The key to a great marketing campaign starts with understanding how the needs of your prospect
relate to your product or service. It’s basic, but most business owners never consider the thought.

Until you know what they need and determine how you can satisfy those needs, you can’t really
plan a meaningful campaign.

Get a pen and paper out and ask yourself these questions:

* If I were a prospect getting solicited by my company, what would it take to get my attention?

* What promise would I want fulfilled?

* What needs would I want to have met?

Now ask yourself:

* What needs and desires are my competitors not fulfilling?

The best way to find out where you need the most work is to list all the needs and desires your
competitors are already fulfilling. Maybe you’re already fulfilling these desires too. But is it possible
that you could articulate it better than they can? Sure!

A good USP (unique selling proposition) is one that fulfills a void in the marketplace. It is communicated
clearly and concisely so that your prospects “get” it without having to think about it too much.

It’s also known as your “big promise.”

It’s important that you not only communicate it in everything you do and say… but that you stand
by it - always!

To formulate your marketing campaign, along with the lines of your USP, I suggest asking yourself
the following questions:

* How can I show more interest in my customers than my competition?

* How much more service can I offer than my competitor does?

* What are my specific added or extended service benefits?

* When I have used similar services from competitors, where have I been most impressed — or most
disappointed? And, why?

* How can I make my customers understand how important they are to me?

* How can I persuade them they are being treated with professional interest and courtesy?

* What specific needs should my product or service fulfill?

Without customers, your business doesn’t exist.

Stop running your business the way YOU want it, and start running it the way YOUR CUSTOMERS
want it.

It’s all about them. It’s never about you.

* Treat your customers like dear and valued friends. Give them what THEY want.

* Treat them with respect and courtesy.

* Communicate with them often.

* Let them know you care about their wants, needs and desires.

If you’ve asked yourself the questions above and answered them honestly, you are a thousand
percent better than your competition.

Rarely will ANY business ask themselves these questions. It shows in their poor revenues.

Always remember: It’s all about their needs, wants and desires. It’s never about yours.

© 2001 By Craig Valine

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Craig Valine is a Marketing Performance Coach Who Helps Independent
Consultants, Coaches, and Service Professionals Get More Clients, Make More Money, and
Have More Fun In Their Business. To subscribe to his “Marketing YOUniquely” eNewsletter,
Go To http://www.craigvaline.com/subscribe.html

Scientists have concrete evidence that the Earth is currently undergoing the largest mass extinction in 65 million years. Over 50 species are going extinct every single day.

It’s called the Holocene Extinction - Holocene being the current epoch that began at the end of the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago.

From Earth’s fossil record, we know about Six Great Mass Extinctions:

• The Ordovician-Silurian Extinction occurred about 444 million years ago.

  At the time, all complex organisms lived in the sea. The most common theory is that the onset of an ice age caused the extinction, which wiped out over 100 families of marine life. Many trilobite families bit the dust during this event.

• The Late Devonian Extinction happened 364 million years ago.

  This event saw a major worldwide extinction of coral reefs and the marine life they supported, as well as other groups of animals and plants. Nobody’s sure what caused it, but scientists speculate global cooling and several medium-sized asteroid impacts within a few million years of each other may have been the culprits.

• The Permo-Triassic Extinction occurred 251 million years ago.

  The granddaddy of all mass extinctions, this event saw 96% of all marine species and 70% of land vertebrate species kick the evolutionary bucket.

  The die off happened in less than a million years (a very short time in geological terms) and the recovery took 5 million years to crank back up, and another million years after that to get rolling. While not deemed the smoking gun yet, this event coincides with the largest known volcanic eruption in history.

• The Triassic-Jurassic Extinction occurred 200 million years ago.

  Was it caused by climate change, asteroids, or volcanoes? The verdict isn’t clear. What is clear is that 20% of marine life and many large amphibians were wiped out. At least half of all species on the planet bit the dust.

  This event occurred over less than a 10,000 year period, just before the supercontinent of Pangea began to break up.

• The Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction occurred about 65 million years ago.

  This event was probably caused, or at the least aggravated by, the impact of an asteroid around the size of Manhattan. About 16% of marine families and 18% of land vertebrate families ceased to exist. In North America, over 50% of plant species may have been wiped out.

  And of course…this is the event that doomed the dinosaurs.

• The Holocene Extinction is occurring now.

  Studies of the fossil record show that the normal “background” rate of extinction is about one species every four years. The current rate is between 30,000 and 100,000 per year.

You are now witnessing the fastest of the six great mass extinctions.

