Introduction   Recession Proof your Life   Recession Proof Your Business   Welcome Aboard!   Practical Prosperity   Grateful Referrals   Buy the Book!   Hear Me Speak!     Dear Appreciated Friends and Clients, We have passed the mid point of winter, and are headed to spring.  The earth reminds us that everything is a cycle.  Winter, spring, summer and fall.   Repeat.  We see and feel the cycles all around us.  Yet when the economy is cycling, we can become “Chicken Little” and report the sky is falling.  Economies expand and they contract.  Just like the seasons, they cycle.  The fact that it is winter does not mean that spring will never come again.  Just the opposite.  Winter is the prelude to spring. Recession is the prelude to growth.  It is part of the cycle. Just like we have long hard winters, sometimes we have long hard recessions.  And just like we have long lovely springs, we have long lovely economic expansions.  Most economists do not feel we are in for a deep recession.  Just a slowing of the economy.   And when we are predicting the future, just like predicting the weather,  some predictions are on target and some miss the mark. This month I have written two articles for investors.  One for business owners, those people whose primary investment is their own business and a second article for public market investors.  My intention is to offer a different perspective, one that allows you to thrive and prosper in every economic season. May prosperity be yours, Mackey Back to Top

Recession Proof Your Life You can prosper in an expansion and you can prosper in a recession.  The keys are: Engage Empower Enrich Envision Engage Before you think money, think dreams and goals.  What is important in your life.  What are your blessings?  Are you present to the good in your life right now in this very moment? How do you want to create your tomorrows?  You are the artist of your life and it is your canvas.  Be bold, big, and bodacious.  Empower Now that you know what you want, create a plan.  Our version of this process is a prosperity plan.  Traditional planners would call it a financial plan.  Whatever you call it, get one.  Flying thru economic shifts without a plan, is like getting on a roller coaster that has no end.  Scary stuff!   Markets cycle, shift, expand, grow and contract.  Your plan takes this into consideration.  While there are no guarantees, economic modeling and computers give us the ability to run sophisticated financial analysis in seconds.  Take advantage of technology. Prepare your own plan or engage a professional.  Remember your prosperity or financial plan is never complete without an asset allocation plan.  Your asset allocation plan is the foundation of your portfolio and this is built around your life goals. Enrich Enrich your life by building your assets.  Did you know that 80% of today’s millionaires acquired their wealth by saving a small amount of money over a long period of time?  With your plan in place, now is the time to execute.  Save, invest wisely, insure properly, reduce your taxes, get your wills and trusts in order.  Make the changes called for in your plan. Envision You have your goals, your plan and you are executing.  Your bank and investment accounts are growing and you are feeling confident.  When you aren’t so confident, you refer back to your plan. Envision is giving yourself permission to look again.  Last year you decided you wanted a lake house.  This year you are ready to forgo the lake house for an early retirement.  No need for judgment.   Revisit your plan and see what changes are needed to accommodate this decision. Life is what happens on your way to your goals.  Remember to enjoy the journey along with the results.              Engage, dream big Empower yourself with a plan.. Including an asset allocation plan. Answer the question, how will I invest my money, before you invest! Enrich, pay yourself first. Take the steps necessary to put your prosperity plan in place. Your dreams are worth it! Envision, monitor your plan and give yourself permission to change your mind.  In this time, may prosperity be yours.  Back to Top

Recession Proof Your Business With every turn of the radio or television knob or click on internet explorer, someone is squawking about a recession.  Are we in a recession?   Were we in a recession months ago?  Will it be short and sweet?  Will it last for several years? There are always factors outside of our control.  Any economic contraction is just one of many.   As an entrepreneur, the fun and excitement is in developing a strategy for success in any environment. You can prosper in an expansion and you can prosper in a recession.  The keys are, Planning Tracking Creativity Responding Planning To survive and thrive in any environment requires that you plan.   What is your annual plan?  What are your 3 to 5 year goals?  