Join the AFP conversation! We want to hear from you!

March 29, 2010

Highly Successful People Set Goals

Filed under: General — Tags: , , — afp @ 1:35 pm

success

We are still hearing a lot about the lagging economy as we try to dig ourselves out of the recession.  Some people are positive about the future and some are not.  There is one thing that remains the same, recession or not, and that is that highly successful people continue to be successful.  They continue this success because no matter what happens personally or in their business, they continue to push forward and set goals for themselves.  Successful people remain positive, confident and dedicated to achieving success despite the events that occur around them and despite the negative media communication.  They don’t allow outside forces to stop them.  If something doesn’t work for them, they don’t hang their head and give up, they look for a new or different way to do something in order to find success.  Successful people have a vision, they have a dream and they believe in themselves.

Highly successful people typically share one common characteristic at a minimum and that is they are obsessed with setting goals and staying on top of those goals.  Successful people have already thought about what goals they want to reach, where they want to go in life and how they are going to get there.  Not only have they thought and dreamed about this, but they have written these goals down and they monitor them on a regular basis. 

Goal setting has been around for a long time and it has proven to work for those who do it.  Only 3% of our population has a set of written goals and less than 1% review their goals on a regular basis.  If you are in the majority of the population who doesn’t write their goals or review them, it is never too late to start.  I recently read an article by Carol Giannantonio who is a life and executive coach.  She says in her article that before you start your goal setting process that you need to commit to the following things:

1. You have to be 100% committed to start and take actions.  If you have any excuses going through your mind take some time to commit mentally. 

2. You must be able to identify where you are now, where you want to be and clearly state the results you are looking for.

3. You must believe in the process and in your ability to achieve the end results you are looking for.

4. Your goals should be SMART Goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time based). 

5. Your Goals must have a set of clearly defined strategies and action steps to achieve your goals.

6. You must be willing to be accountable to yourself and/or a Coaching Professional to stay in constant action to achieve your goals.

If you still need more information to support the fact that written goals lead to success, consider the reasons below.   

1. Written goals increase your odds of success. Written goals serve as roadmaps, blueprints and plans for success.  You can continue to look back at them to help keep you on course for what you want your end result to be. 

2. Written goals increase your motivation to achieve them. By knowing the results you want to achieve and your specific outcome, you can measure your progress toward achieving your goals. As you notice your successful progress, you are inspired to continue the actions that brought you this success. In addition, by celebrating each success, you are highly motivated to to continue working at achieving another goal.  Celebration is key!  It acts as a driving force pushing you closer to achieving your goals. Celebration makes you feel good and when you feel good you want to achieve more. Celebration is uplifting and empowering. You deserve to be rewarded for your success and you deserve to reach your goals. It has a psychological impact on your progress.

3. Written goals build self-confidence. As you take action, move forward, experience success and celebrate, your self confidence increases tremendously! You start to believe in yourself and your ability to achieve your goals. Your confidence levels soar. Subsequently, your performance will improve, you will feel empowered, and you will become more secure in all you do. You will automatically continue to take action to reach your goals since you are forming new habits and new ways of thinking. These new habits are qualities of a “highly successful person”. Positive Transformation is taking place here. This moves them even faster to achieving their goals. Plus they are happy. Feeling unstoppable and on top of the world. You can’t beat that feeling! Self Confidence is a very powerful feeling and key to achieving your goals.

4. Written goals provide clarity of purpose. With written goals, strategies and an action plan to support your goals, you know exactly what you need to do to achieve the results you are looking for. It’s crystal clear. You have clarity and you become more focused and efficient. You avoid wasting time, money and effort.

5. Written goals move you steadily toward your goal. Creating written goals provides you with a magnetic effect. Like the magnet, your written plan pulls you toward achieving your goals. There is no stopping you now! Goal setting is a very powerful technique. It creates positive results in every area of your life. If you have written goals, review them today. Get started. Take action!

I challenge you to be one of the 3% of the population to have written goals and then to be part of that 1% of the population who reviews them regularly.  If you do not, your life will stay exactly as it is.  If it is success you are looking for, the secret is quite simple. 

“People with goals succeed because they know where they are going” They have clarity, vision and focus.” Earl Nightingale

Signup for our E-Newsletter LIQUID via our website:  www.financewithafp.com.

March 24, 2010

Tips To Collect From Your Customers

Filed under: General — Tags: , , , — afp @ 10:09 pm

 past-due-bill-md

Chasing down late payments from your customers is time consuming and expensive.  One of our bank partners, Bibby Financial Services, released tips to help small businesses speed up their payment cycles and avoid bad debt situations and I wanted to share them with you.  Although the economy has slowly started to rebound, small and medium-sized businesses are still being hurt by slow paying customers.  Bibby gives the following tips to help business owners collect their invoices more effectively:

  1. Pay attention to how your customers are paying their bills. This is a reliable indicator for assessing liquidity and future ability to make timely payments. If somebody starts to slip, don’t ignore it.
  2. The first call to your customer can be a simple inquiry: “Were the goods delivered satisfactorily?” Then, establish an expectation for when payment will be received: “When do you typically cut checks? So ours will be sent then, correct?” Your objective is to confirm there are no simple paperwork issues interfering with the process.
  3. Be friendly but firm. Find out what problem your customer is experiencing; perhaps it can be solved with an installment payment plan. If you extend terms, you should be paid for it. You don’t want to end up financing your customer’s business at your expense.
  4. Continue to call your customer and stay in touch with faxes and emails. Send monthly statements. Call at regular intervals and reference previous agreements for payment. Your objective should always be to get your invoice to the top of their pile
  5. Be persistent. Don’t give up until you get something out of each conversation, such as the promise of payment by a certain date or an agreement as to when you will have another conversation. If necessary, elevate the issue to higher management or the owner of the business.
  6. Finally, don’t hesitate to stop further shipments or service if your invoices are overdue – increasing the balance outstanding to a customer who is not paying you just increases your risk of significant bad debts. And, at some point you may need to resort to legal action.  Go to court when you must.  Remember, the goal is to get paid.

