Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. While most people think of real estate in terms of owning buildings, a significant portion of it is also investing in land. Investing in land doesn’t just involve building homes, but other projects as well. The following contributed post is entitled, 4 Ways To Make Money By Investing In Land.
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If you want to secure your financial future, it’s vital that you invest your money wisely. Letting it sit in your savings account is a waste because your money could be working so much harder for you. Unfortunately, a lot of people do end up leaving their money in a savings account because they don’t know how best to invest it. They are worried about investing in stocks and shares because they think that it’s too risky, and they don’t know what else to do. But there are so many great investment opportunities out there to choose from. One of the best ones that often gets overlooked is land. Investing a piece of land is always a smart choice because there are so many different possibilities. These are just some of the ways that you could make money from investing in land.
Property is one of the most popular investments out there right now, and if you buy some land, you can get in on the act as well. The best thing about buying land is that you can build a property from scratch. You can maximize your returns on the property investment by saving money during the build and constructing the perfect property for the area. As long as you do some market research before and find out what kind of property is the most valuable, you should see some good returns.
Storage
Renting your land out for storage is a great way to make money without really doing anything. This can be a long term solution or you could just do it to make a little extra money while you decide what you want to do with the land. People will pay good money to store things like boats and other vehicles, and it doesn’t require any input on your end.
Cell Phone Towers
If you have a piece of land that is well situated for a cell phone tower, you could make yourself a lot of money. You can earn a good amount for cell tower leases, especially from the big providers. This is a great, long term income source that requires minimal effort from you. If you are looking for a way to boost your income for retirement, for example, this is a great choice.
Solar Energy
A lot of farmers are converting their land into solar farms and getting rid of the crops and livestock because it’s more profitable. The use of renewable energy like solar is only going to increase in the coming years, so if you install solar panels on your land, you can make good money selling that electricity. It does take quite a lot of initial investment, but you will see a good return, so it is worth it.
Even if you don’t like any of these ideas, land is still a good investment because you can sell it on at a later date and make a profit on it. If you don’t know where to put your money, land is always a safe bet.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. An important company cost to figure out is the company vehicle. Cost has to be factored in, in addition to practicality. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Find The Perfect Company Vehicle.
Whether you just have a couple of company cars for the directors of your business, or you have an entire fleet of cars and vans that are used by a range of employees, there is a lot that you need to consider when it comes to buying, owning, and managing your company vehicles.
The decisions that are associated with the vehicles will start when it comes to working out which vehicle you would like, and whether you would prefer to buy or lease it.
Whether To Buy Or Lease The Vehicle
Vehicles are expensive to buy and there are a lot of associated costs in terms of running. You will need to decide whether the cost of owning a vehicle is really worth it, or if it may be a better option to look at a lease hire option.
When you buy a company vehicle, the advantages are that it becomes a financial asset. The problem with vehicles as an asset is that they very rapidly diminish in value. The amount that you pay for the vehicle new, will be so much lower after just a few months of ownership. If you were to sell the vehicle on after a year or two, you would not get a good return on your investment.
On the other hand, leasing will mean that you and your company will be able to use the vehicle as and when you need it, and after a set period of time, it will return to the company you took the lease out with.
With a lease vehicle, you would be required to maintain a certain standard to the vehicle, and there may be limitations on the milage that you can do. Any deviation on these points could mean that you have to pay out at the end of the agreement.
Buying New Or Used
If you did decide to go down the route of buying your vehicle, you have the choice of buying new or used. There are definite pros and cons to both options.
As previously discussed, a new car does not hold its value. However, you will get the benefit of the manufacturer’s warranty which may mean a reduction in repair costs should anything go wrong with the vehicle during the warranty period.
Used vehicles can often be much cheaper, with the biggest percentage decrease coming from the first year on the road, buying something that is only a year old will be much cheaper than buying the same model brand new off the dealer’s lot.
Of course, if anything goes wrong with your used car, you won’t have the manufacturer’s warranty to fall back upon and you will have to manage any costs incurred in maintenance yourself.
Selecting Your Vehicle
When choosing the vehicle, work out what you want from it before you decide on the make and model. If you are going to be driving long distances, then you will want an engine that is built to last. How many people will need to ride in it? If it will be used for carrying things, think about the size. If you’re buying a van, decide whether it is important to have a tail lift. You may not currently use pallets to load your vehicles, but if you are likely to do this in the future, having the ability to raise a pallet truck to the level of the van is going to be vital. Fuel efficiency and environmental impact should always be a factor in your decision making, but you may also want to throw in insurance costs, and availability and cost of spare parts. Some vehicles have very cheap generic parts available, while others can be a lot more proprietary.
