Friday, October 31, 2014

[VIDEO] Apartment vs. Mini-Home vs. Small House Operating Cost Comparison

The topic of whether or not it makes sense to live in a dwelling on leased land came up in conversation. I decided to do an operating cost analysis comparing a small home, a mini home on leased land and an apartment all with similar features.



InvestLocalBook.com is the blogsite for Invest Local, a book about local investing deals such as loans, leases, inventory financing, receivables financing and more to small businesses and people.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

[BOOK REVIEW] Buyer Legends shows how storytelling can be a tool for marketing development

I've always known that stories were memorable.  In fact, I use stories in my sales pitches and presentations.  The video blog posts that I do where I tell stories are some of the most viewed that I've done.

I recently read Buyer Legends which outlines the proper use of a narrative story in helping to plot the path of an intended customer from the beginning of their demand to the end of their purchase.

The narrative story is then used to diagnose where the buyer can 'go wrong' and fall off the intended track.  The story helps everyone on the team develop a common understanding of who/what/where is supposed to happen.

Great read for any business owner or for anyone in sales or marketing.  And only about 3 bux!



 Free Kindle reading apps are available for all computers and devices.  You don't need a Kindle to read the book.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

[VIDEO] Another post about liquidity and a chat about credit card limits.

I discuss a friend's dilemma about how much to put down on a house and how credit card limits make us feel.

To see the first post about liquidity risk just click.



InvestLocalBook.com is the blogsite for Invest Local, a book about local investing deals such as loans, leases, inventory financing, receivables financing and more to small businesses and people.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

[VIDEO] Are there gender obstacles to women being entrepreneurs?

Ever since I've become a father to a little girl I've been more attuned to watching/listening to arguments and opinions about gender divides when it comes to goal achievement.

I thought this video from Glendon was interesting.



InvestLocalBook.com is the blogsite for Invest Local, a book about local investing deals such as loans, leases, inventory financing, receivables financing and more to small businesses and people.

Friday, October 24, 2014

[AUDIO] Loan updates and financing the painter's receivable

I give an update on the loans I did over the last few months as well as discuss financing the receivable of a painting contractor.



InvestLocalBook.com is the blogsite for Invest Local, a book about local investing deals such as loans, leases, inventory financing, receivables financing and more to small businesses and people.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

PayPal introduces its version of Merchant Cash Advance in Australia

In yet another demonstration of how needy small business operators are for capital, PayPal has announced it will expand its lending services to Australia.

This service has been available in the US for some time.

PayPal financing open to Australian small business

Basically, the merchant can borrow up to 8% of their annual PayPal revenues and apportion a percentage of their future receipts through PayPal to pay off the debt.

Typically this type of financing is very expensive for merchants (see my post and video about Merchant Cash Advance here) and it shows that there is a market and a need for SMEs to borrow and a willingness to pay above average rates.

If you have capital to invest, you should be looking to Invest Local.  Buy my book to learn how.

Here is the link to the full article:
http://www.itwire.com/it-industry-news/market/65807-paypal-financing-open-to-australian-small-business

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

[VIDEO] The road to Gold is paved with Macaroni

I respond to an e-mail I got about how a person could afford to invest and build up assets.  I talk you though the importance of good home economics while I make 11 lunches at once for about a buck each. (and half that budget was the tinfoil packaging)

Enjoy



InvestLocalBook.com is the blogsite for Invest Local, a book about local investing deals such as loans, leases, inventory financing, receivables financing and more to small businesses and people.

Friday, October 17, 2014

[VIDEO] Dr. Goldfinger

I stopped by my local bullion dealer today to pick up an ounce of gold. I discuss asset diversification and the 8 asset classes from my book, Invest Local.

Enjoy



InvestLocalBook.com is the blogsite for Invest Local, a book about local investing deals such as loans, leases, inventory financing, receivables financing and more to small businesses and people.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Kerry Lutz talks to Charles Hughes Smith about the failings of the current banking system

Charles Hugh Smith – Central Bankers Have Reached a Fork in The Road… They Should Take It


A great interview where Kerry and Charles discuss the problems of the current banking system.  I even get a mention! Exciting. (even though Kerry's comments that I 'make a living at it' aren't quite true) Great interview.




Check Out Finance Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Financial Survival Network on BlogTalkRadio with The Financial Survival Network on BlogTalkRadio

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

[AUDIO] Liquidity Risk in non-amortizing loan deals

Buzzing Ends at 33 Seconds.

