From Indie GoGo to Indie Oh NO!

Today’s Ask The Expert Post is from Dr. Letitia Wright America’s Crowd Funding Strategist!  Be sure to Join us for at Stiletto Wealth Experience 2012 In November where Dr. Wright will be sharing her crowd funding know how on our financial resource panel.

There is nothing wrong with Indie GoGo and using it for crowd funding. But what happens when it all goes wrong? What happens when no matter what you do, you just don’t raise the money? This is really what this article is about. There have been plenty of successful people on Indie GoGo. If you follow a few rules, you will find success there too!

Understand what crowd funding is: Many people think crowd funding is just a bunch of people on social media handing you money. You just put the link on your social media and if 10% of the people click and give, you would be a millionaire! I am not sure how that rumor started but that is NOT how it works. Social media is a part of it, but only a part. You have to understand the strategy behind a successful campaign. You have to know what they did and be able to duplicate it. For example, if someone tells you they had a mailing list of 10,000 and they send each one three postcards. You have to look at your situation and figure out if you have the budget to do the same thing. If you have the budget, you must then find out what they had on each post card and how far apart were the mailings done. If you can’t duplicate that, then that strategy won’t help you as much as it did the other person.

Create a specific plan: For most people the plan is the basic 2 x 2 x 2. You know this plan. They have 2 websites to choose from- Indie Go Go or Kickstarter, They have 2 sets of people to share with- Their family and everyone else, They have 2 ways to get the word out- Emails and Social Media. That plan won’t work, as the millions of people who have tried it. Many people go into crowd funding without a budget, so the 2 x 2 x 2 plan is the only one they can afford. Your plan has to be more specific than that.  There are over 500 websites to choose from and the list grows daily. If you only know of those 2, you have not done your homework. If you are only going to do a few emails and social media then you are making it hard. Most people do not have a large enough list for that to work.

Be sure you can deliver on your gifts: After you raise the money you have to perform. Currently, this is not a huge problem. There are some people who have not performed but no real scandal has happened in the industry. You don’t want to be the first one either! This is your tribe, if you scam them, it’s about you and your brand that is damaged. Almost no one does this intentionally. Be sure you budget enough money to do what you say you are going to deliver. There are a lot of hidden costs to doing crowd funding.

 

Dr. Letitia Wright is America’s Crowd Funding Strategist and has created a video series for those who are about to start crowd funding. You can access these videos at www.acflife.com

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So….Who’s Gonna Pay For That?

The Money is Already Here! It has not left the planet.

Contrary to popular belief and the financial doom and gloom stories you here on the news, Money HAS NOT left the planet. The biggest objection I hear from people working with me is, “I would love to, but I don’t have the money”. AND I know it is the biggest struggle you have when landing clients, as well. Out of all the objections for people to get the help, support, coaching, or consulting they need, money is the biggest. I have spent a lot of time finding ways to coach people into reality. The reality is two things:

1) We always have the money to do the things we REALLY want to do.
2) You always get exactly what you need when you need it.

If you believe Universal Truths of Abundance you will know the money is always there. Now, I do know some people do not know where to look for the money and that is where I come in. I thought it would be very helpful to share this with you for two reasons:

First, you might be telling yourself you can’t get the support you need because YOU don’t have the money.

Maybe this will help.

Secondly, it will help you in speaking to clients who say they don’t have the money.

So, here we go – 10 ways to get the money you need every time!

1) Business Loan. There are many small lending institutions (especially locally owned banks) that want to help finance small business because the  entrepreneurs are doing well in this economy.

2) “Business Loan.” This is what I call a job or part time job. I think if you TRULY believe in your dream then you must do whatever necessary to realize that dream. A stream of income will help you go from NEEDING clients to wanting clients. And do not look at it as a job – it is a business loan to fuel your start up.

3) 401ks and other investments. Your accountant will probably tell you this is a horrible idea but is very possible to used some of your retirement as seed money. That money can definitely be used to grow your business. With so many retirement accounts shrinking with the craziness in the market be very aware that one very good investment you could make is an investment in YOU. There are even ways to roll the funds into your business with NO penalties.

