Real Money Talks

Linda Cain is an event specialist. She has been involved with presenting live events for the past 20 years. Event dynamics have shifted over the past few years. There are more coaches and transformational leaders looking for event audiences, and the Internet has been a game changer. Today, we talk about current trends when it comes to filling a room for an event and how to keep your event in the black. We talk about online methods including video series, webinars, and Facebook Live. We also talk about keeping costs down, creating a one sheet, collaborating with like minded speakers, and sharpening your speaking game. You can find Linda here: BluDiamond Event Management Linda on LinkedIn Show Notes [01:10] Linda has been doing live events and corporate events for over 20 years. She started with corporate, legal, and international.  She has spent the last 12 years working in the live event industry.  [01:56] Linda and I both know how to lock in an event so you are in the black.  [02:15] Marketing and strategies for packing a room.  [02:28] Twenty years ago it was a lot easier to fill a room for corporate people, coaches, and transformational leaders.  [02:41] You just send out a flyer or make an announcement and people would show up. It was that easy.  [03:09] An event host or producer could count on the speaker to bring 50 or 60 people.  [03:27] Things have shifted. Coaches have large lists, but the people on the list don't go out to events.  [03:39] A really cool new trend is that more people are coming together in Internet rooms.  [04:11] People are able to do workshops and get their information out and sell to people in those smaller 50 or 60 group Internet rooms.  [04:41] The new trend of getting people into rooms.  [04:49] The engagement process. You have to hard market within three months of your event and keep your prospects engaged the entire time  [05:53] With the engagement process, you can send your prospects information each week. You can send them a video one week then a blog post the next week. Whatever it takes to keep them engaged.  [06:48] You can also do joint projects with speakers and guests you're going to have. Use things like podcast interviews and Facebook Live.  [07:28] Facebook Live needs to be structured and organized.  [07:46] The key to Facebook Live is the engagement process and having a regular schedule. Also have substance and personality.  [08:24] Video series - it works well to have a series that keeps people engaged during the process. Do short 20 minute hits where people can get in and then get out. The same thing works for webinar series. Putting the same webinar series out 10 different times will start to drive traffic.  [09:59] Speaking engagements. In the beginning of the speaker's career, they need a speaker sheet. It needs a great bio with a great picture and two or three topics they speak about plus testimonials. As you grow, you can even add ROI.  [11:21] Have a really good signature topic and presentation.  [12:11] Perfect your presentation skills and have a really good one sheet.  [12:56] You have to do your homework and know your audience.  [13:21] You can also approach other speakers that talk about similar topics and approach a company as one speaking body or program.  [15:32] The pay to play model. This is great when you're first starting out. You can also pay a little upfront and then do a split of sales on the backend.  [17:27] How to get sponsors. To get a sponsor, you need to give them time on stage or space in a vendor section.  [20:34] When having your event in a hotel, put a nice banner up and have a theater style room. You do a catering contract with the hotel. This means you look for space that is not being used for other events.  [23:13] Get out and speak.   [24:50] Get creative and innovative and have people invest in themselves to come to an event.  Links and Resources: Ask Loral  Toastmasters  eWomenNetwork  TEDx 

A topic that comes up over and over when we are doing business is Canada. My husband is Canadian. There are a lot of Canadians that want to do business with us here in the US. Here to talk about doing business with Canada is Dave Hare who is a licensed CPA both in the US and Canada. Dave is a cross-border CPA. He has done corporate business both in the US and Canada. Then he decided to leave the corporate world behind and venture out on his own. He owns 5 multi unit properties and is a successful real estate investor. He recently signed a 5 million dollar deal. Daves talks about the differences between US and Canadian tax entities and cross border investing to maximize your money. You can find Dave here: DHare77@gmail.com Show Notes [01:24] Dave got his degree in Michigan. Then he worked for several years for public accounting firms. After he became a CPA, he went over to the Canadian side and work for companies like Caterpillar and Volkswagen. [02:01] Eventually, Dave decided to branch out on his own and do his own thing instead of working for corporations. [02:18] Dave approached Loral about investing in real estate about a year and a half ago. He signed up for the big table. Now he has