How to Turn a Terrible Bankruptcy Into a Profitable, Win-Win Joint Venture

The sad truth every business owner faces today is that sooner or later, 9 out of 10 of us in business will go bankrupt.

Bankruptcy is always a terrible thing for everybody affected. Everyone loses - customers, business owner, creditors, suppliers, employees.

NOBODY ever gets all the money they're owed (except secured creditors, who even then can lose out). And almost EVERYBODY loses something from a business gone bust.

BUT - there IS a little-known way to turn a business ALREADY bankrupt (that is, they've shut their doors, fired the employees and put the "For Lease" signs up) into an incredibly profitable, win-win-win money-making joint venture.

Let me explain.

In my opinion, the most valuable assets most average businesses have is not their equipment, inventory, accounts receivables or work-in-progress - it's their PHONE NUMBER and CUSTOMER LIST.

In many cases more money is spent over the lifetime of a business building the value of these two assets alone than almost any other business expense or investment. But for some reason, when the business goes bust and the liquidator is appointed, these assets are almost NEVER sold.

Which is very strange when you think about it. If a business goes bust, their phone number is still out there (on Yellow Pages Ads, directory listings, business cards, invoices, brochures, promotional materials and so fourth) and will be generating new enquiries for several months - even years - to come. And the existing customers are still there. All they need is someone else to buy from!

This creates an amazing opportunity to create a win-win-win joint venture, whether you're the owner of the business gone bust or a competitor.

BOTH of you can make money - ethically - and make the most of a bad situation by simply having the other business owner explain his/her situation to their customers and recommend you - the competitor - as the best alternative. Then, simply split the profits.

Plus, the bankrupt business owner can LICENSE his/her business phone number to a competitor and charge a percentage of profits created from ongoing leads. This works especially well if the phone number is in the Yellow Pages or any other directory or classified listing.

Everybody wins in a joint venture like this. The competitor wins because they'll be getting a ton of new business for no cost. The bankrupt business owner wins because he/she gets to keep a slice of their most valuable asset - their customer list - which may help pay off debts over time.

And - the creditors win because, if patient, they can often make a lot more of their money back over time than they otherwise would.

Oh, and in case you think it's sneaky or unethical to buy your competitors phone number and divert all the incoming leads to your business - you can simply tell these new potential customers that your competitor has gone bust and all new enquiries have been diverted to you. Most of them won't care anyway, as long as you offer the same value.

These joint ventures are incredibly easy to put together and can work more effectively than traditional joint ventures. Whether you're a joint venture broker, business owner or liquidator - this is a type of JV you can do all year long with PHENOMENAL results.

A Sample Hardship Letter For Loan Modification - A Template to Start With

The hardship letter can be the most intimidating part of the loan modification application process, and unfortunately most homeowners are lost on what exactly needs to go into a hardship letter for loan modification.

This sample hardship letter is to give you a basic feel for what you should include in your own hardship letter. There is a sample letter as well as instructions as to what you should bring up in each section. Everyone has a different story concerning their financial hardship, and you need to tell yours in order for your lender to take your loan modification proposal seriously.

Account number: [Your loan number goes here]

[The name your loan is under, usually your own.]
[Your residential address, which is also the address you are requesting loan modification on. you cannot get a loan modification on a piece of property you are not living on.]
[Your contact information, like phone number and email]

[If you know the name of the person who is going to read the hardship letter, use that, if not...]
To Whom It May Concern:

[Clearly state why you are writing this hardship letter for loan modification. Choose either we or I, it is your preference.]
I am writing this letter to address the reasons behind my falling behind on my mortgage payments with you and to formally request you work with us on a loan modification. I have fallen under various circumstances that have made it difficult to make even the simplest ends meet. I would like to work with your institution to meet more reasonable terms on my mortgage and stay in my home.

[Give a brief look into why exactly you cannot afford your monthly payments. Don't go into a big story -- try to keep it to one paragraph.]
I was laid off a couple of months ago and had been unable that pays well enough to afford all of my monthly expenses. I had kept up for the past two months through my savings, which has run dry. However, last week I acquired a position at a company that pays comparatively in comparison to my old position and I am to start in a couple of days. My wife, who had paid half of all the monthly expenses, has been diagnosed with X and cannot work anymore until she has been treated successfully. Luckily the doctors say she should be fine in about six months, but unfortunately we do not have enough to make ends meet and afford treatment as it is now.

[Explain how you are planning to get back on track.]
I did some calculations, and my new job will be providing enough to afford my monthly expenses as well as a monthly mortgage payment of $X. Once my wife is better we will completely financially stable again, but until then things are more than a little tight. We are requesting [State exactly the loan modification agreement you feel you can handle and they will approve of]

Thank you for your time and consideration, and I look forward to working with you towards an agreement that we can both handle.

Sincerely,

[Signature]

Remember, this is just a sample hardship letter for loan modification to get you started. You can go even more in depth with your letter -- as a matter of fact, it's recommended, but do not go into a long and drawn out story. Your lender will see that as a mound of excuses and could very well deny you based on it.

If you're interested in additional sample hardship letter templates to fit your specific situation, visit my simple, no nonsense loan modification guide and resource: http://Home-Loan-Modifications.info