How to use YouTube to Grow your Business

Tips to start off successful in a business and to grow. Know the business

Entrepreneur Insights Channel Intro

Samsung Galaxy S8 unboxing Verizon

Saving Your Future- Taking my book to Youtube

As many of you may know, I wrote a book on how to secure a successful financial future and I published it in 2013.

After the publication, I purchased my first small business and focused my efforts there.  It's definitely been challenging and rewarding as I have worked with some very good people and I learn more and more every day on how to be a better boss and a better businessman.

With almost 3 years in the cellular business, I wanted to take some time to evaluate and focus on other efforts as well.  As a result, I decided I am going to make videos for my book and post them on YouTube to accomplish one of two objectives, but hopefully both.

Objective 1 - Sell More Books.  Over the past few years I have sold somewhere around 2-3 books per month with minimal amount of focus or promotion. Let's face it, growing a small business and also growing a not as small family takes time.  I am hoping that the YouTube channel will allow me to get the word out about my book a bit more and drive additional sales.  I also see it as intriguing to see if this will help increase sales and I'm the type of person that finds this type of experiment interesting.

Objective 2 - Share the information.  To me, it's so important in life to share what you have, what you know and what you have learned with others.  I feel like if you know something that can help someone else succeed, it's your obligation to share it.  I also find it rewarding to help others and I believe it also helps me learn.

With that, take a look at my YouTube Channel

Also, consider buying a copy of my book Saving Your Future here

Why Verizon Wireless Device Payment Plan is a good deal

Everyone wants to save money and get a great deal right?  We all do.  We also understand math, which will tell us that paying $650 for a phone is a lot more than paying $199.  That's obvious to everyone.  Well, what if I tell you that paying the $650 price is cheaper for you than paying the $199?  You would want to hear why, right?   Well, I'm about to tell you how.

Let's first get a disclaimer out of the way:  Although I am the owner of the Wireless Zone franchise stores in Herndon, VA and South Riding, VA, I do not represent Verizon Wireless directly and all concepts, opinions and discussion herein is mine and in no way reflects the thoughts, values, positions or opinions, etc of Verizon corporate.  In plain English, I'm representing myself as far as what I am saying, just like if I wrote a blog article about how much I like the Samsung Galaxy S7, I am not a spokesperson for Samsung.  

With the disclaimer out of the way, let's get into how the Device Payment Plan (DPP) works and how it differs from the historic way things worked and how it is good for you.

First, let's discuss history.  As we all know, when the initial iPhone was launched, the only way you could buy it was to go to an Apple store and pay them $700 for the device.  You then got an unlocked phone that could be used on your network.   Soon thereafter Apple signed an exclusive deal with our competitor (who shall remain unnamed).  It was only when the carrier came into play that we saw a subsidized cost on the phone.  In other words, Verizon and the other lower quality carriers (sorry, I know I don't represent Verizon directly, but I do stand by them strongly and for good reason) began to pay part of the cost of the device in order to obtain customers.  The fact that they were getting your business for two years and you were paying for their service allowed them to recoup the cost of the phone that they were paying.  Sticking to the same example, on a $650 phone, you were paying $200 and they had to pay the other $450.

Fast forward to about 2013 and one carrier brought over the European model which said you pay for your device separate from the service provider.  That model caught on.

What does this mean for me?

Well, instead of charging you $40 for your line access (unlimited talk and text), because you chose DPP, Verizon is able to lower your line access charge down to $20 instead of $40.  They also provide 0% financing on the device and they break it into 24 monthly payments for easy installments.  Therefore, when you consider that you would have otherwise paid $200 up front when you "bought" the phone and then $40 per month, your true cost is $40 plus $8.33 ($200 you paid divided by 24 months even though you paid that $200 up front).  So your line access plus device cost was $48.33 all in (before taxes and fees).  Now instead, if you put no money down, you would pay $20 for the line access, plus $27.08 for the DPP payment to cover the device cost.   The total is $47.08, which is cheaper than $48.33 every day of the week.

Some might say, saving about $1 a month is no big deal so why bother with the DPP?  Well, if $1 per month in your pocket isn't enough, you also pay a smaller upgrade or activation fee ($40 for 2 yr vs. $20 for DPP) and you are no longer locked into a 2 year contract.  If for any reason you wanted to terminate your contract (which you might if you were on another carrier, but Verizon, why would you?), you could do so.  Also, if the next device that comes out is one you just have to upgrade to, you certainly can.  All you need to do is pay off the rest of your device.   Even better, for some devices you only need to pay off 50% of the device in order to trade it in and get an upgrade.

When you look at the options available to you on DPP vs. a 2 year plan, its clear that for just about anyone the DPP is the clear winner.

If you want to learn more, check out our website at www.wirelesszone.com/herndon and www.wirelesszone.com/southriding  Come in and see us and we can explain this to you based on your individual plan, as sometimes there is even more savings available depending on your particular scenario and plan you currently have.