five multi unit properties. [03:10] Dave learned how to raise money through Loral, and he became pretty good at it. [03:26] Dave became part of Loral's team in September. Dave drove 37 hours to get to Tahoe and begin working with Loral. [03:47] They have been working on some solid deals including the marina deal and major renovations. He also recently signed a $50 million contract. [04:31] Dave surrounded himself with the right people and the right team. Build a diverse team that will provide you the expertise you need. [05:09] It's tough to find it's cross-border team members. [05:21] Three business structures that apply in Canada are partnerships, limited companies, and sole proprietors. [05:50] Partnerships are where you join with someone to set up a business. You will have a partnership return. Each partner does their own taxes. The tax write offs go to your personal tax returns. Any money you make on the partnership returns go straight to your taxes. [06:20] You have to be careful because of liability issues and tax issues. [06:36] Sole proprietorship's in Canada give you write offs towards your T4 income. This is a great tax strategy from that standpoint. [07:57] You want to make sure you protect your personal assets like your house and your vehicle. You have to be careful with liability issues with a sole venture. [08:55] As a sole proprietor, you may be able to write off 10 to 20% of your house if its use for your business. If you use more than that you might be able to use it as a carryover. [10:12] With the company, the carry forward losses can be used now and in the future. [10:29] If you have T4 income and you start making more money your taxes will be high, so you might want to look at other entities at that point. [11:12] You might want to move into a limited company. You will have more flexibility on write offs. [12:04] If you work from your house, your business will take a 10 to 20% of your house expenses. [13:05] In Canada, you can now write off entertainment expenses if you take out the entire office. You can now write off 50%. [13:56] For business driving, you can use electronic tracking and write that off. You need to be very careful about your record keeping and the rules. [14:36] As a sole proprietor, everything is questioned. [15:05] The benefits of setting up an entity in getting Incorporated. Set up a limited liability company to protect your assets. You will also have more right off opportunities. You can also protect yourself by having an operating agreement or contract. [16:23] If you have a company in Canada, you can also set up a US structure like a c corp. [18:55] Be careful of withholding taxes when setting up entities for businesses that are cross-border. [19:59] Make sure you set things up right from the beginning. [20:21] You can avoid exchange rates by keeping your money someplace where the tax rates are lowest like the US and then using a US credit card. [22:42] To talk to Dave,you need to think about trusts, whether you have children involved, whether you can send money down to the US, and possible insurance products. The plan needs to be individually tailored to you. Links and Resources: Ask Loral DHare77@gmail.com

Chris Williams is a world-class marketer and salesperson. We have known each other for years, and we both have a love of sales in common. Everybody wants more customers and that comes down to sales. Everyone looks to the marketing community for leads, but even if you get those leads they aren't going to convert unless you know how to sell. Today, we discuss the most important part of sales, and how many people are afraid of the follow-up. We also talk about Facebook sales strategies, how to have that all important sales conversation, time-blocking, some of the most important things you can do to get more sales, and more. You can find Chris here: Wide Awake Business on TwitterWide Awake Business WebsiteChris Williams on LinkedIn Show Notes [01:20]  Chris Williams began selling when she was nine years old and sold more Girl Scout cookies than anyone else for three years in a row. [02:02] At her young age, she understood the advantage of leveraged time and got friends and relatives to sell the cookies for her. [03:14] The most important part of sales is follow-up. 80% of business owners and sales reps never follow-up after the first interaction. Also, 80% of people don't make a decision until after the 5th interaction. If you don't follow-up it's never going to happen. [04:46] People often fail to follow-up, because they don't want to bother people or they have a sales problem. [05:16] There's nothing wrong with calling people when you have a reason to call them. [05:59] Gracious follow-up strategies include visiting or dropping something off with a potential client every 3 weeks. Otherwise they will just forget about you. [07:06] Once you identify a potential prospect find them on LinkedIn and Facebook and have a conversation with them. A handwritten note with a sticky note on an article that's appropriate for them is a great way to follow up. [07:49] Don't stop following up. Follow-up until they tell you no. I love it when people