Saturday, May 30, 2015

[VIDEO] Quick update about my recent interview, the online course, the FaceBook group and the house

Watch and see what's going on with:
1. The FaceBook group.. interesting posts
2. The online course.. pre-sale pricing and its almost done
3. Jerry Robinson.. great reaction from my recent interview
4. The house.. after years of freedom I'm now back to mowing the lawn




The Invest Local Book blog is all about small business, franchises, local investing, home economics, small business systems and borrowing money for your business. It's full of great content and I look forward to seeing your feedback.  Follow me on FaceBook at www.FaceBook.com/DBarnettMoncton.



Friday, May 29, 2015

[RADIO INTERVIEW] I speak to Jerry Robinson of Follow The Money Daily about Franchise Warnings.


I had the awesome pleasure of speaking to host Jerry Robinson of Follow The Money.  Listen to our conversation and learn what Jerry was so eager to learn about regarding franchises.


The Invest Local Book blog is all about small business, franchises, local investing, home economics, small business systems and borrowing money for your business. It's full of great content and I look forward to seeing your feedback.  Follow me on FaceBook at www.FaceBook.com/DBarnettMoncton.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

[BIO VIDEO] I share the story of what my life was like as a finance broker.. the place where I learned to do private investing deals.

 A brief story about how I started my commercial financing business and how I found clients.  I share how I learned to do my first local investing deals.


The Invest Local Book blog is all about small business, franchises, local investing, home economics, small business systems and borrowing money for your business. It's full of great content and I look forward to seeing your feedback.  Follow me on FaceBook at www.FaceBook.com/DBarnettMoncton.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

15 Creative ways to finance a business

I came across this article recently, it provides a great rundown of funding sources for startups.  I guess local investors would fall into the Angel or Venture Capitalist categories.

One of the categories that I found interesting was to fund a business with a 'side business.'  There is one example given of a person who does work as a hiking guide to get money to invest in his online business.

The 'winning a contest' segment was also an eye-opener.  If I think about it though, I can remember a lot of innovation based contests where people won from $10,000 to $100,000.  I would imagine though that this money is not 'free.'  it can take a lot of effort to put these presentations together.

Enjoy





Business News Daily

15 Creative Financing Methods for Startups



Tuesday, May 26, 2015

The problem with government-funded venture capitalism

Image result for tech startup

I was invited to a strategy session the other day by a good friend who has years in the business development and marketing fields.

'David,' he said, 'I'd like you to come and see a presentation from a group that I'm working with. They have a neat technology solution and they're looking for some help in trying to find a way to attract some more investment. I've always enjoyed your perspective on things and I think you could bring some clarity to the conversation.'

I agreed to the meeting and scheduled 120 of my precious minutes to go and see the presentation and give some feedback. I ended up being there over 3 hours.

The presenters have a technology.  Let's call it an online 'gizmo.'  It solves a problem for business and the market is supposedly huge.  The presenters showed me how it worked, showed me how it saves money and then asked for feedback.

'What are your sales?' I had asked.
'Zero. No sales. We believe in a freemium model.  This is what our advisors have told us to do.'
'Does it really work? Could I go online and sign up today and have it fix my problem?'
'Yes. Can you tell us how to position this so that investors will be attracted to giving us more money?'
'Yes,' I said.  'Show the investors that people are willing to pay you. Show them sales and they'll be all over it.'

So let me ask the question to you, kind reader: How is it that a company can run for years giving away its goods for free and have no sales strategy at all?

I mean not just 'no sales' but actually no sales strategy. My friend was helping them with this.  He's been advising them for just a few weeks.

How can these 'entrepreneurs' run around travelling and using all the latest tech gear?

How can these people think that the solution to running out of money is to seek more investment?

Why haven't they been selling their solution for months or years?

They've never had to.  The government just gives them money in hopes that one day they'll create jobs.  It's true.

You know what the punch-line to the joke is?  They hope to sell the company to a bigger IT company somewhere else in the world and cash out.

It's true.

If a market exists for a product, customers will create a demand. An entrepreneur will fill the need and something will be created.  If the government makes money available, someone will invent a solution to a problem that may or may not exist so they can dip their hands into the cookie jar.

I'll stop now.  I'm getting upset.

