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Clarity

Brian Bemis

Dallas/Fort Worth Area

Texas Eviction Specialist

Founded Dallas Evictions which does non-payment of rent eviction services throughout the Texas area. We are not paper servers, but true negotiators in getting tenants out of residential properties.

We've been doing evictions since 1986.

$3.33/min

5 Calls

1 Review

about 1 hour
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Property Management

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Real Estate Broker - Property Sales

There are hundreds if not thousands of brokers in Texas. What separates the best ones from the rest would be defined by their results. I don't just talk a good talk I make things happen. I think outside of the box and approach each property as if it's completely different and a new solutions needs to happen.

http://www.bemisrealty.com

Property Management

We have been managing properties since 1986. Not only have we owned our own properties we have incredible knowledge on what works and doesn't work to get the best results with your investment or headache.

http://www.bemisrealty.com

Texas Residential Evictions

Dallas Eviction Services. We can assist owners with information regarding Texas Evictions and produce the proper forms. Have been doing evictions since 1986. 85% of the time we get the property back within 1 to 14 days through negotiation.

http://www.dallasevictions.com

Answers 19
Reviews 1

Answers

Brian Bemis answered

Does anyone have any experience with storage units? I am looking make my first investment in a business and am considering this as an option.

I've been involved with many types of investment portfolios. Owning storage units is a very specific type of investment in real estate and quite frankly the rules that apply to commercial buildings, apartment complexes and residential properties don't really come close. Keep in mind that just like movie theaters the biggest companies tend to have the better results with occupancy. Smaller mom and pop type places or single owned ones tend to struggle more often than not. Location, location, location is very very true in this type of investment. There are many upsides for sure, but there could be better investments with less hassle than trying to keep 200 to 500 units constantly rented. For the money one invest in this type of project they could have a commercial property with a triple net lease and reap much better returns. Of course there is a market in the right location, but it boils down to getting the right location for the right price. The amount of money you are wanting to invest may dictate the best returns on an investment.

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Real Estate Investment

Commercial Real Estate

Real Estate Investing

Brian Bemis answered

How to do marketing for a logo design company?

Three great ways to increase traffic. 1) Start an affiliate program. By doing this your links will be on websites which tend to raise your page rank. The higher the commission the more advertisers of your product you will get. 2) Create FIVE new domains and do 1 page websites. These five new domains will be searchable domains versus brandable domains. Let me explain. Brandable is Geico.com. Most people know it's insurance, but you would never know that by it's name. A searchable domain would be BestLogoCreations.com. This may be an active domain, but it's an example. When people do their searching they tend to you the word BEST & LOGO in their search. So you job is you need FIVE searchable domains that capture that market. Here are a few examples of how I would do it. Keep in mind they may be taken, but you have to think outside the box. And before I list these domains off the top of my head my disclosure to you is this. I own close to 1000 doimains. My main business website received 90% LESS business than my searchable domains. Read that again. My main domain does not produce me my business. My searchable domains produce the most business and because they have the key words they are searching in the domain I tend to be on the first page within 1 to 3 days of starting the website. So here are some ideas. BestBusinessLogos.com, 123LogoCreations.com, Logos4U.com, BestLogos247.com, DallasTexasBusinessLogos.com (city specific), WeCreateLogos.com, FirstChoiceLogoDesign.com, LogoDesigner4u.com 3) Every time you do job you should post that logo to your website, you should always have the buyer of the logo give you feedback and post that feedback, ask them to like your facebook page, get a linkedin account. It's the facebook for the business world. I have a template based email I send to every customer. 90% respond and give a glowing report. The other 10% don't check their emails or hate using the internet. I know these numbers because I use bananatag to see if they are getting the emails and approximately 10% are not opened. I said three, but let me give you one more. Find every website that allows you to post your business on the net for free. MerchantCircle, Craigslist, BackPage, etc. Good Luck. B

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Logo Design

Social Media Marketing

Marketing

Brian Bemis answered

Can you really make a full time income from Adsense or affiliate marketing?

