There is simply no rational for the CEO of Toyota to agree to an “inquiry” by special interest driven congress members. With one exception, there is nor should there ever be a congressional oversight board reviewing how business is conducted including how business problems are being handled. That exception is an obvious violation of the constitution.
The US Congress has already demonstrated massive incompetence in fiscal responsibility so what the hell do they think they are about to accomplish by putting a legitimate business on trial. The US Congress does not even know what they are doing yet alone evaluate what someone else is doing. Members of Congress may know how to drive a car but that does not mean they know how to manage a car company. Haven’t they learned from the GM fiasco where we the American people have allowed our President and Congress to drive up the deficit by bailing out a company that has sunk so deep the American taxpayers will not be repaid in full.
Damage control is now the number one priority for Toyota and they don’t need a committee that is from a Congress whose idea of damage control is to hold a politically based public view of questions prepared by people who are not even members of Congress. It solves nothing. Toyota has problems. There is an obvious quality control problem and a cultural problem. The cultural problem is obvious from their lack of aggressive communication and damage control related to defects. The marketplace will actually sort this out not the US congress.
As for Toyota, it is amazing that in 2010 an international business seems void of sound damage control and public relations practices. There are numerous examples that serve as best practices guides when a company is involved in a negative situation. One I often point to as a great positive example is the way Johnson & Johnson handled the Tylenol recall in 1982. However, even they may have forgotten how well and fast they recovered from that episode since more recently there is increasing evidence Johnson & Johnson did not react as fast or well to problems with certain products recalled earlier this year.
Solutions:
Companies like Toyota, Johnson & Johnson normally have policies in place that define the quality standards and quality culture of the business. They also have boards that have fiduciary responsibility to ensure executives running the business are doing their job in all areas including quality. An effective management system includes regularly addressing how the quality culture and standards are implemented and not just “dust collectors” on company shelves. Product problems do not universally mean there is a general breakdown in quality control. However, it is clear the quality related management system for Toyota and maybe for Johnson & Johnson either no longer in place or broken.
Sending you energy of health, happiness, prosperity
Steve Pohlit
Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services International Business Resources
About: Steve Pohlit is a CPA,MBA and has been the CFO of several major domestic and international companies. Steve is a business owner and an expert business consultant focused on building profits and net asset value. He is very experienced with Internet marketing and social media marketing. All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.
Retail sales during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season are followed by the news media very closely. This is because consumer spending is a key economic barometer and the annual holiday season accounts for a large percentage of total annual retail sales. Some estimates are that the fourth quarter retail sales account for more than 30% of total retail sales reported by department stores, specialty stores and mass merchandisers. The percentages can vary widely. For example December sales for jewelry stores account for 23% of the total annual sales.
“This November, (same-store) sales are going to be incredibly important to gauge the state of consumer spending, and thus fourth-quarter earnings and stock trajectory, and it’s also an important statement about the economic recovery,” said Deutsche Bank analyst Bill Dreher.
Comments like this from Bill and others may not be accurate. I learned how to analyze retail performance from experts responsible for running multi-billion dollar international businesses. These lessons helped me tremendously in operating my own retail business and in my business consulting work with other retail companies. Consider the following:
Same Store Sales Can Be Very Misleading
Same store sales are when you compare the sales in one period, for example November, with the sales from that same location the previous year. Seems simple enough but it is not always straight forward. For example, consider one store. What is your conclusion if the store just opened the first of November last year or if a major competitor closed a location near you this year? There are many variables that can affect same store sales and you have to be careful in knowing you have true comparability.
Consider 2009, the same store sales that will be reported this year are being compared to 2008 which is considered one of the weakest retail sales periods ever. At the company level a moderate increase in same store sales this year may not be a reason to celebrate except that of course it is better than a decline. Regardless of the results, retailers must go deeper than looking at the aggregate numbers. They must keep “peeling back the onion” until the lowest common denominator is evaluated and that is at the item level.
Same Store Sales Are Not A Direct Indicator of Profits
Many retailers promote heavily in the holiday season. This is part of the marketing funnel. Hot items sold at or below cost are used as lead generators. The Internet has educated shoppers on finding the best deals. This has resulted in add on sales dropping which means more of the sales being reported on a monthly basis have lower profit margins.
Keys To Successful Retailing In This Economy
First point is the foundation of a profitable business in any industry is largely the same. Companies make money when they offer what people want at a profitable price. In retail, customers often want a shopping experience that goes beyond price. For example, a recent testimonial from a customers experience on Black Friday demonstrated the success of a much smaller retailer with this customer vs. the major competitor. While having a slightly lower price for the laptop offered, the major retailer did not have any “unallocated laptops” at 5 in the morning even though the item was heavily promoted. On top of that the crowds there were not pleasant to navigate. The competing smaller chain, had inventory available and a more pleasant shopping experience. So you know who got the business and a repeat customer.
