Category Archives: Blogroll

TOLERANCE – SO WE CAN ACHIEVE HIGHER GOALS

banner james carlini - Carlini's CornerBy James Carlini

Looking back about five years ago to 2013, I wrote about the betterment of mankind by trying make a New Year’s resolution to revisit tolerance and acceptance in our lives.  I guess we haven’t come too far? In fact, I would say we have regressed.

As I pointed out in the article in 2013, “The average person is being bombarded by self-appointed “culture experts” who are judging what can be said and what can’t be said. Last time I looked, this was the United States. There are many cultures, religions, and many different perspectives here. They are supposed to blend together in a melting pot and not stick out like ingredients in a salad. Your perspective can be presented because of the Constitution and Freedom of Speech, but don’t think it is automatically mainstream or that it should be immediately adopted by everyone.”

What has happened to us as a society?  Some people still have not accepted the results of the 2016 Election and are resistant to change, resistant to new ideas, resistant to a shift in policies, and resistant to working together to get things done.  We have become more polarized, but that polarization started long before the 2016 Election.

There is no word like “compromise” in any civil discourse anymore.  People are discouraging public discourse on ideas and concepts if the speaker does not fit their belief system or their perspective on issues. What happened to Freedom of Speech?

FREEDOM OF SPEECH IS OK – ONLY IF YOU AGREE WITH ME

“If you agree with me, I will let you speak, but if your ideas do not mesh exactly with mine, I will stop you from speaking.” This is the attitude shown and is what is happening on many college campuses, and it does not promote any type of broadening one’s perspective.

Funny how it is not just a group of students. Faculty and administrations on some of these campuses are just as intolerant as those radicals coming on campus to disrupt a presentation that they do not agree with.  I always thought higher learning was supposed to promote the ability to share different perspectives and develop a broader perspective by having in-depth discourse on ideas?

This intolerance is not only evident on some college campuses, it is evident in other parts of society, including Congress.  From our outside perspective, we hear,”We don’t want to discuss this endeavor.” by the opposition. And then, after it is voted on, we hear, “We didn’t have any input on this idea.  The opposition did this all by themselves. We don’t agree.”

It’s time to cut out the childish attitudes, the chronic intolerance, and start working together to forge ahead.

There should be some positive projects that everyone in Congress can work on AND have their constituents benefit from.  I have talked about an infrastructure project that can benefit many states, industries, companies, and even farmers.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER LOCKS PROJECT – MAYBE A PROJECT TO UNIFY MANY PEOPLE?

I have written several articles on the Trillion Dollar Infrastructure Project that Congress is starting to review.  What should they prioritize and what could benefit a huge amount of people across many states.

The Mississippi River has a series of locks that barges carrying all different types of products need to go through to get to the Port of New Orleans.  These locks that were built in the 1930s are totally obsolete and are holding up shipping from many states. The faster things can get shipped down the river, the cheaper their costs are. This benefits us as a nation, keeping our costs for products down..

We depend on the Mississippi River to ship over 600 Billion tons of products annually.  The products include agricultural products to aggregates to coal and oil.  From this article, I recently wrote, here are some observations:

Many industries across many states depend on the Mississippi to ship their products out to the rest of the world.  Farmers also depend on shipping products out for world export as well as domestic use.

“The agricultural products and the huge agri-business industry that has developed in the Mississippi basin produce 92% of the nation’s agricultural exports.”

With all the intolerance on so many issues and ideas, maybe we can get Congress to focus in on a project like this which transcends political parties and focuses on doing something good for a good, diverse portion of the United States.

If we can find common ground in supporting a large project like this, maybe we can find common ground on many other areas that just require some compromise and not be chronically blocked by hardcore opposition. (from either side)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Commercial Real Estate Professional Investor Group CREPIG is being offered for sale

crepig 3d plagueBidding Is Closed.

CREPIG, once one of the largest private CRE websites is offering it’s websites and social media clout to the commercial real estate industry.

NOTE: Information may have changed since you last looked at this page. Please go to the offer section and re-read if you have not done so in the last 8 hours. To go to offer click here

What is CREPIG

Hello, my name is JW Najarian and I am the founder and creator of On Purpose Magazine and the Commercial Real Estate Professional and Investor Group (CREPIG) site. It has been a wonderful run. We started CREPIG in October of 2008 officially. It was open a bit earlier to a smaller group of Commercial Real Estate (CRE) professionals.

The site was initially created to help an ailing industry. The economic crash in 2006/7 crippled the industry severely and CREPIG was formed to  try to get the industry back on it’s feet by providing information we believed necessary to help out many struggling CRE professionals, after the market crash.

CREPIG jw najarian interviewing with greenpearl speakersI did interviews with the top CRE execs and world class economists and heads of banks to try and figure out how to move ahead in a world where money went from being easy to becoming almost impossible to get.

CREPIG jw najarian with ryan slack greenpearlI talked with hard money lenders and so many others and at some point realized that the market would take more time than we first thought, to come back.

crepig stats 100403CREPIG grew quickly and became one of the top 10 CRE sites nationally, we competed with several sites and although we never reached numbers like Loopnet, we did do very well.

I published news and articles and did graphs based on MIT / Moody studies that showed that the trends ahead for commercial properties were not going to be as they were in the past. Since 1985 there was a steady growth in CRE of around 8% growth year over year, till the crash and all the new studies showed only a 3% growth rate for the next 15 to 20 years.chart TBI

cppiallpropertyallyearindex110521At that point I made CREPIG into a site where you could post your deals and these deals were shared with the 5000+ on this site, plus an additional 40,000 across CRE social media.

The social technology companies like Twitter and Linkedin have changed policies as to slow down and even stop the auto posting of the forum here to other forums.

IMG_0088I have paid hundreds a year to keep this open and free for you the CRE public, but I came down with stage IV cancer and have had to stop spending time I did not have on providing free services to an industry that barely uses them.

I did help co-author a cancer book Cancer: From Tears to Triumph and it went #1 Bestseller in the US, Canada and Australia in the first week of publication which allowed us to give over $25,000 to a children’s cancer fund.

Book Cover - Cancer: From Tears to Triumph

Click Here to Order From Amazon

It allowed me to tell my story and help cancer patients, family members, friends and caregivers see the gifts and positive side of the challenges and tragedies associated with this terrible disease.

My digital art, featured at www.ArtQuench.com Gallery, Magazine and Coffee Table Art Book Series and is being received well. So I am not down and out, but do need to stop paying for CREPIG and let it go to someone who has the capability to do something with the foundation I have laid over the years.

I have met and spent a lot of time with many of you and I have to say we had a great family of CRE pros at CREPIG and it’s other social media proponents. I have grown to know, work with and care for so many of you, but it is over for me now and I just want to thank all of you and wish you the best going forward.

I want to thank my incredible staff of volunteers for all their selfless work and support for CREPIG and me. So thank you Bob Schecter, Sossi Crilly, Beth Ann Grib and Bill Evans

If you have the right stuff and want to run this site. Call me at 818-353-9100 and listen to the message to find out how to make an offer. I will consider all offers. I will be shutting down the site in January one way or the other.

Many have asked what the current traffic is like. I do not consider this a selling point as no one has promoted the site for over 2 years, but the numbers are actually good for a site that I do very little work on.

