BUILDING BRIDGES
Supporting businesses by lending good money to good businesses.
August 2009 - Vol 2, Issue 8 |
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| Greetings! |
 The "lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer" are truly upon us here in Texas - 106 degrees in the shade! Thank God for air conditioning! Many of our clients have asked how we at Mazon are faring in this economy. I am happy to report that it remains "business as usual" for us. Because our business is based on our clients' businesses, some folks have fortunately increased business, while others have not been generating the number of invoices they did this same time last year. Some clients have decided to close their businesses -- or have stayed open and changed their business strategy and thinking to keep up with the economic times. We have recently taken on several new clients, and some previous clients have returned to Mazon due to increased business. We continue to promote our referral program which provides a 10% referral fee to anyone who simply refers a business to Mazon. If the referral becomes a client, you will receive a monthly check for 10% of our factoring fee for that client for as long as they remain a Mazon client! Thank you again for entrusting your business to us. Happy August (and stay cool!) Lisa Mazon
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| $$$ Refer & Earn $$$ |
 Business contacts, friends, family and acquaintances -- you just never know when someone you know might need Mazon's accounts receivable services. See our referral program at the end of this newsletter.
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| Entrepreneur of the Month: SoftCollect, LLC |
 Located "just up the street" from Mazon in Frisco, Texas, Eric Fooks wanted to create a friendlier approach to debt collection for healthcare, commercial businesses and residential apartment property management. After evaluating the need for this "softer" approach to debt recovery in today's downward economy, Mr. Fooks pooled needed business financing from personal savings, friends and family who believed in his business concept. With five employees and a small efficient office, he opened SoftCollect, LLC (SCI) in January of this year. The professional collectors of SCI are experts in their field and have exceptional people skills as well as the knowledge of business procedures to effectively communicate with debtors and elicit recoveries. His collectors are cognizant of and sympathetic to the national economic impact on those businesses and of individuals owing money to his clients, while at the same time recognizing the negative financial impact of these outstanding debts to his clients' bottom line. SCI's soft approach to collections is unique as well as effective, proven by an average turnaround time on receivables of 25 days and an 80% successful recovery rate. To borrow a quote from Charles Swindoll, "Tough times never last, but tough people do," Mr. Fooks knows that when you are fair to people in tough times when the chips are down, they will consider doing business with you in good times when they are back on their feet again. Mr. Fooks says, "We just treat people like people and have trained our collectors to follow the Golden Rule of treating people how we ourselves would like to be treated, while at the same time recovering bad debt for our clients." For more information, visit www.softcollectllc.com.
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| What happens if my customer doesn't pay a factored invoice? |
 Mazon Associates purchases a client's individual business-to-business invoices on 90-day terms based on the creditworthiness of the customer. But what happens when an invoice goes unpaid at the end of this time period? Our contracts with our clients are normally recourse agreements, which means that your company will ultimately absorb the credit risk either by replacing the invoice with another collectable invoice or by having the amount due for the invoice deducted from the next advance or from your reserve. In a non-recourse agreement, the factoring company, not the client, will absorb the credit-related loss by charging a larger up-front client fee and even sometimes requiring an account deposit to cover possible future losses. Mazon uses recourse factoring along with credit insurance for larger concentrations to keep the fees lower for our clients and help mitigate the risk involved.
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| Numbers in the News |
 In honor of National Aviation Day on August 19, 2009, the following article and photographs are reprinted with permission from the United States Marine Corps Scout/Sniper Association: "You're an 18 or 19 year old kid. You're critically wounded, and dying in a massive bloodbath in the Ia Drang Valley, 11-14-1965. LZ Xray, Vietnam. Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8-1, and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own infantry Commander has ordered the Medi-Vac helicopters to stop coming in. You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're not getting out. Your family is halfway around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day. Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter, and you look up to see a Huey, but it doesn't seem real, because no Medi-Vac markings are on it. "Ed Freeman is coming for you. He's not Medi-Vac, so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the hail of machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come. He's coming in anyway. And he drops the bird in, and sits there in the middle of intense gunfire, as they load 2 or 3 of you on board. Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire, to the doctors and nurses. And, he kept coming back - 13 more times - and took about 30 of you and your buddies out, soldiers who would never have survived. "Medal of Honor Recipient Ed Freeman died August 20, 2008 at the age of 80, in Boise, ID . . . . May God rest his soul."  Ed Freeman was a United States Army helicopter pilot who received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in the Battle of la Drang during the Vietnam War. During the battle, he flew through gunfire numerous times, bringing supplies to a trapped American battalion and flying dozens of wounded soldiers to safety. Freeman was a wingman for Major Bruce Crandall who also received the Medal of Honor for the same missions. In the 2002 film We Were Soldiers, which depicted the Battle of la Drang, Freeman was portrayed by Mark McCracken.
