Zubispeak’s of the World ( epilog)

When I started to write this blog several months ago, I had stated that I am on the quest to find the answers to the questions Who & Why ?

I found them and along a way I meet a few ” Zubispeaks” like me.

And that’s all I ever wanted.

I will keep the explanation for myself, but as always I’ll give you a hint…:

Yesterday I got the Economic stimulus payment check from the government in the mail.

It made me want to puke, it made me sick .

I will tell you people, what it is. First they steal the money from the producers like me and others entrepreneurs under the threat of taking our biz. away otherwise and then, when everything goes to hell, they want to bribe us to make it work.

Well, I tell you, I don’t want it ! It is probably partially money coming from some of you my fellow warriors out there, but I did not sent it back to them, they would waste it on some “needy” useless project.

I contributed it to one of the local Animals Shelters.

Because of the actions of us humans, animals are those who are needy, not the humans.

I am writing  final post of this blog. I had said everything I wanted to say……

This is end of this blog, but rest assured, Not the end of THE ZUBISPEAK

Now, I have a railroad to build and steel to pour, I may appear somewhere else one day…..

Who Knows ?

GODSPEED

Status Quo is Changing

When you enter a race with horses, mustangs, greyhounds and other common racing creatures with a business model, which looks more like a donkey, you are well aware of it and not giving crap about audience laughing at you, there must be reason for that. If you are a lunatic, who has a plan to not only finish the race, but ultimately win it, don’t be ashamed and enjoy the “ride”

Donkeys are stubborn, determinate and if there is a purpose for them to go, they go. Don’t look right or left, don’t pay attention to storm, rain, wind or any other uncomfortable situation which always gets the prettier, faster creatures of the “track”.

There is no such a thing like a neverending sunshine, so pick up a race lasting long enough to capitalize on your animal values. But be aware, you can’t never count on any type of bail out of the race.

Those in the audience, who came to see a horse race, don’t like a donkeys. Because of this fact, they usually don’t care or don’t pay attention to jockeys riding them.

You are going to be in that race alone, for very long time, until the horses starts falling, their jockeys giving up and chaos comes to the race track.

You ride a donkey, remember to trust it, chaos does not affect their way of going ahead as long they have a “worthy” jockey who knows the path…

As is in every good “fairy tale”, there is always someone in audience, who crosses fingers for the underdog and maybe that’s even me.

I like donkeys, but what I like even more is the jockeys who ride them and finish the race.

I am fairy tales writer and in this fantasy race, I know the donkey & jockey will win the task, surprise the audience, they’ll see the abstract transformation from an ugly bird to the eagle, while all around stay stunned in awe I want you quietly come behind the scenes and start preparing for the next race.

I am seeing donkeys and jockeys competing with horses all over many racetracks, while they can’t be fully aware of it, the status quo of the races is changing and some of them will have the chance to actually win. I bet on them now, before all the blind audience realize the fact the race is over.

Would you like to be the winner ?

Would you like to place a bet ?

There is a lot of jockeys on donkey out there, the storm has come and  Status Quo has Changed. Who will be the winner, who will be the looser, we can’t know just yet.

The race is about to start.

Wow, what a Fairy Tale……or is it ??

 

 

  

       

Organized Chaos

A series of a random ( so we think) events and thoughts, ideas and visions happening in relatively short period of time for no other reason, than, you have been inspired…

Inspired by something or someone ( in my case both), of which a while ago you had no clue you are even capable of dealing with.

I took the challenge last night and early this morning to take out of my “secret” folder all my notes and pamflets I started writing considering my own business ventures, ideas and plans how it is to be done, every since I had decide to move forward in the way I see my own entrepreneurship. I wanted to read it from the very beginning and see if I can create The Mona Lisa picture from a pieces of puzzles, which left alone look more like The Shrek.

It was a challenge not for the reason of too many materials to read, but because in the light of a new ideas I currently have, my ego was afraid ( shame on me..lol), that I’ll be disappointed, bored and not interested anymore.

Place it on my desk and started to read it by the dates on the bottom of each page. It was a Chaos, thoughts I had at the beginning being interupted by other ones, just to comeback a few weeks later, extending and evolving the thought I had before the previous of the previous thought. Even now, my writing looks chaotic, but that’s only on the surface.

