Portland Business Community » Ed Bejarana

Moving in different directions…

Ed Bejarana — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:29:00 +0000

PortlandBusinessCommunity.com is being retired.

Due to business growth in other areas, Ken and I are shutting down PortlandBusinessCommunity.com. We will leave the valuable info online, but will shut down new registrations and article submission. If you feel your business could benefit from business blogging, please visit PDXchat.com, where you can create a FREE blog or website to promote your business.

Thank you for two great years of support.

Ed Bejarana
Zenith Exhibits, Inc.

Create a FREE business blog on PDXchat.com

Tax Credit-Here and Almost Gone!

Ed Bejarana — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 00:37:33 +0000

The tax credit incentive was a joyous ride for a lot of people! Those who had the means to pay a mortgage instead of rent will benefit in the years to come. The $8000 enabled new home owners to update less expensive older homes. It allowed them to put back the money they used for the down payment and or closing cost associated with home ownership. The tax credit allowed family members to gift monies to help with the purchase of the home and then have it paid back to them after the tax credit was received. Some states like Washington and California allowed the tax credit to be used during the closing process. This program, whether you agreed with it or not, helped a lot of families get into a home of their own. I know,home ownership is not for everyone, but this program helped, some families out run their inability to save enough money for the purchase.

Some government programs just don’t work as we all know. Some programs can’t be measured. Most of us know someone who benefited from this one. Let them feel proud they have a home to call their own.

Still Looking For A job?

Ed Bejarana — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:59:49 +0000

Millions of Americans have been out of work for more then a year. Being unemployed is a discouraging and depressing situation. I know. I was out of work for nine months in 2002. I questioned my self worth and wonder if things would ever change. They can and will, but you may need to take a different approach. Here are some things to consider:

Don’t hang out at home in your PJ’s or sweats. Get up at a regular work time and get ready to face the world. This will prevent you from forming depressive habits of low self worth.

Find someone to partner with. It is true that two heads are much better then one. Having a partner can help keep both of you on the right track. You will gain strength and encouragement from each other as long as it does not evolve into a pity party.

Sharpen your skills. Read articles and books to stay abreast of changes in your industry. Keeping your mind fresh and alert will fight off depression.

Volunteer and help others. This will help take your focus off yourself and it can provide opportunities for joy in your life.

Attend business-networking meetings. Search for Chamber of Commerce meetings or Trade Association meetings. You can visit at no charge for up to 3 times each organization. There are hundreds of networking meetings listed on line. Go meet new contacts. This is much better then sending resumes from home.

Consider starting your own business. Downsizing has left companies needing services on an as needed basis. Discover if there is a need for your skills. Call and survey companies. You may find a new way to make more money then your old job paid. You can typically charge twice as much as you were making as an employee, but don’t forget that you will need to pay taxes on your new found income.

Exercise. You don’t need to join a gym. Do push ups, crunches, walk around your neighborhood or beat your pillow with a broomstick. You need something to relieve your frustration and anger.

Ken Bear Cole

A Second Look Business Consulting LLC

Short Sale vs. Foreclosure

Ed Bejarana — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:22:01 +0000

I’m not a fortune teller, soothsayer, or any other predictor of the future. The economy is what it is, and shall be for at least several months from now. People have lost their jobs at an alarming rate. We read it in the paper, the web, and see and hear on radio and TV. The housing market controls the economy, they say, but I believe the economy drives the housing market. The job lost, down turn in retail sales / manufacturing, and with companies going out of business have led some of us to a place we have never been before.-Unable to afford the home we so longed to have. If you find yourself in this situation, you are definitely not alone! Sometimes the loss of the house is unavoidable due to financial concerns. It is hard to face this fact. The reality is you have some options.

Most people with a 401K can take money out without penalty to get the mortgage current or to save it from foreclosure. I didn’t know if you knew this.

Give the house back to the bank “in lieu of foreclosure” You can contact your bank and discuss this with them. This will not count as a foreclosure against you and the credit hit is not as severe. This is easier when the house is in good shape. The stays on your credit report for about 3-4 years as a rule.

Stay in the house until the dreaded forced “foreclosure” when you are actually forced out. I would say this is the most challenging and damaging to your credit. Foreclosures usually stay on your credit report for 10 years and is hard to run from. Banks do not like this to happen, because of all the legal issues that accompany it. The banks tend to be more forgiving to your credit in a short sale or just giving the house back.

The “short sale” in most cases is the best scenario. The term short sale simply means the fair market value for the house is less than the mortgage. Several things have to happen to allow this. The bank will ask for the financial information from the sellers to make sure they can not pay the full amount. In this day and age that is not hard to do. You will need a realtor to do a competitive market analysis to show the bank the true value. Then it is just a matter of marketing the house at a selling price that satisfies the buyers and the bank. The difference of the amount owed and the sold price is the short sale amount. This will hit your credit, but it is the least damaging. Credit hit is 2-3 years as a rule.

