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Personal Finance –The latest in buying, selling & financing cars

Ready for a new car or perhaps a good used one with better gas mileage? Here are some basic tips for buying  in today’s market (and this applies to being a savvy seller too … as I have found out).

First tip: separate the transaction of buying a new car from selling your old car and getting financing.

The web has of course made a huge difference in all our buying habits, and if I wanted to buy a car (new or used,) that would be the first place I “Google” to get started.

I decided to sell my speedy Volvo S60 R and didn’t want to trade it in. The first rule of separating buying the new, from selling the old, from getting financing is key to getting your best deals on each.   Being a little old fashioned, I placed my car for sale in the Denver Post printed ads and Denver Post online and yes I did get a few calls. But just as with the latest trend in Real Estate For Sale By Owner, I got a few calls to “help” me sell my car.  Having worked with For Sale by Owner in other arenas I decide to find out more. So … I went for the offer to get the car listed on E-bay and 2 other sites at the same time through Classy Auto and found out all about how financing and shipping of cars has shrunk the entire U.S. down to my own back yard. 

We all know dealers offer financing and ship cars anywhere to get them to you. We all trust that they will deliver as they say they will.  Now, you as a For Sale By Owner car sales person (with the help of clever marketing people who understand search engines) can do the same. Cars are now more frequently purchased on line with a car fax review, usually a warranty, a review of a lot of pictures and we count on the ethics of such websites as E-bay. There are definitely great deals!

Second tip: make sure to use sellers that provide vehicle protection if you are buying non–local. Companies like E-bay provide up to $50,000 in vehicle protection. This protects you in case you pay but don’t receive the car, or there is a problem with title or it is a stolen vehicle.

Third, calculate how much you can afford based on the gas, other maintenance costs and a monthly payment.  For our clients in our Client Care program, we provide ongoing analysis and sometimes re-work their overall plan to re-fit the unexpected ( car or other purchase) into their budget.

Finally; before you make an offer, find out about the vehicle including the car fax report and how much the car is worth including shipping costs if you purchase remotely. Check with your favorite auto lender to see how much they would lend on it … even if you are going to pay cash.  They are an excellent source for determining the value and this number can be elusive otherwise.

If you are interested in buying the Volvo check is out here.
http://www.classyauto.com/
Call us to find out more about our Client Care program. 303-216-0472

Entrepreneurs – Top 5 of 10 staffing tips for Solo or Small Business Owners

( See June’s newsletter for the next 5)

I had the pleasure of talking with some fantastic women business owners at a roundtable discussion and came away with some great tips to share about staffing do’s and don’ts. We solo and small business owners wear many hats and are used to stretching our skills into areas we aren’t comfortable in, but when you decide to hire that 1st person or even the 2nd and 3rd, don’t expect them to be cut from the same cloth. 

Tip 1: Write it down. If you are feeling pinched for time in your business, start solving the problem by writing down the tasks. Describe how you do, what you do for about two weeks. This also helps improve your own time management which we discuss in the July newsletter. Decide what you don’t like to do or aren’t good at. Put these tasks into a job description (in your newly started company policy manual under the heading of job descriptions). Be sure to include the details of when you want these things done (monthly, weekly, daily) and how the computer or other systems are to be used to complete the tasks.

Yes, you already feel like you have no time and taking time to write things down seems like the wrong direction, BUT this IS the way to get out of the spiraling downward hole you are headed for. As you create the job description, be sure to include the character traits and skills needed for this position

Tip 2: Character traits are more important than job skills. Don’t attempt to combine tasks that require non related character traits to perform several different jobs.  When starting to add staff we often try to suggest that the next person we hire wear multiple hats (just like we try to do).   This is a common blunder that is soon regretted, leaving you with an angry new hire who is leaving very soon.  The nit-picker who will be excellent for taking on the book keeping, is rarely your top choice for marketing assistant who needs to be more artistic, creative and easier going. However the person handling shipping will do well at updating the client information database from a personality perspective (now you just have to find the right skills to match).

Tip 3: Put the job description into an ad format. This will help you become succinct in what you are looking for and will require you to be clear about how much you want to pay for the services. Do this even if you don’t plan to advertise.

Tip 4: Commit to interviewing at least 3 people for the new job. This step helps you understand what skills are in the market place and prevents you from taking the first person who shows up to relieve your time stress. In fact, they may add to it quite a bit if you aren’t careful. To make the process a successful one, be sure to have a one page list of interview questions, put the candidates name at the top of their form, and fill in the answers as you go or afterwards. This shows your level of professionalism, keeps you on track, and prevents getting into irrelevant side conversations that make you feel good but don’t address your need to find the right person. Put this form along with the candidates resume into your newly created HR file. It’s the law.

Tip 5: Be flexible about scheduling hours in the “office”. As a small business owner, you generally do have more ability to be flexible, so create & share this advantage over large companies with your new staff. Many highly paid women in executive positions, with a wide range of skills, want to go back to work part time, from home.  You can be their creative solution. You will receive untold financial rewards when you set this up correctly and bring in the right person.
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Need more help creating your Policy and Procedures manual (so you can one day sell your business for a pretty penny), help with Time Management or additional help with job descriptions, staffing and hiring?

Be sure to give us a call to take advantage of our FREE  45 minute strategy session and find out what we can accomplish together. If you know of others who need this help, introduce us!
Our Small Business Coaching covers many of these topics and more.