Hello everyone

dno

> Eliz:

> I'd like to see the whole "set of
> questions".

> Anyway...

> I schedule my week as much as possible using
> a "daily diary". And I also
> realise unscheduled things can pop up. IF
> those unscheduled things are more important
> than what I have scheduled, my schedule
> changes. If not, I move the new item to a
> place I can fit it in.

> This frees my mind from trying to keep track
> of everything.

> Maybe... maybe not.

> I seldom accomplish all the things on my
> daily to-do list. BUT, I get much more done
> than if I don't have a list.

> And what of my list?

> I write down the things I need to do and
> then prioritize them .

> Then I do the most important item until it
> is done, then move on to the next most
> important until it is done. And so on down
> the list.

> If I don't finish the list... and I seldom
> do... at least I got the most important
> things done.

> The items that didn't get done get moved to
> the next day's list.

> They might not get done the next day either
> - but - eventually they do get done.

> I have found that certain items can take a
> long time to do if I were to keep doing them
> until done. And so I'm now experimenting
> with breaking them up and doing a little bit
> a day over the course of a week or so.

> With running different businesses, marketing
> them, seeing existing clients, visiting with
> prospective clients, taking on new projects
> like The Entrepreneur's Hotsheet, updating
> existing projects like The Art of Leverage,
> plus working on new projects, I would get
> nothing much done without a written
> schedule.

> And all this organizing for the week ahead
> gets done on the weekend.

> Works for me.

> Michael Ross
> The Entrepreneur's Hotsheet
> http://www.sowpub.com/entrhotsheet.shtml
> The new and improved Writer's Friend V2
> http://www.sowpub.com/writersfriend.html
> The Art of Leverage
> http://www.sowpub.com/artofleverage.html

Michael, thanks for sharing. You know, this is the way I used to organize my daily schedule many years ago, when I had a real job. But since working contract and at home, I have strayed a lot from a more structured approach.

I'll have to get back on track and get my act together.

Regards,

Eliz.

> Eliz:

> I'd like to see the whole "set of
> questions".

> Anyway...

> I schedule my week as much as possible using
> a "daily diary". And I also
> realise unscheduled things can pop up. IF
> those unscheduled things are more important
> than what I have scheduled, my schedule
> changes. If not, I move the new item to a
> place I can fit it in.

> This frees my mind from trying to keep track
> of everything.

> Maybe... maybe not.

> I seldom accomplish all the things on my
> daily to-do list. BUT, I get much more done
> than if I don't have a list.

> And what of my list?

> I write down the things I need to do and
> then prioritize them .

> Then I do the most important item until it
> is done, then move on to the next most
> important until it is done. And so on down
> the list.

> If I don't finish the list... and I seldom
> do... at least I got the most important
> things done.

> The items that didn't get done get moved to
> the next day's list.

> They might not get done the next day either
> - but - eventually they do get done.

> I have found that certain items can take a
> long time to do if I were to keep doing them
> until done. And so I'm now experimenting
> with breaking them up and doing a little bit
> a day over the course of a week or so.

> With running different businesses, marketing
> them, seeing existing clients, visiting with
> prospective clients, taking on new projects
> like The Entrepreneur's Hotsheet, updating
> existing projects like The Art of Leverage,
> plus working on new projects, I would get
> nothing much done without a written
> schedule.

> And all this organizing for the week ahead
> gets done on the weekend.

> Works for me.

> Michael Ross
> The Entrepreneur's Hotsheet
> http://www.sowpub.com/entrhotsheet.shtml
> The new and improved Writer's Friend V2
> http://www.sowpub.com/writersfriend.html
> The Art of Leverage
> http://www.sowpub.com/artofleverage.html

Hi Boyd, I and everyone who knows and has known you, know you are a man of the utmost integrity and honesty. I thought that I had put a smiley after my comment. And yes, you NEVER did give me any advice about any stock or option trading.

The truth is, I did invest very heavily in some CISCO calls (my gamble) and like many others, lost and am still losing a lot of money in them. But, that's my problem.

I just recalled that one thread over a year ago or was it longer?? on Sowpub when all the day and stock traders came out of the woodworks to add their 2 cents and it was an interesting thread as it sparked my interest.

