Let’s take a look at just a very few (but major) issues that are plaguing our country right now.

Oil prices are the highest in history, and they are not going to come down anytime soon It is affecting everything from driving our cars to shopping for groceries to heating our homes. If you made a great living 2 or three years ago, you probably only make a good living today. If you made a good living a few years ago, you are probably doing just “ok” today. Our dollar is worth less and less as time goes on.

The Federal Government has just bailed out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who holds a whopping 50% of America’s mortgages. Due to the massive foreclosure rate we now have in this country, we the taxpayers will now be responsible for paying back that money. Are you looking forward to that? I know I am.

Lehman Brothers, the Largest Stock Brokerage firm in the country, has just filed for bankruptcy, and are also asking for federal help in bailing them out. This will mean increased taxes for us, and will have a devastating effect on everyone who had investments with Lehman Brothers, whether privately or through a 401K.

How can you prepare for your retirement? Who can you count on to save your money for you until you are 65 years old?

The answer is you. You need to be able to create a stream of residual income that will serve you now, as the cost of living climbs daily, and into the future, when you want to be able to relax and enjoy your life to the fullest. (think about how many people you know right now who are living month to month, or even week to week, due to a job downsize, or daily skyrocketing living costs, or a weak social security check.)

You must plan now. But how? Network Marketing has been around for decades, and has proven to be a solid, viable way to earn a living. (Think Amway, Avon, Mary Kay, etc. The top earners for these companies made millions. Ineternet Marketing only exploded the possibilities of financial freedom for millions more people, and it is still in it’s infancy. Just cruise the internet for a while and you will quickly discover that everyone there is either a.) selling something, or b.) looking to buy a product or earn money, which translates into purchasing what you have to offer, whether it is merchandise or services.

Being your own boss is the only way to ensure that you, and only you, are in control of how much money you will make this coming year, and in the turbulent years to come. But how do you know what kind of business will be best for you?

It has to be a stand alone product that offers something of value to the people who purchase it. After that, it must offer a payplan, or commission structure that, when momentum starts rolling, will offer a residual type of income that keeps paying you tomorrow for efforts you put in today. If you have a team of top producers, they will make sales that not only earn them money, but you can also earn income based on their efforts as well. It is a win-win situation, as this type of structure lends itself to team building and mutual support.

lastly, you should make sure to partner with people you trust and like. Don’t just shop the product or opportunity, make sure you also “shop” for a person who will go the distance for you as you get your business up and running. It takes a little time, and having a supportive mentor will make all the difference in your positive attitude going forward.

These are big decisions, but ones that will need to be made by thousands and thousands of people as they find their bank accounts draining and their retirement funds non-existent in the up coming months and years.

Theresa and Kevin Moss are Independant representatives for Global Resorts Network, offering entrepreneurs from all walks of life the chance to earn an extra stream of income, or to leave the coporate world and all of it’s uncertainty behind altogether.

Global Resorts Network is a company that has positioned itself in a recession proof industry…travel. at $7 trillion, worldwide travel is not going to collapse anytime soon.

Our product, unlimited vacations priced from $298 to $798 per week (not per person) for groups of 2-10 people, stand alone as an unbeatable value.

The comission structure is generous, and with perpetual leverage, the payplan will have you earning residual income from your first line of direct sales down to infinity.

If Travel and Money are two topics of interest to you, please visit our website at http://www.traveltowealth.net and learn more about Global Resorts Network, and The Moss Family.

You can also get in contact by phone 215-933-9286

Assets management technique includes the use of a software application which tracks down and keeps record of all the usage, movement etc of the assets that has been made. How this happens is a very simple and easy process. Once an inventory is created in a computer terminal using a windows software application and all the information required is fed into the terminal. All the assets then are monitored a common system that keeps track of any movement, any usage, etc that is made of the asset.

In addition to the tracking and location monitoring of the assets, other benefits too are availed through assets management technique. The assets are kept in a good working condition so that it is in a usable condition if need arises in the future. Also, notifications are made available to the asset owners regarding any warnings and due dates which are due regarding the assets. These include the lease notifications, service due dates, warnings for registrations in case of software, etc. All kind of assets can be managed with this technique of management. These include fixed as well as movable assets, furniture, machines, vehicles, tools, equipments etc. Asset owners can now obtain the services of asset management online.

