financial intelligence unit financial intelligence Help Students Innovation

 Financial intelligence unit financial services ebook

Chapter 6:

Inventive Ways To Make Cash

Synopsis

There are places like CafePress.com or zazzle.com that let you make t-shirts, mugs, stickers, etc. and sell them without carrying any stock yourself. There are no lower limits, nothing for you to stock and no upfront fees. If you don’t sell anything, you don’t pay anything.

This is a little more challenging, but once applied, may really draw you a whole gob of buyers! Here likewise, I'd target a professional market.  

All right, it’s not glamorous. However, it may be lucrative and it's a never ending need. The fantastic thing about writing resumes is that it's an easy part of your business to develop and outsource if you don't like to do it, or don't have the time to commit to it.

Innovation

So, how may a freelancer make the best of a creative medium? Rather simply, if you're mighty with the pen, then dollars may follow. Make cool slogans and humorous sayings and put them on tee shirts, stickers, mugs, and so forth. You may be the creator of the next big fad Tee. Think of the motto, “Sh*t Happens?” I think this was made popular in the flower child seventies. Can you even start to guess how many bumper stickers and tee shirts were sold with this? So, squeeze your brain and produce some fantastic pop culture! 

T-shirts come in an assortment of styles and colors. 

Are you targeting a female audience? You may consider one of the many tee shirts made for women--the baby doll, tank, spaghetti straps, and so forth. Consider the color of the shirt. While colors are attention-getting, they may also clash or overwhelm out one another. Make certain the colors you choose-- for the T-shirt itself, any printed message and the colors in any graphic --will work together to produce your canvas. You want your shirt color to complement or contrast with the design. Remember that pinkish letters might not show up well on a pinkish shirt-- if the two pinks are too alike. 

Have something to "state" to the world.

 An effective message states it in a memorable way. Think about slogans that have survived the ages, easy word combinations that most everybody has heard. As the tee shirt designer, it's your job to produce new slogans, adages or attention-getting phrases. Short is commonly better as it's more easily remembered. But, even a longer message may be memorable if it flows and has rhythm or rhyme.

 Try out different fonts. 

When picking out a font, remember that legibility counts. But so does visual aspect. Pick a font that adds a layer of depth to your message. If the message is, for instance, "Work drives me mad," then the font may be scribbled or crazy-looking, and yet still legible. Ideally, you'll make your design in a graphics program (like Photoshop) and then use your image atone of the sites.

Consider the art. Draw/design the art to express feelings. 

Which emotion do you want to conjure up? Distinguish the elements in the image that naturally arouse the desired response and then accent those elements. Are you seeking to make a sense of beauty or fright in those who see your design? The key is to comprehend the pieces of the artwork and build on them.

Place the art and text so that one doesn't distract from the other. Art may be behind the text--if the art itself isn't too busy. Art may be above or below the text. This works particularly well with oblong-shaped art so that the art basically underlines or sits above the line of text. Your art may also run along the side of the tee shirt, even crossing from front to back.

Scan and import your art images onto your file if you're using Photoshop or a like application. Incorporating art may enhance your message. Or utilize art by itself if the visual is the message you want to convey.

 Ads

An illustration: In my city, there's a really prominent land agent. In all my years I had never seen this specific mode of advertising by an agent. He produced a “paper” about his geographic region. It’s only five or six pages (11x17) and published on newspaper stock. It has all of the local activities, what’s being constructed, how it will affect the biotic community, and so forth. Naturally, the paper is angled toward real estate news, but has just enough of the additional factors to draw in a loyal resident readership. In this paper, he deals ads to mortgage brokers, movers, title and loan companies, auto dealerships, and so forth. Now, when individuals go to sell their homes, who do you believe they’re going to call? Him, naturally! Because his name is before them bringing them news pertinent to their day-to-day lives week in and week out.

