The Red Flags of Conmen

Conmen play the vague, politically-correct, altruistic games that call for “trust and respect” and “giving back”, while avoiding specifics, making elaborate promises, and never committing to anything in writing.

An outspoken and highly intelligent, perceptive, and prophetic blogger recently wrote,

“Obama has been b*tch-slapped by North Korea who has no fear of any reprisal. His naiveté and narcissism has damaged America’s global standing and put us and our allies in danger. Obama’s tough talk carries the significance of Boy George fighting in mixed martial arts.”

I would trust this blogger whom I have never met, more than many people whom I know.

What Business is All About

Business is not personal – it’s about the transaction of value, and it has nothing to do with “giving back”, your wife’s lumbago, or helping the poor.

1. I do what I commit to, and you do what you commit to, and if not, there are consequences.
2. If you don’t pay me what you owe me, I’m coming after you hard with a very nasty lawyer, of that you may be assured.
3. I’m not interested in the consequences of your personal choices or your lies or excuses.
4. And if we do good business, we may become friends. Maybe, but not necessarily.

That’s why we need to be very specific when setting up our Joint Ventures.

How Do Your Role Models Behave?

I have found that people who smile and laugh a lot and insist on hugging everyone in sight are usually adroit at back-stabbing, stealing, and lying. You don’t see the Donald giggling and tickling his way through life. I don’t want to talk hockey and discuss my family with you – I’m here to make money. If you want to be popular and avoid stepping on toes, you will soon find yourself in the company of other compromisers and snakes who will steal the milk out of your tea while recommending their personal psychic and asking you to sponsor their local free injection clinic for drug addicts.

“Tell it like it is” – there are millions of people, and just as many JV opportunities out there for a good Joint Venture Broker. I would rather be feared and respected than liked. And the same goes for real entrepreneurs who make real money – they’re not signing up for popularity contests or trying to win awards or titles. Model truly successful business owners – think of Ari Onassis and Jimmy Pattison. They are serious about business and they expect you to be so, too.

Your good JV partners will feel a lot more comfortable when you get serious about business, and the losers will run away for fear of being exposed for what they really are.

It’s like sugar in your gas tank, poison in your pop, the worm in your apple – the one flaw that can cripple even the best Joint Venture, and something to be avoided at all costs. The reason why many newbies to Joint Venture brokering fail is their choice of JV partner. Because of their low self-esteem and confidence, along with their limited belief and low aspirations, they approach people by whom they don’t feel threatened. (This is the same reason why network marketing newbies try to recruit losers.)

Who Are You Dealing With?

Think about it:

• When you try to set up JV’s with copycats, counterfeits, caricatures, wannabe’s, and “managers”, you’re not dealing with real decision makers.
• Sycophants, sidekicks, mimics and morons cannot make a JV work – they don’t have what it takes. If they did, they would be the head honchos, the chiefs, the principals. But they’re not.

They talk the talk, but they can’t walk the walk. They’re just parasites and pawns, and they with frustrate you and fail you.

The posers and pretenders will sabotage and scuttle your lucrative JV.  Don’t even bother.

Aim Higher

Smart JV Brokers know that the higher you go, the more you grow. Deal with the top guy, the president of the company, the real deal, and you will find your Joint Ventures flowing and flourishing.

1. They make good decisions, which they make fast.
2. They can pay their way.
3. They have a track record of success, and that is a clear prediction of their future with you.
4. Winners are generally generous and upfront.
5. They will tell it like it is and practice what they preach – that’s how they got to be the owner of the business.

Getting to the Top

The way to get to the top people is to create a really good, complete, professional presentation that requires no money, no risk, and little time from the other party, and pushes all the right buttons.

• It should be logical, short, and sweet, understandable, and concise.
• Most of all. It needs to have high, residual potential.

After all, the JV is about money, leverage, and results – it’s not about you, so don’t get your self-esteem or lack of experience slow you down and lower your expectations.

Go to the top dog, not the concierge. Pitch your JV with the focus on the bottom line and his or her interests – not your own. And stop trying to sell yourself – successful people don’t have to convince others that they are successful.

Red Flags

Here are a few red flag words that will chase off any winner:

• “Integrity” the bigger the loser, the more often he will use this word!
• “I am honest”
• “I will try / do my best”
• “If”
• “I hope / I guess”

If you have done your homework and you have the right training and support, you will speak easily and as an equal.

