The Robo Pope

If there is one thing you can do in your coaching practice to dramatically increase your client-attracting abilities it is to become crystal clear on exactly who your ideal clients are.

However, in my experience working with coaches to help them to identify their target clients, this is easier said than done. It takes work. It takes effort. It takes… thinking!

“Few people think more than two or three times a year. I’ve made an international reputation for myself by thinking once or twice a week.”

George Bernard Shaw

To help you to identify your ideal target market, I’d normally recommend that you look at a number of key areas. This normally involves techniques to help you to get clear on who you would ideally like to work with in your coaching practice.

However, there is another way that can sometimes be quicker and easier too…

Which type of clients do you not want?

You see, effective marketing is as much a process of screening out clients you don’t want to work with as it is in selecting clients you do want to attract into your coaching practice. Whilst at first this may seem counter-intuitive, it will dramatically increase the effectiveness of your client-attracting efforts.

Here are some points to think about:

1. Past clients - Think back on the clients you’ve worked with so far - paid, pro-bono or otherwise. Did you have any clients you didn’t particularly resonate with? Have you had any clients you’ve really not enjoyed?

2. Current clients - Are you working with any clients at the moment that you find hard or not enjoyable? Do you have any clients you don’t particularly resonate with?

3. Flip it - Consider the characteristics of people you’ve listed in points 1 and 2 above. How would you describe them? Now flip these characteristics over to positive attributes that you prefer. This will give you pointers on the type of clients you do want.

4. Note it - Write out a description of the type of clients you do want to be attracting into your coaching practice. Often, these will be the opposite of the points noted above.

As way of example, in the early days of my coaching career when I had a general coaching practice, I found that I attracted people from a wide range of backgrounds and personalities Most were enjoyable to work with but some client calls I did not look forward to at all.

Using the process above, I identified a client who was pretty self-centred and particularly avaricious. Flipping this over I was able to get clearer that the type of people I wanted to work with cared about others as well as themselves.

If you’re in a position of working with some clients you may not enjoy, you may want to consider the steps above. Otherwise, you’re not serving the client, your practice or yourself well at all. Doesn’t it make sense that if you work with clients you enjoy then everyone wins by getting better results?

Shaun O’Reilly is the founder of Authentic Practice and works exclusively with coaches to help them to build successful coaching practices. He is also the author of The 5 Biggest Mistakes Coaches Make in Marketing and How You Can Avoid Them. To get your free copy just go to: http://www.authenticpractice.com/

Comments Off

Do your monthly bills seem to be overwhelming? Are you finding it harder and harder to keep up with everything you owe? If so, then bill consolidation may be for you. This is a way to pay your bills by placing all or most of them into one low payment plan. The length of time that you have to pay for this one loan may be for a longer period of time than what you originally owed, but the interest rate is usually much lower. This will make keeping track of what you owe much easier. It is a great way to help you manage your money.

As with any program you have both advantages and some disadvantages when consolidating your bills. One great advantage is that the payment that you will be making after consolidating your bills should be a lot less than the total payments you were paying before the bill consolidation. This means more money for you and your family each month. Most of the time the interest rate on these loans are much lower than the ones you were previously making. Replacing several payments with only one each month is also much easier to keep up with.

Some disadvantages include the fact that since it may take longer to pay off your loan, then it is possible that you may end up paying more interest by the time the loan is paid off. If you choose to use a home equity loan, then you must use your home as collateral. What this means is that if the loan is not paid off then the loan company can foreclose on your home.

If you have a credit card that offers a low interest rate, then you can transfer your bills over to that one card and consolidate your bills this way. Be sure and know all the details about your credit card before using it to consolidate your bills. On some credit cards the interest rate will go up when the balance goes up.

Home equality loans is another way to consolidate your bills, but if you choose this option look around and compare companies to try and get the best rate. There are also companies that specialize in bill consolidation loans. Not only do you have to provide them with your information, but be sure and know all the details surrounding this type of loan before making the commitment. The interest rate may be higher than you think and you may need to put your home up for collateral.

