil (meaning the claimant is trying to “pierce the veil of limited liability” and hold the shareholders personally liable), one factor, of many, the court considers in determining whether to pierce is whether the corporation engaged in corporate formalities. If a corporation engaged in corporate formalities (conducted annual meeting, recording minutes, etc.) this supports the conclusion that a corporation did not misuse the corporate form and, therefore, is less likely to have its “veil” pierced. If you have a close corporation, corporate formalities do not have to be conducted, and a court cannot hold that against you should any lawsuits arise.

A closely held corporation is a term of art. There is no special filing or advantage to a closely held corporation. A closely held corporation is one in where the shareholders and the directors are the same people. Usually about five shareholders will exist, and each will also be a director, if not also an officer, of the corporation. In case you are wondering, shareholders elect directors and directors elect officers.

This post is intended to give you a brief overview of some of the corporate forms that exist. Like always, check with a professional before trying to form one of these entities by yourself.

The Types of Business Organizations Part 2

The other type of business organization is the limited liability organization. These entities can take many forms. These forms are: (1) a limited liability partnership; (2) a limited liability company; (3) a limited liability limited partnership; and (4) a corporation. Note that there are various forms of corporations (such as an S-corporation, a close corporation, and a closely-held corporation), but these are conversations for another day.

Like the unlimited liability entities, these limited liability entities have pros and cons. First, and most obviously, these limited liability companies, as the name suggests, limits your liability. You are liable (some exceptions apply such as piercing the corporate veil) only up to the amount of your investment. Therefore, if you investment two thousand dollars ($2,000) into a corporation, and the company has debts, you are only liable up to your two thousand dollar ($2000) investment.

Second, all of these entities, except a corporation, are not subject to double taxation. Unfortunately, a corporation is subject to this double taxation. For example, if the company makes X amount of dollars, the corporation is taxed on these dollars. In addition to be taxed on that money, any distributions the corporation makes to shareholders is also taxed. Therefore, the same dollar is getting taxed twice.

Last, it is easier to raise capital because you can sell interests in these entities. Whether in the form of stock or units, these entities have a more effective way of raising capital as compare to the unlimited liability companies.

These positives also have some negatives. First, management is not as easy. Most of these entities have various levels of managements (including board of directors and officers) and have to accomplish various formalities (such as annual meetings, recording minutes, and elections by shareholders). These management levels and formalities can slow down progress and may cause conflicts between managers with differing points of views and interests.

Second, many filing fees exist. In addition to having to file a certificate of registration (for a limited partnership), articles of organization (for a limited liability company), or articles of incorporation (for a corporation), you have to file certain papers designating a resident agent and provide annual lists. Additionally, some states may not allow some of these entities to be formed (specifically a limited liability company and a limited liability limited partnership), therefore, you need to check you local laws. All of these requirements can cost hundred, if not thousands of dollars, to file.

Last, there can be conflicting interests (between shareholders, managers, and officers) as to who gets what money. These competing interests can lead to voting issues and well as possible lawsuits. Both of these will cost time and money.

Like with the pervious post, you need to consult an attorney before you try to form any of these entities by yourself. This post is intended to give you a brief overview of some limited liability companies so that you know of some options that exist for your present or future business.

The Types of Business Organizations

Business entities can be distinguished into two different categories: (1) unlimited liability entities; and (2) limited liability entities. In order for you to have a better understanding of these various entities, this post will be broken into two parts. This part will discuss unlimited liability entities.

Unlimited liability entities mean that in the even that you get sued, a claimant has the possibility of recovering against all of your assets. You are not personally protected if you form an unlimited liability entity.

Two types of unlimited liability business entities exist: (1) a sole proprietorship; and (2) a general partnership. You may be wondering why somebody would set up one of these entities. If you can be held personally liable for all judgments against your business, what is the advantage of forming one of these? Although a person may be held personally liable, there are some advantages to setting up one of these entities.

First, no filing requirements exist with either of these entities. This is great because you literally save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. States require a filing fee and the execution of certain documents for other entities, however, these two unlimited liability entities require neither.

