Click here to read the full article on Melody from The Suffolk Times
I was really excited to receive the article in the mail today, and since its release I’ve received word back that a buzz has been created in my hometown about what I’m doing now. It may have also possible business opportunities up as well..

I will admit though, there were definite pros and cons to the article–some of which I’ll have to learn from for future media coverage opportunities.

Pros

1. The article is on Page 17, which is pretty decent, but was featured as a top story for about two weeks on the Suffolk Times website

2. The reporter included the information and picture I presented to her from my original press release, which basically lets me know that sending press releases are a wonderful way for securing future stories from the media.

3. The article technically takes up two pages both on page 17 and continued on page 38–it was certainly lengthier than I thought it would be.
4. I have gotten good response–it may be opening up some new business opportunities within my hometown, and apparently everyone has been asking my family about what I’m doing..
5. All in all it’s a well-written article..

Cons

1. My problems with the article are based on some of the content. Part of it may cause people to draw to certain conclusions that aren’t true. First, Life’s Good, Inc. is my funding partner–not my parent company. There is a legal difference.

2. The hedge fund generalization leads to dangerous conclusions. It makes it seem like ALL hedge funds are risky. The investments in our portfolio are not (and right now I really hate SEC regulation because I can’t go any further), and are proven to bring about substantial return without losing money. Inquire for more information..
3. With this market, you can’t put the words risk and investment [strategy] in the same sentence. Or else people will go running away.
4. She used short selling as a hedge fund example. I hate examples–they are referenced as “the norm” in that particular industry, so if a recent hedge fund doing short selling has done bad it brings down the entire hedge fund industry.
5. The entire paragraph

…..If the vehicle is risky in a market where real estate is at the center of today’s economic crunch, Ms. Nieves believes Incentivest is well positioned to take advantage of an opportunity.

It makes it seem like I’m not currently in the position for the investment aspect to be having success. ???? The success of the hedge funds has been COMPLETELY UNAFFECTED by the current market!

6. I wish the article spoke more on FINANCIAL THERAPY…geez, the investment portion is important and all, but the financial therapy portion is more important to me..

See..here is my concern.

Many people don’t read an entire article, or scan through it for only the important information. So if they are picking out words like “risky” in relevance to Incentivest then the article is subconsciously giving off the hedge funds as unsecure investment vehicles. That’s the LAST thing I would ever want. People will jump to the conclusion of a company without reading anything up on the company, inquiring for more information, et cetera, et cetera…

I take full responsibility for the misunderstandings though–and this has been a learning experience as for what EXACTLY to say to the media so they don’t twist things up. I should’ve told the reporter the exact investment so that she would understand without applying dangerous metaphors.

Also, my major disappointment is that the concept of Financial Therapy is so important to me–I really wanted it to be the forefront of the article. The investment is there to act as a way to stablize finances while we fix the most important area of your finances–the way your mindset is programmed in relation to spending money. You grow capital easily, but knowing how to spend it efficiently without letting emotions interfere is the key to financial success.

Ah, next time I guess.

What do you think? Comment and let me know…

Final Confessions: My business is my baby, it needs to come out in the best light at all times..

I finally received the new article on Incentivest, in the mail today. Although parts of the article bother me, feel free to take a look and share your comments..