You may feel important by dealing with losers, but you will become important by dealing with winners.

A Fatal Flaw to Avoid in Your Joint Ventures

It’s like sugar in your gas tank, poison in your pop, the worm in your apple – the one flaw that can cripple even the best Joint Venture, and something to be avoided at all costs. The reason why many newbies to Joint Venture brokering fail is their choice of JV partner. Because of their low self-esteem and confidence, along with their limited belief and low aspirations, they approach people by whom they don’t feel threatened. (This is the same reason why network marketing newbies try to recruit losers.)

Who Are You Dealing With?

Think about it:

• When you try to set up JV’s with copycats, counterfeits, caricatures, wannabe’s, and “managers”, you’re not dealing with real decision makers.
• Sycophants, sidekicks, mimics and morons cannot make a JV work – they don’t have what it takes. If they did, they would be the head honchos, the chiefs, the principals. But they’re not.

They talk the talk, but they can’t walk the walk. They’re just parasites and pawns, and they with frustrate you and fail you.

The posers and pretenders will sabotage and scuttle your lucrative JV.  Don’t even bother.

Aim Higher

Smart JV Brokers know that the higher you go, the more you grow. Deal with the top guy, the president of the company, the real deal, and you will find your Joint Ventures flowing and flourishing.

1. They make good decisions, which they make fast.
2. They can pay their way.
3. They have a track record of success, and that is a clear prediction of their future with you.
4. Winners are generally generous and upfront.
5. They will tell it like it is and practice what they preach – that’s how they got to be the owner of the business.

Getting to the Top

The way to get to the top people is to create a really good, complete, professional presentation that requires no money, no risk, and little time from the other party, and pushes all the right buttons.

• It should be logical, short, and sweet, understandable, and concise.
• Most of all. It needs to have high, residual potential.

After all, the JV is about money, leverage, and results – it’s not about you, so don’t get your self-esteem or lack of experience slow you down and lower your expectations.

Go to the top dog, not the concierge. Pitch your JV with the focus on the bottom line and his or her interests – not your own. And stop trying to sell yourself – successful people don’t have to convince others that they are successful.

Red Flags

Here are a few red flag words that will chase off any winner:

• “Integrity” the bigger the loser, the more often he will use this word!
• “I am honest”
• “I will try / do my best”
• “If”
• “I hope / I guess”

If you have done your homework and you have the right training and support, you will speak easily and as an equal.

You may feel important by dealing with losers, but you will become important by dealing with winners.

1.  Multiple Joint Ventures running simultaneously.

We understand how one Joint Venture can feed another and open new possibilities, how some fail and some work, so we’re always running a number of Joint Ventures at the same time with the least amount of time possible. We realize that we can create unlimited wealth through Joint Ventures.

2.  New Joint Ventures being added regularly.

We don’t sit back when we have a comfortable, residual income from multiple sources – we continually add new Joint Ventures. We are realistic and understand that Joint Ventures don’t last forever.

3.  Joint Ventures that are not working being aborted and scrapped regularly.

When we see that the Joint Venture or the JV partner is not working out, we don’t hesitate to walk away. Especially if we see dishonestly, greed, ego, or other agendas. We look for patterns.

4.  High standards and expectations.

We don’t look at small, impotent Joint Ventures, and we expect our partners to be as professional, production, and punctual as we are.

5.  Very selective whom they partner with.

We don’t deal with unknown people – we prefer to work on a referral basis. We do our due diligence and we’re careful with whom we associate.

6.  Specific requirements before considering a JV.

Simplicity, potential, time, risk, cost, integration possibilities, the people behind it and their track record and resources. We don’t leap blindly and emotionally into every new venture, because most of them are not good. They have to meet our standards to even be considered.

7.  Fast decisions, most of them “No.”

We don’t have to think about a JV for a long time – after getting the details, we make fast decisions. We stick to our commitments and get things in writing.

8.  Massive action taker.

We don’t sit around waiting for things to happen – we make them happen, follow up, make calls, take action, and WORK. We expect our JV partners to do the same.

9.  Professional, well-prepared, positive attitude.

We have high self-esteem and it is reflected in our grooming, dress, behavior, communication, the people with whom we mix, and our preparation and follow-up.

