Lytis Financial

Fund raisers are a great way to raise money for your school, sports team or other type organization.

What’s also nice about them is that they are a very sociable way to earn money for a good cause because you’re out there meeting the community. For younger participants, fundraisers can even be an early lesson in sales and marketing.

A very high-profit fundraising item right now is candles which are fun and very easy to sell because of their popularity. Candles are a much better choice than food or over-priced novelty items that tend to generate lower profits. They are a rapidly growing option that is more appealing to the public because they are a non-junk food alternative to fund raisers.

Candle fund raisers can also be very lucrative because they come in so many different varieties of size, color and scents creating a great earning potential. For school fundraiser such as band or sports teams, you can purchase and resell candles in your school’s colors. For any type of organization, especially

religious congregations, think about holiday themed candles for those times of the year.

If your group has decided to embark on a candle fund raiser, a plan of action is a very important step for reaching your fund raising goal. You should start by determining the amount of money you want to raise.

Next, figure out how many people in your organization are willing to take part in the campaign and then set your deadlines by deciding on when your group is planning to start and stop the fundraiser.

Research the candle manufactures that get involved with fundraisers and supply these types of items for that purpose. You’ll want to start comparison shopping so that you can ensure the most profit. Once you’ve got your partnership in place, the next step would be to determine the ‘new’ sale price of each candle and the number of candles each participant in the fund raiser will need to sell in order to achieve your goal.

Be sure to let everyone involved know what the expectations are and encourage them to use their best selling skills. Also, if you’re using brochures to sell the candles, you’ll want to supply your sellers with everything they’ll need to make meeting your fund raising objective as organized and easy as possible. Give them plenty of order forms and make them aware of shipping and delivery time periods so that they can let their customers know when to expect their items.

By following a few guidelines and setting a fair, but profitable pricing structure, your organization
should be well on its way to reaching its fund raising target! Good Luck!

And lastly, Have a very Merry Christmas!

Here is a bit of a break away from our norm, but, in the Christmas holiday season, this is one of the times that others need the most help.  Here are some things to consider that after all is said and done, you yourself will feel much better about, all around – remembering, it’s better to Give than to Receive. 

Each year as Christmas season begins to go into full gear, we hear the complaint that Christmas has become commercialized and we have forgotten “The true meaning of Christmas.”  When we make that observation, it must come from a nostalgic time, perhaps when we were children, and we remember Christmas being about the sacrifice of the Christ child and that the gifts we give reflect the gift of life that God has brought to us.

Even if our Christmas time is not full of religious imagery, the stories and carols and traditions of the Christmas season point to values that are more about giving to each other out of the heart and being together as family more than the economic side of the season and the hustle and bustle that can weary the soul more than bless it.

That is why this year it might be a time to think about trying a different kind of Christmas.  If you feel that your family has gotten too bogged down in the commercial aspect of the holiday, maybe there is way to remind each other that Christmas is about giving between people and sharing with others in order to allow there to be “peace and good will among men”.

One way to bring the spirit of the season back is to reintroduce your family to the idea of doing something for someone less fortunate in a very dynamic and meaningful way.  Oh sure, we like to give a few coins to the Santa on the corner collecting for the Salvation Army or buy a toy for the tree at the mall that will eventually be given to a poor child.  But you and your family do not get to enjoy the thrill of actually giving to someone less fortunate and enjoying the fellowship, the gratitude and the since of bonding that kind of giving, when done face to face, can bring. You might be surprised to see how the homeless interact during the Christmas season – even trying to provide for others when they themselves have nothing.

To get to that “next level” of making giving to others meaningful, nothing can beat a good family community service project at the holidays to bring home the true meaning of the season to everybody in the family.  There are dozens of causes around the holidays that are always in need of lots of help that you can volunteer your family to be involved with during the Christmas season.  If you feel that your family might need to starter project before actually going and working with the less fortunate, you can help with the collection of goods and the organization of what is given in preparation for delivery. 