Christian Tylor is a freelance publisher based in Atlanta, Georgia. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides bill consolidation tips on http://www.freenetpublishing.com

Comments Off

So your business has decided that it is time to make its presence felt on the internet. You have your all your information ready, and you may even have created your website and it is ready to go live on the internet.

The next step is to find a web hosting provider, but how do you evaluate web hosting, and then make a choice on which provider to pay your hard earned money too?

Choosing the correct host for your company’s needs is a very important step, if not the most important step when taking your business online. The host you choose is responsible for placing your website online, and keeping it there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is nothing worse for a business to have a website that is not accessible by your customers, if your site is not online it has the potential to cost you a sale, and also sales in the future, if a prospective customer attempts to go to your website only to find it offline, the chances of that customer ever returning again are very slim.

Ok, so what should I look for in a web host?

There are several factors that you will need to evaluate before making your short list of hosting providers, below I will outline the most important aspects that you will need to cover.

1. Firstly you will need to evaluate the requirements of your website. Will you need shopping cart facilities, what type of content will your website be providing, what methods of payment will you offer, you will also need to think in to the future as well, will you need the ability to expand the site, taking a business online is a very big step and should be a long term step as well so you will need to think long term with your planning. Write a short list of what your website will require to properly function.

Details you will need to account for. Disk space and bandwidth. Disk space refers to the amount of storage your web host will provide you to store your website. You will need to account for the current size of your website now, and also allow for what disk space you will require in the future as your website grows.

Bandwidth refers to the amount of data (pages, files) served from your website to your customers, if your website will be subject to high traffic, you will need to take the amount of bandwidth the host provides.

Also you will need to check what programming languages your website will require, languages such as PHP, Perl/CGI, JSP, Cold Fusion and ASP may be used on your website to perform certain functions, your chosen web host will need to support the programming languages that your site requires.

Now that you have a list of your requirements, it is time to narrow down your list of providers that support all the features required.

2. Contact each of the hosts you have on your list, confirming what they offer and if it meets your requirements, also ask for a list of references you can contact, some of the best information about a web host can be gleaned from its customers, the question you should ask an existing customer is; “how reliable is the host?”. This question is the most important; it refers to two things, reliability of their hosting when it comes to serving of your website, and also refers to reliability of their mail system. Reliability of their mail system is just as important as serving of your website.

3. Technical support, test it out, call the web hosts technical support line at various times of the day and check how long it takes to get through to support staff, also send technical support an email to test how long it takes to receive a response. If you are on hold for 30 minutes waiting to talk to support about a problem with your website, that is 30 minutes that your site is offline, and also 30 minutes of your own time wasted with which you could be performing more productive jobs.

Finally you should choose a host that meets your expectations and with whom you feel comfortable with, approach choosing a web host the same way you would any other major business decision, because after all it is your money paying for the service.

Comments Off

Living on your savings

With living expenses rocketing and personal debt at record heights, people aren’t just cutting back on saving - they’re being forced to draw on money they’d already saved, as Chelsea Building Society discovered this summer.

14% of the 1,050 UK residents questioned admitted to drawing on their savings in the past three months to pay for food. A further 15% had done so to pay for their utility bills or council tax, while 12% had used savings to pay for mortgage or rent.

There are various reasons why a rising cost of living is dangerous. First of all, drawing on our savings is an indication that our expenditure is exceeding our income - and a warning that we’re not far away from real financial trouble. Unless the cost of living starts dropping, we’ll start falling into debt as soon as those savings are gone.

Second, there’s existing debt. In 2008, according to independent financial adviser website Unbiased.co.uk, the average Briton will spend 70 days working to pay just the interest on their credit card and loan debt - without reducing the debts themselves. When that money needs to be spent on something other than debt repayments, borrowers could face legal problems as well as growing debts.

