The Three Billionaire Attitudes of Bill Bartmann: First: Be Able To Recognize Opportunities

This is about an amazing opportunity and it is not about Bill Bartmann’s buy bad loan portfolio strategy detailed in Buyout Riches.  That is the topic of separate articles.

Of course I know this is an amazing opportunity because I have been working with this situation for over three months. I know the markets, the business, the customers, the key people who will implement the solution that I crafted.

Personally, I would write the check for this entire deal like yesterday. I know there one or more resources who will recognize this a jump on it.  What is it?

This is a family owned business that is 107 years old.  The company has developed a product line in a specialty niche of a much larger market. However the market segment for this niche is estimated to be about a billion dollars in the US alone. Now I know this word …billion… is used a lot and soon we won’t pay attention unless the headline has trillion in it.  Think I am kidding.

Today the WSJ released a report that Michael Jackson has sold 2.3 million albums in four days since his death. The reaction is ..so!  We are conditioned by so many numbers many have no meaning.   Back to the 107 year old company:

They contacted me in March and said they needed help. I don’t have much time to tell all the details right now  so let’s “cut to the chase”  I quickly determined that this business had experienced a series of  unique events that drained them of cash. But unlike nearly every other business I had seen, this company has what every business would die for. This company has a large hungrey crowd for their product and the revenue and gross margins from this business are very very strong.

So most people cannot understand how this picture can turn to where a receiver is appointed by the courts and the company is targeted to be liquidated. With the help of Bill Bartmann I have a fairly good understanding.  More importantly, using my radar and following Bill’s advice of being able to recognize opportunities, I see the upside here and it is very significant. Let me repeat this …the upside is very significant and I see minimal downside.

If you want to know more and if you are able to act fast and if writing a check for $50k or $1.5 mil. does not cause your heart to skip a beat, contact me for all the details. Don’t email me, call me at 727-587-7871. That is my direct line but you most likely will need to leave a message and I will get back to you fast.

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Steve Pohlit, Expert Business Consulting

Email Me, Steve Pohlit to schedule A No Obligation Consultation On Building Your Business Profits.Need more customers? Let’s discuss how to use cutting edge Social Media Marketing in the revenue building cycle of your business to drive your profits sky high. If  your company is not growing revenue and profits,  if your company is not cash flow positive Click Here for more information about Turnaround Consulting Services for Business In Crisis

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About: Steve Pohlit is a CPA,MBA and has been the CFO of several major domestic and international companies.  Steve is business owner and an expert business consultant, direct response and social media marketing  and social networking security expert . Steve is  focused on helping companies improve their business performance. All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

Bill Bartmann Is The Billionaire Business Coach

BILL BARTMANN
Listen to BILL in a FREE TELESEMINAR
JUNE 29th at 8PM Eastern

The Billionaire Business Coach
Win big in a down economy


Bill is the MASTER at creating wealth in a down economy (or any economical situation for that matter). He knows how to win big even when the economy is screaming you can’t. You may have seen Bill on the cover of Inc. Magazine as the “Billionaire Nobody Knows”, or watched him recently on major network TV. Bill’s in the news daily because his book, “Bailout Riches”, is creating a real stir. It’s about how you can benefit–directly and fast–from the government bailout.

Click Here To Register This FREE Teleseminar.

Note: Bill’s new book offers great insight on how our financial system is operating today. I purposely avoided using the word working. Part of what Bill has taught me was used in writing the article Financial Crisis, Turnaround Consulting which is in direct response to a person experiencing a financial crisis.

Bill Bartmann is the “Billionaire Business Coach”.  He is the only self-made billionaire who has devoted his life exclusively to teaching others. Bill is the leading authority on entrepreneurship in America. He has created seven successful businesses in seven different industries. Including a $3.5 billion, 3900 employee international company that he started from his kitchen table with a $13,000 loan. He has been named National Entrepreneur Of the Year by NASDAQ, USA Today, Merrill Lynch and the Kauffman Foundation. His companies have been named by Inc. Magazine as one of the 500 Fastest Growing Companies In America – four years in a row. He has been awarded a permanent place in the Smithsonian Institutes Museum of American History and awarded the American Academy of Achievement’s Golden Plate Award as one of the Outstanding Achievers of the 21st Century.

Millions of people have seen Bill on ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX News, CNN and CNBC. Bill’s expertise has been featured on Sheppard Smith, Neil Cavuto and Donny Deutsch. He has been profiled in Forbes, Fortune, Inc., Bloomberg, Business Week, New Yorker, People, Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report and USA Today.

Click Here To Register This FREE Teleseminar.

Did you know that Bill issues a FREE newsletter frequently and conducts on line training through his Billionaire University? Want to know more about Bill Bartman and see him on video explaining more about his background and keys to success?  If you don’t know his story, this is well worth a few minutes of your time.

