Are You Prepared For The Coming Economic Collapse And The Next Great Depression? - Blogs

My RRSPs are Cashed Out Why I Await A Certain Market Meltdown

corporatefactors.net — Wed, 06 May 2009 23:04:28 GMT

If you are a friend of mine you know I subscribe to just about everything to do with economics, politics and end time prophecy.

I also keep a sharp eye on what is happening with the growth of the E.U. and the creation of the new world order and the one world currency that is a mathematical certainty.

There is an overwhelming pattern of what everyone is saying who are professionals on what will happen to our market at anytime.

I don�t know if you saw 60 Minutes a few weeks ago about but the U.S. 401K system is almost completely wiped out. This is the equivalent to our RRSP system only ours is government supported but certainly not government guaranteed. Nothing is CDIC insured.

Millions of U.S. Citizens have lost their life savings as a result of their retirement funds being invested in the market. 50 and 60 year old �would be retired people� are going back to work as a result of losing their entire life savings. They have nothing. They only wished they cashed out sooner.

YouTube - The 401k Fallout

Now if you read the article below even if they want to cash out what�s left in their 401k they can�t or they are met with resistance.

401(k)s Hit by Withdrawal Freezes - WSJ.com

What happens in the U.S. will happen here
as our Canadian RRSPs and Mutual Funds are being invested in the same markets. I have personally cashed out all my RRSPs and Mutual funds. Mind you it�s not a lot of money, but I am cashed out. I made my request two weeks ago and I am still waiting.

All my research be it economical, or biblical is showing a complete collapse of the banking system as we know it. It�s being predicted on a global scale.

Don�t take my word for one second get on the net and do your own homework but do it fast. I don�t care if people call me crazy or roll their eyes.

If they are predicting this recession will be worse then the great depression and crash of 1927, why would anyone in their right mind stay in the market? The market crashed in the great depression and people lost everything in seconds they were completely wiped out.

I am suggesting that people take a chunk of their money out of their RRSP�s and either put it against your credit cards or your mortgage. Just pay off your �highest interest debt�. Keep it out of the bank pay off debt.

What is the difference if you�re being charged 19% to 28% on a credit card and your RRSP is making less than that? I am fully aware you will be taxed to death on the income when you cash out, but it�s better than loosing all or a big part in the market. Many have invested in mutual funds controlled by bank fund managers as to actually buying stock in companies.

If you do own stock in a company you might be able to salvage the ownership of that stock if that public company stays a float during the crash. But make no mistake, funds will crash and you will loose it all.

It is naive to think what is happening in the U.S. won�t happen here we are all participating in the same markets.

People made fun of me when I blogged for the past two years about a New Word Order headed by the European Union. Now the Obama administration is heading the way for the New Word Order just as I wrote it�s in Time Magazine. The word �New World Order� wasn�t even in the media till Obama came into office now the New World Order and the E.U. is on the news every single night.

A market crisis to implement the New World Order and a one world currency is exactly what the plan is under this new federation of nations.

The market won�t recover as a new banking system is being set up. I won�t be wrong, I might be a little late but I won�t be wrong.

It is impossible to warn people about this stuff without sounding like a complete lunatic. So go ahead and label me. Isn�t safe to have a back up plan just in case ??

www.corporatefactors.net

Kissinger: Obama primed to create 'New World Order'

Barack Obama's New World Order - TIME

informationliberation - Report: Greenspan says euro could replace U.S. dollar as reserve currency of choice

Market Collapse | Bible Prophecy In The News

Count Down to the United States of Europe and the New World Order

corporatefactors.net — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:31:33 GMT

MY WORKING DRAFT

This is a new blog entry that I will be working on over the next few months. So I am just posting my research notes for now.

The is for business owners and investors to properly educate themselves on what is happening to the economy and to help them make well informed decisions based on undisputed research about what is about to come.

If you want your business to survive the recission you need to keep your eye on this blog and my foot notes at the end as to where I get my research.

I will show exactly based on various forms of research how the U.S. economy crumble. I will prove that the U.S. dollar will be removed and replaced with the Euro dollar.

I will show that the U.S. will not only be forced to convert to the Euro dollar but their alliance with Europe will be so strong that we could see an actual United States of Europe in this life time.

I will show that the power of the United Nations is just about over as the world moves closer the the European Union that will become the centre vocal point of the world.

I do not in anyway mean to be disrepectful of the United States or it's leadership. There are just certain things over the next few years that are going to be inevitable and if you want to survive you need to be educated.

Predicted: March 24, 2009

United States Coverts To the Euro Dollar

China will refuse the U.S. dollar forcing the United States to convert to the Euro Dollar.

The influx of government funds into the U.S. economy will fail.

China will be one of the first countries to no longer accept the U.S. Dollar. This will force the U.S into a recession far worst then in U.S. history.

The U.S. will have no alternative but to convert to the Euro Dollar leading to a world wide currency.

The Creation of the New World Order

I would like you to read some very recent quotes from Henry Kissinger.

Quote:

Conflicts across the globe and an international respect for Barack Obama have created the perfect setting for establishment of "a New World Order," according to Henry Kissinger, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and former secretary of state under President Nixon.

Kissinger has long been an integral figure in U.S. foreign policy, holding positions in the Nixon, Ford and Reagan administrations. Author of over a dozen books on foreign policy, Kissinger was also named by President Bush as the chairman of the Sept. 11 investigatory commission.

Kissinger made the remark in an interview with CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" hosts Mark Haines and Erin Burnett at the New York Stock Exchange, after Burnett asked him what international conflict would define the Obama administration's foreign policy.

"The president-elect is coming into office at a moment when there is upheaval in many parts of the world simultaneously," Kissinger responded. "You have India, Pakistan; you have the jihadist movement.

So he can't really say there is one problem, that it's the most important one. But he can give new impetus to American foreign policy partly because the reception of him is so extraordinary around the world.

His task will be to develop an overall strategy for America in this period when, really, a new world order can be created. It's a great opportunity, it isn't just a crisis."

Quote:

At the same time, the magnitude of the debacle makes it impossible for the rest of the world to shelter any longer behind American predominance or American failings.

Every country will have to reassess its own contribution to the prevailing crisis. Each will seek to make itself independent, to the greatest possible degree, of the conditions that produced the collapse; at the same time, each will be obliged to face the reality that its dilemmas can be mastered only by common action.

Even the most affluent countries will confront shrinking resources. Each will have to redefine its national priorities.

An international order will emerge if a system of compatible priorities comes into being. It will fragment disastrously if the various priorities cannot be reconciled.

The nadir of the international financial system coincides with simultaneous political crises around the globe. Never have so many transformations occurred at the same time in so many different parts of the world and been made accessible via instantaneous communication.

The alternative to a new international order is chaos.

The New World Order is already on it's way in the form of the European Union.

It will be the one world currency which will head the way to a New World Order via the European Union.

United States builds a Stronger Alliance with Europe and The European Union

The United States will merge with Europe forming the United States of Europe making an even stronger European Union.

European Union Forces A Global Currency

In order to stabilise world markets and the economy the European Union will insist that "all" countries of world come under one currency or face economic destruction.

This will come in the form of all countries changing their currencies to the Euro Dollar or should I say the Euro currency?

Global Currency Goes Paperless

A global currency will be great idea up until it becomes paperless. By paperless I mean all paper money will be removed and the entire system becomes computerised.

Let me be real clear what I am saying, all paper money around the globe will be completely worthless.

Why would a global currency be paperless? Here are just a few basic reasons:

1.
Conterfiet Concerns.

2.
No more cash transactions, the underground economy is cleaned up. Everyone now has to pay taxes.

3.
Virtually impossible for money laundering to occur.

4.
Everytime you buy or sell there is a recorded transaction. A computerized system becomes the ultimate crime fighting machine.

5.
World security advantages with respect to terrorism and wanted criminals.

6.
Identity fraud will be eliminated. (I will elaborate on this point shortly)

Once the we go paperless the days of your privacy are over.

Paperless Currency & The Microchip

Under a computerized paperless system you would suspect that we would all be given a special card that would contain all our data.

But what would happen if you lost this card?

This is the part of my blog where people think I'm a nut and stop reading.

So let's watch a video before you roll your eyes and leave:

http://www.verichipcorp.com/files/CN...orn_013106.wmv

Did you know that your Social Security card used to be a health card?

The Social Security card started out as being health card and was used exclusively for medical reasons only.

Today your Social Security card is used for just about everything with your identity. When you apply for a job, credit, travel. It just as important as your finger print.

This is a quote from the Federal Trade Commission:

Quote:

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personally identifying information, like your name, Social Security number, or credit card number, without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes.

The FTC estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. In fact, you or someone you know may have experienced some form of identity theft.

If you are one of the 9 million Americans who have had your identity stolen you know it's just about impossible to get your life back. You will spend years trying to prove you are you. The only thing you have to prove you are you are your finger prints and your DNA.

Your name, date of birth and Social Security Number is all it takes for someone to ruin your life forever.

Identiy fraud concerns will be one of the main reason people will gladly use microchip implants.

Imagine being able to go to the airport and just have your bags security checked, a simple swipe of your chip and your on your way. No custom line ups at all. Your line ups for travel will reduced.

While you may think that people will fight this type of system I suggest people will line up in droves with smiles on their to have it done.

Who will lead the EU and The New World Order ??

The European Union is going to have to appoint a leader. While many will argue this topic to death. I don't in anyway believe it will be Obama or an American for that matter.

This world leader is going to have to deal with negotiating peace in the middle east.

The bankrupt United States will no longer have any credibility in the world primarily as result of the controversy in Iraq. That leader must be a country without the self serving agenday of oil in the background like the United States.

Someone who trusted not only by the countries of the world from a financially sovereign country.

To the world biggest surprise the most likely candidate to lead the European Union or the world for that matter will in fact be from the 11th Nation to join the European Union which is the country of Spain.

The King of Spain Mr. Juan Carlos is currently the most qualified candidate out of all of the rulers currently in the E.U. or believed to join the E.U. His resume of schooling, religious studies, goes forever.

The King of Spain has over 37 years of some of the best military training of any man in history.

Juan Carlos already has the title of "King of Jerusalem" (a title that that was given to Jesus in biblical times) and defender of Catholic Holy Land interests. Many will argue that the King of Spain is getting old and my not have the appeal and energy as a world leader.

Juan Carlos is more trusted to deal with the middle east conflict to enter into peace treaties between the Jews and Muslims.

