SPECIAL TO NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Starting a business has long been part of the American Dream.  However, it can be intimidating.  Someone who has a novel idea or a special skill may not know the first thing about reading a balance sheet or whether to establish their company as an LLC or a corporation.

SCORE, a nonprofit organization that helps small businesses get up and running, has created a useful resource booklet called, How to Really Start Your Own Business that provides tips and advice for aspiring  entrepreneurs.  The resource is now available at its eight offices across New Jersey and is also available in a  digital format that can be downloaded.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

NOW THAT'S FUNNY

If you want a good career that pays well, avoid journalism, especially if you have college loans to pay off.  Turns out journalism offers one of the worst returns on investment of almost any career choice you can think of.

This information is available in a study that analyzes the ROI, or return on investment, that a college degree will give in a specific career.  The best ROI comes from being in advertising or marketing, with economics a close second.  These careers offer about $100,000 in median pay.  By contrast, a journalism degree will only earn you about $37,000 a year, which means you will need 31 years to pay off your college loans.  That’s breaking news that breaks the bank.

Considering I’m in journalism, I can’t say I’m shocked.  I’d even say that sounds optimistic, because you only earn $37K if you’re working.  Many newspapers and magazines are closing or downsizing - not hiring.

In a blog post by Ken Layne on Kinja.com, Mr. Layne points out that going to a maritime college and sailing the seven seas is a much more reliable way to make a living.  Or, you could take Mayor Bloomberg’s advice to students and skip college altogether to become a plumber.

BY 

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

A lot of people may not realize that New Jersey ranks seventh in the United States in wine production. Senator Donald Norcross believes that our state wines can compete with the finest bottles produced around the world.

The Senate Economic Growth Committee advanced legislation that will expand the development of the wine industry in New Jersey by a 5-0 margin on Monday.

“Focusing our efforts on promotion, education and research with additional funding will help to boost the industry, making New Jersey’s wineries stronger and more prosperous,” Norcross said, according to Politicker NJ. “Our wineries are not only great tourism destinations, they also are job creators that help to foster economic development across the state.”

An Associated Press report in Newsday says the legislation will establish the New Jersey Wine Board, which will be responsible

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

In spite of what a lot of our losing tickets have been reading, New Jersey has been a pretty good place to play the lottery these days.

The state has produced four major prize winners so far this year, led by the $338.3 million annuity Powerball jackpot won in March by Pedro Quezada of Passaic.

This past weekend saw two more winners come from New Jersey. Philly.com reports that the winning ticket for a $30 million Mega Millions jackpot was sold at Vineland Truck Stop of Atlantic County. This win came only two weeks after Giuseppe Garofalo of Tinton Falls claimed half of a $198 million annuity grand prize in the May 17 game.

Perhaps the luck rides in the buyer’s location. Nj1015.com reported that Tinton Falls residents Celeste and Joseph Tamburello won a $70 million annuity jackpot in Powerball back in March 2012.

BY REBECCA SHEEHAN

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

All residents know that living in the Garden State can be very expensive. The cost of living along with highest property taxes around can be a constant tug on a family’s checkbook, but now NJ101.5.com is reporting that we now have the most expensive car repairs as well.

CarMD recently conducted a study dealing with where your state falls when it comes to the cost of fixing your automobile. The study reported that when the dreaded check engine light illuminates on the dashboard, drivers in New Jersey now pay the most in the nation to have it diagnosed and repaired, at an average cost of $392.99.  The data collected was based on the Corporation’s analysis of more than 160,000 repairs made on vehicles with check engine light problems in 2012.

For New Jersey drivers, the “check engine” light on their dashboards probably should read “get out your checkbook” instead, according to a survey of auto repair costs released this week by CarMD.

 “CarMD taps our extensive Vehicle Health Index check engine light database to rank repair costs by state, providing the industry and consumers with insight on trends that impact cost of ownership and vehicle life,” said Leon C. Chen, CEO, CarMD.com Corp

BY REBECCA SHEEHAN

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

In today’s dwindling economy, job layoffs across the board are becoming all too familiar. Whether you put in 25 or five years of service to your career, it all hurts just the same and Friday the newsroom of the New York Post received the dreaded layoff announcement.

According to Capital’s source, Friday’s round of layoffs was foreshadowed last month when New York Post editor Col Allan announced he was seeking a reduction of 10 percent of the newspaper’s staff. A memo from Allan provided to Capital by a source and first published by Jim Romenesko broke the news that the Post was laying off a total of 13 employees today "across the organization."

Back in May, Allan and the Post offered voluntary buyouts to newsroom employees. With the buyouts the newspaper is aiming to reduce its headcount by 10 percent through these buyout packages. If employees were not willing to step up and accept the buyout packages, Allan also indicated the paper could achieve the 10-percent reduction through "other measures if necessary," suggesting that layoffs are possible if not enough employees accept the buyouts.

WWW.NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

NOW THAT'S FUNNY

Governor Christie is rolling in dough.  No, he’s not off his diet!  I’m talking about money.  His campaign coffers already have $6.5 million in donations, and there is still five months till the election.

As reported on North Jersey.com, Christie has the most money of any New Jersey gubernatorial candidate ever – except for the two rich candidates that were able to finance themselves.  One of those  was Jon Corzine.  He later lost track of $600 million when he was running MF Global, but when it was his own money he was able to use it wisely when campaigning.

Christie’s popularity extends beyond New Jersey, and he gets lots of support from other parts of country.  Mark Zuckerberg held a fundraiser for him in California.  That’s a friend.

His main challenger, Democrat Barbara Buono, is behind him by 30 points in the polls.  This may be because people think that she and Nancy Pelosi are the same person.

CEO, BIZ2CREDIT

SPECIAL TO NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Alternative lending boomed in 2012, in part, because these financial companies had invested in technology that enabled them to make quick, efficient funding decisions. Even though their interest rates are typically higher than those of traditional banks, their activity in small business lending grew because of their ability to provide money to borrowers in a very short amount of time. Sometimes the turnaround time can be only a few days, whereas it takes banks longer to process paperwork and make decisions.

The downward spiral of former Lehman Brothers and UBS financier Jeffrey Horan began with a helicopter crash in 2001 that nearly cost him his life. Slowly following the crash, Horan, 43, started to lose clarity and his sanity by spending millions of dollars on fancy gifts for people he barely knew, including the purchase of a $460,000 Lamborghini to a New Jersey contractor.

According to the lawsuit filed by Horan’s current legal guardian, lawyer and more notably brother, Larry, Jeffrey’s generosity in bestowing expensive gifts to strangers was part of “strange, illogical and self-destructive behavior and improper and erratic financial transactions that resulted in the loss of millions of dollars,” during 2010.

On top of the Italian luxury car he purchased for NJ contractor, Alex Gershkovich, the suit claims Horan also handed him $600,000 to work on his Upper East Side apartment, as well as handing Erika Ortiz, from Queens a very chunky handout including a $72,000 Mercedes and $300,000 in change to her account.

SPECIAL TO NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

COMMENTARY

In an op-ed Senator John McCain bemoans the fact that American cable and satellite subscribers are being ripped off, because they do not have the ability to cancel channels they do not watch…and for which they have to pay now.

The senator then cites how iTunes and Netflix are providing consumers with much more choices than the traditional entertainment suppliers. So what is the problem? The marketplace is rising to the occasion; newcomers are giving consumers the opportunity to pay for only what they want.