Category Archives: Economics

Economics: Currently it is f—ed, thank you Wall Street and all of its MBA members

Economics, Relationships, Social

Blame it on the Recession

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Blame it on the Recession

The recession can be looked at in a few angles; one, it can be viewed as a ‘system’ reset, a negative period with high unemployment, inspiration to spark innovation, or a plausible excuse for shit you don’t want to do.

We all get asked to do shit that we don’t want to, and if you don’t want to come off as ‘blunt’ or an ‘a-hole’, sometimes an excuse may be the best route to preserve someone’s feelings from being hurt. Thus, the recession can be handy excuse to give; everyone is going through it and everyone can relate.

Scenario’s:

Your girlfriend asks you to go to the play; plays can range from anywhere to $55 to $300 … Tell her that its a recession, you can’t afford it

You and your girls go shopping at the shoes store, when you come home, your fiance asks why would you go spend money on frivulous items … Tell him that you are helping to stimulate the economy

See? It works both ways. Though the recession is bad, it can be used for good – it all depends on what context you put it in; be creative, so that you can avoid those mundane, wack events that people want to drag you around too.

Don’t wanna do anything that friends propose? Blame it on the economy

.:: LiBM ::.

Economics

Direct to the point

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Direct Sales

Respect the Customer

Sales is one of the world’s oldest traditions. Salesman are persuasive individuals that attempt to get you to buy a product or service. Sales can be split into sub-categories ranging from buying a product/service to buying into an idea. When buying into an idea, it is best for the salesman to get straight to the point; don’t sell dreams and hopes or the American Dream. Especially now with this broken economy, salesman will use all sorts of tactics to prey on susceptible individuals.  So my advice, especially when dealing with intelligent people, get straight to the point – we want the bread and butter, cut the filler.  If an idea is solid, we will see it, if it’s loose, then we will tell you where to go.

So for you people involved in MLM’s, retail, insurance sales, here are some tips for you all to incorporate into your sales schema’s and pitch’s so that you won’t waste people’s time:

  1. “WHAT HAVE I DONE TODAY TO GENERATE BUSINESS FOR TOMORROW”Before the highly successful saleperson leaves their office for the day, they will repeat this quote to themselves. Whatever type of daily organizer or appointment schedule you use, you need to look at it prior to leaving your office and make sure that you have activities on the books for tomorrow. For example, you will have scheduled confirmed appointments on the books, or you will have sales contracts to write, or you will have prepared a list of clients to call on your call back list, etc… This will double or even triple your personal production.
  2. “MY INCOME IS IN DIRECT PROPORTION TO THE SERVICES I RENDER TO OTHERS”Highly successful salespeople delivers exceptional customer service before, during, and after the sale. By giving your clients exceptional customer service, they will be more willing to refer you and your company to their friends, family, and co-workers. Thus dramatically increasing your referral business. We all know that referrals are the #1 internal marketing vehicle. So, by memorizing this quote, you will have more satisfied customers and also dramatically increase your income due to the increased referral business.
  3. “THE MOST POWERFUL INGREDIENT IN BUSINESS IS POSITIVE MOMENTUM, GET IT AND KEEP IT”The “big MO” is something that all successful salespeople find, build and maintain at ALL times. In order to get and keep positive momentum, there are some areas that you need to avoid. Some of these areas are negative people, bad business decisions, costly advertising mistakes, poor time accountability, and blaming others for your failures. Positive momentum is developed first and foremost by your ATTITUDE. Conceive your business strategies, believe in your business strategies, and then go out and achieve your business goals.
  4. “IN ORDER TO WIN A MAN/WOMAN TO YOUR CAUSE, YOU MUST FIRST MAKE A FRIEND”This is just plain old sales 101. Before anyone buys anything from you, they must first like you and trust you. Before they like you or trust you, you must be a friend to them in their eyes. Always remember that the client is buying you, not your product. So once they are your friend, they will buy anything from you. Also, this quote will greatly help you in your personal life as well.
  5. “THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A WISE PERSON AND A FOOL IS THAT THEY BOTH FACE THE SAME CHALLENGES, THEY BOTH MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES: THE WISE PERSON LEARNS FROM THEIR MISTAKES”We will all make mistakes in business and that’s alright. Just don’t continue to make the same mistake over and over again. For example, a fool is a person that constantly arrives to work late everyday, or constantly misses their weekly/monthly sales quota, or is constantly running the same advertisement every month but the telephone never rings from that particular advertisement. In order to become a wise person, it takes constant focus on all of your decisions regarding any business or sales issue.
  6. “YOU CAN’T DO THE SAME THING EVERYDAY AND EXPECT A DIFFERENT RESULT”As professionals, we are either moving forwards or backwards in life, we are NEVER standing still. Highly successful salespeople constantly strive to move their careers forward, thus producing more appointments, sales, income, and professional career advancements. If for whatever reason you find yourself moving backwards, you need to refer to Quotes #1, #2,#3,#5, and #7.
  7. NO SALES, NO MONEY —
    KNOW SALES, KNOW MONEYSales is a learned respones. The more knowledge and information you can obtain pertaining to sales, the higher your income will be! Individuals that state that they are a born salesperson, is nonsense. To become highly successful in sales, it takes a tremendous amount of time to read as many sales books as you possibly can, or attending as many sales seminars that you can, or listening to tapes or CD’s in your car on the way to work so you can constantly continue to educate yourself on sales. I can assure you that your competitors top salesperson is constantly building his/her library of knowledge of sales material, are you? Once you “know” sales, you will “know” money because your knowlegde is greater, your attitude is stronger, and your self-confidence is bullet proof!

