Scott Simmonds - Insurance Newsletter

Helping Experts Build Great Businesses
www.ICMentor.com

March, 2008

Blog Posts in Your Business Made Better

Check out the business issues I've blogged about over the past few weeks:

Google Calendar and Gmail - it's just easier

Plan Ahead - a picture is worth 1000 words

Showing Off - multiple contracts for a client is worthy of note

Simple and Straightforward - on doing exactly what your client wants

For access to the whole blog - www.YourBusinessMade Better.com

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Also, sign up for my "Almost Daily" Insurance Blog at www.InsuranceBuzzer.com.

Tough Times

Periodically I feed story ideas to reporters. In a conversation with a local businessman I heard how great his company was doing. With permission, I gave a local newspaper editor the info for a feature.

The reporter emailed me that it was nice to hear of success. I responded with the following:

You hit a nerve...

There are literally hundreds of success stories in Maine. There are certainly some businesses that are hurting. However, well run companies will make it through this tough time just as they have made it through the past hard times.

We are in the midst of the greatest economy the world has ever known - $14,000,000,000,000.

I cannot complain a bit about the opportunities available. In eight years I have built one of the most successful solo-consulting firms in New England. My clients have paid me millions of dollars, which I earned by giving them multiples of their fees in value.

The Dow sits above 12,000. Five years ago it was at 8,500. Interest rates are at 6.5% for a 30 year mortgage. Five years ago it was 7%. Ten years ago 10%. I remember paying 14%. Employment hovers around 95%. Ten years ago it was about 94%.

Gas seems expensive. However, we are still below the inflation adjusted cost of gasoline from the 1980s. Call someone in Europe and complain about $3.30 gasoline - they are paying $6 plus!

I'm typing this on a computer that cost about the same (in real dollars) as my first computer purchased in 1984. With it, I can get almost any information on any topic I want. I can communicate around the world at the speed of light. I can watch movies, edit pictures, write books, listen to music, and create art. I can take college classes and read the writing of the world's experts.

While many Mainers have been hurt by the current economic conditions, many more are thriving.

Banks have written off $150 billion in bad loans. That's only 1% of GDP and less than 1% of the market capitalization of US Stocks. It is no where near a catastrophic occurrence. Think about a person making $60,000 a year getting hit with a $5,000 car repair bill. Short term it hurts - long term it makes little difference.

Some Mainers have done nothing to prepare for their future. Many, many, many more have saved and made good decisions. Many have improved their education and taken advantage of opportunities to improve their status and situation.

Obviously, I'm a glass-half-full kind of guy. Perhaps if more of us stood up for what is great about our situations, more would realize that our opportunities are limited only by what we do and the decisions we make.

<Stepping off my soapbox>

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Bookshop

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Go To My Bookshop For Information

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Please Forward This Newsletter To Other Insurance People

Scott Simmonds, CPCU, ARM, CMC
Insurance Consulting
Phone 207-284-0085
Fax 802-992-4027
Scott@ScottSimmonds.com
www.ScottSimmonds.com

Mentoring/Coaching Website: www.ICMentor.com

See My Blog - www.InsuranceBuzzer.com

Comments regarding insurance policies or products in this newsletter do not constitute an endorsement. I accept no fees of any kind from any company mentioned in this newsletter.