Leisure Engagement Passion

Sneaky GMAC

I’ve been seeing TV ads for this new bank “Ally Bank” but it’s just GMAC. The GMAC Financial Services has given up on the GMAC reputation and is changing it’s name to Ally Bank. Seems to me the “No Sneaky” Disclaimers doesn’t pertain to them. The “high” interest rate they are advertising for savings accounts and CD’s must be driving them business otherwise they wouldn’t have gone with the name change. Sneaky aren’t they?

If I could find a way to not use any bank I would, but until then I’ll continue to pay off all my debt with the help of our Money Merge Account Software and pay it all off as fast as I can and then look for that alternative bank.  Maybe I’ll open up my own bank?

I haven’t had a chance to write lately.  I’ve been wanting to and meaning to but I’ve been busy with my husband moving out of our home and into our Dream.  Our 40′ Alpine Coach Motorhome.

Dreams Do Come True

Thirteen years ago when we first moved from Hawaii to California, our dream was to buy an RV and live in it and enjoy the entire US.  Well, we recently did it!  We downsized from our 2300 sq ft home into our 400+ sq ft Motorhome.  Why it took us 13 years?  As the saying goes, “Life gets in the way”. (personally, I think it’s having a J.O.B.)

Last spring we made it our goal to find the best RV to our liking.  We knew back in 1996 which coach would have been the “one”, but that RV was now too old.  What we did realize by waiting (justification) was that technology in the travel trailer industry was now up to speed.

We’ve had a business from home since 1990 (we learned you get lots of tax advantages early on) and we were both interested in making sure we could still work from the motorhome.  Our (my) biggest concern was internet access.  We found out that most RV parks had free WiFi, (that took care of my addiction) and since we both have cell phones, no landline was needed.   Along with the WiFi and phone connections, we are pleased to know that cable is available at most parks for our TV needs and if not we have our satellite dish.  So it’s business as usual, just now it’s on wheels.

Although, we’ve only been in the coach full-time now for a month, I could not be happier with our decision.  I know it’s taken me away from focusing on my business, but it’s been worth it.   I have to remind myself that I’m not on a vacation everyday, even though that’s how it feels, and I’m now settling into a routine for our United First business to become our number one goal.

Following our desire to control our destiny led us to find United First Financial and without the Money Merge Account and UDeduct we probably would still be dreaming of  living in our RV.  Making the right financial decisions with the help of our personal financial “GPS” now let’s us live our dream in full color.

This morning before I jumped on the airplane, I was surfing the web and becuase I’m an addict and I found this new application by Citrix. 

GoView ~ You can send (email) a quick presentation to a friend who needs help with an application, or build content that’s intended for a larger audience. 

Currently I use GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar by Citrix to explain my business with United First Financial to clients and asssociates, and I can see how this will help me in keeping in front of them even more efficiently and effectively.  Sometimes sending a text email  just doesn’t cut it and a short screenshot or video to explain something I know will come in very handy.  Right now with U1st our Bizpack Business in a box has GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar, but I hope that in the near future GoView will be added.  In the meantime, I’ll see how I can demo the product on my own.

I’ve been reading Success Magazine for the last 4 or 5 months and it’s had me thinking about how long I’ve enjoyed direct selling over the last 20 years.  It’s been great first of all and I would suggest that when you find a product or service you like, that you research the company and see how you could become your own boss.

For most people who have had a desire to get out of the rat race and be their own boss, direct selling has been the lifeline they were looking for.   For the others, it takes too much energy and effort and they’d rather keep living paycheck to paycheck.  I’m not saying it’s for everyone, but it beats the J.O.B (Just Over Broke), and lately the threat of unemployment.

Listed here are my personal reasons for diving into direct selling so many years ago.

I Am My Own Boss

I set my own schedule, vacation when I want, I give myself a pay raise and I am in control.

I Get Way More Tax Benefits

Because I work from home and have a “home-based business”, I am entitled to tax deductions I would not normally be entitled to.  I get to write off a portion or percentage of my utilities on my home, office supplies, the mileage on my car (keep good records) and other expenses dedicated to my home office.  Internet, phone and fax line, cell phone, there are so many tax deductions to consider that I encourage you to consult your CPA or tax consultant.  You could also check United First Financial’s new product called BizPack.  It includes the Udeduct system for business owners to optimize the business deductions each are entitled to.

I Have Friends All Over The World

Although I’ve traveled on vacation to different parts of the world, it has been more fun traveling to meet up with friends that I have met through business.  Direct selling is all about building relationships and once you find your niche, you find like minded people everywhere.  Some become your customers, some become your team members and most become your friends.

I Save Time And Money

Little did I realize 20 years ago that I would be drawn into direct selling.  It’s not really selling when you’re just sharing with people you know.  But that’s what direct selling is.  I found myself buying products (perfume, cosmetics, vitamins, etc) from friends I worked with because it was convenient to buy from them and it was saving me money.  Back then I would call to order or reorder and they would deliver or mail directly to me.  Of course now days it’s even easier with the internet and an online presence.  Today all ordering, processing and payments are available 24/7 from a website.  I became a recurring customer to many direct sellers and enjoyed becoming a direct seller myself for more savings.

