Category: entrepreneur

ࡱ> 
;=
:!` !bjbj .*>> 2
( ( ( ( ( 


$Gh




( ( (((

( ( (
((:,l(  sZ

.
0R77l7l(
”%
(=
Q











D
Go For The Gold!

Perhaps youve planned it from the beginning, or maybe youve taken years to decide. Somewhere down the line will come the time to sell your business, and you want to make sure you come out on top.

I sold my business is a magical phrase for entrepreneurs. It conjures up of pictures of wealth, leisure and exciting new challenges. For many entrepreneurs, its the goal from day one.

Selling might not be everyones objective when theyre starting out, but it should be says Ned Minor. Mr. Minor is a transaction attorney in Denver, and the author of Deciding to Sell Your Business: The Key to Wealth and Freedom. It seems eventually, every business owner leaves their business either sitting down at a deal table or feet first on a stretcher.

The idea of working until your last breath is not uppermost in our minds when we start out on that exciting roller coaster ride known as entrepreneurship. But if you arent already planning a more graceful exit, you may come out on the short end of the stick.

When starting a business were usually so busy with the details involved in making it an eventual success that selling out is the furthest thing from our minds. But the day you start building should be the day you should start designing your exit. It should be the ultimate goal of your success.

Many entrepreneurs are successive business builders. The fact that they sell one business doesnt mean retirement for them, it just means the opportunity to start another business that has been lurking in the back of their minds. In fact many entrepreneurs enjoy the building up of a business almost more than the profitable success it becomes.

What does a saleable business look like? Its saleable if its scalable says Minor. There are small-and-steady businesses sold every day, but the big bucks come looking for a business that has huge growth potential. Every buyer thinks that he/she is smarter than the seller, and that they can double or triple the present business its doing. A business will fetch the best price only when buyers believe they can take advantage of significant future growth potential.

Selling a companys future upside however, means proving your previous growth and validating your future growth strategy. You should start with 2 years of audited financials to backup the historical growth. Then be prepared to explain your business strategy and how it fits into the overall market. Be it through acquisitions that youve grown, then show how many more acquisition targets are still in the market. If through new product development, be prepared to give the details of your R&D pipeline and your ideas for future products.

Now as for buyers, there are two types. There are financial buyers who will typically pay a lower price because they have a fire-sale mentality. You need to find the strategic buyers out there, and paint a picture for them. Show them a great customer relationship, a great piece of intellectual property, an advantage in time to market, or a key employee. Show the strategic buyer how one plus one equals three.

Then again, why settle for just one buyer when you could have two? Having another buyer in the wings is a vital strategy in the sale process. Having a strong and visible alternative makes any acquirer sit up and take notice. There needs to be tension to the deal. Each side wants the other to think that theyre about to walk away; its the tension that gets the deal closed.

The best buyers are large, high-flying public companies with broad, strategic agendas and cash to spare. Selling to a public company also has other advantages and tangible benefits. Many transactions leave the seller with a fistful of stock, or worse, a long-term payout. A publicly traded acquirer makes an eventual cash payout more assured. Be sure to make your business sale more than a sale of your personal network and capabilities. Make it look like its worth the asking price, especially if youre planning to leave after the sale.

Build a strong management team that can carry on when youre gone. A team with clear policies and procedures, and a broad customer base which are the underpinnings of value. Your business should not just run without you, but be positioned to grow without you. Make sure your key employees are given incentives to stay on after you go, and make sure you communicate with them during negotiations. Its crucial to minimize disruption.

The sale of a business is complex. If youve been in business for 10 years, then it has 10 years of potential liabilities, lawsuits, and bad accounting. Buyers want to know exactly where the business stands, so extreme diligence and complete disclosure on your part is essential. Sometimes what the buyer requests during negotiations is mind-boggling and you should hire some outside help to put it all together.

Getting the deal closed takes the talents of several people, and heres a list of who youre likely to meet on your way to closing.

On the Buyers Side:
CEO: The chief executive needs a vision of how the new company will fit into the existing organization.
CFO: This is the detail person, and a professional skeptic. In the long-term view, he/she will take the heat if reality doesnt live up to expectations.
CPA: The buyers CPA (or accounting firm) will validate the sellers numbers. Dont be surprised if the CPA doesnt argue for a lower purchase price based on historical profits. These are the bean counters of the deal.

On The Sellers Side:
Investment Banker: He/she is a professional quarterback keeping both teams moving toward the goal. He keeps one eye on the sale price, and the other on the strategic best interests of the business owner.
Transaction Attorney: Hes the referee there to make sure no one gets hurt. The transaction attorneys focus is the sale contract, but he/she can also handle communication with the buyer.
CPA: The sellers CPA should be advising the seller on the personal tax consequences of the deal, and how to handle the after-tax proceeds.

And you thought it was going to be easier to sell it than to start it, didnt you? Remember, no deal is a sure thing until its done! Perhaps the only sure thing is that selling a business is never simple. It can be the most harrowing, and the most rewarding experience in the life of an entrepreneur. Take it slowly, with planning, strategy and guidance. Each step of the process can add value to the company, and get you closer to the finish line.

!!hthsZhsZ5>*
 
8
9
pq34()gdsZ!


+J!!
^gdsZ
&FgdsZ
^
gdsZ
&F
gdsZgdsZ
,1h
/ =!”#$%
@`@sZNormalCJ_H
aJmH sH tH DADDefault Paragraph FontRiRTable Normal4

l4
a(k(No List*


89pq

34

()+J@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@0
@
0
@
0

@
0
@0
@0
@ 0
@ 0

@ 0
@0
@0
0

!!!8


@

0(

B

S


 ?


t*
t*
’’
--
9
*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsplace8*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsCity
(>Hf3bp
h
t
t^t`OJ
QJ
o(hH

h
D
D^D`OJQJ^Jo(hH
o
h



^
`OJQJo(hH

h

^`OJ
QJ
o(hH

h

^`OJQJ^Jo(hH
o
h

^`OJQJo(hH

h
T
T^T`OJ
QJ
o(hH

h
$
$^$`OJQJ^Jo(hH
o
h

^`OJQJo(hH

h

^`OJ
QJ
o(hH

h

^`OJQJ^Jo(hH
o
h

^`OJQJo(hH

h
|
|^|`OJ
QJ
o(hH

h
L
L^L`OJQJ^Jo(hH
o
h

^`OJQJo(hH

h

^`OJ
QJ
o(hH

h

^`OJQJ^Jo(hH
o
h

^`OJQJo(hH
f3b>(>
  
  
  
  
  
  sZlu(Zt@

@
`@
Unknown

G
z 
Times New Roman5


Symbol3&
z 
Arial?5
 z 
Courier New;
Wingdings”h
%@F%@F


.

.!
240QHX)

?sZ2Go For The GoldBurton M ClementBurton M Clement


Oh+’0



,

L
X

d
p
x


Go For The GoldBurton M ClementNormal.dotBurton M Clement1Microsoft Office Word@@>I
@>I



՜.+,0

hp
 Northern Michigan University.

Go For The GoldTitle



 !”#$%&’()+,-./013456789<Root Entry
 FZ
>Data

1Table

KWordDocument
.*SummaryInformation(
*DocumentSummaryInformation8
2
CompObjq


 FMicrosoft Office Word Document
MSWordDocWord.Document.89q

How to Get A Credit Card
No Matter How Bad Your Credit Rating

Your credit is bad. Perhaps you have a string of unpaid bills haunting
your past. Maybe you declared bankruptcy within the past 10 years, or
defaulted on a student loan.

All of the above can block your access to obtaining a major credit card,
such as VISA or Mastercard.

But bad credit is not the only reason you can be denied a major credit
card. Some people simply have never used credit. People who like to pay
cash only, have never financed a car, taken out a college loan, or a
mortgage may have zero experience with credit. In that case, most card
companies will reject your application, not because you have bad credit —
but because you have no credit rating.

Many women who marry young and do all their borrowing under their husband’s
name often find themselves with no credit rating after they are widowed or
divorced. Thousands of women have been denied loans and credit cards on
that basis.

Still other people carry too much debt to be considered a good risk. If
you have a car loan, a student loan, a mortgage, two or three — out cards,
you are unlikely to be granted another credit card.

But in any and all of the above cases, you can still obtain a credit card.
No matter how bad your credit, and even if you have declared bankruptcy,
you can still be granted a VISA or Mastercard with a limit as high as
$5,000, if you know the write company to call, and how to make your
application.

We are going to reveal these card companies and the methods by which you
can obtain a VISA or Mastercard later in this report, but first, let’s talk
about some of the other things you really should know about credit cards,
including annual fees, interest rates, credit reports and more.

Your Credit Rating

How do credit card companies decide if you are a good credit risk or a bad
credit risk? Well, it’s sort of a Big Brother thing. There are several
large agencies in America which track the borrowing and buying behavior of
just about every single American who has borrowed money at one time or
another.

The three major credit rating agencies are:
Experian Equifax and Trans Union Corp. :

When you send in an application for a credit card, the card company
contacts one of the above agencies, which pulls your file, if one exists,
and let’s the company know if you have any bad debts in your background.