Visit Bill Bartman’s Billionaire University …Just Click Here.

Steve
http://stevereports.com

BTW my social network is now large. If you have a product or service you would like to market, you are welcome to contact me.

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Steve Pohlit, Expert Business Consulting

IR Consulting, Inc.

Email Me, Steve Pohlit to schedule A No Obligation Consultation On Building Your Business Profits.Need more customers? Let’s discuss how to use cutting edge Social Media Marketing in the revenue building cycle of your business to drive your profits sky high. If  your company is not growing revenue and profits,  if your company is not cash flow positive Click Here for more information about Turnaround Consulting Services for Business In Crisis

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USA Today Reports on How Businesses Use Twitter To Communicate With Cusotomers Plus My Published Comments

USA Today published an accurate article today based on my experience. This article is on how an increasing number of companies are using Twitter to communicate with customers.  I am connected with a number of the companies referenced in the article and have seen how they are using Twitter and other social media sites.  Like the USA today I think they have it more right than wrong. I also know the vast majority of businesses have no idea what social media is or how to use it.

I think it is important to establish some credibility when publishing a point of view on social media. I have included here my comments that you will find connected with the USA today article.

Click Here For The Full Article.  My comments that are published there also follow:

———————————–

My experience with social media started about 14 months ago with Facebook and extended to Twitter and others about 6 months later. My sole purpose was to understand how to use social media for effective marketing. Effective marketing is building trust, authenticity and transparency.

This article is right on siting a number of companies effectively using Twitter and other social media services. Twitter is a very effective service for me as it is an integral part of building several businesses. Manifest Mastermind, http://manifestmastermind.com has been build entirely using social media. A recent large business consulting project is a direct result of using social media. My consulting practice is presented on a blog and includes YouTube video at http://irconsultinginc.com

There is work involved in all of this and the work needs to support a strategy. I feel the people who question the usefulness of the tools don’t understand them and don’t do the work.

Steve
http://stevereports.com

BTW my social network is now large. If you have a product or service you would like to market, you are welcome to contact me.

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IR Consulting, Inc.

Email Me, Steve Pohlit to schedule A No Obligation Consultation On Building Your Business Profits.Need more customers? Let’s discuss how to use cutting edge Social Media Marketing in the revenue building cycle of your business to drive your profits sky high. If  your company is not growing revenue and profits,  if your company is not cash flow positive Click Here for more information about Turnaround Consulting Services for Business In Crisis

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Financial Crisis, Turnaround Consulting

An independent business owner contacted me after reading several of my articles on business turnaround consulting and business process improvement consulting. She asked if I could help her. I asked if she would write me note about her situation. The following is her message:

Steve,

I decided to get in touch with you because I am very close to running out of cash. I don’t know how I will pay on my loan payments next month because at the moment I don’t have any funds for that.

I feel like I am really close to generating positive cash flow with my business but I am still stressed about how I will pay on all accounts/loans that I am responsible for. I feel like I just need to buy myself more time.

I am doing my best to maintain my positive attitude, faith, and belief but I am scared. I’ve applied for additional credit cards but have been denied. As a result, I’ve started to search for a job, which I know is taking my focus off of where it is I want to go.

Financially, I’ve never been where I am at the moment.

If you can help, I am grateful. Even if you are unable to,  I am still grateful.

Thank you,

————————————————–

I asked her permission to publish this on my blog as I have actually been planning to write an article about what many people are experiencing for a variety of reasons. Full disclosure: I am a business turnaround and business process improvement expert. I am not a personal financial planner, personal bankruptcy lawyer, personal financial counselor. My experience in this area are very direct and from the streets. If you would like additional support for what I about to tell you, read Bill Bartman’s book “Bailout Riches”.

Notice some very important words in this lady’s description of her situation: faith, belief, scared, “I am responsible”.  So my response is written for those who have similar feelings.

About Being Scared:

This is natural particularly since this is the first time she has found herself in this situation. The key is to acknowledge that and just move outside of yourself and observe it. This takes some practice but it can be done. Realistically, we become scared of losing our life, our “stuff”, a place to live and starving. In the worst case scenarios a woman will be not homeless. Nobody will starve to death and stuff can be replaced when the economic situation turns around. In my belief system I have learned how not to fear death. Once you no longer fear death then there is really nothing else to fear. On that topic “Home With God” by Neale Donald Walsch is a great read.

Now I know writing about fear and being scared does not make it go away. You can release these emotions. In fact you must release these emotions or you will have difficulty moving forward which is really what your intending to do. Now for the art of the practical of why you can expect:

I am going to assume she is fairly current on her payments and realizes that will change next month. My advice is to stay focused on immediate needs only while continuing to solidify cash flow from her business. Immediate needs are food, utilities and those service needed for her business. These generally include Internet service and phone service. TV service is not an essential. Car insurance is. The key is to evaluate true essential spending.

