Buyer Beware, Seller Be Careful

People have always expected more from their leaders, even when they understand that expectations are similar to a quenchless thirst, the more you get the more you want. Today’s leaders fully recognize that an educated population is essential to improving lifestyles and will question each and every decision along the way, thus challenging the leadership. Many wanting to go slower, study and analyze the direction plotted and take stock of progress. Others want to go faster, build and expand upon the existing facilities and provide for the future now. This division is political and if the “many” outnumber the “others”, the election winners set the agenda, the pace and are responsible for the state of the economy. Hence, all public financial projections or budget statements are political in nature.

Information Power

The key to success in every aspect of life comes from setting measurable and attainable goals. Dreams may guide an objective but until practical plans are formulated all you have is the dream. Thoughts of winning a lot of money (lottery), inheriting a fortune or even just working hard are all just dreams that need to be transformed into more sensible statements. “I will work for a salary that allows me to invest ten percent of my disposable income in a lottery.”, “Because my family operates business I will work and educate myself to one day in the future lead that business.” or “I will work, continue to educate myself and invest fifty percent of disposable income in marketable securities (stocks, bonds and real estate).” These statements must be further expanded into detailed plans and strategies that define, firstly, what is meant by work, educate and invest, secondly, the time frame associated with particular tasks and most importantly, who will help or hinder specific actions.

Restaurant Business

The Restaurant business is a complex one comprising three different sectors; the Service Sector, the Trade Sector and the Manufacturing Sector, each with its own challenges. To succeed management must master costing and pricing issues in each of the three sectors and define the type and scale of the operation.


Service Sector, Entertainment Industry with a simple costing formula management can target the demographic (age group and disposable income) it wants to invite by creating the necessary ambiance, in which location is the key. This can range from a clean watch-the-cook, side walk café, food bar with specialty service staff and quick check-out to a full service, five star layout with in-house live-entertainment with special theme nights. The more combination of settings used the more difficult the costing formula and the pricing strategies; whether to charge an entrance fee, add a service charge on to the bill or absorb the cost into the bill.

Energy Issues

With the invention and wide usage of the circuit board in many personal devices and electric motors driving production, human beings have become as dependent on electricity as they are on water. Hence meeting the projected electricity generation needs is today’s biggest priority.

With battery technology becoming more efficient in its storage capacity and its ability to be transported, light weight smaller devices that are highly portable are presently available and transforming the communication industry and all other sectors dependent on communications. Soon with longer times between charges, larger equipment employing electric motors that can perform heavier duties will use electricity stored in moveable batteries, hence modifying both the transportation and manufacturing industries.

Life Intangibles

We all are very busy whether in our Personal, Professional or Business lives, but are we productive and to what end. The reward for productive activities is happiness and the greater level of happiness present is the only defense against life’s inevitable misfortunes. Lives cannot be strictly measured by the assignment of net worth or net asset values. Lives are, much more complicated, filled with more intangible issues.

Business relies heavily on managerial and accounting reports and to a lesser degree on its reputation to define itself and to build equity for future growth. Professionals also rely on financial and accounting reports but more on their reputation, defining themselves by the size of their clientele (people who seek their advice). Persons never use money or accounting methods to value childhood (the starting period of their lives) but rely a great deal on family name and reputation, gifts of birth. Hence, accounting reports should be used to guide monetary decisions towards (life’s top priority) building and maintaining a good name. Money from illegal or unethical activities will destroy the family name.

Friends and Family Business

Getting into business with friends or family maybe unavoidable and even uncomfortable but it will require some serious planning to protect your investment and reputation. Initial capital contributions should be put periodically into an investment account (a statement generating saving account in any convenient bank branch) for recording purposes, out of which comes amounts invested in public and private debt instruments (bonds, notes, bills and loans), public and private equities (shares in business) and remaining with an amount representing cash 10-20% of the total portfolio (amount contributed).

A Living Constitution

Any constitution must reflex the will of the people it is meant to govern. Hence, the crucial issue becomes the election and selection of both law-makers and policy makers. Simply put, a constitution is a set of rules and procedures that instruct actions on behalf of the majority while giving voice to the minority. The Judiciary is charged, under the said constitution, with the responsibility of interpreting and protecting the constitution and its current amendments under the shroud of natural justice.

Small Business Issues

Not every small and medium enterprise (SME) is led by an entrepreneur (a risk taker). Many SMEs are born out of necessity, more so under recessionary conditions, high job losses or wage cuts force many into their own business. Using their own savings or that of family and friends as the initial investment and borrowing base on an unproven business plan and a credit rating earned as an employee, many being ill-prepared for either failure or success.

The retrenched employee, forced into business, is generally drawn to either the trade or service sectors. The trade sector (grocery, dry-goods store) for it apparent quick cash flow and ease of understanding the process and the service sector (auto repairs, beauty salon) for the specialized skills their individually possess. These ex-employees and new business people never respect the administrative or support rolls that their previous employers provided and may be helped by simply asking why or what were the circumstances which led to their retrenchment.

UN Poverty Annihilation

Strengthening the United Nations can prevent poverty if not annihilate it. Governments and Non-Governmental Organizations, who are actively involved in poverty annihilation, must define the type of poverty on a case by case basis, design and employ strategies to have the desired effect and measure the effectiveness of those strategies to reach the people in need.

Poverty, in different parts of the world, can range for abject to sanction. Abject poverty caused by climate conditions requires foresight, planning and quick action on relocation when necessary. Sanction poverty caused by (wars, discrimination or politics) human beings requires a multifaceted approach to achieving any solution.

Health verse Wellness cost

Many of us are virtually working for our lives, with the rising cost of health care, savings, investment portfolio and pensions, which took the majority of our lives to build, can vanish quickly. Retirement plans must now factor in more for healthcare concerns: Can taxes controlled by Governments or premiums managed by private sector insurance companies provide for an appropriate or the necessary level of long-term diagnosis, treatment and medication expense.

The majority of us will age without suffering any serious medical conditions until we can least afford it. So contributing financially, directly or indirectly, to health insurance plans during your productive years should yield benefits later on. But the reality is we cannot depend on public or private sector insurance only, due to inflation and other unknowns, we will have to use other financial resources. Interest and dividend income, as a result of your investment portfolio and pension plans, is to replace the take home salary or income you previously brought in during your working life and hence, this is to pay for living expenses.