10. Always learning and helping others.

We are generous, friendly, and straight-talking. We like helping others to help themselves and we’re always open to learning new things.

If you have one of the two dry cleaning businesses in a small town, with high overhead and limited customers, scarcity is a reality to you.

If your business depends on the weather, the traffic, offshore competition, finding good people, or politicians, or if you sell your time, lack and risk are your constant shadows.

And if you have all your eggs in one basket,

• if your income depends on the whims of others to any extent,
• or if you rely on others or serve a limited geographic area,

shortage and fear follow you home at night.

Are You a Soldier or a General?

Many “businesses” are really simply prison cells, shackles, time vampires, and Swords of Damocles. If you own a franchise or if you are a self-employed salesperson posing as an entrepreneur, scarcity is a reality for you. Without scalability and replicability, you’re what Domenick Celentano, an Adjunct Professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, calls an “Artisan Entrepreneur.” Or what I call and “Paid Slave” or “a Laborer with a New Lable” – not much different from being an employee, except that you work harder for less and take more risk. You can be a soldier or a general.  Entrepreneurs are generals.

Stephen Duke wrote:

“There are lots of ‘independent business owners,’ but few are actually ‘entrepreneurs.’ Most are skilled technicians or managers in their fields and they work IN their own business, but fewer still work ON their business. There is a difference.

Self-employment is on one end of the continuum and Entrepreneurship is on the opposite. The difference is what the individual actually does for the business: Are they simply doing what they were doing for the ‘Man’ before they started working for themselves? Or, are they working at building a “world class company” that does the things they once did for a living?

Don’t be delusional about self-employment, even if you are not working by yourself – it is still not entrepreneurial. One must really be working on building a company that is less egoistic and more centered around its stakeholders i.e. what’s in it for them, instead of what’s in it for me. When you understand this, you understand the difference between the self-employed business owner and the entrepreneur.”

Why I Use Joint Ventures

To move from scarcity and risk to abundance and peace of mind, I became a Joint Venture Broker 23 years ago.

1. There is literally no limit to my business, except that which I choose.
2. My business is ultimately scalable.
3. I operate with no cost, overhead, employees, risk, inventory, advertising and marketing budget, or administration.
4. And I have plenty of time on my hands.
5. If you choose to keep the business you have, you can put your bottom line on steroids by understanding how to use Joint Ventures and create huge back-end income at 100% profit, while reducing risk and time spent.

There are many fish in the sea, if you set your business up that way. Threats fade away, and you can focus on building nets and working when you feel like it. A good Joint Venture Broker has his ego in check, focuses on the bottom line, is very selective, and enjoys abundance. And he sleeps well at night.

1.  Multiple Joint Ventures running simultaneously.

We understand how one Joint Venture can feed another and open new possibilities, how some fail and some work, so we’re always running a number of Joint Ventures at the same time with the least amount of time possible. We realize that we can create unlimited wealth through Joint Ventures.

2.  New Joint Ventures being added regularly.

We don’t sit back when we have a comfortable, residual income from multiple sources – we continually add new Joint Ventures. We are realistic and understand that Joint Ventures don’t last forever.

3.  Joint Ventures that are not working being aborted and scrapped regularly.

When we see that the JV or the JV partner is not working out, we don’t hesitate to walk away. Especially if we see dishonestly, greed, ego, or other agendas. We look for patterns.

4.  High standards and expectations.

We don’t look at small, impotent Joint Ventures, and we expect our partners to be as     professional, production, and punctual as we are.

5.  Very selective whom they partner with.

We don’t deal with unknown people – we prefer to work on a referral basis. We do our due diligence and we’re careful with whom we associate.

6.  Specific requirements before considering a JV.

Simplicity, potential, time, risk, cost, integration possibilities, the people behind it and their track record and resources. We don’t leap blindly and emotionally into every new venture, because most of them are not good. They have to meet our standards to even be considered.

7.  Fast decisions, most of them “No.”

We don’t have to think about a Joint Venture for a long time – after getting the details, we make fast decisions. We stick to our commitments and get things in writing.

8.  Massive action taker.

We don’t sit around waiting for things to happen – we make them happen, follow up, make calls, take action, and WORK. We expect our Joint Venture partners to do the same.