Second, both of these entities are very easy to operate. There are no board of directors, no stock holders, and no other level of management except you. This creates a very easy management situation because you only have you to answer to.

Last, these entities do not have the problem of double taxation. In other words, any money the company makes is not taxed separately from the money is distributes. The money saving tax advantage to this is obvious.

Unfortunately, some negatives exist in forming these types of entities. First, and most obviously, you are unlimitedly liable for all debts and judgments. This can literally financially ruin you.

Second, raising capital can be difficult. You cannot sell shares of stock because there are no shares. Usually, you bring all of the money to the table or you have to take on a partner in order to receive capital.

Last, you cannot transfer your interest in these entities. In other words, you cannot sell your ownership in these companies. The effect of selling your interest is the dissolution of the previously existing entity. For example, if you owned a corporation, you could sell your stock to whomever you want (and thus in effect, sell your ownership interest in that company) without creating a dissolution. The same is not true with these unlimited liability entities.

The previous was just a brief overview of some of the various entities you can form. Do not dive head first into forming a company. Although they offer various business and tax advantages, you will probably want to talk with a lawyer before forming anything.

Multiple Streams of Income: The Internet Part 9

Link exchange websites can help you get links. The more links you have on your website, the higher your PageRank may be. As I have stated before, a higher PageRank means your website shows up higher on search engine results.

There are three ways to acquire links: (1) you can pay for them; (2) you can join a free link exchange; and/or (3) you can manually add links.

Paying for links has its ups and downs. Usually, when you buy links you receive a massive amount at one time. What basically happens is you buy a webpage/website that has a couple thousand backlinks linked to it. The problem with this method, other than it costing a lot of money, is that you never really know what kind of links you are getting.

Joining a free link exchange also has positives and negatives. To find a free link exchange service, search the phrase “free link exchange” in your favorite search engine. Once you have found a site, you have to avoid many pitfalls in order to successfully acquire quality links. When you join a free link exchange, you usually have to submit your website/blog for approval. Once approved, you can begin exchanging links with other websites. The problem with free link exchanges is that the link exchanges are reciprocal . In other words, for you to place your link on another’s webpage/blog, you have to place their link on your webpage/blog. This is vastly different from a backlink .

You may be wondering why a reciprocal link exchange can be bad. The problem with a reciprocal link exchange is that you have to know what you are exchanging. A link for a link is NOT an even trade! Let me explain. Suppose your website/blog has a PageRank of 7 and the person you are exchanging with has a PageRank of 2. The 2 gets much more benefit from the link exchange than you do. Additionally, links have to be relevant to your website. Remember, you are trying to drive traffic! If you exchange links with somebody who sells dog food on their website and you provide real estate advice on yours, neither of you will benefit! Why would the dog food site’s visitors click on your link?! A link of this nature is NOT going to raise your website/blog in the search engine results rankings. In fact, your PageRank may be adversely affected if you reciprocal link to too many websites/blogs that have a lower PageRank than you.

The last method for obtaining links is to get them manually. This is the HARDEST and MOST TIME CONSUMING. However, despite these downfalls, this is my favorite method. As I discussed in previous posts (Part 3 and Part 4) article submission is a great way to create backlinks. Another way to acquire links is to personally ask webmasters of other websites/blogs. This is usually done through e-mail. This is even more time consuming than article submission and is harder to police. You never know when the other website/blog will remove your link. Therefore, you have to constantly check the other sites to insure that your link is still there.

All in all, I still believe article submission to be the very best way to acquire effective, quality backlinks. Instead of submitting articles one-by-one to the hundreds, if not thousands, of websites that exist, you need use an automated program. Article Marketing Domination is a great guide that shows you how to maximize your search engine results ranking using article submissions. Article Marketing Domination has two great qualities. First, if you purchase the product, you get automated article submission software as a FREE gift; and second, the whole program costs under $30! $30 is nothing! $30 is a night for two at the movies. Think about it like this. For $30, you and a friend can spend about 2 hours watching a movie that may or may not be entertaining, OR you can purchase a great product, ready to download, that can make you a limitless amount of money. By using Article Marketing Domination, you could easily make back your $30 investment with just one article! The choice is a no-brainer for me, but I have met people that make “questionable” decisions about their financial future. Whatever you decide, definitely take advantage of article submission in order to grow you backlinks, PageRank, and ultimately your traffic!