Every peace treaty signed between Israel and her enemie have been the direct or indirect result of the efforts made in Spain, at the Madrid conference.

Why would the middle east trust a leader from a counry that has already admited that their financial crisis is a result of the greed and sins wallstreet?

Most scholars and economists believe that the world will not really know or hear about the King of Spain till at least 2012 which is not far away.

In July 1996 "Endtime" magazine wrote an article called "Cashless Society - How Close?"

It was reported that the country of Spain had become the first and only country in the world which required under the penalty of law that all pets in the nation be injected with an I.D. chip.

It may very well be Spain that will lead the way to human microchipping in the world.

Over the next three years keep a sharp eye on the European Union and watch it grow to be the most power government organization the world has ever known.

China & The U.S. Dollar

China starts to wonder if it made the right choice

South Asia Investor Review: Is Euro Ready To Replace US Dollar As Reserve Currency?

The Euro will soon replace the US Dollar as the global currency - by Alex Kee - Helium

Euro to Replace the U.S. Dollar?

Greenspan says euro could replace U.S. dollar as reserve currency of choice The Associated Press

Published: September 17, 2007
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/...nspan-Euro.php

Euro to Replace the U.S. Dollar?
http://www.onejerusalem.com/2007/09/...the-us-dollar/

The New Word Order
Kissinger: Obama primed to create 'New World Order'

Human Micro chipping

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microchip_implant_(human)

http://www.verichipcorp.com/

(video)
http://www.verichipcorp.com/files/CN...orn_013106.wmv

Radio frequency identification keeps tabs on goods, services, pets - even people
May 11, 2006, Sacramento Bee (the leading newspaper of California's capital city)
http://www.sacbee.com/content/lifest...15069873c.html

US group implants electronic tags in workers
February 13, 2006, MSNBC/Financial Times
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11314766/

Remote Control Device 'Controls' Humans
October 26, 2005, San Francisco Chronicle/Associated Press
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...f133702D73.DTL

RFID: Getting Under Your Skin?
August 5, 2004, CNN/Fortune
http://money.cnn.com/2004/08/05/comm...chnology/rfid/

Would a microchip keep your child safe?
December 18, 2003, BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3307471.stm

A Real Chip On Your Shoulder
July 7, 2003, CBS/Associated Press
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/...in563819.shtml

Chipping at the Future
September 23, 1998, ABC News
http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/...cyborgman.html

Stock up on Euro Dollars

corporatefactors.net — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:19:14 GMT

Now might be a good time to stock up on Euro dollars. If China stops accepting the U.S. Dollar when it comes to import and export we might find ourselves loosing our U.S. currency completely and the Euro could be the new currency of the United States.

Many Chinese exporters are forcing customers to transact in either Chinese currency or Euro they won't transact in U.S. funds.

Do your own homework the Euro as a one world currency is around the corner.

China & The U.S. Dollar

China starts to wonder if it made the right choice

South Asia Investor Review: Is Euro Ready To Replace US Dollar As Reserve Currency?

Greenspan says euro could replace U.S. dollar as reserve currency of choice The Associated Press
Published: September 17, 2007

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/...nspan-Euro.php

Euro to Replace the U.S. Dollar?
http://www.onejerusalem.com/2007/09/...the-us-dollar/

American Express is Bad For Business

ITcapital — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 02:57:49 GMT

What is the deal with American Express? I don�t understand their business model. Everywhere I go I see more and more retailers or restaurants refusing to accept American Express because of expensive service charges they charge business owners.

Many companies complain that American Express is too expensive and the monies take too long to arrive in their business bank account. It�s not just small businesses that are refusing Amex but large companies as well, retail chains, factory outlets and furniture outlets.

I have found myself stranded a number of times in various small towns being unable to shop or go to a restaurant because companies just refuse to accept American Express. Many gas stations have refused the card as well.

Imagine entertaining a client at a restaurant, you�re paying the bill and you find out on your way out that the restaurant doesn�t accept American Express. It�s happened to me a number of times.

I am so tired of having to ask everywhere I eat or shop �do you take American Express�?
Despite the fact that I can hardly find any company that takes the card, then they have the nerve to charge the consumers to use the card. I have the Platinum Card I pay about $500.00 a year just to have the card. I don�t see this card having any more privileges or flight points than any other card.

In the olden days you had to have a net worth of half a million to get the Platinum Card, I know lots of people who have this card who don�t have that kind of net worth. They are just dumb like me paying outrages yearly charges trying to use a card that hardly any company will accept.

Then the business card they try to sell you in my view is a waste. A separate card in the business name they advertise to help you sort your business expenses with nice reports and statements. If you�re an incorporated company you personally guarantee the card anyway. So really it�s just another card with more yearly services charges to the consumer. If your company goes under your on the hook personally anyway.

Then if I use my Platinum Card in an unusual spending pattern like I buying a lot little things like videos, or go shopping for small items with small charges they do these security checks that drive me nuts.

I was in Costco one day buying a few items during the busy Christmas Season. I had a big line up behind me when all of a sudden I couldn�t use the card. I was embarrassed and the people in the line were starting to give me dirty looks. So I had to call the American Express Customer Service at the line up. Because my spending pattern was a little different they wanted me to call in for a security check to make sure I was me. Fine and dandy but will they be doing this to me in a restaurant when I am entertaining clients? That is of course if I can find a restaurant that actually takes the card.

I give up. This is my last year with American Express. I don�t blame companies for not wanting to accept the card and I don�t see why people would want to use the card when it�s one struggle after the other trying to find a company or a restaurant that will take it.

Never Again !!
:mad:

Dont believe that your little structure will protect you and your assets

Jeff Lipton — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:39:08 GMT

Dont believe that your little offshore structure will protect you or your assets.
The legitimacy of most offshore structures is always couched in the supposed real life reality that there are so many offshore or hidden structures that exist and few have been caught. The basic premise is fallacious in that if the client put money in one of these strategies and there is a litigation threat or an event that takes place in a subsequent intergenerational asset passage, litigating the matter in the offshore court system is fraught with uncertainty at best and the process may unearth former clandestine operations. In addition, there is the real threat of blackmail or the diminished version whereby the client is powerless to do anything as a result of his own illegality. This is the very reason that when most of these clients are ripped-off, they can�t or do not complain much due to the illicit nature of the assets in question and the structure the assets reside in. This issue is endemic to trusts and foundations where the use of nominees is common. For trusts many employ a sham protector, or in the case of foundations a nominee board of directors that have given irrevocable power of attorney to an insider. In either case the veneer is thin in today�s post 911 environment. The asset holder under these scenarios is in fact quite powerless for they are counting on these same nominees to not divulge the secret. This is not an issue though with Asset Protection Insurance� (�API��) as all aspects are fully disclosed as the insurance can only protect fully disclosed assets and liabilities. There has to complete transparency and a failure to report any liability (including taxation) would probably constitute an event invalidating the policy. Do not blindly believe because you want to do you homework! Jeff Lipton

Obama and the Self Employed - More Tax On Business = Less Jobs Created

corporatefactors.net — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:31:26 GMT

If you want jobs you have to create business. Creating more business means creating more jobs.

There can be no new jobs without the creation of business. Once again more tax is imposed on business owners under the new Obama plan.

With one company going bankrupt after next and more people getting laid off from their jobs in record numbers, how then do we find jobs if they can't be created ?

Test Question?

How will business owners deal with this new tax?

Answer?

By laying off people not hiring new people.

What is the incentive to start up a new business and create new jobs?

Correct me if I am wrong, but if you add up city, state, fed tax, health tax, and all other tax you could expect to pay in a business, are we not well past over 50% of every dollar earned by a business paid out in one form of tax or another. It's the whole tax picture we have to keep an eye on.

This new plan is bad for business !

Corporate Research - How much can you afford to lose?

KarenBlau — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 18:04:13 GMT

Corporate Research ? Background checks by Karen Blau

You are a venture capitalist considering investing in a company. Or ?
You have found a business you want to buy. Or ?
You are ready to start a new business, and you are considering a partner.
You know the industry, the business plan makes sense. Now ?

How much can you afford to lose? Everything you have invested ? and more?

Gather round, children, for a scary bedtime story.

Our client, one of the biggest casino owners in Las Vegas, wanted to build a casino in a certain Pacific Rim country. They know lots about the gaming industry, but nothing about the rules and regulations of that country, or its culture. Furthermore, they want to associate the casino with an online poker website. They have been approached by Michael W., who has told them that he is the ?only? person who can put this project together, and it will be successful beyond all expectations. He has all the connections and the know-how. They client has checked him on the Internet, and has seen that he is of Asian descent and has been the President of two Internet gaming companies.

Realizing that not just money, but the reputation of their existing casino at stake, they request a background check.

Findings? Michael had been forced to resign from the first company. Although it was a public company, there was nothing in the annual report about the reason, although he left without notice. We tracked down the former CFO of the company in the Caribbean, who described Michael?s flagrant abuse of the company?s resources, and noted that ?he is the least scrupulous guy I ever worked for?. Did I mention the police raid on the corporate offices a year after he took the helm? Something about pornography, illegal gambling, money laundering? The head office eventually relocated to Antigua. The second gaming company refused to discuss Michael with us.

We also found two criminal actions against Michael, one for impaired driving; one for driving without a licence. There were five civil court cases involving Michael as a defendant. The issue in four of the cases was his failure to pay for work for which he had contracted personally. A Writ of Seizure and Sale had issued against Michael for unpaid income. There was a similar action against him in another state according to federal court records.

Needless to say, the client decided against a partnership with Michael. And what is Michael doing today? He is an investment-banking consultant.

Remember, knowledge = power.

Karen Blau can be reached for Due Diligence at intelligence@karenblau.com or check out the website: Intelligence - KarenBlau.com - Reduce your risk, make informed decisions

Starting A Business Check List

corporatefactors.net — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:31:03 GMT

Write A Business Plan
We can not express in words alone the importance of a business plan for the success of a business.

It is a critical component for success. Almost every lender will require some type of plan before lending any money to a business. We offer a number of Business Plan services you may contact us for quotes.

If you wish to try and prepare a business plan on your there are number of Business Plan Software packages that can be downloaded for free.

Alternatively you can purchase a professional business plan software.

Choose a business name
We can come up with business name suggestions for you. We follow the 3M Rule. Your business name should be Memorable, Mellow and have Mass appeal.

Verify right to use the name
You could find yourself a victim of a lawsuit if another company is using your business name.

