SelfHelpStation.com » Goal Setting

Simple Tips to Help You Achieve Your Goals

SelfHelpStation Team — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 03:43:55 +0000

You should always equip yourself with the appropriate tools to assist you in attaining your goals.

Just like one would need weapons, battle strategies and a whole load of soldiers to be able to engage in a war, you would need to have the right skill sets and information if you wanted to achieve your goal.

So plan out precisely what is going to be required to make your dreams come true, and that you meet these criteria and are capable of the sustained effort necessary.

For example, if you wanted to be the pitcher for the Yankees, you would obviously need to have a certain set of basic skill and physical attributes to qualify for the role. Moreover, these skills have to be honed to perfection as you are aiming to play in Major League Baseball where only the best are chosen.

However, sometimes just being talented in a certain area is not enough; you need to learn how to take advantage of your abilities. So no matter how good a pitcher you are, if you do not know how to advertise yourself, no one will know of your talent. So make sure you do not pass off any opportunity to take part in any activity that will allow to a step closer to your dreams. It would make sense to take part in a Major League Baseball Camp to pit yourself against other potential competitors.

Do not be afraid to ask for help during your path to success. Arrogance and complacency can be your greatest downfall. So if you are unsure whether or not you have what it takes to be a national pitcher, ask someone who does know—and make sure that person is reliable! If you want advice about making the Major League, ask someone with that sort of inside information like a scouting-level college baseball coach, a sports agent, etc.

Don’t ask your cousin Tom just because he watches the game all the time and knows everyone’s stats. Family and friends are normally the worst options to go for when looking for fair and objective evaluation, even if they are professionals in whatever field holds your interest. Only in the rarest of cases can someone be a professional first and a family member second.

So there! Once you have double-checked that you have all the necessary equipments (like time, money, commitment, etc) needed to reach your goal and if you’re still sure you have what it takes—go for it!

Discovering Intentions to Improve your Personal Life

SelfHelpStation Team — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 05:19:10 +0000

Good intentions are the ultimate choice of improving your life. If you have bad intentions, it is a sign you are filled with greed, envy, hate and so on. You want all these negative influences out of your life. Intentions are powerful. Intentions tell others where our goals are heading. It is our purpose. Intentions are our motive that helps us to achieve our objectives.

To learn your intentions you must put forth effort. Sometimes you will feel grouchy, and grit your teeth, yet as you continue to learn you will see a light at the end of the tunnel. So what if some of your intentions are bad. Welcome to reality, humanity and imperfection. Yet, you can change those bad intentions to good thoughts. The key to find your intentions is to consider discovering. Acquire the determination to reach for the stars, learn about you, decide what you want and move ahead. Take the action so that you can develop healthier thoughts, habits, behaviors etc that guide you to success.

The system of entry:
It always helps a person to write down their intentions. When you enter your intentions on paper, it helps you to discover you. Many people do not like to write, however if you keep a journal you can look back later to see your growth stage. It only takes a few minutes daily to jot down your feelings, thoughts, ideas and so on.

Accessing your interests and strengths within:
To access your interests, first you have to sit down and consider what you want. Once you decide what you want, you will need to write a plan, set goals and take action. Move to get what you want. To access your strengths, test your abilities and skills. What can you do best? How can you use your skills and abilities to improve your personal life?

Once you access your inner you, you can move to set your own standard of living. Do not live for others; rather learn to live for you. As you move ahead, explore your vocation paths. Do you see you in the future enjoying the job you love? Do you see you in the future working at the same company going nowhere? If you see yourself stuck, check your options to find a way to better your situation. You can start by identifying the jobs that peek your interest. Once you discover what you want to do, set up strategies to achieve your goals. Take action and move ahead.

How it is done:
Discover you and what options you have available. Pull up resources. In fact, build resources. Resources are the key that unlocks the doors to success. Check your intentions. What is the ideal vocation for you? Pull up your assets and use them to your advantage. Do a job search to help you find a new career that makes you happy. Always follow through with your plans. Never give up and demand results.

To achieve your goals discover your wants.

