GEnie Livewire e-zine/LW9403MM.ZIP/FINANCE.TXT

Text File | 1994-02-14 | 10.7 KB | 275 lines

Is there any time of year we're not concerned about
our personal finances? Probably not. Yet, as tax
season winds to a close, we think a little more
strongly about finances than perhaps at other
times.

If Uncle Sam presents a frowning visage, the GEnie
still smiles on us. Through several tools available
online, we can all improve and protect our personal
financial status.

Hi, ho, it's off to work we go...

Most of us depend on our jobs for the basis of our
financial security. The WorkPlace RoundTable
provides us an online home for advice and
companionship in this important area.

"The WorkPlace Bulletin Board offers you a place to
get and share information about careers, management
styles, workplace regulations, and just about any
workplace issue," says Michael Holzschu, one of the
RoundTable's assistants. "The Library, which the
WorkPlace RoundTable shares with the Home
Office/Small Business RoundTable, is chock full of
practical, how-to and informational text files.
Among them are files on how to prepare a resume,
search for a job, write an employee manual,
minimize work-related injuries, and many others."

The Software Library also includes up-to-date
business files which are discussed in the Home
Office/Small Business RoundTable section below.

In the introduction to the RoundTable for
newcomers, the sysops suggest, "Think of The
WorkPlace RoundTable as a virtual office building,
factory, retail establishment, lunchroom, training
room and business golf-outing all rolled into one.
An informational resource as well as a place to
exchange ideas and opinions about workplace issues,
this RoundTable is for employees, managers,
job-seekers, top level executives, and just about
anyone who works."

All sorts of people discuss all sorts of issues in
the Bulletin Board including such subjects as
Working 9 to 5.... Is it for You?; Telecommuting:
Benefits and Problems; Getting the First Job; Where
the Jobs Are; Resumes That Work; Getting Promotions
and Raises; Job Hopping: The Good and the Gad; If
the Boss Only Knew; Overnight Shifts; Sexual
Harassment; Tales of the Daily Commute; Office
Romance; Americans with Disabilities Act;
Unemployment Compensation; Total Quality
Management; Recruiting Employees; In tellectual
Property; and Violence in the Workplace.

Regular Real-Time Conferences bring together people
from all over the world who work for a living.

It's Your Business

Another fast-growing segment of our society that
provides much of our personal finances is
home-based and other small businesses. The Home
Office/Small Business RoundTable provides support
for all sorts of folks involved in these endeavors,
or those who are thinking about making the jump.

The Home Office/Small Business RoundTable (HOSB) is
an online resource designed to meet the
informational and networking needs of owners of
small and home-based businesses; men and women who
want to start a business; and employed individuals
who realize information, management skills and
contacts are the keys to career advancement.

Janet Attard, HOSB's Chief Sysop, said, "In the
HOSB you'll find a broad range of information about
starting and running a small or home-based
business. Whether you need information about naming
or incorporating your business, finding customers
or dealing with venture capitalists, you'll find
the HOSB lets you gather a wealth of facts, tips,
suggestions and from-the-trenches experiences."

Fascinating Bulletin Board topics include Working
from the Home; Business Start-Up Ideas;
Telemarketing: Autocall Machines; Creating A
Mailing List; Selling Through Catalogs; Credit Card
Alternatives; Venture Capital; The Family Leave Law
& Business; Job Hunting Strategies; Basic Tax
Questions; Accounting Questions; Incorporate or
Not?; Accounting Software for PC; and hundreds of
other topics dealing with specific types of small
businesses.

The Software Library is filled with practical
files, both text and program. For example, file
#4694 JOBNET.ZIP is a 1-800 directory of the most
active, aggressive, and high-profile contract
service firms in industry. File #4696 KSTAT33A.ZIP
is a data analysis package for anyone who needs to
analyze business or scientific data. It contains
numerous statistical analyses, graphs, and reports,
and interfaces with dBASE, ASCII, and 1-2-3 files.
File #4699 XPENS.ZIP is an easy-to-use program
designed to prepare a nd print expense reports.

Of particular importance at this time of year is
tax preparation software. The Home Office/Small
Business RoundTable's Software Library helps two
ways here, with a couple of the latest and greatest
in shareware titles: File #4705 STAX93.ZIP, a
Share-Tax /1040; and file #4706 AMTAX93.ZIP,
described as "One of the better 1040 tax
preparation programs." Both oare as close as your
modem.

Business Launch

A specialized service, the Air Force Small Business
RoundTable (keyword AFSB3), is set up to make
information about doing business with the Air Force
and Department of Defense more accessible. AFSB3
offers you the opportunity to learn which Air Force
commands need the products and services you sell,
gain a better understanding of the bid process,
discuss problems and solutions with government
specialists and with other small business owners.
You can get answers to questions about government
contracting, gai n immediate access to important
reference material, and suggest ways the Air Force
and Department of Defense can better meet your
informational needs.

