I have finally seen someone on the national TV programs that told the truth about the economic free fall we have been experiencing in our economy. Chuck Colson, the head of Prison Fellowship Ministries appeared on the Fox News Channel on the weekend of February 28th. Mr. Colson, in his interview stated that it was greed on the part of all Americans which was the root cause of our economic woes. According to Mr. Colson, this greed has been manifested in our pervasive misuse of credit for instant gratification and the overturning of the Biblical values of hard work, saving, and delayed gratification.
Let's examine the mechanics of Mr. Colson's statement. Over the past 20 to 30 years, there has been an incredible, and reckless, extension of credit to every man, woman, child ... and even pets. It is not uncommon for a family's mailbox to receive multiple applications for credit cards on a weekly basis, irregardless of the credit worthiness of the solicited individual. The over availability of credit has led to Americans purchasing goods and services before they can actually pay for the purchased items. Think about this a moment ... buying a dress on credit before you can actually pay for it does not create a "new" demand for a dress ... it actually moves a future demand into the present time. This is critical to understand. Credit does not create new demand, it simply shifts the timing of the demand.
Look at the effect this has had to our economy. Through the use of credit, artificial demand has been created in the present. Businesses see this faux demand as an increase, which causes businesses to expand, thinking this fax demand actually points to a larger demand in the future. Businesses expand, create new jobs, buy more raw materials because of a false projection of demand. Now, at some point, the limit of credit is reached. What happens when the people who are buying goods and services on credit have no more credit? The demand falls off precipitously! Shades of 4th quarter 2008. And all that planning and investment for the projected future increase in demand is in reality an over building of production. This overbuilding actually slingshots the economy into a decline. And until the debt is paid down, there can not be any significant return to normal demand patterns.
Now, I know that an intelligent one or two of you will take exception to my statement that loose credit does not create increased demand. I will probably be told that by giving credit to people who could not afford to buy something, creates a new demand for the good or service they purchase with credit. I will concede that there may be a small increase in demand from this factor, but I would point out that this increase can only occur when someone purchases a good or service on credit that they would not have purchased without the credit. Further, I will suggest that this limited increase in demand is more than offset by the loss in demand that comes from making interest payments.
Let's examine what happens here. If I make $1000 per month in take home pay. I could purchase up to $12,000 in goods and services in a year's time. Lets assume, however, that I Use $1000 of credit at the start of the year to purchase an item. An interest rate of 25% is no longer uncommon. This means that of my $12,000 take home that I could spend in a year's time is reduced by $250, making my purchasing power now $11,750. Well, in today's economy, we have many people whose credit exceeds their annual purchasing capabilities. In this example, if I have borrowed $12,000 at a 25% interest rate, my purchasing power is eroded to only $9,000. So, you can see that using credit actually reduces purchasing power which translates into decreased demand for goods and services.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Our Economic Crisis is Debt - Part 1
It is amazing to listen to the politicians and the media talk about the economic crisis in which we now find ourselves. It would seem that the past years of economic boom were a myth and that the past administration was busy robbing the common man blind. They must think we are idiots - and by the response of many Americans, we may be!
Let's look a little more closely at the facts. Over the past thirty years, the American economy and the world economy has experienced a major shift in its dependence on debt/credit. In 1989 World credit levels were approximately equal to the world GDP output. By 2009, this ratio has gone from 1 to 1 to 3.7 debt to 1 GDP, world wide. Let's think about the implications of this shift from cash transaction to debt transactions.
When my grandparents went shopping, they paid cash. If they did not have the money, they waited until they saved it. There were some stores that would allow them to place items on lay-a-way, but there was always the discipline of waiting until an item was paid for before enjoying its ownership. There came a special sort of pride in achieving the purchase of expensive goods. Demand for goods and services was tied to what was being bought and kept a fairly steady pace.
During the time of my parents' prime, there was a move to extend credit to businesses. Personal loans were primarily focused on home mortgages, automobiles, and revolving accounts in stores. Now, people were able to leverage a small fraction of their take home pay to buy high value items and take possesion before the item was actually paid for. The cost of this priviledge was the interest payment to the institution extending credit. As far as mortgages went, these loans were being made against assets that were generally appreciating in value. Along with this appreciation, the purchaser was required to have a significant down payment which provided a hedge against any loss in value of the property.