For now paying credit card debt and mortgage payments are also not essential. If you are a renter, you may have less time in your place than if you have a mortgage.

Going Forward

This lady mentioned feeling like her business is close to cash flowing. I recommend anyone who has a business ask someone else with business experience for a realistic evaluation of that feeling.  This is the number one item I work on in a business turnaround after addressing immediate cash management issues. With the confidence of how a liquidity crisis turns around you can navigate any obstacles. Now if you don’t have that confidence then you should begin pursuing plan B. She mentions looking for a job. That may not be her first choice but it may be a realistic stepping stone until she can turn her business cash flow positive. That is for her to decide.

What To Expect From Credit Card Companies and Banks

The reality is you will get a lot of phone calls. Most of these calls will be made by a computer. So it is a great idea to have a caller id phone that you can put on silence or vibrate.  You don’t want to answer a call unless you know the caller and you want to talk to them. The natural inclination is to want to talk to the representative on the phone. I don’t recommend wasting your time doing that until you can tell them you have restored your ability to pay.

Credit card companies will threaten to file suit. They won’t. Read Bartman’s book. You can become delinquent more than 90 days if it takes that long to restore cash flow. Close to the 90 day mark they will be willing to cut all kinds of deals with you. If you take one of them know that they will not reactivate your card. I know the credit card companies will accept settlement at 50% of the amount due and take that over 3-5 monthly payments. They do not want you to know that. And as soon as I write that I am sure someone will say there are even better deals than that.

I am not advocating not paying what you owe. However, the credit card companies have no problems charging very high default rates and late fees. Your responsibility is to position yourself to go forward.

Get used to the phone ringing and don’t take it personal. First a computer is dialing and then at some point when you decide to talk with someone because you have a proposed solution then recognize they are not your enemy or your friend. They are simply doing their job.

You can expect the calls to start at 8AM and end at 9PM Monday through Saturday and noon until about 8PM on Sunday.

Mortgage or Rent

Because mortgages go through a foreclosure process it can take quite some time from start to finish. Rent on the other hand is a bit more dicey depending on the market you live in. The meltdown leading to the high foreclosure rate has driven up demand for rental units. So you could be facing a situation of eviction 60 days or so past the due date.

Generally if you are able to pay a portion of what is due that will buy some time. Mortgages move from the normal mortgage service department to a foreclosure processing department. Expect notice of intent to foreclose and calls. Don’t panic you have time. But keep moving on you go forward plan. Foreclosures and evictions do happen.

Brief Summary

What I have tried to do is paint the picture of what you can expect. There are variations of course and timing can vary depending on the credit card company and bank. Ultimately you have a lot of room to negotiate just about everything related to debt. Utilities no since they will just cut you off. But debt yes. However, in order to negotiate you must have something to negotiate with. You ultimately have to have a source of cash flow to negotiate.

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Steve Pohlit, Expert Business Consulting

IR Consulting, Inc.

Email Me, Steve Pohlit to schedule A No Obligation Consultation On Building Your Business Profits.Need more customers? Let’s discuss how to use cutting edge Social Media Marketing in the revenue building cycle of your business to drive your profits sky high. If  your company is not growing revenue and profits,  if your company is not cash flow positive Click Here for more information about Turnaround Consulting Services for Business In Crisis

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Busting Loose From The Business Game

In 2006, author Bob Scheinfeld published a book titled: Busting Loose From The Money Game.  I purchased the book based on the recommendation from another admired author and read it once  over the course of about a week.  I then went back and read it more closely, made notes, highlighted sections in yellow. In short I really studied this book.

I had not been exposed to most of the information in that book to that point.  I was very skeptical even after studying it in-depth. This was because the concepts were so different from anything I had imagined.  However, I found a part of me saying it made a lot of sense.

Over the subsequent three years,  I have learned that Busting Loose From The Money Game was based on what is known by scientists as the discipline of Quantum Physics.  During this time the movie The Secret was released. There has been a growing awareness of The Law of Attraction.  Quantum Physics  supports The Law of Attraction.

Here is a real life example from personal experience. If you have followed the articles published in this blog you know I have a lot of very valuable business experience.  I use this experience to  help companies improve their business performance and in some cases help them if they find themselves in a difficult situation (business turnaround consulting).

When I was near graduating from college I decided that I wanted to be a CPA and work with one of the Big 8 (at the time) firms. I visualized that experience as best I could, I interviewed with a few firms and I was not hired…then.  I ultimately relaxed that idea, but I did become a CPA and also went on to earn my MBA. Both were credentials I decided I wanted to have because one day I wanted an executive position and be in the board room running a large business. I felt those credential would help.

