Melvin Feller Business Stuff

The Melvin Feller Group is a leadership consulting and business training company serving the United States, Canada and Australia since 1998. CEO Melvin Feller offers expertise in a variety of areas that include business sales and profitability, result oriented leadership, goal setting, productivity, and communication. Melvin Feller targets solutions to strive for result in higher profits, engaged and committed employees, and improved client relationships.

 Many years ago, I had a conversation with someone that I respected at that time when he burst out the term ‘Quality of Life’. In fact, he asked me this: ‘What is your definition when it comes to your own Life Quality and most importantly… What are you going to do about it?’

I have to admit that back then that was a waving flag for me as my discussion partner already had the ideal quality life that I had in mind as my desired one. I wanted to learn more about this and go deeper. Furthermore, I wanted to find a surefire way to obtain this quality of life for myself.

People use the general term “quality of life” aiming to measure somehow the level of well-being not only individually but for societies also. The term covers a broad range of topics, such as the healthcare system, and political affairs and international development.

Quality of life is a phrase term that is frequently misinterpreted as the representation of the “standard of living”. The ‘Living Standards depend on the level of income a person is making. On the other hand, the main indicating factors that can define the quality of life incorporate not only the financial situation and the status or state of employment a person enjoys, but also the overall and wider environment they live in.

 An environment that consists of the following:

 Mental and Physical Health

 Education

  Time for Recreation and Leisure

 The Sense of Social Belonging

 In addition

 The sense of Freedom

 Human rights

 The feeling of Happiness

Now, Happiness is very hard to measure as each one has their own individualized perception of what being happy means. It’s a personal thing. Personally, I strongly support and believe that quality life definitely includes the feeling of personal happiness and self-recognition.

 And how can a person get the reward of having a quality life?

 Melvin Feller MA firmly believes that personal development is actually a process of individual self-growth as well as development of other people. At the level of the particular person, personal development comes with ambitions, strategies or steps oriented towards a number of the following goals:

  1) Improving self-awareness.

 2) Enhancing self-knowledge.

 3) Building or renewing id.

 4) Developing advantages or talents.

 5) Distinguishing and improving potential.

 6) Building employee’s abilities and people – human capital.

 7) Enhancing each one’s chosen lifestyle.

 8) Gratifying individual aspirations.

 9) Defining and carrying out self-improvement projects.

 The concept contains a broader field compared to self-improvement or self-help: personal development furthermore includes improving many others. This may happen by means of roles for example those of a teacher or advisor, most likely through a particular skill including the expertise of specified managers in increasing the potential of employees) or any skilled company like providing training, appraisal as well as mentoring.

 Further than enhancing yourself and also improving others, personal development is often a region of training as well as research. Being a field of exercise, it provides personal development procedures, studying plans, evaluation systems, resources and strategies. Being a field of study, self-development topics progressively can be found in scientific publications, advanced degree reviews, management magazines and books.

 Any sort of progress — whether or not commercial, political, biological, business or personal — needs a framework if an individual wants to find out whether or not transformation has definitely happened. Regarding personal development, a person often operates as the main judge of improvement, but validation regarding objective improvement usually requires assessment making use of regular key elements.

 Personal development frameworks can sometimes include targets or even benchmarks which determine the end-points, practices or plans for accomplishing goals, measurement and review of progress, levels or periods that will identify goals along an improvement avenue, and a feed-back system to deliver information on improvements.

 Developing Yourself

 At the actual level involving personal development someone can possibly elaborate individual growth to incorporate this type of aspects as:

 1. Transforming into the individual one aspires to be.

  2. Establishing social character via self-identification.

 3. Maximizing common internal understanding or identifying of one’s main concerns.

 4. Increasing awareness or defining associated with someone’s beliefs.

 5. Increasing awareness as well as understanding an individual’s selected chosen lifestyle.

 6. Increasing awareness or understanding of a person’s ethics.

7. Strategizing as well as acknowledging hopes and dreams, aspirations, professional and life-style priorities.

 8. Generating professional ability.

 9. Developing skillsets.

 10. Developing personal expertise.

 11. Mastering upon the actual given task each and every time.

 12. Developing the quality of chosen lifestyle within such aspects as wellness, prosperity, traditions, family, friends in addition to communities.

 13. Grasping strategies or approaches in order to increase awareness.

  14. Mastering skills and strategies to gain control of your existence.

 15. Discovering new techniques or methods to accomplish intelligence.

 Personal Development is a single way street regarding just about every individual in order to inspire themselves and in the long run manage their own lives path.

 To ensure that people to take accountability for all the successes and downfalls, grow to be content individuals and arm themselves with limitless and continuous internal strength and power to overcome problems, Personal development training without a single doubt is the next best thing.

Is Retirement a Reality Today in America by Melvin Feller MA

The current strategy most Americans use to save and invest for retirement is fundamentally flawed. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of any strategy in an empirical way let’s look at the final results.  Then let’s compare them to the results you employed the strategy to achieve.

 I will go through that very process using two well-known and often quoted studies.

 First, a 2016 study performed by the Employee Benefit Research institute found that the average Baby Boomer had an average balance of $77,000 in their retirement account at retirement age. The same study performed recently, found that average balance has risen to $127,000 following the bull market of recent years.

 Second, a 2018 study performed by the US Census found that the average college graduate (undergraduate) earns a little over $2M in their lifetime. Graduates with higher level degrees earned $2.5M (masters) and $3.5M (doctoral). But let’s stick with the undergraduate figure for the purposes of this article.

The math here is shocking and unforgiving! After 40+ years of working, earning, saving and investing the average “retiree” ends up with a little less than 2 years salary in their nest egg?! After four decades of tax-deferred 401K contributions, employer matches, double digit average market returns you arrive to find an account with 6% of your lifetime earnings?!

According to Melvin Feller MA, a business consultant,  many boomers invested when the market was at the peak and pulled their money out at the bottom because they were fearful. Yes, they may have neglected to invest during the early years because they weren’t thinking about retirement then. Yes, their portfolios were probably not as diversified as they should have been. And finally, yes, they could have had much more money at retirement if they had the discipline of a robot and were completely unfazed by a 30-40% drop in the market.

All that considered, some bothersome questions remain. Is this the outcome Baby Boomers signed up for when they invested their hard-earned money? If given a do-over, would they do it again?  My feeling is of course not.

 The majority of retirement age folks in this predicament the only remaining option is to work much longer than they had first anticipated. But what about future retirees who are 15, 20, 30 years from retirement? After seeing the sad ending to this situation, the major question to ask, do you still follow the same path on resolve or do you shift strategy, direction and ultimately destination?

 America has always been called the “land of opportunity” and nowhere is this more evident than the above example. Unlike most countries around the world, an average college graduate earns a couple of million dollars in their lifetime. Think about that.  Not the outstanding, exceptional college graduate – the average. Just the average, grades are not important in this scenario.

If this average graduate simply saved a dime out of every dollar they earned and they never invested it at all, they would end up with 2 to 3 times more in their retirement account than the average retirement-age Boomers.

 When you first consider investing in real estate long term, fear of loss promptly ensues. After all, there are many unknown variables:

 How do you know if it’s the right property?

What if the tenants are a major hassle?

What if it doesn’t rent quickly?

What if there’s a major repair?

 I put this article together in order to make one simple yet crucial point: Is retirement a reality today in America?

Be the Best You can Be! Follow Your Goals! By Melvin Feller MA

As a business person, running Melvin Feller Business Group and other ventures, I have always had an incredible drive to work hard. I am motivated and driven and focused on getting an incredible amount done, and all of it is positive, nonetheless my problem lies in fact that I regularly don’t know how to put things down and stop working for the night. There is always one more email, one more phone call, one more contract to review, and the list goes on and on and on. Often times it’s so late at night when I finish working that I only have time to eat a late meal and go right to bed, only to wake up early the next morning and start over again.

 As a person, I get so busy with being busy that I forget the importance of balance in one’s life. I forget the need to step back occasionally, take a deep breath, meditate, take a walk, and enjoy the smell of the Roses.

 In the meantime, I wanted to share with you my uppermost goals for the last quarter of the year — for my life in general. I hope this will inspire you to take a look at your own goals for 2020 and see if you would want to add some of these to your list. I pray this list inspires you to make taking care of yourself while you also consider those around you. Remember, at the end of the day, or the end of your life, these are the things that really matter!

 Health:

     Drink plenty of water.

   Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.

   Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants & eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

   Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy

   Make time to pray.

   Play more games

   Read more books than you did in 2019

   Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day

   Sleep for 7 hours or more every night.

   Take a 10–30 minute walks daily. And while you walk, think grateful thoughts and smile.

 Personality:

     Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

   Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

   Don’t over-do it. Keep to your limits and make them reasonable.

   Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

   Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.

   Dream more while you are awake

   Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

   Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind others with their mistakes of the past.

   Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate.

   Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.

   No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

   Realize life is school & you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum — they appear & fade away like algebra class; but the lessons you learn last a lifetime.

   Smile and laugh more.

   You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

   Avoid hanging around those who don’t support your aspirations

   to do, be, give and have all that you wish for.

 Society:

     Spend a few minutes talking to each member of your family often.

   Each day give something good to others.

   Forgive everyone for everything.

   Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 13.

   Try to make at least three people smile each day.

   Make what other people think of you none of your concern.

   Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

 Life:

     Do the right thing!

   Stay away from anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

   Remember, with time, GOD heals everything.

   However good or bad a situation is, know it will change.

   No matter how you feel… get up, dress up and show up.

   Always focus on — “The best is yet to come”

   When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.

Melvin Feller MA Looks at How To Improve Your Current Business Leadership Team

 When you look at your company, you see leaders that can get things done and really motivate the people around them. Supervisors, forepersons, managers, and executives all have a major impact on your company. However, what if those leaders suddenly left? What happens when those stars go out? Do you have qualified employees that could fill the gap? Is your bench deep enough to play on and win the game? Have you prepared your top performers to be the leaders of tomorrow? One of the measures of healthy organizations is how comfortable they feel replacing key leadership positions with their own employees. Unfortunately, most of us only look at the people standing right in front of us, and when something happens we make a mad scramble to survive.

Leadership development should not be restricted to existing leaders. Having a healthy population of future leaders in the organization can be the biggest insurance for success.

You need to ask, “What about tomorrow?”

 You could fill the spot with a new hire, but the difference in cost between promoting leaders from within and trying to find an external candidate can be amazingly high and comes with  many hidden problems, especially in these tough economic times. At the same time, hiring someone from outside of the organization does have benefits. It can offer new ideas and new perspectives on old issues, and it creates a healthy influx of productive energy, but should that be your first option? Here are some drawbacks to making outside hiring your number one option:

  Recruiting Cost

 Finding a qualified, knowledgeable leader takes time and money. Recruiting, interviewing, and testing, even if done in house, comes at a high price. The cost of recruiting a new hire and training them can reach multiples of the employee’s annual salary.

