Archive for August 11th, 2011
By Clint Maki, Infinite Press
I get asked one question a lot by people in regards to Social Media Marketing. “What do I Blog about?”
The answer is fairly easy. Is there something about you that “sticks” with people? Blog about whatever makes you unusual or memorable. Blog about whatever fuels your passion and gets you excited. What is it that you like to talk about the most?
Celebrities know ONE fact: If you want to play BIG then DON’T try to fit in…Stand out. Be unusual. Be audacious. Your unique spirit will be your calling card.
When you build your name through Social Media Branding, you MUST make yourself STICKY. The single most common mistake business owners make is that they try to be just like their competitors. In your niche you MUST define why you are different and therefore BETTER.
People instinctively desire to be different. They also crave to associate with anything scarce or new. Give that to them in abundance and they will NEVER leave you as a customer. I have made a lifetime career of this strategy. It’s a state of mind that is counter-intuitive, but in the long rung VERY productive
Most people will however die with their music still inside them. What a shame that, for the sake of fitting in or for fear of being criticized, most people will cower in fear and live a life of quiet desperation. But not you! The fact that you have read thus far proves your desire to step up and stand out. Bring out what is good and worthy and show it to the world. Your gifts and talents CAN change the world, but YOU need to bring them into the light.
So, as you build those Facebook, YouTube and Blog platforms, remember that you are an original. Paint that picture and tell that story YOUR way. You will attract more people just like you and the rest of the people on the planet just wont notice. It’s better that way.
I have been told that I am memorable (sticky). Good or bad, it’s true. I am definitely STICKY. I hope you are too.
Clint Maki is a Social Media Marketing expert specializing in Branding through Social Media channels.
Clint is the Director of Social Media Services at Katapult Enterprises, a Marketing and Coaching company dedicated to evolving You, Your company and your Brand.
Choosing the right person to fit one position in your company is something you really need to pay attention to, why should it be? The answer is pretty simple, of course you do not want to let swindlers or incapable person in mental especially to work under your management since people with mental incapability tend to commit crimes more often than people with healthy mental. Also people with mental defects or mental conditions will be able to be traced from his / her background, no matter how innocent these people may look still you cannot let down your guard. Doing a proper Background Check has become a must now, it is much better and yet wiser to prevent rather than to regret since things like that cannot be fixed once it happened, who can undo the swindling happened to you when it is already too late? Not even the public prosecutors or laws can turn the time back and take your regret! Once before when business competition was not this high and global economy crisis have not spread out like it is now, Criminal Background Check might be something not really necessary to do, but now with a really tense and high competition of business, added with severe economy crisis many people have turn their way from the right track to the way of crimes. Some are even worse due to life pressure and the force to survive. That is why in this modern time with so many chances to do crimes here and there, to do Criminal Check properly is not a waste anymore but more to something which can be considered as early preparation to protect your company. Remember that a well done preparation is the key to success, with proper preparation it is not impossible to deflect even the worst threat!
For a student writing an essay is a must, no matter how clever you are or how good your marks are still you cannot escape from writing tasks. Writing task is a must for student, even so there will be times when you cannot dedicate you time for it, a time when you have to take care something more important and whether you want it or not you have to leave your writing task behind taking the risk of having bad marks at the end of semester. It is really sad that you have to sacrifice your mark unwillingly, that you were forced to even though you have try your best to organize your time. Understanding your position custom writing service has set up a one stop writing task help center for you. Any kind of writing tasks, nearly all due time will be accepted, wider range selection of subjects, customizable writing style and unlimited revisions. All are dedicated for students like you, who are willing to do but yet do not have the time needed. You will also be able to have twenty four hours direct contact with your writer to check for your writing task progress. Buy custom papers now and start reorganizing your schedule.
As everyone is unaware of the reality of the future and you can be in need of money at any stage of life. For all such conditions, you should always be preparing by applying for the online installment loans. These are the financial help which you can take advantage in your hard financial crisis conditions. You can have the money without going anywhere. As the whole process is made online, so you can make all the steps using the internet.
