What a crazy time in our history!  Our economy is in turmoil.  We have soldiers at war.  For the first time since 1776 a non-white man has been elected as president.  Gas is affordable.  Tiger Woods and GM end their endorsement partnership to pinch pennies.

Many corporations are scrambling to find ways to keep the doors open.  One of the first reactions is to cut personnel.  Save on costs.  What is your gut reaction to weather this storm?

Mine is to cut costs and not get involved in new ventures.  I scrubbed my household budget to examine where I can save some extra change.  Just four years ago, I did the exact same thing as my wife and I were saving for our first home.  At that time we found over $700 a month.  There I said this wouldn’t happen again…

Never say never.  My latest scrubbing uncovered $200 each month.  Sure this was not as bad, but the point is that I was making a conscious effort and still got up to this point again.  Even those of you who think you have no room to grow…look again with an open mind and B.E. H.O.N.E.S.T.

Bills; Essentials-Housing, Outfits, Num-Nums; and Extras-Savings, Throwaway.  Quick translation.  Break down budget into needs and wants.  Needs are bills, housing, clothing and food.  Wants are savings accounts and luxuries like travel and entertainment.  I cover making a budget a little more in another post.

My goal here is to get you into penny-pinching mode.  Really dig to see where you can save a couple of bucks each day/week/month/year.  One blogger commented, “Buy the paper towels that come in smaller sheets (the 1-2-3 sheet).  Most often you only need a small one but take a whole sheet.”  What a simple cost-cutting idea!

Over the past five years I found a collective $900 each month by pinching pennies.  How much can you find?  Instead of getting into debt over your head, get free from it.  I used my extra money to buy a home and save for my future wants and needs.

Give me some money saving ideas.  What will you do with the extra $$$$?

“Follow the leader,” are words we have heard throughout our lives.  Leaders of large organizations are unable to hear each and every gripe or complaint.  Therefore, I propose the followers become the leaders and make a change from within the system.

A comment received in another article sparked an idea in my mind…lucky for you :)  Our first instinct is to whine when we disagree with decisions made by leaders.  We all have those rules we know should be followed, but everyone ignores them.  We create cultures that actually accept these behaviors.  What can we do to make a change?

I have seen this played out a hundred times in my life, “The book says to do this, but no one does.”  Most rules have a meaning.  Some are for safety or cost-saving, and some are just “sacred cow” traditions.

When you disagree with a rule, question it.  Ask your boss why this is done.  Get the bigger picture answer first.  If there is no clear answer, change needs to happen.  I ran a quality assurance program that required detailed reports to be typed and routed to seven different people, and it took two weeks to get completed.  Why?  No reason was given to me, and I digitized it.  Everything was done through email, and the turn around time was now between two to eight hours!

To be honest with you, I really would have rather complained about it and waited for the leader to wave his magic wand and solve all the problems.  In fact, at first I did just whine.  Guess what?  Not a single benefit was gained…I still had to track this stupid piece of paper for two darn weeks.

By changing this one little thing, my life got much easier.  All those in my command chain freed up a little time, too.  AND the programs I inspected were able to fix the problems almost immediately.  My leadership really was happy, and the next time I needed some help to fix a “whine” they were all ears to my suggestion.

What can we do to solve a problem together?

Four letters will sail you past all fear…P.R.E.P. This acrostic stands for Plan, Research, Examples, and Practice.  The Planning stage is the toughest for me.  This is where you need to determine who your audience is and the route you want to lead them down.  I like to create an outline from introduction to conclusion and all the points in between.

Next, it is time to Research each point and find information to support your outline.  This is getting down and dirty to find the meat of the lecture.  Dig deep, because simply stating what everyone already knows wastes everyone’s time.  However, doing a good outline will make research much easier and faster.

Planning and research are the two most vital components of any presentation.  Finding Examples is going to add vibrance.  Nobody wants to get slapped with statistics and mere facts.  Look for interesting stories or even jokes that lighten the mood while keeping everyone on topic.  We all have been to the death by PowerPoint meetings but still are tempted to do the same thing.  Look for other visual aids such as videos, equipment, handouts, etc. to keep their attention.  An example of this is if you are pitching a new business venture for a hotel, let everyone feel the extra soft towels you want to purchase instead of just putting the costs on the board.

Finally, Practice your speech or presentation.  The more experienced you get, the less time you will have to spend here.  Regardless, you need to ensure that all of your slides are working properly and follow your outline.  Do the links actually take you to the site?  Nothing is more embarrassing and stressful than having your visual aids sabotage your presentation.  Make sure everything works.

The morale to this posting is PREPARE, PREPARE, PREPARE!

Have you ever had a stranger go out of his way to do something nice for you?  Maybe he ran ahead of you to hold the door for you because your hands were full.  Even better, have you ever gone out of your way to help another?  How did you feel?

If you are the owner of a business or simply a human being, this posting is for you.  When we give freely of our resources we receive ten-fold as a return.  Here is a background story.  I used to teach martial arts to five to eighteen year olds when I was in high school.  My best friend and I ran the school for four years.  As Black Belts, we were never to be questioned but we both had the same mentality in a strict rank structure.