I showed them several ways to sell their gizmo.  I certainly hope no more of my tax dollars go into it.

Monday, May 25, 2015

[VIDEO] My attempt at becoming a black light mini putt mogul...

Ever since my trip to Las Vegas in November I've been putting together the idea of opening an indoor black light mini golf course in Moncton.  Watch as the story unfolds...

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

The Invest Local Book blog is all about small business, franchises, local investing, home economics, small business systems and borrowing money for your business. It's full of great content and I look forward to seeing your feedback.  Follow me on FaceBook at www.FaceBook.com/DBarnettMoncton.





Friday, May 22, 2015

Is Equity Crowdfunding really Co-Op 2.0?



The New Brunswick Securities Commission has recently changed the rules about raising capital through the sale of securities (shares, bonds, debentures, warrants, etc.) along with 5 other provinces.

The new rules will allow companies to publicly raise up to $250,000 twice each year without going through the hassle of creating the sizeable and expensive prospectus documents that investors in large companies may be familiar with.

This initiative has been driven by the ‘new economy’ of online companies who brought us sales and donation based crowdfunding that has been operating online for years.  Securities regulators have, until now, not endorsed these types of fundraising methods to sell ownership or debt in a business.

If you were to try to raise share capital for your new business you basically had three options if you didn’t want to, or couldn’t afford to, create bulky prospectus documents; ask your family and friends, ask people with whom you’ve done business in the past, or ask an ‘accredited investor.’  Accredited investors are those very wealthy people to whom the securities laws don’t apply because they’re deemed to know enough to watch out for themselves.

In a May 18 article appearing in the Times & Transcript, a commentator from the startup organization Planet Hatch is quoted as saying that the fundraising limit is too low to really help a lot of internet startups.  I agree, but the crowdfunding rules from the securities commission are about to change things in a whole new way.

In my 2014 Amazon best seller Invest Local, I give very specific reasons why you should not want to be a shareholder in a privately controlled corporation, especially if someone else had a large ‘control block’ of shares.  There are far safer ways to invest in small businesses for financial gain.  

I will repeatedly tell anyone who will listen that buying shares of these small businesses, especially via this crowdfunding technique is not a way to invest one’s money.  It’s very speculative... unless you have other motives.

While $250,000 is not much money for a tech startup, it could mean life or death for a restaurant, a sports bar, a corner store, a daycare or any number of real, everyday, local businesses that you or I may wish to patronize.  Drum-roll please.  I’d like to introduce you to the ‘investomer.’

I first saw this word a few weeks ago related to an American company who was helping restaurants find funding via crowdfunding of equities.  US rules also changed recently to allow this option for small companies. 

Putting the idea out there that you want to build a new café in a certain location and asking the neighbouring residents to invest via crowdfunding tackles several problems at once for the small business owner:
  • You get to raise money to pay for the costs of the business.
  • You get to survey the market to see how many people REALLY want to see the business open.
  • You have the opportunity to develop a fiercely loyal customer base who share in the excitement of the new enterprise.
The result is a business with a self-interested owner, a profit motive and a highly motivated and supportive customer base of ‘investomers.’  Who wouldn’t want to have a solid base of customers who want to patronize the company and possibly share in the profits down the road?

I believe this will create a new era of community based businesses which will succeed where co-ops often fail. 

In my opinion, the reason that co-ops fail is because there is no owner pushing to ensure that the business works for the customers.  In the last decade the Sobeys grocery chain has built at least four new stores in Metro Moncton.  The Co-op chain of grocery stores closed a store and is down to one.
 
Crowdfunding for shares in businesses could create a new era of small businesses built to serve the needs of our communities which will be resilient and motivated to grow rather than stagnate simply because they will have owners that want to taste success.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Chris' land deal - How do you figure out your yield when you buy low and sell at a profit on a note?

I show how to calculate the rate of return from buying low and selling high on a note in a land deal that was suggested by Chris.  In this example, Chris pays $2,500 for a piece of land and sells it for $5,000.  The buyer has a $1,000 down payment and will pay the balance over 36 months (3 years) with 8% interest.  What is Chris' rate of return on this investment? Hint: It's similar to a Lonnie Deal.