Third, we’re forced to draw on existing savings, which we once viewed as a safety net against potential hardship - or hoped to spend on something fun and / or extravagant. Most debt advisers warn us to set aside at least three months’ income for a rainy day, to keep ourselves out of debt if our income drops or disappears.

Finally, when every penny we’re earning goes towards bills and debts, there’s simply no way to save up today for tomorrow’s expenses, whether that means college or homeownership, marriage or retirement.

Looking ahead, the Building Society found little optimism among its respondents. Over the next three months, 79% expect their food bills to go up, and those who are still managing to save expect to save less - on average, 13% less per month.

“Today’s prices are clearly pushing many people into financial difficulty,” said a spokesperson for financial solutions company thinkmoney.com. “They’re forcing some into debt and forcing others deeper into debt - the people who had been on top of their debt repayments but simply can’t keep up now that their other costs have escalated.”

“We would advise anyone who’s worried about their finances to get in touch with an expert debt adviser as soon as possible. There are plenty of debt solutions - from debt management and debt consolidation to IVAs (Individual Voluntary Arrangements) - that can bring down their debt repayments and free up the cash they need for their everyday expenses. In general, the sooner they do this, the more options they’ll have and the easier it’ll be to get out of debt.”

Adapted from an original article by Melanie Taylor of www.thinkmoney.com

Comments Off

Somebody said you have to love what you do, but that’s not necessarily true. What is true is that you have to love the opportunity. The opportunity to build life, future, health, success and fortune.

Knocking on someone’s door or making that extra call may not be something you love to do, but you love the opportunity of what might be behind that door or call.

For example, a guy says, “I’m digging ditches. Should I love digging ditches?” The answer is, “No, you don’t have to love digging ditches, but if it is your first entry onto the ladder of success, you say, ‘I’m glad somebody gave me the opportunity to dig ditches and I’m going to do it so well, I won’t be here long.’”

You can be inspired by having found something; even though you are making mistakes in the beginning and even though it is a little distasteful taking on a new discipline that you haven’t learned before. You don’t have to love it, you just have to learn to appreciate where you live, appreciate opportunity and appreciate the person who brought you the good news; that found you.

Appreciate the person who believed in you before you believed in yourself, appreciate the person who said, “Hey, if I can do it, you can do it.”

If you will embrace the disciplines associated with the new opportunity you will soon find that your self-confidence starts to grow, that you go from being a skeptic to being a believer. And soon when you go out person to person, talking to people, you will find it to be the most thrilling opportunity in the world.

Every person you meet - what could it be? Unlimited! Maybe a friend for life. The next person could be an open door to retiring. The next person could be a colleague for years to come. It’s big time stuff. And sometimes in the beginning when we are just getting started we don’t always see how big it is.

So, before you are tempted to give up or get discouraged, remember all success is based on long term commitment, faith, discipline, attitude and a few stepping stones along the way. You might not like the stone you are on right now, but it’s sure to be one of the stones that lead to great opportunities in the future.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

Reproduced with permission from Jim Rohn’s Weekly E-zine.
Copyright 2005 Jim Rohn International. All rights reserved
worldwide. To subscribe to Jim Rohn’s Weekly E-zine, go to
http://Jim-Rohn.InspiresYOU.com

Comments Off

A debt consolidation loan without collateral! Sounds strange! You are right, but not in the context of recent loan market. Getting approval for an unsecured loan in spite of being in debt was quite a bit of a work in the past. But now there are special loans for special situation. You are in debt and you want to consolidate it with a loan but no collateral to offer. So your situation needs an unsecured debt consolidation loan.

An unsecured debt consolidation loan does not require any collateral. So you can avail it even if you are not a homeowner or if you do not want to risk your house. Again, it is offered for debt consolidation. So your purpose of consolidating your debts will be served. It will help you to convert all your outstanding debts into one single manageable loan.

