Answers That Count - Hosted By Charles Musgrove

Economic Key Element #1 of 12 – Incentives Matter I recently interviewed Professor Joseph Calhoun, Economics Professor for Florida State University and co-author of the Third Edition of “Common Sense Economics, What Everyone Should Know About Wealth and Prosperity.” In this interview we talk about key element #1, Incentives Matter – Changes in benefits and costs will influence choices in a predictable manner.

There are similarities between the Incentives Matter concept to the Laffer Curve, an economics theory developed by Arthur Laffer. The simple description of the Laffer Curve is that reducing tax rates will increase total tax revenue … meaning Americans will work and earn more if taxes are lower than they would at a higher tax rate.

Here is a quote from Common Sense Economics, “Changes in incentives influence everyone’s choices, regardless of the mix of greedy, materialistic goals on the one hand and compassionate, altruistic goals on the other, that drive a specific decision.”

In this episode, we have guest Ron Coury, author of the recently published book entitled Tenacity. Ron talks about his business ventures in the early years in Las Vegas. He used a large dose of hospitality and tenacity to carve a path in the evolving casino and local tavern scene in Las Vegas. What a great story and great lessons in today's climate with COVID fears and realities. 

Ron created the Cheers tavern and local gathering place before the hit TV sitcom. Check out this show about how Ron created a successful business in a place that was about to experience a tremendous economic transformation that would last for decades. 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Ron Coury arrived in Las Vegas in 1973, following two years of service in the U.S. Marine Corps. Ron has been a casino dealer and a realtor, as well as a partner in restaurants and gaming bars, major graphics and glass companies, and several automobile dealerships throughout the western United States.

He is currently a board member of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Foundation, as well as several companies and charitable organizations. He has three children and five grandchildren and remains active in business and community service endeavors throughout Southern Nevada.

In these difficult times, businesses will be dealing with difficult vendor and employee decisions, Ron leaves us with the point that it is "never the wrong time to do the right thing". Be kind and considerate as you interact with others who are struggling with the COVID created business hurdles. 

In this episode we talk with Whitney Lee, Founder of Social Lee PR & Media Co about the best practices of social media posting and sending the 'right' message to the target audience. We discuss a wide range of topics from adapting to business and COVID and how the business message should be modified to be sensitive to the conditions caused by COVID.

Here are 5 takeaways from the interview:

1. Post quality content, don't post just to be posting something
2. Use the social media platform that best matches your target audience
3. Either use the platform and post to it, or close it down, don't ignore engagement or don't leave the platform unattended if you have a page on the platform
4. Beware of the reaction to posting political positions
5. Know the time of day to post to get the maximum engagement

Check out this episode for tips and information about communicating your business message the best way through social media and website. 

In this episode, we are joined by Drew McLeod owner of the Savor restaurant in Tallahassee, FL and career restaurateur. His perspective is one that is reflective of so many businesses and restaurants across America that are suffering with the unintended consequences of COVID, lock-downs and masks. 

Drew talks about the optimum business model for a restaurant and most businesses are started assuming full occupancy and serving as many customers as possible. Can a business survive if capacity serviced is cut by 50% or 25%? How long can a business survive in those conditions? Many have survived through the COVID so far with reliance of the Federal loan programs, specifically the CARES act and the PPP. Now that those funds have been used by most businesses, what does the future of the dine-in restaurant look like?

A can't miss episode of a real-life a real-life business coping with the struggles of the COVID fall-out.

In this episode we are joined by Sean Ammirati, entrepreneur, writer, venture capitalist, professor, researcher and public speaker. Yes, Sean has a lot of irons in the fire but he took the time to join us for an informative and exciting episode about entrepreneurship, how a process improves the chance of success and the impact of COVID.

Most Recently Sean was COO of ReadWriteWeb, one of the most influential sites about the future of technology and innovation. In December 2011, the company was acquired by SAY Media to strengthen its technology channel. Sean was previously co-founder and CEO of mSpoke, which was the first acquisition of LinkedIn. 

Sean brings the unique experience of the person that has done it, the person that is in the arena now and the expert that teaches how to do the entrepreneur thing the right way. Check out this episode for valuable nuggets of knowledge!

With interest rates flirting with record lows and the SBA offering an incentive to pay debt service of both the SBA and bank portion for 6 months, now could be THE time for you to consider refinancing existing debt. On this session, we are joined by Ashley Vannoy, Vice President with First Bank of the Lake. She provides a very informative discussion about this program and the urgent time-line to take advantage of the SBA debt payment incentive. However, as she explains, even without this incentive, with low rates (in the 3.5%-3.9%) a 25 year amortization period and 90% LTV, this is an awesome program that can greatly improve cash flow.