If you have never borrowed money or used credit of any kind, your name will
not appear in the data base of any of the above. If you have, there will
almost certainly be information about you. If you have ever defaulted on a
bill, or walked away from a debt owed, that information will be available.
If you have never defaulted on a loan, but have made frequent late
payments, that is recorded, too, and goes against your credit rating.

25 Percent Error Rate –

If this sounds a bit like Big Brother, most would agree with you that it is.
It’s scary to think that some large anonymous corporation is keeping a
file on you, but it’s true. Furthermore, they will share your file with
any lending institution that wants to know something about you. That’s the
price you pay to obtain credit. You’ve heard the statement, “there ain’t
no such thing as a free lunch.” When it comes to the game of credit, the
lunch is definitely not free, neither in the monetary sense, or in the
realm of personal freedom.

To top things off, credit agencies make errors in as many as one-fourth (25
percent) of all their reports. At this minute, false information about you
may be ruining your credit rating.

To check your credit rating for errors, call the agencies at the numbers we
provided above. They will request that you send them a written letter
asking for a copy of your credit report. They will send you a copy of the
information they have about you.

Now let’s look at how card companies make the big bucks — interest rates.

Interest Rates

A few decades ago there were laws against charging the kinds of interest
rates credit cards get today. Exorbitantly high interest rates were called
“usury,” and were forbidden by federal law. Just 30 years ago loaning
money at 20 percent would have landed any banker in prison. Such rates
were the territory of loan sharks and organized crime.

Today, however, it’s standard business. Some cards have rates approaching
21 percent. Some product manufacturers, such as Apple Computer, have
credit plans that push a whopping 23 percent.

Most credit card companies attract customers with super low interest rates,
sometimes as easy as 5 percent. But what they only tell you in the fine
print, which few people bother to read, it that the interest rate jumps
back up after six months. Many cards that start you out at 6 percent soon
jump to 18 percent, or higher. By that time, most people have chalked up a
balance and are stuck. Most people simply fail to notice when their rate
increases. Credit card companies count on that. They like who take no
interest in details. If you don’t watch them, they’ll watch you — and
your wallet — and dip into it in the most insidious ways.

No Annual Fee Cards

Some credit card companies charge no annual fee for use of their card.
Annual fees range from $18 to $55. You pay it every year simply for the
privilege of using the card. Other companies charge no annual fee. You
might think, then, that this is a better deal. Most often they are not.
Cards with no annual fee almost always have a higher interest rate. If you
leave a monthly balance, you’ll always pay more than the annual fee in
interest charges. Only if you never leave an unpaid monthly balance can
you benefit form a card with no annual fee.

Perks and Freebies

One of those insidious ways is the offer such perks as frequent flier miles
or annual rebates. Use the card so often, and get X amount of frequent
flier miles. Use your card, and get credit toward the purchase of an
automobile. Is this a good deal? Hardly ever. As you might have guessed,
the offer of rebates and gifts is simply an inducement for you to pay super
high interest rates. Unless you are a big spender and travel a lot, you’ll
rarely benefit from this kind of promotion.

Be Choosy

In short, never sign up for a credit card until you compare rates. Shop
around. Credit card companies are just as competitive as any other kind of
business. That means interest rates that vary widely. In general, never
go for a card that is five percent higher than the current prime rate.

How To Get A Lower Rate

What if you are already on the hook with a major credit card with an
agonizing rate of interest? Pick up the phone, call your card company, and
get tough. Often, if you ask for a lower interest rate, you’ll get one —
it’s as simple as that.

As further incentive, you can threaten to transfer your balance to another
card company with a lower rate. Many card companies are more than willing
to take you on as a customer by paying off one of their competitors for
you. Of course, you are then beholden to them. That’s okay if you score a
lower interest rate.

How Anyone Can Get a Credit Card

Now what about all of you “hopeless cases” out there. What if you have
deplorable credit, or no credit rating at all. You may have already been
turned down by a half-dozen card companies. What can you do?

First, you should think long and hard about why you want a credit card in
the first place. If you have a history of bad credit, a credit card may be
the last thing you need. Many people feel that credit cards and the debt
they lead people into is a modern form of slavery.

Credit cards are almost magically deceptive and alluring. They get at the
deepest psychological lever of the human mind — a lever which allows
people to have the feeling they are getting something for free, when in
fact, they are paying two, three, four, even ten times as much for that
product because of the interest they will pay on each purchase.

On the other hand, not having a credit card is becoming less and less
practical in modern America. You can’t rent a car without a credit card.
Carrying cash is dangerous. Checks are not accepted everywhere — and
traveling to another city or country is extremely difficult without the
confidence and identity a credit card brings.

A Secured Card

If you decide you really need and want a credit card despite your past
problems with credit, you should get what is called a secured credit card.
Even people who have declared bankruptcy are granted secured cards.

A secured card works this way: you pay a lump sum of cash upfront either
to your bank or the card company itself, usually from $200 to $2,500. The
card company will then grant your credit for up to 150 percent of the
amount of your deposit. If you pony up $500, you will be granted a $750
credit line. If you put up $1,000, you will get $1,500 in credit, and so
on.

Your deposit money will earn a very nice 4 to 5 percent interest while it
is held as collateral by your bank or the card company. The deposit money
acts like a buffer for the lender. In the event you default on your card
debt, the lender gets to keep your money. They may still incur a net loss,
but the risk is far less.

Additionally, the interest you gain on your deposit will offset the
interest on your monthly balance if you have one. If you get a secured
card with an 18 percent interest rate, you can feel good about the fact
that your pre-payment is earning 5 percent.

Which card companies offer secured credit card plans? The following:

CitiBank — Minimum deposit is $300, which earns 4%.
Call: 800-933-2484

Federal Savings Bank — Minimum deposit is $250, which earn 2.5%. Call
800-285-9090

Orchard Bank — Minimum deposit is $400, which pays 4% Call 800-873-7307

Key Federal — Minimum deposit is $300, which earns from 4% to 5%. Call
800-228-2230

Signet Bank — Minimum deposit is $200, which earns 5%.
Call 800-333-7116.

Using a secured credit card can also help repair your credit rating if you
use it responsibly over a number of years.
Even if you do not have bad credit, a secured credit card is recommended
for anyone who wants the safety and convenience of a credit card. Secured
cards are a safe, responsible way to control your spending, and you
actually earn money though interest on your deposit while you enjoy the use
of your card.

DISCLAIMER: At the time of writing the referenced banks, companies, and phone numbers were valid. However, with progress and the consolidation of so many companies they may now be outdated – but the concepts and points made are still good. Where you find references outdated – simply substitute the current company.

-30-

ࡱ> 
,.
+5@ bjbj22 ”$XXPPPPPPPdd ~
       $Rj
? P? PPT RPP  .PP@Zߥ
c( j 0 

ddPPPP
P(>,B$f? ? ddhDddh

777 words
Only 10 Years to Get to the Start Gate!

It seems hard to believe that it was in 1994 when we saw the first banner ad online that captured and monopolized our eyeballs. By the late 1990s, dot-coms flush with venture capital cash, operated with a money is no object attitude and the hype knew no end.

When the dot-com crash hit, it seemed that online advertising was a lost cause. Ad blockers killed the banner ads, and spam killed the e-mail campaigns. Users tuned out, and it seemed that marketers had killed the golden goose. But a funny thing has happened between then and now. Not only has online advertising and marketing endured, but it has emerged as an absolutely crucial part of todays marketing mix.

Online marketing brings new levels of reach, targeting and accountability, and has moved into the mainstream. Online advertising has become the solution to marketing problems at a level that other media havent been able to do.

The numbers back this up as shown by IAB and PricewaterhouseCoopers September report that online ad spending in the U.S. totaled $2.37 billion in the second quarter, a 42.7% increase over the same quarter last year. This shows the seventh consecutive quarter of growth, and the market today is growing at more than 20% per year.

Companies are spending at a level that is really pretty interesting. Consider Ford Motor Co, Tom Green the advertising manager of its truck division just finished a new season of marketing campaigns. Mr. Green says, we gave digital as much thought and attention as any other medium. Look at the numbers, he says, 80% of people who buy a Ford vehicle go to our Web site first. Half of all truck customers use online shopping sites. Youd be crazy as a marketer not to take this medium seriously.

That much attention and spending is the fact that Internet usage is now firmly in the mainstream and broadband usage has grown by leaps and bounds.
According to Forrester Research, 64% of U.S. households are online, with nearly 20% or 23.1 million homes, using broadband. Nielsen/NetRatings, which measures individual users rather than households, reported that 51% of July users connected to the Internet by broadband vs. 49% by narrowband, an industry first.

Today the Internet is everywhere and when its not, people notice and demand that it be even more available. Online advertising has matured and it enables marketers to target consumers in a fine-tuned fashion creating highly personalized user experience. Its as effective in getting across a communications and branding message as any other medium.

Online advertising also allows two-way interaction between advertisers and their targets, providing a real-time feedback loop thats invaluable. A marketer can establish and maintain a two-way dialogue with a consumer online, and no other form of advertising can do this as effectively.

For large advertisers such as Procter & Gamble Co., online lets them interact with groups of consumers more directly than ever before. This is demonstrated by being able to engage with a million consumer database on a monthly basis through their Club Olay program.

Online advertising supports an almost endless variety of messaging formats, from banner ads and e-mail messages to more elaborate interactive vehicles and microsites. Its the capability to combine the motion and animated visuals of television with close-up and personal interaction.

