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!!

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.

Click to buy

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.

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.

David BarnettJune 19, 2014 at 10:29 PM

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.

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.

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.

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!

[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.

---

E-mail subscribers get my new videos, content, news of live events and special offers before anyone else. I only send one short easy-to-read e-mail each week.  I'm not like the other guys.