1. Surf the Internet and download a “business owner’s insurance check list.” This will form the basis of your effort to get small business insurance cover.

2. Make the effort to do a comprehensive search for the many options available both online and offline. Or ask your insurance agent to create a docket of options.

3. Understand what your business will need and seek coverage accordingly. An ideal source for insurance coverage is trade associations and business groups; they often have tie-ups with insurance companies for coverage at reduce premium rates.

4. Check the website of the Institute for Business and Home Safety for recommendations: www.ibhs.org and the Small Business Administration: www.sba.gov.

5. Ask for quotes and recommendations from at least three leading small business insurance providers. Making a comparison of the coverage and rates will help you get a good deal.

6. Use a small business liability tool available online to determine the risks faced by specific small business. Note down the risks and get a quote for an insurance policy that covers all the delineated risks.

7. Contact the same insurance company that covers your life, health hone and vehicle. Often when a company knows a person as a client then they offer better insurance rates and facilities.

8. Often online polices are offered at better rates. Surf the Internet for a small business insurance directory and explore buying insurance online.

9. When buying a small business policy online ensure that the company is reputed and has been in business for a long time. Check with the better business bureau whether there are any cases pending against the company.

10. Buy insurance from a leading insurance company that follows fair business practices. This way you will maximize your protection as the insurance company will be reliable.

Lawrence Ellison - $21.5 bil - Oracle - #1 in California, United States.

Brash software titan still at helm of Oracle Systems, database outfit he cofounded 30 years ago. Reshaping the industry with a massive shopping spree; spent $19 billion buying 21 software companies in past 3 years. Biggest acquisitions: PeopleSoft for $11 billion, Siebel Systems for $5.9 billion. Deals added $4.6 billion to company’s annual revenue, 18,000 to employee count. Combination makes Oracle, already strong in database management, a big player in business applications like accounting and personnel. Now stitching it all together into software suite Fusion for release by 2008. Predicts earnings will grow 20% a year for the rest of the decade. Chicago native studied physics at U of Chicago; didn’t graduate. Started Oracle in 1977. Took public in 1986, a day before Microsoft. Companies have been fiercely competitive ever since. Spends lots of time on distractions: tweaking his 40-acre Japanese-style estate, cruising on his 453-foot yacht, Rising Sun. Plans to sail in 2007 America’s Cup in Spain.

“Money is just a method of keeping score now.”

