FOX Translator
No data currently available.
No data currently available.
Some mutual funds want you to pay for the privilege of them (or your investment adviser) taking your money to invest. It's called a load, and it works like a cover charge to get into a nightclub. Luckily, there are such things as no-load funds. As the name implies, shares of these funds are sold without a fee paid to a broker or investment advisor.
The entire amount you invest in no-load funds goes to work for your returns. On the other hand, with load funds, right off the bat you're charged commission (not to mention other fees incurred over the life of the investment). Let's say, for example, you invest $25,000 into a load fund that charges a 5% commission. This costs you $1,250 off the top, bringing your actual investment down to only $23,750.
The often-cited horse race analogy argues against investing in load funds. Here's the logic behind it: Would you place a bet on a horse that had to start a race 200 yards behind the others? Well, maybe you would if you got a tip from a sketchy, trench coat-clad man in a dark alley. However, under most circumstances, it's not smart to put your money on that handicapped horse.
But some argue that at times that man in the trench coat (aka your broker) knows more about the horses than you do, and has a better shot at picking a winner. Also, sometimes these fees are unavoidable because some funds are available only through investment advisers.
Cost-benefit analysis can help determine when a load fund is worth it (in other words, when it will score you a load) and when it is better to "do it yourself" and avoid the fees. Load-fund fees range depending on share class and can cover a variety of costs, such as paper work and fund management.
Home / Personal Finance / Women in Business
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
You Are Your Brand
You Are Your Brand
Women shouldn't be asking how to achieve a better work-life balance, Kaira Sturdivant Rouda says. That's the wrong question.
"Your business is your personal life. It's not segmented," says Rouda, president of Real Living Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, a residential real estate franchise firm.
Rouda believes in developing your business around your personal brand essence--your values, your personality and your passions--a totality she describes as "being real." That's the premise behind her new book, Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs. According to Rouda, every woman has a personal brand, and the secret of success is to incorporate that brand into your business.
You have to be genuine, she says, because your customer will spot a fake immediately.
Whether you're already an entrepreneur or just considering it, Rouda says it's vital to make sure your passions are in line with the company where you're working.
"If it's not a fit, it's OK for your brand to move on," she says. "I think you learn a lot by taking the bumpier road, rather than taking the less bumpy road and hurting your real brand."
Rouda's eight-step plan for discovering your passion and pouring it into your business endeavors includes action steps, real-life success stories from 16 women and book recommendations.
Central to the book is her Real You Incorporated chart, an ever-expanding circle of characteristics that delves into the reader's personality and the values she brings to her business. Rouda also offers marketing tips based on her own endeavors building the Real Living brand, steps for creating a livable work environment and advice on customer service.
Each step builds on the previous one, ending with one that Rouda considers essential: giving back. It's a step Rouda personifies, dating back to her early career as a reporter, when she founded central Ohio's first homeless shelter for families. She currently serves on the board of the YWCA and is an underwriter for The Women's Fund of Central Ohio.
Rouda's book grew out of her experience developing and branding Real Living Inc., which she owns with her husband, Harley. Real Living, fashioned from a 2002 merger with two other realty companies, broke the mold by focusing on women home buyers and by bringing the brand to life as a consumer-oriented undertaking. Real Living has 4,000 agents in 20 states. Sales in 2007 totaled $4 million.
"I started thinking I had a lot to say about personal branding," Rouda says. A longtime marketing and advertising executive, Rouda says her goal was a creative book, "filled with passion and flowers."
Indeed, there's a bright yellow flower on the cover. In Rouda's view, there wasn't another book that combined all the points she wanted to make in a single volume, including marketing advice based on building the Real Living brand.
Although the book includes personal stories from 16 successful women, Rouda says she has enough left over to form the basis of a second book.
The book is appropriate for those who want to start a business as well as those who are already entrepreneurs.
"The people who have a going concern are probably a better target audience," she says, because it offers them a chance to take a close look at their business and determine whether they are still going where they envisioned.
More from WomenEntrepreneur.com
Market Snapshot
| Symbol | Last Price | Netchange | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
