I just set up a twitter account, username is raymondhbarton so you can follow me on a daily basis. I will be tweeting about business, The economy, personal goals, what I am up to, meetings etc., which should give you a good idea of how I operate, what new developments are on the horizon, and what type of person I am as well as some little tidbits of info about what I have learned, hopefully teaching something and creating an interesting read. This allows you all to get an inside peek at the operation and how I build companies as an entrepreneur.
I know you are probably thinking I have a blown up ego to think that people give a crap what I'm doing on a daily basis, but really I'm just trying to put myself out there as much as I can because people seem to appreciate it. I won't be insulted if nobody follows me :)
Of course I'll still be blogging, and answering emails, message board posts, so everyone keep in touch!
Have a great weekend,
Raymond Barton
Friday, August 13, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Rule #1 : Start Small, But Think Big
I have been compiling rules that I live by as a CEO. Many of these I picked up through the years and learned some through difficult real world lessons. From time to time I'm going to outline one of them to give you all a deeper insight to how I run a business.
Today's rule:
1.Start Small But Think Big:
You can’t conquer the world over night, you need to start out within the constraints you have and have a plan to grow your business as revenue picks up. However, think BIG and set your sites high. Chances are that wherever you set your sights, you’ll end up ¾ of the way there.
Entrepreneurs often make the mistake of coming out of the gate really big. What I've learned throughout the years is that unless you have a lot of experience in the exact business (as is often not the case with entrepreneurs), then you will need to debug and "beta" test your business strategy. You can't do this if you are in the national spotlight. by starting small, you can change what doesn't work, and increase what does, then as you refine your model, the sky is the limit.
The second part of this lesson is that a lot of entrepreneurs start small and think small. They start a local company with their sites set on being the biggest such company in their town or county. The problem with this is that you will never (most likely) be any bigger than that small goal you set for yourself.
What I do is start small and local, but think national, or even global. this way I have time to refine my strategy but plan and grow as big as possible. This is clear in the acquisition of Global Media, our distribution company. I bought a small distribution company which gave me A++ ratings on all the retail sites, over two years of positive customer service rankings and all we needed to do was change the focus from small to huge. Now we are ramping up the inventory levels and can become a distribution giant as long as we increase the inventory enough.
My number one rule is start small but think BIG. It will never fail you.
Thank You,
Raymond Barton
Today's rule:
1.Start Small But Think Big:
You can’t conquer the world over night, you need to start out within the constraints you have and have a plan to grow your business as revenue picks up. However, think BIG and set your sites high. Chances are that wherever you set your sights, you’ll end up ¾ of the way there.
Entrepreneurs often make the mistake of coming out of the gate really big. What I've learned throughout the years is that unless you have a lot of experience in the exact business (as is often not the case with entrepreneurs), then you will need to debug and "beta" test your business strategy. You can't do this if you are in the national spotlight. by starting small, you can change what doesn't work, and increase what does, then as you refine your model, the sky is the limit.
The second part of this lesson is that a lot of entrepreneurs start small and think small. They start a local company with their sites set on being the biggest such company in their town or county. The problem with this is that you will never (most likely) be any bigger than that small goal you set for yourself.
What I do is start small and local, but think national, or even global. this way I have time to refine my strategy but plan and grow as big as possible. This is clear in the acquisition of Global Media, our distribution company. I bought a small distribution company which gave me A++ ratings on all the retail sites, over two years of positive customer service rankings and all we needed to do was change the focus from small to huge. Now we are ramping up the inventory levels and can become a distribution giant as long as we increase the inventory enough.
My number one rule is start small but think BIG. It will never fail you.
Thank You,
Raymond Barton
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Rule #9 : Hire People Smarter Than You
I have been compiling rules that I live by as a CEO. Many of these I picked up through the years and learned some through difficult real world lessons. From time to time I'm going to outline one of them to give you all a deeper insight to how I run a business.
Today's rule is number nine, Hire people who are smarter than you.
9.Hire people smarter than yourself:
A confident leader realizes that hiring people who are smarter than they are or better at certain tasks will bring even more success to the project and the leader gets just as much credit for bringing the talented personnel on in the first place. They may be smarter than you when it comes to the task at hand, but would they have been creative enough and brave enough to hire themselves if they were in your shoes?