The results of online advertising campaigns can be measured precisely, making publishers accountable for the promises they make and marketers accountable to management for the success of their programs. Yet even though online advertising has asserted its strengths, real-world marketers have made online just another medium in their standard marketing mix.

More than anything, what online provides mainstream advertisers is another point of contact with the consumer at various stages of the buying cycle. So where is the evolution of online advertising today? Its been a crazy 10 years, but marketers say were closer to the beginning of learning how to take advantage of this new medium.

Online ads will get better targeted, with new concepts opening up new opportunities to marketers. We should see online ads becoming richer and more evocative, with animation and streaming video. If history is a guide, there will be ups and downs and the hype meter will spike at highs and lows, but the past has set the stage for future growth.

Marketers are on the cusp of a big trend now, made possible by the familiarity and true use of the internet as an advertising medium. This is the starting point, where the future growth in online advertising is just beginning to come into view. Where will you go from here?


3h)Eh{hdhdhd5>*
hd5
23: ;



45WXbc;<gdd



gdd 1h
/ =!"#$%
@`@dNormalCJ_H
aJmH sH tH DA@D
Default Paragraph FontRi@R
Table Normal4
l4
a(k@(
No ListB@

B
TOC 11$7$8$H$5CJOJQJDZ@

D Plain TextCJOJQJ^JaJF@

F
TOC 21$7$8$H$^CJOJQJJ@

J
TOC 3
1$7$8$H$^
6CJOJQJ$ 23:
;
 4 5 WXbc ;<00p0p00000000000 00 00 000000000000000@0E 0EK
u
 u

!u
T.~"u

r44
88
9*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsplaceB*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagscountry-region



&  oq33  Gina Gaudio-Graves)E4d@
(
FF `@
Unknown

G
z 
Times New Roman5


Symbol3&
z 
Arial5&
za

Tahoma?5
 z 
Courier NewQ&
{a

Microsoft Sans Serif"qh
cfcf


L
L$24d 3QH 

?4 777 wordsGina Gaudio-GravesGina Gaudio-Graves

Oh+'0

 
$
@
L
X
d
l
t
|
 777 words 
77 Gina Gaudio-Graves
ina
inaNormaluGina Gaudio-Graves1naMicrosoft Word 10.0@F#@†ߥ
@N ߥ



՜.+,0

hp The Abundance Group, LLCuLA 
777 wordsTitle

   !"$%&'()*-Root Entry
 F odߥ
/1Table
WordDocument

"$SummaryInformation(
DocumentSummaryInformation8
#
CompObjj

  FMicrosoft Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.89q

HOW TO START YOUR OWN
MOBILE LOCKSMITHING SERVICE

The locks on the doors on most homes keep the skilled burglar out
for about 30 seconds! This is especially true if the only thing
slowing him down is a standard key-in-the-knob lock.

Statistically, there’s about one residential burglary every 30
seconds in this country. Traditionally, as the economy falters
and times get harder, the number tends to rise.

Quite naturally, people are concerned and frightened. As a
result, locksmithing is not only one of the new “demand”
businesses, it’s rapidly becoming one of the more profitable
businesses for entrepreneurs with not too much capital to invest.

Today’s locksmiths are usually well versed in mathematics and
basic electronics. They almost always have to be, what with the
new types of locks being introduced. Today’s locksmith is more
likely to be known as a “Security Specialists,” then just
ordinary locksmith, as in the past.

Even so, most locksmithing businesses are still one-man
operations. In many instances, it’s a husband and wife family
affair, with the husband handling the mechanical end and the wife
doing the books and financial end of the business. Most of these
small operations concentrate on the repair side of the business,
and deliberately choose to remain small in size. As we will
discuss later, however, this need not be the case; these small
businesses CAN “grow up.”

According to the area in which he is located, and established,
well organized and trained locksmith may gross between $50,000
and $60,000 per year, using a van as a mobile “workshop,” and
space in his home as an office. Remember: As the economy turns
toward recession, burglaries increase and people become aware of
the need for better locks to protect what they own; thus the
locksmith enjoys an increased income during hard times.

Just because locksmithing is a “personal” kind of business, and
can be started on a shoestring and operated out of the home,
that’s not to say that a locksmithing service cannot be developed
into a million dollar business. On the contrary, there are a
number of operations in some of the larger metropolitan areas
that have several mobile locksmith vans on the road, in addition
to retail store locations. These operations are grossing well
into the million dollar figures every year.

It’s a matter of desire, determination and personal fulfillment
and satisfaction. Attitude, marketing skills and general business
knowledge are also positive attributes necessary for real
success. Very definitely, the sharp businessman with determined
ambition can dominate any market with a modern locksmithing
service.

The key ingredient to this business is the utilization of proper
marketing and selling skills. It goes without saying: you can
know all there is about the mechanical functioning of the
business, but without innovative marketing and selling skills,
your business will surely flounder.

However, given the marketing know-how, plus persistent sales
efforts, you can succeed in this business with the knowledge you
can acquire of the technical side. The success of any business is
built upon the marketing and sales expertise of its founder,
because after all, “mechanics” can always be hired, if you decide
to go that route rather than learn the trade and the business.

Your marketing efforts should stress the theme that your services
will allay the fears of your buyers. You want to get across to
your prospective customers the sense of security your service
will provide: You can make them safe in their own homes; no
longer will they have to worry about being rudely awakened in the
middle of the night by a burglar rustling around in their house;
no longer will they have to worry about coming home to a house
that’s been cleaned out or ransacked.

Once you understand that fear is a basic human instinct, it’s
easy to see that virtually everyone can be a prospect for your
service as a locksmith. Your potential market includes everyone
in your area, because everyone has possessions. So every
homeowner, every apartment dweller, every business owner, all the
schools, churches, government institutions, and a wide variety of
other commercial and industrial accounts can be yours.

In this day and age, new homeowners and apartment dwellers want
locks changed the day the move in, so that the former occupants
and other key holders will not have access to their place. In
addition, there will probably be the need for additional keys for
each member of the new family, now that new, safer locks have
been installed.

Commercial and industrial accounts present and even lucrative
market. larger companies tend to want their keys
“departmentalized,” so that office workers can get into the
building on weekends, but not into the factory or shipping areas,
and vice versa. Banks and savings institutions frequently need
the safe deposit locks changed.

Generally speaking, newcomers to this field should focus their
efforts on the commercial market is vast, and often up for grabs
in many areas. In addition, the profit margins in these areas are
excellent! With one of these accounts you’ll have to work paying
about $500 or more per visit, compared with $25 to $50 per visit
per residential job. With commercial/industrial accounts, there’s
also the possibility of ongoing service and maintenance.
Definitely, the commercial/industrial business is well worth
going after, and can put your business in the black very rapidly.
However, it does take aggressiveness, and the determination to
sell these accounts.

Start small, Consider working out of your home in the beginning.
Most of today’s successful locksmiths began by working out of
their homes, with the family car or van outfitted with the tools
and equipment needed. Such an approach will enable you to get
started for a little as $1,000. You should be aware however, that
this is just a beginning, and not all it’s going to take to
really establish your business. With this level of investment,
you’re more or less limited in the business you can handle and
the money you can make. Locksmiths who want to make the really
big money should be investing all their early profits into more
equipment and inventory up to a level where they can offer
complete full service locksmithing. Such a business would require
at least $5,000 in equipment, perhaps even $10,000, depending on
how many different services you want to offer. this estimate for
start-up costs does not include your van or inventory of spare
parts and new locks.

Perhaps a quick word of caution is in order here. You’ve no doubt
seen or heard some of the advertisements promising all kinds of
big money to be made with your own locksmithing service; “just
send for the learn-at-home correspondence course, and you’ll be
home free.” It’s true that you can earn big money in this
business, but as we’ve noted earlier, without a lot of sharp
marketing and selling expertise, plus at least the essential
equipment to handle the kind of work these courses teach,
enrolling in one of these courses will put you no further ahead
than you are right now. This business requires EQUIPMENT and
KNOWLEDGE.

You can make excellent money as a locksmith, so long as you
operate your business capably and in a professional manner. But
without a full line of the equipment required to handle a wide
variety of jobs, you will be limiting your total income
potential. The more you invest in quality equipment, the more
different kinds of jobs you can handle, and thus the more money
you’ll be capable of making.

This is definitely a business in which you decide for yourself
exactly how far and how fast you want to go. As we’ve said, some
operators are perfectly content to work out of their homes, using
a mobile van. They don’t want the larger problems involved in
hiring employees, or the expense of maintaining a retail
location.

But to make really big money in this business, starting small and
working out of your home, you should plan to put more mobile
trucks on the road, and as soon as possible, open a retail
location. Each mobile van will give you another satellite
business, and a retail location will afford you a base
headquarters for your mobile vans.

It is of the utmost importance that you build and maintain a
professional image as a quality locksmithing operation from the
start. Clinging to the craftsman type of image will be of
advantage only if you wish to stay in the “Mom and Pop” category.

You should endeavor to handle all jobs as quickly and as
efficiently as possible. Outfitting yourself and your help in
sharp looking uniforms will help. Making your calls in a clean,
well-organized van will also play an important part in the image
your customers have of your business. You want your customers to
have confidence in your business, and in the quality of the work
you do for them. When they do, you’ll find they are more likely
to pay their bills with fewer reminders.

