The Steve Pomeranz Show

Biomimicry is a new concept which studies nature and uses those designs to solve human problems. So how does that apply to investing?

Biomimicry is a new concept which studies nature and uses those designs to solve human problems. So how does that apply to investing?

If your small business or non-profit is having trouble standing out in today's crowded and competitive markets, learn how to breakthrough instead of how to blend. 

If your small business or non-profit is having trouble standing out in today's crowded and competitive markets, learn how to breakthrough instead of how to blend. 

Just as in the time of Leonardo Da Vinci, the rich soil nourishes the seed. The age and place in which you live is what excites the mind to genius.

Just as in the time of Leonardo Da Vinci, the rich soil nourishes the seed. The age and place in which you live is what excites the mind to genius.

With Terry Story, a 31-year veteran with Keller Williams located in Boca Raton, FL During this week’s Real Estate Roundup, Steve spoke with Terry Story, a 31-year veteran at Keller Williams, about the state of the housing market amid the coronavirus crisis. They also discussed interest rates and whether this is a good time to sell your home. How The Coronavirus Is Impacting The Housing Market Clearly, the coronavirus is affecting every area of industry, just in different ways. Terry says that as far as the housing market is concerned, “the biggest impact that we’ve seen is the lowering of the interest rates.” Steve mentioned that many homeowners aren’t looking at the fact that they have an opportunity to save a lot of money by refinancing their mortgage at current interest rates that are at 3% or lower. People can also consider investing in a real estate property. “You borrow money at two and five-eighths and invest it in something that can throw off cash flow for you as an investment property,” Steve said. Terry agreed that it’s a great time to do a refi, or even do a cash-out refi and put some extra money in your pocket. The Issue With Inventory And Buying A Home Housing market inventories are still low right now. Terry reported: “A normal market—or what we call a balanced market  —is around six months’ worth of inventory. On a national level, we’re just at 3.1 or 3.2 months’ worth of inventory.” What’s important to understand, though, is that sellers hear about this and think that if they put their house on the market, they’ll get a lot of money for it. But Terry pointed out that sellers are going to get market value for their home, and it’s the buyers who generally determine what that value is. “One can argue that, at the end of the day, buyers buy based on condition, location, or price,” Steve said. Since you can’t move the home, it really becomes about condition and price. Terry agreed, noting that you can enhance condition to match price or lower the price to match the condition. Steve added that there is upward pressure on prices right now because as interest rates drop, the same payments can afford you a more expensive home. Keep in mind, though, that you should still buy a home with a price tag that’s within your comfort range. It’s A Good Time To Sell Price really matters when you’re selling your home. If you overprice your home, it won’t sell. But when a home is priced right, multiple offers roll in, and it sells quickly. “And right now is absolutely the right time to sell your home,” Terry said. “We’re coming into the spring season. We know inventory levels are low, but historically, there’s an uptick of inventory the closer we get to the end of the school season. Sellers could get ahead of the curve by putting their home on the market now.” On top of this, housing starts have increased 9% between December of last year and January of this year. Developers aren’t deaf. “They know there’s an opportunity because of the housing shortage”, Steve said. And there’s a chance that the economy and housing prices may soften. The bottom line is this: It’s a great time to sell. You may have a chance to sell your home at the top of a bull market in home prices. If you’ve been thinking about selling, then get your house on the market and get ahead of the curve. If you’d like to learn more about buying or selling a home, check out Keller Williams! Disclosure: The opinions expressed are those of the interviewee and not necessarily of the radio show. Interviewee is not a representative of the radio show. Investing involves risk and investors should carefully consider their own investment objectives and never rely on any single chart, graph or marketing piece to make decisions.

