an unusual blog
The Magic of Real Meetings
Jan 21st
This is probably one of the most important articles on corporate formalities you’ll ever read. There are a few reasons for this: first, it will dispel a common misconception regarding corporate meetings, namely that artificial meetings are sufficient for full compliance; and second, it will explain why it’s critical to embrace and master the meeting process.
Many states require that business corporations hold at least one shareholder meeting each year. Many business owners mistakenly believe this annual meeting is the primary key to maintaining their corporate shield (also referred to as the “corporate veil”). Add to this misconception the popularity of having Annual Meeting Minutes prepared by third parties, whether they be CPA’s, attorneys, or paralegals. There are even unscrupulous companies who frighten unwary business owners into coughing up $150 or more to have that company prepare the Annual Shareholder Meeting Minutes. But what is a frenzied business owner to do?
As stated above, many state laws require that a corporation hold an annual shareholder meeting. It’s astonishing that as many as 95% of small business corporations do not hold a genuine Annual Shareholder Meeting. Many who attempt to comply typically use a Minutes template downloaded from the Internet, in which they then plug a few bits of data; or they pay a third party to do the same thing on their behalf. There’s no essential difference between these two options except this: the use of a third party, especially an attorney, affords some level of peace of mind for the business owner that things are being done right. But are they? What is really going on?
Anyone who prepares your company’s Minutes is ultimately doing so at your direction, which means you’re as responsible for the end product as if you prepared it yourself. Minutes templates can be found all over the Internet, thus the best that can be said is that with an attorney you at least have the benefit that he or she will know if something is technically wrong with the language of the document. But most Minutes templates are prepared by attorneys anyway, so one must ask whether this is an issue at all.
An artificial meeting is a meeting that never really occurred but is never the less attested to by that meeting’s Minutes. That said, what’s so important about having a real meeting, rather than an artificial one? For one, state laws do not mandate Minutes, but rather meetings. Minutes are the evidence of these meetings, and they contain the substance therein, but they are not the meetings themselves.
Secondly, if you read any Minutes template, you’ll notice that it’s a record of a series of formal actions and procedures that allegedly took place at the meeting, including calling the meeting to order, having attendees sign as present, waiving of Notice or acknowledging proper Notice was provided, voting on various resolutions, and a variety of other items. To approve such document knowing these things never occurred as recorded is astonishing.
Dana Oliver is the founder and CEO of Incorp-Academy, Inc., an Internet based business program that assists owners of small corporations and LLC’s. For more information on this program please visit IncorpAcademy.com or email me directly ryan@crazygreat.com for an exclusive CrazyGreat! discount for my readers.
Acts of Kindness Benefit Everyone
Jan 21st
Do you really want to be happy? Everyone I ask always says yes, but the gateway to happiness makes some of us frown. The gateway to happiness, is giving to others.
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” – The Dalai Lama
Some of us may feel that, if we give too much our generosity will be taken advantage of by others, however people who seek to take advantage are in the minority. To quote Gandhi, “We must be the change we wish to see in the world.” Think about it, change has to start somewhere, so why not start with you and me, right now?
You can donate anything randomly, without seeking reward, and anonymously, without telling anyone. This is good for you, the universe, and those who receive your acts of kindness. Every time you give, you will receive even, if you are not looking for a reward.
Try it, and you will see what some call karma… the law of cause and effect. It works like this: For every action there is a reaction. Lets make sure the reactions to our actions are good ones.
Danny Thomas said, “All of us are born for a reason, but all of us don’t discover why. Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others.”
Share everything and you will achieve a legacy of kindness. Share nothing and people will, do their best, to forget you. When my life is over I will only leave memories in the minds of others, and I want them all to be good ones.
So, how much should you give? It can start with sincere, kind words, a note, a card, or a flower. You will find that your gifts or donations won’t make you poor. As a result of this, you will see most people, naturally, return kindness to you.
You should also take the time to be polite to all of the people who perform services for you, every day. Many people do not bother to say hello to the maid, janitor, parking attendant, or service clerk.
Once you do you may even learn their name, and you would be surprised how many of them will go out of their way to give you good service, just by addressing them by their first name.
If you establish sincerity and trust where ever you go, you will be loved by your fellow man. It is really that simple. As Mohammed said, “A person’s true wealth is the good he or she does in the world.”
How To Attract Everything You Desire Effortlessly!
Jan 9th
Wanna Be Simply Irresistible?