What businesses found was that the demand for goods and services seemed to be stimulated by the access to credit. By extending more credit, it appeared that more demand could be created, fueling economic growth. So, our economy entered the age of explosive expansion of credit. My generation is now accustomed to receiving multiple applications for credit on an almost weekly basis. No money down and term sales are being used to sell almost anything. I can remember the announcement when Sears made more money off interest payments than profit from the sale of goods!
Let's reason together for a moment ... what is the nature of the demand generated by credit. I would suggest that credit does not create more demand, it just moves scheduled demand to occur sooner. By using credit to buy goods and services, consumers simply consumer sooner. This creates an artificial sense of increased demand when it is really a timing issue. This shift in timing causes businesses, perceiving increasing demand, to expand business accordingly.
What happens when the limit of credit is reached? Demand is curtailed precipitously, as we have just seen. The bottom falls out ... unless the government steps in and forces a continued use of "credit" by deficit spending which the taxpayers children and grandchildren will be expected to pay back.
Let's look a little more closely at the facts. Over the past thirty years, the American economy and the world economy has experienced a major shift in its dependence on debt/credit. In 1989 World credit levels were approximately equal to the world GDP output. By 2009, this ratio has gone from 1 to 1 to 3.7 debt to 1 GDP, world wide. Let's think about the implications of this shift from cash transaction to debt transactions.
When my grandparents went shopping, they paid cash. If they did not have the money, they waited until they saved it. There were some stores that would allow them to place items on lay-a-way, but there was always the discipline of waiting until an item was paid for before enjoying its ownership. There came a special sort of pride in achieving the purchase of expensive goods. Demand for goods and services was tied to what was being bought and kept a fairly steady pace.
During the time of my parents' prime, there was a move to extend credit to businesses. Personal loans were primarily focused on home mortgages, automobiles, and revolving accounts in stores. Now, people were able to leverage a small fraction of their take home pay to buy high value items and take possesion before the item was actually paid for. The cost of this priviledge was the interest payment to the institution extending credit. As far as mortgages went, these loans were being made against assets that were generally appreciating in value. Along with this appreciation, the purchaser was required to have a significant down payment which provided a hedge against any loss in value of the property.
What businesses found was that the demand for goods and services seemed to be stimulated by the access to credit. By extending more credit, it appeared that more demand could be created, fueling economic growth. So, our economy entered the age of explosive expansion of credit. My generation is now accustomed to receiving multiple applications for credit on an almost weekly basis. No money down and term sales are being used to sell almost anything. I can remember the announcement when Sears made more money off interest payments than profit from the sale of goods!
Let's reason together for a moment ... what is the nature of the demand generated by credit. I would suggest that credit does not create more demand, it just moves scheduled demand to occur sooner. By using credit to buy goods and services, consumers simply consumer sooner. This creates an artificial sense of increased demand when it is really a timing issue. This shift in timing causes businesses, perceiving increasing demand, to expand business accordingly.
What happens when the limit of credit is reached? Demand is curtailed precipitously, as we have just seen. The bottom falls out ... unless the government steps in and forces a continued use of "credit" by deficit spending which the taxpayers children and grandchildren will be expected to pay back.
Monday, September 1, 2008
No Such Thing as Business Ethics
Are you shocked? Everyone wants their business contacts to conduct business ethically. How could a business advisor suggest otherwise?
Well, let me ask you a different question. What is the differences between Ethics and Business Ethics? We live in a world today that wants to parse and compartmentalize every aspect of life. We have moved into a post-modernism mentality that eschews the idea of absolutes. We are reduced to moral relativism which then requires we define terms for each separate venue of our lives ... hence business ethics.
How would you define the term? Wikipedia defines business ethics as a form of applied ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. Now there is an interesting term - applied ethics. What good are ethics which are not applied? Are ethics not supposed to produce a certain result in your actions? How are these problems of business different than from other areas of life. Am I to be honest in my personal dealings with you, but in a business deal be ok to shade the truth? How about in meeting commitments to others. Does the cloak of business change the level of my responsibilities to others?
