Tom's Blog

I have been coaching business owners for many, many years. One of the first items on the agenda for any coaching client is to create a clear, comprehensive business strategy. There are five areas of a business that require a clear strategy: Marketing, Sales, Production, Fulfillment, and Administration.

Most business owners have a pretty clear idea on their Production and Fulfillment strategies. However, business does not work like that famous line from the movie, Field of Dreams, "If you build it, they will come." It's not enough to have a terrific product or service. I know. ProVision has amazing services, but unless we get the word out, we cannot perform these services for even a fraction of the people who need them. (And virtually no business owner has even given a thought to a strategy for the administrative side of the business. More on that in a later entry.)

All businesses need a clear marketing and sales strategy. There are 4 key team members you need to leverage your marketing and sales. First is someone to help you with your branding. Second is a marketing professional. Third is a public relations professional. And fourth is a sales professional.

A little while back I met a terrific PR professional. Her name is Jill Lublin. She is a published author and PR coach. You can find her at http://www.jilllublin.com. In fact, she is doing a free teleseminar today that I would encourage all to join. You can sign up at http://www.promisingpromotion.com/teleconference.html.

Taking time to learn about this powerful area of marketing can have a huge impact on your business. Anyway, I wanted to pass this along to you as I have found most PR professionals to be extremely expensive for the results. Jill's focus is much more in line with ProVision's as she teaches you how to do PR and she is very affordable.

Warmest regards,

Tom

The answer, of course, is a resounding YES! Everyone can improve their sales. The question is not whether, but how? There are many books providing a vast array of techniques for improving sales. But my experience is that improving sales has much more to do with our mindset than it has to do with technique.

You may be wondering why a CPA is talking about sales. Believe it or not, even CPA's need to learn how to sell. I started ProVision out of a home office 12 years ago. I had two clients when I started. The only way you go from two clients to thousands of clients is to learn how to sell. I quickly learned that while I needed some good sales techniques, what I really needed was a change in mindset about sales.

For most of us, sales is a bad word. The very image conjures up sleazy used-car salesmen. Or we think of that pushy neighbor who tried to sell us life insurance. Or we may simply have a tremendous fear of rejection. Or, we may have been told by our parents that it is improper or impolite to talk about money. All of these thoughts amount to a lot of head trash.

So, what to do about that head trash? We need to reprogram ourselves if we are going to be successful in business. Because the number one skill of any entrepreneur is SALES!

The person who does the best job at reprogramming people about sales that I know is my good friend and client, Blair Singer. Many of you know Blair because of his close affiliation with Rich Dad. Blair has a 2-day seminar coming up in November http://www.salesdogs.com/authentic/provision.html that I have attended (and spoken at) several times. It is an excellent opportunity for any of our readers to learn how to improve their mindset about sales.

On Monday, October 22nd, Blair and I are giving a free teleseminar that is a preview of this excellent seminar. You can register at http://www.provisionwealth.com/seminars/Details.asp?Seminar_ID=8
Join Blair and me for an excellent discussion about improving your personal sales abilities and those of your sales team.

Warmest regards,

Tom

What do you do when you have an emergency in your business? How do your people react? Will they pull together or fall apart? Will they support the business or do they care more about themselves? These questions were all answered at ProVision this year in a most positive manner.

At 5:00p.m. on February 1st of this year, my partner who was running our Irvine office and all of the employees of that office decided to leave the firm. We were caught totally unawares by this action. Of course, we had to move quickly. We needed to assure our clients that we could take care of them from our Arizona office.

Since most of our clients are not local, taking care of the Irvine clients from Arizona did not really present a difficult challenge. What did present a challenge was introducing the clients to their new CPA and tax coach and reassuring them that nothing would be lost in the transition. To complicate matters, we were in the middle of tax season, our busiest time of the year.

I was curious as to how our professionals and staff would react when I informed them of the previous evening's activity in Irvine. We would be asking them to call our clients and to take on additional responsibility in the middle of busy season.

To my great delight, they responded with enthusiasm to take on this challenge. They were totally willing to work the extra hours and give the extra effort to make sure our Irvine clients were well taken care of. This really shouldn't have surprised me at all. We have a terrific staff and they care so much about our clients. Still, as a business owner and creator of ProVision, I was moved by their care for the business and for our clients.

My Arizona partners and I decided we needed to do something for our employees to reward them for their efforts. We told them we would set aside the profits from the Irvine clients for the following few months and use it for a team activity. Then, we let them choose the activity. There was enough money to take everyone on a cruise, including some spending money for them. Last weekend, we took the cruise. Look for my blog tomorrow to learn about the cruise and its impact on our team.

Warmest regards,

Tom

Yesterday, I told you about how our team at ProVision pulled together when my Irvine partner decided to leave the firm. Our team pulled together so well, that we decided to send everyone on a cruise. That cruise happened last weekend. Today, I want to tell you about the cruise and the effect on our team.

