Author: Steve Pohlit

Business and Real Estate Investment Coach, Consultant Professional Speaker, Author Building Business Profits Fast Managing Partner Time To Be Great, LLC

Happy Nancy Pelosi Is Not Worried … A Seen On ABC

Nancy Pelosi  is not worried about the majority of the  House Representatives.  She is very confident of her agenda. Personally, I am happy she is confident because this means she is not paying attention growing number of Americans that are tired of increasing loss of freedom, liberty and prosperity.

Failing to pay attention is likely to result in her and others in federal and state governments waking up to find themselves out. Waking up to find new leadership that advocates the return to the founding principles of this country. Personally I feel that would be a great new day for our country.

Click Here for the original article at Free Nation Under God Before you do please watch the following video

Steve Pohlit

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

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727-587-7871

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About: Steve Pohlit CPA,MBA has been the CFO and COO of  major domestic and international companies.  Steve has extensive business ownership experience having purchased and started off line and on line businesses.  Steve offers his  business building experience to companies and entrepreneurs with business coaching and business consulting.  His  focus is on building business  profits and net asset value at above average rates.   All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

The First Step To Building Business Revenue And Profits

People attending the classes where I teach and who join the coaching or consulting program often think there is silver bullet or magic potion for making money.

I teach audiences averaging 60 or so people all over the US and Canada how to build business profits. From this work, approximately 10% become coaching clients. I open most presentations stating that they will learn the exact formula used with those in the coaching and consulting program.

In the opening portion of every coaching or consulting engagement, I begin with  “now comes the first question that I taught in the class”. Some are still surprised when I begin following the exact process that they learned at the event. This is the first step I am giving to you, my loyal readers.

Even though I have taught them all the steps, most have not completed the first step to building business profits.  In fact I have been tracking the numbers and when I give the exact formula for building business profits, only 2% as me for the detailed report.

The Difference Between The Class and Business Coaching and Business Consulting:

The difference is the class teaches all the steps and consulting shows the client how to implement the steps.  So what is the first step?  The first step is to have a clear definition of your business that is in alignment with how you make money.  I know this seems simple but most people do not get this right the first try. The definition should be one that you can write in a few sentences and say very clearly in about 10 seconds.

Steve Pohlit

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

MySpace

727-587-7871

Email

About: Steve Pohlit CPA,MBA has been the CFO and COO of  major domestic and international companies.  Steve has extensive business ownership experience having purchased and started off line and on line businesses.  Steve offers his  business building experience to companies and entrepreneurs with business coaching and business consulting.  His  focus is on building business  profits and net asset value at above average rates.   All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

Harry Potter, Millenia Mall, Illusions

While working with a coaching client on site in Orlando, Florida I observed packed parking lots, traffic jams around Millenia Mall and filled restaurants. My comment was ” they have not heard there is a world wide recession!”

We discussed why the area seemed particularly crowded. The number one reason seemed to be that the new Harry Potter attraction had just opened at Universal Studios and it seemed be a huge draw.  So now I knew that my observation of the market could be distorted by a special event.

Later that day, I was invited to join a group at a very popular “upscale restaurant”. This place is very near Tiger Wood’s home.  My definition of an upscale restaurant is one where the dinner check for two including tip is in the $200 plus range.

After a marvelous dinner, I met the owner. I had a comment and a question. My comment was about the wonderful dining experienced I just finished. I assured him I really enjoyed it as did the  business people dining with me. My second remark was that his business is  actually an economic indicator…a barometer of how well people are doing.  Given that I asked how his business was doing on a comparable basis with last year.

Comparable analysis in business is where you compare the same period this year with the same period last year. In this example I was asking about business this year to date vs last year. He told me his business was down 30% and that the “upscale restaurant market” was down 40%.  He felt good as he was fairing better than the competition. I was not feeling that good about it considering the economic slide began accelerating in 2008.  This means the numbers in 2009 used as a comparison have already been on a decline so the decline in 2010 is particularly disturbing.

I mentioned to my client  and his key person in Orlando that I would send them a list of what I would recommend this restaurant business owner do to strengthen the business. I decided these 7 Steps could help many other business owners so I am using my blog for the action plan and I will email my friends to let them know about these ideas for their Orlando restaurant owner friend.

Top 7 Steps For Strengthen Sales and Profit In The Restaurant Industry….Actually Applies To Most Businesses:

1. Know your customer!  People coming thought the door and buying should be acknowledged with an email or card and possibly more. How do you do this?  You need to have their contact information and specifically an email address and now ideally their cell phone number.

Here is an idea on how you do that: Buy them a drink or a dessert in exchange for their information.  Here is the key: when you identify a particularly important person, the owner comes to the table, welcomes them and offers to buy their dinner in exchange for the cell phone number so they can be alerted for a very special event. Now before you say this ticket could be $200 or more I ask you how worth it is to have the cell phone number for key text messages with VIP’s and I mean people whose net worth is in 8 figures. This is huge

2. Have a plan. Your financial plan should be an annual target that can then be detailed to a weekly plan.

3. Know your numbers. Traffic and sales by time of day. Track your trends. Use this information to market to your list. Invite them to slower times using incentives.

4. Use all proven marketing tools to help grow your business. These include direct mail to targeted zip codes and ads with a “hook” in publications your target customer reads and other venues like radio, participation at key charitable events, local/regional festivals that are for your target audience, on line promotions and more.

5. Have your on line credibility in place meaning a website and social media presence

6. Use a referral marketing system. Reward people for inviting their friends and colleagues.

7. Monitor the variances from plan in all areas of your business. Nothing is excluded: payroll, food costs, utilities….the gold is in the detailed analysis of the variances.

Now You Know…Success Is In The Details.  Failure is almost always a result of not consistently following the steps that have been proven to lead to success.

Steve Pohlit

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

MySpace

727-587-7871

Email

About: Steve Pohlit CPA,MBA has been the CFO and COO of  major domestic and international companies.  Steve has extensive business ownership experience having purchased and started off line and on line businesses.  Steve offers his  business building experience to companies and entrepreneurs with business coaching and business consulting.  His  focus is on building business  profits and net asset value at above average rates.   All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

I’m 63 and I’m Tired” by Robert A. Hall

I’m 63. Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce and a six-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day, I’ve worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven’t called in sick in seven or eight years. I make a good salary, but I didn’t inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, there’s no retirement in sight, and I’m tired. Very tired.

I’m tired of being told that I have to “spread the wealth” to people who don’t have my work ethic. I’m tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it.

I’m tired of being told that I have to pay more taxes to “keep people in their homes.” Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I’m willing to help. But if they bought McMansions at three times the price of our paid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third of my salary, then let the left-wing Congress-critters who passed Fannie and Freddie and the Community Reinvestment Act that created the bubble help them with their own money.

I’m tired of being told how bad America is by left-wing millionaires like Michael Moore, George Soros and Hollywood Entertainers who live in luxury because of the opportunities America offers. In thirty years, if they get their way, the United States will have the economy of Zimbabwe , the freedom of the press of China , the crime and violence of Mexico , the tolerance for Christian people of Iran , and the freedom of speech of Venezuela . I’m tired of being told that Islam is a “Religion of Peace,” when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family “honor”; of Muslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren’t “believers”; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for “adultery”; of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur’an and Shari’a law tells them to.

I’m tired of being told that “race doesn’t matter” in the post-racial world of Obama, when it’s all that matters in affirmative action jobs, lower college admission and graduation standards for minorities (harming them the most), government contract set-asides, tolerance for the ghetto culture of violence and fatherless children that hurts minorities more than anyone, and in the appointment of U.S. Senators from Illinois.

I think it’s very cool that we have a black president and that a black child is doing her homework at the desk where Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. I just wish the black president was Condi Rice, or someone who believes more in freedom and the individual and less arrogantly of an all-knowing government.

I’m tired of a news media that thinks Bush’s fundraising and inaugural expenses were obscene, but that think Obama’s, at triple the cost, were wonderful; that thinks Bush exercising daily was a waste of presidential time, but Obama exercising is a great example for the public to control weight and stress; that picked over every line of Bush’s military records, but never demanded that Kerry release his; that slammed Palin, with two years as governor, for being too inexperienced for VP, but touted Obama with three years as senator as potentially the best president ever. Wonder why people are dropping their subscriptions or switching to Fox News? Get a clue. I didn’t vote for Bush in 2000, but the media and Kerry drove me to his camp in 2004.