And this extinction, without a doubt, is the result of human population growth. By the end of this century, over five million species (half of the species on Earth now) will likely be gone.

“It’s not just species on islands or in rain forests or just birds or big charismatic mammals,” says Stuart Pimm, a conservation biologist researcher from the University of Tennessee. He notes fish, birds, insects, plants, and mammals. “It’s everything and it’s everywhere…it is a worldwide epidemic of extinctions.”

copyright©2007 Joe Crubaugh

Joe Crubaugh is a freelance writer whose psyche is often absorbed with current events, politics, art, culture, society, and the creamy bitterness of a steaming cup of white chocolate mocha. He is the author of numerous personal emails, and on most days he blogs at Hard-boiled Dreams of the World. When he’s not writing, Joe spends weekdays masquerading as a software consultant in an undisclosed Southeastern U.S. state.

What Everybody Ought To Know… About How To Start A Home-Based Business

Thought about having your own home business?

Who hasn’t right?

In these days and times, it is becoming a “must”. It is so hard to make ends meet with the pay of a regular 9-5 job. …Not including that most jobs are going nowhere, leave you stuck in a rut, don’t make you ecstatic about getting up in the morning, and provide no financial freedom.

So, here are 3 tips that everyone should know about starting a home business.

1. You must pick the right market to sell your products to. The market must be motivated, passionate, or desperately searching to find a solution to a problem, which you can solve. Also, the market must be easy to find, easy to reach, and easy to sell to. In order for them to be easy to sell to, they must have money, the authority to make a buying decision, and be extremely passionate about whatever they are interested in.

2. You have to change the way you think. You must believe that you can be a success and have a successful home-based business. For some people, this will be easy, and for other people, this will take some work. The first step is to review your self-talk, and to discover if it is negative or positive. If you have negative self-talk, then you need to try to look at things in a more positive light. Something that will help with that is visualization. Close your eyes and picture exactly how you want your life to be, be very specific and defined. Picture exactly how you want your perfect day to be and start to work towards that goal, never letting go of that picture.

3. Focus on multi-step marketing, on the front end. What this means is that the first step your marketing should capture the contact information of the prospect or visitor; thus, lead generation. Once you have their contact information, then you can redirect them to your sales page, affiliate page, adsense page or any other place you desire. Now that you have generated a lead, you can continue to follow-up with them anytime that you want, and you have singled out the truly interested prospects. The list size and quality of the list is what gives your business value, and will allow you to make money, in the short-term and in the long run, consistently over and over.

These three tips will help you get a good start towards building a solid foundation for your home-based business.

Kenneth Edwards, Co-Founder of Financial Breakthrough 101 - One-of-a-Kind, Monthly, Multi-Media, Home Business Course. “Everywhere, everyone is raving about these 18 absolutely free gifts worth $337 to help you start your home-based business.” Get the rest of the story here: http://www.financialbreakthrough101.com/?download-page=27

One of the biggest marketing mistakes I see constantly, in the newspaper, on the web, within
company brochures, is the missing word: YOU.

I cringe as I notice how enthralled these companies are with themselves. For instance, a sales
letter I received late last year stated:

==> “We have been in business for 10 years”

==> “We’re having a sales contest to see how many we can sell”

==> “We have won many awards…”

==> “We serve clients in the Los Angeles area”

Now, I hope you’re thinking what I’m thinking… “WHO CARES?”

Right?

There isn’t any mention of anything that benefits me. It speaks only of themselves with a proud
self-serving tone.

Why would I do business with someone that doesn’t care enough to learn more about my needs,
wants, and desires?

This business was too busy telling me about them and not enough about the customer.

They’re not alone, however.

Almost every direct mail piece I receive in the mail is filled with “I”, “me,” “our,” and “we.”

Now, it’s really not all that practical to write a letter without saying “I,” “we,” or “our” - but you
should certainly have the word “YOU” 5 or 6 six times for every reference to “us” or “my” company.

Here are some examples of how you can easily change the way you present yourself from a “ME”
mentality to a “YOU” attitude.”

Instead of: “I am pleased to tell you…”
==> Say: “You will be pleased to discover…”

Instead of: “Our staff is experienced…”
==> Say: “Your will be handled by qualified, experienced people who can answer just about any
area of expertise…”

Instead of: “We sell only quality products…”
==> Say: “You will love the XR250 model or you will receive double your money back!”

Does the wording make more sense?

When you write a sales letter, copy for a website or email, put yourself in the mindset of the reader of
your letter.