I found myself CEO of a public company at age 25. My COO was a 52 years old lawyer and my CTO was a 35 year old [brilliant] engineer. I remember feeling threatened as all hell and really wishing they weren't around to point out my deficiencies. Out of the gate I am embarrassed to say I was looking for a reason to can them both. But, as the project went on, I was thanking my lucky stars to have them. lesson learned. Many leaders steer clear of anyone they think has skills in areas they are deficient. Some leaders are afraid to face the fact that they have flaws at all. That's when projects fall apart.
The few leaders that are not afraid to hire someone who's knowledge or creativity may match or exceed their own, are the leaders who succeed. I always give my people proper credit and always go to bat for them so they don't feel they have to try to outshine me to investors or superiors. This allows me to get the job done in the best way, and take credit for it too. After all I was the one that hired (or supported) them wasn't I? I also recognize leaders within my organization who are bold enough to give credit to their subordinates when credit is due. This behavior is rewarded and it should be.
Never be afraid to hire and give support to those who may be better than you at certain skills, as their leader you get as much credit for choosing them as they get for a job well done.
Thank You
Raymond Barton
Today's rule is number nine, Hire people who are smarter than you.
9.Hire people smarter than yourself:
A confident leader realizes that hiring people who are smarter than they are or better at certain tasks will bring even more success to the project and the leader gets just as much credit for bringing the talented personnel on in the first place. They may be smarter than you when it comes to the task at hand, but would they have been creative enough and brave enough to hire themselves if they were in your shoes?
I found myself CEO of a public company at age 25. My COO was a 52 years old lawyer and my CTO was a 35 year old [brilliant] engineer. I remember feeling threatened as all hell and really wishing they weren't around to point out my deficiencies. Out of the gate I am embarrassed to say I was looking for a reason to can them both. But, as the project went on, I was thanking my lucky stars to have them. lesson learned. Many leaders steer clear of anyone they think has skills in areas they are deficient. Some leaders are afraid to face the fact that they have flaws at all. That's when projects fall apart.
The few leaders that are not afraid to hire someone who's knowledge or creativity may match or exceed their own, are the leaders who succeed. I always give my people proper credit and always go to bat for them so they don't feel they have to try to outshine me to investors or superiors. This allows me to get the job done in the best way, and take credit for it too. After all I was the one that hired (or supported) them wasn't I? I also recognize leaders within my organization who are bold enough to give credit to their subordinates when credit is due. This behavior is rewarded and it should be.
Never be afraid to hire and give support to those who may be better than you at certain skills, as their leader you get as much credit for choosing them as they get for a job well done.
Thank You
Raymond Barton
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Customer Service Failure
I have to say that I am very surprised with godaddy.com! having been a customer for years, I have always experienced great customer service. Well that has changed.
Today our websites went down. The message gave the impression that it was a problem with our account but after logging in to the account, there was no problem evident. My assumption was that the bank denied the charge as they sometimes do with hosting companies lately, but it all appeared fine. In fact, our most recent bill went through this morning at 10:30am!
We were told by customer service to wait two hours to "see if it goes back up." Now, I don't know about you, but I think it is absolutely incredible to ask a business to wait two hours to "see" if their site goes back up. Needless to say after four hours and five tech support guys, one of them finally knew enough to flip some switch and bring it back online. The CYA factor was running high too as he stuttered and struggled to come up with an answer that made it our fault, or at least made it not a result of incompetence.
What's worse is that I've seen this more and more lately with a lot of companies sending customer service overseas to India and Pakistan. it's absolutely painful to call Dell or Verizon anymore. Even a call to Kinkos this morning had me on voice-mail for over 20 minutes! Incredible!
I know as much as anyone that mistakes happen, and that's OK. But, when your customer service people take the easy out and guess, then lie about it, you have failed as a company.
Godaddy, Shame on you!
Raymond Barton
Today our websites went down. The message gave the impression that it was a problem with our account but after logging in to the account, there was no problem evident. My assumption was that the bank denied the charge as they sometimes do with hosting companies lately, but it all appeared fine. In fact, our most recent bill went through this morning at 10:30am!
