Expand your Brand, "YOU" & Personal/Business Credit

If you missed this week's Money & Music Segment, it was Heavy!!! Joined by up and coming artist, R.E.U.B. Not only can this dude flow, but his message is positive & up lifting.

If you don't think so??? Enjoy some of his HOTT New Heat:

"Soul of a Hustla:: http://www.zshare.net/audio/649873498c4c403d/
"Change 4 the Better": http://www.zshare.net/audio/649982438e53ff61/

R.E.U.B's official: www.myspace.com/reubmuzik1

So while your enjoying the music, now it's time to step your Game up, and learn ya something. This week's Money & Music Segment had some serious knowledge. No worries if you missed it? Check it: MONEY & MUSIC SHOW - GET YOUR FINANCIAL TIPS RIGHT HERE!"

In summary, R.E.U.B's song "Soul of a Hustla" gives true flava of what it means to go out and expand your "Brand", "YOU"!!

Personal branding can single an individual out as an expert in their field, but are there downfalls to personal branding vs. company branding?

Truth is personal branding is easier than company branding. Why? Because if you believe in your talent, in your skills and ability - it's easier to sell what you believe in. Your image is already created - you just have to market it. How do you market yourself? That's easy. You must become:

A pro in your industry; an expert in your field.

With that said are there downfalls to personal branding? Absolutely. Unless you plan to work until your last living day, it will be difficult to transition the brand to someone else. After all you are the BRAND! If you are ok with the fact that in order to transition out of the brand you will need to create a new one that your consumers can grasp onto then personal branding may just be for you.

When branding yourself remember that you must create a strong and consistent brand. You cannot skimp just because it's about you.

Strong brands are clear about who they are and what they are not; which is why branding yourself can be an easy process. You already know who you are and what you are not. Strong brands are also consistent; it's easy to be consistent in who you are.

Let's take for example Madonna. She was her brand. Since the start of her career she has had the ability to change consistently throughout her career. This made her stand out from among other performers. This in essence strengthened her individual brand.

By branding yourself effectively you will:

• Establish yourself as an expert in your chosen field.
• Build a solid reputation within your industry.
• Increase your notoriety and improve your perceived value in the marketplace.

The key to successfully branding yourself and doing it effectively is to first establish a personal brand identity. Once you have done that focus that message on who you are and what you stand for within your chosen field. Your final step is to get the word out through a variety of media channels that are viewed by the people most likely to be interested in your message.

As people begin to see your name and become aware of the benefit and knowledge that you offer, before you know it thousands of people will not only know who you are but they will begin to seek out your services and expertise. They will identify with your brand which is "YOU"!!!

Now, you see the GREEN Button, DON'T PRESS IT!!! It's like the Bat Mobile, you don't know where it will take you. So fortunately, "Money" Mike went ahead and pressed it for us, helping us to focus on stepping our Financial Game Up, giving some basic tips on understanding how to Expand your Credit.


For starters, if you don't know your credit profile, It's FREE! Yessir, once a year by law we all have the opportunity to request a Free Credit Report, not by the faker websites, only this site here, can you be assured at NO Charge, you will Know what they know about you. So don't waste time??? It's FREE & You may just find out who's messing your Credit up.

Click here: http://www.annualcreditreport.com/

Now that you have a start to understanding your Credit. Here are some steps to consider:

1. Establishing Credit

Before you can be considered for a credit card, car loan, or even a mortgage, you need to have an established credit history. While it isn't too difficult to establish credit, you want to make sure that you're establishing the right kind of credit so that you can maintain a high credit score.

2. The Importance of Your Credit Score

Whether you like it or not, your credit history will follow you for your whole life. Your credit score is one of the primary factors that is used in determining whether or not a lender will extend you credit or a loan, and it can also play a significant role in determining your interest rate.

3. Improve Your Credit Score

Do you have some negative items on your credit score holding you back? No need to worry. There are plenty of actions you can take to begin improving your score. While there isn't an instant cure, if you understand what makes up your score, you can begin to improve it today.

4. Getting Out of Debt

Having trouble making and headway on your credit cards? Sending in those credit card payments and pulling yourself out of debt can seem like an impossible challenge, but there is a way out. One of the best things you can do is to pay more than the minimum payment each month, even if it is only a few extra dollars.

5. Student Loans

A college education is more expensive today than ever before, and many young people come away from college with a mountain of student loan debt. If you require financial assistance to attend college, make sure you're taking advantage of every financial aid option available to you, and understand how your student loans work.

