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Celebrity Slush Fund

Could you ever imagine being a celebrity? To be a superstar in any industry: music, film, television, radio or in print; featured in a magazine or a newspaper is a no small achievement. There are all types of celebrities.

A celebrity lives a unique lifestyle, which differs greatly from that of an average or even a successful or popular person. All the glamour seems to require a posh lifestyle, with servants and large palaces. More than this is the need to be scene at the right venues, be they bars, clubs, restaurants, galas and soirees, among other functions.

To be everywhere and be seen as a featured star one must look the part. This requires an expensive wardrobe of clothes and accessories. All the trimmings are quite costly. Even with a seemingly unlimited bank account, financial resources can easily be quickly depleted.

Celebrities are masters of their craft or trade. They are not necessarily business-minded people. Therefore, even if they have a financial advisor or accountant, these stars may have difficulty managing their money.

Is there a celebrity slush fund that bankrupt or financially troublesome stars can access when all of their other financial portals cease? If there is not already a Celebrity Slush Fund or insurance fund that a star can rely on when their money is all spent, then some financial company should create one. It would be a valuable and much needed resource for those who seem to have an infinite supply of resources.

The Celebrity Slush Fund could be a member-based account that stars pay into, as someone would pay premiums towards an insurance policy. There could be different and variable tiers or levels of membership. If a celebrity were to lose all of their money and exhaust all other options, then they could still bank on some assistance. The available money to be allocated could either be set or within a specified range or the fund could be set up whereby whatever money is currently in the fund could be claimed by a star that is legitimately out of money. Proof of bankruptcy or documents that substantiate the financial reality of the celebrity could be required for access to the Celebrity Slush Fund.

This unique financial creation could even be effectively promoted by former celebrities who would be likely candidates for the Fund. Also, current lesser known stars could champion the cause and gain notoriety.

October 13, 2015/by Zack Steel

Business Matters Articles

Creating Capitalism

Creating Capitalism

The question well put is: Are you creating capitalism? Are you part of the problem or are you one with the solution of building the economy?

These questions may seem strange, but are actually quite logical. If you live in an urban area and seek to work nearby, then you may be working against the principles of growth. While everyone wants to be where the jobs are and live near one’s work, this is not always in line with prosperity. A massive amount of people competing for a small amount of jobs is a situation of high competition, but it is not necessarily conducive to growth.

Employers welcome multiple applications and enjoying reviewing many applications for the same position. These employers should perhaps set up shop in rural areas and advertise similar vacancies, in an effort to truly diverse their hiring pool and to demonstrate a concerted effort to enrich the economy. Workers go where the jobs are located. If the best jobs are in rural areas, then this is where people will begin moving to be close to their jobs. Hence, the economy will grow and areas formerly in state of economic stagnation will begin to develop and bolster the regional and national economy.

As an employer you may have doubts about the value of opening a location that is far from the main hub of customers and suppliers, but as more companies expand their operations, suppliers and customers will follow. Is your company part of the problem or solution?

Housing prices are lower in urban areas for similar house sizes with equal features, so there is no doubt that workers will want to move there. If it costs less to live near one’s work, then one will be less likely to expect or regularly require a raise or promotion.

Many businesses and organizations seem to be oblivious to the obvious fact that by being located in a highly dense urban area the expected standard of living will be rich and the cost to maintain it will be high. This means employers will be asked to support the lifestyle of employees through wealthy salaries and optimal bonuses.

Instead of employer’s offering an opportunity to equally qualified workers who live outside of big cities, they continue to keep their operation positioned in the heart of major cities. A cycle of constant turnover and continuous salary and promotion renegotiation ensues, which never seems to end. What fuels this phenomenon?

May 12, 2015/by Zack Steel

Business Matters Articles

Getting Paid Now!

How can you ensure that you are getting paid now for your work? You offer services, whether they are creative design, marketing or project referrals.

You consulted with the client and possibly even received a retainer payment at the onset of the work. You established a pattern of e-mail correspondence with the client.

