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    • Insurance for Home and Business Part 2

    June 16, 2010 by

    So once again insurance is part of a sucessful future. Any modern day consumer puts themselves as so much more of a risk if they do not have the various types of insurance such as home, car, life, health, and business insurance. Life is full of risk and insurance is the best way that we can live a life that is more secure and protected.

    If you have seen any political news since President Obama was elected to office you would have heard of health insurance. Medical expense are some of the most out of control services that you can think of. A simple emergency room visit can now cost over one thousand dollars, and that is just for walking through the door. Life saving surgeries can cost up to and over 100,000 dollars. Health insurance is very expensive, much more than many can afford. The key for millions is that health insurance is a primary benefit to the job they hold. Also with Obama’s plan companies are offering it cheaper than ever before. Your health is one of the most valuable assets you can have, so invest in yourself and make the effort to get insured.

    Life insurance can be a savior if life makes an unexpected turn. Death is an unexpected and scary thing as there is no telling when it is your turn. An average funeral and other expenses can go for over $6,000. Not to mention any left pver medical or credit card debt. Policies range from a few thousands to a lot more. Life insurance is a long term investments with small premiums depending on the policy amount. Life insurance is a good investment that will take care of the situation where a lost family member would result in loss of a house, loss of possessions, and loss of a future.

    Businesses can be one of the most rewarding and yet riskiest steps a person can make. It is a dream of thousands to live out the life of owning a business. Yet for all the potential rewards businesses have the risk of losing everything if not managed right. So business insurance is the best way to protect your investment. Anything can whether it be natural disaster, robbery, or just failure as a business insurance can provide some compensation for your loss. Insurance can provide and protect the security of your future. Look at who your are protecting and what matters in life  and save your future with insurance.

    Posted in Uncategorized | | | 0 Comments

    Insurance for Home and Business Part 1

    May 24, 2010 by

    Risk is the thing that can make you rich or can strip you of every possession. Risk rules the world and has destroyed millions of lives throughout the ages. Places such as Las Vegas and New York run on the idea of risk and odds. But when it comes to protecting y0ur home or insuring your business risk is one that you do not want to feel the pressure from. This is where insurance comes into play. Whether it is car, home, health, life, or business insurance is a part of the modern individual and the first key to obtaining a secured future is to understand the benefits and the costs of each so that you can make an informed decision about your coverage and premiums.

    Car insurance is almost a necessity if you own a car. While in some states it is still not required to have it it is still very important to secure your possessions. The worst case scenario is if you do not have car insurance and you are in a major accident. Depending on your coverage your insurance company pays for your car and the person you hit’s car and both of the medical and other long term expenses. Now lets say you are in an accident and you have no insurance: the other car was a Mercedes, they have long term health treatment, and they are out of work all because of your mistakes. All of those combined can total to hundreds of thousands of dollars very quickly. You will be suited and you will lose everything that you own of value. Don’t put yourself in that position. Many premiums are less that $1000 a year, or just over $80 a month. They save your car, your health, the other person, and your possessions and future.

    Home insurance is also a big expense but also has great value. You need to think of your home as a long term investments. You have committed yourself to pay one, two, three, four hundred thousand or more and it only takes on event to make that value all go away. Floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, trees falling, etc all happen to thousands of homeowner every year and they see themselves in a very difficult situation. If you have home insurance that once tragic incident now is a time  of hope. You need to evaluate your risk for natural disasters and look at ways to reduce your risk of events such as burglary and house fires. But no matter what you do there is still the risk which means there is the need for insurance. House insurance being such a large yearly expense can be easily integrated into your mortgage payment process and your property taxes. Look at it more of a mandatory expense and not an option. Protect your growing investment and look towards the future.

    Posted in Personal Finance | | | 0 Comments

    Diversification: The Safety Net

    May 21, 2010 by

    In the stock market risk is what makes the money but also takes the money. Money comes out of no where and then disintegrates just as fast. The world of a stock trader is fast paced, chaotic, and very stressful. So when the markets go down if you have invested all of your savings in one and it tanks you are left with nothing but a bad aftertaste of a disappointing experience. But there is a way that all personal finance advisers and traders use as a safety net in their and their customers portfolios and that security is in the form of Diversification.