This online installment loans scheme ensures the fast and easy approval facility. As the name suggest, you can apply for these loans online and even you can submit the application form online. This all ensure that you don’t need to visit anywhere for the applying or submitting the documents. This online application form will ask your basic details regarding your name, address, phone no and profession etc.
But to be a truly borrower, you need to ok with some conditions like should have USA citizenship, over 18 or more in age, employed since last one year with a regular income source and must have a permanent account in any USA bank.
If you feel that you can qualify these terms and conditions then only you can apply for this online scheme. Your loan application will be approved if you satisfy all above given conditions.
The repayable time and conditions will not add on any burden because these are totally made according to your convenience. This is the greatest thing of this loan scheme that you can easily repay the loans in installments and even for the repayment; you can use the online system. So, all such facilities are provided to you at your home in reply of normal charge fee. So, this is a great scheme and you should take its advantage if you are suffering from the financial crisis.
Understanding the ROI formula
The Return on investment is a simple ratio, but understanding its implications can help you go a very long way as an entrepreneur. It is simply return divided by investment. You can increase your profitability, which implies increasing your selling price. And you can reduce your investment and with the same returns enjoy an increased profitability.
To take a simple example, if you were selling something for 100 bucks and made a 20% profit, you could increase this profit to 50% if your investment fell to 80 bucks. A 20% decrease in investment led to a 30% increase in profitability.
The important observation is that they are inversely related. Another important observation is that as costs keep on falling, profitability will increase at an increasing rate. So the harder they fall the better it is for you as they will propel you to a situation of leap-bound growth.
Understanding Control
Now since we know the mathematics of the ROI formula, lets see what we can do and what we cannot do. In many cases particularly in online retail, increasing your selling price will be a suicidal move. A lot of businesses are built on cost superiority. Customers want cheaper goods which are of the same quality, especially when they can see that the quality is same.
Consider a customer buying a cell phone from you or your competitor. They know that it is the same phone and they are not going to pay the cost of your inability to manage your operations effectively. So the selling price is basically market-driven.
But is it the case with costs as well? Most mediocre retailers consider this the case. So they sell at market-determined prices and pay those costs and make the normal market profit. But the smart ones dont do things differently. They know that what goes out their pocket is under their control.
Using A Little Creativity
Now just think how you can reduce your investment in business. Each time you make a purchase you pay, and each time you sell, you receive. For an average retailer, this is the chronology of events that unfold in course of a transaction:
Place order for raw materials
Pay and receive order
Hope, pray and wait for customers to turn up
Sell and receive payment
Pay careful attention to the cash flow. Money leaves your pocket at point two and returns at point four. The more the time difference, the greater amount of money you will have to put in as investment, as most people buy in bulk and sell in small lots. So you pay a big amount upfront (investment) and expect smaller parts to come back with profit.
Imagine this, how would this situation be:
Receive order to sell and receive payment
Order the supplier and take goods
Pay the supplier after a time lag
Here money enters your pocket at point one and leaves at point three. Technically speaking, you dont need any money to run your business. People are running it for you.
Analyzing The Basis Of Power
Anyone who has the control over sales has control over suppliers. So what causes you to have control – lower prices. And who funds those lower prices? Your suppliers.
The Rules of Vendor Financing
It is wrong to jump to the conclusion that anyone who goes out there and cuts prices will gain market share and can then have control over the supply chain. It requires a careful analysis of many factors like:
Power: Power here does not refer to brute strength. It depends on the ability to make choices. If you can break a relationship with a supplier and find others to deal with, while he cant find other customers as good or as big as you, you have the power. Which brings us to the classical dilemma of how does a start up build power? The answer is simple, deal with people who are relatively smaller. The idea is to enter the relationship as an equal and run the business on break-even for some time until you gain control of the sales, and then use this control to get credit, which will make you profitable.