Off line, location is increasingly important as well as the overall appearance inside and outside. Large retailers win the game store by store. When demographics and traffic patterns change, and they always are, the store needs to change as well.
Customer shopping experience is major for building customer loyalty. This is mostly how customers are treated by staff when shopping. This is the one area where many retailers fail. There are great examples of customer service but they are not the norm. On line, ease of navigation, speed of checkout and access to customer service are key. Many retailers with web sites pay little attention to the customer service that is needed. People have questions and at times returns or exchanges may be needed. How this is handled is key.
Have you noticed the most ridiculous new message you get when calling larger customer support lines? It goes something like this: “Due to heavy call volume, your wait may be longer than normal. Many questions can be answered at our web site.” I don’t know about you but when I hear that message, which I do with increasing frequency, I think …this company has problems.
At The End of The Day, Profit Must Be Made
As a business consultant and coach, I always look to the profit trends and what is the practical near term strategy for strengthening profits. Every business must earn a profit to survive and grow. There is always an opportunity to improve business performance. It requires defining the performance targets then establishing a disciplined process for meeting or exceeding those targets. That process always works when the process is worked.
Sending you energy of health, happiness, prosperity
Steve Pohlit
Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services International Business Resources
About: Steve Pohlit is a CPA,MBA and has been the CFO of several major domestic and international companies. Steve is a business owner and an expert business consultant focused on building profits and net asset value. He is very experienced with Internet marketing and social media marketing. All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.
The reason this headline is so important is because while many companies and entrepreneurs will continue to do well in this country, what is possible to accomplish is being extinguished by our government and what is being achieved has a high probability of being extinguished by the burden of debt.
For a long time I would look at our politicians and the general trends and conclude that is not an arena that I appreciate and it is somebody else’s life. Now I look in the mirror. I and all the voting citizens in this country are responsible. That is right. As a nation, we voted for people who look to the latest trend of what is popular so they are re-elected. We voted for a president who campaigned on being critical of the debt of the prior administration and then came in and drove that debt into the stratosphere. Obama should be fired now for that fact alone among others. Just for the record, there are a lot of people who should be fired and leave with him. Nothing personal …this is business.
Have we ever voted for a person who stands for the principles of our Declaration of Independence and Constitution? Actually I am not aware of anyone winning on that platform. I am aware of people running on that platform. We didn’t like that idea because that platform holds us as individuals accountable for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It does not say, I am from the government and will solve your problems. That formula clearly does not work.
This is a business blog with my focus being to offer sound guidance on helping companies and entrepreneurs move their businesses forward in profit at accelerating rates of profitability. Notice I said at accelerating rates of profitability, not accelerating debt like our government is doing.
So Why The Political Platform?
This is not a political platform. It is a business platform on the topic that our policies are going to drain America unless we take action. The action I recommend is based on business principles as I am not a politician at all. If the US Government were a consulting client this is how I would approach it:
1. Clear definition of purpose: I feel there is a clear definition of purpose for our government and we the people have allowed people in office to ignore it. So let’ s use our foundation principles as the evaluation point and if our elected officials have not demonstrated compliance, we fire them.
2. Who replaces the masses that are fired? People with experience running large organizations and know what it means to be accountable for compliance with the charter of why you are formed. Who are these people? There is no shortage, there just is not a system in place to elevate them including a fair compensation system. Get past the “you have to have been an angel all your life standard and we are only going to pay you $400,000 a year for being President. I would vote for paying the right leadership $100 million dollars a year and link that to performance standards with base pay of $25 million. Now you have the attention of some talent.
3. Key Tenant: basic economic and universal laws.
4. Tough stuff: the one way for this to be accomplished is to recognize the difficulty people have with change and then have leadership in place prepared to deal with the constituencies that say these changes are unacceptable. These opposition groups should be in the minority if the leadership and related communication is in place.
Who Am I To Speak?
I am an American and I have my share of successes and failures. As a human, I have made good choices and some I would do differently. Do I have all the answers? No but I do know this…I support the founding principles of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness and our government does not. I am tired of that and I am speaking out .. and you?
Sending you energy of health, happiness, prosperity
Steve Pohlit
Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services International Business Resources
About: Steve Pohlit is a CPA,MBA and has been the CFO of several major domestic and international companies. Steve is a business owner and an expert business consultant focused on building profits and net asset value. He is very experienced with Internet marketing and social media marketing. All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.
More
There is going to be more from me on this and I hope a lot of others as well. For now here is the article that resulted in my conclusion I have had enough.
New York Times: U.S. Racing Toward Debt ‘Shock’
Monday, November 23, 2009 1:51 PM
Article Font Size
A page one, top-of-the-fold New York Times report Monday warns that U.S. debt is rising so fast that the federal government is careening toward a “payment shock” in the not-too-distant future.