We were told by customer service to wait two hours to "see if it goes back up." Now, I don't know about you, but I think it is absolutely incredible to ask a business to wait two hours to "see" if their site goes back up. Needless to say after four hours and five tech support guys, one of them finally knew enough to flip some switch and bring it back online. The CYA factor was running high too as he stuttered and struggled to come up with an answer that made it our fault, or at least made it not a result of incompetence.
What's worse is that I've seen this more and more lately with a lot of companies sending customer service overseas to India and Pakistan. it's absolutely painful to call Dell or Verizon anymore. Even a call to Kinkos this morning had me on voice-mail for over 20 minutes! Incredible!
I know as much as anyone that mistakes happen, and that's OK. But, when your customer service people take the easy out and guess, then lie about it, you have failed as a company.
Godaddy, Shame on you!
Raymond Barton
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Short term goals VS long term goals
I was looking through the humorous and some times psychotic forum post for a lot of pinksheet companies, when it occurred to me that I would like to address a few things in my blog. The most important thing is that if you check the stock price of a pinksheet more than once per day, not only are you setting yourself up for irritation, but you are missing the point of the investment.
Most pinksheet companies are a long term bet. We are all betting that in the long term (1 to 2 years), The company's businesses will far outperform expectations and the PPS will closer reflect the companies real market cap and value. I mean, lets look at the facts:
1-In most cases, we know we are in for much more dilution.
2-In most cases, we know that updated financials are not happening tomorrow
3-Usually we know that the firm's business strategies are being put into place one at a time.
Now, knowing those things, we would be crazy to expect anything but a huge spike followed by low PPS for a good time after that. This in mind, If we invested in the company, we must feel that:
1-The companies business model(s) are sound and being effected properly
2-The Management team is experienced and talented
3-There is a track record of success in public markets
4-The company does generate revenue already
5-The company has some extreme advantages in model and personnel over competitors
6-The leader has the shareholders interest in mind (I truly do)
7-The factor holding the PPS down will eventually end (the debt conversions)
This tells us (or any informed investor) that we should expect HUGE things down the road. But, not now. A pinksheet play is usually a dual investment strategy. First is to get in early and take advantage of the huge spike. Second is more "long term". Now, in a long term investment, you accumulate as much as you can over the growth period to cash in on the long term win. I would never tell anyone to buy a pinksheet company unless you have that money to burn because of the risk factors, but If I was investing in a company that had the outline above, any day it dipped below my buy-in price, I would see as a sale, and I would accumulate more!
Again, let me re-iterate. I am NOT telling anyone to buy into dipping pinks. If you are considering a pinksheet investment, then you should consult a financial advisor to see if you can lose the investment (you must always assume a sub penny stock will be lost). I am just giving my opinion on strategy. When something you want goes on sale, you buy it. Economics 101 : buy low, sell high.
I hope this information is useful and i hope you all follow my advice.
Raymond Barton
Most pinksheet companies are a long term bet. We are all betting that in the long term (1 to 2 years), The company's businesses will far outperform expectations and the PPS will closer reflect the companies real market cap and value. I mean, lets look at the facts:
1-In most cases, we know we are in for much more dilution.
2-In most cases, we know that updated financials are not happening tomorrow
3-Usually we know that the firm's business strategies are being put into place one at a time.
Now, knowing those things, we would be crazy to expect anything but a huge spike followed by low PPS for a good time after that. This in mind, If we invested in the company, we must feel that:
1-The companies business model(s) are sound and being effected properly
2-The Management team is experienced and talented
3-There is a track record of success in public markets
4-The company does generate revenue already
5-The company has some extreme advantages in model and personnel over competitors
6-The leader has the shareholders interest in mind (I truly do)
7-The factor holding the PPS down will eventually end (the debt conversions)
This tells us (or any informed investor) that we should expect HUGE things down the road. But, not now. A pinksheet play is usually a dual investment strategy. First is to get in early and take advantage of the huge spike. Second is more "long term". Now, in a long term investment, you accumulate as much as you can over the growth period to cash in on the long term win. I would never tell anyone to buy a pinksheet company unless you have that money to burn because of the risk factors, but If I was investing in a company that had the outline above, any day it dipped below my buy-in price, I would see as a sale, and I would accumulate more!
