Better Business Coaching

When you’re approaching your retirement and still suffering from debt problems, you must seriously think about debt help options to secure your retired life. Excessive debt can become a hindrance in your objective of achieving financial stability during retirement. Financial stability is the most important element in your retired life. Your retired life can be more enjoyable if you can become debt free. There are some debt relief plans or programs that can help you come out of debt when you’re nearing retirement. Some of the useful programs among them are explained below.

Reverse Mortgage
If you’re 62 years old or above and you own a home which is your primary residence, then you can qualify for a reverse mortgage loan. You can use the proceeds of a reverse mortgage loan for paying down different loan obligations. The proceeds can be utilized for home renovation, tax payment or debt settlement by depositing it into a special purpose account.

Using the Proceeds of your Life Insurance Policy
If you’re insured by a life insurance policy that has cash value, you can use its proceeds to eliminate your debts. When you terminate your policy, you receive the cash value which is basically a dollar amount. You also have the option of obtaining a loan against this investment account. If the policy is in place for quite a number of years, then you can certainly gain from a higher cash value.

Go For a Home Equity Loan
If you’re not deemed eligible for a reverse mortgage loan, a home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC) can be another option for you to alleviate your debt burden.

Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy should be considered as the last resort for debt-struck people. Retired persons don’t feel confident about filing bankruptcy. If you qualify for bankruptcy, you can have a clean slate and your finances can be reorganized. The filing requirements under the new federal bankruptcy law are stricter. You also have to go through a credit counseling session prior to filing for bankruptcy.

Remember some important advices. You have to stay within your means, which implies you should spend less than what you make. Know how your debts can be managed more efficiently. Try to pay down your loans quickly. If possible, go for debt consolidation. Use all-inclusive savings plans like setting up a Roth IRA.

Despite the fact there are different techniques to get rid of debt when you attain your retirement age or have already retired, it is always wise that you don’t allow debts to pile up once more. This would ensure that you get the cash that you need to tackle contingencies or severe illnesses.

Author: Robin Williams

One way to promote your business and at the same time increase internet traffic to your business website is to offer an incentive for your existing customers and new customers alike,to get in touch.

A free to enter competition with a good price usually works, especially if you offer a cash price!

Most internet users in the UK will be familiar with the MoneySupermarket price comparison website, it is among the most popular sites for comparing prices through a whole range of products including money and finance, insurance, shopping and utilities.  By promoting a free to enter and fun to participate competition small businesses as much as household names can increase their traffic and public awareness.

For example, MoneySupermarket have launched a competition challenging customers to make a short video showing how they spent the savings they have made by using their website; and here’s an example of how one customer used the money that she had saved to buy her dog Benson a Batman outfit!

You can see more video entries and register to take part at ‘Let’s Have The Savings‘ here. The funniest and most viewed video will win the cash prize of £500.

So if you think you can come up with an amusing video check out the site now for full details and register your chance to win the cash!

“I guess I’m just lucky to have a job at the moment.”

This is the most common response that clients give me when I ask how things are going at work. With so many redundancies, people feel grateful to still be in gainful employment and relieved that it’s their salary rather than savings that will feed the family and pay the school fees for another month.

The problem with feeling grateful, whether it’s towards an employer or the markets at large, is that it can leave you feeling trapped and powerless.  Any plans you had to advance your career, change role, start a new business venture or move house have been put on hold, and when our power to make decisions for ourselves has been diminished, dissatisfaction and unhappiness are sure to follow..

And it’s not just your work life that suffers; the reverberations can be felt in your relationships and your health. Even if you still enjoy the content of your work, the fear of loss of income or lack of flexibility tends to reduce your motivation levels. Professional insecurity leads to low personal morale which in turn does nothing to improve the atmosphere in the workplace or the faith of the people you manage. Whether you are aware of it or not, it’s your own sense of vulnerability which will prevent you from progressing in these volatile times.

As with most situations that are out of your direct control, the best course of action is to change your attitude towards them. Adapting your mindset won’t fix the situation but it will make you feel like choices, and thus power, are still yours.

Here are a few tips on how to regain control and feel the reins firmly in your hands again:

Act as if: Work as if you think this year will bring you the largest financial bonus of your career….after all, it may be a reality as soon as next year. There is a fine line separating constructive optimism and blind delusion. Use your common sense – you know the difference. Draw that fine line and decide to tread on the right side of it. You know the risks involved, you are happy to take them. Conviction is key.

Fight the fear:  If you want to move job roles – ask if you can. It’s business as usual. The fear isn’t real – its just in your head. Still being engaged in your career progression will help you feel in control and show Management that you haven’t tuned out and you won’t accept excuses. You’re displaying personal traits of confidence and resolve – the traits of a true leader. By taking action and leading you feel more in control, positive and powerful.