A Patriot is issued the uniform. A Hero earns it. ( www.usmcscoutsniperassociation.org)
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| Summertime Tax Tips |
Many people don't think about their taxes until the start of the filing season in January. That can be a big mistake. Steps such as checking your withholding, getting the proper receipts from charities, organizing all the records you will need or setting a personal tax strategy that can save money at tax time are most effective if they are done well before year's end. The IRS is publishing three tax tips per week this summer. Topics range from how parents can get credit for sending their kids to day camp to protecting yourself from identity theft. Now you can receive IRS Tax Tips via e-mail as soon as they are published by signing up through the IRS e-news subscription page at http://tinyurl.com/nplvch.
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| Computer News: Affiliate Marketing |
 Are you interested in making some extra money from your online website, Face Book, Twitter, newsletters, blogs and email accounts? Affiliate marketing just may put some money back into your pocketbook. By signing up for a free "publisher" account with websites such as Commission Junction (reportedly the largest and most reputable), LinkShare (another very reputable biggie), Google, Amazon.com, etc. you can obtain coded link text or images to put on your communications. Whenever a viewer of your communication clicks on this mini advertisement it links him/her to the "advertiser" website. If a purchase results from your link, it's money in the bank for you! You will receive either a pre-determined amount or a percentage of the sale. (Advertiser payments to publishers do not increase the price of a purchased product.) Some advertisers will pay you simply if someone signs up for a newsletter or other information offered on their website. Consider it a commission from the advertisers you have selected to affiliate with for simply allowing them to advertise with you. As an added incentive, many advertisers will also allow commissions to be paid to you on your own purchases. You may also elect to become an advertiser on these same websites, and have other people advertise your website, products and services, in which case, you would pay them a commission whenever one of their viewers clicks on your website and purchases a product from you! If you are interested in affiliate marketing and want to learn more, click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affiliate_marketing. You can also do an internet search on "Affiliate Marketing." As with every business venture, be sure to do your homework as no two affiliate marketing websites are exactly the same.
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| Seeds of Wealth |
 What can you buy for a dollar these days? The answer to this question is, "Not much!" Wrong! A much better way to think of a dollar is to see it as a seed. Most people pass these seeds around in exchange for various items and services, but smart people realize the true nature of these seeds and instead of passing them around, they plant them. And when planted, a "dollar seed" takes root and over time grows to become . . . you guessed it: A money tree! It's an undeniable fact that a dollar saved and invested will grow over time to produce more and more money. Now, the important point about this analogy is that when you spend a dollar, you are not just giving away a seed, you are giving away the tree! Each time you spend a dollar, you are not only losing the dollar but also all the dollars it could have produced for you in the future if you had invested it. When you adopt this view of money, you begin to appreciate its true value, which in turn makes you think twice about how and where you part with your hard earned "seeds of wealth."  As you go about your activities this month, be aware that each dollar you spend is the seed of a money tree. There is no need to become tight-fisted miser though, instead just use this analogy to think twice about your purchases and make sure they are really necessary.
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| Notary Facts |
 A Notary cannot waive a notarization requirement simply because it might inconvenience or offend an important client, customer or benefactor of the Notary's company or organization. Further, it is highly improper for an employer to pressure an employee to overlook or ignore these requirements. You may not insist that a Notary-employee accommodate a client or other VIP by: Not requiring the client to appear before the Notary in person; dispensing with the oath or affirmation ceremony; not requiring the client to present identification to the Notary; or overlooking any other law or rule of notarization because it would inconvenience or "embarrass" the client. Don't forget that virtually every client wants you to obey the law so that the transaction at hand will be above legal challenge. So, please, do not ask your Notary-employee to ignore the proper rules of notarization. If you have further questions, please contact: National Notary Association, www.NationalNotary.org.
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| Productivity Myths That Hold You Back |
Myth 8: I need inspiration to work. Fact: No, you don't. Inspiration is wonderful, but rarely compatible with getting stuff done. What you need is a system to capture those flashes of inspiration so that, when inspiration is on holiday, you've got plenty to work with. (Source: www.mercola.com)
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| Product Recalls |
 The following recent recalls were issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Black & Decker Spacemaker Coffeemakers (Dist: Applica Consumer Products, Miramar, FL); Crane Bath Tubs With A Whirlpool (Crane Plumbing, Dallas, TX); Loyal Bedding Mattress Sets (Mfg: Loyal Bedding, Miami, FL); DEWALT D51825 and D51850 Framing Nailers (Dist: DEWALT Industrial Tool, Towson, MD); PowerPlus Generators (Imp: Big Muddy Sports, Perryville, MO); Intermatic Model ST01 and EI600 In-Wall Electronic Timers (Mfg: Intermatic, Spring Grove, IL); Kidde Model PI2000 Dual Sensor Smoke Alarms (Mfg: Walter Kidde Portable Equipment, Mebane, NC); Copco Harmony Tea Kettles (Dist: Wilton Industries, Woodridge, IL). More details on these and other products including product pictures can be found at www.cpsc.gov . To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury call CPSC's hotline at 800-638-2772.