9.  Professional, well-prepared, positive attitude.

We have high self-esteem and it is reflected in our grooming, dress, behavior, communication, the people with whom we mix, and our preparation and follow-up.

10.  Always learning and helping others.

We are generous, friendly, and straight-talking. We like helping others to help themselves and we’re always open to learning new things.

It’s like sugar in your gas tank, poison in your pop, the worm in your apple – the one flaw that can cripple even the best Joint Venture, and something to be avoided at all costs.

The reason why many newbies to Joint Venture brokering fail is their choice of Joint Venture partner. Because of their low self-esteem and confidence, along with their limited belief and low aspirations, they approach people by whom they don’t feel threatened. (This is the same reason why network marketing newbies try to recruit losers.)

Think about it:

When you try to set up Joint Ventures with copycats, counterfeits, wannabe’s, and “managers”, you’re not dealing with real decision makers.  Sycophants, sidekicks, mimics and morons cannot make a JV work – they don’t have what it takes. If they did, they would be the head honchos, the chiefs, the principals. But they’re not. They talk the talk, but they can’t walk the walk. They’re just parasites and pawns, and they with frustrate you and fail you.

Deal with the Top Guy

Smart JV Brokers know that the higher you go, the more you grow. Deal with the top guy, the president of the company, the real deal, and you will find your Joint Ventures flowing and flourishing.

• They make good decisions, which they make fast, and they can pay their way.
• They have a track record of success, and that is a clear prediction of their future with you.

Winners are generally generous and upfront – they will tell it like it is and practice what they preach – that’s how they got to be the owner of the business. The posers and pretenders will sabotage and scuttle your lucrative JV.

How to Access These Winners

The way to get to the top people is to create a really good, complete, professional presentation that requires no money, no risk, and little time from the other party, and pushes all the right buttons. It should be logical, short, and sweet, understandable, and concise.

Most of all. It needs to have high, residual potential. After all, the JV is about money, leverage, and results – it’s not about you, so don’t get your self-esteem or lack of experience slow you down and lower your expectations.

Go to the top dog, not the concierge. Pitch your JV with the focus on the bottom line and his or her interests – not your own. And stop trying to sell yourself – successful people don’t have to convince others that they are successful.

Here are a few red flag words that will chase off any winner:

• “Integrity” the bigger the loser, the more often he will use this word!
• “I am honest”
• “I will try / do my best”
• “If”
• “I hope / I guess”

If you have done your homework and you have the right training and support, you will speak easily and as an equal.

You may feel important by dealing with losers, but you will become important by dealing with winners.

Now I have the attention of tens of thousands of people who have their equity and savings tied up in real estate, and they’re worried if their cash flow is flowing too slowly.

If you’re not liquid, your options are limited, unless you make use of the one thing that will save you from selling your real estate at bargain basement, or even fire sale prices, and losing a heck of a lot on the bargain – IF you can sell them, that is… The best thing to do, as you very well know, is to hold on to those properties.

But the seminars and workshops and clubs you joined to tell you how to buy real estate never taught you how to do Joint Ventures.

Now before you indignantly leap off the couch and yell, “But we real estate investor geniuses do JV’s all the time!” let me qualify what I mean.

True Joint Ventures

I’m not talking about getting dumb people to put up their money and take all the risk while you blithely choose properties and play with their hard-earned cash, calling it a “Joint Venture”.

I’m talking about “No money, no risk, little time” JV’s that don’t involve the extreme risk of real estate, tenants, landlords, and things beyond even your control. And I’m not talking about real estate – I’m talking about leverage, and access in any industry, anywhere in the world, around the clock, to develop multiple income sources that produce 100% profit.

3 Steps to Get Turned in a Healthy Direction

1. The first step is to admit you have a problem before your bank manager calls you and says ominously, “We have to talk”.
2. The next step is to forget about real estate and take off the blinders. There are multiple alternative options.
3. And, thirdly, you have to learn what a JV is and how to do them.

That’s where yours truly comes in.  At Dollarmakers:

• we teach you how to leverage resources, access resources, create on-going value, and get paid for it, with NO risk or cost.
• we provide you with access to people who actually understand the process and are willing to pay, as well as the support you need.

Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

Don’t get me wrong, now. I love real estate. It has made me a lot of money. I own real estate. I’m not stupid.

…But I learned a long time ago not to put all my eggs in one basket or give away financial control to market and political forces and acts of god. Remember, I come from Africa, a very volatile continent, where we’re used to sudden change, crises, upheaval, and surprises.

You’re Already Perfectly Positioned to Broker

With your real estate business experience, you are well positioned to start brokering Joint Ventures immediately, thereby creating the cash flow to sustain and maintain your real estate holdings and wait out the storm. After all, those are the ones that get truly rich.

Parading around telling people that you’re a real estate millionaire is fine, given that you can actually sell your properties for what you believe they’re worth and that you can carry yourself during uncertain times and the inevitable cycles in the market. Pride comes before the fall.

Prevent the fall by diversifying quickly into a few solid yet lucrative, no cost, no risk JV’s, and before you know it the cycle will have turned, and you will be stronger than ever. More information at www.DollarMakers.com

What ten things should you look for to determine whether or not you should consider accepting a Joint Venture proposal? What criteria should you consider?

Here are some guidelines that I have used successfully over 22 years as a Joint Venture Broker.

1.    The Person:

Your potential JV partner needs to be thoroughly checked out and investigated before you JV with him or her. Look for clues and do your due diligence. Look at:

• whom they associate with,
• their level of professionalism and punctuality,
• their dress and grooming,
• preparation,
• philosophy,
• understanding of JV’s,
• and attitude.

Don’t be afraid to decline any JV at any stage – the more selective you are, the more money you will make.

Be sure who the real decision maker is – often it’s a spouse or lover or business partner behind the scenes, making the bullets for the front man to fire. ALWAYS, Only deal with the top guy, and never with the minions, managers, and puppets.

Don’t deal with new entrepreneurs who still have an employee mindset if you can avoid it.

2.    The Product of Service:

Avoid products that are really trends, fads, gimmicks, or new on the market, since these are usually vastly overpriced and will soon appear in Wal-Mart at a fraction of the price, which will embarrass you and diminish your reputation and status as a JV Broker.

They usually have a short lifespan, and people make money on the front end and pay for years on the back end for the damage done.

3.    The Past (history) of the Person and the Product or Service:

Past behavior predicts future behavior.

• How long has this person been doing JV’s?
• How long has the company and product been around?

Google, Google, Google, talk with their competition, and use a private detective if necessary.

Watch out for people who arrive new on the scene from far away – they’re often running away from something, or too many people know them in the town they left.

4.    The Pressure:

• Are you being pressured to implement it?
• Is your JV partner under financial pressure?

These are signs of desperation, and red flags to any JV Broker.

NEVER deal with a JV partner who has financial problems or is cheap (tight-fisted). You need confident, secure, relaxed, professional, mature JV Partners.

5.    The Potential of the JV Financially:

• How much money can you make?
• Is it really worth your time and effort?

Always include the back end and new relationships when evaluating the financial potential of a JV.

Look at the big picture, but also the time required and the cash flow component.

6.    The Potential of the JV Timewise:

• How long will it likely last?
• Is it a flash in the pan?
• Will it take ages to take off and then die a fast death?
• What is the track record, if any?

Avoid new inventions and start-ups like the plague.

7.    The Positioning or Fit within the Whole:

That means how it fits with your:

• other JV’s,
• database access,
• interest level,
• gut feel,
• your existing JV Partners,
• and experience.

You should feel comfortable, confident, excited, and secure with your new JV partners and the products / services involved. There should be a natural fit, especially on the back end.

8.   The Complexity:

• How Problematic is it?
• How complex, involved, convoluted, and abstruse is it?
• Or is it simple, straightforward, easy to implement and track?

Keep it very simple – often, the more complex, the more problems are being hidden. Complexity is often the sign of hidden dangers and agendas.

9.    The Pace:

• How quickly can you implement and integrate it with your other JV’s?
• How soon will it make you money?

Be realistic about your predictions.

10.    The Progress:

Once you have implemented the JV:

• …is it making progress?
• …are your JV partners doing what they said they would do?
• …is it working as well as you expected it to, or does it need to be either fixed or ditched?

Don’t be afraid to walk away at any time – you have millions of JV opportunities out there.