What some attempt to do is make a living off of just one website. That's very very hard. You must have millions of hits and that is a daunting task to get to those numbers. One thing to consider is having a couple hundred niche domains. Content drives people to your sites. That can be self generated or people putting content on your websites (even better). Imagine making say $200 per year off of each website. Is that realistic? In some cases yes and in some cases no. I own over 1000 domains and have been doing this for around ten years. Some domains generate $50 a year and others generate $500 in a month. I know every business has it's own numbers, but what I am seeing throughout all my sites is it take around 1000 hits to generate about $3 to $9. So do the math. If you have 10,000 hits the high would be $90. Again, that varies based on the domain and how much links are paying, but those are averages. It takes a lot of work. It's not easy unless you have the next Facebook, PlentyofFish.com or myspace. Possible yes, but not a get rich quick business. 1000 domains cost around $12k to $18k for renewals, hosting and different software for the domains. That's per year! If you build a pretty good site you have a much better chance of selling the website for more money than you can make in revenue.

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Adsense

Affiliate Marketing

Brian Bemis answered

If choosing between spending your marketing budget on Google or Facebook, which way should advertisers go and why?

I think it really depends on what you are marketing. Different businesses will get different results. I've tried both and I personally get better results from Google, but that's not to say Facebook wouldn't give you a fair amount of business as well. I'd suggest considering several free sites to boost your business such as LinkedIn, Merchant Circle, Facebook page and possibly Craiglist. Where people tend to fail in my opinion is not being open to many options. Test those options and if it doesn't produce what you want then stop it. Also something to consider is what works today may not work next year so I'd suggest testing those same markets every year or two. Learn your conversion rates if possible. I can tell you what every lead cost me in my business. I can also tell you for every dollar I spend how much I can probably make. It will do you now good if you are just randomly taking business and don't ask the customer how did they hear about you and keeping track of every call. I've been in business 25 years this coming April and I have opted to not pay for advertising like I have in the past. I have made niche websites with key words in each website that attract literally 90% of my business. My approach was to start out with 5 websites and now it's literally up to around 30 that produce most my leads. Again, that may not work for you. Just be proactive and find every available free marketing spot as well as paid and start trying them all. You can always call me if you have any additional questions. Good Luck!

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Facebook Marketing

Facebook Advertising

Google AdWords

Brian Bemis answered

I need to recruit investment managers to be users of a new financial app. How to attract and convert them ?

Start a group in LinkedIn and reach out to potential prospects to join the group. Don't just talk about your product with every post. Post interesting stories about your industry and even post other types of information for entertainment. I started a property management group not to sell anything, but to share and I am close to 3,000 people with pretty much no effort. If I had applied myself I could have probably had 10k.

You could also have a one page landing page (website) that seeks leads with an online submit form. These work very well and they are open 24-7.

The way you convert these leads will be with a good presentation. Try it and tweak it for the best results. You are basically an actor with a script. Get a good script and don't deviate from it unless you see that it's not producing results or even taking to long. Change it often to try new things.

One last thing to keep in mind. What works today may not work six months from now. You have to always be trying new ways to get yourself out to the market place. If you can realize that success is being able to change and grow when needed you will be the tops in your class. Most fail because they do the same thing over and over.

I have been in business 25 years this coming April and I have changed to meet the demands of my clients and customers on a regular basis. One of the best ways to find out what they want is to ask them.

If I can be of service to you let me know and give me a call. I have help many businesses, hotels and apartment complexes reach higher financial goals and give them ideas they have never thought.

It can be overwhelming sometimes, but the excitement of something finally working is well worth the effort in finding what works best for your situation. Good Luck!

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Financial Analysis

Investments

Finance

Brian Bemis answered

If an existing company that never tried marketing online wants to try it, where should they start?