You submit completed work at intervals and have now finished the entire project. You want to be paid. The client who now has your work is not responding to your requests for payment. What can you do to ensure you get paid what you are owed?

Options include calling the client and politely reminding them that payment is due, or sending reminder e-mails asking for payment. This strategy may be effective in some cases, but will not likely result in you being paid by a finicky client.

Instead you need to communicate to the client that it is in their best interests to pay you to maintain the business relationship. They need to know that they will have more to gain if they compensate you for your efforts.

You must speak in terms of value added incentives to anyone with whom you conduct business. This is a requirement for business communications, because people act according their own self interest. You need to demonstrate, in theory why paying you will be a valuable investment for the client. If the client realizes that by paying you they will be a get discount on future work or a referral of business that is of equal or greater value, than the amount you are requesting from them, then it will be in their own interest to pay you.

There you have it. Pitch the client on the option for other clients who will pay them there due and they will want to pay you too! You should have real referrals that have been fully qualified as credible leads and present them as salable deals. If you are successful in proving your long term worth to a client, then the client will see you as business partner, as well as a source of business and want to ensure a continued prosperous business relationship with you.

In summary, the best way to ensure that you get paid is to offer the same option to your clients. If everyone is able to be paid, then the economy will function effectively. Make yourself a part of the fabric of the economical structure and you will reap the rewards of the greater interest of society!

May 11, 2015/by Zack Steel

Business Matters Articles

Cash in a Flash

Cash in a Flash

What is this phenomenon known as Crowd Funding? One might mistakenly believe it means that one can fund a crowd. It is actually the reverse option. You can get a crowd to fund you.

How does Crowd Funding work and who will give you money? What do these people want or expect from you?

Crowd Funding was initialized into society as a result of the global community mindset that has become commonly shared by Internet users locally and internationally. This option for fundraising is available for individuals, businesses and would-be start up companies, among other entities.

You tell your story by way of a profile and provide a short personal or professional video that explains your reason for wanting so-called community assistance to help you advance in your life situation. Then various people who peruse these websites, at their leisure can choose to contribute money to your campaign. When you reach your funding goal you get paid by the Crowd Funding hosting website, less their commission for permitting your campaign on their platform.

There are popular Crowd Funding websites for individuals such as GoFundMe.com or Rally.org. Options for Crowd Funding include, but are not limited to: Equitynet.com, Indiegogo.com, Kickstarter.com. If you need assistance to design and manage your Crowd Funding campaign then there is professional management and representation available from: CrowdFundInc.net. There is a even a membership association known as the National Crowd Funding Association of Canada that host events and offers useful resources to be successful in Crowd Funding (Ncfacanada.org).

Speaking of events, is anyone getting married soon? Want your gifts to be in the form of cash rather than items that you will never use? If so, then you should register with CrowdGifts.com today. Let your invitees / guests know that you have register and advise them that they are encouraged to donate generously to your wedding fund. Certainly you will use the money raised for something relevant to your new start in life with your spouse, such as a house.

This website lists the seemingly top ten Crowd Funding websites on the World Wide Web: CrowdFunding.com. If you are a Crowd Funding website that may need help in dispensing money from raised from Crowd Funding campaigns then there is help from this website: Tipalti.com, which offers payment options, such as pre-paid debit cards, e-cheques and much more.

Why wait? Set your goal, get funded and spend the money to make your dream a reality!

April 16, 2015/by Zack Steel

Business Matters Articles

Whose Possessions Are Yours?

objects arranged representing people items

Whose Possessions Are Yours?

When you buy something on credit or only pay an initial deposit are you agreeing to be totally occupied with paying for an item that you will not certainly own? When you do make a big ticket purchase are obligating yourself to an expenditure that you cannot handle?

If you buy a product that you cannot afford, then you are going to have to make regular minimum payments, for which you may not have the money to cover such costs. You will be working to pay for that which you seemingly bought, but which is not fully or really yours – that is until you pay for it completely. If you buy an expensive item and do pay it off, then you will likely also correspondingly purchase insurance coverage for it. Either way, when you buy something is seemingly beyond your means, you will have to continue to make payments beyond your so-called purchase of the product.