say no not now, because I immediately make a date to follow up. [08:42] Get used to no, because it just means not now. [09:23] Most people get their business from no not now and taking advantage of the follow-up. [09:48] If your why isn't clear enough, and you're not doing something for a specific reason then you can get your feelings hurt all day long. [10:31] Get clear on your big why and what gets you out of bed every morning. Understand the consequences of not accomplishing what you set out to do. [11:43] There are a certain amount of people that have to get through your funnel in order to have a conversion. If you have someone who's just a phone dialer they need to do a hundred calls a day. Understand how many people you need to get through the top of your funnel in order to make two or three productive cells. [12:59] How many brand new people did you talk to last week? [13:21] 98% of emails go unread, and most people at networking events just chat with their friends. [13:40] The sales process. Always ask open-ended questions. Start with how or what not why. Always leave the conversation. [14:07] Ask situational questions. Understand what the person's problem is by asking open ended questions that begin with how or what. [15:49] Ask if I could... would you? Go out and ask five people. [16:33] Talk about things from a sales perspective not a subject matter perspective. [19:09] Most people don't make all of their money from online sales. People buy from people. [20:15] New Facebook strategy. Post your blog on Facebook and then once a week give out a tool or PDF. Get them in your database. Then do a little Facebook Live to augment that. [22:12] Get people out of the social channels and into your database. [23:47] Integrity and making money when you say you're going to make money. [24:28] Challenge: go over the last two weeks of your calendar and highlight everything that's personal time. Then highlight everything that's revenue-producing in green.  Figure out where you're spending your time. Don't waste time, make money. [25:39] Have a power hour where you block out an hour every day where you are making sales calls.  Providing you have a list of people to call. [26:35] Final words: Power Hour, If I could would you?, and highlight revenue-producing time in your calendar. Links and Resources: Wide Awake Business on TwitterWide Awake Business WebsiteChris Williams on LinkedIn  

Valentine's Day is this week. Love is in the air, and money is always in the air. World leading relationship coach Orion Talmay is here today to talk about dating tips that will make you irresistible, even as a sales person. In this episode, we are going to tie the relationship pieces and the money pieces together. Upward of 90% of divorces happen because the money and relationship conversations don’t happen. Orion is a brilliant and beautiful woman and the perfect guest to tackle this topic. You can find Orion here: Get Orion’s Free eBook to Attract Your Soulmate Orion’s Method @OrionTalmay on Twitter Show Notes [01:33] Orion shares how she was in a bad relationship and completely broken. She also knew she could rise like a Phoenix and rebuild her life. She found motivation, traveled the world, and found the love of her life. [02:45] She now has the best relationship of her life. It is her passion to help other women find the same thing. [03:29] How manifesting your ideal relationship is like building a business. Tying the relationship pieces to money. [04:11] With a business, you have to create a business plan. In the dating world, it is creating a vision for your dreams. [04:24] Getting clarity on your vision of love the same way you would with your business. Focus on what you want, do your market research, and create your love avatar. [05:24] Look at your dating world branding. What are you showing to the world? [05:59] It takes about three seconds for people to judge you by your appearance and online presence. [06:12] People gravitate towards your big powerful online presence and the energy that you bring. [06:46] Look at your product development, if you are not larger than life. [07:00] Marketing yourself to a potential mate is like marketing a business. However you show up anywhere is how you will show up everywhere. [07:56] Having two different personas is hard and creates feelings of impostor syndrome. Be genuine and don't try to appear as someone who you are not. [08:37] It's about showing the people who you are. People gravitate to people that are genuine. [09:13] Meditate and visual, but you have to take action for anything to work. Like attracts like, and you get what you focus on. [09:39] Orion is a big believer in the law of attraction, but you also have to take action. Get out of the house and hang out where your avatar or ideal mate is at. [11:07] Actionable dating tips that can be applied to sales. [11:13] Don't fear rejection. Don't stop dating. You have to kiss many frogs before finding that perfect date. Don't take it personally, it's not about you. [11:54] It's almost like you are being tested. Don't give up. [12:25] Keep following up with the prospect. Things change over time. People are dynamic. [12:56] Build the relationship and make it about them. [13:19] Be interested in your clients first. You are more interesting when you are interested. Listen to non-verbal cues and match people using their own language. Mirror their language. [14:19] Cold calls are like blind dates. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. Do the work before and have a good presence online. Have a funnel, so these people will be hot leads. [15:08] How a lot of women are too aggressive or too passive. There has to be an appropriate level of follow-up. [15:56] How the days of men leading the money conversation are gone. [16:19] Love language. The five languages of love. We all receive love in a different way, and something that is translated as love to one person, may not translate as love to another. [16:47] Gifts can be a primary love language. Word of affirmation or being told they are loved. Physical touch being touched and caressed. Quality time doesn't have to a lot of time, but it is being present in the moment. Acts of service take out the garbage or something useful. Gifts, words of affirmation, physical touch, quality time, and acts of service. [18:15] When having the conversation with your client listen to their love language. [18:56] How to gauge someone's love language. With client's its a pre consultation questionnaire or asking these questions in a clever way. [20:33] Forging that long-term commitment. [20:54] Gratitude is the best attitude. Always say things you love and are grateful for. [21:54] Activating the reticular activating system or the RAS for love. [23:16] Love and business is like a garden, and you have to keep adding to it. Links and Resources: Ask Loral Dr John Demartini Get Orion’s Free eBook to Attract Your Soulmate Orion’s Method @OrionTalmay on Twitter

Martha Hanlon is someone who I have been friends with and known for years. She is also a smart marketer and teacher. Martha and her business Wide Awake Business has helped small business owners hone in on their marketing, sales, business development, and team development. Today, we talk about understanding your customers by asking them questions and the three biggest challenges Martha’s customers have faced. We talk about the importance of freeing up time to focus on the important stuff and strategies for understanding and finding customers. We also talk about the importance of having a plan and using and understand metrics. You can find Martha here: Martha's Website Wide Awake Business on Facebook Show Notes [01:25] Martha has a business called Wide Awake Business where she works with small business owners to help with marketing, sales, business development and team development. [02:00] She has an MBA from Wharton and she has been working in her own small businesses since 2002. [02:20] Martha does a client survey to actually know what is going on in the mind of her customers. She sends out a survey every year that asks what her customers anticipate will be their three big challenges for the coming year. [03:14] The number three biggest challenge is not having enough time. The number two challenge is not having enough customers. The number one challenge is themselves. [04:16] How the owner doesn't need to waste their time on menial tasks. [04:54] If you have a hard time making appointments, pay someone to set the appointments for you. [05:36] We are booked with stuff, but a lot of it is somebody else's agenda. [05:58] Customer's make money. Marketing methods that are working right now. It's hard to organically grow your business on Facebook. Video is the new king in Facebook. Purposeful videos are working to get people to follow you to your offer. [08:18] Getting traffic to Facebook videos. Do them on a regular basis and build the value of the content. Also give viewers a way to opt in. Facebook Live is yet to be over used. [09:10] Don't do one thing. Share with database, boost or put an ad in, and use other methods to boost. [10:13] LinkedIn has had tons of changes. They keep changing their algorithm. Make connections with ideal customers. Then do something like send a personal email. Engage them ask questions about their business and what they anticipate as their biggest issue. [11:49] LinkedIn is about engaging. The same strategies don't work on LinkedIn and Facebook. The only thing that isn't changing is personal connection. [12:34] Where does your customer hangout on social media when it comes to business purposes. [13:06] People look on LinkedIn for consultants and coaches. [13:22] People look for products on Facebook. [13:41] The biggest mistakes are that people still think they can build an organic following on Facebook. [14:37] You have to encourage people to leave Facebook and go to your landing page and opt in. [14:57] Biggest LinkedIn mistake is not doing anything with your connections. Build communication and show off your expertise. [15:38] What is the next offer after the free offer. Build engagement with your funnel. Have a product funnel. [16:12] Product funnels provide information in bite sized pieces that are easier to absorb. [17:44] People who struggle with their businesses have an idea and then go out and do things. Successful people have an idea and then put a plan together. [18:33] Part of the plan is finding your target market. Get specific. When you know who your customer is then you can figure out how to market. [19:22] What is their income, age, behavior, then you can find where they are. The more clear you are on your customer profile then you can figure out how to find them. It's also important to have metrics in place. [20:21] What pages do people look at? How long do they stay? Find the sweet spot, then know you will have to change because people change. Stay on top of it. [21:08] Put systems and analytics in place. [21:53] Find your goal and five critical success factors to hit that goal. [22:44] Be courageous and ask for the price you deserve. Then have your metrics include financial information. [25:08] It happens because you plan and execute. Links and Resources: Facebook Zero: Considering Life After the Demise of Organic Reach HubSpot State of Inbound 2016  

Joe Campbell is the Business Development Manager at Provident Trust Group. Provident is a trust company that can self-direct your IRA. When a lot of people think of self-directed IRAs, they think of a traditional IRA where you pick from a list of investment choices where your IRA is held. There is a whole other world of self-directed IRAs that you may not be aware of. At Provident, you can self-direct your IRA into alternative investment vehicles. It is possible to invest in many different types of real estate and real estate projects from raw land to development. Today we talk about alternative investment opportunities, getting started, Roth IRAs, traditional IRAs, types of 401k plans, having the right team and more. You can find Joe here: LinkedIn CI Bio Show Notes [01:18] More traditional IRA custodians have a self-directed account which lets you choose from their products. At Provident, self-directed IRAs get you outside of Wall Street and introduce you to some of the alternative assets that are available. Things like real estate, oil & gas, and huge list of potential assets. [02:38] How a self-directed IRA is different from a traditional IRA. With the self-directed IRA, you can invest in things that aren't offered at a traditional IRA. Provident is an alternative asset custodian. [04:09] Creative kinds of deals include island development deals, a marina deal, developing raw land, or renting out land, there is a multitude of ways that real estate can come into play. [05:07] Emerging assets include cannabis, bitcoin, and crypto currencies. [06:15] You need to do vetting and educate yourself on these assets. [06:47] You don't want to do anything that the IRS will view as a prohibited piece of action or deal with individuals that are disqualified. You also want to do arm's length transactions and not buy a house from your parents or rent to siblings. [08:02] You can't pay yourself to do business on properties that are held in your IRA. [08:25] It's important to have a team with tax advisers, estate advisers and lawyers when doing these difficult transactions. [08:53] The difference between a Roth and traditional IRA. The biggest difference is paying taxes now or later. With the Roth, you know what tax brackets you will be in. Your distributions are tax free when you start taking money out at retirement age. [10:41] You have to pay taxes on all of your distributions when you withdraw from a traditional IRA. The Roth can be a very exciting alternative asset vehicle. [11:33] We don't know what the tax rate will be in 20 years. Part of the strategy is you controlling your distributions and your plan. [12:33] With an IRA you need to be a US citizen with earned income. With a Roth there is a top limit, but not on a traditional IRA. [14:00] A 401k and a solo 401k. A 401k is associated with a retirement plan at your employer. A solo 401k is a retirement plan for your business, and you and your spouse as a small business owner or entrepreneur. [16:01] A solo 401k is like a self-directed IRA when it comes to investing in alternative assets. It's the only plan that allows you to take out a loan. [17:13] If you are at a job, you can't roll over your 401k until you leave that job, but you can borrow from it. [18:30] When calling Joe they will ask questions and find out what phase you are in and then fill out the applications. Then the accounts will be established in less than 48 hours. To get the account ready and funded it can take about 30 days give or take. [20:10] People in the traditional space will want to keep you where you are with high fees and more taxes. [20:47] A deal where a client purchased raw land and held it for over a year. She then resold it and got a premium for it by a casino company and became a IRA millionaire. [21:49] Mitt Romney and former Facebook employees used their Roth IRAs to invest in startups in their developmental stages. If the startups get huge, it is exciting to talk about. [24:19] Educate yourself on the options that are out there. There are alternative investment strategies that you can do that may be things that you are already familiar with.

Weldon Wulstein is my CFO, CPA, and an extraordinary tax strategist. Last year, he helped people save or get back about 3 million dollars in taxes. Weldon is driven to  help people find tax strategies that enable them to keep more of their own money. He is so good at what he does, because he looks at it as a challenge similar to solving a puzzle. He is here today to talk about the new tax code. This is our first of many podcasts on this topic. This tax reform bill is sweeping and has the biggest changes since the 1986 tax reform bill. A lot of the benefits are directed towards businesses and entities. Weldon shares changes and strategies to begin creating a smart tax saving strategy. You can find Weldon here: Ask Loral [bctt tweet="'You have to know your exit strategy. Are you looking for a 3 -5 year play, or are you planning on refinancing at some point? You have to start off with the leadership team.' Dave Hare" username="liveoutloud"] Show Notes [01:26] Weldon wants us to keep more of our money as opposed to giving it to the government. This is the goal that guides him. He sees it as a puzzle and he loves puzzles. [02:39] The creativity puzzle solving aspect of finances and investing. [03:07] How Loral and her team are the alternate finance people, similar to an alternative doctor. [03:32] How sweeping the tax reform bill is. It has the most significant changes since the 1986 tax reform bill. [04:09] There is now a 21% flat corporate tax rate. [05:11] The top rate bracket also went down from 39.6% to 37%. [05:31] Weldon's favorite change is the tax deduction that offsets taxable income for business profits. This deduction comes off of your taxable income. Any business with a net profit gets a 20% deduction of that profit. [07:39] Good CPAs will know what is going on, but not everyone will figure out how to utilize these reforms the best. [08:31] Sole proprietors are responsible for net taxes plus the 15% self-employment tax. [09:20] Let's say you have an s corp and pay yourself $100,000. With $50,000 on a W-2 and $50,000 as a net profit. The net profit deduction is only attached to that $50,000 net profit. You will need to find the best percentage to take as a wage versus taking it as a profit. [10:31] The worst parts are probably the elimination of the mortgage deduction and the elimination of property and income tax. [10:54] You can only deduct $10,000 a year in state income tax and property tax. [11:36] Your mortgage deduction is limited to a home value of $750,000. [12:16] States don't have to ratify these changes or at least it is not guaranteed. [12:59] Only a few of these items will be affected for 2017 taxes. These are mostly for 2018 and going forward. This leaves some time to plan the best tax strategies. [13:40] You can't just do one strategy. The plan has to be individualized. [14:24] Rental property write offs are still in place for mortgage interest and property taxes.   [15:26] These changes will encourage people to move into having an LLC or corp of some type. [16:08] AMT tax won't affect most people making under a million dollars. [17:38] There are now limitations on entertainment deductions. You can deduct the meal, but not the entertainment portion. [18:58] Think about changing what you are doing to fit the tax code, so that it will fit and become deductible. [19:50] All of the final regulations aren't out yet. Such as the use of gift cards. [20:50] The value of what you can transfer in an estate has been doubled to 10 million dollars indexed for inflation. [21:53] In about 30 days, there should be some final regulations around these questions. Payroll systems even have to be completely redone. [23:40] Use caution when looking stuff up on the Internet and make sure that it is up to date. Links and Resources: Ask Loral  

Traditional families have been changing over time. Things just aren’t the same as the days of Ward and June Cleaver. Statistics show that 62% of families are either blended or headed by single parents. I am a single parent, by choice, and this choice comes with challenges and a sense of freedom. Today, I’m talking with one of my clients, Melissa Mackey, who became a single parent and asked me how to be effective and get it all done.  We discuss how no one really understands what it is like until they do it. We also talk about dealing with guilt, freedom, and allowing ourselves the space and time to do what we need to do to run our businesses and keep ourselves healthy.   Freedom will never happen if we don’t allow ourselves that space and time. In This Episode of Real Money Talks:  Practicing the art of receiving and keeping our cups full Allowing yourself space and time by not feeling guilty Traveling with babies and people offering to help Teaching our children what it takes to be fearless How nothing can really prepare you for the journey Subscribe, Rate & Share Real Money Talks!         Loral Langemeier is on a mission – to educate and empower the Real Money Talks community on how to have those important money talks that are straight, to the point, and can be applied to every aspect of your life. So, tune in every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on iTunes to learn, ask Loral a question, and create your path to financial freedom! Don’t forget to leave a review and grab your free gifts on AskLoral.com!