I was relentless on that idea. I felt certain it would happen.  Nine years after I was not offered a job with one of the Big 8, the number one firm in the world hired me . I went on to have a marvelous experience there for 10 years.  I left and went right to being a senior executive of a $360 million company.  I was in the board room with several other senior people running that company.  There is a lot more to this story including some of the near total disasters I experienced but the point is I attracted that which I was focused on consciously or otherwise.  That is The Law of Attraction.  “Like attracts like”.

Today in business and in all areas of my life I am continually creating the picture that I want to have appear.  Now if you asked my most recent client how that turned out they would say not very well.  I would say one chapter is closed and another is beginning.  Soon I will prepare another article on change and surprises. For now I say to you,  The Law of Attraction works perfectly all the time.  The problem comes in when the outcome isn’t like we thought it would be. Sometimes the outcome is much better and sometimes it isn’t.

In the situation I just finished, the bank decided it was in their best interest to liquidate the company.  There is no way on this planet in my lifetime I thought I would  understand the bank’s position given the alternative solutions presented to them. However, Bill Bartman’s latest book “Bailout Riches” offers answers.  Do you see I was asking questions and I attracted answers.  Not only that,  but I attracted  an opportunity to profit from the current conditions should I pursue what Bill suggests. I don’t think I will but you can.

I love understanding and increasing my connections with that which I intend to attract.  I love sharing what my experiences and insight on these topics.  Nearly a year ago I had an idea of how I could blend my passion for The Law of Attraction with my experience and skill set in business and particularly the consulting arena.  Shortly thereafter, a number of things began to fall in place and today I have along with my business partner have growing business based on The Law of Attraction. That business is Manifest Mastermind.  What is most important I work on what I love and some people like it enough to stay as paying members.  How cool is that?

My purpose has been to give you a glimpse as to why I immediately purchased Bob Scheinfeld’s latest book: “Busting Loose From The Business Game”  I have not read it as I just order it today.  I encourage you to order it and for transparency purposes I am not an affiliate and Bob hasn’t asked me to write this and certainly hasn’t paid me any money to do so.  For the record I am not opposed to being paid :).

I know this  book will have  as much influence on me as the first one I read and I am excited about all the possibilities.

Here is the link and if you decide to order, please tell Bob that you heard about it from Steve Pohlit.
<http://www.bustingloosefromthebusinessgame.com/opportunity.html>

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IR Consulting, Inc.

Email Me, Steve Pohlit to schedule A No Obligation Consultation On Building Your Business Profits.Need more customers? Let’s discuss how to use cutting edge Social Media Marketing in the revenue building cycle of your business to drive your profits sky high. If  your company is not growing revenue and profits,  if your company is not cash flow positive Click Here for more information about Turnaround Consulting Services for Business In Crisis

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Freedom, Liberty

I have been experiencing accelerated energy toward the  foundation principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – the original value system of the United States. I also feel, more and more people are refocusing on these values as our government continues grow and spend money irresponsibly.

Michael Israel is one person who energizes the feelings of compassion, care and patriotism. Michael is awesome as this video shows.

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Steve Pohlit, Expert Business Consulting

IR Consulting, Inc.

Email Me, Steve Pohlit to schedule A No Obligation Consultation On Building Your Business Profits.Need more customers? Let’s discuss how to use cutting edge Social Media Marketing in the revenue building cycle of your business to drive your profits sky high. If  your company is not growing revenue and profits,  if your company is not cash flow positive Click Here for more information about Turnaround Consulting Services for Business In Crisis

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The Value Chain or Optimizing Profitable Revenue

Andrew Chen published an article titled Creating Value vs. Optimizing Revenue.  Here is the link to his article.

http://andrewchenblog.com/2009/06/10/creating-value-versus-optimizing-revenue/

First I want to draw attention to his conclusion: “No matter what your product is, the only way to make money long-term is to make a lot of people happy, and then getting some % of the value you created back, in return. The right strategy to build a long-term sustainable business is to build long-term sustainable value. No amount of viral tricks or optimization will allow you to escape that truth!”

Here are my thoughts resulting from my own experience.  Long term sustainable value is an academic dream.  Value right now is what is important and if you provide value right now and you continually do that day after day, guess what?  Your business ends up providing long term value.  When developing the revenue model of your business strategy you must focus on the profit formula that works right now!

The “right now” profit formula delivers value to your target audience at a price that makes you money. If it doesn’t deliver them value and you profit right now you will lose the customer and lose your business. It is that simple.

Andrew goes a bit esoteric for me in his presentation on landing pages, optimization and more.  I like to keep things a bit more straight forward.  If you are using on line traffic conversion techniques (and I am sure you are) the ultimate optimization is where what you say catches the attention of your target audience and that interest is converted to an action. That acton is simply “I want what you are offering”  This applies to the sale of socks or business development consulting services which is one of my offers. There are no exceptions.  Ladies and gentlemen business is all about building traffic to your business or landing page and converting that traffic to profitable customers.  That’s it.

