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The Following Blog Post is from Associated Content and brought to you by financial advisors

Though unbeknownst to most, there was a reason behind the madness of the marketing campaign. And the reason was this. While the financial tracker and coordinator cunningly checked monetary transactions and recorded them with not only pen and paper but also with the crafty electronically transmitted communications to keep the business afoot. It is the duty of the Marketing Manager to dive into the dark twisted innards of the world to find those brave souls willing to purchase products from said business. If the wrong people where to be targeted by said business, it could spell disaster for all.

Even though the above paragraph was written with the Financial Advisor in mind, it was not targeted towards her. Most people whom work with numbers are very detail orientated people. They are more commonly known as ‘left-brained'. According to the Funderstanding website, the left side of the human brain defines analytical and objective thinking as well as logical and rationalizations of what is brought before them (OPA). Financial advising is an extremely detail oriented position and requires several skills identified with the left part of the brain.

The starting paragraph was written in a style similar to old radio shows like ‘The Shadow'. These radio serials where for anyone to enjoy but the ones whom enjoyed it the most where the ones who could use intuition and subjective ness, or right brain traits. These are the people who did not need to know every fact of every episode, or who did not need to know every minute detail to know who the villain was, or who the hero is.

Now, by knowing this very small difference between people, it can give you a little better understanding behind the purpose of the Marketing Plan. If, a business just dives blindly into the night they may end up targeting a group of people who do not fit into the mix and thus causing their own business to fail. This is a huge problem for lots of businesses. Many small businesses will fail because they are improperly educated on who their target audience/market it and how to reach them. The Marketing plan will break down the market in to segments and show us exactly who the target market is, and how to reach them. Now, picture if ‘The Shadow' was targeted to the elderly or even retired bankers and accountants. Do you think it would have done as well?

As for breaking every single step down for you to pick at the minute details of the marketing plan, is an impossibility. Simply because the market trends and fads can change on a daily basis, and having something concrete on something so static can not happen. However, I can tell you some of the steps of the marketing plan that may help you understand more so.

There is multiple levels of research that is done, from geo-demographics, to demographics, breaking down how much people spend and how large the family is. It is discovered when people spend the most, and what they spend the most on. From this statistical information, we are able to generate a market segment. This is grouping together similar people by wants and needs. Also by similar reactions to similar market mixes.

As we now have a market segment, we can start surveying these segments to figure out positioning. Positioning is mostly what it sounds like, this is where we find out the position of certain brands and brand loyalty among the mix. This gives us more information to let us know where we stand as a business amongst our competitors from a consumer standpoint. Now we can look at differentiation, which will let us know how different our marketing mix is from the competitors. This allows us to identify what needs to be altered, or changed to make our mix better than the competitors. With a stronger mix, we will have a more finically positive year.

This small segment really focuses on the consumer and what they want and believe. Several larger companies have used this mix very successfully in the past. Amazon, Starbucks and Home Depot to name a couple.

Home Depot, has a strong believe in good customer service. The following is a quote from the Home Depot Website talking about their values, ‘Along with our quality products, service, price and selection, we must go the extra mile to give customers knowledgeable advice about merchandise and to help them use those products to their maximum benefit.' (HD)

Home Depot, gives their consumers ‘extra' information about what they are purchasing that they do not need to give. They are going that extra mile for the consumer to make the consumer feel confident in their purchase and more loyal to Home Depot for the added ‘personal' attention. This is because the marketing mix Home Depot put together for themselves, showed that their target market, is mostly ‘do-it-yourselfers' who enjoy the extra information on tricks and tips with diy projects.

These little ‘personal' touches are all created for the consumer, and the need for these personalization's had been found with the efforts of a marketing manager and their marketing plan.

