Monday, June 30, 2014

I did an interview on Friday for FTM Daily radio show. Great Episode!

I had the great pleasure of being interviewed by FTM Daily on Friday.  Great episode.

To learn about these and other strategies, buy my book!!

Thursday, June 26, 2014

New report: Credit Card Advantage

Here's my new 45 page report on how your business can achieve strategic goals by using credit cards.  It's going to be available for Kindle, softcover eventually, and right here as a .pdf.

If you own a business, you should read this report.

Thanks and enjoy the long weekend.



From the cover:
David Barnett is a small business expert who has owned 5 companies in his adult life. 
His experience in advertising, management, buying and selling companies and modern banking and finance give Barnett an exceptional insight into how companies are run and how they can take advantage of the modern payment system. 
Credit Card Advantage will show you how the correct use of credit cards as a payment tool can help you achieve strategic goals in your business.
Barnett walks you through the process of analyzing your vendors, selecting a card program, and calculating your financial and reward benefits.
Every business owner should be using these techniques to enhance lifestyle, reduce expenses, grow sales and save on bank interest.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Is it the economy or you?

My good friend Rick recently had a blog post about 'the economy' and how business people like to blame it for the shortcomings of their business.  It resonated so much with me that I had to respond and wanted to share it with my readers.  My comment is below...

Is the economy the real problem?

There isn't a day that goes by that someone doesn't complain about our crappy economy.

I was in the restaurant industry for seven years. In those seven years I became accustomed to my colleagues complaining a sucky environment. I used to nod but I have never supported that position. I can testify that in my time of being in the restaurant industry I never had one declining year in combined sales. Why was my business growing when others were failing? Is that indicative a failing economy?

Granted there are times when there's an economic slowdown and many companies and industries suffer from the economic slowdown.  Although 2008 was tough on communities that had huge layoffs, mine was not one of them. The economy is our scapegoat. And that's not just.

Here are some of my experience over the last four weeks:

I called a roofer to fix my roof. He showed up the same day to assess the damages. I called three times to get a price quote. He never returned any of my calls.  After four weeks, I had to call someone else.

I needed some drywall done. My drywall guy took 5 months to show up. When he finally did show up he told me it was one week job. One week turned into three weeks. The quality was ok but the inconvenience of living in dust for three weeks was too much. I'm sure he'll blame the economy as less people use his services.

I had a plumbing problem. Plumber told me he was really busy for two days, but promised to assess the problem on day three. That was three weeks ago. Where is my plumber? I'm sure the economy has something to do with his declining sales.

I had to call an electrician four times in order to get him to install the wiring required for my hot tub. I haven't received his invoice yet. Maybe he'll have to call me four times to get paid. Would that be acceptable? And now I have to call him back because he didn't finish the work that he promised he would. Again I'm sure the economy will be the blame for any downsizing of his business.

I wanted a hot tub. So I visited two local companies and asked for a quote. One company took three weeks to respond to my request. They were too late, I already made my decision. Again the damn economy will be the downfall of another local company.

If you're in business, do yourself a favor. Blame the things you can control and stop worrying about the things you can't. Unless you're in the shoe business and everybody stops growing feet, the economy is probably not your problem. Newsflash you're the problem!

Face the music.  Put on your big girl panties. Stop blaming everyone but yourself, and get to work. The economy should be blaming you for defamation. You're hurting the economy by giving crappy service.

I spoke to a local restaurant owner today. I asked him if he accepted American Express because I had to bring someone out for lunch next week and our company uses AMEX for entertainment expenses. He said, 'no, we don't take Amex.' I asked, 'why don't you sign up? I could go there for business and you would probably get more clients. Its the most popular corporate card in the world.' He said, 'Yeah, sorry for the inconvenience, we don't accept it.'
I just don't understand why people don't try to please their customers.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

So annoyed about a merchant who wouldn't take American Express

I was so annoyed by a merchant who did not take AMEX last week that I started to write a blog post about it.

The post got lengthy and so I decided to make it into a special report for my readers.

It started to get so big that I realized that I had a little book.

So, therefore... Coming soon..

Credit Card Advantage: Understand the costs and benefits for your business

It'll be available here for purchase as a .pdf and on Amazon in paperback and Kindle.

A complete volume on how credit card use and acceptance can help your business achieve strategic goals.

Only from the Mind of David Barnett.  Look for it at the end of this week.  Don't worry, I'll tell you about it.

Monday, June 23, 2014

Small businesses need investment and will pay big %%%

I came across a great news article from PBS which described the rise of alternative small business lenders online.

This is a great article because it reinforces several of the messages in my book; Invest Local.

  1. There is a need for financing choice for small businesses.  Bank loans are too complex and many are rejected.
  2. Small businesses need capital and want to borrow for upgrading or adding productive assets.
  3. Small businesses are willing to pay great interest rates to obtain this financing.
In some of the feedback I've received about my book, investors who are used to traditional 'retail' investments say they don't believe that its easy to get returns of 9% to infinity using some of the strategies I detail in the book.

This news article demonstrates how and why there are tremendous opportunities out there.

Please take a moment to share this blog with others and if you haven't already, BUY MY BOOK!

Enjoy.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Money Weighted Rate of Return (Real Estate Investment Example)

Hi,
I saw this great video from Patrick Doyle and wanted to share with you.

He breaks down the actual or Money Weighted rate of return on a Toronto house example.

Also, if you notice, Patrick and I have the same favourite calculator!

Saturday, June 21, 2014

[VIDEO] Should businesses own real estate? or is it better to lease?

I tackle the question:

"Should my business own the real estate its located in?"

