Do you play solitaire? How about spider solitaire? This is a challenging game where you have to match more than one deck, suit-by-suit. I have spider solitaire on my laptop desktop and do admit to playing it – a lot. My daughter Kim also plays and I have to say, her win ratio is much, much higher than mine. I’m not the sharpest tool in the box when it comes to strategizing. However, I don’t quit trying.
I was playing yesterday and my win-to-lose ratio was continuing to look pretty sad, but I didn’t quit trying – because I know from experience that sooner or later I will win. Sometimes I’ll even win several in a row until that losing thing comes back and I have to keep starting over until next I win again. And this made me think of business.
This is much like business. Especially a direct selling, network marketing business. You get so many “no’s,” so many “not interested’s” that it gets discouraging. But, just when you think no one any where sees what you see in either your business or your products, someone says “yes.” You win again. So you keep trying.
I admit to envying those people born with natural sales abilities...I’m not one of them. What gifts I do have include determination, faith and dogged stick-to-it-ness. After all, there are 6+ billion people on this planet and sooner or later a few will see what I see in my business and products.
Having a direct selling, network marketing business is not easy for the majority of those who venture into those waters. But those are worthy waters…most of these companies are fine, quality businesses with competitive, high-quality products and services. It takes work, perseverance and faith.
So, I let the computer deal the deck and I start once again to match suits and see if I can add to my win ratio. After all, I want to be like Kim.
Categories: Attitude · Business-general · Not quite business
Tagged: attitude, business, Direct Selling, network marketing, positive thinking, solitaire, spider solitaire
‘I only know what I read in the paper.’ That’s a cliche line I heard in a movie once. And, for me, it’s true. I don’t know much about stocks, bonds and investing. And, after reading about the 150 year prison sentence for Bernard Madoff, I don’t want to know much about investing right now. I feel badly for the many people who trusted this man [what about his "minions?"] and lost so much.
Many years ago my grandpa...my dad’s dad, gave me three pieces of advice that he said I should always remember. I was in the eighth grade at the time and thought my grandpa was the wisest man on earth – besides my dad. His first piece of advice was: “Never let anyone punch you in the stomach.” I thought that was very wise. His second was, “When someone takes you out to dinner, don’t dishonor them by ordering the cheapest thing on the menu, order the steak or the lobster.” And his third piece of advice was “Never put all your eggs in one basket.” As an eighth-grader, I didn’t quite know what he meant by that one. At that point in my life, I could get my brain around the first two. In the years since, I can see his wisdom in the third.
It is a tragedy when people lose their entire life savings from a swindler mishandling their funds. My thought though, is why would anyone put all of their assets in one pot? My little brother and his wife – who also happen to be my and my husband’s best friends – recently told me that they’ve been doing some reading about wealth building. And one of the items of interest is that the wealthy have at least 7 streams of income. Seven. Not one. Not one all-inclusive fund…but rather 7. Right now I have three. One of them I’m actually working to get rid of at some point…the other two I’m working to build. What would be 7 streams of income?
Okay, here’re some of my ideas for 7 streams of income [I've numbered them, but not ranked]:
- direct selling business that brings in residual income
- real estate [income from rentals, buying and selling]
- stocks
- bonds
- mutual funds
- savings accounts
- a home business like selling on an auction site
You’ll notice I didn’t include a traditional job in this list…although it is an income source. I guess the message I take away from the Madoff thing is 1)do heavy due diligence before giving up any of your hard-earned money into the hands of someone else; 2)never put all your financial eggs in one basket – the basket could be made of rotten twigs; 3)diversify; and 4)be creative. As other wise people have oft quoted: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Categories: Business-general
Tagged: bonds, business, Direct Selling, financial, investing, Madoff, mutual funds, residual income, stocks
I’m of an age when I’m shocked at the age other people I know about are passing away…dying. It’s because they are either not that much older than I am or they are a bit younger than I am. Makes your own mortality come into focus.
The passing recently of celebrities whose careers I’ve followed because I like some part of their work, like David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine in the television series, “Kung Fu,” have given me moments of pause. That series was special…it addressed racial issues, religion issues, culture clashes and brought to my life a culture to which I knew nothing. I was born in Oakland, California and raised in a part of the central valley back when it was all farmland…not the bedroom communities for Silicon Valley it is now. I knew nothing about China, the country from which Carradine’s character came, but I was intrigued by the flashes into ways of living that were different from my own. I grieved at Mr. Carradine’s passing because it made me miss a part of my younger years. I appreciated his portrayal of that character of mixed race.