The forum keeps chugging along and so we continue to get fair traffic relatively, but remember the offer is not for traffic. It is for the site and all the other social media Super Groups and the ability to use those platforms to grow your business or to use as a foundation to start a new business. Here are the current stats.

crepig traffic

Notice Unique visitors is rather large, which is good. Would like to have a smaller bounce rate, but everyone that visits seems to spend on average just under 3 minutes, looks at just under 3 pages and so without any moderation the site still gets over 15,000 pageviews. The right person could take this back to the previous numbers or more in no time.

Here is what I am offering

As the founder and creator of the CREPIG site www.CREPIG.com the Linkedin Groups and the Twitter Group associated with CREPIG I would like to offer the following.

What you get

  • CREPIG Site (as is) with a cost of $24.95 a month that the new owner will take over in January 2016. The site has 5600+ members with full contact info. NO SALE OF MEMBER LIST outside this deal.
  • Twitter CREPIG Accounts @CREPIGsite 43,600 and @RREPIG 35,700 Followers ~ Total 75,000+ Followers
  • Linkedin CREPIG Group 21,700+ RE Professional Investor Group with 2400+, RE Open Networker / Investor 2000+ Members for a Real Estate Total of 25,000+ Members.
  • CREPIG.com URL which you will pay for after transfer and CREPIG Site is on a Ning platform and costs $24.95 a month to maintain (not counting your or your IT departments time)
  • (NEW) Facebook CREPIG Page with over 800 members
  • So in Total of over 111,000+ Real Estate Followers and/or Members

If you are not sure if the lists of CRE Professionals and Investors is real or useful, just know that it reached you! That has to mean something. 🙂

What I am looking for:

I am looking to make the best deal possible.

I am putting the CREPIG site, social media and the brand up for bid. In a perfect world I would like to receive a dollar amount and a percentage of any profit going forward. That is not necessary, however. I will take just a dollar amount, but keep in mind, best deal wins.

Also know that whether or not I get a percentage of profits going forward, I will not be able to work with your staff at no cost. If I am needed for technical issues (transfer of URL and sites not included. I will help to make transfer as smooth as possible.) I will ask for an additional $80 per hour with a minimum of a one half hour per session.

Note that because of my health condition, I may not be able to help, but I do have a partner that can help with all realms technical including porting over to new platform etc., so you will never be left out in the cold if you or your team need technical help with the new sites and apps.

This is a FIRE SALE. The average cost of a single lead is very expensive out on the open market. Depending on whether you will be pursuing an inbound or outbound marketing strategy here is what you will pay, on average for a good lead according to Hubspot, the leader in Internet and Social Media Marketing Research.

What is CREPIG Worth?

Average Cost of a Lead

Using these numbers and taking CREPIG leads, depending on your promotional strategy, at their worst, these are the numbers I should be asking for.

111,000 / 2 = roughly 50,000 (figuring for dupes)
50,000 / 2 = 25,000 (figuring for worthless leads)
25,000 / 2 = roughly 12,000 leads (figuring for good leads that go no where)12,000 / 4 = 3,000 leads (just to make sure I am fair)
So let’s figure 1110 leads are solid sales (That is 1% of the leads offered)
1110 x Inbound Lead Amount (Most of the people I have spoken to will use Outbound Marketing techniques with my members and followers) of $135
This equals a lead cost of hundreds of thousands

Now to be ultra fair take the 5,000 members I have at CREPIG.com and say that only 50 of the names are useful leads. The math would look like this 50 x $135 = $6750.00 or 50 x $346.00 = $17,000

So worst case the site is worth close to $7,000. To the right person this site and it’s associated groups is a goldmine if used properly. I have checked these amounts with Internet marketers and car dealers and they are similar. Check out Driving Sales Forum, Hubspot, The Marketing Sherpa and many other forums and sales organizations.

If you Google Commercial Real Estate Leads you will find one company that charges $35.00 per lead. Then you find that the company has a Ripoff Report as they do not provide sales ready leads. Are there good leads under $135 each? I do not know, but I haven’t found any. Have fun.

How Do I Make An Offer?

I am starting the bidding right now. The bidding process will end on December 15th at midnight – Pacific Time. I am asking for 50% on sale and other 50% on delivery. All sites, social apps and Linkedin Groups will be transferred as is and the sale will be final.

Update: I will post the latest bids on December 13th so that everyone has a chance to counter offer. The post will be on this page only.

I will not part out the different platforms separately. The bid and sale will be for all that is listed above. No more or less.

 

Good Luck and may the best Deal win.
JW Najarian
CREPIG Founder

4th of July 2015

4th of JulyThis is an important date for us all. The world seems to be falling apart around us as times are tough all over the world, but the United States still stands for freedom for so many around the world.

Here are the words inscribed on the Liberty Bell: Leviticus 25:10 and it reads,

“Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all inhabitants thereof.”

I have learned so much in the past two years. As I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer I a couple of years back, I was forced to think clearly about my life, what it has meant and what it could still mean.

Looking back I was ready to see my failures and deal with my regrets only to find that I had more blessings than I thought. I thought I was picked on in school, but I was building character and learning how to deal with how tough and sometimes ugly people can be.

I thought that the trouble I had in school with ADHD and other issues was a curse to remind me what a loser I was, but it was the kick I needed to prove to myself I could do whatever I set my mind to and although I am really bad at math, I became a math tutor in electronics engineering school and made it through. I do have to admit that my teaching did not stay with me and I still suck at math, but I got my degree and worked in the tech fields I wanted to.

I thought that my sucking at learning the guitar was all about my lack of talent. Instead I found out as I was forced to join a band and play publicly, that I did not suck at guitar as much as I was too wrapped up in getting high and partying to really devote the time to playing. Being on stage made me a much better player as I had to practice so I didn’t look like a complete fool onstage.

Learning that I was lazy and just wanted to party made me want to stop partying and start getting serious about my future. This pulled me out of a serious depression and lead me to do some wonderful things in my life for myself and a few others.

I thought my abuse and misuse of drugs in my youth was a weakness that would devour me, but instead it helped me find my weakest self and it empowered me to find my stronger self and armed me with the insight and the courage to help others going down similar paths. I am not perfect, but I am stronger and more courageous that I ever thought I was.

I met people I looked up to and then saw some of them fall and I thought what chance do I have if that person fell, but what I learned is that no one is immune to tragedy or to failure and that failure is what leads to success. So I learned that I am no less or more a success or failure than I believe I am or allow myself to be.

I thought that my diagnosis would send me into a deep depression, but found that it not send me into a why me; pity party mess, but instead I ended up being around other patients that were in much worse shape than me. I looked at the world and what was going on overseas and saw that so many people and their families are in such a worse place than me. I live in southern California for gosh sake. Not so tough a place to be.

No I had to find the place in myself where I allow myself the knowledge that life is full of tragedy, but from our greatest tragedies come our most incredible gifts. I know that I have to acknowledge the dark and fear, but that I have to focus on the gifts in the darkness. I know that I have to find the blessings in all things and be grateful everyday for my life has been so truly blessed.

I thought that I couldn’t help others until I learned how to help myself, but instead I learned that helping others and putting others ahead of myself, without expectation of a return, opened me up to see the good in others and to be more grateful for what I had.