    By definition Diversification “is a risk management technique that mixes a wide variety of investments within a portfolio” (Wikipedia). By having a portfolio with a range of investments it spreads the risk of one particular sector going into a downturn. By using diversification you purchase investments through most if not all of the major economic sectors including financials, health care, manufacturing durable goods, etc. This the most practical method of reducing risk while still having a high potential return portfolio. You can manage your portfolio to go for more safe investments or increase the risk for higher returns it all depends on what your financial goals are and how comfortable you are with the market and your investments.

    Diversification can also be used as a safety net when you place money in a more risky investment. Many small companies promise high returns for a start up capital in their business. This is one of the biggest leaps of faith you can take in a group of business minded indviduals. Thousands of start up companies fail each year after only one or two years in business. Or you can hit the jackpot and invest in a company that is the next Google, Apple, or Microsoft. The value of diversification here is that even if the business fails you still have other sectors of investments that you can fall back on and if the company is sucessful you can still achieve a good boost in your portfoilo.

    Overall the portfolio of your investments should have a good amount of several sectors. It would be very difficult to find any financial planner that will tell you to just be in the Automovite sector or just be in semiconductors; it is just not a smart move for your long term goals. To be sucessful as an investor or just to secure your retirement you need to have a wide range of investments so that you will still have a return when the market is high but you will also have a barrier that will protect you in the event of one taking a huge hit. So take control of your investments and take them to a credible financial planner that will help you plan out your goals and set yourself up for a financially secure future.

    Posted in Personal Finance, Stock Market and Economics | | | 0 Comments

    Marketing and Its Importance To a Business

    May 20, 2010 by

    Without customers any business is going to be belly up in a heartbeat. To run a successful business you need to utilize all of your weapons in your arsenal of attracting new customers and keep the current ones coming back for more. The main way to do all of this in one step is to run a marketing campaign or just have a marketing plan incorporated into your original business plan. Marketing is a very powerful and influential tool that business owners have been gambling on for hundreds of years. A well thought out and well positioned piece of marketing can generate a very high amount of business for a very small amount of money put in. Every large business has dedicated team that work on just marketing. But no matter how big your competition you can still achieve great strides with intelligent marketing.

    In any Marketing 101 class the first thing that they will teach you is the Four Ps. Product, Price, Place, and Promotion breakdown every aspect of what you need to think about even before you consider the monetary aspect of a promotion. The first P is Product. You need to evaluate the value of your product. It needs to be something that your customers will buy. You cannot expect to continue to sell Hummer vehicles in a more eco conscientious world where gas is $3.00-$4.00 a gallon. You need to have a demand for your product or else no matter how much money you spend on advertising it just won’t sell.

    Once you determine that your product is of value and that people do want that product then you need to think about the price of your product. Price is one of those things that takes a lot of time evaluating and calculating the price and the profit margin. You need to determine what the people are willing to pay, how much you need to continue in business, what is your “market price” and much more. Many large corporations spend over a year before a product comes out just working out all of these details and calculating all of the costs. This process is not to be taken lightly as it will make or break your product and potentially your business.

    Next is Place. This deals also with the product. Think about what product(s) you are selling and ask if they are in a realistic market. You will not be able to sell bathing suits in Alaska during January and you can’t sell parkas in Florida. You need to find where you product is a realistic need for people. Now there are products that are a feasible purchase in most if not all areas such as cars, groceries, electronics, etc. But if you were to evaluate even a specific grocery product you can determine where there is higher demand and where there is no demand. You need to evaluate your product and your price and it all relates to your customers and your price. An example is you can sell Corvette “A” at South Beach for $75,000 because there is a market for flashy convertibles there; but take that same car and you might be lucky to sell it for $25,000 in the snowy northeast. All three relate to each other and one can great effect the other, but to be most successful all three need to be in perfect balance and harmony for your benefit and the customers’ benefit.

