Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Will Mean Increased Costs of Building in the Future, but not Immediately
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita will mean increased costs of building in the future, but not immediatelyThe natural disasters of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have left upwards of 200,000 homes either destroyed or uninhabitable and needing rebuilding. This country has never seen a disaster on this scale ... more...

Put Your Calendar To Work
It's an October evening and your major reception for donors has just begun. Turnout is substandard and most of the attendees are women. Can you say, "World Series?" Sure, I knew that you could!Every organization should create an annual PR and marketing calendar so that it can avoid the World ... more...

Guide to Loan Terms
Listed below is a guide to loan terms. It is a useful list of definitions of loan terms that may or may not be familiar to you. Keep it nearby as you will never know when you might need it for quick reference.AccrueProcess in which interest accumulates on a borrower's loan.AmortizationA repayment ... more...

A Creative RIOT
Relevant, original and impactful: thats what my friend Creative Director Jim Mountjoy says that effective creative must be. With apologies to Jim, I have my own acronym because I think ROI is only 75 percent of the way there. Effective creative is a RIOT: relevant, impactful, original and true.Lets ... more...

Are Biweekly Mortgages Really Worthwhile?
You may have heard people, especially mortgage lenders, extolling the virtues of biweekly payments, saying that you can save thousands of dollars and take 5-7 years off your mortgage--and then offering to set up a biweekly plan for you for as little as $400. But you don't have to spend $400 to ... more...

Equity Raising Strategies, Myths, and Cold, Hard Facts
Start-ups and early stage companies are generally not attractive to institutional investors. Even in today's favorable climate, start-ups are basically just too risky for these sources of capital. The primary exception is where it is a proven entrepreneur starting another venture.For start-ups, the ... more...

So You Want to Buy a Home?
Taking the plunge into home ownership can be a rewarding step for many first-time home buyers. Before you take the plunge, look before you leap. Homeownership is not for everyone.304 Take into consideration the pluses for renting versus owning: -Monthly costs: renting can be more cost-efficient ... more...

Understand Car Leasing Payments - The Easy Way
Thousands of people lease cars every year but only a small percentage understand how leasing really works. In fact, leasing is often misunderstood to the point that it is often considered a scam or evil plot on the part of car dealers.Leasing is actually a simple concept and one that has been ... more...

What Your Customers Want
Your customers don't know what they want. And to assume otherwise is folly. When you begin relying totally on customers to be your product development department, you are asking for serious trouble.I am not saying that you should discount customer input. However, asking customers what they want is ... more...

Home Equity Loan Risks
Home equity loans give individuals a tool to extend their existing credit line by securing debt on the equity value of their existing homes. This access to easy and cheap money can lure the borrower into securing a debt for reasons which otherwise could have been funded through wise money ... more...

Home Equity Lines of Credit - the Basics
A Home equity line of credit is a loan which is similar to a credit card. These often have a very low interest rate (In most cases even lower than home equity loans). A Home equity lines of credit acts as a form of revolving which your home equity services.For example,-You take out a Home Equity ... more...

Marketing's Nuclear Weapon
Three seconds. That's what you have to convey your message. Creativity is the strategic weapon that allows us to capture those few precious moments of attention from busy consumers in our increasingly competitive, time-crunched environment.Focus groups tell us that time is a precious, yet dwindling ... more...

Adverse Credit Secured Loans Setting Aside the Credit Report
The debt defaults that you made in the past are not ready to let go of you so easily. It continues to show itself in the credit file, earning the debtor an adverse credit history for the nest six years, sometimes even larger. A group of loan providers, who would like to ensure maximum safety of the ... more...

Financing Purchase of a Business
Should you decide to buy an existing business, several factors enter into consideration of how to finance it. Let us discuss the most important of these factors.The amount of capital required.Nearly all sales of small businesses are, strictly speaking, merely sales of the assets of the business. ... more...