Multiple Streams of Income: The Internet Part 7

Adsense and Adbrite are two programs you can use to monetize your website or blog. Put simply, all you do is copy code into your website and advertisements will appear. Every time a visitor clicks on one of the ads, you will get paid. The price per click depends on the ads you are showing. Do not woory about having to learn HTML code or anything like that, because both Adsense and Adbrite are easy to use and offer step-by-step instructions.

Sign-up for Adsense and Adbrite are both FREE, so you have nothing to lose.

A couple of things you should note:

(1) Clicking on your on advertisements is considered “click fraud” and will result in an immediate cancellation of your account and any money due. DO NOT CLICK ON YOUR OWN ADS!

(2) Rules exist as to where and how many ads you can place on a webpage. Make sure you read the Terms of Service for both Adsense and Adbrite so that you do not get your account cancelled.

(3) The amount of traffic you bring to your website will help generate a steady Adsense and Adbrite income. The more traffic you get coming to your website, the better the chance that somebody will click on one of your ads. Therefore, TRAFFIC = INCOME. However, some exceptions apply.

It is important to note that traffic alone will NOT create a substantial income from Adsense and Adbrite. You have to know how to get people to click on advertisements. The Adsense Decoded Videos have gotten great reviews! The best part about the Adsense Decoded Videos is that it shows you how to turn a significant profit even if you do not have much traffic!

However, if you do not like to watch videos or learn better by reading, and want your information instantly, the Adsense Whizz Kid is also a great product. The best part about Adsense Whizz Kid is that you get a FREE 31 Page Report just for visiting the website!

Whatever you decide, take advantage of these of these programs so that you can build another, potentially massive, stream of internet income!

Multiple Streams of Income: The Internet Part 6

Blog advertising is a quick and easy way for you to monetize your blog. Websites like PayPerPost, Blogsvertise, and Blogitive provide advertisement opportunities to bloggers. This is how it works:

(1) You register/submit your blog to one of these sites for approval;

(2) In order to become an “approved” blog after submission, you have to meet some “minimum standards” set-up by the webmaster. These “minimum standards” include a minimum Google PageRank, minimum Alexa ranking, minimum Technorati rating, a blog that has been active for at least thirty (30) days, and/or a minimum amount of posts, (usually twenty (20)) in the last ninety (90) days;

(3) Based on your PageRank, Alexa rank, etc., you will qualify for opportunities at a certain pay rate;

(4) Lastly, you accept one of the opportunities at the given pay rate by writing a post about a specific website and/or product and submitting it to the blog advertising website from which you accepted the opportunity.

If you do not fully understand how the procedure works, do not worry. Once you sign-up to one of the websites, it will give you thorough instructions. Advertising opportunities range anywhere from $5.00 to $1,000+ per post.

Most of these services use PayPal to pay you. Therefore, if you do not have a PayPal account, you will need to sign up for one.

Do not worry about signing-up for any of the blog advertising services or for PayPal, because all of them are FREE to sign-up.

A couple of closing points: these blog adverting services allow you to submit as many blogs as you have that meet their “minimum standards.” Setting up a new blog that meets the “minimum standards” can be VERY difficult and will take an enormous amount of time! Software, such as Easy Blogger Creator can help you literally build hundreds of unique blogs in a mere fraction of the time it would normally take. Can you imagine having one hundred (100) blogs posting the same advertisement for $10 each? That means you would make $1,000 for ONE opportunity! These blog advertising services have HUNDREDS of opportunities. You do the math!

