tgvisxams.info

SEO is a term that many business owners will have heard of but may not understand very well. As a business owner you need to know most importantly what SEO can do and why it is important to you and your business however at the same time you need to understand how it works. By understanding how SEO works you can make sure you are choosing an efficient and affordable SEO company and also know what to expect and when.Here are the four main things you need to know about SEO1. A definition of SEO SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, also it’s worth knowing that when talking about it you say the letters S.E.O rather than trying to pronounce SEO as a word. Search Engine Optimization is actually optimization of your website for the sake of search engine rankings: i.e. to make sure your website shows up high in results for relevant search terms that people are looking for. Also worth knowing when looking for a good affordable SEO company is the difference between On-page and Off-page SEO: On-Page SEO is what you do to the pages of your website to increase your search engine rankings. Off-Page SEO is things you do elsewhere such as building links to your website.2. What SEO can do for your businessSearch Engine Optimization comes under marketing but is an indirect way of getting traffic to your site, what SEO is good for though is getting targeted traffic to your website. SEO is compared to many types of marketing and even compared to other online marketing very affordable if you find the right affordable SEO company. The effects of SEO though do sometimes take some time to work and it is an effort driven activity mainly: though of course skill does come into it as well. SEO by making your website appear on Google and other search engines in the first few results for search terms that are highly relevant, and which a lot of people are looking, is a great way to promote your business: highly targeted and to people already searching for what you are offering.3. Elements of On-Page SEO Keyword research is important, some companies will try to get you to the top of search engines for the wrong keywords. A good value and affordable SEO company though will focus on keywords that are very relevant to your website’s individual pages, don’t have so much competition that you will never get to the top and do have plenty of traffic, if this research phase isn’t done you could just be wasting your money. These keywords are then put on to your website’s pages, ideally not too many on each page and repeated a few times on the pages they are on. These search terms tell Google that your website is related to what people are searching for. Also important for on-page SEO is that the pages of your site are well designed and easy for search engine’s software to read when they analyze your site.4. Off-Page SEO- Link BuildingOff page Search Engine Optimization comes down to link building almost purely. An affordable SEO company will ensure that you have plenty of links built from relevant websites that are well thought of by Google and other search engines themselves. A poor SEO company may build you a lot of poor quality links that could actually damage your website’s position.

Most business organizations today are quickly adopting the use of custom ERP software solutions because as opposed to the common use of manual procedures and legacy applications, ERP programs are cost-effective and efficient. The Enterprise Resource Planning program is a system of integrated applications that are designed to automate different department/office operations (product planning, development, manufacturing, sales and marketing) to a single database.Nevertheless, not all ERP software will meet to every requirement of your organization. Therefore, when deciding on the ERP software to adopt, you need to choose the most reliable one as far as your business needs and processes are concerned. In turn, here are the two types of ERP systems:Off-the-shelfThese are systems easy to implement due to the fact that they are developed out of the experience of other organizations (user groups) other than yours. From the discussions on how each of those companies’ best use the system, you acquire information on how best to adopt the system for your business.Custom ERP softwareWith custom ERP, the system is developed based on your company’s experience. A programmer gets to design the ERP system in accordance what exactly you want the software to be able to do and ideally, the process it should follow in order to do perform and facilitate your operations.WY COMPANIES CHOOSE CUSTOM ERP SOFTWARE
There is a greater chance of a company meeting its user requirements when it goes for custom-built ERP software other than a generic system solution. This is so despite the high upfront costs and time consumption to get the system started. You can always start small and add the essential layers as you go by and in the end meet, the target software for your business. Plus, it is also a way to spreading the initial expenses throughout.Custom ERP software is also designed to fit your business processes instead of the business fitting into it, this is somehow relieving since as far as training of the company’s staff is concerned, there will be less of it. All they have to do is make little adjustments to coordinate with the system.A good example of such approach is Tesla, who carefully evaluated all pros, cons, and risks and decided to build custom ERP solution having above mentioned benefits in mind. Tesla CIO Jay Vijayan calculated the costs of SAP implementation in “millions of dollars” and a year to perform all the required integrations. Tesla managed to achieve same functionality within 4 month and much lower budget with custom built ERP. As the result, they’ve got independence from third-party vendor and Enterprise Resource Planning System that is tailor-made for their established internal business and manufacturing processes.HOW MUCH IT WOULD COST TO BUILD CUSTOM ERP SOFTWARE