Take this time to remember everyone that gave or fought for our freedoms and also take a moment to remember what this freedom has made you grateful for. Is it our children growing up with fresh water, food, free education, the freedom to say and think what they want? Is it the fact that they live in a country that has the ability to help other countries and people also try and attain the gifts of free will.

I was in the Navy so I could grow up, see the world and get my college paid for, but instead I got the chance to meet with a group of people that were there for each other, brothers helping brothers all to protect us and others around the world from tyranny and slavery. I am proud of my time in the military and even more proud of the men I served with.

STRATEGIC INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE EXPOSED

banner james carlini - Carlini's CornerBy James Carlini

A pragmatic, visionary perspective —–

Infrastructure is critical to a nation’s success in the global marketplace today.  As the Platform for Commerce, it needs to be resilient and reliable because all businesses are built upon it.

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN ASIA?

Right now, countries in Asia are forming a new consortium called the AIIB.  AIIB stands for Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and it is headed up by China, but it is also being funded by several European countries including Great Britain, Germany, France and Italy.  So far, the United States has taken a pass on it and we can debate if that is a good strategic move or not.

There are many Asian member countries already signed up as members.  According to Wikipedia: China, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Laos, Myanmar, Mongolia, Nepal, Oman, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.  This does not include the list of European countries like Luxembourg, Spain, and others along with the “Big 4” of Europe: Great Britain, Germany, France, and Italy. Other interesting members include Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar.

The United States is reluctant to join because they are afraid the banking regulations will not be as high a standard as other established institutions like the IMF (International Monetary Fund) but you have to think, if all these other countries are joining in, we should at least get in the mix just to monitor what is going on.

You would think this is a good thing and we should be in on this.  We aren’t.  We need to understand the ramifications of this type of consortium and where it is really headed. We need to understand what priorities other countries have for their new infrastructure projects and look internally into ours to see if we are ahead of others, about the same, or lagging behind in launching and finishing critical infrastructure projects.

This is where you can leapfrog other countries when you build out infrastructure that they currently do not have. South Korea is a good example. They were considered a third world country 30-35 years ago.  Today, they are very competitive and part of the reason is that their infrastructure is first-class.

 SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

A friend of mine who has been a long-time executive in several multi-national companies looked at it from a different angle and made this observation:

The AIIB is part of a 25 year strategy by China that culminates in the Yuan replacing the dollar as the primary global currency.  The Chinese are brilliant.

This formation of AIIB is a prelude to the IMF and Global Bank becoming second rate capital sources for developing countries.

By 2020, the US greenback will join the same level of stature as the Euro and English Pound. 

If he is correct, we should NOT be taking a wait-and-see attitude. We should be taking action. If the AIIB replaces the IMF as the primary global lender in years to come, that changes the total global landscape as to who has the key financial power.  The dollar isn’t the “go-to currency” when it comes to international projects and related trade.

We also need to invest in our infrastructure and not lay back and say,”ours is already built”.  Many new technologies and approaches are critical in every layer of the Platform for Commerce.  We cannot utilize antiquated structures and concepts if we are to compete in global markets.

This is a critical area to keep aware of.  Those who watch “Dancing with the Stars” should be more aware of this new endeavor  and be more concerned with the marriage of all these countries in a new financial fund than concerned about the next marriage of a Kardashian.

CARLINI-ISM : “In our infrastructure, we cannot depend on 19th and 20th century solutions to solve 21st century global challenges.”

Location location location james Carlini

His visionary book, LOCATION LOCATION CONNECTIVITY is available at AMAZON:

http://www.amazon.com/LOCATION-CONNECTIVITY-JAMES-CARLINI/dp/0990646041/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427540979&sr=1-1&keywords=location+location+connectivity

and BARNES & NOBLE online:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/location-location-connectivity-james-carlini/1120585793?ean=9780990646044

He will be speaking at several upcoming conferences across the country later this year including the Windy City Summit (a major conference on Treasury and Cash Management) at Chicago’s Navy Pier on May 20th-22nd.

Follow daily Carlini-isms at www.TWITTER.com/JAMESCARLINI

Copyright 2015 – James Carlini – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

 

 

BLACKBERRY: GAME OVER OR ADDED CREDIBILITY FOR ITS STRATEGY

banner james carlini - Carlini's Corner By James Carlini

With the announcement of the “partnership” of IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), some dumped BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) stock overnight. Evidently, some don’t know the industry as well as they thought.  Investors need to realize:

  •  Announcements are cheap. Deliverables aren’t.
  •  IBM/Apple partnership does demonstrate BlackBerry has right strategy and has identified a real niche.
  •  Competition is good. It moves the markets. Product development accelerates and consumers are the real winners.

Some BlackBerry investors got the message, “Game Over” when they should be looking at this announcement as, “Game On – this is a real market niche“. Take it one step further in analysis and you see major players saying, “We have to get into this game because it is critical for us”.

banner ibm plus apple equals blackberry

WEDDINGS ARE EASY. MARRIAGES TAKE TIME

An article stating that Apple and IBM are going to partner to provide a better enterprise-wide solution and better mobile security for business customers is a big announcement, but that’s all it is, an announcement.

IBM will provide services via Apple’s iOS including device management, security, analytics and mobile integration.  IBM will also create 100 exclusive business applications for the iPhone (and iPads) to be sold to its business customers.

Where are the deliverables of this marriage and did customers buy into the products?

It is too early to measure any success, just like it is too early to measure the success of BlackBerry’s initiatives.

Reading through so many investor comments, who are both short and long, I see criticisms that had questioned BlackBerry’s strategy. Now, it seems as though two major players, IBM and Apple, are blessing that strategy and saying, “Yes, there is validity to that strategy and we have to come up with some solutions.” “I understand the market and have a product that fits” is a statement which is much further along than “We agree that there is a market niche and we will be building some products in the future”.

Building products takes time. Making sure they work takes more time. What will the “marriage” of IBM and Apple produce? Only time will tell. Maybe everyone should take a deep breath and remember a good quote from Hal Geneen, the former CEO of ITT:

In business, words are words, Explanations are explanations, Promises are promises, but only Performance is reality.

John Chen (CEO of BlackBerry) did not die. His vision is still viable. He needs time to execute his strategy just as much as IBM and Apple now have to have time to deliver on their big announcement.

This reminds me of when Apple first introduced the iPhone and there was both skepticism that it would sell along with those who looked at all the other phones in the industry and said, “Game Over”.(see article – wtnnews.com/articles/3612

Real competitors did not sit around. Real competitors came out with products that matched and surpassed Apple. The ones who really benefited from that competition were the customers and the overall industry.

NO ONE HAS A CRYSTAL BALL

No one has a crystal ball, so no one can say, “Game Over”. If anything, this announcement lends credibility to BlackBerry having a real market niche and the “big players” need to get into that game.

The big question should be, will BlackBerry partner up with someone else or continue on its own path? No one knows that answer except John Chen.

CARLINI-ISM:         Just remember, you’re not an expert in the Smartphone industry because you bought one and now know how to play “Angry Birds” on it.

Disclosure:  Long BBRY. The author wrote this article himself, and it expresses his own opinion.  The author is not receiving compensation for it. The author has no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Carlini’s visionary book, “Location  Location  Connectivity” will be coming out later this year. BOOK_COVER He will be speaking at several upcoming conferences across the country later this year. Details are forthcoming.