The Times lead headline read: “Federal Government Faces Balloon in Debt Payments: At $700 Billion a Year, Cost Will Top Budgets for 2 Wars, Education, Energy.”
The Times headline appears eerie just as the Senate moves to push forward on a radical healthcare reform — with CBO estimates for a final bill costing nearly $1 trillion dollars over the next year.
The national debt now stands at over $12 trillion and the White House estimates that the cost of servicing the debt will rise to more than $700 billion a year in 2019, up from $202 billion this year. The Times suggests that $700 billion annual payment cost may be conservative.
The additional $500 billion a year in interest payments would surpass the combined budgets this year for education, energy, homeland security, plus the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Times observes.
Treasury officials face not only huge new debts incurred in response to the economic meltdown but a balloon of short-term borrowings coming due in the months ahead, and interest rates that are certain to return to normal levels when the Federal Reserve concludes that the fiscal emergency has passed.
“Even as Treasury officials are racing to lock in today’s low rates by exchanging short-term borrowings for long-term bonds, the government faces a payment shock similar to those that sent legions of overstretched homeowners into default on their mortgages,” The Times reported on Monday.
Interestingly, the alarming Times analysis comes as the nation is in the midst of a debate over healthcare reform proposals that could add many billions of dollars to the overall debt.
Record deficits have arrived just as payments for Medicare and Social Security benefits are set to explode, with the oldest Baby Boomers approaching age 65. This will result in what experts have long warned will be a “fiscal nightmare” for the government, the Times article notes.
“What a good country or a good squirrel should be doing is stashing away nuts for the winter,” William H. Gross, managing director of the Pimco, a bond management firm, told The Times.
“The United States is not only not saving nuts, it’s eating the ones left over from the last winter.”
As for the balloon of short-term borrowings coming due, that debt now accounts for 36 percent of overall debt, compared to the historic average of less than 25 percent, and more than $1.6 trillion is due by March 31.
Another problem: The Federal Reserve’s purchases of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities to prop up the economy pushed down long-term interest rates by about half of a percentage point, but the Fed is set to reverse those policies — that alone could add $40 billion to the government’s annual debt service expense.
The Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee, a group of market experts that advises the Treasury on debt management, declared this month: “Inflation, higher interest rate and rollover risk should be the primary concerns. Clever debt management strategy can’t completely substitute for prudent fiscal policy.”
And The Times warns: “There is little doubt that the United States’ long-term budget crisis is becoming too big to postpone.”
If you have followed this blog you know I am a fan of Bill Bartmann. He is a rags to billionaire riches story and most of his wealth came during an economic climate similar but actually less serious than what we are facing today. I follow Bill because he deals in reality and looks for the opportunity in what other see as a disaster.
This email I received from highlights some startling fact about our economy. Personally I some direct experience with our financial institution industry and if anything Bill may be understating the pending failures. As for the opportunity Bill suggests, that is up to you. I am not an affiliate, I am not paid to publish this on my blog, I make no money from sharing this with you. I feel Bill is on the mark and come to your own conclusions.
I have been on several of Bill’s calls and I have studied his book Bailout Riches which I highly recommend if you have an interest in the details of how this works. If you are intrigued you now have the information on the next steps.
On Friday, FDIC shut down two more banks - which will have billions in losses.
The bank failure total for the year is now 95 and includes three of the largest and most troubled — Guaranty Bank in Austin, Colonial Bank in Birmingham and Corus in Chicago.
We project the number will top 1,000 over the next year and a half. The majority of the banks that will fail are Community Banks and Regional Banks where the impact will devastate entire communities. The FDIC is running out of money and will soon have to tap taxpayers – only the second time in the 75 year history of the FDIC that it had to do so.
Personal bankruptcies will hit a record 1.4 million this year.
Business bankruptcies are 250% over their previous high – and rising.
Unemployment is at 9.7 – heading for 10% (Department of Labor says real unemployment rate is 16%).
Credit Card charge-offs are at 10.5% and Moody’s predicts they will go to 12%.
Mortgage foreclosures and “walk-aways” continue at record pace.
Any discussion of the Recession ending and the recovery beginning are based on wishful thinking, while ignoring the brutal facts.
The Commercial Real Estate market is about to implode the same way “sub-prime residential real estate” did two years ago. The economic impact of this implosion will compound every category mentioned above which will result in increased bank failures, increase personal and business bankruptcies, higher unemployment, higher credit card and mortgage default.
Sounds terrible, doesn’t it?
Well, it is terrible – but it is also some of the best news you could ask to hear!
Why? Because the last time I saw this environment, I made $5 billion just picking up the pieces of all those credit defaults and failed banks and by helping good banks dispose of their bad loans.