It is obvious that the cost of custom ERP software development would depend on what you require, the number users and its complexity. For instance, if you are going for a sophisticated custom ERP system, you might not find complete designs that fulfill your needs. Therefore, you will have to incur extra cost for complimentary products to ensure the software fully functions.Nevertheless, the general cost of the ERP system will range between $25k to 75k. The extra incurring costs for future modules or top-up services and tools would go for $5k to 25k.RISKS OF DEVELOPING CUSTOM ERP SOFTWARE
The solutions and services that custom ERP software development is meant to provide, is usually not in box therefore, it requires a lot of time and finances to initialize the design resulting to high upfront fee.Since development of a custom ERP software is on basis of your requirements, to get a high-quality system that maneuvers around future changes easily despite it being a first-time project, you require a developer with experience. Such resources are hard to come by as you are outsourcing.In addition, your contact with the developer who initialed the system needs to be consistent. This is because they would understand the system better during the development cycle: design, testing, QA/ testing, and training. This may be hard to do especially if the developer is not reliable.Despite that, custom ERP software helps to save an enormous amount of money in long-term perspective. You may ask how is that possible. Each company counts on continued growth, including the number of employees, field force, and offices. In many cases, a bigger number of users means the continually growing expenses for the licensed ERP solution. Enterprise support packages are often sold as extra services and are way more expensive than support from the custom software development provider whose support is often included in the contract. Also, it is worth to mention that your organization will be the only one supported for the product which means better and faster communication.So, the expenses for the existing user licenses, new licenses, and support of the off-the-shelf solution is growing exponentially and completely overlap custom ERP software development costs in a couple of years. In its turn, custom ERP software will justify its high upfront costs, because your enterprise won’t be locked to the provider, will own the solution and all the data stored in the cloud as the result, and won’t pay for licenses when new user accounts will be needed.CUSTOM ERP SOLUTIONS EXAMPLES IN DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES
From the advantages of the existence of a software that can meet your business requirements and solutions, most companies have been seen heading to custom ERP system development for the management of their operations. Below are a few of such companies:Oil and Gas Companies
Oil and gas companies have a great plus with custom ERP software development but, it is usually a tragedy if the system does not support the operations efficiently. Therefore, when going for a tailored system for such a massive company more considerations are put in place other than the obvious; meeting the user needs.Custom ERP software for gas and oil companies should most importantly have applications to handling the environment safety. Energy companies are known to be hazardous to their environment and if not taken care of it would cause damage and to some extent shutting down of the organization. Therefore, the system should be able to provide data to the technicians as warnings in case of any threat so that they can mitigate the risks.Also, other than facilitating the operations of the company, a custom ERP software development should be able to open up opportunities for high profit returns investments for the business. That is, it should have a cost management application too.Finally, oil and gas fields are known to be really massive and some are usually in dense remote areas but since it’s business, every asset should be accounted for. In turn, a custom ERP software with good networking is essential to integrating and managing all the company’s operations regardless of the location. Such location difficulties are curbed with high-tech optimization tools to managing all labor and resources throughout.Manufacturing companies
With manufacturing firms, custom ERP system are saviors when it comes to saving costs, eliminating office paperwork, tracking business performance and improving customer experience. This is made possible by integrated custom applications platforms for management of its operations.Nevertheless, managing a national or to some extent international business operations can be a challenging task. A centralized custom ERP software can however, bring light to all your businesses processes as it enables management of creation of product, marketing and availing of the product across all the decentralized outlets. In addition, it integrates all that data thus incorporating workflow and control automatically.Education (schools)
Schools that are going for complete computerization of their functions and processes have custom ERP system development to opt for. A great number of schools have been seen heading to this direction with use of highly tailor-made programs to handle the school management and they are known to be very successful.Whether it is nursery/ kindergarten, high school or colleges, custom ERP systems have proven to provide efficient management of the institutions.WHAT ADVANTAGES WILL YOU GET IF DECIDE TO DEVELOP CUSTOM ERP
A custom ERP software is more of a prototype system whereby you can start designing the most basic and important features and function that you have in mind then later, during testing and maintenance, you can add other essentials bringing you to a very efficient software.