Let us do the proper searches to ensure you won't get into trouble using a company name that may already be in use.

See if the business name is available as a domain name
Make sure the domain name is available on the internet as a .com .net .org .ca etc.. You should register the domain even if you aren't ready to use it yet.

Also set up an email with the new domain name once it is registered.

Establish a mailing address and phone number for the business
You must decide on an address for the business. You need to get this well established before you start investing money in business cards, letterhead etc.. so you won't have to change it later. You may wish to consider renting a post office box if you are anxious to get an address for the business but are unsure if you are going to rent space or work from home.

Registering the business (Sole Proprietorship, Partnership or an Incorporation)
You must decide if you wish to register your business as a Sole Proprietorship, General Partnership or an Incorporation. There are advantages and disadvantages for each form of business as it relates to tax and liability. Let us properly educate you based on all factors of the business set up process. We can register the business for you or do the incorporation filings.

Business cards and stationery
Once you are fully registerd with your business name, address and telephone number. It is at this point where you should consider making a solid investment into business cards and stationery. All business experts will agree that you should put as much as you can afford into your business stationery to give yourself a professional established look. We offer discovery, company naming, product naming, reputation consulting. It would be good to have all your stationery printed before you open your bank account or meet with any business bank account manager.

Open a bank account for the business
Not only should you open up a business bank account but you should be setting up relationship with your account manager.

Zoning Bylaws and Building Permits
If you plan to run your buisness from home you may need to check your local city zoning laws. Many cities have limitations on how many people you can have working for you from home. Issues with respect to parking can also arrise.

Choose a location for the business or make space in the house for it
If you are going to rent space in an office building or an industrial unit you may wish to consult with us before signing a formal commercial lease. Commercial landlords may try to lock you into lease terms that is simply way too long i.e. 5 year terms or more. If your business expands you may have to move if you require more space for people and/or equipment.
What happens if your current landlord can't accomidate you? If you are locked into a lease you may find the expansion of your business at a road block if you can't get the extra space you need.
Also beware of personal gurantees that may be in the lease contact that you are unaware of. If you are an incorporated company and you personally guarantee your lease, you could be held PERSONALLY responsible for your debt to your landlord if your business fails. Entering into a commercial lease is very serious and needs to be reviewed by a professional on a number of factors.

Get any required business licenses or permits

Register or reserve state or federal trademark

Register copyrights

Apply for patent if you will be marketing an invention

Check into business insurance needs

Find out about health insurance if you will not have coverage under a spouse
Get adequate business insurance or a business rider to a homeowner's policy

Taxation Canada
GST, PST, HST basics. There are two main taxes that businesses collect: the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Retail or Provincial Sales Tax (PST). Several provinces combine these two taxes into a single tax known as the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). Check our Useful Provincial Tax Links tool for informative links for the province where you do business.
A Business Number will be assigned to you when you set-up one of the four following accounts with Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA):

Goods and Services Tax (GST)
Corporate Income Tax
Payroll Deductions
Import Export

Also, you may not be required to charge the GST immediately, but there can be advantages to registering immediately. For example, if you purchase $5,000 in goods to start your company, you won't be able to claim back the GST spent on these purchases unless you are registered to collect the GST. Register for provincial taxes, permit, if they apply. Depending on the type of business you are in, you may need to collect provincial sales tax and apply for a vendor permit or other permits. Service businesses are normally only required to collect the GST, but there are some unusual exceptions. Check our Useful Provincial Tax Links tool for links to key provincial resources that will help you understand what you provincial permits and taxes rates apply

Understanding Business Taxation
It is of utmost importance that you have a clear understanding of business taxes. It will be important to understand how and when to remit your monthly taxes to the government. Close to 50% of every dollar earned in your business will be paid out into some form of business tax. This means the tax man is your business partner. If you do not know how to collect and remit your taxes properly you could find yourself on the road to bankruptcy very quickly.

Purchase Accounting/Bookkeeping Software and determine record keeping requirements
You should get in the habbit of good record keeping from day one. If you plan to have employees you will need good accounting software to subtract and remit reductions. Your accounting software should be able to print cheques and invoices as well. You can alternatively hire a company to look after payroll for you if you find the system to time consuming. Some banks offer a payroll service.
You will also need to educate yourself on hiring independent contractors, facts about estimating taxes, forms of organization, etc.
Now would also be a good time to start establishing a relationship with a small business accountant.

Employment Standards, Payroll Information and Workplace Safety
You can usually obtain this information from your local government agencies. You will have to apply for employee identification numbers if you have employees.

Find out about workers' compensation if you will have employees
Most businesses in that employ workers (including family members and sub-contractors) must register with the WSIB within a few days of hiring their first full- or part-time worker. It's the law.

Registering with the WSIB provides workplace insurance coverage for all of your workers and gives you access to experts in health and safety for your business sector.
There are a few industries that do not have to register. These include:

Banks, trusts and insurance companies
Private health care practices (such as those of doctors and chiropractors)
Trade unions
Private day cares
Travel agencies
Clubs (such as health clubs)
Photographers
Barbers, hair salons, and shoe-shine stands
Taxidermists
Funeral directing and embalming

This is not a complete list as there are more industries that do not have to register. For more information, please contact your local office.

Start working on an advertisng and marketing plan for the business
This will be one of the biggest projects on your start up list. Your investment into your advertising and marketing plan must be based on the budget your working with. You should have a solid plan and be prepared to make a large investment of your start up budget into your advertising and marketing goals.

Have sales literature prepared
This would include your pamplets, brochures, and other sales literature. It would be a good idea to have these materials completed before you begin to design your web site. This way your developer can just use your sales literature for content when designing your website.

Find a web hosting company & Get your web site up
Depending on your target audience you may want to start designing your website early and getting it registered with all the search engines . While it may not take too much time getting a basic website up. It does take time to get your website registered on all the search engines once the site is established. This might be a good project to have working in the background.

Hire Employees
Once you are set up and you have a working advertising and marketing plan in place, it is at this point you may wish to consider hiring employees. This list has discussed, insurance, and payroll.

Employees and Management Concerns
Once you have a working staff. It is important to deal with issues like management contracts, confidentiality contracts, non competition contracts etc.. We have sample contracts and agreements if you need our help.
If you have staff working behind a computer you may wish to establish your written internet policy as to when and what your employees are allowed to use your computers for when it comes to surfing the internet for personal use at work.
You should also educate yourself on all aspects employment standards.

Counterfeiting and Piracy: The New York City Tourist Attraction

corporatefactors.net — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:52:23 GMT

While I have been to New York City many times on business, I have never really been for a fun visit, to take in the whole New York City/Manhattan experience. I had such a wonderful time. I even got to meet Ivana Trump at the airport.

In January of this year I spent a few days in this wonderful city mostly touring the attraction sites. Rather than taking taxi cabs everywhere I bought day passes on the tour buses and used that for my mode of transportation to get around the city.

I was completely fascinated (or should I say disturbed) that the bus tour guides, when talking about Canal Street, went out of their way to tell everyone that Canal Street was a great place to buy counterfeit watches, purses and videos.

I couldn?t believe how out in the open the comment was, virtually every time I rode the bus. In fact, all the tour guides made mention of a large basement-type warehouse that was the biggest on the street, filled with fake products.

My visit to Canal street was everything I expected it to be, but worse. Tiny shops with backrooms full of fake Gucci, Coach and Fendi purses. If you wanted a fake watch all you had to do was ask. Either the watch vendor had them hidden or he could merely ask someone to bring them over in a canvas bag. Everything fake was for the asking and buying.

While I can spot a fake Rolex and Gucci watch, the Breitling Bentley watches were good copies and were selling like hot cakes. Women were lining up to get in the back rooms to look at purses, so clearly business was good for every vendor.
There had to be at least 100 people walking around with canvas bags selling watches, sun glasses and DVDs.

At the time I visited, the movie American Gangster was still in the theatres. You could have bought an illegal copy of the DVD for $5.00 out of a canvas bag.

In only two other countries have I ever seen street vendor counterfeiting and piracy this bad; Japan and Thailand.

When I got back to Toronto I was talking about the experience for weeks to people in my business. It was like New York had given up and Canal Street Counterfeiting was the new tourist attraction.

I?ve worked for many manufactures and distributors (and their legal counsel) who have fallen victim to counterfeiting, piracy, and copyright violations. Companies who have had to close factories and offices, and lay off staff. Even legitimate retailers in the same industry are affected - unable to compete with these fakes.

While consumers look for fake bargains many legitimate companies suffer.

The money from this crime stays undergound, just like drug money. It remains tax free to these vendors and will very often remain in the crime element.

Very often the products themselves are made in hidden sweat shops in Asia.
The PI industry has been fundamental in fighting counterfeiting and piracy and will continue to be. Every company that has fallen victim has either directly or indirectly retained a PI firm to assist in the problem. PIs usually act for the manufacture or their legal counsel. They identify who the vendor is by working under the pretext of being a customer. They buy products and then ultimately swear an affidavit to get the civil sheriff out to seize the goods.

In the early to mid ?90s the streets of Toronto had the same problem. Vendors were everywhere on the streets selling counterfeit products. But back then it was very much a civil problem. The police only got involved to keep the peace during the civil seizures of products. They rarely laid criminal charges on the vendors.

It was primarily up to the manufactures themselves to hire lawyers and private investigators to seek out the street vendors and find the bulk of the counterfeit product. Once the vendor had been identified the necessary paperwork had to be filed so the civil court Sheriff could go out and do a seizure, and serve a law suit on the vendor.

Even more frustrating for the manufacturer was the fact that the Sheriff was only allowed to seize goods on behalf of the manufacturer named in the order.

This meant that if the Sheriff was acting for only one watch manufacturer (for example) he could only seize that one brand name.

All other fake brand names would remain unseized. It was ridiculous.

Manufacturers had to team up with the same law firm so the civil Sheriff could raid the vendor and take just about everything in one raid.

While the manufacturers continue to try and sue these vendors, the civil judgments are worthless. How do you collect from a vendor working for cash? There is simply no financial recovery.

The city of Toronto has pretty much cleaned up the problem from vendors selling counterfeit products in the open.

But many products can still be found in Toronto?s China Town. All you have to do is ask.

It would seem that today, public law enforcement has become more involved in charging and prosecuting manufacturers and sellers of counterfeit products. It is certainly not to the satisfaction of most victims and their associations who continue to fight the problem.

