e-Wealth Daily: Free Ways to Make Quick Money, Ways to Become Rich

What Investors Look for Before They Hand You the Cash...
Mapping Out Your Passion... How Going Low-Tech Could
Mean Big Bucks... Finding Your Grant Source... and More.

** What Investors Look for Before They Hand You the Cash
By Adrian Newman, Founder of e-Wealth Daily

The difference between a good idea and a great idea is that great ideas are more than likely to get the capital injection to make them come to life in the form of a live business. But, great ideas can still be stopped in their tracks if you aren't giving your investors the inspiration they need to dig deep into their pockets.

What I mean by inspiration is not the fancy business cards you hand out at networking sessions or the cool corporate identity package with the knock-your-socks-off logo design and award-winning slogan. Investors want to know how your idea is going to make money and the time-frame. Bottom line: they want to see a properly brainstormed financial plan and the right people who will make it profitable. So, let's take a look at the ingredients to a successful plan.

Create a business start-up budget: This may take you some time, as you think through all the angles of your business idea. But the operative word here is "budget." Do you really need to rent an office and hire a few employees or can you save some money and run a home office for the first six months and hire out as you need the help? You may discover, in fact, that the total amount of money you need is more than what you planned for.

Make sure your financial forecast is on-target: Business consultants in the past have said that investors prefer "conservative" forecasts — your five-year sales and expenses sheet that will show the progress of your business from month to month. I disagree. Don't go above the bar (being optimistic) or below the bar (being conservative). Be as on-target as possible. The way to do that is to do your research and be honest with your projections. If your business may lose money in the first two years, don't be afraid to show it. But also don't forget to show how you plan on getting in the black in years three to five!

Write your business plan with a money focus: Your business plan should have all the required sections, but it's how those sections read that will entice or bore your investors. Business is not about how many pretty postcards you'll be importing in your gift store, but how many of them you can sell. Keep the money focus always in perspective, because that's what your money lenders want to see.

Have the right people on your management team: This is probably the most overlooked and under-emphasized section in the business plan. The management team consists of the people who are going to help you make the business successful. If you plan to be the only person — the CEO, CFO, VP of Marketing and Sales and Distributor all rolled into one — in the business, you might as well kiss your money goodbye. Investors want to know that there are other experienced people interested in joining forces with you to make your idea a runaway success. The management team may or may not be the actual investors in the company. If not, try to find experts in such areas as finance, management, sales and marketing, as well as anyone who knows your business model inside and out.

Be a motivated, excited founder who wants to succeed: Last, but definitely not least, your investors will see you as their primary investment. So, if you want to seal the deal, your excitement and enthusiasm for the business should be contagious. In your investors' eyes, this may not translate directly into short-term dollars, but it can definitely be cash in the bank for long-term profits.

** Mapping Out Your Passion
By Doug D'Anna, the "Hundred-Million-Dollar Man"

In order to help people search, define and express their potential, I've always found that using a Passion Map or a Life Map can be quite effective. It helps you graphically lay out your life in terms of what you want and where your sense of belonging is.

It is a unique process that creates distinctive outcomes for everyone. It is literally a roadmap that you create that connects where you are to where you want to go. You can post it somewhere as your motivation every day and use it as a powerful source of support and encouragement.

A Life Map provides you a graphic way of integrating your emotions, your intellect and your senses and fine-tuning your intuition.

The picture that is created gives you an energetic new perspective about what your potential is, how you can incorporate it into your life, and where it can lead you. You will see the patterns of your motivation, where you have been and where you are going.

You can pay for consultants to perform intricate life-mapping sessions or you can begin right now in the comfort of your own home. Here's an easy way that won't cost you a thing. When you create your Passion Map, try to do it in a place of beauty, like your garden or patio, a favorite getaway, or anywhere else that is symbolic of freedom and openness to you.

I strongly encourage you to complete the following exercise as soon as possible. If you're finding it difficult to see how much potential for success you really have, this exercise will help you clarify your potential for greatness.