You should constantly say to yourself:

“If I were the customer, why would I be interested in this…?”

It’s the oldest lesson in sales. Maybe you’ve heard it this way: “What’s the radio station everyone
listens to?”

“WII FM” (What’s in it for me?)

If you aren’t constantly telling the reader what’s in it for her, she won’t read your marketing messages.

To help you get the best results with your copy, here’s something you can do that I learned from one
of my teachers.

After writing your copy, go back and highlight each-and-every “I,” “we,” “our,” and “us.” Then, re-write
each sentence with a “you attitude.”

Let your prospects know you care about their interests.

Speak in terms of the benefits they will receive. Tell them what is in it for them.

They do not and will not care about you, until they know how much you care about them.

© 2001 By Craig Valine

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Craig Valine is a Marketing Performance Coach Who Helps Independent
Consultants, Coaches, and Service Professionals Get More Clients, Make More Money, and
Have More Fun In Their Business. To subscribe to his “Marketing YOUniquely” eNewsletter,
Go To http://www.craigvaline.com/subscribe.html

It’s true. I have been accused of spouting cliches just like the title of this article.

Here are a few other favorites of mine:

Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan

Inch by Inch Life is a Cinch….Yard by Yard it’s Hard

Everything in its Place….A Place for Everything

In my coaching practice I find there are two types of practitioners: visual and linear. One is not better than the other and many people are combinations of the two. Both types accomplish great things. They just get there differently.

This article is about visual entrepreneurs who, frequently, find that their vision gets all mixed up. They start out on a straight path - know where they are going - but, after traveling that same path for awhile they suddenly start doing S curves. They veer off target. Their days get all mixed up. So many things happen at once that each day now feels like one long crisis. For a while they hold things together. But, sooner or later, they need a life jacket to help them swim safely to calmer waters where they can relax and regain their vision and purpose. And, most importantly, direction. For these people it is putting systems in place that allows them to walk the high road.

For example, I coach the owners of one company that has grown quite substantially each year since inception. They do many things right and want to be sure they don’t miss something that will trip them up in the future. They are a husband and wife team. He’s the visual and she is the linear. She works at their business part-time, while holding down a full-time corporate job. They are about to have a baby so they are truly intent on taking the temperature of their business.

They have employees. Mr. X does a great job with the group of employees that closely matches his interests; however, he does a terrible job with the others. As we talk we see that there are no systems in place to set the employees up to succeed AND to make his job easier. As so often happens, employees hired in the early stages of a business become very much like part of the family. The owners become increasingly dependent on them as they become stretched in many different directions. How hard is it to discipline a member of your family? How hard is it to fire a dear friend? And, this is the predicament many new businesses get into and, worst of all, can’t figure out how to get off that track and onto a better one.

Enter the performance objective system. It starts with job descriptions - very detailed and precise (not so precise that it leaves no room for flexibility or the opportunity to create or add other duties). The goal is to help your employees truly understand their job responsibilities. Next come performance objectives - sitting down with the employee and setting parameters within which both the employee and the boss can measure performance. From there it is easy to have reviews. If the employee performs well both of them know exactly what to do. If the employee does not perform well, they still both know what that means and how to handle it. Think of the peace of mind this owner will have - no more struggling with how to handle a situation. The system is in place and you work it! It’s easy and so stress-free. Entire books are written on this system.

Another productivity thief often lies in not developing systems to accurately bill clients. “What!” you say? “Billing is the lifeblood of my business. If I don’t bill I don’t have cash flow. I can’t pay expenses or make payroll.” Nobody doesn’t bill! True? Sorry, false is the correct answer.

Many (lots) sole proprietors, especially visual types, fail to accurately keep track of their time as they do clients’ work. They write notes all over the place, and then spend hours retrieving them to do the month’s billing. They get so mixed up that often they do not charge as much as they should and so collect two-thirds or less in fees.

Here are two systems to eliminate all the hassle in billing for time:
1.-QuickBooks - QB has a time/costs menu that enables you to run a clock while working for a client. If you are a coach, like me, you can do this two ways: Either set the clock when you start work for the client (remember to turn it off!) or, fill in the clock when you return to your desk. Do this as many times during the month as needed. To create invoices enter the client’s name and a screen pops up that says “you have billing for this client”. Retrieve the entries you made during the month, click a box and the invoice is automatically filled out. Thanks to Mary Lynch, CPA for helping this coach create a system that has worked beautifully for many years.