Follow daily Carlini-isms at www.TWITTER.com/JAMESCARLINI Copyright 2014 – James Carlini – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Rosie Perez Interview Handbook for an Unpredictable Life

book rosie perez shRosie Perez talks about her new book at the California Women’s Conference

Famous for movies like Do the Right Thing, White Men Can’t Jump and for her Oscar nominated supporting role in Fearless. Renowned for her music video choreography for stars like Janet Jackson, Bobby Brown, Diana Ross, LL Cool J and many more, she has played on Broadway,  worked as a director, a producer and now she is also an author.

Rosie Perez has written her inspiring, sometimes funny and heartbreaking story about surviving abuse as a child and the politics in the entertainment industry. Continue reading

Shuttle Fly Over at JPL

Photo from San Jose Mercury News

You won’t find a video here or pictures cause I forgot to hit record.

Such a bummer, but what a wonderful spectacle! The shuttle, strapped to the back of a 747 just passed over my head and it was amazing. just wish I would have pushed record!!

Loral Langemeier Speaks at Enlightened Entrepreneur Summit

Loral Langemeier talks about making money in your business every day

what are you selling and are you making money every day in your business.. You can..
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1-N6awaHrQ]

I have been following Loral Langemeier for several years. I heard about her Live Out Loud Seminars and the famous Big Table, which is touted as being the most powerful, innovative, intimate and exclusive wealth building experience in the world!

If that is not intriguing I don’t know what is.. It always seems that everywhere I go Loral just left and although I have spoken to her office several times.. our schedules and paths were not crossing until the Enlightened Entrepreneur Summit. Maria Simone’s incredible 3 day immersion into planning, marketing, funding and networking.

I am glad I finally met Loral there as I really love Maria’s event. Thank you Maria for bringing us together and Loral for making sure you put some time aside, in the middle of your crazy busy schedule, to make this happen. – JW

Loral Langemeier

After creating her own financial freedom and reaching a net worth of $1 million, it was then Loral Langemeier decided she would start a coaching and seminar company to provide a catalyst that would allow others to reach this same level of success.

The company started small with one office in Novato, California in 2001 and within 5 years grew to a $21 million dollar company. During that time, the organization expanded to its current size which includes 3 locations: Novato, California, South Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and Salt Lake City, Utah.

To date, the company has provided its services to thousands of individuals worldwide and has created hundreds of millionaires. Offerings include a wide range of products, events, programs, and coaching services.

The community that has been created is always expanding and changing as the needs of individuals within it continue to grow and change, nonetheless, the education, support and networking opportunities that are made available through this community still remains strong.

loral langemeier by jw najarianLoral Langemeier is one of today’s most visible and innovative money experts. She continues to expand her horizons, even through the challenging obstacles of today’s economy. Because of her tenacity and absolute confidence in what she teaches, Langemeier is one of only a handful of women in the world today who can claim the title of “expert” when it comes to financial matters and the making of millionaires. She accelerates the conversation about money, sharing how to, not just survive this tough economic climate, but how to succeed and thrive.

A New York Times, USA Today and Amazon bestselling author and a leading entrepreneurial speaker, Langemeier has coached thousands of success stories around the world by giving them the simple tools to generate cash and build wealth. As a single working mother, dynamic speaker/motivator and owner of a business (Live Out Loud, Inc); Langemeier lights up the room and elicits change for the better.

Langemeier started her first business at 17, and by age 34, had established a multimillion dollar portfolio. As one of the most notable national and international entrepreneurs, Langemeier has built a number of businesses in a variety of industries, including projects in real-estate, green-recycled glass, and online marketing firms – several of which have grossed millions.

loral langemeierAs Founder and CEO of Live Out Loud, Langemeier has shared her high value strategies at seminars all over the world, teaching people her simple recipe for capitalizing on their skills and talents to make new money. She is author of four national best-selling books; The Millionaire Maker, The Millionaire Maker’s Guide to Wealth Cycle Investing and The Millionaire Maker’s Guide to Creating a Cash Machine for Life and her just-released book Put More Cash In Your Pocket. Her highly anticipated, fifth book Yes! Energy: The Equation to Do Less, Make More hits book stores in February 2012.

Langemeier has appeared frequently on CNN, CNBC, The Street TV, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Channel-America’s Nightly Scoreboard, The Dr. Phil Show and The View. Langemeier has been featured in articles and appeared in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, and on the web at ABCNews.com, Forbes.com and as a regular online contributor with the Huffington Post, The Bottom Line, Yahoo7Finance, and BusinessWeek.com. She was recognized by Forbes Magazine, in September 2011, as a standout woman in business. She also appeared in and contributed to The Secret.

Loral has spoken in-person in front of tens-of-thousands of people and helped create hundreds of new millionaires.

In 2009 Loral spent quite a bit of time working on setting up ways that she could give back.

  1. Kids and Family Financial Literacy – Focus is on 3-10 years old. Loral will roll out a new program committed to teach kids about money. Further, she will begin expanding reach beyond the Live Out Loud community through the Millionaire Maker Game for continuing education and wholesome family fun together.
  2. The Loral Langemeier Foundation – Loral is, and always has been, committed to families and the environment.  Loral cares about and supports local green initiatives in Lake Tahoe such as Save the Bears, Save the Lake, and Save the Trees.  She also supports the fight against environmental toxins, which can adversely effect the health and lives of everyone in the community. Through her foundation she also contributes and supports such organizations as The Girls and Boys Club of America and the  Big Brothers and Big Sisters Foundation.

Loral’s Live Out Loud
Loral’s Web Site

book loral langemeier yes energyYes Energy

The strongest energy always wins. That’s it! That’s the key to moving from your current situation, any situation, into the life you’ve always wanted.

     Yes! Energy presents the power of the “Energy Equation,” which you can employ to attract abundance to all areas of your life. This formula can help you lead your life to achieve financial freedom; center your actions around a spiritual core of certainty and confidence; up-shift your attitude into consistent optimism; commit to engage with others at the highest, most satisfying levels; create the enterprise you’ve always envisioned; and dust off your dreams.

Best-selling author and entrepreneurial speaker Loral Langemeier developed this simple and straightforward methodology, which is revealed explicitly in these pages, because she needed it herself. Knocked to her knees more than a few times on her true-grit journey from farm girl to multimillionaire, she knows what it’s like to hit obstacles hard. Yet despite the blows, she still stands, and she still delivers.

Learn how to tap into infinite, productive energy; extreme optimism; and calming, clarifying spirituality to improve your life in every way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

enlightened entrepreneur summit maria simone

We want to thank Maria Simone and The Enlightened Entrepreneur Summit for allowing us to cover this incredible event. This is one of my favorite events every year… – JW

Why do you need to go? This is where you meet World-class business leaders, innovators, thought leaders, marketers, social media experts, market influencers, breakthrough specialists, and potential investors.
 
