The Freestyle Entrepreneur

I had an employee once who thought it was her job to catch me in mistakes … and to make me feel as stupid as possible about it.  That got old real fast, especially because I used to make a lot of mistakes.  But in a strange way, I must say that (today, in retrospect) I appreciated what she did.  She made me less sensitive to mistakes.  And, yes, today, I still make a lot of mistakes.  Got a problem with that?
 
Somehow in our society, we got the wrong-headed notion that it is bad to make a mistake, that it means we’ve failed or that we’re stupid.  Wrong!  Wrong!  Wrong!  Actually, it’s GREAT to make mistakes.  It means that we’re trying new things, taking chances, attempting to reach beyond our grasp. 
 
One caveat:  Yes, it’s great to make mistakes.  The problem is if you ignore them and fail to analyze, study and learn from them.  Also, try to never make the same mistake more than three or four times.   
 
Get out there this coming week and really rack up your quota of mistakes.  I’m counting on you!  So, work hard, make money, have fun … and make a ton of mistakes.
 
“Anyone who doesn’t make mistakes isn’t
trying hard enough.”
            –    Wess Roberts
 
John Ingrisano
President & Primary Mistrake Maker

Popularity: 1% [?]

There’s a good chance your business will be knocked for a loop if you die or become disabled … that is unless you make plans in advance.  One option worth exploring is a buy-sell agreement.

A buy-sell agreement answers the “what if” question about what will happen to the business if one of the owners dies or becomes incapacitated.  Its purpose is to replace uncertainty and chance with specific, legally enforceable instructions. 

The buy-sell agreement, which should always be drafted by an attorney, can protect the interests of all parties:  surviving co-owners; the deceased’s family and other heirs; and other employees, who will be assured that the business will continue.  It works by providing clear directions regarding the fate of the business if the unexpected happens.  Just as important, it helps assure that the cash for a free-and-clear buyout is available.

The document itself can be as simple or complex as your situation requires.  In general, it calls for the survivors to buy — and the heirs to sell — the deceased owner’s interest.  Additionally, it either stipulates the actual purchase price or provides a formula for determining the price.

A buy-sell arrangement is appropriate in a number of situations, including:

• If you have co-owners.  If one owner dies, the others buy the deceased’s share.  The surviving owners obtain control of the business, while the deceased’s spouse and other heirs receive a fair price for their inherited share of the business. 
• If you have family members in the business.  While you may want your daughter the vice president to take over the company, there may still be the question of providing for your surviving spouse and, possibly, children who did not enter the business.  The agreement specifies that the family member who is actively involved in the business receives full control, while other family members receive their inheritance in cash. If you have a loyal non-owner employee.  An agreement can assure that (1) he or she has the right to buy the business and (2) that the money is available to make the purchase.  
• Funding considerations:  Most agreements address the issue of funding.  The reason is obvious.  When an owner dies, perhaps suddenly, the surviving owners may be bound to purchase their deceased associate’s share of the business.  This may require a huge amount of money — hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of dollars — in cold, hard cash on very short notice.  If the money is not available, the buy-sell agreement can collapse.  The surviving owners may be forced to go into debt to meet their obligation.  In addition to the loss of their associate, they could find the business further destabilized by taking on this unexpected debt.  The agreement can quickly unravel as a result.

There are four possible funding options that can be used to carry out the buy-sell agreement:

Option # 1:  You can set up a sinking fund and build it up gradually with periodic payments over time.  Drawbacks:  As funds accumulate, they could trigger a retained earnings liability.  Also, if death occurs early, the amount would be inadequate.  Finally, it makes little sense to for most businesses to tie up what could be working capital in a hands-off fund.

Option # 2:  You can borrow the money at the time of death.  Drawbacks:  Credit can be impaired by the death of one of the owners.  Plus, repaying the debt would siphon working capital out of the business and further jeopardize its stability.

Option # 3:  You can provide for installment payments to the heirs, allowing the deceased’s shares to be purchased over time.  Drawbacks:  This strategy also places a drain on the company’s working capital.  It is comparable to continuing to pay a deceased partner’s salary for years, yet getting no value for those payments.

Option # 4: You can purchase life insurance.  Historically, cash value life insurance has proven to be one the most effective buy-sell funding options. 

Here are just some of the many advantages of using life insurance as a funding tool:

1. The money can be available in full within weeks of the deceased owner’s death.
2. Though premiums are not deductible, the proceeds are received by the beneficiary income-tax-free. 
3. The insurance is purchased with budgetable, periodic premium payments.
4. In some states, laws restrict stock redemptions, unless they are funded from company surplus.  However, life insurance proceeds are generally considered to be surplus.
5. The policy can be structured to make the cash value available to help fund a buy-out at retirement.  

The bottom line:  You owe it to yourself, your heirs and your business associates to find out more about an insured buy-sell agreement and how it can provide for an orderly transfer of your business.  There are many details to consider when designing a buy-sell agreement.  Where to start:  Contact your insurance agent.  He or she can help you analyze your situation and coordinate the involvement of other parties.

Popularity: 1% [?]

I need a marketing pro who can drive business to my new business site at Family Finance Conference Center by the  handful and bring/keep my site high on the search engine list. 

I have a set of quality products, including workshops, seminars and money management clinics built around my latest two-book set (book and workbook) of The Back to Basics Book of Money!  A Couple’s Guide to Financial Peace. 

Payment will be based on a percentage of net online book sales.  I suggest you order a copy of the book and workbook, review the site and then let me know (john@b2bbookofmoney.com) if you think you can (a) drive business to my site and (b) earn a chunk of money for yourself by helping me make book sales. — JR Ingrisano

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By Bill Willard
Contributing Author

The Issue

Small-business owners should take time to put their companies under a microscope, assessing what they’re doing and what they could be doing better, and fixing what needs to be fixed.

What I Think

If this is a good time for you to do that, consider the following tips:

• Comparing your business to similar businesses in terms of operating expenses, staffing, and working capital.
• Assessing and making the most of available marketing, branding, client communication and other business development resources.
• Identifying, accessing or participating in online business resources (you’re at one of them; might as well make the most of it!) or applicable on-site conferences.
• Reaching out to peers, and take advantage of any available networking opportunities.
• Identifying staff development needs and assess availability of new team members or support personnel.
• If you need additional support, consider speaking with business recruiters about staff development tools and recruiting opportunities.
• Assessing all applicable product knowledge, skills training, coaching and education programs.
• Consider asking your financial adviser about business development and continuation resources you might have difficulty accessing on your own.
• Consider using the equity in your home as a long-term tool for enhancing your retirement.

What Do You Think?

We’d like to hear from you. Have you registered?

Bill Willard is a commercial freelance writer in Clearwater FL. A high-impact writer and editor for over 30 years, in addition to his byline pieces, Bill’s beat includes ghostwriting and editing for businesses of all types and sizes, professional practitioners and individuals. He is a www.thefreestyleentrepreneur.com Contributing Author.

Visit his Website: www.writergazette.com/WillardAssociates.shtml. Or contact him at billw15@tampabay.rr.com to sign up for his popular e-blog, Daily Grin.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Even though I enjoy (?) playing the game and one of my three sons was a golf professional before accepting a position with the Nationwide PGA Tour, by no stretch of the imagination am I an expert on the sport of golf.

