Yahoo in real cash crunch

Any one else see the problem:

Thank you for contacting Yahoo! Billing. I understand you are requesting a refund for your Yahoo! Voice Phone Out balance. After reviewing your account we see that your Voice Phone Out balance of $5.29 expired on 08/23/2008 after 180 days of no activity with your Voice Phone Out service. We are unable to issue you a refund as the funds have expired. We apologize for any inconvenience this issue has caused you. Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Billing. If we can provide you with any further information, please reply to this email. Regards, Mike Original Message Follows: ------------------------- ... snip ... Date Originated: Friday August 8, 2008 - 08:37:42

Too #@*% cheap to refund my money... so, lets not answer until AFTER his account expires. Not too smart either... I did not even have to go look up when I sent the request, they attached it! Open Letter to the bozos at Yahoo: I want my money back. I am unwilling to accept your poor excuse for customer service as fact or even legal. You were kind enough to alert me that my 180 days were approaching, and I requested my refund well within the time frame required. I want it. And I expect it. It may only be $5.29 to you, but to me, that is almost 70 more miles on my vRod. -ski

Purple Cow

Another book worth owning This morning over coffee, I was re-visiting Seth Godin's book Purple Cow. Most refreshing. At least the majority of the book. As I have mentioned before (and this book actually highlights this fact!), there are a lot of things that Godin writes that I find simply wrong. But where we agree, or where I am unprepared to agree with him, but do so anyhow, it is very motivational. He talks of my favorite car, the 2008 Motor Trend Car of the Year: Cadillac CTS. Of course he was talking about the first version (as this book is copyright 2002). He tells how ugly it is, and therefore, how well it is selling! The Cadillac CTS is remarkable IMNSHO, only with the updated version released as a 2008 model, is it truly a "Purple Cow". But again, Godin says, "potato" and I say root. Today's lesson was: "The Law of Large Numbers" He talked of buying 30 million banner ads for $600 but only selling $500 worth of stuff. I have long argued that it is not always about the numbers... sometimes, quality counts. As in personal contact. No, not via the phone or email (or even fax!). Jump on your motorcycle (or if you must, jump in your car, preferably the CTS) and pay the client or prospect a physical, in their face, old fashion SALES call. Do one today Before its too late! As I have repeatedly stated, there is no recession. The weak dollar is killing us but at the same time it is a huge (largely) untapped potential benefactor! For those with eyes to see and ears to hear! My favorite car salesman shared a valuable lesson with me: "There is always someone who needs to buy a new car." Realtors: "There is always someone who needs to buy a new house." Until you realize that there is always someone that needs your service, you might be subject to the whims of the media. They have predicted something like 14 of the last two recessions. You do not have to listen to anyone's message of gloom and despair. I remember Jimmy Carter's last State of the Union message. No wonder he only carried like two states against eternal optimist Ronald Reagan! Carter told us that America "was over" and that our free enterprise system had stripped the economy of its last resources. How sad... and wrong! Life is exactly what you make of it So, as Doc Brown (in Back to the Future III) said, no one's future is written, it is up to each of us, "... so make it a good one!" I am in NorthEast Ohio for an extended period... so, if you have a business that you no longer want, give me a call. I could use the challenge and the extra cash. Did I mention how important cashflow is? -ski P.S. Oh yea, I did so yesterday. P.P.S. If you really want to make some money, instead of just one sales call, how about ten? Or fifteen? Or, how about "what ever it takes?" ---- Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey, Jonah Strategy, Tactics & Execution Dover, OH | Hilton Head Island, SC | Las Vegas, NV Cell: +1 330.432.3533 tag: Wanted: NorthEast Ohio Businesses ©2008 Throughput.us LLC. All rights reserved.

Fixing Cashflow

Ever have too much money?

PURPLE CURVE INSIGHT #3 Constraints Management is based on uncommon common sense. Consider cashflow. Which curve would be best? You alone decide which curve to follow. The purple curve represents uncommon common sense!

Can throwing money at a problem fix it? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Why gamble, would it not be better to think it through, and know the best solution for any challenge you are facing? It is rare when a business has too much cash on hand; in fact, I would suggest that it is not possible. Again, remember that I am only concerned with privately held firms. There is little common sense on Wall Street. Years ago, one of my first clients taught me a thing or two about cashflow. More accurately, about cash. He said, "Never run out of cash." Sorry if that seems too obvious. It is not. Otherwise very smart business owners make this mistake year in and year out. Hence, the Purple Curve Effect. Look at the chart one more time. What if you make 200% profit on every sale, but it takes 90 or 120 or 180 days (or longer!) to collect your money? What if that new high-tech solution will increase your profits by another 200%? Do you buy it? If so, when do you buy it. Did I mention that businesses are systems? Holistic Without sufficient cashflow, it does not matter how profitable your business "could" be... so, in the words of one smart entrepreneur: Never run out of cash. -ski ---- Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey, Jonah Strategy, Tactics & Execution Dover, OH | Hilton Head Island, SC | Las Vegas, NV Cell: +1 330.432.3533 tag: Cash is King ©2008 Throughput.us LLC. All rights reserved.