If you are buying a used vehicle, have it thoroughly inspected and do your due diligence to check that it has never been written off following a major crash. Try and find out about any work that has ever been carried out on the vehicle and ask to see the service history. This will give you an indication of any potential problems that may emerge in the future so that you can factor repairs.
Getting Your Vehicle To Your Business
There are of course practicalities to contend with when buying your vehicle. Getting the car or van from the dealer’s lot can prove to be tough. The vehicle may be coming quite a distance, and it may be that you are unable to go and get it yourself. Or, it may not currently be road legal yet. Whatever the reason, you will no doubt want to look for reliable and cost-effective car delivery options.
Vehicle Insurance
Before you buy your vehicle, you will need to factor how much it will cost to insure it. You will need to get a comprehensive level of cover to ensure that you do not have to pay for any repairs in the instance of a crash where your driver was at fault.
The next thing to decide will be who can drive the vehicle. If it is for a certain person, for example like a company car that a member of your team working in the field will drive, then this is fairly straightforward. You may want to have a pool car, which can be used by anyone with permission, or you may be looking for a delivery vehicle which may be assigned to multiple drivers. Being clear about the way in which the vehicle is used will help to determine how much it will cost to insure it.
Conclusion
There are a great many decisions surrounding the purchase or lease of a company vehicle, and it is important that you weigh everything up to work out what is right for you. The way that the vehicle is used, and whether you wish to view it as a company asset will be vital. Make sure you do your due diligence into the specific vehicle you are buying to make sure that it is the most cost-effective option available.
Two key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Technology. One of the most valuable but costly pieces of technology most of us own is a car. Understanding how cars work and having the skill sets to repair them can save you a lot of money and make you lots of money as well. The following contributed post is entitled, Things You Need To Know: Basic Car Repairs.
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There are many necessary skills in which we are equipped in life, but unless we are all learning the basics of car maintenance, we’re facing costly repairs when things go wrong. The good news is that there are many different repair jobs that you can do for your car without having to take it into the garage. It’s an excellent skill to have under your belt if you know how to make the most basic repairs on your car, and you only need a few tools to make sure that you get the job done.
It’s going to take some time to gain experience with your car, but if you’re careful about learning about the different brands of parts, you’re going to be fine. Companies like Automotive Stuff offer a wide range of car parts, which means you can buy and replace parts easily yourself. Are you ready to learn which repairs you should know for your own learning? Let’s go!
1. You need to know how you should change the engine oil and the filter. It doesn’t require you to have special tools, but you do need to have an oil filter wrench. Your car manual should have straightforward instructions on how to change the engine oil in your car.
2. Windshield wipers are a must on your car, and it only takes ten minutes to change yours, and you should be doing this twice a year to keep yours fresh! Here’s how to change your windshield wipers yourself.
3. Keep checking the wiring of your car – they need to be inspected for burns and cuts in the plastic covering. If corrosion gets into the electrical connectors, the electrical flow can be compromised, and that is dangerous to your car.
4. There is a range of belts in your car, from the steering pump and radiator fan to the alternator belt. Checking them ensures that there is no cause for worry with any shredding in the belts, and once you see any signs of wear, check your manual for instructions on how to change them over.
5. Swapping the fluids in your car, from the engine oil that we mentioned earlier to the transmission fluid, brake fluid, and steering fluid, is vital. It would help if you replaced the liquid on a regular schedule, and this is listed in your car repair manual, too.
6. A battery service won’t be in every car manual, but it’s something you do need to check – and regularly. Without a battery that is in good working condition, you are going to find that your car doesn’t run as efficiently – if at all. Learning how to service and check your battery may feel too far beyond what your expertise allows, which is why knowing the best garage to do it all for you will be crucial!
7. There are other things that you’ll be able to do for yourself as well, such as changing the tires and replacing the brake pads. Water pumps and fuel pumps are also simple enough tasks to manage alone. The key is to ask for help from the experts, and it’s always essential to get your advice from qualified mechanics where you can.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. A key to being and entrepreneur is attracting clients. For a solo entrepreneur, it’s a much different dynamic than what a Fortune 500 Company would have to do. The following contributed post is entitled, How Do Solo Entrepreneurs Attract Clients?
