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If you stick with ETR long enough, you are bound to end up richer than you are today. Perhaps much richer. When you do get rich, you will one day have to write a will. At that point, you will face two unnerving questions: 1. Should you leave your money to your children? How can an inheritance be damaging? How can it not? We've all heard stories about children spoiled by the certainty that they would one day inherit their parents' wealth. I remember telling one such story -- about an acquaintance of mine -- in ETR. I was shocked when he griped that his mother was "squandering" his inheritance on her 80-year-old boyfriend. Worse, he implied that he wished she would die soon so there would be "enough" left for him. Can you imagine a child of yours having such a thought? Whether you are nearing the estate-planning years or just starting your business career, it will do you good to spend some time contemplating this issue. K and I have always told our children that they would inherit no money from us. We said that to instill a sense of independence in them and underline the point that they don't deserve our money just because they are our children. This has worked out very well. Sons one and two are out in the world earning their own keep and never ask for financial assistance. They live within their incomes, and we hear no complaints about it. Number three son is still in college, but it looks like he's going to follow suit. Now that their characters are formed, we aren't worried that they will spend their middle years waiting for us to kick off. We would like to help them financially, but we know that might weaken them. So we have embarked on a strategy that you might want to adopt. Several years ago, we established a company for the purpose of investing in rental real estate. The properties owned by the company are producing a decent income. A few months ago, we had a family meeting. We told the boys about the company and let them know that they each own a bit of stock in it. We told them that we would gradually increase their shares in the company so long as they participated in it in some way. Our hope is that they will learn what we've learned about real estate investing and grow the business -- possibly pass it on to their children. Their reaction was surprising and encouraging. They told us they didn't want or need the shares. They said they could take care of themselves. When your children are young, you want them to be good at everything they do. Good at school. Good at sports. Good at music. When they grow up, you discover you want something else for them. You want them to be financially and emotionally independent so they can be comfortable after you are gone. We have not abandoned the family business idea. I believe our boys will gradually agree to participate on some limited basis. But we are happy that they have so little interest in our wealth -- and that they'll let us "squander" it if we want to. Bankruptcy is up. Unemployment is up. So how is it that the stock market is doing so well? Economists and financial gurus have all sorts of answers. But if you ask me -- if you want a businessman's perspective -- I'd say the market is smoking dope and reading USA Today. Most of the entrepreneurs I know are cutting back on expenses and firing employees. The expense cutting is hurting vendors. And that is forcing them to cut personnel too. If you take into account "discouraged workers" and the "long-term unemployed" the unemployment rate is already over 15%. I expect it to be even higher by the end of March 2010. By then, we will be neck deep in a commercial real estate and credit card collapse. Will the stock market still be soaring? My guess is no. But what do I know? What's more important is that you can make money in any market if you make smart choices and listen to the right people. The experts of Investor's Daily Edge, for example, are bringing in one winning recommendation after another.
This is not the time to be a gun-slinger. The economy is still very weak and the market will eventually reflect that weakness again. But that doesn't mean you can't continue to make safe and substantial profits. Consider letting the experts of IDE be your guides to those gains. Herschell Gordon Lewis, the legendary "Godfather of Gore" filmmaker and Hall of Fame copywriter, sent me this note: "Depending on which version of the Bible you're reading, a line in Samuel (referring to the death of Jonathan) reads either, 'How have the mighty fallen' or 'How the mighty have fallen.' "Biblical scribes may have thought they faced tough times, but the quotation is stunningly apt when applied to the U.S. dollar. Margo and I aren't surprised, but aren't wagging our tails either, when we show up in other countries and find we're armed with popguns instead of financial AK-47s. "Here's an indication: We're in Santorini, that elegant and picturesque Greek island. We've been here before, and always the very gracious hotel, restaurant, and retail personnel were more than enthusiastic to welcome dollar-spenders. In fact, they were eager. "Now we hear in place after place, 'Oh, don't you have euros?' Or worse, 'Sorry, we don't accept dollars.' Can you believe it? Believe it. "The dollar doesn't have much cachet these days (even at home). Credit cards still work everywhere on our little planet, probably because banks can convert their value instantly. The financial pages of newspapers track the dollar, once worth about 40 percent more than the euro. Now it's $1.45 or $1.46 to the euro. On odd occasions when it's $1.41, the markets go mad. At $1.48, the travelers go mad in the other direction. "Oh, well. We've loaded up with euros, and I have dollars to use when we get home in a couple of weeks. I can always save them for the next trip to New York, where I can hand them to unpleasant taxi drivers." Herschell You never know what kind of businessperson you are until you face a serious challenge. And with today's economy, we're all facing the most difficult challenge of our careers. When things get tough, people assume one of two roles. 