Our policy was to treat every student with the same respect that we demanded.  We would go out of our way to make sure that this happened.  Neither of us were trying to get attention, it is how we were raised.  In fact, we never got a single penny because of this attitude.  However, we got so much more.

Ten years later Chris and I occasionally come into contact with one of our students or a family member.  The reception is always similar.  We often hear about the impact we had on the student.  It is an unbelievably good feeling to hear this.  Such a small investment has paid dividends in our lives.

When we give our time, skills or finances to others, we always get rewarded.  Those rewards are rarely a fringe benefit or financial gain.  Sometimes you will not even get a thank you.  The other person may never even notice, such as putting your neighbor’s mail in their mailbox instead of routing it back to the post office.

Our gifts and rewards come in the form of personal achievement.  When you know in your heart you are giving freely of yourself, you will feel great about yourself.  Take a moment to give.  By investing in others you are really investing in yourself.

Every time I check the news, I get bombarded with analysts that are terrified about the economy.  There are one thousand Chicken Littles running around sparking fear.  Let’s get them back into the hen house.

For starters, no one is certain about what will happen to the economy, and that is scary. Change and the unknown are very scary, and that is why suspense movies make you jump out of your seat. Currently, we are in one of these movies without a script.

Why should we not be afraid? The economy moves in natural cycles. The “Roaring Twenties” was capitalizing on the stock market. People were making fortunes off of their portfolios. Then the market crashed, and all those that were over-leveraged were left with nothing. The ripple effect carried throughout the masses, and the panic further hurt those doing well and businesses collapsed. This in turn resulted in lost jobs and ultimately the Great Depression.

Then the US auto and steel industry was insanely powerful. Millions of jobs and vast economic booms were experienced. Foreign competitors kicked our complacent butts and that industry collapsed again crushing the populace. Now there is something similar happening with oil prices and the housing industry which were booming in the recent past.

Again we got over-leveraged. Greedy companies were passing out credit as if it were in the “take-a-penny” tray. We were greedy and took the credit and bought useless things that we could not afford. Mortgage companies gave us loans that forced us way out of our means. The companies experienced a boom in sales. The GDP was up and everyone was officially winning.

Until…the rise in oil prices. Now, our paycheck to paycheck strategy was collapsing. The banks started suffering and wanted their money to pay for their expenses. Interest rates were raised on the adjustable rate loans, and people began losing their homes.  They got over-leveraged.

Why shouldn’t we be afraid? Every single financial crisis in our history has been overcome, and each time we have come back even stronger.

What are you doing to protect your fiancial futures? What advice can you give our readers?

Don’t you love it when you get that order of French fries and find an onion ring in the container? What about getting an extra soda from the vending machine? Free things tend to make your day or at least make the moment. Why not keep the spirit alive in your investment strategy?

My friend Chris Hubinsky and I recently formed an investing company called H&L Ventures, Ltd. Our goal for the first few years is to build a strong portfolio with a solid base. We want a structure that will last for years and solidify our financial futures. We are employing a dividend grabbing strategy that I will call the Check, Please! Strategy or CPS.

The CPS focuses on buying stocks from secure companies that pay dividends numerous times each year. Many of the big corporations pay dividends quarterly. These dividends are free bonuses to the shareholders (you) that can be rolled right back into your investment. More often than not, the dividends are between 10-50 cents per share. “This Joe Lawrence guy is a moron!” you must be saying to yourself.

You would be right on many occasions, but not here. Let me show you some numbers. If you bought $300 worth of General Electric (GE) back on January 6, 2006, you would own 8.45 shares (I went to 2006 to use real numbers). GE paid $.25 per share dividends throughout 2006. After the first quarter you would have made $2.11. Again, not much but work with me here.

Allow the dividends to be reinvested (most brokers do this automatically, like Sharebuilder.com) and you will have .06 of a share. Your new total shares are 8.51. Keep this up until today, and you now made $24.74 in dividends and own 9.18 shares. That is $25 for free in two and a half years. Sure, it is not a retirement check, but give it a few more years and that number will continue to grow.

H&L Ventures uses Sharebuilder.com because it allows for fractional stock purchases and only $4 fees per trade. To learn more check out Quality Over Quantity.

Have you ever gone into a store and were blatantly ignored? You wanted quality service but instead the worker only cared about his task at hand or his personal issues. This is very frustrating! Have you ever done the same thing to a user of your product or service? It is very easy to lose focus of the customer while doing the work or even during project management.

Project management possesses a very high level of responsibility and requires constant multi-tasking. All too often our focus shifts to the deadline or the current roadblock that we are facing. Having this determination is a great motivator. The problem is that you become willing to do whatever it takes to get there and often the user’s (customer’s) needs are ignored. Example: I hired a guy to do landscaping at my house and gave him a detailed plan of the plants I wanted and where they were to be placed. He could not get a certain plant I wanted, so he bought a different one so he could finish the job on-time.