When I finished my first round of reading, I had started to place the individual pages into a sentence, not by the date, but by the merit of each idea ( regarding of what has been done, what’s in the doing stage and what’s coming) and I see, that however not really “Mona Lisa”, pretty nice picture is beginning to develope.

I still don’t have “the eyes” painted yet, but having an idea ( one of a few to come), how they should look like.

It is still a Chaos ( as all true entrepreneurship is), but more and more methodically organized. Sometimes it makes perfect sense and sometimes does not.

But that’s the beauty of it. When you write your next idea down, you can ( and should) read it and reorganize it again !

Believe me, it is a wonderful and very useful excersise…..    

Personality Matters

When I wrote my article about importance of a “busines plan”, I had directed it in the matter of getting bank financing for your busines. You don’t really need to prepare it your self and if a bank requires have one done, get somebody familiar to this bank regulations to guide or even write it for you, because the  most likely  reasons for the bank is to estimate and find out the risk of an industry you are be doing a business in. In this case, you need to know the bank CURRENT policy, the one outlined yesterday, is probably in this credit chaos not valid anymore.  

This plan will end up in a trash can of the loan officer and even more importantly, should end up in YOURS.

But, if you even think to start and go on the road called entrepreneurship, you should, or even better Must have a plan in order to have any chance to succeed. This kind of plan you have to create for yourself. You should start it by trying to estimate your own personality. I said try to estimate, because in many cases further down the road, many of us find out, that we are not who we thought we are, simply because on focusing and observing anything and anybody around ourself, we don’t really pay attention on our true being.

Make it simple in this article, I see entrepreneurs either as a “Hunters” or a “Farmers”, I know it is more complicated than that, but it will help me to keep this post relatively brief.

Farmers

Those are the ones having the idea or expertise in one of industry, the plumbers, electricians, car dealers and other retailers, or even people involved in real estate. Form being just a self- employed, they crossed the line to the entrepreneurial world by creating some kind of system around their expertise. ( adding a people to various positions) They constantly growing their “farm” by re-seeding and re-planting their own ”crops”, they methodically expanding the ” Southport Ranch empire”

Hunters

Or call it action entrepreneurs if you like. Those are the ones, constantly looking and searching for opportunity, they have the instinct to know one , when they see one. They have no problem to “jump” in the type of business venture yesterday had no clue about it. Their motto is..: ” You don’t need to be a cook in order to run or own a restaurant!!” While many times seen by others as a “nuts”, they are the risk takers by nature. I must say, that I think in my point of view, they don’t hunt the prey just to “kill” and eat, but many times to “domesticate” it and further more to use it just like the “farmers” do.

The beauty of not knowing exactly from the beginning who you actually are by personality is, that when you build your farm ( just like I did for years), one day you look over your fence, see the other type of stock and crops out there, you finally realize the possibilities of catching it and “domesticate” it, that one day , you decide to go get the “traps” or ammunition and Do it.

On the other hand, the ugliness of not estimating your own self soon enough, could mean the danger, that if you fall in love for hunting, you may have all the traps and ammunition planted or seeded in the field within your own fence.

It is interesting to watch my own “personality” evolution and I must say ( no shame here), that you can call it surprise for me.

Well, I let you think about your own-self and it is not my business to say what kind is better for biz. success. But for the long term plan is good to know…

Are you a Farmer, Hunter or even Predator ?? Think about it !!

  

  

   

How to get their attention and not end up Dead

  Yes my friends, I mean dead, but it’s used as an expression and the attention most of you lunatics want to get from, is The Venture Capitalist Gangsters. I used that picture on purpose and all of you, who count on VCs’ money as the only thing missing in getting your business on the road, may as well write the name of your business on that little, cute tag, hanging of the feet of that corpse. 

Put it this way..: If you approach me and ask me to invest in one particular product especially if it is technology related, I would not give you a dime, unless I know, that you are able to turn on spot, forget about that thing and move on, without any regards as to abandoning your original dream.

Let me explain.

 When I see you are so focused on one thing and so pitiful and foolish in thinking, that this is the only right stuff, which will “save the world”, you are unintentionally telling me, that in case some 12 years old teenager, waking up the next morning after his first experience with Whiskey comes up with better technology, this would not surprise me at all this days, well you are telling me that because of some 12 years old genius on the other side of the Globe, all my money will end up in Toilet.