I’m tired of being told that out of “tolerance for other cultures” we must let Saudi Arabia use our oil money to fund mosques and mandrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in America , while no American group is allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia to teach love and tolerance. I’m tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate. My wife and I live in a two-bedroom apartment and carpool together five miles to our jobs. We also own a three-bedroom condo where our daughter and granddaughter live. Our carbon footprint is about 5% of Al Gore’s, and if you’re greener than Gore, you’re green enough.

I’m tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses while they tried to fight it off? I don’t think Gay people choose to be Gay, but I damn sure think druggies chose to take drugs. And I’m tired of harassment from cool people treating me like a freak when I tell them I never tried marijuana.

I’m tired of illegal aliens being called “undocumented workers,” especially the ones who aren’t working, but are living on welfare or crime. What’s next? Calling drug dealers, “Undocumented Pharmacists”? And, no, I’m not against Hispanics. Most of them are Catholic, and it’s been a few hundred years since Catholics wanted to kill me for my religion. I’m willing to fast track for citizenship any Hispanic person, who can speak English, doesn’t have a criminal record and who is self-supporting without family on welfare, or who serves honorably for three years in our military…. Those are the citizens we need.

I’m tired of latte liberals and journalists, who would never wear the uniform of the Republic themselves, or let their entitlement-handicapped kids near a recruiting station, trashing our military. They and their kids can sit at home, never having to make split-second decisions under life and death circumstances, and bad mouth better people than themselves. Do bad things happen in war? You bet. Do our troops sometimes misbehave? Sure. Does this compare with the atrocities that were the policy of our enemies for the last fifty years and still are? Not even close. So here’s the deal. I’ll let myself be subjected to all the humiliation and abuse that was heaped on terrorists at Abu Ghraib or Gitmo, and the critics can let themselves be subject to captivity by the Muslims, who tortured and beheaded Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, or the Muslims who tortured and murdered Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins in Lebanon, or the Muslims who ran the blood-spattered Al Qaeda torture rooms our troops found in Iraq, or the Muslims who cut off the heads of schoolgirls in Indonesia, because the girls were Christian. Then we’ll compare notes. British and American soldiers are the only troops in history that civilians came to for help and handouts, instead of hiding from in fear.

I’m tired of people telling me that their party has a corner on virtue and the other party has a corner on corruption. Read the papers; bums are bipartisan. And I’m tired of people telling me we need bipartisanship. I live in Illinois , where the “Illinois Combine” of Democrats has worked to loot the public for years. Not to mention the tax cheats in Obama’s cabinet.

I’m tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of both parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I’m tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor. Speaking of poor, I’m tired of hearing people with air-conditioned homes, color TVs and two cars called poor. The majority of Americans didn’t have that in 1970, but we didn’t know we were “poor”. The poverty pimps have to keep changing the definition of poor to keep the dollars flowing.

I’m real tired of people who don’t take responsibility for their lives and actions. I’m tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination or big-whatever for their problems.

Yes, I’m darn tired. But I’m also glad to be 63. Because, mostly, I’m not going to have to see the world these people are making. I’m just sorry for my granddaughter.

Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts State Senate. There is no way this will be widely publicized, unless each of us sends it on! This is your chance to make a difference.

———————————————

Thank you Robert!!

Steve Pohlit

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

MySpace

727-587-7871

Email

About: Steve Pohlit CPA,MBA has been the CFO and COO of  major domestic and international companies.  Steve has extensive business ownership experience having purchased and started off line and on line businesses.  Steve offers his  business building experience to companies and entrepreneurs with business coaching and business consulting.  His  focus is on building business  profits and net asset value at above average rates.   All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

I'm 63 and I’m Tired" by Robert A. Hall

I’m 63. Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce and a six-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day, I’ve worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven’t called in sick in seven or eight years. I make a good salary, but I didn’t inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, there’s no retirement in sight, and I’m tired. Very tired.

I’m tired of being told that I have to “spread the wealth” to people who don’t have my work ethic. I’m tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it.

I’m tired of being told that I have to pay more taxes to “keep people in their homes.” Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I’m willing to help. But if they bought McMansions at three times the price of our paid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third of my salary, then let the left-wing Congress-critters who passed Fannie and Freddie and the Community Reinvestment Act that created the bubble help them with their own money.

I’m tired of being told how bad America is by left-wing millionaires like Michael Moore, George Soros and Hollywood Entertainers who live in luxury because of the opportunities America offers. In thirty years, if they get their way, the United States will have the economy of Zimbabwe , the freedom of the press of China , the crime and violence of Mexico , the tolerance for Christian people of Iran , and the freedom of speech of Venezuela . I’m tired of being told that Islam is a “Religion of Peace,” when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family “honor”; of Muslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren’t “believers”; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for “adultery”; of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur’an and Shari’a law tells them to.

I’m tired of being told that “race doesn’t matter” in the post-racial world of Obama, when it’s all that matters in affirmative action jobs, lower college admission and graduation standards for minorities (harming them the most), government contract set-asides, tolerance for the ghetto culture of violence and fatherless children that hurts minorities more than anyone, and in the appointment of U.S. Senators from Illinois.

I think it’s very cool that we have a black president and that a black child is doing her homework at the desk where Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. I just wish the black president was Condi Rice, or someone who believes more in freedom and the individual and less arrogantly of an all-knowing government.

I’m tired of a news media that thinks Bush’s fundraising and inaugural expenses were obscene, but that think Obama’s, at triple the cost, were wonderful; that thinks Bush exercising daily was a waste of presidential time, but Obama exercising is a great example for the public to control weight and stress; that picked over every line of Bush’s military records, but never demanded that Kerry release his; that slammed Palin, with two years as governor, for being too inexperienced for VP, but touted Obama with three years as senator as potentially the best president ever. Wonder why people are dropping their subscriptions or switching to Fox News? Get a clue. I didn’t vote for Bush in 2000, but the media and Kerry drove me to his camp in 2004.

I’m tired of being told that out of “tolerance for other cultures” we must let Saudi Arabia use our oil money to fund mosques and mandrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in America , while no American group is allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia to teach love and tolerance. I’m tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate. My wife and I live in a two-bedroom apartment and carpool together five miles to our jobs. We also own a three-bedroom condo where our daughter and granddaughter live. Our carbon footprint is about 5% of Al Gore’s, and if you’re greener than Gore, you’re green enough.

I’m tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses while they tried to fight it off? I don’t think Gay people choose to be Gay, but I damn sure think druggies chose to take drugs. And I’m tired of harassment from cool people treating me like a freak when I tell them I never tried marijuana.

I’m tired of illegal aliens being called “undocumented workers,” especially the ones who aren’t working, but are living on welfare or crime. What’s next? Calling drug dealers, “Undocumented Pharmacists”? And, no, I’m not against Hispanics. Most of them are Catholic, and it’s been a few hundred years since Catholics wanted to kill me for my religion. I’m willing to fast track for citizenship any Hispanic person, who can speak English, doesn’t have a criminal record and who is self-supporting without family on welfare, or who serves honorably for three years in our military…. Those are the citizens we need.

I’m tired of latte liberals and journalists, who would never wear the uniform of the Republic themselves, or let their entitlement-handicapped kids near a recruiting station, trashing our military. They and their kids can sit at home, never having to make split-second decisions under life and death circumstances, and bad mouth better people than themselves. Do bad things happen in war? You bet. Do our troops sometimes misbehave? Sure. Does this compare with the atrocities that were the policy of our enemies for the last fifty years and still are? Not even close. So here’s the deal. I’ll let myself be subjected to all the humiliation and abuse that was heaped on terrorists at Abu Ghraib or Gitmo, and the critics can let themselves be subject to captivity by the Muslims, who tortured and beheaded Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, or the Muslims who tortured and murdered Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins in Lebanon, or the Muslims who ran the blood-spattered Al Qaeda torture rooms our troops found in Iraq, or the Muslims who cut off the heads of schoolgirls in Indonesia, because the girls were Christian. Then we’ll compare notes. British and American soldiers are the only troops in history that civilians came to for help and handouts, instead of hiding from in fear.

I’m tired of people telling me that their party has a corner on virtue and the other party has a corner on corruption. Read the papers; bums are bipartisan. And I’m tired of people telling me we need bipartisanship. I live in Illinois , where the “Illinois Combine” of Democrats has worked to loot the public for years. Not to mention the tax cheats in Obama’s cabinet.

