Rule #1: Phil Town on Investing

Twittering Rule #1

I'm going to start twittering in earnest pretty soon - in the next few days.  I'm thinking it will be fun to do some pithy, quick and easy bits that might be some help for your investing. 

I'll be tweeting about Rule #1, of course, but also about other resources I think would be useful to a Rule #1 investor.  As I come on them, I'll let you guys know with a quick Tweet. 

Also any motivational stuff I see, I'll pop into a Tweet, too.  And I'll put in some good "where to find it" info as I think of it or learn about it.  Where to find better tools for free, for example.  More and more stuff is coming on the internet for zippo.  Which is awesome if you know about it. 

And I'll be putting in some companies to keep an eye on that are looking particularly Rule #1-ish.  And any books or articles that are worth a look.  And I'd love to Tweet about any CEO antics you should know about.  So if you want to keep up with this stuff, follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Philbtown.

Now go play.

New MSNBC Your Business Video: Allocation of Capital

May 31 episode synopsis:

Jennifer Hill, vide-president of Astia, and Phil Town, investment advisor and author of the book "Rule #1," answer viewer questions about the best way to allocate your capital and cutting back employees' work schedules. (MSNBC)

Click here to view, or watch below:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Sunday on MSNBC's Your Business; and Twitter

Set your DVRs - this week I taped an episode of MSNBC's Your Business, where I talked about factoring (because business loans are hard to get these days.)  The episode airs on MSNBC at 7:30 EST.  And subscribe to the MSNBC Your Business video podcast on iTunes or Zune.

I also joined Twitter. Follow me to receive my tweets on investing -- particularly what I'm analyzing. Caveat: not necessarily what I'm stockpiling. I'll use it to talk about PAYBACK TIME too.

The Bottom

I just sent this email off to Manny Schiffres, the Editor of the Kiplinger Letter and my debate opponent on Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo (and I copied Maria).  Manny rather sarcastically asked me to call him when we reached "the bottom".  Well, I called him, so to speak.

We're close enough to a bottom to be buyers.  But selectively and only in businesses we want to buy as they continue to go down. 

Keep in mind that we could easily see the Dow at 5000 or 2500, although I think they are going to swap out some of the Dow stocks to shore it up a bit and keep that from happening.  In any case, we buy in now and hope it goes down so we can buy in cheaper down the road. 

Here's the email:

Your Business, February 1: Video Clip

Did you miss my Superbowl Sunday appearance on MSNBC's Your Business? (Click here for the show's video RSS feed.)  If you did, no worries - you can watch the video below. Here are the small-business owner questions author Michael Port and I answer:

• How do I get accounting and marketing advice on the cheap?
• How do I protect a truly creative business idea?
• How do I get private funding for a small-business coaching franchise?
• Should I respond to unflattering blog posts about me or my business?
• How should a small business owner use/allocate company money... are there charts or graphs somewhere that give guidance on how to spend?

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Phil on MSNBC's Your Business, Sunday Feb. 1

From MSNBC's "Your Business":

On Super Sunday, 7:30 a.m. Eastern Time, find out the how the NFL is helping small business owners grow their business by getting involved with the big game. We'll also catch up with Tony Siragusa, former star defensive tackle and championship winner, and see how he's used the skills he learned on the football field to manage his successful New Jersey restaurant and growing offshoot businesses.

Panelists

--Michael Port, creator of Book Yourself Solid, a consulting firm, and author of "The Contrarian Effect: Why It Pays (Big) to Take Typical Sales Advice and Do the Opposite."

--Phil Town, author of "Rule #1: The Simple Strategy for Successful Investing in Only 15 Minutes a Week!" and partner in the private equity firm Oracle Equity.

Click here for more information about the episode, and click here to subscribe to the Your Business video podcast (scroll down for the list of feed options).

New TV Appearance on MSNBC - Dec. 21, 2008

I'm going to be on MSNBC's Your Business on December 21 - click here for more info about the episode. Thanks!

New "Your Business" Video: the 3 Qualities of a Great CEO

If you're a business owner or CEO, or are thinking about becoming one, watch this MSNBC Your Business video to see what three qualities you'll need to be a success. (Runtime: about 2 minutes.)  If you're an MSNBC member, please do me a favor and rate the clip. Thanks!

MSNBC - Your Business

It's been a while since my last post. I'm busy at work on new projects I hope to talk about on the blog soon.  In the meantime, here's a clip from my recent appearance on MSNBC's Your Business.  If you're an MSN site member, please watch the clip and vote/comment on it.  Among other topics, we talk about the importance of cash flow projections for business owners.

Business Answers: Selling Yourself

Norm Brodsky, Columnist for Inc. Magazine and Phil Town, investment advisor and author of "Rule #1" answer viewer questions about the best ways to get in touch with buyers and tips for selling yourself and your company to potential customers.

LINK:  Business Answers: Selling Yourself

MSNBC's "YOUR BUSINESS"

A few weeks ago I was asked to do a guest spot on a new show at MSNBC called Your Business.  It airs at 7:30 EST Sunday mornings, so TiVo is a nice thing if you party like a rock star. 

This kind of thing is definitely a perk of having a New York Times best selling book. Doing TV interviews is fun, but they tend to be 4 or 5 minutes, in and out.  This show is a blast because we can actually discuss some things. 

The idea of the show is to give small business owners a lot of information in an entertaining way.  The key to that is the host, JJ Ramberg . She is just a cool woman and really easy to work with.  JJ goes on location at interesting small businesses, interviews the founders, and finds issues that are of concern to the owners for us to discuss.