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Solo entrepreneurs face a lot of challenges to launch their independent careers. For many, the choice of working for themselves is the result of unfortunate circumstances, such as struggling to find employment, losing their job suddenly, or trying to make ends meet as a stay-at-home parent, for example. Only a small proportion of solo entrepreneurs have been able to secure sufficient savings to launch their business. As a result, for many, the first challenge is to find clients when you have only limited resources.
Building momentum on a tight budget is difficult, but it isn’t impossible. The key to making it work is to prioritize tasks that are likely to generate income and leads. In other words, you need to filter the most effective marketing strategies that fit your budget. While this means you may not be able to afford promotional work done by an agency, it doesn’t have to stop your efforts. Making yourself visible to the right audience is a matter of being where potential clients are likely to see you.
Pixabay – CC0 License
Post their services on the right platforms Customers tend to look for your services on a variety of platforms. If you want to avoid competition on price only, it’s a good idea to stay away from freelancing sites such as UpWork or PeoplePerHour. However, finding new customers for small businesses doesn’t have to be expensive. You can publish classified business ads to promote your skills and expertise to your local audience. Unlike freelancer platforms, targeting your local audience is a helpful strategy to build your visibility and local brand awareness. For experts who work remotely or prefer long-term projects, LinkedIn has developed a freelancing search platform, ProFinder, for US-based users. Ultimately choosing where to display your profile and ads plays a significant role in attracting the right audience for you.
Showcase your work You can’t afford to wait for people to discover who you are and what you do. You need to create informative content to share your work with others. Shooting a professional-looking video on your smartphone, for instance, to record your creative process can help you to create a buzz on social media. The best thing about smartphone videos is that you don’t need to invest tons of money to build and share exciting and engaging content. Launching your YouTube channel is entirely free. With very little equipment, you can let the world know about your business. Alternatively, you can also use a gallery on your website to display your work. Building a website doesn’t have to break the bank, and you can find free or inexpensive options from Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress.
Pixabay – CC0 License
They share their expertise You want people to know about your expertise. Therefore, you need to be prepared to share your knowledge for free. Don’t worry; it’s got nothing to do with working for free. You can write guest posts for online magazines or blogs to drive traffic to your brand and promote your services. The key is to show off your unique voice and knowledge by targeting suitable blogs.
When you don’t have the budget for a marketing campaign, you need to make yourself visible and desirable without the big advertising guns. As a solo entrepreneur, this means only two things: Being where people search for you and actively showcasing your skills and work where it matters most.
Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Many people attempt to start businesses, but what will make your business credible? There are a couple of key points to address so that your operation will have credibility with customers and your peers. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Lend Your Business Further Credibility.
It’s important to build trust as a business, but while this is often spoken of in grand terms, it’s a more simple conversation than many are willing to admit. Building business trust is not about how often someone will purchase your goods, or if they accept your marketing claims, or if they believe that their support agent is telling them the truth. Business credibility is often what will inspire someone to find out more about the firm and what it offers in the first place. Many of us are exceptionally gifted at spotting erroneous claims or worthless marketing spiel. For many of us living in the modernized world, we have been practising this since seeing advertisements on the television.
This means that lending your business further credibility is an upward climb, but that’s a good thing, it allows you to earn your place standing shoulder to shoulder with your competition. The more you can get there, the more people will be happy to look at what you offer and make their decision accordingly.
Let us consider how this might work using some practical, worthwhile advice:
Valid Payment Processors
The use of valid payment processors is important. We all wish to see easy and safe card transactions verified through banking formats such as VISA when purchasing online. Some may prefer to use services like PayPal, or, if you’re hoping to appeal to a more refined tech market, even opening your doors to cryptocurrency is a possibility. In fact, many businesses support this payment method, and this will become the norm throughout this decade. Without secure payment opportunities online, your business is unlikely to be seen as reliable. Some third-party processors can be used, but it’s always best to go for the default, most official setup – it’s what customers are most familiar with.
Attend Trade Events
Don’t forget to attend trade events if you get chance to. They can help you connect with a real audience. In fact, for the best trade event 2020 experience, be sure to consider markets that you hope to be part of. Australia is known for some of the best-kept secrets when it comes to excellent trade fair showcases, so perhaps this could be a wonderful opportunity for your brand. When you approach an audience in the flesh, you help establish your credibility by default.