If you want to get into the secret FaceBook group, e-mail me at dbarnett@alpatlantic.com



The Invest Local Book blog is all about small business, franchises, local investing, home economics, small business systems and borrowing money for your business. It's full of great content and I look forward to seeing your feedback.  Follow me on FaceBook at www.FaceBook.com/DBarnettMoncton.

Friday, May 15, 2015

Thursday, May 14, 2015

[VIDEO] News: Square raises more cash to increase its merchant cash advance lending business


Image result for square sticker

Square, the credit card processor that fits into your smartphone has been an easy to deal with supplier to small businesses.  Many of whom have had difficulty in the past getting credit card merchant accounts.

Square is now taking advantage of this relationship with small business to grow their merchant cash advance lending business.

Entrepreneur.com reports:
Square, the Silicon Valley payments company, is expanding its loan program to small businesses. The company announced on Tuesday that Square Capital, its loan-making division, has raised an additional investment from previous backer, Chicago-based Victory Park Capital (which tripled its original investments) and new investor Colchic Capital.Square, co-founded by Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, says that its Capital arm has been growing at a fast clip. It has loaned more than $100 million to more than 20,000 businesses over the past year. In April, Square Capital advanced nearly $25 million in capital.

This is big news for small businesses but also serves to highlight the magnitude of the small business lending opportunity that I explore in my book Invest Local.

If you forget how merchant cash advance works, check out this video from last fall.


Wednesday, May 13, 2015

[VIDEO STORY] How I sold my old house in a lease option contract deal with two agreements. The lease and the option.

I tell the story of helping my neighbours sell their hobby farm on a lease option deal. I also explain the details of how I set up such a deal to sell a house I used to own. I discuss the particularities of New Brunswick rental law.


The Invest Local Book blog is all about small business, franchises, local investing, home economics, small business systems and borrowing money for your business. It's full of great content and I look forward to seeing your feedback.  Follow me on FaceBook at www.FaceBook.com/DBarnettMoncton.


Tuesday, May 12, 2015

What's your side hustle? Do you earn after hours?

Back before Christmas I had done a video where I encouraged viewers to get some kind of business going outside of their regular employment.



Owning a business gives so many tax advantages and teaches self-reliance.

Today I was listening to Entrepreneur on Fire podcast and Nick Loper was interviewed.  Nick runs Side Hustle Nation, an online community dedicated to getting businesses going 'on the side.'

Side Hustle Nation

The entire site is about getting your entrepreneurial juices flowing without taking the big risky step of quitting your day job.  Check it out.


Monday, May 11, 2015

[VIDEO STORY] My first note deal financing a mobile home for a lady who had just been divorced.

I tell the story of my first mini-home note deal.  I helped finance a home for a woman who had just been divorced and couldn't get financing because of the age of the home.



The Invest Local Book blog is all about small business, franchises, local investing, home economics, small business systems and borrowing money for your business. It's full of great content and I look forward to seeing your feedback.  Follow me on FaceBook at www.FaceBook.com/DBarnettMoncton.

Friday, May 8, 2015

[VIDEO STORY] Watch as I tell the story of my first and only attempt at a 'Lonnie Deal' I barely get out alive!!!

Lonnie Scruggs figured out how to make money selling and financing old mobile homes.  I couldn't make it work.  Listen to my story of how I just barely got my money back out of a dire situation.

Sign up for my MailChimp e-mail list http://eepurl.com/XKdW1 


The Invest Local Book blog is all about small business, franchises, local investing, home economics, small business systems and borrowing money for your business. It's full of great content and I look forward to seeing your feedback.  Follow me on FaceBook at www.FaceBook.com/DBarnettMoncton.

Get Deals on Wheels from Amazon.com









Thursday, May 7, 2015

On the road in Sydney, Nova Scotia

Image result for sydney cape breton island

I'm writing this post from my hotel room in Sydney, Nova Scotia.  It's the big city on Cape Breton Island.  The scenery and the views are amazingly beautiful.

Image result for sydney cape breton island


What Sydney is famous for though is its poor economy.  Years ago there was a steel mill and coal mine here.  The fishery has always been here and is still going strong but the mills and mines are now closed.

They should have closed 30 years ago but the provincial and federal governments kept pumping money into them in an effort to 'save jobs.'  What they ended up with was an economy based on old industrial-age industries and the companies that served those dinosaurs.