Sources:

Perreault W.D. Jr., McCarthy E.J. (2006). Essentials of Marketing — A Global-Managerial Approach (10th ed.). San Francisco, CA: McGraw-Hill Irwin

On Purpose Associates. (OPA). Right Brain vs. Left Brain. Retrieved December 01, 2006, from http://www.funderstanding.com/right_left_brain.cfm

Home Depot. (HD). Our Values. Retrieved December 01, 2006, from http://corporate.homedepot.com/wps/portal/!ut/p/.cmd/cs/.ce/7_0_A/.s/7_0_112/_s.7_0_A/7_0_112

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We all have money questions, but where should we turn to get answers? Well, there may be a lot of bad information on television, but there is in fact some sound financial advice to be had, if you know where to look. Check out these shows for some helpful answers to your most pressing money problems.

“The Clark Howard Show”, HNL, Sat and Sun 6am, 12pm and 4pm ET (one hour)

After running a successful business and retiring at age 31, Howard decided to help others manage their money. In addition to his HNL show, he gives financial advice on over 200 radio stations across the country and founded the Consumer Action Center, so the man know his stuff. With an affable personality, Howard is easy to watch and getting advice from him seems like simply hearing it from a friend.

Website: http://clarkhoward.com/

“The Suze Orman Show”, CNBC, Sat 9pm and midnight ET (one hour)

Yes, she's been on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and she's been parodied on “Saturday Night Live”, but keep in mind that she's produced seven best-sellers and won two Emmy awards for her work. Suze Orman is one of the pioneers when it comes to audience-friendly money discussions. The best feature of her show has to be the 'Can I afford it?' segment where Suze tells viewers in a no-nonsense manner whether they should spend their cash or not. Listening to others spending habits may sound boring, but it truly is an educational tool for all.

Website: http://www.suzeorman.com/

“The Barefoot Investor”, CNBC, Sat 4:30pm ET (half-hour)

Hosted by best-selling author and Australian native, Scott Pape, “The Barefoot Investor” boasts the motto 'Tread Your Own Path'. With simple, straight-forwarded advice for anyone at any income level, this interactive show is thirty minutes of sound financial information for all.

Website: http://www.barefootinvestor.com/

“Til Debt Do U$ Part”, CNBC, Sat 10pm/10:30pm ET and Sun 1am/1:30am ET (half hour)

Money is a huge factor in all marriages. Specifically tailored for couples, this show provides a combination of financial therapy and tough love along with several management tools to help couples tackle their toughest monetary issues. Hosted by renowned financial author and columnist, Gail Vaz-Oxlade, 'Til Debt Do Us Part' pulls no punches in revealing couples problems and establishing a path to get out them out of debt and on their way to a more secure financial future.

Website: http://www.cnbc.com/id/33421145/

All of these shows use real-life viewers to present personal issues. If you want to be a part of any of these shows, just go to their website and look for directions on how to submit your question or comment.

You'll find more info on our main site financial advisor

Thanks to financial advisors for bringing the following
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If anyone had a sneaking suspicion that there were people who were using Michael Jackson and fleecing Michael Jackson, that there was something to those complaints of shadowy people that Jackson's family kept referring to that did not have the singer's best interests at heart — those suspicions may have been realized this week in the form of a former doctor and business acquaintance of Michael Jackson's: Dr. Tohme Tohme. CNN reported that Michael Jackson's estate Special Administrators John Branca and John McClain filed papers that they had recovered $5.5 million from one of Jackson's “financial advisors.” TMZ reported that that financial advisor was none other than one of Michael Jackson's former personal doctors.

Dr. Tohme Tohme revealed in an interview that he and Michael Jackson had a secret arrangement, that he had been holding money made from recording residuals for Michael Jackson to purchase a “dream home.” CNN ran a film segment Friday of a lavish Las Vegas home that Michael Jackson had supposedly looked at and expressed interest in but had not had the money to obtain. It was thought that money from the upcoming concert tour in the United Kingdom would bring in enough money for Michael Jackson to purchase the home.

But that does not explain the existence of the $5.5 million or why Dr. Tohme Tohme had it in his possession.

According to Dr. Tohme Tohme, the King of Pop had begged him, “Don't tell anyone about the money.” He said that as soon as he learned of Michael Jackson's death, he had reported that he had the secret stash.