Slowly Build Trust
Remember that trust is not found overnight. It is continually earned, bit by bit, through right action. It can also be lost in a second, and when it’s lost, it’s very hard to get that back. This means that investing in the best cybersecurity to protect consumer’s personal information, doing right by customers contacting your support with an issue, honouring warranties, ensuring that your marketing is accurate and not overblown, and regularly celebrating your team and audience alike can help you build trust, and count everyone as part of your journey. It’s not hard to see how this positivity can spread with care and attention from that point forwards.
With this advice, you’re sure to curate further business credibility.
A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. Depending upon where you are in your life, you might have to sell your home. The more appealing your home looks, the easier it will be to sell. There are a few things that will enhance it’s appearance. The following contributed post is entitled, 5 Ways To Increase Your Curb-Appeal.
Curb-appeal is all about how attractive your home looks from the exterior. If you’re selling your home, your curb appeal is everything. Buyers get their very first impression from the outside of your house, so if it’s not up to speed, things won’t be off to a good start. Even if you’re not selling your home right now, keeping the exterior lovely is well worth it for your own pleasure! Whether it’s maintenance issues or those material touches of style, let’s consider five easy ways to increase your curb appeal.
1. Update Your Roof
Updating your roof is a surefire way to increase your curb appeal. Let’s face it, when a roof looks outdated, broken, or discolored; it really does nothing for the look of the house in general. For a modern and bold style, search for ‘metal roofing supply near me.’ With a metal roof, you not only get a great look, but you’ll get a durable option that’s fire-resistant, quick to install and that could add value to your home.
2. Plenty of flowers
One really simple way to improve the exterior of your home is to give your garden some TLC, including plenty of flowers. For the cold weather, try winter blooming flowers like heather and pansies. These can add a beautiful zest of color while also being strong enough to survive the cold. Be sure to make a good compost for your garden, so you can keep everything healthy the natural way.
3. Colorful front door
Give your home a color-pop so that it stands out and turns heads, you can do this easily by painting the front door in a bright color. Try an electric blue, sunflower yellow, or even red if it will match your house. While you’re at it, give the rest of your home a fresh lick of paint (but maybe just stay neutral here)! When it comes to these kinds of jobs, it’s usually worth getting a professional in so you can be sure the paint job is perfectly even with a smooth finish.
4. Get scrubbing
There’s nothing worse than a dirty fence or driveway to leave your home looking shabby. Get out your cleaning essentials, and be sure to use a pressure washer if you have one. Once all the dirt is gone, treat your fence with a stain to protect the wood and make it shine. Sweep up the leaves and debris while you’re out there, it’s the little things that contribute to a beautiful home.
5. Redo your pathway
The pathway leading up to your home should look neat, elegant, and inviting. Worn out and overgrown paths are no way to show off your home’s potential. Do a little research before you choose something because there are plenty of options to suit different tastes and budgets. You’ll want to choose a pathway that suits the overall theme of your house.
When we are choosing where to live, we are always going to be influenced by the aesthetics. With these five tips, you’ll be sure to attract potential buyers.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. When you’re in charge of a business, you always have to think about how expand and your productivity. In 2020 there are numerous ways you can do that. The following contributed post is entitled, How Your Company Can Do More In 2020.
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If you are a business that has been around for some time, you may have found yourself failing to see some year on year growth. If this sounds like you, there is no need to panic; getting back on track is quite a simple process.
Today, we are going to be looking at some modern-day solutions that could benefit your business in huge ways should you consider applying them. While some of them may be simple at their core, you will find their application in your business could be exactly what you need.
One thing you should recognise is this; we are not saying you are not doing enough with your business, what we are, in fact, saying is that if you have hit a place where you cannot see any continuous growth from your company, then you are going to need to start applying something a little different.
While different may be scary, it can often be the thing that keeps you company afloat and helps you reach the level that you have been aiming for, for some time.
Improve Your Logistics
While most businesses are able to keep hold of almost every corner of their company, there is often one part that can be placed in the hands of others.
We are, of course, talking about the logistics side of the business. As most companies have discovered, they are able to apply control over every section of their business, but when it comes to getting a consignment to a customer, you have to place your faith in the hands of your logistic service.
Now, while in an ideal world, your company would manage its own fleet, we have to be real and recognise that financially this may not be viable. What you want to look for is an expedited trucking company that will be able to provide a service that gives live tracking and everything your business needs to ensure your shipments reach your customers on time.