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IR Consulting, Inc.

Email Me, Steve Pohlit to schedule A No Obligation Consultation On Building Your Business Profits. Need more customers? Let’s discuss how to use cutting edge Social Media Marketing in the revenue building cycle of your business to drive your profits sky high. If  your company is not growing revenue and profits,  if your company is not cash flow positive Click Here for more information about Turnaround Consulting Services for Business In Crisis

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Newt Gingrich Writes: Once, We Would Have Called It A Scandal

In my business development consulting practice I encounter situations where filing for reorganization with protection of Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code (Federal Law) seems to be an option. Consequently I follow with interest some of the more high profile cases. I am amazed at the application of this Federal Law. I was thinking it seems the rules are at times re-written for the convenience of special interests.

This email from Newt is a great report on the recent bankruptcies of Chrysler and GM. This is well worth paying attention to since the issues are not about Chrysler and GM, it is about the breakdown in our political and judicial system.
Newt’s entire email follows. Thank you Newt Gingrich.

Sharing with all my readers the energy of peace, happiness and abundance

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IR Consulting, Inc.

Email Me, Steve Pohlit to schedule A No Obligation ConsultationOn Building Your Business Profits.  Need more customers? Let’s discuss how to use cutting edge Social Media Marketing in the revenue building cycle of your business to drive your profits sky high. If  your company is not growing revenue and profits,  if your company is not cash flow positive Click Here for more information about Turnaround Consulting Services for Business In Crisis

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Once, We Would Have Called It a Scandal
by Newt Gingrich

There was a time when we would have called it a scandal.

In 1921, oil tycoon Harry Sinclair gave several prize head of cattle and around $269,000 to President Harding’s Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall.

In return, Sinclair got the exclusive rights to drill in an oil field in Wyoming. Sinclair’s no-bid contract became the Teapot Dome scandal, the most notorious example of political corruption in America prior to Watergate.

Between 2000 and 2008, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union gave $23,675,562 to the Democratic Party and its candidates.

In 2008 alone, the UAW gave $4,161,567 to the Democratic Party, including Barack Obama.

In return, the UAW received 55 percent of Chrysler and 17.5 percent of GM, plus billions of dollars.

But nobody’s calling this a scandal. It’s time we start.

2000-2008 UAW Giving: $23.7 million to Democrats. $193,540 to Republicans

The almost $24,000,000 the UAW has given to Democrats since 2000 compares with the $193,540 the union has given to Republicans.

In the 2008 presidential election, President Obama was by far the biggest recipient of UAW contributions, raking in $27,340 compared to the $10,600 given to Hillary Clinton, the No. 2 recipient of UAW money.

And so it was no surprise to the cynical Washington political class when the payback began with the Chrysler bankruptcy.

In a rigged proceeding in which the federal government disregarded bankruptcy law in favor of the political outcome it desired, the Chrysler bankruptcy laid the predicate for the much larger General Motors bankruptcy to come. Against law and precedent, the unions were moved to the front of the line when it came to who would benefit from the bankruptcy.

The Obama Treasury Department strong-armed Chrysler’s creditors into a deal in which the UAW was given 55 percent ownership of the company while Chrysler’s secured creditors – investors who would have received priority in a non-political bankruptcy proceeding – were left with just 29 cents on the dollar.

On Monday, the Supreme Court Delayed the
Completion of the Chrysler Bankruptcy

Some of these secured creditors, led by a group of Indiana retirement funds, are fighting back. They’ve charged in court that the Chrysler bankruptcy violated the bankruptcy laws and violated their rights as senior lenders.

On Monday, the Supreme Court put a hold on the Chrysler bankruptcy to hear their case.

We don’t yet know which way the high court will rule, or if it will rule at all. But we do know what’s at stake. Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock put it well:

“The issue of secured creditors’ rights is bigger than Chrysler. It’s an essential foundation of our capital markets. And fundamentally, this is about the law.”

“Never Has an American Union Done So Well At
the Expense of Shareholders and Creditors”

But the Chrysler bankruptcy was just prelude to the Obama-Administration-brokered General Motors bankruptcy deal announced last week.

The GM deal is yet another example of rank, taxpayer-financed political favoritism.

Once again, the big losers are GM’s bondholders, who include substitute teachers in Florida and retired tool and dye supervisors in Michigan. They hold $27 billion in GM debt but are receiving a 10 percent stake in the new company.

In contrast, the UAW, which is owed about $20 billion from GM, is walking away with 17.5 percent of the company and a cool $9 billion in cash.

According to one analysis, while the bondholders will be lucky if they recover 15 cents on the dollar, the UAW can expect to recover up to 60 to 70 cents on the dollar – four to five times what the bondholders will receive.

