Why was the British Empire so successful?
Following are the top most five important reasons for England being becoming one of the more powerful country in the past. Such as:From Mid 1600's until the war of independence in 1776, Britain had Dominated over several American Colonies. Until the 19th Century, Britain had dominion over Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Until the 20th Century Britain was in control of Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, India, Egypt , Sudan, Palestine, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. The policies which the British government used in order to gain control over these states were strategic. Interestingly, many of the colonies were originally founded by private companies/personalities with Royal Charter (approval). It is well known India was established by the East India Company, searching for resources in the Far East. South Africa was arguably the product of aggressive expansion by Cecil Rhodes (incidentally founder of Old Rhodesia).Trade is another factor which founded the British Empire. Indeed, Hong Kong was given to the British by China, after their defeat in the Opium War in 1898. The Opium War was a war fought over trade. The British were fed up with China's unwillingness to house foreigners in their nation - restricting them to reside in Portugese Macau - and negotiated opening of port cities, such as Shanghai and Hong Kong. Unity, was another factor which held the British Empire together. Unity however, must not be mistaken for homogeneity - the Empire was incredibly racially and religiously diverse. However, throughout the New World Britain managed to introduce some very positive changes into the standard of living of millions of people. Britain introduced their Westminster style of government, their common law (arguably the greatest gift of all) and numerous other seemingly inconsequential things (like the sport cricket for example). These unifying traditions helped to bind the Empire together. The final reason behind the strength of the British Empire was pride. Pride in the Empire, pride in nation building, pride in the dissemination of Anglo-Saxon values. It is plain from the disintegration of the Empire, that British peoples loss of faith in Britain as an Empire was critical to its demise. After WW2, the ideology behind Empire building seemed flawed; having watched Europe almost become unbound by the plans of an evil dictator bent on controlling the Continent, Britain's own imperialist forays were challenged.
What are the best Payday loans to acquire?
The best payday loan is NO payday loan. They charge exorbitant rates of interest. It ends up costing you far more than you initially borrowed. If you're just looking for cash for Christmas, you'd be exceedingly stupid to use a pay day loan. That is the worst kind of loan and a great way to ruin your finances next year. Don't get one. They are predatory and are only out to screw you. They offer you a loan of $100, but it might cost upwards of $2000 to repay it. Is $100 right now really worth $2000 down the track? Of course not. If you need fast cash, sell some stuff in the newspaper classifieds or on Ebay. Have a garage sale. Apply for a credit card and use that. Even taking cash advances on a credit card (which is charged a ridiculous amount in interest) is better than taking a payday loan, because there are laws to control how much interest a credit card company charges. There are probably banks that will offer you a credit card, probably with a high rate of interest. That is your best option if you want to go into debt for Christmas. Try going to your bank and arranging an overdraft. Try going into a store that offers a 'store credit card' and see if you can get a temporary shopping card. I work in a department store and we offer them. All those options would be far better for you (and ultimately, your credit rating) than a payday loan. How much do you actually need? Is there something you could go without or avoid paying to cover the temporary expense? Can you ask for a wage advance from your employer? Best wishes
Do you agree with Buffett that "it's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price"? Why?
Yes.The reason is simple, and laid out by Buffett more than once: the “fair company at a wonderful price”, which in Buffett’s world actually means “cigar butts”, will produce a tidy one-time profit. You’ll profit only from the price discrepancy, and once it’s corrected (or materialized in another way, such a liquidation), you’re done.On the other hand, the “wonderful business” will continue to deliver more and more profits, compounding over the years. This is because a “wonderful business” is able to consistently produce high returns on equity with little debt, and is able to grow that equity over time. A fantastic example is Buffett’s investment in Coca Cola - a little more than $1B in 1987, and to this day, the dividends alone earn him more than half of that yearly.Another important difference is that the “wonderful price” opportunities only allow for “small” sums of money to be invested, while the wonderful business allows the investment of larger amounts of capital - although I put the “small” in quotes because this only affects investors with Buffett’s kind of money - in the Billions.So, in summary, Buffett is, as usual, right.
What are your best tips for getting through a difficult survival situation?