Think of it like this: A large invoice presented by a man in a
clean uniform who drives up in a good looking truck and does
quality work is going to be paid more readily than one for $25
presented by a guy in grubby jeans who drove up in a 10-year old
decrepit truck.

With so many technological changes occurring within this field on
an almost monthly basis, it’s to your advantage to stay on top of
what’s happening within the locksmithing field. This means
subscribing to some of the better trade publications. You should
be attending the various Locksmithing Association promoted
seminars and workshops that offer ongoing help in both the
technical and financial side of this business. In other words,
you should plan to keep yourself up to date with a program of
continuous learning.

There are several ways to get started in this business. You can
buy an existing operation from a retiring craftsman. Ask him to
help you with the technical side of the operation while you spend
most of your time actively promoting and managing the business.
Or, you can hire the technical help you need, and the sales force
to build the business while you do the managing. You can enroll
in one of the popular correspondence courses, become involved in
the business as you learn from the various trade publications,
and progress at your own speed. Our recommendation is that you
learn the fiscal and management side of the business, and hire
others to handle the mechanical or technical side. Thus the
purpose of this report is to indoctrinate you to the business
side. To explain the technical details of this business would
take volumes and probably much of the information contained would
be out-dated by the time it came to press.

However, we will provide you with an outline of the most common
types of jobs a locksmith should be able to handle.

RECOMBINATION LOCKS: A customer may want to change an existing
lock to work off a new key–the most common type of lock being
the key-in-the-knob cylinder or pin tumbler lock. When the proper
key is inserted in the keyway, spring-loaded pins are pushed up
and out of the cylinder, allowing the plug to turn, and opening
the lock. When recombinating, you’re changing the depth of these
pins so that a new key is the only one that will work. Most
house, auto and padlocks are the pin tumbler variety. Different
brands of locks use different depths, space and keyways. But with
a given brand of lock, up to 50,000 variations exist. Thus, it’s
not always necessary to change the new lock.

COMBINATING ALIKE: Some customers will have a house or business
with several different locks and keys, none of them alike or
using the same key. Sometimes people will want to change to a
system that will require the least number of keys to carry
around. Here, you’ll be required to change the key coding so that
one key works all the locks. Sometimes this requires the
installation of common door hardware; however, in most cases,
you’ll find the same brand locks are used throughout the
building.

MASTERKEYING: Apartment owners and other commercial accounts may
want dual key access. This is done by using locks with dual pin
tumbler sets. One works with the apartment key, the other with
the master key. Keys are spoken of in terms of code numbers.
These are sets of digits reflecting the depth of serration. A
given lock is a master key setup might respond, for example, to
keys with code numbers 1-2-3-4-5 and 6-7-8-9. Mathematical
progressions are used in master keying.

LOCKOUTS: Frequently a person finds himself locked out of his
home, office, warehouse, car, etc. Invariably this happens at odd
hours of the day or night. So opening locks at odd hours of the
day or night will be a role you’ll definitely play live of your
customers. A typical pin tumbler lock can generally be picked
open in about 30 seconds, using either picks or a single piece of
spring steel and good wrist work. All locks have tolerances and
variations in manufacture which will allow you to push the
cylinder pins up and out of the way while exerting a turning
pressure on the cylinder itself.

AUTOMOBILE LOCKOUTS: This problem occurs frequently and will
require a different procedure. A tool called a “Slim Shim” is
often used here, and works on most domestic and many foreign
cars. this is pushed down between the glass and the weather
stripping on the door far enough to reach the back of the lock
cylinder on the door. You simply push down or pull up. A “button
popper” is also used, worked through the weather stripping on
vent windows in older cars, and angled back to the latch button.

LOCK INSTALLATION: Much of your time will be spent installing new
lock and door hardware. In many cases, homeowners and business
people will want to upgrade their security with the latest model
hardware for older homes, offices and other buildings. Many
locksmiths get involved in new construction of apartment houses,
condominiums, shopping centers and the like. Often you’ll be
adding more security to an existing door, such as installing a
deadbolt lock.

PANIC BARS AND DOOR CLOSERS: Many locksmiths working the
commercial or industrial market get involved in the repair and
installation of panic bars in public access areas. Panic bars are
those large bars you can push on to open the outside doors of
many public buildings. Door closers are those hydraulic devices
mounted at the top of these doors which return the door to the
closed position after it has been opened.

ALARMS, SAFES, AND VAULTS: The sale and installation of alarm are
a natural adjunct to the locksmithing business. Many larger
locksmithing operations move into this area, which is somewhat
specialized. Alarms can be the “perimeter” type which sound when
a door is opened after hours, or “area” alarms. “Space” or “area”
protection is generally preferred, and involves infrared,
ultrasonic or microwave sensors triggering alarms by detecting
movement.

Safe and vault work is another specialty. Some locksmiths have
major banks and savings and loan associations as clients. They
spend a good deal of their time changing safe deposit box locks
and maintaining vaults and the like. Gaining in popularity is the
safe and service of safes for homes and business use. You will be
exposed to all these specialties and to new technology at
seminars, conventions and workshops.

HIGH SECURITY WORK: A typical locksmith is a “general
practitioner,” while the high-security locksmith is a
“specialist.” High security work is often done for major
corporations, government institutions, large banks, race tracks,
museums and wealthy private individuals who desire maximum
security. Often this work involves access control systems using
card readers or voice print equipment, possibly combines with
electronic push button locks that work off a combination of
numbers known only to a few individuals.

In addition to these major areas of activity, locksmiths the
world over do key duplicating and impressioning, which is
replacing of lost keys with custom made copies, and a wide
variety of other types of sales, repair and service work.

In order to achieve maximum profitability as a locksmith, you
must be able to offer all these services to your customers. Locks
and security are the prime concern to your customer, and it
follows that when a customer wants help in this area, he wants it
taken care of immediately. Thus, you must position yourself to
handle this job immediately, or lose him to a locksmith who can
take care of his needs on the spot.

Do some market research. Analyze your local market area before
you embark upon this business. This can be done via letters to
the local locksmithing association, Chamber of Commerce, or even
by checking through the yellow pages. As important as anything
else, you’ll want to know how many locksmiths are already
operating in your area, and how much of the market you can expect
to attract with your business. Most industry experts agree that
any more than one locksmith for every 30,000 people tends to
saturate the market. However, you should study the operations of
the existing locksmiths to determine if you can capture a good
portion of the existing market by offering more and better
service, especially with well-planned efforts towards the
commercial and industrial accounts. In many areas, the
established locksmiths have been in business for 20 years or
more, and are not interested in expanding their businesses to
include the newer and more intricate types of protection
available.

Look your market over. Determine if there’s been any real effort
to “sell” the market on upgraded protection. Door-to-door sales
efforts; direct mail advertising campaigns; local “hard sell”
newspaper advertising; home protection and business security
seminars, are angles that can be used to launch your business.
These approaches should prove to be especially profitable if the
existing locksmiths have been sitting back and letting the people
come to them when they have a problem. Get to know the building
contractors and start bidding on the installation of locks on
their building projects. You will get your share of business,
even though at first you may get contracts only from the new
builders who have not had experience with the other locksmiths.

For a fast start in this business, we suggest that you set
yourself up with a van and take your business to your customers.
It isn’t absolutely necessary to buy a van off the showroom floor
and outfit it with all the equipment you’ll ultimately need for a
full service locksmithing business. That would be nice, but it
would probably run you close to $50,000 or more. By shopping
around, you should be able to pick up a good, late model van for
about $3,000. You might be able to work an even better deal by
leasing a new van, and writing off the payments as a business tax
deduction. One thing you’ll definitely want to consider is a van
that has a raised roof in order for you to stand upright in it.
After all, you’ll be doing most of your work in it, and to have
to stoop all the time would soon become quite tiring. Generally,
you can run a workbench down either or both sides of your van.

-30-

ࡱ> 
13
05@ bjbj22 ”&XXPPPPPPPd




d








EGGGGGG$RkP




kPP


P
P
E
E.6:,PP






E0R
ddPPPPP(






kkddHdddH

Work Your Hidden Profit Potential.

Direct marketing campaigns are truly effective when you precisely target customers likely to buy from you. This is done by Profiling and Modeling prospects and clients.

Dumb mass mailings are replaced with surgical campaigns that market to specific customers with accuracy using technology that is now available. Today, its possible to collect an enormous amount of information about customers, but to use it effectively you use it in profiling and modeling.

Both of these techniques are ways of applying external data to possible clients. They can be used to prospect for business or to zero-in on existing customers for your mailing. The goal is to predict behavior based on what you know about your customers.

These two methods are not mutually exclusive, and marketers often use them together. The difference is that profiling data is overlaid against an existing client database, and has a long life span. It can be used for several mailings, and in contrast modeling is used to sharpen the focus of a specific mailing.

In profiling start with the premise that you dont want to deal with a customer segment, but rather an individual customer. Break up your client segment into clients who share similar tastes and buying habits. Then use demographic and behavioral information to create a useful snapshot of the customer.