As Barron’s Magazine wrote, “Never has an American union done so well at the expense of shareholders and creditors”.

“At a Time When Some American Workers are Facing Stiff Pay Cuts, UAW Workers Gave Up Their Customary Paid Holiday on Easter Monday”

Of course, the Obama Administration has assured us that the United Auto Workers has made “substantial concessions” as part of the bankruptcies that have literally saved the union from extinction.

But as no less than the Washington Post put it, the “union concessions were ‘painful’ only by the peculiar standards of Big Three labor relations: At a time when some American workers are facing stiff pay cuts, UAW workers gave up their customary paid holiday on Easter Monday and their right to overtime pay after less than 40 hours per week. They still get health benefits that are far better than those received by many American families upon whose tax money GM jobs now depend.”

Union members also preserved their right to have six unexcused absences from work before they can even be considered to be fired.

Can you feel the pain?

The Unions Have Been Rewarded With
Ongoing Subsidization by the Taxpayers

It is a sign of the degree to which raw politics has dominated its handling of Chrysler and General Motors that the Obama Administration has a 31-year-old who has not yet graduated from law school determining the fate of two multi-billion dollar companies.


For their political support of the Democratic Party, the auto unions have been rewarded, not just with ownership stakes in two giant companies, but with ongoing protection and subsidization by the U.S. taxpayers.

The President has said repeatedly that he wants to get out of the auto business as soon as possible. But does anyone seriously believe that he would accept an arrangement in which GM becomes profitable at the expense of the union and its gold-plated benefits?

Having spent $50 billion to “save” GM and the UAW, does anyone really believe that the Obama Administration will now allow economics and not politics to dictate its future decisions?

In the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies, the Obama Administration has trampled on the rule of law.

It is using the taxpayers’ money to pay back a political group for its political contributions.

There was a time when we would have called that a scandal.

Your friend,
Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich

The US Govt. Agrees To Accept $68 Billion Pay Down of TARP Money.

The Treasury should be standing there with “arms wide open” to accept any of the TARP money a bank wants to pay back.  Our government charter does not extend to the bailout of private enterprise entities, bank, automotive company or any other.  However, we have allowed it and now that the funds have been disbursed, every effort should be made to get them back.  That may be the intent of our Treasury but it doesn’t feel that way based on the way it is reported.  (link to WSJ article below)

Related point: I am working a business turnaround situation with a client whose bank is a TARP bank. You would never know the bank has accepted money intended on helping business move forward.  We have a valid business moving forward plan where the bank does not even have to advance any more funds. However the cooperation of the bank is required.  They have chosen not to cooperate. I am told by other professionals  working with  companies and with TARP money banks that the attitude from the banks of not really helping is pervasive.

So the we allow the government to bail out these banks and the money is not being used to really help the economy.  Amazing.

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Steve Pohlit, Expert Business Consulting

IR Consulting, Inc.

Email Me, Steve Pohlit to schedule A No Obligation ConsultationOn Building Your Business Profits.  Need more customers? Let’s discuss how to use cutting edge Social Media Marketing in the revenue building cycle of your business to drive your profits sky high. If  your company is not growing revenue and profits,  if your company is not cash flow positive Click Here for more information about Turnaround Consulting Services for Business In Crisis

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Here is today’s Wall Street Journal Article.

News Alert
from The Wall Street Journal
—————————-
Sponsored by NASDAQ OMX
—————————-

The Treasury Department said it will allow 10 of the nation’s largest banks to repay $68 billion in government bailout money.

The Treasury says the banks will be allowed to repay the money they received from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program funds. The banks have been eager to get out of the TARP program to escape government restrictions such as caps on executive compensation.

The Treasury Department did not name the banks involved, but Morgan Stanley said it is repaying $10 billion in TARP capital.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124455528999797923.html#mod=djemalertNEWS

This Week’s Most Popular Re Tweets RT

It is helpful for me to know what tweets people enjoy the most. The best way I know is to monitor what my followers are re-Tweeting. Here is what I noticed this week. You are encouraged to Tweet this article and follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/stevepohlit

Also – if you have a favorite Tweet from me or anyone add it to the comment section here along with your @twittername  and I am likely to Tweet it to my network of over 23,000 people.

Top re-Tweets for the week ending June 7th

Most Popular re-Tweet Is This Quote:

“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” Maya Angelou

Next Most Popular

How to backup your WordPress blog http://TwitPWR.com/backup/

“You are amazing. Expand by connecting with those even more amazing than you. How do you do that? Allow yourself to attract them.” Steve Pohlit

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Is your business in a crisis and what to do if it is http://TwitPWR.com/mgmt/

Lots of detailed work connected with social media marketing. Understand it and leverage it. Start here http://jijr.com/hhMJ

Twitter Tip 1: if you want your message to be RT then keep it under 120 char

Twitter Is Hot, Avoid The 7 Deadly Sins http://TwitPWR.com/twittersins/

Executive ability is deciding quickly and getting somebody else to do the work. Earl Nightingale

Your life’s work is a statement of who you are. If not, why are you doing it? CWG

More About Social Media Marketing

Learn how to use social media for marketing.  Click Here and register at Social Media Source for the free course or Email Brian for information on the Social Media Marketing course he is offering.

