-7 Steps of Civil Debt Recovery
-Collecting Past Due Money
-What about Bankruptcy?

Welcome back to the MBA Working Girl Podcast-Where Business Theory and the Real World Collide! I'm the show host, producer, and blog writer, Laura Adams.

MBA Essential Tip:
The Accounts Receivable department may not seem like the most glamorous position in a company. But after Sales and Marketing, it's truly the most important department. Salespeople can be incredible at selling, but if the money isn't rolling in, a company can't afford to pay their sales commissions!
Collecting money from regular customers is a delicate balance between cutting them some slack from time to time and protecting the interests of the company. Knowing when to put a regular, but slow paying, customer on Credit Hold can be a difficult decision.
The best way to avoid doing business with a slow-paying or non-paying customer in the first place, is to require a thorough Credit Application. This application should include all legal information about the potential customer, vendors they submit as references, and your payment terms and general credit policies. Be wary of any company that will not complete a Credit Application in full. And carefully consider doing business with a company who's references will not return your calls or that are not positive.

"Promises make debt, and debt makes promises." -Dutch Proverb

In this show I'll talk about some options you have in the U.S. for collecting past due money from a customer.  Knowing what you can and can not do as a creditor is important for successful collection!
We'll cover 7 steps involved in Civil debt recovery. And I'll also touch on Bankruptcy and how it changes the game completely.

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This post is sponsored by Upromise, the free program that allows you to save money for college by spending on everyday items you already buy!

Thanks for Listening-
Do Good Work, Laura

-Interview with Chance Cole, founder of GetTheDream.com

Welcome back to the MBA Working Girl Podcast-Where Business Theory and the Real World Collide! I'm the podcast host and blogger, Laura Adams.

In this episode I talk with Chance Cole of Get The Dream. He's created some revolutionary tools that can be used to increase life results. I've enjoyed using them and wanted to share this powerful information.

Show listeners have been offered a discount code to purchase any product(s) for 50% off.  At checkout enter the 3 letters MBA in the Discount Code box, then click Update Cart to recalculate the total.

Chance also mentioned that there is a Sleep product that can be downloaded free of charge right now from www.getthedream.com

MBA Essential Tip:
Our state of mind affects whether we can utilize our education and natural gifts to their highest potential. Technology called brainwave entrainment exists to help the human brain focus more effectively. 

Brainwave entrainment is also known as brainwave synchronization.
It's the practice of altering one's own brainwaves to a desired frequency by means of a stimulus with a corresponding frequency. This is a natural phenomenon termed the "frequency following response".

"The greatest achievements were at first and for a time dreams. The oak sleeps in the acorn." -James Allen (1864-1912)

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This post is sponsored by Upromise, the free program that allows you to quickly save money for college!

Thanks for listening -
Do Good Work, Laura

-Secrets to Family business success
-Too little time to read Business books?
-Take a Workaholic Self-Test!

Welcome back to the MBA Working Girl Podcast-Where Business Theory and the Real World Collide! I'm the show host and blog writer, Laura Adams.

MBA Essential Tip:
Americans as a whole could certainly be considered Workaholics when compared to many other countries. We tend to take pride in working hard, sometimes to a dangerous extreme. I've heard that as many as 40 percent of workers don't take the vacation time they've earned because they're afraid they won't have a job to come back to! Corporate cut-backs and consolidations further enhance employees' fears.
Whether the reason for obsessive working is our 24/7 connected technology, financial goals, materialistic dreams, or an intense love of what we do, there can be serious side effects. We all must block out sacred personal time for whatever can divert our minds from thinking about work. Consider hobbies, volunteering, exercise - anything that gets you completely away from everything work related.
And the irony is that getting away from your work, can actually make you more effective when you get back to it!


"An unhurried sense of time is in itself a form of wealth." -Bonnie Friedman

In this show, I give you a secret weapon to read all those business books that have been calling you.  It's Soundview Executive Book Summaries. Check it out for yourself or as a gift for anyone who wants condensed business education - short and sweet is good!
Soundview pioneered the concept of outlining key concepts of the year's best, cutting-edge business books. You can download formats for viewing or listening on your computer, Palm device, Pocket PC, portable media player or CD. Really brilliant.

The first segment in this episode was inspired by a recent article in Inc. Magazine by author Adam Bluestein, titled "The Success Gene". He takes a look at some very successful family businesses to understand why they have been able to beat the odds.

I also give you a fun test to see if you're a Type A-Workaholic (like me)! And suggest some ways to make sure you stay balanced.

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This post is brought to you by DirectDegree.com, the premiere online education resource on the Internet.