With Terry Story, a 31-year veteran with Keller Williams located in Boca Raton, FL During this week’s Real Estate Roundup, Steve spoke with Terry Story, a 31-year veteran at Keller Williams, about the state of the housing market amid the coronavirus crisis. They also discussed interest rates and whether this is a good time to sell your home. How The Coronavirus Is Impacting The Housing Market Clearly, the coronavirus is affecting every area of industry, just in different ways. Terry says that as far as the housing market is concerned, “the biggest impact that we’ve seen is the lowering of the interest rates.” Steve mentioned that many homeowners aren’t looking at the fact that they have an opportunity to save a lot of money by refinancing their mortgage at current interest rates that are at 3% or lower. People can also consider investing in a real estate property. “You borrow money at two and five-eighths and invest it in something that can throw off cash flow for you as an investment property,” Steve said. Terry agreed that it’s a great time to do a refi, or even do a cash-out refi and put some extra money in your pocket. The Issue With Inventory And Buying A Home Housing market inventories are still low right now. Terry reported: “A normal market—or what we call a balanced market  —is around six months’ worth of inventory. On a national level, we’re just at 3.1 or 3.2 months’ worth of inventory.” What’s important to understand, though, is that sellers hear about this and think that if they put their house on the market, they’ll get a lot of money for it. But Terry pointed out that sellers are going to get market value for their home, and it’s the buyers who generally determine what that value is. “One can argue that, at the end of the day, buyers buy based on condition, location, or price,” Steve said. Since you can’t move the home, it really becomes about condition and price. Terry agreed, noting that you can enhance condition to match price or lower the price to match the condition. Steve added that there is upward pressure on prices right now because as interest rates drop, the same payments can afford you a more expensive home. Keep in mind, though, that you should still buy a home with a price tag that’s within your comfort range. It’s A Good Time To Sell Price really matters when you’re selling your home. If you overprice your home, it won’t sell. But when a home is priced right, multiple offers roll in, and it sells quickly. “And right now is absolutely the right time to sell your home,” Terry said. “We’re coming into the spring season. We know inventory levels are low, but historically, there’s an uptick of inventory the closer we get to the end of the school season. Sellers could get ahead of the curve by putting their home on the market now.” On top of this, housing starts have increased 9% between December of last year and January of this year. Developers aren’t deaf. “They know there’s an opportunity because of the housing shortage”, Steve said. And there’s a chance that the economy and housing prices may soften. The bottom line is this: It’s a great time to sell. You may have a chance to sell your home at the top of a bull market in home prices. If you’ve been thinking about selling, then get your house on the market and get ahead of the curve. If you’d like to learn more about buying or selling a home, check out Keller Williams! Disclosure: The opinions expressed are those of the interviewee and not necessarily of the radio show. Interviewee is not a representative of the radio show. Investing involves risk and investors should carefully consider their own investment objectives and never rely on any single chart, graph or marketing piece to make decisions.

With JJ Ramberg, host of MSNBC’s Your Business, co-author of It’s Your Business: 183 Essential Tips that Will Transform Your Small Business and The Startup Club JJ Ramberg Tells How To Help Your Kids Become Successful Entrepreneurs JJ Ramberg, the host of MSNBC’s Your Business, has written a new book called The Startup Club which helps to teach your children how to become successful entrepreneurs through a fun, fictional story.  JJ says she was driven to write the book using characters starting businesses for her three young kids—ages 7, 8, and 10—who are entrepreneurs with lemonade stands, dog walking businesses, and slime businesses. The Startup Club JJ co-wrote The Startup Club as a work of fiction so kids can enjoy reading it, relate to the characters, get inspired, and learn from them.  Before she wrote the book, she tried looking for a fictional guide for kids but found none and decided to team up with her co-authors to write one.  She believes this book offers a real opportunity to teach kids about personal finance, basic accounting, business, and entrepreneurship in a manner that they can relate to, enjoy, and learn from.  The book is available in stores across the country and online at Amazon. Warren Buffett As A Young Entrepreneur Steve refers to Warren Buffett’s various jobs as a kid.  He delivered the Washington Post newspaper (only to own it later!), sold used golf balls, sold stamps, and buffed cars.  He also set up a pinball machine business and, by the age of 16, had saved up $56,000!  Buffett apparently then told his dad that he didn’t really think he needed college, but his dad likely prevailed because Buffett picked up a B.S. degree and an MBA. Why Early Entrepreneurship Is Important JJ Ramberg believes these early entrepreneurial adventures are incredibly important to kids’ futures for two reasons.  For one, they learn about money early in life, and statistics show that when parents talk to kids about money, children have far more success in dealing with money as they grow older.  Their early lemonade stand ventures start to teach them the value of money, how to make it, how to save it, etc. She suggests that parents take this a few steps further by using the right terminology and asking questions such as what their sales pitch is and how their signage uniquely represents their marketing strategy, pricing, product or service differentiation, etc.  In so doing, parents setup a mindset that will help their children throughout their lives. JJ sees entrepreneurship as not just about starting a business but about finding solutions to problems in a way that appeals to consumers. So, developing business skills early is incredibly important, and The Startup Club helps kids with that. Play Business Games With Your Kids JJ Ramberg also plays fun business-oriented games with her kids such as seeing an empty storefront and asking them what store they’d put in its place and why, what they’d sell, at what price points, etc., to help them figure out if their original idea was good or not. In answer to Steve’s question on teaching this to communities that do not have a culture of mercantilism, JJ believes basic courses on personal finance and entrepreneurship for kids are really fun and should be part of the school curriculum. Learning About Failure Steve adds that failure is a natural part of entrepreneurship and the human experience, and learning about failure in the early years is important because it sets realistic expectations, encourages learning from failure as a framework for future success...