Rank Name Citizenship Age Net Worth ($bil) Residence
1 Warren Buffett United States 77 62.0 United States
2 Carlos Slim Helu & family Mexico 68 60.0 Mexico
3 William Gates III United States 52 58.0 United States
4 Lakshmi Mittal India 57 45.0 United Kingdom
5 Mukesh Ambani India 50 43.0 India
6 Anil Ambani India 48 42.0 India
7 Ingvar Kamprad & family Sweden 81 31.0 Switzerland
8 KP Singh India 76 30.0 India
9 Oleg Deripaska Russia 40 28.0 Russia
10 Karl Albrecht Germany 88 27.0 Germany
11 Li Ka-shing Hong Kong 79 26.5 Hong Kong
12 Sheldon Adelson United States 74 26.0 United States
13 Bernard Arnault France 59 25.5 France
14 Lawrence Ellison United States 63 25.0 United States
15 Roman Abramovich Russia 41 23.5 Russia
16 Theo Albrecht Germany 85 23.0 Germany
17 Liliane Bettencourt France 85 22.9 France
18 Alexei Mordashov Russia 42 21.2 Russia
19 Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud Saudi Arabia 51 21.0 Saudi Arabia
20 Mikhail Fridman Russia 43 20.8 Russia
21 Vladimir Lisin Russia 51 20.3 Russia
22 Amancio Ortega Spain 72 20.2 Spain
23 Raymond, Thomas & Walter Kwok Hong Kong NA 19.9 Hong Kong
24 Mikhail Prokhorov Russia 42 19.5 Russia
25 Vladimir Potanin Russia 47 19.3 Russia
26 Christy Walton & family United States 53 19.2 United States
26 Jim Walton United States 60 19.2 United States
26 S Robson Walton United States 64 19.2 United States
29 Lee Shau Kee Hong Kong 80 19.0 Hong Kong
29 Alice Walton United States 58 19.0 United States
31 David Thomson & family Canada 50 18.9 Canada
32 Sergey Brin United States 34 18.7 United States
33 Larry Page United States 35 18.6 United States
34 Michael Otto & family Germany 64 18.2 Germany
35 Stefan Persson Sweden 60 17.7 Sweden
36 Suleiman Kerimov Russia 42 17.5 Russia
37 Charles Koch United States 72 17.0 United States
37 David Koch United States 67 17.0 United States
39 Francois Pinault & family France 71 16.9 France
40 Michael Dell United States 43 16.4 United States
41 Paul Allen United States 55 16.0 United States
41 Kirk Kerkorian United States 90 16.0 United States
43 Steven Ballmer United States 52 15.0 United States
43 Abigail Johnson United States 46 15.0 United States
43 Shashi & Ravi Ruia India NA 15.0 India
46 Nasser Al-Kharafi & family Kuwait 64 14.0 Kuwait
46 Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor & family United Kingdom 56 14.0 United Kingdom
46 Carl Icahn United States 72 14.0 United States
46 Forrest Mars Jr United States 76 14.0 United States
46 Jacqueline Mars United States 68 14.0 United States
46 John Mars United States 71 14.0 United States
46 Birgit Rausing & family Sweden 84 14.0 Switzerland
46 Jack Taylor & family United States 85 14.0 United States
54 German Khan Russia 46 13.9 Russia
55 Susanne Klatten Germany 45 13.2 Germany
56 Vagit Alekperov Russia 57 13.0 Russia
56 Donald Bren United States 75 13.0 United States
58 Alain & Gerard Wertheimer France NA 12.9 United States
59 Dmitry Rybolovlev Russia 41 12.8 Russia
60 Azim Premji India 62 12.7 India
60 Naguib Sawiris Egypt 53 12.7 Egypt
62 Anne Cox Chambers United States 88 12.6 United States
63 Iskander Makhmudov Russia 44 11.9 Russia
64 Sunil Mittal & family India 50 11.8 India
65 Alexander Abramov Russia 49 11.5 Russia
65 Michael Bloomberg United States 66 11.5 United States
67 Viktor Vekselberg Russia 50 11.2 Russia
68 Michele Ferrero & family Italy 81 11.0 Monaco
68 George Kaiser United States 65 11.0 United States
68 Spiro Latsis & family Greece 61 11.0 Switzerland
68 Nassef Sawiris Egypt 46 11.0 Egypt
72 Alexei Kuzmichev Russia 45 10.8 Russia
73 Philip Knight United States 70 10.4 United States
73 Viktor Rashnikov Russia 59 10.4 Russia
75 Ernesto Bertarelli Switzerland 42 10.3 Switzerland
76 Kumar Birla India 40 10.2 India
77 Leonardo Del Vecchio Italy 72 10.0 Italy
77 Antonio Ermirio de Moraes & family Brazil 79 10.0 Brazil
77 Iris Fontbona & family Chile NA 10.0 Chile
77 Edward Johnson III United States 77 10.0 United States
77 Hans Rausing Sweden 82 10.0 United Kingdom
77 Vladimir Yevtushenkov Russia 59 10.0 Russia
77 Igor Zyuzin Russia 47 10.0 Russia
84 Serge Dassault & family France 82 9.9 France
85 Alberto Bailleres & family Mexico 75 9.8 Mexico
86 Ramesh Chandra India 68 9.6 India
87 Charles Ergen United States 55 9.5 United States
87 John Kluge United States 93 9.5 United States
87 Ronald Perelman United States 65 9.5 United States
90 Silvio Berlusconi & family Italy 71 9.4 Italy
91 Gautam Adani India 45 9.3 India
91 Petr Kellner Czech Republic 43 9.3 Czech Republic
91 Alisher Usmanov Russia 54 9.3 Russia
94 Adolf Merckle Germany 73 9.2 Germany
94 August von Finck Germany 78 9.2 Switzerland
96 Onsi Sawiris Egypt 78 9.1 Egypt
97 Mohammed Al Amoudi Saudi Arabia 62 9.0 Saudi Arabia
97 Robert Kuok Malaysia 84 9.0 Hong Kong
97 George Soros United States 77 9.0 United States
100 Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair & family United Arab Emirates 54 8.9 United Arab Emirates

Car leasing may be a good option for those individuals or companies that want to have a new car but want to save some of the money it costs in full car ownership. Car leasing is a way to rent a car over a specified period of time. The car is not owned by the person or company leasing it at any point and at the end of the lease, the car is returned to the dealership or the car leasing company.