As long as there is no law in place that prevents the consumer from buying the fake products the problem will never be resolved.
About a month after my trip I read that the New York Mayor?s office had raided dozens of storefronts on Canal Street. They seized counterfeit goods with an estimated street value of more than $1 million.

Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, obtained a temporary restraining order to shut down the storefronts. Forty-two undercover purchases were made in various storefronts.

The investigation uncovered counterfeits of such brands as Coach, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Dior, Prada, Rolex, Fendi, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Dora the Explorer and Oakley.

While I applaud the raid, I wonder - how long will it be until they all come back? Will there ever be a law that will stop people from buying the fake stuff in the first place? Will we ever see a tourist held up at customs because he or she was found to possess a fake watch, purse, or a pair of sunglasses ?

It?s doubtful !

Why Your Child Support Will Never Be Paid

corporatefactors.net — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:23:28 GMT

Child support orders are rapidly becoming worthless (no different than judgments). It?s not a collection problem, it is an ability to have some power to get access to information like bank accounts, employment, the vehicles owned so you can collect on your order.

For example, how in the world is anyone expected to find the bank account of their ex-spouse and determine if there is any money in the account?

Due to the fact that there is so much attention in the media about the Family Responsibility Office (FRO), right now, about collecting child support,

I am going to help people understand the real reason why their child support will never be paid or collected.

There is no point in blaming the FRO ? they run into the same problems as any starving recipient trying to collect support. They send letters, they make phone calls and they manage a payment systems for those payers (lets call them debtors) who actually pay.

The failure to collect these order is not about collection at all. It?s about trying to find the assets, the employment, the bank account, the property or the vehicle of the debtor so you can collect.

Your on your own and it?s and ?investigative task? not a ?collection task?. This is the main reason why assigning support orders to collection agencies will never work. Collection agencies make phone calls, write letters, and report the debt into the debtor?s personal credit bureau file.

They have no access to bank account information nor do they have any power to obtain the actual information you need to collect on your order.

This is an investigate mission on all fronts and someone has to play detective and it won?t be any government agency doing if for you.

Here are your responsibilities

Find a bank account.

Find property (land or a house).

Find employment.

Suspend the debtor?s driver?s licence.

Finding A Bank Account

You are expected on your own to find a bank account with money in it. You need to identify the bank (i.e. the institution) and the actual bank branch where you believe the debtor might have a bank account.

You do not have to have an actual account number.

How on earth is someone expected to lawfully find a bank account on a person but most importantly if there is actual money in the account?

The banks certainly won?t give out this information, as they will protect their customers, and even more so now, with the new privacy legislation and fraud and identity theft on the rise.

There is no system, nor any powers of a support order, which will allow recipients of support orders to properly and lawfully get bank account information in order to proceed with a garnishment.

What about if the debtor works at a job for cash? or perhaps the account is joint? or is in some other name? or even a company name as with a self employed person?

Finding Property (land or a house).

It is possible in most states and provinces to take a debtor?s name and run the name through a computerized database to see if they own land or a house.

But very few child support debtors put property in their name. Some may be found to own property jointly however depending on where you live you may be able to register an execution on the property. This would merely allow you collect monies only when the debtor sells the property.

You would collect what is left over after all the mortgages and expenses have been paid on the sale.

Finding Employment

While you may find employment on the debtor through word of mouth, friends, relatives etc? Trying to garnish employment wages can be very difficult if not impossible if your debtor falls under one of the categories:

(Working For Cash)

(Working Under Contract)

(Self Employed)

(Low Waged Employee)

(Working For Cash)
One of the biggest reasons your child support will never be paid is the underground economy which is nothing more then a term for people who go to work everyday and are paid in cash.

Millions of people go to work every day and work for cash. They are paid in cash and never deposit their cash wages into any bank account or report their income to the IRS or Revenue Canada.

If they are paid by check from a cash employeer they simply cash their check at a local cash stop store and pocket their wages in cash. People who live like this do not fear collection agencies nor are they concerned about their credit rating. They don?t need credit cards or credit as they pay cash for their expenses.

Finding out if a person is working for cash can be impossible on your own. There is no other way to show a person is working for cash then to have them followed. How do you show cash from hand to hand?

The normal course of investigation would be to have the debtor followed into work. Obtaining video or pictures of a debtor spending every business day at the same job site for eight hours yet never reporting a nickel of income.

But many who are starving for child support can not afford to hire private investigators at $50.00 to $75.00 per hour plus kilometers and expenses. Doing surveillance on your own could be illegal and dangerous from a driving stand point.

When you have a debtor working for cash not paying child support or filing tax returns who then is responsible for this mess?? Is it the Family Responsibility Office or the IRS and Revenue Canada who is responsible for cleaning up the underground economy?

It is logical to expect the FRO, the IRS or Revenue Canada to follow a cash paid dead-beat dad into work at 6:00 amto a construction job-site? With all the controversy surrounding privacy concerns can we expect that anyone can solve this problem?

(Working Under Contract)
One of the biggest scams going to avoid child support (and judgments) is employers who hire a person (a debtor) under contract and call it ?contract?. This is most commonly used by employeers to avoid paying payroll taxes.

When we use the word ?contract? we are not talking about about a contract position or an agreement. We are talking about a situation where an employer pays an employee (the debtor) by check and makes it look on the books like the employee/debtor is a business who invoiced the company. The debtor merely gives an invoice to the employer every second friday for his wages. No tax is deducted and no income is ever reported.

Many employers create actual written agreements where the employee has to promise in writing to file taxes at the end of the year.

But what many don?t realise is that this contractual relationship can be very very illegal. If in the tax year the debtor has worked for only one employer that whole year and he has not invoiced any other company, the IRS and Revenue Canada could consider the relationship illegal.

Both the employee and the employer could face fines, penalties, and be compelled to pay all appropriate payroll taxes and deductions.

Many starving recipients of child support often wonder how the debtor they are chasing is able to go to work everyday for the same employeer yet not one nickel from the garnishment served on the company has ever been paid.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN

But what about the other side of the coin? Much of the reason why child support is not being paid is that many payers of child support cannot easily and cheaply apply to the court to have their support orders reduced if there is a change in their employment of financial situation.

The result is that these payers fall drastically into arrears, being unable to afford to get their orders to reflect their true income.

The ultimate result is that the payer will become so far in arrears their only alternative is the underground economy (working for cash under the table) to avoid a large garnishment of wages that may, in fact, be unfairly registered against them.

Lets do the math!! The average retainer to a lawyer to have a support order reduced (or the legal term ?varied?) can be anywhere from $2000.00 to $6000.00. Days will be spent preparing court papers and attending at court hearings.

For example: a seasonal worker in like a landscaper, may earn very high wages in the warm, summer months, but in the winter the wages drop or he/she may earn nothing at all. The seasonal worker may be paying $700 per month in support, based on a job he/she had two years ago at the time of the divorce.
Now, years later, the income has dropped.

At $2000.00 to $6000.00 in legal fees to get an order varied who can afford to keep up every single time there is a change in employment circumstances.

Some courts will allow you to file the paper work and attend on your own (without a lawyer) yet some judges will insist you be represented by a lawyer. It?s a crap shoot if you think you can do it on your own and find a judge who will listen to you.

The Law Society of Upper Canada has just recently licensed Paralegals in Ontario. In the past a payor of child support could perhaps hire a Paralegal to cheaply assist in completing the forms to have a support order reduced. It is now illegal for Paralegals to advertise this service and to do may aspects of family law or divorce law. This now makes it more expensive to get your support order reduced.

Learn the word ?no standing? real quick. There will be nothing more humiliating if you file your papers and attend at court when you are drastically in arrears depite the reasons you may have. Chances are you won?t have any standing at all before the judge despite the legitimate reasons you may have for being unable to pay and being so far into arrears.

As long as their is no system in place to reduce a child support order inexpensively and less time consuming the family court system will continue to manufacture no payers into the underground economy.

You can roll your eyes all you want but no-one in their right mind will spend the time and money to have their order changed every time there is a change in financial circumstances.

As would be payers fall into the underground economy, they will not only continue to not only avoid paying child support, but also personal income taxes.

To recap:

1. Until the court is willing to give more judicial powers to support orders and judgments information be impossible to find to allow people to collect on their Orders and Judgments Things like the order having authority or power to force a payer?s employer to give circumstances regarding employment.

A bank being served with a support order to be compelled to report on all bank accounts registered in the payer?s name.

The department of transportation upon being served with a support order being compelled to provide a vehicle and address information so a vehicle could be seized or a license suspended. Assets have to be identified before there can be collection and/or enforcement.

2. Until a simple paper system is in place to allow parties to go to court (with or without a lawyer) to get their orders changed, simply and cheaply, there is a change in their financial circumstances, payers will continue to outsmart the system, go underground and not pay support or income taxes.

It is possible to represent oneself in small claims court and landlord tenant Court but not in the family court. These hearings could be conducted with a simple set of forms and be heard by a referee, arbitrator or registrar, instead of busy judges with overloaded family court dockets. The system right now is too complicated, time consuming and expensive.

3. The only way to catch a person working for cash is to follow them in to work ? plain and simple. No search method on earth will reveal how a person is truly spending their working day if he or she is not reporting his income.

Government Insurance companies like the Workmens Compensation Board (now the WSIB) spend millions of dollars to hire independent private investigation firms to use private investigators to follow (via surveillance) on would-be cheaters of the insurance system to see if they are continuing to work or faking their injuries during the business day. It?s the only way to fight this kind of fraud.

Revenue Canada (or the IRS in the United States) should be teaming with the FRO to help fund Private Investigation agencies to conduct surveillance and inquiries on cheaters not only of child support but working underground for cash.

A person working for cash trying avoid child support is not only cheating the family court system but is in fact committing tax evasion. This makes the problem a joint responsibility of Revenue Canada and the IRS who continue to unsuccessfully battle the underground economy. The underground economy is partly manufactured by the failing family court and FRO system.

Privatization of the FRO, or forwarding child support orders to collection agencies, will accomplish nothing in the way of actual collection. Collection agencies make phone calls, send letters, and report to credit bureaus. It will be a waste of your tax money on a system that is already failing both sides of the coin.

You can?t collect on what you don?t find. Finding assets is an investigative mission. Dead-beat parents need to be followed into work ? plain and simple ? there is no other way.

