September 20, 2009

Things to ask before you redo your website

From Seth Godin

I don't do any consulting, but that doesn't stop people from asking me questions. The most common question people ask me when they want a new website is, "If you were in charge of this, who are the 2 or 3 people you'd want to be sure to talk to - to help think through the issues, help us figure out who should do the work, etc.?"

The second most common question people ask me, "In addition to Apple's site, are there 2 or 3 that you think are really appealing and work well for their business?"

I think these are perhaps the tenth and eleventh questions you should ask, not the first two. Here's my list of difficult and important questions you have to answer before you spend a nickel:

Read the rest of the article on the Seth Godin's Blog here

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Need A Good Laugh?

The News from Saturday Night Live - Did they really say that?

Check out the video:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xaikx4_saturday-night-live-update-bloopers_fun?from=feedblitz_562756_2525117

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What do you do if you discover that you are an identity theft victim?

We're all at risk:
Do you hand your credit card to restaurant servers?
Do you receive mail at your home?
Do you shop on the Internet?
Do you shred all discarded personal mail?

What if it happens to you:
How many phone calls must you make?
What agencies do you call?
How many hours will it take?
How much money will be lost?

I strongly recommend identity theft protection through Identity Theft Shield because it combines monitoring with actual identity restoration unlike most, if not all, of those you see advertised.

Don't leave yourself unprotected, find out about Identity Theft Shield here

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HOW TO:

Make Facebook Your Company Newsroom
by Josh Peters

Josh Peters is a freelance social media consultant who has been deeply involved in the research and application of social media for several years and is the co-author of TwittFaced. He blogs at Shuaism and would love to connect with you on Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter

. . .

Having an online newsroom for your company is a very important way to provide information about your business for customers, bloggers, and journalists. Through a well put together newsroom, you can control the story in order to make sure news about your company reflects what you want out in the public. Unfortunately, most corporate newsrooms are boring, static, and sometimes days late getting info up. Facebook can help you change that.

Read the full article

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5,000 Children Die Every DAY from Unclean Water

World Best Water Purifier

Dean Kamen (Insulin pump, portable dialysis machine, Segway) invented a great water purifier to solve the problem of fresh water in all over the world. As we know the fresh and pure water is not unlimited. Actually it's decreasing in quantity and quality day by day. Dean Kamen invented such a great water purifier which converts any kind of bad water into distilled water, in very low cost.

Watch this video

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James Montgomery

Of Counsel

ELMS ♦ HARMON ♦ MACCHIA, LLC
7800 IH 10 West, Suite 600
San Antonio, Texas 78230

Phone is the same: 210-690-3700

Fax is the same: 210-568-4550

The Network Drive office closed September 15, 2009.

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Welcome to my new subscribers, and thank you to those who are forwarding this email to your friends and business associates. The subscriber list is growing substantially. Please feel free to forward to a friend.

If you are reading and wish to subscribe on your own, please go to www.jamesmontgomerylaw.com and just subscribe at the top right of the page.

Thank you for sharing this newsletter!

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The market for buying and selling businesses is good.

There is money looking for deals. Looking at options never hurts and we are offering a free 30 minute consultation to discuss how to maximize your sale or purchase.

Call me to do some planning: 690-3700

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Have a great Sunday!

James Montgomery

www.jamesmontgomerylaw.com

yourexitstrategy.blogspot.com

Of Counsel:

Elms Harmon Macchia, LLC

7800 IH 10 West, Suite 600

San Antonio, Texas 78230

210-690-3700

210-568-4550

Newsletter - September 13, 2009

To Sell or Not To Sell

After the decision to start a business of your own, perhaps the most challenging decision you can make is whether to sell that business. You conceived it, built it, poured your lifeblood into it, and now find yourself with a viable, profitable enterprise you can call your own. You have built an asset! Now... what to do with it?

For many business owners, the prospect of selling their business is both daunting and alluring. For others, it is something of a dilemma - how do you decide whether selling is the best strategy?

Read the rest of the article on the E-Myth Blog here

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Top 10 Tactics For Protecting Your Stuff

Laptops, wallets, old hard drives, identity theft, etc.

Find out more:

http://lifehacker.com/5357929/top-10-tactics-for-protecting-your-stuff

I strongly recommend identity theft protection through Identity Theft Shield because it combines monitoring with actual identity restoration unlike most, if not all, of those you see advertised.

Don't leave yourself unprotected, find out about Identity Theft Shield here

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As axis of power shifts, Wall Street goes to D.C.
Finance firms increasingly look south in wake of federal foray into economy

By David Cho, Steven Mufson and Tomoeh Murakami Tse WashingtonPost.com

. . .

Washington has become a dominant player. Over the past year, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury have injected trillions of dollars into frozen financial markets, snapping up unwanted bonds, extending guarantees to banks and slashing interest rates.

Three times as much U.S. taxpayer money has gone into propping up a single firm, insurance giant American International Group, as the world spent a decade ago during the financial rescue of South Korea, then the world's 11th-largest economy. And the emergency bailout of financial firms that Congress approved last year has cost nearly as much as the first five years of the war in Iraq.

Now the Treasury and the Federal Reserve are embroiled in everything from credit cards and home loans to auto manufacturing, from overseeing executive pay to shaping boards of directors.

. . .

Enjoying the new Administration in Washington? Are you ready to turn Wall Streeters loose on Washington? You must read this entire article.

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Best (and Worst) Performing S&P 500 Stocks Since March Bottom

Bespoke blog shows us the top performing stocks in the S&P 500 since March 9th. Note - while the intraday low of 666 was reached March 6th, the S&P 500 closed at 683 that Friday. The true "closing" low was actually that following Monday the 9th when the S&P 500 closed at 676 (lower than the Friday close). However it is much more spooky and cool to say, the market bottomed on the 6th at 666.

Whatever the case, it seems impossible to believe that that bottoming event happened earlier this year; it now feels like it was a few eons ago.
. . .

Check out the chart which shows the top twenty-five stocks!

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Announcing My New Address:

James Montgomery

Of Counsel

ELMS ♦ HARMON ♦ MACCHIA, LLC
7800 IH 10 West, Suite 600
San Antonio, Texas 78230

Phone is the same: 210-690-3700

Fax is the same: 210-568-4550

The Network Drive office will close September 15, 2009. I will miss it (and being able to office with Dennis Templeton) but I am excited about my new business model and the opportunities that it will bring.

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Welcome to my new subscribers, and thank you to those who are forwarding this email to your friends and business associates. The subscriber list is growing substantially. Please feel free to forward to a friend.

If you are reading and wish to subscribe on your own, please go to www.jamesmontgomerylaw.com and just subscribe at the top right of the page.

Thank you for sharing this newsletter!

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The market for buying and selling businesses is good.

There is money looking for deals. Looking at options never hurts and we are offering a free 30 minute consultation to discuss how to maximize your sale or purchase.

Call me to do some planning: 690-3700

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Newsletter - September 7, 2009

Announcing My New Address:

James Montgomery

Of Counsel

ELMS ♦ HARMON ♦ MACCHIA, LLC
7800 IH 10 West, Suite 600
San Antonio, Texas 78230

Phone is the same: 210-690-3700

Fax is the same: 210-568-4550

The Network Drive office will close September 15, 2009. I will miss it (and being able to office with Dennis Templeton) but I am excited about my new business model and the opportunities that it will bring.

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Welcome to my new subscribers, and thank you to those who are forwarding this email to your friends and business associates. My email was opened two times more than the number on my mailing list in the last two weeks which means that it is being forwarded a lot. The subscriber list has also grown substantially. If you are reading and wish to subscribe on your own, please go to www.jamesmontgomerylaw.com and just subscribe at the top right of the page.

Thank you for sharing this newsletter!

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How Low Can It Get?

See for yourself! http://digg.com/odd_stuff/Man_That_s_Low

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In The New York Times . . .

In the New York times of July 26, 2009 David Streitfeld wrote an article that is entitled "When Debtors Decide to Default". The premise of the article is that we are reaching a point in the economy when debtors are intentionally deciding to default on credit card bills.

The scenario is something like this: a consumer who is financially strapped, borrows money either for personal or business needs, through offers received in the mail from credit card companies at very low interest rates. The consumer is able to make payments at the low rate but really does not reduce the principal of the indebtedness.

Something happens and the consumer either misses or fails to timely pay a payment. For example, many of the card companies require that a payment reach them by 10:00 AM when the mail was not even delivered until the afternoon. The payment is then not credited until the following day. (The bill which has recently been passed in the Senate and will probably pass the House this week provides that payments received prior to 5 PM must receive credit).

The credit card company, based on the late payment, then charges a monster late fee and probably jacks up the interest rate over 20%. The consumer now has a debt that will compound to the point that it simply cannot be paid. The credit card company, in its infinite wisdom, creates a situation that is guaranteed to cause a failure in the interest of its quest for profits.

The New York Times article makes the point that consumers, faced with this situation, become what the industry calls "ruthless defaulters." Another term would be just as apt "intentional defaulters."

Credit card debt settlement negotiation has become commonplace. The debtor intentionally stops making payments as the only route to get the attention of the credit card company. After six months, the credit card company must by federal regulation write off the debt. At that point, the credit card company has little alternative but to sell the debt to a third-party collector for mere pennies on the dollar.

A window of opportunity opens for the consumer to purchase the debt for about $.30 on the dollar with a notation on the credit report that the debt was "paid as agreed." This situation gets the credit card company more than it would receive otherwise and helps the consumer to clear the decks without having filed bankruptcy, which would be the other alternative.

The author in the New York Times article recognizes that with the current state in the economy, the defaults for credit card companies may become a major problem in the next year.

You can read the entire New York Times article in the week in review section of the Sunday Times. www.nytimes.com

For more information on how someone can take advantage of credit card settlement, go to www.JimMontgomery.WordPress.com or call me at 690-3700.

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The market for buying and selling businesses is good.

There is money looking for deals. Looking at options never hurts and we are offering a free 30 minute consultation to discuss how to maximize your sale or purchase.

Call me to do some planning: 690-3700

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Top 10 Sites For Online Coupons & Promotional Codes

Check out the resources on this website:

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-10-sites-for-online-coupons-promotional-codes/

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Bizarre Animal Behavior: Alcoholic Vervets, Shark Eating Baboons, Mushroom Tripping Reindeer And More!

You have got to take a look at these.

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Are You Happy?

Check out these five recommendations for true happiness

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For the politically interested out there

Like the economy under the new administration? Can't you just wait for the new national healthcare program? Will the Republicans rebound?

Continue reading this story here . . .

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Thinking about traveling to China?

Find out about the Forbidden Palace (awesome pictures)

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Have a great Sunday and a fantastic Labor Day tomorrow!

James Montgomery

www.jamesmontgomerylaw.com

yourexitstrategy.blogspot.com

Of Counsel:

Elms Harmon Macchia, LLC

7800 IH 10 West, Suite 600

San Antonio, Texas 78230

210-690-3700

210-568-4550

The Rules Have Changed . . .

The Rules Have Changed . . .

“‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don’t much care where...” said Alice.”

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go”’ said the Cat.

—Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

The rules have changed. Our work lives for several generations were based on the premise, or promise, that we would work hard for forty years and build a nest egg that would carry us through the rest of our lives without working. Reading the local "newspaper" and the letters from retirees illustrates that premise dramatically. They have worked their forty years and there is not enough in the nest egg because of the recent investment losses.

Business owners have likewise had the dream of building a business and then selling it for big bucks that would likewise serve as the nest egg. Build up equity in the business to sell. Build up a business that can be sold to the public through an initial public offering. We have seen examples of that happening here locally. Clear Channel Communications is a prime example.

Lately, though, the conversation has been different. Preceding our recent financial collapse was a long period of decline in interest rates to levels not seen in our lifetimes. A money market account that returns less than 1%! Home mortgages for 30 years at less than 5%.

Certainly retirees who had a nest egg (even if it was untouched through the Wall Street debacle) no longer have the cash flow that the nest egg was designed to provide. $1,000,000 invested at 10% will return $100,000 per year. The same $1,000,000 invested at 3% only returns $30,000. That drop represents quite a change in lifestyle!

Now think about the effect of also losing about half of the $1,000,000. . .