Although the existence of a secret stash of cash in the possession of “financial advisor” Dr. Tohme Tohme might be suspicious, it seems that it is being returned at a fortuitous time for Katherine Jackson, who at present has temporary custodial guardianship of Michael Jackson's three children. She filed papers this week asking for emergency relief and a release of some of the money from the Michael Jackson Family Trust in order for her to provide for the children and herself. It is reported that Katherine Jackson receives a small Social Security stipend but was totally dependent upon Michael Jackson for nearly everything.

It is unknown how much money has been siphoned off of Michael Jackson over the years and if any of it, other than that produced by Dr. Tohme Tohme, will ever be recovered. But if Michael Jackson, who seemed to be a man of many secrets, had a secret stash with his “financial advisor” Dr. Tohme Tohme, could he also have had secret stashes with other “financial advisors”?

******

Sources:

CNN.com
TMZ.com

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The Following Story is brought to you by financial advisor

We all have money questions, but where should we turn to get answers? Well, there may be a lot of bad information on television, but there is in fact some sound financial advice to be had, if you know where to look. Check out these shows for some helpful answers to your most pressing money problems.

“The Clark Howard Show”, HNL, Sat and Sun 6am, 12pm and 4pm ET (one hour)

After running a successful business and retiring at age 31, Howard decided to help others manage their money. In addition to his HNL show, he gives financial advice on over 200 radio stations across the country and founded the Consumer Action Center, so the man know his stuff. With an affable personality, Howard is easy to watch and getting advice from him seems like simply hearing it from a friend.

Website: http://clarkhoward.com/

“The Suze Orman Show”, CNBC, Sat 9pm and midnight ET (one hour)

Yes, she's been on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and she's been parodied on “Saturday Night Live”, but keep in mind that she's produced seven best-sellers and won two Emmy awards for her work. Suze Orman is one of the pioneers when it comes to audience-friendly money discussions. The best feature of her show has to be the 'Can I afford it?' segment where Suze tells viewers in a no-nonsense manner whether they should spend their cash or not. Listening to others spending habits may sound boring, but it truly is an educational tool for all.

Website: http://www.suzeorman.com/

“The Barefoot Investor”, CNBC, Sat 4:30pm ET (half-hour)

Hosted by best-selling author and Australian native, Scott Pape, “The Barefoot Investor” boasts the motto 'Tread Your Own Path'. With simple, straight-forwarded advice for anyone at any income level, this interactive show is thirty minutes of sound financial information for all.

Website: http://www.barefootinvestor.com/

“Til Debt Do U$ Part”, CNBC, Sat 10pm/10:30pm ET and Sun 1am/1:30am ET (half hour)

Money is a huge factor in all marriages. Specifically tailored for couples, this show provides a combination of financial therapy and tough love along with several management tools to help couples tackle their toughest monetary issues. Hosted by renowned financial author and columnist, Gail Vaz-Oxlade, 'Til Debt Do Us Part' pulls no punches in revealing couples problems and establishing a path to get out them out of debt and on their way to a more secure financial future.

Website: http://www.cnbc.com/id/33421145/

All of these shows use real-life viewers to present personal issues. If you want to be a part of any of these shows, just go to their website and look for directions on how to submit your question or comment.

More info on financial advisor can be found on our main site!

The Following blog post is brought to you by financial advisors

This article has put together everything you need to know about applying for financial aid. There are 5 steps in the financial aid process. This will help you with each step. To make sure your education is not interrupted, you should complete each step as soon as possible.Your chosen School will not permit you to start class if you are missing any financial aid documents.

Step one. Get your pin

This is a pin number that allows you to apply and review your information. It is an important part of the financial aid process. It has a variety of uses in the process. And your schooling. Once you have your PIN number it is a good idea to keep it in a safe place. How to get a PIN. Simple go to the Department of Education PIN Registration site and click on “apply for PIN” you should receive an email with a link to your PIN within 3 days. A PIN requested by mail will take longer.

