Rules and structure are a funny thing in business. On any given day you can pick up a business magazine and read about someone who is successful by creating rules and processes like Henry Ford invented the assembly line. The same magazine will have an article about some guy who is successful who didn't follow any of the rules. So which is it? What is an up a coming business owner to do?
The great thing about business is you can do either. The important trick is to look in the mirror and really understand who you are. If you are a risk taker that never follows the rules like Steve Jobs and Wozniak, you might build the next Apple. If you understand the rules of the game like a young Bill Gates did, you might create the next Microsoft. I don't think any of those three will ever be labeled as "unsuccessful" or worried about money.
Most people have been conditioned to be the worker bees. They show up, learn the rules, do the job and leave. If that is all you want out of life, stop reading.
Some of us haven't bought into the whole "be happy with what you've got" philosophy and are always looking for a way to improve our own lives. Simply put that happens one of two ways. The first way is the Apple way, don't follow anyone, blaze new trails and do things differently. These people and companies are the high risk high flyers that change the world and how we see things every day.
The second method is the structured approach. Follow the rules and make incremental improvements. Test the changes and move forward with those that work. There are a few Microsoft fans out there rolling their eyes wondering how they got into this category. After all hasn't Microsoft changed our world too.
The answer is yes and there in lies the answer. You can be successful by managing and owning very low risk businesses like the family that owns In-N-Out. They didn't change the burger business, they just made it clean and simple. No chicken, no fish, no frozen foods ever, well except the milk shakes.
Microsoft was created after Bill Gates acquired the rights to an operating system and then smartly followed the rules laid down by IBM. His competitor was "busy" and didn't follow IBM's rules. Bill got in the door and got the deal. DOS likely became a household word because of that one event. If the other guy had answered the call, we might all be using CP/M or whatever the other guy had. Microsoft has been making incremental changes to DOS ever since. Windows was an add on to DOS.
Apple on the other hand changes everything from the inside out, every time they change something. Check out the article in Fast Company about Steve Jobs this month, and read about how the iMac almost never existed. While you are there read about Homeboy Industries too.
Figure out where your strength is, structure, tweaking structure or breaking structure then set your sites on a target that is just out of reach today and go for it. Never stop, never give up, never quit, just keep moving towards the target whatever it may be.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Secrets to Getting and Staying Rich
I am going to try something new here, once each month I will post a "Secret to Getting and Staying Rich". Some little nugget that not everyone knows or that everyone knows exists but they don't know how to use. For instance, in the book "How Come That idiot's Rich and I am not", one of the secrets Rich Shemin shared was about buying used cars. "Rich Idiot's" buy used, broke people lease or buy new.
I agree with this secret and have used it more than once. The best deal was a one year old "Certified Pre-Owned" BMW 325i Wagon. It had just 7501 miles on it, and instead of a 50,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty, it had a 5 year 100,000 mile warranty and maintenance. I got the car for $10,000 less than the sticker price of the new model and my price included the tax, license and registration. Over $13,000 saved up front, and several hundred in maintenance saved over the 8 years I owned the car. Buying a used car isn't what this is about today.
For those of you that don't know, I am also a Real Estate Agent. I don't do much selling personally, my wife is a full time agent. I got the license to be able to access better information as an investor. Once in a while I get to help someone fulfill the dream of owning a home, or owning their first investment. If you are in Orange County California, look me up, I am always glad to help.
Today, I am going to be counter intuitive and talk about timeshares. I can hear you saying, "What is a real estate agent doing talking about timeshares and getting rich, they are a rip-off!" Like all things in life, it is how you buy it, how you use it and how you get rid of it that matters. Timeshares can be good if you buy right and use them right.
Right off the bat I will say that having access to a second home at your schedule is a great thing. One week a month I am in the Truckee-Tahoe area, and the other three I try to be at my home in Huntington Beach, CA. Admittedly not a bad life, but I still like to go other places. Like Maui for instance. I am planning to go the first week of May, and rented a condo from Jim Casper at mauitownhouse.com. I'll talk about renting condo's in the future for those of you that don't think you want a timeshare ever.
I would have used my timeshare to go to Maui, but it is one of the few places on the planet where I couldn't find a unit I could trade for that I liked. I am planning to go to Nashville or Orlando or both this summer using my timeshare.
Most people think of timeshares as the pressure cooker sales presentation followed by a bottle of champagne and the hangover when you realize you just bought a hotel room for life. Yes this happens.
Wyndham does a good job to make the owners who buy their timeshare second hand, second class citizens. If you have lots of points and paid full price in the pressure cooker, you are in the "VIP" club. If you didn't, well you aren't. I am not. If I want to pay $10,000 or more to feel like a "VIP", I'll join a country club again.
This all started several years ago when I wanted to go to San Antonio Texas for the weekend. After talking it over with my wife, just like parking spots in the movie The Secret, an invitation to go to a Wyndham timeshare presentation and get a free weekend in San Antonio appeared in my mail. We went with the intention of just taking the free weekend. If you are planning to do this, don't wear decent clothes to the presentation. I noticed that people looking like they were auditioning for the "people of Wal-Mart" emails got out quickly and painlessly.
My wife and I sat in the pressure cooker for 3 hours of our "45 minute presentation". That salesman knew I had cash available and wasn't letting go. I finally broke down and bought a "trial" package with just one years worth of usage. The idea being I would like to the program so much that I would come back and buy in. They were half right.
At first I was a little put off by the slightly longer lines for the non-VIP people, but I eventually got over it. My wife being the master at finding a deal treated the Wyndham points like catalog shopping. She managed to stretch the points into three one week adventures. One for the entire family in Myrtle Beach South Carolina where we got a three bedroom unit and had everyone there. Another to Nashville (where I have since bought) and Kona Hawaii.
Once you get used to the Wyndham points system, it is pretty cool. It is a little harder to deal with than the reserved week system from what people have told me. If you are like me, the benefit of flexibility offsets any loss of "guaranteed" time.
The only thing that bugs me about Wyndham as a big timeshare company, is they still look like they are out for themselves and not their owners. You can go online and rent a unit at just about any Wyndham timeshare. I think the owners should get a rebate check for that time, or be able to put their unused time into the pool of open rooms to get paid, but that isn't the case.