With JJ Ramberg, host of MSNBC’s Your Business, co-author of It’s Your Business: 183 Essential Tips that Will Transform Your Small Business and The Startup Club JJ Ramberg Tells How To Help Your Kids Become Successful Entrepreneurs JJ Ramberg, the host of MSNBC’s Your Business, has written a new book called The Startup Club which helps to teach your children how to become successful entrepreneurs through a fun, fictional story.  JJ says she was driven to write the book using characters starting businesses for her three young kids—ages 7, 8, and 10—who are entrepreneurs with lemonade stands, dog walking businesses, and slime businesses. The Startup Club JJ co-wrote The Startup Club as a work of fiction so kids can enjoy reading it, relate to the characters, get inspired, and learn from them.  Before she wrote the book, she tried looking for a fictional guide for kids but found none and decided to team up with her co-authors to write one.  She believes this book offers a real opportunity to teach kids about personal finance, basic accounting, business, and entrepreneurship in a manner that they can relate to, enjoy, and learn from.  The book is available in stores across the country and online at Amazon. Warren Buffett As A Young Entrepreneur Steve refers to Warren Buffett’s various jobs as a kid.  He delivered the Washington Post newspaper (only to own it later!), sold used golf balls, sold stamps, and buffed cars.  He also set up a pinball machine business and, by the age of 16, had saved up $56,000!  Buffett apparently then told his dad that he didn’t really think he needed college, but his dad likely prevailed because Buffett picked up a B.S. degree and an MBA. Why Early Entrepreneurship Is Important JJ Ramberg believes these early entrepreneurial adventures are incredibly important to kids’ futures for two reasons.  For one, they learn about money early in life, and statistics show that when parents talk to kids about money, children have far more success in dealing with money as they grow older.  Their early lemonade stand ventures start to teach them the value of money, how to make it, how to save it, etc. She suggests that parents take this a few steps further by using the right terminology and asking questions such as what their sales pitch is and how their signage uniquely represents their marketing strategy, pricing, product or service differentiation, etc.  In so doing, parents setup a mindset that will help their children throughout their lives. JJ sees entrepreneurship as not just about starting a business but about finding solutions to problems in a way that appeals to consumers. So, developing business skills early is incredibly important, and The Startup Club helps kids with that. Play Business Games With Your Kids JJ Ramberg also plays fun business-oriented games with her kids such as seeing an empty storefront and asking them what store they’d put in its place and why, what they’d sell, at what price points, etc., to help them figure out if their original idea was good or not. In answer to Steve’s question on teaching this to communities that do not have a culture of mercantilism, JJ believes basic courses on personal finance and entrepreneurship for kids are really fun and should be part of the school curriculum. Learning About Failure Steve adds that failure is a natural part of entrepreneurship and the human experience, and learning about failure in the early years is important because it sets realistic expectations, encourages learning from failure as a framework for future success...

With Dick Lehr, Co-author of Black Mass, Author of Trell, Professor of Journalism at Boston University, Former Reporter at Boston Globe’s Spotlight team, Pulitzer Prize finalist Dick Lehr Steve’s guest, Dick Lehr is a professor of journalism at Boston University’s College of Communication and former reporter at the Boston Globe’s investigative “Spotlight” team where he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in investigative reporting.  Lehr was co-author of the New York Times bestseller and Edgar Award winner Black Mass: Whitey Bulger, the FBI and a Devil’s Deal and its sequel, Whitey: The Life of America’s Most Notorious Mob Boss. Black Mass was made into a film starring Johnny Depp. Trell In conversation with Steve, Lehr discusses his latest book, Trell, a page-turning novel that was inspired by the true story of a young man’s false imprisonment for murder, his daughter’s quest to prove her father’s innocence, and the lawyer and reporter who fought to free him. Trell is based on the story of a drive-by, gang-related shooting death of 12-year-old Tiffany Moore in 1988, and the daughter of the wrongly accused convicted man who persuaded a reporter and a lawyer to help her prove her father’s innocence. In Dick’s words, Trell is a novel largely aimed at young adults. The protagonist, Trell Taylor, is a 14-year-old girl from the Roxbury neighborhood in Boston, who has grown up with her father, Romero Taylor, in prison for a murder that occurred when she was a newborn baby girl. She marked her time by going to the prison to visit her father and always asking him, “Daddy, when are you coming home?” The main action in the novel happens when Trell is 14-years-old and all legal appeals have been exhausted. Her father’s lawyer throws up her arms and says the only recourse she can think of is to find a reporter willing to poke around and maybe uncover some new evidence. Trell is determined to help her father get home and so picks out the best reporter at The Boston Globe, Clemens Bittner, and convinces him to look into her father’s case in spite of his initial resistance. Over the course of the main action in the plot, the two of them work the streets of Boston gathering evidence to show that her father was wrongfully convicted of murder. Fact Versus Fiction Steve asks Dick to break down the difference between the novel, Trell, and the true story on which it is based. Dick Lehr says one of his last stories for The Globe was on an investigation into a wrongful conviction case involving a man who in prison for a murder he did not commit.  When the man was first arrested in the late 1980s, he had a newborn baby girl, and the case made headlines in Boston at the time. Dick used that backdrop as a scaffolding, a framework, on which to develop his novel, Trell, which is largely fictionalized but inspired by that last case that he had worked on as a reporter at The Boston Globe. The Economics Of Crime And Punishment Having set the stage, Steve pivots the conversation towards the theme of his show and asks Dick about the economics of the case and how much poverty was a factor in the real-life wrongful conviction on which his novel is based.  He asks to what degree economics factor in preventing poor families from getting fair trials. Dick answers that economics was a major factor because the convicted man and his family were struggling financially and lacked the resources to hire a high-powered law firm to defend him. He reflects that the economics angle in his novel,