Take action by recording your specific needs and wants. Review the inner pictures you develop and listen to the voices that tell you how you can improve your personal life. We have cute little thingy ma-jigger that tells us when we do wrong. Learn to train your conscious to live healthier. We have another cutie inside us, which is called instincts. Learn to re-establish your instincts and listen. Listening is the key to help you improve your personal life. Learn how to recognize your bodies needs also.

Have a “Pitch Party”

SelfHelpStation Team — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 08:21:03 +0000

Invite friends and work together to haul out all the old stuff in your life that no longer works with your new direction. For example, if you have lost a substantial amount of weight, drag out all those too-big clothes, the ugly sweats you slouched around the house in and anything else that belongs with the “old you” (diet magazines, weigh-in charts, etc). If your goal is more esoteric or offers less tangible reminders of the changes, such as completing a training course or becoming a mother, buy a stack of brightly colored index cards and use markers to write down, one item per card, whatever in your life is getting “tossed out”, such as a low paying job because you weren’t certified, or pining over pictures of happy families in magazines because you didn’t have a baby.

Now gather up all the old stuff and ceremoniously destroy it, with lots of laughing and cheering! Have a bonfire, if that is permitted in your area, and throw everything onto it. Or burn the cards in a big ashtray or tear them up and fling them off a mountaintop. If the items are valuable, or you think someone else might find use in them, you can decorate your vehicles with streamers and window paint and have a festive parade to the local Goodwill or other “offloading” spot, then go out to dinner afterwards. Keep nothing in your new life from your old life that brings you down, holds you back or detracts from your success.

Make a Game Out Of Reaching Your Goals

SelfHelpStation Team — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 16:52:06 +0000

Go to a yard sale and pick up a cheap board game, if you don’t have any “throw away” games at home. Sit down and brainstorm a way to transform the game into goal-completion fun. Use contact paper to cover the old instructions or commands, and write in new ones with a permanent marker. Use stickers, arts and craft supplies, etc., to dress up the game to fit your needs. Then set the game up somewhere out of the way to play on an on-going fashion until you reach your goal.

Use drinking games as a source of inspiration – for example, you might decide that whenever David Letterman takes a sip from his mug during his show, you have to do a set of crunches or iron a piece of clothing.

Create a “Wheel of Fortune” spinner (you can re-decorate an old board game spinner) and spin it every morning to discover your mini-goal for the day.

Set up a “game board” on the fridge and move magnetic pieces that represent various goals ahead one square for every task or mini-goal you complete on the way to the big finale.

If several of you are working toward a common goal, hold casino nights at home or at work, where you bet goal-related tasks (keeping score on paper) and forfeit what you lose. For instance, if you have bet twenty crunches, a mile’s walk and skipping two desserts on a losing hand of poker, you have to do everything you bet. You can also write such tasks on poker chips with permanent marker and then claim the forfeits you have in your stash after the game ends during the period between games.

Combine two or more examples for real fun!

Success, Opportunity, Carl, and Kenny G

SelfHelpStation Team — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:56:56 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I celebrated my anniversary by taking my wife to see one of her favorite musicians – Kenny G.

Now, I have to be honest, I was dreading the event. It was a surprise and I was doing this solely as a gift to my lovely wife. I was willing to suffer and endure anything to make her happy! Okay, so I’m laying it on a little thick here, but suffice it to say, I was thinking about what it would be like to listen to two and a half hours of saxophone! I mean I was seriously considering smuggling in a radio and an earpiece so I could listen to the radio (of course I would have placed the earpiece on the side away from my wife)!

But I didn’t. I went and decided to “make the most of it.”

Now there are a couple of lessons I learned. First of all, don’t judge a book by its cover. Sure enough, we get in there and I’m looking the crowd over and thinking “Yep, this is going to be a tame crowd.” You have to understand, this concert was being promoted by a radio station that calls itself (insert deep, breathy voice here) “Smooth Jazz.” Wrong! They were whooping and hollering. It was a pretty lively crowd.

The second thing I learned was that this was completely a great concert! I thoroughly enjoyed myself and would highly recommend that you go if he is ever in your area. See, we never stop learning, do we?

Ever the person looking for success lessons, it was easy to get the first one. Kenny G is obviously an extremely talented individual who is reaping the reward of countless hours of diligent practice. That is a lesson for all of us.