Consolidating all your debts into a single loan with an unsecured debt consolidation loan has some other facilities. Generally credit cards or store cards carry high rate of interest. Consolidating your credit card or store card dues into a single loan you can bring the interest rate down. Also you will have a smaller monthly repayment to make. Moreover, the flexible term of the loan will help you to keep track of the loan rather easily.

Despite providing the abovementioned facilities an unsecured debt consolidation loan will enable you to get away with the hassle of dealing with multiple creditors. No more you have to make multiple payments to various lenders on different days of the month. You will receive no harassing phone calls also. Since there are a number of lenders in the market it is recommendable to make research and comparison to avail a suitable unsecured debt consolidation loan package.

Comments Off

Consolidate! It seems to be the new fad in the world of consumer debtthe magic bullet that will effectively rid your life of all problems with credit card debt.

The advertisers, credit counselors, and financial experts are all shouting out:

“Slash your interest rate!”

“Save thousands of dollars!”

“With one low, monthly payment you’ll have extra money!”

And you know what? Consolidation can be a great option for digging your way out of credit card debt. But what the advertisements don’t tell you is that it’s not a magic bullet. Consolidation is a re-payment plan that is successful only when you are determined to do what it takes to make it work. It will take planning, determination, and a little elbow grease. But you can do it! Here’s what you need to know.

Find the Underlying Cause

The first step in any debt re-payment plan is determining the underlying cause; otherwise, the problem will happen again and again. Typically the problem is not the credit card itself. They are a great tool of convenience and security. Many people use them in a financially responsible way everyday. So if the problem is not the credit card, what is?

Overspending Habits

Let’s go ahead and face it. Sometimes the problem comes with just the bad habit of spending too much money. Credit expert Gerri Detweiler, author of The Ultimate Credit Handbook and founder of DebtConsolidationRx.com, says the two largest areas people tend to overspend is in the area of food and transportation. She’s heard of people spending $160 a month at the office vending machine! So maybe it’s time to take a reality check. Spend a month tracking every single expense down to the penny to see where your money is going. Then take the time, and maybe even help from a credit counselor, to setup a budget and a plan to stick with it.

A Life Crisis

Emergencies happen to everyone. Unfortunately people we love die, life-long careers disappear, and, as we’ve all seen in the news lately with Hurricane Katrina, natural disasters create havoc. All too often we are unprepared for such events and we end up putting a lot of expenses on credit cards. As you analyze your budget, it’s a good idea to determine a set amount to save each month for emergencies. Ideally, if your budget allows for it, a good amount is 5-10% of your take-home income. But if you can’t manage that much, then set aside as much as you can.

Big Life Events

Now I’m talking about events we expectweddings, babies, college educations, family vacations, etc. Don’t let these events sneak up on you without some financial planning. The earlier you start, the better off you’ll be. And if for some reason the anticipated event doesn’t occur, at least you’ve built yourself a nice little nest egg.

Setting Aside Credit Cards for a Time

When you start consolidating debt it’s important not to accumulate any new debt. Trying to deal with a consolidation loan along with new consumer debt only builds layer upon layer of financial trouble. The accounts don’t have to necessarily be closed, but at least put the credit cards in an inconvenient location such as in a cup of frozen water in the back of the freezer, a safe deposit box, or even six feet under in your backyard! Once the consolidation loan is paid off, you’ve brought your finances back under control, and you’ve learned new healthy financial habits, then go ahead and bring them out from hiding if you want.

Lower Payment vs. Lower Cost

A big mistake many people make when consolidating debt is looking at the payment amount alone. Sure you can lump all your payments together into one low monthly payment, but what is your interest rate, fees, and length of the loan? A $5,000 loan at 10% for 15 years with a monthly payment of only $53 will cost you $2,000 more than the same amount at 18% for 5 years with a monthly payment of $126.

Consolidation Options

Now let’s take a look at some of the options for consolidating. When it comes to consolidating your credit card debt you have several options at your disposal, each with its own set of pros and cons. Here’s a brief description of some popular options along with their relative pros and cons.

