The President probably thinks he is trying to do good things for America. He is not a dumb guy. He is simply clueless as to what are some important elements that have made America great. His early years were surrounded by people and circumstance that were not part of the American dream.

The sequel to Dumb and Dumber would focus on his clueless strategy concerning jobs, credit and all money matters. The only real job mentioned in his biography was dipping ice cream cones at Baskin Robbins. This can hardly be rated as a fertile training ground for the future Commander in Chief of the greatest military organization in the world.

Nowhere is his biography is there any indication that he ever learned how to read a balance sheet. This probably has something to do with his frequent inane attempts to demonstrate leadership in the recent debt limit hassle. Someone should work with him on a balance sheet before expecting an understanding why a balanced budget amendment deserves a bit of serious consideration. Every State except Vermont requires that a balanced budget be produced every year concerning the operation of State government. Can 49 States all be wrong? i don’t think so.

The President is absolutely clueless as to the qualities of leadership required to lead any kind of sizable organization. He speaks about issues using passionate generalities without substance or direction to achieve goals .He simply has no clue as to the steps a leader takes in crises.

A leader takes action in those areas that are troubled in his (or her) organization. The financial advisors to Obama have failed. A leader would show them gently to the exit door and replace them with more competent new advisers. No true leader would allow Tim Geithner to have his job for longer than it would take to have the Capital police to “courteously but quickly” supervise the movement of him and his personal goods out of government responsibility.

Becoming a leader requires exposure to leaders in the formative years of life. This is true of almost every skill in life. It would be a singularly unusual ballplayer that made it to the majors, two years after he played in his first game on a Little League Field. We are an unusual country. We have elected a President to pitch in the major league who doesn’t even know how many innings there are in the game. The President obviously was influenced in his early years by experiences that had little to offer in leadership training or an understanding of the American opportunity.

It will be hard to find humor in the Clueless and Cluelesser sequel to Dumb and Dumber,
Humor in the script might be possible after the change in office takes place about 18 months from now.

There is no doubt that Jimmy Carter will be the single greatest beneficiary of the Obama administration

The debt limit fiasco in DC has me searching for information from every possible knowledgeable source I know. I have been trying to figure out just what effect a failure to increase the debt limit would have on business, particularly on small business.

In talking to one of my most astute financial friends (Wharton educated) who has been successfully trading stock for 50 years I came away with a new perspective. He said to me that the market is telling him that a deal is about to be made between the House and the Senate.

I scoffed a bit and asked how the market knew that a deal was imminent, when Fox , MSNBC and CNN. And other sources were not reporting this fact. His answer was that “someone in the financial sector always knows and that is why the market is not dropping like a rock. The several hundred point drop in the DOW will give the insiders a chance to profit significantly when the announcement is publicly made concerning the raise in the debt limit”.

Pushing a bit but remaining respectful of his long success I asked for theories as to how this advance information could happen. With a tone of dismissal I was told,” it is not important to know how it was done, the first step is to understand that the financial sector works hard to get advance knowledge. Maybe they are using carrier pigeons?”

In 1815 Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo by the British. The outcome was important to the financial community, since a British victory would cause a rise in value of British Gilts(debt). If Napoleon won, those gilts would decrease in value.

Nathan Rothschild had representatives at Waterloo who released carrier pigeons which flew back to the Rothschild offices in London with the news of the British victory. Nathan used this information to quickly buy all the British Gilts he could locate. He knew of the victory one day before the government found out they had won. The pigeon express increased the Rothschild wealth by about 10 fold.

I’m not sure if Wall Street is using pigeons to get the latest news on the Debt Ceiling crises. We’ll have to watch the DOW to get the true picture, according to my friend

There is no doubt that the President has entered the debt limit debate for political purposes and no other reason. He has stepped in front of the TV cameras time and time again to announce his opposition to every plan proposed by his opponents. He has castigated the conservative effort to tame a run away government. He has cast the Tea Party element of the Republican House majority as irresponsible and guilty of proposing program cuts in spending that will turn the aged out on the streets with no support for the problems attendant with aging.

The President has not participated by proposing a plan. There is no proposal by his party as to a path to solution. Barack Obama stands as a barrier to solution with no offering of an alternative to the impasse over debt limits. His plan is to obstruct a solution for the purposes of placing blame on the Republicans on the impasse so that he can step in at the last minute with a proposed solution.

