Money Retrieval

I've recently started going after money of mine from people who didn't deserve to keep it and am having some good success. So much so that I decided to offer my money retrieval wisdom and experience as a service to others. On Monday I started to rebuild AndreaReynolds.com as a site for helping people retrieve money. On Tuesday afternoon I posted a few web pages with no fanfare, no promotion, no announcement. I didn't tell anyone I was switching from mentoring consultants to helping people retrieve their money.

The strangest thing happened just a few hours after I posted those few pages - although it's not so strange to me because I believe the right thing happens at the right time - a client came to me. Last night I received a retainer and today I have been doing the preliminary research: lots of phone calls and lots of emails. My client wants me to handle it because she is stunned angry, and numb with shock at the betrayal. The amount I'm going to collect is close to $3,000.

I love doing this work. And hope I can take on many more clients. I will keep a case blog on my web site to post my assignments and will add updates as progress is made. Between assignments I will write articles, write booklets, teach seminars, speak to college classes and conferences and hopefully write a column and appear on radio again.

Not everyone will want to retain me so I also offer email advice, phone advice, office appointments, protest letters, impact statements, and even corporate brainstorming.

What was the catalyst for my service? Probably the complete dismay I felt over hearing about the Ponzi Scheme perpetrated by Bernard Madoff. And to hear that nice couple Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon lost a fortune in Madoff's scheme. And also that everyone seems to have a story about being ripped off but doing nothing about retrieving what is theirs.

Who inspired me to be persistent? Robert Edmond, an elderly man who sued a convenience store clerk and the Ontario Lottery Corporation when the clerk stole his $250,000 winning lottery ticket. You will find links to his story on the home page of my new web site. Look for My Hero.

Andrea

My new website is in the works

I've posted the template for my new website so you can see what I'll be working on until Dec. 27. In addition to combining 4 web sites into one, I'm also dropping several unprofitable services and focusing on 5 related practices.

My 2009 practices will be:
1. Keynote Speaker
2. How-to Author/Publisher
3. Consultant Mentor
4. Income Coach
5. Kindness Activist

Dropped services will be:
1. Agenting, contract negotiating
2. Speaker Directory/Promotion (CommissionFreeSpeakers.com)
3. Personal Concierge services (HandyAnde.com)
4. Web site design/creation
5. Marketing/promoting authors/experts

These changes spell a return to the more prestigious work I used to do and should free up at least 20 hours of non-income generating work a week. The 5 practices also position me more as the wise consultant-author-speaker I am rather than a "member of support staff" for individuals who have not yet attained the level of success that I had attained in the past. These clients are high maintenance-low/non-paying and working for them doesn't support my goals. Promoting my expertise, does.

Andrea

12 things I'm doing to raise cash for food, rent, bills

November and December have always been lean months and this year is no exception. My gross income for November was $236. That's about 10% of my basic living expenses including 3 loan payments, so you can imagine how stressed I am. I woke at 5 this morning with a raging stress headache.

I'm not averse to work. I work 7 days a week, 14 hours a day offering my services to people. It's just that people won't hire me or don't pay me for work I do.

Yesterday, for example, I gave a woman a free email consult (value $16.95) to help her with her personal crisis, and not only did I receive no answer to my questions, but she didn't even acknowledge my help or that she didn't have to pay for it. And her income is 7 times what mine is and she doesn't have to do any work to receive it.

Perhaps I'm too soft-hearted because I treat people the way I want to be treated. When I am assertive and ask to be paid the amount I quoted them in advance people get nasty. I guess I will have to stop being nice to people who don't have the same values I hold.

So here's what I'm doing to reduce expenses and raise some cash before Dec. 31.