I’m tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of both parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I’m tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor. Speaking of poor, I’m tired of hearing people with air-conditioned homes, color TVs and two cars called poor. The majority of Americans didn’t have that in 1970, but we didn’t know we were “poor”. The poverty pimps have to keep changing the definition of poor to keep the dollars flowing.

I’m real tired of people who don’t take responsibility for their lives and actions. I’m tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination or big-whatever for their problems.

Yes, I’m darn tired. But I’m also glad to be 63. Because, mostly, I’m not going to have to see the world these people are making. I’m just sorry for my granddaughter.

Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts State Senate. There is no way this will be widely publicized, unless each of us sends it on! This is your chance to make a difference.

———————————————

Thank you Robert!!

Steve Pohlit

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

MySpace

727-587-7871

Email

About: Steve Pohlit CPA,MBA has been the CFO and COO of  major domestic and international companies.  Steve has extensive business ownership experience having purchased and started off line and on line businesses.  Steve offers his  business building experience to companies and entrepreneurs with business coaching and business consulting.  His  focus is on building business  profits and net asset value at above average rates.   All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

ATT, IPhone, IPhone4 – Excellent Viral Marketing for Competitors

I love the IPhone. I owned the first IPhone within 2 weeks of launch and have upgraded to the 3G and then 3GS. As soon as Apple released a new model, I was there for upgrade. Not this time.

I would love to be testing the IPhone4 right now.  ATT has pushed me to the point where I don’t want to extend my contract for two years. Why….ATT’s service sucks.  It has not always sucked. In fact for well over 2 years I enjoyed my service.  Then something changed. I began reporting this situation 6 months ago.

Bottom line .. I want great service at my primary location, had it and now it is opposite that. When I discuss this with ATT the responses are amazing.  Tonight was the icing.  The lady said “the reality is that the service you are getting is what you can expect”  I asked her how much experience she had and she said “my experience level is irrelevant”. Amazing.

So I thought ..well maybe it’s me.  However, when I would make comments about my phone and dropped calls, I would hear …”that is so common with IPhone users.  So I tested that with people I know with IPhones and that is very true. All and I mean all IPhone owners I know complain of dropped calls.

I would love an IPhone4  However, ATT wins…they have worn me out and I am now waiting for Apple to expand to other carriers.  Rumors on line that will be this fall. Regardless of the timing it cannot be soon enough for me.

New IPhone4 owners I am sure you will love your new IPhone and I wish you the best with ATT service.

ATT –  you have had an amazing opportunity to dominate the market. You have benefited from Apple’s success and have not taken notes on how they lead.  Your negative goodwill accelerates. Verizon and others gotta love it. This is a great example of viral marketing for the competition.

Is it too late for ATT?  Not at all ATT could turn this around in a heart beat because customers love the IPhone and they do not like change.

Steve Pohlit

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

MySpace

727-587-7871

Email

About: Steve Pohlit CPA,MBA has been the CFO and COO of  major domestic and international companies.  Steve has extensive business ownership experience having purchased and started off line and on line businesses.  Steve offers his  business building experience to companies and entrepreneurs with business coaching and business consulting.  His  focus is on building business  profits and net asset value at above average rates.   All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

BP Oil Spill Results In Predicable Political and Media Response…and Predictable Consequences

The media and government is taking the predictable “finger pointing” route in connection with the BP oil spill.  Screaming someone is surely to blame attracts attention to the publications and politicians screaming the loudest. Fingers point to BP and Obama.

BP accepts responsibility and has allocated $20 billion for the cleanup.  Citizens and politicians say Obama isn’t acting fast enough. Obama apologizes to no one, blames the MMS (Minerals Management Service) and appoints  Michael Bromwich as its new head.

What if this ecological disaster is actually no one’s fault. There is that strong  possibility. Recognize  that in spite of everyone’s best efforts, sometimes things fail.   Consider this excerpt from an article by Carl Hoffman explaining what most likely happened:

“No oil company wants to have a blowout and these companies spend vast sums of money and expertise to ensure that they never happen. But happen they do. If this was a blowout, it’s the first deep-water one in the Gulf of Mexico that I can think of. And for that to happen requires the perfect storm of scenarios.”

I totally support an independent investigation to confirm what really happened. There are two possible outcomes of such an investigation. First, all practical steps were taken to prevent this event and it still happened. Second, preventive measures were known and not implemented.

In the first case, we learn and get better. In the second case, there would be a violation of fiduciary responsibility and appropriate measures taken.

Related to investigations,  I am wondering what information on preventive measures was provided at the Board of Director’s level at BP.  This is a public company and Boards have very clear responsibility for asking the tough questions and getting answers.  At the government level, appointing a new head of the MMS now is interesting. Obama failed  to act following   two scathing reports on the MMS  by the Inspector General in recent years  (See full article by the  The Washington Post ) What if the MMS was operating as intended?  Would the BP Oil Spill have been prevented?

I am a major advocate of a system of accountability in business and government. The media is accountable for accurate reporting. Citizens are accountable for holding  government responsible for upholding the values of our constitution.  All of us are owed accurate information as to what happened and what steps are being taken now to minimize the risk.  The problem with the finger pointing culture is that the truth can be obscured or even ignored. That would be the ultimate disaster.

Steve Pohlit

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

MySpace

727-587-7871

Email

About: Steve Pohlit CPA,MBA has been the CFO and COO of  major domestic and international companies.  Steve has extensive business ownership experience having purchased and started off line and on line businesses.  Steve offers his  business building experience to companies and entrepreneurs with business coaching and business consulting.  His  focus is on building business  profits and net asset value at above average rates.   All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

BP Oil Spill Business Losses:How Claims Will Be Calculated

There are an increasing number of headlines speculating about the extent of damage and related litigation stemming from the  BP oil spill.

There are three parts to a claim for business losses.  There is the physical loss say in the case of a fire and then lost profits due to business interruption. In addition, there are punitive damage awards. This is where a business is awarded compensation over and above actual losses.   These are called punitive damages and are typically for pain and suffering. Normally in the case of a accidental fire or damage from weather (natural cause)  there would be no basis for punitive damages. The BP oil spill falls into the category of an event that likely has the basis for punitive damage awards.

Consider a seafood restaurant on a coast line that has been family owned for generations. It has a great reputation and has been consistently profitable.  Within weeks of the BP oil spill on the news sales began dropping, continued to drop  get worse. For example, say the restaurant has been doing $2.0 million in sales and earning $200,000 profit before tax. Sales and profit  growth rate has averaged 8% per year for the last five years..

Where there is physical damage and business is interrupted, there is the predicable loss of profits from business that would have continued had the business not been damaged. However, when the supply chain is interrupted because people no longer have confidence in the food or where the fish supply is greatly reduced resulting in much higher prices, that is a different story.

Assume sales drop to where it is not possible to remain in business. There are a multitude of issues. It is unlikely the restaurant can be sold as a restaurant since the market has lost confidence in the quality and availability of the product. What about alternative use for the property. Eventually there is always an alternative use. However, the business or buyer having an alternative use in mind is likely looking to acquire the property at a distressed price.

Bottom line… any outcome other than the sale of the business as a viable going concern with a predictable cash flow based on verifiable results is going to be a distressed sale.  Losses in this situation will be future earnings plus diminished value of the property plus punitive damages for pain and suffering.

What would I recommend to a client whose business is destroyed or severely damaged by he BP Oil Spill?

1. Hire the best lawyer possible with a contingency fee arrangement. The best lawyer is one who has experience with business interruption loss experience and a track record of winning awards beyond physical losses. I would research lawyers who have won similar cases. The BP oil spill is not the first one.

2. Be sure to have a business expert as part of your professional resource team. This may seem self serving. It is not. You need a business professional to work with your attorney on a practical strategy that will hold up in court. The stronger your position the more likely for a quick equitable solution outside of court.  In settlement you want a balance of business and legal advice.

I welcome and encourage all comments from attorneys, business valuation experts and those whose businesses are potentially affected by the BP oil spill.

Steve Pohlit

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

MySpace

727-587-7871

Email

About: Steve Pohlit is a CPA,MBA and has been the CFO of several major domestic and international companies.   He is  an expert business coach and consultant focused on building business  profits and net asset value at above average rates.   All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

LWT: Lead Without A Title by Robin Sharma …Get This Book Today

…”the riskiest place you can be is trying to do the same things in the same way as you have always done them. Few thngs are as foolish as hoping old behaviors will somehow present new results.”

“Every one of us alive with life can passionately drive positive change in the face of negative conditions and you need no title to do that.”