This landscaper’s tunnel vision made him completely forget what I (the user of his services) wanted. What results from this form of project management? Disgruntled customers, bad reputation, not fulfilling the contract, etc. These results can be sidestepped very easily by simply putting yourself in the user’s shoes. Think about how you would want to be treated. By simply practicing the Golden Rule, you are less likely to have an upset customer.

Schedule and budget often tempt us to stray from the original plan. We see that if we continue with what we are doing the project will be a week late or over budget. To prevent this we take short cuts that dramatically alter the outcome. It is best to first look for another place to save time/money. If there is no other solution, consult the customer and be up front. Ask whether time, money or completion to spec is more important. Once this is answered, you can press on with the customer’s best interest in mind. Everyone will win.

Are you swimming in debt? Is it harder now to pay your debt because of rising prices across the board? Are you looking for a way to make a little extra cash and start treading again? If so, read on.

We all could use a little extra money these days. Even if we are debt free (Yeah, right!) we may want to strengthen our security blanket. You’re probably saying, ‘OK, Captain Obvious, I already know that. How can I make more money when I am already working long hours to build my career and trying to balance a personal/family life?’

There are two roads to take: the easy or the rough road. The rough one involves taking a skill that you have and marketing it to others for cash. For example, web design, mowing lawns, painting, etc. The rough part of this road is that agreeing to paint a house or design a web page requires a huge time commitment. In addition to the burden of time, there is a large financial responsibility to buy the supplies and equipment. This solution doesn’t stay within the parameters of balance between work and family.

Now, what about the easy road? There are companies out there that allow you to generate income without high start-up costs or demanding time constraints. Multi-level (aka network) marketing companies are the solution. Don’t confuse them with the “pyramid schemes” of the past. Most of these companies actually provide great products, training and mentorship.

My favorite is Advocare, a health supplement company. I began using these products for lifting and loved them but never cared about the business aspect, that was until a friend asked me how she could make some extra cash without giving up everything. Coincidentally, I was ordering some more products immediately after reading her email and. . . Eureka! I told her about the company and that I never did the business but have read great things. She gave it a try and is now making a few hundred dollars extra each month. The best part is there are products for every health need.

Choose the easy road.

With our economy in what happily could be called a tailspin, is it really the right time to start your own business? The answer is, of course! Studies have shown that economic downturns are the best times for entrepreneurship and thinking outside of the box. If you have been toying with the idea of starting your own business, it might be time to take the leap.

Of course, before you jump into the deep end, make sure you have a few things covered:

1. Don’t quit your day job until you have enough money saved to sustain you while you are waiting for your business to get off the ground. We’ve all heard “save enough money to live for six months without any income,” and while this might seem impossible, it is a good goal. After all, while you are building your business, your revenue will be very small. How will you pay your bills?

2. Keep all of your bridges intact. Even if you loathe your day job, keep your relationships with your coworkers open. Every solid relationship is a potential business client and referrer. If you burn your bridges, you could lose a large portion of your new client base.

3. The best businesses are those that take an existing system and find a way to do the same task for less money and in less time. Is there something that you are especially good at? Have you always thought that you knew a better way to get something done? Now is the time to test your theories.

Starting a new business is exciting and scary, and it could be the best thing you ever do for yourself. Remember, Starbucks started as a single, independent coffee shop. Kinko’s was the same. You never know when your new idea could end up being the next big deal!

Project Management is a discipline that has received a relatively sudden rise in visibility and popularity over the past few decades. Organizations like the PMI (Project Management Institute) have developed based on the need to create formal training and certification for the discipline, and companies all over the world are reaping the benefits of efficiency and predictability.

Formal project management organizations typically define a project as any endeavor that has a start and an end, and generates some measurable result or deliverable. This definition distinguishes it from operational management, which addresses similar issues but is related to repeated sequences of events (which do not have a start or stop).

The basic approach to formal project management starts with defining the project. This includes: outlining the goals; identifying the people who will participate in the work to generate output (known as team members); identifying the people who have a vested interest in the success of the project; the ways in which the project’s success will be evaluated; the scope of work involved; schedule expectations or targets; and so forth. Risks to the project schedule, cost, and scope are assessed and strategies are selected for addressing them.

After the ground rules have been worked out, a more detailed planning phase is used to flush out the project structure in more detail. A “work breakdown structure” (essentially a collected list of tasks or defined lower-level deliverables) is created. Dependencies between the tasks are defined, especially with regard to timing. Resource requirements for each task are assessed. Budgets for resources, time, and cost are balanced and negotiated with a team, and finally a plan is “blessed” by the group.

Once a detailed plan is in place, a project manager’s role is focused on maintaining momentum by tracking progress and by facilitating copious amounts of communication between various team members, and by reporting on progress to the stakeholders.

Interestingly, formal project management techniques and systems reportedly trace their modern history to the infamous Manhattan Project, the project initiated in the early 1940’s by the US government to develop atomic weapons. Now, half a century later, the same techniques, tools, strategies and systems are being applied to everything from software development to political campaigns and restaurant franchise expansions.