Manymoon for Project Management
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Archive for the ‘finanancial’Category
Startup Finance: 4 Online Invoicing Resources
Tags: RWW
29
12 2010
Law.com Puts the Spotlight on a Bad Apple
May 4, 2010 – Law.com
Scott Rothstein ran what appeared to be a wildly successful law firm but turned out to be a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme. Prosecutors asked District Judge James Cohn to execute a vast forfeiture plan last month seeking ill-gotten gains in the form of cash, real estate, and other goods. Meanwhile, the lawyers for Herbert Stettin, the Trustee overseeing the estate of Rosenfeldt Adler (Rothstein’s law firm) feel the Government’s reach is too broad and that something should be left over for their client to administer. “I know the intersection of federal forfeiture law and federal bankruptcy law is a treacherous one,” said Paul Singerman, the Berger Singerman partner heading the trustee’s legal team. He said forfeiture laws were designed to take race cars away from drug dealers, but “this is not that type of case.” Not so long ago, prosecutors put the bad guys away, and bankruptcy attorneys and receivers recovered money for fraud victims. But the Justice Department has expanded its mission in the past decade, and the federal docket is littered with actions such as U.S. v. One Ancient Egyptian Wooden Sarcophagus or U.S. v. $13.9 million from Wachovia. When asked whether any money will be left, once prosecutors are done with claims from fraud victims, to pay creditors of the firm, Singerman responded, “We absolutely believe there will be.” Right now, however, not a lot of money has been recovered on the bankruptcy end. Singerman told U.S Bankruptcy Judge Raymond B. Ray in April that only about $3 million has been recovered by the trustee. What makes Singerman so optimistic, however, is negotiations with bankruptcy litigation targets, such as Banyon Income Fund, which claims a $775 million investment in Rothstein’s fake settlement financing scheme, and attorneys at the firm who received bonuses or loans. Singerman has told Ray that a settlement with a major player is forthcoming, and Banyon would be a juicy target. Stettin might be looking for any money Banyon received back from the Ponzi scheme, Tew said, but the Fort Lauderdale investment company reportedly lost $300 million and positioned itself as the leading creditor. << Read the Full Story >>
04
05 2010
Rethinking Social Media ROI
At first when I saw 10 Really Tangible Ways To Measure Social Media Success on Microgeist I thought that somebody had cracked the code behind social media investments. Sadly the article is primarily a collection of platitudes; there is still no reliable way to measure return on an investment in social media. Luckily, I have a few suggestions.
· Set a reasonable goal as well as a series of intermediate milestones
· Establish limits on the amount of time and money you will set aside
· Figure out how to measure and record your progress ($$, clients, etc.)
· Engage users and add to the feedback loop; measure, adjust, repeat
Unfortunately manylawyers who throw together blogs and websites or sign up for Twitter or Facebook accounts, do so without a plan. How surprised are they when they fail to connect with prospects or colleagues? For those willing to put in the time however, here are a few suggestions.
Getting Started
· Prepare an outline and action plan including spending limits related to social media
· Make sure you understand what social media is, isn’t, and what it can reasonably do
· Be prepared to adjust expectations and tactics; social media is not a one-shot deal
Early Going
· The quality of responses doesn’t matte yet; you are not ready to present yet
· Instead just see if your message resonates with your chosen audience (listen)
· Once you’ve made a connection, fine tune it by posting and gauging response
The Feedback Loop
· Once you’re up and running, feedback is key, and feedback is dynamic
· Watch, listen, adjust, repeat: measure user responses to each change
· Media isn’t social people are social, so ask for feedback and then listen
· Ask for comments, ask questions, encourage discussion, be provocative
Milestones to Consider Using
· # of followers (but this alone tells you little)
· # of followers from within your industry
· # of followers who could become clients?
· Amount of time you spend on social media daily
· Amount of activity that social media generates
Find the Right Online Contacts
· Is there is a growth trend in your followers/readers?
· Is your message compelling to your target audience?
· Do people see you as a conduit for quality information?
· Negative feedback is inevitable; what kind do you get?
· Do your followers’ followers become your followers too?
Show Me the Money
If you post ads on your blog or website, remember that revenue is not their real purpose. In reality, ads can provide an invaluable insight into what your readers/users/visitors are interested in – the first step to connecting with paying clients.
03
12 2009
getting found online
From Guy Kawasaki’s Alltop – some good advice about how to get found online:
- Don’t Be Ordinary. Unique ideas will take you further than throwing money at marketing
- Create Good Content. Blogs, videos, podcasts, social networks, and tweets get noticed
- Optimize It. Optimize posts to be found on Google, Facebook, Twitter, Bing, Yahoo, etc.
- Promote It. Post your content as many ways as you can and email it to interested parties
- Measure Results. Act once, measure twice and keep measuring for continued success
05
11 2009
Can being online increase productivity?
Who knew? It turns out that free tools online can help you achieve your personal, financial, and practice goals. Below you’ll find the 10-step plan to do it.
1. Get the big-picture of what you want do to using software like mindjet.
2. Develop task lists via Remember the Milk, Google Tasks, etc.
3. Use services like Bing and Hunch that give suggestions.
4. Record your progress via Springpad and like services.
5. Use tools like Diigo, Zotero, and Laterloop, to save work.
6. Searchpad can help integrate the results of your research.
7. Calendar and organize using services like Ning and Meetup.
8. Build or participate in communities of goal-oriented people.
9. Review content-sharing sites like WordPress, YouTube, etc.
10. Refine, reconfigure, repeat.
Sites to Checkout
Geezeo tracks personal finances in a community of like-minded people. The site just launched a Facebook application.
Mint: the more famous and earlier financial website recently purchased by Intuit, the makers of Quicken. Imagine the possibilities.
Goalmigo is an online community that helps you set, track and find supporters to reach your goals.
112 Apps that help you Get Things Done (GTD) is a great list, but of course who has time when you’re getting things done?