Now, a $5 billion net worth may sound unbelievable. I assure you it was real and I was not the only person who made a lot of money helping all those consumers put their lives back together and helping the government and the banks solve those problems. That is how big the opportunity was 20 years ago.
Guess what? We are back in that same situation again today! Banks are failing left and right. Bad loans are everywhere you look. The US Treasury and the FDIC are looking for people like you and me to help solve this problem. Just this past week the FDIC closed on the very first tranaction under the Legacy Loan Program. The Legacy Loan Program allows a generous leverage that magnifies the return for the Investor.
This first transaction under the Legacy Loan Program was a pool of residential real estate loans. Now, I have no interest in real estate and neither should you. But, first comes the real estate and then comes everything else and that is where the great opportunities are.
Those of us who participate and take advantage of this program could potentially make millions of dollars. T
he Legacy Loan Program not only makes a tremendous amount of loans available for purchase at a steep discount to true value, they it provides a government funding source.
The Legacy Loan Program is not the end of the good news and the great opportunities. The market is rapidly filling with charged off loans available for purchase at very steep discount from banks that have not failed — banks like Chase, US Bank, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo and all the other names you have known for years.
Here is your chance to get a piece of the “Bailout!”
Here is your chance to take advantage of what will be a “once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Finally, a Bailout Plan that is aimed at all of us on “Main Street” instead of those fat cats on “Wall Street.”
It gets even better than that. I am offering my students a chance to become a full-fledged business partner with me in this industry.
Join me and Larry Genkin, Creator of the Thought Leadership Marketing Methodology, as I explain how we (you and me) can take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.
This one-hour teleseminar is scheduled for 7:00 pm – Central (8:00 pm Eastern, 6:00 pm Mountain, 5:00 pm Pacific) on Wednesday, September 23, 2009.
Click Here to register for this teleseminar.
Please
Click Here to convert the call to your local time zone.
“Industrywide, same-store sales fell for a 12th straight month — highlighting the woes retailers have been under as consumer spending continues to decline.”
Then there is discussion as to what will happen this holiday season as well as the impact of the clunker program. This is followed by reports of what key public companies in the retail industry reported. Remember there is a lot that is not reported. Also remember, economic recovery is driven by consumer spending and there is little evidence that is strengthening.
The point made that I commented on was that going forward the monthly same store comparisons will look better because you are comparing against increasingly weak numbers from last year as retailers tanked in the fall of 2008. Here is what I wrote:
The comparison may show less dramatic declines and even a greater number of positive percentages when current year sales are compared against months last year when retailers began to experience sharp declines. Those may be feel good metrics. However, the key is what are the volumes and margins that are planned in connection with an acceptable profit plan and how are actual revenue and profits doing against that?
Typically that information is a bit more difficult to extract. The well run retailers have a profit plan by location that is based on category proformas. The key is to be profitable at each location and in each category within that location. I still see very little advancement in the use of direct response marketing and social media marketing. Tools and technology that have been readily available and proven to work for quite some time.
There is a lot of the “same ol same ol” and that is not going to work in an economic climate likely to be very soft for quite awhile.
“The Restaurant Industry suffered Its Worst Quarterly Decline In Customer Traffic In 28 years In the Second Quarter 2009″
I love the retail industry and I consider restaurants part of that overall industry. I recognize restaurants are distinguished in the financial press for reporting purposes. I also recognize that if you are a restaurant then you should be studying how you are doing in comparison to others.
The business of retail is so much fun because there is a tremendous amount of valuable information available and generally with the volume of customer traffic, you can test just about anything and receive feedback quickly as to whether it is working or not. In retail the most energy should be devoted to marketing and in all fairness it usually is. No whether that marketing is effective or not is a topic of debate. My view is that it isn’t and the view of the people dong it is that it is.
That brings us back to the overall results reported for the Second Quarter of 2009. I wrote that the decline is written in a headline like it is a surprise. Many may be thinking my view was based on the state of the economy with unemployment still running high and consumer confidence still running low. But actually my view is based on dismal failure of restaurants to pay close attention to the details of what is important to customers.
To support my view, I look at the exceptions. Here is one reported on by Fare Magazine. That exception is Panera Bread. They have not cut prices, they have not gone promotional and the company continues to grow profitably. Click Herefor the complete article.
There is always value in studying what is working for others and, for that matter what isn’t. Look within your industry and outside of your industry. I forget what bank was the first, but I remember the story of a bank president looking at the success of drive thru windows in the fast food industry. He tried in banking and it rapidly became very successful.
In any economy there are always companies that do well and those that fail. The ones that do well are those who consistently pay attention to the details important to their customers. This is the value exchange principle. The more value I give you the more you are willing to pay for it.