Remember once you have your PIN keep it in a safe place.

Step Two:Submit your Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Once you have your PIN go to the FADS website to fill out your application. When it is completed Use your PIN to electronically sign your application. Then click on “Submit My FAFSA Now” Write down your conformation number you are assigned and your Expected Family Contribution number this is what you or your family is expected to pay. You will recieve your Student Aid Report in a couple of weeks. You may also request your original papers to be mailed to you if you wish not to submit them online.

Step Three: Recieve and review your award letter.

After you have completed the first two steps a letter will be sent to you either by email or postal mail depending on the choice you made. This is an estimation of your financial obligation. Once you receive this letter review it. If you approve it you submit it to the college you choose to attend the advising team will help you through the rest of the process.

Step Four: Take and Pass the Loan Entrance Counseling Quiz.

To be eligible for Federal Financial Aid you must complete the entrance quiz. Please note This is a requirement of the federal government. It must be completed for Federal student loans.

Step Five: Signing The Master Promissory Note.

This is the final step in applying for Federal Student Aid. You must do this before you can receive your Federal loan. You can electronically sign your promissory note or request it to be mailed to you. How ever mailed Promissory notes takes longer to process then the electronically signed ones do. You must schedules your college entrance accordingly.

Its simple to apply for Financial Aid. All Federal Loans must be paid back but you don't start your payment schedule until up to 6 months after graduation. This is another alternative to paying for your education. And for those of us who do not qualify for Federal grants it may be our only alternative.

You'll find more info on our main site financial advisors

The Following Story is brought to you by financial advisor

Investing and managing money is, let’s face it, not high up on America’s favorite topics. We like reality game shows and celebrity-driven drama, not dry columns of figures from serious men in gray suits. So it’s no surprise that today’s superstars of the personal finance world aren’t the calm conservatives, they’re the ones with a certain aura of personality around them. Huckstering investment advice with the same cheerful can’t-lose tone we get from our local furniture warehouse’s television spots can, needless to say, be a hazardous technique to spring on a trusting public. If you blindly do as TV chefs Emeril or Rachael Ray recommend and make a mess of it, you've got a bad dinner; step wrong with financial advice and you're left not being able to afford dinner. But is there an up side to that strange new cult figure, the celebrity financial guru? Looking at a generation too paralyzed by fear to save and invest in anything, the answer may be yes.

Robert Kiyosaki’s book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” has sold double-digit millions of copies, and his other books and spinoff products (including a board game he’s very fond of promoting) haven’t done too badly either. Many swear by Kiyosaki’s lessons, attending his seminars and faithfully buying each new text. It’s hard not to be taken in by Kiyosaki’s friendly tone, listening to the story of the two father figures in his youth who gave him contrasting opinions on how to handle careers, finances and the other realities of life. (Never mind the potentially sketchy details of the story.) Read a few chapters more, and Kiyosaki lets you into his particular secret of wealth-building: flipping real estate.

It’s not that the real estate market is in itself unsafe, and indeed the skilled investor can find a profit in buying houses and buildings and using them as assets for future profit. But to start out in chapter one with simple truths that some people are afraid to let their money work for them, and a few chapters later get into vague discussions of quick turnarounds on selling houses, is quite the ramp-up. The notion of easily taken-in people approaching the real estate market with the same folksy you-can-do-anything-if-you-try attitude as the “rich dad” parable is a little frightening. Particularly as Kiyosaki eschews safer options such as savings accounts and the 401(k). Investments of any sort require a deep understanding of what you're doing. Kiyosaki helps you through the philosophy, but not the research. Homework counts.

Yet pull aside what Kiyosaki says about real estate markets, fixing up houses, any of those specifics—it won’t take long, as the text is not long on specifics. And consider the lessons. He encourages people to put their money into assets that will generate wealth. He helps them realize that there is more to finances than simply taking home a paycheck and not overspending it. If a friendly “rich dad” story is what it takes, then so be it.