So, Boyd, I trust my comments did not question your credibility :-)

Regards,

Eliz.

Hi,

Thanks, and I'm sorry if I made a big deal out of it. Anyway, this thread is way down the list and probably very few people read my message.

I've lost around $40,000 trading, though I still want to make trading one of my income streams.

If I could twitch my nose and make those options pay off for you I'd do it in a second.

Best,

- Boyd

Good luck Elizabeth, with your options.

I know how it feels to lose money on options since I was caught up in the drastic stock market drop in the spring of 2000...and my 'in the money options' became VERY 'out of the money options' (meaning worthless) in the blink of an eye!

Since then, I have continued my studies and have become a wee bit wiser, I think. I have made money in recent months by buying 'put' options (rather than shorting stocks since put options limit my losses) on extremely high P/E stocks...but this is a very tricky market and the wild swings are not for the faint of heart. Even the pro's are having a tough time being on the right side of a trade.

I read an article today that was very interesting.
He elaborates about the fall of the Nasdaq but thinks that the next big market to 'bubble up' may just be commodities. Hmmmm...could he be right? As he says, contrarians position themselves while no one else is looking...and then are ready to sell to the swarms of people who come 'late to the party'.

The author of this article says:
"As the NASDAQ bust evolves, it continues to be amazing that anyone remains bullish on the index. Its fundamentals are unbelievably atrocious and its technical charts are ominous. Yet, humans being humans with immense emotional inertia too great to overcome for the majority of investors, tens of millions of people are still fixated on the last great bubble, hoping it will flare up yet again in tech stocks, instead of the next great bubble, probably commodities."

The entire article is posted at the link below.
If you are interested in what he says about commodities, there is a hot link from this article which takes you to another article which builds his case for a coming bull market in commodities....raw materials.

Just some food for thought...

I am trying to stay open-minded about where the market goes from here, but it is wise to pay attention to both the bulls and the bears and to be prepared for anything. ;-)

Best wishes,
Amber




Could it be? Commodities will rise again?

Hi Amber,

So, is the market going up, or down? Bullish or bearish? One option some sophisticated investors opt for is to maintain a market neutral portfolio. The most common way, in the equity markets, is to take both long positions and short positions (through short selling) in an attempt to minimise the effect of the "market" on your returns, and increase the effect of individual security selection.

For example, you could pick 10 or 20 stocks you think will go up, and buy them, and then find 10 or 20 you think will go down and short-sell them. If all stocks go down 20%, you should lose on your long positions and gain on your short positions, thus reducing the effects of the "market" on your portfolio, and your returns should thus rely more on superior stock selection skill.

It isn't guaranteed, of course, as just because the market might go up or down 20%, it doesn't mean all stocks will follow that behaviour!

A variation on this idea is "pairs trading", where (I think) long and short positions are taken in related securities. Let's say you think McDonalds is undervalued *relative* to Burger King, you could take a long position in McDonalds and a short position in Burger King, and provided you are right in your analysis, McDonalds should go up in value *relative* to Burger King... Which is an opportunity for profit even if they are both under or overvalued. Taking positions in related companies, like McDonalds and Burger King, also helps reduce the effects of industry-specific changes.

If options are your thing, you could also try looking into using them in combination with stock positions, to hedge your investments. For example, buying shares and buying puts will protect from downside risk at the cost of some return (due to the cost of the put options).

If you want more leverage, some financial institutions have "hedged loan" products, whereby you can purchase put options and the institution will lend you a greater % of the stocks you want to borrow, because the put options cap your loss. In Australia, Tricom Equities (www.tricom.com.au) offer such a product.

So yes, if you're unsure if the market's going up, down, or sideways, perhaps consider one of the strategies above, or their many variations!

Best Regards,

Thomas Rice. :)

Disclaimer: All the above strategies have their inherent risks that you should look into if considering them. Please consult a financial advisor before implementing any of the above. This isn't investment advice, but just some ideas to explore. :)

> Good luck Elizabeth, with your options.