Recruiting internally cuts down on the cost and shows your employees that you value their skills at least as well as those of outsiders.

 A new candidate takes a number of weeks to learn the culture and work flow of a new organization. During that time, the individual is in a period of negative production.

If the person does not work out in the position, the cost of training and replacement can be as much as 3 times the annual salary of the position. By the time, employers learn that the employee might not work out, it’s past the probation period and damage is already done.  

 Cultural Adjustment

 All companies have a unique set of values, character, and culture. A new candidate comes from a completely different culture and may or may not fit into yours. Interviews and resumes will not show the adaptability of leaders, even if they come from the same line of business. A conflict of values can quickly become a drain on company resources and takes a long time to remedy. The result is most often a demoralized work group. So if hiring leaders externally is cost prohibitive, how do you get out of that cycle? What can you do to develop your most promising performers? You need to ask yourself, “Are there individuals internally that could do the same thing by being moved or promoted?”

If the answer is no, then you need to start developing. Now! The most effective way to create your leaders of the future is a professionally developed training plan; but

if you aren’t ready for that step and you need to make some moves quickly. Here are a few tips to start the process:

  Start a Mentoring Program

 Identify your top performers, identify your top leaders, and get them together. A once-a-week meeting to discuss what the leader does and how he or she is dealing with issues that arise can expose your employees to what being a leader means - and give them an incentive to apply it to their own positions. It will also encourage them to take the initiative for self-development.

 Project Share

 Let your top leaders identify some projects or portions of projects that they can delegate to your potential leaders. The idea is not only to develop the skills needed to complete the tasks, but it also gives them exposure to greater levels of responsibility and lets you evaluate their talents and skills.

  Keep People Moving

If it’s possible for you to shuffle people between departments, offer it. Give people the option to try a new area of the company. Not only will they be learning a new skill set, but also their understanding of the entire business will expand, which is a critical aspect of leadership. In the end, this will reduce your training cost for new leaders.

  Get to Know Your Employees

 Do you know what your employees’ professional aspirations are? Do you know what they really want to do for the company? Do you even know their capabilities? A simple questionnaire can offer you incredibly valuable information on their past experience, skills, and performance desires. Aside from helping you to identify who might be a future leader, it can also help remedy the problem of the right person in the wrong position.

  Build Your Own Library

 Invest in some personal development audio or video tapes, DVDs, books, or computer-based training tools. There are lots of titles and topics available. Offer these to your employees for check out. The real performers will take advantage of it. This is a cost effective way to train employees with minimal startup cost and no labor, as the training will take place on their own time.

You can also offer “Lunch Box Learning” and show one of the short programs during the lunch hour.  

 These are just a few of the ways to motivate your top performers into becoming tomorrow’s leaders.

The benefit of having well developed leadership skills in your employees will far outweigh the cost of putting these programs in place.

If you do not develop your top performers, they will not be your top performers for long. Soon you will be stuck with a bench full of liabilities. The question you need to ask yourself isn’t, “What happens if I develop them and they leave?”

Is Your Success based on Other Things by Melvin Feller MA

 I am sure you have heard of a contingency clause in a real estate contract. Contingency clauses are clauses that say, “If that happens then this can happen” some common contingency clauses include.

 Offer contingent on buyer obtaining financing

Offer contingent on the sale of the home at 1111 Maple Valley

Offer contingent on buyer approval of inspections

 Those are examples of the ways that contingencies are used in real estate contracts. Nevertheless, did you know that contingencies could be holding you back from experiencing true success both in life and as a real estate investor?

 Our economic conditions have resulted in many of us using contingencies to unknowingly limit ourselves in many areas of our lives. The main differences between the two are that real estate contingencies have “Real world” constraints while the contingencies that we place on ourselves have no basis in the real world.

 Let us look at some examples of our life contingencies:

 My happiness is contingent upon how much money I make

My happiness is contingent upon whether I have a job or not

My real estate success is contingent on whether or not I can obtain a loan.

My real estate success is contingent on how many courses I can afford to buy

Do you see the difference? In real estate contingencies, one outcome is necessary in order to achieve the other. In our life contingencies, we set up two completely unrelated things and make them contingent on each other. Your happiness and your salary are not mutually exclusive ideals. You can be happy without a dime to your name. You can experience real estate success without getting a loan.

The best way to counteract this completely absurd way of thinking is to ask yourself “Could I ever have X without Y happening?”

 Let us plug in some examples:

 Could I ever have happiness without making $100,000? Of course

Could I really afford a house if I didn’t sell my own? Of course not this is a real world constraint.

Melvin Feller MA Discusses Why it is better to Wholesale then Being a Landlord.

I thought I might share some lessons and observations that I have made while being a property owner.

 I swear on at least two of my Tenants graves… EVERYONE of these things really did happen and by the way, shame on you for thinking the only reason I stuck with wholesaling was I wanted easy money.

 1. If someone is shot in your house, regular carpet cleaner (Resolve) does not work to remove the nasty stuff that comes out when you are shot.  In addition, even crackheads will puke when they smell it.

 2. Normal people do not want to live in a house where the neighbors have spray painted R.I.P James Smith on the sidewalk.  One of my houses did.

3. If a tenant calls and begins the conversation with “I have always liked you”, or ” I hope you are having a blessed day” it really means “I do not intend on paying rent this month”

4. When a prospective tenant tells you “I live with my grandmother, or any other relative” they are actually saying “There is not a chance in Hell I’ve ever had a landlord that would recommend you let me move in”

 5. If a tenant offers to paint a rental unit for their security deposit, and they say they are good painters. It really means that they are experts at painting tile, wood floors, and windows, but your walls may not turn out very good.  Do they make a 2000 square feet tarp?

6. When a tenant says that they “Don’t do drugs” they really mean, “I don’t do certain drugs”. I ask, “Do you do drugs?” they say to me “No I hate drugs”, they actually mean, “I hate crack, but weed and Vicodin are staples in my life”

7. If your ceiling is torn down in one of your rental properties and the tenant tries to convince you that “It just Fell”, what they really mean is “There was a drug bust here, and we were growing weed in the ceiling”… “There is no way that’s coming out of my deposit,” they say

 8.  Somehow the postal system is being very discriminate, only my tenants.  This is an actual quote “Eric, I know this is the third month in a row that my social security check has not shown up on time, but the postmaster said “He fixed it”.

9. Do not call a heating and cooling person when a tenant calls and says, “My furnace isn’t working” because what they really mean is “I have the heat set at 90 and its 95 in here, so my furnace isn’t coming on”.

10. This is just a suspicion, but I think tenants are conspiring with the gas companies, because I have walked into units where the property owner is paying the heat and I swear you could cook an egg on top of their big screen TV, and they have all the windows open in the middle of winter. When asked why the windows were open, and the furnace was on and they replied “The heats Free”.   Almost as if the gas company gives them a dollar for every dollar, they waste on gas.

 11. A house is just not a house, until it has what I call the “Ghetto stamp of approval”, this is when I install new carpet and within 30 minutes of moving in, the tenant has burned the outline of the iron into the carpet in at least 6 spots. What are they doing ironing anyway?   Unless they need to wear a suit and tie to the Department of human services.  It sounds cruel but out of 30 units, not even ONE had a regular job.

12. I have found this very interesting, I live in a nice neighborhood with very nice homes, and many of my neighbors work 60+ hours a week, and they have yards that look like the ninth whole at a golf course, and they maintain it themselves.  Many of my tenants on the other hand, work 2 hours a week depending on the length of unemployment line, so one might deduce that their yard would be drop dead gorgeous, because they have so much time to work in it.   This is not the case however, I can see missing a Twinkie wrapper when you get out of your car, but how in the heck do you accidentally leave a couch in the front yard.

  13. It is possible to mow a lawn, with a push mower in 1 hand and 40 ounces of Colt 45 in the other. I was extremely pleased to discover this because I have been mowing my lawn for years and was always stuck wearing a beer helmet.

Melvin Feller MA Illustrates Ways to Raise Money For Startup Businesses.

The capital is one of the first things that need to be taken into consideration when one is setting out on a business venture, and there are many different sources to obtain this capital. It is not necessary to stick to one particular source rigidly; even a combination of various different sources can be made use of.

 Anyone who is wondering how to raise money for a restaurant, a small business, an advertising agency or any other small-scale venture should keep these methods in mind. Approaching the right people for the money is vitally important for the success of the business, and if this is not catered to properly, the business will be doomed from the very beginning.

 Personal Savings

This is the most obvious source of money for starting a business. If you have saved up enough money over the years, go ahead and make use of it for your business. You will not be answerable to anyone, and you will not have to worry about repaying someone. If you choose this option, ensure that you are not using all your savings though. Many people neglect this option because if they lose the money, they will have nothing left to live on.

 Venture Capitalists

This is the next most obvious source for your potential business. Venture capitalists are professional agencies who put in money, or venture capital, into an upcoming business. What they get in return is either a share of the business, or a share of the profits, or high interest rates. It may sound like exploitation, but this is one of the best ways to get money. Venture capitalists are always looking for new and innovative business ideas that are likely to succeed.

 Angel Investors

These are a refined form of venture capitalists, but many people think they mean the same thing. Angel investors are less demanding than venture capitalists, and are with your business in the end. Usually, they are someone who you would know personally, and they are simply  looking for ways to get a higher return on their investment. How companies raise money depends a lot on the nature of the business, and the method of entrepreneurship adopted. Angel investors also help the business by providing some guidance and mentoring.

Personal Borrowings

Here is a method that should be avoided as far as possible. You can borrow money from someone you know, namely your friends, family or other people. The problem here is that once you mix business and personal relationships, things start to get a bit sour. This is a situation that needs to be handled with great tact and diplomacy, and not everyone can manage to do that. Still, this is a method that many people opt for.

 Bank Loans

Another answer to how to raise money for a small business is to approach a bank for a small business loan. With banks, you will not be required to pay a very high interest rate, but you will need sufficient documentation about the business model of your business. Along with that, your credit history and financial stability will also be scrutinized, to see if you are worthy of getting the loan. Most people would love to get a bank loan, but are simply not eligible. This is especially true for someone who is wondering how to raise money to start a business without owning any fixed assets.

 Advertising

Here is another answer, but one that requires a suitable amount of investment, and more than a fair share of patience. If you can handle the advertising of your upcoming company well, you can get more than enough money to sustain it in the end. Some websites also let you advertise your business plan, and then suit you up with a matching investor. This is a slightly unreliable method for sure, but it works wonders if one can find the right match. People wondering how to raise money for a marketing campaign, can use the methods already mentioned above.

 Other Options

One can approach some small business investment companies, some business development commissions, some life insurance companies or a money broker as well. The reliability of these other options will not be very high, and their demands may be exorbitant, but if you have run out of all other options, then this is something that you will need to resort to.

Would you like to realize your goals? Maybe you would like to run your own business, expand your material possessions, or succeed in the arts. There is no one path to the pot of gold, but many people of all backgrounds have successfully found it.

