Black Enterprise Magazine Celebrates 40 Years: Honors Founder Earl Graves

Black Enterprise Magazine is celebrating forty years of inspiring African American business owners to excellence. I had the pleasure of attending the celebration this year and it was amazing. The energy and emotion of the event was overwhelming. Mr. Graves shared stories of  the beginning days of the magazine when it was just him and his wife working long hours to produce a quality product. He saluted long-time sponsors who continued to support the project year after year, such as the host, Exxon Mobile. In addition, he encouraged entrepreneurs and small business owners to stay the course in providing quality service and products to our customers.

All year, Black Enterprise has been featuring special segments around their celebration. I highly recommend reading about the legacy of Mr. Earl Graves: B.E. Titans - Mr. Earl Graves Sr in addition to the other great articles and business insight offered.

I am proud of the history of Black Enterprise Magazine and grateful to announce that I'll be featured again in the October 2010 Issue! There's no link just yet, but make sure you pick up your copy!  In the meantime here are a few articles below in which I've been quoted. 

Your Financial Coach,

-Dorethia
www.connercoaching.com

Retiring Rich: How to Build a Nest Egg With Your Spouse

Written on 17 Sep, 2010 at 13:21 in B.E. Exclusives, Personal Finance, Retirement | viewed 483 times | 6 Comments

Planning for retirement is crucial at every point of your life, and that planning changes after you find the one you want to spend the rest of your life with. BlackEnterprise.com spoke with financial coach Dorethia Conner to find out... (Continue reading)

Tagged with: Dorethia Conner    financial goals    financial plan    financial solutions    investing for retirement    love and money    Nest Egg    retirement goals    retirement planning    Retirement plans    retiring rich    Roth IRA    Saving for retirement    Traditional IRA

Dealing With Debt: What to Do When Creditors Attach

Written on 24 Aug, 2010 at 11:00 in Credit & Debt, Personal Finance | viewed 355 times | 0 Comments

Here’s what you need to know if you are being sued by a creditor of if your account has been attached.... (Continue reading)

Tagged with: account attachment    attachment    bankruptcy    Credit & Debt    credit scores    creditor lawsuits    Dealing With Debt    debt collection    debt collectors    debt settlement    debt settlement agreement    debtors rights    wage garnishment

Cutting Edge: How NOT to Invest in a Mutual Fund

Written on 19 Apr, 2010 at 16:00 in Blogs, Investing, Personal Finance | viewed 1,329 times | 6 Comments

I never quite understood how subprime lending was able to ravage so many communities until recently. I attended an investing workshop in Brooklyn, New York. The presenters were from a company called Goal Mine and, along with teaching about how... (Continue reading)

Tagged with: Cutting Edge    Dorethia Conner    financial literacy    Investing    mutual 

Invest? Are You Serious?

While some people have decided to sit the market out altogether, there are others who are ready to dip their toes in the water and cautiously invest again or for the first time. Even in light of the current economic ____ (input the latest buzzword for tragedy here), I’ve been a proponent of investing wisely. The market goes through cycles and it will rebound again. That said… we have to be realistic, we have to do more research than ever on the companies we invest our money in. Long gone are the days of blindly following your investment advisor.

Start with a Mutual Fund

A mutual fund with a solid track record….yes… I hear you snickering… hey… I’m snickering too! Look for a mutual with returns in the 8-12% range over the long term meaning 10 – 12 years.  Make sure the fund manager didn’t just get there either, you want them to have at least 5 – 10+ years with the fund.

It is also wise to pick a mutual fund that is comprised of industries that are not dependent on one another.  For example, a real estate company and a home building company both suffer when there are hits to the industry. If both are in your mutual fund you will take a bigger loss.

Do Your Homework

Where to start your research? Google It!  Learn about the fund and the companies it holds. Search for each company in the mutual fund portfolio.  Find out what kind of media attention they are receiving, good or bad. What are other investors saying about them? Have they had a recent change in leadership? Go to their websites and download their annual reports, read their notes, look at the financials.

Of course, you want to know how the fund is performing.There are a ton of sites that allow you to do financial research. Morningstar.com is a leader in the industry, and you can view some of the content for free. Google, Yahoo, AOL, along with many others, all have finance sites where you can input stock/mutual fund symbols and it will kick out company information.  What are the experts saying about this fund and the companies it holds?

Below is a screenshot from CNNMoney.com for:  CAAPX – Ariel Appreciation Fund

If you scroll down, you will see more information on the performance, industries represented in the fund, names of top 10 companies and so on…

p.s. - No affiliation with Ariel, just used it as an example people.... happy investing!

Your Financial Coach,

Dorethia
www.connercoaching.com

Are You REALLY Ready To Invest?

Many people think they are ready to invest but in all actuality they aren’t.  Guess what? That's okay! There are a few things it is important to line up financially before you jump into buying stocks and mutual funds. 

You don't want to jump in blindly, be able to say YES! to the following before you begin investing:

• You have a handle on your budget (..er… a written budget), meaning you know where your money is going each month.

• You have an emergency fund saved

• You have paid off your debt (except mortgage)

• You are investing in your retirement via an employer fund or an IRA

• You have done your research on investing terms, you have begun to follow the market and you learned how to read the financial papers to track your investments

• You’ve gauged your tolerance for risk, and accept that investing is a long term project

Begin reading the financial newspapers, listening to the financial news... not obsessively, but just so you are aware of what is going on in the investing world. That's not to say you won't ever lose money, we all know that's not true, but it will allow you to be a better educated investor.

Your Financial Coach!
-Dorethia
www.connercoaching.com