And they share their profitable cutting edge business practices as well as creating a space for inspired joint venture partnerships amongst the participants. Every attendee has the opportunity to contribute and shine during their facilitated networking sessions. The summit will help you figure out your plan, build your team and get funded by pitching to investors at the event.
http://enlightenedentrepreneursummit.com/

Quote On Purpose

“The greatest discovery you’ll ever make, is the potential of your own mind.” — Jose Silva

Double Rainbow at Squaw Valley CaliforniaIf we can loose our ego for a moment and just be… Not comparing ourselves to others or thinking about what you have done or not done and what your going to do next or not do next…

If you can just breathe in the moment and let yourself be aware in the moment you will find that you are part of a large and infinite universe.

Say yes to everything and take the challenge handed to you. Lean into fear and you will discover just how brilliant you are. – JW

I Have a Wardrobe Consultant

Juliann Stitick

Words I never thought I would say.

JuliAnn Stitick, used to be a personal shopper at Nordstrom and she has taken her love of fashion helping people to a new level.

Stylist JuliAnn Stitick is the founder of  WardrobeRx and she works with you as an image specialist to help you define your personal style by maximizing your wardrobe.

You can refine your current style or completely re-define and re-style it.

The first thing I realized is that I already had a pretty great wardrobe. Especially when I threw out my 1970’s Angel Flights and my painters pants. You have to realize that I am shade blind and cannot match clothes. My wife either picks my wardrobe out or just refuses to watch. I go to a lot of functions and I represent two commercial real estate companies and a marketing company. I can’t afford to look like I borrowed clothes from my friends.

One of the best things I did was to take the old wardrobe and the new stuff and have it all tailored. You cannot believe the difference with the same clothes….
Unbelievable.

I did get rid of a lot of stuff, but now I can get into my closet and see what I have and I have to say that I never wore most of the stuff I threw away and I have to say I haven’t missed any of it.

We went on a shopping trip and found just a few essentials to tie all my shirts and pants together.

JuliAnn just started a new blog called Retail Therapy.  Go check it out.

Now all I have to do is lose some weight..

JW Najarian

CREPIG
CREDAA

AT&T or Verizon? and What Friken Smart Phone is Right for Me or Might be the Next Big Thing?

What’s with all these maps on the commercials? Verizon shows a map covered in RED; supposidly representing their 3G network. They show AT&T in light blue showing how the 3G is almost non-existent. OK sounds great. I will get Verizon. The you watch the AT&T commercial and they have a guy throwing post cards over a map of the states? Is this the 3G coverage? AT&T does state that their 3G is faster, but if it is non-existent then who cares how fast it is for the small numbers that receive it.
Who has the best 3g coverage with the best smart phone?

Who has the fastest 3G? T-Mobil?

What do you have and what do you think?

What phone will emerge as the new leader for business and personal use… iPhone, Google, Blackberry, Droid or what?!

JW Najarian

CREPIG
CREDAA

What would you do?

 I received this email from my father. It seems that most the emails I get from family nowdays are jokes, political stuff or funny or inspiring videos.  I would love to get more personal emails, but as the years go by I realize this may never happen so I call to find out what’s up.  This message, however was worth repeating.

 

Anyway I got this email and though I never pass this stuff on to my list, I did find it very moving so I am posting it here as not to waste it’s sentiment. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

 

 

Would you have made the same choice?

 

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended.

 

After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:

‘When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection.

 

Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?’ The audience was stilled by the query. The father continued.

 

‘I believe that when a child like Shay,who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world,

 

An opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.’

 

Then he told the following story:

 

Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, ‘Do you think they’ll let me play?’

 

I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps..

 

I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, ‘We’re losing by six runs and the game is in The eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we’ll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.’

 

Shay struggled over to the team’s bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.

 

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay’s team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.

 

In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.

 

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay’s team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

 

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat.

 

Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn’t even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

 

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay’s life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.

 

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.

 

The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over.

 

The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.

 

Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

 

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman’s head, out of reach of all team mates.

 

Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, ‘Shay, run to first! Run to first! 
Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.

 

He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, ‘Run to second, run to second!’

Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.

 

By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball. The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.

 

He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher’s intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman’s head.

 

Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

 

All were screaming, ‘Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay’. 

 

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, ‘Run to third!  Shay, run to third!’

 

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, ‘Shay, run home! Run home!’

 

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team..

 

‘That day’, said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, ‘the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world’.

 

Shay didn’t make it to another summer. 

 

He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

 

May your day, be a Shay Day.

CREPIG helps them who help themselves

The Commercial Real Estate Professional Investors Group allows CRE investors and professionals the ability to promote their project, product, services, deals, funding options or requirements to other investors and professionals.  CREPIG is also a great place to find CRE resouces and network with others.

I get calls and emails all day long asking me to promote an event or deal and I would love to, but I only have so many hours in my day and the site was set up to allow you to do it on your own.  There is plenty of help and it is actually pretty easy if you take a minute to check it out.

CREPIG’s Promotion Forum provides a place to enter anything you need to enter.  You can upload files, insert pictures or videos and us HTML tags to make your stuff zing…  This section updates the CREPIG Twitter page with thousands of followers.  It also updates my Facebook page and over 5000 CRE investors and professionals over on LinkedIn.

So in the future don’t call me.  Take advantage of the ability to make yourself know to around 8000 investors and professionals by joining the site and posting your stuff.

JW Najarian
www.CREPIG.com

Affluence.org Apology

As recently as 3 or 4 months ago I sent everyone on my list an invitation to join Affluence.org. I want to apologize for that action. I have had many send me remove me letters about this site resending the invitation over and over. I was also not accepted as a member, but that did not stop them from resending the requests to my friends.

They first wanted my tax data to prove the amount of money I said I made. No Way Jose….. They did promise that if I got 5 people to join I would be accepted. This seems bogus as you now may be talking to someone of non affluence that happened to get some other affluent people to join? Things that make you go Hmmmm?

I did get over 5 to join, but did not get accepted. I would guess that the other 6 refused to send their tax info in as well. I am looking for a way to delete my profile. I have tried to contact the company, but the Contact Us button does not work….

I do not recommend this site and ask that everyone who got an invitation from me please forgive me.

Kindest Regards,
JW Najarian
twitter.com/jwnajarian

Waterproof Camera and Watch for Hawaii

I am leaving for the beautiful island of Maui to stay at the Grand Wailea for a few days.  I have business with some real estate and my network marketing business.  If you are in Maui and want to meet send me a message or call my office.

I was looking for a water proof watch and found a water proof camera too.

First I just lost over 35 pounds, as last time I went I was overweight and didn’t want to take off my shirt nor was I able to do too much physical stuff. I am looking and feeling better. My plan is to loose another 20 which will put me around 165. I did get up to 225 Argh!

I will fill you in on the details at another time.  For the curious I was using the Kevin Trudeau diet and loved it.

OK what does this all have to do with a camera and watch?  Patience my ADHD friend….  Last time I was in Maui I kept the swimming down, but decided to do some snorkling and my water proof watch took on water and died!  I had just got another expensive WP watch fixed for water damage so I had taken a less expensive watch with me.  I was looking at the Timex Explorer which takes a licking and keeps ticking, but my wife will not let me where a geek watch.

Well I plan to do much more swimming this time, with my new lighter weight body….

THE WATCH

citizen WR 300 eco driveI believe I have found the answer and have picked up the Citizen WR 300 Eco-Drive watch.  This watch looks great, works great and at 300M is pretty much a dive watch for relaxed diving.  I already love Eco-Drive watches as I have many automatics and battery type watches that need constant attention.