To illustrate that point, at one time I assumed that great golfers hit each shot perfectly every time.

That was an incorrect assumption of the highest order.

Sometimes they hit it too far to the right (shank) out-of-bounds; and other times they hit it too far to the left (hook) out-of-bounds. On very rare occasions all they catch is air (whiff)!

When any of the above (or a myriad of other) debacles (behind a tree, buried in sand, in six inches of rough or in a pond) happen, it is what happens NEXT that separates the men from the boys and the women from the girls. It’s how the golfer stops, takes a deep breath, figures out how to extricate himself/herself from a tough situation and executes a plan to get back on track that makes a difference. It’s the crucial recovery shot that can help save par.

One of the worst moments in my professional life occurred when I was Director of Training for a major Midwestern life insurance company. We held a three-day Education Conference in Dallas attended by approximately six hundred agents. In addition to motivational platform speakers, we provided a myriad of breakout sessions which qualified for continuing education (CE) credit. Producers appreciated the opportunity to pick up a lot of hours in a short period of time. Our conference was held in October and I was not aware that we had an issue until the following December.

“Bill, is there a problem with Ed Conference CE’s?” asked my boss on a telephone call while I was in Kansas City looking at next year’s site.

“Not that I am aware. Why do you ask?”

“Because I have been getting calls from agents saying that the hours do not show up at their respective insurance departments.”

Needless to say, I experienced a long three-hour drive back from Kansas City to Des Moines. It was going to be difficult to figure out because my assistant, the person who had done the filing for the three previous years, had resigned and moved on to another company.

And that, as it turned out, was the problem.

For reasons we’ll never know, she had failed to apply for CE in twenty-four of the thirty-eight states represented at the conference and lied to me prior to the meeting about the progress of her work. Knowing that it was a house built of cards, she resigned before the truth came out.?

To be painfully honest, that first week after finding out was pure torture. I wasn’t sure where to begin. People had paid money to attend and rightfully expected to be credited for the hours invested.

Back to my golf analogy.

The ball had been hit into a deep pond and my first step was to accept the painful truth. There would be a penalty stroke but we still time to recover.

I then called the producers in those twenty states and explained what had happened. It was important for me to let them know what had occurred and to make sure that there were no CE deadlines being missed when they renewed their respective licenses.

Then I needed to get in touch with the agents from the four states that would not or could not bend the rules. Our plan there was to encourage them to take free classes via the company’s on-line virtual university or offer to pay them for an all-day CE course in their respective communities.

To my surprise and delight, I did not deal with even ONE angry agent. Each person said that either they had plenty of CE’s elsewhere, or had all kinds of time to pick them up before renewal and I shouldn’t worry about it.

How about you?

When it does, follow the example of scratch golfers. Analyze the situation. Admit the fact that it stinks.?Accept responsibility. Make a plan. Execute. Move on and forget about it.

Bill Sheridan—Sheridan Writes, LLC

www.sheridanwrites.com

Popularity: 1% [?]

Nothing motivational or witty today.  (Yes, I know, the assumptions I’m making about past missives are vast.) 

Just an announcement that my money management workshop and seminar business is now fully functional.  The Family Finances Conference Center (FFCC) has been built around my latest two-book set, The Back to Basics Book of Money and the accompanying workbook, available on Amazon.  It’s also available as a download onto Kindle readers.  (And you thought I was a techno-dino!)

The Family Finances Conference Center is dedicated to…

1.                  Providing financial wellness programs to businesses that will help their employees enhance their money management skills while taking some of the sting out of upcoming no-raise/lo-raise year-end salary talks as we look to 2010.

2.        Providing a tool for financial services representatives to help their prospects identify available dollars to purchase life insurance, annuities and related products. 

2.                  Helping church members “find” contribution dollars to help their spiritual homes meet budgetary and other financial goals.

3.                  Working with charitable organizations to assist them in maintaining and increasing donations levels during these challenging economic times.

So, when you get the time, please drop by the FFCC website.  Not only would I like your business, but I’d also like your opinion. 

John Ingrisano
Director
Family Finances Conference Center
204 Lakeview Drive
Algoma, WI 54201
(920) 559-3722

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[ A verion of this article first appeared in the June 2009 issue of Corporate Report Wisconsin.]

(This could be titled, “How John Lost His ‘Blink Factor’ … and How He Got It Back Again.”)

Like the cat that always lands on its feet, some entrepreneurs consistently seem to stroll through the mine fields of potential disaster and come back with juicy, successful deals every time.  These are the people who always land on their feet, for whom the bread always hits the floor jelly-side-up … always.  I have seen them.  In fact, I used to be one. 

Is it luck?  Instinct?  Intuition?  Forget luck.  No successful SBO can count on the coin flip for consistent success.  Sure, luck helps, but that’s just the cherry on top of the sundae … nice if you get it, still just fine if you don’t.  You will waste more time waiting for luck than you will gain by going out and seizing an opportunity. 

No, ongoing success is the result of a combo of instinct and intuition.  But here’s the rub:  We’re talking about educated instinct, learned intuition.  Successful entrepreneurs don’t just decide arbitrarily what will work and what will not; they decide based on a ton of background research, keen observation and focused attention. 

For me, it was nothing more mystic than relentless focus.  I’d decide what I wanted and then I’d become something of a mini-expert in the field.  Then, once I’d done massive research, I’d make an instinctive decision that felt right in my gut. 

For example, a few years ago, I decided I wanted to acquire property that would give me cost-free office space and that would also be a good investment.  I did my homework and learned everything I could about investment property and local property values.  I also spread the word that I was in the market. 

Voila!  I was approached by a property owner eager to sell.  I ended up buying a large, two-story building for $18,000, relocated my office in it for four years (thereby eliminating my rent payment) and actually earning rent from a tenant.  I sold it four years later for $95,000.       

This is what Malcolm Gladwell talks about in his book, Blink.  As Gladwell points out, there are things we know in an instant, in the blink of an eye (the concept is technically labeled “rapid cognition”) that can defy months of painstaking research.  It’s about things that your mind or some inner part knows before you realize it.  For example, the author talks about some supposedly-ancient statues a museum purchased.   After  months of investigation into their authenticity, they declared them real.  However, after the fact, two other experts looked at them and immediately – in the blink of an eye — declared them to be fakes, which they were. 

That’s how it can be in business.  I could look at a deal and – in the blink of an eye – tell whether it was worth pursuing or best left untouched.  Yes, it was a gut feeling, but based on a whole lot of research and background.     

Then I lost it.  How?  Two things happened:  First, I began to think I had some intuition, some uncanny instinct … so I stopped doing the research.  Bad decision   Second, I began to listen too much to advisors and others who had other agendas.  In other words, I began to attempt to accommodate other objectives into my research, and I lost my focus.  Super bad decision.  And, yes, I did get it back by returning to what I had known/learned long ago.

The point:  Set crystal clear goals, become a mini-expert in the field, and then keep your eyes open for that opportunity that, when you see it, makes your heart flip and your gut say, YES!  That’s the entrepreneurial instinct.          

* * *

Popularity: 4% [?]