Source: http://top7business.com/?id=590

I am sure, hopefully, that most of you all are doing this, but when your customer is directly asking you the ‘straight goods’, act like UPS and deliver.

.:: LiBM ::.

Economics, Social

Tip What? pt.4: When to tip

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200153253-001

Tip What? Pt. 4 – When to Tip

Only on vacation

This is the fourth or fifth installment of my rant against the social practice of ‘tipping’ – usually I have accounted my experience of my reluctance to tipping.  Many have said that I am cheap, inconsiderate, lacking sympathy, and other colorful descriptive language – my whole thing is that tipping should be an act of voluntary goodwill; it shouldn’t be a forced act.  As many people feel that they HAVE to tip – I subscribe to no thought.
However, in some instances, to ensure one’s safety at times, I do believe that you have to tip.  What are these instances you may ask?  Well its not at your local restaurant or diner, tipping should only feel mandatory when one is abroad in a foreign land.

Hotel:
When in a resort destination like Cuba or Mexico, or any other tropical place, it is wise to tip the Bell Man and the hotel cleaning staff.  In some places, the hotel staff can’t take money, so it is wise to give gift bags of everyday items such as toiletries, pencils, pens, socks, anything usually that can be found at your local dollar store.  It is good to treat these staff well so to lower the probability that they will rob you and tipping the bell man, can usually lead to good intel on the happening spots.

That’s about it.  No need to tip the taxi driver driving you from the airport, no need to tip local restaurants on your vacation, no obligation.  As a rule of thumb when dealing with service industries, don’t be an A-hole when dealing with people that prepare your food or upkeep your room.

Well, until the next installment, don’t expect a tip from me when you see me in the restaurant … because you may be shocked when I do.

.:: LiBM ::.

Economics, Hip-Hop, Relationships

If its NOT ‘tricking’, then what is it?

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“It ain’t tricking if you got it”
Then what is it?

I gotta make this a PSA .. ‘tricking’ is ‘tricking’, regardless if you have money or not.

I don’t know when tricking was in style, and I don’t even know how it got so popular, but I write this piece as a cry for attention to the mislead youth of the hip-hop world they may actually begin to think that tricking is acceptable. It started with Lil Wayne glorifying it in ‘A Milli’, to T-Pain, T.I., and now even Ludacris – hip-hop’s top artists are slowly conditioning the masses to trick on women.

