- WEALTHY: A top vacation spot goes tax-free (Barbara Perriello)
- HEALTHY: The bad advice you’re about to get from your grocer (Dr. Al Sears)
- WISE: Motown on waiting for the mail
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Another way to apply a universal principle of good business (Bob Bly)
- An ETR reader gives me a grammar lesson (Michael Masterson)
- It’s Good to Know… how to use Google to do a currency conversion
- Add "Pyrrhic victory" to your vocabulary
You Deserve Answers… And Now You’re Going to Get Them
If you haven’t gained the wealth you crave, you need to do something differently.
Why? Because all change, all progress begins with a single decision, a single action.
Are you ready to seize the final piece of the puzzle? The missing ingredient to coast you all the way to financial freedom? You deserve answers and now you’re going to get them.
In just 30 days from today your life could be in an entirely different place. Don’t delay.
- Patrick Coffey
Living Rich: An Already-Great Caribbean Retirement Destination Is Now an Even Better Deal
By Barbara Perriello
If you’ve been thinking about investing in a little island getaway place of your own, your timing couldn’t be better. The Honduran Congress has declared the Bay Islands a Duty Free Zone – and the first phase of changes is set to go into effect in April.
It will mean no more sales tax … no duty on imported goods … and lower capital gains – making these islands even more attractive than they already are.
By lowering and reducing taxes, the logic goes, the cost of living decreases. And that should help attract more expatriate residents and more tourists, as well as more businesses.
Tucked into the Western Caribbean, just an hour-and-a-half, non-stop flight from Miami or Houston, the Bay Islands were once known only to scuba enthusiasts who found phenomenal diving here along the world’s second-largest barrier reef. These days, every tourist guidebook lists Roatan, Utila, and Guanaja.
Tourist arrivals have increased more than ten-fold in the past seven years, with nearly 400,000 visiting last year alone. A new cruise port facility is planned to bring an additional million tourists to the islands every year. Two new hotels will nearly double the number of rooms available for tourists in 2007. And the Duty Free Zone status is likely to kick-start a housing boom.
If you want to get the best deals, the time to go is now, while you can still pick up a lot with fabulous views for $125,000 or an oceanfront condo in Roatan’s premier gated community for $259,900.
[Ed. Note: Barbara Perriello, Executive Director of Agora Travel, has been leading investment tours to destinations the world over for nearly two decades. She'll be headed back to the Bay Islands of Honduras June 16 to 23. Investigate this window of opportunity for yourself while spots are still available.]
"Oh yes, wait a minute Mister Postman / Wait Mister Postman / Please Mister Postman, look and see / If there’s a letter in your bag for me /Why’s it takin’ such a long time?"
(from the 1961 debut single by The Marvelettes)
Don’t Rush Your Bills
By Robert W. Bly
My most important piece of advice for ETR readers today?
Don’t rush your invoices to your clients.
Your accountant and bookkeeper, of course, disagree with me. "Get the bills out fast!" they urge you. "You’ll get paid faster, and your cash flow will improve."
MB, the contractor who’s been remodeling our bathrooms and kitchens for the past six months, certainly agrees with them. Every time I turn around, he’s there with his hand out.
Typically, I get a call from MB at the office during the middle of a busy day. "I need the next payment," he says. "Can you have a check ready in 20 minutes when I stop by?"
"Sure," I think to myself, "I’ll just stop working, forget my own pressing deadlines, write out a check this instant, and sit here until MB gets here."
Yes, MB is entitled to get paid on time. But I’ve been using him on and off going on more than 20 years. Surely he knows I’m "good for it."
JL, who is MB’s favorite electrician, also wants his money in a hurry, even if it’s for a small $100 repair job. "I need the money today to pay my bills," JL will tell my wife – who, of course, immediately gives him the cash in her wallet.
The problem with being in a hurry to rush the next invoice – and get your money right away – is that it sends a negative message to your client. The message is: "I care more about getting paid than I do about your satisfaction or convenience."
I mean, come on. Why can’t MB send me a bill in the mail like everyone else so I can forward it to my bookkeeper and let her pay it?