But the greatest lesson I learned that night came at a moment most people probably overlooked. I call this lesson the “Success, Opportunity, Carl and Kenny G” lesson of success.

About midway through the concert Kenny G began introducing his band. He started with his piano player who has been with him since high school. Next, he introduces the keyboard player, Carl. Kenny G explains that Carl is the newest member of the band. He has been with them for only two years. Before that, for nine years, he was the guy who set up the piano and keyboards for the piano player! No one even knew that Carl could play the piano. They simply thought he was an electronics and sound wizard.

One day, after everything had been set up at a concert, the rest of the band left to get ready for the show but Kenny G stayed behind to work through some parts for that night. Suddenly he hears the piano and keyboards behind him and assumes it is his piano player so he keeps playing along. When he decides to ask a question, he turns around to find – Carl the sound guy! So Kenny G says, “You know how to play the piano?”

“Every chord of every song you do, all the way through the concert,” replies Carl.

So Kenny G auditions him right there and guess what? Carl is now a part of the band! Kenny G also noted that Carl’s pay increased 8000 percent! Officially now, Carl is my new hero!

What did I learn from that about successful people? A few things:

One, humbly perform the duties you currently have. Nine years Carl worked at a job that isn’t known for its high esteem. Thankless, long hours and low pay come to mind. But with humility, Carl did his job with pride. That is a lesson for all of us.

Two, constantly work hard to increase your ability, even when it isn’t being rewarded. While you are going about a low level job, work hard all of the time to get better and smarter. Become more highly skilled. Work at it more than anyone else. If Carl had given up playing because he thought he was as high as he would go, he could have never stepped to the plate and hit that home run that changed his life!

Three, when your door of opportunity opens, walk boldly through it! It will happen. There will be a time when the door of opportunity swings widely open for you. The only question is whether you will be prepared and bold enough to walk through it successfully. You have to be good enough to deliver, and bold enough to try. Are you?

In review, here are the lessons I learned from Carl and Kenny G:

1. Don’t judge a book by its cover.

2. Two and a half hours of saxophone isn’t so bad.

3. People who listen to “smooth jazz” can holler too!

4. You can find success stories anywhere, even at a Kenny G concert.

5. Humbly perform the duties you currently have

6. Constantly work hard to increase your ability, even when it isn’t being rewarded.

7. When your door of opportunity opens, walk boldly through it!

Setting Your Goals – Easier Said, Easily Done

SelfHelpStation Team — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:14:56 +0000

The basics of setting a goal is an open secret known by top-caliber athletes, successful businessmen and businesswomen and all types of achievers in all the different fields. The basics of setting goals give you short-term and long-term motivation and focus. They help you set focus on the acquisition of required knowledge and help you to plan and organize your resources and your time so that you can get the best out of your life.

Setting clearly defined short term and long term goals will enable you to measure your progress and achieve personal satisfaction once you have successfully met your goals. Charting your progress will also enable you to actually see the stages of completion leading to the actual realization of your goals. This eliminates the feeling of a long and pointless grind towards achieving your goal. Your self-confidence and level of competence will also improve as you will be more aware of your capabilities as you complete or achieve your goals.

The basics of goal settings will involve deciding what you really want to do with your personal life and what short term and long term goals you need to achieve it. Then you have to break down goals into the smaller and manageable targets that you must complete in your way to achieving your lifetime targets. Once you have your list waste no time in tackling your goals.

A good way to have a manageable list is to have a daily and weekly set of goals. By doing this you will be always in the position of going towards you life plan goals. Everyday will give you the opportunity to fulfill a certain goal giving you the feeling of accomplishment.

Here are some pointers that should be taken into consideration in setting goals and achieving them.

Attitude plays a very big role in setting and achieving your goals. You must ask yourself if any part of you or your mind holding you back towards completing your simplest goals? If there are any part of your behavior that is being a hindrance or puts your plans into disarray? If you do have problems in these areas then the immediate thing to do is to address this problem. Solutions may include a visit to a doctor or psychiatrist to control your emotions.

Careers are made by good time management practice. Failing in a career is often attributed to bad time management. Careers require a lot from an individual which often makes the career the life of the individual. Plan how far do you want to go into your career.

