Category Archives: Business

Tips on buying a house in USA or Canada!

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Tips on house hunting abroad – in USA or Canada!
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Have money? Like shopping?…

When it comes to housing today, it is a ‘buyer’s market’. ‘House for sale’ signs are multiplying in every neighborhood; with lots of sellers eager to sell. It is a good opportunity for those who are looking for house.

The process of finding and purchasing a house can be fun or a headache, depending on the circumstances or how you approach it. In most of the cases, the main reason for a house purchase is:

  • upgrading to a house from an apartment,
  • moving into a new area due to job or business or family reasons,
  • buying a house for renting out, or as an investment.

Regardless the reason, the house buying process is quite similar in all such cases in USA and Canada. Many of these steps or commonsense rules also apply for rest of the world as well.

Here are the key factors and main steps to consider before and during the house purchasing process:

Selecting the real estate Agent: The house hunting in itself is an adventure. Some people try it by themselves, while others hire a real-estate agent – the realtor. A good real-estate agent is instrumental to finding the right house and closing the deal smoothly and efficiently. A real-estate agent can simplify the whole process to an art. So, it is very important to hire a good and reliable realtor. Make sure to interview -yes, interview- multiple agents and ask all the appropriate questions including:

  • their qualifications, experience and background,
  • do they work alone or in a team?
  • their track records or success rate,
  • knowledge of the area,
  • overall chemistry or easy to work with,
  • Any other factors that are important to you: For example, possible issues of the language barrier etc.

Many Indians hire a realtor from their own community while others prefer a professional strictly based on the qualifications.

Know your budget:How much are you willing to spend, or how much can you afford, is always a good question to ask. There are many online tools that can help with calculating the monthly mortgage amount, and other expenses related to house buying and maintenance.

Mortgage pre-qualification: It is important to make sure that you are able to secure the financing for the house. Talk to your bank or a mortgage expert/broker, and find out how much mortgage you can get. Make sure that you feel comfortable with the loan amount, and the resulting monthly payment. Continue reading →

Shahrukh Khan is god; so is US Immigration Office: The lessons learned

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Shahrukh Khan

Shahrukh Khan

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” ~ Mark Twain

This incident of SRK’s additional questioning and detentionis in Newark is still getting so much coverage in the news. Actually, this was the main topic of discussion during Independence Day celebration.

Here are the lessons we learned from the whole thing:

USA Immigration and Customs Office is god:Yes, god, but still with a lower case ‘g’. Nobody worship them, but they don’t care. So lets not tangle with someone with this kind of attitude. We can admire them or hate them from a distance. When going through the customs,  if you are over-friendly or over-nervous, they will suspect something is wrong. ‘Suspicion’ is their middle name.

Shahrukh Khan is god:Many worship SRK, so no quarrel here. Problem starts when our Desi god collides with a foreign god, like an Immigration personnel in this case. While you can decide which one of the two would be villain (I think I know your answer :) ), you don’t have to. This is no epic battle of Mahabharata where good and evil are already defined; sometimes nobody wins in these battles of today. In this incident, I think both sides won, in their own words of course.

VIP Treatment not everywhere: VIP treatment in US is very limited. Actually people get very upset when they see a VIP getting special treatment in a public place. Totally different culture, let us not fuss about this. Remember, most of immigration officers don’t know much about our big shot celebrities. Continue reading →

The fastest growing jobs and occupations in USA!

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a division of US Department of Labor, has a very interesting and comprehensive study on the jobs and occupations projections. The report titled ‘Tomorrow’s Jobs’  is quite telling in terms of expected growth in employment over the period of 2006 to 2016. 
The chart/graph here provides a snap-shot of the fastest growing occupations in USA – the change in the total employment by occupation groups projected over 2006 – 2016.chart 6_99
The top occupations that are expected to enjoy the highest percentage increase are:

Professional and related occupations: These occupations cover a wide range of skilled professions. Professional and related occupations are expected to increase by 16.7%. Among the top beneficiaries include:
-Computer and mathematical occupations,
-Health-care practitioners and technical occupations,
-Education, training, and library occupations