Again, let me re-iterate. I am NOT telling anyone to buy into dipping pinks. If you are considering a pinksheet investment, then you should consult a financial advisor to see if you can lose the investment (you must always assume a sub penny stock will be lost). I am just giving my opinion on strategy. When something you want goes on sale, you buy it. Economics 101 : buy low, sell high.
I hope this information is useful and i hope you all follow my advice.
Raymond Barton
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
######### Scam Alert ##########
**********************************************
DON'T BE FOOLED BY THIS CLEVER SCAM !
**********************************************
I just wanted to warn everyone that a group out of the Czech Republic is calling up shareholders, and offering to buy their stock at an inflated price saying that they are attempting to collect 51% ownership. I have had several reports so far and in all cases the name and company used can be traced back to eastern European countries. These predators are trying to get your banking info and Identity and if they can, they will wipe you out.
The most recent scammer to surface is Washington Roberts Management
which traces back to: 5th Flr. Nagano Park II, U Nakladoveho Nadrazi 8, 130 00 Prague 3 Czech Republic
Here is an article about a similar scam. this is just a slightly different twist on it: Click here
Be very skeptical of anyone offering you more than market price for your shares, they are trying to rip you off.
Thank you
Raymond Barton
DON'T BE FOOLED BY THIS CLEVER SCAM !
**********************************************
I just wanted to warn everyone that a group out of the Czech Republic is calling up shareholders, and offering to buy their stock at an inflated price saying that they are attempting to collect 51% ownership. I have had several reports so far and in all cases the name and company used can be traced back to eastern European countries. These predators are trying to get your banking info and Identity and if they can, they will wipe you out.
The most recent scammer to surface is Washington Roberts Management
which traces back to: 5th Flr. Nagano Park II, U Nakladoveho Nadrazi 8, 130 00 Prague 3 Czech Republic
Here is an article about a similar scam. this is just a slightly different twist on it: Click here
Be very skeptical of anyone offering you more than market price for your shares, they are trying to rip you off.
Thank you
Raymond Barton
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Business Brokerage in the USA
Hello all,
I am really excited about the launch of my online business broker training program last week, and just wanted to list a few points regarding why Business Brokerage is such a huge opportunity.
First off, with the current economic conditions in the US two things are happening:
1) Older people have had a rough go of it and want to retire.
2) Younger people need to aquire a job for themselves, and buy a business rather than live off of savings.
There's also just generational timing. It just so happens that the previous generation is ready to get out of business and a younger generation is old enough to fill their shoes. Now, these seller's need to run their business efficiently more than ever and they just do not have the time to filter through many "tire-kickers" like they use to. So how can they get a decent price for their business? By using a broker. For this reason, the industry is blowing up. It's just mind blowing how many business owners are looking to sell, and how many buyers respond to business for sale ads. These things are coming together so that business brokers can easily line up buyers, and charge 10% to 12% commissions easily.
There is more you should know about the business:
1-There are only about .5% as many business brokers as their are real estate agents, so competition is null.
2-In all but 16 states their is NO license necissary to broker businesses, just knowledge, which we have.
3-Since business brokerage is commission only, you can build your book without losing unemployment benefits.
4-Their an unlimited ceiling on how much money you can earn as a business broker.
So how to be a broker? Well in the past you had two choices:
1) Get a mentor - typically you would need a friend with experience to take you under their wing and teach you the business in the field. This time-consuming method would have you working for months and months without closing a deal.
2) Take a course/seminar: Typically offered as three to eight day seminars running $3000 and up, learning the business this way is expensive and non effective. I mean, how much can you gain from sleeping in the back of a packed auditorium while some droning broker reads from a lesson plan.