Creating hundreds of unique blogs will also help you create hundreds, if not thousands, of unique backlinks. Remember, backlinks = higher rating in search engine results = MORE TRAFFIC! Easy Blogger Creator will be able to do all of this in the blink of an eye! Take advantage of this system and you could create a relatively large stream of income from blog advertising. Keep in mind that blog advertising is only one of many ways to monetize your blog. If you could make thousands of dollars from only this one stream, can you image the total you will make from your combined blogging streams? Easy Blogger Creator will help create this large streams so you can fully utilize blog advertising services.

Multiple Streams of Income: The Internet Part 5

Some additional notes on affiliate marketing to keep in mind:

(1) Make sure that you are promoting a product from a reputable seller. If the seller is not reputable, two problems arise. First, your reputation suffers, and second, you may not get paid. If the seller does not correctly track sales from your hoplink, you will lose money! We are not in this business to lose money. Therefore, start smart by finding a reputable seller.

(2) When you do affiliate marketing, you may have to give the seller some personal information for tax purposes. This personal information may include your phone number and social security number. If you do not feel comfortable giving out this information, you will need to find a seller that does not track your income for tax purposes. If this occurs, remember to claim any income you make on your tax return. The last thing you need is to get audited by the IRS!

(3) As I stated in my previous post, Clickbank is a good website for finding affiliate marketing opportunities. Alternatively, you can decide to promote a specific product from one seller. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. If you promote multiple products, you can reach a more diverse group of possible customers; however, it will be harder to track sales. If you promote only one product, you may not be able to meet the interests of all you potential customers; however, sales will be easier to track. Whatever you decide, make sure that you consider your time commitments and selling strengths.

Keep these notes in mind when deciding on a seller’s product!

Multiple Streams of Income: The Internet Part 3

Now that you have your website and/or blog, you have to drive traffic to your site in order to profit. How do you do this? Article submission is one way to accomplish this task. Article submission is a key way to generate backlinks and traffic.

By submitting articles to various free article directories, three benefits occur. First, you start to establish yourself as an “expert” in the field in which you are writing. Second, you acquire back-links to your website and/or blog. Third, you acquire traffic.

Establishing yourself as an expert will help build your reputation and status. Article writing is the most effective and efficient way to “build a buzz.” Many free articles directories exist and most are easy to navigate and easy to submit. Search the terms “free article directory” in your favorite search engine. You may be surprised by how many sites result. If you search these terms, you should find hundreds upon hundreds of websites that publish articles. Certain software like Instant Article Submitter, 30 Minute Article Writing System, and Article Directory Pro will help you easily create and submit articles. These programs do cost a little money but are well worth it if you want quick results. Making money on the Internet does not have to be hard, and it can be easy if you are willing to invest a little money and a little time.

Backlinks are important for building your Google pagerank and your Technorati rank (for blogs). A Google page rank is important because it determines how high your internet site and/or blog appears on the Google search engine. You must become indexed in all the main search engines (Google, Yahoo, and MSN) also, but more on that later. Backlinks are links that are incoming. In other words, a backlink occurs when other websites put your link on their page. This is different from a reciprocal link because in a reciprocal link, your webpage links to a site and that site links back to your page. If you still do not understand, use this link to get a better understanding of backlinks . The more backlinks and links you have (depending on your links’ pageranks) the higher you should appear when your keyword(s) are searched in Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. Submitting articles to various article submission websites will help you accomplish all of this.

Traffic on the internet is like location for a restaurant. Have you ever heard the saying, “location, location, location,” in the context of opening a new restaurant? Well, on the Internet, it is all about traffic, traffic, traffic!. Article submission helps you acquire traffic. Once you place you link in an article, an interested reader will click and be brought to your website, or any other website of your choosing. In order to obtain the largest amount of money from your internet site, you need traffic!

On a side note, you should visit Helium . This article submission site, allows you to submit articles, provide a link to your website, and pays you a percentage of all the revenue that Helium collects. Sign-up and submission are both free. Check it out because it is another way to create an income stream.