The Nine C’s of Leadership

Compiled By Bill Willard

Contributing Author

The Issue

Remember Lee Iacocca? The guy who rescued Chrysler Corporation from itself?  Well, he’s 82 now and has a new book: Where Have All The Leaders Gone? (Scribner, $26). What follows is another part of my series of macro and micro “Leadership” Book Reviews and Issues of Week—a look at Iacocca’s “Nine C’s of Leadership”.

What He Thinks

Iacoccoa pulls no punches when he wonders: “Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up with what’s happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder!” We’ve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we’ve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can’t even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, ‘Stay the course.’”

Stay the course? You’ve got to be kidding, says Iacocca: “This is America, not the damned, ‘Titanic’. I’ll give you a sound bite: ‘Throw all the bums out!’

Iacocca elaborates on nine C’s of leadership, with Curiosity being the first, but keeping one’s head during a Crisis perhaps the most essential leadership trait.

1. A leader has to show CURIOSITY. He has to listen to people outside of the “Yes, sir” crowd in his inner circle. If he doesn’t put his beliefs to the test, how does he know he’s right? The inability to listen is a form of arrogance. It means either you think you already know it all, or you just don’t care.

2. A leader has to be CREATIVE, go out on a limb, be willing to try something different. You know, think outside the box. Leadership is all about managing change — whether you’re leading a company or leading a country.

3. A leader has to COMMUNICATE. I’m not talking about running off at the mouth or spouting sound bites. I’m talking about facing reality and telling the truth.

4. A leader has to be a person of CHARACTER. That means knowing the difference between right and wrong and having the guts to do the right thing. Abraham Lincoln once said, “If you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

5. A leader must have COURAGE. Swagger isn’t courage. Tough talk isn’t courage. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk.

6. To be a leader you’ve got to have CONVICTION — a fire in your belly. You’ve got to have passion. You’ve got to really want to get something done.

7. A leader should have CHARISMA. Charisma is the quality that makes people want to follow you. It’s the ability to inspire. People follow a leader because they trust him.

8. A leader has to be COMPETENT. You’ve got to know what you’re doing. More important than that, you’ve got to surround yourself with people who know what they’re doing.

9. You can’t be a leader if you don’t have COMMON SENSE.

THE BIGGEST C IS CRISIS. Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. And according to Lee Iacoccoa: From 9-11 to Hurricane Katrina and the crises we confront today, this last area is where our nation’s leaders have fallen flat.

What Do You Think?

We’d like to hear from you. Have you registered?

Bill Willard is a commercial freelance writer in Clearwater FL. A high-impact writer and editor for over 30 years, in addition to his byline pieces, Bill’s beat includes ghostwriting and editing for businesses of all types and sizes, professional practitioners and individuals. He is a www.thefreestyleentrepreneur.com Contributing Author. Visit his Website: www.writergazette.com/WillardAssociates.shtml. Or contact him at billw15@tampabay.rr.com to sign up for his popular e-blog, Daily Grin.

Popularity: 1% [?]

By Bob Seelert
Published by Wiley, 2009. $24.95

Today, the words “business” and “wisdom” are rarely seen in the same sentence. But for Bob Seelert, Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi, the two go hand-in-hand. At a time when our economic systems need to energize people and produce leaders at all levels, Seelert brings us Start with the Answer.

This collection of ninety-four real-life stories from Seelert’s forty-year career as CEO of five companies in three different industries provides insights and practical instruction for anyone who wants to succeed as an executive, business leader, or entrepreneur. In this well-written, down-to-earth book, Seelert outlines his strategic, principle-centered approach to decision-making and problem-solving, and shares insights gained through his exposure to extraordinary people, events, and institutions.

Seelert boils it all down to the “eight dimensions of business life” that every leader must master to succeed: Preparation, Building and Managing a Career, Business Strategy, Business Operations, Finance and Economics, Leadership, Culture and Communication, and Personal Spirit and Style.

In exploring those eight dimensions, Seelert provides experience-based tactics, principles, and ideas for overcoming the challenges of modern business.  Offering both the philosophy and the nuts-and-bolts of leadership, Start with the Answer provides critical insight aspiring leaders can use to succeed.

But more than business fundamentals, Seelert also describes the philosophical foundation of quality leadership. Start with the Answer argues that leaders must first know themselves, and only then can they develop the values, beliefs, and principles needed to earn the trust of those they lead.

The Bottom Line? Before you can take your career to the top and lead your business to new heights, you have to know where you’re going. And before you can do that, you must plot your course. In short, you must Start with the Answer.

Author Bio – Bob Seelert is Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi, a leading global ideas and advertising company. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School, he has been CEO of five companies, has built brands and businesses, been a party to two mega-mergers, and enacted numerous turnarounds. He has served on boards of directors of companies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. He lives in New Canaan, Connecticut.

For more information visit:  www.StartwiththeAnswer.com

Popularity: 2% [?]

By Bill Willard
Contributing Author
For my wife, Sue Willard
“Thanks for the Mammories & Sons, Others & Brothers Teams

Breast cancer occurs in both men and women, although male breast cancer is rare. Estimated new cases and deaths from breast cancer in the United States in 2009:

·    New cases: 192,370 (female); 1,910 (male).
·    Deaths: 40,170 (female); 440 (male).

That further breaks down to 204,999 per year, 17,083 per month, 3,942 per week, 561 per day, 23 per hour, 0 per minute, 0 per second. (Source: SEER 2002 estimate).

Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust are holding another “Breast Cancer 3-Day” walk in Tampa Bay. Oct 30, 31 and Nov 1, 2009. The Bay Area 3-Day team, “Thanks for the Mammories” and “Sons, Others & Brothers (SOBs!),” will take part in the 3-Day walk again this year.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure is ranked a 4-star (out of 4!) charity by Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent evaluator of charities. Of every dollar raised, 83 cents is used for breast cancer programs. Komen for the Cure is dedicated to curing breast cancer at every stage–from the causes to the cures, to the pain and anxiety of every moment in between.

The Komen foundation is proud to report that every advance in breast cancer research has been funded by dollars raised by events like the Tampa Bay Breast Cancer 3-Day. The successes achieved over the past 26 years are impressive. Did you know, for example, that the five-year survival rate for breast cancer, when caught early is now 98 percent (compared with 74 percent in 1982)? Or that America’s 2.5 million breast cancers survivors in America, the largest group of cancer survivors in the U.S., are living testaments to the power of society and science to save lives?

What We Can Do

We all receive many requests such as this. Helping raise funds for the 3-Day walk and Susan G. Komen for the Cure is something of which we can all be proud. Last year, the Tampa Bay team raised more than $5 million to help in the fight to end Breast Cancer, forever!

Each walker in the Breast Cancer 3-Day must raise $2,300. The Bay Area team is hosting a Casino Night, September 12, 2009, and is requesting your participation as a sponsor of this event. My bride, Sue, a member of the Bay Area 3-Day team, is participating in her third 3-Day Walk for the Cure. Sue thanks you in advance for your consideration.

To Contribute or for More Information

Visit  www.thanksforthemammories3day.com. The 3-Day Web site is: www.the3day.org The Susan G. Komen for the Cure website is: www.komen.org. Your contribution will be recognized by displaying your business’ name on your donated gift.