Begin to gather this information from your existing customer database noting such things as frequency of purchases, buying habits, responses to marketing offers, and repeat purchases. Then start with your perceived prospects using alternate sources of data from purchased sources. Use all this data to break your customers into clusters that share purchasing traits.

Obviously, profiling and modeling add to the cost of your mailing project. You may wonder why you shouldnt just stick to the old method of recency-frequency-monetary (RFM) analysis. The reason is that for RFM to work effectively you need data on the clients purchasing habits, and thats the rub! It only works for your existing customer and is of no use in finding potential clients.

What makes profiling/modeling cost effective is found in three current trends.
Rising mailing costs.
Computers able to compute mountains of data rapidly.
Higher quality customer data available.

In the past, direct marketers could mail out 400,000 mailings to find a strong market of 40,000 (1 customer out of 10 mailings was average). The dramatic increase in the cost of paper and postage has made this practice prohibitively expensive.

Computers today are capable of doing millions of computations per second. This makes analyzing mountains of data possible and not unthinkable anymore.

Higher quality customer data is more available today, and there are more sources available for obtaining it than ever before.
The result is that you can afford to do a lot of number-crunching before you spend a penny on postage. You can also weed out the useless names and mail only to your most likely prospects.

There are 6 factors to consider when building customer profiles:

Affinity profiling analyzes current buying habits to better match customer to product. Knowing what kinds of product a particular customer is buying gives you the ability to build an affinity matrix showing what related products would stimulate more sales from him/her.
Demographic and psychographic data is also used for profiling. Demographics tells you a client is a 29-year-old, unmarried, male who earns $45,000 and drives a 2-year old Lexus. Psychographic data suggests that single young men who buy status-symbol cars are excellent prospects for other highly visible status products. Combining the two types of data yields a customer profile to someone marketing, say, the latest cellular phone.
Lifestyle Coding is used to enhance basic demographic information. Simply put people in certain demographic categories will likely have similar hobbies and other interests.
Mapping is another useful tool in building customer profiles. Census data, topographic information, geographic coordinates, and zip code+4 postal data can be fed into a computer yielding maps that can be color coded to certain characteristics of consumers in particular neighborhoods.
Cluster Coding is a popular means of grouping people by lifestyle characteristics. Remember hearing the terms Urban Up-and-Comers, Settled In, and White Picket Fence used to describe market segments? These are known as clusters, each given a score according to affluence, social position, activities, and aspirations.
Survey data can be used to enhance demographic, lifestyle, and other data to build a profile. This is collected directly from your customers via application forms, surveys, and credit histories. This provides a more personal portrait of the customer than merely census or demographic data.

The Direct Marketer of today has become more of a surgeon than a shotgun hunter. Its no longer cost-effective to shoot at 400,000 prospects to get 40,000 clients, and with computers its easier to slice-and-dice data today.

$h)Ehchc5>*
#$

34e
f
]^ !/
&F
gdcgdc


./A,-

&Fgdcgdc 1h
/ =!”#$%
@`@cNormalCJ_H
aJmH sH tH DAD
Default Paragraph FontRiR
Table Normal4

l4
a(k(
No ListB

B

TOC 11$7$8$H$5CJOJQJDZ@

D
Plain TextCJOJQJ^JaJF

F

TOC 21$7$8$H$^CJOJQJJ

J

TOC 3
1$7$8$H$^
6CJOJQJ&#$

34ef]^ ! 



/./A
,-00000000000000000
0
0

00p00 000p0p0p0p0p 0p 0 0p 0p 0p 00p0p0p#$

34ef]^ ! 



@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@ 0@ 0
@ 0o{
00
o{
00
o{
00
o{
00
o{
00
LH< 0KGina Gaudio-GravesWa".5H6Rd

h

^`hH.

h

^`hH
.

h
pL
p^p`LhH.

h
@
@^@`hH.

h

^`hH.

h
L
^`LhH.

h

^`hH.

h

^`hH.

h
PL
P^P`LhH.
h

^`OJ
QJ
o(hH

h

^`OJQJ^Jo(hH
o
h
p
p^p`OJQJo(hH

h
@
@^@`OJ
QJ
o(hH

h

^`OJQJ^Jo(hH
o
h

^`OJQJo(hH

h

^`OJ
QJ
o(hH

h

^`OJQJ^Jo(hH
o
h
P
P^P`OJQJo(hH
Wa"H         
  
  
  )E4c@


P@
Unknown

G
z 
Times New Roman5


Symbol3&
z 
Arial5&
za

Tahoma?5
 z 
Courier NewQ&
{a

Microsoft Sans Serif;
Wingdings"1h
cfcf


$
$$r4  
3QH 

?4!Work Your Hidden Profit PotentialGina Gaudio-GravesGina Gaudio-Graves


Oh+'0



0
<
X
d
p
|



"Work Your Hidden Profit Potentialcr
orkGina Gaudio-Graveso
ina
inaNormaluGina Gaudio-Graveso1naMicrosoft Word 10.0@F#@f|
@ݟ



՜.+,0

hp 
The Abundance Group, LLCP$  A 
"Work Your Hidden Profit PotentialTitle

  !"#$%&')*+,-./2Root Entry
 Fġ
41Table
WordDocument

"&SummaryInformation(
 DocumentSummaryInformation8
(
CompObjj

  FMicrosoft Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.89q

ࡱ> 
35
2Q@ bjbj͘ ($
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
F
$F
’))))))$^RHM2
M2
2
b



2
2
’
’


:,2
2
*a쬟

’x0R
F
F
2
2
2
2
2

MMF
F



F
F


Lecture Notes
IRRESISTIBLE QUERY LETTERS

Test Your Idea:

To lead to a sale, your query must convince the editor that you have a clear idea of what you plan to cover in the article, and what approach you re going to take.

So before writing the letter, think your article idea through carefully, and picture yourself describing the article to a friend.

Find Your Angle:

Finding your angle is often a matter of narrowing your topic. A topic like Sports is far too general, narrow it to say, Table Tennis is better. Often, reducing the story to a single dimension e.g., focus on a key person, place, or event gives a salable angle.

When your subject is popular, you must give the editor a fresh approach. One way is to take an idea like Overcoming Failure and give it a twist to something like Failure Can Be Good for You. It neednt be exotic to sell, something as mundane as New and Improved has worked by adding a new ingredient to the usual.

Research Helps:

While many queries can be written entirely from your own knowledge, a little research can pay big dividends by seducing the editor. Facts sell editors on an idea. Editors look for queries with many specifics: Dont just write that Last year millions of people suffered from yeast infections. Tell how many millions and why!

Research both the topic and the markets youre aiming it at. A common reason for rejection is because of inadequate knowledge of the magazine.

Shaping Your Raw Material:

After you have the basics:
the idea
the slant/facts, and
the market

then youre ready to write your query. A good query starts strong, and never lets up until the editor is sold. Follow the two newspaper dictums; The five Ws (who, what, where, when, why) which explains the story immediately, and the inverted pyramid which emphasized putting the most interesting information first. Youll lose the editors interest if you save the best for last, and always remember EDITORS CUT FROM THE BOTTOM UP!

Page 2

3 Main Sections to a Query:

The Lead Paragraph
The Summary
The Authors Bio.

Each has a specific purpose: first, tell the editor what the story is, then why she/he should buy it, and finally who is going to write it.

The Lead is aimed to hook the editor and make them want to continue reading.
Once youve aroused the editors attention, move directly to a summary of the article.

Summary – This section should convince the editor that you know where you want to go with the article; it should outline the points you plan to cover or provide factual information about your topic giving only enough to prove that your story is real. Here you can mention your sources. Tell the editor wholl youll be talking to, and if experts are they on the cutting edge of todays technology. Also include here a working title for the article. Dont spend a lot of time trying to get a provocative headline, because titles are often changed by the editor before publication.

Authors Bio is where you sell yourself as a writer to the editor now that youve sold him/her on the idea. Dont be bashful; editors expect a bit of sell in the bio. Theres nothing wrong with saying, Im highly qualified to write this article because if a convincing reason follows. Start your bio with your publishing credits, and include magazines similar to the one youre pitching if you can.

-30-


)*;7 J c d e w


#
%
&


/CJco*x|(0IÿǿööÍÅÁÁ}hp;h|Qhh(lh< hD5 h>5 h<5hD h=5h= h/
5h/
h- h}5h}h>h2Iuh2Iuh2Iuh2Iuh2Iu5h1GCJaJh1G5>*
CJaJh3’5CJaJh1G5CJaJ1)*:;d e v w

&
h
^h
gd/

&F
gd/
gd/
^gd/
^gd}h
^h
gd}
&F
gd}^gd2Iuh
^h
gd2Iu
&F
gd2Iugd2Iu$
a$
gd1G


&
’






h
^h
gd>h
^h
gd< &
F
gd=^gd=h
^h
gd= &F
gd=^gd/
./deJK^gd<gd< &
F
gd<h
^h
gd< &F
gd>IJKļh}h}h-h-5hDhD5h<hhh>h>h>hp;hp;B*phhp;56B*phhzRJ56B*phh|Q^gd}gd-h
^h
gdD^gd<&1h
:p1G/ =!"#$`%
@@@NormalCJ_H
aJmH sH tH DAD
Default Paragraph FontRiR
Table Normal4
l4
a(k(
No List $)*:;d
e
v
w
&'./ d e J K 000
000000
0
00000
000000
000

0

0


0000000000000
00

0

0


0000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000I&  8


@

0(
 B 
S


 ?