Multiple Streams of Income: The Internet Part 2

Instead of trying to pitch a specific product, I am going to give you many different options in which you invest your time and talents and can achieve a cash return. Keep in mind that most of these options will not make you a millionaire, however, all will provide you with some extra dollars if you have the desire to pursue them. Further, I am not saying that you cannot become a millionaire with the following options, all I am saying is that in order to achieve that level of income, you have much hard work to accomplish!

As I stated in my previous post, there are many options one can pursue in order to obtain multiple streams of income. We are still talking about the Internet. In this post, I will give you an overview of just some of the options available. In subsequent posts, I will discuss each one in depth.

Blogging
The word “blog” is an abbreviation for the phrase “web log.” Think of a blog as an Internet diary that the whole world can read. People post personal thoughts, ideas, conversation, or whatever they want in order to share with the world. However, as blogging has become more popular, people have used blogs as a marketing tool. The more traffic you obtain, the higher your potential income may become. In order to obtain income from traffic, you can sell a product on your blog, advertise, Google Adsense, and/or AdBrite to name a few. All of these options provide viable options that will monetize your website.

In order to find a blog service that you like, just search the terms “free blog” in the search engine of your choice. If you are interested in a subject and can write, you possess the elements necessary to start a blog. Most importantly, blogging is free and the tools available to monetize your blog are usually free!

Article Writing
Another way to make extra money is to write articles for websites like Helium. Using services likes this will do two things. First, your writing skills will become more refined, and second, you will market your name and your blog thus obtaining more traffic and a good reputation. These two benefits will help you obtain dollars and will also drive traffic to your blog.

Affiliate Marketing
By utilizing websites like ClickBank, you can sell products on your blog for a commission. Selling these products are easy because all you do is provide the link. If your traffic clicks on these links, they are redirected to the product’s pitch page and thus does all the work for you.

Multi-level Marketing
In the spirit of not promoting any specific product, I will not mention any names; however, multi-level marketing can be a powerful weapon to wield in the Internet jungle. It is important that you find an opportunity that is FREE or nearly free AND that provides income to members mostly on sales and not on referrals! If a company focuses too much of its pay-outs on referrals, you may be looking at an illegal pyramid scheme and should avoid the scam at all costs!

Blog Advertising
By utilizing websites like Payperpost.com, Blogsvertise.com, and Blogitive.com, you can make money by writing about a product and posting your writing on your blog. These services are free and very easy to use. The only disadvantage is that your blog has to meet certain requirements of Google page rank, traffic, and/or number of posts. Read the requirements and make sure you meet them before you sign up!

AdSense and AdBrite
These services post advertisements on your blog or website. Every time a visitor to your blog or website clicks on one of these advertisements, you get paid. Keep in mind that the pay ranges from $.05 to $5.00+ and are only really profitable if you have a lot of traffic coming to your blog or website. However, free money is free money and should not be passed up!

Surveys
Many Internet survey sites exist that will pay you to take surveys. Globaltestmarket.com is one such site. Like I said, I will not promote one specific product, so search the terms “paid surveys” in your favorite search engine to see what results. Most of these services will award you points for taking a survey. Once you acquire enough points, you can exchange them for cash. This opportunity will not make you rich, but like I said, extra money never hurts!

Check out all these opportunities and see how much you can make!

Multiple Streams of Income: The Internet Part 1

Let me start by saying that this multiple streams of income series is going to be long. There are going to be many posts over many days, but all should provide help and usefulness. We start with the Internet.

Entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes. Some have very specialized education, some are high school dropouts. However, all entrepreneurs share one distinct quality. That quality is the drive, the motivation, the desire to better our current situation. All of us share a deep seeded passion to create a better life for ourselves and our loved ones. As such, we have the talent to succeed in whatever venture we choose. Do not be discouraged if you lack a formal education or are attempting an investment in a new field. As long as you possess that deep seeded passion to achieve greatness, at whatever level, you will find your version of success.

