VACATION tip for SAHMs and others

Going on vacation this week. If I were good about posting regularly I know you would miss me.

Before departing I thought I would pass on two tips about vacation time, one for everyone, one for SAHMS especially.

1. USE YOUR VACATION TIME. Two weeks or six, companies include this as part of your total employment package. They pay you less if they give you more vacation time. Lets say you are paid $200/day. Every vacation day you take, you are PAID this amount to play. Vacation time is an attractive benefit. Technically you're paid for doing nothing but they would have to pay you more if it wasn't available. SO USE IT.

*It is also your social duty. Employers track vacation time usage. If employees are under-utilizing this benefit, an employer will decrease vacation time. This has happened time and again.

2. MOM NOTE: USE YOUR SPOUSE'S VACATION TIME. So for Christmas, mother's day, etc., cards and flowers are nice. Gift cards are OK. But what if daddy didn't have to pay anything and could give you the most amazing gift: time to yourself that is not the weekend. What if daddy gave you one of his vacation days, saying, "OK, honey, this is my slow season. Here is a coupon for a vacation day for YOU. Give me a week's notice and its yours." How cool would that be?

Why am I posting this for moms instead of dads? Because sometimes daddy needs a hint from mommy:)

Try not to miss me too much while I'm out and have a great week!

Case Study: Netflix

Netflix is raising its prices; it will now cost $15.98 for unlimited online streaming of a limited selection AND 1 DVD at a time mail rental. This is a 60% increase over their current price of $9.99.

The increase was inevitable. When they started streaming movies in 2008, nobody realized how big the practice would become. Now its huge and studios realize that they are losing money by charging so little. Contracts with Netflix expire in 2008 and the studios now want their cut. It is estimated that this expense will go from millions to billions.

Netflix has always been a low cost, high profit business. Their convenience rapidly built their customer base. Even my backwoods neighbors get the red envelope at least once a week. My wealthier friends have "that box" that lets you rent them right from home.

Is a $6 price increase really going to affect them? That is the question stock watchers are pondering.

On the one hand, since the announcement, their stock price has increased several dollars. They have loyalty. The majority of consumers will grumble but not take the effort to make a change for a mere $6. That is human behavior.

On the other hand, competitors like Google and Amazon - who have much more money because of their diversified companies - may be eyeballing Netflix. There is room for a giant company to move in on competition in the same business, paying studios more and charging less for a year before bringing prices back up? Walmart does this all the time. Or, Netflix could be purchased by one of them. Their established client base is a valuable asset. And an acquired company's stock increases once the deal is done.

Then again, if they are just priced out of the market, Netflix could die a quick death and stocks could plummet.

Which way will it go? Any ideas from commenters?

RElaunch REview: Change

Change is a big deal to a lot of people. Keep this in mind and be sensitive to the fact that when implementing change you will come across much resistance. If not done right, implementing change will not "take." Here are two steps to making your change stick.

#1 The Low Hanging Fruit. Implement a tiny change within your large change, one so small that anyone can do it. Fear of failure is why many resist. If your employees suddenly need to learn Spanish to stay on as operators, start with a fun children's song. If the office suddenly is required to recycle, have a meeting where you offer free soda and have one of the new bins there to collect cans. Little steps can make a huge difference to greater acceptance when the big changes come.

#2 The Change Agent. Get someone who is popular yet competent to be your cheerleader for the change. Whether at the watercooler or in meetings, you need this person to take your side. Others listen to them; if this sounds like high school, it is. See post for more details on this one.

RElaunch REview: Stock tips

#1: KNOW YOUR COMMODITIES

Everything is made of parts/ingredients. The price of these ingredients, therefore, affects the price of things... affects the price of their stocks.

Example: Latte ingredients are espresso beans, milk and electricity used to produce the lovely froth. This is important if you invest in Starbucks. This year, not only has electricity been higher to buy, but natural disasters have severely affected the coffee bean crop. Prices for 2 of the 3 commodities have been higher; this forces coffee retailers to increase their already high prices and consumers have begun decreasing consumption, substituting Starbucks for a McDonald's latte or a Keuring machine that makes delicious drinks at home. Starbuck's stock will see a decrease if they do not control prices but if they cannot make a profit, they will also lose money and face a stock fall. Be aware of their actions and adjust your portfolio accordingly.

#2 PENNY STOCKS

Stocks you can buy for pocket change. Literally. They are so cheap because they are pretty useless but on occasion they do "hit." If it sounds like Vegas, it is. Only buy if you have money that you will not miss at all.