Whether you want to follow the ways of the great financiers, the famous politicians, or the dynamic movie stars, there are common modes of behavior each of them followed.

Moreover, in many cases, they have shared their secrets so YOU CAN FOLLOW THEIR FOOTSTEPS.

"If you wish to know the road up the mountain, ask the person who goes back and forth on it," said the ancient sage, Zenrin.

What better way is there to know the secrets than to ask those who made it? What goals do you want to achieve? In addition, what amount of effort can you commit? You may want money for the extra things in life, money to build a corporate empire, or money to support yourself while you pursue the fine arts.

Perhaps you would like to take the risk to start something new in your life. You may want to open your own business, devote your energies to an artistic career such as acting, or reap the benefits of your yearly endeavors with fabulous vacations several times a year.

What will bring you happiness? The satisfaction of success takes many forms. Not only are people seeking financial fortunes, but also the ancient goal of peace of mind.

Do you worry? You might be concerned about your health or your family's well-being. You may be anxious about the added expenses of education, medical bills, or the steady increase of cost of living.

There are ways out of the endless cycles of worry, stress and anxiety. Right now, you can rise above the whirl of survival to achieve the accomplishments you dream of! When you are for-real ready to put your whole effort into realizing your goals, YOU WILL SUCCEED.

What are Riches?

"Had I but plenty of money, money enough to spare," wrote Robert Browning. Moreover, money is the greatest attribute of riches. A universal desire, money is the materialization of riches, the stuff that makes the rest possible.

Are you looking for financial security? For retirement, for education or leisure? Riches are the overflowing abundance of material possessions- houses, cars, boats, furnishings- everything you ever wanted.

Centuries ago, Horace wrote, "By right means, if you can, but by any means, make money." For many people it is a path towards happiness, a cure-all for worry and peace of mind.

For others, riches come in the form of satisfaction and personal independence. Satisfaction comes from accomplishment in employment or attaining goals. It is that feeling of contentment and confidence from a good task well done. Riches are closely linked with success.

In addition, with that comes fame and acknowledgment of position. Success might be the feeling of well-being from the rewards of good effort. Alternatively, the enthusiasm and vitality triggered by recognition. "Success is how well I enjoy the minutes," said producer Norman Lear.

Throughout history, the people who lived with riches often achieved them by hard work, diligence and a belief in themselves. For some people, it took courage, genius and stamina.

Nevertheless, for many others, it took nothing special but the desire to turn dreams into reality. Whether you want millions of dollars, recognition as an artist, or personal freedom, you have the ability to make your life as rich as you want. Think about what you most desire. It may not be hard cash, but what it can buy.

On the other hand, it may be those feelings of inner satisfaction, from creating something beautiful or strong. You may want personal independence from the workweek, or freedom to live anywhere you want.

You may be looking for something meaningful and significant in life- something other than things money can buy.

Whatever your goals, and however difficult they seem to be to accomplish, you have the ability to become who you want.

Take a look- can you see yourself surrounded by riches?

Picture the world open and in front of you, ready to become the form of your dreams, ready to stage your desires. "Why then, the world's mine oyster," wrote Shakespeare, "which I with sword will open."

Who is Successful?

Many people who achieve fortune in the world are not born rich. However, they accomplished it through hard work and a plan of action. Every type of person on earth can become successful.

There are saints and scoundrels; philanthropists and poets and politicians; young and old. There are no limitations or physical boundaries for success.

Success comes to those who deeply think about success and constantly strive for it! Although many rich financiers at the turn of the century had no formal education, they overcame that and went on to great fame.

Some people strive towards a single goal from early in life, and often attain that goal while still young. Others are willing to risk new adventures later and still attain success. "It's never too late to learn," wrote Malcolm Forbes, the money magnate. "I learned to ride a motorcycle at 50 and fly balloons at 52."

Whatever your task, whatever your obstacles, you can be as successful as anyone else can. Study the people who accomplished recognition in the areas of your pursuit.

Creating Sales Excitement by Melvin Feller MA

Create excitement in your sales effort because it is contagious.

How can you create excitement you ask? Admit to yourself what you have been secretly wishing to accomplish. Slower times are the best time to dig up your half-started projects and complete them. Imagine how excited you will be to begin them again and know this time you will actually take them from start to finish!

When you let people hear the excitement in your voice, they want to know what is going on. In other words, they want to hear more. This is your invitation to tell them about the new projects you see unfolding in the near future and why it will benefit them.

Your prospects and clients will be asking to be kept in the loop and notified when your project is complete.

We all know people buy from people they like. One of the factors contributing to making you likeable is success.

Everyone wants to identify with successful people. They will even boast, I coach with Jane Smith! It is said in a manner that the success of Jane Smith has rubbed off on them.

Everyone wants a piece of the success factor. It is up to you to create your own sales success to further grow your business. While you are working on your prized project, it is important to let your clientele know what it is you are doing.

Use your golden hour of follow-up calls to ask others what is new in their business, and then tell them what is new on your agenda. Speak with enthusiasm and it will be contagious and you will have your clientele rooting for you.

During slow times, consider creating products for a way to boost your credibility, fame and establishing new avenues for streams of income.

The important point to remember is you can turn a slow time into an advantage. And while you are working on your projects, let others know what you are working on to keep them in the loop and maintain their interest in your work. Once you are ready to announce the finish products, these will be your ready customers.

Recently I had an idea for my next book. The idea was mentioned to one person. This one person told a friend over lunch. The lunch friend called me and wanted to know more. He was every bit as excited as me. And I was asked to keep them updated on the project.

This was a lesson to be learned. In slower times, people are looking for good news and want to be on the cusp of hearing it. They can then proudly boast to their business associates of the news they just heard.

You will be building a grassroots marketing campaign prior to your project being finished. By the time you do finish, you will have a ready market.

If you take one strategy from this article, it is, Spread Good News. It will get you in front of many more prospects and your clientele will love that you are moving forward at heroic speed.

Melvin Feller is known as “The Entrepreneur’s Mentor” because Melvin walks his talk. Melvin Feller has been there and done that and more importantly, Melvin Feller knows how to transfer the skill set for success. This is main reason that he has been the sought after coach to hundreds of small business owners, entrepreneurs, Realtors, real estate investors and service professional internationally. Melvin Feller’s main talent is to show you how the step by step process to build and enjoy a successful 6-figure plus business while having a balanced life. Melvin Feller maintains offices in Texas and Oklahoma.

Secrets of the Truly Rich and How They Believe by Melvin Feller MA

Melvin Feller asks, what are the Success Secrets of the rich and happy? Is there a universal formula to lifelong happiness? Is there an ancient scroll with the secret to accumulating piles of cash and laughing all the way to the bank? If there truly were such a hidden “scroll to success,” it would not include financial spreadsheets and stock tips. It would not talk about exactly what to do to become rich and happy.

Instead, I imagine it would include more noble lessons on who you need to be in order to attract wealth, influential people, resources and opportunities. This scroll would tell curious minds basic principles of the universe, so they can work with the laws of nature instead of against them. In order for such an ancient scroll to have value in today’s world, it would have to discuss humanity on a basis that would last generations. Therefore, a discussion about which technology stock to invest in or the latest tax loophole would not have much value in the long term. Melvin Feller is all about value and adding value to people’s lives no matter who they are!

Whenever, Melvin Feller is asked to speak, he always asks these questions; what do you really want? Seriously, take a moment and think about what specifically would make your life wonderful! What would make you leap out of bed early everyday with jubilance and anticipation equal to a six-year-old on Christmas morning? What are your passions? Is there anything you love to do frequently just because it is fun? What if you have the power within your own mind to create the things you want most in life. What would you create for yourself?

Therefore, here are Melvin Feller’s Secrets of the Truly Rich:

Secret no. 1: Be Totally Responsible for your Success

Stop the Blame

Stop Blaming the Government

Stop Blaming your Family for your Poverty

Stop Blaming God for your Misfortunes

Blaming robs you of your power to determine your life. It leads you to inaction. Instead of looking for ways to improve your situation you are paralyzed and you never stop on blaming others for your misery. Do not wait for prosperity from anyone. If you want prosperity, you have to create it yourself. Only you and God working in you can create the wealth you want.

You are the product of your Thoughts, Choices, and Habits

Each one of us was given the free will to think, to choose, and to act. Remember that you alone are responsible for your actions. You create your life. You create your dreams. Only you have the power over yourself.

Use this to create a new pattern of success.

Your future is in your hands. Start now by changing your destructive habits and create a new pattern of success. Concentrate on the things that you have influence over. Concentrate on what you can do for yourself.

Secret №2: Enlarging your psychological wallet.

Most of us are poor because psychologically we do not want to be rich. Our minds have been programmed to resist money. Our money problems are actually mind problems. Here are some situations why this could be so:

Your mind has been conditioned to think that receiving a lot of money is shameful and is against the will of God.

You are uncomfortable with money. So when you receive more than what you usually earn, you try to get rid of the excess amount as soon as possible.

You parents (the people you grew up with) have made you come to believe that you are poor. Most parents would reprimand their kids telling them not to insist on buying this or that stating that ‘we don’t have money and we are poor’ as the main reason. This somehow conditions the mind of the child to think that he/she is poor.

Subconsciously, you could be believing that money is bad, that rich people are evil, and that doing business is dirty. Subconsciously, you are avoiding wealth.

How do you overcome this?

You must increase your money comfort zone. You must learn to be comfortable to receive money.

One way is to visualize and imagine receiving money. See yourself earning double of what you are earning now. Get comfortable with that.

Improve your self-image. At the end of the day, who you are does not count. It is who you THINK you are that determines your SUCCESS.

Align your desires with the results that you want. Contradicting desires create contradicting results.

Rip out your negative family labels.

After you have changed your mindset, it is time to enlarge your skills to match the size of your psychological wallet. Read financial books, ask financial mentors, read personal finance blogs like this one, learn how to invest, start your own business, and reap the benefits of earning passive income.

Secret №3: Get rid of religious beliefs that may be hindering you from accepting money and

becoming financially free. More than you know it, your religious beliefs actually contribute in determining your wealth. Melvin Feller states, “Religious beliefs are so deep, so wedged to your core identity, you follow them even if you’re not aware that you’re following them.”

Point #1: Have you romanticized Poverty?

Religion can romanticize poverty. We can be led to think that to be poor is better than to be rich because God favors the poor. We can believe that poor people go to heaven and that rich people go to hell. We must not think this way. Instead, it is true that God loves the poor and favors them but that is because he wants to accompany them in their difficult journey so that they can RISE FROM POVERTY. God does not want you to remain poor!

Point #2: Do you believe that the Rich will not enter Heaven?

God did not say that it is impossible for the rich to enter heaven. God also needs the godly people who will run businesses, give jobs, and bless the world with great services and great products.

Point #3: Do you practice the “I hate myself” Spirituality?

Some people remain poor because they believe they are being punished, that it is the will of God. When God sees us in poverty, He weeps. He does not want to see us suffer.