The Key To Resolving Mortgage Fraud In Ontario

corporatefactors.net — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:17:31 GMT

(Canadian Institute of Mortgage Brokers and Lenders)

The Canadian Institute of Mortgage Brokers and Lenders says mortgage fraud is on the rise and costing Canadians hundreds of millions of dollars each year. The most common method used to perpetrate mortgage fraud is to misrepresent the purchase price of a property

(CBC Marketplace)

Ontario Land Title Registry Office: Responsible for province-wide administration of local and title offices. Tesoro was able to walk into a local land title office with forged documents and transfer title to six homes to himself.

In 1999, the province began a pilot project allowing online registration of land titles. By September of 2002, the service was extended to 12 municipalities, including Toronto.

The Law Society of Upper Canada is aware of increasing instances of fraud in relation to mortgage loan transactions. These frauds usually involve either complicit or fraudulent purchasers, and/or real estate agents, mortgage brokers and unfortunately, in some cases, lawyers.Typically, mortgage fraud involves the use of false identities and the artificial inflation of property values. Both these elements can be present in the same transaction.

A PROPOSAL TO SOLVE THE MORTGAGE FRAUD PROBLEM

THE HOUSE KEY

Your mortgage and the title of your propery is as sensitive as your credit card number. Yet the problems of mortgage fraud continue to increase as a result of computerization of the land titles system.

All of this could be avoided if a property was given some sort of a passcode.

For example:

An owner of a home is given a card with an 18 digit code. This code is kept by the true owner of the property and the government land titles office.

The filing of the code does not form part of the land titles public record but is filed with the land titles office. Title cannot be transferred, conveyed, or charged unless the pass codes match between the land titles office and the true property owner when instruments are to be applied to the title of the property.

This concept would have to be administrated through the government land titles office. Private corporations who have been selected to computerize the land title data would have to work with the government to administrate the program.

The main resolve to this problem lies in the hands of the registry office and the companies they have selected to computerize their land registry data. A House Key program could be a free or paid service whereby property owners have to voluntarily subscribe to the program to protect their properties.

Insurance companies could insist that property owners subscribe to the program before underwriting any policy be it, property insurance or title insurance.

Alternatively if the program can be enforced, insurance companies could agree to reduced rates if you subscribe to the program.

Why are other fraud programs failing?

Proactive vs Reactive

Kevin Bousquet, a Certified Fraud Examiner and President of The Corpa Group, a 15 year old Private Investigation agency maintains the focus of most fraud programs are on a failing REACTIVE programs.

Reactive meaning "after the fact". Reacting to the fraud after it has been perpetrated. Giving people bandaids after they are bleeding.

If there are a bunch of fires happening on a street do we go and form associations and clubs trying to lobby the government to hire more firemen? No, we set up a PROACTIVE program to stop the fires from happening in the first place. We do inspections, we make sure home owners are protected ahead of time with fire extinguishers and smoke detectors.

This problem is no different then protecting your credit card number. The credit card company has the responsibility to set up passwords, and security procedures to make sure your, you, when the credit card is used.

This is not a police problem there is not enough police in the world to combat fraud. Fraud in general is worse then ever before in the history of mankind. With the growth of the internet there are now more fraudsters and more victims in play.

With the sophistication of scanners and photocopiers its a mathematical certainty the problem will get worse.

There is no incentive to even resolve on a proactive level. Everyone everyone is making money on the problem. Insurance companies, lawyers, forensic accountants, private investigators all stand to profit from the costs associated from aiding a person after they have been a victim.

This is nothing more then giving a person a band aid when they are already bleeding. We need to prevent the problem before it can happen and stop handing out bandaids.

Bousquet?s agency continues to be retained by title insurance companies and their legal counsel and states that his case load is increasing more and more each month.
Victims of mortgage fraud (and fraud in general) are relying on public law enforcement to punish perpetrators and the civil court system to collect their losses. "Both of which will most certainly fail" says Bousquet.

Municipal Police forces are backlogged over a year on fraud matters, some over two says, Bousquet. By that time the perpetrator has ample time to get away. Witnesses have probably moved, documentation relating to the matter can become harder to find.

"It?s all a big waste of time says Bousquet".

Law enforcement and punishment through the courts is not a deterrent to this crime." says Bousquet.

It?s worth it for these criminals to get some probabation and maybe a little jail time on the weekends to pocket $50,000.00 to $100,000.00 of stolen money.

"If you think you?re going to actually collect your losses through the civil court system you?re well mistaken" says Bousquet.

Most perpetrators have no assets in their name. The proceeds from fraud (or any crime for that matter) are seldom deposited in any bank account that could be garnished.

While victims of fraud may succeed in getting a civil court judgment (or a criminal restitution order) it will most certainly be an uncollectible worthless piece of paper.

Bousquet says, "the rules of civil collection with a judgment or a restitution order are very simple. You have to try and collect on a bank account, employment wages, property, or a vehicle that has no lien on it". "Good luck and don?t expect the court to help you find these assets in order to collect on them, you?re on your own" says Bousquet.

These methods of attacking fraud are nothing more then punishment and collection all of which fail without doubt. At the end of the day the property owner is completely victimized
and in some cases financially ruined forever with their credit record destroyed.

Bousquet argues that a true fraud program should be towards a PROACTIVE program to stop the act before it can occur. This starts with password protecting or computerized landtitle system.

A clear program with the cooperation of the government land titles office and the companies that they are using to computerize the land title data to protect property owner.
In a password protected system the true property owner is notified every time an instrument is being applied to the title of their property be it a mortgage, lien, transfer or conveyance. "No different then a password or secret code that may be associated with your credit card" says, Bousquet.

However the title can not be touched unless the passwords match.

A kind of system where the land registry office must see the true owners secret code when the documents are being filed either at the land registry office or through the computerized system.

Bousquet has forwarded his ideas to Teraview, a company that has been responsible for computerizing the land title data in Ontario.
Bousquet maintains mortgage fraud is completely out of control. The true resolve to this problem starts with the government implementing this kind of a program or at least focusing on a Proactive system.

While many experts are maintaining that people should be checking their credit bureau file on a regular basis. Bousquet maintains this is still a "reactive view". It has to start with the government implementing a new proactive password protected system.

I find it funny that there are now companies in place that can notify you, call you, or send a letter to you (the true owner) whenever someone even takes a peek at your credit bureau file.

Yet the land registry system and the companies who computerise them can?t develop a password protected land title system.

Real simple?you can?t alter, add, or charge my home unless the password that I filed at the land registry office on the date I purchased matches.

FOOTNOTE: MARCH 16, 2009
===================

I think this idea should be implemented right across Canada and the U.S. I am sure the Privacy Advocates will fight this to death.

Giving The Fingerprint: Home Law Raises Concern

Sellers Will Be Required To Provide Thumbprint Before Deal Is Approved Reporting

13 March 2008

Mike Puccinelli CHICAGO (CBS) ―

Real estate certainly has its risks and fraud is a growing problem, but now there's a new law that's supposed to protect buyers. As CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports the new law will also place an unusual burden on the seller.

Fingerprinting is something we often associate with crime. So the fact that Cook County home sellers--and homeowners across the state--will soon have to provide a thumb print left some people shocked.

"I wouldn't like that at all. I don't think that's necessary," said Chicagoan Donald Hayes.

"I don't know what I think about that. Not very good, I think, said Jenny Armstrong of Lake Villa.

The new law, which is set to go into effect June 1, 2009, will force anyone selling property in Cook County to provide a thumbprint from their right hand.

"No more so than any law abiding citizen walking down the sidewalk should be fingerprinted; just for selling my house, that's ridiculous," said Gerald Cain of Land Acquisitions, Inc.

Cain has been in the real estate consulting business for decades. He says the law is intrusive and threatens to create fraud when it's designed to prevent it.

Cain has been notarizing documents for more than a quarter century, but he says unless the fingerprint rule is revoked, he plans to get out of the business.

"I would probably just quit; liability for me is too much," Cain said.

Joseph Rogul of the Professional National Title Network isn't worried about the law and rather welcomes it.

"We're in favor of it. Fraud has been a big problem for title companies like us. We don't think it will add too much of a burden on us," said Rogul.

Rogul says consumers will likely have to pay a little more, but he believes the benefits will outweigh the costs, because widespread fraud in the industry means widespread costs, which are typically passed on to the consumer.

The law specifies that consumers can be charged up to $25 to cover fingerprint processing costs.

Unless it's reintroduced, the thumbprint rule is set to expire in 2013. Cain is calling on lawmakers to repeal the provision.

(� MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/Mike.Puccinelli.fingerprint.2.957819.html

Is Your Office or Phone Line Bugged?

corporatefactors.net — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:56:57 GMT

The Problem

More and more each day competitors, ex-associates, new start-up ventures, and unscrupulous individuals are using electronic eavesdropping as a way to gather information that could seriously damage your business.

"Bugs" telephone taps and video transmitters (above) are readily available that can compromise your business secrets for as little as $30.00.

The manufacture, sale, installation, and monitoring of these devices is a multi-billion dollar industry in North America.

Unless you are a law enforcement agency with an Order or Warrant for a wire tap, it is a criminal offence to record the conversations of two or more persons without their consent.

How Do You Know If Your Office Bugged ?

? Confidential information seems to be getting out to competitors.

? Competitors seem to be just one step ahead all of the time.

? Your office was broken into yet very little or nothing was taken.

? Sockets or switches show signs of being moved slightly, ie: the wallpaper may be disturbed.

? Vehicles parked near to your premises, that appear to be empty.

? Your telephone rings but no one speaks or you just hear a short tone.

? Unusual sounds (crackling, clicks, volume changes) on your telephone handset.

? Indications that your handset may have been exchanged, ie: numbers in memory may be lost.

? Repairers or utility companies turn up to carry out work when they have not been called.

? Furniture or items appear to have been disturbed.

? Interference on your radio or television.

? Unexplained brick or plaster dust on floor.

The most commonly and widely used of all the devices is the RF (Radio Frequency) transmitter bug. These devices are inexpensive easy to use and require no specialized receiving equipment a simple AM or FM radio can be used to monitor the bug. Due to their low cost, there is very little incentive to recover these devices once planted.

The Spectrum Analysis is used to detect RF devices is capable of monitoring frequencies up to 36 Gigaherts. This will also include very low frequency (VLF) devices which transmit on frequencies down to 15 Kilohertz.

The next method is often known as the "wire tap" or a "hard wire bug". The wiretap will use any existing wiring in the home or office ie: the electrical plugs (see photo above), alarm systems or even the telephone wiring.

This is similar a typical baby monitor situation where you plug the transmitter into one room and the receiver in the other.

Many think that telephones are only a security risk when being used but a simple modification to the handset can leave the microphone connected, even when the phone is not in use.

Wired and wireless transmitters must be physically connected to the line before they will do any good. Once a wireless tap is connected to the line, it can transmit all conversations over a limited reception range. Wired taps, on the other hand, need no power source, but a wire must run from the line to the listener or to a transmitter.

An 'Infinity Transmitter' or 'Harmonica Bug' must be installed inside the phone. When someone calls the tapped phone it rings, blows a whistle over the line, and the transmitter picks up the phone via a relay. The mike on the phone is activated so that the caller can hear all of the conversations in the room.

The telephone line analyzing equipment is used during the sweep (photo above) is capable of determining illegal taps, defective phones, room listening devices, splices, VLF devices, infinity triggered devices, and selectively targeted phones in situations where a tap has been placed in a wire closet or a telephone room.

A signal is generated from your phone right to the Bell Canada Phone Centre (or the main phone centre of your particular State or Province). The purpose is to evaluate the current in the line and to discover if any device has been placed on the line that might be causing a drop in the current.

Here are some interesting videos of an actual Counter Electronic Sweep being conducted by a Private Investigation agency in Ontario Canada.

http://www.corpa.com/livevideopicks.html

Dealing with Collection Problems in a Small Business

corporatefactors.net — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:24:39 GMT

Collection & Bad Debt Solutions

Keeping up with customer debts, as well as maintaining an accurate record of payments received, are fundamental business elements.

Often there are logical reasons for accounts not being paid and which are falling past the 90 days due date.

Our company would be pleased to assess your accounts receivable problems, with what we call our Proactive-Reactive Program. Below are just a few examples of what you can expect in our assessment.

The Proactive Approach

Assessing the problem on a proactive level involves allowing us to make recommendations and set up systems and policies to stop collection problems from occurring in the first place. This is our fundamental goal in any assessment.

It is essential, for example, to set up proper customer information and to have on file application forms with the data necessary to help you find your customers easily, if they renege on payments, go out of business or simply disappear.

Often extending too much to your customer in the way of product or service can result in a customer being unable to pay an account that was out of their league in the first place.

But how can you be sure of how much of your product or service you should extend?

When do you extend to the limit and when do you start asking for deposits or retainers?

We will work with you on setting up a safe credit application program to make sure you are not extending too much of your product and service, to prevent the risk of not getting paid in full. In some cases this may involve working with the major credit bureaus.

How many times has a company gone out of business leaving you with nothing but an outstanding account and a disconnected telephone number?

You try to collect, but if the company is out of business, how do you get your money? You try suing in court but because the company is an incorporated entity you are not allowed to sue or collect from the business owner personally.

You spend thousands in legal fees only to obtain a worthless uncollectable judgment and an expensive legal bill.

What you may not know is that as a business owner you have the right to incorporate ?personal guarantee? policies into your customer accounts on incorporated companies.

This simply means that if the company goes out of business, the business owner can be held personally responsible for his account with you. This policy has to be set up properly when you open a customer account. It must also be set up sensitively, in order to gain a customer?s confidence, rather than hesitancy, in his transactions with you.

The Reactive Approach

Assessing the problem on a reactive level involves exactly that ? reacting to the existing problem at hand.

We are not a collection agency and we do not collect. But we will set a system in place to help you collect. First, however, we will enable you to have the right frame of mind about collections.
Here are some suggestions:

Third party collection agencies make telephone calls and send letters. That is all they are licensed to do. They may report the debt into the customer?s credit bureau file. But even if they do actually collect for you, they are going to take 1/3 to 50% of every dollar they manage to collect. If you are lucky, they might manage to negotiate post-dated cheques over time. In many cases, you will send off your accounts and you will hear nothing back from them. Collection agencies generally have only about 20% success.

If your company is a member of the credit bureau, you may be able to report your outstanding account into a customer?s credit file to leave a ?black mark? in their credit history, making it harder for them to get credit while your bad debt sits in their credit file.
If you want a skip trace to find the customer, or you want that customer to be sued in court, that collection agency, lawyer or skip tracer will be asking you for a deposit and perhaps a big one.

Keep in mind that millions of people are awarded judgments from the court that they can?t collect, simply because the customer has no assets. They spend and spend, trying to collect, but with no success.

A secretary or admin person could perform a lot of these collection tasks with right knowledge and/or the right software. Many companies hire in-house collection clerks on a part-time or contract basis. Many companies handle all their collection problems in-house.

Even Small Claims court documents can be downloaded from the Internet. You don?t necessarily need any legal knowledge to go after your account in Small Claims court, if the debt is a simple, cut-and-dried issue. Small Claims court recognises that people who come into their court may not have any legal knowledge, and the court can be somewhat accommodating.

Many companies handle simple Small Claims court matters themselves. They merely send a secretary or an employee from their accounting department to prove that the debt is outstanding.

Our objective is to evaluate your collection problems and determine what aspects could be handled most cost-effectively in-house, under a program we would design for you. We would also recommend which concerns should be looked after by third-party agencies, based on your budget and our assessment of how collectable we consider the debt to be.

www.corporatefactors.net

Will Obama be considered the most powerful man in the world ?

corporatefactors.net — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 02:16:16 GMT

Will Obama be considered the most powerful man in the world like all the presidents before him?

A King vs A President

When Obama takes office he will have to deal with Iran almost immediately. Iran continues to build nuclear weapons and continues threats to destroy Israel off the map. (keep an eye on Russia?s alliance with Iran).

The influx of government funds into the U.S. economy will fail. China (and perhaps Japan second) will be the first countries to no longer accept the U.S. Dollar. This will force the U.S into a recession far worst then in U.S. history. The U.S. will have no alternative but to merge with Europe forming the United States of Europe and making an even stronger European Union.

The European Union will insist that all countries of world come under a standard currency to stabilise the world?s economy or face economic destruction. This will come in the form of all countries changing their currencies to the Euro Dollar or should I say the ?Euro currency?. Due to fraud concerns the E.U. will insist on a paperless currency by either a card or microchip. All paper money known to mankind will be worthless.

The cashless economy will serve to stabilise or save world markets. It will destroy the underground economy making it impossible for those who work for cash and do not pay income tax to remain underground. It will increase security, help to fight crime and find missing persons and wanted felons. A cashless economy will become law enforcment's best crime fighting machine. It now becomes impossible for anyone to buy, sell or travel without their being some financial record of any transaction of their movements. Any attempts to barter will be punished to the full extent of law.

The European Union will be faced to appoint a leader and make no mistake about it, it won?t be Obama or an American for that matter. Gone are the days where the president of the United States was the most powerful man in the world.

The bankrupt United States no longer has any credibility in the world primarily as result of the controversy in Iraq. The E.U. will not allow an American to lead the European Union.

While many will laugh at the thought, the King of Spain Mr. Juan Carlos is currently the most qualified candidate out of all of the rulers currently in the E.U. or believed to join the E.U. His resume of schooling, religious studies, goes forever. The King of Spain has over 37 years of some of the best military training of any man in history.

Juan Carlos already has the title of "King of Jerusalem" (a title that that was given to Jesus in biblical times) and defender of Catholic Holy Land interests. .

The most powerful man in the world will be someone who can be trusted not only by the countries of the world but is someone on neutral ground of a financially sovereign country like Spain.

The world leader must be someone who can be trusted to resolve the conflicts in the middleeast without the hidden self serving agenda of oil in the background like the U.S.

Juan Carlos is more trusted to deal with the middle east conflict to enter into peace treaties between the Jews and Muslims.

Every peace treaty signed between Israel and her enemie have been the direct or indirect result of the efforts made in Spain, at the Madrid conference.

Why would the middle east trust a leader from a counry that has already admited that their financial crisis is a result of the greed and sins wallstreet?

Most scholars and economists believe that the world will not really know or hear about the King of Spain till at least 2012 which is not far away.

In July 1996 "Endtime" magazine wrote an article called "Cashless Society - How Close?"

It was reported that the country of Spain had become the first and only country in the world which required under the penalty of law that all pets in the nation be injected with an I.D. chip.

A simple google search will show that human microchipping is not far away. It makes all the sense in the world with respect to securtiy and the endless problems with fraud and impersonation.

CNN has already reported on the use of such microchips which can be seen at:

http://www.verichipcorp.com/files/CNN_AmerMorn_013106.wmv

A company known as Verichip Corp www.verichipcorp.com/ appears to be leading the way in this technology which is already in use.

Currently if you become a victim of impersonation about the only things you have in the world to prove you are you are your fingerprints and your DNA.

People will love the idea of human microchipping and will line up in droves to have it done with smiles on their faces.

Line ups up for travel through customs will be cut in half by a single swipe of a microchip. Your medical data would be available in seconds if you had a medical emergency.

It may very well be Spain that will lead the way to human microchipping in the world.

Over the next three years keep a sharp eye on the European Union and watch it grow to be the most power government organization the world has ever known.

A great deal of the world's oil comes from the middle east, don't think for one second that your life be it American or Canadian will not be effected by the conflicts in the middle east.

We are already effected by these middle east conflicts everytime we pay for inflated gas prices to gas up our vehicles.

References

Ahmadinejad: ?Destroy Israel?

Ahmadinejad: Destroy Israel, End Crisis
By SEAN YOONG
The Associated Press
Thursday, August 3, 2006; 10:49 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...080300629.html

Iran Threatens to Destroy Israel, Elected to UN Commission

by Ezra HaLevi

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/101999

Euro to Replace the U.S. Dollar

Greenspan says euro could replace U.S. dollar as reserve currency of choice The Associated Press
Published: September 17, 2007
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/...nspan-Euro.php

Euro to Replace the U.S. Dollar?
http://www.onejerusalem.com/2007/09/...the-us-dollar/

Spain & The European Union

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Carlos_I_of_Spain

Spain?s covert role in Middle East - all diplomatic roads pass through Madrid
17 Mar 2004 Barry Chamish
http://www.barrychamish.com
http://israel-politics.tripod.com/Sp...oordinator.htm

Human Micro chipping

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microchip_implant_(human)

http://www.verichipcorp.com/

(video)
http://www.verichipcorp.com/files/CN...orn_013106.wmv

US group implants electronic tags in workers
February 13, 2006, MSNBC/Financial Times
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11314766/

Remote Control Device 'Controls' Humans
October 26, 2005, San Francisco Chronicle/Associated Press
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...f133702D73.DTL

RFID: Getting Under Your Skin?
August 5, 2004, CNN/Fortune
http://money.cnn.com/2004/08/05/comm...chnology/rfid/

Would a microchip keep your child safe?
December 18, 2003, BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3307471.stm

A Real Chip On Your Shoulder
July 7, 2003, CBS/Associated Press
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/...in563819.shtml

Chipping at the Future
September 23, 1998, ABC News
http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/...cyborgman.html

FACEBOOK VS YOUR PRIVACY - You've Been Warned !!

corporatefactors.net — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 20:46:45 GMT

While I admit to joining the klan of facebook.com I find the site very dangerous in the way of personal privacy and people should be very concerned and warned.

I have written articles and even did a tv show on how impersonation is out of control. People who have had their lives destroyed because someone got a hold of their personal information and applied for credit in their name.

I interviewed a lady on my tv show who woke up one morning to a collection agency phone call. She discovered that someone impersonated her identity and managed to purchase two houses in her name in Gretzky?s home town of Brantford Ontario. She had no idea that someone had used her identity by applying for credit in her name.

It took years for her to get her life back.

Yet people who register on facebook post their name and their date of birth right out in the open for anyone to see.

Many on facebook will argue they use their privacy settings and only close friends see personal information. This is great for those who actually use their privacy settings.

There are networks after networks of interest groups that allow people who you may not directly know to see your personal information. They are allowed to see it because your privacy settings have allowed people in the same network to see your personal data.

Many assume because they have an interest in common with someone, skiing, music, church, city events that a person in that network is not going to compromise their data. Do you really know everyone in your network?

Yet bigger city networks like ?Toronto? or joining a network where in the city where you reside can be a great place for would be fraudsters to take your personal information and apply for credit.

Your Name & Date of Birth is all it takesPeople need to realise that all it takes is your name and date of birth to steal your identity.

Facebook A Great Place To Harvest

The word to be aware of is ?harvesting?. Right now I can go on facebook and within less that an hour I can harvest names and dates of birth of dozens after dozens of people. If I really tried I could probaby average 100 names and dates of birth in an hour. People who I don?t know, who are not in any network.

Personal data out in the open makes you vulnerable to attack by fraudsters to get your data to apply for credit in your name. Problem is people don?t realise just how bad the problem is. There is no recourse, you?re on your own trying to clean up your life if you?re impersonated. Don?t expect the police to do it for you and don?t expect that the fraudster will actually get caught. Act proactive rather then reacting to a crisis later.

Impersonation fraud is the biggest growing crime on a world wide level. If you have a home you could also be a victim of mortgage fraud or have your house sold right from under you with the aid of the data you gave up on facebook.com

Teenagers and children are the best targets. Kids who have not yet established credit ratings. A nice clean name, date of birth and address is all a fraudster needs to start applying for credit in your child?s name.

The Federal Trade Commission just did a warning to the public that over 400,000 children and have already had their identity stolen and many don?t even know it yet. This will include teenagers.

If your address is posted all the better. If they get a hold of your Social Insurance Number or Social Security Number you?re done like dinner you may never get your life back.

You?ll spend years trying to clean up your credit rating convincing creditors and collection agencies that you?re you and not the fraudster who managed to swindle thousands from banks and credit agencies using your name.

There was just a news article recently where a victim of impersonation was reported dead to the government, yet he was alive and well. He spent months just trying to convince the government he was not dead and his problems continue.

You could find the IRS or Revenue Canada knocking on your door or even the police or perhaps immigration.

The answers to virtually all verification questions asked by a bank or credit agency to prove you are you can be answered on facebook.com

Let?s start with the most common question that all credit card companies ask to verify you? ?What?s your mother?s maiden name?? Your dog?s name, where did you attend school. Your previous addresses. Take a look at the verification questions used by web based email services like hotmail.com when you sign up.

Many of these questions could be answered by looking on facebook.com.

There may be those who may want to use your name and date of birth to commit a crime or get a job when they don?t have status to work in the country.

Ask yourself could someone easily recreate your resume from facebook depending on the information you posted?

I am fascinated by those who post their resume. Where you went to school, what degrees you have, your past jobs, your marital status. Your interests, where you volunteer, you associations and degrees. Even your religious beliefs.

What about child predators seeking to hurt and exploit children.

People continue to post pictures of their children, some have posted where they go to school or daycare and even what time they are picked up. Your toddler could even be at risk.

The security risks to openly posted personal data are endless.

If you give away too much personal information your jugglar vein is exposed waiting for the kill. If you?re impersonated there are only two things in the world that can prove you?re you. Your DNA and your fingerprints. You?ll spend a lifetime trying to get your life back.

Be careful what personal information you give up on any website.

Due Diligence - Investigate Now or Litigate Later

corporatefactors.net — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 16:22:36 GMT

How many times have you heard about acquisitions that went bad shortly after the deal was signed?

If you are thinking about buying or selling a business or investing in one, you want to make sure it doesn't happen to you.

This is why we always discuss Investigating before Investing. Either you Investigate now or you litigate later.

The best way to protect yourself is to do enough "due diligence" to ensure that you know what you are buying or investing in.

What is due diligence?

Due Diligence is really a form of risk management most commonly known as doing your homework before you invest. "We want to make sure we believe the story before we invest."

The Due Diligence Check List and Investigative Due Diligence

There are a number of forms of Due Diligence. The most common form of Due Diligence is that of the "Due Diligence Check List."

This is a checklist which a corporate lawyer will request that the seller complete prior to closing or making the investment on behalf of the client.

This can be a very small list, or in some situations the check list can be very lengthy and exhaustive. In some cases the list can be up to 100 pages of items to be provided before closing.

Here are just a few examples that might be found on a standard due diligence check list:

Standard Due Diligence Check List

What You Should Be Asking For?

Letters from Provincial/Federal/State/County government confirming that all tax returns are filed to date with no arrears owing (i.e. payroll, sales tax, health tax and taxes from year-ends).
Articles of Incorporation.
Minute Books.
Shareholder Agreements.
All Tax Returns Filed To Date.
All Year-end Reports To Date.
External and Internal Auditors Reports.
Letters of verification confirming that all Provincial/Federal/State/County taxes have been paid.
Letter from Commercial Landlord confirming lease terms and no arrears.
Powers of Attorney.
Government licenses, permits, approvals etc.
Litigation/Execution confirming no judgments, pending or threatened litigation, claims or disputes.
Listing of outside contractors.
Loan agreements, lines of credit, debt instruments, notes payable, guarantees (by or in favor of the company), and any other agreements collateralized or secured by the assets.

You may wish to obtain more information on your due diligence check lists, we have a number of samples. Alternatively, it is really best to consult a corporate lawyer.

Investigative Due Diligence

Investigative Due Diligence is a whole different ball game. It is in fact a background investigation on the individual and/or the company.

Investigative Due Diligence can be conducted with or without the knowledge of the individual or the company being investigated. This is your decision to make.

It is perfectly lawful for you to retain an investigation company to conduct a background investigation without anyone knowing about it.

You must first make a decision whether you want to have the owner or the company investigated, or both. Our position is to always do both.
The Owner Of The Company

If you are investing funds in a company, it is the owner(s) who will be responsible for how the funds are spent within the company.

What happens if the owner is in great financial difficulty?

What if there are outstanding lawsuits, judgments, child support obligations and credit card debts? Where do you honestly expect the invested funds to end up first?

The owner may have told his or her outstanding creditors that payment would be resolved once company financing is in place. This could suggest that much of the funds invested will go to paying off personal debts instead of using the funds to expand the company as proposed in the business plan.

In many cases where troubled companies are looking for capital, the owners have exhausted much of their personal reserves. You can expect that paying off personal debts will happen in most of these situations. It is important, however, to know just how bad the debt situation is.

We need to get a rough idea just how much of the investor's money will actually make it into the company.

We also want to find out as much as possible about the past tactics of the owner.

Have there been other companies owned by this individual that have gone bankrupt shortly after financing was obtained?

Are there any old or current lawsuits against the owner or the company?
Has the owner ever been bankrupt?
Can this owner be trusted ?
What kind of person is he?
Does he get on well with employees and managers?
Is he a proven leader with vision?
Has this person ever been written up in the media, a trade journal, or an industry publication? Was it a good or bad article ?
Where does he live? What kind of car does he drive? How much money does he have in the bank? What is the status of the mortgage on his home?

In a recent reported case an owner who had obtained financing for his company was deeply indebted to creditors. The owner did everything possible to get money out of the company and into his pocket.

Numerous fictitious invoices and companies had been created by the owner. The owner wrote cheques to these companies which appeared on the books as nothing more than valid business expenditures.

Thousands went into his pocket through one company name or another. It is the oldest trick in the book.

(Credit Searches, Criminal Records & The Law)

The Controversial Stuff
Two very important investigations to conduct on the owner, in the background stage, are a credit search and a criminal record search.

The credit search is important because it will yield information about the balance on credit cards, collection matters, previous addresses, past employment, the works.

Credit Searches
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (USA), and the Consumer Reporting Act (CAN) make it illegal for anyone to conduct a credit search on an individual without their consent. This means that you will have to advise the owner that you wish to conduct a credit search on him or her or you will not invest.

Just like applying for a loan, it is expected that a credit search will be conducted. It is best for you to draw up a simple written authorization and have the owner sign it. This is a very important search in the investigative due diligence process.

Criminal Record Searches
The law in regard to criminal record searches varies from state to state in the United States. In Canada it is not public record so it is completely illegal for you to obtain a criminal record search on an individual without their consent.

If the owner resides in a location where criminal record information is not public record, you are going to have to instruct the owner to go out and obtain his or her own Certificate of Non-Conviction from their local police station. How to obtain this document will vary from county to county. Inquiries will have to start at your local police division.

If an owner should refuse to give consent in these two areas, your alarm bells should start ringing.

There may very well be a skeleton in the closet.

Unlike the employee and employer relationship, in most investment situations you have the right to refuse to invest for any reason; you may not even have to give a reason at all.

Why Canadian Businesses Fail

corporatefactors.net — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 23:45:37 GMT

Why Canadian Businesses Fail

What would happen if you were given a key to a race car for which you had only the manual (a written plan), but you had no previous driving experience?

You take your new race car out on to the track and find yourself surrounded by other race car drivers on fast moving track. You try to follow the manual (your written plan), but you discover it?s useless without practical driving experience.