Low-Rate Credit Cards

If your credit rating is good enough to qualify for a low-rate credit card, possibly even a zero percent introductory rate, transferring all your higher rate credit card balances could be a good option. This option generally works best if you can pay the balance off within one year. Check out our Card Reports section to evaluate different low-rate credit card offers.

Pros

• If you qualify for a low-introductory rate card you may get the benefit of not paying any interest for a time.

Cons

• Excessive transfer and new account activity on your credit history could cause you to have a poor credit score. This is bad when your low-rate credit card expires and you aren’t able to qualify for a new card. You could be stuck with a high interest rate.
• Watch out for balance transfer fees. Fees could potentially outweigh any interest savings that you might realize.

Home Equity Loan or Home Equity Line of Credit

Because you’re using your home as collateral for this type of debt, it’s imperative that you really understand your repayment plan and deal with the issues that got you into debt in the first place. Detweiler suggests this is not a good option in a hardship or crisis situation, including a job loss, since failure to pay back a home equity loan could result in the loss of your home.

Pros

• Usually a lower interest rate.
• Interest is normally tax deductible.
• Your monthly payment will usually be lower so you can use the difference between it and your fixed monthly debt payment to start building an emergency fund.

Cons

• You will be trading unsecured debt for secured debt putting your home at risk. If you miss even one payment you could lose your home, whereas if you left it as credit card debt you would still have a place to live.
• You could end up paying a lot of money in fees such as closing costs and appraisal fees. Make sure you shop around to find the best deal.
• The entire loan must be repaid before you can sell your house.

Personal Loan

Because of the potential effects of high credit card debt on your credit rating it may be difficult to qualify for an unsecured personal loan with a decent interest rate. If your credit rating is good you may qualify for a rate in the low-teens, but if it’s poor you may end up paying around 20 percent. Shop around at a variety of financial institutions including credit unions to compare the cost of fees and interest. And be aware that generally the extra products they try to sell aren’t worth the cost you’ll pay.

Pros

• Can get good rates, especially if you are a member of a credit union and have good credit.
• Unsecured so you don’t have to worry about losing your home.

Cons

• Your credit rating could drop further because of credit inquiries, closing old accounts, and opening new accounts.
• Additional fees.

Now you’ve got some tools under your belt to help dig your way out of credit card debt. You can also browse our http://www.cardratings.com/crinfofre.html Articles Section for more information about credit cards and debt. Good luck in your quest to be debt free.

Amy L. Cooper-Arnold has been a staff writer for CardRatings.com since 2004. Her articles have been republished by respected publications throughout the country, including Young Money Magazine, E/The Environmental Magazine and About.com. Amy recently graduated with honors from Austin Peay Univ. and is currently taking graduate-level classes.

CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for http://www.cardratings.com comparing credit card offers. CardRatings.com is pleased to offer consumers free credit card ratings.

Comments Off

When setting out to eliminating your debts, there are a few tips to follow that are imperative for your success.
Stop Spending

Put the cards away - cut them up if you have to - and stop spending
The only way you’re going to eliminate debt is by not incurring new debt. Of course, your life does require expenses, but minimize your expenditures as much as possible and concentrate on putting your money toward the payment of debt you’ve already incurred.

Use Cash or a Debit Card

When you are spending, use cash. Using cash will get you in touch with the actual money you have and eliminate your desire to spend money that you don’t have. If you want to use a card, use a debit card that withdraws money straight from your checking account, without interest.

Log Your Spending Habits

Keep a log of where you are spending your money. Seeing your actual spending habits in your own written word (not a credit card statement) will give you a clear and concise picture of where your money is going. Log your gas, your morning coffee, and every single cent that you spend. Once you have a clear picture, it will be easier for you to recognize what expenses can be reduced or eliminated.

