Protecting Your Money

How do you protect your hard-earned money? Is it residing in a checking or savings account? Is it stuffed into a mattress inside your house? What would happen to you if suddenly you realized that your wallet or purse had been stolen or that someone broke into your home and took your mattress? There are ways to lessen the impact of these tragic incidents.

As you work to grow your wealth over time, it is important to plan ahead for unforeseen tragedies that could impact your financial infrastructure. For instance, what would happen if someone stole your debit card or robbed you while you were withdrawing money from an ATM? Would you be able to recover quickly? My advice is to open free checking accounts with several of the leading, FDIC insured, financial institutions (at least three of them.) Look for free checking accounts that do not have fees or minimum balances (they do exist.) These accounts may not have tons of perks, but all you need is for someone to hold your money and you also need a quick and easy way to make deposits, check your balance online, and withdraw from it. Confirm that the account includes "fraud protection" so that if someone does manage to spend your money without authorization, you will be covered 100%.

Plan to start separating your paychecks and set aside some money to put into each of these accounts. It does not have to be a huge amount of money. Every little bit helps. Do not spend any of the money that you put into these accounts unless you have a terrible emergency and withdrawing money from them is your last resort. Be sure to only carry one or two of these debit cards with you and lock the others up in a safe place where they will not easily be found.

Another idea is to give yourself an "allowance" with each paycheck and deposit this money into one account that does not hold the majority of your earnings. Make this the only debit card that you carry with you. That way, if someone steals this card, they will not be able to withdraw all, or even most of your money. Whatever you do, be sure not to have your PIN number in the same place with your debit card.

Check your balance for each account at least weekly or more often and be sure that there are no strange transactions that you have not authorized. Opt out of having the paper statements mailed to your home for these accounts so that they are not accidentally sent to the wrong place or opened by the wrong person. Also, be sure to periodically check your credit report to be sure no other accounts or loans have been opened without your permission.

Over time, hopefully, you will see the balances in each account begin to increase to the point where you have as much in each account as you started with in your main account. This is possible through determination and a little self-sacrifice. If something bad happens and one of your accounts is compromised, you will still have the means to pay your bills and continue to function while your financial institution investigates your claim and helps you to recover your lost money. You may find, at some point in the future that you have saved enough money in one of your accounts to begin investing the money or to buy something nice that you've always wanted without having to buy it on credit or put a financial strain on your main checking account. Good luck and be sure to keep an eye on what's yours.

Protecting Your Company from Fraud

Stressful times often bring out the worst in people.  People who are desperate to support their family may make bad decisions and turn to crime as a solution.  And then there’s the usual cast of thieves and scammers who do things like that on a daily basis.  It’s unfortunate, but many businesses will become the target of crime this year.  As a business owner or employee it is in your best interest not to leave your company unprotected.

As technology provides the business world with new opportunities, it also opens the door for new threats.  It’s not enough to rely on the security measures of yesterday to protect your computers and sensitive data.  If you do not have a properly configured firewall isolating your computer network from the Internet, then you might as well hook up a networked computer in the parking lot for anyone to use.  Employee training and good communication about threats is also important.  Employees can open the door from within the company network and unleash all manner of evil upon you if they are not closely monitored and educated.  Spend the time and money to hire an IT professional or train someone within your company to perform in that role.

How secure is the building where you work?  Are there monitored security cameras?  Locked gates and doors?  Keypad entry protection?  These are not really options but rather necessities unless you work hundreds of miles from civilization.  Companies should keep all doors locked to keep intruders out.  Special measures should be used to keep sensitive information and company equipment from leaving the premises as well.  All important company documents should be destroyed instead of just thrown away.  Familiarize yourself with different types of fraud, like check washing, and identity theft.

Another key protection is to have a good legal representation in place to assist with legal decisions.  Don’t trust your skills with searching the Internet to know the right decision to make.  Know exactly what the law entitles you before you go in any new direction and keep your company from being the target of frivolous lawsuits.  Also, educate each employee as to the level of authority they have and do not let them make decisions for you, especially when they are dealing with an unknown caller.  Monitor all bills, especially from utility companies, who under law can now allow third-party billing by other companies in most states.

As strict and tedious as this all sounds, it is in the best interest of your employees and the company as a whole.  Good prevention keeps your company from having to apologize for stupid mistakes later.

How to Design an Inexpensive Trade Show Backdrop

A trade show is an excellent place to meet new prospects and advertise a business. Without an attractive backdrop and signage, many prospective customers will pass you by.

Promoting a business at a trade show requires special equipment to attract visitors, including a backdrop, signs, lights, and other advertisements. There are now many companies that will build trade show displays in a variety of shapes and sizes. The problem is that these solutions often exceed a small business' advertising budget.

Visit a local provider of retail store equipment. In addition to the ideas mentioned in this article, you may discover many useful pieces of equipment to promote your business through simply browsing their inventory. We chose 4 pieces of black powder coated steel grid panels, measuring 8 feet by 2 feet. Also, we purchased grid connectors and specially designed lights that connected easily to the top of each grid panel.