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| August 2009 Holidays, Observances, Celebrations and Events |
 Aug. 2: Friendship Day; Aug. 4: Coast Guard Day; Aug. 5: Sisters Day; Aug. 6: Atomic Bomb Day; Aug. 9: Smokey Bear's Birthday; Aug. 19: National Aviation Day; Aug: 20: National Homeless Animal Day; Aug. 22: Islamic Ramadan; Aug. 26: Women's Equality Day.
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| National Immunization Awareness Month |
 August is the perfect time to remind family, friends, co-workers, and those in the community to catch up on their vaccinations. Parents are enrolling their children in school, students are entering college, and healthcare workers are preparing for the upcoming flu season. Immunization is one of the most significant public health achievements of the 20th century. Vaccines have eradicated smallpox, eliminated wild poliovirus in the United States, and significantly reduced the number of cases of measles, diphtheria, rubella, pertussis and other diseases. But despite these efforts, people in the U.S. still die from these and other vaccine-preventable diseases. Vaccines offer safe and effective protection from infectious diseases. By staying up-to-date on the recommended vaccines, individuals can protect themselves, their families and friends and their communities from serious, life-threatening infections. Because children are particularly vulnerable to infection, most vaccines are given during the first five to six years of life. Other immunizations are recommended during adolescent or adult years and, for certain vaccines, booster immunization are recommended throughout life. Vaccines against certain diseases that may be encountered when traveling outside of the U.S. are recommended for travelers to specific regions of the world. For more information on vaccines, visit the CDC's website at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines. Click here to download a printable Adult Vaccine Screening Form to take to your family doctor http://tinyurl.com/mr5v2z .
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| Thoughtful Thoughts |
There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul.
Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
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| Bad Parrot |
 David received a parrot for his birthday. This parrot was fully grown with a bad attitude and even worse vocabulary. Every other word was an expletive. Those that weren't expletives were, to say the least, rude. David tried hard to change the bird's attitude and was constantly saying polite words, playing soft music, and anything else that came to mind. Nothing worked. He yelled at the bird and the bird got worse. He shook the bird and the bird got madder and ruder.
Finally, in a moment of desperation, David put the parrot in the freezer. For a few moments he heard the bird squawking, kicking and screaming and then, suddenly, all was quiet. David, frightened that he might have actually hurt the bird, quickly opened the freezer door.
The parrot calmly stepped out onto David's extended arm and said, "I'm sorry that I offended you with my language and actions. I ask for your forgiveness." David was astounded at the bird's change in attitude and was about to ask what changed him when the parrot continued, "May I ask what the chicken did?"
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Earn 10% Monthly Referral Fees! |
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No Expiration Date!
  Most of Mazon's clients have come to us through referrals of current and former clients. We rely heavily on word-of-mouth marketing to bring in new clients. Our monthly referral payment to you is 10% of our monthly factoring fee (determined at the time of client sign-up) and continues for as long as the business remains with Mazon Associates.
Potential clients include start-up businesses, high-growth businesses, undercapitalized businesses with historical operating losses, businesses with tax liens, turnaround situations. Other potential clients could be businesses who have been turned down for a bank loan and/or do not currently meet a bank's credit criteria; have delivered a service or product to other businesses and have invoices that can be independently verified; expresses cash flow problems and have a cash flow need; and/or companies expecting rapid growth. The potential client can be located in any of the 50 contiguous United States.
Prospects are usually businesses that are manufacturers, distributors and service companies. Traditionally, Mazon has had businesses in the following areas: advertising; apparel, courier/delivery services, environmental service companies; manufacturing; printing; start-up and early stage/growth companies; staffing companies; telecommunications; and transportation.
We do not accept businesses which have a majority of consumer receivables such as retail businesses, progress billings, third party pay medical receivables and certain construction-related businesses.
For more information on our referral program, please contact Lisa Mazon
by telephone 972-554-6967 ext. 238 or 1-800-442-2740, or by email lisa@mazon.com.
(You are not required to be a Mazon client to refer a business and receive a referral fee!) | |
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 If you liked this issue of Building Bridges, please forward it to a friend. We invite you to share your newsletter thoughts with us. If you would like to submit an idea, article or joke for consideration in a future issue of Building Bridges, or just want to tell us how we are doing, please email our creator and editor, Linda Burson, at MazonNewsletter@Mazon.com.
Building Bridges carries no paid advertising. All articles, images and links are for our readers' knowledge and enjoyment only.
Mazon Associates, Inc.
600 W. Airport Fwy., Irving, TX 75062
P.O. Box 166858, Irving, TX 75016
Telephone: 972-554-6967 Toll Free: 800-442-2740
Fax: 972-554-0951
Business Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
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