1. No celebrating Christmas this year: no tree, outdoor lights, Christmas cards, gifts, baked cookies, Christmas dinner, open house, drinks with friends.
2. Shutting down 3 web sites which will save $30 a month in hosting fees, $360 a year, which equals 1 car payment (only 9 more payments to go).
3. Offering my home staging services to local realtors to help them sell clients' homes at greater profit. (Will write the brochure today.)
4. Sending invoices to former neighbors who decided they didn't have to pay me for professional services I provided because we were "friends". (Friends don't knowingly let you go homeless without food.)
5. Advertising my family heirloom china, 3 web sites, and never-used camping equipment for sale.
6. Asking university home economics department if they want the last copies of my 365 Questions booklet.
7. Promoting most of my electronic books and booklets at nearly half-price.
8. Writing and sending a news release to generate book sales and bookings to speak to companies on Kindness in Business.
9. Writing letters to obtain refunds from companies who I've overpaid.
10. Offering to write or re-write press releases for anyone, or edit book manuscripts. (I'm quite good.)
11. Looking for a lawyer to represent me in a multi-million dollar lawsuit against my former condo board and management.
12. Offering to do almost anything for $20 an hour: cleaning, cooking, sewing, shopping, delivering, pet sitting, etc.

I applied for part-time work at my local food store as a Helping Hand (loading groceries into cars, corralling shopping carts in the parking lot, cleaning up aisle accidents). The interview was fun, but I haven't heard whether there is a position for me.

Wish me luck! I really need it.

Andrea

I finally know what I want to be when I grow up

I've been doing a lot of soul searching. Every day for many years I have been approached by people who want my help but say they can't pay me. I spend hours with them to the detriment of my own time and energy. It happened again today. One person recognized that I can do wonderful things to help her if I could just wait a year or two for payment once I got justice for her and she got paid. Another person offered me $200 for a month-long publicity campaign after I reduced my $10,000 fee to $5,000 for him. He offered me a bonus if I got him a booking on Oprah. For one, I stopped doing publicity campaigns a year ago, second, it's not worth the tiny payment if I can't pay my bills, and third, he doesn't offer anything Oprah wants to see on her show. And a third person wanted some assistance, but wouldn't reveal his web site address, what he wanted specifically from me. ("Give me a list of your services and fees.") Is it really too much trouble for him to go to my web site and click on the two buttons for Current Rates and Services? And I said I needed to know what his goals and objectives were so I could figure out how best I could serve him. His response was to say he'd already found someone who could help him achieve his goals. Well, how can I help you if you won't tell me what they are?

Then a miracle. This wonderful speaker contacted me asking if I would represent her and help her negotiate her speaking fees and contracts. And she asked if we could talk on the phone. Here's what she did that I wish all speakers and experts would do: She didn't just call, she asked first. She introduced herself. She gave me her phone numbers, addresses, blog and web site addresses. Without being asked. In her very first approach. She explained what she wanted so there was no confusion. She understood what I do as a speaker advocate, not expecting me to procure engagements for her. She is quite capable of getting her own speaking engagements because she knows how to market herself and have bookings find her. She gets it. And she must have read through my web site.

I love her. Even if I don't get to work with her, and I hope I do, she is exactly the kind of client I want to have more of. She's a breath of fresh air. I want to advocate for speakers like her. To represent 4 speakers just like her, and negotiate at least two agreements a month for each speaker, would put me in the black in just 6 months.

And if I'm also speaking, I could conceivably be in the black in just 3 months. My two topics?

1. The Kindness Experiment: What I learned that we all need to learn about kindness.

2. Building or Rebuilding an Advice Empire after Adversity.

So..... On December 31 I will be closing down 3 web sites and offering them for sale to the highest bidder:

HandyAnde.com A personal concierge business.

CommissionFreeSpeakers.com Since I'll be receiving commissions this will be redundant.

CrisisBrainstorm.com The people who want my help say they don't have money to pay me for it.

So, if you want to buy the web sites or any of the services or materials on them, please contact me before Dec. 31, when they come down from the Internet. I can change any of the content to suit the new owner with a quick turnaround.