I am sure there are many definitions of ‘tricking’, but the one I subscribe to is this, tricking is an investment – a man tricks on a woman with lavish materials, fine dinning, et cetera, to ensure a reward or to ensure a repetition of such rewards. Hey, I guess we all got to do something to maintain the relationship, but what these rappers are preaching is kind of reckless, I mean to break it down:

‘It ain’t tricking, if you got it’

That implies that if you have a lot of disposable income, and you spend lots of money on your woman/women, then it is not ‘tricking’ . so what is it then? And, does that mean that if you DON’T have a lot of disposable income, and you spend lots of money on your woman/women, then is that ‘tricking’? Well, rappers are not the most logical of beings, but what this message of ‘acceptable tricking’ kind of misleads the masses; hip-hop already conditions one to be overly masculine, have a tough bravado, stunt, and maintain a confidence demeanor. So, with the ‘got it’ (money), what hip-hop aficionado wouldn’t assert that they have money? Even if they are struggling with employment, or living off their parents, a lot of the hip-hop masses will try to emulate the rapper lifestyle that they see in videos. T.I. can afford to ‘trick’, even if he does it see it like that (which he is wrong), but the average Lamar’s & Omar’s are not living like that – and playing into such a façade can be dangerous:

A) It conditions women that ‘tricking’ should be expected from men
– So you go to the club, see a fine lady, couple of days and dates past, and the woman will start to expect gifts, shopping sprees, and the like. Uh-huh baby girl, and even worse for the man, because if you can’t maintain the ‘tricking’ that she expects, she step out on you – and then the man has an expensive high-yielded investment that went awry.

B) Credit will suffer, but disposable income amongst men will rise
– Here is some good news for slumping U.S. economy, but bad news for lenders. As men are conditioned to engage in tricking, they will incur large amounts of debt, taxed on with high interest rates, creating a problem for the lenders (in recouping their money), but it will benefit the shopping and restaurant industry as the hip-hop generation of men will continue to trick on their women, in the face of mounting debt.

I know I am asking a lot, by requesting that hip-hop artists show some responsibility, but I just had to address this growing popular notion that ‘tricking’ is NOT ‘tricking’, if you have money . it is still tricking, don’t get it twisted.

.:: d.b ::.

Economics, Entertainment, Hip-Hop

The Financial Times of Rappers

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The Financial Times of Rappers
Virtues: financial responsibility, planning, guidance 

Let’s see how the ‘Greatest Rapper Alive’ handles his money:

Here’s a snippet from The Smoking Gun:
According to a lawsuit filed last month by businessman LeMarck deAndre, Lil Wayne (real name: Dwayne Carter) agreed to pay at least $120,000 for the repair and refurbishment of a 1999 Bentley, which is pictured below. However, after the 25-year-old rapper belatedly paid $78,000 for work on his ride, deAndre contends, Carter refused any further payments. deAndre’s December 18 Alameda Superior Court complaint, which you’ll find here, charges that Carter owes nearly $80,000 in fees for the storage of the burgundy Bentley, which apparently was going to be shipped from northern California to Louisiana, home to Carter and Cash Money Records, the label Carter headed until last year.

So what’s Wayne’s reason for not paying? deAndre says he never gave him one and people in Cash Money stopped answering his calls. But interestingly enough, Wayne was negotiating a publishing deal for several hundred thousand dollars around the same time he had this $120k+ worth of work done to this car. So, in typical Lil Wayne behavior, he was spending money he didn’t have yet. And it backfired. Peep the 7 page complaint for damages here. Interestingly enough, I’m also told that the Bentley was originally a gift from his “Daddy” Baby and was signed over in Dwayne Carter’s name. Why Baby gave Wayne a Bentley he had to pay the bills on himself is beyond me…but not surprising. Meanwhile, Lil Wayne is threatening to blame this whole incident on his managers, but his managers say Wayne frequently ignored their advice and/or just didn’t tell them about his purchases.

——
d.b says:
Well, if this claim is true, it will just be another example of how the young, rich, and powerful are not financially astute. It could also say that these artists’ have a circle around them that are not looking out for their best interests. Or, it could be that these artists’ are just stupid and even though they are presented with the education and skills to manage their money, they are mentally unequipped to handle such a capacity.

The ‘Best Rapper Alive’ may need the best ‘Debt Consolidation’ Agent alive.

.:: d.b ::.