It wasn't a big cruise; just a short, 3-day cruise from Los Angeles to Mexico and back. All but a few of our staff were able to join us on the cruise. Some brought their spouses, but most did not. I wondered how the team would react to spending 3 days together on a boat. This proved to be somewhat of a litmus test for our team and how well they would get along.

The result was truly amazing. During the three days, the group spent almost all of its time together. Everyone spent a little time on their own, I'm sure, but for the most part they spent time with each other. Whether it was at a show, at Bingo or in the casino, they wanted to be with each other. Even at port, people stayed together and went into town together in groups of 4-10 people.

While we were rarely all together at the same time (with the exception of dinner and one specific team building event), the groups formed and changed and everyone was included. In three days, I never heard a single complaint from anyone about anybody else. There were no harsh words and many kind words. I saw a lot of caring and concern for each other and a lot of comraderie.

What I didn't expect was how good this would be for the team. I had heard that the producers of the hit show, Friends, had sent the actors all to Las Vegas before they began filming the first show in order to get them to know each other and be able to work together. I didn't realize how successful it could be for a group of business associates.

This wasn't the typical gathering of employees where everyone is polite and barely wants to speak to each other. It was the complete opposite. Everyone made a significant effort to make sure all were included and all were having a good time. A lot of friendships were made or solidified on this trip.

I have been asked by some of my co-workers since the cruise if I would go on another cruise. To be honest, the cruise itself was nothing special. But the people were special and I would go anywhere with any or all of them. They were great and I feel it a great privilege to be part of this ProVision team.

Thank you again, ProVision team members, for all you do for the business, for our clients, for each other and for me. I have never before worked with a group of people like this. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

I hope you can generate the spirit in your business that we have here at ProVision. It makes life so much more enjoyable when you have a great team.

Warmest regards,

Tom

One of my favorite activities is to attend the Rich Dad http://www.richdad.com staff meeting. I really appreciate Robert allowing me to come. He has a way of opening my mind to new ideas that I cannot really describe. He is definitely on the cutting edge of whatever he does and constantly is thinking of new ideas.

One of the ideas Robert presented yesterday was about how important it is that we feel productive. This idea may not be cutting edge in the traditional sense of the term, but it a very important concept for business owners and investors like myself to think about. Everyone in the organization needs to be and feel productive.

Productivity does not just mean you are busy. It means that you are busy doing something that you are good at and you are being successful at what you do. The first question I asked myself on my drive back to the office was whether each of my employees was productive. This is a fairly challenging question that all business owners should ask themselves every day.

People who are not productive simply are not happy. They don't feel like their life is fulfilling or that they are contributing to the organization. And, in fact, they probably are not contributing to the level that the should and could.

Some of the business owners reading this may feel like I used to, i.e., how can anyone not be or feel productive? Can't they generate their own productivity? After all, entrepreneurs by definition are idea generators and never lack for productive work. Sometimes, however, we feel like everyone else should be just like us.

In my experience, there are relatively few people are idea generators. And most of these people own their own business and/or are working diligently to create their own wealth. As employers, we have to help our employees see our vision and give them direction so that they can be productive all of the time. Not an easy task.

Productivity is also a question that every investor should ask him/her self. Is your investment strategy productive? Do you feel productive with your investment strategy? Are you making the progress you want to make? Is your chosen asset type (paper, business, real estate) something you are good at? If you are not good at it, is it at least something you enjoy doing and are you doing something to get better at it? Finally, do you have someone helping you evaluate your investment strategies whose sole interest is in your success (i.e., they have no personal/financial interest in what investments you choose)?

Just a few thoughts provoked by the master mind of Robert Kiyosaki.

Warmest regards,

Tom

Last week I had the privilege of visiting one of my premier clients, Jeff People at Window Book, Inc. in Cambridge, Massaschusetts. Window Book, http://www.windowbook.com is a wonderful company that provides a remarkable service for any business that uses the United States Post Office (USPS) to any substantial degree. Window Book's software can save a business thousands of dollars in postage, save time in getting postal bundles ready, and then actually track the location of the package, even using first class.

The reason I went out there was to help evaluate the business. The result should be increased sales volume and decreased costs. As I was writing up my report, I started to wonder how many businesses take the time to really evaluate where they are and where they are going with a view to understand what it will take to reach their goals?

As business owners, we think about our businesses constantly. Most of the time, we are focused on specific issues or opportunities and we tend to get caught up in the day-to-day routine of the business. Even if we take time to personally evaluate our business, we often don't have the perspective to see opportunities that someone else might see.

I have to hand it to Jeff People, the CEO of Window Book. He knows that he cannot see everything there is to see in his company and values the assistance from his business coach coming in to review the business and find additional opportunities for success.