Many business owners and buyers are obsessed with owning the building where a business is located.  I tackle this question and show you different ways of looking at it.

Let me know what you think in the comments below.









Friday, June 20, 2014

Broke Bushwhacker needs a loan [VIDEO STORY]

Yesterday's post reminded me of the story of the broke bushwhacker.

He was the inspiration for one of my 15 free finance articles which discusses the need to match financing tools with asset lifespan.

Enjoy.


Also, I'm almost done working on my 16 week curriculum for the 'Business Buyer Secrets' study course/coaching program.  I'm probably going to give it a nicer name as well.  Stay tuned.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Negotiating Personal Guarantees on a capital lease [VIDEO]

I spent some time speaking with an investor who has read my book, Invest Local.  He was asking about whether or not to ask for personal guarantees on the lease he was thinking about investing in.

I discuss my advice and why my suggestion can help to determine the confidence of the borrower.

Thanks for watching.  Also, buy my book if you're interested in learning more about these topics.


Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Adult education concepts

I had the great pleasure of attending a workshop on how to integrate adult learning principles into classroom training sessions.  It was put on by the organizers of www.profitlearn.com for whom I do two different seminars.  One on buying existing businesses and one on preparing for or choosing a business succession route.

What struck me was that many of the principles which allow adults to learn better:

  • accountability and responsibility
  • ability to share
  • understanding of real-world circumstances and examples
  • acknowledgement that the instructor was an expert

... probably would have allowed me to learn better as a teenager as well.

The principles get adopted in the training room with such tactics as allowing participants to share their experience on the topics, breaking up into groups so that people can share more readily with each other, giving participants a chance to stand up and move around every half-hour or so, listening to real life examples via stories and testing knowledge through demonstration, rather than taking tests.

So what makes 'adult learning' so different from 'teenage learning?'

Adults can stand up and walk out if they don't like it and choose to not pay for more courses.  That's it.

It's fascinating that in the free market world of adult education, teachers are always trying to do a better job to please the customer.  In this case the individuals or companies who pay for training in an effort to get better skills or achieve goals and desired outcomes.

In public education, it doesn't matter what the teachers do.  The tax dollars keep flowing because there is no choice in the matter.

Maybe its time people realized that if monopolies are bad in business, maybe they're also bad in education.

Just my thoughts.

P.S. A very heartfelt apology goes out to people who have to pay taxes for schools they don't use because I decided to have children.

Saturday, June 14, 2014

New and Improved, now with a LinkedIn share button

I'm not sure what Blogger has against LinkedIn.  It's missing from the social media bar at the bottom of each post.

As a business professional, I actually visit LinkedIn daily.

I've just added a LinkedIn share button to the blog.  Now we can all share my wonderful posts with our business comrades.

Yay.  Have a great weekend.

Use seller financing when buying a business to transfer risk

My session on Wednesday with a group of newly arrived immigrants was a full day of 'Business Buyer Secrets.'  One of the biggest secrets in buying a business is how to manage risk by using vendor financing.

I recorded a video with a few thoughts and an explanation of how this works.


Let me know what you think.  Again, more info next week about my online version of 'Business Buyer Secrets' which will be mixed with one-on-one and group coaching.


Friday, June 13, 2014

Helping Immigrants make a wise investment

On Wednesday I spent the day with a group of newly arrived immigrants who are interested in either buying or starting a new business.  I got some great questions and spent most of the day teaching how to use the structure of the business purchase deal to diminish risk for the buyer.

I was really touched when one of the participants sent me this thoughtful email afterwards:

June11,2014
 David C Barnett,
 Thank you for the opportunity of sharing your knowledge and expertise about Purchasing and  Buying  an Existing Business with us today. It was insightful and very significant what we've learned from you. By far you went beyond for the presentations and illustrations you did for us to make sure we understood the delivery of each topic. It was very effective and most educational. We appreciate your time with us.
 Sincerely,
Ailen
  Sent from my iPad=

I have given the 'Business Buyer Secrets' seminar several times a year for the past few years and will be scheduling some dates which will be open to the public soon.

I'm also looking at combining the seminar information with a group coaching process where I'll walk people through the search, evaluation and offer stages over a 3-4 month period with online training seminars.  The program will also include group coaching calls and one-on-one sessions.

The program will be for people who are serious about moving forward and need a little help to avoid procrastination.

Saturday, June 7, 2014

SPENT-- Fantastic Documentary about the 'unbanked'

I just finished watching Spent: and looking for change (documentary)

It is a powerful film about the millions of people in the US who don't have access to the traditional banking system and how the reliance on payday loans, title loans, and cheque cashing stores keeps them from getting ahead.

The film is filled with examples of the exact opportunities for local investing that I discuss in my book.

One entrepreneur, who makes handbags, is not able to get any financing to buy materials. Her purses are starting to sell very well but it takes too long to get paid.  At minute 19, the narrator says, "it can take her up to 3 months before she gets paid."  This is an excellent example of how small business receivables factoring could be employed to help her fund her growth.  (read my book to learn about how to do this with an entrepreneur near you)

I also want to suggest kudos to American Express who funded the production of the film without turning it into a commercial for BlueBird, Amex's product specifically designed to help people in this struggle.

Definitely worth your time to watch...


Monday, June 2, 2014

Top 10 reasons why people get into trouble with debt.

If you're going to build wealth and have a comfortable life and retirement, you need to keep from getting into bad debt.  FSN host Kerry Lutz interviews CPA Sandy Botkin about the top 10 reasons people get into trouble with debt.

Great episode.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN