Respect the Price Tag

Trickiest part of business is staying in business. There are times when people are given the best tips in their life. They make vast amounts of money and then the competitive market makes it difficult to make money on their own ingenious idea. It is important to think about multiple markets in order to create a steady plan to participate in great ideas.

Going to conferences for Entrepreneurs, there is an expectation of extensive and deep conversations about current market trends. Actually, you get a seat and a meal. Someone talks about their new software, book or program for money markets, because every business needs additional money to grow and flourish.

I remember a guy talking about software. They make money in stocks and this software tracks stock performance and forecasts if the stock is going up. They said something about someone saying, "Buy low and sell high." I do not think they knew they were quoting Warren Buffett. It was not an issue in their speech. They wanted to sell their book and seminars. It was a comment to sell it on the premise that anyone can use it to make money on stocks.

There is a software that is free with stock brokerage accounts. Even if working with a Broker, it helps keep track of everything. Thinking about the speech a selling point was actual ownership, "Share it with your friend's and family." After buying it, it is yours. After buying it, it can become anyone's property. Anyone can use it to promote their own business.

I imagine they were thinking about word-of-mouth advertising and helping Small Business Owners. It is a decent plan. After going to school for a few years, investing in larger companies stocks is a method of making money when it is difficult figuring out how to compete against larger companies. There are public records of companies declaring business performance and stock performance. This assists in giving enough information without giving away company secrets. It was great to place everything into an easy to use software.

Unfortunately, several people who really cannot afford the investment start to invest. In addition, the stock market became wild and unpredictable. At one time they they might have thought they were immune to competition. Now they are probably thinking licensing agreements on the software would have been a great idea. Frankly, there is no way of identifying if they or someone else actually came up with the idea. Even the Software Developer is wishing they had copyrights so they could cash in on their work.

The most moral ideas, in concept, have the worst fates when planning is overly optimistic. I strongly believe pre-foreclosures or short sales are one of the most humanitarian ideas in decades. Basically a Real-Estate Agent contacts Homeowners in pre-forclosure. They talk to banks with leans on the home before the home forecloses. The Bank knows the most they will get for the home in auction is what is owed on the home. The Real-Estate Agent makes a deal to pay off the loan when selling the home. They work out the market price, costs, fees and other expenses and arranges to sell the home before it affects the Homeowners credit.

In order to do this what is owed on the home has to be less than the market value of the home. Selling a home under market value is easy. It does not have to be in great condition, just able to sell. Most home sales happen within three months after going on the market. The plan has everyone's interests in mind. Bank Lenders, Homeowners and Brokers benefit from the transaction. Unfortunately, it is such a great and necessary idea. It became a popular idea to money and protect people's credit that now it is difficult making money in pre-forclosure sales.

Now several people buy and sell pre-forclosures. Competition is greater. A person cannot just pick up a newspaper and get in touch with the banks. At one time, a licensed Real-Estate Agent could talk with banks and arrange to sell the home without one payment on the home. Ideally there is no money down, yet how many regular people could sell the house better than a real-estate agency?

Tons of people do it and it brought most homes up to market price. In fact, there are several people who owe more than the market price of their home. How many Real-Estate Agents are offering money out of their own pocket to save innocent Homeowners from foreclosure? (It is none. They are doing it on occasion to make quick money so they do not foreclose.)

There are many ideas for people to think about in relation to these concepts. If the people who thought of these ideas originally thought about protecting themselves with copyrights, licensing fees and factual information about their product people would have respect for the product.

People think playing "hard ball" and protecting your interests is selfish. It is not selfish. It is having respect for yourself and respect for other people. Making a product or service hard to get without paying money makes people think about what they are purchasing. Even as a Homeowner realizing I cannot afford payments on my home, I might want to know how to sell my own home. After that point, I should realize it is not my business. I made my money back and that is good enough.

People working in stocks, bonds and mortgages have a greater interest in this, yet my business is art and writing. Do I want to make money looking at properties and going to auctions? I might be willing to invest in Fanny Mae. They make it their business to protect the mortgage market. I think investing in people who make it their business is better. When looking for a home I might want to look at homes in pre-forclosure to save someone's credit score. It is a noble idea.

Rushing to make money raised the barriers to entry. The job market is now fiercely competitive; ergo, a person has to make choices because there are fewer options. It became difficult for people to make money selling stock trading software or making money on short sales. The return on being overly optimistic is losing their method of supporting themselves financially with a small business venture.

The outcome on everyone benefiting from being overly generous also lacks merit. Figure out how to make money. Do not lower prices to free in attempts to be competitive. Find out a reasonable price. Have respect for business; respect for customers, and respect for self.

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