Contact me: My email address is on the contact page of each of my web sites.

PS Yes, I am keeping AndreaReynolds.com. That's the one I will use to promote my consultant mentoring, my speaking and my speaker representation.

Andrea

My phone calls are free

I'm not getting paid to say this - wish I were! - but I am very happy with my Magicjack phone service. It's a little plug that goes into my computer's USB port and you plug an ordinary phone into the MagicJack. It cost me $40 plus tax or shipping - you can get it now for $30 - and I pay no fees for the 12 months. Next year I pay only $20 for services. I have my cordless phone attached to it so I can carry the phone through the house and not miss any interview requests or client calls.

I can call anywhere in Canada or US; voicemail, directory assistance, 9-1-1, caller ID and call waiting are all provided for free. There is a desktop notifier on which the caller's phone number appears and when the call is over the duration of the call in minutes and seconds appears. You can even store your contacts' names and numbers on it.

Yes, it's the same one advertised on TV. I'm telling everyone about it so they can save enough money on their phone bill so they can retain my services. (Big grin).

They even provide a phone number. The only drawback for me is that they could only give me a number in the 412 area code (Pittsburgh) and I'm in 814. Local people - like on Freecycle - don't want to call me because it's long distance. But if you have a long distance calling plan or you use a cell phone to call me, there will likely be no charges. But I can just tell people: "Email me your number and I'll call you." If they had MagicJack they wouldn't have any charges for calls.

Tell me if you have it. Tell me if you get it.

Andrea

One-third done (see yesterday's post)

I've changed web pages on two sites so far: CommissionFreeSpeakers.com and CrisisBrainstorm.com and am now working on the largest site, AndreaReynolds.com

Tomorrow I'll work on HandyAnde.com, my "on-the-road" service, and the Handy Ande Network, with which I plan to promote people providing personal services anywhere across the continent who needed to earn extra income.

Andrea

Frantically changing my email on 5 web sites

I kept my Canadian email account (IAW) but switched from cable Internet to dial-up during the months I had no home. That meant I could receive mail and PayPal payments but could not send mail on that account. (I used Gmail to reply.)

So now that I've depleted my Canadian bank account - until all the Canadians who owe me money pay up - and I can't pay my Canadian Mastercard bill, IAW isn't going to be paid its monthly $10.50 on Dec. 7. They normally bill my Mastercard credit card so I gave IAW a heads up. I can't send a US check; they only want Canadian funds. I don't have any other credit card, but I do have enough money in my PayPal account and I emailed IAW last night to ask if I could pay that way, or they might not get their bill paid by Mastercard. Since I haven't made a payment to Mastercard, they are likely to decline any future purchases.

IAW's reply was, "We don't use PayPal at work." No other options. Wouldn't you think, knowing that was the only way they could get paid, that they might accept the payment in US dollars? US $10.50 gives him $13.20 Canadian. Even with a small transaction fee ($.70), they are still getting a good deal: $12.50. But they would rather lose a customer... and $126 a year. I've been a good customer paying them $40 a month for several years.

So, knowing I am about to lose my primary email account - where all my income comes from - I am quickly going through every page on my 5 web sites (probably 1,000 + pages) and all my newsletter subscriptions and forums to make an address change. I am 10% done, and must have everything changed over the next 3 days so I don't lose any orders or important requests. My book project is now on hold while I take care of this problem.

Two things I'm keeping in mind: 1) I'll be saving $126 over the next year, and 2) I won't have to deal with someone who makes it difficult to pay them.

Why is it that so many people in Canada I encounter seem to make life more difficult, and people in the United States seem to want to find solutions and make life easier for others? Maybe it's just my experience, but it keeps happening and continues to make me glad I'm back in the US.