Sharing with all my readers the energy of peace, happiness and abundance
Email Me, Steve Pohlit to schedule A No Obligation Consultation On Building Your Business Profits.Need more customers? Let’s discuss how to use cutting edge Social Media Marketing in the revenue building cycle of your business to drive your profits sky high. If your company is not growing revenue and profits, if your company is not cash flow positive Click Here for more information about Turnaround Consulting Services for Business In Crisis
About: Steve Pohlit is a CPA,MBA and has been the CFO of several major domestic and international companies. Steve is business owner and an expert business consultant, direct response and social media marketing and social networking security expert . Steve is focused on helping companies improve their business performance. All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.
I hope you understand this is not an Republican vs. Democrat issue. This is our government playing a role where it doesn’t belong and when it does the consequences we experience.
Sharing with all my readers the energy of peace, happiness and abundance
Email Me, Steve Pohlit to schedule A No Obligation Consultation On Building Your Business Profits.Need more customers? Let’s discuss how to use cutting edge Social Media Marketing in the revenue building cycle of your business to drive your profits sky high. If your company is not growing revenue and profits, if your company is not cash flow positive Click Here for more information about Turnaround Consulting Services for Business In Crisis
You didn’t ? I honor your love for accepting all in this country as is and the direction it is moving.
You did? How cool is that? Did you notice the song at the end of the video. Here is a video of that song. Click Here
DOUBLE BONUS
Did you notice the information on the organziation who published this video? It is from The Kick Them All Out initiative and I am now a card carrying member. Decide how you feel about it and Listen To Your Heart. There are 761 people who have paid attention and pledged to vote so all incumbants are fired.
Michael McDonald paused between songs and shared a few things of importance to him. Peace was clearly the energy he was sending during a pause before continuing singing with his powerful voice songs like “What A Fool Believes” and more.
Michael talked about something that I don’t normally think a lot about. That is the VA or Veterans Administration. He expressed his support for the one agency that is established to help those who have given all or a part of their life to protect the freedom of this country. He was specifically talking about the men and women who serve on our front lines. Michael McDonald was also asking all of us to consider what conflicts make sense for us to support and those that don’t. With the next breath he said in effect .. once we as a nation choose to enter a conflict, we are responsible for taking care of those that serve.
Thank you Michael for that reminder. On the Fourth of July and every other day we honor those who serve to preserve our independence, liberty and freedom.
I had not considered the Veterans quite in the context of the purpose of the Veterans Administration. Michael is right and it our responsibility to take care of those who serve in the military. I am talking about the people who serve to protect our country whether we agree with the specific conflict or not. The point is they have left their homes and their lives to protect our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
My view is most people working at a desk job being paid by the working people of this country, through the bureaucracy of the government, are not serving our country by this definition. In fact most are leeching off this country. Yes you read that correctly. Most people working in a government job are leeching off this country. In all fairness they are not waking up in the morning thinking that. Most are intending to do a good job. I am not in any way blaming the workers. We have permitted a system to develop where their job in most cases has nothing to do with foundation principles of the declaration of independence and constitution. Yes most jobs created to protect our right to independence, freedom and peace are unnecessary because we have allowed laws and programs to start and grow that have nothing to do with the role of government.
As a country we have developed a “you take care of it” attitude and elect people who say they will solve those situations in this country we define as problems. But the problems have become worse. The national debt is incomprehensible and just one program, health care, recently proposed by Obama will add an estimated $10 Trillion dollars to the national debt over the next 10 years and not make a dent in the number of uninsured. Obama has led the parade to stimulate the economy with bailout money saying the stimulus package will contain unemployment to 8%. Now after disbursing hundreds of billions, Obama says unemployment will be 10% this year or higher.
There are other forums that examine what this man who is our president is doing and the impact of his leadership in much greater detail. However, this is actually not intended to bash him since every administration particularly since the 1930′s is accountable for implementing policies and programs that have nothing to do with the role of government as defined by the constitution. Most of what we have allowed to evolve under the umbrella of programs, rules, regulations is simply not necessary and stifle freedom and liberty.
Have you thought about the foundation principles that are intended to guide what our government does? Have you evaluated your point of view as to what freedoms you feel you have relinquished by what we have allowed others to do and implement in the spirit of the so called common good? Have you asked yourself what is really necessary to be done by the government? I will be honest in saying I am not totally sure as to what is all necessary so one way of getting to that answer is by asking the question what is not necessary. The following is part of my list based on the foundation principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. My list is also based on the foundation principle of individual responsibility.
Programs and Spending That Are Beyond The Scope of The US Government As Defined by The Intention of The United Stated Constitution.
If you are in another country consider how your freedom is affected by the programs implemented by your government.
