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Orchard Bank Platinum MasterCard®

• Enjoy the prestige of Platinum with no up front fees
  
• Premium Platinum benefits including Purchase Protection
  
• Great credit card to strengthen your credit
  
• Reports to all 3 credit bureaus monthly, which can help improve your credit score
  
• Free Online 24-hour Account Access and Bill Pay
  
• Periodic credit limit increases

DID YOU KNOW?

	Many Reverse Mergers have been successful when done properly that is why I never consent to doing one without providing the company with the possible problems that can arise and how to deal with them. I also provide the client with the alternatives to Reverse Merger, such as Regulation D Offering, Direct Public Offering and private placement. One way to make sure that the Reverse merger is going to work is to buy one hundred per cent of the shares owned by the shell owner, but this is not a guarantee because there could be shares unaccounted for. Proper due diligence is a must, and you must be immune to smooth talking salesmen.An alternative to a Reverse Merger is a Direct Public Offering, DPO. Direct Public Offerings are increasing in popularity since the shell prices are skyrocketing and companies are becoming aware of the problems associated with Reverse mergers. And if a company is trying to obtain financing Direct Public Offerings are preferable to a venture capital investment, venture capital firms demand a large portion of the company and will not be passive investors. Venture capital investors will be very involved with the company and will make demands that can be detrimental to the company’s success, they may not give you enough time to put your business plan in place. An IPO is probably out of the question because you must convince an underwriter that your company is the next Microsoft, or you will have a difficult time getting someone to do the IPO for you. An IPO is more expensive and time consuming and will take the decision making out of your hands place it in the underwriters hands. A DPO is targeted to affinity groups such as employees, suppliers, distributors and customers. These groups usually are familiar with the company and are loyal to it. DPO’s are registered securities offerings that allow you to market the securities directly to the public. The Internet can be use to market the securities but if your website doesn’t have a lot of traffic nobody will know about your stock offering. So that leaves affinity groups as your best source of funding, unless you are a google and the investors are looking for you. As the large corporations continue to reduce their work force and are leaving a lot of talented people with the option of an unemployment check or starting their on business, we find that a lot of the job creation is being left to small businesses. These small businesses must find capital in order to expand or to fill order, small business have created over 20 million jobs over the last 15 years while big business has been cutting them. If this creative force had the capital they could propel the economy to unheard of levels. DPO’s fall under “SCOR” small corporate registration and are for companies doing under $25 million in revenues and have a capitalization (share market value) of less than $25 million dollars. By doing a Direct Public Offering you are raising capital that will not be costing you monthly interest payment, and is a permanent source of funding. You will not have to give a large portion of the company to investors, a venture capitalist will demand a disproportionate Amount. Private funding is always more expensive in terms of equity and control. As a public company you can better negotiate future financing requirements, and use the company stock for acquisitions. In a DPO filing you only need 2 years of audited financial as compare to 3 years for other filings. All this sounds easy but in reality it isn’t you need somebody with experience to hold your hand and guide you through the process. You must make sure that you are ready for the commitment and are prepare to devote the required time to this endeavor. Talk to your affinity groups about the possibility of investing in your company, this will give you an idea as to who is a potential investor. Keep updated records of your customers and friends in the community who may be contacted later on. It may become necessary to purchase a mailing list, if you are medical product company or laboratory you would know some of the Doctors in your community but not all of them. Stay in the planning mode and take necessary step while you are preparing for your DPO, such as having one year of financials audited and having a business plan prepared and printed, so that you don’t have to incur all the expenses at once. Give us a call so that we can start planning together, the more prepare you are the less you will have to rush later, everyone everything done yesterday but the process takes time. Regulation D Offerings: This rule provides an exemption from the registration requirements of section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933. Such transactions are not exempt from the antifraud civil liability, or other provisions of the federal securities laws. (See my article on Regulation D (504) offering. Nothing in these rules obviates the need to comply with any applicable state law relating to the offer and sale of securities. Rule 506: Provides an exemption for limited offers and sales without regard to the dollar amount of the offering. This offer does not limit the number of accredited investors, but the nonaccredited investors is limited to 35. for a description of accredited and nonaccredited investors see my article on Regulation D (504) offering. Rule 505: Offerings may not exceed $5,000.000.00 less the total dollar amount of securities sold during the preceding 12 months period under rule 504 or 505. This exemption limits the number of nonaccredited investors to 35 but has no investor sophistication standards. Rule 504: Offerings allows business to raise a maximum of $1,000,000.00 in a twelve month period, under Rule 504, Rule 505 or section 3 of the act a business can raise only $500,000.00 by the sale of securities to persons residing in the states of Montana and Alaska, which have no disclosure law. In states that have disclosure laws companies can raise up to $1,000,000,.00. Rule 504 has no prescribed disclosure requirements, no limit on the number of purchasers. Offering under Rule 504 are relatively simple to prepare, which reduces the cost and delay and does not require an underwriter. For questions email: josephquinones@genesiscorporateadvisors.com