This book offers a road map for transformational thinking and results. What may surprise many people is the how important our attitude is toward consistently small steps forward each day is to achieving huge business and personal success. Written in the style of a story, you will find yourself rapidly moving through this book wanting to know what develops next. I also think you will be going back to this book, making notes and concluding what adjustment you will be making in your life and business.

I love “The Leader Who Had No Title” by Robin Sharma and I know you will too.

Steve Pohlit

Managing Director
Top 1 Coaching, Consulting
JT Foxx Organization

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

MySpace

727-587-7871

Email

About: Steve Pohlit is a CPA,MBA and has been the CFO of several major domestic and international companies.  Steve is The Managing Director of  Top 1 Coaching/Consulting of  The JT Foxx Organization. He is  an expert business coach and consultant focused on building massive business  profits and net asset value. He is very experienced with Internet marketing and social media marketing.  All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

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The Key To The Vault of Success

In the early fall of 2009 I was looking at the progress of my career. In the 18 months prior to that point I had created two on line based businesses and knew they would be successful long term. But something was missing and I was trying to pinpoint what it was.

I remembered a presentation  by Ernie Cheu who is the author of   “Soul Currency”. Ernie told his story of how when things turned south for  him he dug deep and reflected on the key success factors when he was riding high.  He then began doing again what he was doing then and regained his foundation to move forward.

In my life the number one element that was apparent in every case where I had accomplished huge professional success was this …relationships.

Between early 2008 and fall of 2009 I had developed several business models on line and connected with many wonderful people. However the relationships were different in most cases. I say most because I am blessed with having developed  very close relationships with wonderful people who I met on line .

With that brief background you may appreciate my decision in early fall of 2009 to renew my connections with highly successful people.  Once I decided that I became very relaxed about the outcome and continued on with my daily/weekly priorities.

And then the phone rang.

From that moment forward I began connecting with an increasing number of very successful people. I didn’t connect all the dots at the time. However beginning in late December 2009 I heard the word “relationships” beginning to echo loudly in my ears and then repeated because the person who called and who I am now working with is all about teaching and being an example of the importance of relationships. Thank you JT Foxx

One of JT’s coaches is Nido Qubein, the president of High Point University.Nido is a remarkable man who came to this country with $50 in pocket and is very prosperous in all areas of his life. He created it and is as excited about what he does as anyone I have ever met.

Recently I was with a group of our top clients  at High Point University. Nido  delivered a 3.5 hour message to our group. One of us in attendance asked him what his number one point of advice was.  Nido talked about his mother and the advise she gave him. She said connect with the experts who are an example of what you want to be. Nido further clarified this in a brief private discussion with me. He said “once you define success for you, find those who you feel be exemplify that definition. Then clarify the attributes they have that you don’t or you need to be better at. Once you do this then it is matter of taking steps to advance your own attributes that you have identified as those being important for you to be where you want to be. Stated another way seek out the experts then become an expert by developing the skills of the experts.

Nobody had ever clarified it for me like that before. But in an instant I got is and I knew that in many respect I have followed that guidance. I also knew I did not follow that guidance to my potential.

Nido was taking about relationships. JT teaches how to develop key relationships all the time. Our coaching, mentoring, consulting program reinforces for our student how to develop key relationships and take action to implement that guidance. Both Nide and JT are  talking about the right relationships. That is the key ..the right relationships.

If you are to develop powerful relationships then you must learn how to network, you must learn how to communicate…you must be prepared.  There are specific steps we teach for developing relationships and there are those chance encounters that seem to be a coincidence. You never know when a visit to the coffee shop, restaurant, gym, church, grocery store could be the key relationship that makes a huge difference in your life.

I have written about the Top 1 mindset in previous articles. That attitude plus the associated skills and actions is well worth the effort. However, none of us ever accomplishes anything of consequence alone. The more powerful the relationships, the faster you will achieve your ever expanding goals.

Here is an example: JT started his coaching program about the beginning of 2009.  It grew to a multi-million dollar a year business in less that 12 months. He hosts  on his show well know success stories including  Robert Kiyosaki, Jack Canfield, George Ross  and many more (visit The JT Foxx Show for more examples) On June 12 and 13, 2010 JT is bring a former leader of a G8 country to Toronto for a major event. We will have a capacity crowd of more than 500 people. VIP tickets for dinner, a picture with this leader who we cannot name for security reasons, plus the event ticket  are still available for $495. (email me for more information)  The event itself is only $95.

Imagine the credibility of having your picture taken with a former leader of a G8 country. JT still talks about the value of having met and his picture with Senator John McCain.  In fact later this year and early 2011 there are additional events materializing that will also be “off the charts” with the keynote speakers lining up. This all happens because of relationships.

Key events are great opportunities to network. Our students are increasingly successful  in part because of the networking they are doing at these and other events. Just yesterday in a coaching call I advised one of our students to move forward from a goal of attracting $300,000 in investor money to $14,000,000. With that redefined goal we developed the action steps which will start to be implemented in less than a week. I am confident he will line up a pool of $14 million for investing in his deals.

No matter what your goals are, you will accelerate the achievement of those goals by forming key relationships. Key relationships are with those people who are masters of the characteristics you know are must haves for you.

Steve Pohlit

Managing Director
Top 1 Coaching, Consulting
JT Foxx Organization

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

MySpace

727-587-7871

Email

About: Steve Pohlit is a CPA,MBA and has been the CFO of several major domestic and international companies.  Steve is The Managing Director of  Top 1 Coaching/Consulting of  The JT Foxx Organization. He is  an expert business coach and consultant focused on building massive business  profits and net asset value. He is very experienced with Internet marketing and social media marketing.  All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

Do You Think The Top 1 Mindset Is Hype…Watch

This is precisely why as JT Foxx says ” there is plenty of room at the top…the bottom is where it is crowded”. The Top 1 mindset is the key to excellence. Watch!!

Steve Pohlit

Managing Director
Top 1 Coaching, Consulting
JT Foxx Organization

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

MySpace

727-587-7871

Email

About: Steve Pohlit is a CPA,MBA and has been the CFO of several major domestic and international companies.  Steve is The Managing Director of  Top 1 Coaching/Consulting of  The JT Foxx Organization. He is  an expert business coach and consultant focused on building massive business  profits and net asset value. He is very experienced with Internet marketing and social media marketing.  All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

How To Strengthen Our Three Foundation Pillars For Optimal Success

I encourage you to decide right now to take action when any part of this article resounds with you. You see there is an amazing volume of content we have access to in multiple formats including: books, CD’s, videos, blogs, websites, email, seminars and even talking with each other to name a few. I have found that using a system for processing information in away that helps me retain what I want to have become part of who I am is the way for me to progress professionally and personally.

I have developed The Top Five System.  This is an adaption  of what I learned from Mark Joyner with his Simpleology System and The JT Foxx Organization where we use a daily Top 5 as part of how the business is operated and developed. I initially published an article that shows anyone how to get started with The Top Five System. The focus of this initial article was to encourage readers to use The Top 5 System for business development. I teach this process and incorporate this system in the coaching, mentoring and consulting division of  The JT Foxx Organization.

I have found this system to be so powerful that I recently expanded the view of how it can be used to strengthen our  Three Pillars for optimal success.  This view which you are about to read is based on over five years of intensive research and the application of these principles to a successful business that I launched on January 7, 2009.  That business is Manifest Mastermind.

With that launch I was already incorporating guidance on developing our Three Foundation Pillars.  Members have been receiving continual detailed guidance on how to excel in all three areas. The Top Five System is a refinement of that work and is a simple way to to expand your success in business and in life.

I recently  presented the first teleconference on The Top Five System for Our Three Foundation Pillars for the members of the JT Foxx Coaching, Mentoring and Consulting Group. Today I am introducing this idea to the public. Note there are only Three Pillars and The Top Five System is designed to focus our attention on not more than five (a handful) action steps. Everyone can manage those numbers. There are no more excuses. Let’s begin.

Our Three Foundation Pillars

1. Health

2. Relationships

3. Money

Everything in life falls within one of those Pillars.  They are purposely listed in order of priority. Yes money is last. Health is first since without our health, nothing else matters.

Using The Top Five System For Health…An Example

1. Health Description…This would be the business description in the money pillar.

I am a healthy, energetic person who maintains my ideal weight.  You can be more detailed in this description

2. Image Target…This would be the financial plan in the money pillar

I release 20 pounds that I no longer need.

3. Action Plan

I am adjusting my eating and exercise habits to achieve my desired image.