4) Low Interest Rate Credit Cards. We have a really messed up view of credit in this country. Debt has been made to seem evil (I could go on for days about this), but good debt is a very useful tool. In fact when structured properly business credit cards will not show up on your personal credit report so there’s no negative impact to your FICO score for having to much debt.  Good debt is debt you incur to finance a project or dream that will give you a return on investment and you have a plan to pay it back. You are using it to learn, grow, and develop to bring in revenue from your business. No one really blinks at student loan debt, but we all get nuts when we, say, put a coaching program or mentor on a credit card. What’s the difference? There isn’t – at all! One has just been conditioned by society to be okay. Check out the Cash Flow & Capital Secrets course.

5) Got Junk? I have had clients (actually right now) finance their dreams by selling gold, putting cool stuff on ebay, or selling a car they no longer wanted or needed. David Neagle, first financed his dream by selling a boat. Suzanne Evans spent a year selling yard sale finds on ebay to pay for a vacation AND her coaches. See how creative you can get?

6) Get Started NOW! Many of you are waiting to have everything perfect or in place to get clients and make money. I guarantee you know enough now to start working with people. Maybe you will have an introductory rate or special for the first 5 clients you work with, but there is no need to wait. You can start making money now!

7)The Bank of Friends and Family. Many times friends and family are happy to help and will charge you a much lower interest or no interest. If you are in the UK, Australia or South Africa, Richard Branson has made this very easy with www.virginmoney.com He has created a program that helps friends and family create loans and have tracking, accountability, and make them professional and organized. He calls them social loans. Crowd Funding is a more widely used term.

8) Make a Cash Flow Change. Look at your full budget and spending – I have never seen one person or family that didn’t have something they could tweak to find money for their business. Is there a tweak that could be made to your daily spending? Hobby spending? Where is there waste in your weekly budget?  Are there services you haven’t used in 60 days or longer that you pay for every month? If so, cancel them. You can always start them again if you need them in the future. It can be amazing how easy it is to find $100 or more a week with small changes.

9) Apply For a Home Equity Line of Credit. Some banks offer home equity lines of credit that let you borrow up to as much as 85% of the appraised value of your home. Depending on the value of your home and what you still owe in other mortgages, that can put a significant chunk of money at your disposal for starting your business. The downside: you’re putting your home at risk. This is not an option for everyone, but it is a great option for some. Always understand your risk and all the details.

10) Make The Decision. You or your clients do not need the money for coaching /mentoring/support until they make the decision to get support and play a bigger game. Anything is possible when you make a decision. Many people think they have made a decision, but here are the facts. A decision is ONLY when there are no other options. There is no failure or stopping buckets to put your balls in. You do whatever it takes. And you will get the support you need to make it happen because when you decide, heaven moves to support that decision.

There is divine provision waiting to fund your dream! Heaven is ready to move on your behalf. The money is already here!

Want to use this article on your website or your own ezine?

No problem! But here’s what you MUST include:

Shameca Tankerson, is a Speaker, Trainer, Author, and Cash Flow Success Mentor to entrepreneurs and service professionals. Using a proven system, she opens a candid dialogue about money that teaches her clients how to breakthrough to their next income level and expand into a cash flowing business with a new collaborative business model that is liberating, Inspiring and Powerful.  To Get your F.R.E.E. “Spark Your Cash Flow Financial Success Kit”  – Making Room For Money: 5 Financial Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make That Sabotage Their Cash Flow (And How To Avoid Them). Visit: http://www.MakingRoomForMoney.com

3 Essential Steps To Creating A Cash Flow Breakthrough

MONEY is probably one of the most emotionally charged words on the planet, yet it is vital to understand and harness in order to live a full and purposeful life.  As women business owners, we need money to invest in the things that will help us grow our lives, ourselves and our businesses to the next level.  But here’s the problem: What do you do when you’re not making enough of it? What do you do when you make a decent income but still feel like there is never enough of it?  What actions do you take to make more of it? How do you create an cash flow breakthrough?

There are 3 things that you must do.  These 3 things are simple, but they aren’t always easy.  Getting into the flow with money and developing a healthy relationship with money is a journey.  What I can promise you is this, The liberated person you will become on the journey to creating your breakthrough will far outweigh any sacrifices or changes you need to make in the process.