Bill Willard is a freelance commercial writer in Clearwater FL. A high-impact writer and editor for over 30 years, in addition to his byline pieces, Bill’s beat includes ghostwriting and editing for businesses of all types and sizes, professional practitioners and individuals.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Falling isn’t the issue.

The problem occurs when you don’t get back up and try one more time! We are in a business climate that requires getting back up—sometimes again and again and again.
It works for me, when in a bind and on the pity pot, to bring to mind people who have inspired in me the importance of persevering.

I think of Drexel Peterson who hired me to do part-time radio announcer/disc jockey work many years ago at KVFD in Fort Dodge, Iowa. He was in his fifties and had some type of serious health issue that caused him to spend most of his time in a wheel chair. However, at times he would pull himself up on crutches that were his sole means of support since he had no use of his legs. Drexel exhibited more courage doing that one process several times a day than many of us do in a lifetime.

I think of my mother, Virginia Sheridan, who at age forty-three became the sole support of six children between the ages of six and sixteen when my dad died. There was no life insurance, a failing locker business to run, and a financially grim financial future. Instead of giving up, Mom regained old secretarial skills and went on to become a much respected assistant to the superintendant of the largest high school in the area. We all pitched in with whatever work we could find based on our respective ages, never missed a meal, and look back with pride at how she and we survived.

I think of Johnny Tierney who regularly stopped in the gas station where I worked for my uncle as a teenager. Johnny had been ’shell shocked’ in WWI and walked downtown several blocks in my hometown of Lawler, Iowa with short choppy steps. His body trembled from head to toe as if he had Parkinson’s disease. Although totally disabled, he never lost his sense of humor and was a delight to be around. 

I think of Mike Wertz who was one of my students at St. Edmond High in Fort Dodge, Iowa in the early 1970s. Someone playfully pushed him into a public swimming pool when he was in junior high and the incident freakishly broke something in his spine that paralyzed him for life. Mike never gave up and has gone on to lead a productive wheel chair-bound life for himself and his wife.

And these are just a few of many whom I hold in awe.

I could get on the phone and get stories from every one of you about someone you know who has overcome great adversity. It might be a person who suffered something dramatic or simply overcame a major disappointment in life or love—but managed to successfully rebound and move forward with grace and dignity.

As you consider the people described above, I ask you to think about people whom you personally admire for their bravery and perseverance. Borrow some of their courage to carry on. It is no secret that this has been and will continue to be a challenging time for all of us in business. But make no mistake about it; you can have a major influence on your success by getting back on that proverbial horse when business is down by your can-do attitude and willingness to work even harder than ever before.

It’s time for us to get back up and overcome adversity. It’s your opportunity to shine and excel. You may never know how much your encouragement and sales ideas bolster the confidence of potential customers, but be assured that you will have a positive affect on them if you proceed with courage and enthusiasm.

Bill Sheridan—Sheridan Writes, LLC— www.sheridanwrites.com

Popularity: 2% [?]

By Bill Willard
Contributing Author

The Issue

The car business is big business run by The Big Boys; franchised car dealerships are small businesses run by small-business owners like us. The relationship, never cozy, has soured since the economy hit the skids—soured perhaps permanently.

Ironically, many car dealerships that have had their franchises yanked are well-run, highly successful businesses. But that didn’t matter when car companies were handing out ultimatums: You’re history. Sell those new vehicles by a certain date or kiss your company-paid incentives goodbye.

I’ll leave it to others to ferret out what Washington has on the Big Three  (actually, GM and Chrysler; Ford seems OK), and what this president of ours is up to.  For now the questions are:  How much trouble is the car business in? What effect will it have on local dealers and the communities they serve? And what are they doing about it?

What I’ve Learned

The ramifications of all this on the car business are huge. Automakers have pledged to make the transition as painless as possible, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be problems. With thousands of Chrysler and GM dealerships closing, customers could be confronted with problems over warranty coverage and trade-ins, among other matters. “When all of these relationships are disrupted, you can’t help but have some elements of chaos, and some practical problems occur,” observes Aaron H. Jacoby, a Los Angeles lawyer who represents car dealers.

As for otherwise profitable car dealers being forced out of business, any thought of suing the car companies is being dismissed (Think: Fighting City Hall). But because Chrysler and GM have pledged to stand behind their warranties, this could be a good time for consumers to hunt for bargains as dealers sweat out unloading inventories. According to a report by Sonic Automotive, a chain of 164 Iowa car dealerships, “The lack of liquidity resulting from the financial services industry crisis has also hindered our ability to refinance our upcoming debt obligations in 2009 and 2010.

For now, however,  car shops have bigger and better fish to fry! Certainly, bankruptcies could result, but a part of bankruptcy law allows companies to reorganize to protect assets while they’re figuring out how to pay their debts, though a federal bankruptcy court also might order assets to be sold to pay creditors.

The fact is, for a lot of feisty car dealers across the country all this carries a familiar aroma: Opportunity! “The other side of the coin is that we’re going forward with business, we’re going to be an independent used car dealer,” northwest Iowa Chrysler dealer, Scott Schuelke has remarked, adding. “We’re keeping the shop open and we’re going to service our customers just like we have for 78-years! We may even look into another franchise one day!”  Do I detect a wink?

Those are noble sentiments from people who care about their own success, but who also care about people in their communities they’ve done business with over the years, or who they’ve employed, or both.

But that’s what we’ve come to expect from Freestyle Entrepreneurs!

What Do You Think? We’d like to hear from you, especially if you’re in the car business. Have you registered?

Bill Willard is a freelance commercial writer in Clearwater FL. A high-impact writer and editor for over 30 years, in addition to his byline pieces, Bill’s beat includes ghostwriting and editing for businesses of all types and sizes, professional practitioners and individuals. He is a www.thefreestyleentrepreneur.com Contributing Author. Visit his Website: www.writergazette.com/WillardAssociates.shtml. Or contact him at billw15@tampabay.rr.com to sign up for his popular e-blog, Daily Grin.

Popularity: 2% [?]

The very thought is fraught with perils, pitfalls… and exciting possibilities.  The idea of hiring their children for the summer brings a dreamy look to the eyes of many small business owners…as they envision a dynasty bearing the family name being handed down from generation to generation. Then they break into a cold sweat as they wonder what damage, discord and dishonor “Junior” might bring to the company.

The good news/bad news about hiring your children for the summer:  On one hand, it gives the kids a taste of what it’s like to be in business.  Perhaps they’ll go back to school with a better understanding of the frustration and excitement that drives you every day.  And just maybe they’ll want to follow in your footsteps.  Even if they decide that the business isn’t for them, a summer on the payroll could strengthen the relationship between you.  On the other hand, it could lead to family strife and disrupt the smooth workings of your company. 

So, consider the following before adding your son or daughter to the payroll this summer: 

·        Make sure you both want to do this.  Many children would rather flip burgers for minimum wage down the block than receive $15 an hour plus their own office in your business … and be known as “the boss’s kid.” 

·        On the other hand, if this is something that’s important to you, try diplomacy and tact.  But also keep in mind that some things just aren’t meant to be.  If you have reservations about your child’s maturity or your own ability to cope, encourage him or her to seek summer work elsewhere.  You’ll both be happier … and the business will be better off.