> I know how it feels to lose money on options
> since I was caught up in the drastic stock
> market drop in the spring of 2000...and my
> 'in the money options' became VERY 'out of
> the money options' (meaning worthless) in
> the blink of an eye! Since then, I have
> continued my studies and have become a wee
> bit wiser, I think. I have made money in
> recent months by buying 'put' options
> (rather than shorting stocks since put
> options limit my losses) on extremely high
> P/E stocks...but this is a very tricky
> market and the wild swings are not for the
> faint of heart. Even the pro's are having a
> tough time being on the right side of a
> trade.

> I read an article today that was very
> interesting.
> He elaborates about the fall of the Nasdaq
> but thinks that the next big market to
> 'bubble up' may just be commodities.
> Hmmmm...could he be right? As he says,
> contrarians position themselves while no one
> else is looking...and then are ready to sell
> to the swarms of people who come 'late to
> the party'.

> The author of this article says:
> "As the NASDAQ bust evolves, it
> continues to be amazing that anyone remains
> bullish on the index. Its fundamentals are
> unbelievably atrocious and its technical
> charts are ominous. Yet, humans being humans
> with immense emotional inertia too great to
> overcome for the majority of investors, tens
> of millions of people are still fixated on
> the last great bubble, hoping it will flare
> up yet again in tech stocks, instead of the
> next great bubble, probably
> commodities."

> The entire article is posted at the link
> below.
> If you are interested in what he says about
> commodities, there is a hot link from this
> article which takes you to another article
> which builds his case for a coming bull
> market in commodities....raw materials.

> Just some food for thought...

> I am trying to stay open-minded about where
> the market goes from here, but it is wise to
> pay attention to both the bulls and the
> bears and to be prepared for anything. ;-)

> Best wishes,
> Amber

Hi Thomas,

A few years ago, under the tutelage of some wizened market traders, I decided to make options trading on equities and indices (or speculating as it were) into one of my cash flow streams…apart from investing, just to clarify that my goal to pursue this was very different from risking long-term capital used for 'investing' where the preservation of wealth was of utmost importance.

Along with many others who learned to generate monthly cash flow by writing covered calls or trading options, I was successful (and trusting of my THEN 'never-say-bear-market' advisors) in an almost straight-up bull market of recent years, but of course, times have changed.

I have since learned much more than I ever thought I needed to know along the way through my personal experience of being caught off guard (with millions of others) when the Nasdaq took a sudden major down-draft in the spring of 2000…catching many average investors/traders unaware when several trillions of dollars were unexpectedly wiped out of the equities market... in just days.

This was a wake-up call not only to myself, but to many others who got caught long, especially, in their tech stock (with unbelievably high P/E ratios) long-term investment positions which have not even come close to recovering their old highs.

I agree with all you have said. Hedging is indeed a smart thing to do in today's market.
And, with more and more people self-directing their IRA’s, it becomes more important than ever for them to learn some of the more sophisticated hedging techniques in order to survive in this current market.

I do have an opinion about where I think that the market will move from here, but it is just that…an *opinion*. Even though I continue to study and learn, as I have for many years now, I would never consider trading or investing without ‘seasoned’ guidance…especially at this critical point in time.

I do believe that playing the market just one way…with call OR put options ONLY… is passé at this particular juncture.

Becoming more 'street smart' is something I would encourage everyone who is in control of their investments to strongly consider…even if they choose professional money management…it’s a good thing to know the views and competence of those you put in charge of your money, if you elect to do that… and are inclined to simply put your faith in the pro’s to grow it wisely. That 'faith' in the pro's doesn’t always work out, either, as evidenced by many of the mutual funds’ performance in the past two years.

I am encouraging of more education in money management...to be more savvy in what we ALL choose to do with our money, since that goes a long way in determing the choices that we have the luxury of making in all other aspects of our daily lives. But, of course, money is not everything......yet it's importance cannot be denied.

Thanks for your response Thomas...appreciate your input. :-)

Best regards,
Amber

Hi Amber, thanks for sharing your thoughts on the stock market and making me feel better about the big losses. Gee, we had it all planned. Retire at 50, buy some property on an island in the Caribbean, day trade from our home on the beach, set up a web site and do some ecommerce, visit Toronto once a year to get away from the heat. Perhapas visit sowpub once in a while and see who's doing what. Ha Ha. Fat chance. Greed and ignorance will get you every time!!

