Thursday, March 11, 2004
Well, I am back from woebegone Atlantic City. That place is desperately trying to reinvent itself. The strip of land that connects the new Convention Center to the Boardwalk has been beautified with lovely brick walkways and landscaping. New village-style outdoor malls are being built over what appears to be an acre or so between the center and the bus station. The boardwalk arena's street facade has been gussied up. The boardwalk is well lit at night, even when the temperature is in the low forties. Unfortunately, I chose to stay the night at a Super 8 that was north, where many dilapidated houses still stand, and lots of erstwhile day parking (aka, empty lots) still made me nervous. The streets were not deserted, but they were quiet enough that I thought twice before heading outside. But I did in the end. I walked onto the boardwalk and headed up to Resorts, the nearest casino to my little motel. Unfortunately, I discovered that Resorts has no table games, and I couldn't find the desire to play slots. After playing roulette and black jack in Vegas, slots have lost their lustre. So on I walked to the Trump Taj Mahal. There were table games there, but the minimum bets were too rich for me. The Showboat was next to the Taj, but I knew that they had no real tables, so I headed back to Resorts, where I spent five whole dollars in a boring video poker game, then left. I had scanned the little book in my hotel room for the local pizza joint before I left. I was intent on finding a Domino's pizza to order in. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a Domino's in Atlantic City. (Before you ask, I really like the cheesy bread). Instead, there were about five other pizza places and an Indian restaurant that was in some other coastal city nearby. I elected Popa's (after spurning the snow crab legs at the Atlantic City Bar & Grill) and got myself a gooey personal pizza with pepperoni and extra cheese. Mmmmm. Then, settled in for the night, caught Law & Order, and allowed myself to be sufficiently disturbed by Stephen King's new tv show "Kingdom Hospital" (or whatever it's called), I went to sleep.
Oh, right, I also went to a trade show. Well, Wednesday morning was fairly uneventful. I had to wake up at 5:30 to get to the Port Authority so that I could get a 7:30 bus to Atlantic City. I still had to run to the convention center because my workshop began at 10AM and the earliest bus from the city got in at 9:55 to the bus station about three blocks away (and they're long blocks). The seminar was interesting, very technical, which was what I was hoping for. Lunch I had with an interesting lady named Elizabeth who owns a personalized gift shop in Connecticut, a business she bought last year after deciding that running a company for a bunch of shirts was not her bag. Hmm, sounds familiar, except that I don't run my employer. Anyway, I found that Elizabeth has excellent sources for linen handkerchieves, napkins and tableclothes and she promised to email me them. This is great for me. I don't think I'll use them too much to begin with (except for personal hand work), but eventually I want to get to it. More on that later.
Thursday was begun with a major snafu when I got on the wrong Jitney (Atlantic City's version of public transportation) and went all the way to the outskirts of Ventnor before I realized that I was on the wrong Jitney. The driver was very nice and brought me back to the closest point on his route before dropping me off. I tried to wait for the right Jitney, but instead I ended up walking to the convention center. Keep in mind that I was lugging my stuff and it was 8:30AM. I packed light, thankfully. When I got there, the coat check hadn't been set up yet so I schlepped everything up to the seminar, only to be stopped by the room monitor, who pointed out that I was twenty minutes late and he'd been told to close the room ten minutes after the start of the seminar. Ferociously angry because I had been on time until I screwed up with the Jitney, I told him that I was going in there and the guy could just try to throw me out. I got my way thankfully, and the teacher barely noticed that I had come in. It was garment construction, and he had gone through all of the natural fabrics when I came in. Perfect, because I actually knew all that. The rest of the seminar was very interesting and I wish we'd had more time to talk about garment construction. Unfortunately, that was for another seminar.
I realized that I had somehow been given full show credentials (instead of the workshop and one seminar that I had registered for), so I decided to take the next seminar as well, which was about how to get into promotional product distribution. I have actually done one job of promotional products, and I'm looking forward to more. I learned a good deal of resources to use and I'll email the teacher for more. After that seminar, I FINALLY checked my bags and headed to the floor.