·        Make sure it’s a real job … with real responsibilities and pay.  Bringing Junior in to do a make-work job for an inflated paycheck and come-and-go-as-you-please hours will undermine the morale of your other employees … and be a disservice to your child.  Of course, there are situations when you may want to pay your child an above-average wage for tax and/or college tuition reasons.  If this is the case, keep these arrangements between you, your child and the bookkeeper.   

·        Make sure you know who will supervise your child.  Parents tend to be either too lax or too strict.  If you’re the kind of parent who can’t coach your child’s sports team without blowing up, don’t try to manage your child in the business.  Get somebody else to do it.  But be aware that supervising the boss’s kid is no honor in the eyes of most employees.  Make sure this person can be fair, and has your total support … especially when Junior starts talking shop around the dinner table.

Tax considerations:  If you decide to hire your children for the summer, you should also be aware of the ins and outs of your tax situation.  Hiring family members can create a unique set of opportunities and problems. 

·        Your child’s salary is deductible as a business expense.  This can reduce your taxable income.  If the money is to be used for college expenses, you are effectively paying tuition with pre-tax dollars.

·        If your business is a sole proprietorship and your child is under 18 years of age, you pay no unemployment or Social Security taxes on wages earned.

·        If the business is a corporation, you must pay Social Security taxes on wages, regardless of age. 

·        Your child can deduct up to the standard deduction without owing any income tax. 

The bottom line:  If properly arranged and carefully planned, hiring your kids for the summer can create a win-win situation — both financially and personally — for you and your children, while also generating some highly attractive tax benefits.  Check with your tax advisor for details. 

Work hard.  Make money.  Have fun.  – JRIngrisano

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[A version of this article first appeared in the May 2009 edition of Corporate Report Wisconsin]

Note to the university professor at last fall’s business conference:  The following is an attempt to explain why I slipped out early during your presentation on “The New Economics.”

As a business writer, I send out biz-tip email blasts periodically to clients, prospects, and fellow small business owners.  They’ll be on such topics as husband-wife survival skills, marketing on the cheap, surviving your own vacation, etc.  I have learned to separate out my recipients into two distinct email lists: one for salaried managers and university professors, the other for small business owners. 

That’s because I discovered that the difference between the two is like that between men being from Mars and women from Venus.  The gulf is vast.  

Now, as a 25-year veteran of self-employment, I have a distinct bias.  Nonetheless, I do not mean to imply, state, infer or hint that one group is superior to the other.  Far from it.  As any entrepreneur will tell you, the smart folks are the ones who snagged a berth on Big Corp, USA.  (That’s also why the banner on my website, The Freestyle Entrepreneur — http://www.thefreestyleentrepreneur.com – is “Survival Skills for Those of Us Crazy Enough to Work for Ourselves.”)  

My point:  Regardless of where you get your bread buttered, be aware of that huge mindset difference between a business manager and a small business owner.  At the root of it is the reality of risk and reward.  While managers can muck it up and move on, or still keep on collecting their salaries for at least a little while, SBOs put their money on the line each and every day … and they can’t just put out a resume and move on if they screw up.  They have to live with the results of what they create.  They risk not just their time and talent, but their assets, income, capital investment, home, business, car … their entire lifestyle and standard of living. 

That’s why SBOs are big on experience versus theory.  Go to a conference for business owners, and the presentation by a successful CEO or the roundtable panel discussion of entrepreneurs (people with a track record of building businesses and making money) will always be packed.  Meanwhile, the talk on business models by the MBA who has never risked a nickel of his or her own money on a business venture will generally go begging. 

While we may enjoy a good book on one theory of management or another (and a smart SBO is one who always keeps learning and growing), we learn best by our own experiences and by talking and listening to those who, as the saying goes, “have been there, done that.”    

Most of all, SBOs are doers, big on action, less so on planning.  Example:  While many corporations may have a three-year, new-product development schedule, an SBO is more likely to take a walk through downtown, talk to key people in different areas, sniff the wind, and then sit down over a steak and whiskey with two associates and announce, “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do and here’s how we’re going to do it.”  

And, yes, odds are that this fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants research will be just as right just as often as that carried out over six months, at a six-figure cost, by the big corporation. 

My point:  For those who work with entrepreneurs and other business owners, never forget that we really are different – independent, time-stressed, very much in need of helpful information and advice … and very impatient with the rest.

So, as always, work hard, make money, have fun. — JRI

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The Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
 
One of the most valuable lessons I have learned as the years have gone by is the futility of being concerned about things over which I have no control. And if it is true that the best definition of wisdom is ‘knowledge rightly applied,’ I’ve gained wisdom in that I now concentrate only on things over which I have at least some modicum of control.

• I can’t stop the inconsiderate person who thoughtlessly throws a wadded up paper towel on the floor of the men’s room for someone else to pick up; but I can pick it up myself and toss it in the waste basket
• I can’t make young people use their turn signals or old people turn their turn signals off; but I can drive carefully and courteously myself
• I can’t stop the DOW Jones Industrial Average from dropping like a rock; but I can be careful about my spending habits and prepare an annual financial plan to make sure that we’re doing the best we can with the funds that we’ve worked so hard to accumulate
• I can’t run the government; but I can respect the President and elected officials currently in power at any given time whether I voted for them or not
• I can’t stop racism or sexism or any other type of ‘ism’; but I can appreciate all cultures and show respect for all people regardless of gender or skin color
• I can’t stop the aging process; but I can continue to learn and love and laugh and cry and work and play with great vigor and enthusiasm
• I can’t prevent people from losing their jobs and facing difficult times; but I can be a friend when it happens to someone by being an encourager
• I can’t be twenty-five again; but I can share (when asked) my experiences, both victories and defeats, in the hopes of making the road a little smoother for younger people who have years and miles ahead of them
• I can’t stop negative people from being negative; but I can choose to avoid them when possible and attempt to be a beacon of light during times of darkness
• I can’t slow down the changes in technology that come at us with warp speed; but I can accept, respect and learn how to use the tools that help us learn, allow us to communicate with the world and provide entertainment
• I can’t control the world (nor do I want to); but I can prevent the world from controlling me by taking responsibility for my actions and becoming a life-long learner
And you? Well, you can make you own list of what you can and cannot control. It’s a truly liberating experience!

Bill Sheridan    Sheridan Writes, LLC     www.sheridanwrites.com

Popularity: 2% [?]

These are tough times for businesses.  Odds are that your employees know it too.  Like a sword hanging over their heads, they’re worried about the future, too.  Here are a few suggestions to boost morale, allay fears and keep your team focused:

1.                     Communicate.  Not knowing what is going on is worse than hearing bad news.  Gather your employees and fill them in.  If times are tough, ask for their help.  If your business is doing well, make sure they know it.  Either way, allay their fears with the truth.  They can take it.  They’re grownups. 

2.                      Consider alternatives to layoffs.  Surveys have found that employees would prefer pay freezes, reduction in hours, even reduction in pay to laying off a portion of the crew.  Layoffs destroy morale.  They can be devastating not just for those who are let go, but for those who remain.  (As one ad pointed out recently:  “Are you the one who was let go on Friday … or the one who has to pick up the extra workload on Monday?”)