Look At Better Software Solutions
As we have moved forward into the 21st century, software solutions have very quickly become more advanced, and you can be sure that if you want to streamline your business, there will be a huge need for an update to the software you are using.
Most people are probably thinking, what difference could software really make? The answer to this is simple; a big one.
Today’s software solutions can automate the menial and laborious jobs that take your employees out of the business for hours on end. By having software that can build data build data files on customers to give them a personal experience, can automate emails and even run a nurturing campaign, you will have a huge portion of your business covered.
Having a simple solution like this can save you time, effort and money, and you will be surprised as to how quickly you will be able to see a change in your business.
Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. In today’s digital age, many forms of business and marketing involve shooting video and posting it online. You don’t always need an extravagant studio to shoot video and sometimes your smartphone will do. The following contributed post is entitled, 3 Tips to Shoot Professional-Looking Videos on Your Smartphone.
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Thankfully, it’s becoming more common knowledge for businesses to realize that video marketing is here to stay. It’s one of the most effective ways to connect with people, build your brand, and give your business an actual voice.
In fact, 51% of marketing professionals believe video marketing is the best for ROI. SO, if you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet, it’s time to play catchup!
If you have, and you’re not sure why you haven’t experienced as much success with your video marketing efforts, have you considered the kind of video you’re shooting and producing? Are you using quality video SDKs from an app or website to quickly shoot and publish your content?
If the quality of your video isn’t up to par, there’s a good chance people will skip it. That’s especially true as more businesses recognize the importance of video and try to outdo their competition when it comes to quality.
So, what can you do to shoot more professional-looking videos for your business, using a smartphone? The good news is, you don’t have to be a pro videographer to make it happen. Let’s go over some tips that can set you apart from your competitors.
Even if you have the latest and greatest smartphone with the best camera that’s ever been released, your video could still look less-than-professional if your lighting is bad. Professional videographers rely on good lighting to make their videos look sharp, bright, and easy to see.
You don’t have to invest in studio lights or other fancy equipment to get better lighting for your recording. But, always try to shoot in a well-lit area to prevent shadows and graininess that can make it difficult for people to see the detail in your video.
Most phones nowadays have “touch focus,” so you can tap on the area of the camera that’s highlighted to focus on one area. The phone should automatically balance the lighting based on the area you’re focused on.
2. Audio is Just as Important
It’s great if you have a high-quality, sharp-looking video. But, if the audio quality doesn’t match up, people aren’t going to pay attention. Unfortunately, most phone manufacturers haven’t given as much attention to the microphones on their devices as they have to the cameras.
So, what can you do to boost the sound quality of your video?
The best thing you can do is to get an external recording device of some kind. Even an inexpensive microphone that can be plugged into your phone will make a world of difference when it comes to the clarity of the sound. If you can’t afford an external mic or don’t want to get one right now, make sure you always record on your phone in a quiet room with no external noises. Try to avoid recording outside.
3. Never Shoot Vertically
It’s hard to believe that this still needs to be said in 2020, but perhaps the biggest and most important tip to keep in mind is to never shoot your video vertically on your phone. When you record vertically, it makes playback look strange on many other devices. Hold your phone horizontally, and playback on screens everywhere will look just fine.
You don’t need to hire a professional camera crew or be a pro yourself to create better-looking videos on your phone. Keep these simple tips in mind as you boost your video marketing efforts this year.
“In a race-based society, it’s what you own and control that determines your opportunities, rights and privileges! This doesn’t have a darn thing to do with Civil Rights! That’s a waste of time! It doesn’t have anything to do with voting!”
Hello. Thank you for clicking on this link, and I hope you enjoy this essay. Writing a book was the genesis of my blogging, and becoming a video content creator. I have published part one of my book project entitled, The Engineers: A Western New York Basketball Story. It is currently available on Amazon in eBook, hardcover, and paperback formats. Shortly I will be selling signed hardcover and paperback copies on my online store entitled, Big Words Authors. You can place an order now if you want a signed copy. There is also a page discussing the book. Please consider visiting it to learn more about the project, and to see the promotional content I’ve created for the project. And now on to our feature presentation.
“I fear I have integrated my people into a burning house!”