Andrea

A new blog for consultants

I'm going back to my roots. No, I'm not talking about my hair again, but rather, the beginning of my career. I was never so successful as when I was teaching experts to be exceptional consultants, to get paid to promote themselves, and to make a very good income sharing their wisdom in multiple ways.

If this interests you, have a look at my new blog, Your Wisdom is Worth a Million!, and become a follower of that blog - and this one too.

A party! I've just been invited.

This is the first party I've been invited to in 3 years. The last one was a Pampered Chef party hosted by the Super in my condo building in Ontario. It was very well attended and I enjoyed it. Then when I tried to hold one, too, the condo board put a stop to it. Funny, because the previous owners of my unit - who served on the board - used to hold candle sales parties in what became my unit. Frustrating.

Anyway, this party is a purse party, being hosted by my pretty neighbor Heather, this coming Sunday evening. There seem to be no problems in this complex with holding a merchandise party. Thank goodness. I'm looking forward to it.

I have only one purse, a small-ish, over-the-shoulder, Gucci-type knockoff, that works well when I am grocery shopping. But I have nothing for when I'm invited out to dinner or to a holiday party. I have a beautiful cocktail pyjama my sister Gill gave me and shoes but no bag. Most of my clothes are knits (slimming) and have no pockets. So having one good purse is a not a luxury, but a wise accessory to have in advance, so that I don't overspend when there is an urgent need.

Going grey is in the news

I'm leading a trend! Did you see Inside Edition tonight? Women celebrities over 40 are showing their grey hair: Meryl Streep, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Nicole Kidman are letting their grey roots and hair show. Aren't we self-confident! Men can look distinguished with grey hair... so can women.

See my blog post of Friday, Nov. 28, No More Red Hair.

Appliances for parents

My step-mother isn't happy with her toaster - the bagel slots don't toast her bread completely - so I'm taking her my little toaster-oven to see if she likes it better. Now that I can use my confection oven, I can part with one.

My father, who wears two hearing aids says his cassette player sounds muffled. I tested a few cassettes and he's right. So I'm taking him my better Panasonic radio with tape player, CD, and remote. He should like that because the quality is good, and he won't have to get up to turn it off. He has constant back pain and getting up from his chair or the sofa is becoming more difficult for him. Its the one I listen to every day, so I'll miss it, but I'd rather he be able to hear his music now that he can't go out much.

I'm taping my business card to the bottom of each... just in case one or the other forgets that I'm loaning the items to them and they aren't for giving away, throwing away, or taking away. It sounds self-serving I know, but you have to understand that Dad threw out all the family photo albums (before the meds that slow the Alzheimer's), so there are no photos of any of my family and no photos of me anymore. And recently he turned his Cadillac in to the dealer rather than let me buy it from him. I could have sold my van, paid off the loan, and had enough to give him the same amount the dealer did. Oy! It would have helped me reduce my debt load but I'd also be able to drive him around in his own car which is more comfortable than my noisy, uninsulated van. Sigh.

I put away 82 glasses

After two months, I'm still unpacking and yesterday I reorganized my kitchen cupboards to find room for 82 drinking glasses: Pilsners, brandy snifters, Manhattans, sherry glasses, port glasses, Irish coffee glasses, some parfait and sherbet glasses, and red and white wine glasses. I filled 5 shelves.

Too bad I don't keep any alcohol in the house... it's not in the budget for now. But maybe Santa will be generous and leave me a few small bottles for friends who drop by during the holidays. Then I can serve them in the appropriate glass.

So I was able to empty two large boxes from the kitchen floor and I can now fit one chair under the table. I also have two large piles of rumpled paper towels - I used them for wrapping the glasses for storage - which will save me a few grocery dollars over the next month or two. And no glasses were broken.

I still have to figure out where I'll put 5 boxes of good china - two different sets I inherited. I have enough for a sit-down meal for 20 people. Maybe in the summer I'll put a long table out on the grass filled with food for 20 guests... as I've seen them do in the Italian films. ;-)

Andrea