4. Time Line

I am releasing 1 pound per week by using 3,500 less calories per week or 700 per day.

5. Daily Top 5

These are the top 5 actions you plan to take to implement your plan of using 700 less calories per day.

This is an example and you should develop your own details based on you new health image which can include a lot more than weight.  The key with each pillar is to have a clear picture of what you want to achieve and measurable action steps. With measurable action steps you will be implementing the Gold Formula which I will write about in a separate article.

Steve Pohlit

Managing Director
Top 1 Coaching, Consulting
JT Foxx Organization

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

MySpace

727-587-7871

Email

About: Steve Pohlit is a CPA,MBA and has been the CFO of several major domestic and international companies.  Steve is The Managing Director of  Top 1 Coaching/Consulting of  The JT Foxx Organization. He is  an expert business coach and consultant focused on building massive business  profits and net asset value. He is very experienced with Internet marketing and social media marketing.  All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

How To Set Up The Simple and Powerful Top 5 Priority System With Google Docs

I have been testing a simplified tool for moving business forward fast and it is working very well. I use it and all of my clients are using this. It is easy to describe and free.

This tool is linked to the business evaluation and resulting business planning process that are the front end steps of every coaching and consulting client.  In summary we arrive at a  very clear definition of the client’s business and target market. Now if your reaction to that first step is that everyone in business knows the definition of their business and target market, then next time you have a chance ask them and ask them to explain it in less than 30 seconds.

That one exercise usually takes most people between 2 and 8 hours to master and some actually never get it as they really cannot decide what business they are in. There are clients where I have had to define their business, target market and business goals otherwise we would not have been able to move forward.  Regarding business goals, I am mostly interested in measurable goals starting with financial performance and liquidity optimization.  Once there is agreement on the financial targets then we can move to the next steps which are designed to define the key actions that are needed to achieve the financial goals.

The end game of all this is the tool that is the topic of this article. Using a Google Doc which can be shared, a Top 5 doc  is created. The top part is labeled “Todays Date Top 5”  This list the five most important things that need to be accomplished today in order to achieve the financial target. The profit goals you have set this year are met or not by what you act on today. Those five action steps should be ones directed on completing profitable transactions that will achieve your profit plan.

I have been using the Top 5 System for about 2 months now and having all my clients implement it as the results are so powerful. There are two reasons for these successes:  First the Top 5 System means you are focused on precisely what is most important.  Second I am now implementing an accountability process where each client is required to share their top five with a person they are working with who could be their business partner, spouse or another in the business. They are also required to share their daily Top Five with me while the coaching or consulting engagement is active.

The following video demonstrated the basics of getting started.  The video starts right in at the screed for setting up a Google Gmail account. The start page can be found at mail.google.com

Steve Pohlit

Managing Director
Top 1 Coaching, Consulting
JT Foxx Organization

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

MySpace

727-587-7871

Email

About: Steve Pohlit is a CPA,MBA and has been the CFO of several major domestic and international companies.  Steve is The Managing Director of  Top 1 Coaching/Consulting of  The JT Foxx Organization. He is  an expert business coach and consultant focused on building massive business  profits and net asset value. He is very experienced with Internet marketing and social media marketing.  All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

Customer Service For AT&T’s iPhone 3GS Network

Everyone I know who has an iPhone experiences drop calls. Some more than others. I am no exception except that I don’t accept dropped calls as normal.

In all fairness, my iPhone 3GS works very well most of the time. Recently I have spent time in California, Toronto, Chicago, Edmonton, Alberta. My home is in Florida. With all of this travel I had very little difficulty with service. My service issues begin when I near my home….within about 100 ft to be more precise. I have several iPhones since 2007 when the first iPhone was released. Since then I have had several periods of weak connectivity but overall I have not had a problem. That changed beginning late last year.

Once it was clear to me that something had changed and my phone was not the problem. I began calling AT&T.  I think having to do that should be considered as a terrorist interrogation technique.  There have been a couple people in that company I connect with who were very nice to talk to and demonstrated they understood the issue.  They also assured me the problem would be fixed.  The problem is not fixed.  And tech support actually misrepresented the action the took. I was told today that an engineer had been dispatched to my home area and found nothing wrong.  No engineer ever showed up and the most that was done was for someone to look at some screen and conclude their towers were operating properly. I never doubted that because a malfunctioning tower would be detected and fixed.

If I heard it once I heard this once I heard this at least 5 times just this week. We apologize, our towers are fine. Please be sure your software is up to date and turn your phone off and on as we sent some data or something to your phone.  There is a lot more but the bottom line is, this issue is not resolved and the discussions I had with tech support were totally not helpful.

Business Marketing 101: make sure you invest in retaining the people who are doing business with you now.

Business Problem Solving 101: Variance are solved one person at a time.

Business Relationship Building 101:  Almost nobody expects technology or any product for that matter to work perfectly all the time. It is how you handle the problem that determines whether you are building positive or negative goodwill.

My Conclusion About AT&T

1. There are indicators AT&T’s network is inadequate and Apple which is an excellent company will find alternatives.
2. AT&T continues to fuel negative goodwill
3. Markets have a way of compensating for weakness. Look at how many companies that were once huge have or are near closing their doors.

Key Lesson For Those Learning Business Principles: Pay attention to what the losers do and then …don’t do that.

Sending you energy of health, happiness, prosperity

Steve Pohlit

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

MySpace

727-587-7871

Email

About: Steve Pohlit is a CPA,MBA and has been the CFO of several major domestic and international companies.  Steve is The Managing Director of  Top 1 Coaching/Consulting of  The JT Foxx Organization. He is  an expert business coach and consultant focused on building massive business  profits and net asset value. He is very experienced with Internet marketing and social media marketing.  All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

Customer Service For AT&T's iPhone 3GS Network

Everyone I know who has an iPhone experiences drop calls. Some more than others. I am no exception except that I don’t accept dropped calls as normal.

In all fairness, my iPhone 3GS works very well most of the time. Recently I have spent time in California, Toronto, Chicago, Edmonton, Alberta. My home is in Florida. With all of this travel I had very little difficulty with service. My service issues begin when I near my home….within about 100 ft to be more precise. I have several iPhones since 2007 when the first iPhone was released. Since then I have had several periods of weak connectivity but overall I have not had a problem. That changed beginning late last year.

Once it was clear to me that something had changed and my phone was not the problem. I began calling AT&T.  I think having to do that should be considered as a terrorist interrogation technique.  There have been a couple people in that company I connect with who were very nice to talk to and demonstrated they understood the issue.  They also assured me the problem would be fixed.  The problem is not fixed.  And tech support actually misrepresented the action the took. I was told today that an engineer had been dispatched to my home area and found nothing wrong.  No engineer ever showed up and the most that was done was for someone to look at some screen and conclude their towers were operating properly. I never doubted that because a malfunctioning tower would be detected and fixed.

If I heard it once I heard this once I heard this at least 5 times just this week. We apologize, our towers are fine. Please be sure your software is up to date and turn your phone off and on as we sent some data or something to your phone.  There is a lot more but the bottom line is, this issue is not resolved and the discussions I had with tech support were totally not helpful.

Business Marketing 101: make sure you invest in retaining the people who are doing business with you now.

Business Problem Solving 101: Variance are solved one person at a time.

Business Relationship Building 101:  Almost nobody expects technology or any product for that matter to work perfectly all the time. It is how you handle the problem that determines whether you are building positive or negative goodwill.

My Conclusion About AT&T

1. There are indicators AT&T’s network is inadequate and Apple which is an excellent company will find alternatives.
2. AT&T continues to fuel negative goodwill
3. Markets have a way of compensating for weakness. Look at how many companies that were once huge have or are near closing their doors.

Key Lesson For Those Learning Business Principles: Pay attention to what the losers do and then …don’t do that.

Sending you energy of health, happiness, prosperity

Steve Pohlit

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

MySpace

727-587-7871

Email

About: Steve Pohlit is a CPA,MBA and has been the CFO of several major domestic and international companies.  Steve is The Managing Director of  Top 1 Coaching/Consulting of  The JT Foxx Organization. He is  an expert business coach and consultant focused on building massive business  profits and net asset value. He is very experienced with Internet marketing and social media marketing.  All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

On Line Marketing: The Formula I Recommend And Why

Question: What Is The Goal of  Business Growth Marketing?

Answer: Traffic and Conversion!

What this means is that in order to grow your business with new customers,  there  needs to be  a stream of relevant traffic interested in what it is you offer.  Your job is to move this traffic from interested to “I’ll Take It” !