Dave Hare is here to talk about money rules and due diligence. Dave and I do a lot of projects together, and I am going to have him on the show on a regular basis. We are also going to use our new marina in Texas as an example of how a deal gets done. But first, we are going to talk about due diligence and money rules and how the rules come about for people.   You can find Dave here: Loral’s Real Money Talks Ask Loral   Show Notes  [01:17] It's all about planning. These aren't deals that close in 30 days or less. These can be stressful and time consuming, and you could end up walking away from the deal. [02:10] Make sure that your investment plan is part of your money rules not part of someone else's rules. [02:53] How investing starts with money rules. [03:06] What is your exit strategy. Refinance or short term play? Begin with your leadership team. [03:33] Do you have a strong operation and finance team? Bring in someone who knows operations and who has an equity play. These answers are the key when speaking with bankers and investors. [04:19] Who has oversight on the books? Is the business or investment family owned? [04:59] Think of deals as a fix and flip. [05:46] Dave ran the numbers on a deal and realized a family member had been stealing from the rest of the family. This was a deal they had to walk away from. [06:24] Dave and Loral do thorough background checks on everybody involved when doing deals. [06:49] Numbers may or may not make sense. Make sure there are long term leasing options and good relations. Assets are your future. They need to support the business going forward. Look at the story behind the story. [08:04] Don't close before you find the story behind the story. [09:19] Dave found the marina business through networking. He signed up for meetups etc. He found this contact at one of Loral's events. [10:48] Get yourself out there. If you want to do it do it and get out there and make yourself known. [11:25] The marina deal, due diligence, background checks, Dave's due diligence list is 12 pages long. It lets the people on the other side know that you mean business. [12:25] Create a letter of intent before making a purchase agreement. A letter of intent is a non-binding contract. This gets the discussion going and let's you start working on due diligence and financing. [13:38] Look at the owners background and story, the customer base, the boats, the buildings, and everything you can look at. [14:09] How each person on the team brings something unique to the business. Never go alone especially on your first business. There is something that you will miss. [14:43] Have team members with experience, and have someone who understands finance and accounting. [15:29] You need to seek out smart knowledgeable people for your team. The buddy clubs aren't going to work because they don't have enough skill set on the team. [16:23] You have to understand what someone brings to the table and what their exit strategy is. [16:52] The components of the deal. Knowledge and experience will get you a seat at the table. Equity side and debt side. [17:36] They approached the owner who wanted to do a quick sale. Seller financing under 50% of the value of the property. Then they had to go out and find the 55% of the loan with equity partners with an option to refinance. They are doing about a million dollars in renovations. They want to rebuild the area back to it's 1950's glory days of farmers markets and bands etc. [19:34] They structured the deal with the sellers financing. This helps motivate the seller. They were also able to do a second position with the owners. The did have to pay another 1/4 percent and walk away fully financed. [20:38] Deal creativity. Carry backs etc. Use creative deal structures with the use and return of the money. First money in gets more, because they have taken the highest risk. [21:36] The rehab money won't get equity. There is quality of money. When you first start a deal, you have to give something up. [23:08] They have a one-year note that gets double digit returns. [23:36] The important thing is background checks. You have to do them. Don't be afraid to walk away if you need to. [25:30] We are here to teach you the reality of owning real assets.   Links and Resources: Ask Loral Loral’s Real Money Talks Shark Tank

Most entrepreneurs struggle with learning and doing many things at the same time. Especially, when they are just starting out. They are also usually short on time and soon learn that outsourcing and finding people who specialize in the one thing that they need is the best way to go. Still, that leaves them with the issue of finding and managing tons of different specialists. Today, I talk with a friend and colleague of mine who has developed a solution for this very problem. Alexander Ford offers a done-for-you solution where he finds, hires, and manages all the specialists for you. This solution results in cost savings. He also develops an incremental strategy so that new businesses can focus on what they need most, and in the correct order.   "A results focused strategy is more efficiently executed with a partner that implements your specific plan."     In This Episode of Real Money Talks:  Challenges of finding and hiring specialists without prior knowledge Developing an incremental strategy that serves your business best Having a results focused specialty developed by a knowledgeable partner Creating a hard infrastructure and modernizing technology Turning a website into a “cash register” Subscribe, Rate & Share Real Money Talks!         Loral Langemeier is on a mission – to educate and empower the Real Money Talks community on how to have those important money talks that are straight, to the point, and can be applied to every aspect of your life. So, tune in every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on iTunes to learn, ask Loral a question, and create your path to financial freedom! Don’t forget to leave a review and grab your free gifts on AskLoral.com!