Social Security: Eliminate it. For most of this country’s history it didn’t exist and it never should have been enacted. There is no basis in the land of freedom that says because I am working I must pay into a fund to fuel the retirement of some else which is what has evolved because my government has taken this money and used it to fund wars and debt. The money deposited into social security is not there. I don’t want anyone to tell me what to do with my money. Why is it that we stand for other people to dictate what we do with our money? We intend to fund a few basic common interest services the first being the protection of independence, freedom and liberty. Along with a few other services for the common good our constitution intended for government to have a limited role in our lives.
Welfare, Medicaid, Medicare and all social welfare programs: The same as social security. Cut them right now. Yes right now. Our government was not formed for the purpose of creating and administering these programs. Am I insensitive to the needs of others. Not at all. As a brief story, I was in an accident with my father when I was very young. He made very little money and it was about 2 months before he could return to work. We were both in the hospital for weeks. There were no government programs, there was no health care. Me, my dad and my family made it through this. Was that period a challenge? Of course but I developed the appreciation for the neighbors and strangers who knew we needed help. Does this mean there should be no system to help those who clearly cannot be helped by friends, family and community. No it does not but as soon as we say there is an exception, politicians take it and expand it.
Rules and regulations: Since when does the constitution of the United States have anything to do with rules on smoking, seat belts, prescription medication, infant seats in cars on airplanes, handicapped friendly bathrooms everywhere, and more. Get rid of the rules. If I choose to not wear a seat belt and I am hurt in an accident let my insurance company say we are not paying your medical bills since you were not wearing a seat belt. If a restaurant chooses to allow smoking, I can go to it or go to one that is non- smoking. Do you see the importance of this? It is not about the seat belts or the smoking or the drugs. It is about freedom of choice and I don’t need anyone to make my mind up for me.
Non-Citizens In the US - open the boarders but don’t ask me to fund your schooling or guarantee your children the right to be admitted to the schools I have paid to be built and staffed. I don’t have to support you,although that may be my choice. I don’t expect from you any special considerations and don’t expect any from me. You can become part of the community and the school system when you are a citizen. No I am not agreeing to make everything multi-lingual. We didn’t print everything in German, Polish, Russian and more during the period when people from many nations came to this country and there is no reason to do it now. See the above comments on social welfare and do you think that some of the incentive for coming to this country would be removed when you remove the social programs?
Legalize drugs ... all of them. I have no interest in taking any drug currently classified as illegal. If you want them, that is your business and as long as you harm no one else do what you want. Laws do not change a person’s actions and we are spending billions in an effort to control a situation that is not controllable.
Gun control… none. End of discussion. We have a right to have arms as spelled out in the Constitution. This is not about how you feel about guns. This is about life , liberty and the pursuit of happiness. There are 18 proposed bills being circulated in Congress right now intended to compromise our Second Amendment right. I say anyone associated with any bill intended to compromise the rights under our constitution be required to move out of this country to another place more in alignment with their values. I choose to live in the country because I align with the rights of our constitution.
Other Country Situations: There are brilliant people all over the world. I support a very strong national defense and then keep our nose out of other people’s business. At those times it is clear other people’s agenda is to compromise our freedom and peace we do whatever is necessary. Stop funding other people’s agenda. Did you know that Nigeria is first on the happiness index and the US is 46th out of 50 countries studied. Now what makes you think anyone else is seriously interested in our agenda for them.
Taxes: simplify simplify simplify….a national sales tax to fund defense, our interstate commerce system and our Judicial system is about it. Regarding the judicial system at the Federal level, that process needs to be held accountable for upholding the values of our constitution and if individual justices do not do that in the opinion of the clear majority of the population they will be removed. Yes we need a system that allows for the people to determine the composition of the Supreme Court and not the bureaucratic process intended to accomplish the agenda for what someone else believes is the common good. Yes we need a system that does not guarantee a job for life when appointed to the Supreme Court.
Airport security- Do you have any idea how ridiculous this is? I am totally in favor of profiling. I am totally in favor intelligent security. Watch the first Dirty Harry movie ” if you see a guy running down the alley with a ______ and a butcher knife you know he was not out collecting for the Salvation Army.” Enough said. If you don’t prefer that example, do you remember Flight 93? People are capable of being responsible for their own protection. The violations of individual rights here are off the charts. Teach the passengers to pay attention and do whatever it takes. Will there be mistakes? There are huge mistakes now and the system is stupid.
Department of Justice - totally out of control. Look at how stupid it is to lock up brilliant minds who have perpetrated millions and billions of dollars from people. Here is the deal: Have an apartment complex in the most economically challenged section of the country and make them pay $50,000 a month for a room. Then mandate they use their mind and talent to legitimately make and pay back double or triple what was lost. Michael Millikan was convicted, went to prison. He now is paying major taxes based on the value he is creating since being free. Look at what could have been paid had he been simply told …go to work pay it back and by the way, if you don’t work it the right way we will put you in the place where we send people who kill, rape and more. Your choice.