1. Create an environment that naturally pulls you forward so things like commitment and discipline are optional. Being pulled forward is attractive, pushing forward is not.
2. Over respond to every event. By over RESPONDING instead of over ACTING, you evolve into something that is very attractive.
3. Build reserves in every area of your life. Having enough is not nearly enough for you to be Irresistibly Attractive. Stop running your life on adrenaline.
4. Add value just for the joy of it. When you add value just because you enjoy it, people are naturally attracted to you.
5. Market your talents shamelessly. If you are embarrassed about what you do you’ll never be very attractive.
6. Become irresistibly attractive to yourself. How can you attract others if you dont feel irresistibly attractive to yourself?
7. Begin to live a fulfilling life, not just an impressive lifestyle. A great lifestyle is attractive, and attractive lifestyles can be seductive.
8. Deliver twice what you promise.When you consistently deliver more than was expected, new customers are drawn to you.
9. Unhook yourself from the future. Attraction works in the present, not in the future.
10. Eliminate delay. Time is expensive and delays are very unattractive.
11. Get your personal needs met, once and for all. If you have unmet needs, you will attract others in the same position. Needs are not optional.
12. Tolerate nothing. When you put up with something, it costs you, and costs are expensive and very unattractive.
13. Show others how to please you. Dont make them guess.
14. Endorse your worst weakness and shadow. When you accept and honor the worst part of yourself you are free and more accepting of others.
15. Sensitize yourself. The more you feel, the more you will notice and respond to the many subtle opportunities in the present.
16. Perfect your environment. Create an environment that brings out your brilliance versus one that drains you.
17. See how perfect the present really is especially when it is clearly not.
18. Orient exclusively around your values. When you spend your days doing what fulfills you, you are a magnet for attraction.
19. Simplify everything. Abandon the non essentials and leave room for you to attract.
20. Master your craft. Being the best at what you do is the easiest way to become successful.
21. Recognize and tell the truth. The truth is the most attractive thing of all, and it requires skill and awareness.
22. Be more human. When you are genuine, you are attractive.
Questions to ask yourself:
* What five opportunities are you leaving on the table?
* How might you sabotage our professional relationship?
* How have you been motivated in the past to reach difficult goals or make difficult decisions? How can we best utilize that motivation now?
* How would you do this differently if you were willing to let it be easy?
* What would happen if you showed up ten times more bolder this week in every aspect of your life?
* What are the 10 things you are tolerating or putting up with that are preventing you from performing at your best?
Go make it a great week, and thanks for all you do!
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3 Foolproof Ways To Soar Through A Recession
Dec 29th
Winners are always looking for ways to grow their business. They trust their company, trust their customers to come through for them, and realize that a financial crunch offers advantages that aren’t available during better economic times.
1. Get More For Your Advertising Bucks
When the economy makes a turn for the worse, it just makes sense that your advertising will give less of a return than during and economic boon. Sure there’s a lot less money being spent, but you don’t have to have to watch your profit margin plummet!
Think about it… advertisers are feeling the recession just as much as you are, and are more desperate for clients. It’s the perfect atmosphere to negotiate your way to lower costs – even if you are already getting a good price. Every advertising penny you can save, is that much more profit you’ll earn on the products.
Have you thought about getting free publicity? Local newspapers are always looking for something of local interest. Make the news! Publicity is free and wonderful way to get your business in front of potential clients.
Do your advertisements really need to be as big as they are? We tend to think the big is better, but the facts are that short ads with 11 words or less often generate higher response than large ads. Give it a try, and trim some costs right off your advertising bill.
2. Take Advantage Of Big Ticket Sales
Not all of your customers suffer during recession. Remember that there are always people who are thriving financially, so don’t be afraid to make big ticket sales offers. Additionally, when money is tight, people who place a lot of stock in your product will value it even more.
Think about ways to create products similar to yours, but with much higher prices. Internet marketers often create members only sites and sell their products at much higher prices. Hey, they’ll obviously make fewer sales, but the people who really value the product will buy. Each sale will net an immensely higher profit. Think about it like this… even though the sales are fewer, the actual profit may be even greater than when it was sold at a lower price.
3. Maximize The Customers You Have
Your customers already know that you have great products and provide satisfactory service. They trust you to come through for them. Think about it… it’s much easier to make sales to someone you already have a relationship with.
Use every opportunity to increase your sales volume within the customer audience you already have. Do you have a product that goes with the one they are purchasing? Offer it to them at the register. It’s a proven and effective method for increasing sales. You may be shocked at the additional sales you can generate from those who are already buying from you.