2.-Manual - not everyone uses QuickBooks, so here is a fail-safe system to use with pen & paper. Create a 3-ring binder which you carry with you or leave on your desk. On a plain sheet of paper, list each of your clients and number the list. This is your Index and guide to the tabs so you don’t have to worry about keeping names in alphabetical order. Then, using an accountant’s green sheet with columns, create a single sheet for each client and put it behind the tab. Depending on the amount of work you do you can have a sheet for each month for each client, or use a single sheet with the months across the top and the items listed down the side. This is really easy because so much of your work probably repeats. As you are working, make notes on the client’s individual sheet, noting date, work accomplished and time spent. When it is time to invoice all the information is neatly gathered on one sheet. Think of the time you will save not having to rummage through all of your notes. I recently gave this system to someone and she says it is so great I have to tell all of you about it.

Life is too short to waste it drowning in a lack of systems. Take the time to create ones that work for you and then delegate the task to someone else. True growth comes from continually replacing yourself. By working smarter, you will prosper and keep your sanity, too.

Gail P. Zelitzky is the founder and principal of Silver-Robins Consulting, a business performance coaching firm offering both individual and group coaching. Silver-Robins Consulting helps businesses grow by developing and implementing new sales, marketing and business strategies. The end result is greater revenue and profitability. Gail has 30 years of entrepreneurial experience that offers practical, no-nonsense solutions to the challenges faced by small business owners.

In addition to individual and group coaching, business owners can participate in a Business Performance Roundtable, a peer advisory group format facilitated by Silver-Robins consultants, where participants set realistic goals, focus on priorities and gain objective feedback on the business challenges they face. Only one client per industry may participate.

Silver-Robins Consulting also creates custom-tailored seminars to meet training objectives on sales & marketing, customer service, leadership and management.

For information call 773-665-2340 or email info@silver-robins.com

Remember a time when you shared information with someone important to you, like a friend, family
member, or loved one…

* About a great deal you got…

* An awesome experience you had…

* A company, service, or product …

…that was above and beyond what you ever expected

Remember that time?

Remember how great you felt when they called you up and told you how happy and appreciative they
were that you introduced them to that company?

Well, you owe it to your customers to give them the same opportunity with respect to YOUR
products or services.

It’s important that you understand the power of referrals. Not only with respect to how it benefits you,
but how it benefits the people giving them to you, and the people they refer.

In essence, it does three important things:

==> It helps your customers better appreciate the benefits and value they receive each and every
time they do business with you.

==> It gives them an opportunity to give back to you by way of appreciation they feel for the experience
they get from your product or service.

==> It gives them the opportunity to benefit other people in their lives who are important to them.

The critical component of getting referrals from happy customers is really simple: Keep them elated
about doing business with you.

I’ve said this before, and I’ll continue to say it again:

==> “Treat your customers or clients like dear and valued friends.”

This is important for many reasons. But for this purpose it’s because “friends tend to do business
with friends.”

* If someone needed life insurance, I know who to refer them to; My friend Chris at New York Life.

* If someone needed to get a $10+ Million dollar loan for a startup or expansion, I’d refer them to
my friend Judy at Chandler Financial.

* If someone needed printing services, I’d refer them to my friend Lynn.

Friends do business with friends.

The more enjoyable the experience they have with you;

** The more they know you and trust you;

** The more they feel like they’ve received more benefit and advantage from you than they could
anywhere else, ·

** The more they feel like a friend to you;

Then you’ve got a heck of a referral system that just won’t quit.

Now, you may be thinking,

==> “I’m not sure my product or service has made my clients want to tell anyone about me.”

Don’t despair. Just start now and ask yourself some questions to get in the mindset of creating
a valuable experience for everyone who ever inquires about or does business with you ever again.

* Am I giving the best possible value or benefit I humanly can to my customers or clients?

* Do I genuinely care about my customers or client’s best interests and needs at the best level I
should or could?

* Am I genuinely thinking about their interests above my own?

Remember, “it’s all about them. It’s never about you.”

If you haven’t been giving outstanding service, start now.

One of the greatest forms of confirmation you can give to a customer or client is the opportunity for
them to give the same benefit or advantage to somebody in their life who is important to them.

Walt Disney said it best: “Do what you do so well people can’t resist talking about you.”

Do yourself and your customers a favor:

* Offer them the best darn product or service you possibly can

* Treat them with respect, like a dear and valued friend; and

* Give them the opportunity to toot your horn for you and generate more business for you than
you can ever imagine.

