Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
If you're one of those Type A personalities who wants everyminute filled with a constructive task, or if you just like to keeptrack of your financial affairs, a Franklin Lakes, New Jersey,company has introduced a handheld electronic investment organizerthat makes the job easier.
The Toltek Portfolio Tracker enables you to store information onup to 80 different investments, including stocks, mutual funds,bonds and even cases of wine. The investments can be organized intocategories such as taxable and nontaxable, or jointly held vs. soleownership.
Using the organizer, which is about as big as a palm-sizedcalculator, you can input the name of the investment, the date itwas purchased, the number of shares, price paid and more. Then eachday you simply input any price changes and the organizerautomatically updates the current value.
The Portfolio Tracker is available for $69.95 from the SharperImage stores and catalogs or through Harrison Hoge Industry'smail order catalog. For more information, contact Toltek at (888)865-8350.
Paper or Plastic?
As if the contents of your wallet weren't proof enough thatentrepreneurs love plastic, consider these statistics: According toa study by Ram Research Group, from 1994 to 1995 the number of Visabusiness accounts climbed from 1.4 million to 2.5 million.MasterCard business accounts were close behind, jumping from 1.3million to 2 million.
What's behind these numbers? Among the driving forces arebankers themselves, says Robert McKinley, president of Ram."The consumer end of the business is pretty saturated,"explains McKinley, whose Frederick, Maryland, firm publishes thenewsletter Card Trak. "Most Americans already have oneor two credit cards, so [credit card companies] are looking for newfrontiers."
Previously, McKinley says, banks were not very enthusiasticabout targeting small businesses because they believedentrepreneurs lacked the volume to be a lucrative market. Now,however, small businesses are booming-and bankers are eyeing themdifferently.
As for the BIZ Experiencess, the amenities credit card companiesoffer can be powerful inducements to use plastic, says McKinley,citing conveniences such as the ability to track expenses usingmonthly reports.
McKinley speculates that the perennial BIZ Experiencesial strategyof using credit cards to finance a business may spark even greatercredit card usage down the road. Given that small business is thenew darling of the consumer market, it's safe to assume evenmore BIZ Experiencess will see plastic in their future.
Extra Credit
Small business is big business to companies like AmericanExpress, which just launched a new line of credit and financingservices aimed primarily at firms with 100 or fewer employees.These include a pre-approved revolving business credit card that,unlike the typical American Express card, enables the cardholder tomaintain a balance. Interest rates vary but could start as low asprime plus 3 percentage points.
Successful applicants need a strong credit history and"some tenure as a business owner," says Ernie Berger ofAmerican Express. The program is open only to current AmericanExpress small-business card members and selected other firms."Purchases made on the card are summarized on the monthlybill. Four times a year, you receive a management report withexpenses separated by category," explains Berger.
American Express has also created a pre-approved business lineof credit that cardholders can access via a checkbook. Creditlimits, which range from $5,000 to $50,000, are determined by anassessment of the business's financial profile. The offer isavailable only to current cardholders who have been members for atleast a year or strong companies that are at least a year old.
In addition to these two products, American Express has createdan equipment-lease financing program for current cardholders, whichallows BIZ Experiencess to find the best equipment deal, then comeback to American Express for the lease. Terms range from one tofive years, and Berger says there are a variety of lease optionsavailable.
For more information, call (800) SUCCESS.
Contact Sources
Ram Research Group, P.O. Box 1700, Frederick, MD 21702,(301) 695-4660;
Toltek, P.O. Box 925, Oakland, NJ 07436, fax:(201) 337-5896;
Wells Fargo Bank, see listing under page 22.