Here are the highlights for the SBA 504 loans:

• Owner occupied real estate
• Down payment of owner investment of 10%
• SBA loan portion of up to 40%
• Bank financing of the remaining 50%
• 10 year amortization period for bank portion
• 25 year amortization for SBA portion
• Prepayment penalty, which is reduced to 0 over first 10 years of loan

Check out this episode for the details plus information on the SBA 7A program.

On this Episode, we talk with John Gautreau, founder of NextGen Consulting. John's experience as a CPA for over 30 years, owner of his own firm and now as a Certified Exit Planner provides him with an unique perspective on the importance of exit planning and execution. A good plan is critical to achieving a good outcome for the owners.  Most (80%) don't plan, and many more fail to execute the plan properly. Check out the show for tips to help with your business dynamic.

In this episode our guest Tim Fitzpatrick, founder of Rialto Marketing, describes why marketing is an important part of any successful business and how to do it the right way. Tim explains this in an easy to understand, step-by-step process. Starting with the fundamentals followed by a dynamic, sprint-type execution plan that is 90 days or less. 

Here is a link to the show topics and helpful information https://www.rialtomarketing.com/answers-that-count/.

The Marketing Strategy Trilogy - https://www.rialtomarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/The-Marketing-Strategy-Trilogy.pdf

• Target Market
• Messaging
• System/Plan

A simple Marketing Plan Template - https://www.rialtomarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/90-Day-Marketing-Plan-Template.pdf

The Ultimate Guide to Marketing Strategy - https://www.rialtomarketing.com/marketing-strategy/

The Marketing Hourglass (Customer Journey) - https://www.rialtomarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/The-Marketing-Hourglass.pdf

Join us for this episode with Stephen Halasnik, Serial Entrepreneur, founder of numerous businesses including his current one, Financing Solutions https://financingsolutionsnow.com/. With the economic fall out from the COVID crisis and forced shut down of many businesses, a national recession is real and now is the time to examine if your business is ready for it. It's time to assess if your business is in an industry that will likely thrive or survive, or if it will suffer and face a significant challenge in a recession.

Stephen recounts the decision process he went through in determining whether to sell, close, expand or contract his businesses in the 2001 and 2008 recessions and the current 2020 COVID recession. Many of the decision processes applied to a business should also be applied to your personal budget. And, if you are a business owner, having your personal budget in order is even more important to making the right conclusions about how to best position your business for a recession.

In this episode, we are joined by attorney Chip Merlin, president of the Merlin Law Group, to provide the nuggets of knowledge about how to file a claim on your Business Interruption policy. Chip has dedicated his career and created his law firm to defend the policy holder, to protect the rights of the 'little guy' in the insurance arena. Chip is the author of Pay Up, which is a collection of experiences he has had with in his practice. A must-read book for sure.

Here are a couple of testimonies from the book.

“Chip Merlin has been a respected industry thought leader for over thirty-five years. I often seek his counsel on property insurance disputes and am confident that the wisdom he imparts in this book will provide great insight and value to consumers.” – Paul Handerhan, Former president, Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters “If anyone knows how to get an insurer to pay up, it’s Chip Merlin, a true policyholder advocate with an unmatched track record of righting insurance wrongs and helping people collect what they are owed.” – Amy Bach, Executive director, United Policyholders “Chip Merlin is a passionate advocate for policyholder rights. His widely read blog is relied upon as a leading national authority for guidance in claims handling and insurance trends. Whenever Chip is writing something about insurance, it should be read by all stakeholders in the insurance industry!” – Holly Soffer, General counsel, American Association of Public Insurance Adjusters

Here are a couple of quotes from the book:

“My impetus for writing this book, as well as my blog, is to share some of my knowledge about insurance practices, especially insurance company practices that harm policyholders. Most people simply don’t know much about insurance products, which are one of the most important classes of products all of us purchase. They certainly don’t know, yet fear, what the insurance companies may do when a loss happens and a claim is made. Most people don’t know about how the insurance industry has changed, often for the worse, over the last few decades. They also don’t know about policyholder advocates like me offering resources and recourse for them.” — Pay Up!: Preventing A Disaster With Your Own Insurance Company by Chip Merlin

The following is a link to a blog post suggesting businesses shut down from the Coronavirus should not give up on the possibility of having a claim paid in the future: https://www.propertyinsurancecoveragelaw.com/2020/03/articles/insurance/coronavirus-insurance-coverage-update-united-policyholders-says-do-not-give-up-while-georgia-insurance-commissioner-suggests-do-not-waste-your-time/

And a blog link to why people should be careful to select the best insurance agent they can find: https://www.propertyinsurancecoveragelaw.com/2011/06/articles/insurance/choose-insurance-agents-wisely-to-avoid-insurance-coverage-gaps/