The floor at this trade show is daunting even when you have 2 days to walk it, and I only had five hours. Admirably, I made it through the entire floor, didn't buy anything, saw everyone that I wanted to see, and didn't pick up so much stuff that my arm was falling off. Last year, I was really just there to see suppliers. This year, I was also looking seriously at equipment. Brother had a few options of embroidery machine, including one for $3200 that was a home machine with both sewing and embroidery as well as embroidery software. This was incredibly interesting to me, especially with no interest for one year, but as I STILL haven't closed on my condo, I couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger. I think it was the right decision. I did talk to a few third party equipment leasing firms. Boy, what a great racket! This would be something I might look into later in the year. I also looked at heat transfer presses. Honestly, this is something that I can and should buy used. I wanted to see the product. Then I'll probably compare prices on Ebay or something.
I met with one of my suppliers who is doing my varsity-style jackets, and he was very nice. A little too syrupy, but he did tell me about a lot of services that he could provide that would make my life much easier without equipment. That was good.
I also met Joe from Staten Island and another nice lady from New Jersey who gave me some great advice concerning focusing a business. She told me that it was very easy to get distracted in this business and I realize how right she is. I was very distracted to start out with, but I need to focus as soon as possible. She also addressed some pit falls that I discerned good policies from. I hope I don't make the same mistakes. Overall, I was really impressed by the people that I met this year who were willing to share their expertise with me. I am very thankful for the chance to meet and hear them.
I also met a very nice Korean business owner who had been on a business tour in South America, came back to New York and took a bus to Atlantic City for one day. We rode the bus back together. I wish him a safe trip and lots of good fortune.
I think for the present, I am going to advertise on craigslist.org for local contract printers, embroiderers, and possibly heat transfer press time. If you have any of this equipment and you are willing to do contract jobs or share time (for a heat transfer press) on a wholesale basis, please email me.
Craigslist is going to be my link for today. If you live in a major metropolitan area (and sometimes even if you don't), craigslist can be a great asset and resource for a very patient person. You MUST check it at least once per day (especially for real estate), but you will find gems for whatever you are seeking. I found the condo that I am buying listed there. Try it out and don't be shy.
Finally, I received a message from my mortgage broker saying that he received the condo offering statement from my annoying management company and he thinks that everything should be alright so we can close hopefully sometime next week. I can hardly wait. Step A will finally take place in my journey towards real freedom!
Oh, right, I also went to a trade show. Well, Wednesday morning was fairly uneventful. I had to wake up at 5:30 to get to the Port Authority so that I could get a 7:30 bus to Atlantic City. I still had to run to the convention center because my workshop began at 10AM and the earliest bus from the city got in at 9:55 to the bus station about three blocks away (and they're long blocks). The seminar was interesting, very technical, which was what I was hoping for. Lunch I had with an interesting lady named Elizabeth who owns a personalized gift shop in Connecticut, a business she bought last year after deciding that running a company for a bunch of shirts was not her bag. Hmm, sounds familiar, except that I don't run my employer. Anyway, I found that Elizabeth has excellent sources for linen handkerchieves, napkins and tableclothes and she promised to email me them. This is great for me. I don't think I'll use them too much to begin with (except for personal hand work), but eventually I want to get to it. More on that later.
Thursday was begun with a major snafu when I got on the wrong Jitney (Atlantic City's version of public transportation) and went all the way to the outskirts of Ventnor before I realized that I was on the wrong Jitney. The driver was very nice and brought me back to the closest point on his route before dropping me off. I tried to wait for the right Jitney, but instead I ended up walking to the convention center. Keep in mind that I was lugging my stuff and it was 8:30AM. I packed light, thankfully. When I got there, the coat check hadn't been set up yet so I schlepped everything up to the seminar, only to be stopped by the room monitor, who pointed out that I was twenty minutes late and he'd been told to close the room ten minutes after the start of the seminar. Ferociously angry because I had been on time until I screwed up with the Jitney, I told him that I was going in there and the guy could just try to throw me out. I got my way thankfully, and the teacher barely noticed that I had come in. It was garment construction, and he had gone through all of the natural fabrics when I came in. Perfect, because I actually knew all that. The rest of the seminar was very interesting and I wish we'd had more time to talk about garment construction. Unfortunately, that was for another seminar.