With a custom-tailored system, you are likely to achieve the solutions or attain the services you are going for from a software seamlessly.

The staff is usually at an advantage of comprehending how the system works easily because it was designed in accordance to the business practices and language. In turn they have little to adjust on their side.

Custom ERP systems are usually flexible in terms of future technological or even business changes. There is always a capacity for incorporating any developing trends.

Unlike the offshore system, you get to own the custom ERP system and its design is made specifically to meet your needs. Therefore, you need not to wait for feature requests and enhancements as you are in complete control of the system.
In summary, the basic things you need in hand while planning to adopt custom ERP system is you have to budget for high upfront fees. You will require a team of tech-experts from programmers, quality controllers, database engineers to designers and probably more. Then there is patience needed too, developing software that uniquely fits your business, just like Rome cannot be built in a day. It will require a lot of work which will consume time months or even year.In addition, you need to be fully aware of the company you have set your eyes on to work with because that would be a tragic decision as well as a blessing even before you start. The expertise, as well as a software development company’s stability, is very essential to check while assessing them. Have they done this before? Do they understand your business needs? Are the type of questions you should have answered before moving forward with them.

In part 1 of this article I described the reluctance of beginning e-mini traders to formulate and write a comprehensive e-mini trading plan. Like many things in trading, I suppose that activities besides actual e-mini trading are perceived as spurious and unnecessary. In part 2 of this article I hope to convince you that writing a comprehensive trading plan (and following it) is one of the essential activities necessary for growth in your career.Styles of trading are unique from individual to individual. Like many things in life, no two individuals are going to approach it in exactly the same manner. We all tend to see and interpret charts in different ways, and how you abstract information from a chart will influence your evaluation of potentially profitable trades.It is important to arrive at similar conclusions about the potential success of a trade. As a mentor, I have a specific guidelines and criteria that define a position that is likely to succeed. How the beginning e-mini trader’s perception of chart variables leads to my specific guidelines and criteria is how I define a traders “style.” If I have learned anything in a lifetime of trading it is this: no 2 individuals see and interpret chart variables in exactly the same way. I think it is important to note that differences in styles of perception do not preclude 2 traders from reaching the same conclusion. The tool that I use to quantify a beginning traders style with the goal of arriving at the proper evaluation of trades is a written trading plan.What sort of things should be a good trading plan include?· First and foremost, I believe it is important for an individual to define, in specific terms, why they are trading.· A beginning trader should have quantifiable goals; short-term, intermediate term, and long-term. These goals should have specific objectives that are realistic and attainable.· What markets do you plan to trade? Why?· What entry criterions are necessary to enter a trade? I prefer of these criterion to be specific and quantifiable.· How will you manage risk? Some specific methodology for determining profit targets and stop loss levels should be discussed. Also, position sizing needs to be quantified and the methodology for the number of contracts you will trade should be specific. How will you exit trades? When? How about risk/reward ratios in your trading plan?· Money management is one of the most important elements of e-mini trading. What is your money management plan and how did you determine the components of your money management plan?· What is your pre-market routine? How will you prepare for the day?· I require all traders to keep a journal. How will that trading journal be structured?· What tools will you utilize in your trading? This section should include items like: trading platform, chart presentation style, indicators and oscillators, third party software, computer hardware, office location, and office environment are just a few of the many control variables that fall under the “types of tools” that I utilized in trading.· What approach to trading is appealing? While it may be early in your trading career, what setups have you learned to trust? What setups make you uncomfortable and why?· At the end of your trading day, what activities will you engage in to record trades and prepare for tomorrow’s trading day? Are there specific activities that may allow the current days trading to be reviewed?· A good trader is a lifetime student of trading. How will you advance your knowledge of e-mini trading in a manner that allows you to grow and learn as you gain experience?· Define the discipline you will use in your trading. Trading can often be a series of steps, a checklist that is used to determine trading profitability, frequency, and the probability.· How will you maintain discipline in your trading? What are signs that your discipline is slipping? How will you “right the ship” if you run into trading discipline problems?