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IR Consulting, Inc.

Email Me, Steve Pohlit to schedule A No Obligation ConsultationOn Building Your Business Profits.  Need more customers? Let’s discuss how to use cutting edge Social Media Marketing in the revenue building cycle of your business to drive your profits sky high. If  your company is not growing revenue and profits,  if your company is not cash flow positive Click Here for more information about Turnaround Consulting Services for Business In Crisis 

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This Week's Most Popular Re Tweets RT

It is helpful for me to know what tweets people enjoy the most. The best way I know is to monitor what my followers are re-Tweeting. Here is what I noticed this week. You are encouraged to Tweet this article and follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/stevepohlit

Also – if you have a favorite Tweet from me or anyone add it to the comment section here along with your @twittername  and I am likely to Tweet it to my network of over 23,000 people.

Top re-Tweets for the week ending June 7th

Most Popular re-Tweet Is This Quote:

“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” Maya Angelou

Next Most Popular

How to backup your WordPress blog http://TwitPWR.com/backup/

“You are amazing. Expand by connecting with those even more amazing than you. How do you do that? Allow yourself to attract them.” Steve Pohlit

Other Popular Tweets

Is your business in a crisis and what to do if it is http://TwitPWR.com/mgmt/

Lots of detailed work connected with social media marketing. Understand it and leverage it. Start here http://jijr.com/hhMJ

Twitter Tip 1: if you want your message to be RT then keep it under 120 char

Twitter Is Hot, Avoid The 7 Deadly Sins http://TwitPWR.com/twittersins/

Executive ability is deciding quickly and getting somebody else to do the work. Earl Nightingale

Your life’s work is a statement of who you are. If not, why are you doing it? CWG

More About Social Media Marketing

Learn how to use social media for marketing.  Click Here and register at Social Media Source for the free course or Email Brian for information on the Social Media Marketing course he is offering.

Sharing with all my readers the energy of peace, happiness and abundance

Steve Pohlit, Expert Business Consulting

IR Consulting, Inc.

Email Me, Steve Pohlit to schedule A No Obligation ConsultationOn Building Your Business Profits.  Need more customers? Let’s discuss how to use cutting edge Social Media Marketing in the revenue building cycle of your business to drive your profits sky high. If  your company is not growing revenue and profits,  if your company is not cash flow positive Click Here for more information about Turnaround Consulting Services for Business In Crisis 

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The General Motors Bankruptcy: A Costly Solution

When a company cannot move forward with profitable operations because of accumulated debt  meaning they are not in a positive cash flow position, they must close the business and restructure. Either solution is costly. Restructuring with the protection of Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy code adds to the costs. 

The cost of restructuring is not because of the people working to restructure or the bankruptcy court. The costs are generally a result of mistakes in the past. General Motors has access to many of the best and brightest in the world.  With all this talent, they still managed to steer a company to bankruptcy.  That is sad.  How that happened will be guessed and reported on in many other articles and books. The purpose of this article is to give you a glimpse of what’s next. 

In GM’s case, there has been  an attempt  to negotiate a structure for moving forward prior to the filing.  An agreement was not reached.  It is my personal view from being close to a number of restructuring opportunities that in many instances a rational solution is ignored. When that happens it often is because most everybody negotiating is an employee of somebody. Consequently the number one item on the agenda is  “cover my ass.”

My turnaround and profit improvement work is often with privately held corporations where one or more people running the business are owners. Having held executive  management positions (employee) with large pubic and private companies and having the experience as a business owner, I can assure you there is a huge mindset difference.  The mindset of an owner is solution and action oriented. The mindset of an employee is “how do I get this done and protect my job”.  Of course there are exceptions and most would say my mindset has nearly always been that of an owner whether I was one or not.

If  your company is not growing revenue and profits,  if your company is not cash flow positive Click Here for more information about Turnaround Consulting Services for Business In Crisis 

Most of the restructuring of  GM led by the company’s respective employees and advisers  began prior to the bankruptcy filling p. Part of this included  the company saying to the US Government “bail us out since certainly baseball, apple pie and General Motors is protected by the US Constitution”  Our president (an employee who we hired) says OMG I can’t let the automobile industry crater. He and his subordinate employees throw a Hail Mary pass to fuel  the restructure with a lot of money…our money.  So the employees tell the owners of the money, the US citizens,  how it will be spent and the owners (us) just shrug and say “OK”.  