The Eco Drive needs a bit of sun here and there… Big Whoop.

THE CAMERA

camera olympus 550wp blackI also found the newest ultimate snorkling and swim toy…. The Olympus Stylus-550WP WaterProof Digital Camera. Good for diving to around 10ft for up to 1 hour… Whoa….

This camera rocks for so many more reasons then it is waterproof. 10MP, 1600ASA, Panorama, many movie and picture modes including candlelight. It has a 2.5″ screen which is essential for a camera as far as I am concerned. I hate the small screen jobs. It also has memory on board so you don’t have to get a SD card, but don’t be crazy… Get the biggest card you can find.

Here is the official Olympus Page info:

camera olympus 550wpDive in with the camera that goes anywhere. The waterproof, sporty STYLUS-550WP is one camera you won’t need to handle with care. It’s built to survive whatever you can dish out – the pool, the game, or even the beach. If you are the type that is always on the go, this camera can keep up.

WATERPROOF (10ft.).
A revolutionary system of waterproof seals and gaskets keeps water out so you can take pictures as deep as 10 feet underwater.

INTELLIGENT AUTO.
Automatically identifies the scene you’re shooting — portrait, landscape, night portrait, macro, or sport — and adjusts the settings to optimize results.

FACE DETECTION.
Tracks up to twelve faces and automatically focuses and optimizes exposures for sharp, brilliant portrait pictures.

DIGITAL IMAGE STABILIZATION.
With high ISO sensitivity and faster shutter speeds you can freeze the action to capture sharp, blur-free images even if you or your subject is moving.

PERFECT FIX.
Nobody gets the perfect shot all the time, but now you can correct shooting mistakes instantly with the touch of a button. Use Perfect Fix to lighten up shadows and remove red-eye so a less-than-perfect shot can still turn out perfect!

It does have a special underwater setting that will make underwater pics nice. Most UW shots are always very blue..

I also picked up the optional silicon skin which makes it very cool…

I will blog and Twitter from the Beach….

JW
www.jwnajarian.com

Seeing Light at the End of the Twitter Tunnel

I have been laboring over what to do with Twitter and was just about to chuck in the towel when my friend Gary returned my call about his new website http://www.GaryWGoldstein.com.  Not to change the subject, but if you are looking for new stuff on business and personal development and how to gain success in the real world you need to check out Gary.

 

Why Gary? You ask?  Gary W. Goldstein is the co-producer of one of the world’s best known mega movie hits “Pretty Woman”.  He also produced other movies like “The Mothman Prophecies“, “Under Seige” and many others.  He came to Hollywood without knowing anything about the movie business and in his work he explains how he broke in and how you can use the lessons he learned to create success in your own life.  Gary has been one of my mentors for the last couple of years and I have to say that his stories and relevant ways of dealing with life and what it can throw at you; have helped me immensely.

 

I know it sounds like I veered off my Twitter story completely, but it all comes full circle.  You see I called Gary to comment on his new website which is really shaping up nicely.  We joked about some of the funny comments he had recently made on Twitter and I recounted my dilemma that I could not figure this bugger out.

 

Twitter to me was useless and ridiculous.  Everyone twitting into thin air.  It looks like everyone is writing, but no one is reading so who gives a crap?

 

Well I can only guess that Gary shook his head, since we were on the phone I couldn’t see him.  Gary then proceeded to take me down the Twitter tunnel with the promise of light at the end.

 

He started explaining search.twitter.com and re-tweets, auto-follow / un-follow, tweet later, Bit.ly, Twitpic and many other programs that boost the power and usability of Twitter.  Dare I say I started seeing some light!  This whole Twitter mess started to have some meaning after all.

 

I can’t say that I am out of the tunnel by any means, but I am, at least in it and moving forward.

 

My question to you is can you help me get the rest of the way through?  How can I use Twitter to meet more people, not just add names to my list?  How can I use Twitter to promote my membership site http://www.crepig.com?  How can I use Twitter to promote my network marketing business http://www.aPrioriBeauty.com/fic/jw?

 

I would like to thank Gary once again, as he is always a great friend, mentor, ally and champion of my causes.

 

www.jwnajarian.com

Where’s the Fracken Bottom of the Commerial Market?

Listening to CNBC, why do I continue to listen and watch this nonsense?  They are forever trying to find the indicator that the market is turning around.  As the market fell and fell they were all good news on a turn around and then when the inevitable happened they finally said OK we might have a problem as the market is at all time lows and dumping 700 points a day!  Only to go back to their rosy outlook the very next day on some news that housing sales may be up 1%.  First remember that governments tend to cook the books and change indices in growth and employment figures that don’t paint the picture they want to paint so you can’t trust the numbers.  Which ones? Who knows?  The stock market numbers for the life of me make no sense so why is anyone speculating on growth based on those numbers?

I used to write a newsletter.  You don’t see much come from me anymore on commercial real estate, because I got tired of reporting bad news.  One year ago I predicted, without having to know too much, that the commercial markets would go by the way of the residential markets as many of those loans were also securitized.  Commercial always lags residential by around 2 years so it was just a matter of time and we are seeing commercial numbers get progressively worse, like the 2008 CMBS delinquency figures which continue to rise according to Fitch Ratings and Fitch expects more large delinquencies in 2009 (http://nreionline.com/finance/news/fitch_expects_loan_delinquencies_0121/).  I keep hearing reports that it can’t be getting worse because someone, somewhere just completed a mega commercial deal.  I remember buying stock in a phone company, no names, but it rhymes with MCI, and I road that falling knife all the way to the floor.  Buying ever more stock at the new reduced rates because how can MCI go down any more for gosh sakes!?  Also, as I have said many times before, all real estate is based on location not global figures so there could be some very lucrative deals being struck as the rest of the world continues to fall and falter.

International Real Estate Investor’s Institutional Outlook reported in the March 9th issue (http://nreionline.com/finance/news/stunned_losses_institution_0309/ ) that institutional investors were seeing their investment portfolios drop by 31% in 2008.  Where will the numbers go in 2009 with rising un-employment and inflation figures?  Well the article says that the investing news is actually good as these investors will move to real estate.  What?  The poll they took stated that more investors would leave the equity markets to place their money on real estate.  On what news?  On what numbers is there a basis for this general move to real estate? 

I will make another prediction…. The bottom is not here yet!  Unless you know your market or have money to sit on you should wait to buy as the market goes up not as it is falling.  This is simply investment 101.  By the way, when the market does start to make a steady rise sometime between 2010 and 2012 it will move very slowly and steadily up globally so appreciation will not be at the staggering rates of the recent past. 

I know picking between 2010 and 2012 makes me right no matter what, so just to make you feel better or not I believe steady growth may not occur till 2012.

JW Najarian
www.jwnajarian.com

www.crepig.com

 

 

Are There Too Many Social Networks?

group-success-with-borderI was following a discussion in chat area on the member site Networkers United Worldwide www.NUOpen.com I am an officer and advisor on that site, and found this question, which I have pasted below. I feel stronly about Social Networking and Social Business Structures, but we can talk more about that later.

 

“Anyone here find that Social Networking sites have become a dime a dozen? I have had a hard time determining which ones have the best programing and potential to do what all the other claim to do. Any feelings strong or otherwise about this one?”