One thing you need to understand.

 I, the Al Capone, the gangster, who you are asking to help you to achieve your dream..Personaly, I don’t give shit about your dream, I just want you to make me a money, alot of it and for that reason, I am not going to invest in the horse ( the product), if I will invest at all, then I will invest in The Jockey ( you) and when circumstances shows, that your horse probably not going to win the race, I want to be sure, that you are able and ready to jump on another horse, provided by whomever,you let your horse die with no remorse and you’ll  finish and win the race. After all, I don’t care, I just want to get the trophy.

So my fellow dreamers, Do You Finally Get It ???? 

In order to get my attention and not feel like a piece of dirt after you leave the table, you have to make me believe, that you are the best Jockey there is, because I am pretty sure, I can find you another horse, in case yours foolish, idiotic and crazy dream horse turns up to be a looser. Capiche ??

That’s what my take would be if I was one of the Gangsters..( I am not saying, that I am not..LOL)    

“Importance” of a Business Plan

Let’s talk a little bit about a topic, which most smart asses, calling themself consultants in the business financing field will push you to hire them and of course pay alot of money for it and that is, the importance of a detail business plan in regarding to obtain any type of funding from a bank. See the garbage above? That is exactly the place, where all the money you had spend on a firm supposedly preparing your detail business plan will go at the end of the application process. Even if you prepare detail business plan yourself, spend a lot of time thinking how you’ll be doing this & that, researching the market place and focusing too much on the current conditions of it, write a lot info and figures down and think, that this is the most important stuff for you to do in order to get the funds, let me say it very politely. You are just wasting your time and unless you are very well known writter, nobody is going to read it anyway. Let me explain : The position of a Business Banker as a person taking it one client at a time, paying attention to your particular needs and actually caring about your business as something important for him, hmm..how do I say it, so everybody understand.. Well, these kind of people working in the banks Does Not Exist !!!!

On my recent journey, I had found some institutions actually really wanting to know something about my business, but these were financial companies strictly focused on small business financing, not a banks. Position of a business banker in any bank here, is replaced by a college draduate, punching your SS # into the computer system and if your FICO does not meet the banks’ matrix criteria, you can be talking about your great business and the excellent season you had, the hundreds of thousands of revenues, whole day long, Nobody is going to listen for a simple reason. Nobody, whom you will be talking in the bank about it, will have any idea, what you are talking about.

1st: Get your personal credit straight, if it is too much damaged, get somebody with a good one on Your Ship..

2nd: Get your business credit straight, you don’t need a partner for that, there are actually some firms offering that service and surprisingly, I need to say, some of them works…

3th : Most importantly, what ever your idea of business is, Don’t name it like : ” Uncle Joes’ Steak house” or “Jimmys’ used car sales”….Anything consumer related is a Red Flag for all the banks right now, so name yourself something like : ” Dream Vision”LLC, or “Paradise Entreprises, inc.”  and if by any chance some moron, taking your application for biz. line of credit asks you, what is your business about, just tell him : “I have firm, providing variety services, for variety clients..”, it will be confusing enough to put those guys back where they are coming from anyway..: To The Computer Matrix

The Matrix does not care about Ideas, it cares about numbers, so get your number straight, personal & business and you’ll beat the system.

That is the good news, what’s not so good for some, is the fact, that get all the numbers in working order, sometimes requires “business plan” for itself, but this kind of plan, I suggest, you are thinking really hard about when you want to get the funds and ultimately have the chance to put in use the plan, what everybody say it is important for a start up, that is The Business Plan.  

 

 

 

 

The Beauty & The Ugliness of the “system”

Those few, who are patiently reading all my posts here, can probably feel the way I see the system of small business banking and financing and how it was driving me “nuts”. To those, who like my controversy and even some “anarchism” in my topics regarding this issue I must say upfront, that the days, when I wanted to rent a bulldozer and run it straight through the bank building, because it was full of ignorants, morons and others, not knowing anything about practical business, are most likely over. The picture of a Spanish Lady Anarchist, during the Spanish civil war, is my way of saying good bye to the “dynamite” and welcome to the brain & fun.