The type of business you are going to be marketing could determine if an online marketing campaign would be beneficial or not. Some businesses do better with drive by business if they are retail. I doubt very few people go online to find a Wendy's, McDonald's or even a Sonic, but if you have a service business the key element to starting any online marketing campaign is to have a decent website. It can be one page, but have a website. To keep it simple you might start with Google or Bing advertising and set your daily limits to fit your budget. There are many other ways to attract business online by giving a free quote. I started doing this a couple years back and one section of my business double literally overnight. I found that they didn't really want to talk to anyone they just wanted a quote based on their situation. Nailing down the best solution requires getting all the information you can about free websites to advertise as well as paid. Don't discount having multiply websites with different domains. I suggest search friendly domains, versus branding domains. A branding domain is one like Geico. We know they sell insurance, but if you come up with some strange word it's not going to be understood until you reach the masses. Try inserting a key term of your company in a domain and focusing on one product or service. I started out with two websites and now I have around 30 that produces 90% of my business leads. Learning some basic skills to maintain your own website is fairly simple and can be done by the average person if they can do Microsoft Word. It's actually that easy. I've been in business 25 years this coming April. If we can assist you with getting you started don't hesitate to give me a call. We have set up many businesses, hotels and apartment complexes. Good Luck!

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Online Marketing

Digital Marketing

Online Advertising

Brian Bemis answered

What are your thoughts about having the first customer also be an investor? Should I not go this route and only try to find funds elsewhere?

Getting seed money from people that know you and your business is a blessing in disguise. I've done it ONLY this way to increase the size of my business or buy real estate and it has always worked out well for me personally. I've never gone to a bank and this April I will have been in business 25 years. I feel it's a must way to do business. Good luck. B

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Start-ups

Early-stage Startups

Funding

Brian Bemis answered

Personal branding - using name as domain, especially when it's difficult to spell?

I believe there are are two types of domains. You have a brandable domain and a searchable domain. A brandable domain would be something like Ebay, Geico or Craigslist. Think about it though. You have to already know what they are doing or the type of business or it's useless to have that name in the beginning. When deciding on what the name is ultimately going to be it's really a gamble. I've seen some really cool names for business ventures that didn't make it. I currently see some really bad ones that are doing very good too. The product or service you provide will propel the name faster than the actual name. You get bonus points if it's catchy, easy to remember and has a cool logo. When I started my first business it was something simple. It was Allstar Leasing & Management. Back when I started we didn't have the internet as the main platform for a business so I picked something that would show first in the phone book. I then got slick and said let's create a second name that will start with a "B". The idea was if they passed the first listing they would catch me in the next listing. It worked. I then created one in the "C" category. Of course we are not in that realm of advertising now, so I started doing a couple of things that may help you. 1) I always pick five domain names minimum that are fun, easy and different. I pick two minimum that are searchable domains. Here's the example. Let's say your name is John Doe and you paint houses. I'd attempt to get JohnDoe.com but that's probably not an option if you know what I mean. It's taken. Then I would try eJohnDoe.com, JohnDoe247.com, Here goes the searchable domains. BestPainterInDallas.com, JohnPaintsDallas.com, JohnDoePaints.com etc, etc. 2) Buy your domains and create some professional logos either yourself (laughingbird software) or pay someone. Once you have them completed get a customer list, client list, family list and email them all your names and logos and let them pick it for you. When I picked my current Bemis Realty logo back in 1990 I created my logos and went to some clients over lunch and asked them what they thought. My biggest client hated it lol. He was an elderly gentleman and he thought it looked stupid. That logo is my trademark in a very large area of Dallas. I took off for many years and went back with that logo and it still is recognized. 3) Searchable domains in my opinion generate more web traffic. I own close to 1000 domains and test this theory on a regular basis. I can build a website with a searchable domain and usually that week I am on the first page of searches because what they are looking for is in the domain name. If you are selling widgets why not buy (your town) DallasBestWidgets.com. I know when I do a search I tend to always put "best" in the search. Best hotels, best restaurants, best schools etc. Why not use best in your domain? Clearly my searchable domains have produced 10 times more traffic than my brandable domain. Go with your gut feeling and pull the trigger. You send me your information and I will give you some domain ideas FOR FREE. If you pick them good for you. Good Luck. B

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Personal Branding

Brian Bemis answered

Without paying an attorney, how do you find out if these are patentable: 1) your unique way of doing business and 2) certain website features?