This morning’s headlines also carried grief, the passing of Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. I was in my twenties when the television show “Charlie’s Angels” debuted. I confess, I loved it. Why? I loved the mystery element, I loved the detective element and I loved the hair, make-up and fashion elements. I loved that the three actresses played three different kinds of women but acted as a team. Ms. Fawcett was a tremendous actress as she showed in the breathtaking film, “The Burning Bed.” Even today it is difficult for any woman who has been mistreated by her husband to come forward…Ms. Fawcett’s courageous performance brought a tragic, hidden life that some women live, to light.
That Michael Jackson has passed away is shocking. One of my favorite memories has to do with one of his hit songs: “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” from the “Thriller” album…actually every song on that album. His music was – is- cross generational. Doesn’t matter what generation you’re from, there is something in some part of his music that will get your feet moving and your voice humming. Well, I loved “Thriller” from the first moment I heard it. My daughters and nieces [now all in their late twenties and early thirties] also love this album. When they were teens, we were all driving somewhere and I had that playing on the car cassette player, and we had the windows rolled down and were singing at the top of our lungs as we drove down I-5 down the center of California. Don’t remember where we were all going, just remember what an awesome time we had singing those songs.
This is a weblog about business, small and home-based business, but it is written by a person who also enjoys film, tv and music and appreciates the gifts and talents of those people who make those industries their business. I will miss the talents of these gifted people. My condolences to their families.
Categories: Not quite business
Tagged: business, David Carradine, Farrah Fawcett, home-based business, Michael Jackson
I have joined the ranks of the scammed. It feels awful. And I feel stupid and taken advantage of…and it was my own fault for 1) not reading the really tiny, hidden fine print…2) for not even thinking there was really tiny, hidden fine print.
I won’t mention the company that burned both my pride and my bank account…if you’re a reader of my blog you know it’s not my practice to bad-mouth anyone or any entity unnecessarily…but if you want to know details of this one, just send me an email. But here’s what happened:
Because I’m a network marketer/direct seller with a home-based business, I spend much time on the internet doing business. I get a lot of emails and I read a lot of blogs. Well, this one was actually a comment sent to me with regards to a post I did on this blog…I didn’t approve the comment because it wasn’t relevant to the post, but the comment was interesting enough that I checked the sender’s accompanying website. It appeared to be a blog itself. I read it and it appeared to be about searching for government and other grants. [I can hear you groaning already...you're wondering to yourself "surely Linda didn't fall for this!"] Well, she did. I did.
The post on the “blog” appeared real enough so I looked at the links. The link was for a “free” cd that required only shipping and handling of $1.98. I swear to you that no where on that web page was there wordage that any other strings were attached. You paid the $1.98, were sent the cd and that was that. Well, that was not that.
I was sent an email with a link to my account that would be useful with the cd when I got it. I looked at the page and it had a database on it of grants but it seemed that none of the search items would work and none of the “webinars” would come up. Here’s where I failed…at the bottom of the home page, in the very bottom right corner – you had to scroll down to see it – were the words in tiny print “Terms of Service.” I didn’t see this. I didn’t even know to look for this. And I went on my week’s vacation. When I got back my account had been debited $69.95. I was upset to say the least. It took some real doing to find a phone number – which I finally got from my bank – to get that account closed and learn about the “7-day free trial and then you’re charged $69.95 per month.“
Legally, I don’t have a leg to stand on to get my money back…or my pride. They did put their terms of service on their web page…but here’s where I have a problem with their ethics and integrity:
- the initial “free” cd site should have been very clear about what this was: a monthly service with a fee of $69.95 and what you would get for it
- the “terms of service” should have been first and foremost before you even do anything to obtain the “free” cd
- “free” should be “free”
I then did a search engine search for their company and came up with a host of others who have been prey to this…in some of those cases the offending company seemingly had sold those persons’ account numbers to another scammer who used it to draw money from their accounts unauthorized.
When I went to the bank to see what I could do to further protect my account [I shall keep confidential my actions] my banker told me that it was sad, but he sees the results of scams every day. He said, “It’s sad because we even have a process to deal with this.“ It’s not a once-in-a-while occurrence…scammers are out there and “marks” like me fall prey to them everyday.
Here’s what I have learned:
- if it’s “free” but you have to pay postage, look again
- never, ever use your bank account number, use a credit card so that disputes can be handled in a better way
- check with the Better Business Bureau
- do a search of the company…see if negative things come up
- if there are no “terms of service” chances are it’s a scam
Readers, do you have comments and advice you could pass along?
Categories: Business-general
Tagged: business, Direct Selling, network marketing, scams