Example: Pier 1 Imports was failing in 2007, with its stock down to 7 cents a share. The company should have failed but they hired a new CEO who made some good changes. Today the stock is worth $11/share. Doesn't seem like much compared to Apple but had you invested $7 instead of throwing it away on useless crap (what useless stuff did you purchase in 07?) you would have $1054 today. That makes some pretty nice pocket change.

RElaunch Review: Terms

SYNERGY: 2+2=5 or when two forces combine to create even more good things (i.e. strengths, capabilities, profits) NOUN

• Business sentence: Apple's new system that syncs up all of its products, from the iPhone to the Mac, has created a new form of intra-brand synergy.
• Mommy sentence: Some of the strangest synergies can be found in the toddler diet: Mac and cheese with cut hot dogs, for example, only appeal to them but they will eat this for hours! (Quite a feat if you have a picky tot like me.)

CSR: Corporate do-gooding, whether done by donating money or volunteer time. Strategically picked to go with company values, trendy causes and PR angles. NOUN

• Business sentence: Pampers' brand has its own CSR, promoting and funding childhood vaccination in 3rd world countries.
• Mommy sentence: Teaching my son CSR can be as simple as giving money to a homeless man at the subway, or working in a food kitchen with him when he is older.

SUPPLY: What is available for sale. Often affected by outside forces, like weather for produce or availability, in terms of minerals.

• Business sentence: Abercrombie & Fitch has been directly affected by natural disasters in Asia this year; drastically decreased cotton supplies are causing a spike in clothing prices of this already struggling retailer.
• Mommy sentence: My supply of coffee is getting low, causing a spike in my temper.

DEMAND: What people want, either in general, or of a certain product. This can be referred to in terms of wants (what is popular) or needs.

• Business sentence: High gas prices have cut the demand for road trips this summer, affecting tourism in small-market areas of the Midwest.
• Mommy sentence: How do you respond when your three kids are all demanding different things at once?

MARKET: Who wants it. This can either be in general (food or commodities) or specific (teenagers want smartphones.) NOUN, IN THIS USAGE.

• Business sentence: Water is at a premium in Africa where its market is affected by drought like conditions combined with extreme poverty.
• Mommy sentence: In my house, the market for Gap Kids clothing expands, the more used and cheaper the clothing becomes.

RElaunch REviews

Gotta give the people what they want. My favorite commenter asked for a review of our MBA mom lessons thus far and I will comply! July is crazy and my mind is spinning with all the summery vacationy events so a review is probably the best I can do anyways:)

I will post 3 reviews, based on terms, tips and lessons. There are some other great concepts on this blog (yoohoo, book publishers and colleges at which I applied to teach) so review those at your leisure, too!

Stock Tip of the day: Penny Stocks

Penny stocks are just that: stocks that cost mere pennies.

Penny stocks have the benefit of becoming mega-profitable if you have a few bucks to burn right now and can be patient.

Pier 1Imports is an excellent example. In 2007 the company was on the verge of bankruptcy, about to close. Stocks were $0.07 apiece. Yes, kids that's 7 cents a share. Now, at that price and with the company's history, they very well could have sank and closed forever. They were hiring a new CEO and that action can take a company in either direction. From my end, its before having children. I know for a fact I could have purchased $7 worth of stock in Pier 1. Had the company tanked, I would have lost the price of a lunch out or a few coffee drinks. No big.

So, say I purchased 100 shares in Pier 1. Today, 2011, Pier 1's stock is worth almost $11/share. Doesn't sound like much of a stock price.

BUT WAIT! Today's shares are now worth 149 TIMES what they were in 2007. That means that the $7 I invested is now worth... $1043. That would keep me fueled up on coffee drinks all year, er, I mean, take care of a mortgage payment!

Investing in pennies depends on how much you can purchase and how much you can afford to lose, because there is a very real possibility of losing it all.

I do know I could have dropped $70 with a heated discussion from hubby... or I would have spent that on an outfit. But I'm sure Goodwill has that outfit now and hubby would be enjoying that extra vacation with me this year or at least the mortgage payments $10,430 would cover.

If you get really economicky, like some of the TV pundits adivse, you would do things like turn down your sister's bridesmaid request for something like this. I happen to have TWO sisters getting married this summer. Am easily spending $700 combined. I could really anger them by saying no to being a part of their nuptials. BUT, I could invest what I would be spending in penny stocks and split the $104,300 with them in a few years... yeah, maybe penny stocks aren't secure enough to risk a rift in familial relations on a $104,300 emotional bandaid (and truthfully if it panned out, I'm not sure that I would want to part with that) but you catch my drift.

It all depends on what you can afford to lose... there are people making millions off this, but they have the few hundred bucks to (probably) lose. Get a crisp $20 for your birthday? Think pennies...