The Myth of Branding: Why Entrepreneurs Should Focus on the USP

I recently got an interesting e-mail from Brian Ochsner, an ETR reader in Denver. He said, “As a direct-response copywriter, I’m skeptical about the number of marketing people who are enamored with the need for ‘branding’ or to ‘build their brand’ to effectively market their business.

“I know that brands such as Kraft and Coca-Cola have power and influence with Americans, but I’m not sure ‘branding’ has much of a place with most small- to medium-sized business marketing.”

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Getting Wealthy From Inflation

Today, I’m going to tell you how to make a lot of money.

If you are (a) not happy with the 0.5% return you are getting from your bank account, (b) worried about inflation, or (c) uncertain about the future value of your stocks and bonds, pay attention.

In fact, you might want to keep this issue of the Journal around so you can thank me later.

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10 Ways You May Waste Money When Starting a Business

Here’s just a short list of the misguided (and even ridiculous) business start-up advice I’ve read recently:

  • Create an instant-impact message that describes the chief benefit of your business. Put it on business cards and brochures.

  • Hand out hundreds of those business cards and brochures at business functions and meetings.

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How to Live as Well as a Billionaire

When you think about the rich — the really rich — you may find yourself marveling at their… well, their money. Take Bill Gates. If you think $10 million is a fortune, consider this: He has 5,000 of them. If he put his money in $1,000 bills, he’d have 50 million of them! But how…

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Riding the Trend Wave

Early to Riser Mark Fitzpatrick sent me an e-mail with some questions about Central American real estate. He has owned some ocean-view property in Nicaragua’s Brito foothills for about six years. (It sounds like it’s near the development I have an interest in, Rancho Santana.)

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How to Make Difficult Business Challenges Easier

My friend Bernard opened a furniture shop shortly after he immigrated to Boca Raton, Florida from Manchester, England in the early 1980s. That’s when I met him. I was shopping for an armoire for our bedroom. Most of the nice ones I’d seen were priced above $500. He had a half dozen of the same quality for only $195. I asked him how he was able to do it. With a twinkle in his eye, he said, “It’s not that my prices are good. It’s the other prices that are bad.”

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An Invitation to Make a Lot of Money Fast

Today, I am going to give you a way to make a lot of money. And after I have explained it, I will tell you exactly how to get started.

It is a very simple strategy. I have used it and have personally seen it being used at least 100 times in the last 10 years. In the beginning, the success rate was less than 50 percent. But now, because of what we have learned, it is probably over 90 percent.

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How to Make the Trend Your Friend

I’ve been in the investment advisory business for more than 30 years. During that time, I have fallen in love with all of the most voluptuous investment systems — fundamental investing, contrarian investing, technical investing, etc. Without exception, those relationships began euphorically. I was happy to have discovered some new way to wealth, confident in…

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Evolution, Not Revolution

The average person believes that great wealth is created by revolutionary breaks with tradition. The Instinctive Wealth Builder (IWB) believes in Darwin. It’s not surprising that so many people believe in revolution. Many best-selling books have supported it. Read the popular biographies of Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller, or Bill Gates and you will be regaled…

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