The Image of the Burning House
Before I start this piece, I want to acknowledge the creator of its primary image. It was generated by ‘Creative Designs’, and by the very talented Tamara Coleman. If you want to learn more about Tamara and her work, contact her via email at: Tammy-cole@hotmail.com.
The Power of History and Storytelling
This Black History blog post falls under my principles of Critical Thought and Financial Literacy/Money. Here on my blog and on my YouTube channel, Big Discussions76, I challenge readers and viewers to question things and not just accept the images and messages presented to them. This is particularly important for this election year where we voters are sure to be slammed with all kinds of propaganda and biased reporting by the mainstream news sources.
One of the interesting things about history is that he or she who controls the narrative controls the minds and the perceptions of the masses regarding what happened for a given person or event. Some argue that all the technology we have today has made the world worse, and there are cases where that’s true. I usually counter that sentiment by arguing that in some ways it has made it better. One way it has made the world better is through the ability to share information, so that more accurate and complete stories can be told.
Dr. King’s Dream Fulfilled?
When we think about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we often think back to his historic ‘I Had A Dream’ speech, his philosophy of non-violence, the marches, his time spent in jail, and then his tragic assassination. But there was so much more to the legendary face of the Civil Rights Movement. In my 2019 blog post entitled, Whose Job Is It To Teach Black History?, I discussed Dr. Michael Eric Dyson’s revelation that Dr. King had extramarital affairs and why I thought it was important to know about them–something also depicted in the movie Selma.
Another important revelation for me regarding Dr. King was my mentor sharing that just as many black people wanted to take his life as white people, if not more. It’s odd (and unsettling) to think something like that could happen, but information and perspectives that are being shared now may give insight as to why. Something that classically hasn’t gotten as much exposure, but which is now gaining traction in certain circles today, is Dr. King’s final thoughts on his life’s work.
Dr. King’s signature victory was the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but it turns out that before his death, he wondered if he’d spent his life fighting for the wrong things. He pondered if he’d led his people in the wrong direction as discussed in the opening quote of this blog post. This is a good place to ask an important question. What exactly happened in 1968 that warranted Dr. King’s assassination as opposed to one of the previous years? A prevalent theory is that Dr. King’s focus had shifted from social integration and desegregation to economic and financial equality/power and empowerment. His final effort was in fact the Poor People’s Campaign.
“We’re coming to Washington to get OUR check!” In footage not widely shared until recent times, Dr. King is captured discussing how the federal government financially supported other ethnic groups throughout the history of the United States in legislation like the Homestead Act. Dr. King realized that with such government support, black people could ascend and become whole in the United States. He was planning to return to Washington, DC, not for civil rights but for economic rights. “We’re coming to Washington to get OUR check!”
Who is Dr. Claud Anderson?
At this point I want to introduce Dr. Claud Anderson and then I’m going to bring the two men together at the conclusion of this piece. For those unfamiliar with him, Dr. Claud Anderson is an author/economist/historian and a former cabinet member of President Jimmy Carter. For 40 plus years of my life, I was unaware of Dr. Anderson and I only became aware of him due to the vigilance of Dr. Boyce Watkins, who I watch regularly on YouTube and who I also follow on Twitter. This, in part, underscores the good our new technologies have done.
Dr. Watkins is unapologetically black, a staunch advocate of black love, is considered controversial by some, and while he regularly weighs in on some of the social issues of the day (recently Lizzo for example), his background is in economics, money and investing. His core messages are thus about black people learning how to invest and build businesses. He’s very, very passionate about black kids learning to buy stock and build businesses as early as possible and he has programs for teaching such skills to both children and adults. He argues that this is more important than our kids learning to do the latest dances or excelling at football or basketball.
I don’t recall when Dr. Watkins started bringing Dr. Claud Anderson onto his show, but once he did it was easy to see why, and why he looks upon Dr. Anderson with such reverence. I’d encourage any readers to look up any of Dr. Anderson’s discussions with Dr. Watkins, and then any of Dr. Anderson’s abundance of interviews available on YouTube. He had a powerful discussion with the popular ‘Breakfast Club‘, and over the holiday season I stumbled upon an interview of Dr. Anderson from 1995 in Detroit. He had another powerful interview with Rock Newman here in DC. The interviews are below:
What’s remarkable about the 1995 interview was that Dr. Anderson spoke on everything that’s unfolding today. One point was the efforts to bring in immigrants into the United States to undermine the black vote and I’ll leave that there. It’s a very polarizing topic as ironically many black people support the same politicians who are looking to enforce these policies. The year of 1995 was just prior to the internet becoming mainstream. Interestingly, even when transferring to my Historically Black College/University (HBCU), I don’t remember any mention of Dr. Anderson, which is very strange. As noted before, the same is true for intellectuals like Dr. Thomas Sowell and Dr. Walter E. Williams, black conservatives, but ‘intellectual heavyweights’ nonetheless.