Point #4: Have you relied on God too much?

Melvin Feller believes that “one of the biggest reasons why we don’t receive God’s blessings is because we rely on Him too much. We surrender to Him what He doesn’t want us to surrender: our stewardship.” Do not expect God to do the very things He expects YOU to do.

Point #5: Do you disguise your laziness as faith?

Most of us wants God to hand us everything on a silver platter, to the extent that we do not exert enough effort to get what we want anymore. Do not confuse faith with your laziness. Faith requires action. God usually uses the sweat, the effort, the tears and the struggle you go through to form your character and give you what you need.

Point #6: Are you obsessed with the Purely Miraculous?

Sometimes we get too obsessed with receiving miracles in our lives. We tend buy lottery tickets and ask God to let us win. Although God sometimes grant these wishes, it would be too much to ask of this every day and simply do nothing in exchange.

Point #7: If your favorite phrase is “I Leave it up to You”.

Religion can cause us to rely on fate too much, leaving everything to God. We must learn to do our parts as well in order to allow God to do his miracles in our lives. God designed us to work and trust — not simply to trust.

The first three Secrets deal with changing our mindsets when it comes to money, wealth, and being rich. The secret will focus on how you can achieve your goals by being committed to your dreams.

Secret №4: Be Completely Committed to Your Dreams

Melvin Feller defines three levels of desire: Wish, Want, and Commitment. When we WISH we just hope for something to happen but actually do nothing to fulfill that wish. Usually, nothing happens at this level. When we WANT something, we put in a little action to fulfill that want. Unfortunately, though, the passion does not last that long and we abandon the goal after a while. The third level is COMMITMENT. When we are committed, we start to believe what we say and we work towards achieving that dream for the long run. If we want to be rich, we have to be COMMITTED.

Melvin Feller also defines three types of living: Moviegoer, Actor, and Actor-Scriptwriter. Moviegoers watch the movies of their lives, admiring some parts and criticizing other parts but aside from that, they do not do anything else. Actors are those that do not only watch the movie of their lives but also realize that they can control a big part of their lives. They enjoy some level of control but they realize that they have no say in such things as deciding the ending of the movie. Actor-Scriptwriters are those that do not only watch, do not only act, but also actually create the entire movie from their minds. They determine what they will say and how the movie will end.

You have the power to create the life you want. Be the scriptwriter of your life.

In committing to your goals and dreams, it is important to do the following:

Write down your Dreams!

Read your Dreams Every day!

Apply the Power of Focus.

Apply the Power of Attraction.

By writing your dreams, you open yourself to life’s river of abundance. Be as detailed as you can get. In addition, when you read what you wrote down daily, you multiply the power of that river tenfold. If you will do this every day, you will be surprised at how moneymaking opportunities will open up before you. Actually, they are already there, waiting for you to discover them. The universe adjusts to your expectations. So instead of you searching for money, let money search for you. Attract money and become and money magnet.

Secret №5: Raise Your Financial I.Q.

Some people think that buying books or attending seminars about finance / personal finance are a waste of money. However, what these people do not know is that being financially ignorant is actually more expensive! You may be an expert in your current profession but knowing How money works is a totally different field of expertise. Lesson 1: Avoid Bad Debt like Bad Bacteria Robert Kiyosaki in his bestselling book Rich Dad, Poor Dad explained that bad debt is when we buy things that take money away from our pockets. Melvin Feller goes on to suggest the following crucial actions you need to make if you are buried under a lot of debt.

Declare your Freedom Day

Set a target date when you want to be debt-free and call if your Freedom Day. Read, think, and pray about it daily. Focus on your freedom and not on all your debts.

Create New Ways of Pleasure

Examine your lifestyle and cut back on your expenses. Find new and simple ways of joy, and pleasure. Preferably, find substitutes that are free or much less expensive but that can provide the same level of pleasure or even more.

Schedule Your Steps to Freedom

Schedule your debt payments. Start paying off high-interest loans first. Try looking for loans with lower interests, where you can transfer your current high-interest loans.

Do not Borrow When You Can’t Afford it — Period!

Melvin Feller also suggests, “Don’t borrow to buy consumer goods ever again. If you don’t have money right now to buy it, then don’t buy it.” If you cannot discipline yourself to use credit cards then get rid of them.

Negotiate with Your Creditors

Banks and other lending institutions are ran by human beings after all. Meet with them regularly and assure them that you will pay. Negotiate with them. Ask them if they can lower the interest rate. Do not back down simply because they say it is policy. Everything is negotiable.

Secret №6: Ride Something to Wealth!

Melvin Feller encourages us to ride as many vehicles to wealth. We can choose to ride bicycles, cars, or even airplanes to wealth!

By riding vehicles to wealth, Feller emphasizes the importance of having multiple income streams. It does not matter how small the income stream is as long as there is an inflow of cash. Another point Feller stresses is the importance of profit over wages. Profit, of thought process, is achieved by running your own business as opposed to receiving wages as an employee.

Melvin Feller uses the analogy to going from one place to another to illustrate the importance of riding vehicles to wealth. Let us say you want to get from point A to point B, one can either walk, ride a bicycle, ride a car, or ride an airplane to reach point B. The difference is on how fast each alternative will get you to your destination. Definitely walking will take you the longest time to reach your destination while riding an airplane will most likely get you there faster.

In our case as money magnets, our goal is to become financially free. We want to become wealthy enough so that in the future we do not have to worry on a daily basis about where to get money to spend for our daily needs. On certain occasions, we may also want extra money for luxurious and leisurely activities. Walking to reach our goal equates to leaving our money in regular savings accounts and time deposits. Although our money earns interest, it will take years before the earnings become meaningful. On the other hand, Feller likens riding a bicycle to investing our money in Investment funds. Investment funds can be either UITFs, Mutual Funds, or Stocks. By investing our savings in Investment funds, we can potentially earn more and reach our goal faster.

Secret №7: Create a bias for Action

This is the secret to just make things happen!

While we are taught to aim before we fire, Feller on the other hand uses “Ready … Fire! Aim …(And fire again … Aim …)” on his projects. Melvin Feller, of course, does not encourage recklessness. That is why the first step is “Ready.” He just wants to discourage what most of us are likely to end up doing — that is to keep on aiming but never fire. As one of the Truly Rich Principles, Feller explains, “For pioneers, perfectionism is never a good strategy.” We must allow ourselves to fail. Moreover, when we do, we must then learn to forgive ourselves and bring ourselves to act again.

Not all success can be counted in dollars; not all richness is measured by money. “The great secret of success is to go through life as a person who never gets used up,” said Albert Schweitzer.

“Retire upon yourself and look for the ultimate cause of things inside you.” Look within yourself for the ultimate inspiration, and follow the true feelings you discover. “One of my favorite methods is to whisper,” said Alfred Hitchcock. “I’ve discovered the best work is done with sweet reason.”

Act upon your own conscience -that guides; that judges your actions and signals your behavior. “Conscience is the inner voice that warns us that someone may be looking,” wrote H.L. Mencken.

Accomplish what you desire; fulfill your inner yearnings. However, do not compromise your deepest feelings. “We do our best that we know how at the moment, and if it doesn’t turn out, we modify it,” said F.D. Roosevelt. Follow the paths that life offers you and live the fullest existence you can.

Look. Look at yourself and look at those who have succeeded throughout history. Do you have what it takes? Even if you have only a few of the qualities of the other great people, you can achieve your heart’s desire.

Reach for the highest, and then reach higher. Accomplish your steps one by one on a daily basis, always moving forward, always making progress. Encourage yourself. Insist that you can succeed and affirm these thoughts daily.

Keep a sense of proportion and judge for yourself. Then keep busy at the tasks you have set out to accomplish. What is keeping you? “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration,” said Albert Einstein.

Find inspiration wherever you can. Talk to people; read about people; learn your business or craft. Believe that you can do it and you will. The only way to dispel the doubt that you can do something is to finish it.

Always be the best you can be. Never fall short from fatigue or lethargy. Do not attempt to do anything that you cannot give your all to.

There is no way to inner satisfaction without appealing to the higher consciousness. Search within and without to find the paths that are meant for you and follow them with conviction and a steady heart. Moreover, you will succeed to become as rich and full as you ever desired.

Harold Ickes wanted the “freedom to live one’s life with the window of the soul open to new thoughts, new ideas and new aspirations.”

In addition, Woody Allen looked for a clear path. “If only God would give me some clear sign” he said. “Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank.”

Finally, Sophie Tucker sums up everyone’s worldly outlook: “I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor,” she said. “Rich is better.”

Melvin Feller is known as “The Entrepreneur’s Mentor” because Melvin walks his talk. Melvin Feller has been there and done that and more importantly, Melvin Feller knows how to transfer the skill set for success. This is main reason that he has been the sought after coach to hundreds of small business owners, entrepreneurs, Realtors, real estate investors and service professional internationally. Melvin Feller’s main talent is to show you how the step by step process to build and enjoy a successful 6-figure plus business while having a balanced life. Melvin Feller maintains offices in Texas and Oklahoma.

The Steps and Terms of Online Investing by Melvin Feller MA

As with everything else these days, the stock market has gone online. Therefore, Melvin Feller MA asks if you can shop, pay bills, and do your banking online, why not invest too? Investing online is not as big of an ordeal as some people make it out to be. Melvin Feller suggests that the key is to know what you want before you start.

When opening a new account, according to Melvin Feller, investors need to answer the regular questions, such as the type of account they want and how it will be funded. When selecting an account type the kind you choose will depend on whether or not the account is taxable or tax-deferred, and whether it is for just you or you and someone else.

You will also have to decide whether your account will be “cash” or “margin.” A cash account means you are only able to place trades for investments with money in your account. A margin account gives you a credit line from your brokerage firm. You can also have a “margin account with options,” which means you are purchasing the right to buy and/or sell a stock at a specific price. Options are quite complicated and usually only purchased by traders with experience and large portfolios.

After choosing the type of account, money must be deposited. The initial deposit can be sent to the firm by check or an automatic transfer from a bank account. Another option is transferring an account from a different brokerage firm, but the process is quite lengthy and can take months to complete.

If you are trying online investing for the first time, start small. Do not put every penny of your life savings into an online account. A smaller sum is easier to handle and easier to keep track of. When you feel confident and are ready, then you can expand your online account.

According to Melvin Feller, another good thing to do when investing online is to try and stay diversified, in other words don’t concentrate all of your portfolio on just one thing, instead develop a well-balanced portfolio of stocks, bonds, and cash.

Many brokers will encourage you not to bail out on mutual funds. The main reason most investors are in mutual funds are that they do not have the experience to make their own calls on stocks.

They are also occupied with other things besides just watching the stock market. Keeping your mutual funds can be a wise decision instead of prematurely “playing the market” in individual stocks.

It is important to remember that online brokerage firms add fees and charges that need to be looked at closely. Before buying and selling large-scale stocks online, look at what the tax results are of such trading. The average online brokerage costs are lower than full-service brokers are, but fees can still add up.