J K )*:e
v
%.J K  
NWV~}Pf


^`o(.


^`o(
.

pL
p^p`LhH.

@
@^@`hH.


^`hH.

L
^`LhH.


^`hH.


^`hH.

PL
P^P`LhH.

^`o(.

0
^`0o(
.

pL
p^p`LhH.

@
@^@`hH.


^`hH.

L
^`LhH.


^`hH.


^`hH.

PL
P^P`LhH.NW~} |D        䔂       

s/
TE8G+?3*5"s} C | A I` (} +l1O_ @rL.ijc5>1″i’S7hcoUtw]oNR}L!XZ!!”@(“
##E$e$_6%7%&S&f&s&AW)i)*2*5*0g*lH+b+-R-}.r/*/2023}F34qa4m4Z5s5Y636n6t627*709
t9yw9:7;
j;p;V<<Ck=>D?S?3i?@u@A4B(CyEFGFIFvF|’GVH]3I-J;JzRJQLNe.OJPUP;NQsSlS
TrUTV~VWJ WJW*ZXzYOYZ .Z;ZiZsZ[[W[@[W
=)]M]^;;^U^Ck^_u_[naLb ccd9ekf<hEhOivij0~k(l,l|l$ mmAUmnEn ohqbr{NsgsBgt u2Iubu&vQvUvbw"w&w
z{{P|}Z~o~m0+C3i;E?al.oRTe@W6|A2*Zi~''ZD^$N Udv, O~tg43Ytu6CD)l$7RBHl<6p`.->}$4[,*EBiX?}puSc^o5R”SQVcM8BwX?U`qh ~=PO=]2qTbBvw7n8T;
UAi;1;t5
yXQ2XK3,
:QXvy%l2N3’1KPXmi }’DD|Qv)NUYG:0L!;KpTge&’-Nq52whP~4J}!$Bfkp%1GH*7o Je^gq!AeDrRy,q5*V#’57~bAnY--4a&c4Y=!hdo@
J
J
”

J
J

P@
Unknown

G
z 
Times New Roman5


Symbol3&
z 
Arial”h
V|&#F|&H 
 
$r4d


3QH-

?m
Lecture Notes




Oh+’0|

 


,
8
D

P

d
l
t
Lecture Noteso
ect ct
ct
ctNormal  rm2rmMicrosoft Word 10.0@
@’x
@Ir
@Ь

 

՜.+,0
hp|
 r
A


Lecture NotesTitle



 !#$%&’()+,-./014Root Entry
 Fp=t쬟
61Table
WordDocument

($SummaryInformation(
”DocumentSummaryInformation8
*
CompObjj


 FMicrosoft Word Document
MSWordDocWord.Document.89q

ࡱ> 
fh
eQ@ Bbjbj͘ )`:>
>
>
>
>
>
>
R
*****dR
xC++++++++022222225g2I:IB$.DRFC>
D-++D-D-C>
>
++2C111D-j>
+>
+021D-02111>
>
1++FѺ
*-11HC0xC1GT1”G1R
R
>
>
>
>
G>
1 +>+,,1W,${,+++CCR
R
D)*v1
R
R
*

HOW TO MANAGE HOME-BUSINESS CASH FLOW EFFECTIVELY

There’s something you can never afford to forget when you are running a
business out of your home — cash is king!

Whether it is a multi-billion dollar empire, such as Bill Gates’ Microsoft,
or the tiny mom-and-pop convenience store on the street corner, cash is the
life blood of the business.

In today’s uncertain economy with ever rising interest rates, many small
businesses with limited financial training are having problems staying
alive, let alone prospering. In fact, 63% of new businesses don’t survive
six years — and most work-at-home people fail within 6 months!

The primary reason is bad cash management. To many self-employed people
neglect their cash flow until it is too late to recover. Suddenly, presto!
it ‘s back to your office job! We don’t want that to happen.

So the big question is: will you be able to manage your cash flow
effectively? If you are not sure, then you are on shaky ground.

Les Masonson, author of Cash, Cash, Cash: The Three Principles of Business
Survival and Success, says cash flow is all about, “getting the money from
customers sooner, paying bills at the last possible moment, concentrating
money to a single bank account, managing accounts payable, accounts
receivable and inventory more effectively, and squeezing every penny out of
your daily business.”

Let’s break down Masonson’s tips one at a time.

FAST COLLECTION

In your business, you should collect money as fast as you can. To do so,
try these four things:

(1) Try to speed up customer orders by having them fax their orders to you.

(2) Send out your invoices the same day goods are shipped, not a week or
two later.

(3) Indicate on your invoice when payment is due, and specify the penalty
interest for late payment.

(4)Consider using a bank lock box (post office box strategically located
near customers to reduce mail time) to collect your mailed checks from
customers across the country. You lockbox bank picks up mail around the
clock including weekends, processes the checks and credits your account.
(Note: this last step is probably more appropriate for businesses grossing
more than $25 million annually. You may not be there yet, but keep it in
mind for when you get there)!

DEPOSIT CHECKS FAST!

This seems only obvious, but it’s extremely important. In fact, here are
Masonson’s six sure-fire suggestions for getting the fastest availability
on deposited checks.

(1) Always deposit checks the same day they are received. Don;t hold
checks until the next day because you lose one day’s float. Key point: you
can lose three days of float by not depositing Friday’s checks until
Monday.

(2) Obtain availability of 0 to 2 days on deposited checks. Don’t let
your bank give you the customer availability of 1 to 5 days. Be
persistent. Ask the bank for its “availability schedule” and scan it to be
sure you’re receiving fast availability of two days or less.

Each bank has its own availability schedule. This is used to assign check
availability to consumers, business (commercial accounts), and large
corporate accounts. Availability is the number of days until you can use
the money deposited by check as cash. For example, a $1,000 check
deposited today and assigned a one-day availability can be withdrawn as
cash tomorrow.

(3) Don’t deposit checks in a bank’s Automated Teller Machine or use the
Night Depository since you have no evidence that you actually deposited the
checks you said you did. Remember, you only receive a receipt that shows
the time and dollar amount on the deposit at the ATM, and you get no
receipt at the Night Depositor.

(4) MICR encode your customer’s checks (using a machine that prints
magnetic ink on the bottom of the check) with the dollar amount before
depositing them in the bank if you deposit more than 500 checks per month.
Banks charge 3 to 5 cents less for each encoded check. Used encoded
machines cost about $1,500. (Check your Yellow Pages under bank equipment
for dealers). Besides saving money, you may get another benefit: faster
check availability.

(5) Ask you bank about its deadline for receiving availability on deposited
checks. Some banks may require a deposit of an encoded check by 2 p.m.,
even though the bank is open to 5 p.m. Make sure you make this deadline,
otherwise you lose one day’s float.

(6) Before using a bank’s ATM for check deposits, find out the bank’s
availability deadline. Some banks have a 12 noon cut-off time which means
that any checks deposited later are considered to be deposited the next
day! In that case, you lose an entire day’s float, even though you did
your bit to get the checks cashed.

HAVE A SUPER TIGHT ACCOUNTS
RECEIVABLE POLICY

Many people think it is no big deal to neglect accounts receivable until
bills are collectible. This is bad cash flow policy. Here are seven
excellent tips for handling accounts receivable:

(1) Check the financial health of a new customer before offering them
credit. One way of doing this is by using a rating service, such as Dun &
Bradstreet (1-800-234-3867).

(2) Ask a new customer for five business references and don’t neglect to
call them.

(3) Don’t offer too generous discounts, such as 3% for payment in 10 days.
A better rate is 1.5% cash discount. It costs you less.

(4) Charge a “late fee” of 2% per month to customers who pay late and
charge back customers who take discounts after the discount periods.

(5) Follow up on late payers with phone calls and letters. These may seem
a bit extreme, but the first letter should go out the very day the amount
is one day late! After 30 days late, start this sequence:

— send out a letter from your attorney
–turn over the account to a collection agency
–use a collection attorney

(6) Don’t send out new merchandise if bills remain unpaid. Remember that
bad debts hurt your bottom line! Be vigilant and try to get at least
periodic payments from slow payers.

(7) Instruct your bank to automatically deposit “returned checks.” Ask
your bank if they offer Return Item box service. If they do, then use it
to redeposit your check and charge back the bank return item free to your
customer.

These seven steps are tough and unrelenting, but they may make the
difference between a positive cash flow month and a sluggish month for your
business.
It may seem a bit hypocritical to demand swift and exacting payment, and
then do what we suggest next. But just remind yourself, all (almost) is
fair in love and war and business.

DISBURSE YOUR MONEY SLOWLY

Just the opposite of collecting at the earliest possible moment, you should
never pay a day sooner than you have to, unless you get a discount for
doing so. A lot of people believe in staying ahead of bills and paying
them as early as possible, but that’s just poor cash management. You want
to keep your money in your hands as long as you can. Here are five
suggestions to slow down your disbursements:

(1) Pay your invoices on the last day they’re due, not before.

(2) try to mail your payment on Thursday or Friday to pick up a few extra
days mail float over the weekend.