Along those same lines goes the conversation with the seller of a business. After years of building equity, the owner is ready to sell. In this market, it takes a while to educate them that the business can be sold and for just about the same price, even in this down market. There are a lot of people with severance packages, retirement money, etc. who are looking for good businesses to buy.

And then comes the realization that okay, I can sell the business and invest the money and ride into the sunset like Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. After using a calculator for a few minutes, some business owners look up and go, wait a minute, I can't live on that much income. My lump sum after taxes invested at 3% will not support my lifestyle.

Business owners who have used their corporate structure properly are able to expense many items that cannot be expensed as an individual. They make more operating their business than they will get by investing the proceeds.

Now that we have shot down the assumptions that have based our earning lives, the question is: How do I retire?

Drum roll, please. The answer is . . .

Cash flow.

We work to generate cash flow. We use cash flow to pay our bills and buy things. Then we go back to work to generate more cash flow.

So how do you get cash flow that does not require your time?

Fire yourself.

If you have not done so, go buy "The 4-Hour Workweek" by Timothy Ferriss. It does not answer the question totally, but it is excellent food for thought.

I will be reviewing some of his points in future issues.

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Every day we run into someone who because of job loss, the economy or otherwise is not making ends meet and have built up credit card debt they cannot manage, send them a copy of "Three Ways To Stop Creditors In Their Tracks" at http://3ways.get-free-reports.com

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Have a great week!

Jim

Jim Montgomery

210-690-3700

http://yourexitstrategy.blogspot.com

http://www.jamesmontgomerylaw.com

"I have learned, that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."

Henry David Thoreau

Have The Rules Changed?

Have The Rules Changed?

Investment loss through the financial meltdown has literally reduced 401K and IRA accounts by almost 40%. This investment loss has caused tremendous suffering and stress for baby boomers who are retiring or getting ready to retire. If you missed my last article, check the archive on my blog, http://yourexitstrategy.blogspot.com.

For most of their lives (and as they have taught their children), they were following a business plan for retirement. That business plan was simple: build up a large cash reserve that could be invested to earn interest. The interest would be withdrawn monthly at retirement to replace the income that a job would have paid monthly. At some point, the principal of that fund would have to be invaded to maintain the same level of lifestyle.

To build up that cash reserve, most people saved money from their current earnings over the years to invest and grow. The government gave tax incentives to encourage those savings to be put in vehicles that could grow tax free over the years. However, the money would be taxed when withdrawn from the investment vehicle. The incentive was the small tax deduction when the money was put into the investment. The kicker, that was not discussed, was that the income would be fully taxed when withdrawn.

Due to government regulation, most of the investment funds were invested in mutual funds. Mutual funds took a tremendous beating in the financial meltdown. Of course, individual stocks likewise lost huge value and most investors were totally unprotected with some of the measures that protect against losing principal.

Now the question is, how does one recover? The business plan to build up a large cash reserve requires a lot of time or huge chunks of income. Most baby boomers have little time left until retirement and little likelihood of huge windfalls.

As a result, most baby boomers must continue to work and get the paycheck for the foreseeable future. The monthly paycheck provides a monthly cashflow to pay expenses for everyday living.

The prospect of that monthly cashflow to be replaced by the cash investment business plan is no longer viable. The business plan that has been employed in the past, will not work for this future. The goal is the same: a monthly income that comes in month after month in order to have the money to pay the bills. Getting out of debt certainly reduces the amount required but everyone wants the ability to have money to have the lifestyle they want.

Another business plan may be in order . . .

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Every day we run into someone who because of job loss, the economy or otherwise is not making ends meet and have built up credit card debt they cannot manage, send them a copy of "Three Ways To Stop Creditors In Their Tracks" at http://3ways.get-free-reports.com

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Have a great week!

Jim

Jim Montgomery

210-690-3700

http://yourexitstrategy.blogspot.com

http://www.jamesmontgomerylaw.com

"If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less but to dream more, to dream all the time."

MARCEL PROUST

High Credit Card Debt? Eliminate It Entirely?

These days there are many people who have used credit cards to finance businesses or their living expenses and are now paying the minimum payments every month. As we discussed last week, it is not possible to get out of that debt just paying the minimums.