    The last section of this is the Promotion. Now that you have a realistic product with a large enough market and a manageable price for your market you need to promote your product so that they know about it and then they want to buy it. Think about car commercials. They build their car to be most safe, or most luxurious, or be the fastest, whatever. They make their car seem the best just for you and that you need to buy it. It also applies to food companies. Their burger is the biggest, tastiest, and the cheapest. They provide their own research facts that make their product the “most desirable” to the typical person such as you and me. Depending on what your product is you need to find out what method is going to be most effective at convincing your market that your product is the best for them. You need to determine what venue you want, what your budget is, and what message you want to convey to customers. All of this takes careful planning and strategic placement. Work on how you can be most efficient in your business and how you can sell your product the best. Marketing is definitely a risk as you can lose thousands of dollars easily with very little return, but it can create an explosion of growth much more that would have ever been possible. Consider the pros and cons for your individual situation and think of how you can implement a marketing strategy in your business.

    Posted in Business Peformance and Growth | | | 0 Comments

    The Failure and Corruption of The Financial System

    May 11, 2010 by

    In the fall of 2008 the market crashed. While many people are afraid to call it a crash as many were afraid to call it a recession, it truly was a crash in all sense of the word. Losing over 1500 points in a matter of a couple weeks led to the eventual pit that bottomed out in March 2009 at less than 45% of the market high value. The value of a home plummeted and people were losing their life’s savings before they even realized it was gone. For a brief time the country fell to its knees and the confidence in the economy was shattered. Fear and paranoia gripped the country at our most vulnerable place and squeezed the hope and money straight out of the people. The country was reeling with a simple but powerful question, “How did this happen?” How did it happen? Even to this day people fail to realize the true core of what created one of the most infinitely rich set of people of the world, and then took it from them along with every American in the country.

    The core of all of this is the simple sin of greed. Evaluating what the motives were behind the collapse and it all boils down to the want for more money. Heres how the crisis started: It starts with a couple who wants to buy a home.  To buy the home they need to get a mortgage from a broker. The broker connects the potential home owners to the mortgage lender. Through this the broker makes a commission. So the couple becomes homeowners and they send monthly payments at probably 4-5% interest. Good investment right?  Then there is a banker who borrows millions if not billions of dollars to buy a lot of these mortgages and piles them to be ranked. You have the safe, okay, and the risky mortgages that can be cut up into AAA, BBB or unranked investments. These bankers buy hundreds of thousands of mortgages and receive a river of payments in every month. The money is used to pay the safe ones first, then the okay, and what is left is used to pay off the risky mortgages.

    Everything is alright for every party involved. Then the investors see this and want a piece of the pie. They have tons of money to invest. The old way to invest all of their money was to invest it in the government. But the treasury is only paying out between 1% and 2%, not a good investment. But the mortgages are paying between 4% and 5% or even more. So the investors buy up the AAA, BBB, and risky mortgages and sit on them as they get a stream of money in from all of the mortgages. Everyone is happy. The couple is now homeowners, the broker got his commission, the lender got his money, the banker borrowed millions and sold billions making tons of money after paying back the loan, and the investors have a profitable investment. So why not buy more.

    The investors look to the banker, who looks to the lender, who looks to the broker, who looks for more customers; but all of the responsible people have mortgages already. So why not sell to the irresponsible couple. Here is the thinking. You lend a couple a home much larger than they can afford and you expect them to make a few payments until they default. So you get some money plus a home worth $350,000. Works out right? So they sell these time bombs to millions of people and the foreclosure rates skyrocket. See the way this system works is if you sell your mortgage it is the next guy’s problem. So the pass on the hot potato you still make your profit and the next guy gets the short end of the deal. So it got passed on to the bankers who tried to sell it to the investors who said no. Here is where it all fell apart. The bankers were now stuck with the time bomb and there was no one who would take it. Then the homes start to flip. People walk away from the houses and the bank owns them. But with thousands of foreclosures the value of the real estate market across the country is cut to below half of what it was worth. The banks sell houses at rock bottom prices and lose millions. The time bomb goes off and Wall Street blows up. Financial institutions left and right crumble which causes the stock market to crash. So in the end people walk away from their new homes with their credit destroyed, millions of people lose their jobs, and Wall Street is spinning. The country lost billions of worth and we are still recovering and still will be for the next several years.

    Posted in Business Ethics | | | 0 Comments

    Mistakes That Rule The Economy

    May 7, 2010 by

    It is human nature to unconsciously make mistakes. Everyone does it and it is only a matter of time before we make our next one. But when you are in a place of managerial power you have a responsibility to minimize the amount of mistakes that you and/or your employees make and when they occur to control the mistakes. But when you have the ability to make decisions that effect a range of people the consequences can make a huge impact.