(3) Use business credit cards for travel, lodging, meals, and small
expenses for yourself and your employees. With credit cards you typically
don;t have to make payment until 25 days after receiving the statement.
Use this float by investing the money. In total, you can typically keep
your money invested for 45 days from date of purchase.

(4) Don’t issue advances to employees. Have them use their personal credit
cards or business cards, if you provide them

(5) Consider setting up a remote disbursement checking account in another
state to extend the check clearing float by at least a day. This practice
is used very successfully by 17% of large companies. The downside of this
practice is that some vendors may complain about their delayed availability
on their bank deposit. But this can be overcome by mailing them their
checks one day earlier.

Now, many small businesses neglect to reconcile their monthly bank
statements or assume that the bank never makes a mistake. Banks do make
mistakes, and you must stay on top of your disbursement to control your
cash flow. If you are one of those people who simply can’t stand to
balance you check book, you can use a bank’s standard account reconcilement
services for a low monthly price — $30 to $70 base charge and 5 to 7
cents a check. When is it best to use a bank’s reconcilement service?
Here are six suggestions:

(1) When you have a monthly check volume of at least 500 checks.

(2) When you need specialized reports.

(3) When you are currently performing your own reconcilement.

(4) You can find software at a reasonable price that meets your needs.
Companies offering accounting software include DacEasy, Inc.
(800-877-8088); Real world Corp (800-678-6336) and Peachtree
(800-247-3224).

(5) When you don’t have your own PC or any other kind of computer system.
(We already warned you about that).

(6) When you have no staff to do it, or time to do it yourself.

NO EXTRA MONEY IN YOUR BANK ACCOUNT

Many businesses make the mistake of keeping too much money in their bank
accounts to pay for bank services. This money could be used more
effectively elsewhere — such as to pay off a loan or to invest at a more
competitive rate. Many businesses have no idea how much money to leave in
the bank or what alternatives they have to compensate the bank. Take some
time to find out what your minimum balance needs to be.

GET AN ACCOUNT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

How do you know how much money (bankers refer to this as “balances”) to
leave in your checking account to pay for bank’s services? That’s a
question that more business owners should be asking themselves.

(1) First, get a price list which shows how much your bank charges for
services like account maintenance, checks deposited, checks paid, stop
payments and wire transfers.

(2) Ask the bank to send you a monthly “Account Analysis Statement.” The
analysis statement contains the average balance levels for the month —
both the ledger and the available balance — as well as a listing of
services used, their transaction volumes and cost. This statement should
be obtained in addition to the regular monthly bank statement.

(3) Look at the account analysis to see whether you are overcompensating
the bank. Then pull out any excess funds and invest them in a
high-yielding money market mutual fund, for example.

A word of advice: Smaller banks may not know what you are talking about
when you ask for an account analysis. Larger banks often offer such a
statement, but you have to ask for it. And don’t let them charge you for
this kind of statement since it is only an invoice.

INVENTORY IS NOT CASH

Every item you have sitting on your shelf should eventually be transformed
into cash in your bank account, and the sooner the better. As long as it’s
inventory, it’s basically dead weight. If it is not moving, you’re not
having cash flow.

Here are six recommendations to minimize the cost of your inventory:

(1) Attempt to forecast as accurately as you can the day, week and month
what you expect to sell.

(2) If you are dealing in more than one item, determine which item accounts
for 80% of your sales. Then minimize ordering other items that are selling
poorly or infrequently.

(3) Determine how fast you can get inventory, once you order it. Try to
order as late as you can. Some firms can use “just-in-time” inventory
which enables them to receive their order the day they need it.

(4) Determine your economic order quantity and don’t order too much
inventory just to save a few pennies.

(5) Shop around and make sure you are getting competitive prices.

(6) Develop a policy for determining what is obsolete inventory, and how
you can get rid of it. The best way to get rid of dead inventory is to
sell it whatever you can get for it, even if that’s only 10 percent of what
you paid for it. At least it will generate cash flow.

DON’T FORGET CONTINUITY SALES

Once of the most exceptional ways of controlling and improving cash flow
well into the future is by employing something called continuity of sales
or services.

Continuity sales are simply a contract to purchase products or services on
an installment basis for a fixed period of time.

That may sound complicated, but in practice, it actually is not. The best
example of a continuity sale is a magazine subscription. 12, 24, or 36
issues delivered each month for X amount of dollars. The bigger the
subscription, they better deal you get. The publisher gets more money up
front, and the customer gets a better deal in the long run.

Continuity can apply to anything.

Let’s say you own a dry cleaning business. How about an annual deal to
clean 5 shirts or blouses per week for set amount of money? Get people to
pay your for the entire week up front for a lot of fast cash flow. You’ll
trade a discount for getting business, but you’ll ensure a steady cash flow
for months to come.

Continuity works with just about any kind of product or service you are
offering, from dry cleaning to to your personal consulting service.

You can structure payments for continuity sales on almost any basis, but
it’s best by far to go for complete payment up front. After all, the
discount is based on a customer’s commitment, and they’ll be a lot more
committed with their money on the line.

LICENSING AGREEMENTS

After all is said and done, if you were to list the assets of the company
you have created, you’d probably include your inventory, equipment,
accounts receivable, equity, and so on.

But by this time, especially if you have been reading carefully, you have
something more — something that is not necessarily a physical “thing” such
as cash or inventory.

If you’ve been a clever business person, you have come up with certain ads
that have outpulled your competitors. You have developed policies and
procedures that have kept your returns and refunds the lowest of any
around. Or you may have come up with a money-making technique that is
completely unique. If so, you are potentially sitting on fast source of
cash.

You can license the rights to use any of your specialized techniques or
assets to other non-competitive businesses. You can do it for a flat fee,
a percentage of profits, on a royalty basis, or any other way that makes
sense to you. You can also conduct seminars to teach your techniques to
other would-be work-at-home entrepreneurs and charge whatever the market
will bear. It’s easy to generate an extra $5,000 a month and much more on
the lecture circuit. While you are getting paid to spread your knowledge,
you will be drumming up more business.

The knowledge you have in your head right now could very well be worth a
lot of money. It’s only a matter of you looking within yourself and at
your successes to see how you can transform it all into real, hard cash.

-30-
68J K **BBBhGhGCJOJQJaJhGCJOJQJaJhGhG5CJOJQJaJhG5CJOJQJaJ

6789F b c >
~


RS”
$
a$
gdGB


”mG
]
^






NO 
S,x
A3x
V$n R-MN
N$i^7Z[wJK
CNO_`12Z6Z[7 A B
 $!m!!!!!!@”””#C#D######5$$$%H%I%%%%
&

&X&&&6’N’O’’’#(h(((B))])))))**M*****”+F+G+
G++++++9,,,-Q-R-t-u--.B.C.....9///0O0P000
0
11W111223242223%3&3k3l33334g44445P5Q555
5555H666772737|77778P8Q888)9s99999:g:::
:;;Z;;;;.<v<<<<<<C=k=l==>>>d>>>7?????@
@c@@@@AAAAADBBBB
’;0APBP/ =!”#$%
H@HNormal5$7$8$9DH$_H
mH sH tH DA@D
Default Paragraph FontVi@V
Table Normal :V4
4

la(k@(
No List: `
6789F
b
c


>~RS”mG]^
NO 
S,xA 3
x




V$n

R


-MN$i^7Z[wJKCNO_`12Z6Z[7AB$m@CD5HI
X6NO# h B!!]!!!!!””M””””””#F#G######9$$$%Q%R%t%u%%&B&C&&&&&9’’’(O(P(((
))W)))**3*4***+%+&+k+l++++,g,,,,-P-Q------H...//2/3/|////0P0Q000)1s111112g22233Z3333.4v444444C5k5l55666d6667777778c888@99999D::::00000000
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


m;
0


00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00 00808B””N
&G+05:@B#%&’()*+,-./B$8


@

0(

B

S


 ?


`#
|ȅ`#
`#
D`#
{ :




 :

8*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagstime


01214171855HourMinute
oyA K |””y3{3n6w6:F
a

Gx ”
x






$7
#^eU[r6Y7@m@I5^X6M# - !#$$$%P%%%&A&’’’’((W)|)**+$+,1,g,~,-O---).>.//0O0s1y1F2P2k2o223Z33v4455C5j5d6m66677I77777c8p888@9T99 :D:::33333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333””::::

nGF

GxD:::a@hp psc 1200 seriesNe02:winspoolhp psc 1200 serieshp psc 1200 seriesseries,Local
!@m߀


BeRLd

Arial8
tBe
ںںREMShp psc 1200 series,LocalOnly,DrvConvert
hp psc 1200 seriesseries,Local
!@m߀


BeRLd

Arial8
tBe
ںںREMShp psc 1200 series,LocalOnly,DrvConvert


;


:@
Unknown

G
z 
Times New Roman5


Symbol3&
z 
ArialA#F#F

2
j
2
j!xx
24::
3H(

?G1HOW TO MANAGE HOME-BUSINESS CASH FLOW EFFECTIVELY



Oh+’0x





4
@

L
X
`
h
p
2HOW TO MANAGE HOME-BUSINESS CASH FLOW EFFECTIVELY0
OW  W 
W NormalM rm2rmMicrosoft Word 10.0@F#@ OȺ
@ OȺ


2

՜.+,0

hp|
 Oj:A


2HOW TO MANAGE HOME-BUSINESS CASH FLOW EFFECTIVELYTitle



 !”#$%&’()*+,-./023456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTVWXYZ[^_`abcdgRoot Entry
 FRѺ
i1Table
1GWordDocument

)`SummaryInformation(
UDocumentSummaryInformation8
]
CompObjj


 FMicrosoft Word Document
MSWordDocWord.Document.89q

WRITE PROFITABLE CLASSIFIED ADS

Everybody wants to make more money. In fact, most people would like to hit upon something that makes them fabulously rich! And seemingly, one of the easiest roads to the fulfillment of these dreams of wealth is mail order or within the professional circles of the business, direct mail selling.

The only thing is, hardly anyone gives much real thought to the basic ingredient of selling by mail – the writing of profitable classified ads. If your mail order business is to succeed, then you must acquire the expertise of writing classified ads that sell your product or services!

So what makes a classified ad good or bad? First of all, it must appeal to the reader, and as such, it must say exactly what you want it to say. Secondly, it has to say what it says in the least possible number of words in order to keep your operating costs within your budget. And thirdly, it has to produce the desired results whether inquiries or sales.

Grabbing the reader’s attention is your first objective. You must assume the reader is “scanning” the page on which your ad appears in the company of two or three hundred classified ads. Therefore, there has to be something about your ad that causes him to stop scanning and look at yours! So, the first two or three words of your ad are of the utmost importance and deserve your careful consideration. Most surveys show that words or phrases that quickly involve the reader, tend to be the best attention-grabbers. Such words as: FREE… WIN… MAKE BIG MONEY…

Whatever words you use as attention-grabbers, to start your ads, you should bear in mind that they’ll be competing with similar attention-grabbers of the other ads on the same page. Therefore, in addition to your lead words, your ad must quickly go on to promise or state further benefits to the reader. In other words, your ad might read something like this: MAKE BIG MONEY! Easy & Simple. We show you how!

In the language of professional copywriters, you’ve grabbed the attention of your prospect, and interested him with something that even he can do.

The next rule of good classified copywriting has to do with the arousal of the reader’s desire to get in on your offer. In a great many instances, this rule is by-passed, and it appears, this is the real reason that an ad doesn’t pull according to the expectations of the advertiser.

Think about it – you’ve got your reader’s attention; you’ve told him it’s easy and simple; and you’re about to ask him to do something. Unless you take the time to further “want your offer,” your ad is going to only half turn him on. He’ll compare your ad with the others that have grabbed his attention and finally decide upon the one that interests him the most.

What is being said is that here is the place for you to insert that magic word “guaranteed” or some other such word or phrase. So now, we’ve got an ad that reads: MAKE BIG MONEY! Easy & Simple. Guaranteed!

Now the reader is turned on, and in his mind, he can’t lose. You’re ready to ask for his money. This is the “demand for action” part of your ad. This is the part where you want to use such words as: Limited offer – Act now! Write today! Only and/or just…

Putting it all together, then your ad might read something like this: MAKE BIG MONEY! Easy & Simple. Guaranteed! Limited offer. Send $l to:

These are the ingredients of any good classified ad – Attention – Interest – Desire – Action… Without these four ingredients skillfully integrated into your ad, chances are your ad will just “lie there” and not do anything but cost you money. What we’ve just shown you is a basic classified ad. Although such an ad could be placed in any leading publication and would pull a good response, it’s known as a “blind ad” and would pull inquiries and responses from a whole spectrum of people reading the publication in which it appeared. In other words, from as many “time-wasters” as from bona fide buyers.

So let’s try to give you an example of the kind of classified ad you might want to use, say to sell a report such as this one… Using all the rules of basic advertising copywriting, and stating exactly what our product is, our ad reads thusly:

MONEY-MAKER’S SECRETS! How To Write winning classified
ads. Simple & easy to learn -should double or triple your
responses. Rush $1 to BC Sales, 10 Main Anytown, TX 75001.

The point we’re making is that: l) You’ve got to grab the reader’s attention… 2) You’ve got to “interest him” with something that appeals to him… 3) You’ve got to “further stimulate” him with something (catch-phrase) that makes him “desire” the product or service. 4) Demand that he act immediately…

There’s no point in being tricky or clever. Just adhere to the basics and your profits will increase accordingly. One of the best ways of learning to write good classified ads is to study the classifieds – try to figure out exactly what they’re attempting to sell – and then practice rewriting them according to the rules we’ve just given you. Whenever you sit down to write a classified, always write it all out – write down everything you want to say – and then go back over it, crossing out words, and refining your phraseology.

The final ingredient of your classified ad is of course, your name, address to which the reader is to respond – where he’s to send his money or write for further information.

Generally speaking, readers respond more often to ads that include a name than to those showing just initials or an address only. However, because advertising costs are based upon the number of words, or the amount of space your ad uses, the use of some names in classified ads could become quite expensive. If we were to ask our ad respondents to write to or send their money to The Research Writers & Publishers Association, or to Book Business Mart, or even to Money Maker’s Opportunity Digest, our advertising costs would be prohibitive. Thus we shorten our name Researchers or Money-Makers. The point here is to think relative to the placement costs of your ad, and to shorten excessively long names.

The same holds true when listing your post office box number. Shorten it to just plain Box 40, or in the case of a rural delivery, shorten it to just RRl.

The important thing is to know the rules of profitable classified ad writing, and to follow them. Hold your costs in line.

Now you know the basics… the rest is up to you.

535 words
I Need Your Help, Please!

I’ve been writing to you for some time now. I’ve tried to give you the benefit of my entrepreneurial counseling, and have touched on many topics. We’ve had articles on customer service, positioning yourself in your niche, marketing, advertising, giving your customer what they want, and even some tips for you about the Internet. I hope you found them helpful and interesting.

The time has now come for me to find out what MY readercustomers want, or rather what you as my reader wants. I may not be a well of unlimited information, although I think I come close, but I AM FREE! What better deal could you get?

What I need to know from my readers is what has you stumped in your business? What do you want to learn more about? What problems do you have that could be alleviated if you only knew how to solve them?

In other words, what I’m trying to do is to make this column work for you. Give you the information that will help you in your business. The only way I can do this, is if I know what you want from this column.

In order for me to help you, I need you to help me. For this purpose I’ve set up a very special page for my readers on the Internet at: www.YOUR LINK HERE.com
There you will find a short form to fill out, this shouldn’t take you more than a few minutes, and hopefully we can turn this column into a helpful tool by working together.

You’ve heard me say, more than once, in order to be successful you have to know what your target market wants – not just what you’re offering. This is the point where I must live by my words. I want my readers to look forward to reading my column because they know it is going to help them in their business.

If you think about it for a minute, you’ll see that this is a “win-win” situation for both of us. For you because you’ll have a source for solving some of your business problems which in turn will increase your profits. For me, because I’ll know what you need and are looking for from this column.

I enjoy helping fellow entrepreneurs to become successful, and up until now I’ve been using the “shotgun” approach. By that I mean that I’ve covered subjects that were helpful to any business person and of general interest. Well, now it’s time for me to trade in my shotgun for a laser pistol.

I want to be of help to you in your endeavor by zeroing in on subjects that you want covered but don’t have the time to research on your own. After all, you’ve got to work at earning a living from your business and don’t have the luxury of time to do your own research. That’s where my column comes into the picture – let my fingers do the walking for you.

Ultimately, if you win then I win. So please take a few minutes and go to www:YOUR LINK HERE.com and tell me what you want. Let’s work together to work better.

320 words
THE “WRIGHT WAY” TO SOLVE PROBLEMS

When Wilbur and Orville Wright finished the first successful manned flight on Dec. 17, 1903, they amazed and astonished the world. They also demonstrated the power of their problem solving method.

They not only solved a problem that others had found too complex and technical, but they did it without any help from outsiders. These brothers had little formal training or education, but they had amazing brainpower. Few accomplishments can match what these two former bicycle mechanics did with that flying machine.

The key principles of problem-solving used by the Wright brothers are still relevant for business owners today. There are only eight of them, and here they are:

• CONSTRUCTIVE CONFLICT: This conflict can be used to discover and validate new ideas/strategies to find a practical answer.
• TACKLE WORST THINGS FIRST: When big problems are put first, the cost for the whole is limited to this set should a solution prove unachievable.
• JUST PLAIN TINKERING: New approaches can be created by tinkering with parts of a problem when you’re trying to understand it.
• RIGID FLEXIBILITY: Flexing the mind allows for thinking of possibilities outside the realm of policy, tradition, or experience.
• FOREVER LEARNING: Learning as a lifelong passion is essential for finding the information to solve problems.
• METHODICAL METICULOUSNESS: The fastest, most efficient way to solve a problem is by being meticulous and methodical in your approach.
• EQUITABLE TEAMWORK: The force of a group with a common purpose is multi-plied by interdependence and powered by trust, effort, profits, power, and honor.

A side benefit to these steps is that there is an added financial bonus. By using these principles, the Wright brothers minimized their costs to less than $1,000 and solved the problem of flight with mind-boggling speed. What business owner wouldn’t want to solve a problem in his business and cut cost at the same time?