Know your market value: There may not be much movement in the job market but firms are still hiring, especially for more senior positions. Making some enquiries will at least let you know your current worth, help you gauge what your next move might be and identify the skill gaps that you should be working on now. It will help you and others reassert your conviction to the job at hand. Opportunity never disappears, it’s form merely changes over time. Not everyone can see this. You can.

Have a life: Easier to say than do when you have picked up the workload of everyone who’s departed over the last few months, but spending time with friends and family doing sport and relaxing will all help you cope better with the stress in the long run. Striking the right work/life balance should never become secondary. Your life engagements need to be prioritised correctly much like your work one’s are. An unhappy personal life will ultimately reflect on the quality of your work.

Now is the perfect time to stop feeling grateful but trapped and start recognising the opportunities and the power you really have.

About Jo Geraghty

Jo Geraghty is managing Director of “Beyond the Ladder” and is one of the UK’s leading coaches for executives and entrepreneurs. Her clients are either current or past employees of large US or European corporations. Some are looking to climb the ladder still further, others want a better work/life balance and many have branched out on their own and now run successful businesses.

Jo has over 14 years experience working for US investment banks in a variety of roles from FX trading to Client Relationship Services and HR Management and was formerly head of HR for Goldman Sachs France and Switzerland.

The high achiever mindset is so conditioned to win at everything, all of the time, that whenever we perceive or we’re told that we didn’t quite ‘reach the bar’, regardless of whether it has been placed there by ourselves or by others, we consider that we’re unsuccessful.

Whether it’s losing a major client, folding a business or not getting a job that you’ve interviewed for, the repercussions on your confidence levels can be devastating.

The internal dialogue can haunt you for a long time and the little voice in your head can scream failure at every new idea you have.  Your thoughts scan every decision made, every conversation had and question your belief in yourself; ‘why did this happen to me?’

Success, however, is not without risk and a successful person has had to overcome temporary defeat at one time or another. Richard Branson is a prime example of someone who has failed multiple times but has bounced back, setting himself a larger and larger challenge every time.

Jo Geraghty, managing Director of “Beyond the Ladder” and one of the UK’s leading coaches for executives and entrepreneurs, is not immune from failure either.

“The first time I lost a client, I was in total disbelief. I quizzed myself; ‘I have lots of happy and satisfied clients who are achieving their objectives, making their targets and are happy with the positive influence I’m having on their life so why did this happen to me?’. I felt that I was using my “guaranteed success formula to coaching”. So, why hadn’t it worked this time?  After this incident, I listed three things that I could do differently next time and decided that my own failure would actually lead to much greater future success. And it did.” explains Jo.

So if you’re dealing with a “failure” what do you need to remember? Jo has three key pieces of advice;

1) You get results where you focus
Your project/business/career/relationships etc. need a 100% of your attention to succeed. If you’re not totally committed to what you’re doing then don’t expect others to be. Focus and refocus on your goals and the steps that you need to turn them into a reality. Taking your eye off the ball is the first step to your downfall.

2) Ask for feedback & accept the need to change
We know what we’re good at, we have case studies galore of things that have gone according to plan but the world evolves, as does the market and our clients. We need to know that we’ll be as good tomorrow as we are today.  Constantly ask for feedback and if your employer/client/partner wants something different, the key to success lies in our ability to adapt.

3) Use the full toolkit
Alas there is no one model or formula for success. You need to use the most appropriate style, skill or technique for each, individual situation. Just because one method may work with one client, don’t assume it will work with all.

Nobody likes to feel that they’ve failed but it really is the only way that we learn. We refine our internal model and do something different next time. Failure is really the very first step to success.

In a downturn, exceeding your customer’s expectations can make all the difference in whether or not you win the next job.  The following tips show how you can go above and beyond and win a customer for life.

1.    Ask proactive questions – customers appreciate it when you act as business coach and demonstrate your concern for the process and its result.

2.    Know when to defer – deference it important but too much of it positions you as a hired help.  Inspire confidence by acting collegial and proving yourself to be a competent business expert in your field.

3.    Beat the deadline – getting the work done ahead of time gives the customer flexibility and demonstrates you are efficient and customer-focused.  When you agree a deadline with your customer choose one that you know you can beat.

4.    Give feedback – every process can be improved; you are in a unique position to provide feedback.  If you feel the circumstances are right, tactfully give thoughtful and constructive criticism.

Carole Davidson is an Executive Coach inspiring businesses to succeed.