On that note, we begin with the Internet and the most obvious question, “Do I need a website?” There are two ways to approach this problem. You can either spend money or try it for free. Do not get me wrong, I firmly believe the old adage that “it takes money to make money,” however, if you are a new entrepreneur, you may not have much money to invest. As such, you will want to conserve your money for your most important purchases. Therefore, why pay for a website when you can get one for free? A free website will most likely come in the form of a blog.

The word “blog” is an abbreviation for the phrase “web log.” Think of a blog as an Internet diary that the whole world can read. People post personal thoughts, ideas, conversation, or whatever they want in order to share with the world. However, as blogging has become more popular, people have used blogs as a marketing tool. For those of you that want to save some cash, you should check out (1) Blogger; (2) Wordpress; (3) MySpace; and (4) Live Journal to name a few. If you do not like any of these just search the terms “free blog” in the search engine of your choice.

Advantages of Blogging
• It is usually free
• Easy to use
• Many services and products to assist you in blog formation and creation
• Easy to find help with questions

Disadvantages of Blogging
• Your website will have a subname. For example, your website will not be www.yoursitename.com. Instead, you site will likely not have a “www” prefix or will have a name like www.blogservice.yourwebsitename.com.
• Harder to create multiple pages
• Webpage look usually limited to available templates

The choice is up to you. Buying a website can be expensive depending on the hosting you choose and whether or not you are competent with website design. Blogs provide a great alternative and are usually free. Do your homework and figure out which is better for your needs and wants.

Multiple Streams of Income

Just like diversifying a stock portfolio gives you the best opportunity to make money by spreading your risk of loss, multiple streams of income give you the best opportunity to achieve wealth and success. The phrase “multiple streams of income” has been around for some time. You have probably heard it used in various wealth building systems and/or popular personal success literature. The logic behind the idea of multiple streams of income is simple. The more areas from which you acquire income, the greater the chance of success and the less the chance of loss. The goal of multiple streams of income is to build a large passive income and residual income.

Passive Income vs. Residual Income

Passive income is defined as: Income derived from business investments in which the individual is not actively involved.

Residual income is defined as: Recurring income received after the initial sale is made.

Income, as defined by the I.R.S. is: An undeniable accession to wealth that is clearly realized and over which the taxpayer has complete dominion and control.

As you can tell by the definitions, some differences exist between passive income and residual income; however, both are equally important and effective in helping you acquire wealth. Now we get to the million dollar question, how does one achieve a passive income and a residual income? This is the whole concept behind the goal of multiple streams of income.

Multiple Streams

I could easily tell you the many areas of business and entrepreneurialism that could help you achieve a passive and residual income, but it probably would not help much. If I said, “Check out the internet, real estate market, stock market, employment opportunities, and investments/savings products,” you would not gain any insight into these areas of potential success. However, over the upcoming months, I am going to break down each area stated above. I am going to tell you about as many different possibilities, products, and opportunities that I know of in each area. By doing this, I hope to inspire you to pursue some of these opportunities. I also hope to build your motivation and get your entrepreneurial mind working.

The Main Categories

I will discuss: (1) the internet; (2) real estate possibilities; (3) stock market strategies; (4) employment opportunities; and (5) investment and savings products.

Please note that each “main category” will be discussed in depth in numerous posts. I will discuss the many different avenues for each category and how each avenue can help you create passive and residual income.

More to come soon...

Pyramid Scheme vs. Multi-level Marketing

Many people automatically associate a negative connotation with buzz words like “multi-level marketing” and “downline.” These people assume that those words denote a “pyramid scheme” and that the opportunity attached to those words is a scam. However, this is simply not true. If you know what to look for and what to avoid, you will be able to detect a true “pyramid scheme” from a potential money making opportunity.

Pyramid Scheme

Overview
A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business that involves the exchange of money, usually in the form of a sign-up fee, and usually has no product or service. Most importantly, pyramid schemes are ILLEGAL! The only people that are able to make money on a pyramid scheme are the people at the top of the pyramid.