Here are the 3 essential steps to create an cash flow breakthrough:

1) Make A Heart-Based Decision: There is a reason why this needs to be a decision that YOU make from a heartfelt place. The reason is this:  If you don’t make your decision from the heart, you won’t be committed enough to following through on making it happen.  For example, if you simply make a decision to “Make $10,000 in the next 30 days”, that may not give you enough juice to do it.  But if you make a decision to “Make $10,000 in the next 30 days” because you want to have enough money to take your kids on vacation next month, that is from the heart. You need to know the heartfelt reason(the why) behind why you want the money.  Doing this will ensure your decision is  in alignment with who you are and what you really want.

2) Shift Your Thoughts: You may have heard it said that you can’t bring more money into your life with an old mindset (and this is so true). Likewise you may have heard that your current thoughts, feelings, attitudes, decisions and actions are what dictates your current results (and this is true too) but I’d like to take this one step further (let’s go deeper).  The real reason why you are where you are and that you’re not making the income and don’t have the cash flow you want is because of how you see yourself.

In order to make more money in your business you have to change your perception of your own identity. You have to LET GO of the attitudes and emotions that have been locking you in to your old identity and you need to create a new identity.  See the treasure that you are.  Unlock the unique priceless God given value and gift that you are to the world.  This is the main thing I’ve done over and over again to create cash flow breakthroughs and it is what you MUST do too. You must see yourself differently. You have to see yourself as the wealthy visionary leader and successful business owner on the inside before you can ever be a successful business owner on the outside.

There is no way you can get around this. And when you change and shift your thoughts in this area your EXPECTATIONS of yourself will change. You will no longer allow yourself to do, say, feel, think and act the way you did before because you won’t see yourself as that person anymore. This must happen for the cash flow breakthrough to occur.

“A mind Expanded can never return to it’s original state” ~Albert Einstein ~

3) Take Strategic, Courageous, Audacious Action: Strategic and courageous are two very important words here.  You can‘t create an cash flow breakthrough if you’re not following the right income-boosting business strategies to create the breakthrough. It also takes a lot of courage to change, commit and take action on making these new cash flow-boosting business strategies a reality. If you combine strategy, courage, and the audacity to boldly step into the incredible gift that you are , you’ll have the winning combination to finally have your cash flow breakthrough.

Your Assignment

My mentor’s request to you is that you take some time this week to really dip into your heart to see if you’ve really made a heart-based decision to get what you really want, if you’ve shifted your thoughts about your identity and how you see yourself, and if you’ve take strategic and courageous action towards your business and income goals. If you haven’t, now is the time to follow these 3 essential steps and make your income breakthrough a reality.  Remember, what I’m asking you to do in these 3 essential steps is simple but it isn’t easy.

It’s time to put on your “Big Girl” shoes and play a bigger game! 

Want to use this article on your website or your own ezine?

No problem! But here’s what you MUST include:

Shameca Tankerson, is a Speaker, Trainer, Author, and Cash Flow Success Mentor to entrepreneurs and service professionals. Using a proven system, she opens a candid dialogue about money that teaches her clients how to breakthrough to their next income level and expand into a cash flowing business with a new collaborative business model that is liberating, Inspiring and Powerful.  To Get your F.R.E.E. “Spark Your Cash Flow Financial Success Kit”  – Making Room For Money: 5 Financial Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make That Sabotage Their Cash Flow (And How To Avoid Them). Visit: http://www.MakingRoomForMoney.com

I’m Off Vitamins Forever

Just the other day I attended a training call with one of my mentors Adam Urbanski.  I had the most profound AHA after adam made one statement.  He said the problem that most entreprenuers have will selling their products and services is focusing on the process or the details of how they  will deliver to their clients instead of focusing on the benefits. 

Now I’ve heard that before and have implemented focusing on the benefis to my services.  But then he says:

People don’t buy because what you are presenting is something they can do without.  They could wait a couple of weeks, 6 months, or even years.  They feel like they can keep going in their current state with or without your help.  The reason:  YOU ARE SELLING VITAMINS

I thought: He’s absolutely right.  How many people take vitamins everyday even though they know the vitamins are good for them and the vitamins will make their body’s feel better and function more efficiently.