I realized that I had somehow been given full show credentials (instead of the workshop and one seminar that I had registered for), so I decided to take the next seminar as well, which was about how to get into promotional product distribution. I have actually done one job of promotional products, and I'm looking forward to more. I learned a good deal of resources to use and I'll email the teacher for more. After that seminar, I FINALLY checked my bags and headed to the floor.
The floor at this trade show is daunting even when you have 2 days to walk it, and I only had five hours. Admirably, I made it through the entire floor, didn't buy anything, saw everyone that I wanted to see, and didn't pick up so much stuff that my arm was falling off. Last year, I was really just there to see suppliers. This year, I was also looking seriously at equipment. Brother had a few options of embroidery machine, including one for $3200 that was a home machine with both sewing and embroidery as well as embroidery software. This was incredibly interesting to me, especially with no interest for one year, but as I STILL haven't closed on my condo, I couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger. I think it was the right decision. I did talk to a few third party equipment leasing firms. Boy, what a great racket! This would be something I might look into later in the year. I also looked at heat transfer presses. Honestly, this is something that I can and should buy used. I wanted to see the product. Then I'll probably compare prices on Ebay or something.
I met with one of my suppliers who is doing my varsity-style jackets, and he was very nice. A little too syrupy, but he did tell me about a lot of services that he could provide that would make my life much easier without equipment. That was good.
I also met Joe from Staten Island and another nice lady from New Jersey who gave me some great advice concerning focusing a business. She told me that it was very easy to get distracted in this business and I realize how right she is. I was very distracted to start out with, but I need to focus as soon as possible. She also addressed some pit falls that I discerned good policies from. I hope I don't make the same mistakes. Overall, I was really impressed by the people that I met this year who were willing to share their expertise with me. I am very thankful for the chance to meet and hear them.
I also met a very nice Korean business owner who had been on a business tour in South America, came back to New York and took a bus to Atlantic City for one day. We rode the bus back together. I wish him a safe trip and lots of good fortune.
I think for the present, I am going to advertise on craigslist.org for local contract printers, embroiderers, and possibly heat transfer press time. If you have any of this equipment and you are willing to do contract jobs or share time (for a heat transfer press) on a wholesale basis, please email me.
Craigslist is going to be my link for today. If you live in a major metropolitan area (and sometimes even if you don't), craigslist can be a great asset and resource for a very patient person. You MUST check it at least once per day (especially for real estate), but you will find gems for whatever you are seeking. I found the condo that I am buying listed there. Try it out and don't be shy.
Finally, I received a message from my mortgage broker saying that he received the condo offering statement from my annoying management company and he thinks that everything should be alright so we can close hopefully sometime next week. I can hardly wait. Step A will finally take place in my journey towards real freedom!
Tuesday, March 09, 2004
I have been fiddling with the Blogger template, and I'm pretty pleased with the new colors that I've chosen. I'm also ordering some business cards from Vista Print. I've decided that this is the most cost effective manner to go about in marketing my endeavor as a mortgage note broker.
The hardest part about buying a mortgage appears to be finding a mortgage to buy. I haven't had much success yet. My strategy has been qualifying leads through research, posting flyers/cards and direct mail. It's actually great practice for learning how to do a serious marketing campaign.
The mortgage market is actually very crowded. There are a lot of people out there looking to buy. I'm working with a network of people, since I don't have the cash myself (I've spent it all on a rental condo). If I can ever find one of these things, I'll make a nice commission, though. If you know anyone who has a mortgage and wants to sell it, please let me know by emailing me.
Tomorrow I have to be up early to catch a bus to Atlantic City for the Imprinted Sportswear Show. Besides a great day of learning (I'm going to be late for the start of the seminar due to the fact that the first bus won't get there until just after 10AM, which is the start of the seminar, but hopefully I won't miss much), I'll have a little time on the first boardwalk love of my life, and I can gamble a tiny tiny bit. Plus, I love boardwalk fudge. And, of course, two days off from work. Better get packing!
The hardest part about buying a mortgage appears to be finding a mortgage to buy. I haven't had much success yet. My strategy has been qualifying leads through research, posting flyers/cards and direct mail. It's actually great practice for learning how to do a serious marketing campaign.