Contact a realtor and ask questions concerning your options.

Bank owned properties and short sales are the things driving down the value in the housing market. It will be this way for awhile. So, if you need to give it back or short sale it, you are not alone. Do what you need to do to help you and your family.

“FULL TIME, PART TIME, SPARE TIME, SOMETIME”

Ed Bejarana — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:22:35 +0000

Who hasn’t been lured into a Home-Based Business, Network Marketing Business, Multi-Level Business or even a Direct Sales Business by the idea of working part-time hours to create full-time revenue? The problem with this line of thinking for the vast majority of people is, they are not business people they are employees. There is a tremendous mind-set change that has to take place when you stop being the worker and start being the owner. What most workers don’t realize is that the owner of the business didn’t get paid for quite awhile after they started that business and may not even be getting paid right now even though they have employees. There needs to be a willingness on the part of every new business owner to do some work, maybe even a lot of work for a significant period of time before they get paid.

The amount of time you are willing to contribute to your new venture is directly proportional to when you can expect to start getting paid. If you are jumping in to your new business full-time, your return is going to come much sooner than if you are working part-time. Most people start a Home-Based, or Network Marketing business because they don’t want to take the risk of jumping into something full time, but they know the value of owning your own business, so they agree to start out part-time.

The part-timers are torn on two fronts. First, the financial reward is much, much slower and even more sporadic. The wise entrepreneur sets up a separate bank account and commits to reinvesting all of the income into the business for marketing tools, supplies, training etc. However, more often than not this money is mingled with their general expense money and even though the earnings may be substantial, it never seems to launch the part-timer over the hump to become a full-timer. Second, the part-timer is constantly staring into the future and watching the lifestyles of the full-timers. This pull coupled with the drive from the full-time “up line” creates a conundrum of motivation to succeed and frustration that part-time efforts are not creating full-time results.

If success doesn’t come relatively quickly, i.e. the part-timer is able to jump to being a full-timer, one of two things happens. Either the part-timer will jump to full-time status prematurely, with a “sink-or-swim” attitude, or they become discouraged and drop off of their regular routine. The spare-timer is that unique person that still believes in the product, the company, and the opportunity but they just can’t seem to justify making the commitment to time and activity to expand their business. They may be in a place where revenue needs dictate that they stay primarily committed to their J-O-B and as opportunity presents itself they will make a sale or recruit a new business associate. All it would really take for the spare-timer to once again become a part-timer, or maybe even make the jump to being a full-timer is one or two quality recruits.

If a spare-timer lingers too long, however, they may become a some-timer. These are the folks that for whatever reason have kept their status active with the company, but they are not actively engaged in the daily activity necessary to be productive in growing their business. The pitfalls of becoming a some-timer are first of all developing a romance with “sometime I’m going to be able to do this, or sometime I’m going to hit it big, or sometime I’ll get back into that thing”. The romance aspect of business keeps us from ever making the commitment to become successful, or from making the commitment to just quit. Most all networking marketing businesses, in fact most all businesses have some degree of success built in to them. The one finality to any business is quitting. As is stated in an ancient Hebrew proverb, “Better a live dog than a dead lion, for while there is life there is yet hope”.

Maybe today is the day you’ll pull out that old list of names you made when you were new, plan to attend your company’s next opportunity meeting, and take some action to affect your destiny. Your next big sale or next great recruit may be a phone call away. One of my mentors likes to say, “Don’t let the reason you didn’t make the sale be you didn’t make the call.

Who knows, with a little effort you could become a “Just-In-Timer”.

Gary Russell
503-519-3592
www.DefendMyLife.com

Stress on Life's Highway

Ed Bejarana — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:49:28 +0000

Life sometimes feels like a highway which is bumper to bumper in expectations, wants and needs. Have you ever tried getting somewhere when you were rudely cut off, tailgated, or delayed by an agonizingly slow driver? What was your reaction? Often we don’t take the time to look at these incidents objectively. We read too much into things, saying to ourselves, Why is this person slowing me down? I’m in a hurry and they need to get out of the way! We forget that the annoying driver is a someone also trying to get somewhere. Our fast-paced society makes us all feel anxious about getting where we need to go. In the end, this can even lead to road rage.

Have you ever been at an intersection, minding your own business, when a honk startles you out of your daydream? You feel offended and upset. What you may forget is that the intrusion wasn’t anything personal. That driver behind you felt the stress and anxiousness you yourself have felt. She didn’t realize that this offense was nothing personal, just a simple case of not seeing the light turn green.

