Does It Make Any Sense to Turn Your Business Into a Club?
“Dear fellow artists, why so free / With every sort of company, / With every Jack and Jill? / Choose your companions from the best; / Who draws the bucket with the rest / Soon topples down the hill.” – William Butler Yeats I was hoping it would never happen,…
READ MOREHow NOT to Start a Retail Business
“Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” – Alexander Pope I don’t normally recommend getting into retail. (To learn why, reread ETR #152.) But if your dream is to run a brick and mortar business, you can learn a lot about what not to do from one entrepreneur’s mistakes.…
READ MOREA Way to Turn Good Deals Into Great Deals
“If you’d know the power of money, go and borrow some.” – Benjamin Franklin The two most important elements to a successful real estate investment are buying right and financing right. In that order. I’ve talked about buying right in these pages many times. Let me talk about borrowing right.…
READ MOREETR’s History Since Day One
“Hell, there are no rules here – we’re trying to accomplish something.” – Thomas Edison I had lunch with Katie Yeakle the other day, and she reminded me of how ETR started. It happened in early 2000. Katie had been running AWAI (American Writers & Artists Inc.) for three years,…
READ MOREMore on Taming Dinosaurs
“With but few exceptions, it is always the underdog who wins through sheer willpower.” – Johnny Weissmuller In my last article for ETR, I told you how Leonard Riggio of Barnes & Noble fame proved that every industry is vulnerable to resourceful entrepreneurs. Today, let’s talk about the similar effect…
READ MOREInvesting Like You’ve Been There
“In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.” – Warren Buffett You’ve heard it all your life: Great opportunities come with great risks. And 98 percent of the time, risks come from not knowing what you’re doing and not knowing what’s around the corner. But…
READ MORETeach a Man to Teach, and You’ll Feed Him for a Lifetime
“We cannot hold a torch to light another’s path without brightening our own.” – Ben Sweetland Wouldn’t you like to make money doing something you love? And what if you could do that job on your own terms, with complete independence and control? Starting your own business giving private lessons…
READ MOREWhy Most Real Estate Agents Don’t Know Diddly-Squat
“This is the biggest fool thing we have ever done. The [atomic] bomb will never go off, and I speak as an expert in explosives.” – Admiral William D. Leahy in 1945 Want to find a good investment? Don’t call a real estate agent. Your chances are one in 20…
READ MORESpecial Opportunities for Your VIP Customers
“Yield to temptation. It may not pass your way again.” – Robert A. Heinlein A good way to increase the lifetime value of your customers is to sell them products and services that are outside the scope of what you can deliver yourself. An example: Dry Creek Vineyard recently sent…
READ MOREOn Taming Dinosaurs
“Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power.” – George Bernard Shaw Once upon a time, there was a ferocious dinosaur known as Publishsaurus rex who roamed the Earth, devouring everything in its path. Bookstores and authors were especially attractive prey…
READ MOREThe Death of Real Estate Is Greatly Exaggerated, Again
“The darkest hour is that before the dawn.” – Euripides Like it or not, we are entering a time when a growing number of properties will be unloaded at bargain-basement prices and a handful of investors will make a fortune. Let me explain… The last time real estate died was…
READ MOREUsing Testimonials for Maximum Effect
“Get someone else to blow your horn and the sound will carry twice as far.” – Will Rogers Anyone who’s been in marketing for more than a day understands the value of customer testimonials. Better than any other form of proof (logical argument, data, endorsements), they can prove particular claims…
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