Remember that just because you are investing online, the Internet is not foolproof and you are bound to run into some problems. There will surely be times when you are unable to gain access to your account. You’re connection could be down, the brokerage firm’s server could crash if trading is overly heavy, you could experience a software glitch, or you may be away from your computer when there is a major market move. Always be prepared for these things and keep in mind the available alternative trading options such as phone trading.

When investing online it is your responsibility to say as informed as possible. Do not just settle for what you hear. Instead, do a little research on a company before investing in them. There are services that send you automatic e-mail messages over news about your stock take advantage of these.

Remember in online investing everything is up to you and knowledge is power.

Here are some terms to be familiar with.

After Hours Trading

After-hours trading is the trading of securities, such as stocks and bonds, on organized markets and exchanges after regular business hours. These after-hours, electronic transactions explain why a security may open during regular business hours at a price that is different from the one it closed at the day before. Some interpret the level of activity and the direction the after-hours trading — up or down — as an early indicator of what may happen in the market the following day.

Brokerage Firms

Brokerage firms are licensed to buy and sell securities for clients and for their own accounts. Brokerage firms provide individual investors their link to the financial markets by employing brokers who carry out the investor’s order to buy or sell securities.

The firm may be a huge, corporation with hundreds of brokers, a small partnership with only one broker or any size in between. A brokerage firm could also be a full-service firm, a discount firm or somewhere in between. Typically, larger firms, and full-service firms, provide an increasing range of financial services, including financial planning, asset management, and educational programs. In addition, many maintain research departments for their own and their clients’ benefit. Other brokerage firms, such as online firms and discount firms, are increasingly providing their customers with a wealth of investment information on their websites and encouraging their customers to trade electronically.

An investor should note that while online and discount brokerage firms may charge lower commissions than full-service brokerage firms to execute their buy and sell orders, those firms are less likely to provide the range of services mentioned above. This may not be an issue for many investors as extensive information and online account access are now readily available. The individual investors’ needs will dictate which services will be required.

Cash Accounts

Requiring that you pay for the securities transaction in full, this is the most common type of investment account. Customers who invest in securities using only the money they currently have available in their brokerage account use this account.

Day Trading (Day Traders)

This is a trading strategy in which the investor buys then sells, or sells short then buys, the same security on the same day in an attempt to profit from small movements in the price of that security. The strategy is to take advantage of rapid price changes to make money quickly.

This is a legal investment strategy; however, it is also highly risky and should be reserved for more experienced investors. Most of us do not have the wealth or time to make money by day trading, much less the ability to sustain the devastating losses that it can bring.

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)

Frequently referred to as the Dow, this is the best-known and most widely followed market indicator in the world. It tracks the performance of 30 blue chip US stocks. Despite the fact that it is called an average, the Dow is actually a price-weighted index. This means that the gains and losses of the highest priced stocks are counted more heavily than gains and losses of lower priced stocks. In response to financial conditions, new companies may be added to the DJIA while existing companies may be dropped.

Diversification (Diversified)

This is an investment strategy wherein the investor spreads their investment dollars among different markets, sectors, industries, and securities. By adopting this strategy, the investor seeks to protect the value of their overall portfolio in the event that a single security, industry or market sector takes a serious downturn and drops in price. Studies have shown that

diversification can help secure your investments against market and management risks without sacrificing the level of return desired.

Establishing a well-diversified portfolio will depend on the investor’s age, assets, risk tolerance and investment goals. The securities mix that is right for you may include small-, medium-, and large-cap domestics stocks, stocks in multiple sectors or industries and international stocks.

ECN’s (Electronic Communications Networks)

This technological advancement completes trade orders electronically, from start to finish, and maintains each order as part of an electronic record. When new orders are entered, the system automatically checks them against existing orders to see if there is a match — a buyer offering what a seller is asking. If there is a match, the system will execute the deal immediately without involving a specialist.

Since matches are made anonymously, large institutional investors have the ability to make trades without attracting attention or creating speculation about their possible motives. An additional advantage of the ECNs is that they make it easy to trade after-hours, when the markets are closed; however, ECNs are accessible only to its members.

IPO’s (Initial Public Offerings)

As a company grows larger, it may decide to go public by issuing stock, or adding shareholders, through an initial public offering (IPO). The purpose of issuing stock and adding shareholders may be to raise capital, to provide liquidity for the existing shareholders, or a number of other reasons. When planning to issue an IPO the company must register its offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Typically, the company will work with an investment bank, which underwrites the offering by purchasing all of the shares at a predetermined price and then reselling them to the public in hopes of making a profit.

Limit Order

Limit orders allow the customer to specify the price at which he or she is willing to buy or sell a security. While limit orders can help investors avoid buying or selling security at an undesirable price, thereby protecting them from the possibility of rapid price changes, there is the risk that the limit order will not be executed (i.e., the market price may quickly surpass your limit before the order can be filled). In addition, some firms may charge you more for executing limit orders.

Liquidity

Liquidity refers to the ease with which an investment can be converted to cash. The more liquidity the investment is said to have, the easier it will be for the investor to convert it to cash.

Margin

Within a margin account, the margin is the portion of the purchase price that the customer must deposit into the account. This portion may also known as the customer’s initial equity in the margin account.

Margin Account

This account allows the investor to increase their purchasing power by borrowing money from a brokerage firm to invest in securities. The money that the investor borrows must be repaid and the investor must possess collateral in their margin accounts in the form of securities in the event that they are unable to repay their brokerage firm. In the event that the investor is unable to pay the brokerage firm for a margin loss, the investor may be forced, with or without their knowledge, to liquidate the securities in their margin account. The investor’s liability may also extend beyond the value of the securities in their margin account. In addition, the investor must pay applicable margin interest for borrowing the money from their brokerage firm. While buying securities on margin may equate to greater profits than an investor would receive simply using their own resources, those profits must exceed the margin borrowing expenses in order for the investor to profit.

Buying on margin is risky and the investor should understand the principles and risks entirely before trading on margin.

Margin Account with Options

This is a margin account with the opportunity to purchase options. By purchasing an option, the investor has the right to buy or sell a specific security at a specific price, called a strike price, during a predetermined period.

If the investor buys an option to buy, known as a call, they will pay a one-time premium -a fraction of the cost of the actual transaction. For example, an investor might buy a call option giving them the right to buy 500 shares of a particular stock at a strike price of $100 a share when that stock is currently trading at $85 a share. In the event that the prices goes higher than the strike price, the investor would want to exercise the option and buy the stock at the lower cost per share, or even trade that option with someone, in either case experiencing a profit. If the stock price did not go higher than the strike price, the investor would simply choose not to exercise the option and that option would expire. The only money that investor would have lost was the money paid for the premium.

Similarly, an investor may purchase a put option, which gives them the right to sell the security to the person who sold them the option. In this case, the investor would exercise the option if the market price dropped below the strike price.

Trading in options is a risky investment opportunity and should be reserved for more experienced investors.

Margin Call

In a margin account if the investor falls below the margin requirements, they may be subject to a margin call wherein the brokerage firm asks for additional funds to be added to the investors account. In the event that the investor is unable to pay the brokerage firm for a margin call, the brokerage firm may sell part or all of the securities held in the margin account, with or without

the investor’s knowledge, in order to make up the value and meet the margin limit requirements.

Margin calls can occur suddenly and investors should understand fully the financial impact that trading on margin can have on the value of their accounts.

Market Order

This is an order in which the investor instructs his or her brokerage firm to buy or sell as security at the current market price, ideally as soon as possible. Unless the investors specifies otherwise, a broker will enter the order as a market order.

The advantages of a market order are that the investor is usually guaranteed that their order will be executed (as long as there are willing buyers and sellers) and a market order is typically less expensive than a limit order.

The disadvantage of a market order is that the investor has no control over the price at which their order will ultimately be filled. If the price of the security is moving quickly and there is a delay in the execution of the market order, then the price at which the investor buys or sells the security may be quite different than what they expected with the market order was originally placed.

Minimum Maintenance Requirement

With regards to trading on margin the amount that an investor can borrow is limited by both the Federal Reserve Board and the specific brokerage firm used. Generally, there are two requirements — how much margin an investor can use initially in the margin account and then how much margin they can have once the initial transaction has been executed. While each brokerage firm creates its own requirements, typically, in the initial transaction, 50% of the purchase price of any security can be margin. Once the initial transaction has been executed, the maintenance margin account requirement is usually much lower, often around 25%. Investors should consult with their individual brokerage firms to determine the initial and ongoing maintenance margin requirements.

Mutual Funds

Mutual funds pool money from several investors (individual and/or institutions) and invest the pooled money in various types of investments (i.e., stocks, bonds, specific industries, etc.). Investment decisions are based on the common financial goals of the investors. The suitability of a particular mutual fund depends on the types and nature of the fund’s investments and the amount of diversification. Not all mutual funds are equal and investors need to determine if the goals of a particular mutual fund match their own personal financial goals.

The advantages of mutual funds are diversification, liquidity, and professional management. By pooling money from many investors, individual investors are able to own more securities than they might be able to afford on their own; therefore, owning a mutual fund may offer the investor instant holdings in several different companies. In terms of liquidity, mutual fund investments can be converted to cash upon request. Rather than managing your investments yourself, a mutual fund allows you to turn over the responsibility to a “professional.”

Online Broker Ratings (ratings/rankings)

In general, online brokerage ratings indicate the level of customer service or satisfaction with the online brokerage firm. There are several sources of online broker ratings and each may use different criteria in their ratings. In addition, the online broker ratings sources are not regulated entities. Investors should keep in mind that while a brokerage firm may be ranked #1, that is in terms of customer satisfaction and it does not mean that they will have a better chance of making you money.

Prospectus

A written, legal document outlining the investment offered for sale. A prospectus provides all of the material information about an offering of securities, and serves as the primary sales tool of the company issuing the security and broker-dealers who sell the security.

The prospectus is also serves as written proof that the investor was given all the material facts as they are set out in the prospectus. It is for this reason that investors should be certain that they understand the information contained the prospectus.

Stop Loss Order

A stop loss order instructs a broker to sell a specific stock it if falls to a certain price. This is a useful tool in preventing investor losses. For example, you buy ABC Company at $100 a share and you instruct your broker to sell if it falls to $90 a share. On a given day, the stock falls to $80 a share. Your broker sold your shares when they reach $90 thereby saving you an additional $10 per share loss on your investment.

Suitability

The suitability of an investment depends on whether the investment in consistent with the person’s investing objectives and profiles (age, financial status, long-term goals, income, current financial status, etc.). Investment advisors and brokers giving investment advice are required by law to ensure that their recommendations are suitable for the investor. To help these financial professionals make appropriate recommendations an investor should provide honest and accurate information to that professional.

Stocks

Stocks represent individual ownership in a company. A share of stock is equivalent to a proportional share of ownership in a company. The goal of stock ownership is to see the value of the company increase over time. As the value of the company changes, the value of the share in that company rises and falls.