There are two things you should never attempt to get a discount. 1) Legal advice 2) Accounting. Getting generals answers to questions on such an important subject could cost you long term. I understand not wanting to spend money and doing it for as little as possible, however if you entire business is built on a concept and you have overlooked one item it could cost you everything. Hiring proper legal counsel is worth every penny and it will give you the confidence you need to further the venture. You could introduce some of your questions to a website called avvo.com which allows you to post a question for free and get answers from a licensed attorney. Keep in mind that the city you put will be where you get attorneys responding. I'd suggest if you live in a small town to put a large city instead. Another options is to pick one of the top 10 biggest cities in the US to get more experienced attorneys. Just my personal rule of them, but I don't pick anyone that has less than ten years experience UNLESS they have tons of local awards and recognition. Good Luck! B

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Legal Research

Legal Advice

Patents

Brian Bemis answered

I’m about to purchase an internet based business this month and wanted to know what due diligence should I do to make sure I won’t get scammed?

Like any business acquisition it's not always what your buying that needs to be evaluated the most but you yourself and your skills. When it's internet related I would say it has a completely different set of problems than a typical service business has. Here are just a few things you may want to consider:

1) Are you versed in handling the daily operations of a website?

2) Does this website require one or more full time staff to run?

3) If a small income generator are you prepared to fix the site when server problems exist, code changes, bug fixes and general website maintenance?

4) What platform or code is the website built. Is it an outdated PHP, hard to find personal for Perl or is it WordPress based etc?

5) Does this website or it's contents infringe upon any copyright violations?

6) Does it have a well written terms of service and privacy policy if users are able to submit content?

7) Has the domain name been banned or are there any alerts by virus scanning companies due to 3rd party links?

8) Is traffic bought or organic?

The questions related to purchasing any business could be countless. Many times you have to dive into a situation and take a leap of faith. I'd say the biggest things that plague website owners is getting code work done since there are so many code languages and people have different ways of solving problems. You can have ten people give you ten different answers on how to solve a problems and some of the problems related to a website are ongoing especially if it was not built proper code. If you understand code and can write your own code then you have an advantage. If not this could be your biggest challenge moving forward after purchase. Good luck!

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Investing

Mergers & Acquisitions

Purchasing

Brian Bemis answered

How do you determine a good, profitable yet sensible, price for a service that you offer?

Consider looking at how a pizza delivery service works. If they order the product online some automatically charge a service fee to initiate the service. You could charge a fee based on mileage from the store or a flat fee/percentage. Make it tip based as well for the driver. Of course you have to pay them a wage (the driver) put they will be taking tips which could help you even more considering they will typically show more customer service skills if they understand their income is based on tips. You may not actually make any money on the delivery. It could actually be a break even venture just to fill the gap in an area that one one else is doing. The approach is to get the word out that you do it and it's a form of advertising for your store. I have several businesses within my business. Two or three or not profitable at all. But these two or three businesses drive triple the income to other services where I do make a large profit. Ultimately I'd suggest sitting down with employees and doing a mastermind meeting. Offer say $100 To $250 bonus to the best idea. I will say it again. It's not always about making a profit on every thing you do. People offer services and products for sale to get them into the business. Eliminate as many expenses as you can by having drivers provide their own car and get some of those delivery signs they can put on their car like pizza places do. Again, it's a great way to advertise and fill at need at the same time.

One last thing. There is a company called Campisi's Pizza in the Dallas, Texas area. Their website is a perfect example of a delivery website, service fee and figuring a tip and paying that tip on the initial order.

Good luck and much success. b

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Small Business

Small Business Coaching

Startup Consulting

Reviews

Super insightful with lots of practical advice and anecdotes!

Luis Berga Source: Clarity

Member since July 2013