I discuss an opportunity that one of my friends has to buy out a mortgage investment and discuss the pros and cons of the potential deal.  I talk about Liquidity risk, just one of 9 types of risk that are dealt with in my book; Invest Local.

Enjoy


InvestLocalBook.com is the blogsite for Invest Local, a book about local investing deals such as loans, leases, inventory financing, receivables financing and more to small businesses and people.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

As Promised, A Salsa Story

This year I grew a very tiny garden with only four tomato plants. I also grew bell & jalapeno peppers. I knew that I wanted to make salsa.

Since my tomatoes were ripening at different times, I used the peeling method I learned from The Mrs Volfie at Our Half Acre Homestead.



As each tomato ripened, I put it into my freezer.  On Saturday I peeled them all using the method in the video above.


I then had a big pot of peeled, frozen tomatoes.  I cut them up with a knife into chunks as they thawed and kept draining the excess water from the pot.


I then added bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, yellow and red onions and some cilantro paste.  A tablespoon of pickling salt and a squirt of lime juice.  I brought it to a boil and let it simmer for 15 minutes to further thicken the salsa.  This is a 10L pot.


I prepared my jars by washing them and got my lids ready in hot water.  The tall canner you see on the stove is for pressure or steam canning but in this case I use it as a water-bath canner.  I fill it with water and let it heat up to get ready.


Once the jars are filled and the lids are on, I put them in the water and let it boil for 15 minutes.  For this to work, the jars need to be covered by at least an inch of water.


I removed them one by one with the special jar lifter.  They need to cool on a low heat-conductive surface like my wooden cutting board.  As the salsa cools down, each lid will 'pop' and demonstrate that a vacuum seal has been created.  This prevents any bacteria getting into the jar and allows you to store at room temperature in the cupboard.  Just like store-bought salsa.



Final yield, 7 one-litre jars of salsa and one tiny 'leftovers' jar to go in the fridge.  Its delicious and I know its good because I made it myself.  The whole project took be 15 minutes of peeling, then I waited a few hours for the tomatoes to thaw, then did the prep and canning in about an hour.

I really enjoy this stuff and is saves money too.  The ROI is hard to calculate since so much of the contents came from my garden.

If you're interested in learning more about canning, I recommend The Mrs. Volfie on YouTube.




Monday, October 13, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.



This year I was invited to a turkey thanksgiving supper yesterday and I'm hosting a big family meal today (I'm making a slow cooker pot roast).  We have lots to be thankful for and I wanted to write about one of the big reasons for the holiday, the completion of the harvest and celebrating the bounty of the land.

This year, I put in a ridiculously small garden.  I planted peppers, two cucumber vines, four tomato plants.  Here's what I ended up with:

  • Many meals garnished with fresh veggies I grew
  • 12 500ml jars of bread and butter pickles
  • 5 500ml jars of dill pickles
  • 7 250ml jars of delicious relish
  • 7 1000ml jars of salsa (post with pics coming tomorrow)


Of course I added some onions and and other marginal ingredients but essentially I got all these preserves by making sure I watered the garden every second day.  The effort was quite small.  I also took the time to gather some free food which either grows wild in my neighbourhood or was offered to me.  I used this free rhubarb and crab apples to produce:


I know that home canning/preserving isn't for everyone but I enjoy doing it and I like knowing what's in the food that I give to the kids.  Of course, being productive in the kitchen could also help lure a potential future wife onto the scene.

Just remember, growing your own food is like printing your own money.

Enjoy the long weekend.




Thursday, October 9, 2014

[AUDIO] Debt, Slavery, Bondage and Used Cars

I discuss the ethics of debt, why I don't like to borrow for consumer items and why I don't usually lend on such things.  I talk about the connection between debt, slavery, government bonds and why I buy used cars.

Enjoy, and let me know how you feel below.



InvestLocalBook.com is the blogsite for Invest Local, a book about local investing deals such as loans, leases, inventory financing, receivables financing and more to small businesses and people.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

[VIDEO] A fresh look at analyzing Silver prices and the Dow:Silver Ratio

If you've read my book you know that I consider gold and silver to be a form of savings and integral to anyone's 'core' wealth position.

I love many of Don Harold's videos and this one demonstrates clearly that he is an innovative thinker when it comes to analyzing data.

Watch how he analyzes the price of gold by taking inflation into account over the last 100 years and why he distrusts the nominal value of the 'DOW.'

Enjoy.