Social Networking sites are tools. As with any tools you can use a butter knife as a screwdriver or a rock as a hammer, but if you need to pound lots of nails or are using a phillips head screw you may need a more specialized tool.

I belong to LinkedIn, Xing, Ecademy, Naymz, Plaxo and on and on…. Which one do I use the most? Which one am I willing to pay for? LinkedIn. Why? Well it suites me and what I am trying to accomplish.

I am also on Facebook and MySpace, but as a business man in the field of mainly commercial real estate, I don’t want to nudge you or send you beers and hugs.

feedthechildren-logoI do a lot of work in the humanitarian field. I work with www.FEED333.org as they help feed thousands of families in the U.S during the holiday season. I am the blessed and honored Los Angeles coordinator of Miracle on South Central and this last year we fed around 4000 families aroundsalvation-army-logo 40,000 meals in cooperation with the Salvation Army, Feed the Children, The NBA Players Association, Humanity Unites Brilliance (HUB) and others. I also started a e a group of over 1100 of us that feed, get water, education and micro loans to around 3000 families in Africa a month. These are very important to me and so I promote those on Facebook where I might just nudge you or send you a hug .

In order to get a better web presence I believe you should join many of the free sites because when you get googled and you have a website you want people to go to, or a product project or service to promote, it will show up all over the place and that is how the Internet works for the most part.

I do also believe as the founder of 6 of my own networking sites and as an officer of this site, that as you become good at networking and are looking at using the site to increase your business or monetize it in some way, that you need to look at a niche audience.

An Example: A CPA may elect to join a CPA Association. This is cool for keeping up with the industry, but if he is looking for clients that group would be no help at all. He would have to join say a business site where business owners come to find resources. Would the large groups like Facebook work fine for growing your business? Yes, and as mentioned you need presence their, but remember you have to wade through so much to find the people you need. While on a niche site, most of the people there may be exactly who you are looking for. There is a difference.

This is interesting

If you take the number of total sites out there then you can say Holy Cow… this is madness. I get a count of networking sites on Yahoo at over 3 Trillion!!! Although you may be into Naturapathic Healing and love bowling as well as play in a band on the weekends, if you are looking for a way to promote and grow your commercial real estate business, then you can negate music sites, Natural Healing Sites, Bowling sites and so on. Now search on commercial real estate networking sites at first on Yahoo I got a count of 139M of those and as I broke down my search pattern by using quotes (If you do not use quotes on Yahoo or Google searches you are taking much more time than you need searching. Find out how to use them….) I get my count down to 4M. If I start refining my search I can get this number down much further until I have a number I can comfortably go review to see if it meets my needs. So you see you need to know what your goal is. If you define what you are trying to accomplish then the daunting number of sites is not so daunting.

Another thing I notice is that though I have started over 6 networking sites you can never tell when one will take off by fulfilling a need for someone. I have groups that are over 3500 members and some that have no more than two. What did I do different? Nothing. I promoted and built them the same way. People are looking and you never know what for. If you build it they might come if they feel a need or an interest. I have seen some sites that make me scratch my head only to see huge memberships…. Huh… I don’t get it and am not running to join those sites, but it will prove the point that there is always room for one more.

By the way if you are looking for a great commercial real estate site check out mine at www.crepig.com

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p style=”line-height:14.25pt;”>Kindest Regards,
JW Najarian

www.jwnajarian.com

Also visit

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p style=”line-height:14.25pt;”>www.FEED333.org
www.CheckOutHUB.com
www.Giving4ALiving.net
www.repig.net

 

Is Social Networking Becoming Specialized?

Social Networks are everywhere and it seems like everyone is at least on one or six of them.  Where are we going with this?

Almost everyone it seems belongs to a social network like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Jaiku, Plaxo, Roov, Friendfeed, Nexopia, Bebo, Hi5, Friendster, Orkut, Pownce, Xing or Eacademy and they are becoming more and more popular every day.  I get so many request to join different ones that as soon as I see the requests I delete them.  You only have so much time in the day to go check all your various networks.  I like LinkedIn because as a businessman I don’t get bothered with pokes and hearts.  I get to meet and search on other businessmen that I may be able to work with.

Most of the networks that I have seen have different cultures like MySpace and Facebook that seem to be designed for families and friends wheras, Xing, Ecademy and LinkedIn are more business aligned.

How many people are using social networks worldwide?  I have no clue, but it is in the hundreds of millions and shows no signs slowing in the near future.  Facebook just blew MySpace out of the water with 161 million unique visitors worldwide in September, compared to 117 million for MySpace in September. 

There are many reasons people are on social networks.  Sometimes it is just to connect with friends.  Sometimes it is to make new friends.  Sometimes it is to meet with known business contacts, sometimes it is to meet new business contacts and sometimes it is to try to build very large networks of people in order to stroke your ego or to build a large database to market to.  Whether you are or are not on a large network you still do not like to be spammed or marketed for the most part. 

Recently with the advent of websites like Ning, everyone can now create their own social network.  It is daunting at best.  This sounds almost nuts, but I believe that with the advent of Ning that the new wave may be the niche network.  You will still have to go to the big boys if you are collecting names to build large lists, but in order to really be effedtual and get to work with like minded people you may find yourself going to or guilding a smaller specialized network.

On the smaller networks you are more assured of networking with like minded individuals that will be open to your projects, products and services.  Small networks tend to have, support and make their sites work best for the type of group they support or market to.

In order to test this theory and to better support the members of a group I started on LinkedIn, I have started a new social network that is dedicated and supports investors and professionals that work in and support the Commercial Real Estate Industry.

All the News on the site is dedicated to Commercial Real Estate or Global Finance.  The Forums allow members to offer their projects or services and allows Investors to use these services or search for professionals they may need.  The Groups are geared toward the Investor or Professional and so you don’t have to wade through thousands of unrelated sites.

The Ning network allows you to build a social network for your group or cause and allows enought customization for you to get most of what you need to do done.  This is a FREE service so for the small cost of your time you can build a network of great value.

I don’t know where this will all go.  Maybe the large networks can tie together to give everyone the ability to search for what we need from everyone on the big sites.  That would be exciting or maybe we will be like doctors specializing more and more.  Since social networking is still in it’s infancy, it will be fun to watch.

10 Reasons Why You Will Fail At Social Business Networking

Many of us have found that social networking can pay off very big.  Some of us run around signing up for everything without results.  Why do I think so many fail at taking advantage of this incredible opportunity? 

 

I have to define that I am a user of LinkedIn and have my own network at www.crepig.com, which is niched toward commercial real estate professionals and investors.  I am not talking about MySpace or other sites for making friends.  Thought I still believe that most of these reasons still could apply.