There is a very interesting story from the 80's about a Japanese firm's first sale to a US corporation. The US company, in it's order, set an AQL (Acceptable Quality Level) of 95%. As you may know, the AQL states how many defective parts will be accepted in an order before the order is rejected as not conforming to the contract specifications. In this case, the products manufactured by the Japanese firm arrived in two boxes. Along with the boxes was a note from the Japanese CEO. It thanked the US company for their business. The CEO then said that there was some confusion over the order, but the Japanese company had reworked 5% of the product to make it defective, and those defective products were packaged separately.
The Japanese company had an ethic of conforming exactly to specifications! As your business friend, I would encourage you to swap business ethics for just ethics. Be consistent and dedicated to doing what is right. Your business will be blessed for it.
Well, let me ask you a different question. What is the differences between Ethics and Business Ethics? We live in a world today that wants to parse and compartmentalize every aspect of life. We have moved into a post-modernism mentality that eschews the idea of absolutes. We are reduced to moral relativism which then requires we define terms for each separate venue of our lives ... hence business ethics.
How would you define the term? Wikipedia defines business ethics as a form of applied ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. Now there is an interesting term - applied ethics. What good are ethics which are not applied? Are ethics not supposed to produce a certain result in your actions? How are these problems of business different than from other areas of life. Am I to be honest in my personal dealings with you, but in a business deal be ok to shade the truth? How about in meeting commitments to others. Does the cloak of business change the level of my responsibilities to others?
There is a very interesting story from the 80's about a Japanese firm's first sale to a US corporation. The US company, in it's order, set an AQL (Acceptable Quality Level) of 95%. As you may know, the AQL states how many defective parts will be accepted in an order before the order is rejected as not conforming to the contract specifications. In this case, the products manufactured by the Japanese firm arrived in two boxes. Along with the boxes was a note from the Japanese CEO. It thanked the US company for their business. The CEO then said that there was some confusion over the order, but the Japanese company had reworked 5% of the product to make it defective, and those defective products were packaged separately.
The Japanese company had an ethic of conforming exactly to specifications! As your business friend, I would encourage you to swap business ethics for just ethics. Be consistent and dedicated to doing what is right. Your business will be blessed for it.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Cameras can be a good thing!
When the average business owner thinks of cameras and video, the images that come to mind are security, discipline, and keeping an eye on things. I recently met someone who changed my thinking on the value of video cameras and current video technology in creating a top performing business.
Imagine your employee is sitting alone at the shop. A customer walks in, complaining about a purchase they made that did not meet their expectation. Your employee engages the frustrated client, listens to their story, determines the root cause for the dissatisfaction and provides a solution which pleases the customer. The customer walks out with the solution and a pleasant feeling about your company.
Now, imagine while sitting at your desk - maybe miles away, you get to see and hear this employee, taking care of one of your customers. Later that afternoon, you walk into the store, tell your employee how much you appreciate they way they handled the customer and give that employee $20 or a gift card, or some other token of your appreciation. Imagine what would happen in your work force?
My business friend, Ryan Reid of ICU Security, LLC, has been providing camera systems to clients for over 15 years. While some clients acquire the systems for traditional surveillance and security functions, Ryan has a whole group of clients that he has trained to use these systems in a much more profitable way. They are using their video systems to:
Imagine your employee is sitting alone at the shop. A customer walks in, complaining about a purchase they made that did not meet their expectation. Your employee engages the frustrated client, listens to their story, determines the root cause for the dissatisfaction and provides a solution which pleases the customer. The customer walks out with the solution and a pleasant feeling about your company.
Now, imagine while sitting at your desk - maybe miles away, you get to see and hear this employee, taking care of one of your customers. Later that afternoon, you walk into the store, tell your employee how much you appreciate they way they handled the customer and give that employee $20 or a gift card, or some other token of your appreciation. Imagine what would happen in your work force?
My business friend, Ryan Reid of ICU Security, LLC, has been providing camera systems to clients for over 15 years. While some clients acquire the systems for traditional surveillance and security functions, Ryan has a whole group of clients that he has trained to use these systems in a much more profitable way. They are using their video systems to:
- Improve Customer Service
- Increase Employee Productivity
- Increase Suggestive Selling
- Accurately Evaluate Employees
- And Reinforce Training
All of these activities contribute to improved business operations and add dollars to the bottom line. Obviously, the investment in such a system can protect against the negative side of business in terms of reducing theft and misappropriation of company assets as well. So, if you are looking for a way to improve the customer service aspects of your business, give my business friend, Ryan Reid, a call and see how he can help you grow your business and your profits through a different way of using video systems. You can visit the ICU Security website by clicking [here].
