Bush is too much of a Liberal

I get asked this regularly, why won’t I endorse Bush. Well, I just don’t think he’s a Conservative. Sure, he’s a member of the Republican party, but I don’t think he’s a Conservative. In fact, some of what he does just looks Liberal to me. Here are some of the things that stand out in my mind:

1. Can’t balance the budget. Spending is way up.
2. Weak on crime. Funding down, crime rates up.
3. Invades foreign coutry without declaration of war.
4. Amnesty for illegal immigrants.

I changed my mind about vision statements

I used to think that vision statements were just something that corporate executives do to make themselves feel as if they’re contributing. I still feel that’s true, but for a small company having the entrepreneur express his vision to his employees and customers should provide some benefit, even if intangible.

What is a vision statement, exactly, you ask? Well, first of all, it’s not a mission statement. The mission statement is much more firmly in the public relations area than a vision statement. A vision statement is an outline of how the entrepreneur wishes his company to operate.

A vision statement can express specific goals, such as how you’d like to structure your management team, and how you want to outline your marketing plan. It can also express less tangible items, such as how you envision your company’s culture.

How does this help? Well, here’s the part where I’ve been converted. It’s about communications. Once an entrepreneur starts employing others to work for his company, the struggle with keeping the original idea of the venture begins. Generally, people that want to work for you will not share your ideas and goals for the company from day one. The only way to get them to follow your ideas and goals is to communicate it to them.

Stock Market Picks – Micro-caps

I’ve been tracking a small number of publicly traded companies, some of which I’ve invested in, and some of which I’m merely tracking. I look at ones mostly in the $1 to $3 range, and primarily at small companies, under $50 million (stock price multipled by number of outstanding stocks). These are what you call “micro-cap stocks.”

I track factors like their outstanding debt, revenue figures, and where the stock has traded in the past. I also look at intangibles, such as the viability of the product or service, the history of the management team, and the overall condition of the industry and the company’s position in it.

I do get bombarded with spam emails suggesting that I should purchase whatever “hot stock” the spammer wants to promote. I urge people to not fall victim of scams like this. Generally, what happens is the spammer is the major stock holder, or has somehow gained the position of being the only (or primary) market maker in the stock. They’ll sell you the stock at an inflated price, and when you want to sell there are no buyers. You’d do better picking stocks using the Wall Street Journal’s monkey method.