Before coming here I called about 25 companies who Dun & Bradstreet says do over $5M in annual sales.  Almost all of them told me that they now do less than $1M because of the loss of those big industries.

Today though, I met with a businessman who has had year over year increases in his business.  It's doing better than ever, he's even re-invested in growing the size of his facility.  How? Why? If the economy is so bad is this man managing to grow?  Simple. The trend is your friend.

This business sells products that cater to baby boomers who are entering retirement.  There are lots of them around and with Cape Breton's low housing costs, many who moved away earlier in life are coming here to retire.

Making steel is definitely against the trend in North America.  Helping grandpa with his garden is a much better business to be in.

I guess the story just reinforces that no matter how much you try in any business, you'll have a much easier time if the trends are in your favour.  Even if everyone tries to tell you that the economy sucks.

If you haven't already, you should download my package of small business finance articles.  It's FREE and full of useful information. [CLICK]

Cheers.




Wednesday, May 6, 2015

What should I do with extra cash? Save, Pay off Debt or Invest?



When it comes to personal finances, people always want to know whether they should put extra cash towards savings, investments or paying down debt.  Here are some of my thoughts on what you should do with any extra cash that may come your way.

Also, you may want to try out this interactive debt calculator from The Globe and Mail.  I scored 43.

Savings

The number one priority for everyone should be to have 3 months of household expenses set aside in a plain old savings account.  This is for emergencies. It's not for spending, investing or anything else.  Just a safety net.  Even if you would qualify for employment insurance benefits if you lost your job, you should have this amount of money tucked away for emergencies.

Debt

I categorize debt into two different columns based on what it was used to buy.  You've probably read about ideas like Robert Kiyosaki's who say that home mortgages are bad debt because houses are not assets.  I don't completely agree with him.

I take the stand that if debt is used to buy a house that ends up costing less than renting an equivalent accommodation then the savings is equivalent to an income.  A home that allows you to save money over renting is an asset, to a degree.

I never advocate getting into debt for consumer products, vacations or a car that has features beyond what you absolutely need.  I only recommend borrowing for cars to people that need them for work.  Lots of people live without cars and you can too for a time while you save up for one you can afford to buy with cash.

Dave Ramsay says that you pay off the debts with the highest interest rates first and then the ones with low rates after.  I agree with this completely and I'll add another twist.  There are some debts you should not pay down faster than you have to because the central bank may be helping you with them.

There is a difference between what the government tells us is the rate of inflation or Consumer Price Index and the rate at which the M3 money supply is expanding.

In the Austrian school of economic thought, inflation is simply the expansion of the money supply.  If you are able to borrow at an interest rate of say 2.79% and the money supply is expanding at 4% then you should not pay down this debt any faster than the loan conditions demand.

The reason is simple, the central bank is eroding the burden of this debt for you and you should ride this wave of free debt relief.  To see what the actual rate of inflation is based on the old rules from 1990, visit www.shadowstats.com

All debts with interest rates over the actual inflation rate should be paid down before you start investing because destroying debt is the only 100% guaranteed way to earn an inflation-beating rate of return on your money.  For example, if you paid off an 8% debt you just earned an 8% rate of return.

Investing

Only once you have 3 months of expenses saved and you have paid off all debts which are at interest rates higher than the true rate of inflation should you start investing.

I'll talk more about this down the road but if you've read my book Invest Local you'll know that I advocate a true diversification among the 8 asset classes, not just stocks and bonds.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Cheers.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Equity crowdfunding comes to the Restaurant industry. Check out this article on a new company specializing in this type of startup financing.

I came across this interesting article talking about crowdfunding for equity in the restaurant business.

Crowd funding for equity has been a minefield for startups because selling equity is covered by the complex rules surrounding the securities markets. (stocks and bonds)

Traditional crowdfunding has been for rewards or gifts.  This means the funds actually end up being 'sales' for the company.

In the equity model, the funds end up being equity and the people providing the funds are given shares in the company.

Restaurants poses an interesting industry for this to be growing because of the traditionally high failure rate in this industry.

I like the new term 'investomers.'  Interesting article.

Cheers.


View an earlier blog post about how crowd funding is threatening traditional lenders [HERE]



CROWDFUNDING COMES TO RESTAURANTS

Crowd funding Featured

The way to consumers’ hearts is through their stomachs – likely because unlike almost any other good or service, food is a non-negotiable purchase for 100 percent of human beings. Individuals have different preferences for what they eat that can vary widely – from vegans to those who will only consume the sustenance of their Paleolithic forerunners, but everybody eats multiple times a day.
Yet, that sure-fire demand for a product seems at odds with the sure-fire path to an investor’s checkbook.
An overwhelming majority of restaurants fail. The most consistently cited statistic is that 60 percent of them fail in the first three years, according to data released by the National Restaurant Association. One might say that those odds are at least better than the 90 percent failure rate of most startups, but the fact of the matter is that restaurants are perceived to be expensive liabilities – and entrepreneurs looking to wade into the restaurant business find startup capital hard to come by.
“I think bank robbers are more welcome by lenders than customers looking to finance restaurants,” one restaurateur wrote for Forbes. “We visited four banks, got outright rejections from three, one of them the same bank that we have had a perfect and significant lending relationship with for 20 years, each rejection because we used the dirty word ‘restaurant.’”
Attracting qualified investors isn’t much easier – considering that an accredited investor under current legal guidelines in the U.S. must earn more than $200K per year or have assets (excluding housing) in excess of $1 million and to launch the typical restaurant venture need as many as ten of them.
But those laws are changing – 15 states have opened up crowdfunding equity investment, and the SEC is currently creating a federal rules framework to expand the circle of who can invest. Thanks to a provision of the JOBS Act, purchasing equity in a small business will soon be open to any investor – within limits, offerings are open to anyone to invest 10 percent of their annual income or net worth in each deal.
EquityEats – a crowdfunding platform for entrepreneurs – is poised to take advantage of this forthcoming expansion in the investor base – and in so doing hopes to create an entirely new class of financier in the food services business  – the “investomer” – the person who buys in because they look forward, someday, to dining out.
“We have seen that those most engaged in restaurant crowdfunding are self-identified foodies, regardless of how much they invest,” EquityEats CEO Johann Moonesinghe noted on the firm’s blog “Opening restaurants with the support of 300-500 investomers (investors + customers) sets entrepreneurs up for success from Day 1. Not only does this group of local people express interest in a restauranteur’s concept, but also they provide tremendous value as loyal guests for the life of the restaurant.” ...more...visit article to read the rest.
[CLICK TO VISIT ARTICLE AT PYMNTS.COM]

Monday, May 4, 2015

[VIDEO] Do you get frustrated trying to explain Internet opportunities to SmallBiz owners? Don't. Seize your opportunity. Buy an industrial age business

Don't get frustrated by small business owners who don't understand the Internet.  Seize your opportunity to build success of your own.


The Invest Local Book blog is all about small business, franchises, local investing, home economics, small business systems and borrowing money for your business. It's full of great content and I look forward to seeing your feedback.  Follow me on FaceBook at www.FaceBook.com/DBarnettMoncton.

Saturday, May 2, 2015

[VIDEO] What is the true cost of convenience? Beware in the supermarket..

I love The Mrs.Volfie.  She's taught me so much about canning and preserving.

Watch this little video of her latest visit to the grocery store.  Do you ever buy shredded cheese?



Cheers and enjoy the weekend.

Friday, May 1, 2015

[BOOK REVIEW] The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson

Over the last week The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson has been my bedtime reading.  It's the third time I've read the book over the last few years.

What I love most about the book is the simplicity of how the author explains why only 5% of people succeed in achieving truly fulfilling lives while 95% of people end up just 'muddling though' their years here on Earth.

The compound effects of tiny disciplines enacted every day over a long period of time make all the difference.  It's why I try to save money every month, exercise at least every second day, and make an effort to write down some new ideas in my journal several times each week.

Image result for slight edge graph

Heart attacks don't happen because you ate poorly one day. They happen because you eat poorly every day for decades.  This is the 'downside' of the slight edge.  Unfortunately, it's the path that most people take, just being lazy and not doing the little things that make all the difference.

I highly recommend you pick up a copy if you don't own it already.




Buy now from Amazon.com


Buy Now from Amazon.ca