But maybe a kindly story is not for you; maybe you’re a rough-and-tumble kind of investor. Consider, then, Jim Cramer. Currently best-known for his CNBC program “Mad Money”, which plays like a college sports radio show with different nouns substituted for the football terms, Cramer presents an image of a man with attitude. Wacky sound effects, flashy graphics one step up in classiness from the 1960s “Batman” TV series and even call-in games are all part of the “Mad Money” style, that is, when the host isn’t throwing his chair someplace. Hardly dry stuff for a Harvard alumnus who worked at Goldman Sachs.

As one can imagine, “Mad Money” is a lot of fun to watch; how many investment shows have their own catchphrases and a ‘lightning round’? At the same time, though, an investor who gets too caught up in the action may miss the more serious side of investing. Cramer calls his show “Mad Money” for a reason—this is money put aside for speculation, not the whole pot. He does not recommend that his viewers put their bill-paying or retirement funds on the line on long-shot stocks. Furthermore, he is aware of his own potentially harmful effects, and dislikes an effect known as a “Cramer bounce”, where his nightly recommendations on purchases and sales directly show in the ensuing trading. But when a TV personality banging a gong recommends a stock, what are people supposed to believe?

It’s the subtitle of his book—“Sane Investing in an Insane World”—that seems to define the appeal of the investing world’s public figurehead. While men have their loud buddy Cramer, women turn to Suze Orman, author of a seemingly endless procession of personal finance books often geared toward her segment of the market, one recent example being “The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke”, which shepherds young people through the wilds of personal finances with cheerful, funky green and blue pages and tries to make them feel better about their choices—even when credit card debt is concerned. Like Cramer, she also has a CNBC show, complete with catchphrases. She is also a regular on, of all channels, QVC. Let’s see the stuffy guys at “The Wall Street Journal” try that.

It would be easy to look down our collective noses at these people and say that they were preying on the easily led flock of sheep. The right to do this, of course, depends on how much we ourselves have saved for retirement. The statistics are staggering; according to the 2006 Retirement Confidence Survey, nearly half of all Americans have little more than a guess of how much they need to save, and Washington DC research firm Mathew Greenwald & Associates determines that almost four in ten workers 55 and older have under $25,000 in savings. Drop the age restriction and more than half claim the same problem. Indeed, the Department of Commerce tells us gloomily, saving below 1% of our income is the norm.

With traditional company pension plans and Social Security dwindling away day by day, Americans need to get control of their own money and chart their financial future. Leaving it in a mattress won’t do it, nor even a savings account. Spending more than one makes certainly isn’t going to make it happen.

If a personality, be it through a book, a radio or a television set, can get Americans excited about investing, make it an enjoyable and interesting thing to learn about and get involved with, then by all means, let the fun begin. It’s never too late to get control of your money and put it to work for you, and whatever lights the fire under the nation’s collective posterior is worthy of praise. But we must not allow our excitement to turn into frenzy. Safe, responsible investing is the way to go—not pyramid schemes, not shady deals, not a hot stock tip.

Cut through the come-on tricks and the promises of major moolah, and we can find that beneath the showmanship of the celebrity investor is indeed a nugget of solid advice that any broker or banker or advisor can agree with: get motivated, get active, because the time to start investing is yesterday. If the stirring emotions of personal finance personalities can be combined with long-term planning, with charts and indices and mutual funds and other less flashy material, all will be well. Watching people make big bucks quickly can be thrilling, but seeing it grow slowly and securely into a prosperous future has its own rewards.

You'll find more info on our main site financial advisor

The Following Story is brought to you by financial advisors

The world of finance is in a mess and everybody is accusing everybody else. It is the “rich stockholders”, the CEO's, the workers demanding extra benefits, the consumers not buying enough, or to many regulators. Everyone is blaming somebody else. I went to those sources of infinite wisdom and financial advice, the Sunday Funnies.