Taxable versus Tax-Deferred

A taxable investment refers to investments in which the earnings will be taxed as they are received. A tax-deferred investment refers to investments in which the tax is not paid as earning are received but will be due when the untaxed money is withdrawn from that tax-deferred account.

Melvin Feller is known as “The Entrepreneur’s Mentor” because Melvin walks his talk. Melvin Feller has been there and done that and more importantly, Melvin Feller knows how to transfer the skill set for success. This is main reason that he has been the sought after coach to hundreds of small business owners, entrepreneurs, Realtors, real estate investors and service professional internationally. Melvin Feller’s main talent is to show you how the step by step process to build and enjoy a successful 6-figure plus business while having a balanced life. Melvin Feller maintains offices in Texas and Oklahoma.

Is Commercial Real Estate Right for Your Real Estate Portfolio

Whether you already own residential rental properties or you are still deciding if real estate investing is how you want to build wealth, the idea of purchasing commercial real estate may have crossed your mind.

According to Melvin Feller MA, a Real Estate Investor, the first, and best, reason to put capital into commercial real estate investing, versus only residential, is the income potential. On average, commercial property has a usual annual return off the purchase price between 6 to 12 percent. Single-family rentals, to provide contrast, generally generate a 1 to 4 percent return at best. One factor that can help secure such profits are higher lease payments per square foot than is typically seen for residential or single-family apartments.

Commercial property is either specific buildings or land that is profit generating. It can also apply to residential properties that contain five or more units. However, for the most part, the term ‘commercial property’ normally includes:

Office buildings

Retail buildings

Warehouses

Industrial buildings

Mixed-use buildings

As Melvin Feller again points out, each type of commercial real estate has its distinct characteristics regarding management and usage. However, they all fall under the general umbrella of ‘commercial,’ rather than ‘residential.’ All of them are able to generate or indirectly help generate income for businesses.

Commercial real estate includes any non-residential property used solely for business purposes.

Investing in commercial real estate is very different from residential real estate investing so before you can start calculating potential profits of a commercial real estate deal there are many things to do and know about this type of investing.

Commercial real estate is at the top of many investors’ wish lists, and for good reason: it has proven to be a lucrative endeavor repeatedly. However, if you want to buy commercial property it is important to understand that increased reward can also mean increased responsibility. That is why it is crucial to mind your due diligence and follow sound practices.

As you might expect, commercial properties are a departure from traditional single-family investments. From crunching numbers to raising capital, buying commercial real estate will require more out of an investor. That said, with the right dedication you can learn how to take on properties that are more complex. The following guide will walk you through how to buy commercial real estate and help you get started today.

How to Buy Commercial Property in Seven Steps

Identify your motivations for investing.

Evaluate different commercial property types.

Lock down your financing.

Build the right team for the job.

Identify a potential property in your market.

Run the numbers on the property.

Make an offer and close the deal.

Buying commercial properties can be thought of similarly to purchasing traditional real estate, but on a bigger scale. Investors will still need to conduct sufficient research and mind due diligence; but there will be differences in the numbers. Commercial properties often equate to higher purchase prices, longer leases, and increased rental income. To prepare for these differences, investors should ensure they have the right systems in place. Not surprisingly, as you gain experience you will become comfortable analyzing properties and landing deals.

If you want to start purchasing commercial real estate, or you simply want a better idea of what to expect, consider the most important steps in the commercial real estate buying process:

1. Ask Yourself Why You Are Investing

Before you can even consider buying commercial real estate, you need to ask yourself why you are doing so in the first place. There is no point in investing in a commercial asset if you do not know what you hope to accomplish. Instead of investing first and determining what you want later, try identifying your “why” first. Determine what you want to accomplish, and then search for an investment that can help you achieve that goal.

2. Consider Your Investing Options

Commercial real estate is a broad term, and can include everything from retail shops, industrial complexes, office buildings, large apartment buildings and a whole slew of other types of commercial real estate. In other words, commercial real estate is property used for business purposes. It is, therefore, in your best interest to determine which type of commercial real estate you want to deal in. To help you with your decision, remember why you are investing in the first place.

3. Secure Financing

Try to secure financing before you even start looking for a commercial real estate property to buy. That way, you will not only know how much you can afford, but you will be able to facilitate a deal faster and more efficiently with the money “in hand.”

4. Align Yourself with the Right People

Real estate is a people business, and buying commercial real estate is no exception. You will want to make sure you align your services with the right professionals. Consider hiring a commercial real estate agent that specializes in the types of transactions you hope to complete, a commercial real estate attorney well versed in the laws of commercial real estate, and even a certified personal accountant (CPA) to make sure the deal goes according to plan. Several professionals can help you in regards to selecting the right property. The right partners may be the key to landing the deal of your dreams.

5. Find a Property That Meets Your Criteria

With everything in place, begin your search. By now, you should know your criteria; stick to it. Remember why you are buying commercial real estate, and look for a property that can get you to the finish line. Remember, there is no reason in buying a property that does not help you realize your goal, no matter how good of a deal it may seem on the surface.

6. Mind Due Diligence

Again, buying commercial real estate is not the same as buying a single-family home. Before you proceed, mind due diligence. Run the numbers and analyze the deal as a whole. Are the inherent risks worth the potential rewards? Is there another property that would be better suited towards your goals? Now is the time to analyze every detail. Only move forward once you are certain the property will be beneficial to your portfolio.

7. Close the Deal

Once you find a property worth pursuing, be sure to make an offer with a contingency clause. More specifically, make an offer with an inspection contingency that gives you an out in the event the commercial property does not pass the inspection. If everything looks good, continue to mind due diligence by getting the appropriate insurance set up and reviewing all included documents. There is a lot that goes into a commercial real estate transaction, so make sure you are prepared.

I want to make it abundantly clear: this is by no means a comprehensive list of every step associated with buying commercial real estate. It is, however, representative of some of the most important steps you should never forget. To be clear, you should consult a professional before moving forward with your own commercial real estate purchase.

Is Buying Commercial Property A Good Investment?

Yes, buying commercial property has proven to be a smart investment for those who know what to expect. The income potential alone is what draws so many real estate investors to this asset type. Commercial real estate is known to have a higher return on investment when compared to residential properties. Aside from the profitability, buying commercial real estate can also lead to stronger professional relationships, more flexible lease terms and limited business hours. Investors who opt for commercial real estate will also enjoy attractive financing options and equity appreciation.

In order for commercial real estate to be a smart investment, there is one thing you will need to look for first: an experienced commercial real estate broker. Nothing else will be worth as much to your search or help you over the course of a commercial real estate deal more so than a professional that is well versed in commercial real estate. Moreover, while their services will certainly set you back (somewhere in the neighborhood of six percent of the purchase price), I can assure you it is usually worth it. A great commercial real estate attorney will help you every step of the way, from finding a deal to negotiating terms and prices. In fact, it is entirely possible for a good agent to save you more money than their services cost.

Once you have a commercial real estate professional on your side, begin to explore the different types of commercial properties on the market. Whether you realize it or not, there are significant differences between office buildings, industrial properties, retail properties, apartment buildings, and every other type of commercial real estate. It is in your best interest to know them all. Be careful to vet the options made available to you. Look at the types of commercial real estate up for sale, and determine which type of property suits your needs. What the property is zoned for will have a big impact on how you proceed, so it is best to know what you are getting into ahead of time.

Buying Commercial Real Estate Questions to Ask

At this point, you may still have questions about commercial real estate, and that is okay. Learning to take on more complex investing strategies takes time and research. If you still have questions on how to buy commercial property, there are resources you can use. The following questions about buying commercial real estate can help:

Why is the owner selling in the first place?

Not unlike every other investment strategy, buying commercial real estate will work out more often than not for those that mind due diligence. More importantly, the more you know about a respective deal, the better off you will be, and the reason behind the sale is no exception. That said, uncover the exact reason the current owner is intent on selling. Not only will the answer be able to help you in negotiations, but also it could point to any red flags that are best left avoided. Just remember one thing: sometimes the best choices you make are the ones you do not make.

What are the different types of commercial real estate, and why should I care?

Commercial real estate represents a lot more than simply shipping centers and restaurants. These properties can be anything from retail stores to hotels and office buildings, and many things in between. As such, each commercial property is most likely zoned according to its purpose, and that zoning is important for you to pay attention to. Perhaps even more importantly, the zoning will determine what you can do with the property if you buy it, so be aware. Make certain the zoning laws fit with your strategy.

Why should I invest in commercial real estate over single-family homes?

Commercial real estate boasts one benefit that single-family homes have a hard time matching: the value of scale. Do to the sheer size of most commercial buildings, at least as they compare to traditional homes, commercial buildings offer the potential for larger profits. It is also nice knowing most of your tenants will have a stake in the property, which means you are less likely to deal with unruly tenants. Business owners are typically more inclined to treat the property with respect because it is, after all, their own livelihood.

Buying Commercial Property Tips

Learning how to buy commercial properties has become the next logical step for many investors that have grown comfortable dealing in single-family homes. If for nothing else, commercial real estate represents the next challenge or exit strategy that can elevate your investing career to an entirely new level. While buying commercial real estate can certainly coincide with amazing benefits, it is not without a few downfalls: risk, difficulty, and the sheer volume of capital required to deal in commercial real estate can all impede an investor’s progress.

It is worth saying, however, that buying commercial real estate is not impossible. Not unlike buying single-family homes, there is a process; one that, if followed correctly, can result in amazing benefits. That said, you must know what you are doing if you hope to realize success in the commercial industry. Jumping in without a plan is the surest way to sabotage your own efforts and ruin everything you worked so hard to achieve.

If you want to successfully, make the transition to commercial real estate familiarize yourself with the commercial real estate buying process. Here are a few buying commercial property tips to help:

Learn The Language: There can be a learning curve when making the transition from residential to commercial real estate, so you may need to go back to basics before you get started. Familiarize yourself with terms and concepts commonly used in commercial real estate, like capitalization rate and building classification. Reviewing the language will help make sure you are comfortable when talking to potential business partners, tenants and especially lenders.

Find A Market: Just like with any real estate investment, location is everything. It is common for commercial real estate investors to venture outside of their market area, or to invest in multiple markets. Analyze each market you may want to invest to find the right area to invest. Do not be afraid to choose high performing markets simply because they are outside of your local area or state.

Work with Your Mentor: A mentor is crucial for any real estate investor, but they can be especially helpful when it comes to more complex investing strategies like commercial properties. Attend real estate networking events in your area or ask your existing connections to meet someone with experience in commercial investing. As you build a relationship over time, their advice and insights could help as you build a portfolio.

Visit Properties: As you start identifying potential properties, make sure to visit each of them. This will give you a better idea of what to expect if you choose to move forward with the deal. Even if you do not plan to manage the property yourself, it is still a good idea to picture what the building will be like. Visiting properties can even help you narrow down your options if you have more than one investment you are trying to choose between.