When can you own something and not be obligated to it? If you buy a product for which you have the correct amount of money in what is known a liquid capital or cash, then you can know with certainty that you have actually bought something that immediately becomes yours. Otherwise, the madness of credit can almost seem to cause you to become possessed by your possessions.

Alternative payment plans for purchases beyond your immediate means are available. Lay-a-away for example allows you to ensure that you will be the owner of an item that you want to buy, while permitting you to save up for it and make regular or even sporadic payments to pay down the total price. But how many companies actually offer lay-a-way? You should choose to shop at such a store, even as a matter of principal, if for no other reason than that they offer lay-a-way plans. This entire methodology demonstrates that the company cares about the consumer. The novel approach of lay-a-way is in drastic opposition to stores that instead prefer to offer high-interest credit cards to customers, usually at the cash register or checkout points. These juggernauts warehouse stores usually have no available staff members that you can ask questions to inquire about products and / or prices. There sole concern is cash; getting more of yours and spending less or none of their own. Do you want to shop at such a store to endorse this system of shopping?

March 17, 2015/by Zack Steel

Land and Property

On Account

On Account

You are planning to buy a home. You want to purchase property. You are willing to pay for your land and the domain that will rest upon it. Why should you need to pay for anything else? On account the money you will be paying out in commission to sell your home, you should expect professionalism in return.

If you are fortunate to find a quality Real Estate Agent who really cares, then perhaps this professional will also ‘foot the bill’ (pay the costs) of a home stager, minor renovations or enhancements to make your home more sellable. Also, maybe the Agent will cover the fee for Title Insurance. This scenario is more likely if you buy a combined Real Estate Lawyer Service through the same brokerage as the Agent who will sell your home. Why would an Agent want to pay these costs for you – the home seller?

An agent can potentially earn 2.5-3% of the sale price for your home, depending on the split. Assuming the buyer’s agent could be paid the same percentage of commission. On a $200,000 home this translates into roughly $6000 per Agent. If Agent’s need to spend $500-$1000 to wrap-up a deal so that it will be more beautifully packaged, then they should do so with a smile.

Usually there is ninety-day commitment that an Agent will want from the homeowner to be able to effectively market and sell a property; detailed in the Listing Agreement or Sales Agency Agreement. Her is a link to sample Listing Agreement from the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) on the Toronto Real Estate Board’s website. If an Agent devotes this amount of time and professional expertise to have to relinquish the listing to another Agent, then they have donated their services and wasted their time. Better to invest in minor upgrades and in ensuring the home is effectively showcased and get it sold quickly, at the highest price it can fetch in the marketplace.

As a home-seller you need to be sure that the Agent you select will dedicate not only time, but some investment to sell your home. If an Agent has a team (partnership with a home-stager, referral to Real Estate Lawyer and Title Insurance coverage program), then you can know your home will be sold with ease and without any worries or complications.

As home buyer or seller you should be sure to perform your own due diligence when selecting a Real Estate Agent. Be sure that you are dealing with qualified and fully trained professional deal-makers who get the job right and on your budget, within a set time. You should not be shy about your property or your money. Be confident and secure the services of confident professionals to list and sell your home.