Services: Employment in service sector is projected to increase by 16.7%, tied with professional and related occupations for the fastest rate of growth. The services occupations that are expected to grow the fastest include:
-Food preparation,
-Serving related occupations
-Health-care support occupations
-Personal care and service service occupations

Management, business, and financial occupations: The employment is expected to increase by 10.4% by 2016 in this category. Among top growth projections are:
-Construction managers
-Accountants and auditors and business operation specialists
-Financial analysts and personal financial advisers Continue reading →

10 most uncommon business ideas for overseas!

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NRI Tips: Most uncommon or non-traditional business ideas to consider abroad

“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” ~ George Bernard Shaw

There are some popular business ideas for overseas, including the one discussed in 10 most common businesses to start abroad. Now, here are some not-so-common ones. This should get you thinking, to make your own choice – from these suggestions or perhaps even better ones of your own based on your knowledge, skill and circumstances!  sxc1088992_glass_bangles

1. Indian fashion accessories: Consider an online or local store to sell Indian fashion accessories including glass bangles, simple Indian jewelries and other beauty items. This can start at a small scale and expand as the business grows

2. Pet care and grooming: A place to take care of pets including grooming, styling and domesticating. If you love pets, may want to look into this one. Continue reading →

10 most common business ideas to consider abroad!

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NRI Tips: Common Businesses to start overseas!

There are many ways to make a good living abroad, business is one of them.  A business operation and ownership is not for everybody, you have to have an aptitude for ventures, willingness to take risks and understanding of different aspects of operating a business. Depending on your ambitions and circumstances, it may become an around-the-clock run that comes with huge rewards and big downsides. Along with the day-dreams of prosperity to follow, you and your stakeholders – family, partners, and investors – should also understand the possibility of losing your shirt.
For those, who have done their homework and understand the pros and cons of opening a business, here are some of the most common ones to consider:
1. Indian Grocery store: In the USA, Canada, England and other courtiers with Indian diaspora, there is quite a bit demand for Indian stores that carry common grocery items used in Indian cooking. This kind of business is ideal for the area with high concentration of Indian population. Continue reading →

How to make a really good living abroad! – $$!!

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NRIs Tips: How to select work and financial options overseas to make real money

As I discussed before, there are many good reason to go abroad and then there are some bad ones too. Most of the main reasons to leave India and go overseas are directly or indirectly linked to the search for long term or short term financial gains and prosperity. By end of the day, it comes down to MONEY. :) sxc_money_series_51
However, the often overlooked factor is the poor planning behind all this. If we are sacrificing so much, and put up with so many new hurdles and challenges, we should at least have a solid plan to find the right occupation or business. 
The plan may vary from one person to another depending on personal strengths and weakness, but it is important to have a plan towards reaching our financial goals; how we are going to succeed in our mission toward prosperity.
There is all kind of job planning info available, but most of them are more generic career plans for local individuals planning their goals, not for immigrants, Indians or NRIs. As a part of the basic plan, it is very critical to outline and understand:
- What kind of jobs best suit your skills and needs?
- Would you consider and take a position that is less rewarding as a back-up plan?
- Would you consider a career change or downgrade if things are not working out?
- What are the other options or choices to consider as a back-up?
- Is going back to India one of the options?

Depending on how you answer the questions above and any other personal circumstances, you can then decide on the best jobs or best options to support your financial plan abroad. Here are some of the main options to consider for a suitable and rewarding job or business, to make real money:

  1. Find your dream job – Plan A: The best possible scenario is to look for a job that meets your skill sets and then finding one. If you are a computer engineer by trade for example, then first preference should be to search for a job in that field.  There are lots of online and local resources to help in this area. Make sure to take a look at the  job-search tips detailed in a separate post linked here. Also check out the common online resources such as  Career Builder, Yahoo Careers and Monster.com. If you find one, especially in this economy, consider it a major achievement.

    2. Continue reading →