Sharing Smart Money Secrets
Greenport grad advises students
By Julie Lane

A 2006 Greenport High School graduate forced by lack of money to quit college is now advising other students on ways to secure their financial and educational futures.
Ms. Nieves was in her freshman year at Philadelphia University, where she was enrolled in a five-year architecture program, when finances forced her to drop out. After that her determination to succeed in life doubled. Today she runs a financial consulting company in Philadelphia dedicated to helping others along the road to Higher education.
“I won’t accept getting to the age of 40 or 50 having done nothing with my life,” Ms. nieves said about the motivation that led her to start Incentivest, Inc., a spin-off of Life’s Good, Inc., a Philadelphia-bsed financial services company that manages a real estate-backed hedge fund. Hedge funds, as the name implies, hedge their investments, opening themselves to greater risk, but also the potential for greater rewards. Their methodology sometimes enables them to offset potential losses in the markets in which they invest by using various techniques such as selling short on their investments.
If the vehicle is risky in a market where real estate is at the center of today’s economic crunch, Ms. Nieves believes Incentivest is well positioned to take advantage of an opportunity.
Its mission is to create social change by revitalizing Philadelphia, removing blight from the historical city and using hedge fund philosophy to continue to capitalize on what has been a successful investment policy for its parent company, Life’s Good.
“Despite my grade point average in my first semester and my recommendation for honors in my second. I felt like I was drowing in expenses,” she said. “Two years ago, no one could tell me I wasn’t going to be an architect. Now, two years later, I want other students to know they don’t have to settle for poor career expectations because of insufficient funds for college.”
Looking back, she said her financial difficulties in college ruine her “entire spirit and drive” and she thinks she could have better prepared to face the financial realities of paying for higher education.
“I should have saturated all the scholarship applications that were available, not just the ones that were the biggest dollar amount or were less time-consuming,” she said.
But once she made the hard decision to withdraw from college and began assessing her options, she literally talked her way into a marketing training program with Life’s Good. A friend had told her about the company and its entreprenuerial spirit and “unlimited opportunities for individual growth.”
Ms. Nieves began researching the marketing world and actually developed her own plan for what two years later would become Incentivest. She pitched the idea to Life’s Good CEO Robert Stinson, explaining how she thought he could apply his investment strategies to students who needed to save money for college.
Whatever his initial reaction, she heard nothing for several weeks. So she sent Mr. Stinson a video documentary demonstrating her talents for drawing and speaking and her office skills. She offered to start as a volunteer to prove herself, but the next day, he phoned and insisted she join the staff — and the payroll.
Her first duty was assisting in creating ads, newsletters, and brochures for Life’s Good. Because she had been dabbling in Web design since she was 12, Ms. Nieves was able to maintain the company’s Web site, create logos, graphics and Web sites for affiliated companies and continue to learn the ins and outs of Life’s Good investment activities.
“I slowly created a reputation in the company and with its affiliates that I was very hardworking and promising,” she said. It wasn’t very long before Mr. Stinson suggested Ms. nieves return to the original idea she had pitched to him when they first met.
She is now responsible for creating the plans and procedures, marketing and whatever else is needed to build the fledgling company, while he filed the necessary paperwork and put up the money, she said.
She’s currently pursuing the course work to become a certified investment advisor and is studying neural linguistic programming, which the company uses to offer “financial therapy” to its customers.
“Financial therapy is a process of evaluating and reprogramming your mindset towards money. We offer tips and techniques for our clients to use to continue their financial success beyond just the investment, ” Ms. Nieves said.

Are there any pangs for the career in architecture she left behind?
“I still live close to Philadelphia University, so passing by it on a regular basis is sometimes hard for me,” she said. “As much as I wanted to be an architect, perhaps the experience was needed so that I could create this company.” She says she’ll probably go back to college eventually, but is now thinking that would be to pursue a business degree.

The October 23, 2008 issue of The Suffolk Times
This post was kinda long so I’ll continue my review on the next post.

Final Confessions: Expect both the pros and cons of media coverage.

Between September 29-30th, I was being interviewed for media coverage by my hometown newspaper Suffolk Times. After submitting a recent press release of the developments at Incentivest, Julie Lane, (a reporter I met when I and two co-workers went to my hometown to speak for Black History Month) contacted me for an interview.

Luckily I opted to anwser the questions via e-mail. I didn’t want to stutter for my first media coverage spot over the phone. She asked me questions about how my confidence in my company during the current market, and how Incentivest’s Financial Therapy basically all started.

I just saw today online, a clip of the article online as one of the top stories for Suffolk Times. Yay! When I get the full copy of the paper in the mail, I’ll post it on here so that everyone can view and read it.

Entrepreneur has advice for students
Greenport grad offers the path to paying for college
By Julie Lane
A 2006 Greenport High School graduate forced by a lack of money to quit college is advising other students how to secure their financial futures.

Final Confessions: Media coverage is fun!