· What is the Golden Rule in your trading? You may have several maxims that define your trading. What are these maxims and why do you have them?These are just a few questions to help you, as an e-mini trader, begin the process of developing a coherent trading plan. There are many other components of the trading plan that may need to be included. The plan is yours, and should be unique to your trading. Avoid boilerplate type answers and give real thought to how you plan to trade. You will find that this document will need to be changed and updated as you grow as a trader. This is normal; it’s good and shows progress in trading.In summary, I have mentioned the reluctance of beginning e-mini traders to write a semi-formal trading plan. I hope that this article has given you some insight into the real value of having a trading plan. I have included some basic ideas or starting points in the construction of your e-mini trading plan but warned that these guidelines are not inclusive and there may be other considerations that need to be included in your plan.

In working closely with technology providers over the years, I regularly discover that these companies are making common mistakes that devalue the company, leave revenue on the table, or jeopardize their long-term health. So this special article identifies the top 10 of these mistakes to help you avoid making them.10. Failure to register a federal copyright for company-developed softwareYour company has spent months, and maybe years developing the next-big-thing. You’re out there licensing it to customers, fighting off competitors, and trying to maximize your revenues. What would you do if a customer was misusing your software? What if a competitor was copying parts of it to use in its product? There are various ways to respond to these problems, but one of the easiest to way to strengthen your claims is to register a copyright for the software with the United States Copyright Office. Registration provides you with an enhanced ability to have a court prevent infringing use of your software, and a greater amount of damages that are recoverable. The best part is that registration is relatively easy and inexpensive.9. Licensing technology too broadlySo you’ve landed that big deal with that big customer. You’ve carefully priced the deal based upon your expectations of how the customer is going to use your technology – by a specific group within the customer’s large organization. You’re hoping that the success of this deal will lead to a greater adoption of your technology within the rest of the company, and ultimately more revenue for you. Unfortunately, you later learn that this one group is sharing your technology throughout the rest of the company, with no additional license fees to you, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Why? By failing to carefully and narrowly draw up the license grant in your agreement, you’ve unwittingly granted the entire company the rights to use your technology, and you’ve left a pile of cash on the table.8. Failure to provide detailed support and maintenance policiesToo often, once a company’s technology is ready to be licensed, determining how to support the technology becomes an afterthought. General and non-descriptive obligations like “providing telephone and email support” and “providing updates” are invitations for disagreements and missed expectations. When is phone support being offered? How quickly will you respond to problems? What is considered and update and what is a new product for which you would charge the customer separately? Many times, you need your customer to provide you with certain information about the problem before you can diagnose and fix it. Set the appropriate expectations in your support and maintenance policies and avoid these issues in the future.7. Not contracting customers to recurring support feesCustomers want and expect that you will be there to support your product, assist with problems, and provide them updates when you add features or fix bugs. Customers also expect that you will regularly charge them for these services, so why do so many technology vendors sell a product to a customer and fail to structure regular and recurring support fees? In general, a technology vendor’s highest profit margins are realized through a support fee stream, and not in the upfront license charge.6. Inadequate non-disclosure and non-compete agreements with employees and contractorsThe technology business is one of the most competitive industries in the market. Why take a chance losing your competitive advantage by not ensuring that your intellectual property, customer lists, trade secrets, and other sensitive information are properly protected through appropriate agreements with your employees, contractors, and vendors? Finding and using some form agreement that you saw floating around on the Internet somewhere may actually make matters worse if you don’t fully understand the terms. Moreover, simple steps can be taken to ensure that anything developed by your employees is, and remains, your company’s property.5. Giving away intellectual property ownership too liberallyMany technology companies develop customized technology for their customers, or make customized modifications to their existing technology on behalf of a particular customer. And most customers argue that if they’re paying for it, they want to own it. But giving away your company’s intellectual property in these instances can prevent you from reusing it for other customers – effectively shutting down a potential source of revenue in the future. And many times, your customers may not need to actually “own” the developments – a license right can often do the trick.4. Using overly broad or subjective acceptance testingIt is not uncommon or unreasonable for customers to want to “kick the tires” of your technology before they pay for it. Problems arise when the customer has an unreasonable