That said, Wyndham does have a really nice over all product and the locations might look bad on paper but they turn out to be pretty good. At least where I have stayed so far. Nashville looks like it is in the sticks on Google earth, yet it is right next to the Opreyland area, and an easy drive into town if you rent a car. The location was just out of traffic, and close to everything.
So, now to the secret of buying a timeshare that Wyndham and even other timeshare owners don't want you to know about. eBay. Buying a timeshare on eBay is very easy, however there are some things to know if you want to make it painless. For instance to make the annual fees look less expensive, Wyndham bills every month even if you only get points every other year.
Buying on eBay will consist of several different fees on top of your final bid price. A $1 auction could cost you $4,000 so read the fine print. Luckily with timeshares there is a 10 day right to cancel called a right of rescission. It is better to read the fine print first and not have to cancel. I cancelled two because the fine print and the escrow didn't match. Both companies were very good about it and I believe they were honest mistakes. Either way though, your money is still held up for at least several days.
The first fee is the escrow fee. Some sellers pay this for you, others run $499 to $750 per transaction.
The second fee is the resort transfer fee. Normally $299 for Wyndham, sometimes paid by the seller. keep in mind on eBay you don't negotiate these things. There are several websites where you can make offers, so keep this fee list handy.
The third fee is the prepaid maintenance. If the seller didn't use the points, you will likely pay them for the annual maintenance fee they paid so you get the points. You have to watch this closely. Escrow and transfer at the resort can take 45 days, and the points anniversary might only be 60 days away. You'll have as little as 15 days to make a reservation, get there and burn the points if you can't carry them over.
A fourth possible fee is a "convenience fee". This one is made up for smaller points sales that have prepaid the annual fee and know that you won't pay the entire amount.
Finally add your bid. Add all of that up and you get your final cost. We all know there are shills on eBay and eBay doesn't present it. I don't know if it was the sellers or who, but several times a buyer with zero transactions would snipe me and run the price up, or get the deal. Don't let it bother you, another auction will be open soon for the same number of points at the same resort. Don't pay extra unless the seller is paying a lot of the fees.
As an example, when I bought my 156,000 points at Nashville. The points weren't used so I paid $25.50, (after a zero buyer ran it up with just a few hours to go) for the timeshare instead of the $14,000 the seller paid, $299 escrow (partly paid by seller), $370 in prepaid fees and $299 resort transfer for a total of $993.50. My fees are $138 per month which isn't bad. Even though I paid 25.50 I would have paid $50 since the seller was paying $200 of the escrow fees. Know your price first.
Since I can travel off season, my wife uses the Wyndham website like a shopping challenge and finds great deals for us to see new places. We picked Nashville as our base since it is one nonstop flight for everyone in our family and we can have an annual get together there. It doesn't hurt that we had a great trip out there before.
Lots of user groups talk about getting the best points per maintenance fees deals when shopping. If you are looking at the $1.00 eBay auctions, you are getting such a bargain that the fees aren't that big of a deal. Also I think it is worth it to own at a place you might want to go at least every other year. You can reserve earlier if you own there. I suggest sticking to the 100,000 and higher points ownership. The fees do go up quickly for the smaller points owners.travel
There are two other caveats to Wyndham. Some of the resorts were purchased from another company and were primarily sold as "weeks" not points. In that case points owners can be at a disadvantage when making reservations since not all the rooms are open to points members. The Westwinds in South Carolina is one such resort. Just down the road are two others which aren't limited, and that isn't shown on eBay. If anyone knows where that list is published please share it here.
The final caveat is to read about the points anniversary and usage. Biennial usage can be odd or even years, and the anniversary can make a difference in your first year costs. You might pay for a year you can't use. My anniversary is July 1st. Some are January 1st. That means any points I haven't used by June 30th go into the ether and just like a second home that sits empty, I paid for not using those points.
If you like to travel, a timeshare can be half the cost of a hotel room or less and the added benefits of having a kitchen can save even more. If you don't want to buy on eBay you can go direct to places like discounttimeshares.com. So there is your Secret to Getting and Staying Rich this month, buy a timeshare on the cheap and use it instead of using a hotel.
I agree with this secret and have used it more than once. The best deal was a one year old "Certified Pre-Owned" BMW 325i Wagon. It had just 7501 miles on it, and instead of a 50,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty, it had a 5 year 100,000 mile warranty and maintenance. I got the car for $10,000 less than the sticker price of the new model and my price included the tax, license and registration. Over $13,000 saved up front, and several hundred in maintenance saved over the 8 years I owned the car. Buying a used car isn't what this is about today.
For those of you that don't know, I am also a Real Estate Agent. I don't do much selling personally, my wife is a full time agent. I got the license to be able to access better information as an investor. Once in a while I get to help someone fulfill the dream of owning a home, or owning their first investment. If you are in Orange County California, look me up, I am always glad to help.
Today, I am going to be counter intuitive and talk about timeshares. I can hear you saying, "What is a real estate agent doing talking about timeshares and getting rich, they are a rip-off!" Like all things in life, it is how you buy it, how you use it and how you get rid of it that matters. Timeshares can be good if you buy right and use them right.
Right off the bat I will say that having access to a second home at your schedule is a great thing. One week a month I am in the Truckee-Tahoe area, and the other three I try to be at my home in Huntington Beach, CA. Admittedly not a bad life, but I still like to go other places. Like Maui for instance. I am planning to go the first week of May, and rented a condo from Jim Casper at mauitownhouse.com. I'll talk about renting condo's in the future for those of you that don't think you want a timeshare ever.
I would have used my timeshare to go to Maui, but it is one of the few places on the planet where I couldn't find a unit I could trade for that I liked. I am planning to go to Nashville or Orlando or both this summer using my timeshare.
Most people think of timeshares as the pressure cooker sales presentation followed by a bottle of champagne and the hangover when you realize you just bought a hotel room for life. Yes this happens.
Wyndham does a good job to make the owners who buy their timeshare second hand, second class citizens. If you have lots of points and paid full price in the pressure cooker, you are in the "VIP" club. If you didn't, well you aren't. I am not. If I want to pay $10,000 or more to feel like a "VIP", I'll join a country club again.