I Am Compensated For The Effort I Put In

Direct selling is work.  All the education and training I have under my belt however has paid off.  There is a learning curve when you start out in direct selling just like any other career but once you find the passion within you, there really is nothing to hold you back.  If you want it bad enough and you have set your goals in front of you, just like you do to climb the corporate ladder, all that’s left is to plug into the system, find a mentor to follow and keep plugging away.  For your own efforts you will be compensated greatly, but once  you understand the value of building a team your income increases significantly.  Think Compounded Interest!

I’d like to say that every direct selling business I’ve been associated with has been a successful endeavor, but I can’t.  But what I learned from my past experiences is that I was educating myself along the way for the right company to come along.  I know I’ve found it with United First Financial and I hope you do too.   

Become a part of United First Financial

Right now we have a pre-launch window of opportunity for anyone looking to build a direct selling business.  There are no fees or costs to PreRegister and you will instantly receive your personal replicated website.  Our one time BizPack activation fee and BizPack Agent registration fees are waived during this pre-launch phase.

You are unlimited to the number of members you can add to your team and you have all the benefits of building a significant residual income by building your business now before we even launch.

This is costing you nothing to get your feet wet in the direct selling industry.  Are you still worried about being unemployed?  If you are, think about the other hundreds of people losing their jobs.  How many do you know and how many can you help?

If your financial picture is not changing then change your direction.  Be a part of this growing industry.  Register here and secure your spot  Click Here to PreRegister for the BizPack

USC Notre Dame Rival 2008

When I asked my Godson Bryce what he wanted for his 14th Birthday and he said he would love to see his favorite College Team, Notre Dame play USC, I couldn’t say no.  I don’t have children of my own and he is my only Godson, but I didn’t know what I was getting myself into.  First of all, I didn’t realize how hard it would be to ‘acquire’ tickets to this sold out game.  Yes, I live in Los Angeles County and I know how popular USC is but I wasn’t expecting the anxiety I would have locating tickets he and I would be happy with.  I’ve been to NFL games and have sat in the nose bleed sections and also in seats right behind the bench, neither I would recommend, but when they are free you take what you get.  Anyways, I wanted to make his first College game experience (and mine) his most memorable so I held out as long as possible to get the best seats for the amount of money I was willing to spend.  I searched  eBay, Craigslist and all other ticket outlets I could think of.  I even sorta begged some USC alumni and parents I met on my Hawaiian Air flights to see what they could do in my quest.  I lost a bid on eBay and was kicking myself for not going just a bit higher.  Then when I broadened my search to all of California on Craigslist, I found an ad that gave me hope.  I emailed the seller and probably gave too much info but I was getting desperate.  I had two weeks to find tickets.  Did I mention that my Godson lived in Kansas and that he was already booked on a flight to arrive the day before Thanksgiving?  I knew I could get nose bleed seats for a price I was willing to pay, but I didn’t want his first college game to be looking thru binoculars or always watching the big screen.  (We could have stayed home for that).  So I waited…

Then one day online, I get an email from the Craigslist seller.  First one to pay on paypal gets the tickets.  YES!  Right then, instantaneously, I submit payment to paypal, I email the seller and I get an immediate reponse that I was the first person to pay and therefore I get the tickets.  Luck, maybe, persistence probably, but most importantly, my Godson and I get great seats for our first College Game.

Teenagers Dream of Playing for Notre Dame

I’ve been so busy with my J.O.B. and being confused about packing up my house that my real passion of online marketing has taken a back seat.  Fortunately I had the chance to get back in gear today and listen in to a webinar from UBranding.com to learn about twitter.com.  I had come to know about twitter listening to the CNN news and watching the twitter updates during the election and thought it was pretty cool.  I figured I’d get to it sometime but figured since I was already online and watching the webinar I might as well register at the same time as to not waste too much time.  I only ‘tweeted’ once and if I can figure how to do it on my iphone, that will probably make it alot more effiecient for me.

Come twitter with me at http://twitter.com/jdnadamoto

I’ll be moving soon and I must find the time to pack everything up, sell it or give it away. I’m not a collector of things so I don’t really have any must keeps other than family photos and such. But just the thought of going room to room and sorting thru our items is time consuming just thinking about it. Time I don’t have right now and probably will never have but these inconveniences must get done. I wanted to watch Oprah’s show today “Clean up your messy house tour”, but I figured I don’t have time for that either. I can’t say that I have a messy or cluttered house, but I thought if I could get some pointers for the next house I’d be ahead of the game. Oh well, I guess containers for everything with labels. Did I mention that I’m moving into a 40 foot Motorhome?

I had a chance to talk to my ‘travel filter’ partner, Guy Rawson, about how things are coming along and we now have our ‘dye cut’. I’ll be honest, the ideas flow pretty easy, but when it comes to the mechanics and the process, I only see the finished product. Guy used to shape surfboards in Hawaii and is very knowledgeable regarding the step by step process in making products all come together. I know we will be a great team and have our product to market in the first quarter of next year if not by December. The only thing we may have to change is where we get our financing. With the economic crisis still fluctuating back and forth and the lending as tight as well you know, we more than likely will be funding our first run with our own money. We are confident that with the retail of our product and orders we will be able to leverage ourselves on the first run and into our second production. Having the use of my personal Money Merge Account will allow me to float that funding without any stress.