The Fourth of July: God Bless America The Land of the Free
All I am talking about is freedom as I see it. I certainly have just touched on the surface of my views as to some of the structural issues. Don’t define my freedom and I surely will not define yours. Don’t interfere with my life and I won’t be interfering with yours. Obama, as for you and all the other people in office with the intention of sucking freedom and liberty out of us, I intend for you to have another job having nothing to do with my life and and the lives of anyone else.
Obama, I don’t like your misrepresentations about authenticity and transparency. I don’t like your socialistic agenda. A free market economy has built in checks and balances. Respectfully, you or any other government office holder has no business being involved with General Motor. AIG , or any other business that is failing. If that means the country enters a recession or a depression, those are the cycles of life. The structural solution is a consistent adherence to foundational principles. Those principles without any doubt are clearly spelled out in our Declaration of Independence.
I pay attention to the conditions that our founding leaders experienced that led to the Declaration of Independence and the formation of the United States Constitution. I stand up and say to you I am for the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is time for a new structure that is in alignment with those principles.
What am I going to do? First I am beginning to challenge people’s complacency. Second I am going to start paying much closer attention to how elected officials are voting. I will participate in every election and vote no for anyone proposing solutions that are outside the scope of government.
My name is Steve Pohlit and I stand for Independence, Freedom and Peace. Now what do you stand for?
BILL BARTMANN
Listen to BILL in a FREE TELESEMINAR
JUNE 29th at 8PM Eastern
The Billionaire Business Coach Win big in a down economy
Bill is the MASTER at creating wealth in a down economy (or any economical situation for that matter). He knows how to win big even when the economy is screaming you can’t. You may have seen Bill on the cover of Inc. Magazine as the “Billionaire Nobody Knows”, or watched him recently on major network TV. Bill’s in the news daily because his book, “Bailout Riches”, is creating a real stir. It’s about how you can benefit–directly and fast–from the government bailout.
Note: Bill’s new book offers great insight on how our financial system is operating today. I purposely avoided using the word working. Part of what Bill has taught me was used in writing the article Financial Crisis, Turnaround Consulting which is in direct response to a person experiencing a financial crisis.
Bill Bartmann is the “Billionaire Business Coach”. He is the only self-made billionaire who has devoted his life exclusively to teaching others. Bill is the leading authority on entrepreneurship in America. He has created seven successful businesses in seven different industries. Including a $3.5 billion, 3900 employee international company that he started from his kitchen table with a $13,000 loan. He has been named National Entrepreneur Of the Year by NASDAQ, USA Today, Merrill Lynch and the Kauffman Foundation. His companies have been named by Inc. Magazine as one of the 500 Fastest Growing Companies In America – four years in a row. He has been awarded a permanent place in the Smithsonian Institutes Museum of American History and awarded the American Academy of Achievement’s Golden Plate Award as one of the Outstanding Achievers of the 21st Century.
Millions of people have seen Bill on ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX News, CNN and CNBC. Bill’s expertise has been featured on Sheppard Smith, Neil Cavuto and Donny Deutsch. He has been profiled in Forbes, Fortune, Inc., Bloomberg, Business Week, New Yorker, People, Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report and USA Today.
Did you know that Bill issues a FREE newsletter frequently and conducts on line training through his Billionaire University? Want to know more about Bill Bartman and see him on video explaining more about his background and keys to success? If you don’t know his story, this is well worth a few minutes of your time.
Email Me, Steve Pohlit to schedule A No Obligation Consultation On Building Your Business Profits.Need more customers? Let’s discuss how to use cutting edge Social Media Marketing in the revenue building cycle of your business to drive your profits sky high. If your company is not growing revenue and profits, if your company is not cash flow positive Click Here for more information about Turnaround Consulting Services for Business In Crisis
An independent business owner contacted me after reading several of my articles on business turnaround consulting and business process improvement consulting. She asked if I could help her. I asked if she would write me note about her situation. The following is her message:
Steve,
I decided to get in touch with you because I am very close to running out of cash. I don’t know how I will pay on my loan payments next month because at the moment I don’t have any funds for that.
I feel like I am really close to generating positive cash flow with my business but I am still stressed about how I will pay on all accounts/loans that I am responsible for. I feel like I just need to buy myself more time.
I am doing my best to maintain my positive attitude, faith, and belief but I am scared. I’ve applied for additional credit cards but have been denied. As a result, I’ve started to search for a job, which I know is taking my focus off of where it is I want to go.
Financially, I’ve never been where I am at the moment.
If you can help, I am grateful. Even if you are unable to, I am still grateful.