Recently, I hired a freelance writer to write an e-book for my small publishing company, CTC Publishing. Today, I got an e-mail with his first draft of the e-book attached. Attached to that same e-mail: his bill.
"Hey," I told him nicely. "I haven’t even read your first draft yet. Why am I getting a bill?"
You should bill a client only after you know he’s happy with your work … and not before. Don’t give him the feeling that you’re in a rush to send out an invoice and move on to the next job – even if you are.
The product or service your clients ordered is what they want – and getting it makes them happy. But getting a bill never makes people happy. Therefore, so as not to destroy the feelings of happiness the client experiences when he takes delivery of the product/service he ordered from you, do not enclose the invoice when you deliver.
A consultant, for example, should e-mail his report to the client as an attached file … wait a few days for the client to absorb it … and only then should he send the invoice.
Here are two more things I want you to keep in mind:
- The client is in a rush to get your widget or report – but not necessarily in a rush to pay for it. So it’s desirable to send your orders by rapid delivery methods – priority mail, FedEx, e-mail. But the client is in no hurry to get your bill – so don’t e-mail it. Dropping it into ordinary first-class mail is just fine for him … and for you.
- While it pays to be vigilant about accounts receivable, being overly so can tick off clients and rapidly destroy goodwill. I pay my vendor invoices within 30 days, unless I’ve agreed to do it sooner. Yet I can’t tell you how many times I have received a frantic call or e-mail from a proofreader, editor, writer, or Web designer demanding payment – for an invoice they sent me just a few days before. Not only is it annoying, it’s another way of showing me that their main concern is their pocketbook, not my satisfaction with what I bought from them.
My main piece of advice for you today – "Don’t rush a bill" – is really just a specific application of a general, almost universal, business principle. And that universal law of good business is simply this: Put the customer first.
[Ed. Note: Bob Bly is a popular Early to Rise columnist, self-made multi-millionaire, and the author of more than 60 books. He is also the editor of ETR's Direct Marketing Masters Edition - a program to help you start your own successful direct-mail business.]
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Dear Michael Masterson: "The examples of active vs. passive voice you gave in ETR are both incorrect."
"Though I certainly admire your enthusiasm in ETR #1951 for rescuing that Spanish textbook and making it useful again … hmm … maybe you should start with Chapter One. The examples of active vs. passive voice you gave are both incorrect.
"First of all, manzana is feminine, so it is la manzana. Then the conjugation … comio, not como. So the first sentence should read Juan comio la manzana. The second sentence, in the passive voice, should be La manzana fue comida por Juan. (BTW, this kind of passive voice is used extremely rarely in Spanish.)
"From my experience, it requires a considerable effort to un-learn the things we got wrong the first time, so I think it would be advantageous for your readers if you encouraged them to study the basics before jumping to an advanced level.
"I am thoroughly enjoying reading ETR every morning, and I’m looking forward to more actionable information."
Marzena R.
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Dear Marzena,
Thank you for your letter. I am glad you enjoy ETR. K and I visited San Miguel de Allende last year and really enjoyed it. Lots of interesting retired Americans living robust, independent, artsy lives. Much better than wasting away in some suburban town in America.
You are right to call me out on comio and la manzana. I went back to my beloved textbook to make sure it wasn’t at fault, and I am happy to report that the error was mine. I do agree that it is very important to master the basics – in Spanish or in any complex skill. But I don’t believe in waiting for perfection before moving on. Push ahead and learn as you go, that’s my style. If you make a mistake, hope that someone will be nice enough to correct it. As you have. So I thank you!
Think of it this way: By being reckless enough to make that semi-advanced mistake, I will never again say el manzana or como when I mean la manzana or comio.
So I’m going to keep jumping around this textbook and enjoying it, and I’ll count on you to correct any Spanish mistakes I make in ETR in the future. Keep reading ETR and enjoying that beautiful Mexican weather.