expectation of what the technology is supposed to achieve, and either want to withhold payment, or force you to provide extra services to meet that unreasonable expectation. This especially manifests itself when a customer includes acceptance testing language in a contract which is not tied to objective and realistic standards. Although it can be a laborious effort, taking the time to objectify these standards with the customer in the contract can save you significant time down the road, and get you paid faster.3. Offering liberal source code escrow release conditionsFor software developers, you know that your source code is the “crown jewels” of your business. It is the core of your technology, representing months or years of your blood, sweat, and tears. Yet many software companies are willing to give it away, for free, to their customers. How? By entering into a source code escrow agreement with a customer and allowing it to be released to them in situations where the code still holds value for you. Many customers will demand the source code be released to them if you stop supporting the software, but the intellectual property in the code may still be used in your other products or technology, effectively giving your customer the tools it needs to duplicate your technology. Creating very narrow and specific source code release conditions can minimize this impact.2. Undervaluing technologyWhat is your technology worth? It’s a difficult question, and value can be measured and determined in many ways. Many new technology companies feel compelled to undercharge for their technology in an effort to break into the market. Although there is certainly some merit in that, I see vendors consistently undervaluing what their technology is worth, leaving significant revenue on the table. Understanding the impact and loss to the customer if they DON’T license your technology is the first key to pricing your product. Plus, under-pricing your product can create an impression that the technology is “cheap” – not a label that will build a positive reputation of your company in the long run.1. Using a form license and/or services agreement that doesn’t fit your business modelCapturing exactly how you want to provide your product or services to your customer, allocating the risks, and creating each party’s obligations and rights, is not a simple or quick process. Replicating some other company’s form agreement not only exposes you to risks that you may not be aware of, but potentially violates the other company’s copyright in their agreement, and raises the risks outlined in the other points of this list. Having a customized agreement created for you that aligns with your business processes, mitigates your risks, and addresses the laws that apply in your jurisdiction for your industry is a key component in running a successful technology business.

Seeking success, companies spend millions on fine-tuning their corporate message, but often fail to train the messengers who deliver it. Business Growth Consultant, Eva Jenkins explores how effective communication bridges the gap between corporate intention and employee action.You can get an education, work hard, and dress for success, but without carefully cultivated ‘people skills,’ it’s unlikely that you’ll get very far in business…or in life for that matter! Professional success depends primarily on human relations skills, including effective communications. Many times, it is a superior skill in communication that propels careers, boosts productivity and ensures customer satisfaction.Communication – the ability to be heard and understood by listeners — affects the outcome of relationships, products and systems within a corporate structure. It’s the mortar that ensures that every brick is in place as a company grows and expands…the ‘essence’ of a firm foundation. This important skill set has seismic impact on organizations, and yet the pronouncements of the bean counters – financial officers, analysts, and the people on “The Street,” — have resulted in communications training being demoted to the bottom of the balance sheet.Can You Communicate?Communication – the ability to be heard and understood by listeners — affects the outcome of relationships, products and systems within a corporate structure.In A Guide to for the Perplexed, E.F. Schumacher wrote, “We tend to see ourselves primarily in the light of our intentions, which are invisible to others, while we see others mainly in light of their actions, which are invisible to us; we have a situation in which misunderstanding and injustice are the order of day.” It’s easy to translate this thought into the world of business. Without clear communication, a corporate environment becomes a swirling vortex of “Why didn’t you do what I told you?” and “You never told me to do that.”Finger-pointing and blame-shifting break down individuals and destroy any sense of team or unity.Once Is NOT EnoughDespite the fact that communication of company goals and processes is essential to success at every level of business, ineffectual leaders allow daily activities and tasks, as well as unexpected distractions to sidetrack communications. Convinced that ‘once is enough’ when information has been conveyed, many managers allow any distraction as an excuse to put regularly scheduled communication on the back burner.However, while managers busy themselves putting out small ‘fires,’ they fail to realize that inferno misinformation and employee dissatisfaction threatens to engulf the company.Great ExpectationsA key element in leadership is the ability to give clear and accurate directions when setting expectations. This sounds easier than it is. We often think others understand us better than they do. Bad leaders believe their message has been heard