    Such an example was the mysterious trading of Proctor and Gamble CO. on Thursday May 6th. In the afternoon it is assumed that a trader in charge of a large amount of assets was to sell a specific amount of stocks. But with a simple mistyping the amount sold was far beyond what was intended, causing a 20% drop in the stock value of a corporation worth hundreds of billions of dollars. This sent a shock wave through the Dow Jones, NASDAQ, and the S&P 500. In a matter of 5 minutes the Dow Jones tanked 10% sending the traders and economy into a state of panic. Luckily the economy went back up to relatively where it was trading before after about 20 minutes. But just think for a moment what would have happened if it didn’t recover… it would have been the single greatest day loss in the history of the Dow Jones. So as you can see a simple mistake can cause a downward spiral in such a fragile state that the economy is. In result of that trade, the VIX or Volatility Index, (which means a bad economy if the index is up) spiked to its highest levels in over a year. The mistake has lasting impacts and it wasn’t even permanent.

    Now think about some other officials such as, i don’t know the PRESIDENT. President Obama has made some mistakes as many Republicans would love to point out, but the mistakes we make are much less important when the Military or the Healthcare system are in the balance. And think about some CEOs of the major companies of the DJIA. CEOs of the major banks and the automobile industry have been called to congressional hearings to explain their part in the Economic Collapse. They are the poster child and in many ways the scapegoats for why their company had a downturn. So you need to evaluate the decisions and the mistakes you make on a daily basis. If you are in a position of power realize that you have a responsibilityto the company to make accurate and objective decisions and actions. If you are not on a position to make those types of decisions look from their point of view the stress they undergo, but don’t let them get away with irresponsible actions. So in conclusion look at your life and your actions and figure out which mistakes you make and which can change, because we all make mistakes it is just on which magnitude of impact they can have and how people can be affected by them.

    Posted in Business Ethics | | | 0 Comments

    The Overall Value of Outsourcing

    May 6, 2010 by

    America in many ways is one of the richest countries in the world. But our place in the world is slipping. Look back 50 years ago we as a country were a manufacturing and economic mega country. We were on top of the world, and one of the hubs of the country was Detroit. Now present day and Detroit is full of poverty and ruins of buildings. We have let our country in many ways crumble and one of the main sources of this downward cycle is the idea of outsourcing. When managers started realizing that they could cut the cost of labor by shipping it to China the power of the United States of America started to dwindle.

    The idea of shipping out the manufacturing to China, Thailand, Canada, Mexico, etc has been around for decades. Think about all of the products that you own, what percentage of them are made in America? Very few products that the everyday person uses are still made here. Goods such as clothing, shoes, electronics, toys, etc are by far mostly made in other countries. While this may not seem like a bad thing at first, but look deeper at the hidden cost of outsourcing. Think about all of the jobs from manufacturing a piece of clothing. Hundreds of jobs can all be focused on one product. Or take cars for example. 44 out of 50 states had companies that supplied parts for GM. When GM went under there was a ripple effect that shook the country. So it just shows how much our economy is intertwined.

    So it just goes to show that if a business moves its production you can imagine just how much money is leaving our country. To maintain our country’s standpoint we ideally try to keep as much as we can inside of our own economy. By outsourcing you hurt the USA overall and in many ways you interfere greatly within your own country. Many other countries such as China have very radically different approaches and laws that apply to everyday business. Overall the value is not there, in my opinion. The surge of outsourcing of production has turned our once global leader economy to a vegetative state. We can recover our country and it starts with the consumer. By purchasing USA products you will pay more it is a fact. Paying a worker $8.00/hour is more than $1.00/day. So look around and support your country and try to prevent the global movement of outsourcing before there is little or no manufacturing left in our country.

    Posted in Business Peformance and Growth | | | 0 Comments

    6 Easy Steps to Personal Financial Security Podcast

    May 6, 2010 by

    Here is the video for my first podcast. Enjoy!

    6 Steps to Personal Financial Security

    Feel free to leave comments!