Protect Your Assets: Before you move forward with your first commercial deal, make sure the rest of your assets are properly protected. Look into the way your business is currently organized and how a commercial property will fit into that. Research different types of liability insurance and business structures before taking on more complex properties.

Buying commercial real estate can certainly be well worth your time if you do it correctly. Perceptive commercial real estate investors have already proven that it belongs in a well-rounded portfolio, but I digress. For as beneficial as it can be to own commercial real estate, it can be equally devastating for those that go in without a plan. If for nothing else, commercial real estate investing comes with risks for those that act irrationally. Poor investment practices could result in devastating problems, and they are only magnified by the size of commercial investments. Therefore, it pays to have a sound plan in place. With proven systems on your side, you are more likely to avoid the pitfalls of commercial investing and realize success.

Secrets to Creating and Having a Productive and Successful Day by Melvin Feller MA

 Melvin Feller understands that everyone wants to have a great day, especially at work.  According to him, everyone wants to go to work, get the job done and head for the horizon with a smile on your face.   Melvin Feller describes how easy it is to have a good day at work if you prepare in advance and keep a good running list of how to get through with the happiest day.

 Here are Melvin Feller’s ways to have a happier workday.

 1.   Eat breakfast - If you skip breakfast, you will not be at your best during the morning.   You will more likely gorge yourself at lunch and have a sleepy afternoon.   So eat something, anything (within reason) so you can ensure a smooth start.

 2.   Get plenty of sunshine - Sun in the morning signals the body and mind to wake up.   So instead of reaching for a big cup of Joe, put on your shoes and go outside.

 3.   Get Aerobic Exercise -   while you are getting your sunlight, use it as an excuse to get a good walk or jog in.   Exercise lowers stress, gets your blood moving and wakes you up.

4.   Avoid RSS, EMAIL or phone before 10 am.   RSS, email and phone demand immediate attention.   Whereas your goals and work for the day can easily be brushed to the side.   If you can avoid the urgent and unimportant until 10 or 10:30, you have a fighting chance at getting all of the important tasks done.

 5.   Think positive thoughts not negative - Seems simple, but many people never do it.   Instead of looking on the worst side, try to see the bright side.   Ask yourself “what is the advantage of this situation?”   “How am I benefitting from this?   What am I learning?”   These are all good questions that you can ask in all negative situations to turn them to the positive.

6.   Take breaks - If you push on one task for too long you your work starts to suffer.   It’s easy to become tired and frustrated.   Therefore, every 30 - 45 minutes, take 5.   Get up from your desk, stop what you are doing and get your mind off your work for a while.   You will find you will return with more ideas and renewed energy.

 7.   Go for a mid-day walk - again, I am harping on the exercise.   Getting a brisk walk in over lunch (even if for only 10 minutes) will get you to feeling better about your afternoon.   Where most others are sitting around digesting, you can be energizing.

8.   Avoid gossip - One drain on your day is gossip.   It may seem fun and exciting to learn some juicy tidbit about your officemate or boss.   However, good gossip is always negative talk.   Negative talk starts the pendulum swinging toward negativity.

 9.   List your top 5-7 objectives for the day and break the list down to three - It is good to get in the habit of making lists, it’s bad to make long lists.   If you have more than five items on your list, break it down to the top three things (you can always go back and edit in another task or two).   However, with a list of 20 things, how can you not be overwhelmed?   Three is a manageable, magical number.   Break your list down to three.   Anybody can do just three things right?

 10. Be slow to react to other people’s “urgent” requests.   When someone else asks you for help, to do a project or to meet some other urgent need, practice saying, “what’s your deadline on this?   Or when do you need this done?”   Then schedule that day.   Most people when asked one of those questions realize it is not as urgent and will set a future date.   That way, you can go back to working on one of your top three activities.

 Finally, it is so easy to leave the office, only to get home and start working again. In addition, even if you are not engaged in this pattern, it is very easy for work and stresses from the day to linger in your mind well beyond 5 p.m.

 To help reduce stress and provide closure on your day, Melvin Feller suggests developing a mental shut down of your day. Specifically, Melvin Feller recommends spending two to three minutes writing down what you have accomplished that day; feeling a sense of progress has been shown in research to be the most powerful motivator at work. Then spend two to three minutes planning the following day, which helps provide a sense of control, another great motivator, and mental closure. 

If you have a spare minute left, express gratitude for someone, in the form of an email or a text message. Gratitude has been shown repeatedly to be an effective mood elevator. 

Melvin Feller is known as “The Entrepreneur’s Mentor” because Melvin walks his talk. Melvin Feller has been there and done that and more importantly, Melvin Feller knows how to transfer the skill set for success.  This is main reason that he has been the sought after coach to hundreds of small business owners, entrepreneurs, Realtors, real estate investors and service professional internationally. Melvin Feller’s main talent is to show you how the step by step process to build and enjoy a successful 6-figure plus business while having a balanced life.  Melvin Feller maintains offices in Texas and Oklahoma.  

Melvin Feller MA Explains How to get Customers to Return More Often

 According to Melvin Feller, all of your heavy marketing costs are  incurred on the front end of your marketing program, and since that is the  case, you now can begin reaping the real profits by getting your customer to  come back and buy more!

 One of the biggest marketing mistakes businesses commit is the failure  to capture the names and addresses of everyone that comes into their business  regardless of whether they make a purchase or not. 

 It  boggles Melvin Feller’s mind when he talks to these business and hears how  many businesses fail to do this.  Melvin Feller concludes they will  spend thousands of dollars on advertising to bring new customers into their  business and then they do not even bother to capture their name or address.

 You must understand these names  are pure gold. They have paid for them, and they have paid a lot... doesn’t  it make sense to capture them?

 Even if these customers did not buy anything from you these businesses,  the fact that those customers came into the business or practice, or  responded to an ad, means they are at least interested in a product or  service. They have qualified themselves as a prospect. Businesses do not want  to let them escape, and force yourself to spend a bundle to bring them back,  when a letter with a postage stamp can get the job done far more efficiently.

 Therefore, the absolute crucial, never fail, must do, number one  strategy for increasing frequency of purchase is…

 Capture  the Name and Address of Every Customer, Client, Patient,  or Prospect that Graces Your Enterprise in Any Way!

Of course capturing the data is the first  step, and then you actually have to figure out what you want to say to them  to bring them back!

Once again, one of the best ways to get your customers to come back  more often is to...

  Ask  them to!

 In addition, when you do, give them a reason to come back. This can  take many forms.

 The obvious is the sale but why not be a little more creative than  that.

 You can hold a special event.

 A woman with a women’s apparel store sent out invitations for a special  private showing to her best customers, every time her new seasonal inventory  came in. She did not mark the items down; actually, they were listed at full  retail.

This event was held after hours as a “closed door” affair with light  refreshments. The purpose was to simply give the best customers first  crack at the new items. This way the best customers get the size, style  and selection they want before anyone else.

 This type of event left the customers feeling special and it built a  long-term relationship with them.

 Make  Doing Business With You Fun!

  If you do not have a natural reason to hold  an event or give customers a reason to come back again, invent one.  I  love the story of a music store that has a special event every day of the  week.  They have shave your head day, perform like a maniac day, military  day, dress like a farm animal day, swim suit day, crawl on your knees day,  karaoke day, yes they even had a dress nude day, (this is an Australian  business, don't try this at home!)Etc... Any way you get the point. 

 These folks probably go overboard on the idea, but what if you did  something like this once a week or once a month  If you are consistent  with it, you will gain a loyal following coming back every time.

 Make  Your Customers Feel Special!

 One Realtor has two events a year. One is for the community; the other  is for her clients. This year she took 150 clients to a nearby gambling  resort. She fed them a prime rib dinner and turned them lose to have fun.  These clients continue to give her referrals every year.  Moreover, she  asks them for those referrals, too.

  Take Advantage of Back-end Offers!

What can you sell your customers  on the back-end? Once they have purchased from you, the opportunity to sell  them something else goes up dramatically because you have broken through the  barrier of sales resistance. Your customers trust you. They are receptive to  your offers to add more value, more protection, more benefit to their lives.  Your current customers are prime prospects for additional products or  services.

Using the furniture example, suppose you  located a discontinued line of new oak bar stools for 25 cents on the  dollar.  You could send out a letter to all of your customers and let  them in on this incredible deal. Talk about adding value to their lives! They  will love you for it.  In addition, once they are back in the store, you  can continue to up-sell them.  You might be able to unload your entire  supply of those bar stools to your existing customers, and you would do it  far less expensively than if you had to advertise those stools in the  newspaper or in the broadcast media.

 Another back end opportunity is…

 Hosting  Other Peoples’ Products!

 What other products or services do your customers buy before or after  the sale you make to them?

If you owned a furniture store, you could work a deal with a company  that cleaned furniture or carpets. Just send out a letter to your customers  telling them you have located this business with a great service and arranged  a special deal just for them.  Then you would make sure the carpet cleaner  cut you in on a piece of the action.

 One client, Dave owns an employee leasing company.  He writes the  checks for a couple of hundred employees every week.  Does this give you  any ideas? If Mother’s Day was right around the corner, for example, it would  be a good idea for Dave to contact a florist and make arrangements to offer a  special deal to his employee’s and cut himself in on the deal.

 What else would employees need? Well, if it is tax season, how about a  tax preparation service?  Restaurants are always looking for new  customers, and it is certain employees eat. Maybe dentists or orthodontists.  Car dealers, appliances, electronics... it really is endless!

  Dave could set up deals with dozens of  businesses and offer their products to his employees... and may actually make  more money on the back end from products and services totally unrelated to  his business, than he does from his core business!

 In fact, if he institutionalized this process at the highest level, he  could even provide the low-margin payroll services FREE, and make all of his  money on the back end. WOW! A wild concept, and what an incredible Unique  Purchase Appeal!

 What other products or services are your customers going to buy,  whether you help them out or not?

 Frequency of purchase idea…

 Programming  Your Clients for Repeat Usage!

For example, a window washer who sold a  service contract guaranteed himself repeat business.  The carpet cleaner  could do the same thing, as well as the tree trimmer.  Dozens of  businesses can and should adapt this idea.

 You could use price inducements  to encourage repeat business.  The frequent flyer programs the airlines  offer are in this category.  You could offer a frequent purchase program  for your customers, and here are few examples.

  Ten oil changes earns a free one. A Diner’s  Club card earns points that are good for free merchandise or a discount. The  Discover Card gives back 1% of the purchase. At one local supermarket, they  give a voucher with every gallon of milk bought.  When 12 of these  vouchers are collected, they can be traded in for a free gallon. All of these  programs are designed to get customers to come back more often.

 What will you do to induce your customers to come back more often, and  buy more when they come?

 Please do not delay.  Every day without these marketing blocks in  your “Power mind of Profits” represents lost sales, profits, service to your  customers, clients, or patients… and a loss of quality of life for you.

 May you use these blocks to succeed in every way you dream possible.

