Why real estate, or why property, some people ask when looking for an investment. Well, as far as I am concerned, real estate/property investment is, and always has been, the most powerful type of investment for building wealth. It has been said that over 90% of the world's millionaires got there by owning property. The reason property is such a powerful way to build wealth is due to one key concept: leverage.Once I realised this, I...more
Happy NEW YEAR!!!!! I hope you rang in the New Year with your loved ones and I pray that you had a wonderful time doing it. As the New Year approaches, how do you plan to take your business to new heights? Will you cut out unproductive products, services, and marketing tactics? Will you finally have set hours? Will you advertise more and where? Will you hire extra help so you can concentrate on more important tasks? What ever your goals are, make...more
It's early January as I sit down to research and write this newsletter. I launch my web browser, surf over to MSN.com, surprised to find the feature article displaying a picture of Santa Claus with the caption "It's not too late to have your presents arrive on time." Somebody's been procrastinating - either Bill Gates or me (maybe I didn't refresh my browser). Or maybe my computer is trying to give me the hint to stop procrastinating and set about the task of writing this newsletter. Nah... Bill Gates must be the guilty one!When it comes to procrastination, most of us are quick to acknowledge the problem and are s...l...o...w... to do something about it. I surf over to dictionary.com and look up the definition of procrastination, hoping it means something other than I'm lazy.pro·cras·ti·nate:v. intr.To put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness.v. tr.To postpone or delay needlessly.Hmmm... this is getting serious. I better stop shillyshallying and get some help. Didn't realize I was delaying needlessly. Off I go in search of solutions to my problems. It doesn't matter that it's now lunch time - no point in...more
What does it mean to refinance? Why would someone want to refinance? There are many cases when a person would refinance. When we use the term refinance, we are typically referring to a loan such as a car or house loan. It may also be a business loan. For the purpose of this article, we are going to discuss the home loan but most of the same rules...more
It's the time of year when calendars crowd out the books and magazines in bookstores and are even on sale at reduced prices. But there's a special kind of calendar that all good public relations professionals use - the editorial calendar. According to Shannon Cherry, using editorial calendars is one of the most effective, yet most...more
Ok, you say, I know I need a budget, but how do I prepare one? The most common budget period is one year, but this can vary depending on whether or not your business has seasonal or cyclical fluctuations. For example if you run a Christmas decorations shop, or a costume shop your business is going to peak during certain times of the year. The budgeting process usually begins with the collection of accounting data. In order to prepare a strong and achievable budget, you must analyze each item of income and expense from the prior year. If your accounting system is a mess and the figures are inaccurate, the numbers used in your budget will be useless. This is why it is so important to keep good records. Quicken and Quickbooks are excellent programs to help you with setting up an accounting system that is easy to use and understand. If you can review your prior year's figures with confidence, try to cultivate your strong areas and look for ways to increase performance or volume. For example, if one particular product sold well, take a closer look at that product. What you did to market it, etc. and try to model your other products in the same vein to accomplish the same results....more
For those of you who were not psychology majors the "psyche" is someone's mind. What motivates them. What are they thinking. How can you better understand them. All of which is important to those of us in lease purchasing. In fact, it is...more
Got a huge need for publicity and a tiny publicity budget? You don't need to have a Madison Avenue-sized advertising budget to make your name known. Here are five ideas to help you promote your company:1. Write a column. Go to a local paper, no...more
Are you ever frustrated or hesitant when you talk to prospective customers because you can't readily explain why they should come to you rather than go to your competitors? Sure, you might have your 30-second elevator speech, but then they ask...more
What is a portfolio and do I really need one? A portfolio is simply a group of investments held by an investor. It's a very carefully chosen selection of businesses and generally, yes; it's a good idea to have one. Let look at it this way....more
If you don't have much Blackjack experience, it can be daunting stepping up to the tables for a game. You can, however, hide the fact of your inexperience very simply by remembering these straightforward rules. (Note - the rules of BlackJack...more
Investing in the stock market is not purchasing a stock at 25 dollars a share, hoping it will go to 35 so you can sell it, then hoping it will drop back to 25 so you can buy it back, so that you can sell it again at 35, and so on and so forth. In my...more