Monday, May 12, 2008
Search Engine Optimization for Your Business
For those who may not be familiar with the term SEO, it stands for Search Engine Optimization. This term refers to efforts to get your website to appear at the top of a web search results page, say in Google or Yahoo or any other web search engine. Getting your site to display ahead of your competition can be a significant boost to your business!
There are many companies that offer SEO to their clients. As in all business opportunities some are good businesses that explain exactly what they can and can not do. There are others that can get you the number one ranking - based on search terms that are seldom used. As with all services, make sure you understand what is being offered, what you will have to pay and what performance standards will be used to determine if the work has been accomplished.
Now, to most of us, SEO tends to be a bit like voodoo. Search engine providers create a system of scoring websites to determine which is most likely to have content which matches the interest of the searcher. A number of factors are considered in calculating this score. Once a website owner knows the components of the scoring system, the website can be modified to achieve a higher score for specific searches. SEO Optimization companies work with website owners and businesses to modify their web pages with the objective to appear in the first entry on the first first result page.
As in most rules based systems, there are those who seek to bend the rules for their own benefit. The search engines modify the rules on a regular basis to keep website owners honest. For this reason, search engine optimization is never a finished task. If you website is an important part of your business presence (and it should be) the SEO optimization is important to you.
There are many companies that offer SEO to their clients. As in all business opportunities some are good businesses that explain exactly what they can and can not do. There are others that can get you the number one ranking - based on search terms that are seldom used. As with all services, make sure you understand what is being offered, what you will have to pay and what performance standards will be used to determine if the work has been accomplished.
Now, to most of us, SEO tends to be a bit like voodoo. Search engine providers create a system of scoring websites to determine which is most likely to have content which matches the interest of the searcher. A number of factors are considered in calculating this score. Once a website owner knows the components of the scoring system, the website can be modified to achieve a higher score for specific searches. SEO Optimization companies work with website owners and businesses to modify their web pages with the objective to appear in the first entry on the first first result page.
As in most rules based systems, there are those who seek to bend the rules for their own benefit. The search engines modify the rules on a regular basis to keep website owners honest. For this reason, search engine optimization is never a finished task. If you website is an important part of your business presence (and it should be) the SEO optimization is important to you.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Do I Need a Written Business Plan?
I often have this question asked of me by small and medium sized business owners. The answer is a resounding YES! The Bible says that God created all things by speaking them into existence. It then says that we are made in God's image. I believe that this means we have an aspect of his creative nature. Look around you - everything from skyscrapers to micro chips has been brought into existence first by means of a writ en plan. I believe that each new invention - whether product of idea - comes from someone speaking it into existence.
For your business, the business plan becomes the mechanism by which you turn your vision into something tangible. The Bible clearly states that where there is no vision, the people parish. Your business is a living thing which must have a vision to survive. The act of putting this vision down on paper, where others can read and understand your vision, and assist you in achieving its implementation, causes it to become real.
I believe that many CEO's and decision makers do not write out their business plan out of fear. As long as the idea is kept in one's head, one never need fear failing. Once the business is reduced to a written plan, anyone who can read the plan can judge the CEO as a success or failure. If you do not have a written business plan, take some time over the next couple of days and put your vision down on paper. You can always modify or change your plan - in fact, reviewing and updating the plan is a key part of succeeding with your business. Above all, have fun as you breath life into your business.
For your business, the business plan becomes the mechanism by which you turn your vision into something tangible. The Bible clearly states that where there is no vision, the people parish. Your business is a living thing which must have a vision to survive. The act of putting this vision down on paper, where others can read and understand your vision, and assist you in achieving its implementation, causes it to become real.
I believe that many CEO's and decision makers do not write out their business plan out of fear. As long as the idea is kept in one's head, one never need fear failing. Once the business is reduced to a written plan, anyone who can read the plan can judge the CEO as a success or failure. If you do not have a written business plan, take some time over the next couple of days and put your vision down on paper. You can always modify or change your plan - in fact, reviewing and updating the plan is a key part of succeeding with your business. Above all, have fun as you breath life into your business.
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