AFSB3's Bulletin Board Categories are organized
around specific Air Force and Department of Defense
departments that regularly buy from independent
contractors. Categories include:

 1 Welcome/Introduction (1st General Category)
 2 Small Business Program
 3 Mentor-Protege Program Information Exchange
  Service
 8 (Individual Command/Activity Categories follow)
 9 Air Educ & Train Cmd. (GE Mail USAF.ATC; New
  USAF.AETC)
10 Air Mobility Cmd. (USAF.MAC; New USAF.AMC)
11 Air Combat Cmd. (USAF.SAC; New USAF.ACC)
14 AF Reserve (USAF.AFR; New USAF.AFRES)
15 USAF Academy (USAF.ACADEMY)
17 Air Intelligence Agency (USAF.AFIC; New
   USAF.AIA)
18 AF Space Cmd. (USAF.SPACE; New USAF.SPACECOM)
19 Pacific AF (USAF.PACAF)
20 AF District of Washington (USAF.DWCO; New
   USAF.AFDW)
21 AF Materiel Command (USAF.AFLC; New USAF.AFMC)
22 Oklahoma ALC (USAF.OCALC)
23 Ogden ALC (USAF.OOALC)
24 Sacramento ALC (USAF.SMALC)
25 San Antonio ALC (USAF.SAALC)
26 Warner Robins ALC (USAF.WRALC)
28 AF Office for Environment and Base Closure (USAF.ENVIRN)
30 Space and Missile Systems Ctr. (USAF.SSD; New USAF.SMC)
31 Ballistic Missile Org. (USAF.BMO)
32 Electronic Systems Ctr. (USAF.ESD; New USAF.ESC)
33 Aeronautical Systems Ctr. (USAF.ASD; New USAF.ASC)
34 AF Development Test Ctr. (USAF.AFDTC)
35 AF Flight Test Ctr. (USAF.AFFTC)
36 45 Space Wing, Patrick AFB (USAF.ESMC; New USAF.PATRICK)
37 Human Systems Ctr. (USAF.HSD; New USAF.HSC)
38 Phillips Lab. (USAF.PHILLAB)
39 Rome Lab. (USAF.ROMELAB)
40 Wright Lab. (USAF.WRIGLAB)
41 AF Ofc. of Scientific Research (USAF.AFOSR)
42 3 Cont. Squad. - Alaska (USAF.ALASKA)

Quite a list, isn't it? They all want to buy from
somebody -- and it could be you!

The Software Library offers up-to-date copies of
official documents detailing how to do business
with the Air Force. Along with these updates come
such files as #29142 SELL2AF.ZIP, "SELLING TO THE
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE," a handout which covers
your contracting opportunities with the United
States Air Force. It details Air Force Materiel
Command (product centers, logistics centers, test
centers, and science/technology activities); other
Major Commands and Buying Activities; and the
current name, address an d telephone number of your
point of contact for all AF activities having a
contracting function.

Investable You

Those of us who work for a living (most of us,
right?) can improve our financial positions with
wise investing. Unfortunately, most of us can't
afford the kind of advice billionaires get.
Fortunately, two GEnie areas in particular can help
with that.

Take Stock

Start with Charles Schwab Brokerage Services on
GEnie. In Schwab you can:

 * Trade stocks, bonds, options, and mutual funds.
 * Enter special trade conditions on your orders.
 * Receive REAL-TIME quotes direct from the floor
   of the exchange.
 * Check trade confirmations online.
 * Review detailed account balance and position
   data in your Schwab Brokerage Account.
 * Cancel or change any outstanding trade orders --
   whether or not they were placed online.

Schwab's fast securities trading comes at a
discounted price. Every online trade executed on
GEnie receives a 10 percent commission discount off
already low Schwab rates.

Schwab also provides the Investor's RoundTable for
the convenience of GEnie members so they may share
information. Topics include information for the
beginning investor (such as "Where to begin ...
first questions"); stocks and bonds and associated
terms ("19 ways to save money while investing");
options and futures; mutual fund information
("Reading a prospectus"); and general discussions
of the market. There are also categories dealing
with technical analysis, investment strategies,
computers and telephon e investment systems,
resources (books, associations), and Dow Jones News
Retrieval. Separate Categories consider specific
companies and industries in the news, and analyze
entire industries.

Your Own Dow

As you search for further information, make use of
Dow Jones News Retrieval, which provides access to
over 50 databases containing company and industry
news and information, as well as the full-text of
hundreds of national and regional publications.
Bottom line: they are in a unique position to
provide timely, detailed business information
crucial to making investment decisions.

For instance, if you want to know about a
particular company, Enhanced Current Quotes offers
quotes on common and preferred stocks, corporate
and foreign bonds, mutual funds, U.S. Treasury
issues and options. (Quotes have a minimum
15-minute delay during market hours.) Dow Jones
News has stories from The Wall Street Journal,
Barron's, Dow Jones News Service and the Canadian
Dow Jones News Service, available within seconds of
distribution and back as far as 90 days. Disclosure
Database even has 10-K extracts , company profiles
and other detailed data on 12,000 publicly held
companies from reports filed with the SEC and other
sources.

It's Who You Know

Information is the key to success these days, and
GEnie keeps you supplied with the kind of contacts
you need to ensure your personal financial future.
All you have to do is take advantage of it!