Set your annual objectives: revenue, cost and profit Get specific about your results. How many new customers do you need? What is your average customer worth? Develop a marketing focused strategy  Identify the operational areas that need to change and improve to support your objectives and marketing strategy Do you have lines of business that compliment each other, so that when one is down the other is up?  Do you need a better marketing strategy?   Do you need to execute better on what you already have?  What are the 4 or 5 key things your business really needs to improve upon?   Identify them, set your objectives and delegate responsibility for execution. One of my favorite planning resources is the one page strategic plan at www.Gazelles.com Tracking Once you have a plan, track your results.  What are the key performance indicators in your business?  What numbers tell you if you are on or off track?  What are your key cost relationships you must meet to be successful in your business? If you cannot answer these questions, you are not thriving in any environment, and a recession may turn into your worst enemy.  In order to manage, grow and develop a business, you have to measure and monitor your results. That doesn’t mean you have to look at endless reams of detailed data.  Trend analysis, using a rolling 12 month approach is by far superior, and you will also enjoy using this approach.  Talk to your Controller or CFO and ask them to implement a key performance indicator monitoring system in your business.   Don’t have those capacities in house?  Outsource!   We can help.  Creativity Now is the time to think outside the box.  What is your uniqueness?  If you are not sure, now is the time to dig in and find it.  Don’t have a unique offering?  Develop it.  Growing and thriving in businesses requires a unique offering.  It may be in the way you deliver their product or service, or it may be the product or service itself.   It may be your customer experience.  If you know how you are unique and can articulate that to your “A” client and prospect, you can soar as your competitor’s contract.  Need some assistance in this area?  Check out www.SmartAdvantage.com Responding You have your plan, you are monitoring your key performance indicators and you have your creativity cooking.  As a small to mid size business, your advantage is in your ability to respond to your results. What are your key performance indicators telling you?  Do you need to contract your staff?   Do you need to reduce your own salary and tighten your personal belt?  What areas of spending are not critical to your business?  Watch your receivables like a hawk.   Now may be a time when your customers go out of business.  Better to lose a sale than write off a bad debt. Be careful with your marketing budget.  This is usually not a time to forgo marketing.  It may, in fact, be a time to expand your marketing budget.  Don’t use your line of credit just because you have one.   Know why you are tapping into your line.  If it is because your receivables and inventory are getting old, take steps to improve your collection procedures and inventory turns.  Know what level of capital you need in your business.   Be willing to personally invest additional capital in your business.   Take care of your business and it will take care of you.  What are the key points? All change creates opportunity. Don’t be a Chicken Little – if the sky is falling, get out of the way and find a new path Use your time wisely. Develop a plan for your business. Monitor your plan. Track your daily, weekly and monthly key performance indicators. Brainstorm and expand your creativity and uniqueness.  Respond appropriately by being nimble, and moving with skill and control. In this time, may prosperity be yours.         NOTICE!! We are now actively updating our website with events, company news and educational tools.  Please be sure to hop onto our website a www.cultivatingprosperity.com to see the new additions.   Back to Top

Welcome Aboard!  Mackey Advisors is pleased to welcome aboard Jeffrey Nye and Pamela Vargo to our firm. Jeffrey Nye Jeff has been a CPA since 1980 and has worked for a large, regional firm in Middletown, OH for just over 25 years. Jeff joined our firm last month and is working on a part time basis while he also holds a CFO position for a poured concrete wall supply business. Jeff will have been married for 34 years this coming June to his blushing bride, Henrietta.  They have 3 sons, Jason, 26; Thomas, 24 and Daniel, 19. Jeff has lived in Ohio most of his life other than a brief time in Kentucky.  He received his degree from Miami University.  Jeff enjoys acting in local community theater. Most recently, he performed in “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” at the 1st United Methodist church in Middletown.  He and his wife attend Holy Family Catholic Church in Middletown where he has sung in the church choir for many years.