This all started several years ago when I wanted to go to San Antonio Texas for the weekend. After talking it over with my wife, just like parking spots in the movie The Secret, an invitation to go to a Wyndham timeshare presentation and get a free weekend in San Antonio appeared in my mail. We went with the intention of just taking the free weekend. If you are planning to do this, don't wear decent clothes to the presentation. I noticed that people looking like they were auditioning for the "people of Wal-Mart" emails got out quickly and painlessly.
My wife and I sat in the pressure cooker for 3 hours of our "45 minute presentation". That salesman knew I had cash available and wasn't letting go. I finally broke down and bought a "trial" package with just one years worth of usage. The idea being I would like to the program so much that I would come back and buy in. They were half right.
At first I was a little put off by the slightly longer lines for the non-VIP people, but I eventually got over it. My wife being the master at finding a deal treated the Wyndham points like catalog shopping. She managed to stretch the points into three one week adventures. One for the entire family in Myrtle Beach South Carolina where we got a three bedroom unit and had everyone there. Another to Nashville (where I have since bought) and Kona Hawaii.
Once you get used to the Wyndham points system, it is pretty cool. It is a little harder to deal with than the reserved week system from what people have told me. If you are like me, the benefit of flexibility offsets any loss of "guaranteed" time.
The only thing that bugs me about Wyndham as a big timeshare company, is they still look like they are out for themselves and not their owners. You can go online and rent a unit at just about any Wyndham timeshare. I think the owners should get a rebate check for that time, or be able to put their unused time into the pool of open rooms to get paid, but that isn't the case.
That said, Wyndham does have a really nice over all product and the locations might look bad on paper but they turn out to be pretty good. At least where I have stayed so far. Nashville looks like it is in the sticks on Google earth, yet it is right next to the Opreyland area, and an easy drive into town if you rent a car. The location was just out of traffic, and close to everything.
So, now to the secret of buying a timeshare that Wyndham and even other timeshare owners don't want you to know about. eBay. Buying a timeshare on eBay is very easy, however there are some things to know if you want to make it painless. For instance to make the annual fees look less expensive, Wyndham bills every month even if you only get points every other year.
Buying on eBay will consist of several different fees on top of your final bid price. A $1 auction could cost you $4,000 so read the fine print. Luckily with timeshares there is a 10 day right to cancel called a right of rescission. It is better to read the fine print first and not have to cancel. I cancelled two because the fine print and the escrow didn't match. Both companies were very good about it and I believe they were honest mistakes. Either way though, your money is still held up for at least several days.
The first fee is the escrow fee. Some sellers pay this for you, others run $499 to $750 per transaction.
The second fee is the resort transfer fee. Normally $299 for Wyndham, sometimes paid by the seller. keep in mind on eBay you don't negotiate these things. There are several websites where you can make offers, so keep this fee list handy.
The third fee is the prepaid maintenance. If the seller didn't use the points, you will likely pay them for the annual maintenance fee they paid so you get the points. You have to watch this closely. Escrow and transfer at the resort can take 45 days, and the points anniversary might only be 60 days away. You'll have as little as 15 days to make a reservation, get there and burn the points if you can't carry them over.
A fourth possible fee is a "convenience fee". This one is made up for smaller points sales that have prepaid the annual fee and know that you won't pay the entire amount.
Finally add your bid. Add all of that up and you get your final cost. We all know there are shills on eBay and eBay doesn't present it. I don't know if it was the sellers or who, but several times a buyer with zero transactions would snipe me and run the price up, or get the deal. Don't let it bother you, another auction will be open soon for the same number of points at the same resort. Don't pay extra unless the seller is paying a lot of the fees.
As an example, when I bought my 156,000 points at Nashville. The points weren't used so I paid $25.50, (after a zero buyer ran it up with just a few hours to go) for the timeshare instead of the $14,000 the seller paid, $299 escrow (partly paid by seller), $370 in prepaid fees and $299 resort transfer for a total of $993.50. My fees are $138 per month which isn't bad. Even though I paid 25.50 I would have paid $50 since the seller was paying $200 of the escrow fees. Know your price first.
Since I can travel off season, my wife uses the Wyndham website like a shopping challenge and finds great deals for us to see new places. We picked Nashville as our base since it is one nonstop flight for everyone in our family and we can have an annual get together there. It doesn't hurt that we had a great trip out there before.
Lots of user groups talk about getting the best points per maintenance fees deals when shopping. If you are looking at the $1.00 eBay auctions, you are getting such a bargain that the fees aren't that big of a deal. Also I think it is worth it to own at a place you might want to go at least every other year. You can reserve earlier if you own there. I suggest sticking to the 100,000 and higher points ownership. The fees do go up quickly for the smaller points owners.travel
There are two other caveats to Wyndham. Some of the resorts were purchased from another company and were primarily sold as "weeks" not points. In that case points owners can be at a disadvantage when making reservations since not all the rooms are open to points members. The Westwinds in South Carolina is one such resort. Just down the road are two others which aren't limited, and that isn't shown on eBay. If anyone knows where that list is published please share it here.
The final caveat is to read about the points anniversary and usage. Biennial usage can be odd or even years, and the anniversary can make a difference in your first year costs. You might pay for a year you can't use. My anniversary is July 1st. Some are January 1st. That means any points I haven't used by June 30th go into the ether and just like a second home that sits empty, I paid for not using those points.
If you like to travel, a timeshare can be half the cost of a hotel room or less and the added benefits of having a kitchen can save even more. If you don't want to buy on eBay you can go direct to places like discounttimeshares.com. So there is your Secret to Getting and Staying Rich this month, buy a timeshare on the cheap and use it instead of using a hotel.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Do You Know Anyone Who Just Wants To Be Comfortable?
Lately it seems like there isn't a day that I don't meet someone who just wants to be "comfortable". Since it is in my nature to try and help people do better, I stop and listen, some people might even call it a bit nosey. Without fail there is one common denominator among all of them.
In the Real Estate Office my wife works, there were several brand new agents that just wanted to be "comfortable". The common denominator is so obvious once you see it. When you see it in yourself, it is almost embarrassing. At least it was for me when my wife pointed it out. Most people won't say it if I tell them to their face, in fact most would argue the point so I never tell anyone directly anymore. It just made people mad at me, but let's see if you know anyone like this guy I met a short while ago, we'll call him John.
