Hudson Valley Business Networking
Where to Invest Your Money in This Economic Environment
The Dow is at an all time low. One year ago today, the dow broke a record high at 14,165. Today, it closed at 8,579.19. That's over 5,585 points LOST within one year.
Many banks are failing, merging, or being taken over.
The Fed is cutting rates and bailing out some of the largest companies in America.
GM's stock value has shrunk from 52 billion dollars in 2000 down to 3.8 billion in 2008.
Homes are foreclosing in record numbers throught the United States.
So, the question is...with so much volitility, where do you invest your money right now?
I'm no financial guru, but I can tell you from experience, that the best investment right now is investing in your own business.
With so much happening right now, if you own your business, or are in sales, NOW is the time to start prospecting smarter.
Here are a few tips to get you going:
1) Review your existing advertising budget. See what's working and what's not working. Stop the strategies or ads that are not working, and invest that amount in something else more targeted to your market.
2) Review your advertising message. Whether you advertise on radio, cable, tv, newspaper, direct mail, internet, or anywhere else -- you must ensure that the message is targeted to your market. You must ensure that for every dollar you invest in advertising, you maximize it by finding the message that works best for you. If your advertising is not producing results, stop throwing your money away. By the same token, ensure that you increase your budget for ads or media which is currently giving you excellent returns.
3) Go back to basics. Review your marketing plan and do the things that always worked for you.
4) Think outside the box. If going back to basics does not work, start thinking outside the box. Think of ways to get the message about your products or services. Discuss ideas with other business owners, your staff, industry magazines, etc.
5) Attend networking events. The more visible you are within your target market, the more effective your marketing will be.
6) Continue your education. If your business is stagnant right now, and nothing seems to be working, seek professional help, or purchase books, courses, and any information that will help you promote your business.
One place to get free information on ways to attract more customers is at www.HowToAttractCustomers.com. You will be able to download two workbooks that will give you many strategies to attract customers.
If you'd like to purchase a great course on Marketing on the Internet and creating a strong business foundation for your business, you can visit www.InternetMarketingMasteryWeekend.com.
Many banks are failing, merging, or being taken over.
The Fed is cutting rates and bailing out some of the largest companies in America.
GM's stock value has shrunk from 52 billion dollars in 2000 down to 3.8 billion in 2008.
Homes are foreclosing in record numbers throught the United States.
So, the question is...with so much volitility, where do you invest your money right now?
I'm no financial guru, but I can tell you from experience, that the best investment right now is investing in your own business.
With so much happening right now, if you own your business, or are in sales, NOW is the time to start prospecting smarter.
Here are a few tips to get you going:
1) Review your existing advertising budget. See what's working and what's not working. Stop the strategies or ads that are not working, and invest that amount in something else more targeted to your market.
2) Review your advertising message. Whether you advertise on radio, cable, tv, newspaper, direct mail, internet, or anywhere else -- you must ensure that the message is targeted to your market. You must ensure that for every dollar you invest in advertising, you maximize it by finding the message that works best for you. If your advertising is not producing results, stop throwing your money away. By the same token, ensure that you increase your budget for ads or media which is currently giving you excellent returns.
3) Go back to basics. Review your marketing plan and do the things that always worked for you.
4) Think outside the box. If going back to basics does not work, start thinking outside the box. Think of ways to get the message about your products or services. Discuss ideas with other business owners, your staff, industry magazines, etc.
5) Attend networking events. The more visible you are within your target market, the more effective your marketing will be.
6) Continue your education. If your business is stagnant right now, and nothing seems to be working, seek professional help, or purchase books, courses, and any information that will help you promote your business.
One place to get free information on ways to attract more customers is at www.HowToAttractCustomers.com. You will be able to download two workbooks that will give you many strategies to attract customers.
If you'd like to purchase a great course on Marketing on the Internet and creating a strong business foundation for your business, you can visit www.InternetMarketingMasteryWeekend.com.