Before I get started with today’s commentary, I want to mention that last week a listener wrote in with some strong feelings about comments I had made on the previous week’s show regarding the seriousness of the Covid-19 virus. She is a doctor and felt that we didn’t take the virus seriously enough, actually imparting information that might be dangerous to listeners. As I re-listened to the segment, I agreed with her that we might have been too cavalier in our comments at the time and not taken it as seriously as we should have. By way of explanation —not as an excuse—all of our interviews are actually pre-recorded and occasionally, events evolve faster than we can get to air. This sometimes makes our facts and comments out-of-date and, in this particular point in time, events rolled out at warp speed In this case, I don’t think we made that distinction, and I want to make sure that you all treat this deadly virus seriously, understanding that the facts strongly indicate a serious risk to life, and we should be following the specific guidelines from respected medical authorities. I always encourage you to contact us and ask us any question, which also includes your well-expressed thoughts on anything you think we could do better. And now getting on to today’s comments. Here are some interesting facts: Do you know where the word quarantine comes from?  According to the CDC, and I quote: “The practice of quarantine, as we know it, began during the 14th century in an effort to protect coastal cities from plague epidemics. Ships arriving in Venice from infected ports were required to sit at anchor for 40 days before landing. This practice called quarantine was derived from the Italian words quaranta giorni which means 40 days”. Also, Leonardo da Vinci survived a series of bubonic plagues that struck Milan between 1484 and 1485 killing almost 50,000 people—a full third of the city’s population, In true Da Vinci form, he got to work designing a city of the future to counteract the conditions which caused the plague to spread so lethally. A few years later, he redesigned the streets of Milan by widening them, the purpose being to spread people out so they weren’t so crowded and to redirect water to clean up the filthy conditions found in Milan and other medieval cities at that time. He drew up a system of canals for business efficiency and sanitation; he even created a city built on multiple levels, each level used for a different purpose. Of course, with so many things Da Vinci designed, it was too radical and far ahead of its time. After all, this was 500 years ago, so nothing was ever built; but as with so many of his ideas, modern thinking puts a fresh light on his genius. Now I’m going to switch gears here because I’d like to spend some time talking about the $2.2 trillion bill which was passed by the Senate but awaiting a House vote, as I record this.  (I’m sure it will be passed by the time you hear this commentary.) This bill will give most Americans money to put in their pocket. Here Are The Facts As Written In The Washington Post: * The bill will provide $1,200 payments to adults with annual incomes up to $75,000, plus another $500 per child. Three kids—that means another $1,500. Who Exactly Qualifies For A Payment? * Individuals earning up to $75,000 a year will be eligible for the full $1,200 check. As you make more money, that $1,200 is reduced until it goes to zero at $99,000. This is all based on adjusted gross income. * If you’re married, just double that. Married couples will get $2,400 if their adjusted gross income is under $150,000 a year. As with individuals, the check amount is reduced until you get to $198,000 when it hits zero. * If you are head of household, which is typically a single parent with children, you’ll get $1,200 if your income is $112,500 and below.

The art of storytelling gets an update from Carmine Gallo who shows how entrepreneurs and big business alike can communicate like the best TED Speaker.

The latest luxury real estate market trend reveals a significant shift in what homebuyers are looking for. Basically, they’re looking to buy in a neighborhood that offers a "Vertical Country Club."

Billionaires Howard Marks and Warren Buffett say the Coronavirus may have given you one of the best stock buying opportunities in years.