3.                       Show them how to stretch their dollars.  Institute a Financial Wellness program.  For most people, they can easily improve their standard of living by as much as 10 % just by taking a few money-saving steps.  Invest in classes or seminars, or make available books on money management.

The bottom line:  Help your employees get through these challenging times … and they’ll help you.  This is a golden opportunity to get everyone pulling together as a cohesive team. 

Work hard.  Make money. Keep morale strong. – JR Ingrisano

$ $ $

Want to learn more?  Check out The Back to Basics Book of Money! A Couple’s Guide to Financial Peace, by John Ingrisano.  The book contains 10 valuable Couple Money Skills.  Plus, the Back to Basics Book of Money Workbook (which dovetails with the main text) offers 31 practical, hands-on Wealth Builder activities that can help you and your partner build financial and domestic stability.  Both the book and workbook, which retail for $31.98 plus S & H, are available at the Family Finances Conference Center website for $27.99 total. 

The Family Finances Conference Center tailors programs to the unique and individual needs of client organizations and their members and employees, based on the principles of the book and workbook set, The Back to Basics Book of Money!  A Couple’s Guide to Financial Peace. 

For more information, contact me at the Family Finances Conference Center by email (john@b2bbookofmoney.com) or my direct phone line (920-559-3722).

John Ingrisano

Director

Family Finances Conference Center

204 Lakeview Drive

Algoma, WI 54201

(920) 559-3722

john@b2bbookofmoney.com

Popularity: 2% [?]

Putting Your Best Foot Forward

By Bill Willard
Contributing Author

The Issue

Among many other pearls wisdom my parents offered is this: “You can go anywhere and be dressed for any occasion in a blue blazer.” They were right: in fact, one way for small-business owners to put your best foot forward at work–no matter who comes to see you or where you have to go–is by keeping a blue blazer your office.

In case you’re wondering, the navy blue blazer became associated with sporting clubs and prep schools in the 1920s. But as more people began wearing them–affiliated with clubs or schools or not—by mid-century, blue blazers with gray slacks or khakis had become classic working and social attire, and a big part of the preppy look that started in the 1950s.

What I Think

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like…Oops! Better snap out of my Holden Caulfield flashback! I didn’t much enjoy my Connecticut prep school at the time, but got a pretty decent education out of the deal. The dress code up there called for navy blue blazers with the school crest (“Founded in 1794”), and I’ve had one like it hanging in my closet ever since. Go figure!

Try This: Give your image a head of steam! “A blazer adds sophistication, even when paired with jeans and a T-shirt, so you will be ready for unexpected business meetings, even on casual Fridays,” suggests Leslie Gonzales, Fashion Advisor, Charlotte, NC, in the June 1 issue of Bottom Line, Personal.

Blazers are a retail staple, but for my money the best blue blazer is sold off the rack at Brooks Brothers! At last count, a man’s classic Three-Button Sack 1818 Blazer will set you back $528; a woman’s model runs $399  (plus tax!).  But here’s another piece of parental advice worth heeding: “If you’re going to do something, do it right, even if it hurts.”

That goes for clothing, and about anything else you can name.

What Do You Think?

We’d like to hear from you. Have you registered?

Bill Willard is a freelance commercial writer in Clearwater FL. A high-impact writer and editor for over 30 years, in addition to his byline pieces, Bill’s beat includes ghostwriting and editing for businesses of all types and sizes, professional practitioners and individuals.

He is a www.thefreestyleentrepreneur.com Contributing Author. Visit his Website: www.writergazette.com/WillardAssociates.shtml. Or contact him at billw15@tampabay.rr.com to sign up for his popular e-blog, Daily Grin.

Popularity: 3% [?]

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You know that financially stable employees are less distracted, more productive. They are also more likely to stay with your company. This helps boost retention, reduce turnover, and lower the costs of finding, attracting and training new hires.

With this in mind, I’m pleased to announce that I’ve formed a new business — Family Finances Conference Center – to help employers maintain employee morale and take the sting out of cutbacks and uncertainty during these days of LoPay/NoPay raises.

We’re offering financial wellness programs on money management, based on the 10 Money Skills in The Back to Basics Book of Money!  A Couple’s Guide to Financial Peace book and workbook set. 

And since I’m still in the start-up stage, I’m wheeling and dealing, offering some dramatic cost savings for both my workshops and quantity orders of the Book of Money. 

To find out more, contact me directly at john@b2bbookofmoney.com or call (920) 559-3722.

Work hard.  Make money.  Have fun. — JR Ingrisano

Popularity: 3% [?]

By Bill Willard
Contributing Author

The Issue

What is your management style? Are you a macro or micro manager? When is micro management appropriate, and why, and when is macro management appropriate and why?

What I Think

As a small-business owner you interact with your employees more than you would in the corporate world. That is, if you have employees. If you don’t, this Issue of the Week is moot. Go grab a cup of coffee! A company’s setup, staff education level and experience will actually dictate which management style is more appropriate for you as much or more than your preferences.

Managers and SBOs are, by definition, big-picture macro managers; that’s why you get the Big Bucks. Knowledgeable, well-trained employees are micro managers. They manage themselves and any other employees they’re assigned to supervise (think of NCOs in the military).

Speaking of the military, for a terrific illustration of micro v. macro management read Joker One (Random House, NY 2009), Donovan Campbell’s first-hand account of “Courage, Loyalty and Brotherhood” in a Marine platoon in combat in Iraq. Considering that the author graduated with honors from Princeton and the Harvard Business School, and was first in his class at the Marine Corps’ ultra-challenging officer training program, The Basic School (he thought it would look good on his resume!), it is hardly surprising that anything he writes about small-unit leadership would have a lot more going on than a riveting war story—though it is every bit of that!

A two-tour combat vet, Iraq and Afghanistan, the spring of 2004 found Captain Campbell back in Iraq commanding an infantry platoon known by its radio call sign, Joker One. Before crossing into Iraq from their staging camps in Kuwait, Campbell got to know his command, and learned valuable first-hand lessons in leadership—including the difference between micro and macro management.

Leadership 101

Joker One would be carried to war in two seven-ton flat-bed trucks, which were configured for movements stateside where “carrying capacity took precedence over personnel protection or fighting capacity,” Campbell suggests dryly. The cab of each truck held only two people: “Myself and the driver…in the first and the platoon sergeant and [the other] driver in the second…The rest of Joker One had to sit in the truck beds.”

The trucks as configured were extremely uncomfortable, but worse, the Marines could not readily return fire if that was needed. So Joker One’s battalion commander “instructed each platoon to come up with two designs apiece for centerline benches using only what we could carry with us,” Campbell notes, “The best design would be standardized and used throughout the entire company.”

Campbell called his NCOs together to explain what the CO wanted and why, then turned them loose: “As much as I wanted to direct their efforts, to appear the in-charge leader who knew exactly how things should turn out, two minutes of observation convinced me that my men working together would create something far better than I would working on my own…Standing on the side, carrying the occasional…case of water, I looked for opportunities to give direction, but they didn’t need it.” A winning design was soon turned in and implemented with no need for micro management, as Captain Campbell wisely recognized.