There is a deposit associated with car leasing. This initial deposit is non-refundable and is simply a way for the leasing company to protect themselves. After the initial deposit, the person or company leasing the car will pay a monthly amount that has been agreed upon by both the individual and the car leasing company. The term of the lease is usually approximately two or three years however, it is possible to lease a car for a year or even less.

Leasing a car is not the same as taking out a car loan. The largest payment that is required is the initial deposit and that is usually only about one, two or three months total of the monthly lease payments. This allows the person or company leasing to keep their money in a high interest bank account and to simply make the lease payments as part of their monthly living expenses. This can be especially useful to companies that want to lease a company vehicle. They can then take the payments out of operational expenses rather than out of capital expenses.

Because the lease will usually be less than three years, the car will always be covered under warranty and it will not require an MOT. This means that the person or company leasing the car will not need to worry about major repairs. The only things the person leasing the car needs to worry about are routine services such as oil changes and consumable items such as tires. These items are not usually a great expense during the first three years.

Another benefit to car leasing is that a person or company may change their cars every few years. This is beneficial for many reasons. The first reason being that the individual or company will not need to worry about their car breaking down all the time as it gets older and becoming more of a burden rather than an asset. Another benefit to leasing is that the individual or company will get a new car every two or three years.

Changing cars every few years is made so simple by car leasing. It is not necessary to try and sell the car before another car is obtained. Instead, one car is simply given back to the leasing company in exchange for a different car. It can be lots of fun to try out different cars all the time and will save the hassle of major repairs and grief.

There are so many advantages to car leasing it’s easy to see why it’s becoming so popular. An individual or company you can save a lot of money and hassle by simply leasing a car instead of buying it outright.

Getting paid for products and services online is a relatively new phenomenon. Nowadays, you can sell almost anything online — but at a price. Coughing up thousands of dollars to establish your own merchant account can be daunting. Fortunately, there is an alternative: PayPal.
PayPal is an online payment system owned by eBay, the world’s biggest flea market. PayPal lets eBay merchants accept electronic payments without shelling out a small fortune to Visa, MasterCard, or American Express. But it isn’t only eBay merchants who benefit: PayPal is a product in its own right.
The net effect is that you can use PayPal to process electronic payments without listing your products or services on eBay, and without shelling out the aforementioned small fortune for a merchant account. For a small fee (generally 1% to 3% of the transaction amount, plus $.30 per transaction), PayPal will process electronic payments for any product or service on nearly any Web site. Setting up your Web application to accomplish this, however, isn’t quite so straightforward.
This article walks you straight through a winding path that will help you turn an ordinary Web site into your own personal money tree. It helps you find the latest PayPal Web controls for ASP.NET, and acquire a few tips from PayPal insiders and PayPal Hacks author Dave Nielsen.
Establishing a PayPal Account
There are a few things to know before you get started. First are the company rules. The free PayPal personal accounts can accept PayPal payments and bank account transfers, but a personal account does not let you accept credit cards. To accept credit cards, you must establish a (free) business account, or upgrade to a premier account. Every payment you receive costs 2.9% of the transaction amount, plus $.30 for beginners; it goes as low as 1.9% for high volume merchants. There are never any monthly fees.
PayPal prefers to move money around in its own accounts rather than cut you a check, but you can get a check or use your PayPal account to buy things for yourself online. One alternative is to request a PayPal debit card; it works like any debit card, and funds are taken right from your PayPal account. Plus, you can withdraw funds directly into your own bank account.
Finally, PayPal is associated with eBay and has a very low fraud rate.
Collectively, these things make PayPal a viable option for selling directly online.
Creating Your Account
To begin, you need a PayPal account. PayPal recommends that you use no live accounts in the sandbox, but ultimately you’ll need a live PayPal account to get paid. However, you can play in the sandbox all day without providing PayPal (or anyone else) any banking information or funds.