Pamela Vargo Pam Vargo joined our firm in December of last year and has stepped in as the Office Administrator.  She comes to us with a medical background. Pam has been employed for over 25 years working in the medical field. She has been an optician and lab manager and, most recently, she was working with a computer software company offering practice management software for doctor’s offices, focusing on the specialty of Optometry and Ophthalmology enhancing the office with EMR (electronic medical records.)  While with this company, she worked in the Technical Support, Implementation/Training and Sales Departments.  Living in California all of her life, Pam recently relocated from Los Angeles to Union, KY to enjoy life in the slow lane. She has two children, a son, Christopher, 33, who is an IT Tech in Los Angeles and is expecting his first child this April (actually April 15th!) as well as a daughter, Lisa, 32, who is the Office Manager at her church in Porterville, CA. Lisa has two children; a son, Ty who is 5 and a daughter, Becca who is 3. Nothing is sweeter than hearing over the phone "I yuv you, gamma!" In her spare time, Pam enjoys cooking and entertaining friends, attending the theater and opera. We are delighted to have both of these newest additions in our office! Back to Top       Practical Prosperity   As we approach the height of tax season, amidst fears of a slower economy and possibly rising tax rates, it’s a great time to checkup and ensure that you are taking advantage of every possible tax savings opportunity afforded to your or your family.  A spousal IRA is a great option for a stay-at-home spouse to save for retirement.  This is often forgotten because the rules for a traditional IRA require that the IRA owners earn at least as much as they deposit each year. You can save up to $4,000 for a stay-at-home spouse (subject to some income limits) and deduct it from your taxable income -- and, if they're over 50, even more.  Still, that deduction alone could easily reduce your annual tax bill by $1,400. The deduction for a spousal IRA phases out between 156K and 166K. I have been approached recently by a number of clients concerned about credit scores, fraud, and those pesky offers that come weekly declaring you are “Preapproved” with some credit card company.  A quick visit to www.optoutprescreen.com will give you options to opt out and save a few trees in the process.  Now that is wildly prosperous! By Andy Pulsfort     Grateful Referrals Can you remember the first time we met and discussed your goals and needs?   We want you to pass that feeling along to a friend, a co-worker or a family member who you know needs our help. We are DELIGHTED to announce that in 2007 we met our growth goals because of generous referrals from our clients and friends.  Thank you!  Our 2008 goals are set and they are ambitious.  To meet those goals, we will need your help!   If you know of someone that would benefit from our help, please pass along their name and number and I will contact them myself.  Thank you for helping us meet our goals!   Call me at 859-331-7755 ext 103 or e mail me at Mackey@CultivatingProsperity.com With gratitude, Mackey   Buy the Book! The Dynamics of Money  Mackey’s new audio book, the Dynamics of Money, gives you the power to discover your personal key, unlocking the door to your true potential for unlimited prosperity. Through the power of the Narrative Tradition of The Enneagram, you will hear the three exemplars of each of the nine personality types sharing their unique perspectives on the subject of money and prosperity. Order Your Copy Today! The Intersection of Joy and Money Warning!! This book will: ●    Expand your confidence around financial decision-making. ●    Increase your prosperity consciousness. ●    Create a more prosperous and abundant life. Change your relation with money today! Hear Me Speak Thursday, February 21, 2008 Washington Country Club, Washington CH, OH  Mackey will be presenting Cultivating Your Personal Prosperity on Thursday, February 21st 2008 at the Washington Country Club in Washington CH, Ohio.  This is a free event that is open to the public, but space is limited.  The evening begins at 4PM with her interactive presentation and will be followed by dinner.  Please contact Pam at 859-331-7755, extension 100 to RSVP or enail Pam@CultivatingProsperity.com. Friday, February 29, 2008 UC Campus Mackey will be addressing the students of  Architecture at the UC Campus to discuss financial concerns and dealing with debt.   Back to Top