It took less than two days and the result will be an immediate impact on profit and a long-term increase in sales. I encourage all of you to take advantage of your Business Coach to perform an evaluation of your company.

What are some of the areas to be evaluated? At ProVision, we break down a company into five distinct areas: Marketing, Sales, Production, Fulfillment and Administration. Each of these areas should have a complete strategy and each should have systems set up to maximize the productivity of every dollar that is spent.

Take time to have your Business Coach evaluate your company at least once a year. You will find amazing results. If you don't have a Business Coach or want to find a new coach, contact us at info@ProVisionWealth.com or call us toll free at 1-800-467-5809.

Warmest regards,

Tom

Friday morning, as usual, I got up and weighed myself first thing. The scale read 171 lbs. Good news, right? This meant I was 4 lbs closer to my target of 165. I had a pretty good weekend (eating wise) and Monday morning was anxious to weigh myself so I could report to all of you how much weight I had lost. The scale showed 175lbs. So, either I gained 4 lbs over the weekend (possible, but not likely, even if I were retaining fluids) or the scale was wrong on Friday, Monday or both. Today's weight was 174lbs.

What can we learn from this? The obvious thing to learn is that I might want to try another scale to check the reliability of my scale. (Of course, I might also be retaining water.) So, I'm going to begin weighing myself at the gym and at home a couple of times a week to see if my scale is reliable.

I find the same thing happens in business and investing. We may think we are making progress, but it could be that we simply have a scale that is giving us incorrect information. This is why good accounting and good reporting is so important.

Tonight at 7:00p.m. I am speaking in San Diego at The Learning Annex (http://www.thelearningannex.com. The topic is Wealth Strategies and how to get your wealth on the fast track to financial freedom. The event is free to the public. It's not too late, so come join us if you are in the area. I am also speaking in Los Angeles on the same topic on Thursday evening.

One of the most important things I will be talking about is getting a handle on where you are and where you are going. You must have an accurate picture of where you want to go, both in terms of your dream as well as in terms of what it will take to reach your dream (i.e., net worth and passive income). Equally important is knowing where you are now. That's why our website has a tool for analyzing your wealth goals, http://www.ProVisionWealth.com/wealth_evaluator.asp and we offer software in our home study course, Financial Freedom Now! that allows you to create a current income statement and balance sheet. (Go to http://www.ProVisionWealth.com/products.

How good are your metrics? Are you sure you are using the right scale? If not, check out our Wealth Evaluator and Financial Freedom Now! course to find out if you are on the right track.

Warmest regards,

Tom

Last week I was pleased to host a teleseminar about the new online world of blogs and social networks, otherwise known as “Web 2.0”. It was presented by my friends James Burgin and Jon Ward of Brandwithin. What struck me most about the presentation was the extraordinary marketing potential of these new online phenomena. Once you know some basics about the new Internet, you can quickly build brand recognition and drive tons of qualified traffic to your web site. I discovered how important it is just how you position yourself in the “worldwide conversation” and I also picked up some great technical hints on how to drive more traffic quickly. We recorded the presentation by James and Jon, so you can still hear it – and follow the accompanying notes – at the ProVision web site (http://www.provisionwealth.com/seminars/Details.asp?Seminar_ID=16). Be sure to listen soon, as the recording will only be available until February 22nd. If you have any product or service to market, you definitely will want to tune into this new information. It’s a real revelation.

Warmest regards,

Tom

As a CPA and wealth strategist, I'm often asked by new business owners and investors about the best way to handle their bookkeeping. Should they do it themselves or hire a bookkeeper to handle it for them?

This is a more difficult question than you might think. On the one hand, many of you have heard me say that the most expensive words in the English language are, "Do It Yourself." And bookkeeping is not exactly a difficult task. There are lots of bookkeepers out there who charge anywhere from $15 to $40 per hour. I'm sure you could find them on e-lance or other outsource networks.

The difficulty comes from the communication of information from you to the bookkeeper. It's one thing if the bookkeeper is "in-house," that is, they pay your bills and handle a lot of your transactions. In this case, they will have most of the information they need from the source documents and they should have a pretty good understanding of your investing and/or business situation, i.e., what the bills are for (so where to classify the payments). Of course, if you take this option, you will want to have good internal controls in place so the bookkeeper cannot misappropriate (i.e., embezzle) your money.

However, if they are not in-house, but are instead just recording the information after the fact, it gets a little more difficult. I have been wondering for years why this is so challenging for a bookkeeper. We had so much difficulty finding a bookkeeper that could do a good job for clients, that a few years ago, we created our own bookkeeping company. Even with our own company, though, we could not always get the bookkeepers to produce accurate information. We ended up disbanding our bookkeeping service. It wasn't profitable for us and our bookkeepers were not doing a good enough job for our clients.