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You still need to put money away for retirement, for your childrens' or grand childrens' college and the IRS is not giving any tax benefits for investing in your business for retirement - in fact you may not invest in your company and put that into a tax deductible retirement account like a 401k, IRA, SIMPLE IRA, SEP, or one of the newest - the Single K (401k) with a maximum of $46,000 plus $5000 for age 50 or higher allowed each year.
We have heard the advice, buy low and sell high, almost all our life, but we don't always follow such advice. With the stock market down + or - 40% from last years all time high, although we may not have hit bottom yet, one thing is for certain, the market cannot give back again, what it already has lost. Therefore, should the markets decline further, the fall from here is limited by this previous year's loss. I'm not saying go out today and invest in everything you can, rather, there are truly bargains now that will look like a great investment in 5 years and probably even sooner. What we need to do immediately is review our investments and our strategy and cull out what could get worse in the months ahead and raise some cash to reinvest in better situations. We have to ask ourselves, where to invest, in stocks, or bonds, mutual funds???? Which ones? U.S. companies, foreign, technology, pharmaceuticals, retail, energy, alternative energy???? How about cash, real estate? Actually the best answers depend upon your age, the amount you have to invest, current and future income and debt load, your risk tolerance for openers and then where will the best investment opportunities eventually be a year or two from now?
Those of us who can answer all of these questions and others correctly, will turn out to be better investorss. But, if you are running your own business, and that means as an entrepreneur you are not working 40 hours a week, you are working many more, and do not have the time to learn all you need to know and keep up with the market nearly everyday. You can take the advice from Wall St. analysts and brokers from Merrill Lynch, Bear Stears, Lehman Brothers, etc. Apparently they did'nt get it right themselves and needed a bailout, despite their MBAs from Harvard and Wharton. So, what to do?
Shop around for a financial advisor who can tell you where he gets his/her ideas, what info sources do they subscribe to, what they can tell you about the long term trend of the financial markets, and recite the history going back decades. Such as, the Dow was under 1000 until 1982, tripled until 1987 when it had the biggest one day crash since 1929, down 22% on October 19, 1987 and then rose from the previous 1987 high of some 2,700 to some 14,000 in October a year ago, some 20 years later. Make sure you are comfortable with this prospective advisor, and feel a real sense of sincerity, and honesty and not feel like you a getting the dog and pony sales pitch. The most important advice I can give you after you decide who to work with, is that you call your advisor every few months to discuss your investments and the future market. Don't wait for the adisor to call you, alhough some, but most are busy looking for the next new client. Its your money and the advisor is getting paid, even years after you made your investment, even if you don't make another one. Its your money, and ultimately your responsibility. It doesn't do you any good to complain about the advisor after the market goes down. You call the advisor! Call! Got it? Another bit of advice is to sell at least some, when the market is high, like October, 2007 and move the proceeds to a safe place like a money market fund, so you will have cash to invest at bargains like now and the near future. Eventually the market will come down, as we are experiencing. My third piece of advice is to have a sense of economic cycles. Up economic cylcles last about 5 years and down about 2 years, + or -. So from 1995 to 2000 the market was great, then declined until the second half of 2002, then up until 2007. Do the math. You run a business and should also know where in the economic cycle your business is, so likewise, you should adjust for your business and investments accordingly.
Want a free, no obligation review of your investments with someone you can trust and is knowledgeable? I would love the opportunity to help you. I am a licensed Registered Rep with Genworth Financial Securities for 14 years and a public accountant for 40 years. Also an active member of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce. Just give me a call at 845-562-6070 for an appointment. You can also meet with me, and representatives from Oppenheimer Funds and Genworth on Monday morning 8 - 10 am at the OC Chamber of Commerce center in Montgomery for a presentation about Small Business Retirement Plans, Rollover plans and IRS rules about them that you should know more about and probably do not. We will also discuss investment strategies. Call me, 845-562-6070. There will be a complimentary continental breakfast and giveaways as well.
Arnold M. Socol, Pres.
Ways & Means, Inc.
Registered Representative
Genworth Financial Securities Corp.
New Windsor, NY