You Can Make Money By Negotiating Your Bills

Have you ever tried to negotiate one of your bills? Heating bills, garbage bills, cell phone bills, and cable TV bills: you might think that a bill is a bill and you owe the full amount but sometimes you can talk your way into a discount. I have the $70.00 a month for 1000 minutes plan with one of the major cell phone companies. I have never gone over in minutes in several years so it was a total shock when my bill one month was $235.00! Apparently I had gone over my allotted minutes by almost 500 and that resulted in the $165.00 being added to the bill. Well, I was upset that I went over that much and also that the phone company would stick me for so much. I mean, I know we... Read more »

Negotiation Tactics: Smart Ways to Gain the Upper Hand in Real Estate

The reality of any negotiation is that it is an exercise in psychology. Realistic market factors play their role, but final decisions are usually made based on perception. How the seller perceives you, the investor, will influence the deal. Here are some tactics to tip the scales in your favor. Successful negotiators are always one of two things: extraordinarily prepared, or really good at conveying the impression that they are prepared. The problem with the latter is that the bottom can drop out. Even good actors can run out of tricks when... Read more »

How to Get The Right People Behind Your Invention

All inventors have, at one time or another, pined for “the right people.” Be they investors, programmers, distributors, writers, architects, butchers, bakers, or candlestick makers, personnel is a crucial ingredient to the success of any invention. But getting the right people behind your invention is a road more easily mapped than traveled. In this article, we’ll walk you through finding and keeping the personnel you need to make your invention a hit. The task can essentially be divided into two categories: investors, and everybody else. Investors (and how big a slice of future profits to... Read more »

How to Fast Track Your Invention to Market

If you are the kind of person with a million ideas and not enough time to pursue them, you might want to consider “fast tracking” your invention to market. In this way, you essentially become a hired gun. You, the inventor, perform the tasks of researching and developing the product. Then, you “outsource” the manufacturing and marketing to partners with money. Those partners will develop, market, and fund the startup costs. In return for their greater efforts, they will receive a greater... Read more »

How to Get in the Door of Major Retailers

For most inventors, getting their invention sold on store shelves is the realization of a dream come true. Something they conceptualized and worked tirelessly to bring into being is now available before the eyes of a mass market. Their brainchild sits on shelves next to established and cherished products. What could be better than that? However, there are some pros and cons when it comes to selling an invention on store shelves. In addition, there is a sequence of steps that inventors should follow if getting in the door of major retailers is what they aspire to. Usually, you cannot get in the... Read more »

Famous Last Words - In a Meeting

Conflicts are inevitable, but the more we know about human nature, the better we will be at resolving conflicts, and the better the outcome might be for both parties. We know that different people have different priorities and different styles in dealing with situations that may occur, but in general, human beings have certain characteristics that are very similar - even across gender, racial, and socio-economic lines. People love to be agreed with. People hate to be disagreed with. People like other people who agree with them. People dislike... Read more »

Is Workplace Conflict Destructive or Creative?

Whenever you work with people, conflict is inevitable. The tension created by daily conflict either results in wasted time, decreased productivity, and poor decisions or the sort of internal competition that pushes each individual to do their best, if for no other reason that convince their coworkers that they can do it. This inevitable conflict is either destructive or creative. The destructive conflict is toxic to relationships and hurts people and organizations and this is the one that needs managing. In my experience creative... Read more »

How To Read A Person Like A Book

When I was 15 years old, I found a book on body language. I purchased it because I wanted to read something on a train journey that I was taking that day. I read the book with some fascination. Later, during the day, I struck a conversation with an elderly Irish clergyman, in the dining car. He was amazed when I told him that I could tell what he was thinking and feeling. He challenged me. And for the next 15 minutes, I told him what his passing moods were. I laughed when he asked me if I were psychic. I explained to him that a person reveals his inner life by the way he moves his body. There is a language that one can read if you know the symbols.... Read more »

Ten Simple Ways To Win Friends And Influence People

Do you want to be more persuasive? Do you wish you had the “gift of the gab?” Eloquence makes wonderful things happen. It opens mind and shifts attitudes. It also wins friends and influences people. The “gift of the gab” is the power of personal influence. This has been highly prized throughout history. It has been the source of interesting myths because people have long considered eloquence to be magical. They believe it to be as potent as a charm. In Ireland, for example, it is believed that kissing the Blarney Stone, a part of the Blarney Castle, will... Read more »

The Value of a Construction Inspection

Buyers of re-sale homes almost always have their homes inspected by a professional inspector. Buyers of new homes, however, often do not take this important step. There are several reasons for this: 1) The buyer is getting a brand new home, and thinks that the inspection is an unnecessary added cost. 2) The buyer feels that they are protected by the builder’s one-year warranty for workmanship, plus extended structural warranty. 3) In many cases, the home is inspected by city inspectors as a part of the permitting process. 4) Buyers believe that they can rely on the builder’s reputation. 5) The builder is resistant to... Read more »