Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Personal Credit Reports

It is so important to be aware of your finances. With the high tech world that we live in it is so very easy to have another person affect you credit rating. Identity theft and use of personal information off the internet does not always just happen to other people, we are all at risk.

My niece and her husband were married for three years. They had purchased a home and were thinking about getting a second vehicle. My niece decided that she would get personal credit reports before trying to finance a vehicle, so they could secure the best loan. When they received their personal credit reports back her husband had several outstanding debts that had been incurred since they bought their home. There were two credit cards taken out in his name. Both cards had charges to the maximum level and also cash advances had been taken out. No payments had been made.

My niece and her husband contacted the credit card companies to check out the information that was in the personal credit reports. The credit card applications had been made on the internet and my niece’s husband’s information was used to fill them out. The credit card companies assigned a fraud investigator to the case. He discovered that someone had accessed my niece’s husband’s personal information by hacking into the bank records that carried the loan information. The thief did not access their accounts, but rather took their personal information to apply for credit cards. It took several months but the credit rating was finally restored.

My niece and her husband are both business professionals that try to be very careful about letting their personal information get out. They are very glad that they decided to get personal credit reports so that they discovered that someone was using their identity to steal. They now have personal credit reports completed twice a year to be safe. They are using a reputable company that secures their information. Their bank agreed to pay for the personal credit reports for two years. This seems only fair since it was the bank’s system that was breached. It is scary to think that a few strokes on a key board can wipe you out financially. It is important to use a company that has a good reputation to have your credit rating completed. There are many companies that advertise that they will do your credit rating for free, but they are just trying to get your personal information.

Profitable Small Businesses

When you want to go into business, there are many things you have to worry about. One of the biggest things you should think about is what makes some new ideas profitable small businesses, and why others fail within a year. There are many things you can do to help get things going, but if you forget the most simple things, you are going to fail. Though you may think they are huge secrets, in reality, they are actually quite obvious. They can’t save every single business, but they can give you a leg up from the start.

Most people think about inventory, but they don’t know if they have what someone wants. The truth is, there isn’t much that anyone needs to have, not really anyway. The basics are food, clothing, shelter, and water. Everything else is just gravy. You have to find ways to make people think that they have to have your product, even if you know darn well they don’t. You have to make everyone believe their life will be better because of it, and if they pass, they are going to regret it. That might sound strange to someone selling stuffed bears or something like that, but that’s the attitude you have to have. It’s a great key to profitable small businesses.

You have to tweak this message and you have to advertise it everywhere you can. Don’t just put a few different ads in a few places, you really want to make sure everyone in your projected demographic can get the message that they need to come see you right away. Too many potentially profitable small businesses end up going bankrupt just because they didn’t bother to put enough money into advertising. You can have a great interior, amazing product, and the most highly trained staff in town, but you can’t know that you’ll have one of the most profitable small businesses unless people know where to find you and what you have to offer.

Also remember to make customers the main priority once you get them in the door. Too many business are forgetting the fine art of keeping the customer happy once they manage to get them in the door. You might think that it’s okay to brush off one person, but you might find that this has a bad chain reaction. It only takes one disgruntled and very talkative person to drive away future business.