- Michael Masterson
Forget the Food Pyramid – Here’s My Simple Formula for Getting Lean
By Al Sears, MD
In 2005, the government issued its latest food pyramid. You’ve probably seen it – but if you haven’t, you’ll soon get your chance. Over 2,000 supermarkets in 17 states are planning to promote it in their stores.
The "new" food pyramid – like the old one – suggests that you eat more grains and carbs than anything else. And, not surprisingly, the big food makers are footing the bill for this "public service" campaign. (When you’ve spent that much money lobbying politicians to support your high-carb, highly processed, artificial-food-substitute products, why not cash in?)
But don’t be fooled. Following this unnatural high-carb diet, while ignoring protein and healthy fats, will only make you fat, sick, and tired. Instead, follow my simple formula for getting lean:
High Protein + Low Carbs + the Right Fats + Regular Exercise = Fat Loss
Increase Protein: Quality protein is the key to good nutrition. Protein promotes muscle growth and increases the burning of carbs and fat for energy. Fish, lean meats, eggs, dairy, beans, and nuts are all good sources of protein.
Decrease Carbohydrates: Starches are a main cause of obesity. Limit your consumption of anything made from grains or potatoes. Get your carbs from unprocessed vegetables that grow above the ground.
Eat Natural Fats: Most modern fat is a health nightmare, but getting enough omega-3 fats is essential for good health. Eat unprocessed vegetable fats from avocados, nuts, and virgin olive oil. Avoid corn oil and all hydrogenated oils. Get your animal fat from grass-fed red meat, wild fish, and eggs.
[Ed. Note: Dr. Sears, a practicing physician and the author of The Doctor's Heart Cure, is a leading authority on longevity, physical fitness, and heart health.]
Reader Feedback: "ETR’s Bootcamp gave me lots of motivation and lots more ideas on how to market my information business."
"I sell access to stock picks online though a paid membership website. I was already doing pretty well for a part-time effort, but needed a boost. ETR’s Bootcamp gave me lots of motivation and lots more ideas on how to market my information business.
"The first month after I got back from Bootcamp, my sales jumped to $9,865 – more than double what I’d been averaging.
"Why such a big jump? Basically just used a couple of marketing tips from Bootcamp. I made my offer more compelling and gave a strict time limit for action. I sent a marketing newsletter to my list (to those registered for my free newsletter) with a special offer. I RAISED my price but offered 5 days only to come in at the old price. Also focused more on the annual subscription plan rather than the monthly (as recommended personally to me by presenter Porter Stansberry).
"I did close to $6,000 up-front cash from one e-mail (and one follow-up e-mail closer to the deadline). This incremental revenue more than paid for my Bootcamp trip, so I had less than a 1-month pay-back.(And I still have lots of other tips from Bootcamp to try out.)
"Also, I got to meet and talk with many of the presenters. I had the chance to talk with Michael Masterson, and even got a second chance to talk to him – but only at the personal ’sacrifice’ of staying out very late at the Bar on the last night. That was a great night which capped a great conference."
Shawn Allen
It’s Good to Know: How to Use Google to Do a Currency Conversion
Next time you need to convert an amount of money from any world currency to any other, type the requested conversion into the Google search box and hit Enter. For example, type in "2 U.S. dollars in British pounds," and you’ll get "1.01983581." If you’re traveling to, say, Poland, and you don’t know the name of the currency (the zloty), you can type in "currency of Poland" or "Polish money."
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Word to the Wise: Pyrrhic Victory
A "Pyrrhic" (PIR-ik) victory is one achieved at too great a cost.
Example (as used by Geoffrey Wheatcroft in an article about the Revolutionary War that appeared in The Atlantic): "Technically it was a victory for the British, who attacked the patriot fortifications – but a Pyrrhic victory if ever there was: Out of 2,200 British soldiers 1,034 were killed or wounded, including one in nine of all the officers the British lost in the whole war."
The expression refers to a remark attributed by Plutarch to the Greek king Pyrrhus. After suffering heavy losses in defeating the Romans in 279 BC, Pyrrhus said to those sent to congratulate him, "Another such victory over the Romans and we are undone."
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Michael Masterson
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2007
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