Spring Festivals

'Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others
cannot keep it from themselves.' - Sir James M. Barrie

I wish all of you can enjoy the beautiful sunshine we have in Pensacola this time of the year - warm sunny days, cool nights, with some occasional rains.  We are truly blessed with beautiful Spring weather here, and with a really mild winter this year, we are enjoying an exceptionally long Spring season.

Spring, of course, is a time of rebirth, and renewal, and is celebrated around the world with joyful and colorful festivals. Hindus in south Asia herald in Spring with the Festival of Colors, Holi. They celebrate by throwing colored powder at one another, and with bonfires, bidding farewell to dreary Winter, and welcoming the abundant and vibrant colors of Spring.  In Thailand, the Songkran or Water Festival is a 3-day celebration of the Thai New Year.  The ritual symbolizes the cleansing of the body, spirit and mind.  No one escapes being drenched (or 'cleansed') during these 3 days of celebration! The Japanese, always associated with delicacy and beauty, celebrate hanami - cherry blossom viewing - by having picnics under cherry blossom trees in parks, usually between March and May. And of course, the most important Spring event for Christians is Easter, the resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ.

How do you celebrate Spring?  I invite you to share in the comment box below.

Spring brings a new cycle of life and hope, and it is also the perfect time to reflect, review, and renew goals. Do you have recent successes to celebrate?  I hope you do.  Are there areas in your life or business that needs sprucing up? What can you do to add some 'color' and enthusiasm? Are you on track with your personal, health, or financial goals? If not, why not?

As a business Cash Flow coach for businesses, I can offer some suggestions on one aspect of your business financial health - your cash flow.  This is an article on Ways to Maximize Cash Flow that I contributed to the March/April 2012 issue of The Bulletin, published by the Escambia Medical Society.  The principles can be applied to any business.  Enjoy!

It's never too late to plan for your own successes.  Since Spring brings new energy and warmth to the whole environment, I hope it energizes you to re-visit areas of your business or career that stayed dormant, like the Winter that just passed. Go out, re-connect, and network with friends, colleagues, and mentors.  Catch the excitement that Spring brings, and celebrate the season!

Lin Engie
Delinquency Management Specialist
lin.engie@transworldsystems.com
850.266.7791
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May the Luck of the Irish be Yours Today!

May your blessings outnumber

The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.
~Irish Blessing


While we celebrate and associate St. Patrick's Day with parades, pub crawls, green beer, shamrock, and donning everything green, I thought it might be interesting to note that most of these traditions were invented in the United States by Irish-Americans, according to this article in the National Geographic Daily News, St. Patrick's Day 2012: Facts, Myths, and Traditions. In Ireland, March 17th was a minor religious holiday to commemorate its patron saint's birthday. St. Patrick devoted the latter part of his life converting Irish native pagans to Christianity.  However, it is now celebrated in full force with parades, lots of beer drinking, and revelry in Ireland, and really, everywhere around the world.  How are you celebrating St. Patrick's Day?  I would love to hear about your family traditions.


Now, if you are running a business, don't just rely on this one day of Irish luck to grow your cash flow.  Follow these few easy tips to ensure that your cash keeps flowing into your own Pot of Gold:

1. Have a written credit policy
2. Make sure your staff and clients/patients are aware of this policy
3. Train your staff to consistently enforce your established credit policy - be polite but firm
4. It's often better to negotiate and agree on a payment plan instead of agreeing to delay payments past 30 days.
5. Intervene early and frequently with professional billing reminders (every 10 to 14 days)
6. When your internal efforts are no longer effective, outsource it to a professional and reputable collection service.  Consider a low fixed fee service that allows you to keep 100% of your collected revenue, such as Transworld Systems.  If you have a need, I can help.

May you live as long as you want and never want as long as you live. - Irish saying

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today is dedicated to all the people (family, friends, clients, colleagues, classmates, etc.) we love. So, to all you,  Happy Valentine's Day! Many of you may be giving and receiving heart-shaped chocolates (hopefully the dark kind), along with flowers, etc. Do you know that there are approximately 38 million heart-shaped chocolate boxes sold each year for Valentine's Day? That's a lot of chocolates - 58 million pounds, to be exact.

February is not just for chocolate hearts.  It's American Heart Month.  According to the CDC, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. - 2,200 deaths per day due to heart disease and stroke. I hope you will take this to heart - enjoy your family, your work, eat a balanced, healthy diet, and do some exercise everyday (walking and stretching around your office counts).  I was just at a health seminar on maintaining a healthy heart, and guess what?  The cardiologists there confirmed that dark chocolates are actually good for you and your heart - of course, in moderation. So, enjoy the chocolates from your special Valentine, and add some red wine and fresh fruits for a healthy, romantic evening!

A little stress is supposedly good at getting your heart  pumping and keeping you on your toes, but undue stress is definitely detrimental to your heart health.  Look at what you can delegate and outsource, so you can fully focus on what you do best and enjoy, and bring you the most value. If you have challenges with open accounts and collecting from your clients or patients, and the processes you are using now are not getting you the results you want, then consider outsourcing this unpleasant, but very vital, function to a professional and reputable collection service. It can do wonders to your cash flow and your heart health!

Transworld Systems, the nations's largest Cash Flow and Delinquency Management company, provides a suite of innovative cash flow tools to help clients recover four times the national average of a standard percentage collection service.  We have been doing this successfully since 1970.  Over the past decade, we've resolved $6 Billion for over 200,000 clients nationwide.  Just like maintaining heart health, intervene early, and your chances of recovery will be much more successful. If you are interested in learning how I can help you improve your cash flow quickly, without alienating your clients, and still get to keep 100% of what we collect for you, contact me here:
lin.engie@transworldsystems.com
850.266.7791
850.366.2328
or
Connect with me on : http://www.linkedin.com/in/linengie
Follow me on Twitter: @TSIPensacola
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Year of the Water Dragon

This is an extra auspicious month for me.  We just celebrated the New Year, 2012, which, according to trends and forecasts, will be a much better year than 2011 for most of us.  In a couple of days, I celebrate the Chinese or Lunar New Year, on January 23rd.  


This lunar new year will be the Year of the Water Dragon. According to the Chinese Horoscope, this year is going to be a transformational and life-changing year. Generally, there are more positives in store for us in the year 2012 than 2011. It’s a good year to improve oneself, take calculated investment risks and to build wealth. The year 2012 holds much promise and may be a major transition in your life. Whether it turns out extremely good, or really bad, will depend on how you ride the mighty Water Dragon!


If you are not familiar with lunar new years, it may interest you to know that there are twelve zodiac animals which rotate with each new year - rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.  You can match your birth date and year to one of these twelve animal signs, and, if you wish, find how to take advantage of the opportunities the Water Dragon year brings to your particular sign.  Won't that be fun to know?  Here are some interesting links to help you:
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/social_customs/zodiac/
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/01/19/feng-shui-analysis-foresees-volatility-in-year-of-the-dragon/

In the Chinese tradition, I wish you all 'Gong Xi Fa Cai' (a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year!).  May your cash flow comes in leaps and bounds, like the Dragon!