Within moments, you crash into a wall and bring down other race car drivers with you. You suffer injuries that affect you and others for a very long time.

Banks, lenders, and business development organizations wonder why new start-up businesses in Canada continue to crash into the wall at record rates.

Even with the most perfect written business plan, many lenders no longer lend to new start-up businesses simply because the risk for failure is too high.

A friend of mine was recently laid off from a job she had for many years. Like most people she went on unemployment benefits while she struggled to look for work.

Realising her hope for employment in Canada was bleak she decided to start her own business. She had no previous experience running a business.

She discovered a government-sponsored program that would allow her to receive unemployment benefits while starting her own business. The only catch to the deal was she would have to attend and complete the unemployment business training course on how to properly start her own business, or her unemployment benefits would be cut off.

While taking the class she came to me almost weekly seeking help with her business plan. I soon realised that her course was very focused on the written business plan, with very little practical training involved.

Every business scholar and successful entrepreneur would agree that a written business plan is crucial to the start-up process.

Before a building can be built there has to be a solid blueprint. Essentials to a business plan are strategies such as the mission statement, target market, industry analysis, competition, marketing, financial projections and so on.

There is, however, a limit to what can be learned in a classroom setting, without hands-on experience or through the examples of successful entrepreneurs.

If government lenders, banks and others continue to focus exclusively on well-written business plans, they might as well attach a bankruptcy application form to each loan application.

There are many reasons why businesses fail, and in most cases failure has little to do with not following the actual business plan.

CANADA?S BUSINESS TAX SYSTEM

A new small business owner may not be properly prepared to handle Canada?s tax system.

After a year or so in business, the owner can expect government envelopes to begin arriving almost daily in the mail.

All levels of government will be looking for their money. There will be Municipal, Provincial and Federal taxes, plus GST. If your business qualifies you may also be subject to Retail Sales Tax and Workman?s Compensation dues.

Hiring an employee or two will launch the new business owner into Canada?s complicated and expensive payroll system. Many business associations continue to lobby against Canada?s excessive business payroll tax.

They maintain the expensive payroll system alone is prohibiting new start-ups from providing job opportunities. They say this is the true reason why there are few jobs available in Canada. Entrepreneurs simply don?t want to do business here because of our tax system.

A business owner can expect that more than 50% of every dollar earned will be paid out in tax. This means the tax man is your partner and you may not even know it. That is of course if you?re a business that actually pays tax as many don?t. If you do you may find yourself competing with competitors undermining your prices whom have given up and illegally joined the underground economy.

Understanding Canada?s business tax system and how to manage and pay business tax on time can make the difference between success and failure.

Other Challenges

And what about other aspects of business that may not be covered in the business plan? For example:

? Renting space; dealing with commercial landlords who seek long term leases with hidden personal guarantees that may prevent your business from growing when you can?t break out of a lease.

? financing equipment and vehicles successfully

? finding the right insurance for the business and its employees

? Coping with suppliers or customers who don?t pay.

? Dealing with bad debt, insurance claims, lawyers, accountants, customs and freight brokers.

? entering into contracts

? Learning how to hire and fire employees, and discovering their rights under the employment legislation

Some of these issues alone are documented business killers.

What is the Answer?

In the early days of the Internet there was a Dot Com Venture Capital boom. Millions of dollars were being invested by Venture Capitalists and private lenders into new start-ups. Some deals went well; others were disastrous.

During this time, I read about a few Venture Capital firms who made the decision to nurture the business in which they were investing on many different levels.

For example, the new start-ups were not only well-financed by lenders/investors, they were provided with office space sometimes in the same building as the lender or on the same floor.

The owners and staff were given basic business training paid for by the lender/investors. They virtually had a professional venture capitalist holding their hand each step of the way.

Imagine one of Canada?s leading banks lending to new start-ups under a new training program. Before a potential loan applicant could even get an appointment to see a loan rep, they would have to complete a joint government and bank sponsored professional business course.

A course available day, nights, or weekends to accommodate any schedule, taught by qualified business professionals who were not only teachers but were successful entrepreneurs in their own right.

Entrepreneurs who focus not only on the written business plan but who could teach on all the expected struggles of running a Canadian business. A course that could cover various aspects of industry, such as retail, construction, manufacturing, technology etc.

In Canada we have subsidized housing for those who cannot afford to pay expensive rent. Imagine government-subsidized commercial space for new businesses trying to grow.

Why should we expect the government to pay or assist with such training?

Every new business created is a new tax payer to our system. A company who will pay the government 50% or more on every dollar earned. Each employee who works at the new company will also pay an array of other taxes. An employee who is making money will also spend money into the economy.

The failure of a company, from a government standpoint, is the death of a tax payer. It is in the government?s best interest to keep businesses alive and offer incentives for business to be created and to grow, so that jobs can be created.

Giving out government grants to new start ups using well-designed business plans to the untrained and unqualified only increases the financial coffers of bankruptcy trustees.

Note:

If your business failed in Canada, we would appreciate you telling us your story via our feedback of this blog.

We continue to research and set up programs to help businesses grow and prevent them from failing.

The Author:
Kevin Bousquet is the president of The Corpa Group Inc; a Private Investigation and Due Diligence firm working for the Venture Capital Industry.

Asset Protection Insurance - A Great Idea !!

Jeff Lipton — Fri, 16 May 2008 14:20:16 GMT

We have a unique insurance product that fulfils many long-term needs such as:

Creditor Proofing;

Intergenerational Rollover of Assets;

An Alternative to Liability Insurance; and

Protection of Intellectual Property (including royalty, license and any payment streams).

Creditor Proof Your Assets Against Future Liabilities

This product will creditor proof your assets and insures their replacement should a successful attack on your assets ever occur.

It is effective against any creditor or claimant; be they clients, business associates, partners, or personal contacts (your current family or future members of your estate).

Virtually any asset can be protected in a policy including cash and securities, but real estate, private equity, gems, art and intellectual property.

Intergenerational Rollover of Assets

The product will dovetail with any estate plan, freeze and existing insurance planning proposal.

In fact, it will not only protect assets for future generations from the standpoint of all litigation and/or regulatory, family, or economic incident, but do so for as much as 100 years in the future.

Families can rest assured that all assets will transfer unencumbered and as planned regardless of intervening future events.

This is a superior alternative to prenuptial agreements.

Alternative to Liability Insurance this product is designed to replace costly initiatives such as medical malpractice insurance but is equally applicable to any liability coverage.

It protects all of the estate assets inside the policy and rates will not increase as a result of prior claims history or subsequent findings of negligence.

If you are a consumer of liability coverage that has seen rates skyrocket for any claim history, this is an excellent alternative solution.

Protection of Intellectual Property and Royalty Streams:

This insurance will protect and preserve the sanctity of intellectual property from creditors and others that might seek to control or influence its use. The policy can be administrated to allow for licensing to other parties and cash flow payments can be made directly to the policy, protecting both the asset and the resultant payment flow as well.

The insurance policy is transferrable making it an excellent vehicle for transacting the sale of intellectual property. As with all of the applications mentioned, the product is ideal for corporations, partnerships, foundations, trusts and individuals alike.

For further information on the application and usage of asset protection insurance products in detail visit our web site;

www.aseassurance.com

Allied Sovereign and Equitable Assurance Company Ltd.,

Asset Protection Insurance

The Venture Capital Broker Scam

corporatefactors.net — Wed, 14 May 2008 03:51:23 GMT

Scams To Watch For (If you are seeking investment)

If you use a company or a middleman such a loan broker to try to find you an investor or a venture capitalist, you may be asked to pay a large fee up front before any financing has been obtained.

This advance payment may be called a processing fee, finder?s fee, or credit application fee.Prior to being told about the up-front fee, you will be put through an exhaustive array of frustrating paper work which will include credit applications, the business plan, references, co-signers, numerous interviews, etc.

Even though you have been told the fee is completely refundable, you may have trouble collecting your refund through the court system if the middleman has no assets.You should be aware that there are thousands of fraudulent companies and fraudulent middlemen who make their living scamming for these processing fees. The agreement between you will be so fine that you may find yourself in the cold as a result of some unconditional clause in the contract.

There are hundreds of reasons why you could be denied independent financing under the contact.This processing fee scam has gotten so bad there has been new legislation written in many States and Provinces to protect consumers from it. This type of scam is most commonly found in the mortgage broker and loan broker field.

I could write a book on the number of mortgage brokers I have investigated in my career.If you are using a middleman you must check references. Have them give you the name of 10 to 20 individuals for whom financing has been successfully obtained. Pick up the phone and call these individuals.

If you are nervous about paying the finder?s fee, pay the fee to your lawyer in ?trust.? Your lawyer will disburse the finder?s fee only when the financing is in place. Just have your lawyer write the middleman a letter confirming that his fees are being held in trust upon completion of financing. It must be your lawyer, and not the lawyer acting for the middleman.

There are a number of legitimate middlemen out there who work on a ?No Find No Fee? basis; to find them you?re going to have to call around. A reputable real estate lawyer or securities lawyer should be able to refer you to someone.We are not stereotyping these middlemen. We?re merely suggesting that if you are dealing with an individual or a company whom you don?t know, you must check references.

You may even wish to perform a litigation search to see if the middleman has ever been a defendant in a lawsuit. This basic search should cost you no more than $100.Scams To Watch For (If you are an investor) Needless to say, the investigative and due diligence efforts that have to be made by an investor cannot be summarized in a few paragraphs.

There is an endless number of situations in which investors have been scammed lending money to new ventures that were nothing more than fraudulent paper corporations with no real foundation. The money gets invested into a corporation, the directors abscond with the money, and the company goes bankrupt.

The same scam can apply to fraudulent real estate deals.We would suggest that all investors conduct extensive due diligence and investigative research before extending money to any individual or company. It is important to investigate not only the company you?re looking to invest in, but most of all the individuals who are truly behind the company.

Do these individuals have criminal records? Have they been defendants in lawsuits? Is there a history of bankruptcy, in which the individual formed a company that was shortly bankrupted after being financed by investors?It will be necessary to know where these individuals were before they started their new venture. If they were in a previous business, why did it fail? What is the likelihood of success this time around?

We would again suggest that if you do not know how to do your own due diligence or homework (or you just don?t have the time) then you may wish to consider an outside source.It is best to go to a corporate lawyer (in the city where you reside) who can refer you to a reputable Private Investigator or Forensic Accountant.