It’s crucial for you to know everything about your paper. If you're brand new and are making cold calls, you'll be pelted with questions about your publication. If you are able to answer them right, you'll build credibility with your prospects. If you blunder and can't give solid info, you'll struggle miserably.

You must be acquainted with your rates and the size of each ad you have for sale. 

Ads can be sold either by the column-inch or by the pages, which are subdivided into particular sizes like Full-page, Half-page, 1/4-page, and so forth.  It's crucial that you become fully-able to spot an ad and distinguish its size. Charge this information to memory.

Make a list of the business people you know. Begin making calls to set up sales. If you're new to the ad sales game, it's safe to assume that you won't have an existing book of business. That surely doesn't mean that you won’t be able to begin selling. Almost everybody knows somebody who's either in management or owns a business. This is your quick market. 

It's important for you to produce a sense of urgency for your prospects.  Don't be pushy, though. Nobody likes to be pressured into anything. But, keep in mind that you're not selling a physical product like a car or copy machine. Your job is to sell the "concept" of advertising. 

Sell from the top down. This step is exceedingly important. Regardless of your prospect's budget, show them your biggest and most expensive ad first. They might only be thinking of a small ad, however, they might not comprehend that by spending a little more money, they'll be using their ad dollars more wisely. 

Become a master at follow through. You'll find, after your first couple of months, that the bulk of your sales will happen as a result of follow up. Even seasoned pros don't make sales during first attempts. You should do a follow-up no later than 3 to 5 days after your first contact. After eight or ten unsuccessful tries to close a prospect, move on to another buyer. Your time is too valuable to waste on those who are not ready to purchase.

Resumes

At an ultra- low price of fifty dollars (I've been cited rates of $250 just for a resume); doing only a couple a day may add up to a very nice full-time income. Up-selling a package (e.g., cover letter and reference sheet) was commonly super easy, and customers were so thankful that this feeling alone was enough to make it worthwhile.The hardest thing about writing a resume is knowing what to accent. You must attract the attention of HR managers, who receive 100s of resumes daily even when they haven't advertised any positions. 

Write a cover letter. This isn't a synopsis of your resume. Merely introduce yourself and state why you're the best candidate for the job.

Know what type of job is being applied for and what the qualifications are for employment.

Pick a design for the resume. You are able to search for samples that are particular to the job being applied for, although it's more crucial to have an outline that best suits the job and fill in the blanks with the personal information. The outline may include objective, work experience, qualifications and references.

Put in the resume the objective, fitting the job description. This may determine whether the person gets the 10 to 30 second review and if the reviewer will send your resume to the next round.

Utilize bullet points to convey info and strive to be clear and concise when writing the rest of the resume. Analyze the job qualifications and spotlight any skills that meet those requirements. It's also best to utilize action words like prepared, directed, managed, developed, supervised, implemented, coordinated and awarded. If there is a lack of experience, center on how education has prepared the person for the position for which they are applying.

Include symbols like %, $, and #. These symbols will save space, letting you include more information on the resume. A symbol like a dollar sign may also draw the HR manager's attention to a significant financial accomplishment. For instance, "directed and closed first year with two million in revenue" should be altered to "directed and closed first year with $2M in revenue."

Spotlight strong points by putting the most relevant points first where they may be viewed quickly. Remain positive and prevent negatives like reasons for leaving an employer and history gaps in employment. These may be discussed in person if necessary.

Help Students

Ahhh, endearing, broke, despairing educatees. 

A lot of them don't have the time or, quite honestly, the skill level, to edit their own work. And, they'll gladly pay somebody to do it.

This is among the easiest markets to target as all you have to do is get hold of the Student Affairs office and ask to post a notice on the student message board. Or, you may take out an ad in the college newspaper. As well, flyers posted around the campus works well.

Commonly, if a student utilizes you once, they will always return if they're satisfied with your services. The finest part about this group? They have loudmouths and they utilize them -- to tell other pupils about your services.