Education is key in achieving your goals. If your goals require you to have a certain kind of degree or require a certain specialization or demand a certain skill to be developed, make plans in getting the appropriate education.

Your family should never be left out of your plans. If you are just starting out then you have to decide if you want to be a parent or when you want to be a parent. You also have to know if you really would be a good parent and how well would you relate to extended family members

Personal financial situations also play a major role in achieving your goals. Have a realistic goal on how much you really want to earn. You also must be able to create plans or stages by which you will be able to reach your earning potential.

Physically gifted individuals may be able to achieve sports related goals like being in the National Basketball association or National Football League. Determining your physical capabilities should be one of your priorities. Physical limitations could however be conquered with proper planning.

As the saying goes -’All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’, or something to that effect, is by all means true down to the last the letter. Giving yourself a little pleasure: should be included into your plans.

To start achieving your lifetime goals, set a quarter of a century plan, then break it down to 5 year plans then break it down again to 1 year plans, then 6 month plans then monthly plans, then weekly, then daily.

Then create a things-to-do list for the day.

Always review your plans and prepare for contingencies.

The basics of goal settings should not be so difficult once you get to be familiar with them.

Setting Your Goals – Easier Said, Easily Done

SelfHelpStation Team — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:20:17 +0000

Here are some pointers that should be taken into consideration in setting goals and achieving them.

Then create a things-to-do list for the day.

Always review your plans and prepare for contingencies.

The basics of goal settings should not be so difficult once you get to be familiar with them.

Once you’ve made it…throw a Success Shindig!

SelfHelpStation Team — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:47:46 +0000

Of course you should celebrate your wins, but why do it in the time-honored (and boooooring) ways? Throw yourself a theme party, invite all your friends, coworkers, family – whomever you think should share in the fun – and let the good times roll. Ideas include:

Throw a rock-climbing party at the local indoor climbing wall to celebrate your successful “climb to the top”!

Host a “coming out” masquerade party. Invitees wear their brightest and most beautiful outfits, but hide them under dull and drab wraps until the appointed hour, at which point everyone “comes out” to join you in your brighter, more beautiful life like a room full of butterflies metamorphosing.

Hold a gala awards dinner for yourself. Finagle your funniest friend or family member into MC’ing by regaling the group with your accomplishments, and then “awarding” you with your prize (see Reach Your Goals – Give Yourself A Gold Star” for tips on motivational awards). Have lots of good food, music, drinks and whatever makes it a party for you. Wear a sash or nametag that announces your accomplishment so that everyone knows what you’ve achieved.

Successful ladies – go on a “Queen of the Universe” adventure. Purchase an inexpensive costume tiara, gather up all your friends and have a girls’ day out, complete with spa treatments, a movie, dinner – the works! Guys can adapt this by donning a custom printed hat or T-shirt and inviting the boys out for whatever spells fun for your group.

Search Engine Optimization

SelfHelpStation Team — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 06:20:06 +0000

When your website is ranked well in the most popular search engines, you get more visitors clicking on your site. The more visitors you get the more business you get. Did you know that about 20 percent to 80 percent of your visitors will find your web site through the search engines. Studies show that most people do not look past the fourth page of results. There was a time when you could use free submission services that would submit your website to search engines and directories. At one time, that would actually get you ranked OK. Nowadays, that won’t do anything for you. You want to get ranked at LEAST on the first page of Google and Yahoo. The better option would be to get ranked in the top 3 listings of both Google and Yahoo. This isn’t easy.

All search engines spider or crawl the Web and automatically index your web site based on their own secretive algorithms, which are constantly changing. How do you get ranked well. You can use pay-per-click, which is where you bid for top ranking positions under keywords of your choice. Just make sure that the bids you make are not more than what each customer is worth to you in your site. For ex, if your maximum bid per click is 10.00 dollars and it takes 100 visitors to make a sale, you are probably going to lose money.

To get high ranked, you need to have a website with fresh content and good links to other sites with high page ranking. You could have an rss feed in your site so that the content is fresh and new articles are submitted to keep the customers interested and the search engines satisfied.