Then again, it’s not strange as Dr. Anderson discussed how the individuals who decide which books will be used at HBCUs don’t want his books there during his interview with the Breakfast Club. While I recommended three of Dr. Anderson’s interviews above, and while I’m going to recommend his books below, in watching and reading Dr. Anderson’s content, I must warn you. If you’re a Barrack Obama enthusiast who was in love with the symbolism of his presidency, or even a staunch Democrat, his words aren’t kind to either. He’s not a pro-Trumper by any means, but he’s very open about the political class’ role in the state of Black America now. By the way, many, many criticisms of Barrack Obama’s legacy are emerging within the black community these days and can at least in part be attributed to what happened to Senator Kamala Harris in the Democratic primary.
Dr. Claud Anderson’s Economic Floors Proverb
With the videos I’ve listed, you can go watch and learn more for yourself. For the sake of this post, I’m just going to focus on three things. The first is Dr. Anderson’s plan for empowering black communities across the United States, much of which can be done by the communities themselves without outside help. He described the following points with hosts DJ Envy and Charlemagne THA God on the Breakfast Club. He described black economic empowerment (by the black community itself) as erecting a proverbial building with multiple floors:
• First Floor– Build a community and practice ‘group economics’; particularly making the money ‘bounce’ in the community 8-12 times before it leaves (discussed below). • Second Floor– Politics; without economics there’s no ability to influence politicians or elections as a group; Voting is immaterial and a game of entertainment; You buy or rent the politicians. • Third Floor– Use the politicians to influence the court systems and law enforcement to decrease things like police brutality. • Fourth Floor– Media; If you don’t own media, you can’t organize, communicate or motivate. • Fifth Floor– Education; Interestingly the final level, but according to his logic it makes sense as there would theoretically be the existence of black businesses for our young professionals to start working in.
The second point I want to focus on is that of black people relearning how to ‘bounce’ their dollars in the black community as described above. In this context, bouncing simply refers to spending money within the community to give those there the opportunity to benefit from it long-term. Dr. Anderson argues eloquently that of all the other races and ethnic groups, the black dollar bounces the least within its own community before quickly leaving. In the Black History-related piece following this one, I’m going to discuss whether racial desegregation irreversibly started the process of destroying black businesses. An example of supporting a black business is patronizing the above-mentioned Tamara Coleman who created the primary image of this piece.
My final point regarding Dr. Anderson is that of ‘Reparations’, which is basically the reconciling of the debt and economic disparities by the United States believed to be owed to the descendants of slaves created by the Chattel Slavery and Jim Crow. I’m not going argue whether black people should get them here, though it is interesting that groups like Japanese Americans got something following World War 2. Other groups apparently got similar severances. I’ll just say that Dr. Anderson is a staunch advocate of reparations, and don’t be surprised to see a further fractured black vote in the 2020 general election due to this one issue, which was in large part brought to the forefront by the Obama Presidency.
Dr. Claud Anderson’s Book Powernomics
I’d encourage readers to purchase copies of Dr. Anderson’s books which it seems are not available at HBCUs as described above. I asked for and received Dr. Anderson’s three books last year for Christmas: Powernomics, The Black History Reader and Black Labor-White Wealth. Again, he has in large part been kept out of mainstream media and, based upon his messages, it’s not surprising why. I would also encourage readers to visit Dr. Anderson’s Harvest Institute to learn more about his efforts and to make a donation if you’re motivated to do so.
What’s the Connection Between the Two Men?
So, what does all this have to do with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr? Well, it relates directly to his vision of the burning house. Were his efforts in large part directed in the wrong direction? Was it always economics? Did desegregation ultimately have harmful effects on Black America, causing all our black businesses to wither away and die? Also, have we become a permanent underclass as described by Dr. Claud Anderson?
In terms of reparations, based upon responses by then Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, and remaining candidates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, I’m not going to hold my breath for them. Part of Dr. Claud Anderson’s ‘Gospel’ regarding economic empowerment though is hopeful and suggests that black people as a group can still coalesce and build something. The question is ‘will we?’.