The mortgage market is actually very crowded. There are a lot of people out there looking to buy. I'm working with a network of people, since I don't have the cash myself (I've spent it all on a rental condo). If I can ever find one of these things, I'll make a nice commission, though. If you know anyone who has a mortgage and wants to sell it, please let me know by emailing me.
Tomorrow I have to be up early to catch a bus to Atlantic City for the Imprinted Sportswear Show. Besides a great day of learning (I'm going to be late for the start of the seminar due to the fact that the first bus won't get there until just after 10AM, which is the start of the seminar, but hopefully I won't miss much), I'll have a little time on the first boardwalk love of my life, and I can gamble a tiny tiny bit. Plus, I love boardwalk fudge. And, of course, two days off from work. Better get packing!
Monday, March 08, 2004
Murphy's Law is definitely in application here. Here I was, just one day from closing on my first investment property, and the bank, thanks to a snafu from the mortgage broker, has basically put the brakes on for a whole week. The bank has required a copy of the offering plan for the condominium project, and this has to be sent to their condo review board in Florida. The bank is Chase, just so you know. First off, I'd like to know what the condo review board for New Jersey is doing in Florida? The New York City metro area is very different from the rest of the world, I've found. I don't put faith in a lot of things that supposedly serve the New York area but are outside the tri-state area. I think that's really why everything is so expensive here: it has to be customized just to fit the weirdness of the City.
Anyway, according to the mortgage broker, the high Loan to Value ratio of my loan (I only put 10% down) triggered the condo review board to request the offering statement. My question is this: since the mortgage broker knew about the LTV of my loan from the start, wouldn't it have been wiser to advise me two months ago, when I started the process, that the bank would require the offering statement? Then, I could have taken two weeks to get it at a leisurely pace and the panic that set in last week could have been averted. Personally, I feel that the people who were handling my loan at the mortgage broker (which is Mortgage Commitments in Manhattan) were inexperienced. The loan coordinator told me that "this happens when loans have high LTV" but he also admitted that this had never happened to him before. There was one loan officer, two loan coordinators, and one loan officer at Chase who handled my application before the condo certification board saw it, and NONE of them thought to tell me that I might need an offering statement. It sounds like they're just a lot of paper pushers to me, no value added. I think they gave the loan to those guys because it was such a low amount (barely more than $100,000). I know that they are getting paid from both sides (ie, I have to pay $1000 and they are getting an additional $1700 in YSP from the bank), so I intend to complain and ask for part of it back. And if the bank doesn't approve the loan based on the statements of the offering plan, then I am DEFINTELY going to demand the entire $1000 back, based on the fact that they got me a "commitment letter" with 10 conditions on it.
I'm trying to develop a Plan B, which is an experienced mortgage broker that the real estate brokers know who has been known to step in and pinch it. If I need to revert to Plan B and she comes through, this woman will earn my undying loyalty and as many internet plugs that I can give her. The New Jersey market is worse in some ways than the New York market. Not sure why (I suspect it has to do with the politics in Trenton). As I said before, everything costs more because of specialization in NY/NJ markets. And Connecticut is a whole different ball of wax...
Anyway, got a lot going on for me this week. This Wednesday & Thursday, I am attending the Imprinted Sportswear Show in Atlantic City, NJ. This is a tradeshow that I attended one day last year. They give you free passes to the exhibit hall in order to lure you in, and it worked in my case. I elected to take an all day seminar in embroidery technique on Wednesday, and a second, small workshop on fabric styles. See, I am self-taught in sewing and embroidery, so there are huge holes in my knowledge. This will help me fill the holes.
Also, of course I get to see various people at trade shows and see what's out there. One of the nice things about being registered is that the exhibitors send you information on show specials and other things. This time I got something from a financing company, and I might actually open up a line of credit with them to purchase a new sewing/embroidery machine. It's hard to fit everything (including my boyfriend and his stuff) into my little apartment but I'm working on it.
