Herman School of Business
Clumps of Cash...
Are you the kind of person who lives over their head because you know soon there will be a “clump of cash” coming? Perhaps you think you can charge an extra five or ten thousand dollars more than you make because your year-end bonus will wipe it out. Or maybe you planned on refinancing the mortgage for about twenty thousand extra dollars to cover your spending binge. Worse yet, unless science saves Mom or Dad you thought that inheritance will save your butt.
These are people living form clump of cash to clump of cash, not paycheck to paycheck. They overspend with the idea that yet again, another clump of cash will come along and wipe out their over-indulgence.
You, my credit card swiping friend, are just as guilty of putting America “up the creek” as the crooks on Wall Street and the inept politicians who just robbed my grandchildren’s financial future. Now…because there are so many of you out there let me give you some sound advice about tomorrow.
Many of you are wondering if you should hunker down in that house you can’t afford and hope that your banker finds a way to lower your debt. Dream on. The people in trouble who act the fastest will be the people closer to success a year from now…about the time most people will realize they should have thrown in the towel earlier. Here is the guideline: If everything income wise stays the same for you over the next year will you be working your way out of debt or drifting backwards? If backwards is the case, sell assets now…your business, your house or your car. Because for absolute certainty they will be worth less next year…when even more people will come to their senses and start selling assets, flooding the market trying to recover.
Listen, I am an eternal optimist. I believe launching a business now or growing a fairly new start-up can be great over the next twelve months. You will be able to rent space at far more favorable rates than someone who is in the middle of a five or ten year lease. Your competition has been living on credit card debt to fight their way to success and that debt will soon sink them giving you access to their customer base. Earlier Blog postings have mentioned buying out inventories from those crumbling under the weight of failure. You want two secrets to making any new start-up or fairly young business reach success: 1) Stay out of debt and 2) Give incredible customer service.
Consumers will still spend in the next two years while we sift through the turmoil…but they will shop where they are “loved” and they will go where signs of success, not despair surround them when they enter your business. Freshen up the look with a coat of paint, get in fifteen minutes early and stay fifteen minutes late to snag a few more customers, and pamper anyone who shows an interest in what you have.
Advisors have told me to stop speaking for free and to charge three to five thousand dollars per speech so I will be taken seriously. The free speeches will continue as that lets me learn my craft, and my fee will stay about fifteen hundred dollars because as meeting planners seek ways to cut costs I might just snag a few events away from the higher priced speakers.
- Posted: 6 October 2008
- Comments: 0
- Category: Business failure
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