Artists, songwriters, poets, photographers are able to apply for various grants available for creative entrepreneurs. These grants, of $1,000, $5,000, even $10,000, are usually available through non-profit foundations. The artist utilizes the grant funds to further their career. If you have faith in your talent and your business sense, you’ve probably considered applying for a grant to get you started, or to expand your stock photography career.

DO IT YOURSELF

"Why spend all that time meekly filling out papers, when the law of probability says you no doubt won’t win the grant? There are too many applicants," said my friend, when I asked him how he got his start in stock photography.

I’ll refer to him as Keith.

"I knew I had talent," said Keith. "I compared my own work with the images that are being published. That’s the real test. So, I gave myself my own grant."

"How so?"

Keith smiled, "I said to my wife, ‘Look honey, -it says on this envelope that they’ll advance me $5,000. And it’ll take 5 minutes to fill out.’ It was one of those offers you get from a financial institution every five minutes if you have good credit.

"My wife grimaced," Keith said. "This was one of those situations where it really was ‘too good to be true.’ I put the elements together: I had good credit; my credit reports said I was in the 650’s, which is high. I’m business-minded. I know how to budget. I have the courage of my convictions. I’m talented. the same.

"It took more than five minutes, maybe ten, to contact the company representative. In one week I had a credit line of $5,000 and a credit card with low interest that I could use to make all my purchases for my burgeoning stock photography business."

NOT FOR THE LAZY

"This was the boost I needed to get over the financial hump. When I look back now, applying for a grant, any grant, is simply living on the wrong side of the monetary revolution going on today. My good credit rating was lying dormant. I had a proven track record in photography. I was involved in something I loved doing. I quit saying, ‘Someday I’m going to get a grant.’ Instead I gave myself a grant!

"When you give yourself a grant like this, you commit yourself to getting the job done. You’ve got to pay back that loan. When you get a grant, that’s not always the case. You can be lazy and continue to procrastinate or indulge in your idle ways.

"Why other emerging stock photographers who have a good credit rating and a talent for the stock photo industry don’t look into going this route, 'giving themselves a grant,' I don’t understand." Keith: Now they may be more likely to check it out, thanks to your sharing this with us.

What could you do with . . .Note: these estimates include costs such as postage, envelopes, telephone, mail list rental, temp workers, fulfillment expense, etc. $500

$1,500 Postcard campaign. A postcard with a "best" photo on it serves as a reminder to photobuyers. Postcards are effective because there is no envelope to open.

- 500 magnetic calendars. A handy (small) calendar, including you 800#, remains within a photobuyer's reach of a telephone 365 days a year. - sign up for inclusion of your photos in a desktop illustrated directory of images.- take out an ad(s) in a major photography magazine.

$5,000 500 CD’s to a select group of targeted buyers. Packaging, burning, labeling, fullfillment all done by a professional organization.

1,000 posters to be distributed to photobuyers

Hire a consultant who will demonstrate where you’re going wrong, where you could be going right. Once you are turned in the right direction, hire a rep who can make your accountant happy.

-produce an on-line vanity book featuring your photos - Produce a vanity photo book. If you have what it takes, others should see your images. Design, production, delivery, will be your main focus.

$15,000 Build a website. "You never get a second chance at a first impression." Make the design and selection of images A+.

Note: The above are a sampling of ideas. If you have others that have been successful, please ket us know and we’ll share them with our readers.