In their attempt to prevent people from being able to discharge credit card debt in bankruptcy, the credit card pushed for bankruptcy reforms. In 2000, the regulators adopted policies that require banks to take certain actions with regards to credit card receivables (open end credit loans). 65 FR 36903 Uniform Retail Credit Classification and Account Management Policy. June 12, 2000.

The Uniform Retail Credit Classification and Account Management Policy establishes standards for the classification and treatment of retail credit in financial institutions. Retail credit consists of open- and closed-end credit extended to individuals for household, family, and other personal expenditures, and includes consumer loans and credit cards.

Closed-end retail loans that become past due 120 cumulative days and open-end
retail loans that become past due 180 cumulative days from the contractual due
date should be classified Loss and charged off.

The effect is that a credit card not paid must be charged off in full 180 days after the last payment was due or the last charge was made, whichever is later. No interest may be charged after that date.

The consequence for the bank is that the loan must be fully charged off. The expense of collection is rarely justified and the likelihood of recovery is slim because the assets of the individual are either exempt or subject to a payment plan under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code.

Banks normally sell the credit card loans for literally pennies on the dollar (less than a dime). The collection companies then make a lot of noise, threaten to sue, etc. but the result is similar in that the individual may eventually file a Chapter 13 or the statute of limitations will run. Suing on the debt is usually a last resort and results in a bankruptcy filing and a waste of the creditor's money.

Banks are therefore open to another resolution, a negotiated settlement. Rather than accepting pennies from a debt collector, the bank is open to an offer from the borrower to settle the debt at a higher percentage. The carrot from the bank is the negotiated settlement with a lump sum or monthly payment at no interest in exchange for a report to the credit agency that the debt was settled instead of the standard "charged off".

Thus, the bank gets more money and the borrower does not have the "charge off" report on a credit file. "Settled" is not as good as "paid as agreed" but still does not have the same effect on the credit score.

We are actively negotiating settlements for borrowers on credit cards. If you hear someone complain about credit cards, please do them a favor and give them our phone number, 210-690-3700.

What Is A Power Of Attorney For?

Following up on my thoughts on "The Circle", I had twelve replies to my piece below that was in last week's Newsletter. You may have been thinking about it. Great. Think about it all you need to. But would you do me a favor? The next time you look at your investment account or your bank statement and look at what you are earning on your money (or losing), think about whether your money is really working hard enough for you.

We have a potential deal working to finance an established retail establishment in the Huebner/Bitters area. We don't have the financials put together but the initial thought is that the shares will be $10,000 each with a potential 7% return monthly plus the prorata share of the profits at the end of the year. There is room for more owners.

If you would be interested in getting information, call me.

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What is a Financial Power of Attorney For?

Most of us are familiar with giving the spouse a financial power of attorney.

Jack on the way home has a serious accident with a head injury that prevents him from being able to handle his financial affairs. Rather than having to open a guardianship to manage his affairs, with constant oversight from the court, the financial power of attorney allows his wife to do just about anything he would do if perfectly healthy.

Annabelle is travelling in Europe with a couple of girlfriends. She needs to access money in a separate property investment account for a special purchase she has dreamed about. She calls the bank only to find out that they require a witnessed signature on a bank form to withdraw the funds. In order to get it done in time, she would have to fly home and then fly back to make the purchase. Her husband, with her power of attorney, is able to go to the bank that day and make the fund transfer on her behalf.

Here is one you may not have thought of. You are the owner of your business. You sign all the checks in order to keep controls on the money. On the way back from lunch, that bad accident occurs, maybe you are not permanently incapacitated but will not be able to sign checks for several weeks. Who is going to pay the bills at the office? Will the wife be the only one who can sign checks? Should your business partner have a power of attorney?

Have a great week!
Jim

Jim Montgomery
210-690-3700
http://yourexitstrategy.blogspot.com
http://www.jamesmontgomerylaw.com

"Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true"

- Leon Joseph Cardinal Suenens
(Archbiship of Malines-Brussels 1904-1996)

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Check out the archived articles on my blog, http://yourexitstrategy.blogspot.com

www.jamesmontgomerylaw.com

210-690-3700