August 31, 2004
How To Earn A Fortune By Giving People What They Want
In 10+ years of educating myself about topics such as personal development, marketing, sales, internet marketing, product development - I've depended ALLOT on learning from others.
In that time I could literally count on my two hands the number of products that REALLY impressed me by getting right to the point and delivering as advertised.
Tens of thousands of books, seminars, workshops, newsletters,magazines...
And less than 10 times I could think of where I've been "taught" what I wanted in a purely efficient and content-rich way.
How about you
How much time have you wasted wading through the forest looking for a branch of knowledge in total frustration
Like anything else, where there's a problem, there's an opportunity.
Understand what value your knowledge provides to your customers, deliver it quickly, and you can rake in the profits, make a massive difference in people's lives and set yourself aside from 90% of your competition.
So how do you improve the value of your products
Continue reading "How To Earn A Fortune By Giving People What They Want"August 30, 2004
Debt Collecting Q and A
Q) Are there any laws I must follow in pursuing debtors
A) Yes. And no. If you are employed by a collection agency you are bound by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act of 1974. This law should be available at your collections agency or you might find a copy at your library (I cover the main points of this law in my book). The law governs such things as the times during which calls can beamed, things you can and cannot say and so on. A collection agency is largely responsible for the training and education of its own collection agents.
If you are a private business you are really governed only be the unwritten laws of decent human conduct. Harassment is contacting someone with the intent to annoy. You are contacting with the intent to collect a legally incurred debt, so you are covered. Now, you obviously can't beat someone up or threaten him or her with harm but you can speak plainly and directly as someone who is owed money - and so you should. Say what you wish to say and think about what would strike a nerve with the debtor. Confront him with his actions in a straightforward manner and don't worry about being thought "mean." Debtors need to hear the truth whether they likeit or not.
The thing you need to be aware of is harassment. You won't cross the line into being guilty of this if you keep your focus clear - and that's collection of the debt. Don't heckle the debtor or engage him in a personal battle. Keep it on a professional level. Be aggressive and use your good sense. Stay with techniques that are strong and just and you'll be in good shape.
(End)
By Jim Finucan © Tiare Publications Group
Jim Finucan is a 15-year collections veteran whose techniques have proven to double collections time aftertime. They're laid out in "Past Due - A Debt Collection Manual." More info sat: https://www.tiare.com/pastdue.htm
August 27, 2004
Financial Middleman for Small Business
Small online businesses are mostly represented by home-based entrepreneurs. In this regard any payment scheme or system should meet at least two criterions:
First. It should be relatively cheap. Individuals are usually not enjoying huge investment potential in contrast with legal entities. Second. It should lead to complete automation of financial transactions as a result of lack of time or inability for the majority of entrepreneurs to hire support stuff to serve these transactions.
In short, it all comes down to the shortage of money and time. For these simple reasons, sophisticated e-commerce systems based on merchant accounts are expensive, hard to establish and support for an average entrepreneur. That is why third party payment processors that will handle all online orders on your behalf became widely popular among small businesses. They require very little effort to establish and even less effort to support. In most cases they will provide you with completely automated as well as quick and reliable for your customer way of payment.
Continue reading "Financial Middleman for Small Business"How To Avoid Paying Too Much Estimated Tax
Many self-employed people and small business owners make quarterly estimated tax payments at both the federal and state level. (Sigh!)
Now that we're past the year's half-way point, this is a good time to take a look at how much you've paid in so far, and whether you need to make any adjustments to this year's remaining two quarterly estimated tax payments.
NOTE: If you're newly self-employed, and perhaps unfamiliar with the government's estimated tax payment schedule, here are the due dates for the Year 2003 quarterly estimated tax payments:
QTR 1: April 15, 2003
QTR 2: June 15, 2003
QTR 3: September 15, 2003
QTR 4: January 15, 2004
The form used to accompany the payments is Form 1040-ES. You can download the form and its instructions here:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040e03.pdf
Continue reading "How To Avoid Paying Too Much Estimated Tax"August 26, 2004
Practical Money-Saving Tips For Small Businesses
One of the primary concerns all small businesses have is saving money. When it's time to trim the fat, most look for one giant expense to decrease or eliminate in order to stay within budget. More often than not, it doesn't work that way.
Most budgeting experts will tell you that re-evaluating your overall expenses and cutting each by just a bit will actually gain you more ground than doing without something major that you really need. Here are a few ideas of areas to look at and costs to reduce that can have a major impact on your overall profits.