Students likewise need resumes, bibliographies and graduate school essays. There are a plethora of services you are able to provide them successfully. I can tell you from personal experience that they are a good paying lot and are exceedingly nice to work with -- because they're commonly desperate and are just happy to find somebody who may work within their deadlines (think, "I required this yesterday!").

I don't suggest outright writing papers for pupils. I think it is immoral. However, proofing, editing, suggestive revisions -- these are all services that I have supplied quite successfully in the past.

Chapter 7:

Charge Cards and Borrowing
Synopsis

One of the biggest challenges for people to overcome when they first determine to start building wealth and putting income away for their future is a hulking mountain of charge card debt developed over several years. The debt has to be first.

As well, a lot of financial planners will tell you to use a HELOC, or home equity line of credit, to pay down high interest charge card debt. Don't do it.

See The Debt

Do you prefer to know the fastest way that somebody still isn’t ready to accept responsibility for their own financial life and take charge over their charge card debt? It’s that they still blame other people, the economy, the economic system, form of government, their boss, or anybody or anything other than themselves. 

The only justifiable and logical excuse is those unfortunate persons who find themselves in the middle of a horrifying health scare and rack up monumental debts to make it. Unless that’s you, there is something you need to find out: Cut It Out.

You're not a foul person. 

You are not a stupid individual. You just made a few dopey choices. It had nothing to do with your revenue. It had nothing to do with your loved ones. Every time you used your charge card, you made a conscious decision to borrow what you did not have. The very beginning month the statement showed up and you could not pay off the total balance in full, you had surpassed your resources. That’s the minute you got in trouble.

This subject matter should not be discouraging! Rather, 

it should empower you. If you got yourself into immense charge card debt then you have the might to get yourself out of it. It’s that easy. The moment you are able to look into the mirror and state, "it's my fault" and sincerely own the situation, you are able to start to turn it around just like 1000000s of individuals before you have done. 

Take back your power. Discover a symbol of what you feel on the inside or the self-confidence that you want to show to other people on the outside. Having a symbol of what you're thinking or striving for is key to gain assurance. To get to the finish line or get any goal, you need to know where you're going. Your symbol may be anything from a color that makes you feel mighty or an event in your life that really made you feel powerful.

Make a treaty with yourself to always put yourself first.

 The fight to gain self-assurance is often derailed because individuals tend to put the needs of others before their own. You need to put yourself first in your life if you really want to gain any ground in your life.

Place your best foot forward day-after-day if you want to know the true secret of how to gain authority. It's a shown fact that individuals who put out what they believe to be their best outfits and do their hair and makeup in a way like they were going out on a special night on the town, feel more potent in themselves. Bet you didn't know that the easy task of putting on a shirt that you save for "special occasions" on a regular day will help you to gain assurance more then any self help guru could ever.

Take back your self power and take responsibility.

Several individuals that I know are in significant charge card debt and sometimes ask my thoughts on how to get out of the state of affairs. While I’m happy to spend time assisting them, it almost always turns out to be a senseless exercise as in 90% of the cases, the individual isn’t truly serious about getting out of charge card debt. Sure, they're miserable about the payments and the thing they wish for more than anything else is that their charge card statements showed a $0 balance. Wishing for something and doing something to proactively have it are two totally different matters.

Someone I know (I’ll call Tom) makes approximately $85,000 annually and has $20,000 in charge card debt. This debt is sweeping over like the plague and he spends at any rate a couple of hours daily nervous over the $500+ per month in interest payments it takes just to sustain his current balance. Yet, at any rate once a month, he discovers $100 to go on a weekend trip. When I ask him about it, he states that there are particular things that he won’t abandon regardless how bad the debt is.