Many civic organizations collect mountains of toys, clothing and canned goods that will be split up into packages to be delivered to thousands of families in need of such things during the holidays.  You can find such an organization and make an appointment to meet at their warehouse and help sort out the goods that have come in and package them up for delivery.  Its hard work but as you and your family work to lovingly prepare these presents for others, it is so much more meaningful and in touch with the spirit of the season.  Everybody will remember that Christmas fro a long time to come.

But to really make the joy of Christmas become the joy of reaching out to others, serving Christmas dinner to the homeless or to those who are down and out will be an experience that will change the way your children view Christmas forever.  You don’t have to necessarily open your home to strangers to show hospitality to others.  It is understandable that having people you don’t know around your table at home could be a little frightening and more than you are ready to take on.

But if you can include with your Christmas eve or Christmas day festivities that after the gifts are opened and big Christmas meal is done, everybody gets in the cars and goes to the shelter to share their love and to serve dinner to others the way they have to generously received, that will go a long way toward capturing the sprit of the holiday for those you are helping and for your family as well.  For all involved, it will truly be a different kind of Christmas.

God Bless and Merry Christmas!

Jake -

When it comes to leasing equipment, understanding what it can do for your business is only part of the equation. Understanding and choosing the best lease for your business is another matter altogether. The market is primed for the use of equipment leasing to expand, grow and hone a businesses assets, but at the same time there is little material out there to help a business judge what’s a good lease and what isn’t.

What You See Is What You Get

There is an old truism that says you get what you pay for. When it comes to equipment leasing, you want a lease that clearly defines your responsibilities versus the lessor’s responsibilities. You really want it to be what you see is what you get. So how do you go about choosing the best type of lease for your business?

Shop the options is the best way to get started. If you know what type of equipment you need, then comparison-shop the options with different companies. Some key figures to make sure are included in any lease option are:

• Cost Per Month
• Maintenance Contract
• Cost of Maintenance Contract
• Training Available
• Customer Service
• Availability for Software and Hardware Support
• Obsolescence Upgrades
• Term of Contract
• Renewal Terms

When it comes to long-term leases, it’s better to set the terms from the outset to deliver the best possible results to the company overhead. When it comes to maintenance, many leasing companies package that as a separate component. If a piece of equipment fails altogether, it’s likely the leasing company will replace it. But what if the piece of equipment goes down? Will there be a 2-hour, 4-hour or 24-hour response time to getting a service technician on-site and the equipment back into operation?

This information is critical because when a piece of equipment is operable, it’s just a piece of junk taking up room and preventing the business from operating normally. Upgraded maintenance contracts will have to be negotiated. But there’s also the concern about what happens when a newer, better model of equipment becomes available? Does the lease terms support an upgrade to this model of equipment or will it require waiting until the contract is up for renewal?

Beware of Hidden Costs

By getting the information up front, a business can avoid hidden expenses. They can plan budgetary requirements and potentially for long-term leases, bring up training requirements for their staff. This is another concern that some companies don’t consider when negotiating a lease. Will the operator of the equipment receive training from the leasing corporation? Do they have representatives that understand the operation of the equipment and provide certified instruction? If not, how is that handled?

While this will not be a concern for every piece of equipment leased, for those businesses that require certified training it’s good to know if it will be available. Also in the case of leasing computer equipment, how is software licensing handled? Is packaged into the hardware lease or do those licenses need to be obtained separately?

Finally, understanding the renewal terms can help circumvent a rise in cost for renewing an equipment lease. Some contracts will allow locking a price for a period of five years. The lease may only last two years, but at the renewal point the cost is locked in for that particular piece of equipment. When it comes to a long-term budgetary forecast, every piece of information can help.

Clearly defining what an individual contract delivers from a leasing company can provide a business with the opportunity to comparison shop. By comparing the different options, price levels and services from one leasing company to the next, a business will be choosing the best equipment lease for their business.

Jake-