Search engines are looking for fresh information, good linking, and relevance. Keep these points in mind and set forth with that high ranked site.

Managing Cash Flow For Entrepreneur

SelfHelpStation Team — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:10:40 +0000

HOW TO MANAGE HOME-BUSINESS CASH FLOW EFFECTIVELY

There’s something you can never afford to forget when you are running a

business out of your home – cash is king!

Whether it is a multi-billion dollar empire, such as Bill Gates’ Microsoft,

or the tiny mom-and-pop convenience store on the street corner, cash is the

life blood of the business.

In today’s uncertain economy with ever rising interest rates, many small

businesses with limited financial training are having problems staying

alive, let alone prospering. In fact, 63% of new businesses don’t survive

six years — and most work-at-home people fail within 6 months!

The primary reason is bad cash management. To many self-employed people

neglect their cash flow until it is too late to recover. Suddenly, presto!

it ‘s back to your office job! We don’t want that to happen.

So the big question is: will you be able to manage your cash flow

effectively? If you are not sure, then you are on shaky ground.

Les Masonson, author of Cash, Cash, Cash: The Three Principles of Business

Survival and Success, says cash flow is all about, “getting the money from

customers sooner, paying bills at the last possible moment, concentrating

money to a single bank account, managing accounts payable, accounts

receivable and inventory more effectively, and squeezing every penny out of

your daily business.”

Let’s break down Masonson’s tips one at a time.

FAST COLLECTION

In your business, you should collect money as fast as you can. To do so,

try these four things:

(1) Try to speed up customer orders by having them fax their orders to you.

(2) Send out your invoices the same day goods are shipped, not a week or

two later.

(3) Indicate on your invoice when payment is due, and specify the penalty

interest for late payment.

(4)Consider using a bank lock box (post office box strategically located

near customers to reduce mail time) to collect your mailed checks from

customers across the country. You lockbox bank picks up mail around the

clock including weekends, processes the checks and credits your account.

(Note: this last step is probably more appropriate for businesses grossing

more than $25 million annually. You may not be there yet, but keep it in

mind for when you get there)!

DEPOSIT CHECKS FAST!

This seems only obvious, but it’s extremely important. In fact, here are

Masonson’s six sure-fire suggestions for getting the fastest availability

on deposited checks.

(1) Always deposit checks the same day they are received. Don;t hold

checks until the next day because you lose one day’s float. Key point: you

can lose three days of float by not depositing Friday’s checks until

Monday.

(2) Obtain availability of 0 to 2 days on deposited checks. Don’t let

your bank give you the customer availability of 1 to 5 days. Be

persistent. Ask the bank for its “availability schedule” and scan it to be

sure you’re receiving fast availability of two days or less.

Each bank has its own availability schedule. This is used to assign check

availability to consumers, business (commercial accounts), and large

corporate accounts. Availability is the number of days until you can use

the money deposited by check as cash. For example, a $1,000 check

deposited today and assigned a one-day availability can be withdrawn as

cash tomorrow.

(3) Don’t deposit checks in a bank’s Automated Teller Machine or use the

Night Depository since you have no evidence that you actually deposited the

checks you said you did. Remember, you only receive a receipt that shows

the time and dollar amount on the deposit at the ATM, and you get no

receipt at the Night Depositor.

(4) MICR encode your customer’s checks (using a machine that prints

magnetic ink on the bottom of the check) with the dollar amount before

depositing them in the bank if you deposit more than 500 checks per month.

Banks charge 3 to 5 cents less for each encoded check. Used encoded

machines cost about $1,500. (Check your Yellow Pages under bank equipment

for dealers). Besides saving money, you may get another benefit: faster

check availability.

(5) Ask you bank about its deadline for receiving availability on deposited

checks. Some banks may require a deposit of an encoded check by 2 p.m.,

even though the bank is open to 5 p.m. Make sure you make this deadline,

otherwise you lose one day’s float.

(6) Before using a bank’s ATM for check deposits, find out the bank’s

availability deadline. Some banks have a 12 noon cut-off time which means

that any checks deposited later are considered to be deposited the next

day! In that case, you lose an entire day’s float, even though you did

your bit to get the checks cashed.