Tom may never get out of charge card debt with a mental attitude like that. The extra $1,200 annually that he’s spending on the weekend getaways would pay down $6,000 of principal over 5 years, or nearly 40% of the balance. If he could make an extra $50 per week either by working a lot of hours or cutting costs (yes, this virtually means you get on a bicycle rather than driving), he may pay off an extra $11,000 in principal over those same 5 years. That’s all it would take to wipe out the balance.

Rather, he thinks in terms of “my vacation money” or “my food market money”. No, you have one, jumbo pile of money that's available to you. If you're in charge card debt, paying monumental interest on your balances, take every extra penny you are able to and pay down the debt.

Set a sum monthly for food, water and shelter as these are your primary needs. You need to think about buying assorted healthy foods and attempt to avoid unnecessary snacks. You likewise need to do your best at work as it's your source of income to pay for your bills. This is where you start setting your priorities true and right.

Some individuals have their priorities so messed up they even ignore their health just to buy expensive gadgets or travel. Observe that taking care of your own every day needs is your responsibility and priority so avert putting off the important things particularly if you have a family.

Pay your charge card debt. Paying-off the charge card with the highest rate of interest then followed by the ones with lower rates of interest is the most beneficial thing that you can do in order to wipe out your entire charge card debt. Buy things with cash as much as conceivable and control your spending.

Center on saving enough cash for your emergency fund too. This is really significant in case of a job loss or other major unforeseen matters that might happen to you. Ward off the enticement of purchasing things that you are able to just live without and center on building your emergency savings.

Adjusting your financial priorities should be your chief concern. Have a clear list of the crucial things that will cover your monthly disbursements and finances and number each item from the highest to the lowest with relation to their importance and need.

I’m not a huge fan of home equity lines for one easy reason – if you do decide to utilize the nuclear option and declare bankruptcy, your charge card balances are un-guaranteed, while a home equity line of credit is guaranteed by your house.

Practically, this means that you’ve taken a debt supported only by your credit, where the worst a charge card company can do is go to court and get a judgment against you, into a debt supported by your house, where the worst is far more awful – the bank may foreclose on your house and kick you out.

No matter, this is entirely your call as it’s going to come down to what will let you rest at night. If your charge card debt is manageable, and you just prefer to save a couple of thousand dollars in interest expense, a home equity line of credit may add up. If you think there’s even the remote possibility that you might be forced to declare bankruptcy, it may be a tragic mistake that costs you your home.

There are a lot of credit lenders out there today wanting you to put up the equity in your home to get their money for almost any reason you might determine. Among the ways you are able to claim the equity in your house from lenders are by refinancing, securing a second mortgage, a home equity loan, and a home equity line of credit. Are utilizing these ways to borrow money to ease debt a good idea? Here are some good reasons why you shouldn't use equity in your home to pay off debts:

 If you get in a financial tie up, and you feel like you have to default on your new secured debts, the fresh debtors may start foreclosure proceedings to get paid as the house is a secured interest. Creditors who make un-guaranteed loans like charge cards can't foreclose on your home as their loans are not guaranteed by home equity.

Even in a few areas of a down market, your home might be appreciating in value. That means your equity is increasing with time. When you borrow against your equity to pay for debts, you'll lose the appreciation the house has amassed if your home is foreclosed on. You will not only owe the guaranteed loan amount, but many times the sale of foreclosed property sells for cents on the dollar. Consequently, the equity you were forecasting to pay off the fresh secured loans won't be there to pay them off.

Getting into debt appears to be a symptom of a much deeper issue. Using your equity to pay off debts is no guarantee that new debts won't happen. If new debts occur and you've liquidated the only asset you have to the point it already belongs to somebody else, you've increased your debt load to the place you might not be able to afford.

So, what should you do to avoid the temptation of borrowing against the equity in your house? You are able to learn to live within your means, stay out of debt as much as conceivable, pay as you go, look for employment that's resistant to economic shifts, stand back from high interest loans like charge cards if you have to borrow money, and ultimately, keep yourself educated as to the legalities and financial responsibilities that go along with home ownership.