Today I got sad news that my corporate credit card was being cancelled from Advanta Business Card.  The Card had a a 50K limit and it was the card that I issued to key employees for purchasing.  Although we tended to use the card and pay it off monthly I thought about the small business owner that relied on this card exclusively in tough times to meet cash flow needs.

Advanta was a great company and even owned a leasing company which later became Marlin Leasing.  This is their final exit off the business stage and unfortunately might take a few hundred small business’s with them.

I am hearing almost daily on long established lines of credits being cancelled or a minimum being reduced.  Are we all having fun yet?

Thanks,

Tom

 For any small business trying to find new business and also create more awareness there is no better format than BNI.  In tough markets it is hard to stretch marketing dollars and BNI only costs a a few hundred dollars a year and you get a good meal.

 BNI also provides an excellent format to tell people about your business.  eLease has found some great vendors through this word of mouth marketing so find a chapter and see it work for yourself.

 Congratulations President-Elect Obama!

How many zeros in a billion?
This is too true to be funny. The next time you hear a politician use the
word ‘billion’ in a casual manner, think about
whether you want the ‘politicians’ spending
YOUR tax money. A billion is a difficult number to comprehend,
but one advertising agency did a good job of
putting that figure into some perspective in
one of it’s releases.
A.

A billion seconds ago it was 1959.B.
A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive .C.

A billion hours ago our ancestors were
living in the Stone Age.D.
A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.E.
A billion dollars ago was only
8 hours and 20 minutes,
at the rate our government

is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain…
let’s take a look at New Orleans …
It’s amazing what you can learn with some simple division.
Louisiana Senator,
Mary Landrieu (D)
is presently asking Congress for
250 BILLION DOLLARS
to rebuild New Orleans . Interesting number…
what does it mean?A.

Well… if you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans
(every man, woman, and child)
you each get $516,528. B.
Or… if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans, your home gets $1,329,787.C.

Or… if you are a family of four…
your family gets $2,066,012.Washington , D. C

< HELLO! >
Are all your calculators broken?? Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax

Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax < BR>Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inh erit ance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Tax
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service charge taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax (Truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Tax
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago..
and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt…
We had the largest middle class in the world…
and Mom stayed home to raise the kids. What happened?

Can you spell ‘politicians!’ And I still have to
press ‘1′
for English.

Theft - All businesses have problems with theft from grocery stores to banks. By installing surveillance cameras not only can you abate theft from outsiders, but you can curb internal theft.

Productivity - Wonder what your employees are doing all day? With surveillance cameras you can track productivity of your workers and work on improving the efficiency of your business.

The other reason companies get a surveillance system for their business is to have PEACE OF MIND.

Internet Viewable - Surveillance systems today allow the business owner to
view their business operations from another location. The owner could be on a business trip in China and still keep an eye on his business.

Multiple Locations - Some business owners have more than one location and can only be present at one location at a time. With security cameras, owners can monitor locations simultaneously.

No how do business owners pay for their new surveillance system?

There are many different ways to pay for equipment for your business. The first and most obvious is paying cash. Not all business owners have the budget to pay cash for a surveillance system. This brings us to financing:

Financing your security system is a great way to acquire your equipment without having to seriously impact your cash flow. Traditional loans with banks can be good when considering an interest rate. You will typically have to put down anywhere from 10%– 20%. Along with the hefty down payment, banks place a blanket lien on all company assets.

What if a business owner could get that brand new surveillance system to save money in the long run and for peace of mind at the same time not giving up interest in assets or having to put down a bunch of money? Equipment leasing is the solution. Equipment leasing is a way to finance your surveillance system 100% only having to put down the first and last payment upfront. The leasing company only holds a lien on the particular equipment you are acquiring not all assets of the company.

The top 5 reasons to lease the new surveillance system:

1. Cash Flow - Making monthly payments are much easier than coming out of pocket thousands of dollars. Let the equipment pay for itself instead of waiting years before you break-even.
2. Low Down Payment (100% financing) - Paying your first and last payment upfront is much easier than having to come out of pocket 10% or 20% for a traditional loan from a bank.
3. Service contracts for the surveillance system can be bundled into a lease so you have one low monthly payment.
4. Upgrading - Adding equipment to your lease agreement is extremely easy. All it takes is a one-page contract added to the original agreement.
5. Leasing allows “Up Selling” - Having a leasing company pay for equipment allows customers to get EVERYTHING that they need without having to take certain items out because they can not afford them. Adding additional equipment to the lease will not change the monthly payment significantly allowing it to stay within customers’ budget.

Software is only as good as the customization that adapts it to fully automate your business.  The money is well spent on finding a solution provider who can tailor the software to your needs.  It can a long time to great even on implementing software but with Leasing you have positive ROI within 30 days.  Leasing just doesn’t make cents it makes real dollars in terms of savings and creating new opportunities. 

Let us know if you have a unique software package you need for your new business.

Although we had not financed any boats in the past I was hopefully optimistic we could put the financing together at eLease.  When I learned more about the business and the insurance they needed to carry to operate the club I was very impressed and felt comfortable with the financing.  We structured a 36 month Equipment Finance Agreement which would allow them to payoff early and also gave them true ownership in the equipment which protects us in case of one of their members gets in an accident.  So in the end the situation was win win. 

 I especially like to finance different equipment because you learn so much about the equipment.  See you on the water!

Sure the economy is a bit rocky right now but I am sure Uncle Sam will find a way out!!  I was kidding but it seems Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain to the rescue!!!  Industry and the American spirit has always been the light in the dark tunnel and that light tends to come from entrepreneurs finding ways to capitalize on difficult times.  So happy belated birthday to Lady Liberty and to business owners over the US.  I hope you had a great 3 day weekend but it is now time to get back to work.  (If you did take the 3 days off)  You can have another day next Month!

I think back to 9/11 and the gas crisis of the seventies and the Vietnam war in my lifetime.�

The vendor and customer were thrilled but not as happy as Obama who locked up the delegates for the nomination of the Democratic Party.  eLease Equipment Leasing is a non-partisan company and are proud to say the Democratic State Committee of Connecticut is one of our customers.  Leasing and equipment finance is good for America and eLease is good for American business.

November is coming around the corner, by then we will know who our new President will be, our new customer will using their new equipment to grow and hopefully their won’t be $4.00 gas at the pump.  The customer also said he would help the voters in South Florida with the voting machines!  Just Kidding.  What a great country!   Congrats Mr. Obama.