6. Credit Cards for Business

With credit cards so easy to obtain, many new entrepreneurs turn to credit cards to help finance their new business. Credit cards can be a great tool to assist with making business purchases, but they should not be used to entirely finance your new idea.

With all that said, Business Owners, remember as R.E.U.B. said well, keep your Personal Business separate from your Professional Business. Set up a business account, so you keep begin to pay your business expenses through the business, and in time be credited for building your business, and credit worthiness to institutions or investors. For more sophisticated business owners, note that if you are incorporated, Dun & Bradstreet is the Business Reporting agency to the Credit Issuers, by establishing your Dun & Bradstreet report, this will in time have those same Lending Institutions calling your Business for more credit, and NOT YOU!! Keep your Business Separate from your Personal accounts. And if they offer you the credit lines, take them, use them wisely or don't use them at all, but you never know when that day will come when you actually need that Credit Line to take your business or profession to the next level.

For more information visit: http://www.dnb.com/

Money & Music Inc - Says "Know Your Budget!!"

"KNOW YOUR BUDGET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
For most people, the word “budget” conjures up thoughts of penny-pinching and the unpleasant task of crunching numbers. This couldn’t be further from the truth. A budget is at the cornerstone of a solid financial foundation, regardless of your situation, and it isn’t that hard to do.

What is a Budget?

A budget is nothing more than a breakdown and plan of how much money you have coming in and where it goes. Could you imagine a business becoming successful if it didn’t keep track of its income and expenses? The same holds true when it comes to your personal finances. If you don’t know how much money you have coming in and where it goes, your road to financial success will be a difficult one.

The biggest fear that most people have when creating a budget is that they will need to suddenly cut back on all of the fun spending -- things like the occasional coffee or dinner out, movie night, or even the trip to grandma’s for the holidays. While you may find that you do need to cut some spending after putting together a budget, without actually sitting down and creating one, it is impossible to know what expenses need to be cut, if any.

Creating a budget may not sound like the most exciting thing in the world to do, but it is vital in keeping your financial house in order. Before you begin to create your budget it is important to realize that in order to be successful you have to provide as much detailed information as possible. Ultimately, the end result will be able to show where your money is coming from, how much is there and where it is all going.

Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 5 minutes to 30 mins.

How?
Gather every financial statement you can. This includes bank statements, investment accounts, recent utility bills and any information regarding a source of income or expense. The key for this process is to create a monthly average so the more information you can dig up the better.

Record all of your sources of income. If you are self-employed or have any outside sources of income be sure to record these as well. If your income is in the form of a regular paycheck where taxes are automatically deducted then using the net income, or take home pay, amount is fine. Record this total income as a monthly amount.

Create a list of monthly expenses. Write down a list of all the expected expenses you plan on incurring over the course of a month. This includes a mortgage payment, car payments, auto insurance, groceries, utilities, entertainment, dry cleaning, auto insurance, retirement or college savings and essentially everything you spend money on.

Break expenses into two categories: fixed and variable. Fixed expenses are those that stay relatively the same each month and are required parts of your way of living. They included expenses such as your mortgage or rent, car payments, cable and/or internet service, trash pickup, credit card payments and so on. These expenses for the most part are essential yet not likely to change in the budget.

Variable expenses are the type that will change from month to month and include items such as groceries, gasoline, entertainment, eating out and gifts to name a few. This category will be important when making adjustments.

Total your monthly income and monthly expenses. If your end result shows more income than expenses you are off to a good start. This means you can prioritize this excess to areas of your budget such as retirement savings or paying more on credit cards to eliminate that debt faster. If you are showing a higher expense column than income it means some changes will have to be made.

Make adjustments to expenses. If you have accurately identified and listed all of your expenses the ultimate goal would be to have your income and expense columns to be equal. This means all of your income is accounted for and budgeted for a specific expense.

If you are in a situation where expenses are higher than income you should look at your variable expenses to find areas to cut. Since these expenses are typically essential it should be easy to shave a few dollars in a few areas to bring you closer to your income.

Review your budget monthly and work with a trusted advisor to take advantage of the various financial tools available to increase your profitability while minimizing taxes. It is important to review your budget on a regular basis to make sure you are staying on track. After the first month take a minute to sit down and compare the actual expenses versus what you had created in the budget. This will show you where you did well and where you may need to improve.