Economics, Social

Tip What? pt. 3

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Tip What? pt. 3
The ‘Included’ Tip Get Familiar with Tip What pt. 1 & Tip What pt.2

I was recently out with a large group of people at a cafe/restaurant; roughly there were 10 of us. The joint was well designed, ambience was positive, and we were all enjoying the sweet delicacies of ice cream, crepes, and other fattening artery clogger-foods. When it was time to boogie, the waitress never asked if we wanted one receipt or separate receipts – she proceeded to give us one receipt with everyone’s orders. I was fine with that; my portion totaled to like $4.74, so I believe I gave like $6 or $7 – figuring that it would cover taxes and would even add to a tip for the waitress. However, I was quickly prompted that I had to throw in $10 due to a gratuity that was already calculated into the bill. I obliged, but I was taken aback – it should be up to the customer if they choose to give a tip or not. Furthermore, automatically calculating the tip into bill is like a ‘slap in the face’; the restaurant is pretty much saying ‘you are going to pay a tip, regardless if you like it or not’. I guess restaurants engage in this practice because they figure with groups, they may not subscribe to socially practice of tipping (which is x% …. I don’t even know, because I don’t practice that foolery), meaning that the group may still tip, but below the ‘acceptable norm’. And in retrospect, maybe the restaurants do this because dealing with groups can be problematic for their wait staff – for our group, some of the orders will wrong on the bill, some of the ‘fresh fruit’ was far from it, and a lot of the group members were not really pleased with their meal. I mean, look @ me; I really wasn’t going to tip anyway – and I’m sure many of the other group members were going to follow in a similar fashion.

Its a very good thing though that I wasn’t paying the bill for the whole group, because I would have ignored that ‘auto’ tip, and maybe even do a D&D (best way to work out calories … instantly!).

P.S. d.b or its affiliates does not endorse Dine & Dashing at any restaurants, cafes, or the like.

Xtra Thought ~~
Look out for great pieces about D&D in the future though! D&D’s are best done in foreign cities and when on vacations though.

Economics, Popular Culture, Social

You’re a Yuppie when …

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You’re a Yuppie when …
Virtues: business, entrepreneurs, revolt against the system, technology

The term yuppie (short for “young urban professional” or “young upwardly-mobile professional”) refers to a market segment whose consumers are characterized as self-reliant, financially secure individualists. So this is an interesting list of some signs of a yuppie.

You know when you’re a yuppie when …

– you go to the club to do more networking than ‘picking up’

– you save gas & meal receipts so that you can file them for your income tax ‘business expenses’

– you have a smartphone w/ an accompanying over-priced data plan

– you switch from hotmail to gmail

– sleep starts to become a luxury

– T.V viewing is a luxury

– Starbucks becomes a place for business

– you’re at work, and all you can think about is the amount of work you have to do after work

– economics and financial markets are suddenly more interesting

– Social networking sites are more for networking and promoting your business than hooking up w/ old friends & finding new ones

– you stopped putting songs as your voice mail message

– you do your work @ work, while still doing your employers work

– you use a sick day not because your sick or to hook up with your partner, but to do work

– you feel guilty when you are doing nothing

– your only ‘downtime’ is during your commute

– your mind is always racing with new ideas and business ventures

– you consult your blackberry/PDA before you make time with your significant other, friends, and family

 

If you have one or multiple attributes from this list, then you may be a Young Urban Professional that is taking a detour on the trail of life that the system provides and creating your own path.

 

Go on young trailblazer, blackberry in hand.
.:: d.b
Economics

Silly Monkeys! Part 1: The Banker ‘Strong-Arm Mike’

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Silly Monkeys! Part 1: The Banker ‘Strong-Arm Mike’
Virtues: stereotypes, uphill battle, struggle, ‘cant win’

Strong-Arm Mike is the tight-ass banker. Mike is the branch manager and takes pride in the power that he has over his minions. Mike is middle-aged, unhappily married, and work is a refuge from ‘home’. Thus, it is only fitting to make your refuge similar to your fantasy, thus Mike’s branch has a suspiciously high number of young, attractive female employees. Mike is a creature of routine, habitually and consistently. Strong-Arm keeps the order and equilibrium in his branch, and of course, Mike has the last and final word on all matters.