Thanks for listening & reading -
Do Good Work, Laura

-4 Generations in the workplace
-Marketing math made simple
-Margin vs. Markup

Welcome back to the MBA Working Girl Podcast-Where Business Theory and the Real World Collide! This is your host and blog writer, Laura Adams.

MBA Essential Tip:
Many people get tripped up when they have to distinguish between a product's Margin and its Markup. I lay out a good example in the podcast, but here's a couple more to ponder:

1) Let's say you have a flooring company and are bidding on a commercial job. You determined that the cost of the carpet, freight, sales tax and labor will be $10,000. In this business your goal for commercial jobs is to get a 35% profit margin. How do you come up with the correct price? If you multiply $10,000 by 1.35 and bid the job at $13,500, you will not make a 35% margin. This is because you simply MarkedUp the cost 35%. Take a look at the math for a true 35% profit margin:
Cost / [1 - margin %] = Price
$10,000 / [1 - 0.35] = Price
$10,000 / 0.65 = Price
$15,385 = Price

2) Let's say your customer receives your bid from above, but says they only have $14,775 in their budget. If you do the job for this price, what profit margin would you make?
You can plug all the numbers into the formula used above. But here's an easier way to calculate this:
Revenue - Costs = Profit
$14,775 - $10,000 = $4,775
Then divide Profit by Revenue: $4,775 / $14,775 = 0.32 = 32%

So, if you're willing to accept a 32% margin, instead of 35% - you're in business!


"The trick is growing up without growing old." -Casey Stengel

Want to make the profit you need? It's simple - have a great product and price it correctly! This episode is about the very important (and sometimes confused) low-tech Marketing math that allows you to determine the profitability on anything you sell.
I'll also give you the scoop on how incredibly different the 4 generations  that are working together are right now.

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I always appreciate your comments and questions - send to

Do Good Work, Laura

-Top 10 Reasons Not to get an MBA!
-Web App to take your To-Do list online
-Find all schools that offer the degree you want

Welcome back to the MBA Working Girl Podcast-Where Business Theory and the Real World Collide! This is the show host, Laura Adams.

MBA Essential Tip:
Have you ever heard of Upromise? This is a fantastic free program that allows you to quickly save money for college for yourself, a child, or for anyone. This is how it works:
When you join, a portion of your eligible spending gets deposited into your Upromise account automatically. You can invite your family and friends to help you save too by linking their rewards to your account!
The really cool part is that you get credit for spending on items that you're already buying anyway--groceries, gas, clothes, bed and bath accessories, restaurants, travel, books, magazines, insurance, gifts, computers, office supplies, and tons more--at over 40,000 different well-known brand store and services.
This college savings program is a no-brainer for yourself, or for anyone you love that has education in their future.

"Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love."
-David McCullough

Why get an MBA degree? Well, in this show I share my list of the Top 10 Reasons NOT to get one. This is essential information and food for thought if you are considering making the sacrifice to go for an advanced business degree.

And if you're looking for schools that offer a specific academic program or degree, I've found an excellent tool. Take a look at the upper right side of the blog, mbaworkinggirl.com. This search tool is a comprehensive list of campus and online schools that offer degrees from Art to Veterinary and everything in between.

In the podcast, I also admit to being a list-o-holic and talk about the features of a free web service called Remember the Milk.

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Thanks for being a listener and blog reader - I've got lots of great shows coming up this year. If you have any suggestions for improvements or topics, please send email to

Do Good Work, Laura

-Wills and Estates
-6 Reasons to have a Will
-Easy way to create your Will!

Welcome back to the MBA Working Girl Podcast-Where Business Theory and the Real World Collide! I'm Laura Adams, the show host.

MBA Essential Tip:
Most people don't realize that you don't need an attorney to make a will. 
And a will doesn't have to be recorded with any governmental agency.
You can easily create the document yourself as long as these requirements are met to make a will legal:
1) you are at least 18 years old with sound mind and
2) you have 2 people, who wouldn't inherit anything from you, witness you sign and date the completed document.

Get an inexpensive template form that was prepared by an attorney, and you're ready to go!  Click here to download wills for any U.S. state.
This is a fantastic resource to find legal forms, with over 750,000 different documents for just about any legal need.
"Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility"
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

In this show we'll cover all the reasons to have a will. You'll also be reminded about the different life events that should trigger you to update a will by rewriting it or creating a codicil.

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Send email feedback to . Drop me a line to let me know when you've completed or updated your will!

Thanks for listening-
Do Good Work, Laura

-Intro to Stock and Shareholders
-4 Tips for Successful Meetings
-Secrets to MBA admission

Welcome back to the MBA Working Girl Podcast-Where Business Theory and the Real World Collide! This is your host, Laura Adams.