It would require a mass shift in mindset which is the hardest part. If you watch Dr. Boyce Watkins’ content, he’s shared frustrations numerous times about black people as a group not being interested in learning about economics and financial literacy. Some are, but personally I thought it was odd that it took something like Jay-Z’s ‘444’ album to get black people talking about these topics at least for a little while. Again, some of us are interested in this stuff and actively talk about it and study it, but the majority isn’t. A small group will thus likely thrive while the majority may not as much.
Other Topics on My Blog
If money, financial literacy and business topics fascinate you, I have a wealth of content on that now right here on the Big Words Blog Site. As a matter fact, my blogging platform was rated one of the 10 Best Financial Education Blogs by the company Expertido for 2019. I’ve written several literary pieces about some basics of budgeting and topics regarding things like Matching Contributions. My pieces are usually personal stories discussing my journey learning these concepts.
Working with a collaborator, I’ve published profuse amounts of content in the areas of Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. These are smaller informational pieces you can read through in five minutes or less. Just go to the categories tab on my platform and choose one of those categories. I also discuss money topics on my YouTube channel entitled, Big Discussions76. Please stop by, subscribe and find the playlist entitled, “Big Discussions Financial Literacy”.
As Black History Month approaches, I’ll be publishing another piece specifically focusing on whether civil rights and desegregation hurt Black America. Thank you for reading this piece. I want to thank Dr. Boyce Watkins for his hard work in trying to get his money messages out to our people, and for getting Dr. Claud Anderson out into the spotlight where he has always belonged. Again, for 40 years of my life I had no idea who he was and I’m not alone. That’s a major problem, but if you understand economics and media as I do now, it’s not unexpected.
The Big Words LLC Newsletter
For the next phase of my writing journey, I’m starting a monthly newsletter for my writing and video content creation company, the Big Words LLC. In it, I plan to share inspirational words, pieces from this blog and my first blog, and select videos from my four YouTube channels. Finally, I will share updates for my book project The Engineers: A Western New York Basketball Story. Your personal information and privacy will be protected. Click this link and register using the sign-up button at the bottom of the announcement. If there is some issue signing up using the link provided, you can also email me at bwllcnl@gmail.com . Best Regards.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). For those individuals with a mind and aptitude for investing, there are lots of opportunities in the sciences. The following contributed post is entitled, Science And Investment Opportunities.
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Science And Investment Opportunities
There are many people around the world that are looking for places to invest their money. Whether it’s a charitable cause, or an investment opportunity that hopefully will bring big Returns. So when it comes to investment and the Sciences, where can we invest our money for either life and will changing reasons, or for a return on investment? It can be a minefield, and it’s important to know that the advice and and and information that you may receive when doing your research, is not everything, you have to really consider all of the alternatives and make the right investment choice for you. So where can we mix science and Investment? The first thing to think about is how much money you are looking to invest in the first place and once you know no this you will know where to start.
Education Education is, of course, the basis for any improvement. Improvement of the way we live, and the way we look after our planet, and this is an important aspect of investment. Investing money into the education of younger people, and for the Education of people who may not otherwise have access, means that we are likely to move forward in the future. Giving access to education to many people means that one or two who are going to make changes in the world are able to do so. The way in which we can move forward and educate the population is a fantastic opportunity. But it relies on investment. Whether that’s from personal, or business investments, it makes no difference as long as as.the funds get to the right places.
Research Research in science is, of course, essential, researching new ways in which you can treat illnesses, such as cancer, and researching alternatives two fossil fuels, for example, can make a huge difference to the planet. The only way we have reached the current medical advances, and spectacular technology we that we have no, is through research. But we need the funding to be able to drive this sort of research. And many of us benefit from these advances. So whether you’re investing gold bullion via ABC refinery, or investing your time, there is is no end to the benefits of research in science. It can take decades to reach a breakthrough, and this, of course, equates to a lot of money. But to actually advanced and evolved, we all have to make investments into this industry.
Climate Change Climate change is a big talking point all around the world at the moment. And 99% of scientists agree that unless changes are made then the human race is going to suffer from the effects of climate change. This, of course, means that we need to have more investment opportunities, the right people, and the right research being done on alternatives and ways in which we can improve the planet. Humans are no longer and wittingly causing damage to the earth, so it is important that we invest as much as we can into reversing the effects of this damage.