InvestLocalBook.com is the blogsite for Invest Local, a book about local investing deals such as loans, leases, inventory financing, receivables financing and more to small businesses and people.

Monday, October 6, 2014

[VIDEO STORY] Paving Contractor vs. the Drug Dealers & Beautiful fall colours.

I had the good fortune to spend some time speaking with a man in the paving business over the weekend.  When I asked him a few questions about his work I was surprised when he told me the problems the illegal drug trade creates for driveway pavers.

Enjoy.

Also, I will be in Vegas on the weekend of Nov 14th if any readers want to get together and do a local investing mastermind meeting.



InvestLocalBook.com is the blogsite for Invest Local, a book about local investing deals such as loans, leases, inventory financing, receivables financing and more to small businesses and people.

Las Vegas, weekend of November 14th

I'm going to be in Las Vegas on the weekend of November 14th.  Let me know if you're in the area and if there's any interest in organizing a local deal mastermind/workshop.

E-mail me at dbarnett@alpatlantic.com


Friday, October 3, 2014

Specific Knowledge is key to finding deals others cannot.

I discuss a topic brought up by a message from an accountant who read invest local.  Use your own special 'force' to find deals others cannot or would not do.


Thursday, October 2, 2014

People turn to Payday Lending because banks are more costly??

I came across this very interesting article about payday lending.  If you recall, I had posted links to a movie about how these lenders take advantage of the 'unbanked' by charging high effective rates.

Turns out, the payday lenders may not be as expensive as the banks people are trying to avoid and the users of these services may be smarter than most will admit.

[click] to see the post which featured the movie.




TURNS OUT THAT PAYDAY-LOAN CUSTOMERS ARE PRETTY SAVVY BORROWERS

business-loan
Conventional wisdom might lead one to conclude that payday lending is a scourge upon the Earth and an institution dedicated wholly to feasting on the financially disadvantaged and entrapping them unwittingly into an unending cycle of interest, fees and renewals intended to turn a $500 loan to buy groceries into a lifelong commitment. One also might reasonably begin to expect that their days may be numbered as the CFPB prepares to wipe their societal contagion from the face of the earth with purifying regulatory fire.
But recent data released by the CFPB seems to indicate that the conventional wisdom may be wrong on both counts.
An analysis of the complaints received by the CFPB  from consumers in its first three years indicates that payday lending isn’t really that big a problem insofar as only roughly one percent of the consumer complaints are related to payday loans. Mainstream financial products and services such as mortgages and credit cards dwarfed payday lending for the volume of complaints received. When debt collection is added in, those three areas accounted for roughly 66 percent of customer complains, reports American Banker.  This data is corroborated by FTC data that essentially reveals the same thing–payday loans represent about 1 percent of consumer complaints.
The CFPB data also revealed that if overdraft protection, the mainstream alternative to a payday loan, were evaluated in the same APR terms that payday loans are, they can come off much worse –in some cases clocking in at around 1700 percent (as opposed to the totally reasonable APR average of payday loans–350 percent). Moreover, the CFPB study noted that understanding short term loans in terms of APR may be less than helpful, since consumers prefer to evaluate the loans in terms of fees charged in dollars.  [click to go to article site]

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Whaddaya know twitter...

You never know what you'll find if you spend some time looking at who favourited your tweets and which tweets they were.  I've uncovered some neat websites that you may enjoy from my Twitter followers...

FitSmallBusiness.com

David over at fitsmallbusiness.com has favourited several of my tweets.  When I checked out their site I found a really comprehensive series of articles on how to run a small business. From marketing to funding and all sorts of other stuff.  Worth a look.

SunbeltCanada.com

Sunbelt Canada is the site for Sunbelt Business Brokers in Canada.  Yes, I used to own the Moncton office but I see that the social media monitors at my old franchise still enjoy my opinions and do the occasional re-tweet as well.  Check out their site for information on buying and selling businesses and to see the majority of businesses for sale in Canada.

Meetthefounder.co

This is neat.  A website dedicated to interviews with the founders of start-up companies.

MarcMawhinney.com

A business coach who helps entrepreneurs make business fun again.  Marc's website features lots of great blog posts, many from guests, that offer great advice for start-ups and established businesses.

ExploreB2B.com

I'm going to have to spend some time on this.  Seems to be a neat networking site based on areas of expertise where readers can rate posts.  Kind of like LinkedIn meets eBay for ideas and information??  Looks cool, I'll have to investigate further.

If you're not following me on Twitter, just click the button on the right sidebar.

Enjoy your Wednesday everyone.