I met John at breakfast while in Dallas Texas. My flight wasn't for a couple of hours, and I was in the corner studying for my California Real Estate license. It turns out, I can't do advertising for my wife or Realtor clients without one and yes I passed.
Anyway, John was talking to an older couple who I assumed to be his parents. They turned out to be his Aunt and Uncle. John was going over all the changes at his office and telling them how he was very worried about losing his job. Does any of this sound familiar? It is like the common thread of the economy.
His aunt and uncle coddled him a bit while he complained that he just wanted to be "comfortable". He suddenly got my attention. After all it was exactly this situation that occurred in the middle east with a group of military troops who were too scared to get out of their comfort zone and go back to civilian life that inspired me to write So, Now What?.
I put my iPad down and listened for a couple more minutes before I nosed it. I just couldn't help it. John went on to talk about how he had already been demoted, and how his boss kept trying to get him to do his old job for the new lower pay. He proudly told them how he told his boss he wasn't going to do the extra work. We went on to complain about the owner of the company driving a new Mercedes and about how his car needed some work.
After he returned to the "comfort" theme for the third time I nosed in and asked what John did for a living. He worked an office job that used to require a degree, but computers now made it so easy that they were hifing minimum wage kids off the street to do it. He was moved to another position but then he was cut back to a lower position. His company was buying another company that had too many operators and the new software would cut half of the people in his department.
So now I started asking more questions. Did he have a resume out there? No. Had he looked at Monster.com or TheLadders.com? No. I asked if it would be smart to get a jump on the other guys and have that new job before the other guys are applying for it too? Yes, but he just didn't have any time, and he had the golden handcuffs keeping him at his current job. I asked if this job was going to help him get to where he wants to be in five years? This answer was the one I have heard a lot lately, he said "I don't want to go anywhere I just want to be comfortable and get what is mine."
I asked him to tell me about anyone he knew that was "comfortable" and getting what is "theirs". He couldn't come up with on person, real or fantasy. So we talked about different people in a "better" or "worse" format. Sometimes using their life like Charlie Sheen, other times using John as the benchmark and comparing John to the other person. About that time the Aunt and Uncle excused themselves to go get ready to leave.
He made a comment that his life wasn't easy like mine because I was rich and he wasn't. I thought that was odd, so I asked if he thought I was always rich. He said "yes". I asked if a repo guy trying to take back your truck while you were living on base sounded "rich". He looked confused. I asked if selling your house, furniture and most of your personal belongings to pay off a business loan sounded "rich". He said "no that sounds like bankrupt."
I explained that twice in my life I have made some big errors and failed to get out of my own way, and they cost me big. I left home full of myself, joined the military and bought everything I could until the banks called wanting it back. I also built a good sized business on the "build it and they will come" mentality, and guess what, they didn't. Twice in my life I was beyond broke and could have easily declared bankruptcy.
John agreed his life wasn't that bad. The next question to John was "If I can do that twice, and you think of me as 'rich' now, do you think you can get rich from where you are right now if you really wanted to?" He sheepishly answered "I guess". I knew that he was at least thinking it through and this would keep him up tonight.
Can you name anyone whose life is always the same? There are a select few like Warren Buffett who seem to go up forever, and then others like Charlie Sheen or Donald Trump who are a roller coaster and finally those that peak and we never hear from them again, I forget who they are. The bottom line is you can be lazy and move backwards or you can enjoy life and keep moving forward no matter how low you get. Nobody stays the same.
John eventually agreed that 'comfortable" wasn't anything real and he said he had given up on his dreams after college. After realizing how lame his excuses were and how lazy he sounded, he said he didn't know where to start. Of course I suggested So, Now What?, and another book that is out of print but you can find online for free as a download called the Secret of the Ages.
The Secret of the Ages is a book I call "the book of the Jedi Mind". Most people I worked with through the military didn't need this book, they understand the concepts because of how they were trained. Since John wasn't ever in the military, I thought Secret of the Ages might be a better starting point for him. So, Now What? turns out to be lacking a couple of concepts which are explained in Secret of the Ages. I'll have to work on the changes along with a new title and cover. Anyone know a better publisher or agent?
I gave John my card and ran off to catch my flight. Two months ago he sent a short email that said "I think I get it, but I still don't know what to do!". My response was get So, Now What? and do the worksheets.
Last week I got an email from John that simply read "You were right, it was in my head, and life is great now. New job, more money and I am having fun."
I never once said it was in his head, but deep down we all know that we are the only ones that can change our lives. He knew it, all I could do was help him say it out loud. Do you know anyone that needs to look in the mirror and say it out loud? If you do, be a good friend and help them do it. If it is you, get Secret of the Ages and So, Now What? and leave your questions here or drop me a note anytime.
In the Real Estate Office my wife works, there were several brand new agents that just wanted to be "comfortable". The common denominator is so obvious once you see it. When you see it in yourself, it is almost embarrassing. At least it was for me when my wife pointed it out. Most people won't say it if I tell them to their face, in fact most would argue the point so I never tell anyone directly anymore. It just made people mad at me, but let's see if you know anyone like this guy I met a short while ago, we'll call him John.
I met John at breakfast while in Dallas Texas. My flight wasn't for a couple of hours, and I was in the corner studying for my California Real Estate license. It turns out, I can't do advertising for my wife or Realtor clients without one and yes I passed.
Anyway, John was talking to an older couple who I assumed to be his parents. They turned out to be his Aunt and Uncle. John was going over all the changes at his office and telling them how he was very worried about losing his job. Does any of this sound familiar? It is like the common thread of the economy.
His aunt and uncle coddled him a bit while he complained that he just wanted to be "comfortable". He suddenly got my attention. After all it was exactly this situation that occurred in the middle east with a group of military troops who were too scared to get out of their comfort zone and go back to civilian life that inspired me to write So, Now What?.
I put my iPad down and listened for a couple more minutes before I nosed it. I just couldn't help it. John went on to talk about how he had already been demoted, and how his boss kept trying to get him to do his old job for the new lower pay. He proudly told them how he told his boss he wasn't going to do the extra work. We went on to complain about the owner of the company driving a new Mercedes and about how his car needed some work.