and processed by employees, so they don’t bother to confirm that with the employees themselves.Communication doesn’t end when you finish delivering your message!American businesses spend hundreds of thousands of dollars sending employees to training classes and still find their companies failing miserably. The ‘students’ may learn skills and ideas, but their ability to put their knowledge to work and communicate what they’ve learned to their staff and supervisors is never addressed. How come? If communications is key, why do employers fail to foster the essential skill that can inoculate a business from a wide range of problems?Let’s talk about that!Losing FocusManagement training programs do focus on communications, exploring the different types of communications and the wide variety of communications media. Their message to the managers is a good one: “Create a climate of open communication to increase your team members’ motivation, commitment, and productivity.”Intellectually, the communication training programs that are out there…many of them are very good…have hit the nail on the head. Practically speaking, however, they fall short. Why? Because there is no follow up! The focus on communication is lost once the training session ends.In nine cases out of ten, you’ll find no real accountability built into the administration and ROI of training programs. Training is delivered to a select few in organizations large and small. There is very little follow-through from HR or Training and Development or outside Consultants to see how well the participants able to incorporate various soft skills or have they been able change their own behaviors.The answer is that H/R and training functions should include ongoing follow-up throughout the entire year. There should be a continuous effort to gather statistical information from participating departments as well as feedback and commentary from managers and workers. Reviewing the numbers and feedback one month after training, three months, six month and a year later is critical to enable the ROI of training. If managers do not want to cooperate, make them. Get it done!Without follow up, an analysis of the training and its effectiveness is impossible.The Blame GameWhen companies fail, it is likely to be because of a breakdown in communications, concern about reprisals, political silos, and a lack of accountability. All these things create a fear-based environment that inevitably leads to a lot of defensive posturing. Everyone blames someone else: managers blame staff, staffers indict managers, and everyone gets on the bandwagon to point a finger at ‘useless’ training. Since no one wants to take responsibility for a communications failure, everyone gets bogged down in their own inadequate internal processes. This is true at every level of corporate life, including the halls of senior management, management, H/R and T&D. Many of today’s leaders are so focused on positioning ‘someone else’ to take the blame for a mistake that they fail to identify the real cause. This, of course, makes it impossible for problems to be corrected and a company ends in and ruins.In large corporations, particularly Federal contractors, training is seldom included as a line item in a division’s budget because clients do not want to pay for communications training. And they shouldn’t. Companies, themselves, should budget for communications training as a cost of doing business. In the long term, this short-term investment in will pay off with improved communications throughout the company and with all clients, as well as with improved productivity and increased profitability.Despite its proven hard-dollar rewards, communications training continues to be a second-class citizen in corporate life. Instead of a self-protective stance, “I won’t get my next promotion if I spend money on training,” division heads should be thinking proactively: “A financial investment in training and good communications will ensure that my department is profitable. Managers need to realize that they are the winners if they can keep track, and show how well they are able to develop their own people, and create a more efficient and successful team.The ability to communicate effectively needs to be measured and monitored on a continuous basis. Organizations change, people come and go, and a variety of internal and external forces can affect a company’s ability to function well. To keep up with change — and hopefully stay ahead of it — internal processes, performance management reviews, reporting structures, and the like should all be consistently reviewed and monitored.Communication starts at the top. Leaders, themselves, must then have the skill to communicate clearly so that superiors and subordinates alike follow their lead. CEO’s, directors, managers, and department heads must understand its value and make it a priority in all exchanges – verbal, written, etc.A Commitment to CommunicationsEffective communications has a positive effect on employees and the corporate bottom line. CEO’s who understand the significance of having and promoting open, clear communications are better positioned to create successful organizations at every level. These CEO’s hold their direct leadership accountable to make sure the company’s DNA reflects a commitment to communication.Managers who communicate well and foster good communications in others create an environment where people enjoy their work and produce more. In turn, those happy, productive employees drive a grassroots effort where internal referrals power the recruiting processes, cutting down the time and money lost to hiring and training.A high level of production, low levels of employee churn, and bigger profits as the end result. This is a winning ‘trifecta’ for any business.