I finally came to a conclusion that the reason accurate bookkeeping is so difficult is that it is a matter of communication between you and the bookkeeper. You know what the bills are for, but this may not be evident just from the documents you provide. So the bookkeeper asks you questions about what every bill is for and where it should be categorized in your books. Then you start wondering why you are paying them if you have to tell them how to do their job.

The reality is that bookkeepers tend to have difficulty making judgment calls about where to classify a payment. And clients tend to get upset when payments are misclassified. This can be a no-win situation for both parties.

My conclusion is that for most investors, it's probably easier and less time consuming to do your own bookkeeping. You can pay your bills on line; most of them you can even have the bank pay automatically. Then, you can set up Quickbooks to automatically classify recurring payments to the right account. I spend about 30 minutes a week paying bills and doing my bookkeeping. And I have three companies. So I really take about 10 minutes per company per week.

Of course, I have been doing accounting for many years and I understand it very well. And, I have set up the accounting properly. The good news is that you, too, can learn how to do this and it doesn't take much time. At ProVision, we are in the process of creating two learning modules for bookkeeping and accounting. Look for them to come out in the early Fall on our Products page at http://www.ProVisionWealth.com/products. And don't be afraid to call our office at 866.467.5809 for help with your accounting set up.

Whether you do your own bookkeeping or hire someone, be sure to learn the basics so you can know that you have accurate records. You need these records to be accurate so you can get good information from them for your investing and business needs, as well as for the IRS and the bank.

Please let me know your bookkeeping experiences and whether you have had more success doing it yourself or outsourcing it. I would be very interested.

Warmest regards,

Tom

Aloha again from Hawaii!!! Wish you were here. Seriously, I wish everyone could have the opportunity that blesses my life every year of taking a 2-week vacation in Hawaii, Paris, the Carribean, or the mountains of Utah. If you haven't every tried a 2-week vacation, I would strongly encourage you to plan to do so soon. If done right, it can have a huge, positive impact on your business and wealth. Let me explain.

I'm guessing that most of you take your vacations 1 week at a time. This is a big mistake. The goal of a vacation should be a renewal of your energy so you can be more effective and more efficient the rest of the year. In most cases, a one-week vacation cannot accomplish this. Why not? Well, if you work hard all year and need a vacation to relax you, then the first 2-3 days of your vacation will be spent coming down off of your stress level. The last 2-3 days, of course, you are thinking about what you need to do when you get back home. So you really only have 1-2 days of true relaxation. That's just not enough.

Now add 7 days to your vacation. This is an additional 7 days of pure relaxation and for most people 8-10 days of total relaxation is enough to reinvigorate you for the next 12 months. And while you are on vacation, BE ON VACATION! If you have to answer emails (which I don't recommend), then answer them early in the morning and preferably only 1-2 times a week. If you have properly set up your business/investments then you will have no problem avoiding emails completely for 2 weeks. See our ProVision business and/or wealth coaching for more on how to set things up so you don't have to deal with your business while you are on vacation (go to http://www.provisionwealth.com).

I know, some of you are noting that I am writing this while I am on vacation. Yes, but not because I have to. Because I want to. I want to share this experience with you while it is fresh with me. Let me share a few of the relaxing activities of this past week.

My partner and his wife joined my wife and me this year. (Think about the potential tax benefits from doing this!) Early on in the trip, we took a fishing boat out of Kona. About 20 minutes into the trip, I caught a 160-pound Marlin. We tagged it and released it as there was no way we were going to eat 160 pounds of fish over here.

Later in the week, we did a couple of scuba dives. The last one we did was a night-time dive to watch the Manta Rays. This was truly an amazing experience, as four giant rays did what I can best describe as a ballet for us while we were sitting on the ocean floor about 30 feet under the water. If you ever get the chance to do this dive, don't pass it up. It is truly spectacular.

Then the next day, we took a trip down to the southernmost part of the island to see the green sand beach. Yes, it is really green sand. Amazing!

Today, I took a serious bike ride from Waikoloa to Waimea, something I have tried before but the wind knocked me off my bike. I fought my way through it this time and made it to the top (about 10 miles on a steep incline with serious wind). The reward at the top was my favorite Hawaiian diner, the Hawaiian Style Cafe, where I had a pancake as my reward (yes, just a single pancake and I didn't even finish it - their pancakes are 9" in diameter) before heading back down. This is the only ride I have ever done where the downhill portion was tougher than going uphill. The crosswinds twice blew my bike a foot sideways and I barely hung on until reaching the bottom.

Hope I didn't bore you too much with my travelogue. And I really hope you take the opportunity to take a 2-week vacation soon. It's the best. If you are worried about the cost of such a vacation, check into our ProVision Strategic Wealth Coaching. Anyone can become financially free with the right education and the right coach.

Well, that's all from Hawaii. I'll write again next week when I'm back in Phoenix.

Warmest regards,

Tom