    Posted in Personal Finance | | | 1 Comments

    Finding your market niche, or making one

    May 5, 2010 by

    The automobile industry is spinning faster than ever. The car as we know it is changing faster and is becoming far from what the classical car once was. The image of the automobile has changed over the last century since the original Ford Model T, but now we may not even have to use petroleum in just a matter of years. The idea of ”alternative” fueled vehicles may seem a little far fetched, but in actuality the idea has been in development for over 20years. Now with the major automakers searching the next hot vechile many will look to find where they can make their mark. But do you follow the bandwagon or do you stand alone? The idea of going against the grain may be intimidating for some or a welcomed challenge for others, but how do you choose especially when it comes to a multi million dollar gamble?

    This was the case for GM during the 1990s. They had put a lot of R&D into the new car that challenged the concept of a car. The popular cars of the 1990s were nothing like this sleek and electric concept car. But with no emphasis on marketing the car was a failure, not even selling 1,000 models. The car could have been the starting of a revolution. But they had no effort into the product and they left it fall into nothing. Flash forward 20 years to today and GM has invested tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars into the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. The same vehicle in a sense just in the future and it is a cultural phenomenon. Every major car company is coming out with a electric vehicle. They had the right idea they just didn’t put the investment in.

    Less than a decade after the GM EV-1 failed, Toyota came out with the Prius. Since 1997 the Prius has been a beyond successful car model. They have been the image of fuel efficient and have boosted Toyota to one of the fastest growing car companies in the world. Up until the unexpected acceleration and brake issues Toyota was at the top of its game. The Prius was very much similar to the EV-1 just 5 years behind GM, and they stuck with their product. The difference between having a car and selling thousands is marketing. The Prius has become a poster child for the Global Change Movement and for over a decade they were pretty much unchallenged. Now the question if GM stuck with the EV-1 would the outcome been different? Many would say that they could have started the revolution that the Prius started, but the executives of GM let it slip through their fingers.

    Now this idea doesn’t just apply to the auto industry, it applies to every small and large business. Whether it is a product or a service you can follow the safe road and stick to what you know is successful or you can take a risk and make your own path. Setting yourself apart from the competition can definitely have its payoffs, but it also has the risk of change. This is the basis of a business plan. Before you even start to invest money in a business you need to know if you will lose everything or maintain a profit. Do you have a business idea? If so would you set yourself a part with a whole new approach or do something that is the safe road? Should have GM stuck with their guns or did the fold with reason? Think about a revolutionary product that changed the game. How did they make their mark and were they successful? Thanks for reading.

    Posted in Marketing | | | 2 Comments

    Listening Effectively, Not Just Hearing

    April 21, 2010 by

    Your boss or our teacher is rambling on a subject that you just don’t care about. This moment is the difference where you hear or you listen. In business effectively listening to your boss or especially the customer is one of the most essential skill any worker can have. It is how you receive direction, how you mentally process a request and how a business runs at its core. You are just dead weight if you lack the ability to listen. Many people confuse hearing, with listening. There is a huge difference and it is the difference from “Huh?” and “You got it”.

    Listening is a deliberate action and you need to work on your ability to do so. By being a proficient listener you set yourself apart by giving yourself the image of being a more helpful and  in sync with the organization. Also by listening, you will be listened to more and you will have a better influence in the business. But listening takes skills and focus to work on the technique. The first step in effective listening is the ability to pay attention and to focus on the speaker. If you are thinking about your response, about your schedule, how you need to leave, about how you forgot to do something, etc. All of it is unnecessary side tracks and you are not focusing on what the person just said. Hearing is natural, listening is an intentional action. So spend the time and the effort to focus on the speaker, for it will have its benefits.

    The next essential to listening is to understand what the person is saying. Not only do you need to mentally collect the information you also need to decifer what it all means. Listening requires all of your personal effort and attention to do it in an effective way. Many people lack the dedication and the personal will to make the  extra effort count. This is whats sets apart the workers who will advance and those who won’t. If you want to succeedat work as well as in life in general listening can be your greatest gift. To instinctively do this takes lots of time and effort. A person who naturally listens and is able to be productive because of it will advance far in the business world and be overall successful.

    Posted in Job Skills and Techniques | | | 1 Comments

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