1. Gather magazines and catalogues.

2. Go through the magazines and catalogues and pull out images, words and phrases that speak to you or evoke feelings.

Include images that relate to who you were in your past, who you are today, and who you want to be in the future. Cut them out.

3. Place your words and images on a large board in any way that feels right to you. I'd suggest that you put the "past" images on the bottom, the "present" images in the middle, and the "future" aspirations at the top. This will help you analyze your map.

4. Paste the images on the board and review the map, asking yourself the following questions and recording your responses in writing:

* What patterns do I see?
* If I were to show the board to someone else, what would my image and word choices say about me?
* Are there common themes?
* What surprises me about the map?
* What have I learned about myself? What positive traits do I have that could lead me to success?
* Are my past and present images as positive as they could be, or am I dwelling on what could have been or should have been?

After you ask yourself these questions, you may find the answers that could lead you to a life of greatness.

** How Going Low-Tech Could Mean Big Bucks
By John Hurd, Chief Wealth Researcher

In a recent study, it was found that almost 1/4 of Americans surveyed have no access to the Internet.

None, zero, zip, zilch!

And if we apply this percentage to the entire population of the country, we can assume that there are 75 million or more people living their day-to-day lives without a need for the Internet.

As you and I know, it's becoming possible, if not necessary, to use the Internet every day. There is the ease of performing tasks instantly and the access to information from around the globe. You can bank online, check the latest sports scores or even research a new project. It's probably hard to imagine life without the Internet.

However, if you look back at your life 20 years ago, it would have been very difficult to picture life in an online world. Sure, you got by just fine, but some things probably took a little bit longer to get done. Rather than just clicking a few buttons, you had to go to your bank, bill in hand and wait in line with everyone else.

So, based on these statistics, when it comes to the Internet and your moneymaking pursuits, it isn't fair to assume that everyone you talk to has Internet access.

Of the people in this study who said they had no Internet access, the majority were senior citizens. And that's not really a surprise. They've gone through the majority of their lives without a computer, and many may have little desire to buy a computer anytime soon.

What does this mean for you?

If you work with or have an idea that could help our older generations, then going online is probably the worst way for you to try to reach them.

Instead, try using other methods to reach them, such as the mail system or by telephone. While this may seem obvious, using the Internet to reach a group who isn't there is as good as throwing your money away.

** Finding Your Grant Source
By Michael Newman, Self-made Millionaire

There are countless federal grants available in this country, covering nearly everything you could possibly think of. However, they can be tedious and time-consuming to apply for, and also very hard to find out about, if you don't know where to look. But even though there is a lot of work involved in the process to apply for one of these grants, the results can be quite rewarding.

Government grants have the ability provide substantial and stable multi-year funding, which is great news no matter how you look at it. And, in addition to being sizeable and secure, federal grants often add immense credibility to your program/project/organization.

With so many agencies and grants to choose from, finding the one that is suitable for your needs can seem like searching for a needle in a haystack; but don't worry, because there are resources to help you in your search. In fact, once you get going, you'll probably find it pretty easy.

There is a daily publication produced by the government called the Federal Register, which reports on all the daily federal activities — including all of the new and existing funding opportunities. It's a great way to keep you up-to-date on what money is available. It is quite a valuable resource, indeed. You can get the register by calling your local governor's office, or go through it online at www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. You'll want to get your hands on the register as early as possible, because the grants available usually have fairly limited response times of 30-90 days.

You can also look for federal grants on the web sites of different government agencies. Most federal agencies have a web site, so locating available grants shouldn't be too much of a problem if you're online.

Here's a word of advice: when you're considering putting a proposal in for a government grant, it's a good idea that you/your organization put the program/project together before you apply. This way, all the details will be outlined and you can save time during the application process. With an application window that is already severely limited, having concepts and details developed ahead of time will be highly advantageous to you.

Another source you can use to help locate federal grants is the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CDFA). The catalog is published yearly and contains information, including descriptions, about every federal grant program. However, it should be noted that not every program mentioned is still in operation. Contact your local congressional representative's office to obtain a copy.

For up-to-date links to a number of government, foundation or business grants, click here:

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