Well now there's our Business Broker's Online University, BizBrokerSchool.com. A new prospective broker can take the online courses and learn on their own time. There's a quiz at the end of each chapter so they anchor that new info into their brain. After the fifteen courses, the candidate takes the final exam at the end, and immediately upon completion our specially designed starter kit is in the mail. The new broker gets everything he/she needs including a four week sales plan and a contract to sign on as an independently contracted broker with us. As a Broker, the benefits are clear too:
1-80% payout, the highest in the industry.
2-Access to a proprietary MLS type system.
3-Access to marketing materials, brochures, business cards etc.
4-Being part of the most progressive business brokerage company in the world.
5-online support.
6-Much More.
The exciting part is that brokers are signing up everyday. That means Northstar coverage in new states on a daily basis proving that we are the fastest growing business brokerage in the world. With each new broker, comes new listings and potential commissions making us grow daily.
Another great aspect of this is that we are providing a service that is truly helping people in two ways.
1-We are helping business owners get a great price for their business, and even sometimes saving them from collapsing.
2-We are helping people build a career that they can be proud of and make a future for their families.
So you can see why I am so excited about what we are doing. Positive after positive, it's just one great thing after another. Remember, there is no number one in business brokerage, no Century21 or Remax. The industry is wide-open and nobody can delivery like us. The upside for new brokers is unimaginable. Food for thought.
Thank you,
Raymond Barton
I am really excited about the launch of my online business broker training program last week, and just wanted to list a few points regarding why Business Brokerage is such a huge opportunity.
First off, with the current economic conditions in the US two things are happening:
1) Older people have had a rough go of it and want to retire.
2) Younger people need to aquire a job for themselves, and buy a business rather than live off of savings.
There's also just generational timing. It just so happens that the previous generation is ready to get out of business and a younger generation is old enough to fill their shoes. Now, these seller's need to run their business efficiently more than ever and they just do not have the time to filter through many "tire-kickers" like they use to. So how can they get a decent price for their business? By using a broker. For this reason, the industry is blowing up. It's just mind blowing how many business owners are looking to sell, and how many buyers respond to business for sale ads. These things are coming together so that business brokers can easily line up buyers, and charge 10% to 12% commissions easily.
There is more you should know about the business:
1-There are only about .5% as many business brokers as their are real estate agents, so competition is null.
2-In all but 16 states their is NO license necissary to broker businesses, just knowledge, which we have.
3-Since business brokerage is commission only, you can build your book without losing unemployment benefits.
4-Their an unlimited ceiling on how much money you can earn as a business broker.
So how to be a broker? Well in the past you had two choices:
1) Get a mentor - typically you would need a friend with experience to take you under their wing and teach you the business in the field. This time-consuming method would have you working for months and months without closing a deal.
2) Take a course/seminar: Typically offered as three to eight day seminars running $3000 and up, learning the business this way is expensive and non effective. I mean, how much can you gain from sleeping in the back of a packed auditorium while some droning broker reads from a lesson plan.
Well now there's our Business Broker's Online University, BizBrokerSchool.com. A new prospective broker can take the online courses and learn on their own time. There's a quiz at the end of each chapter so they anchor that new info into their brain. After the fifteen courses, the candidate takes the final exam at the end, and immediately upon completion our specially designed starter kit is in the mail. The new broker gets everything he/she needs including a four week sales plan and a contract to sign on as an independently contracted broker with us. As a Broker, the benefits are clear too:
1-80% payout, the highest in the industry.
2-Access to a proprietary MLS type system.
3-Access to marketing materials, brochures, business cards etc.
4-Being part of the most progressive business brokerage company in the world.
5-online support.
6-Much More.
The exciting part is that brokers are signing up everyday. That means Northstar coverage in new states on a daily basis proving that we are the fastest growing business brokerage in the world. With each new broker, comes new listings and potential commissions making us grow daily.
Another great aspect of this is that we are providing a service that is truly helping people in two ways.
1-We are helping business owners get a great price for their business, and even sometimes saving them from collapsing.
2-We are helping people build a career that they can be proud of and make a future for their families.
So you can see why I am so excited about what we are doing. Positive after positive, it's just one great thing after another. Remember, there is no number one in business brokerage, no Century21 or Remax. The industry is wide-open and nobody can delivery like us. The upside for new brokers is unimaginable. Food for thought.
Thank you,
Raymond Barton
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