Bring back Capitalism to America and create JOBS!!

Wall Street has certainly made a HUGE mistake in undermining Americans.  We are a nation of do-ers, based on the principals of revolution.  We do not go away quietly nor sit down and lie dead waiting for others to revive us. America is changing - all by ourselves....We've had enough of lies and manipulations and we're taking the bull by the horns.


"Taking our future into our hands" should be our national anthem. America has to exchange places with China and go back to manufacturing.  We have to bring manufacturing back to the United States.  We're the nation that created the Assembly Line (developed by the Ford Motor Company).  We were the first nation to walk on the moon (Apollo 11 - July 20, 1969). Why is our credit rating as a nation downgrading?  Really?  We've been the best at everything because we put capitalism, innovation and business FIRST!  We're a nation of free-thinkers!


Giving businesses the tax incentives to do so would be a great start.  For instance, according to CNBC, the NUMBER 1 State in the United States to do business in is Virginia.  Virginia is a business - friendly state. Texas is 2nd.  These 2 states regularly battle for first and second place.  Ever wonder why nationally Texans live better than the rest of us?  The state has better business incentives and policies.  Texans aren't suffering the recession like the rest of us.  There's way less unemployment in Texas than the national average (8.4% in July '11 compared to 9.1% nationally).  Texas Governor Rick Perry’s claim that “40 percent … of all the jobs in America were created in Texas” since June 2009 is accurate.


I've been investigating the best business friendly states for my clients quite a bit lately.  The cost of doing business overseas and shipping goods to the United States has risen.  I've been assigned the task of discovering new ways of bringing manufacturing plants back to the United States AND keep them cost effective!!  I'll keep you all posted in my new discoveries....

How to invest in Music Concerts & Festivals

Artists are re-inventing themselves. CD sales are down.  Music is being pirated left and right.  So what's the logically BEST way for an Artist to make money? A Concert!! Fans have NO CHOICE but to pay to see and hear them perform. 

David Vincent of Sankeys in Manchester, England, told Manchester Evening News “Artists are holding a lot more concerts now as they are not making much money from records anymore, so arenas are a growth area."

In the past few years, Mega Concerts and Mega Concert Promoters, like AEG and Live Nation, have shown sluggish sales and lack of profits. However, smaller venues and established concert promoters are seeing quite the opposite.

I spoke with Joe Fletcher, an established concert promoter who has promoted Motley Crue, Rascal Flatts, B.B. King, Hilary Duff, Kelly Clarkson, Korn, Lynyrd Skynyrd, 50 Cent, Eminem, Le Ann Rimes, Black Eyed Peas, Jimmy Cliff, Tori Amos, Snoop Dogg, Ludicris, Clay Aiken, Alison Krauss, Ani Di Franco just to name a few. Joe Fletcher has over two decades of experience promoting concerts. Joe stated that smaller concert venues have been filling up quite nicely.  As he explained, in this economic recession,consumers still want to go out and enjoy themselves, but rather than paying a $150 ticket, they're willing to pay a $50 or $60 ticket to enjoy a nice evening out. 

Horror stories abound regarding unscrupulous promoters taking investor's money and dissappearing.  The key to concert investments is WHO you invest with.  Joe Fletcher is an estabished persona in the concert promotion arena and he has an impeccable record.  Artists respect him, business people respect him, and managers respect him. 

"Pie in the Sky returns" aren't realistic.  One story I read clearly stated that the promoter offered double the investor's money.  When the promoter couldn't pay, investors cried fowl. 

What is great about concert investing is that the investment is very short term, usually around 3 months.  EVERYONE including the Investor(s) gets paid the night of the concert.  Investments range from $25K through $100K, and promise returns of 10% to 15% (realistically).  That would mean that in a year's time, should an investor continue to invest every quarter in a new concert, an investor can make a 40% return, conservatively speaking. 

Concerts do have a lot of costs which include (first and foremost) the Talent (Artist) and the Venue.  Then there's the ticket sales, seating arrangement, insurance, catering, staffing, etc.  These arrangements are coordinated by the Concert Promoter.  This is why the right promoter is the key to making sure the concert is a success. 

Lesson for the Day:  It's not how much you invest, but WHO you invest with.