 

  1. You don’t upload your photo.  People like to see who you are.  Upload a professional or at least halfway decent picture of yourself.  Take the time to make sure it is not too dark or that you are too small to be recognized.  Also if you upload your business logo or a picture at least you have gone halfway, but you still get a better response from your own face…
  2. You don’t join any groups.  If you don’t like the groups offered start your own.  I have started several groups on LinkedIn and some have grown to Super Groups and others have done nothing.  Why?  I find that I never know what the public wants.  Put yourself out and find out.  Join a group that means something to you.  Woody Allen famously said that “80 percent of success is showing up.”
  3. You don’t participate in the group you belong to.  If 80% is showing up the other 20% is participation.  If you sit back and wait for people to come to you; you will wait a long time.
  4. You don’t place your promotion in a Forum or Blog.  If you don’t let people know what you offer what other reason might they have to connect or speak to you?
  5. You don’t fill out your profile completely.  If people are searching for your service and your profile doesn’t name your product, project or service than how will they find you?
  6. You don’t place your contact information in a non private area for people to see and be able to get ahold of you.  If you are afraid that you might get spammed then go to your email provider and make an alias address.  When I join a network I make an alias account.  eg. at LinkedIn I use linkedin@prigen.net.  This allows me to see where I am getting emails and spam from.  I can then change the email whenever I wish without my friends loosing my main address.  I can’t tell you how many times I read something I got excited about only to find that the writer did not leave any contact info… Argh! 
  7. You don’t allow emails from forums or mail to you to get to you.  If you join a site and then don’t allow the site to keep you abreast of what is up then how will you stay in the loop.  Sometimes you just want to get your name or business out there and don’t want to be bothered by updates.  OK, but at least allow the site to contact you.
  8. You never update your profile.  If you are not getting feedback or contacts from your current profile or Forum post you need to update it.  Every copy writer that is worth their salt knows that you need to change up constantly to find out what copy works best.  If you are getting a lot of play from your promotion then you don’t have to change till demand goes down, but feel free to play.
  9. You have something to say or promote and you don’t set up any teleseminars.  You can get a conference line from FREE Conference call for FREE.  Duh….  Get a number and promote your teleseminar or Webinar in the Events Section.
  10. If you are doing all the above and still not getting any play you might have to re-evaluate what you offer.  Successful businesses make money in direct respect to the value they offer.  What value are you offering.  If you offer no or little value then you will make no or little money.

 

In conclusion I would ask that if you want success you need to make your own Luck, get off your butt and do something.  Don’t wait for the phone to ring… Make it ring.  Get involved.  Get to know people.  Call people that you consider prospects and ask them what they need.  Don’t vomit all your information all over them and especially don’t be pushy.  What a big turn-off.  Listen, get to know another person and be of service.   

JW Najarian 11/21/08
www.jwnajarian.com
www.crepig.com 

CREPIG

C R E P I G
Commercial Real Estate Professional Investors Group

This stands for the Commercial Real Estate Professional Investors Group.  It was started on LinkedIn and has grown to over 2100 users since March.   Here is the link to Join:  www.linkedin.com/e/gis/79765

CREPIG was set up to allow commercial real estate professional investors, lendors, consultants, developers, financial institutions and others network together in order to give or find funding and expertise to close and complete deals.  CREPIG is interested in the funding of Socially Responsible, Concious and Green projects and is especially interested in the sustainabilty of social business entities.

My group was growing very fast and although LinkedIn was adding news and Discussions to the groups it wasn’t enough.  I needed to get everyone to a place where they could serve and get served.  A place where you could blog, have discussions, tie groups together, do more with your own page and much more.  I love LinkedIn, but it is adding very slowly and most of the professionals I speak to want to get going.

Using Ning

I started a Ning site for the group and it is also growing very fast.  It’s a pretty amazing site.

Come Join the PIG

The acronym of CREPIG has given me some grief, but I have decided to embrace it by calling the site The PIG.  Yes you too can join the PIG….  I have added RSS news, videos, pictures, forums and plenty of great groups.  If you are in finance, commercial real estate or any of a number of occupations and companies that deal with real estate and funding of projects big and small; you are allowed to promote your product, service or project in many different ways.

Come check out the new site at www.CREPIG.com.

We can’t sell it, so we’re giving it away.

Got a call from an old friend, George Tran.  He IM’d me to say hello and tell me about his newest venture.  He is giving his house away on the NET….  Wow.  I have known George to be very honest and forethright, but this seemed a bit whacky until I read his blog page.  This is actually a very cool idea.  Check it out and join the social network experiment.  Here is a press release I wrote and put out for him.

We can’t sell it, so we’re giving it away.

JW Najarian www.linkedin/in/jwnajarian
11/03/2008

Well known Internet marketer George Tran of “One Shopping Cart” fame.  Is doing a social network experimanet.

“As an internet marketer, I wanted to try a social network experiment to see if we can have some fun and give away our house to someone who is most worthy of it…and who would cherish the house.

What we want to do is to give away the house to someone who is worthy and, at the same time, see if we can help some non-profit organizations.  Our thought was this: we can ask people to pay $49.95 to register their interest in the house and write or film a story about why they deserve the house, then let the internet community decide who is most worthy.  The family that is voted most worthy by December 23rd, 2008 will receive the house from us as soon as the money clears from PayPal.

Here’s the idea.  We ask for a $49.95 registration fee.  If we receive $300,000, enough to cover our basic expenses so we can pay off the mortgage, any additional money will be divided equally between  Habitat for Humanity, Best Friends Animal Shelter and Citizens for Health.” – George Tran

I have know George for sometme and this is no joke.  Check it out for yourself.  Here is Georges Blog page to check out the deal.  http://freehouse.wordpress.com/we-cant-sell-it-so-were-giving-it-away/

Here is the registration site:  https://www.mcssl.com/SecureCart/Checkout.aspx?sctoken=06b3bc3c1ab94c8ca60eb04b1798c854&bhcp=1

Today I am working on putting together The Success Network Group on LinkedIn.  Come join. www.linkedin.com/e/gis/79765

Feed333.org

Feed333’s website went down today so I help by making a new one until they could re install the old one at Go Daddy.  I hadn’t worked on websites for awhile so it was quite fun.  I do however want to get out my Commercial Real Estate Newsletter so I will work diligently tomorrow to get it out.  You can see the site at www.prigen.net/feed333.  More importantly I am working on getting sponsors for the event in Los Angeles.  We have the Clippers and Amy Brenneman.  Larry Jones from Feed the Children will also be there.  Please contact me if you would like to help organize or volunteer.  Dec 13th at the Salvation Army location in Los Angeles.  Send me a message or call if you want more info.  Also we are looking for corporate sponsors and sponsors for our food trucks.  For $12,500 you will be providing $50,000 worth of food to the working poor of Los Angeles.  You will get your corporate or any name you choose on the truck and there will be a lot of news coverage.  Last year we were a top story.

Welcome

Welcome to my new and first blog.  As I am new to blogging I am sure I will screw this up pretty well to start, but hope that I can get good enough to offer great and interesting information.

I work in commercial finance.  I help find funding for various commercial projects.  From time to time I also help investors find other great opportunities.

I am looking for great deals for for my investor friends and also capital to help fund their projects.  I would like to talk to anyone that is interested in the same.

My main passion is working with Humanity Unites Brilliance www.CheckOutHUB.com which is a company that uses network marketing to help fund humanitarian causes around the world.

I have created a few groups on LinkedIn that I hope will help serve a diverse set of entreprenuers.   Check out U.S. Veteran (vets only), Humanity Unites Brilliance (members only), The Commercial Real Estate Professional Investors Network (All Investors or Finance Professionals are welcome), The Professional Success Networking Group (All are welcome).

I will be discussing each of these in further detail later, but for the meantime I would like to get to know and serve everyone better and am looking for others who feel the same way.