1. The bears get frightened, then retreat and hibernate. 2. The bulls think positively, and move forward aggressively. I've been through many tough markets. And the way I got through them was to "bull" my way through. Yes, I was doubtful. Yes, even scared. But I knew that retreating would do me no good at all. So I pushed forward. And sooner or later, things turned around for me. That's what I think we need to do now. If your business is hurting, get back to your marketing harder than ever. Keep your expenses reasonable. But keep testing until you have a new advertising campaign that works. The main thing to test during times like this is the offer. The right offer -- the right pricing, terms, guarantee, and refund policy -- can easily double or triple your response rate. If you could accomplish that, you'd feel pretty good, wouldn't you? Speaking of offers, this morning I received an e-mail from one of my clients. She said that a change I suggested for her offer had dramatically increased response: Yesterday, I reviewed a manuscript for a new book by master copywriter Bob Bly that AWAI is publishing. It's called How to Create Irresistible Offers: The Easiest Way on Earth to Make Your Marketing Generate More Leads, Orders, and Sales. In the introduction, Bob says: "An irresistible offer promises prospects something so compelling or desirable that they can't help but call, write, or go online to get it. 'The irresistible offer is an identity-building offer central to a product, service, or company where the believable return on investment (ROI) is communicated so clearly and efficiently that it's immediately apparent you'd have to be a fool to pass it up,' writes Internet marketing pioneer Mark Joyner. "Or, to paraphrase Marlon Brando in The Godfather, it's an offer your prospect can't refuse." If you are not actively testing offers, you need to get this book. I read it in one sitting. It was exhilarating. I highlighted dozens of good ideas. Ideas I plan to convey to my clients when I meet with them. Bob describes hundreds of clever ways to make your advertising more responsive and boost returns. We'll be trying some of them at ETR next week. If you are a CEO or a marketer, check out this book now. "Losing weight is a matter of simple arithmetic. You've got to eat fewer calories than you burn." This may be the most popular truism of our ever-fattening society. It is repeated by doctors and health advisors on television, in magazines, and in the pages of bestselling books. It's universally believed by sensible, educated people. And yet it is completely, utterly wrong! The kind of calories you consume makes a big difference in how much fat you retain. That's how our bodies are designed. Dr. Al Sears says that the real reason so many Americans are fat today is not that they are eating more calories than they are burning. It's that what they are eating is exactly the sort of food that makes the body fat. "Our modern diet is processed and full of additives and other toxins," he says. "Combine that with getting older and you throw off your body's 'fat signals.' These signals tell your body how much fat to make and store." If you want to lose weight quickly and naturally, eat like a caveman, Dr. Sears says. What did a caveman eat? Grass-fed meat. Organic vegetables (the ones that grow above ground, not tubers). And fruit. Reduce or eliminate all foods invented after the invention of bronze. That includes lots of stuff the government and the food industry recommends, such as "whole grain" breads and "lite" fats. Eating like a caveman isn't all that easy, given the temptations that are out there. I still have my weekly McDonald's because I need a synthetic food fix once in a while. And, boy, it tastes good! But I know that Dr. Sears's advice is right on. So I do the best I can to heed it. Hope you do too. Although unemployment is climbing (see above), the number of people getting jobs doing search engine marketing is growing in leaps and bounds. A new study by Indeed.com says that salaries for those jobs range from $30,000 to well into six figures. That's good news for anyone interested in Internet marketing or copywriting. * AWAI's SEO Copywriting Success: How to Profit From Writing for Search Engines. It's perfect for freelance copywriters and marketing consultants looking to add "SEO Specialist" to their services by learning how to drive free, targeted traffic to their clients' websites. * ETR's Internet Cash Generator, taught by my friend and colleague Bob Bly, a veteran copywriter and marketing consultant. It focuses on marketing techniques that will quickly grow your Internet business (or help turn your idea for a business) into a non-stop cash-generating machine -- in any economy, boom or bust. Today's Generation Lacking Common Sense? My recent conversation with three young ad execs, recounted in last week's Journal, stirred up Early to Risers from coast to coast. Here's what one had to say: "Firstly, I have to say I think you are a genius. I have actually started passing your articles to non-business associates, simply for the fact that there is so little genuine common sense thinking in the world. "Even if in your twenties you were idealistic, I can almost be sure you weren't that 'haughty.' Thanks again for the regular reality checks! There are a few generations out there that need them." [Ed. Note: Michael Masterson welcomes your questions and comments. Send him a message at AskMichael@ETRFeedback.com.] |
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Saturday, September 26, 2009
ETR: Leaving the Kids Out of the Will
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