A Real Estate Formula

by: Steve Gillman

It was a simple real estate formula. The ads ran in our small-town newspaper for years before I realized exactly what was going on. They were always the same: A house for sale with 5% down and payments of 1% of the purchase price. Maybe a three bedroom home for $90,000, for example, with $4,500 down and $900 per month payments.

When a friend started doing the same thing he explained the process to me. It was a way to get a great return on capital, and it was the opposite of buying with no money down. There is no down payment at all when you buy, because you buy for cash.

The Simple Real Estate Formula

You probably know that when you buy for cash, you can often get a much better price. With no financing contingencies in the offer, and the promise of a faster closing, sellers are willing to sell for less. You can offer $95,000, for example, on a house that might be worth $108,000. If you can't get it for less than, say, $99,000, you walk away - there are always other opportunities.

Once you buy the house, you put few thousand into high-return repairs and improvements. These might include paint, carpet, and maybe asphalt for a dirt driveway. For our example, we'll say you spend $5,000. Let's suppose the house is worth $116,000 now. You're ready for the next important step in this real estate formula.

You put it up for sale, targeting buyers who can't get financing easily. You provide the financing. Because you are making it easy for the buyer, you can get more than the $116,000 value for the home - and do it without paying a realtor's commission. Let's say you sell it for 123,000. The buyer needs a down payment of just 5%, or $6,150, and makes monthly payments of $1230 per month. You charge higher interest than the going rates at the banks, of course.

This is a win-win situation. Your buyer is able to buy a home instead of renting, and you get a capital gain of perhaps $16,000 after expenses, plus good interest. Your total rate of return will often be over 20%!

In our town, the first to do this consistently were a father and son team of lawyers. They saved money by doing their own foreclosures when necessary. Once they foreclosed, they raised the price and sold the home all over again.

They made millions. Did you know that if you can get an average return of 18% on your money, you'll turn $75,000 into more than one million dollars in about fifteen years? That's the power of a good real estate formula.

Original Ways To Make Money

by: Jack Reynolds

An opportunity should never be bought into. By definition, an opportunity is something that people will never sell you. From franchises to swamp land in Florida, to patents and inventions, it makes no difference. Theres nothing wrong with any of the things mentioned, however if somebody is trying to sell you these things, then they are not opportunities by definition.

An opportunity is an advantage that you can see that others cannot. I dont care about the dictionary definition, this is the real world definition. Opportunities are free. They dont cost money to observe. Of course I dont mean they wont cost you money, you may need some money to act on it. But if you are paying money so somebody can sell it to you (a sales commission) You should run for the hills.

So, getting back to my definition of an opportunity.

"Its an advantage that you can see that others cannot"

So what that means is that you have vision while others do not. We are awash with money around us. Money or "value" is everywhere. As "Hayden Muller" says, "it permeates our lives like oxygen" The difficulty is not finding opportunity. It is literally everywhere all the time. We are suffering from snow blindness if we still work for a living when such abundance is around us in our every day lives.

The difficulty is not money either. Having access to a few hundred dollars is all you need to take advantage of a million daily opportunities that present themselves in our daily lives. Anyone with some determination can find that much.

No, the real difficulty is knowledge, or education. Its what seperates action from indifference. The question becomes, "so what?" "so what if I took this opportunity and made a few dollars, what next?" You see, without education, opportunities are meaningless. They lead now-where because we lack vision. Don't worry, I lacked plenty of vision myself.

Today you could drop me out of the sky into any free city on the Planet with nothing but the shirt on my back and I would be living well within 3 months and be financially secure within 2-4 years. I know I can do that because my vision tells me I easily could.

Put me in the middle of New York, I would immediately find markets to deal in. Even before I found a place to sleep, I would begin learning about what free markets are available and what they most want and need. I would quickly establish contacts with suppliers and retailers to become the "middle man" my favourite place to be.

Within a week, I would have a few hundred dollars saved. I would use those funds and pyramid my purchases for faster and faster turn over until I had enough to buy small assets that are in high demand. Cars, boats, anything that was being sold that I could find really cheaply. My charm and good looks would make sure I got the best deals and sold them for the highest price (winks)

Charm and good looks aside, the one thing you need is a clarion plan. A master plan that gets you from A to B

Making money with no money is easy and rudimentry. Its the opportunities you spot that makes the real difference. But really its the propensity to take action that delivers the results. Before you can take that action, you need to know where you are going.

Your situation is alot better then the scenario I presented above. You live in a place where you know. You have intimate knowledge of the markets available already present. You have skills and have contacts already that can be of use.

Get a quick short education and go to it. Your first million is not as difficult as you may imagine.

The Exercise Infomercial Phenomenon

by: Richard Romando

It all started with Jane Fonda. She started an industry with a simple video tape that included a 30 minute beginners program followed by a 60 minute full workout. For Jane it formed the nucleus of an empire that included books, audio recordings and fitness salons that are still in existence today. More importantly, capitalizing on Jane’s success, her workout tapes were followed quickly by everybody with a cut chiseled physique or a machine to help you work off those extra pounds and bring out those abs which quite unbelievably is bigger today than it was yesterday but not as big as it will be tomorrow.

