Written by: Andy Watkins - BusinessDetroit.com Editor
The crystal ball in time square is ready to drop with it's brand new look with led light technology. This year I'm visiting friends, but instead of staying out all night I'm making sure I'm headed home before all the crazy people are on the road. Save yourself and do the same as I am doing...and get home early. Watch Ryan and Dick on tv from the safety of your couch.
Well let's talk about 2007...was it a good or bad year. Detroit and Michigan's economy was terrible. Unemployement, home market, manufacturing closures just to name a few terrible items in our area. We can give up or wash it all clean with a New Year's resolution and just plug forward with new ideas, new technologies and new concepts for the 2008 year in business. Here are a few tips to get ready and move forward with your business in the Detroit Area.
1. Take a snapshot of our financial's and create a 2008 budget.
2. Get organized in your office and home.
3. Consolidate your financials into one bank or credit union.
4. Create a new marketing plan that enables your to go beyond the Detroit area.
5. Start the new year with great promotions and advertising.
6. Reduce all your costs by at least 25%
7. Create a new look or product mix for your company.
8. Resell to your exisiting customers. 80/20 rule of thumb...use it wisely.
9. Remember what you did to build your business years ago...and go back and do it all over again...go back to the basics - cold calling, referrals, simple grass root marketing through networking and chamber events.
Well...that should help you get started in 2008. Please share these thoughts and add your own...we would like to hear from you.
Happy New Year....Be Safe!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, December 7, 2007
Detroit Business directory grows
Written by: Editor - Andy Watkins
Well we've started to grow our new business directory at a fast past thanks to the business community in the Detroit area. We started our Free Listings campaign, which includes calling businesses and introducing them to our new business directory. If your business owner or manager in the Detroit area and want to get seen on the local level, then BusinessDetroit.com is the perfect spot to be listed. We wanted to create a business directory for Detroit area Businesses that wasn't just a simple list, but an interactive directory that allows individuals to write reviews, send to a friend, map your location, contact, and rate the businesses in the Detroit area. The best thing is it's free....yes free.
We've also just launched a few more directories: www.businessgrandrapids.com, www.businesschicago.com and www.businessdesmoines.com.
Spread the word about our great new business directory and get listed today for FREE....Yes it's FREE.
Well we've started to grow our new business directory at a fast past thanks to the business community in the Detroit area. We started our Free Listings campaign, which includes calling businesses and introducing them to our new business directory. If your business owner or manager in the Detroit area and want to get seen on the local level, then BusinessDetroit.com is the perfect spot to be listed. We wanted to create a business directory for Detroit area Businesses that wasn't just a simple list, but an interactive directory that allows individuals to write reviews, send to a friend, map your location, contact, and rate the businesses in the Detroit area. The best thing is it's free....yes free.
We've also just launched a few more directories: www.businessgrandrapids.com, www.businesschicago.com and www.businessdesmoines.com.
Spread the word about our great new business directory and get listed today for FREE....Yes it's FREE.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Chase Bank - Fees and More Fees
Written by: Andy Watkins - BusinessDetroit.com editor
Boycott J.P. Morgan Chase Bank for taking advantage of hard working folks.
Chase bank and many other banks are playing the fee game and many of it's employees seem to be in on the action. How do I know well it's from personal experience. I've been a Chase Bank customer for years and in the recent years they seemed to have added a new method on increasing revenues for their company. This is how it seems to work at least it has towards myself directly.
- You make a payment on your line of credit, auto loan or home mortgage online or at a branch.
- A day later you receive a letter stating your past due and please mail your payment to this location.
- You mail the payment or pay at a branch thinking everything is current because your received a receipt for the payment.
************ Wrong....you are now late and you don't know it.**************
This is the oldest scam in the world and one of the largest banks in the world is using it to make money.
You then without realizing it get charged a late fee and a hold onto your account. Why do you have a hold on your account you ask...well it's simple they want you to pay more down on the princple of your loan and to make money on late fees. Well they can't do that if you pay your bills on time like I do....so they do this song and dance with 1,000's of customers making millions in fees.
They recently did this to me directly and it made me so mad I couldn't stand it. I made three payments one online, which their system didn't log it due to technical difficultlies and then I mailed one in that they said they didn't receive and then I finally made a payment at a branch and they said sorry can't take the payment you need to call in to our toll free number. The representative answered and asked for a payment over the phone and it would be a $15 charge.
In summary, I did the transaction as they requested and I was charged a $50 late fee and $15 phone payment fee a total of $65 in extra fees. Then the payments they said they didn't received now got processed exactly 24 hours after my payment over the phone was done. So now I'm out of 3 payments of $280 in cash flow and $65 in charges.
That's how it's done....so make sure you to get caught in this old scam. Make sure you get a confirmation number, extention number of the representative, mail payments certified and follow up with your bank to make sure the payments were taken.
Keep a copy of everything.....if that still doesn't work and you feel like you've been taken....contact your State and file a complaint with all the details. Then take them to court. This is the only way scams like this will stop happening to us hard working folks.
Remember Boycott Chase Bank - the only way we can stop companies from taking advantage of people is to stop using their services. Trust me they will get the point right away when their bottom line starts to fall apart.
Boycott J.P. Morgan Chase Bank for taking advantage of hard working folks.
Chase bank and many other banks are playing the fee game and many of it's employees seem to be in on the action. How do I know well it's from personal experience. I've been a Chase Bank customer for years and in the recent years they seemed to have added a new method on increasing revenues for their company. This is how it seems to work at least it has towards myself directly.
- You make a payment on your line of credit, auto loan or home mortgage online or at a branch.
- A day later you receive a letter stating your past due and please mail your payment to this location.
- You mail the payment or pay at a branch thinking everything is current because your received a receipt for the payment.
************ Wrong....you are now late and you don't know it.**************
This is the oldest scam in the world and one of the largest banks in the world is using it to make money.
You then without realizing it get charged a late fee and a hold onto your account. Why do you have a hold on your account you ask...well it's simple they want you to pay more down on the princple of your loan and to make money on late fees. Well they can't do that if you pay your bills on time like I do....so they do this song and dance with 1,000's of customers making millions in fees.
They recently did this to me directly and it made me so mad I couldn't stand it. I made three payments one online, which their system didn't log it due to technical difficultlies and then I mailed one in that they said they didn't receive and then I finally made a payment at a branch and they said sorry can't take the payment you need to call in to our toll free number. The representative answered and asked for a payment over the phone and it would be a $15 charge.
In summary, I did the transaction as they requested and I was charged a $50 late fee and $15 phone payment fee a total of $65 in extra fees. Then the payments they said they didn't received now got processed exactly 24 hours after my payment over the phone was done. So now I'm out of 3 payments of $280 in cash flow and $65 in charges.
That's how it's done....so make sure you to get caught in this old scam. Make sure you get a confirmation number, extention number of the representative, mail payments certified and follow up with your bank to make sure the payments were taken.
Keep a copy of everything.....if that still doesn't work and you feel like you've been taken....contact your State and file a complaint with all the details. Then take them to court. This is the only way scams like this will stop happening to us hard working folks.
Remember Boycott Chase Bank - the only way we can stop companies from taking advantage of people is to stop using their services. Trust me they will get the point right away when their bottom line starts to fall apart.
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