What is the best way to showcase my knowledge & expertise with so much already being said everyday?

Hi, Doing lunch and learns is a great way to get the word out about your business. Here's the catch; who are you selling to? Employees may be very interested in what you have to say but do they get to make decisions on how training budgets are spent? It's a real question. In some businesses maybe yes, maybe no. People who are independent sales reps or commission-based may be more amenable to what you're offering. Think of real estate agents, independent sales reps, etc. They have the mindset of running their own business and may be interested in making an investment if you can demonstrate a return on their investment. If you're chasing corporate business, maybe a lunch and learn in a neutral locale is the answer and invite training managers or HR types from many different businesses to attend. Also, you need to question whether people will want a weekend retreat. In my experience, entrepreneurs and the self-employed like weekend events because it doesn't cut into business time. Employees prefer weekday events because they view the weekend time as their personal time. I hope this helps a little. Dave

I've been into bitcoin since 2011, and here's my brief take on where the opportunity lies. - Mining: Bitcoin mining is too difficult unless you invest a significant amount of money into it, think over $10,000 ... and it only becomes profitable if the price of bitcoin does another 10X (which it may. - Mining: Altcoins may be the quicker path to profits (http://coinmarketcap.com/) ... mine some altcoins and then converting them to bitcoin through one of the exchanges like cryptsy.com - Buying: I am waiting for another price crash before I buy back into bitcon, I'm hoping it will drop to $500. I see it rising back up over $2000 if it does drop, however now that the Chinese are into bitcoin, its a real possibility that the price will just keep rising. - Arbitrage: The price difference between exchanges is massive. You can now buy bitcoin at btc-e for $1000 and sell it instantly at mtgox.com for $1200. If you had $100,000 to arbitrage with, that is a cool $20,000 profit. The probem is that these exchanges may go down at any time and you risk losing your money/bitcoins. -Startup: You could build something with real value, although the competition now is fierce to build a product with real value that has not already been built. VC's are getting hot for bitcoin startups, check out press on Ripple Labs, BTC China, BitInstant, Coinbase, etc. There are some other opportunities, like buying a bitcoin ATM machine from a franchise (Robocoin, Lamassus) or something a little more in the grey area like starting a bitcoin casino. There's lots of opportunity in cryptocurrency if you look hard enough, I feel though that the window of opportunity for massive profits and value creation is narrowing due to the eyeballs looking at the bitcoin world right now. So whatever you want to do, take massive action and do it fast before you lose momentum and first movers advantage.

Practice makes perfect! If you have friends, family and/or mentors, practice for them and ask for constructive criticism. If you do it 100+ times and it's all positive feedback, there is no reason not to feel confident. I just went through @INcubes accelerator program - probably practiced my pitch 500+ times for over 100 different people. Everyone had little nuggets of advice that I held on to until the presentation was perfect. I'd be happy to take a call, listen to your presentation, provide some feedback and ask a couple questions to ensure your basis are covered.

Talk more. Game walkthrough comedian Markiplier had his voice deepen considerably over the past couple years. https://www.youtube.com/user/markiplierGAME Don't concern yourself with his CONTENT; find a video from 2 or 3 years ago of his and listen to his VOICE...then listen to a recent video to hear just how much it has changed. You obviously don't have two years. But merely by talking consistently will exercise your vocal cords and result in a deepened, stronger voice. A vocal coach is a paid option. Youtube searching for "how to improve my voice" came up with a bunch of video results.

Ok, so I'm not an expert in fashion but I know finance. Here is my take: These two would be considered "fast fashion" retailers or better yet, e-tailers. Fast fashion simply means that unlike Coach or American Eagle or Levis, these FF retailers don't have to try to predict fashion 6 months in advance risking a big flop and having to heavily discount items that don't sell. FF retailers simply 'scout' runway shows and buy wholesale from these designer labels. A lot of designers would like this because they are essentially getting a guaranteed sale plus added exposure. Another thing is that these FF retailers don't keep their inventory for months at a time, they do so in cycles of weeks. If a designer sells out, chances are they retailer will continue to come back for more designs from them. They are purchased wholesale, on cash basis account, payable on credit of 30 days or 90 days. The economics as you state it are a bit more complex that what I care to explain here, but essentially if you were to 'replicate & improve' what I would do is scout and offer purchase orders to designers, just like they do. First order completed as 50/50 paid in full/credit term payable 60 days or so (assuming you already have a store ready to move inventory and not waste those 60 days setting up). Aim to sell all inventory before 60 days and pay balance with revenues. Extend credit term to 90 days at increased inventory, aim to sell by 60 days and keep that cycle going. What this will allow you to do is to always have inventory being paid for by customers before they are due for you essentially having the clients pay for your expansion in inventory. The break even is simple, don't sell for less than what your wholesale amount is. Typical increase from wholesale commodity goods is 30%, try that margin. If you have to discount "heavily" at 15% or 25% you still get at least 5% safe margin