Like It or Not, Appearances Matter
Casual office attire is becoming more common these days — but, in the words of the emcee at Woodstock, “that doesn’t mean anything goes.” Even if your company’s style is decidedly relaxed, you should be careful about how you dress. If you’re not, you could be hurting yourself without knowing…
READ MOREWho Makes The Big Money?
You can live very well, and even become financially independent, by earning between $100,000 and $150,000 a year. So, how do you boost your income to that level? According to a CNN/Money series titled “Who Gets Paid Six Figures?”, the best-paid workers in the U.S. are CEOs of profitable businesses.…
READ MOREYour Hour-a-Day Fast Track to Success
What do the world’s richest man, Bill Gates (net worth $21 billion), Oracle founder Larry Ellison ($15 billion), and computer innovator Michael Dell ($11 billion) have in common? None of them has a college degree — which goes to show you that a college degree is not necessarily a prerequisite…
READ MOREMost of Your Employees Are Goofing Off
According to Curtis Coffman, author of the best-selling business book “First, Break All the Rules”, the best employees are the newbies, the fresh young things who haven’t yet had the time to become spoiled. The longer employees are with a company, claims Coffman, the worse they become. The numbers…
READ MOREFocus on Value — Not Price — in Your Stock Investments
In Message #1039, I passed along some advice from Lynn Carpenter, a member of the Oxford Club Investment Advisory Panel, who said that some investors make a mistake when they focus too much on the price of a stock and not enough on the underlying value. This, Lynn said, can…
READ MOREThe High Cost of White-Collar Waste
Great leaders not only get the most from available resources, they re-create, reinvent, reawake, renew, empower, and transform resources. The leader, after all, is in the best position to eliminate or proliferate wasteful practices — to make the organization more fit, profitable, and fruitful or more indulgent, ineffective, barren. Yes,…
READ MOREHow One ETR Reader Uses ETR to Have a Better Life
Patrick recently forwarded a note to me from Arnie G., a regular ETR reader. “Other ETR readers might be interested in what this guy has to say,” Patrick advised — and I agreed. So, here it is, expressed in seven “how-to-benefit-from-ETR” morsels: 1. Read ETR — even if you don’t…
READ MOREFollowing A Goal Setting Program
Dear ETR reader, Back in January I wrote you about ETR’s editor Charlie. He was new on the job and working as hard as he could – but still felt overwhelmed. It’s not surprising… my philosophy is to have new hires “hit the ground running”. Among other things, it…
READ MOREHow to Charge a Premium Price
“Competition is a painful thing, but it produces great results.” – Jerry Flint I have never liked the discount business or any business operating on a tiny profit margin. To me, it’s more rewarding to command a higher price, charge premium fees — and get paid very, very well for…
READ MOREHomeowner’s Insurance: Are You Getting What You Think You Paid For?
Your policy says you’re covered for various damages, but today’s homeowner’s insurance is actually nothing more than disaster relief…and if you believe otherwise, there’s a good chance you’ll regret it. In the current fickle insurance market, even if you file only for smaller claims, you run a very real…
READ MOREHow To Make Your Important, Long-Term, Business Relationships Work
In a recent ETR message, I complained about Ann’s handwriting and her somewhat casual method of keeping track of tasks. Needless to say, she was not a happy camper. “I can’t imagine in what possible way that message could benefit either of us,” she said. “Now all the important people…
READ MOREDetermining the Value of a Small Business
CB: Let’s start with the basic question: Is there an easy way to figure out a fair price to pay for an existing business? MM: Yes — but only if you have all the right information. What you’re talking about is a “business valuation” — and there’s a whole accounting…
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