business

One of the most profound hurdles facing any online startup venture is a lack of liquidity. Not only can this cripple what could have otherwise represented an excellent business venture, but such a situation could stifle your dreams from the very beginning. We are all aware that there are countless ways to make a bit of extra money that can be funnelled back into your enterprise and yet, some are more effective than others. One increasingly popular trend involves the notion of online investing. Can digital trading represent a viable alternative to other possibilities? How realistic is it to expect handsome returns? What are some of the best practices to adopt from the very beginning in order to minimise your perceived levels of risk? If you are interested in what such a possibility has to offer, the information presented below is likely to come in handy. 

Technology is all around us. In recent years, unprecedented advancements in technology have resulted in numerous changes in every facet of our lives. Businesses have also been positively affected by the surge in technology. Here are four ways that technology has helped to improve business.

With youth unemployment at its highest for decades, and student debt increasing by the year, students and graduates are finding more and more novel ways to make money. One such student is LSE Second Year Jason Ting (above), who has come up with the idea of ‘selling time'.

With student loans hanging over him, the Economics student decided that the best way to make that extra bit of cash, was to come up with his own business idea. That idea was MinutesForSale.com. In Jason's own words: "I thought of selling something I wish I always had more of... time".

Buying Time

Basically, his website is a brand new and unique way of advertising online. For each minute of the day, one business, website or blog is displayed on Jason's site, before the next minute ticks over, and the next site appears. Anyone can buy any number of minutes, and they will then appear on the site at their chosen time every single day. With the 1440 minutes in a day representing 1440 opportunities for businesses to advertise, Jason works on the principle that every little bit of cash helps.

On Thursday 8th March, ForeignStudents.com held a very special event with Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer, and Patrick Shervington MBE, Chairman of the Cobra Foundation. Both spoke to a crowd of students and distinguished guests at International Student House (ISH) as part of India Week.

As part of India Week, Alex Hayim, a chartered surveyor, describes his experiences of working in real estate in India.

"...and so after years of selling UK real estate to the next big fund or property company I decided that it was time to get out of the comfort zone and head East.

I had always been drawn to India - perhaps in part due to my historic family connections and in part the sheer vibrancy and scale of the place. India was being discussed as the next big thing behind China and I wanted a piece of the action.

It was 2005 and the Foreign Direct Investment route into India had finally opened for non-Indian property companies. With the global market hugely optimistic, all the big Western ‘players' were looking for the next big market to invest in. China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam.

And then there was India with its population of over 1 billion, burgeoning middle-class, cracking but improving infrastructure, highly educated workforce, historic connections and sheer work ethic and warmth of population.

I had been hired by a well-known British property company to go and help set-up their business in India, and it was Mumbai rather than Delhi or Bangalore that was to be home for the next four years.