Two days later, Joker One readied itself to head north into Iraq. Captain Campbell was charged with navigating the battalion convoy through the largely trackless wastes of southern Iraq: “I spent [that last night in camp] checking and rechecking my crude map…I also had a GPS, and should that fail, I wore an electronic compass on my wrist and a magnetic compass on my flak jacket…This redundancy may seem like overkill, but I was all-too aware that if I missed a checkpoint or made a wrong turn somewhere, a thirty-vehicle convoy spread over two miles would somehow have to make a U-turn on a two-lane highway with no shoulder to speak of and treacherous, slippery sand on each side.”

Worse, insurgents had demonstrated their ability to find and attack vulnerable lost convoys: “The weight of 200 or so lives was heavier than I expected,” Campbell concedes.

The best way to ensure the safety of his convoy was never to make a navigation mistake. Worried that he would, Leader Campbell recalled all he could of the land exercises he had done during his months at The Basic School, and when the battalion arrived safely at its destination, proved to be land-nav proficient and the first-rate leader that he and all Marine Corps officers are trained to be.

As an SBO you set the ground rules for results and efficiency, but are primarily responsible for the Big Picture—avoiding those navigation mistakes and completing the mission. Micro management is typically appropriate with newer employees during training and testing, or when an emphasis on work details, schedules and corporate policies is called for.

Otherwise, treat employees as if they know their jobs and are best left alone to do them, as Donovan Campbell so ably demonstrated. By forgetting that lesson, you may be inhibiting the potential of your employees and denying them the role of creative innovators for your business.

But that doesn’t mean letting them do whatever they want whenever they want do it, or to create discord. Some employees require more supervision than others, and not every employee has the discipline and dedication of enlisted Marines (“Gung Ho” is more than an expression!) or the mission focus and maturity of their NCOs. So be ready to turn on your micro management skills when necessary.

What Do You Think?

How much or now little do micro and macro management mean to your business? Are you able to maintain an effective balance between them? How do you do it? We’d like to hear from you. Have you registered?

Bill Willard is a commercial freelance writer in Clearwater FL. A high-impact writer and editor for over 30 years, in addition to his byline pieces, Bill’s beat includes ghostwriting and editing for businesses of all types and sizes, professional practitioners and individuals. He is a www.thefreestyleentrepreneur.com Contributing Author. Visit his Website: www.writergazette.com/WillardAssociates.shtml. Or contact him at billw15@tampabay.rr.com to sign up for his popular e-blog, Daily Grin.

Popularity: 3% [?]

States Offer Voluntary Disclosure Programs to Help With Delinquent Tax Returns

By Jonathan Medows, CPA
Medows CPA, PLLC (www.medowscpa.com).

Despite the obvious benefits of being your own boss: flexible hours…stimulating daily work…the opportunity to make more money than you can working for someone else, small-business owners and freelancers face challenges unique to self-employment. Along with the likelihood of sporadic paychecks, paying your own insurance bills, and financing your business, the self-employed are responsible for setting money aside for taxes. Every year, year-in and year-out, they must report their earnings and pay the government. But with the current economic situation, many of the self-employed simply cannot pay what they owe.

So, What To Do If You Come Up Short?

In September 2008, several states, including New York, initiated “Voluntary Disclosure Programs” in an effort to ease collection of unpaid taxes. The objective? Encouraging those who haven’t paid their taxes to come forward on their own. The Offer? Significant incentives to anyone agreeing to arrange payment.

What’s more, voluntary disclosure laws include privacy provisions that protect compliance by not using disclosed information against participants. However, there is this exception: Taxpayers intentionally violating the terms of voluntary disclosure agreements may find the government using their disclosed information against them.

This program benefits the government and taxpayers. Since time and money are not wasted tracking down the delinquent, States collect the money owed and taxpayers avoid criminal charges. While the program waives penalties for late returns, payment of tax principal and interest is still required.

In addition to clearing delinquent taxpayers of penalties and criminal charges, the plan saves them plenty of money. In fact, with penalties alone accounting for 25 to 50 percent of tax bills for late filing, this program is too good to pass up. What’s more, penalties for outstanding liabilities could equal or exceed the outstanding interest, so the advantage of paying interest-only–sidestepping those additional charges–is tremendous.

Taking advantage of the program is simple:

• First, prepare outstanding tax returns and file an application, which can be found state Revenue Department websites.
• Then, enter into an agreement to pay what’s owed and to pay future taxes as they come due.
• Installment payments can be arranged if taxes due cannot be paid in full.

The program covers all taxes administered by State Tax Departments – including income, corporate, and sales. Any taxpayer meeting the eligibility criteria can participate, even if nonpayment was the result of fraudulent or criminal conduct.

But not everyone is eligible! For example, New York State disqualifies anyone who has already been contacted by the State about an outstanding return, or who is under criminal investigation by the state agency or political subdivision, or who is being audited by the government.

The Toughest Part?

Dealing with back taxes is something many taxpayers—business owners especially–try to avoid, or at least avoid thinking about. And why not? There’s the cost of a business owner’s time and of hiring competent professional advice, not to mention the cost of the taxes owed and penalties! Small wonder that, even now, taxpayers who’d benefit most from Voluntary Disclosure plans are still shying away.

Lack of awareness? Perhaps. But if you think about it, the advantages of voluntary disclosure are many, very clear, and when understood, extremely difficult to pass up. Saving money…Avoiding prosecution…Forestalling further penalties. Powerful incentives all. The psychological effect of coming out of the proverbial closet and avoiding those calls from the tax man? Priceless!

About Jonathan Medows, CPA - Jonathan Medows received his Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, in Economics and Accounting and his Master of Business Administration in Finance from the Stern School of Business, New York University. Mr. Medows also earned his Master of Arts in Judaic Studies and Rabbinic Diploma from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. As a Certified Public Accountant in the States of New York and Maryland, Mr. Medows has worked as a Staff Accountant for Arthur Andersen and as a Senior Consultant in the Restructuring Group of KPMG. For the past five years, he has been engaged in private practice and is the managing member of Medows CPA, PLLC (www.medowscpa.com).

Popularity: 4% [?]

Need an interest-free loan to help out your business?  According to Nate Kok, Assistant Vice President, at Hometown Bank in Appleton, Wisconsin, the SBA has just finalized the America’s Recovery Capital (ARC) Loan Program.

Whether you are pro or con on all the bailout ideas coming out of Washington, this seems to be a pretty interesting deal.  If your business is struggling (lost customer base, saw an increase in costs, or a reduction in working capital or employees) you may be eligible for up to $35,000 in loans.

Here’s the overview: 

1. The loans are interest-free, with repayment deferred for 12 months. 
2. Loan payments can be used to make principal and interest payments on existing loans over a six-month period.
3. Loans are approved on a case-by-case basis.
4. Loans are available from SBA-participating banks.
5. Loans will be available until allocated fund are depleted or September 10, 2010, whichever comes first.

The ultimate goal is to take the pressure off your finances and enable businesses to redirect their normal cash flow from loan repayment to investment in their business, such as inventory expansion, covering payroll, etc., Kok said in an email release on May 18. 