Question: How do you move people from being interested to buyers?

Answer: In my experience, people become buyers when a relationship and trust is established. Also, for professional services and many physical products, people want to talk to a person before making a final decision. Contact information including an email address and phone number is very important.

Building A Relationship On Line

The process that has worked for me has at it’s foundation a blog.  The blog has a contact capture form with a reason for people to give you that information. Their name goes into a autoresponder system for follow- up messages with value added content.  Value added content can be tips, a link to another blog article, examples of what is working and direct educational material. Each follow on email should have a signature with a link for more information and contact information.

The blog is the home for valuable content or articles that offer valuable information. This can be current news and relevant “how to” information. Offering examples of what is working is another terrific way of offering value. Marketing messages can be in the signature and the article itself can be structured so the reader understands how your offer is a solution for their interests.

In summary, the blog and the autoresponder sequence is key to building trust and establishing a relationship. Links in the blog and emails can direct the reader to a direct sales page or a contact page.

With this foundation in place and continually growing, you now have the source of material for valuable updates using social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Social Media is a major tool for helping you build your business.  I recommend you look at your social media network as an asset for your business that will continually become more valuable if it is properly managed.

Twitter

I always recommend using at least two accounts, one personal and one business. Twitter seems to regularly modify how it is enforcing its terms of service. Having multiple accounts reduces the risk of going completely off of Twitter because of an account suspension. However, if you post quality messages to valuable content plus use tweets that have no URL in them that demonstrate you are interacting, they you should not have any problems with account suspension.

Building a Twitter following and managing tweets through that network can be a significant commitment of time. I highly recommend leveraging or outsourcing a lot of this work. My company New Digital Media, Inc. has been established specifically to help you with this.

Facebook

There are three primary channels on Facebook that should be used that do not cost money. One channel is pay per click advertising does cost money. Regarding pay per click on Facebook,  my initial tests are positive. It appears advertising on Facebook is cost effective. More on this in a future article.

The first area that should be built on Facebook is your profile. There are many exceptions to the rule that profiles are to be personal. Currently I do not advise spending time building a business profile as there is a high risk of being deactivated.  Your personal profile can and should have clear links to your business.

My focus has been on building my profile and my friends list is primarily for business purposes. As I approached the 5,000 friends limit on Facebook I created a fan page. While I am not a fan of the label fan page, it is channel for expanding your network and there are no limits to the number of fans. If your goal is to build a fan page for a business (Facebook encourages business fan pages) then I recommend a build strategy that invites friends to a fan page, uses Twitter to promote your profile and fan page and test Facebook ads to build your fan page. I have seen very effective ad campaigns that have built fan pages fast so I know this works. If you build a fan page then you should have a communication strategy for developing the interest of your fans.

Facebook Groups are one of my favorites for building business since once a person joins your group, generally they are very interested in messages related to the topic of the group. For example, I have the group Build Business Profits on Facebook which ties into the theme of this blog as well as my social media blogs.  The feedback I receive from messages sent to this group as well as several other targeted groups I have built is consistently positive.

Other Social Media Sites

I highly recommend using YouTube and I have done  a lot of YouTube work in the past and will be stepping up my YouTube activity again this year. I also recommend LinkedIn  There are many other social media sites and I have some work being done on a handful of other sites. However, with the growth in Facebook and Twitter I continue to concentrate on those two. Up and coming and closely being watched is Google Buzz.

The Number One Key Success Factor

While I am always building my social media network and the network for clients of New Digital Media, Inc. the most valuable asset in social media is the quality of information offered in articles and personal communication.  With my own accounts and those of clients there is always a focus of adding value and blending with personal messages.  I have no automated messages flowing through Facebook and I am paying increasing attention to the balance of non automated messages on Twitter.

Related

My focus is having people connect with me on my offers. This is what I always advise clients as well. Consistently there is contact information with articles, contact name and email forms feeding an autoresponder with an email message sequence and published phone information.  This is fundamental internet marketing.  There is always more including search engine optimization,  search engine pay per click, squeeze pages and more. However with a consistent focus on building a relationship with people who are interested in your products and services, you will be able to stay focused on those on line tools most effective for your business.

Then there is off line marketing which is a topic for another article.

Steve Pohlit

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

MySpace

727-587-7871

Email

About: Steve Pohlit is a CPA,MBA and has been the CFO of several major domestic and international companies.  Steve is a business owner and an expert business consultant focused on building profits and net asset value. He is very experienced with Internet marketing and social media marketing.  All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

Toyota Should Decline The Invitation From The US Congress

There is simply no rational for the CEO of Toyota to agree to an “inquiry” by special interest driven congress members.  With one exception, there is nor should there ever be a congressional oversight board reviewing how business is conducted including how business problems are being handled. That exception is an obvious violation of the constitution.

The US Congress has already demonstrated massive incompetence in fiscal responsibility so what the hell do they think they are about to accomplish by putting a legitimate business on trial. The US Congress does not even know what they are doing yet alone evaluate what someone else is doing. Members of Congress may know how to drive a car but that does not mean they know how to manage  a car company. Haven’t they learned from the GM fiasco where we the American people have allowed our President and Congress to drive up the deficit by bailing out a company that has sunk so  deep the American taxpayers will not be repaid in full.

Damage control is now the number one priority for Toyota and they don’t need a committee that is from a Congress whose idea of damage control is to hold a politically based public view of questions prepared by people who are not even members of Congress. It solves nothing. Toyota has problems. There is an obvious quality control problem and a cultural problem. The cultural problem is obvious from their lack of aggressive communication and damage control related to defects.  The marketplace will actually sort this out not the US congress.

As for Toyota, it is amazing that in 2010 an international business seems void of sound damage control and public relations practices. There are numerous examples that serve as best practices guides when a company is involved in a negative situation. One I often point to as a great positive example is the way Johnson & Johnson handled the Tylenol recall in 1982. However, even they may have forgotten how well  and fast they recovered from that episode since more recently there is increasing evidence Johnson & Johnson did not react as fast or well to problems with certain products recalled earlier this year.

Solutions:

Companies like Toyota, Johnson & Johnson normally have policies in place that define the quality standards and quality culture of the business. They also have boards that have fiduciary responsibility to ensure executives running the business are doing their job in all areas including quality. An effective management system includes regularly addressing how the quality culture and standards are implemented and not just “dust collectors” on company shelves. Product problems do not universally mean there is a general breakdown in quality control. However, it is clear the quality related management system for Toyota and maybe for Johnson & Johnson either no longer in place or broken.

Sending you energy of health, happiness, prosperity

Steve Pohlit

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

MySpace

727-587-7871

Email

About: Steve Pohlit is a CPA,MBA and has been the CFO of several major domestic and international companies.  Steve is a business owner and an expert business consultant focused on building profits and net asset value. He is very experienced with Internet marketing and social media marketing.  All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

You Could Have Heard A Pin Drop

From time to time when you follow this blog you will notice how I stand for freedom and peace. My brother sent me an email with these stories. They struck a chord. I hope they do for you as well.

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JFK’S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60’s when DeGaule decided to pull out of NATO. DeGaule said he wanted all US military out of France as soon as possible.

Rusk
responded “does that include those who are buried here?

DeGuale did not respond.

You could have heard a pin drop
———————————-
When in England , at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush.

He answered by saying, ‘Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying ‘Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?’

A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: ‘Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and
from their flight deck.

We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?’

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S. , English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a
French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English. He then asked, ‘Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?’

Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, ‘Maybe it’s because the Brit’s, Canadians, Aussie’s and Americans arranged it so you wouldn’t have to speak German.’

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robert Whiting , an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on.

“You have been to France before, monsieur?” the customs officer asked sarcastically.

Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.

“Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.”

The American said, ‘The last time I was here, I didn’t have to show it…”

“Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France !”

The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, ”Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn’t find a single Frenchmen to show a passport to.”

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am proud to be of this land, AMERICA

Sending you energy of health, happiness, prosperity

Steve Pohlit

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

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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 a business owner and an expert business consultant focused on building profits and net asset value. He is very experienced with Internet marketing and social media marketing.  All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

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Nido Quebein – Why Immigrants Become Millionaires

Sending you energy of health, happiness, prosperity

Steve Pohlit

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

MySpace

727-587-7871

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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 a business owner and an expert business consultant focused on building profits and net asset value. He is very experienced with Internet marketing and social media marketing.  All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

The Business Profits Reported Next Year Are Created Now

The business performance goals you achieve for the next year begin today. In order to achieve business performance goals you must have ones defined.