Asset owners will not have to worry anymore about their possessions. Through the assets management technique, they can easily be relieved of the pressure and stress that taking care of assets can put on them.

John Elliott is an expert in international asset protection strategies. He specializes with a honor degree in wealth protection. For more information about assets management technique and other services, you need to visit http://www.safeasset.org/

No internet back then

Back to the last major downturn in the mid-late 1990s, especially here in Asia, the Net was in its infancy, very few people were online, and of those who were, just about all were only on dial-up connections. The whole online scene was not really a factor at all.

If you were unfortunate enough to be retrenched back then, your chances of quickly securing another job were slim, and opportunities to earn an income through your own efforts and resources, were very dependent upon your wits, your ingenuity, your skills and probably most of all, your courage.

We have probably all got examples of where friends or relatives showed amazing resilience and started little cottage industries, in their own locations, which managed to keep the wolf from the door.

Must be selective

However, to be realistic, relatively few have the resources, skills or ability to start their own, even very small scale business from scratch. Now, though, with the advent of the Internet and what massive, and often free, resources are available, things can be very different. But we still need to take great care, and be very selective.

That selectivity also means we have to be very careful of to whom we listen. The first people that, in my view, we should be extremely cautious of are the so-called Internet Marketing Experts …I refuse to use the Hindi word ‘Guru’ meaning ‘teacher’, as most of these “experts” wouldn’t teach unless thousands were paying them a large amount – have you noticed how many times $97 or $67 comes up? $97 must be the new $99 and right now, we just dare not risk that kind of money.

When the first “expert” writes to his opt-in list, with a message that is genuinely free, in these very troubled times, and is helpful both in information and financially, I will then put out the flag and run it quickly up the flagpole. I will not hold my breath, however, for this to happen any time soon.

We’re all affected

While I might write fairly regularly on internet and affiliate marketing, I do so as a user, an experienced business consultant, not a teacher, and certainly not a ‘Guru’. This is important, for it means that I am just as affected as the next man or woman by the downturn and crisis, but perhaps the only difference is that I’ve been lucky enough to be blessed with a small ability to put pen to paper, and if the results of that helps others, then that is terrific.

The affiliates that I deal with continue to offer a 100%, no questions asked, 45 or 60 day money-back guarantee, in the event those who sign up are dissatisfied with the service received. Yes, these are affiliates to whom you pay a small, one-time-only fee (usually around $15-$29), but all this means is that the directories they maintain, to send to those who sign up, are as up-to-date and as accurate as they can be, and in today’s marketplace, with companies going under, this is an important point. The free sites cannot afford to pay staff to keep their directories up-to-date.

Opportunities are there

Those who find themselves redundant this time around, have an amazing number of opportunities online to continue to earn an income, hopefully sufficient to help them and their families through the hard times ahead. This was just not around at the time of the last, big economic downturn in the mid to late 90s.

Whether it’s getting paid to drive your own car wrapped in an advert, or paid to be a secret shopper, movie reviewer, tester of video games or whatever else, there really is no reason why people need be quite so despondent as their counterparts of a decade or more ago. The opportunities are out there, all you need to do is go look. Even these may be less than a year ago (after all, no sector is completely unaffected by the downturn), but you may be quite sure that they are there now, and waiting for contact to be made.

Michael is a British citizen, but long term resident of Asia (Hong Kong and now Malaysia). After 25 years with a global banking leader, he’s now a partner in his own Management Consulting Company, and today this successful business has branched out to include database/direct marketing as well as Internet and Affiliate Marketing. Michael’s contact is mikeATmakingdollars4u.com (usual email format) and just about all the pages of his site at http://www.makingdollars4u.com are appropriate to this topic.