Depends on the situation. The Poster (Ivan) above has good advise if you are in a totally austere environment or in the wilderness. But survival is a very broad term, and it's unclear what your starting situation is vs. what your realistic prospect of getting out is. If you are stranded on an Island you need to do some things that you might not need to worry about, if you were trying to escape from the scene of an earthquake,tsunami, bombing or some other natural catastrophe. However, that said there are some commonalities. 1. BE CALM - Hysteria didn't do anything but get people killed, so no matter what, from a fender-bender to a nuclear blast, be calm. 2. Get out of danger - if you are in some sort of persistent danger, flood, natural disaster, regional catastrophe, do what you can to get yourself out of danger. A suprising number of people don't do this, effectively and so get into trouble. 3. If you are as safe as possible, you have to do a couple of things immediately, such as assess any medical conditions and treat them as best you can if there is an immediate need - such as bleeding etc. 4. Assess what resources you have available to you, is there water, food, medical supplies, shelter, clothing or some place to rest. 5. Do you need money, access to identification criteria? Can you communicate with friends/family to help this situation, Conversely are your family members similarly endangered and are they OK. 6. Beyond the immediate needs of acquiring the basic life necessities - food, water, shelter and some degree of safety, you need to determine how best to get out of the situation in hand. 7. Be prepared to travel VERY lightly. No multiple rolling bags, just whatever you can carry easily and for long periods of time. In this regard it's like traveling well, set aside everything you want to take, and all the money you intend to bring. Then take 1/2 of the stuff away and add twice as much money.
Whats the better job Real estate agent or auto mechanic?
The question is what do you like to do. Have you inquired as to the requirements to be a mechanic as well as those of a real estate agent. What is good for me would not be good for you. I have no aptitude to be any type of mechanic, therefore becoming a mechanic would not be an option for me. If you have mechanical ability this might be the job for you. Being a mechanic require an aptitude for this type work with little interaction with potential clients. You would be required to be certified by the agency that is in charge of making sure you would have the educational level to work on cars or what ever you would want to work on in the mechanical field. After becoming certified you would then be required to maintain continuing education and possibly re-examination to remain certified. You would have to make a marketing plan to attract clients to your shop unless you are on commission or salaried by someone else. In that case the shop owner would normally make a marketing plan. You would also be able to rent a shop and become your own boss. Being a real estate agent you would be required to obtain a real estate license by taking and successfully passing the real estate exam administered by your state. You would be required to take continuing educational courses to maintain your license and ability to sell and list properties for sale. You would be required to acquire people skills, understand body language as well as signals that you have completed your sale. You would be required to make a marketing plan to attract clients. Being a real estate agent is more or less a people to people job. In becoming a real estate agent you are self-employed from day one unless you decide to work for a property management company or become a buyer for an investment company. If you are good with people then you might be a good real estate agent. Some traits about either job might be learned, then there are certain traits that yo must have in order to be successful. I hope this has been of some benefit to you, good luck. "FIGHT ON"
What happens to employees after your startup gets acquired?
When a larger company acquires a startup it is for one or more reasons like complementing their product line, the IP, expanding the customer base, acqui-hire or simply crush the competition.Only a few key technical employees get better retention packages as they are needed to successfully complete the M&A and align the product for the larger vision that led to the acquisition. The rest of the employees are either accommodated elsewhere in the new organization or added to the top of the list for the next round of layoffs. BizDev and marketing are redundant functions.The acquiring company often has a superiority complex - after all it did have the financial strength to make the acquisition. Most employees from the startup end up with less than their deserved positions in the new company. The argument is typically that the acquiring company is larger and requires more experience and a different mind set. Startup employees may have a different view point as some believe that if they can confidently grow with the startup, handling a larger team in a bigger organization with well defined processes is just natural progression and well within their capabilities. This leads to further frustrations.The superiority complex of the acquiring company also affects the managers who are put in charge of the acquired startup employees. They may not be able to handle the all-rounders that helped make the startup successful. Ongoing ego clashes widen the rift.Then there is the culture clash. Employees from the acquiring company see the startup employees as mavericks and not ‘team players’, well not on their teams at least. On the startup end, many key employees end up frustrated with the less autonomous, more bureaucratic and slower pace of the bigger organization. They soon quit especially after seeing their fellow startup team members laid off despite the retention packages. This puts the acquiring company and the employees charged with the merger in a very difficult situation often leading to a total failure of the acquisition.The can-do attitude of the startup employees that helped them flourish in the startup typically helps them through this difficult transition. They may find better alternatives in other companies that value them more than the acquiring organization.The gist is to keep your options open and connections warm. Good luck!
What's harder: to become an airline pilot or a lawyer?
Pilot: Much easier to acquire all of the education and ratings to do the job, but probably harder to get a job. Lawyer: Much harder to acquire the education but probably easier to get a job. As for what's more rewarding, that's up to you. Of course, more people here will saw being a pilot is more rewarding, but we're a little biased.