Don’t get me wrong, I still think the current system is not working as it should, but to burn the building down, does not sound fun for me anymore, much more fun is, to figure out the way to walk in the bank and even though you don’t have the education required to get a job there, you found a way how to eventually get all the banks’ money, or  buy the whole establishement out and at the end, to be told “thank you” for it. 

I can’t say exactly what was the very defining moment to make the change in my head, but suddenly, I woke up one morning and I felt jolly like a house fly on a piece of 3 days old hot dog at the bottom of forgotten trash can somewhere in the corner of my abandoned home. For all those entrepreneurs and small business owners struggling to make the step to the next level, or even to survive through the current pile of bills, I am just like you, plus I don’t really know much about the business stuff, I am involved in and what I will be involved tomorrow, or next week, but I can tell you this…

There is always a way to get inside that building, if not through the door, then through the window. If not through the window, then through the chimney. And leave the Hope to those standing in line for welfare check. You gotta have a Faith in yourself and in The Lord, because he will help you, if you are willing to help your-self. When you feel your “858th” unsuccessful attempt as a failure, then I suggest you go and apply for a job in Walmart, you don’t have the right attitude, but if you see it as “858th” way how not to do it and all you have to find, is the One right way, then you are my kind of person and I know, you will make it..  

Anyway, enough of preaching, I will feed you my ideas slowly and one piece at a time, for today just three basic takes:

1st.: Think like a thief to catch a thief..

2nd: Think like a banker to outsmart the Banker

3rd: Think like an investor to attract the investors

Because I want you to realize one thing. Your dream is not for sale, what you sell, when you need a capital, is The OPPORTUNITY hidden in it…

Stay tuned..

   

Cash is The King

I read a wonderful article on www.thexbanker blog page about using a different types of capital to fund your business . Like equipment leasing, renting, I would add all kinds of flor planning and pay on extended terms accts. The advantage of this kind of funding is, that unlike unsecured biz. lines of credit, you don’t necessary need an excellent personal credit to get it.   If you are a start up, or even revenue generating business already, sooner, or later you will find out, just as I did ( BTW, the very hard way ), that Cash is the King.

Make no mistake, when you starting a business venture, you most likely need to spend some cash, deposit for this and that…blah, blah, blah….But before you purchase $ 5,000.00 or even more worth of equipment and pay cash for it, let me suggest, you find a smarter way to get it . It will cost you additionaly on fees, or interest charges, but at the same time you will preserve the precious cash, to pay electric bill, phone & internet bill, or just wages to the people you got involved in your “crazy” dream.. What is the smarter way, I had hinted on the beginning of the post and if you are brave enough to go and start something on your own, you better be smart enough to find how to get that stuff done, without me to telling how..

As always something from personal experience : The value of just a little cash in your biz. acct. left free to use right now, you will realize, when your business is really profitable on paper and in the books, but everybody, you doing business with is owing you money and their payment is coming in two weeks from now. Hurray, we got the cash coming, right?? Right, but the utility company don’t want to wait two more weeks, not to mention, the few people standing by you are having kids and the lunch money in the school are due tomorrow…That’s beside the point, people helping you achieve your dream need to be rewarded and the best reward is on time paycheck( however small or big). 

It sounds and also could feel “weird”, that in the 21st century, when everything is done online, people don’t even use cash money for purchases anymore and VISA is everywhere, you want to be…..In the business and even more in the world of small business…Cash is The King, if you don’t believe it, you will know, when you don’t have it….. 

Count on it.

P.S. For those, who require more explanation, just this. I doubt, that the guy, whom you hired of the streets( just to save a buck), to clean your office window, because it is so filthy, that you have to have the lights on even during a sunny day, have a credit card machine in his pocket ready to take your $ 20.00 payment to him…         

Back from The Jungle

That cute Orangutan below is actually me , balancing on one leg , walking the very fine line on the border between common sense and idiocy. In the very beginning of my blog , I said , that I am on the journey to find some answers to questions accumulated during those years I live life of an entrepreneur…

My newest trip was to explore the world of a small business financing . If you read my post “Gunfight in O.K. Corral , you know , that I don’t suggest to approach Venture investors until your business is ready to defend the agressive approach from the VC world . If you need venture capital for surviving , then you are already dead , you just don’t know it yet .