 GROWING YOUR BUSINESS ASSIGNMENT

  Choose a new method for increasing the  frequency with which your clients buy from you. Initiate a test of this  method within 30 days. When the program works, systematize it and do select  another frequency of purchase strategy to test.

Therefore, the bottom line is to  try each of these action items and see what works the best for you!

Stay in  touch.

Assume  they will not remember you.

Keep  the experience fresh and relevant.

Surprise  them.

Collaborate.

Have  the right people on the front-line.

Make it  easy for customers to reach you.

Listen.

Show  your appreciation.

Melvin Feller is known as “The Entrepreneur’s Mentor” because Melvin walks his talk. Melvin Feller has been there and done that and more importantly, Melvin Feller knows how to transfer the skill set for success.  This is main reason that he has been the sought after coach to hundreds of small business owners, entrepreneurs, Realtors, real estate investors and service professional internationally. Melvin Feller’s main talent is to show you how the step by step process to build and enjoy a successful 6-figure plus business while having a balanced life.  Melvin Feller maintains offices in Texas and Oklahoma.  

Melvin Feller Explains a Powerful Marketing Strategy

 Melvin Feller has always taught and believed that once your company understands the need for taking value to market and not just products and services, it is necessary to assess and determine why some customers flood through the doors of one business and completely ignore a competitor just two blocks away? Why?

 Melvin Feller believes that you could name many reasons why one store does not' do as well as another but I want to focus on the marketing strategy that makes a business irresistible. You know the ones that customers cannot stay out of. Here is the secret. What makes one business soar to the top of the success mountain with others struggle at the base is what I refer to as the ....

Unique Purchase Appeal.

It is the "reason why" your customer should choose you over your competition? Every customer has to answer the “reason why” question in his or her mind before doing business somewhere.

Let's go back in history and review Unique Selling Propositions (USP), you can look at Apple Computer at it's inception. Here was a company housed in a garage, no fancy office, no one knew who they were yet based on their USP they became one of the fastest growing companies of their time. Even though they were competing against well-established giant IBM and then Microsoft.

What was their unique purchase appeal? At its core it was their "point and click" operating system which made it possible for the "rest of us" to operate a computer without having to speak geek!

At the time, it was revolutionary. Just take a mouse and point and click. In addition, it, along with all the other cool stuff it could do, took them to the top of the mountain.

However, they lost their advantage when Microsoft figured out their own version of the "point and click" and of course, now the rest is history.

Staying in the history mode let us take another walk down memory lane... Domino's Pizza. These people started out as a single pizza store and have a vision and a unique purchase appeal. Do you remember what it was?

 Fresh hot pizza delivered to your door in less than 30 minutes or it is free.

They did not promise the best pizza, they did not even promise the best tasting pizza, nor did they promise the least expensive pizza. Just delivered in 30 minutes fresh and hot or it is free.

None of the their competition made this promise although many offered free delivery, and it took Dominos from obscurity all the way to the top of the pizza mountain in record time.

Yes, they ended up losing their UPA, at least in part, when they started killing people with it. You may remember that their pizza drivers hit and killed a few people trying to make their deliveries in less than 30 minutes. They could no longer make this promise but it was powerful enough to keep them at the number 2 spot on the top 100 pizza companies in the world even today.

 Wal-Mart shot to the top by utilizing a duel USP. Not only did they do the "low price" deal, but also they selected markets outside of the metropolitan big city and found a niche in a more  "rural" environment.  Thus immediately making them the "big fish" in the little pond versus a guppy in the big city.

 Why you should not use low price as a USP

Most entrepreneurs try to compete based on the low price like Wal-Mart USP, even though they are not a Wal-Mart nor will they ever be and they completely miss the point that they do not want to be.

 Frankly, low price is the least profitable and the least appealing USP there is. For example, look at Blockbuster.

 The early years of the video rental market was filled with small mom and pop shops. It was a new industry and location usually established their customer base. At first making money was like shooting fish in a barrel but not as messy.

Then corporate America got involved with the Blockbuster type operation. It was truly sad to watch what the mom and pop shops did to compete with the video rental giants.

 With zero marketing background and even less imagination they lowered their prices!

 Oh, wow! What a great idea! Let us lower our prices, cut our already thinning profit margins, make ourselves less competitive and send ourselves to the poor house faster than the re-entry speed of the space shuttle.

 Not many small mom and pop shops around today are there? What where they competing against that was so powerful that "low price" could not defeat it? It was "widest selection". Moreover, at the time consumers were willing to pay more for it.

  Then you have seen how the video rental big boys have changed or adjusted their USP around extended rental time, lower late fees, no late fees, to monthly memberships with unlimited rentals and no late fees.

 In addition, not all this creative marketing is enough to keep Blockbuster ahead of the new competition with a new more powerful USP. They have just recently narrowly escaped bankruptcy.

  Again in an effort to compete in a changing market where you can buy videos in a retail environment for about the price of one rental fee and a late charge, Blockbuster resorted to lower prices with their monthly membership with unlimited viewing and no late fees. 

 Now add NetFlix to the picture, with its online convenience USP, Blockbuster is definitely in a fight for survival.

 As you can see, a Unique Purchase Appeal can make you big bucks. It can also do the same for your competition.

 It would be worth the investment in time and money to come up with one don't you think?

Melvin Feller is known as “The Entrepreneur’s Mentor” because Melvin walks his talk. Melvin Feller has been there and done that and more importantly, Melvin Feller knows how to transfer the skill set for success.  This is main reason that he has been the sought after coach to hundreds of small business owners, entrepreneurs, Realtors, real estate investors and service professional internationally. Melvin Feller’s main talent is to show you how the step by step process to build and enjoy a successful 6-figure plus business while having a balanced life.  Melvin Feller maintains offices in Texas and Oklahoma.  

Finding Value in Your Company by Melvin Feller

 Melvin Feller has always taught and believed that once your company understands the need for taking value to market and not just products and services, it is necessary to assess and determine these values or what we will call today:  core values.

 Melvin Feller believes that Core values are just one-step in determining the VALUE overall of your company to your customer. A core value system is not much like a core belief system for a person or organization.

 Several ‘behind the scene’ core values must first be determined.  Some of them are essential, such as quality assurance, customer service practices, internal relations between staff, commitments to customers, and so on.

 Let us take a few questions that can assist you in determining the core values of your organization.  Once this is completed you be more on your way to creating a smarter marketing approach to your customer base or target market.

 First, let us begin by asking what are the top 10 things you really want people to say about your company?  When you can answer this, you can begin molding your core beliefs accordingly.  This question can also be broken down into smaller, more direct categories:

What do you want people to say about:

     Your product and service

   The care of your customers

   How you handle complaints

   Your management style

   The attitude of your staff

 Once you have answered this, you can begin to formulate the values and then the next step would be to evaluate your current system or the lack thereof.

 Getting the message to your clientele is every business' core need. Honestly, your customers need to know that you exist and need to know that they need your product or service. It's been interesting over the past 12 years as a marketing consultant to see how many businesses would call me and then ask me the same question, "What can you do to get me more business?".

It is an honest question with an honest answer. "It's not me that you’re selling." The bottom line of any organization's message is the message itself. It is not a new gimmick or a creative ad campaign that is going to herd the customers in, but the message that any marketing medium carries with it.

The question that you should ask as a business owner should be, "What am I doing, what am I providing, what am I selling that my customers find valuable?" Value is a basic need for any business. Conveying a message of value to your customers and potential customers is more than just bolstering about how great your product is, but more of how great the customer is and how great they could be with your product or service.

Finding value is something every company needs in order to truly have a marketing strategy that sticks. Once you assess this effectively, everything you do in the line of marketing will fall in line with this value system. It is like having a purpose behind your company. Nothing is more defeating than throwing money into a marketing campaign to discover it did not work.

Melvin Feller is known as “The Entrepreneur’s Mentor” because Melvin walks his talk. Melvin Feller has been there and done that and more importantly, Melvin Feller knows how to transfer the skill set for success.  This is main reason that he has been the sought after coach to hundreds of small business owners, entrepreneurs, Realtors, real estate investors and service professional internationally. Melvin Feller’s main talent is to show you how the step by step process to build and enjoy a successful 6-figure plus business while having a balanced life.  Melvin Feller maintains offices in Texas and Oklahoma.  

Stagnation versus Personal Growth

 Melvin Feller has always read Richard Dawkins and his various views.  However, he mainly is very controversial according to Melvin Feller.  This is one of Melvin Feller’s favorite quote from Richard Dawkins.  

“We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Arabia. Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton. We know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively exceeds the set of actual people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here.” – Richard Dawkins

 To me, it asks several important questions. Only the naive among us will never consider them and what they mean.

What is life exactly?

To me, life is not just waking up, breathing, eating, and muddling through your daily work. I think of that as stagnation.

Where life is the act of growing.

 One may say “I’m growing. I grew by 20 pounds last year.”

 That is not the type of growth I am talking about, fatty. I mean growing in mind and developing your natural talents…Becoming more than what you are today — Getting smarter, stronger and becoming an expert in something.

 If you are not growing, you are stagnant. Stagnant by definition means not advancing or developing.

When we talk about stagnant water, what do you think of? Water that is sick, murky, possibly infected with tapeworms. You do not want to be infected with tapeworms do you?

Stagnant humans have their own murkiness. They might drink too much alcohol, suffer from depression, or worst of all settle for much less, than they are capable. Much of the unemployment and recession woes are a symptom of people becoming stagnant. Not all can be blamed on stagnation, but a good portion can. People simply became too comfortable and trusting that what was easy would be there forever.

 Becoming comfortable is a quick way to stagnation. The story goes as follows: He got a job. Liked the job. Did his work. Went home and watched TV forever and ever. Amen.

 Now, aside from that being the second most boring story on the planet, only eclipsed by The Great Gatsby, what could he expect if the company he works for is downsized? What if he gets laid off? What if his retirement account is raided like what happened with Enron? I guarantee, comfort will be the furthest from his mind. Panic will be the new best friend.

However, aside from avoiding calamity through growth, we can experience a joy too. Advancing our knowledge in our strong areas can be a lot of fun as well as lead to job security and advancement.

Increasing our expertise often leads to internal self-worth and the respect of other people. Try it for a month and you will see. Pick up a challenging book that would increase your knowledge in your chosen field. Study it as if you are preparing for an important test. Then come back and comment about how you feel.

 I guarantee if you study, you will not get tapeworms!

 Melvin Feller is known as “The Entrepreneur’s Mentor” because Melvin walks his talk. Melvin Feller has been there and done that and more importantly, Melvin Feller knows how to transfer the skill set for success.  This is main reason that he has been the sought after coach to hundreds of small business owners, entrepreneurs, Realtors, real estate investors and service professional internationally. Melvin Feller’s main talent is to show you how the step by step process to build and enjoy a successful 6-figure plus business while having a balanced life.  Melvin Feller maintains offices in Texas and Oklahoma.