In the early 1990's, there was a Calvin and Hobbes that addresses the situation almost perfectly. Calvin is trying to sell lemonade at $15/glass, a bit expensive even by today's standards, and Suzie Derkins ask how he can charge so much. Calvin's reply is the classic “it is supply and demand”. He then starts his tirade.

“As the sole stockholder in this enterprise I demand a monstrous profit on my investment! And as President and CEO of the company I demand an exorbitant annual salary! And as my one employee, I demand a high hourly wage and all sorts of company benefits!”

Suzie then asks about the quality of the product, it appears to be a whole lemon in sludge water, and Calvin replies “'Caveat Emptor' is the motto we stand behind. I'd have to charge more if we followed the health and environmental regulations.” Suzie goes elsewhere for a drink, Calvin screams”Sure! Put me out of a job! It is you Anti-Business types who ruin the economy”.

Who is responsible for businesses collapsing? Stockholders who “demand a monstrous profit” and CEOs demanding 'Exorbitant annual salary” certainly both share in the responsibility. Pirate captains only got a half share more than the crew in the old days, and it the ship was caught they were beheaded while the crew was fined or served prison terms! In business, like piracy, one takes chances but the pirates knew that demanding too much more wasn't a good idea!

And then there are the employees who “demand a high hourly wage and all sorts of company benefits” then either slack off at work or steal from the company. Most employees don't, but those that do share in the responsibility for the current collapse of businesses. People need to realize that a decent amount of work is needed by everybody to keep things going. A coffee room is nice, but requiring plush sofas with large screen HDTV and two hour lunches is a bit excessive; the business owner will set up some where else!

Screaming at the consumer for going elsewhere, and with the internet there are a lot of “elsewheres” to go, does no good. Lower the price and supply a better quality product. Otherwise business will be doing as Calvin does in the last frame; he goes to his Mom (Government) and says “I need to be subsidized!”

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This Blog Post is from Associated Content and brought to you by financial advisor

Asking someone how to handle money is like asking them which religion is the correct one. Everyone has an opinion, and everyone thinks they're right. Between all of these differing views, it can often be very difficult to discern who's advice about money is trustworthy and who's should be discarded. Fortunately there are several questions that you can ask yourself to figure out whether the piece of financial advice you are given is worth following.

Does this person have anything to gain by me following their advice? Quite often financial advisors have a vested interest in you investing in a particular investment product as opposed to another. This is a clear conflict of interest. If someone has something to gain by you following their advice, their advice can never be seen as objective, no matter how much they believe in what they are telling you. Only make use of financial counselors which have nothing to gain by you signing up for a particular product or making a specific investment.

Is the person qualified to give me financial advice? You wouldn't ask your auto-mechanic to try to fix your heart problem, so why would you accept financial advice from someone who is unqualified to give financial advice. Does the person trying to give you advice actually have something to show for themselves? Do they have any sort of wealth that they made for themselves? Accept financial advice from people who know how to generate wealth and those who know extensively about money. You wouldn't accept dieting advice from obese people, so don't accept financial advice from poor people.

Do I understand the advice? The most common reason people get ripped-off is when they buy a financial product just because someone tells them to and they trust the person's authority on money. Only buy a financial product, such as insurance, investments, and the like when you understand it and can explain it to an 8th grader. If the financial advice doesn't make sense at all to you, chances are it doesn't make sense, period.

Do I feel good about following this advice? Sometimes we're given advice that we can't quite figure out what's wrong with it, but it seems a bit fishy. If you have a really bad feeling about a piece of advice you are given, you should trust your gut. Chances are if you feel that there is something wrong with it, there is. If you feel very uncomfortable about following someone's financial advice, there's a reason for it.

What do other people have to say about this advice? If the person that is offering you financial advice is the only person in the world that believes in that, watch out. There are time tested financial principles that do work. If the person offering you financial advice disagrees with the rest of the entire financial community, you should probably find someone to listen to about money.