Do this, and your business will be richer than you’ll ever know.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Craig Valine is a Marketing Performance Coach Who Helps Independent
Consultants, Coaches, and Service Professionals Get More Clients, Make More Money, and
Have More Fun In Their Business. To subscribe to his “Marketing YOUniquely” eNewsletter,
Go To http://www.craigvaline.com/subscribe.html

If you find yourself facing foreclosure you need to know your options. There are several ways to avoid a foreclosure and save your credit score. The most important way to stop foreclosure is to take action. Too many people ignore reality and when they do wake up it is too late to stop the foreclosure. Make sure you take action today.

Call your mortgage company. The best way to stop foreclosure is to try to work something out with your mortgage company. Your mortgage company would rather not have to foreclose. Ask for the loan work out department or loss mitigation department. Tell them you want to work out a plan to save your home. They will normally suggest that you pay an extra amount on your monthly payment. For example if your normal payment is $1,000 then they might ask you pay $1,000 until you catch up.

The other option is that the mortgage company might add the debt you owe to the end of the mortgage. Let’s say you owe $100,000 on the mortgage and you are behind by $3,000 dollars. The mortgage company might add the $3,000 dollars to your total balance as part of the loan. When you try to sell your home the mortgage payoff will include the $3,000 dollars.

Another method to avoid foreclosure is to sell you home to an investor. There are many websites and local investors who specialize in buying homes fast. Normally the investor will be able to pay cash and close on your home within a week or two. Make sure the investor is actually buying the home from you and not just taking over the loan.

Ask the bank if they will accept a short sale. A short sale is when the bank takes less than what is owed. For example, if you owe $100,000 dollars the bank might accept $90,000 dollars. This will allow you to sell the home fast to an investor. Usually you must have suffered a hardship in order to qualify for a short sale. Most banks will accept a short sale but you will need someone to make an offer. You can call local investors in your area or list your home with a realtor who specializes in short sales.

There are several ways to stop foreclosure but you must take action today. If you are facing foreclosure pick up the phone and call your mortgage company today.

Get a free instant home appraisal; try visiting http://www.propertyhomeappraisal.com, a popular website that offers home appraisal tips, advice and resources to include information on real estate appraisal services and the best online home value sources. Find out how to get real estate investor leads.

When people usually Talk about success it usually evolves around money or possessions and us mere mortals could be forgiven for not Talking about our achievements.
But surely success can be found in many things such as a happy relationship a nice home or that your children grow u to be good human beings in fact being a good person surely is an achievement in itself.

People should take heart in the fact that they must excel in some area in life, it could be looking good, being clean and presentable is an achievement, which brings me back to Success surely is in the eye of the beholder.
So think to yourself what you are good at first and what is around you and soon enough you will feel the effect being successful.

If you look at life closely you will see that success is everywhere you look achievements have been made, even with the human race every generation evolves.
Someone told me years ago to learn to be happy with what i have in life and anything else is a bonus and with this in mind and moving forward building on each achievement life gets better.

I had an idea about having a great women’s clothing website and had one build like many other people relying on someone else’s knowledge. it was a failure for 5 years but through determination to learn I can say that I am finally making it a success. The Women’s fashion business is a tough one but at least I can say I managed to get this far and any further would be great.

Its a good attitude to have in life and knowing that I have been successful with my family as my base its like leaving my castle and venturing into the world before returning.
I hope that you can enjoy life and slowly step up that ladder but like me hopefully you can be happy in life with what successes you have already achieved so far.
Its Really like a comfort blanket.

Never call yourself a failure….

Womens clothing shop

When it comes to marketing your services, do you ever get so overwhelmed that you don’t know
where to start? I get overwhelmed often, and I’m a marketing consultant!

I mean, there are so many different ways to reach your target market, but choosing strategies and
implementing them can seem like a huge task. Don’t you agree?

The way I figured how to get through this overwhelm was to focus on one specific “thing” to market
myself and do it very well.

How did I figure out what that one thing was?

Well, first I had to think, “What’s the ultimate outcome I want to achieve here?”

* Was it getting more leads?

* Was it selling my target market information type products to help them better their business?

* Was it to get an appointment?

* Was it getting people to visit my website and have them sign up for my free ezine?

I chose the latter.

My main focus for today is to get my target market to subscribe to my free online newsletter.

To me, this is important because my philosophy, derived from speaker, trainer and Internet marketing
expert, Tom Antion (http://Antion.com), is to “sell your knowledge, not your consulting services.”

The more people (my target market) who subscribe to my free online newsletter, the more opportunities
to help them benefit through my services and those products or services I endorse from other marketing
experts.