Mike’s primary motive is to protect the interests of the bank, and to maximize profits – at all costs. So Mike is a witty, slick guy. Strong-Arm is the type of guy to give you a hard time for loans, credit, and for even opening an account; Strong-Arm likes to scrutinize a lot, and even ‘play dumb’. Even if you make sense, you have correct documentation, Strong-Arm Mike will find a way to make your life difficult. You see, Mike knows that you need him more than he needs you, and he knows that you are willing to sacrifice a bit in order to get what you want – which he controls. In my experiences, Strong-Arm Mike forced my biz partner to open up a personal account when it was absolutely not necessary for the business that we had. But Mike, flexed his muscle; not his physical, like many street thugs like to do, but his financial muscle – which is even stronger. That day we were treated like the silly monkeys, bowing to Strong-Arm, we had to accept his terms; which were so unconventional that the personal banker that we dealt with regarding this matter felt so embarrassed and shocked that this was happening to us. Hmm, she probably never seen anything like this before.

But Silly Monkeys get special treatment, right? Silly Monkey series to be continued, next the ‘Entrepreneur’ …

.:: d.b

Economics, Hip-Hop

Hip-Hop Cash Kings

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Hip-Hop Cash Kings
From: www.forbes.com

While most of us look forward to retirement, Shawn Carter, better known to the planet as master rapper Jay-Z, couldn’t stand the view from the sidelines following his 2003 farewell The Black Album. Despite a frenetic schedule as president of Def Jam Recordings and co-founder of its ultra-successful Roc-A-Fella Records imprint, Jay-Z managed to squeeze in a comeback last year with Kingdom Come, his 11th studio album, which debuted at the top of the pop and rap music charts, selling some 2 million copies.

But those weren’t the only paycheques coming in. Jay-Z also owns the 40/40 Club sports bar franchise, with locations in New York and Atlanta, and a small stake in the NBA’s New Jersey Nets. (He’s often photographed in courtside seats alongside his girlfriend, pop superstar Beyoncé.) Plus the native New Yorker (from Brooklyn’s hardscrabble Marcy Projects) collects income from blue-chip endorsement deals with Budweiser, Hewlett-Packard (nyse: HPQ), and General Motors (nyse: GM). All told, Jay-Z banked an estimated US$34 million in 2006, earning him the top spot on Forbes’ first-ever list of hip-hop Cash Kings.

Unlike traditional music genres like pop, rock and country, whose artists generally make the bulk of their money selling albums and touring, hip-hop has spawned an impressive cadre of musicians-cum-entrepreneurs who have parlayed their fame into lucrative entertainment empires. Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, who nabbed the No. 2 spot on the list, presides over G-Unit, a diverse portfolio of businesses that includes apparel, ringtones, video games and even a line of fiction. All told, “Fiddy” as he is known to fans, made an estimated US$32 million last year. “I’m creating a foundation that will be around for a long time, because fame can come and go or get lost in the lifestyle and the splurging,” he told Forbes last year. “I never got into it for the music. I got into it for the business.”

At No. 3 is impresario Sean “Diddy” Combs, formerly known as “Puff Daddy,” who lords over Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group. That enterprise is responsible for TV series like MTV’s Making the Band franchise, the Sean John clothing line, the bestselling Unforgivable cologne and a pair of restaurants called Justin’s, named after one of his sons. The Bad Boy Records label, backed by Warner Music Group (nyse: WMG), released albums last year by Danity Kane, Cassie and Yung Joc. Last year, Diddy himself released his first album in four years; Press Play debuted at the top of the U.S. pop and rap charts. All told, Combs made an estimated US$28 million last year. (Representatives for Diddy, ever the showman, insist that figure is much higher.)

Generally, the most successful “hip-hopreneurs” run their own labels, taking a cut from the artists they sign. Both Eminem (US$18 million) and Dr. Dre (US$20 million) boast Interscope-backed imprints; both helped produce and release 50 Cent’s last two albums, which have sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Fifty owns his own G-Unit label which produces artists like Young Buck and Lloyd Banks, among others.

Other lucrative businesses: producing tracks and beats for other artists. Listers like Timbaland (US$21 million), Scott Storch (US$17 million) and Pharrell Williams (US$17 million) are among the most sought after–and pricey– producers on the planet. Rappers like Snoop Dogg (US$17 million) collect massive fees for cameos on other artists’ tracks. Last year, in addition to releasing Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, his eighth studio album, Snoop Dogg (US$17 million) made guest appearances on hit singles by Akon, Mariah Carey and the Pussycat Dolls.