Has the advice worked for others? If someone is trying to sell you some brand new financial product, watch out. If the advice does not have a track record of success, there's probably a reason for it. Don't be a guinea pig for someone else's new brand new untested financial ideas. Follow age-old time tested financial advice. If you are going to invest in something or follow a financial plan, make sure it has a track-record of success.

A lot of very poor financial advice is presented in best selling books and on television that no one should follow. The best selling financial author, Robert Kiyosaki, tell us not to diversify our investments, and Jim Cramer of “Mad Money” offers stock picks without doing any in depth research on the companies. Be very intentional about who's financial advice that you accept. Ask those questions of yourself so that you do not end up following bad financial advice.

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The Following Story is from Associated Content and brought to you by financial advisors

I stumbled across this article from Suze Orman today while looking for financial tips for the current economy: Suze Orman's 10 Steps to a Worry-Free Financial Future and it got me thinking about the financial advice each of us chooses to heed. One big question most small business owners ask over and over is: who can I trust for accurate and helpful information about my finances so that I can achieve financial freedom and eventually retire comfortably?

My answer: no one—no one source that is. Instead, small business owners (and people, in general) need to heed advice from a variety of sources and apply that advice to their unique situations.

That being said, it's important to have your favorite “top shelf” financial advisors to whom you know you can turn for very fair, very universally truthful advice. Suze Orman happens to be one of my go-to favorite financial experts for that. So how can you find a financial advisor or expert who's right for you? Here are some tips:

Listen to financial advisors when they speak—but only with one ear

If you're like many small business owners, chances are good that you've been approached by a wealth of financial advisors who promise to take your money and turn it into a viable retirement fund, earn a whopping 10 percent return per year, make your measly thousands become a whopping millions in just a few short decades. But how do you know if what these financial advisors are saying is true?

First, it's important to listen to financial advisors when they talk to you, but only listen with one year. Keep the other ear open for the subtle sales pitch. See, many financial firms, such as Northwestern Mutual, term their agents “financial representatives,” but in a more stripped-down title for their job descriptions, they might otherwise be called “sales representatives.”

This is the type of financial advisor—or representative—who might be positioned by his or her company to appear to be an experienced financial guru, but in reality, this type of representative might not actually have a formal financial background or wealth of non-company-sponsored training. With this type of financial representative, be sure to listen to the nuts and bolts of what the individual says to you, but keep in mind that their foremost objective is not to grow your wealth; it's to sell you a product from the company the financial representative represents.

Their financial products, however, might be important to your long-term financial success. Northwestern, for example, provides life insurance and disability insurance products for small business owners, which may be valuable to you.

Do your financial product research

Before buying a financial product from or suggested by a financial advisor—or representative—make sure that you do your own research. If you are planning to buy a financial product from a company, be sure to investigate the company's background. If the company is publicly traded, check out its stats and information on its Yahoo! Finance section (this is a great resource for financial information about a public company.” Ask other small business owners in your industry about the financial advice they've received, including the financial products they've used. Read finance blogs—the more you read, the more opinions you'll have to weight.

Check for certified financial planner certifications

Finally, if you decide that the best financial course for you and your money is to work with a single financial planner or financial planning team, consider choosing a financial planner who has achieved his or her Certified Financial Planner Certification. Certified Financial Planners have completed examinations to test their financial planning skills and must adhere to strict ethical standards in order to maintain their certifications. Therefore, chances are good that you can rely on a Certified Financial Planner to provide the level of professional financial planning advice you need.

Of course, remember that the best way to achieve financial stability and independence is to save your money and make calculated decisions about where you invest, if you invest at all. Be sure to do your research and only make financial decisions once you completely understand them and are comfortable with the possible outcomes.