MBA Essential Tip:
A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or company that owns one or more shares of stock in a company. A primary goal of such a company is to increase the value of the shares and/or to pay dividends to the shareholders. Stock owners can profit if the company does well, or they can lose their investment if the company experiences losses. Many of the largest stockholders today are Mutual Funds.

"What you risk reveals what you value."
-Jeanette Winterson

This show will give you an overview of the roles and rights of corporate shareholders. Understand their important relationship to Directors and Officers.
I'll also share 4 important tips to insure that meetings are productive time spent.

And if you want to get accepted into business school this year, it's critical that you understand how to differentiate yourself from the masses. Discover secrets to creating a winning application at top10mba.com

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Email feedback to or submit a podcast review in itunes. Here's the link to our podcast page.

Thanks for listening-
Do Good Work, Laura

-Business Organization entities, part 2
-Partnerships and the LLC
-7 New Years Resolutions for work

Welcome back to the MBA Working Girl Podcast-Where Business Theory and the Real World Collide! I'm the host, Laura Adams.

MBA Essential Tip:
A Joint Venture is a relationship that's formed for a single specific business enterprise.
It's similar to a General Partnership in these ways:
-the parties share an interest
-the parties have equal rights to direct and govern
-the parties share in the profits and losses
-the parties combine their property, money, skill or knowledge

A JV is different however, in that the relationship ends once the project is completed. It also differs because there is no mutual agency relationship between the partners. So it's more difficult for one member to bind another member. A JV should always be very clear that it is not a partnership when dealing with 3rd parties.


"What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

This episode is Part 2 about Business entities. Tune in to hear about the 3 different forms of Partnerships and to understand the popular LLC.
Then I'll end with 7 Resolutions we all need to take with us to work in 2008 - HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Did you get a new iPod or Zune over the holidays?  Make sure to subscribe to this show by searching for us in either directory.
I always welcome listener feedback at .

Thanks for listening-
Do Good Work, Laura

-Business Organization entities
-Sole Proprietorships
-C and S Corporations

Welcome back to the MBA Working Girl Podcast-Where Business Theory and the Real World Collide! This is your host, Laura Adams.

MBA Essential Tip:
When incorporating a business in the U.S., the state where the legal formation is completed is important. Generally, the corporation should be formed either in the state where the business will be located or in another state that has a well-developed body of corporate law, such as Delaware.
Many large companies choose to incorporate in Delaware, even if they don't do business there, because it has a specialized and experienced court. This court is called the Court of Chancery; and it insures quick resolution to any corporate law disputes.
Some of the benefits to Delaware incorporation include:
-increased power of management
-more flexibility in dealing with minority shareholders
-ability to have only one director
-use of electronic proxy voting
-authorization of internet shareholder meetings
-facsimile amendments to the certificate of incorporation


"The secret of all victory lies in the organization of the non-obvious" -Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor (121-180 AD)

This episode is Part 1 of a series on Business Organization entities.
We'll cover the Sole Proprietorship and Corporation, and complete  the other 4 types of entities in Show #38.
Find out the benefits of each and the important distinction between C and S corporate status.

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Send email comments to - voice mail comments can be left at .

Thanks for listening-
Do Good Work, Laura

-Leaving your Employer
-Understanding Trade Secrets
-Your Career Future

Welcome back to the MBA Working Girl Podcast-Where Business Theory and the Real World Collide! I'm your host, Laura Adams.

MBA Essential Tip:
The Economic Espionage Act of 1996 was passed in response to an increase of industrial espionage. This espionage is estimated to have cost U.S. companies $25 billion in 1995 alone. The Act covers theft of trade secrets by domestic and foreign spies.
For foreigners, economic espionage is defined as knowingly stealing or fraudulently obtaining a trade secret with the intent to benefit a foreign government or agent.
Domestically, the law considers whether the defendant intended to use a trade secret to anyone's economic benefit other than the trade-secret owner and whether the defendant knew that it would injure the owner.
In order for information to be considered a trade secret, the owner of the information must have taken "reasonable measures to keep such information secret." The value of trade secrets is due to their proprietary nature.

"The easiest way to keep a secret is without help." -unknown author

In this show I'll discuss how to determine when the time is right to leave your employer, how to do so properly, and the important legal issue of Trade Secrets. Most people don't realize that trade secret law applies to them, even if they didn't sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement!

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Music in order for Show #36:
The Brand New Heavies - All Fired Up
Punam Verma - The Sweetest Nectar
Psykosoul - Superhot Lady Cop Remix (Beau Hall)
360 - T-Sunshine
Matthew - Get It
The Brand New Heavies - All Fired Up

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Or leave a Voice Mail message by calling .

Thanks for listening-
Do Good Work, Laura