How to Enjoy a Great Retirement
“It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do.” – Jerome K. Jerome To understand what I’m about to say, you have to understand this: Happiness in life comes not from idleness but from working. Not working at a job you hate, but…
READ MOREThe Mysteries of Retirement
Even if you work long and hard enough to afford the standard vision of a “perfect” retirement, you will almost certainly be bored by it. (I know you don’t believe me, but I can show you plenty of evidence: testimonials by dozens of businessmen I’ve known who retired, found themselves…
READ MOREAvoid Common Mistakes When Starting a New Business
“Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.” – Samuel Johnson About four years ago, Jeff Landers, a New York real-estate broker, discovered what he considered a very big, untapped market: Many large companies had surplus space or offices they wanted to rent, but few commercial-real-estate agents were interested…
READ MOREGet Paid to Do What You Want To Do
Dear ETR Reader, I am not particularly bright or gifted. So just about everyone who knows me is surprised by where I am today. About the only things I’m any good at are writing, speaking, and marketing. And I’m not great just decent. I don’t have an MBA or a…
READ MORELock In Profits With Trailing Stop-Losses
When you buy a stock, you expect its price to rise . . . and you expect to pocket some profits. The truth is, however, that stock prices often head south. Sometimes they even tumble. And if that happens when you don’t expect it, you could lose a bundle. Maybe…
READ MOREThe Martha Stewart Recipe for Failure
Martha Stewart is an American legend. Born Martha Kostyra to a working-class Polish family in New Jersey, her sensational career was launched when she quit her job as a stockbroker in the mid 1970s to start a catering business in Connecticut. Over the next 10 years, with the help of…
READ MOREHow to Save Hundreds with a 5-Minute Phone Call
“You’ve got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.” – Irish proverb I received a notice last week from a “mortgage service corporation.” They told me that by switching to twice-monthly mortgage payments, I could ultimately save tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of…
READ MORETwo Ways to Get People to Return Your Calls — One of Them Works
Though the following two articles are aimed at salespeople, the advice given — on how to get people to return your calls — can be used by just about anyone. Problem is, one of them gives good advice . . . and the other doesn’t. Take a look to see…
READ MORENon-Profit Marketing Secrets of the World’s Greatest Fundraiser
An ETR reader recently wrote to us with this question: “I am working on increasing the success of a nonprofit American Cancer Society telethon in my hometown. I am hoping to use effective marketing to increase its profit and success, and I have a year to do so. As a…
READ MORESome of The Rules About Resumes Have Changed
Not too many years ago, most employers preferred a snail-mailed or faxed resume over one submitted via e-mail. Today, however, it is a different story. According to an article in the Freelance Work Exchange, only 4% of employers said they preferred to receive resumes by e-mail in 1999. But by…
READ MOREMake Sure You’re Asking The Right Questions
Recently, Jane, a faithful ETR reader, wrote to me, asking for some advice to help her help a start-up company become profitable — and, at the same time, prove that she is worth the considerable salary that they are willing to pay her. Let’s begin at the beginning of her…
READ MOREWhy Market Smarter?
There are three reasons why companies need to spend their marketing dollars smarter: 1. Marketing communications exist in a competitive environment with tremendous clutter. To see the clutter, just look at the proliferation in the number of television commercials. Remember when they ran 60 seconds? Then 30 seconds? And now…
READ MORE