But outsourcing delinquent or past due accounts is just the same as outsourcing any other aspect of a business. If there is an entity that is highly skilled, cost effective, and can increase revenue, it is the responsibility of any executive to at least explore the possibility of partnering. For instance, would you want your full time employees designing and implementing your phone system? Unless you were a telecom company, of course you wouldn’t! There is really no difference between outsourcing common things like IT and PR and outsourcing receivables. Bad debt is no longer a infrequent problem, but rather has become a part of life. Especially within the medical device industry, which relies on hospitals across the world for a majority of its business. As the number of unemployed grows, so will the number of uninsured. This means that a hospitals revenue will be hit hard, as many patients that are uninsured do not pay. Therefore, many device manufacturers will see their receivables go from 30 to 60 days, which can cripple even a large multinational corporation.

It is important to note that there is a distinct difference between commercial collections and retail collections. Retail collections are the firms that everyone dreads hearing from. They focus on individuals who have fallen behind or have not paid on credit extended to them. Think of the repo man. While necessary, they tend to be more like a trash collector, going after the worst and dirtiest accounts. Commercial collections on the other hand is a totally different ball game. Commercial collections is the process of recovering money from a business. There is totally different set of rules that commercial collectors must follow, and often the debtor they are collecting from is still doing business with the client who placed the account. Therefore, a commercial collector has to be adept at not upsetting a debtor while still managing to recover the money owed. This is a bit of a high wire act. Finding just the right balance can prove quite difficult, and therefore should be left in the hands of a professional.

The most important thing when searching for a reliable commercial collection firm is of course money. What kind of rate do they offer? Are there any upfront costs? Next would be their success rate. Every collection firm tracks its success rate very closely and should be able to give at least a few referrals. Also of importance is their ability to collect internationally. There are only a handful of agencies within the U.S. that can collect worldwide. The reason for this is that collections are handled very differently in some parts of the world. Often those areas tend to be the most difficult. For instance, Italy has become known as one of the most difficult regions. And when one thinks about the Italian lifestyle, it is not hard to imagine. Honestly, what would you rather do, enjoy fine food and wine while basking in the Tuscan sun, or make sure that your company gets its invoice out on time? Another factor that plays into the high DSO (date of sale outstanding) in Italy is the way in which the government is set up. Since all hospitals are publicly owned, bureaucracy can hamper budgets and not allow invoices to be paid for months.

In a perfect world, everyone would pay their bills on time. Unfortunately, we do not live in such a place. It is important that companies protect themselves from a “domino” effect by safe guarding their receivables. It is best that the difficult task of getting a debtor to pay on time be handled by a professional agency that proves to be not only cost effective, but one that can walk the “tight rope”. Financial executives most remove whatever negative thoughts the have regarding collection agencies and see them for what they are; a valuable tool that can safeguard their companies cash flow through tough economic times.

Matt Macy is collections expert with a great deal of experience within the commercial collections industry. Feel free to contact him at mmacy@abna.us with any questions/concerns you may have.

If you’re prepared for difficult economic times, and have the right tools, there is no reason to worry about your financial future. History has shown it is possible not only to survive but to prosper in these times.

During the great depression, huge fortunes were made by many. The Kennedy, Rothschild and Rockefeller families all dramatically increased their fortunes throughout the depression. But it wasn’t just the rich who got richer – many ordinary citizens found a way to not only survive but thrive during a poor economy.

What was Rockefeller’s Secret?

It’s not skills, education or luck that sees the rich getting richer and leaves you in the same situation year after year. It’s mindset.

In T. Harv Eker’s N.Y. Times #1 Bestseller Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, he examines the hardwired programming around money that everyone has, and unconsciously determines your financial success. He calls this your Money Blueprint.

Your Money Blueprint is the level of success you’ve subconsciously set for yourself. And unless you change it there’s a good chance you’re destined to be disappointed with your financial results for the rest of your life – during both the tough economic times and the good.

If you want more out of life… more wealth, more happiness, more fun…you NEED to change your Money Blueprint, and change it quick at the Millionaire Mind Intensive 3-day seminar

If you’re reading this, you’re probably still not reaching your true financial potential. It’s time to change that – and you can, even while North America fights the grips of an economic recession.

The Millionaire Mind Intensive, developed by multi-millionaire T. Harv Eker, doesn’t just teach you about your Money Blueprint, it actually changes it – right there, right on site. You’ll walk away with a new blueprint, and the mindset you need to achieve massive wealth now.

Learn more about the Millionaire Mind Intensive at http://www.millionairemind.com