If this seems perfectly obvious, then why is it that the majority of companies do not have an annual business plan detailed in financial performance terms. Hardly any business has the disciplined management system in place to manage the business to achieve financial performance benchmarks every week.

This is a summary action guide that should help your business performance excel :

1. Define the outcome twelve months from now that you expect. What are your targeted: revenue, profit and cash flow (takes into account investments in non cash assets). I recommend these goals be higher than your historical trend.

2. Define the business performance you need to achieve in the next two months by week to achieve your annual goal.

Steps 1 and 2 become the budget numbers for your business and step 2 is adjusted every week so you are always looking forward two months. Can be three but should not be less than two.

Part of Step 2 should be a cash flow projection. Again it is very important to have a budget for all these items including cash flow.

3. Once you develop your budgeted items then you track actual every week. Now you are in the position of addressing variances. Positive ones should be viewed as carefully as negative ones. You are either investing in more of what resulted in positive variances or address the cause of negative ones.

Since a CEO should be spending most of their time, meaning about 80% on marketing for growth, there needs to be a rationalized process in place where there is clear accountability for the operations in the other key areas of the business.

This process is a management system. If you are an international multi- billion dollar business or a single entrepreneur the principles are the same.

Sending you energy of health, happiness, prosperity

Steve Pohlit

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

MySpace

727-587-7871

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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 a business owner and an expert business consultant focused on building profits and net asset value. He is very experienced with Internet marketing and social media marketing.  All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

The Top 1 Percent

The Top 1% (one percent)  is not a  measurement and comparison of wealth or ability.  The Top 1% is a mindset.  The mindset  that you can and will achieve the goals you set for yourself.  This mindset includes a bias for action. Action taken to follow a clear roadmap. Clear goals, a bias for action and a Top 1%  mindset will result in you experiencing  success way  beyond what the general population or “the herd” can even imagine.

The idea of the Top 1%  is primarily discussed in reference to the development of business revenue and profits. If you pay attention to the Top 1%, you will see a balance in the areas health and relationships.  It may seem obvious, but if your health fails  monetary success is meaningless. Valuable  business coaching and self development programs  provide  guidance on balance.

Attributes of the Top 1%

There are no common traits. The Top 1% includes men, women, all nationalities, all age groups all professions.  The one common attribute is mindset.  The Top 1% has a dream and they take action in a rational way that brings the intended results.

I have worked with very large companies and smaller ones.  These experiences have given me the opportunity to evaluate the difference between eagles and ducks.  Of course eagles soar and ducks waddle and quack.  Eagles have a laser beam focus on those elements of their business that make the most difference.  They avoid flying into the side of a cliff.

The Top 1% invest in self development. J.T. Foxx, a successful entrepreneur, radio host in 18 markets, and author tells his audiences he invested $60,000 in business coaching and consulting  for himself in 2009.  He has budgeted  $100,000 in 2010 for business coaching and consulting.  He is also investing in  focused training and development program for his organization.

J.T. openly discusses his vision and goal of creating a $100 million coaching and consulting company.  I know he will and that goal is likely to be achieved within the  next 12-18 months.  Note the  mindset.  Less than five years ago J.T. was homeless and he  just turned 30.

Invest In Yourself

Join me, J.T. and many more at one of the upcoming Free Events.    Email Me and I will get you additional details.

Sending you energy of health, happiness, prosperity

Steve Pohlit

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

MySpace

727-587-7871

Email

About: Steve Pohlit is a CPA,MBA and has been the CFO of several major domestic and international companies.  Steve is a business owner and an expert business consultant focused on building profits and net asset value. He is very experienced with Internet marketing and social media marketing.  All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

Customer Service: To The Point…Harvey Mackay and The Cab Driver

Thank you Debbie Demboski, Regional Director/Owner of Interiors by Decorating Den for sending me this great story. Contact Debbie for your own  franchise  or decorating services. Ph.800-866-9499  Decorating Den serves most markets in the US and Canada.
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No one can make you serve customers well. That’s because great service is a choice.

Harvey Mackay, tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point.

Harvey was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up. The first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey .

He handed Harvey a laminated card and said: ‘I’m Wally, your driver. While I’m loading your bags in the trunk I’d like you to read my mission statement.’

Taken aback, Harvey read the card. It said:

Wally’s Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.

This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, ‘Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.’

Harvery said, ‘I’d prefer a soft drink.’

Wally smiled and said, ‘No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice.’

Almost stuttering, Harvey said, ‘I’ll take a Diet Coke.’

Handing him his drink, Wally said, ‘If you’d like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.’

As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card, ‘These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you’d like to listen to the radio.’ And as if that weren’t enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him.

Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he’d be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts…

Tell me, ‘have you always served customers like this?’

Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. ‘No, not always. In fact, it’s only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day. He had just written a book called You’ll See It When You Believe It . Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you’ll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, ‘Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don’t be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.”

That hit me right between the eyes,’ said Wally. ‘Dyer was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly,and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.’

‘I take it that has paid off for you,’ Harvey said.

‘It sure has,’ Wally replied. ‘My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I’ll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don’t sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can’t pick them up myself, I get a reliable friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.’

Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab. I’ve probably told that story to more than fifty
cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn’t do any of what I was suggesting.

Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.

How about us?

Smile, and the whole world smiles with you… The ball is in our hands!

A man reaps what he sows. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do
not give up… let us do good to all people.

Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar

Have a nice day, unless you already have other plans!

——————————————————————————–

Sending you energy of health, happiness, prosperity

Steve Pohlit

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

Twitter

Facebook

Linked in

MySpace

727-587-7871

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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 a business owner and an expert business consultant focused on building profits and net asset value. He is very experienced with Internet marketing and social media marketing.  All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

Harry Truman by Matthew Algeo

Harry Truman: Harry Truman was a different kind of President. He probably made as many, or more important decisions regarding our nation’s history as any of the other 32 Presidents preceding him. However, a measure of his greatness may rest on what he did after he left the White House.

The only asset he had when he died was the house he lived in, which was in Independence Missouri. His wife had inherited the house from her mother and father and other than their years in the White House, they lived their entire lives there.

When he retired from office in 1952, his income was a U.S. Army pension reported to have been $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an ‘allowance’ and, later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year..

After President Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and Bess drove home to Missouri by themselves. There was no Secret Service following them.

When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating, “You don’t want me. You want the office of the President, and that doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it’s not for sale.”

Even later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, “I don’t consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise.”

As president he paid for all of his own travel expenses and food.

Modern politicians have found a new level of success in cashing in on the Presidency, resulting in untold wealth. Today, many in Congress also have found a way to become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices.

Good old Harry Truman  observed, “My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there’s hardly any difference!

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This is not posted for discussion. If you agree, forward the link . If you don’t, delete it. I don’t want to know one way or the other. By me posting it, you know how I feel.

Steve Pohlit

The Truth About Retail Sales Reporting

Retail sales during the  Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season are followed by the news media very closely.  This is because consumer spending is a key economic barometer and the annual holiday season accounts for a large  percentage of total annual retail sales. Some estimates are that the fourth quarter retail sales account for more than 30% of total retail sales reported by department stores, specialty stores and mass merchandisers. The percentages can vary widely. For example December sales for jewelry stores account for 23% of the total annual sales.

“This November, (same-store) sales are going to be incredibly important to gauge the state of consumer spending, and thus fourth-quarter earnings and stock trajectory, and it’s also an important statement about the economic recovery,” said Deutsche Bank analyst Bill Dreher.

Comments like this from Bill and others may not be accurate.  I learned how to analyze retail performance from experts responsible for running multi-billion dollar international businesses.  These lessons helped me tremendously in operating my own retail business and in my business consulting work with other retail companies.  Consider the following:

Same Store Sales Can Be Very Misleading

Same store sales are when you compare the sales in one period, for example November, with the sales from that same location the previous year. Seems simple enough but it is not always straight forward. For example, consider one store.  What is your conclusion if the store just opened the first of  November last year or if a major competitor closed a location near you this year?  There are many variables that can affect same store sales and you have to be careful in knowing you have true comparability.

Consider 2009, the same store sales that will be reported this year are being compared to 2008 which is considered one of  the weakest retail sales periods ever. At the company level a moderate increase in same store sales this year may not be a reason to celebrate except that of course it is better than a decline.  Regardless of the results, retailers must go deeper than looking at the aggregate numbers.  They must keep “peeling back  the onion” until the lowest common denominator is evaluated and that is at the item level.

