Today\’s modern society is built on a dependence upon plastic. Not the plastic associated with cosmetic surgery, but the kind of plastic you keep in your purse. The kind of plastic you never leave home without. It\’s a wonder how people paid for goods and services before credit cards were invented! Along with the convenience that credit cards have provided comes a slippery slope to uncontrollable debt. If this sounds all too familiar to you then you should seriously consider cutting up those cards.

Most people would balk at the idea of pay near 30 percent interest on a loan and yet there are plenty of people willing to use credit cards that charge just as much in interest. Considering you wouldn\’t want such a high interest rate when borrowing to pay for your home or your car, why would you on your credit card purchases? Then there are some credit card companies that offer a low introductory rate only to raise their rates to such dizzying heights after a fixed term or after your first default. When you\’re considering any such offer, it literally pays to scrutinise the small print and shop around for the best deal. Offering credit is a great money maker for lenders so there are always good deals to be had as they\’ll want to attract your business.

Credit cards aren\’t all bad especially if you\’re trying to establish some sort of credit history. Almost everything you borrow on credit is recorded against your credit history. An established credit history can be very valuable because it shows potential lenders whether you\’re a risk or not. When it comes to borrowing large sums, buying a house for example, a good credit history is essential if you want to secure the lowest possible rate of interest as higher risk loan applicants attract higher interest rates. Using credit cards to build up a credit history can be very beneficial as long as you stay on top of your spending and never miss a payment.

When you\’re borrowing against a credit card, it\’s especially important that you don\’t stretch your finances to the point where you can\’t afford to pay off your balance without incurring a large interest charge. A relatively small debit balance left for a few months can quickly grow into a significant amount of money.

When you\’re spending with a credit card, be aware that the convenience factor can mask some of the triggers that help your brain register a financial transaction. For example, when buying goods for cash, you get to experience a real sense of loss (of the money) whilst experiencing the receiving of something (the goods). When you buy intangible goods or services you lose part of the buying experience. When you make your purchases with a credit card then you have even less triggers for your brain to register. This can make for very easy, guilt-free spending which is not a good thing when you\’re trying to get out of debt.

Although we talk about cutting up your credit cards, it\’s not absolutely necessary to do. As we\’ve seen, there are some benefits to be had from having one and they can be genuinely useful in an emergency situation. You just need to be disciplined enough to only use it when absolutely necessary and then clear the balance as soon as possible.

Of course, that doesn\’t mean you should keep all of your credit cards just in case the unexpected happens. The fewer active cards you have, the less credit limit you\’ll have available to spend. Your plan should be to decide which credit cards to keep and then clear the balances from the other cards as quickly as possible.

When you\’re going through the process of cancelling your credit card, don\’t allow the lenders efforts to keep you onboard change your mind. Remember why you\’re closing your account, all of the sacrifices you\’ve had to make along the way and the financial mess you could end up in.

Once you\’ve done away with your excess cards and have cleared your debt, start saving before you start spending again and only buy what you can afford at the time. If you don\’t have enough money then wait until you do. Either what you want will still be available or you would have gone off the idea altogether meaning you\’ve saved money. Discipline really is the key to keeping clear of debt once and for all.

Use credit cards wisely with tips on managing debt at All Financial Matters. Free up your valuable time by letting Valleyfield Accounting Services take care of your accounts - Accountants in Liverpool.

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When it comes to selling your business in California, an exclusive listing with a business broker provides the greatest likelihood of success for both the seller and the broker.

Only a limited number of business brokers will accept an open listing, and typically, a broker that chooses to work with such a limited commitment from a seller will NOT provide the greatest amount of effort to sell the business. Likewise, the commitment level of the seller is questionable. To understand this point in more detail, let\’s start with a definition of the two types of listings.

Open Listing:

An Open Listing is an authorization to sell a business or property. It may be given to several brokers concurrently or the business may be sold by the owner himself. There is usually no time limit associated with this type of listing. If the owner sells the property through his own efforts, he is not responsible to pay commissions to any of the listing brokers. An open listing may be canceled by either party at any time.

Exclusive Right-to-Sell Listing:

The Exclusive Right-to-Sell listing is the most common type of listing. It provides one broker the right to sell the business exclusively. This listing entitles the broker to commissions on the sale during the life of the listing agreement, even if the owner himself sells the business. This type of listing runs for a specific period of time, usually six months. The agreement may only be canceled by the listing broker during that period.

Initially, the open listing may sound like a great way to maintain more options; however, typically this type of listing agreement is a waste of time for both the seller and the broker. Here are a few reasons why this agreement can be counter-productive.

