Latest Posts

  • Real Estate 0

    Here’s How Much You Can Make by Renting Out Your Home

    Oklahoma City and San Jose, California, top lists of cities where homeowners deciding to rent rather than sell their homes could see the biggest gains. That’s according to real estate information website Zillow Inc., which ran data to see what current homeowners could make if they became mom-and-pop landlords. The Okies in their state’s capital city win when it comes to monthly profits: $536, or $6,431 annually. For long-term gains, the top 10 cities are those where homeowners would lose money every year by renting — until the big payoff when they sell. Zillow translates that gain, looking back, into monthly and yearly profi...
    On August 19, 2014 / By
  • Marketing 0

    3 Simple Ways to Build Great Customer Relationships

    Organizations with great customer relationships are able to grow their businesses without gimmicks, fee cuts or special treatment. You have to be good at what you do, of course, but having a truly successful business is based on one simple concept: trust. With trust, you’ll have customers (or clients) for life. Without trust, you may as well pack up and go home. Building trust takes time and a lot of hard work. But it’s entirely doable if you and your team work on three of your most important core competencies: service, consistency and transparency. Great Service Matters According to a Concerto Marketing Group and Research Now survey, whe...
    On August 14, 2014 / By
  • Entertainment 0

    Robin Williams’ tightrope dance over the abyss

    Through some macabre coincidence, my wife and I chose to rewatch Good Will Hunting two nights ago. It’s an old favorite of mine — a good but not great script about a boy genius from working-class South Boston who overcomes his self-destructive behaviors thanks to the intervention of a foulmouthed psychologist (played by Williams). In almost every one of his scenes, Williams ennobles and transfigures the film, lending its somewhat fanciful and slightly mawkish story greater emotional depth and authenticity. I can’t say that news of Williams’ death, apparently by suicide, came as a complete shock. In his manic and maniacal...
    On August 12, 2014 / By
  • Finance 0

    Why You Should Stay in Stocks Even When the Market’s Falling

    I remember it like it was yesterday. The last few months of 2008 tested the mettle of even the heartiest stock market investor. Daily I talked with investors who decided to sell out of their portfolios entirely. When you see the Dow (^DJI) plunge 500, 600 or 700 points in a day, it makes total sense on one level. Investors see the ship sinking, or at least they fear that’s what’s going on, and they want a life preserver while there’s still one left. Fast forward to today, and the fear is still there. We start hearing about whether or not it’s time to get out of the stock market, especially when the media seems to onl...
    On August 8, 2014 / By
  • Marketing 0

    Social Media Tips to Make Your Event a Success

    Whether it’s a launch party, a conference or a networking event, companies have been hosting and marketing live events for decades. In the age of social media, spreading the word about an event is easier — and more beneficial to your brand — than ever. “Social media is absolutely a must-have strategy for events,” said Amir Zonozi, chief strategy officer at Zoomph, a social engagement platform designed for live events. “Not only are you connecting with more people at once, but you’re connecting and branding yourself, verifying your expertise to an industry and audience on a digital stage.” Based on the i...
    On July 28, 2014 / By
  • Finance 0

    Plot Your Escape From the Big Fees of Big Banks

    Are you tired of paying fees for basic banking services to one of the mega-banks that dominate the American financial scene? With a little effort, you can keep more of your money. The 2008 financial crisis led to some action in Washington that affected banking and borrowing customers — the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the passage of some regulations requiring proper disclosure and longer notice of changes. But the most significant result of the debate leading to these reforms was to scare the pants off the big banks. In advance of any new restrictions, they moved to protect their profits by creating new fees...
    On July 24, 2014 / By
  • Social 0

    How to Win the Game of Life

    If you flip a coin 20 times and it comes up ‘heads’ each time, the odds of getting another ‘heads’ on the 21st flip is still 50-50. In a pure game of chance, past results have no effect on future outcomes. There is simply no way to change that. But when a game includes strategy and you’re competing against others – as in poker – that’s an entirely different story. Chance or luck still plays a role, but better players who consistently make the right bets on the right cards do win over the long haul. It’s the same in business … and in life. Success and happiness are both about making the right moves, making the right decisio...
    On July 22, 2014 / By
  • Finance 0

    Share Your Saga of Financial Frustration With All of America

    Pull up a chair to hear about the time I tried to correct my credit report. Or would you rather learn about my late-night conversations with confused debt collectors? Oh wait, there’s a hilarious one about a bank losing a big mortgage check. Not interested? Fine. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is. The federal agency wants to publish Americans’ narratives of financial frustration online, allowing people to describe every Kafkaesque turn in disputes with the multi-billion-dollar firms that handle their money. The bureau logs more than 20,000 complaints a month in its Consumer Complaint Database — bank blunders, mort...
    On July 18, 2014 / By
  • Finance 0

    Top 7 Retirement Milestones You Need to Know

    Retirement planning is a process that actually continues throughout your retirement years, with tweaks and changes to ensure that you stay on track. Many folks will immediately think of their portfolio and rate of return, but your age is also an important factor that can help you maximize certain benefits, while helping you avoid mistakes, which are often accompanied by hefty penalties. Make sure to mark your calendar for these important milestones. In order to help illustrate these points, we’ll use the example a fictional 49-year-old named Claire, who was born in 1965. Claire is still putting in hours at the office, but her children ...
    On July 16, 2014 / By
  • Finance 0

    3 Tips for Growing a Team (and a Business) When Everyone Works Remotely

    Six years ago, we decided that each founder of our startup would work from their house or apartment. The idea was to avoid committing ourselves to the expense of an office rental. Everything started as an economic decision, but today, when we can afford to rent an excellent workplace, we still choose to work from home. The work and life quality is simply better. Even while making our enterprise scalable, we continue to implement our philosophy of successfully working remotely. Back in 2008, we were the only startup with no office. Today, many startups adopt this new working style. To improve as an enterprise, we studied how to implement thi...
    On July 14, 2014 / By