We are located at 13340 Franklin Farm Rd Herndon, VA 20171 in the Giant and Starbucks plaza and at 25031 Riding Plaza Suite 125 South Riding, VA in the Home Depot Plaza 

We are happy to serve you.  Post any questions and I am happy to answer them

Finding the Right Person for Life

In the movie “The Wedding Singer” Drew Barrymore played a young lady named Julia who was planning her wedding.   As we learn early on, the guy she planned to marry was definitely not the nicest guy out there; in fact he is really a terrible choice for her, or any woman who wants a faithful loving man by her side.

One of the interesting take-away moments for me in this movie is when her fiancee mentions that he is going to marry her because they have been together for a long time and “she earned it” for sticking it out with him.  That is a telling moment, and sadly, it can be all too true in real life.

Often people agree to marry because they have been with someone for a long time, or just because deep down, they don’t want to move on when they know a relationship is over.  Sometimes it is a result of an ultimatum given and the person agrees to marry simply because they have grown comfortable with the current arrangement and do not want to take the risk of the unknown.

I submit to you that if any of the above is the case, then the relationship is already over, both parties just don’t realize it yet.  Holding on to a dead relationship is a disservice to both people in a dating relationship and if such a situation arises, it is less painful to move on then it is to stick with it.

Over the years, I have seen and experienced the phenomenon of people holding on, or maybe stringing someone along, whether knowingly or unwittingly.

When I was 24 years old, I was dating a nice young lady for almost 2 years.  While we talked about the possibility of getting married, in my mind that was in the distant future and not a part of my present reality.  One day when visiting my parents, my mom asked me what my intentions were for our relationship. I thought about it seriously and realized I wasn’t sure.  As our discussion progressed and I wrestled with the idea for a bit, I told my mom that I wasn’t ready to get married.  Her response was that I should make that clear to the girl I was dating, because it wasn’t fair for her to have expectations I did not have.   

Shortly thereafter we broke up, and I think that was for the best for both of us.  For me, it was a learning moment about stringing people along; something I would never do intentionally, but admittedly was doing unintentionally.

A few years later, when I was about 26, I met someone who was 8 years older than me.  We started as friends, but ended up dating, because we enjoyed the same activities and connected on quite a few levels.  As most people do when they are dating, we spoke of past relationships.  I was also interested to know why an attractive woman with a good career and a fun loving personality was still single. The short version of her story is that she dated one guy for 10 years, then another for 5 years.

I understood the first relationship, as it started in High School when they were 17 and ended when she finally decided she wasn’t going to wait around any longer.   She told me that guy was married within 2 years after they broke up.   She wasn’t the right person, even after 10 years.  I did ask her though; why at age 27 she would repeat the same pattern and date someone for 5 years.  She kind of chuckled and said she didn’t really know.   In this relationship, I applied the same principles I learned in the past. After we had dated for a few months, I recognized that I wasn’t going to be the best person for her.  We talked about it and we agreed to part ways amicably.  A few years later, she got married to someone she dated in the past, just because she was getting close to 40.  She contacted me and told me the story before she got married.  It didn’t sound like a great one and I told her as much.  She said that her sister commented that it’s cheaper to call off a wedding than to get a divorce.  That is good advice.  Sadly, that marriage didn’t turn out well.

A number of years ago, a friend came to me one day, and told me that his girlfriend’s younger sister just got engaged.  He said that he was now feeling the pressure of that situation weighing on him as it was now his time to get engaged.  I simply asked him:  “Do you love her?”  His response was to explain to me that they were dating for a while and she was a really nice girl and so on.  I asked him again if he loved her, with a similar response.  Unfortunately they got married and a few years later it ended.

I could tell you dozens of stories, but I will just share one more in wrapping up.   I once worked with someone who had been dating her boyfriend for over 5 years.  She was in her late 20’s and finally gave him the ultimatum.  In January, as her new year’s resolution, she gave him until December 31^st of that year to propose to her.  He waited until the last week of December.   I lost touch with her, so I can’t tell you how that relationship turned out, but would you want to get engaged/married because the other person ran out of time to find another plan?

If you are in a dating relationship like any of these, do not hang on.  If you do not feel like the person you are with truly loves you for who you are, or you don’t feel like they are the right person for you, move on.  I know it is painful, but isn’t it more painful to hold onto something that isn’t yours, only to find out after marriage? 

Be honest with yourself and with the person you are with.  If you are right for each other, there will be no question about it for both of you.  If you don’t feel it, let the other person go so that they can find someone who will love them the way they deserve to be loved.  In the end, you will be rewarded as well, because you will be free to find the person you will truly love and treasure.   I know I did, and you can too.

Remember, breaking up is a lot cheaper than divorce, from more than just a financial perspective.