Thank you,
————————————————–
I asked her permission to publish this on my blog as I have actually been planning to write an article about what many people are experiencing for a variety of reasons. Full disclosure: I am a business turnaround and business process improvement expert. I am not a personal financial planner, personal bankruptcy lawyer, personal financial counselor. My experience in this area are very direct and from the streets. If you would like additional support for what I about to tell you, read Bill Bartman’s book “Bailout Riches”.
Notice some very important words in this lady’s description of her situation: faith, belief, scared, “I am responsible”. So my response is written for those who have similar feelings.
About Being Scared:
This is natural particularly since this is the first time she has found herself in this situation. The key is to acknowledge that and just move outside of yourself and observe it. This takes some practice but it can be done. Realistically, we become scared of losing our life, our “stuff”, a place to live and starving. In the worst case scenarios a woman will be not homeless. Nobody will starve to death and stuff can be replaced when the economic situation turns around. In my belief system I have learned how not to fear death. Once you no longer fear death then there is really nothing else to fear. On that topic “Home With God” by Neale Donald Walsch is a great read.
Now I know writing about fear and being scared does not make it go away. You can release these emotions. In fact you must release these emotions or you will have difficulty moving forward which is really what your intending to do. Now for the art of the practical of why you can expect:
I am going to assume she is fairly current on her payments and realizes that will change next month. My advice is to stay focused on immediate needs only while continuing to solidify cash flow from her business. Immediate needs are food, utilities and those service needed for her business. These generally include Internet service and phone service. TV service is not an essential. Car insurance is. The key is to evaluate true essential spending.
For now paying credit card debt and mortgage payments are also not essential. If you are a renter, you may have less time in your place than if you have a mortgage.
Going Forward
This lady mentioned feeling like her business is close to cash flowing. I recommend anyone who has a business ask someone else with business experience for a realistic evaluation of that feeling. This is the number one item I work on in a business turnaround after addressing immediate cash management issues. With the confidence of how a liquidity crisis turns around you can navigate any obstacles. Now if you don’t have that confidence then you should begin pursuing plan B. She mentions looking for a job. That may not be her first choice but it may be a realistic stepping stone until she can turn her business cash flow positive. That is for her to decide.
What To Expect From Credit Card Companies and Banks
The reality is you will get a lot of phone calls. Most of these calls will be made by a computer. So it is a great idea to have a caller id phone that you can put on silence or vibrate. You don’t want to answer a call unless you know the caller and you want to talk to them. The natural inclination is to want to talk to the representative on the phone. I don’t recommend wasting your time doing that until you can tell them you have restored your ability to pay.
Credit card companies will threaten to file suit. They won’t. Read Bartman’s book. You can become delinquent more than 90 days if it takes that long to restore cash flow. Close to the 90 day mark they will be willing to cut all kinds of deals with you. If you take one of them know that they will not reactivate your card. I know the credit card companies will accept settlement at 50% of the amount due and take that over 3-5 monthly payments. They do not want you to know that. And as soon as I write that I am sure someone will say there are even better deals than that.
I am not advocating not paying what you owe. However, the credit card companies have no problems charging very high default rates and late fees. Your responsibility is to position yourself to go forward.
Get used to the phone ringing and don’t take it personal. First a computer is dialing and then at some point when you decide to talk with someone because you have a proposed solution then recognize they are not your enemy or your friend. They are simply doing their job.
You can expect the calls to start at 8AM and end at 9PM Monday through Saturday and noon until about 8PM on Sunday.
Mortgage or Rent
Because mortgages go through a foreclosure process it can take quite some time from start to finish. Rent on the other hand is a bit more dicey depending on the market you live in. The meltdown leading to the high foreclosure rate has driven up demand for rental units. So you could be facing a situation of eviction 60 days or so past the due date.
Generally if you are able to pay a portion of what is due that will buy some time. Mortgages move from the normal mortgage service department to a foreclosure processing department. Expect notice of intent to foreclose and calls. Don’t panic you have time. But keep moving on you go forward plan. Foreclosures and evictions do happen.
Brief Summary
What I have tried to do is paint the picture of what you can expect. There are variations of course and timing can vary depending on the credit card company and bank. Ultimately you have a lot of room to negotiate just about everything related to debt. Utilities no since they will just cut you off. But debt yes. However, in order to negotiate you must have something to negotiate with. You ultimately have to have a source of cash flow to negotiate.
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Email Me, Steve Pohlit to schedule A No Obligation Consultation On Building Your Business Profits.Need more customers? Let’s discuss how to use cutting edge Social Media Marketing in the revenue building cycle of your business to drive your profits sky high. If your company is not growing revenue and profits, if your company is not cash flow positive Click Here for more information about Turnaround Consulting Services for Business In Crisis
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