So the US Government steps in to the newly defined role of bailing out certain large companies and notice that the GM bailout did not avert a bankruptcy filing.  So the brain trusts that run our country decide to send billions of our money to a company that months later files bankruptcy.  Do such investments happen outside of Government bailouts? Of course.  Investment funds make decisions all the time that don’t turn out as planned. The difference is that they are not using taxpayers money.

Taxpayers’ money is not the only money at risk.  There are billions of dollars owed by GM that will never be paid back. The ripple effect of  radically changed business is huge. Thousands of companies linked to the GM supply chain will go out of business or already have, since GM will cram down the money owed these unsecured creditors.  They won’t be paid and they won’t have business fast enough to replace that lost. Of course the direct and indirect job loss is enormous.  Again, don’t blame the restructure plan or the bankruptcy process. This situation is a result of how this company has been managed for decades.

The bankruptcy is necessary since not enough people agree on the latest restructuring  plan promised to move GM to the land of profitability. So GM executives, advisers and others to benefit  we will carve out a deal using the protection of Chapter 11 of  the US Bankruptcy Code.  This is a federal law designed to offer companies the opportunity to restructure and move forward profitably. Great idea except there are a few things you may want to consider:

Who pays for the bankruptcy filing?

Who always get paid during a bankruptcy?

Where is management’s attention during a bankruptcy particularly during the early phases of uncertainty?

Answers:

The administrative (accounting, lawyer, trustee) fees associated with any bankruptcy are enormous and the people who are owed money prior to the bankruptcy are the main contributors to paying these costs.  For example, if a secured creditor is owed $10 million dollars, when the bankruptcy reorganization is filed, they may be offered 30% of the balance paid out over time  depending on how much money is projected to be available . Think of a home mortgage.  A bank holding the mortgage is secured by the value of the home.  Normally that is good protection but if the bank loaned 110% of appraised value then the value dropped 30% the security does not cover the amount of the loan. It looks as if the bailout money given to GM is at high risk of not being paid back 100%.  Time will tell. Unsecured creditors are  not likely to  get anything in a bankruptcy or pennies on the dollar. 

The company pays for the costs of the bankruptcy process including filing fees, trustee fees, attorney fees and  accounting fees. Of course paying for these costs means that money cannot be used to pay debt or suppliers. These costs are normally much larger than most people imagine.  These fees are always paid. In some cases the court will require a reduction in fees charged but usually not.

A bankruptcy filing is very disruptive to normal business operations. The attention of management and ultimately many others is on what is happening with the case. This is particularly acute in high profile cases that are covered by the press like the GM case.

If  your company is not growing revenue and profits,  if your company is not cash flow positive Click Here for more information about Turnaround Consulting  Services for Business In Crisis 

Are Their Benefits To This Process?

The company’s regular business operations are protected while the case is active meaning creditors are not able to pursue lawsuits or size secured property.

A creditor’s committee will ultimately approve a reorganization plan. This plan is usually one with fewer assets than were in place before the filing since a lot of money will have been spent on bankruptcy related expenses. Generally the plan is similar to what the company wanted to do prior to the filing but had to file because people could not agree.  Seems like once a company is in bankruptcy, employees who work for creditors are more likely to agree to a reorganization plan since they can always represent “well this is the best we could do as the company is in bankruptcy.” 

Some company’s emerge successfully from this process and go on to restoring profitable growth. In General Motor’s case time will tell.  There seems to be structural costs that will not be resolved in this case which are the labor costs driven by the union. Retirement benefits are being publicized as being a concern. Ultimately the company will determine what it is able to afford and changes will have to be made. 

Ed Koch has been retained as the turnaround expert.  His firm is very reputable and he has a number of notable turnaround successes. The one thing no one can predict with certainty is to what extent customers will want the product the company makes. The public has many choices and there may be too much resistance to this brand long term for any plan to be viable.  

The media is already reporting the estimated impact of the bankruptcy on jobs and the economy. They are missing a key point. The impact is not from the bankruptcy. The impact is from how this company has been run in the past. The consistent implementation of a profit strategy has not been in place. From the outside looking in it seems the focus has been on preserving high paying  jobs and lucrative benefits while placing secondary priority on innovation and a profitable infrastructure. If those priorities remain during and following this bankruptcy, the company will not survive.

 

Sharing with all my readers the energy of peace, happiness and abundance

Steve Pohlit, The Profit Expert

Email Me, Steve Pohlit to schedule A No Obligation ConsultationOn Building Your Business Profits.  Need more customers? Let’s discuss how to use cutting edge Social Media Marketing in the revenue building cycle of your business to drive your profits sky high. If  your company is not growing revenue and profits,  if your company is not cash flow positive Click Here for more information about Turnaround Consulting Services for Business In Crisis 

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