I have never been in a negotiation that approaches this level of importance. I however, have spent a life and a career negotiating deals of some size and complicated structure. No deal can be negotiated successfully unless you are willing to walk away from the table when the other size is duplicitous in their tactics. When the Speaker of the House walked away from the negotiations last Friday I gave him a big Hoorah. One person understood the need for honesty of purpose in the negotiations so important to our Nation’s future.

The problem we are facing as a nation is that honesty of purpose, respect of opponents position and clear statement of principle on only one side of the table does not work.

Obama does not have the experience to handle this level of negotiation.. Determination to preserve this great nation is not a top priority of Obama . He is proving by his actions that self advancement is his most important goal.

Barack has continuously called for leadership in the House to come up with a solution. He doesn’t even understand that the President’s job is to lead.

What happened to our country that this Obamination is our President and many Americans still leave an Obama sticker on the bumper. Have we all lost our way?

The bi-partisan “Gang of Six” Senate committee working on the debt ceiling has come up with a plan that appears to be moving towards a settlement of the issue.

It looks like the Amoeba syndrome has attacked the Republican Party. This is the lack of backbone on the issue. The proposal promises cuts in various government programs that theoretically will produce significant budget cuts over a 10 year period. For this promise the debt ceiling raise will be passed.

The conversation over the plan indicates that Congress is gathering forces on both side of the aisle to pass a proposal based on the “Gang of Six” solution being offered.

The time frame is such that clearly defined and agreed cut in the entitlement programs cannot be structured in time to meet the August deadline described as the drop dead date for U.S. default on the debt. This pronouncement of impending default was made by Harry Reid Democratic Majority leader of the Senate.

Reid cries default with no plan for the use of the $180 billion that the government will receive in August. Default is not an issue except in the fear mongering strategy of Reid and Obama in their push for a settlement which includes an increase in revenues as their major point of immobile requirements.

There is yet no list of cuts in the spending side of the debate being submitted by either Reid or the President. Increased tax revenues and an increased debt ceiling are the only clearly defined part of the administrations stance on the debate that has been placed on the table.

My predication is that there will be a settlement which does not check the wanton spending of this administration. More debt and bigger government will be hidden behind a cloud of relief by Republican leadership as they kick the can of fiscal responsibility down the road to a future generation. I am sure that behind closed doors Obama and his minions are smiling with the growing certainty that the path to their goals is being defined by the oppositions lack of courage on the critical issues. Higher taxes and more debt are the mileposts of the Progressive Movement led by the President.

The President has repeatedly talked about default if the debt limit is not raised. He further has threatened to withhold Social Security payments. He has yet to threaten to stop paying the military but that probably is next in line of his strategy to move America one more step down the road of clueless fiscal management.

He is obviously willing to play blind mans bluff in his quest for reelection. If the debt ceiling is not raised Obama will have to participate in an activity for which he obviously has neither talent or experience. He will have to face something that anyone who has a small business(or even a big business) must face constantly and that is cash flow management. This management skill has been honed by many entrepreneurs during the Geitner, Obama regency. Banks no longer look upon the risk of lending to small business as part of the banking business. If you know a small business person who has grown in the Obama years you know someone who has managed cash flow with limited or no credit support from banks. Obama has obviously not faced the responsibility of cash flow management anywhere in his life experience

The default threat is baloney as is much of his commentary on the situation. My research indicates an expectation that the federal government will receive $180 billion dollars in income in August. Our creditors expect payment of $50 Billion in interest on the debt. Pay the interest to avoid default. Social Security requires $30 billion in payments. Pay Social Security to avoid a hypertension epidemic among our elderly population. The military and other critical personnel require about $40 billion. ** Pay the military to avoid being attacked by Yemen or some other belligerent power.

That leaves about $60 billion to spread around where it will be most useful. There will have to be cuts and layoffs and real pain, but like any operation ‘”you gotta do what you gotta do.”

My favorite restaurant cut all staff hours by 10% last week because business is slow and cash flow doesn’t meet the operating requirements. Should the government do less if the debt ceiling isn’t raised. With nearly $200 billion a month coming into government coffers, shouldn’t the administration structure a budget like my favorite restaurant and every small business that is well run.

That type of budget, Mr. President, is one that is called balanced. The business schools at Penn(Wharton) Northwestern(Kellogg) or even Stanford would be happy to send a professor quietly through the back door of the White House to give you some tutoring in this concept, which is obviously foreign to you.

While we are talking budgets Mr. President. Where are your suggestions balanced or otherwise. It seems we haven’t seen any. Maybe before the Wharton professors we need someone to introduce you to Microsoft Excel and start at the very beginning of laying out a fiscally responsible administration.