Like they say in the record biz, the hits just keep on coming. Everybody has jumped into the market through the years: Chuck Norris, Lou Ferrigno aka The Hulk from the TV show, even Governor Arnold tried his hand at it. Models, celebrities and just plain folks with a machine have created exercise infomercials and you can count on one thing – more are coming soon to a TV channel in your house.

There’s Pilates, aerobics, toning, step dynamics, yoga, stretch, even specialty exercise tapes for pregnant women, women who have just given birth, women who are thinking about getting pregnant, kids, seniors – and that’s only a small fraction of what is available. Right now there are over 700 titles currently available and at one time or another all of them were presented to the public as an infomercial.

Some exercise infomercials utilized a new form of advertising called the hybrid infomercial. In the hybrid infomercial the product is available immediately as a direct response item and at the same time the item is available in retail stores. Here the infomercial is serving a dual purpose – to make a profit for the manufacturer immediately with credit card phone orders and by creating a brand name identity for the product available in the retail marketplace. With so much product available in today’s infomercial exercise tape market, it’s difficult for any one tape or exercise machine to make a profit for its manufacturer. By utilizing the incredible power of infomercials to reach a wide public base and selling them as a direct response item and a retail item simultaneously, manufacturers have learned how to profit from infomercials even though the market may be oversaturated.

Where to Find Cheap Brochure Printing

by: Max Bellamy

Whether it is for is a real estate listing, a trade show handout, a data sheet, or another application, brochures can be a great promotional tool. They can be very expensive or surprisingly affordable, depending on your needs and where you look. Two of the easiest ways to find good prices is to search online or to call printing companies for quotes. There are so many competing printing companies – both offset and digital – that the job of finding a cheap brochure printing company couldn’t be simpler.

Digital printers tend to be less expensive than offset printers, but some argue that their quality is not as high. It is best to investigate what each kind of printer offers and see a sample before making a judgment.

If you have limited internal marketing services, you can still easily make a brochure that will be of high quality, appealing and cheap. The key elements are creating and implementing a clear design plan and doing all of your electronic file work in-house. This will avoid enlisting the extra services printers offer, and help keep the cost low.

Companies will often prominently list their no-frills prices to attract customers looking for bargains. The prices will usually include a few standard paper choices, full color and a standard fold, and shipping (sometimes this is free). If you are sure of what you want and you don’t need any consultation or custom work, your cost will remain very reasonable.

Another option is to build your own brochure online. There are many companies that now offer do-it-yourself graphic design options. This is a fast and easy process that is a very inexpensive route.

Be on the look out for free options and special deals such as seasonal discounts or discounts on discontinued papers. Additionally, make sure when you are pricing your brochure printing job that it includes full color; it is a buyers market and there is no reason to compromise on color. One of the most affordable options is single color or color brochure; this uses only one color and is not appropriate for every brochure.

With the advent of new technologies, digital printing and desktop publishing prices could not be lower. It’s a great time to use a brochure to get your message out there.

What Goes Around Comes Around

by: Dave Lindbeck

I’ve spent a lifetime committed to helping others. It’s what gives me the greatest joy, fulfillment and satisfaction in life. I’m also a true believer in the old adage - “What goes around comes around.”

This is reinforced on many occasions when I encounter an old co-worker, friend or acquaintance who reminds me of how I inspired them, gave them guidance or helped them through a difficult time. These kinds of experiences always motivate me to keep putting good things out into the world.

We never know in advance what good may come from the gestures we put out there. Maybe it will inspire, encourage, educate, motivate or actually change someone’s life. In any event, people will always come away knowing that they matter to you.

In business, as in life, it all comes down to people. People are your customers, co-workers, employees, leaders, managers, investors and vendors. Success in your business depends on the people you encounter. How you treat those people will have a significant impact on your bottom line.

Here are some ways to help people in your business and show them that they matter:

1. Deliver incredible customer service.
2. Give a single parent the afternoon off.
3. Pay someone more than you need to.
4. Send a hand-written note to an employee acknowledging a job well done.
5. Loan a subordinate a book that you’ve found to be helpful.
6. Tell someone struggling “I want to help you succeed,” and mean it.
7. Stop by and talk, without an agenda.
8. Share a resource that you’ve found useful.
9. Create a safe space for openness and honesty.
10. Let people tell you how they feel, and listen without interrupting.

I encourage you to think about the people that you impact, the lives that you touch and the positive changes that you can make. These are the true signs of leadership and in my opinion are more important than the money that you make, the position that you hold or the size of your office.

You can do good while you’re doing well. It may require you to think of new ways to do it, but when you focus on helping others, you’ll succeed in ways beyond measure.