Try a New Approach

There are many ways to cut spending habits that may not sound very glamorous, but may be easier and more beneficial than you imagined. You can shop at wholesale outlets instead of retailers, take a couple hours on Sunday night to make your lunches in bulk for the week, and perhaps you might want to break out the coffee maker instead of stopping at your favorite coffee shop every morning. Remember, you don’t have to make these lifestyle changes forever, just long enough to eliminate your debt. Who knows, you just may enjoy them.

Keep a Budget

Put yourself on a logical and feasible budget and follow it. If you temper your spending habits, you can, and will, eliminate your debts. In the end, you will have more control over your financial situation and be able to eliminate your debt without the need for pricey debt elimination services.

To view our list of recommended debt consolidation companies online, visit this
page: Recommended
Debt Consolidation Companies Online.

Carrie Reeder is the owner of ABC Loan Guide, an informational website about various types of loans.

Comments Off

What we’re going to talk about today is a situation that, while rare, is something that all serious players come up against sometime in their career. It’s a situation when you’re faced to choose whether or not to bet your whole pokern stack in a situation where your odds of winning are right at 50%.

Here’s an example. You have Pocket 7s and your opponent you think has AQ or AK. The odds are about even in a showdown to the river that either hand could win. 7s have a slight favorability, but it’s ever so small.

Let’s say you have about 10000 poker chips and your opponent has 5000 chips. He bets out 1000 in first position. And you raise to 3000. He reraises all in. Now you’re faced with this decision. If you follow here, you’re riskingan additional 2000 chips on about a 50 percent chance to win. So let’s look at the odds. 2000 to play for 8000. That’s 4 to 1 and the call should be a no brainer.

But let’s make that scenario a bit tougher for you to decide the right thing. Let’s say same poker hands and you both have 7000ish chips. You’re in late position this time, and you bet out 2000 to steal the blind. Your opponent goes all in. The odds are a little different this time. Now you’re only getting 5000 on 7000, or about 1 to 1.4. It’s just under 50% and you’re only favored to win by about 50%. Here is where you should consider folding the hand. It’s just not worth risking that kind of money with such little favorability of your hand holding up. You’re opponent has 6 outs to the pair, and the straight draw. In this situation, it just wasn’t worth the call.

Comments Off

No, that’s not a misprint. Even though falling interest rates are good when you want to get a loan, they are bad for people with savings accounts.

In this economy your best investment, the best place to put your money is into paying off debts. Think of it as investing in your debt because that is exactly what you are doing.

If you put $1,000 into a bank savings account earning 2%, at the end of a year you will have $1,020.

If you carry a $1,000 balance on a credit card with a 19% interest rate, and you pay the minimum monthly payments, at the end of one year you will have paid $190 in interest.

If you get $1,000 in a tax refund, small inheritance or from somewhere else you now have a choice to make. You can earn 20 bucks in a savings account or save $190 by paying off that credit card. Keep in mind that your 20 bucks is taxable income so you’ll be left with $15 or so after taxes.

Do you need a savings account for emergencies? That savings account may be causing those emergencies! Think about it this way…

If you are earning money in a savings account at 2% and paying anything over 2% on your debts you are sliding backwards financially and you’ll never get ahead. It’s basic mathematics.

If you earn 20 bucks for five years in your savings account you’ll have $100. If you pay $190 in interest on your $1,000 credit card after five years you will have paid $950 in interest charges.

In other words you have wasted, lost, burned or flushed $850 by having a savings account. ($950 - $100 = $850) OUCH!

What can you do? Pay off that credit card and use that as your emergency fund. It’s not the best way to do it but it’s better than earning 2% and paying anything over 2%.

So, while the stock market is on it’s roller coaster and the economy is challenged your best investment, bar none, is your debts! Get them paid off!

Leo J. Quinn, Jr. owner of http://www.LeoQuinn.com is a financial educator from the Albany, NY area. For over eight years he has been helping thousands of people get control of their finances and get out of debt in a fraction of the normal time. He has a special offer for readers of this newsletter at http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=132551

Comments Off