After he returned to the "comfort" theme for the third time I nosed in and asked what John did for a living. He worked an office job that used to require a degree, but computers now made it so easy that they were hifing minimum wage kids off the street to do it. He was moved to another position but then he was cut back to a lower position. His company was buying another company that had too many operators and the new software would cut half of the people in his department.
So now I started asking more questions. Did he have a resume out there? No. Had he looked at Monster.com or TheLadders.com? No. I asked if it would be smart to get a jump on the other guys and have that new job before the other guys are applying for it too? Yes, but he just didn't have any time, and he had the golden handcuffs keeping him at his current job. I asked if this job was going to help him get to where he wants to be in five years? This answer was the one I have heard a lot lately, he said "I don't want to go anywhere I just want to be comfortable and get what is mine."
I asked him to tell me about anyone he knew that was "comfortable" and getting what is "theirs". He couldn't come up with on person, real or fantasy. So we talked about different people in a "better" or "worse" format. Sometimes using their life like Charlie Sheen, other times using John as the benchmark and comparing John to the other person. About that time the Aunt and Uncle excused themselves to go get ready to leave.
He made a comment that his life wasn't easy like mine because I was rich and he wasn't. I thought that was odd, so I asked if he thought I was always rich. He said "yes". I asked if a repo guy trying to take back your truck while you were living on base sounded "rich". He looked confused. I asked if selling your house, furniture and most of your personal belongings to pay off a business loan sounded "rich". He said "no that sounds like bankrupt."
I explained that twice in my life I have made some big errors and failed to get out of my own way, and they cost me big. I left home full of myself, joined the military and bought everything I could until the banks called wanting it back. I also built a good sized business on the "build it and they will come" mentality, and guess what, they didn't. Twice in my life I was beyond broke and could have easily declared bankruptcy.
John agreed his life wasn't that bad. The next question to John was "If I can do that twice, and you think of me as 'rich' now, do you think you can get rich from where you are right now if you really wanted to?" He sheepishly answered "I guess". I knew that he was at least thinking it through and this would keep him up tonight.
Can you name anyone whose life is always the same? There are a select few like Warren Buffett who seem to go up forever, and then others like Charlie Sheen or Donald Trump who are a roller coaster and finally those that peak and we never hear from them again, I forget who they are. The bottom line is you can be lazy and move backwards or you can enjoy life and keep moving forward no matter how low you get. Nobody stays the same.
John eventually agreed that 'comfortable" wasn't anything real and he said he had given up on his dreams after college. After realizing how lame his excuses were and how lazy he sounded, he said he didn't know where to start. Of course I suggested So, Now What?, and another book that is out of print but you can find online for free as a download called the Secret of the Ages.
The Secret of the Ages is a book I call "the book of the Jedi Mind". Most people I worked with through the military didn't need this book, they understand the concepts because of how they were trained. Since John wasn't ever in the military, I thought Secret of the Ages might be a better starting point for him. So, Now What? turns out to be lacking a couple of concepts which are explained in Secret of the Ages. I'll have to work on the changes along with a new title and cover. Anyone know a better publisher or agent?
I gave John my card and ran off to catch my flight. Two months ago he sent a short email that said "I think I get it, but I still don't know what to do!". My response was get So, Now What? and do the worksheets.
Last week I got an email from John that simply read "You were right, it was in my head, and life is great now. New job, more money and I am having fun."
I never once said it was in his head, but deep down we all know that we are the only ones that can change our lives. He knew it, all I could do was help him say it out loud. Do you know anyone that needs to look in the mirror and say it out loud? If you do, be a good friend and help them do it. If it is you, get Secret of the Ages and So, Now What? and leave your questions here or drop me a note anytime.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Google Coupons For Reno Nevada
Do you have a small business in Reno Nevada that isn't online yet or isn't getting the customers online you know it should? I have some good news, Google just sent me a handful of $100 off Adwords coupons to help get your business online. Now you can start on online marketing and SEO program and get $100 credit towards your Google Adwords Advertising FREE. Did I say F.R.E.E Reno?
You say you don't have a website for your Reno Nevada business? That's ok. A website isn't required. If you want one, how about 25% off until I run out of the cards? We have a basic website package that is just $500 for businesses like yours in Reno.
I know that the economy in Reno isn't the greatest right now, but we all know it is a great town with great people. Lets keep it rolling. Barron's (March 19, 2012) says that housing will bottom out in the next twelve months. I think Reno will be among the first cities to hit bottom. Right after our famous Nevada neighbor to the south, Las Vegas.
Our office in Reno is part of the economy here too, so we want Reno to succeed and therefore we want you to succeed. Advertising online with a website and Google Adwords isn't only about getting new customers in Reno, but it is also about keeping in touch with your past customers.
I know how you feel about spending money on your business right now, and online advertising and marketing are the least expensive methods in Reno when it comes to reaching customers. This is something you must consider. Right now you have a choice, invest in your business and be a leader in the recovery of the Reno economy, or look away while your business does the same thing tomorrow it did yesterday, or maybe even less.
Call Now 775-589-2655 or drop me an email with your business name and Address and I'll send you one of these cards.
Maybe you tried online marketing in the past, or your website isn't bringing in any business. Here are my first questions. When you picked the company to build the website for you in Reno, did they know the Reno market? Were they a Reno Company? Do they even know business or was it just "a guy" that builds cheap websites?
My family has been serving Reno for over 30 years. Our SEO and Online Marketing Business in Reno is lead by people who know business, not just web geeks. Don't worry, we have those too. Our customers all over the west have seen 40% to 1200% growth in business due to online traffic we helped them create.
One note up front. Really good online performance takes three to six months to really get traction. When a customer makes it past 6 months, they make it for good. We have had some of the same clients since 1995. Not many other SEO and online marketing companies can say that.
We can't take all the credit for the high flying businesses. All we can do is reach customers in Reno and Sparks for you. If you take good care of the customers, then we have an army helping us help you. All you need to do is call me or send an e-mail to get started today.
Is it worth a few hundred dollars to move your business forward? Call Today and get $100 of free Google ads
775-589-2655
You say you don't have a website for your Reno Nevada business? That's ok. A website isn't required. If you want one, how about 25% off until I run out of the cards? We have a basic website package that is just $500 for businesses like yours in Reno.