I have to confess that I love tradeshows. A lot of little pieces can come together there. You can see lots of things that you never knew existed and some serious answers can be found for your questions. One that I'm seriously considering going to is the Ebay conference in New Orleans June 24-26. Half of it is that I want to hear what serious Ebayers think and the other half is that I LOVE NEW ORLEANS!!! I really love that sweet, southern city, with all it's games, clubs, and best of all, restaurants. Boy, do I ever eat when I go down there. Such wonderful southern breakfasts, and gourmet dinners. I haven't even been to some of the best places to eat yet (Commander's Palace, here I come!). You should go down there. It's so wonderful. There are few places where I would consent to live, but New Orleans is one of them.
Naturally, New Orleans attracted me in my younger days, when my penchant for all things gothic was far more pervasive. Now, barely a flicker of that remains in my demeanor. You'd never know at this point; I've gone straight. But it's down there, lurking. At first, I started to move away from the display because it was so darn expensive. Then, my world view widened and I realized I couldn't go back and play that part anymore. I think, in my heart of hearts, that I view the world first through those eyes. But no one who didn't know me before my college years would ever know.
Back to Ebay conference. The one reason that I'm not going to go is that I don't want to spend the money to go without getting a free sample. VNU Business Expos (the company that runs Imprinted Sportswear Show) will give you a free pass to the exhibit hall, which is some of the most important stuff anyway. But Ebay won't do that. You have to pay to get in, and if you end up with bupkiss, then you're out $60 ($70 if you register late). Personally, I'm not a big seller on Ebay. I haven't had a lot of success, but that is probably for lack of trying. However, I am going to enter the new contest that they are running, because who couldn't use $50,000 for their business?? That would be a quick way to jump start.
For the past six months, I've been sitting at work asking myself what would happen if I got laid off? I've kind of made a plan. I'd rather not get fired or laid off, but it might be the thing that I need to really get started. Well, that or an IPO. My employer has been very coy about doing an IPO, but if it did, I would definitely have a nice cushion. No scrabbling anymore. Wouldn't that be nice? That's why no one has really left my company yet. They see the moves that my employer is making, and they smell blood in the water. Yes, I do have stock options. Whichever happens first, IPO or getting enough passive income to leave on my own terms, at this point those are my deadlines for leaving my employer. I really hope it's the latter, so I don't have to slave away for a minimum of two more years.
So my recommendation for today is VNU Business Publications. VNU Business Publications is one of several trade magazine publishers. These magazines are one of the best secrets there is. They are controlled-circulation publications. That means that you apply for a subscription, and they screen you, and if they decide that you are actually worthy, then you get the subscription for free. If you're thinking of getting into a business, just subscribe to one of the magazines that has something to do with your area. I personally receive three or four at this moment, all for free. The advertisements particularly are very helpful, as I learn about a lot of suppliers that I didn't know about before. In my business, that is actually very important. There are a bunch of others that are like this, such as Primedia publications and Advanstar publications. But since most of my publications are published by VNU, they get the nod. http://www.vnubusinessmedia.com
That's all for now. See you later.
Anyway, according to the mortgage broker, the high Loan to Value ratio of my loan (I only put 10% down) triggered the condo review board to request the offering statement. My question is this: since the mortgage broker knew about the LTV of my loan from the start, wouldn't it have been wiser to advise me two months ago, when I started the process, that the bank would require the offering statement? Then, I could have taken two weeks to get it at a leisurely pace and the panic that set in last week could have been averted. Personally, I feel that the people who were handling my loan at the mortgage broker (which is Mortgage Commitments in Manhattan) were inexperienced. The loan coordinator told me that "this happens when loans have high LTV" but he also admitted that this had never happened to him before. There was one loan officer, two loan coordinators, and one loan officer at Chase who handled my application before the condo certification board saw it, and NONE of them thought to tell me that I might need an offering statement. It sounds like they're just a lot of paper pushers to me, no value added. I think they gave the loan to those guys because it was such a low amount (barely more than $100,000). I know that they are getting paid from both sides (ie, I have to pay $1000 and they are getting an additional $1700 in YSP from the bank), so I intend to complain and ask for part of it back. And if the bank doesn't approve the loan based on the statements of the offering plan, then I am DEFINTELY going to demand the entire $1000 back, based on the fact that they got me a "commitment letter" with 10 conditions on it.