If you are based near the Fox Valley in Wisconsin, contact Hometown Bank at (920) 731-9025.  Otherwise, talk to your own lender for more info.

And if you get a chance, let me know how it goes.  — JRI

Popularity: 5% [?]

Crucial conversations –
Tools for Talking When the Stakes are High
By Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler
Foreword by Steven Covey
McGraw-Hill, 2002, Paperback $16.95

Reviewed by
Bill Willard

From my own work with organizations, including families, and from my own experience, I have come to see that there are a few defining moments in our lives and careers that make all the difference. –Steven R. Covey, from the Foreword

At home or at work, most of us dread having “crucial” conversations, but as Steven Covey says, we also know we can’t avoid them—or shouldn’t. So when the chips are down, as they often are in those situations, how do we say what needs to be said without shooting ourselves in both feet?

The authors of Crucial Conversations offer a seven-point strategy for achieving that goal, and they do it all with a wry sense of humor!

Make That, Seven Point “Time-Tested” Strategy!

You see, Crucial Conversations is based on the authors’ highly popular DialogueSmart training seminars, which feature techniques for getting people to lower their defenses, creating mutual respect and understanding, increasing emotional safety, and encouraging freedom of expression.

What you get: As do seminar participants, readers learn the four factors that characterize crucial conversations, and take away a powerful six-minute technique that prepares them to work through any high-impact situation with confidence, and come out the other end with their lower extremities intact.

What you don’t get: Don’t expect a bunch of touchy feely mumbo jumbo about keeping your head screwed on straight (I do like talking technical!). The authors mean business, identifying communication gaffes and detailing how to steer key business and personal conversations in the right direction to get results.

Want proof? Most books make promises. This one delivers. “These skills have . . . generated new techniques for working together in ways that enabled us to win the largest contract in our industry’s history,” proudly reports Dain Hancock, President, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

Bottom line: With the skills learned in this book, you’ll be ready to talk to anyone about anything, and never sweat the outcome of a crucial conversation again.

Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler are top international corporate consultants and cofounders of Vitality Alliance, Inc., and VitalSmarts. Together they have developed dozens of corporate training programs for dozens of Fortune 500 companies.

Bill Willard is a freelance writer and editor in Clearwater FL. He has been a high-impact writer and editor for over 30 years. He began his “faith journey” to Catholicism in 2008 at his wife, Sue’s urging. After putting up with him for 40 years, all she had to do was ask!

Visit his Website: www.writergazette.com/WillardAssociates.shtml. Or contact him at billw15@tampabay.rr.com to sign up for his popular eblog: Daily Grin.

Popularity: 4% [?]

 [A version of this article first appeared in the April issue of Corporate Report Wisconsin.]

 
Who has the entrepreneurial spirit?  Not everyone, that’s for sure.  While many people dream about the romance of being self-employed (I know, romance?), most folks aren’t cut out for the life.  So, here’s a tale of two guys and a gal.

Tom decided to give entrepreneurship a shot.  He loved the freedom of setting up camp at different coffee shops in town and plunking away on his laptop. 

But he lacked even the most basic discipline.  When people gave him a shot, he missed appointments, told prospects what they needed rather than listening to what they wanted, criticized the competition, and operated on a sunny-afternoon schedule that ignored pressing deadlines.  Tom is once again an employee, still complaining about how others did him in.

Then there are Jim Truckey and his wife, Lynn.  The two of them make an incredible team.  Jim is the dreamer, the big thinker.  Lynn is the practical one, who keeps Jim from floating off into ventures that are too wild. Both of them have a drive and determination that makes lesser souls want to go home and take a nap.  They’re brash, tough, inexhaustible, politically incorrect.   

Most of all, they make no excuses.  They are focused, determined entrepreneurs.  In less than a decade, starting out with a corner building in downtown Algoma, Wisconsin (just south of Door County on the shores of Lake Michigan) they started Good Tidings, a nautical-accessory gift shop; bought and rejuvenated Steele Street Floral next door; and run a direct mail business from the back rooms and in Green Bay, along with several other tightly-focused businesses. 

What I love about Jim and Lynn is that they’re ambitious, reasonable risk takers.  They bought a building several years ago, being the highest bidder on one and getting it for a song … but then getting in over their heads on a second property that they did finally manage to unload for only a marginal loss. 

They don’t count their losses or gripe about bad luck.  They plan, they think … and they work and work hard.  One snapshot image galvanizes my respect for them:  One Sunday late afternoon last winter I was driving through downtown Algoma.  It was perhaps 4:00 PM, overcast and dreary.  Every other shop was closed.  But in front of Good Tidings and Steele Street Floral, the OPEN banner waved in the chilly fall wind.  And upstairs, in Jim’s office, the lights were on. 

Lynn and Jim have the souls of entrepreneurs.  No Washington bailout for them, but also no whining, no complaining, no public sulking.

When I say, “Work hard!  Make Money!  Have fun!” Jim and Lynn Truckey know exactly what I’m talking about.  –    John R. Ingrisano, The FreestyleEntrepreneur

Popularity: 4% [?]

Book Review

The Back to Basics Book of Money
–A Couple’s Guide to Financial Peace
By John R. Ingrisano
Paperback, Copyright 2009
Text: $15.99 & Workbook: $14.99 Set: $24.99

www.b2bbookofmoney.com.

Reviewed by
Bill Willard

News Flash: The newly married typically have long, bumpy roads ahead of them under the best of circumstances. An economy that stinks out loud does nothing to improve the terrain. One thing that can help, however, is knowing where you’re going and being able to navigate when you hit the trail.

There! I think we’ve gotten our dime’s worth out of that metaphor. It’s time to see how John Ingrisano’s latest Money Book can help newlyweds get their financial house in order, and begin married life on solid financial ground.

Learning By Doing

Ingrisano has a rare talent for pulling rather than pushing readers into subjects. This time he gets right to it in the Table of Contents. He begins by setting out a series of learn-by-doing money-management and wealth-building objectives. He then develops those through 10 “Couple Money Skills” in the text, which the newly married who are smart enough to be serious about all this can put to the test with real numbers and real results in 31 “Wealth Builder” workbook projects.

The use of “projects” not “exercises” is a lot more than semantics.

Example: Couples learn Money Skill #5: Treat Debt as a Curable Disease, (“Learn How to Use Credit Not Abuse it”) then put that new mindset to work in Wealth Builder #16: Stop Adding Debt, (“The first step in getting your debt under control is to stop adding new debt”).

Sound almost too simple? Ask young married folks shelling out for debt consolidation about that.

Words of Advice: To the newly married who can’t have John Ingrisano around giving Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down to their financial moves: First, count your blessings! Then order The Back to Basics Book of Money –A Couple’s Guide to Financial Peace. That’s one financial decision I wish Sue and I could have made when we were starting out in 1968!

Bill Willard is a freelance writer and editor in Clearwater FL. He has been a high-impact writer and editor for over 30 years. He began his “faith journey” to Catholicism in 2008 at his wife, Sue’s urging. After putting up with him for 40 years, all she had to do was ask! Visit his Website: www.writergazette.com/WillardAssociates.shtml. Or contact him at billw15@tampabay.rr.com to sign up for his popular eblog: Daily Grin.

Popularity: 5% [?]