I know that the economy in Reno isn't the greatest right now, but we all know it is a great town with great people. Lets keep it rolling. Barron's (March 19, 2012) says that housing will bottom out in the next twelve months. I think Reno will be among the first cities to hit bottom. Right after our famous Nevada neighbor to the south, Las Vegas.
Our office in Reno is part of the economy here too, so we want Reno to succeed and therefore we want you to succeed. Advertising online with a website and Google Adwords isn't only about getting new customers in Reno, but it is also about keeping in touch with your past customers.
I know how you feel about spending money on your business right now, and online advertising and marketing are the least expensive methods in Reno when it comes to reaching customers. This is something you must consider. Right now you have a choice, invest in your business and be a leader in the recovery of the Reno economy, or look away while your business does the same thing tomorrow it did yesterday, or maybe even less.
Call Now 775-589-2655 or drop me an email with your business name and Address and I'll send you one of these cards.
Maybe you tried online marketing in the past, or your website isn't bringing in any business. Here are my first questions. When you picked the company to build the website for you in Reno, did they know the Reno market? Were they a Reno Company? Do they even know business or was it just "a guy" that builds cheap websites?
My family has been serving Reno for over 30 years. Our SEO and Online Marketing Business in Reno is lead by people who know business, not just web geeks. Don't worry, we have those too. Our customers all over the west have seen 40% to 1200% growth in business due to online traffic we helped them create.
One note up front. Really good online performance takes three to six months to really get traction. When a customer makes it past 6 months, they make it for good. We have had some of the same clients since 1995. Not many other SEO and online marketing companies can say that.
We can't take all the credit for the high flying businesses. All we can do is reach customers in Reno and Sparks for you. If you take good care of the customers, then we have an army helping us help you. All you need to do is call me or send an e-mail to get started today.
Is it worth a few hundred dollars to move your business forward? Call Today and get $100 of free Google ads
775-589-2655
 |
| Get $100 Of a New Adwords Campaign |
Friday, March 16, 2012
Talk To The New iPad
So the new iPad is here. As a business owner and all around tech nerd, I wanted the iPhone 5 to be the new hot topic since my iPhone 4 is on its last legs. The screen doesn't work so good, the home button doesn't work unless I really press hard and the battery life is down to about 10 hours.
My iPad 2 is doing just fine and out comes the "New iPad." That said if you are an iPad 1 owner, or have been waiting, the new iPad, just called the "New iPad" is what you would expect from Apple after the iPhone 4S launch. The 4S had a better camera, the New iPad has a better Camera. The iPhone 4S has Siri the New iPad has dictation, the 4S has a faster process, the new iPad, well you get the idea.
Siri didn't come with the new iPad, instead you get "dictation". My guess is that the New iPad doesn't have Siri because Siri needs to have internet access in order to work. What is the use of finding out directions from Google Maps when it can't connect to Google Maps.
Personally I have been a user and a fan of Dragon Dictation for years. I have Dragon on my MacBook, My PC, and the iPhone version on my iPad. The piece that is missing is the part that makes it truly mobile. Text to Speech and Speech to text. I was just a little excited to see the diction button on the new iPad's on screen keyboard.
Wouldn't it be great if your iPhone would connect to your car stereo and let you push a "read" button when you get a text. Then over my speakers it would say "Dr. Goldberg Sent : I am off Friday, are you going skiing". Then there would be two simple buttons on the screen which you could also activate with voice "Reply" and "Delete". If you don't do anything for 90 seconds they go away.
I almost wonder if "Instant Voicemail" isn't really the next step. Well that doesn't matter now because the new iPad doesn't have it, or Siri. The new iPad has a dictation button. Really I want both the new dictation button and Siri all in one. That must be next.
As a long term user of Dragon Dictation, I find the new iPad dictation a little funny. How many people are going to sit in their cubicle, or out in a park just talking to their iPad? It won't automatically paste and send for you. I even feel funny talking to my computer at home sometimes, and 50% of my first book was written with Dragon Dictation so I consider myself a dictation power user.
On a mobile device I still prefer text, at least for now. I like texting for the simple reason that nobody can passively enter my conversation (eavesdrop). They have to be hacking in or reading those little letters over my shoulders. I figure the government is already doing that, but I just don't want to share that much with the people sitting around me in the airport.
Honestly I didn't want to know that the guy sitting next to me at LAX yesterday has a pregnant girlfriend. He also shared with us and the person he was talking to that he doesn't want his parents to know. He is OK sharing it with the 20 or so people around him and not his parents? We are funny as humans living in our own little world sometimes right in the middle of everyone else's little world.
Texting has grown exponentially, and the only place I want to see it stop is in the car. I have been that guy ahead of you at the light who sits through an entire green light. After seeing two really bad accidents where the driver next to me was texting, I quit texting while the car was moving. I got Dragon Dictation for my iPhone hoping I could speak my texts while I drive. It hasn't worked out yet.
In public, I also like that I don't have to answer the phone and hold it to my ear when I forget my Jawbone BlueTooth Headset when I get a text instead of a call. In fact I would be very happy with unlimited text and data plan and like 100 minutes of talk time. I mean really, who talks any more? Maybe that is why Apple added dictation to the new iPad, sow we don't forget how to talk?
The only place I really use Dragon Dictation any more is at home and even then not very much any more. My new house has an office that opens into the rest of the house and I feel like I am just bugging everyone. I could be dictating this right now since I am the only one home, but I have changed my habits back to using the old keyboard again.
Back to the New iPad, now where was I? Oh yes, dictation for all it's hype probably isn't the hot feature of the new iPad. The retina display of the new iPad is stunning but my iPad 2 is pretty spectacular already. Now the new iPad really is the super sized iPhone screen.
The real meat is getting 4G and a much faster processor with the new iPad. As fast as my iPad 2 is, more speed is always better. Even if it means I'll need a better data plan.
And now there is just one more thing......
I'll call it the "it's about time" feature I almost forgot about because I currently have AT&T. Verizon is allowing the new 4G iPad to be used as a WiFi Hotspot! That is a winning feature for people like my wife who are in Real Estate.