Sources:

http://www.northwesternmutual.com/career-opportunities/financial-representative-careers/default.aspx

Suze Orman's 10 steps to a worry-free financial future

http://www.finance.yahoo.com

http://www.cfp.net/become/Steps.asp

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1. Appreciate your “natural beauty.” You're beautiful when you stop hiding or you stop striving. The best beauty secrets: a smile, raw food, water, and sunscreen ( Wear Sunscreen by Mary Schmich)

2. Start investing when you are young. Learn the rule of 72. Huh? Ask a Financial advisor. Did you know you can sit down with a licensed registered representative (kind of like a financial advisor) and plot out your financial future for free?
(email mine at sharonmirandawfg@yahoo.com)

3. Don't use people and love things; love people and use things. Mom: “We may not have much, but we have each other.”
Rick Warren: “Life is about people and relationships, not things.”

4. Really listen to people. Rick Warren: “The thing that people want is focused attention.”

5. Don't waste precious days with unnecessary colds. Adults get about 2-4 colds in a year. Avoid this and take AIRBORNE. It works. There's a reason why the second grade teacher who made it is now a millionaire. Airborne made 21 million dollars in 2006.

6. Shower your family with affection. Everybody in my family massages. I think that's why we are so close. If you are a mom, teach your kids how to massage. You'll get the benefits in a decade when they can massage you! From my mom: affectionate families are authentic families.

7. Forget reading horoscopes to understand your life and those of your loved-ones. Read your personality page.

8. Men: Be strong. It's what women and the world need most from you. Strength uncontrolled is a temper and violence. Strength removed is passivity and neglect.

9. Stop watching t.v. and reading fashion magazines. The quickest route to discontent is the path between you and the t.v. remote or the path between you and the magazine stand.

10. High School Math Teacher: Before reaching for a Tylenol to cure a headache, ask yourself, “Was it the lack of a Tylenol that brought on this headache?” No. Most likely it was lack of water, lack of sleep, etc. Make the lack the cure.

11. Discover your roots. It is never too late to embrace your culture.

12. Make your siblings your closest allies. Siblings make the best best friends.

13. Appreciate the pleasures in life that involve your senses. There's nothing as indulgent, luxurious and cheap as a bubble bath. Listen to music, learn to make music, enjoy art, drink coffee, get massages, garden, do yoga, decorate, watch a sunrise/sunset, take pictures, walk outside after the rain, cuddle.

14. Stop dieting. The best way to lose weight, gain weight or maintain weight (your body will determine which it needs) is to eat only/always when you are hungry and stop when you are (politely) full. If everyone found out this secret, the multi-billion dollar diet industry would fall apart.

15. Mother Teresa: “Want to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.”

16. Throw yourself in something you love that only asks for the best of you. That's what the world needs from you. Massage Therapist: Do what you love, and the money will follow.

17. Don't focus on your weaknesses; focus on your strengths. You do this by feeding your strengths instead of trying to overcome your weaknesses. Also, don't focus on hiding what you don't like or improving them, focus on highlighting what you do! -Now Discover Your Strengths

18. Learn from the past, plan for the future, but live in the present. Guilt and regret cannot change the past, and worry and anxiety cannot change the future.

19. When faced with a moral dilemma, ask yourself, “What would be the most loving thing for me to do?” In life, love is the bottom line.

20. Best parking space: Because the closest distance between two points is a straight line, you should park in the row directly in front of an entrance, even if it is far away. That way you don't have to worry about remembering where you parked and you will naturally walk straight when you exit the store anyway. -Mrs. Curtis, math teacher

21. Best way to render telemarketers speechless: In perfect English say, “I don't speak English.” Wait a few seconds ( he/she will be stumped and not say a word) Proceed by hanging up and laughing. ( or you can just call block them)

22. If you want to learn a sport but are not very athletic and don't really enjoy being active, learn golf. Most business transactions are done on the golf course. -Marshall Brain in The Teenager's Guide to the Real World

23. On promises: Under-promise, over-deliver- Dad

24. Be positive. Tiffany: Everything works out in the end. If it hasn't worked out, it's not the end.

25. You need your friends, and not just every Saturday night. I know to feel my best, I need to hang out with my friends about every other day or three times a week. If you're a Christian, it's biblical. It's called community. If you're not a Christian, it's a human need. There's a reason why solitary confinement is torture. Think girls from Sex in the City or the cast of Friends.

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