It may be tempting to “get even” with other impatient drivers, perhaps with a glare as they zoom past you. On the other hand, when I’m the offending driver, I may offer a sorry smile. But the important thing is to understand the reason for the driver’s behavior. Recall what it is to be stressed and in a hurry. Acknowledge this, and as much as you can, move out of the way and let the anxious driver – and all those negative thoughts – go on past.

Members For Members

Ed Bejarana — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:25:21 +0000

What does the local chambers of commerce do for their members? In most cases they keep their members up to date on current affairs with e-mails, scheduled events, and the web. Networking events and meetings are one of the most important ways to get, and keep your name out there. During these, you develop relationships that hopefully help grow, what ever business you’re in. Chambers do work if you get involved. But, what if you don’t have the time to devote to meetings, what then? Do you feel the dues don’t justify a return on investment? Belonging to a chamber does give you some clout, I believe. Chambers do stand for community involvement and members are given credit for that.

One chamber has gone a little further to help its members in this economic down turn. The North Clackamas Chamber of Commerce has started a new program. It is call BizBoosters! We didn’t come up with the idea ourselves, but we embrace it. It is away the members can directly help one another. Last Friday, for example, we had 29 members and friends attend lunch at Bajio’s Mexican Grill on 82nd. It was an informal get together and all that participated had a good time. Nothing better than breaking bread with friends! The NCCC plans to extend this program to service, retail, and other members that supply consumer goods. Want to know more? Visit: www.yourchamber.com (events calendar)

Realtors Know This, But Do You?

Ed Bejarana — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:17:39 +0000

Our house is usually our biggest investment. For that reason, we take great care in keeping it in good shape. All those Sundays when you want to watch the game, but make the decision to mow the yard instead. You want it to look good, right? We pull weeds, fertilize, water, and landscape the yard. We change the air filters every month or so to keep the air in the house dust free and the equipment in good shape. We walk the foundation to check for insect entry points and repair when necessary. The house gets a new coat of paint when needed. All and all we take care of our houses inside and out.

But! Who thinks about the appliances, plumbing, water heater, furnace, air conditioning, or washer and dyer? We usually take these for granted until they break down. Ever notice, they break down just at the time you can’t afford a repair bill. When was the last time you had to load all of your clothes into the car and take’em to the laundry? Furnaces and air conditioners break down when you need them the most.

There is such a thing has a Home Warranty. Now, I’m not selling these things, but I thought you might like to know they exist. As a real Estate Broker, I encourage sellers to offer one or the buyers to buy one. There are two major ones:

First American Home Buyers Protection Corporation: www.firstam.com/warranty

American Home Shield: www.ahswarranty.com

You might just want to check them out.

A Success Story

Ed Bejarana — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 07:37:13 +0000

It is always a pleasure to report success stories during this difficult economy. The following story is about someone who “turned lemons into lemonade” and then sold the drink for a profit.

Let me introduce you to a wonderful lady I met in 2009. Her name is Jamie Teasdale. She became unemployed in March of 2009, when the business she was working for, closed their doors. Rather then hiding in a dark closet, Jamie decided to explore her options. She investigated purchasing a franchise, but that requires a lot of capital.

She comes from a family of businesspeople who have started companies in the past so the idea of owning a business was not foreign to her. Jamie has enjoyed business strategies and activities, while serving customers and planning events in the past. A friend of her parents simply needed more time in the day to accomplish everything, so they hired Jamie. That first customer encouraged Jamie to consider starting a business helping others.

Ms. Teasdale currently owns JJT Solutions. She specializes in assisting Small Business, Event Management and Individuals. She opened her doors in June of 2009 and currently has numerous clients. Jamie has accomplished a wide variety of projects since starting her business. So far, her company has been successful because of her attitude. Jamie is not afraid to tackle complex tasks like a wedding or even running errands for a client who has run out of time. She has also filled in, when some of her business clients have needed a project managed.

Jamie has currently replaced about 75% of her former income. She has utilized the services of other individuals as temporary contract workers and may be hiring them as employees in 2010.

You will enjoy her pleasant demeanor and intelligent input regarding your project. So if you need some temporary assistance, call Jamie.

Ken Bear Cole

A Second Look Business Consulting LLC

Get To Know A House Inspector

Ed Bejarana — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 01:39:06 +0000

Now, we all know we should use a home inspector when we buy a home. You want to know what your are buying, right! They find things that the average person just doesn’t see. They crawl under, over, and through the house to look into every little corner looking for things that should not be there. You know, the little things, that over time de-value or sometimes almost destroy a house! Unnoticed small water leaks, insects that only come out at night, mold, and mildew, heating and cooling issues, are just some of the issues that can cause major repairs with home ownership.

This idea came to me today after talking to a few folks . What if we had a professional inspector come out, as little as every 2 years, to just to go through our house. Potential problems might be found and repaired before they became larger issues. Automobiles that have set maintenance programs tend to surpass their life expectancy. Is now the time to put our homes on a contract? Food for thought!