Source: http://www.sec.gov/answers/pyramid.htm


The above picture proves that pyramid schemes are unsustainable. As stated above, because these businesses offer no product or service, no possible way exists for the people at the bottom of the pyramid to make any money. The only way to make money in a pyramid scheme is to sign-up new members for a fee. However, as the above picture shows, this becomes impossible when the scheme reaches a certain level. The end result is that people can spend upwards of several thousand dollars to enroll in one of these scams and will end up losing everything.

Common Elements
As the United State Securities and Exchange Commission states, “[t]he hallmark of these schemes is the promise of sky-high returns in a short period of time for doing nothing other than handing over your money and getting others to do the same. The fraudsters behind a pyramid scheme may go to great lengths to make the program look like a legitimate multi-level marketing program. But despite their claims to have legitimate products or services to sell, these fraudsters simply use money coming in from new recruits to pay off early stage investors.”

Some other identifying characteristics to look for are:
• Vague descriptions about the company from which your questions can only be answered by signing up and paying the fee
• No product or service being offered or a product that sells at a highly inflated price
• A majority or all of the possible income to be made comes from the sign-up fee from new enrollees.
• Repeated assurances that the company is completely legal.

If any of these characteristics are present, you will want to completely avoid the company and warn others from participating in this advanced form of fraud.

Multi-level Marketing

Overview
Multi-level marketing companies follow a similar concept to a pyramid scheme, which is a reason for most of the confusion, except that two significant differences exist. One difference is that members at any level of a multi-level marketing model can make income through the company’s products and/or services without signing up any new members. The second difference is that multi-level marketing companies are LEGAL!

You may be asking, “if all the confusion, why then do these companies initiate this business model?” The main reason for this type of model is to reduce the cost of advertising. We can all agree that effective advertising in this day and age can cost a bundle. Many new companies do not have this much capital in the beginning. Therefore, one solution is to reward the company’s members for “spreading the word.” Instead of the company spending hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars on advertising, the company gives the members an incentive, usually in the form of money, for signing up new members to sell/use the company’s product and/or service.

Unlike a pyramid scheme, any member on any level can make money without ever having to sign-up a new member. However, like a pyramid scheme, once the company reaches a certain population level, it becomes impossible for any new people to sign-up. Therefore, the people at the bottom cannot make bonuses for sign-ups, but they will still be able to make money based on the company’s product and/or services.

Examples
The following is a list of companies that conduct business under a multi-level marketing business model. You may have heard of a few of these:
• Avon Products
• Tupperware
• Mary Kay Cosmetics
• Herbalife
• World Financial Group

Common Elements
Common elements of a multi-level business model are different from a pyramid scheme:
• Little or no enrollment fee
• The company completely explains itself, its products, and its services BEFORE you sign-up
• A member’s main source of income will come from selling or offering the company’s products and/or services
• A member can make money at ANY level of the model WITHOUT signing up new members

These elements assure that the member will have a fair chance to make money from the company. However, as is true with any venture, your income depends on your ability to sell products or offer services. Any company that promises you money for doing nothing is not being honest with you.

If you follow these guidelines, you should be able to tell the difference between the two types of companies. Some pyramid schemes are very cleverly hidden. If you should encounter a company like this during your entrepreneurial journey, and you discover that you cannot make a conclusive decision as to whether or not the company is a pyramid scheme, it is best to error on the side of caution and avoid the situation.

If you discover a multi-level marketing company that you may want to sign-up for, always do a cost/benefit analysis. Weigh all possible costs associated with signing up against all the potential benefits. If the benefits outweigh the costs, you may want to sign-up and try to make some money from the company. The same is true vice versa. In the end, the decision is up to you.

After reading this article, it is my intention that at the very least you should now be able to differentiate between an illegal pyramid scam that will take your money and a legal multi-level marketing company that offers a legitimate opportunity to make money. By knowing and recognizing the difference between the two, you should no longer worry when you here buzzwords like “multi-level marketing” and “downline.” Also, you should be able to take a closer look at multi-level marketing companies and possibly expand your entrepreneurial horizons.