Arrange the grid panels so that each stands 8 feet tall. Connect the panels using special grid connectors to form the shape of a letter "W." Use at least 3 connectors between each panel. This structure is very sturdy and will stand on its own with no support. To increase the strength and add additional safety, special "L" shaped footers may be purchased which attach to the bottom of 2 grid panels and hold them together in a right angle. Using two of these footers will allow the four grid panels to stand together, connected as a "W" shape.

 

Contract a local sign manufacturer to produce several signs with your company logo and some information about your products. If you provide the art work, this should be relatively inexpensive. The material called "sentra" is very sturdy and makes an attractive sign. The signs that were made for us used a white sentra board with vinyl printed stickers attached to it. Drill a hole in each of the upper corners to allow the sign to hang on the grid panel using cable ties.

Attach the signs to the grid panels and position a light above each one to illuminate it. This is very important as a dark sign looks very uninviting. Now all that is needed is a table, some sample products, brochures, and several sales people to work the booth.

• Don't spend more money than necessary!
• Visitors are attracted to brightly illuminated and attractive booths.
• Use your imagination to decorate your booth and make it unique.
• Do not hang heavy articles from the grid panels that may cause them to become unstable.
• Follow safe wiring practices when connecting lights and other electrical equipment!

How to Demonstrate a Product to New Customers

How do salespeople make someone see the value in a product that they’ve never seen or heard of before?  It’s not that difficult for the average person to do when they follow several easy steps.

Learn everything that there is to know about your new product.  Have several associates write down as many questions as possible and then determine the answers for each one.  Know all associated facts, figures, and test data that is relevant.  Be an expert on your product and know a lot more about it than your competitors.  Practice your demonstration in front of a test audience who has no prior knowledge of your product.  If you are performing this demonstration at a trade show, try to condense the most important parts of the presentation into the first 15 to 20 seconds.  You may not have much more time than that initially.

Do not assume that your potential customers know anything at all about this new product.  Begin by asking several pointed questions to evaluate how well they know the type of product that you are presenting.  Adjust your communication with them appropriately and speak on their level.  Now, identify a problem area in their life or in their job that your product will satisfy.

Use as many visual aids as possible.  The majority of the world learns easier when you show them something rather than just tell them about it.  Find a way to demonstrate your product that will defy their logic.  Try to determine the best visual display to impress them and help them to remember what they saw for at least for several days.  Don’t leave them hanging with unanswered questions, though.  Form a bridge of thought that will lead them back to the practical use of your product to meet their needs.

The most important thing to do is to collect the potential customer’s contact information so that you can follow-up with them later.  When you do call, be sure to reference something memorable from your demonstration that will help them to remember who you are.  Be sure you are the one to call.  Don’t leave this important follow-up to someone else.

Get the business and then be sure to thank your new customer.

Tips

• Know everything about your product

• Be aggressive, but not obnoxious

• Even if you know that someone probably won’t buy your product, tell them about it anyway and do it with enthusiasm.  They just may tell their friends and who knows where that will lead?

Choosing the Best Location for a Trade Show Booth

Have you ever left a trade show and wondered why you hardly attracted any leads?  Did you do something wrong?  Was your booth not attractive enough?  Did you not use effective signs?  Maybe the problem was the location where you setup your booth.

If you have previously worked a specific trade show, build upon your experience of that show and repeat your efforts when it is presented in the same exhibit hall again.  Were you satisfied with the amount of traffic and the number of quality leads?  If so, leave well enough alone and guard your secret diligently.  If your results were less than stellar, maybe it’s time to try a new strategy.

Look closely at the floor plan for the show.  This is probably available online.  Look for familiar companies and see where they position themselves.  Most shows have similar themed companies grouped together. You don’t want to set up too close to a competitor, but you also don’t want to isolate yourself and make it hard for visitors to find you.

Do not choose a space right at the entrance of the main hall.  You will receive a flood of traffic all at once that will overwhelm you and then everyone will pass on by.  When visitors have seen the rest of the show, they will be tired and probably have little time to stop and talk to you on the way out.  Do not choose a space that is close to restrooms or a food court.  Things like that have a tendency to distract people.  Do not choose a space in a side hall that is connected to the main hall by a door or hallway unless you just want some quiet time to reflect on your thoughts.

Take advantage of a space drawing for booth availability if it is provided and try to choose a booth   Choose the side that faces early morning traffic so that you attract the people who just rushed the entrance and then slowed down after passing the first few aisles to look around.  Use a company sign that is very specific in describing what your company offers.

that is close to the end of an aisle and near the front of the main hall, but at least two or three aisles away from the entrance.

Spend some time walking the show and take note of which companies have the largest crowd and how much time people spend at the booth.  It is a good idea to set up near them next time, but directly next to them.  You want to benefit from the large numbers of concentrated people, but you also don’t want your visitors noticing something interesting in a larger both and losing interest in you.  Pay attention to the companies who have annoying attractions or people in their booth.  Make a note of it and avoid setting up near them.  Annoying people usually don’t change their habits year after year and nothing is more aggravating than to have a talkative exhibitor from another company in your booth, distracting you while valuable potential customers size you up and then keep walking.  One last thing, if you are a small company and you transport your booth an set it up yourself, pay attention to the proximity of the loading area to your booth.  Being near the loading area can make a huge difference to you on the first and the last day of the show.