HAVE A SUPER TIGHT ACCOUNTS

RECEIVABLE POLICY

Many people think it is no big deal to neglect accounts receivable until

bills are collectible. This is bad cash flow policy. Here are seven

excellent tips for handling accounts receivable:

(1) Check the financial health of a new customer before offering them

credit. One way of doing this is by using a rating service, such as Dun &

Bradstreet (1-800-234-3867).

(2) Ask a new customer for five business references and don’t neglect to

call them.

(3) Don’t offer too generous discounts, such as 3% for payment in 10 days.

A better rate is 1.5% cash discount. It costs you less.

(4) Charge a “late fee” of 2% per month to customers who pay late and

charge back customers who take discounts after the discount periods.

(5) Follow up on late payers with phone calls and letters. These may seem

a bit extreme, but the first letter should go out the very day the amount

is one day late! After 30 days late, start this sequence:

– send out a letter from your attorney

–turn over the account to a collection agency

–use a collection attorney

(6) Don’t send out new merchandise if bills remain unpaid. Remember that

bad debts hurt your bottom line! Be vigilant and try to get at least

periodic payments from slow payers.

(7) Instruct your bank to automatically deposit “returned checks.” Ask

your bank if they offer Return Item box service. If they do, then use it

to redeposit your check and charge back the bank return item free to your

customer.

These seven steps are tough and unrelenting, but they may make the

difference between a positive cash flow month and a sluggish month for your

business.

It may seem a bit hypocritical to demand swift and exacting payment, and

then do what we suggest next. But just remind yourself, all (almost) is

fair in love and war and business.

DISBURSE YOUR MONEY SLOWLY

Just the opposite of collecting at the earliest possible moment, you should

never pay a day sooner than you have to, unless you get a discount for

doing so. A lot of people believe in staying ahead of bills and paying

them as early as possible, but that’s just poor cash management. You want

to keep your money in your hands as long as you can. Here are five

suggestions to slow down your disbursements:

(1) Pay your invoices on the last day they’re due, not before.

(2) try to mail your payment on Thursday or Friday to pick up a few extra

days mail float over the weekend.

(3) Use business credit cards for travel, lodging, meals, and small

expenses for yourself and your employees. With credit cards you typically

don;t have to make payment until 25 days after receiving the statement.

Use this float by investing the money. In total, you can typically keep

your money invested for 45 days from date of purchase.

(4) Don’t issue advances to employees. Have them use their personal credit

cards or business cards, if you provide them

(5) Consider setting up a remote disbursement checking account in another

state to extend the check clearing float by at least a day. This practice

is used very successfully by 17% of large companies. The downside of this

practice is that some vendors may complain about their delayed availability

on their bank deposit. But this can be overcome by mailing them their

checks one day earlier.

Now, many small businesses neglect to reconcile their monthly bank

statements or assume that the bank never makes a mistake. Banks do make

mistakes, and you must stay on top of your disbursement to control your

cash flow. If you are one of those people who simply can’t stand to

balance you check book, you can use a bank’s standard account reconcilement

services for a low monthly price — $30 to $70 base charge and 5 to 7

cents a check. When is it best to use a bank’s reconcilement service?

Here are six suggestions:

(1) When you have a monthly check volume of at least 500 checks.

(2) When you need specialized reports.

(3) When you are currently performing your own reconcilement.

(4) You can find software at a reasonable price that meets your needs.

Companies offering accounting software include DacEasy, Inc.

(800-877-8088); Real world Corp (800-678-6336) and Peachtree

(800-247-3224).

(5) When you don’t have your own PC or any other kind of computer system.

(We already warned you about that).

(6) When you have no staff to do it, or time to do it yourself.

NO EXTRA MONEY IN YOUR BANK ACCOUNT

Many businesses make the mistake of keeping too much money in their bank

accounts to pay for bank services. This money could be used more

effectively elsewhere — such as to pay off a loan or to invest at a more

competitive rate. Many businesses have no idea how much money to leave in

the bank or what alternatives they have to compensate the bank. Take some

time to find out what your minimum balance needs to be.

GET AN ACCOUNT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

How do you know how much money (bankers refer to this as “balances”) to

leave in your checking account to pay for bank’s services? That’s a

question that more business owners should be asking themselves.

