November 26, 2008

Obama's Plan; Does it Help You?... Five Steps to Smarter
Decisions; Part 2... Focus on Needs for Long-term Success...
Who Is Watching How You Use Your Money?... and More.

** Obama's Plan; Does it Help You?
By Adrian Newman, Founder of e-Wealth Daily

There is a need for immediate action. These are the words of President-elect Barack Obama just this past Saturday.

Addressing the need to tackle the economic crisis, Obama released the outline of his plan. The creation of 2.5 million new jobs leads the list of ambitious goals in this outline.

Now, new jobs and a focus on rebuilding infrastructure are certainly something that could help out the economy. But, what does this plan mean for you?

Well, these new jobs won't be created overnight; the plan talks about a date of 2011. That's more than two years from now. Can you wait that long for a job?

While Obama talks about action, why don't you make something happen for yourself? Waiting around for changes in the government isn't going to help you or your business ideas, so I believe that, by acting now and planning your own economic growth strategy, you could succeed much sooner.

Your first goal should be to research your business plan. Not just for the immediate future, but look five years ahead at least. Do you see a demand that far in the future? And is this demand growing? While we can't predict what will happen, looking at other business models and their successes and failures could help you and your idea.

Next, really search out some alternative funding. Bank loans are going to take some time to be available again, but there are still plenty of other options. Continue to network with other business professionals as well as seek the advice of people you trust. So long as you continue your search, and inform people about what you are doing, you could find the cash source you need.

And, finally, tune out most of the bad news and focus on an optimistic outlook. Pessimism can stop you in your tracks and keep you from ever trying something new. So block out the naysayers and the worry-warts and focus on positive language from positive people.

While Congress decides on what actions they could soon make, you, too, should be taking action towards getting the cash and success you need.

** Five Steps to Smarter Decisions; Part 2
By Doug D'Anna, the "Hundred-Million-Dollar Man"

On Monday, I gave you the first three of my five steps to smarter decisions. They included:

Step 1: Unmask the real issue.

Step 2: Research the issue.

Step 3: Think up some solutions.

Today, I reveal Steps 4 and 5. Enjoy!

Step 4. External pressure — or stress of your own making — can make you feel like you need to decide right away. Resist. We all know the saying, "Act in haste, repent at leisure," so don't let this be you!

You can't be all-knowing, but once you have a preferred option, try to imagine possible outcomes and ramifications. Identify best-case and worst-case scenarios. What could go wrong? How will you address problems if they occur? Think things through and write down your plans for reference as you go along.

Step 5. Observe what happens. Make notes on what worked and what didn't. What would have made for a better decision? Is there any way you could reasonably have looked deeper or differently at the problem to make a more successful choice? This last sentence is critical for avoiding unnecessary and pointless guilt. How many times do you start a sentence, "I should have known..."? But could you really have seen that angle ahead of time?

If you should have foreseen certain developments, then the lesson is that you'll need to research more carefully next time. Absorb that lesson and move on. If you could not reasonably have predicted events, then you did the best with what was available to you, and there is no basis for guilt.

Like any skill, good decision-making takes practice. Improve by making lots of decisions, identifying which ones work and which are sub-optimal, and applying your learning to your next challenge.

** Focus on Needs for Long-term Success
By John Hurd, Chief Wealth Researcher

Have you ever gone into a store and made a difficult and time- consuming purchase? Now, I'm not talking about the decision-making process. What I mean is, has an employee or system made purchasing an item just too stressful?

Take, for example, purchasing large appliances. Your fridge finally quit on you and you're left with no option but to buy another. You check out the flyers and find a few deals you're interested in. However, once you get to the store, the employee helping you continually pushes unrelated items and accessories on you.

Now, if the deal is good enough, you'll probably just say "no" to the extras and make your purchase. But how soon would you go back to the store? A pushy salesperson can ruin your experience and drastically shorten your relationship with any business.

The problem here is that many times it is possible to focus on wants as opposed to genuine needs. In the fridge example, you don't want a new fridge to go with your redecorating; you need one to keep your food fresh.

In these tough times, trying to make a sale to a customer's wants could be an exercise in wasting time. People are more likely to say "no" if they only want an item; but, if you can appeal to their needs, then you may be more likely to capture a sale, and get a long-term customer as well.

In order to focus on needs, you have to strip away all the extras and get down to some of the root motivations that govern people each and every day. The need for shelter, the need for protection, the need for food. These are all important needs that often cannot be ignored.

Take a look at the product or service you may be selling. Does it satisfy any needs? If it does, then it's time to work on building those into your sales pitch. When people have a lot of money to throw around, you can go back to wants; but, to truly find long-term success, a business that helps fulfill needs is one that people will keep coming back to.

** Who Is Watching How You Use Your Money?
By Michael Newman, Self-made Millionaire

Somewhere out there, there is a collection of individuals judging your every move. Well, maybe not every move, but the majority of your financial moves. They're monitoring and scoring you on when you pay your bills, how you pay your bills, and how often you're looking for new ways to pay your bills.

The people doing the monitoring are your various creditors, who report your behavior to what's known as a credit bureau. The credit bureaus take the information from the creditors and give you a credit score. Basically, your credit score tells creditors how much of a risk you are to lend to. The higher your score, the better.

When you have a high credit score and are seen as less of a risk, the sky is the limit. Banks will lend you money when you ask for it, you'll get the best interest rates and you generally don't have to worry about securing credit when you need it. On the other hand, a person with a low credit score will have a harder time getting credit and usually be forced to pay high interest rates on any credit they are awarded.

The good thing about a credit score is that it is not set in stone and, with enough effort and hard work, it's never too late to turn a bad score into a good score.

The most important element to repairing a credit score you think may be damaged is to get a copy of your credit report from www.annualcreditreport.com. Review it, and make sure all the information it contains is accurate. A relatively high percentage of credit reports contain mistakes that have negative impacts on a person's ability to get credit, so it's important to make sure you're not getting penalized for something you didn't do.

If everything on your report looks accurate, then you need to come up with a plan on how to improve your score. A good plan should contain these three elements: a budget, a payment plan, and a conscious effort to pay your bills on time.