What’s even more important to know about the private investors world now is , that if your business idea , however making sense from the profit point of view , does not have “Web 2.0″ in its DNA , you can save yourself the time and forget about VC’S at all.  Much smarter way to obtain capital for a start up is to prepare yourself and your new business for Bank financing.

If you use your head and think , there is a way , how to obtain a bank financing even for internet start up. The last thing I really knew how to do , is mowing peoples yards for living and even I own an Internet Start up now!! Yep , the world is going “mad” , it is time to take an advantage of it..

The journey through the jungle full of banks offering business banking and actually providing mostly none was so exciting and full of interesting findings, that it will take me a while to digest all the experiences . Of course as is my nature, I jumped on the “fast” train and went through the info with such intensity, that my head still hurts now.

A while ago , I read a quote ” Men plans , God laughs..”

Well , I had planned , joined  www.theXBanker.com , read a lot of very useful and valuable topics written by people associated with The Xbanker and its www.businesscreditsuccess.com , let them help me to secure successfuly the funds necessary to run and expand my business ,  then went again on a ”solo” mission , just to find out , what’s out there..Let me tell you my friends , if you are not a “lunatic explorer” by nature like I am, I suggest, you let the professional in this field to do the job . And when you want a results , you better find those, who charge for their service , because cheap , will get you exactly just that , a “cheap” results.

In my previous posts I hinted a situation that I experienced with “WellFare bank” ,the final info about it is, that I fixed everything they said is preventing me from getting the funds , including removal all the negative stuff on my biz. credit posted and reported by some idiot about a person not associated with me whatsoever and what’s worse , person dead for more , than 3 years…

I faxed all the improvements to them and never heard from them back . I guess , those guys ended up , where all the losers do . On the government wellfare payroll. But every experience is good for something and now I know , that getting your reports straight , personal and business , is a journey for itself and you better walk it before you start applying for bank financing , otherwise , you end up with bunch of inquiries on you credit and a huge frustration on your mind…

However , I had not only planned , but also executed and beside the funds secured by XBanker professionals, I got some funding on my own, so actually even I am not a God in any means, I laugh, mostly because I had find a couple answers pretty serious , but still worth laughing.

The first : Don’t look for  logic in places , where is none..

The second : Don’t try to talk a common sense to the people , who has none…

And that’s the two “jewels” I am brinking back from the journey through “The Jungle..”

Easy Money

I am sure you all are bombarded with all kinds of e-mails about easy online programs how to earn money and no to do anything . My trash bin is full of them every day and when I get bored , on a very rare occasions , I check some of them out . They all have one thing in common . As easy , as 1. 2.3. , or sign up and watch your money grow …Money this and Money that , everything is a “walking in a park”…blah, blah ,blah….I am sure many of those programs are legitimate oportunities , however , just the word “easy” is making me want to “puke”. I must be from a different planet maybe , but I have a hard time to understand , how anybody could realy enjoy a nice “walk in the park” without  running and chasing the bird called the Challenge first . Don’t get me confused with some Utopian Idealist , money are important part of our live , we the entrepreneurs know that the number one goal of any common sense business is make a profit and if you fail to do so at some point of your venture , you just have to surrender and do something else . If you are not a quitter and still have some breath left in your lungs , maybe start new , a better planned venture , but I think the point of being satisfied with what you are doing , is to provide some real value for the money you are making . Like  service to the local community , or just a single customer , make somebody else being happy , beside your-self , because you have more money , than you can possibly spend for usefull stuff in your life.

Me and some of my friends had a discussion once , what we would do , if we won a lottery . I had an answer . I would be probably even more busy , than now , if  such a thing is even possible and most likely start another venture just to figure out , how to spend all that money , beside to send all my family and loveones on a trip around the world , and not to waste the rest of it for useless stuff , like a new car , new boat or even new house or new girlfriend …

Just stuff , things and other materialistic assets alone , however shiny and pretty they are , does not make me happy , if they are not earned by giving something real for it and maybe positively impact other people lives…

Money, money , money , I like money too , so I can pay wages to people involved in my business , so I can take my kid to trip to Disneyland , so I can pay the utility company and have power to my computer , which is giving me the opportunity to actually do , in my spare time , what I like . I like to write my thoughts down and when I have any money left , I put it back to the business , because , there is always tomorrow and in case one day not for me ,  surely for people I love.

So , money , money , easy money …Is it really only all about that , you think ???