? Initial Effort

For a business broker to do his job properly, he must invest a large amount of time and effort up front long before the business actually sells or even goes to market. He must review the business from many different perspectives and understand the many unique aspects of the business including operations, financials, history, marketing, licensing, leasehold and personnel. This work must be performed before the business goes to market. The only way a broker can protect this initial effort is to secure an exclusive agreement with the seller. That way he can feel secure in dedicating the proper amount of time and effort necessary to do his job well.

? Co-broker Concerns

Often a broker will have concerns about offering the business to other cooperating brokers with only an open listing. Unfortunately, there are some less ethical agents that may try to circumvent the original broker and bring a buyer directly to the seller. With an open listing, this is a real concern. You want your broker to be able to offer the business opportunity to any qualified business broker without hesitation. With an exclusive right-to-sell listing he has protection from any non-principled brokers.

? Marketing Restraints

The concerns about the way an open listing is marketed are two fold. First, a broker will be concerned about the amount of money they are willing to invest in marketing an open listing, knowing that it may be canceled at any moment. Secondly, the broker must be very careful about the details he reveals to prospective buyers because a buyer can move to a different broker, or even try to work directly with the owner at any time. Both of these worries restrain the marketing effort.

? Competing With the Owner

Often in an open listing the seller can and will compete with the broker by bringing in his own buyers. This type of environment can create an adversarial relationship between the seller and broker. Without the cooperation of both broker and seller, deals rarely ever close. I always describe the right relationship between the seller and his broker to be just like a good partnership. Both parties work together toward the same goal. Selling a business is a difficult operation; make sure you work together with your broker for the same goal. By doing this you have the highest likelihood of a successful transaction.

Joe D. Robertson is the Broker and Owner of Southern California Business Brokers; Orange County primer full-service business brokerage. To contact Joe go to http://www.scbizbrokers.com/contactus.asp

Or visit our web site for more information on selling your business at http://SoCalBizBrokers.net

One of the reasons I love the business model I teach is because it effortlessly PULLS clients to me. I never have to chase them or worry about having as full a roaster as I want. The first step in making this happen is creating what I call your CFO - Compelling Free Offer. The problem is that very few solo-preneurs actually utilize this simple method of attracting all the clients they want.

Your Compelling F.r.e.e. Offer (CFO) is what entices people to want to find out more about you and what it is that you\’re offering. When you make your complimentary offer compelling enough, more people will be interested in taking advantage of it, which increase the audience to which you can then market to.

Your CFO can be packaged in a variety of ways: a mini e-course, a checklist, a CD, an audio download, a special report, a free teleseminar, etc. I offer a few different CFOs - a mini ecourse, an audio download, and for joint ventures I offer one of my paid products for free as a bonus to their paid offering.

The content of your CFO should be broad in scope, yet address a particular problem your target market is struggling with, something that they\’d pay to have a solution to. That\’s what makes your offer compelling in the first place, and it\’s what attracts them into your Marketing & Product Funnel. Your CFO should be loaded with valuable content, so much so that you leave your prospect thinking, “wow, if this is what he/she gives away, imagine what his/her paid stuff must be like!”

To lead them further down your funnel, you\’ll want to be sure to not give away the store in your CFO, but share what the problem is, what your solution to the problem is, giving them a taste of how you can solve it for them. But what\’s key to making your CFO successful is to not just give great content, but to leave them with wanted more. The \’more\’ comes by way of your paid products and services.

The results of having a CFO are three-fold: you build your credibility and become known as an expert in your niche, your word-of-mouth marketing catches fire, and you\’re approached to share your CFO with even more people through joint ventures and strategic partnerships.

The mistake I made when I first started my consulting business was trying to pitch my services to people who didn\’t even know me (I cringed when I remember all those wasted early morning networking breakfasts). We all know that it\’s much easier to get business by referral, right? Because the person referring you has a relationship with you, and they have come to know, like and trust you well enough to pass your name along to their friends and colleagues.

That\’s what this method of marketing does for you. Your CFO is the start of building that critical know, like and trust factor with your prospects so that when they are ready to invest some money in a solution to their problem - whether via a product or service - your name is at the top of the list.

And the best part? You NEVER have to sell them on what you\’re offering. It\’s brilliant, really.

So, start researching what it is that your target market wants most, what problem is keeping them up at night. Then create your solution and offer it to them as your CFO. to get them into your Marketing & Product Funnel. It\’s a winning formula every time!

Alicia M Forest, MBA, Multiple Streams Queen & CoachT, founder of ClientAbundance.com and creator of 21 Easy & Essential Steps to Online Success SystemT, teaches professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create abundance in your business, visit http://www.ClientAbundance.com.