banking - Do You Want To Get Into Goldman Sachs?

All the recent talk about earning big money by becoming bankers...has caused a rush by everybody (be it fresh grads, experienced professionals, etc) into the financial services industry. It is true that the money is in this industry now. However, to be earning the top dollars (i.e. to be in the front line) one need to be a certain caliber and I hope most of you agree with me that not everyone in this world is top caliber. And also, one got to look at what are the sacrifices for such money and prestige. Personally I would recommend most of us who are not of such caliber and who wants to have a comfortable life, to not chase after all the "glamor" that has been reported in the media about the financial service industry. The media are just reporting people who make it but not those who have fallen. Some words of wisdom ..."When people are rushing into something, it's time for the wise to get out or stay away..." Just think, the financial services industry has its own ups and down. Companies around the world are cutting costs...job cutting can come anytime..beyond any employee's control. After some thinking about the situation, I would still think that for people who are not of the top caliber, they should try out and plan for sources of passive income. These allow the average Joe or Jane to exhibit his or her potential to the fullest (without trying to impress bosses). The best thing is, you do not need to slog and work ridiculous hours (try checking out an investment banker's working hours) for these types of income. That's why I call them "passive income". "Still confident that you are the top calibre? Then click here to read extremely useful tips on getting into Goldman Sachs " Janny is a 24 year old female working in a management consultancy firm and specializes in consulting for the financial services industry. Through blogging, she expresses her humble opinions and shares her real world experience in beauty, health and financial freedom. "Click Here to tell Janny if she is happy and wealthy" Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Janny_Cole banking - Small Businesses Still Facing Barriers to Growth If you own a small business, life can be tough. According to a survey taken by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in early 2006, small businesses face a variety of barriers to growth, including such factors as red tape, skill shortages and even crime. Out of all the small firms surveyed by the FSB, more than half said that the time they spent on regulation had increased and almost a quarter of small businesses claimed to have problems with recruitment due to skill shortages. John Walker, the national policy chairman for the FSB, asserted that these barriers to growth for small businesses had been highlighted before, and said the government should do more to tackle these issues. He claimed: "These problems, which our survey confirms yet again, must therefore be addressed by the government because our country's economic health depends on the success of small businesses. Regulation, both its volume and complexity, crime and a poorly-skilled workforce are issues that we have raised many times before. It is therefore worrying that they are still the main barriers to growth for small firms." The FSB claimed at the time of the survey that small firms account for more than 50% of the UK's private sector workforce and are responsible for generating over half of Britain's GDP. When it came to recruitment, the firms surveyed by the FSB claimed that they faced a range of skills barriers - including illiteracy, numeracy, communication skills or technical skills. What's more, 57% of the small businesses surveyed claimed to be the victim of at least one crime over the twelve months previous and said that, if they reported the crime to the police, it was unlikely to help their situation. Cutting through red tape has also proved extremely problematic for small businesses; 56% of the small firms surveyed by the FSB claimed an increase in time spent on regulation, while 55% said they were not happy about the complexity of existing legislation. The survey showed that older small businesses were less happy with red tape - so the longer a firm had been trading, the more likely it was that they were dissatisfied with legislation. In fact, many worry that small businesses will not be able to keep up with the changing pace of existing business legislation in Britain. However, a new law introduced in October 2006 which outlaws age discrimination in the workplace has been welcomed by many small businesses, even those that have a reputation for employing young people, such as PR and advertising companies. If you're looking to start a small business, or you are an existing SME owner, it may be worth investigating the range of small businesses banking services available locally. This is often an excellent first step in making sure that you get your business up and running efficiently, and a great source from which to seek advice if you're looking for information on how best to cut red tape.