I once read that NOW is always the toughest time to find the best investment opportunities, and that sometimes it is anything but easy to make money investing. Now is 2015, and once again investment opportunities are out there if we can only find them. Where might we make money investing in 2015, 2016 and beyond?People tend to throw the words “opportunity” and “opportunities” around a lot, especially when they are trying to sell you something (like swamp land or desert properties). For example, “the opportunity of a lifetime” or “one of the best investment opportunities I’ve ever seen”. We all learn sooner or later that real opportunities are the exception; and not the normal occurrence. Let us keep this in mind as we try to find ways to make money investing in 2015, 2016 and beyond.If you have a brokerage account with a discount broker the world of investment opportunities is available to you at a cost of about $10 a trade. In one account you can make money investing by making a bet on stocks, bonds, interest rates, commodities; and in a wide array of markets, both domestic and abroad. Your broker’s website should offer lots of information to sift through, but it won’t tell you where the best investment opportunities will be in 2015, 2016 and beyond.Here’s a good way to look at things: now is always a good time to look for the best investment opportunities, but it may not be an easy time to make money investing. For example, natural gas might look cheap, but it has been going down in price for several years. Interest rates are near all-time lows, but this has also been the case for years. On the other hand, stock market volatility has fallen as stock prices continued to rise. Stocks in general are now quite expensive, and super-low interest rates have made bonds expensive by historical standards.No matter what happens in the markets in the next couple of years, many of the best investment opportunities are available to average investors in the form of ETFs (exchange traded funds) which trade as stocks. If you don’t have a brokerage account go to a financial website like Yahoo Finance and sift through the ETF performance section… looking for the best and worst performers for various time periods. You’ll be surprised by the wide array of opportunities available. Now, you must decide how you want to try to make money investing in them.Let’s look at a couple of extreme examples you could find in early 2015. The best performer over the past 3 years (up 94%) was a Leveraged Equity fund that invests in healthcare stocks with 3x leverage. It was also up 20% in the last 3-month period. The worst performer was a 2x leveraged volatility fund, which was down 90% over the past 3 years and also down 15% over the last 3-month period. Other big losers included: gold stock funds and leveraged inverse equity (stock) funds. The real question is: do you jump on the big winners to make money investing? Or, will the big losers be the best investment opportunities for 2015, 2016 and beyond?Here’s a real extreme example from early 2015. The best investment over the last 3-month period was a 3x LEVERAGED INVERSE CRUDE OIL ETF. It went up 285% (in 3 months). What’s that? INVERSE means that as the price of oil FALLS, the share price of this fund goes UP; and 3x LEVERAGED means it is designed to go up 3 times as much (on a percentage basis) as the drop in oil price. This was one of the very best investment opportunities in the months leading up to 2015, because oil prices then started to fall like a rock. But after a gain like that, it’s probably no longer the best investment if you want to make money in 2015 and beyond. This was yesterday’s opportunity.On the other hand, there’s always the possibility that oil prices will rebound strongly in 2015, 2016, or later. If and when this happens, some of the best investment opportunities will likely be found in oil and other energy stocks (or ETFs) that fell in line with the previous drop in oil prices. Timing and anticipation are the keys to finding the best investment opportunities. You can make money investing by jumping on current winners, but the best investment opportunities are often found when a change in price trend begins.