But what If the doctor diagnosed you with a terminal illness and told you that there was a plant in a remote bush town that when broken down and put in an easy to swallow capsule would cure your disease in a matter of months or even weeks..guaranteed. You’d move hell and high water to get that plant.  You know that you can not live without it…right?  You know that without it you would eventually cease to exist.

You’ve all heard me say that the number one reason businesses fail is lack of capital. In fact almost 90% fail withing the first 5 years.  So its definitely inevitable without cash flow, cash, mulah, money, You business will not make it.  BUT what I realized is explaining that to people is in fact just a vitamin because the hope is that somehow the company will make enough money to sustain its self.  Even though the odds are against them, many entreprenuers take that gamble every day.

They would rather struggle on the cash flow roller coaster or Play russion rouletter with the retirement accounts.

The Pill:

How would you like to double your cash flow in 30 days or less.

Here’s what I mean: 

What if your bank account could go from this

 

to this

 

In 30 days or less.  Well that’s what I do for my clients.

 

No more vitamins…Let’s be real…you need a pill!

Apply this principle to your own business and see if you create your own AHA moments.  Remeber how you get theire is virtually irrelevant….the client is asking What’s In It For Me?

A Business Credit Card is Essential

If you are running a business out of your home, then there are many details that you need to keep in mind. You should probably be reading up on as much information that you can get ahold of on having a business at home. One of the most essential pieces of running a bussiness from home that you absolutely need to know from the start is to get a business credit card to use for everything related to your business.

Unfortunately, as a business consultant, I have talked with far too many business owners that come to me after failing at running a home based business. Why?  Poor management of finances. Far too many people use their personal savings, retirement, home equity, and credit and that is a very dangerous thing to do.

I thought that the importance of seperating your business credit and personal credit was obvious, but maybe it is not.   Registering your company with the business credit bureaus and getting business credit cards that don’t show up on your personal credit ultimately allows the home based business owner or Entrepreneur to have the freedom to truly keep their personal finances and their business finances separate. This is essential throughout the year and obviously when it comes to tax season as well.

There is no reason why the finances of a home should be mixed up with the finances of a business. Keeping the credit profiles, credit cards, bank  accounts completely seperate will set you up for more funding options in the long run.

Here’s the bottom line: Entrepreneurs and home based business owners need to separate their business and more so because they usual operate from virtual office spaces or from home. This will be impossible without registering your company with the business credit bureaus and establishing  business credit cards that do not report to the personal credit bureas. So apply  If you want a widly succcessful enterprise you must do what widly succcessful business tycoons do.  It will make a huge difference to the organization and success of your company and ability to raise capital.

 

Finding New Ways To Finance Your Dream

Statistics show that more than one million people in the United States start a new business each year.

That number would be much higher if all the would-be entrepreneurs had the financing required to get a business up and running. In order to accomplish their dream of business ownership, entrepreneurs are finding new and innovative ways to finance their new ventures.

One of these new financing options is the use of a person’s existing retirement funds-a pension, profit sharing, 401(k), IRA-which allows that person to start the business he or she has always dreamed of without tax penalties, consequences or mountains of debt.

Funds can be turned into useable capital for business investments or operations. If a person has more than $20,000 in a retirement account and is not currently employed by the company that holds those funds, he or she qualifies for this Small Business Administration (SBA)-recognized approach to finance and start a business.

Retirement funds can be used for any business purpose.  Could you use money for any of the following reasons:

• Purchasing a franchise or existing business
• Start-up expenses, such as purchasing property,  and equipment.
• Working capital, including paying salaries,  and franchise fees.
• Business expansion, such as funding additional franchises, and locations.
• Equity toward SBA or other loans.

Funding your business is as simple as these four steps:

Step 1: Establish a C-corporation.

Step 2: The new corporation creates a retirement plan.

Step 3: Funds are rolled over into the corporation’s new retirement plan.

Step 4: The new retirement plan purchases the stock of the corporation.

So many people have watched their dream of owning their own business go out the window due to lack of funding options. We help entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants, and services based businesses achieve that dream every day.