Your Virtual Spokesperson

The video speaks for itself...



and that's kind of the idea. Get in touch to learn more: rick.glasby@verizon.net

Wanna Be a Landlord?

I've started recording interviews with folks who are investing in multi-family real estate (think apartment buildings). The First Cornerstone Group provides guidance to investors looking to enter this lucrative field. I talk with their clients, who share their first-person stories about becoming landlords. Listen to one of the interviews, and find out what they do about those 2AM phone calls from tenants with a backed-up toilet...

Making Your Mortgage More Manageable

The self-help program we produced for Loan Relief Services is now available. It consists of a DVD, two audio CDs, and a printed guide on how to modify your mortgage. We created the DVD and audio CDs based on the printed guide provided by Justin of Loan Relief Services.

If you're having mortgage problems, this program might make sense for you. It provides tips and techniques on how to lower your mortgage payments and hopefully avoid foreclosure.

Here's a short video clip we produced to promote the program.

Forward Into the Past

This morning I walked back in history to tell the story of Haven's Homestead in Brick, NJ. Built in 1827, the Homestead was occupied by the Havens family until the 1990's when it was donated to the Brick Township Historical Society. I was the on-camera "talent" ( a term applied very loosely in my case) for a web video being produced by Eric Joseph of Life Mosaic Studios. The Homestead was one of four stand-ups I did during a whirlwind tour of Brick, NJ.

An Unwanted Visitor at QVC Network!

I've met several celebrities during my appearances on the QVC network (from Joan Rivers to Marie Osmond), but the other night an unexpected visitor crashed the QVC studios. A deer broke through an office window at the QVC campus and ran amok through the corridors, scattering staff in its wake. Unfortunately, the buck had suffered serious wounds and had to be put down by animal control officers. Sections of the studios were still cordoned off when I showed up for an early morning appearance today. Next week, I'm off to Canada to appear on the Shopping Channel up there - I hope the moose are more tame!

What to do in today's volatile market?

Today I hosted another in a series of webinars for Manny Backus at First Hour Trading. He provides guidance and support to day traders in the stock market. We fielded questions from the members of First Hour Trading from around the world, and an expert in the system provided the answers. Today, the participants checked in from Maine to California, and from Canada to Malaysia. Although these may be grim times for us "buy & hold" investors, day traders can profit from volatility in the stock market. As Manny says, "Make enough in the first hour of trading to take the rest of the day off..."

New product to pitch....er, that is "present"

It looks like I'll be presenting another new product on the QVC shopping channel in a few weeks. That's me, Mike Romanies (President of FUEL Marketing and Sales, who represents Honestech at QVC), and Jay Choi (Managing Director of Honestech) standing outside QVC after a morning meeting with their electronics buyer. Jay is smiling because the QVC buyer agreed to add another Honestech product to their offerings. I'm smiling because I know that lunch is next on the agenda. Mike is smiling because he's not paying for lunch.

Real or Fake?

Can you tell from looking at this pic of me on QVC this past weekend? No, I'm not talking about my hair (that's real, thank you). Is the tan real or fake? The truth is that the QVC stylists usually spray paint your face with this brownish gunk to give you a golden glow. You wouldn't think I would need it since I live at the Jersey shore, and get to the beach a least a couple times a week .

My knowledge of stock trading is growing again. I'm working on a new course for Manny Backus at Wealthpire on swing trading. We're creating a DVD, several audio CDs, and a companion book. Swing trading sits somewhere on the trading spectrum between daytrading and buy & hold. We go over the technical indicators found on a stock chart (before we started on this project I had thought Bollinger Bands were either a musical group or some obscure disease).

QVC Overload

I may be a victim of over-exposure on the QVC shopping network. I made my 9th appearance there tonight, and the sales of the product I represent were less than stellar (ok - sales sucked). Could it be that everyone who needs a product to transfer VHS tapes to DVD has one now? We have sold hundreds of thousands of dollars of this product in the last couple months, but, come on, it's a big country! Speaking of countries, Mike at Honestech has lined up my next shopping channel gig for August - and it won't be in the US but just across the border. Will I be selling beaver pelts or tortillas? Stay tuned to find out!

Behind the Scenes at QVC

Another appearance on the QVC shopping channel this weekend. The power of QVC is a little frightening. They say they are one of the largest digital TV production operations in the world. They have over 20,000 square feet of studio space in West Chester, PA. It consists of a variety of "home" sets (the living, bathroom, home office, garage, bedroom, etc.).

When you are on, you face two large monitors on the floor, and the TV cameras (duh). The cameras are robotically controlled by joystick in the control room upstairs. The floor monitor on the left shows how many minutes are left in your segment, the name of any callers on the phone, and the next camera shot being set up. The monitor on the right is the live feed. You wear a ear piece so the director can talk to you, and so you can hear callers. You are usually given 5-7 minutes for your "sell." The director is watching a line graph plotting phone calls and orders. If sales don't materialize fast enough, you may be cut short - or you may be given an extra minute or two if you're successful. The metric they watch is dollars per minute - and it's in the thousands.

The Second QVC Shopping Channel Appearance

I guess I didn't embarrass myself too badly on QVC over the weekend, 'cuz they invited me back for another broadcast. I was on the Morning Show today with host Dan. He makes it look so easy! That stupid grin on my face is really just masking my fear.

This next photo is what every QVC guest host wants to see. We sold the entire inventory of the product in about six minutes. And they say we're in a recession...

The QVC Gig

I had my cable network TV debut last night (actually at 12:40AM) on the QVC shopping channel. Thanks to Jay and Mike at Honestech, the software publisher, for hiring me for the gig. For me, it was a couple of sleepless nights leading up to the fastest six minutes I've ever lived through.

Like all QVC shows, it was done live so no chances of a re-do if you screw up. If you're successful (meaning if you sell product), QVC invites you back - if not, they ship the unsold product back to the manufacturer.

Before they let you on the air, you have to go through the “guest host” class (where they convince you that an insane grin actually looks natural on TV). You then do a run-through of your presentation with a QVC host. They tape it, and then critique it with you. Here’s a no-no: never interrupt the show host!