Collecting from your customers can be a very touchy and personal issue; especially if they are a top or long-time customer of yours.  As a business owner, you must immediately address the situation as your goal is simply to get paid.  Many good companies are having cash flow issues right now.  If you collect from them in a professional manner as some of the suggestions above, you can look to keep your customer for the long-term.

Follow us on Twitter at:  http://twitter.com/financewithafp

March 15, 2010

Use Leasing Instead of Credit Cards To Finance Your Business

Filed under: General — Tags: , , , , , — afp @ 8:40 am

credit card

There have been many articles written in the past several months about business owners using their credit cards to finance their businesses due to the tight lending guidelines they are experiencing.  Many entrepreneurs are financing their new ventures using credit cards when credit is hard to come by.  According to a survey by the National Small Business Association in April of last year, 59% of those responding said they had used credit-card financing for their businesses in the past 12 months, up from 49% who said they had done so in a December 2008 poll.  But basing a small business on credit card debt is shakier than in the past because card limits and rates can be so volatile.  It is easy for a business owner to use credit cards to help cash flow.  Then one month, you get overextended and miss a payment and the credit card company jacks up the rate or cuts the limit that you were counting on to meet expenses next month… and things start to spiral down quickly. 

Another article reported that a growing number of struggling consumers are paying their credit card bills instead of their mortgages.  A recent study developed by TransUnion found the percentage of Americans who were current on their credit cards but behind on their mortgage increased to 6.6% in the 3rd quarter of 2009, up from 4.3% in the first quarter of 2008.  Meanwhile, the share of consumers making mortgage payments on time but behind on their credit cards moved in the opposite direction, sliding from 4.1% to 3.6% over the same time period.  This is a huge shift from how consumers acted prior to the recession.  It was previously assumed a homeowner would do whatever possible to remain current on their mortgage, even if that meant falling behind on other bills.  Due to the current economic mess, falling home prices, high unemployment and tight consumer credit, many consumers have had to prioritize credit card payments above mortgage bills.  Because of the housing bust, roughly one in four homeowners finds himself in a negative equity position on their homes.  They don’t see any value in putting money into an asset that has lost that much value and will probably never regain that value to offset the mortgage.  Credit cards on the other side can be used to pay for basic necessities, like food, gas or clothes and that availability goes away much quicker if you do not pay your bill on time.  If you pay your credit card late for a couple of months, they will close it on you.  If you default on your mortgage, you have six months to two years down the road before they actually foreclose on it.  Not to mention that it is just plain hard to operate in our society without a credit card today.

I read all of these statistics and it makes my head hurt.  And then I wonder… why isn’t anyone turning to leasing for their business start-up or equipment financing needs?  Equipment leasing doesn’t have as strict of guidelines as bank financing does.  We have helped many new businesses finance their equipment in 2009 and so far in 2010.  We have helped many businesses who were declined at their local banks get the financing they need on their equipment.  The rate will be higher than your local bank loans will be, but leasing doesn’t require a blanket lien on all of your business and personal assets.  Leasing does not ask for 20% down.  Leasing has a fixed interest rate so the business owner doesn’t have to worry about the credit card company driving their rate way up.  Leasing doesn’t report against your personal credit bureau like credit card debt does.  The #1 reason why my customers get declined for financing is because of high and maxed credit card debt which drives down credit scores.  Leasing also gives tax advantages to the business owner.  Using leasing to finance business equipment needs allows business owners to keep their credit cards open for any real emergencies that come up in their business.   

Visit me on Linkedin:  Linkedin:  Carrie Radloff

March 4, 2010

Use Leasing To Keep Your Technology Up To Date

Filed under: Leasing tips — Tags: , , , , , , , — afp @ 9:41 am

computers

The rate of technology obsolescence has increased in the past decade causing computer hardware and software to become outdated in months instead of years. Networked office equipment and peripherals can create an archaic feel to even the most innovative business. If your business is feeling the effects of outdated technology, turn to leasing to refresh your technology every 2-3 years.

Leasing provides a technology rotation lease that allows your business to acquire the technology you need and gives you the opportunity to refresh your desktop technology every 2-3 years. The most common types of equipment to be financed through the technology rotation lease are servers, desktop computers and laptop computers. A true residual position is taken on the computer equipment and all or part of the equipment can be returned at the end of the lease term. For example if you lease 25 computers, you could return all 25 at the end of the term or only return 15 units and purchase the remaining 10 to keep in the business. The higher residual value gives you the best rate available so that you can benefit from the equipment during its most useful life. This also allows your business to stay in a progressive position in the market you are in.

Leasing the computer equipment not only allows you to reduce your technology obsolescence but also gives you heightened tax benefits and allows you to conserve your existing cash reserves and bank lines. A Fair Market Value lease provides your business with off balance sheet financing. Computer equipment purchased with cash or on loan will depreciate over a 5 year schedule. With a Fair Market Value lease, a business can write off their entire purchase over the 2-3 year lease term.

Some examples of who would benefit from technology rotation include:

• Technology replacement according to industry life cycle is needed
• There is a business need for rapid technological change
• There is a business need for quick adoption of new technologies
• Higher end software users with frequent software upgrades

If you need to be at the top of your game in technology to effectively compete in your market or to just plain and simple run your business, consider leasing for all of your hardware needs.

Visit us on Linkedin: AFP on Linkedin

AFP Talking Finance