I have succeeded very well by focusing on one thing and doing it well. My subscriber list grows and grows
each week, and all my marketing efforts for the time being are focused on that one outcome.

So what “one thing” can you do to promote yourself?

First, know your outcome. What do you want to accomplish by doing this “one thing?”

* Is it getting an appointment?

* Is it generating an inquiry for more information?

* Is it getting them to visit your website?

* Is it to give you a phone call to purchase an offer?

Whatever it is, you must then decide how you’re going to accomplish this. This would be that
“one thing” that you’re going to do very well.

Next, to achieve your outcome you have to decide how you’re going to get there - your “one thing.”

* Will you do a postcard mailing once a week?

* Will you attend a target-specific networking event each week?

* How about writing articles and submitting them to Ezines once a week?

The key is to do this “one thing” consistently and do it well. You can do “one thing” well, can’t you?
I know you can!

So, if you’re having trouble getting moving and producing the results you want to achieve…getting
more business, then use this simple strategy and start reaping the rewards you truly deserve.

Marketing isn’t hard. But, it does take action. Start today by doing “one thing” to promote your
services and you’ll be a better person for it (and a more profitable one, too!).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Craig Valine is a Marketing Performance Coach Who Helps Independent
Consultants, Coaches, and Service Professionals Get More Clients, Make More Money, and
Have More Fun In Their Business. To subscribe to his “Marketing YOUniquely” eNewsletter,
Go To http://www.craigvaline.com/subscribe.html

If you have been in an industry for 20 years and were at the top 5% level of productivity and knowledge and are now semi-retired perhaps you should be a consultant. Not everyone has what it takes to be a consultant, but if you do, you will find yourself in a nice place financially by taking advantage of your expertise and knowledge.

Today, I am a semi-retired consultant to industry and having been in the franchising industry for so long I find that those are the most rewarding coaching opportunities for me. Of course it is not all good. There are some real winners out there. Luckily you can choose who you wish to do business with. My advice is to be the best, work only for the best and expect the best; let’s call it “all the best!”

Recently when discussing franchise consulting with a gentleman who wished to start a mobile franchise business making jewelry, we got to talking about past experiences and international business. No, not far off international business, just over the border in Mexico from Arizona and I mentioned the questionable ways business was done there and how some of Mexico ran like a third world country. He stated;

I was going from Phx to Mexican border town for scripts. I met this girl and found that her Father was Mayor (town w/300K), her Uncle was Chief of Police (I could do NO harm), and another Uncle,on her Mother’s side was a State Rep. I married her after a long formal courtship and bought a strip club 5 blocks from the border.

So, far as a business consultant, no real problem here, only a red flag on the strip-club thing, but still there are always reasons why people do things. I no longer wanted the job of consulting this gentleman after hearing this, but did not dismiss him as an entrepreneur by any means. But then he stated something like this;

The kids came in droves from U of A, ASU and I rolled in the bucks, even sold coke right in the club. I got a chance to buy a cantina that had a 21 room “Casa de Pu-ta”. I got the kids all pumped up at the strip club then loaded them on my jittney for the 4 mi. cross town trip to my Cantina so they could get drunk and laid. I made 3M in 4.5 years. Long story short I left my wife, three kids, mistress, and two kids 2M in trusts and took off for Tonapah, AZ where I sold land home packages until I went into an 18 day coma and almost died.

Now as a consultant and a straight arrow, you can imagine my dismay at this gentleman’s lack of personal character. Indeed, there was no way at this point I was going to help a man who left his wife and kids to set up a whore house in Mexico just over the border, with a strip-club and then sell drugs and assist American Kids in getting STDs. He then stated how he preceeded to lose all his wealth and how he got a terrible disease.

Well, being a one man show, not even capable of getting out of bed for 6 mo., I lost all but 75K. Then I came down w/Buerger’s Disease and wound up on SSD, living in Escanaba, MI. Oh well, I’m still going to try to make it again if you’ll hang w/me and coach me!

Indeed the answer is “No Way” would you? And am I suppose to feel sorry for this gentleman now and help him regain his ill-gotten riches in an industry that I care about? Well, you see there are success stories in consulting and there are horror stories. And the moral of the story is “Know Your Customer” because your reputation is based on it.

L. Winslow is a Economic Advisor to the Online Think Tank, a Futurist and retired entreprenuer. Currently he is planning a bicycle ride across the US to raise money for charity and is sponsored by http://www.Calling-Plans.com and all the proceeds will go to various charities who sign up.