Posts Tagged ‘OPM’

OPM & Positive Cash Flow

Friday, May 21st, 2010

For a long time I was reluctant to invest in a business that marketed a high ticket product or service because I didn’t have the money to invest. Even though I was convinced that if I was coachable and trainable and seriously worked the business I could generate a few thousand dollars in the first thirty days, I kept putting off joining the business opportunity until I had the money up front to invest. So I kept fooling around with MLM opportunities that marketed great products but never making more than a few hundred dollars. But finally the light came on for me about OPM (other people’s money) and positive cash flow.

If Donald Trump wanted to buy a business that he knew would generate him a serious positive cash flow, he wouldn’t use his own money. He would borrow the money from investors who were satisfied with a guaranteed fixed rate of return on their money, and Trump would keep his own money invested. I realized that if I borrowed $5,000 from my credit card even at 18%, it would cost me $75 per month in interest to use that money. Actually I talked one of my credit card companies to give me a cash advance @ 4.99% for the life of the loan. So the monthly finance charge would be about $21. If I wasn’t carrying a balance from any other purchases on that card, the minimum payment would be $100. So whether I considered the monthly service charge or even the monthly minimum payment, all I needed to generate from my business in the first month was $101, and I would have a positive cash flow. I was convinced that I could make 4 or 5 sales per month with the business I wanted to start and would be making a minimum of $1,000 on each sale. But even if I only made one sale per month I’d have a positive cash flow.

I am a home owner, but if I didn’t have the money to buy a home, I would not live on the street. I’d rent a place that I could afford. Why wait until you have the money to invest in a business that you are convinced will generate a serious secondary income? Why not find someone who will rent the money to you? That could be a small business loan, home equity line of credit, credit card line of credit, or even a friend. If I hadn’t had access to a line of credit, I’m sure that I could have found a friend who would have loaned me $5,000 if I had promised to pay them $50 a month until I repaid the $5,000. That’s 12% APR. Or I could have found five people who were willing to loan me $1,000 for a return of 12% APR.

Any legitimate business will have some up front start up costs as well as regular monthly expenses such as advertising. Why not figure the “rent” on your start up costs into your monthly business expense budget? If you can generate more than that amount each month from the business you want to start, you’ll have a positive cash flow in the first month. Go for it!

Tim Henry is a Director with Coastal Vacations Club. Learn how to vacation for pennies on the dollar for life. And earn $1,000 or more without selling a thing.

http://www.theyclosemysales.com

30 Day Financing – Interest-Free Intelligent Use Of Credit and OPM

Monday, January 12th, 2009

Credit cards allow anyone to have access to 30 days interest free financing. Pay off your balance every month and you have access to OPM, Other People’s Money. Actually, even if you don’t pay it off, you have the access, but along with added challenges, which we aren’t discussing here!

They say that using OPM is the way of the big investors, the wealthy. And you have the same opportunity on a small scale. If you can find opportunities that produce a return in a short period of time or require short-term ‘bridge financing’; you have that option of interest-free, with credit cards.

Do not allow yourself to rely on the monies for any extended period of time. This is short-term financing only. If you require funds for longer periods, other forms of financing must be secured.

The value of having cash in hand allows you to leverage this money to invest, purchase real estate or grow a business. Even start a business.

They say you need money to make money. Well, here’s a source of money. Be careful with it. Use it wisely and even cautiously. In some ways it may be too easy to access.

Have a clear picture of how you will spend the money. What level of risk you are taking and most importantly, your exit strategy. What will you do if something goes wrong, what is your contingency plan?

All that to say, you do have access to 30 days of interest-free money. Know the dates and work wisely around them.

Stephanie Mundle is the managing editor of http://www.MoneyMasteryForum.com an informational forum site for the average investor. Take a look. Information on forex, debt, money management, investing and business.

Come check out the forum at http://www.MoneyMasteryForum.com/forum.html
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