The more I think about it the more I wonder if I really need an iPhone any more. If I went back to my old simple, sleek Motorola Razr for a phone with like 100 minutes, and added a VOIP calling plan like Skype or Line2 to a new iPad I might have every base covered. Too bad the data plans are soooooo expensive now.
I guess since my wife and I both have the iPad 2, we will likely skip this generation. We tried an Android tablet also, and it just wasn't ready for mainstream like the iPad.
The New iPad Highlights:
Faster Processor
Real 4G
Hotspot (so far only on Verizon)
Retina Screen
The rest as they say is just "stuff". So will iPad dictation give every one a reason to talk in public at any time for any reason? Boy, I hope not.
What do you think?
My iPad 2 is doing just fine and out comes the "New iPad." That said if you are an iPad 1 owner, or have been waiting, the new iPad, just called the "New iPad" is what you would expect from Apple after the iPhone 4S launch. The 4S had a better camera, the New iPad has a better Camera. The iPhone 4S has Siri the New iPad has dictation, the 4S has a faster process, the new iPad, well you get the idea.
Siri didn't come with the new iPad, instead you get "dictation". My guess is that the New iPad doesn't have Siri because Siri needs to have internet access in order to work. What is the use of finding out directions from Google Maps when it can't connect to Google Maps.
Personally I have been a user and a fan of Dragon Dictation for years. I have Dragon on my MacBook, My PC, and the iPhone version on my iPad. The piece that is missing is the part that makes it truly mobile. Text to Speech and Speech to text. I was just a little excited to see the diction button on the new iPad's on screen keyboard.
Wouldn't it be great if your iPhone would connect to your car stereo and let you push a "read" button when you get a text. Then over my speakers it would say "Dr. Goldberg Sent : I am off Friday, are you going skiing". Then there would be two simple buttons on the screen which you could also activate with voice "Reply" and "Delete". If you don't do anything for 90 seconds they go away.
I almost wonder if "Instant Voicemail" isn't really the next step. Well that doesn't matter now because the new iPad doesn't have it, or Siri. The new iPad has a dictation button. Really I want both the new dictation button and Siri all in one. That must be next.
As a long term user of Dragon Dictation, I find the new iPad dictation a little funny. How many people are going to sit in their cubicle, or out in a park just talking to their iPad? It won't automatically paste and send for you. I even feel funny talking to my computer at home sometimes, and 50% of my first book was written with Dragon Dictation so I consider myself a dictation power user.
Admittedly, I got a degree in Business and Information Systems because I really have horrid hand writing and didn't want to learn how to hand write better. So is the next step that we forget how to type?
On a mobile device I still prefer text, at least for now. I like texting for the simple reason that nobody can passively enter my conversation (eavesdrop). They have to be hacking in or reading those little letters over my shoulders. I figure the government is already doing that, but I just don't want to share that much with the people sitting around me in the airport.
Honestly I didn't want to know that the guy sitting next to me at LAX yesterday has a pregnant girlfriend. He also shared with us and the person he was talking to that he doesn't want his parents to know. He is OK sharing it with the 20 or so people around him and not his parents? We are funny as humans living in our own little world sometimes right in the middle of everyone else's little world.
Texting has grown exponentially, and the only place I want to see it stop is in the car. I have been that guy ahead of you at the light who sits through an entire green light. After seeing two really bad accidents where the driver next to me was texting, I quit texting while the car was moving. I got Dragon Dictation for my iPhone hoping I could speak my texts while I drive. It hasn't worked out yet.
In public, I also like that I don't have to answer the phone and hold it to my ear when I forget my Jawbone BlueTooth Headset when I get a text instead of a call. In fact I would be very happy with unlimited text and data plan and like 100 minutes of talk time. I mean really, who talks any more? Maybe that is why Apple added dictation to the new iPad, sow we don't forget how to talk?
The only place I really use Dragon Dictation any more is at home and even then not very much any more. My new house has an office that opens into the rest of the house and I feel like I am just bugging everyone. I could be dictating this right now since I am the only one home, but I have changed my habits back to using the old keyboard again.
Back to the New iPad, now where was I? Oh yes, dictation for all it's hype probably isn't the hot feature of the new iPad. The retina display of the new iPad is stunning but my iPad 2 is pretty spectacular already. Now the new iPad really is the super sized iPhone screen.
The real meat is getting 4G and a much faster processor with the new iPad. As fast as my iPad 2 is, more speed is always better. Even if it means I'll need a better data plan.
And now there is just one more thing......
I'll call it the "it's about time" feature I almost forgot about because I currently have AT&T. Verizon is allowing the new 4G iPad to be used as a WiFi Hotspot! That is a winning feature for people like my wife who are in Real Estate.
The more I think about it the more I wonder if I really need an iPhone any more. If I went back to my old simple, sleek Motorola Razr for a phone with like 100 minutes, and added a VOIP calling plan like Skype or Line2 to a new iPad I might have every base covered. Too bad the data plans are soooooo expensive now.
I guess since my wife and I both have the iPad 2, we will likely skip this generation. We tried an Android tablet also, and it just wasn't ready for mainstream like the iPad.
The New iPad Highlights:
Faster Processor
Real 4G
Hotspot (so far only on Verizon)
Retina Screen
The rest as they say is just "stuff". So will iPad dictation give every one a reason to talk in public at any time for any reason? Boy, I hope not.
What do you think?
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Are You Marketing Or Advertising With That Cool Website?
Marketing and Advertising are two terms most small business owners interchange. They don't really understand the difference, and it does make a big difference to your business.
The cost of creating a cool website today really isn't much when you look at the overall cost of running a business. Better yet, the cost of advertising online and putting your business name and logo in front of millions of people every day is now possible for less than 1 seconds worth of the time a Super Bowl ad runs.
So why do companies run Super Bowl ads? For Budweiser the answer is simple. The Super Bowl ads have moved from advertising to marketing. Their customers expect it and for them the return is measurable. Most of the rest of the companies are just advertising, plain and simple.
Advertising is simply getting your name in front of people with the "hope" that they remember who you are at the right time. The real truth is the brain doesn't quite work that way. We are much more abstract than that. If I ran an ad for Scotts' Best Chocolates often enough, the most likely thing that will happen is people will want chocolate and then buy their favorite chocolate, or the best packaged chocolate on the shelf when they decide to buy.