February 8, 2015/by Zack Steel

Business Matters Articles

Five Reasons for a Financial Advisor

Five Reasons For a Financial Advisor

You need the expertise of a Financial Advisor to evaluate your financial situation. Knowing how much money you have for spending and for saving is crucial. Some of your money may already be allocated; but it can be converted into cash. While other investments could be invested for a set term. You could have a savings account that is not offering a competitive rate of interest. A Financial Advisor can help you to realize better options for investing your money; with a bank or other financial institution.
Perhaps you could earn more interest on your money by investing it in mutual funds. Mutual funds provide the opportunity, to have your money professionally invested in a group of stocks; as part of an organized portfolio. Your money will be managed – by a licensed and fully trained – fund manager, who has accredited designations, from the Canadian Securities Institute. A Financial Advisor can guarantee that your money is assigned to a reputable Fund Manager. A Financial Advisor has been properly trained and received relevant certifications. A Financial Advisor has a wealth of experience and can maximize the potential of your portfolio.
You need the expertise of a Financial Advisor, to determine if you have adequate insurance. Perhaps you have many insurance policies and are uncertain as to the full benefits of coverage. You may be paying too much money for the coverage provided. A Financial Advisor can review your policies, to ensure that you have relevant insurance coverage. Your insurance products should be tailored to your lifestyle and long term goals. Some policies can be redeemed for their full value if not used. A Financial Advisor can review your policies with you, to make sure that you will be able to receive the maximum benefits.

A Financial Advisor can evaluate your mortgage insurance policy. You will need sufficient coverage to protect the balance of your mortgage. Do you know if your current coverage is sufficient? Do you know the benefits of having privately held insurance, to cover a mortgage balance? A Financial Advisor can provide you with options for mortgage insurance, which can cover you, regardless of your age, which may not be the situation with your current lender.

Retirement planning is another arena where a Financial Advisor can provide reliable guidance. Will you have enough money to retire? Will you have to pay penalties or fees when you cash-out your Registered Retirement Savings Plan or Registered Retirement Income Fund? Do you know all of the details, on the benefits of government retirement benefits? Are you aware of the available options, such as; Canada Pension Plan, Canada Pension Plan Post-Retirement Benefit, Old Age Security, Guaranteed Income Supplement, Low Income Allowance, and International Benefits, if you worked in or lived in another country? A Financial Advisor can provide specialized advice. A Financial Advisor will make sure you are aware of various strategies for ensuring a stable retirement; as well as many other possibilities.

February 5, 2015/by Zack Steel

Business Matters Articles

Rate of Return

Rate of Return on Investment

What is your return on your real property investment? You need to evaluate in more than plain dollars and cents. It is not only what you scoop in terms of profit in a real estate transaction in relation to your initial investment. Rather your calculation should encompass all relevant components of the deal.

Perhaps you spend time and effort to find and secure the right agent to list your home. The amount of time you allocated to negotiating your sale price and the agents’ commission is an investment of your time and energy, which you may not be able to reclaim in terms of actual money. Also, you may have needed to hire trades people to renovate and improve your property to bring it up to a saleable state. These monies also count as part of your financial commitment to your estate.

What about time and expertise you may have devoted to consultations with the person responsible for staging your home? Surely any fixtures you needed to buy to set the right stage for your home, as well as any decor upgrades have a quantifiable value that you should strive to recoup. Not to mention the time and effort you allocated to finding the right real property Lawyer, or for securing of the right title insurance.

There are many Lawyers who work in real property transactions, but not all of them are specialists who carry specialized title insurance. Some title insurance companies such as Title Plus may offer protection for unpaid utility bills, owing maintenance fees and debts related to partially purchased appliances. Some policies with some title insurance companies could offer insurance for a set time after move into a Resale Condo for originally purchased appliances. Other policies may offer coverage for repairs that need to continued or completed to due to irregularities in building permits.

Could you imagine buying a property that is on a road that to which you, as the new owner, do not have legitimate access. Or your may have bought a property that has a right of way that permits a neighboring property owner to drive across / through your driveway to access their home. Having a qualified Lawyer who specializes not only in real property deals, but also who is an expert in irregular land deals is a plus, when buying a home. Moreover, a unique or all encompassing title insurance policy is worth much more than what you may pay for coverage.

February 5, 2015/by Zack Steel

Posts

Celebrity Slush Fund

Creating Capitalism

Getting Paid Now!

Cash in a Flash

Whose Possessions Are Yours?

On Account

Five Reasons for a Financial Advisor

Rate of Return

Any more questions for Aaron? Feel free to get in touch!