Fixed costs: If a large amount of your costs are fixed costs, this strategy wont work. You cant ask your vendor to pay your rent or employee salary, they would simply see through it and want to get rid of you as soon as possible. Even if you have to pay them from your pocket, just eliminate them. Your job must be to convert as much of your costs into variable costs, as possible and assign each vendor the responsibility for taking care of them for a certain time period.
You will see that as your sales increase and by extension their sales increase, they will be keener to supply you trade credit and you can use that money to run your operations with virtually no money down.
Create the pull effect: The whole system runs because the customer pays money upfront and accepts a delayed delivery. This is the rule of the thumb for online businesses, and you dont have to make an effort to create this change. Under no circumstances should you pay before you receive. The idea is to be relatively bigger than both the supplier and the customer. You should have more bargaining power on each side for this to work effectively.
Plan for stock outs: In such cases, when you buy on the spot, there are instances when you have taken the order but the supplier doesnt have the goods. So make sure that you have a contingency plan. Keep standby suppliers who may be a bit more expensive. Remember customers are your source of power. If you have to take a loss or a smaller profit to safeguard your reputation, do it. Once you have made a commitment, always deliver.
Some Numbers To Consider:
Whenever you run a system, some numbers serve as important metrics to tell you the health of your operations. They are like the barometer of your success. For this strategy of vendor financing, here are the important numbers:
Cash conversion cycle: It is the difference between when you pay and when you receive. This number should always be negative. The more negative it is, the better it is for you. It means that you are running your car with your suppliers gas.
Working capital: This is another measure of the same thing. Working capital also must always be negative. This means that your current assets will be less than current liabilities. You will always owe people money, but you dont have to bother since you already have the cash and it is interest free.
Inventory levels: Once again this number should be reducing. Although this cannot be negative and you cannot have -5 goods stored with you, the number must be as close to zero as possible. Only stuff that you see a demand for must be purchased in advance. The rest must be purchased after receiving the order.
Sales: This is one number that must always be rising. For you to effectively wield your power over the supply channel, the suppliers must see you as an important customer. Someone who will make their sales grow. Their sales grow only when yours do.
ROI: Keep an eye on your ROI and that of the others. Remember its a power game and if someone else will steal the sales, they will also steal the suppliers and maybe your entire business.
A reverse mortgage is taking money from the value in your home to be paid off when the last surviving member of the household either passes away or moves since the lenders get paid once the house sells. A reverse mortgage is therefore different than a line of credit from the equity in your home since the borrower would need to repay that loan during their lifetime without having to sell the house. Since reverse mortgages do not need to be paid back during the lifetime of the borrower (unless the borrower moves), there are qualifications that the borrower must qualify for before being able to take out a reverse mortgage loan.
To qualify for a reverse mortgage, you must be at least 62 years of age. You must also own your home outright, or at least have most of your home paid for. That way when you take out the reverse mortgage loan, at closing you will be able to pay off the rest of what is owed on your home by receiving less money back.
If you are in a mobile home, the home must have been built within the past 30 years, and must have a permanent foundation. The house must also pass FHA inspections. Some condos and townhouses also qualify for reverse mortgages.
You do not need to go through a credit check, nor do lenders even look at your credit reports when applying for a reverse mortgage. You can therefore have terrible credit and have bankruptcy on your credit report and it won’t matter since lenders get their money back from selling your house, not from hoping you will pay the loan back. Therefore, lenders do not have to be concerned with the borrower having good credit since lenders rely on the sell of the house to have the loan repaid.
Therefore, you do not need good credit, nor a good credit report to qualify for a reverse mortgage. Age is the biggest criteria for qualifying since that is the one thing you cannot change. However, the longer you wait after the age of 62 to get a reverse mortgage, the higher amount your monthly payments can be if you decide to take out your cash to provide income, or to supplement your already existing income.
See about getting a reverse-mortgage today!