For most small businesses, advertising is a waste of time. You advertise because everyone else is and you feel like you have too. Well the truth is you don't. It is possible to do very little advertising and a lot of marketing and do just fine.
So what is the difference between Marketing and Advertising?
Marketing is the act of reaching customers who have entered the sales funnel for your product. If you advertise often enough and consistently enough, you might start getting people in your sales funnel.
This method works for local service companies like auto repair, insurance and real estate agents. The expense of doing it is why many people in those industries fail. The trick is to Someone else's advertising might have done it and you don't care. The small business owners mission as it pertains to marketing is simply to be in front of them in some form when they are ready to buy.
When long term advertising turns into marketing, competition is effectively locked out, so it is important to start a small and consistent ad campaign
Marketing and Sales go hand in hand. Their combined purpose is to get your product or service in the hands of your customer and the customers money in your bank account. Plain and simple. Every step of a sales funnel is geared this way, and every "Ad" used in marketing should be geared this way.
Small business owners have a love hate relationship with a little split test we do. A split test is where you create two chains of events and change just one thing to see what happens. The thing I like to change is the website. If they have a super fancy website with lots of flash graphics and video, the owners are like a proud papa, and love showing it off.
Over the years I have had to tone down my approach because being "right" doesn't always get me more customers. Early on I would proudly bet the customer I could improve internet presence and marketing performance with a more simple website. I don't mean plain, boring, I just mean more simple. Then I would run the exact same ads, and link them to the two sites, each with a different phone number to see how many calls we get. After all as a marketer for a service business, all I can do is get them to call. The last step of the sales funnel is up to you to get them in the door with their wallets open.
Lately, I have had to really back off the presentation and directness of my approach. Business owners don't like to be shown they are wrong, they want to learn a better way. Learning takes time, and it has taken me several years to understand that. I have always felt that as their marketing consultant, my job was to give them the best bang for the buck period. It turns out that isn't what any business owner really wants.
These days my approach is very different and much more effective at catching and keeping new clients. The end result is the same, it just takes longer and yet customers are happier because they truly understand. Many times they end up telling me the right things to do just from observing the changes we make for them online and what happens with those changes.
The back end of my approach is still the same. After understanding the client and their customers, I build a target schema. I then gently try to work a little more of the target into the marketing instead of letting them run shotgun style all over the place. Over time, it becomes obvious what the business is really good at and what the customers really want from them.
The entire mission of small business marketing, or any business marketing for that matter is about connecting with potential new clients, staying connected with current clients and re-connecting with old clients. Being cool online is just being cool, and doing both is expensive.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Simple Tools To Grow Your Business
Every day I meet with people who own or run a business. I don't spend a lot of time in government offices now that I am retired from the Air Force Reserves. I like meeting and talking with business owners and leaders because they all understand the concept of "Mission".
My wife is a real estate agent, actually a Realtor (tm), and for the first time since I have known her, she now has a sense of "Mission". Gaining the sense of mission is one of the fastest and least expensive changes you can make in your life when it comes to achieving success at any level.
Let's say I want to lose weight, and get down to 180 pounds. Everytime I pass an ice cream store, I ask the question of mission. Will this ice cream cone help me lose 180 pounds? If it hasn't, and I am taking it as a luxury, have I done the exercise to add it today? The key difference between someone trying to lose weight and being on a mission to lose weight is the work to lose weight is done first. If I plan to be at 180 by June and I am on track and ran an extra mile today to earn the luxury of the ice cream, I can treat myself. Otherwise I have to keep walking. Today I kept walking.
Business is no different. If you want to make $100,000 this month in whatever you do and you make it a mission, decisions are much easier. When your buddies call to go to the ball game, you can look at your numbers and know that you are ahead of track or behind. If it is the 15th and you have already made $90,000. You can either work on the last $10,000 or go to the ball game.
On the 25th of the month and if you are at $90,000, your actions will tell everyone including the universe itself if you are on a mission or just set a goal. The person with a goal, will say "$90,000 is close enough." and go to the game. The person on a mission will stay and work. There is no "close enough" when it comes to real missions in real life, only success or failure.
Learning to accept the concept of mission is one thing, disciplining yourself to live it is another. The right side of my white board in the office has initials for several goals I have currently. Together they spell out the focus of my mission. I look at it several times a day and it makes me thing smarter about decisions. My goals cover a few areas today, and I highly suggest that you start out with just one target at a time for your mission. As you get better at hitting targets, then you can add more targets to shoot for simultaneously. The worst thing you can do is list to many targets and not hit any.
What is your first target?
My wife is a real estate agent, actually a Realtor (tm), and for the first time since I have known her, she now has a sense of "Mission". Gaining the sense of mission is one of the fastest and least expensive changes you can make in your life when it comes to achieving success at any level.
Let's say I want to lose weight, and get down to 180 pounds. Everytime I pass an ice cream store, I ask the question of mission. Will this ice cream cone help me lose 180 pounds? If it hasn't, and I am taking it as a luxury, have I done the exercise to add it today? The key difference between someone trying to lose weight and being on a mission to lose weight is the work to lose weight is done first. If I plan to be at 180 by June and I am on track and ran an extra mile today to earn the luxury of the ice cream, I can treat myself. Otherwise I have to keep walking. Today I kept walking.
Business is no different. If you want to make $100,000 this month in whatever you do and you make it a mission, decisions are much easier. When your buddies call to go to the ball game, you can look at your numbers and know that you are ahead of track or behind. If it is the 15th and you have already made $90,000. You can either work on the last $10,000 or go to the ball game.
On the 25th of the month and if you are at $90,000, your actions will tell everyone including the universe itself if you are on a mission or just set a goal. The person with a goal, will say "$90,000 is close enough." and go to the game. The person on a mission will stay and work. There is no "close enough" when it comes to real missions in real life, only success or failure.
Learning to accept the concept of mission is one thing, disciplining yourself to live it is another. The right side of my white board in the office has initials for several goals I have currently. Together they spell out the focus of my mission. I look at it several times a day and it makes me thing smarter about decisions. My goals cover a few areas today, and I highly suggest that you start out with just one target at a time for your mission. As you get better at hitting targets, then you can add more targets to shoot for simultaneously. The worst thing you can do is list to many targets and not hit any.
What is your first target?
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