Make A PACT to be more organized in 2010
Dec 28th
A pact, according to Dictionary.com is “a formal agreement…such as one between nations.”
Well, I want you to have A PACT with your clutter. Although this turns into more of a battle (that you win)…it’s a great way to remember the steps to organization.
Here’s what it means and how it works …
A–>ASK
Ask yourself what you want out of the room or area you’re going to organize. What are the goals of the room? What are you shooting for by getting organized?
And the thing is, you want to dig a little deep into how you want to benefit. This will help you get motivated and work towards the final goal.
For instance, if you’re going to start the process of organizing paperwork in your home office, the question is “why do I want to organize this space?”
The answer could be “I don’t ever want to have a late bill again” or “I want to find any document in less than two minutes.”
Once you’ve answered the question, then move onto step 2…
P—>PILE
What you do in this step is pile “like” items together.
In your closet, you make a pile of all your shirts.
Another pile of all your pants…
Or let’s say we’re in your home office (or wherever you do keep paperwork.)
Start with your file drawer, or grab a pile if that’s what you’ve got for a “filing system.”
Put each piece of paper in “like” files. For example, all the insurance paperwork will go together. All of your 401K paperwork goes in another. All medical expenses from the present year in another.
A—>ANALYZE
Next you go through the piles and break them down even more, this time into two piles of “treasure” or “trash.”
I like to assign each category with treasure or trash so there’s no in between. No room for “I’m going to decide on this later.”
No, decide right there and then if it’s either staying or going.
No in between.
Now the thing is, the trash doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to the garbage.
That step comes next… and remember the saying, one man’s trash (or junk) is another man’s treasure.
next…
C—>CASH-IN
This is where you go through the “trash” and break it down once more, deciding what can be donated, what can be sold, and what’s going to the dumpster.
Next step is where you get organized…
T—>TIDY UP!
This is where, once you’ve gotten all the “trash” out of the area, you organize the items you’ve decided to keep.
Tidy up, put it back in an ordered, organized fashion.
When you’re organizing, always keep like items together whether on a shelf, in drawers or in any other type of storage you’re using.
Have items you use more frequently be more accessible and within reach, too.
So there you go…
Start A PACT with your clutter today, okay?
Breaking the Bad Habits Of Failure
Dec 21st
I wanted to put this out today because I realized that in order to begin to have success one has to recognize the “Bad Habits of Failure”, and then begin to replace those habits with “The Habits of Success”.
People living today are extremely lucky. There’s more information available today than ever on Success, yet with all this information available to us, people still fail to become successful in life. Why is this? After all, there is so much self help information available telling us how to be successful, yet most people still fail to achieve success. Also, why do people still suffer from depression, when there are so many books telling them how to live a great life?
The fact is, information is not the problem, and no matter how much technology advances, people will always have the same problems.
What Are The Reasons People Fail To Achieve Success?
If you ask someone why they never succeeded in what they were trying to do, they will most likely tell you it was someone elses fault, or something happened that was beyond their control. However if you compare that persons life against someone elses life, you could probably find many examples of people who suffered under far worse conditions yet still became a success.
This shows us that the real reason people fail is not because of something outside of them, rather the reason lies within themselves.
Internal Reasons For Failure
When you continue to do the same thing over and over again it is called a habit. You are probably familiar with bad habits such as smoking, but are you familiar with the habits of failure or the habits of success?
Creating Habits Of Success
Since success or failure is ultimately achieved through the actions you take, habits therefore play a tremendous role in determining whether you will achieve success or failure in life. For example. If you read everyday, that is a habit. This habit is likely to expand your knowledge of a subject, and vastly improve the chances you will master and be successful at it.
However, lets say that instead of reading everyday, you prefer to sit down and watch TV for a few hours. Do you think this will help you master any subject? Or become an expert in your field? In all likelihood, the answer will be no.
So if you look at achieving success or failure in terms of the actions you repeat on a daily basis, then it is quite simple to understand why some people succeed, and others complain of failure. People who are successful continually do things on a daily basis that will increase their chances of success. Whilst unsuccessful people do not.
This does not mean successful people never fail, they do. But what they dont do is give up, because they have developed habits of success.
Change Your Habits!
The message you should take away from this article is that in order to experience change in your life you must first identify your habits. Think about what do you do on a daily basis, and ask yourself if those things help you achieve what you want in life?
If the answer is no, you must then change those habits, because by doing the same thing over and over again you will only get the same results over and over again.
