Small Business is the toughest industry to break into. If you were a betting man, you would never in a million years want to go into a small business when the odds for success in small business are so bad, that 70% of all small business fail in the first year. Let me be blunt, if you want to succeed in small business, only listen to those people who have built a small business in an industry they no nothing about and succeeded. These are the people who seriously know how to build a small business.I just happen to be one of those people – I am not a business coach – I offer no consulting on small business, just let me share with you my secret to building 4 small businesses from a three thousand dollar credit card.The first secret when building a small business is this, have the end in mind. When I first started in small business, I was like most business people, I was a technician (bit more than that, but this is how the E-myth would describe me) in the IT industry with the belief I could build a better computer training company than those around me. One thing I can tell you about this industry, stay out of it. It is tough and there is no money in it, well that’s not quite true, but there are far easier businesses to make serious money. In fact I married my wife and I decided I wanted to experiment on whether all business was as hard as the training industry or was it just computer training.My wife and I, after much coaxing agreed to setup a car cleaning and detailing business, we new nothing about the business and were simply doing it as an experiment. Two years on, we have a successful thriving business and we are about to Franchise and expand the business to over 10 cities in Australia.The key to building a successful small business is to have the end in mind and to know when you are going to exit the business. Most people when they start a small business simply believe they are going to have a business to make money, come home and do it better than their boss. If you are going to go into business for this reason, quit now, because your life is doomed.There is more to business than simply doing the technical work and this is what most new small business operators do not realize. When you are first thinking about starting a small business, imagine how it will look when you are finished. For example, what image will you have, what logo’s will you have, what marketing material will you be using, where will you be operating from, how many stores will you have, how many people will be working for you, what sort of profit will you be making and more so, how will you know that the business is complete.For example, let us say you wanted to start up a dog washing business. You saw in a market that there was a massive need for dog washing. How are you going to satisfy the market? How are you going to build your business? How are you going to clean the dogs? Are you going to build the business like other? When will you know that the business is finished?These are all the questions you must ask yourself. In fact, if you don’t ask yourself then you will find that your business may grow but without any focus. It will go so far and then become a huge noose around your neck. By knowing what the end will be, you then have a clear goal of what you want to achieve and you can then build the business based on that vision.Let me give you a really good example of this methodology. If you get a chance watch the movie, Concierge with Micheal J Fox. Micheal plays a concierge that has a vision of building a hotel. He first builds a model of the hotel and then sells the idea to a developer. As he says in the movie he knows every aspect of the hotel he has built.You as a small business owner must do exactly the same thing. Before you rush out and start your small business, you must know exactly what you are building know every aspect of it and how to build it. You must know every job, every role, every procedure and how it will work within your business.By creating your business in this way, you will learn very quickly what will work and what will not.Most people who want to start a small business will say that they don’t have enough money. If you have a clearly articulated vision and you can prove that your vision works, then there will always be someone out there prepared to back you. It may take a while to find someone to support you, but there are people out there who will. Just remember it took Walt Disney, 500 plus knock backs for Disneyland before he found that one group of people that would back him.If you truly want your vision to work, then you must be prepared to be relentless in your pursuit of success. Remember the first secret in small business success, is to build and develop your business with the end in mind.

If you are finding a property that is really cheap, then finding foreclosed properties might be an option for you. Although you can purchase the property for a cheap value, you must also be ready for the money you will be spending for the house’s repairs. Most homes that are under foreclosures means that the owner wasn’t able to pay the full amount of the house to the bank and now the bank is getting the house back. Foreclosed properties are priced around 30% lower the value of the property because the lenders or the bank hopes to gain the money back as soon as possible.So how do you start investing on foreclosed properties? First thing is to look for a property agent that can help you locate where these foreclosed properties are. Property agents know their away around real estate and can instantly find properties that you are looking for. Also, with the help of a property agent, he/she might be able to help on negotiating the right prices for the foreclosed property.Now, if you choose not to spend money hiring the service of a property agent, you can look up foreclosures on your own. Simply browse through your local newspaper and classified ads for some advertisement on foreclose properties. You can also search the Internet for foreclosed properties in your area. Moreover, checking with the bank for their list of foreclosed properties will give you a wide variety of choices. If this is still not enough, you can inquire at your local government’s agency on housing and urban development for a list of foreclosed properties in your area.If you already have potential choices, next thing to do is know the property value of these properties. Location can be a factor for the price. You will also need to inspect the property for damages and maintenance problems all together. Most have not been taken cared of for quite a while, hence, the cheap purchase price offers. So you need to make sure that the property you are eyeing for is a bargain since you still have to pay for repair fees.Always ask the bank for payment history of the house. There might still be unpaid taxes for the property that you will pay if you decide to buy it. If you are sure of buying it, ask for a certified true copy of the land title. Always check if the property is tied with any pending cases that might get you caught in a legal crossfire in the future.Many people are making a business out of investing in foreclosed properties. They will purchase the property at a very cheap price and then fix it up completely and sell it at a price way higher than how much he has bought the property for. Although this might be a risk, skilled investors know if they will be making profits or not. Keep in mind that you will get worked up when buying a property under foreclosures because of the paper and legal work required. But it will be best to always buy from the bank so that all documents and history of the property are made transparent.