** Budget numbers in this post have been provided by Whitehead Research

The President indicated that he might withhold Social Security payments in August as a result of the debt limit not being raised. I have been trying to figure the difference between such handling of the Social Security funding and the way Bernie Madoff handled his investor’s money.

Bernie took investors money with the promise of excellent returns. He used the funds for personal gain for years. He was caught and is in jail forever for misrepresenting the use of funds and taking peoples money for various purposes other than prudent investments.

For decades I with millions of Americans have been required to contribute a portion of my income to the Social Security Administration. We have been assured that our money and Social Security in general would be managed in a fashion to insure the availability of funds to pay a monthly stipend to ease the financial requirements of retirement.

I was led to believe that the management of the public’s monthly investment into Social Security would be managed independently from the General Fund. The continued contributions of those working would assure the monthly payment to retired citizens based on a schedule established by their working contributions over decades of employment.

If I used the retirement funds of my employees for personal projects and was unable to pay them because of misuse of funds, I would probably wind up in the slammer with Bernie.

The Presidents threat is duplicitous on several levels. To use a threat against the elderly to gain political advantage is hateful. If he holds back the Social Security payments and blames Cantor, and the Republicans he will have moved political discourse to a despicable level not seen in my lifetime.

I wonder what action, concerning the misuse of my investment funds into Social Security, are available to the general public? The misuse of Social Security funds seems to be an even more egregious crime than that committed by Bernie Madoff. Bernie’s victims had a choice with their money and made a bad choice as to where to place their investment. The American public has no choice when it comes to Social Security. It is a required contribution and moves the government actions in the matter to a level of even greater unconscionable behavior than that of Madoff.

Brand Loyalty and Groupon

Groupon received a server outage and the results to Groupon’s sales has been described as staggering. It seems that the Groupon faithful are not so faithful if the offer does not come to them via email. It seems that although the offers were still valid however they required confirmation by going to the Groupon site

Gigaom.com covered the issue in detail and reached the following conclusion.

**“the brand almost means nothing; it’s all about the subscriber.” Subscribers, it seems, are willing to consider deals that come to them, but aren’t necessarily willing to do the legwork to track them down themselves, even if it means the relatively pain-free task of visiting the Groupon site. I don’t know if this affects Groupon’s fate as its IPO approaches, but it certainly says something about the fickleness of its customers’ buying habits”

It is a conclusion that is no surprise to me. Brand loyalty is not part of the coupon collecting, discount seeking purchaser The depth of the discount is the driving factor in the purchase. Quality and customer service are not purchase requirements of the coupon holding customer.

Groupon, Living Social and their deep discount imitators using the Internet to promote their discount deals are not the way to build a business. They are taking advantage of our current national economic woes offering false hope and expectations to businesses that are suffering slow sales of services and products.

The customers attracted by Groupon are seldom going to meet the expectations of the participating merchant in creating an expanded customer base.

Brand loyalty is developed by providing a customer base with a quality product and excellent customer service. That cannot happen with 50% discounts attached. The basic business metrics are still valid despite the current excitement of product give-away advertised on the web by Groupon and others.

** The quote used is from an interesting article which can be read completely at the GIGAOM.com site

A dream is often the way many successful businesses start. The entrepreneur often first spends some time simply dreaming about taking an idea and turning it into a successful business. Talking about the dream is often met with dismissive statements from friends and relatives such as “you’re a dreamer, that will never happen.”

The dream will probably never happen as long as it remains in the dream state. The dream starts to move to reality when it is written down and goals for implementation are committed to a business plan. The dreams needs to move from a mental exercise to a written outline containing needed financial, personnel and material requirements as well as a detailed outline of short term and longer term goals.

The third step in the dream conversion kit is the move to action. Dreaming is done, goals and schedules are laid out in the business plan and now it is time to enter the field and start to play the game. Without action implementation it is a easy to slip back into dream state.

The three steps in the successful entrepreneur story are:
First- The Dream.
Second- Set goals
Third – Take Action

There are dozens of books that detail each step in starting a business over many pages. Moving to the action phase is delayed in many cases by spending time reading all the preparation details written by the so called “experts”. Get you plan together with goals set and move to action without spending excessive time and money reading about how others think you should start your business. Getting started is the key. The problems will be there whether you have spent months or years preparing. If the dream was a good one success will come as you will work through those problems to reach your goals

So you have a great idea. You’ve researched the market. Your idea is something needed that people will buy. You have tested the idea with friends and relatives and a few are willing to give some financial support. You are ready to roll and are about to start your new business. There are a few things that you now need to indelibly enter into your plan.