(1) First, get a price list which shows how much your bank charges for

services like account maintenance, checks deposited, checks paid, stop

payments and wire transfers.

(2) Ask the bank to send you a monthly “Account Analysis Statement.” The

analysis statement contains the average balance levels for the month –

both the ledger and the available balance — as well as a listing of

services used, their transaction volumes and cost. This statement should

be obtained in addition to the regular monthly bank statement.

(3) Look at the account analysis to see whether you are overcompensating

the bank. Then pull out any excess funds and invest them in a

high-yielding money market mutual fund, for example.

A word of advice: Smaller banks may not know what you are talking about

when you ask for an account analysis. Larger banks often offer such a

statement, but you have to ask for it. And don’t let them charge you for

this kind of statement since it is only an invoice.

INVENTORY IS NOT CASH

Every item you have sitting on your shelf should eventually be transformed

into cash in your bank account, and the sooner the better. As long as it’s

inventory, it’s basically dead weight. If it is not moving, you’re not

having cash flow.

Here are six recommendations to minimize the cost of your inventory:

(1) Attempt to forecast as accurately as you can the day, week and month

what you expect to sell.

(2) If you are dealing in more than one item, determine which item accounts

for 80% of your sales. Then minimize ordering other items that are selling

poorly or infrequently.

(3) Determine how fast you can get inventory, once you order it. Try to

order as late as you can. Some firms can use “just-in-time” inventory

which enables them to receive their order the day they need it.

(4) Determine your economic order quantity and don’t order too much

inventory just to save a few pennies.

(5) Shop around and make sure you are getting competitive prices.

(6) Develop a policy for determining what is obsolete inventory, and how

you can get rid of it. The best way to get rid of dead inventory is to

sell it whatever you can get for it, even if that’s only 10 percent of what

you paid for it. At least it will generate cash flow.

DON’T FORGET CONTINUITY SALES

Once of the most exceptional ways of controlling and improving cash flow

well into the future is by employing something called continuity of sales

or services.

Continuity sales are simply a contract to purchase products or services on

an installment basis for a fixed period of time.

That may sound complicated, but in practice, it actually is not. The best

example of a continuity sale is a magazine subscription. 12, 24, or 36

issues delivered each month for X amount of dollars. The bigger the

subscription, they better deal you get. The publisher gets more money up

front, and the customer gets a better deal in the long run.

Continuity can apply to anything.

Let’s say you own a dry cleaning business. How about an annual deal to

clean 5 shirts or blouses per week for set amount of money? Get people to

pay your for the entire week up front for a lot of fast cash flow. You’ll

trade a discount for getting business, but you’ll ensure a steady cash flow

for months to come.

Continuity works with just about any kind of product or service you are

offering, from dry cleaning to to your personal consulting service.

You can structure payments for continuity sales on almost any basis, but

it’s best by far to go for complete payment up front. After all, the

discount is based on a customer’s commitment, and they’ll be a lot more

committed with their money on the line.

LICENSING AGREEMENTS

After all is said and done, if you were to list the assets of the company

you have created, you’d probably include your inventory, equipment,

accounts receivable, equity, and so on.

But by this time, especially if you have been reading carefully, you have

something more — something that is not necessarily a physical “thing” such

as cash or inventory.

If you’ve been a clever business person, you have come up with certain ads

that have outpulled your competitors. You have developed policies and

procedures that have kept your returns and refunds the lowest of any

around. Or you may have come up with a money-making technique that is

completely unique. If so, you are potentially sitting on fast source of

cash.

You can license the rights to use any of your specialized techniques or

assets to other non-competitive businesses. You can do it for a flat fee,

a percentage of profits, on a royalty basis, or any other way that makes

sense to you. You can also conduct seminars to teach your techniques to

other would-be work-at-home entrepreneurs and charge whatever the market

will bear. It’s easy to generate an extra $5,000 a month and much more on

the lecture circuit. While you are getting paid to spread your knowledge,

you will be drumming up more business.

The knowledge you have in your head right now could very well be worth a

lot of money. It’s only a matter of you looking within yourself and at

your successes to see how you can transform it all into real, hard cash.