I will be eternally grateful for your great gift of taking in to the fullest extent what it is that I
have to offer, living it, and then reflecting it back in terms of the potential experience of others.
You have given words to a process that defies words. And you’re constantly in a position to help
me continue to hone that, deeper and deeper and more and more resonantly, who I am and what I offer,
which is truly invaluable. — Jon Hansen, 
Working together was absolutely key, and I think that’s what made it such a great
experience. I felt like you were my partner in this. I felt like my success was your
success. To me, someone who has that attitude and the skills to go with it —
that’s an unbeatable combination! — Daniel Stone, 
I have a website I’m proud of — but for me, the hugest benefit has been
increased self-confidence. Because of the process we went through, and the validity that
came with the process, I trust what I think and I trust myself to speak about it. I have
greater confidence and clarity in my message about who I am and what I do. — Bev
Dwane AICI CIP, 
What you’ve sent me is so darn perfect it hurts! It’s a sheer pleasure to work with someone
who writes as beautifully as you do — and in “my” voice. — Ariane Goodwin, Ed.D,
You have a real gift for words. You’re really, really good at it. — Sherry Essig,
Financial predators: a rant
There are some nasty, unethical, disgusting predators out there who prey on small business owners.
And this makes me really angry.
Several months ago, a friend of mine mentioned receiving a notice in the mail to renew his domain name purchase. He mildly said that it seemed a bit expensive, and wondered if I could recommend a different URL registrar that he could switch to.
He was surprised at my reaction – which was vehement, to say the least. In short, I went off on a tirade about unethical, nasty business practices.
If you own a URL, you’ve probably seen these notices. The chances are vanishingly small that they actually come from the company where you registered your URL. Instead, they come from companies that take advantage of people not reading the fine print, and count on people reacting like most of us do when we receive a bill in the mail. We pay it. Especially when it’s something as important as renewing the URL on which our business’s website depends.
These notices are nasty and deceptive not just because they cause you to transfer your URL listing from the people from whom you initially bought it. No, they’re really nasty and deceptive because they cause you to do this without being aware of it, and at a significantly higher fee.
Yesterday, I received a different notice in the mail. This one claimed to be from the California State Fictitious Business Name registrar in Sacramento. (There is no such thing, at least, not as a government office. Fictitious business name registrars, or DBA (doing-business-as) registrars, are local to the county.)
It was a thickly-printed page with a lot of information about how my fictitious business name would expire in October of this year (true) and how I needed to renew it by May 25th (untrue) and how renewing it required publishing a notice in the newspaper (also untrue; this is only needed for the initial filing, if the name has lapsed, or if there have been significant changes).
And they wanted $100 from me.
Five years ago, it cost me $20 to file a fictitious business name. The current fee is $30, for another five years.
Now, I’m careful about these things. I read the fine print, especially when it’s something that seems this out of whack.
Nonetheless, it took me three thorough readings before I found the wording saying that this was a service, not an official notice. By the time I finally found it, I was on the phone (on hold) with the San Diego County registrar’s office, preparing to ask them if the notice was legitimate.
I wish this sort of thing was illegal.
I really wish that people didn’t feel the need to run businesses that take advantage of others.
Since it’s not illegal, and since there are obviously plenty of people who do run businesses that prey on others … please be aware and be careful.
Posted under Opinion.
Tags: Money