1) Internet Access - Every online business owner must have access to the Web. But consider this. The market is so flooded with ISPs that you have a lot of room to dicker. Start by searching the Internet under keywords like "cheap internet access" or "discount isp" to bring up lists of possibilities. Then, do one of two things.
Continue reading "Practical Money-Saving Tips For Small Businesses"August 25, 2004
Taxing Times ... The Home Office Deduction
Yay! It's tax time again (or near enough). I can't wait. Just love this stuff. Not! OK, I know it's boring, I know your eyes glaze over at the mere thought of all those forms and paperwork but it has to be done so let's just bite the bullet and get on with it.
Now let's start with the fact that there's no substitute for a qualified professional when it comes to this sort of stuff so I'm not going to attempt a comprehensive survey of everything you need to think about when it comes to tax and your home business. What we're going to look at in this article is *one aspect* of home business taxation in the U.S.: the home office deduction. By having a working knowledge of this deduction BEFORE you hand everything over to your accountant will not only save both of you a lot of time (and therefore expense), you will be able to make sure you're keeping good records for everything you need to. Although this article considers U.S. tax law, many other countries have enacted similar laws so if you're outside the U.S., check with your local tax office to see what comparable deductions may be available in your country. I know, for example, that the Australian home office deduction is very similar.
Continue reading "Taxing Times ... The Home Office Deduction"Google IPO and its effect on the Venture Capital Industry
"Will the Google IPO have any impact on the Venture Capital market" FundingPost (https://www.FundingPost.com) surveyed 32 Venture Capitalists and Angel Investors for their opinions. FundingPost is happy to share these responses from leading venture investors as it should help guide CEOs of emerging companies who plan on raising capital today:
1) Google raised $25 million from Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers. Would you have invested in Google's Series A round if they had presented to you
Joe Rubin, Director, FundingPost: "We received mixed answers - the Angel Investors basically said `yes' as they liked the technology."
Atul Madahar, Principal, TL Ventures: "No, because it would have been too difficult for us to really understand the superiority of their engine without working code. Also Yahoo was the dominant search engine at the time followed by half a dozen other engines, meta-engines, etc."
Continue reading "Google IPO and its effect on the Venture Capital Industry"August 24, 2004
Cash Flow Top Ten List!
Are good relationships the result of good cash flow It certainly is easier to be nice to people when money is not a problem! However, since good cash flow can be influenced by good relationships, check out this Top Ten List of People who may or may not have influenced your cash flow by what they taught you. Did you learn the lessons
10. The Person Who Taught You to Save
Who was the one in your family who always had a little extra when you had none Sometimes a sibling can be the teacher of savings by always having enough money, and sharing with large interest payments!
9. The Person Who Said, "No!"
Most parents try to teach children the value of delaying gratification. Many fail because they can't wait to give! Often the "No!" lessons are taught by athletic coaches and music teachers. Who tried to teach you "No!"
8. The Person Who Taught You, "It's Fun to Wait!"
My Dad tried to teach me the fun of waiting by taking me fishing. He also tried to teach me that it is more fun to wait until cash is in hand to make that "important purchase."
Continue reading "Cash Flow Top Ten List!"The Real Truth About 'Net Finance... How To Start A Million-Dollar Empire On A Shoe String Budget
Splattered across the media channels in the UK lately has been a surge of Internet failure related news.
After millions of pounds/dollars have been spent in the development of an exciting new venture, a couple of years down the line the company has realised that the gold mine they thought they were sitting on wasn't really a gold mine... it was a flop. Millions wasted.
They had hundreds of employees... millions in the bank, plus enough venture capital to enable them to last a lifetime. But even with all of this support and monetary backing, they go bust and wind up in financial ruins.
So what went wrong Is the Internet to blame
Not likely. The good news is there's a flip side to that coin. Individuals who are starting with less than a couple of hundred bucks are grossing PERSONAL incomes of $50,000 per month or MORE. How can this be possible
Continue reading "The Real Truth About 'Net Finance... How To Start A Million-Dollar Empire On A Shoe String Budget"Where to Find a Cash Windfall of $10,000 to $1,000,000--You Never Knew You Had
There is a rather famous true story called "Acres of Diamonds".
It is about a successful farmer who risks everything searching the African continent for diamonds. Ultimately he dies sick and penniless, while the new owner of his farm uncovers on his property the largest single diamond ever known to man.
Point of fact: After helping hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs and business owners, I'll lay odds that story is true for YOU in more ways than you are currently willing to admit to yourself.
No matter where you are on the success continuum, your ability to generate tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in immediate windfall income is well within your reach.
Continue reading "Where to Find a Cash Windfall of $10,000 to $1,000,000--You Never Knew You Had"