Same Store Sales Are Not A Direct Indicator of Profits

Many retailers promote heavily in the holiday season. This is part of the marketing funnel.  Hot items sold at or below cost  are used as lead generators.  The Internet has educated shoppers on finding the best deals.  This has resulted in  add on sales  dropping which means more of the sales being reported on a monthly basis have lower profit margins.

Keys To Successful Retailing In This Economy

First point is the foundation of  a profitable business in any industry is largely the same.  Companies make money when they offer what people want at a profitable price.  In retail, customers often want a shopping experience that goes beyond price. For example, a recent testimonial from a customers experience on Black Friday demonstrated the success of a much smaller retailer with this customer vs. the major competitor. While having a slightly lower price for the laptop offered, the major retailer did not have any “unallocated laptops”   at 5 in the morning even though the item was heavily promoted. On top of that the crowds there were not pleasant to navigate.  The competing smaller chain, had inventory available and a more pleasant shopping experience.  So you know who got the business and a repeat customer.

Off line, location is increasingly important as well as the overall appearance inside and outside.  Large retailers win the game store by store.  When demographics and traffic patterns change, and they always are, the store needs to change as well.

Customer shopping experience is major for building customer loyalty.  This is mostly how customers are treated by staff when shopping.  This is the one area where many retailers fail.  There are great examples of customer service but they are not the norm.  On line, ease of navigation, speed of checkout and access to customer service are key. Many retailers with web sites pay little attention to the customer service that is needed.  People have questions and at times returns or exchanges may be needed. How this is handled is key.

Have you noticed the most ridiculous new message you get when calling larger customer support lines?  It goes something like this: “Due to heavy call volume, your wait may be longer than normal. Many questions can be answered at our web site.”  I don’t know about you but when I hear that message, which I do with increasing frequency, I think …this company has problems.

At The End of The Day, Profit Must Be Made

As a business consultant and coach, I always look to the profit trends and what is the practical near term strategy for strengthening profits.  Every  business must earn a profit to survive and grow.   There is always an opportunity to improve business performance.  It requires defining the performance targets then establishing  a disciplined process for meeting or exceeding those targets.  That process always works when the process is worked.

Sending you energy of health, happiness, prosperity

Steve Pohlit

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

727-587-7871
Email

About: Steve Pohlit is a CPA,MBA and has been the CFO of several major domestic and international companies.  Steve is a business owner and an expert business consultant focused on building profits and net asset value. He is very experienced with Internet marketing and social media marketing.  All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

Re: New York Times: U.S. Racing Toward Debt ‘Shock’

The reason this headline is so important is because while many companies and entrepreneurs will continue to do well in this country, what is possible to accomplish is being extinguished by our government and what is being achieved has a high probability of being extinguished  by the burden of debt.

For a long time I would look at our politicians and the general trends and conclude that is not an arena that I appreciate and it is somebody else’s life.  Now I look in the mirror.  I and all the voting citizens in this country are responsible.  That is right. As a nation, we voted for people who look to the latest trend of what is popular so they are re-elected. We voted for a president who campaigned on being critical of the debt of the prior administration and then came in and drove that debt into the stratosphere. Obama should be fired now for that fact alone among others. Just for the record, there are a lot of people who should be fired and leave with him. Nothing personal …this is business.

Have we ever voted for a person who stands for the principles of our Declaration of Independence and Constitution? Actually I am not aware of anyone winning on that platform. I am aware of people running on that platform. We didn’t like that idea because that platform holds us as individuals accountable for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It does not say, I am from the government and will solve your problems.  That formula clearly does not work.

This is a business blog with my focus being to offer sound guidance on helping companies and entrepreneurs move their businesses forward in profit at accelerating rates of profitability. Notice I said at accelerating rates of profitability, not accelerating debt like our government is doing.

So Why The Political Platform?

This is not a political platform. It is a business platform on the topic that our policies are going to drain America unless we take action. The action I recommend is based on business principles as I am not a politician at all.  If the US Government were a consulting client this is how I would approach it:

1. Clear definition of purpose: I feel there is a clear definition of purpose for our government and we the people have allowed people in office to ignore it. So let’ s use our foundation principles as the evaluation point and if our elected officials have not demonstrated compliance, we fire them.

2. Who replaces the masses that are fired?  People with experience running large organizations and know what it means to be accountable for compliance with the charter of why you are formed. Who are these people?  There is no shortage, there just is not a system in place to elevate them including a fair compensation system.  Get past the “you have to have been an angel all your life standard and we are only going to pay you $400,000 a year for being President. I would vote for paying the right leadership $100 million dollars a year  and link that to performance standards with base pay of $25 million. Now you have the attention of  some talent.

3. Key Tenant: basic economic and universal laws.

4. Tough stuff: the one way for this to be accomplished is to recognize the difficulty people have with change and then have leadership in place prepared to deal with the constituencies that say these changes are unacceptable.  These opposition groups should be in the minority if the leadership and related communication is in place.

Who Am I To Speak?

I am an American and I have my share of successes and failures. As a human, I have made good choices and some I would do differently. Do I have all the answers? No  but I do know this…I support  the founding principles of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness and our government does not. I am tired of that and I am speaking out .. and you?

Sending you energy of health, happiness, prosperity

Steve Pohlit

Business Consulting, Executive Coach
Turnaround/Crisis Management
Temporary CEO, CFO, Controller Services
International Business Resources

Social Media Services
New Digital Media, Inc.

727-587-7871
Email

About: Steve Pohlit is a CPA,MBA and has been the CFO of several major domestic and international companies.  Steve is a business owner and an expert business consultant focused on building profits and net asset value. He is very experienced with Internet marketing and social media marketing.  All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

More

There is going to be more from me on this and I hope a lot of others as well. For now here is the article that resulted in my conclusion I have had enough.

New York Times: U.S. Racing Toward Debt ‘Shock’
Monday, November 23, 2009 1:51 PM Article Font Size
A page one, top-of-the-fold New York Times report Monday warns that U.S. debt is rising so fast that the federal government is careening toward a “payment shock” in the not-too-distant future.

The Times lead headline read: “Federal Government Faces Balloon in Debt Payments: At $700 Billion a Year, Cost Will Top Budgets for 2 Wars, Education, Energy.”

The Times headline appears eerie just as the Senate moves to push forward on a radical healthcare reform — with CBO estimates for a final bill costing nearly $1 trillion dollars over the next year.

The national debt now stands at over $12 trillion and the White House estimates that the cost of servicing the debt will rise to more than $700 billion a year in 2019, up from $202 billion this year. The Times suggests that $700 billion annual payment cost may be conservative.

The additional $500 billion a year in interest payments would surpass the combined budgets this year for education, energy, homeland security, plus the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Times observes.

Treasury officials face not only huge new debts incurred in response to the economic meltdown but a balloon of short-term borrowings coming due in the months ahead, and interest rates that are certain to return to normal levels when the Federal Reserve concludes that the fiscal emergency has passed.

“Even as Treasury officials are racing to lock in today’s low rates by exchanging short-term borrowings for long-term bonds, the government faces a payment shock similar to those that sent legions of overstretched homeowners into default on their mortgages,” The Times reported on Monday.

Interestingly, the alarming Times analysis comes as the nation is in the midst of a debate over healthcare reform proposals that could add many billions of dollars to the overall debt.

Record deficits have arrived just as payments for Medicare and Social Security benefits are set to explode, with the oldest Baby Boomers approaching age 65. This will result in what experts have long warned will be a “fiscal nightmare” for the government, the Times article notes.

“What a good country or a good squirrel should be doing is stashing away nuts for the winter,” William H. Gross, managing director of the Pimco, a bond management firm, told The Times.

“The United States is not only not saving nuts, it’s eating the ones left over from the last winter.”

As for the balloon of short-term borrowings coming due, that debt now accounts for 36 percent of overall debt, compared to the historic average of less than 25 percent, and more than $1.6 trillion is due by March 31.

Another problem: The Federal Reserve’s purchases of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities to prop up the economy pushed down long-term interest rates by about half of a percentage point, but the Fed is set to reverse those policies — that alone could add $40 billion to the government’s annual debt service expense.

The Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee, a group of market experts that advises the Treasury on debt management, declared this month: “Inflation, higher interest rate and rollover risk should be the primary concerns. Clever debt management strategy can’t completely substitute for prudent fiscal policy.”

And The Times warns: “There is little doubt that the United States’ long-term budget crisis is becoming too big to postpone.”