>Since then, I have continued my studies and have >become a wee bit wiser, I think. I have made >money in recent months by buying 'put' options >rather than shorting stocks since put options >limit my losses) on extremely high P/E
>stocks...but this is a very tricky market and the wild swings are not for the
>faint of heart. Even the pro's are having a >tough time being on the right side
>of a trade

Amber, you're a smart lady. Neither Charles nor I have really done much studying on stock market trends. We just plain lucked out for the first two years. Admittedly, we fall in the category that the article talks about. We often get a lot of our information from "a hype-network like CNBC." We KNOW the analysts they put on are full of personal biases for or against certain stocks and it's all like a big soap opera at times when you watch the regulars. We do research the stocks before we buy and track them for a period of time, but often it's also gut feel. However, since the Enron fiasco, we can't even trust financials any longer!!

Before the crash, we did make some money buying the occasional puts, but we no longer subscribe to any of the options' newsletters that we used to. They all seem to recommend the same buys. What we do now, since there isn't much free money to invest, is, we record the calls in our PC quote software, and watch.

I have never ventured into the commodities market. We deal with a discount broker who is strictly into equity and options trading. I haven't had a chance to read the entire article that you linked me to. But I will. I actually have always wanted to get into commodities trading and bought a course advertised on TV some ten years ago. I 'think' that I still have the material but somehow because I didn't know anyone else who knew anything about commodities, I didn't have the nerve to go it alone.

Anyway, thanks for sharing this with me. Perhaps if I have any questions about commodities, I can email you privately.

Regards,

Eliz.

Gee, we had it
> all planned. Retire at 50, buy some property
> on an island in the Caribbean, day trade
> from our home on the beach, set up a web
> site and do some ecommerce, visit Toronto
> once a year to get away from the heat.
> Perhapas visit sowpub once in a while and
> see who's doing what. Ha Ha. Fat chance.
> Greed and ignorance will get you every
> time!!

> Any advice on writing effective phone
> scripts that will at least close maybe 4
> appointments out of ten calls.

As a business person, I hate getting "scripted" sales calls; I hate listening to someone practicing their reading skills on my time. (I do enough reading practice with my kids!)

Make a list of your important salespoints for reference only, and actually *talk* to the person you call in your own words. If you believe you're selling a good, worthwhile product or service that will be beneficial to the person you're calling, let them know that. Let them know what benefits they'll get.

I know I don't ask to be removed from solicitor's calling lists nearly as quickly for a salesperson who sounds like they're having a conversation WITH me as I do for the ones that read their scripts AT me. (I don't respond to ANY sales calls; if I'm interested, I ask them to mail me info and then I'll decide.)

> techniques to avoid being screened from the
> secretary or receptionists.

I also am a receptionist part time outside my business. A good secretary/receptionist ALWAYS screens, and it can't be avoided! What you can do is ask for the office manager or someone in the purchasing department (rather than asking to talk to Mr. Boss-of-the-biz who probably delegates purchasing decisions to one of his managers.)

Receptionists take a lot of calls and can usually tell if you're a salesperson. Don't try to sneak around the receptionist or secretary; that can get them in trouble, and it will insure that they will not EVER cooperate with you again.

They should not to be seen as the 'enemy' to avoid, but rather as the 'bridge' to getting your sales info to the right person or department.

> any methods to get information from a tight
> lipped secretary or receptionist.

Be respectful and courteous. Ask the secretary or receptionist who you need to talk to about their company's 'whatever-you-sell' needs. Again, don't look at the receptionist as a barrier to be gotten around, but as the inside person who can connect you to the person you want to talk with.

> I know there is no magic,any advice is
> appreciated.

I think my main emphasis is for you to change how you look at the person who answers the phone. Don't try scooting past them slyly. Try talking with them and using their position to help you get your message to the right person.

-Laura Lee Wolter
CyberNiche Software
http://www.cniche.com/
[email protected]


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