While endorsement deals with top-shelf brands used to be the exclusive domain of pop’s biggest acts–Michael Jackson and Madonna, among them–hip-hop artists now routinely land such gigs. This year Chamillionaire (US$11 million) inked a deal with Energizer; The Game (US$11 million) peddles Skechers sneakers. And in an irrefutable sign of just how corporate hip-hop has become: Last October Anheuser Busch named Jay-Z “co-brand director” for Budweiser Select.

Our estimates are based solely on 2006 income. In March, Jay-Z sold his Rocawear apparel label to Iconix (nasdaq: ICON) for US$204 million. Forbes estimates he pocketed about a quarter of that, after taxes and other payable commitments. And in May, Coca Cola (nyse: KO) announced it would buy Glaceau, maker of VitaminWater, for US$4.2 billion in cash. Once the deal is consummated, 50 Cent, who agreed to endorse the brand in 2004 in exchange for a small stake, should walk away with some US$100 million. Best efforts were made to contact every member of the list for comment.

.::

Life in B Major
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Economics, Social

Utmost Positive Regard

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Utmost Positive Regard
Virtues: Business, Lenders, Strategy, Knowledge

Power must be the most coveted attribute in this universe; people crave for it & will do just about anything to achieve it – lie, cheat, steal, manipulate, extort … kill. In the world of business, power must mean a measure of influence – basically stating that the more influential that one is, the more power they have.

What is concerning to me is when people give TOO much power to those in high positions; catapulting such people to a level where almost anything they say is golden & coveted. Before, you point out the obvious, yes, I concur that in business, ‘powerful’ people are a valuable resource for intelligence as they can provide insight, scope, and perspective. However, powerful people should not be an irreverent source for validity – because at the end of the day a consultant, entrepreneur, investor, or producer only provides an opinion based on the information presented & their knowledge/experience.

They can not ensure success &/or failure (even though many try), they can only provide probability.

And any advice should be taken as such, and should NOT be taken as an affirmation. This is for the small percentage of the population that embodies the entrepreneurial spirit, whom are at the mercies of ‘powerful’ individuals because they have money & influence. I am in such a category as my squad has innovative ideas and concepts for the betterment of society, but we unfortunately have no capital.

You, the budding entrepreneur, should have done your research & homework to know that your idea is hot; to know that your idea is feasible, and to know that there is a market out there for your endeavor.

You don’t need ‘Evan McMoney Bags’ to validate what you already know.

Ya digg?

.::
Peace,
d.b > www.vacantlot.org
::.

Economics

Flipping, keeping the balance

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image by ddotb.grandejunction.com

Flipping, keep the balance
Virtues: hustle, equilibrium, power, control

Flip – “To sell a product or service at a higher price than what was purchased for – for the purpose of making a profit”

The concept is simple: take something at a marginalized price, mark it up, profit. That is what your neighborhood drug dealer is doing while he pushes that ‘weight’. Its what Sean John does when you buy that nice sweater for $80, is made for like under $5, and the country that the sweater is made in flips off the blood, sweat, and tears of their people in the name of globalization. But, the government still flips, they get their money, but unfortunately with each flip, there is one, or one group of people that will always suffer, always get ‘flipped under’.

When I hear pleas wrapped in optimism about equality & fairness, I laugh. Because, flipping is all about balance, but more about controlling balance. Economics are structured in a fashion where the rich exploit & profit off of the poor, unfortunate, but fortunate at the same time … ya digg? Unfortunate for the humane aspect, fortunate for the technological advances that society has made by exploiting cheap labor and parts. Corporations & the government are the big flippers in this world as they have made Africa poor, for the benefit of the West. As with anything almost in this universe is made up of matter, and matter is made up of molecules that constantly try to procure homeostasis: a relatively stable state of equilibrium or a tendency toward such a state between the different but interdependent elements or groups of elements of an organism, population, or group.

And that is what flipping does – it keeps stability, it allows those to stay in power to stay in power, and keep those that are marginalized, marginalized. So what would, uh, disrupt this equilibrium? Well, tell me if you have an answer, because any disruption is surely going to be met with opposition, of course from the flippers. I ask myself, would a disruption actually be a good thing? I mean, can a world exist where economies of scale (world economies) are equal? Can, or will Africa ever be on par with Europe/America?

Share your thoughts, peace.