Knowing How to Handle a NO.

You will receive NO as the answer to many of your efforts to obtain financial support and early sales. Expect to hear that no many times and realize that is is the easy, first answer for most folks when they are asked to take a risk by supporting you.

I always looked upon no as a rejection of my presentation not a dismissal of my idea or project. After every no ,the first thing I would do would be to rethink the explanation I had used in describing my plan, why I needed support and what the benefit would be to the individual or company to whom I was making a pitch.
After reviewing and reworking a presentation I would try again, often with the same entity that had already said no.
I operated on the premise that a NO was for now – not forever.

No simply meant to me that I needed simply to do some more work on the presentation of my great idea and emphasize the benefits that a supporter would receive.

Failure as a Step to Success

Your start up idea is great but certain parts of the design keep failing. The failure of a part is simply a step in the plan that needs work. Assuming that your idea is sound and something that will sell, the failure is simply another part of the job that needs to be worked through. Each time you move through the failed part you have taken another step towards success. This is simply a variation of the technique needed in handling a NO.

Persistence

.Persistence is the single most important element that is needed in the makeup of an entrepreneur. Ignoring the naysayer and working through the failed part of your idea requires persistence. If you keep trying the answer will be found. Maybe it will take longer than a sought after comfort level but persistence is the primary road map direction to success.

Risk Taking
You may think that starting a business is the biggest risk involved. This is almost never the case. In the early stages of your operation an event will occur that requires a risky decision to be made. In every business there is a need to weigh a risk-reward ratio. If the risk taken is successful will the benefits be worth the cost of the risk. Every entrepreneur faces this moment and it is the moment of truth in business . Every successful start up has reached that point because the entrepreneur understands that risk taking is part of the deal and handling those risks intelligently combined with boldness of purpose is the test to receive a passing grade on that road to success.

These are simply stated important elements that need to be the foundation supporting the core content of every business plan designed for a start up small business effort.

I’ve been challenged by a friend to pay careful attention to several areas of business analysis and the attention being paid to the plight of small business.
His suggestion was that I check out the Maria Bartiroma show on CNBC, then move to investigate the latest winning suggestions for business by Jack and Suzy Welch.. He further suggested I review carefully the political debate raging over how to reduce the national debt as a needed step to get the economy moving toward a more stable condition.

I’ve been following his suggestion and have come to several conclusions. The first obvious one was the realization that many our national leaders in both the business community and the political area dealing with national debt have a certain common genetic trait. They have the structure of amoebas. There is no evidence of a spine. This is an almost universal characteristic among the politicians who populate the halls of congress.

The wizards of business who gather around the table with Bartiroma (Jack Welch being one) are having conversations that deal with a world and business that has no relation to the problems faced by every small business entrepreneur. None of them ever made a pizza, hammered a nail or installed a tile floor in a bathroom as a way to make a living. I cannot criticize their lack of attention to small businesses with the attendant start up problems. They do not understand or care to deal in detail with those problems in their conversations.

Just about every one of the pundits at the CNBC trough is ready to talk about global business issues dealing with the actions of the Fed, banks and government legislation affecting public companies. Interesting comments on various sectors and market opportunities for major players are passed around the table from time to time with little relationship to the reality of business faced by the entrepreneurial core that provides our national economy with a significant part of it’s growth potential.

The politicians exhibit the qualities of an amoeba while Welch is adored by the channel business shows for his legendary performance at General Electric. He retired ten years ago and hasn’t changed his business metric, advice and interests despite the changes faced by business in the decade since his departure. Welch never was recognized as a job creator. He was a ruthless eliminator of jobs in the companies he acquired during his management period at GE. He escalated the GE market evaluation by introducing a financial business element into what had previously basically been a manufacturing company.

The Welch model almost tanked GE in 2008 when the stock sank to about $8 a share. At the CNBC table of Welch worship, little note is made of the perilous position of GE with the structure left by Welch. The plight and peril facing the small business core of American business is not a subject understood or addressed by the Bartiroma gatherings.

If you are a small business entrepreneur looking for help you will not find it in Congress or on CNBC. The answer is in your mirror. Having problems? Suck it up and practice determination and persistence, That is the straightforward answer not to be found on a business channel, in the pronouncements of a politician, or in a weighty speech by the Chairman of the Federal Reserve.