I'm trying to develop a Plan B, which is an experienced mortgage broker that the real estate brokers know who has been known to step in and pinch it. If I need to revert to Plan B and she comes through, this woman will earn my undying loyalty and as many internet plugs that I can give her. The New Jersey market is worse in some ways than the New York market. Not sure why (I suspect it has to do with the politics in Trenton). As I said before, everything costs more because of specialization in NY/NJ markets. And Connecticut is a whole different ball of wax...
Anyway, got a lot going on for me this week. This Wednesday & Thursday, I am attending the Imprinted Sportswear Show in Atlantic City, NJ. This is a tradeshow that I attended one day last year. They give you free passes to the exhibit hall in order to lure you in, and it worked in my case. I elected to take an all day seminar in embroidery technique on Wednesday, and a second, small workshop on fabric styles. See, I am self-taught in sewing and embroidery, so there are huge holes in my knowledge. This will help me fill the holes.
Also, of course I get to see various people at trade shows and see what's out there. One of the nice things about being registered is that the exhibitors send you information on show specials and other things. This time I got something from a financing company, and I might actually open up a line of credit with them to purchase a new sewing/embroidery machine. It's hard to fit everything (including my boyfriend and his stuff) into my little apartment but I'm working on it.
I have to confess that I love tradeshows. A lot of little pieces can come together there. You can see lots of things that you never knew existed and some serious answers can be found for your questions. One that I'm seriously considering going to is the Ebay conference in New Orleans June 24-26. Half of it is that I want to hear what serious Ebayers think and the other half is that I LOVE NEW ORLEANS!!! I really love that sweet, southern city, with all it's games, clubs, and best of all, restaurants. Boy, do I ever eat when I go down there. Such wonderful southern breakfasts, and gourmet dinners. I haven't even been to some of the best places to eat yet (Commander's Palace, here I come!). You should go down there. It's so wonderful. There are few places where I would consent to live, but New Orleans is one of them.
Naturally, New Orleans attracted me in my younger days, when my penchant for all things gothic was far more pervasive. Now, barely a flicker of that remains in my demeanor. You'd never know at this point; I've gone straight. But it's down there, lurking. At first, I started to move away from the display because it was so darn expensive. Then, my world view widened and I realized I couldn't go back and play that part anymore. I think, in my heart of hearts, that I view the world first through those eyes. But no one who didn't know me before my college years would ever know.
Back to Ebay conference. The one reason that I'm not going to go is that I don't want to spend the money to go without getting a free sample. VNU Business Expos (the company that runs Imprinted Sportswear Show) will give you a free pass to the exhibit hall, which is some of the most important stuff anyway. But Ebay won't do that. You have to pay to get in, and if you end up with bupkiss, then you're out $60 ($70 if you register late). Personally, I'm not a big seller on Ebay. I haven't had a lot of success, but that is probably for lack of trying. However, I am going to enter the new contest that they are running, because who couldn't use $50,000 for their business?? That would be a quick way to jump start.
For the past six months, I've been sitting at work asking myself what would happen if I got laid off? I've kind of made a plan. I'd rather not get fired or laid off, but it might be the thing that I need to really get started. Well, that or an IPO. My employer has been very coy about doing an IPO, but if it did, I would definitely have a nice cushion. No scrabbling anymore. Wouldn't that be nice? That's why no one has really left my company yet. They see the moves that my employer is making, and they smell blood in the water. Yes, I do have stock options. Whichever happens first, IPO or getting enough passive income to leave on my own terms, at this point those are my deadlines for leaving my employer. I really hope it's the latter, so I don't have to slave away for a minimum of two more years.
So my recommendation for today is VNU Business Publications. VNU Business Publications is one of several trade magazine publishers. These magazines are one of the best secrets there is. They are controlled-circulation publications. That means that you apply for a subscription, and they screen you, and if they decide that you are actually worthy, then you get the subscription for free. If you're thinking of getting into a business, just subscribe to one of the magazines that has something to do with your area. I personally receive three or four at this moment, all for free. The advertisements particularly are very helpful, as I learn about a lot of suppliers that I didn't know about before. In my business, that is actually very important. There are a bunch of others that are like this, such as Primedia publications and Advanstar publications. But since most of my publications are published by VNU, they get the nod. http://www.vnubusinessmedia.com
That's all for now. See you later.
