going on my first ever buisness trip.....

[thefed]

Not that I'm excited, but it's a new thing for me. I work for a small finance company (30 employees)....and they dont do things like this normally.

But the owner wants me and my boss to go with him to Jacksonville FL to help forge a long term partnership with an outfit down there.

Should be interesting to say the least. I just never expected him (owner) to want to take a young guy like me there with him for this important 3 day visit.

maybe he likes me?

 

[MasterBlaster]

I remember when I was a youngun' and I used to really enjoy traveling on business. I stayed in nice hotels, ate in pretty good restaurants, and got a rental car. Expense account nirvana. Oh what fun for a 25 year old.

Fast forward 25 years...

Now I'd rather stay home with the family and eat a hot dog. Business travel isn't so much fun anymore.

There's no place like home...There's no place like home...

That's kind of funny how your perspective changes.

 

[Cut-Throat]

Not that I'm excited, but it's a new thing for me. I work for a small finance company (30 employees)....and they dont do things like this normally.

But the owner wants me and my boss to go with him to Jacksonville FL to help forge a long term partnership with an outfit down there.

Should be interesting to say the least. I just never expected him (owner) to want to take a young guy like me there with him for this important 3 day visit.

maybe he likes me?

Having been in similar situations. I would guess that you are about to get a project dumped on assigned to you that involves the outfit in Jacksonville.

 

[brewer12345]

thefed, just curious, what do you guys finance?

I think if you get to do an occasional trip (and it isn't to a hellhole), it can be a nice change of pace. If you end up doing several trips a month, it gets old really fast. Sometimes it gets hard to remember which sity you are in, since all the Radissons of a certain era were very similarly built.

 

[thefed]

thefed, just curious, what do you guys finance?

I think if you get to do an occasional trip (and it isn't to a hellhole), it can be a nice change of pace. If you end up doing several trips a month, it gets old really fast. Sometimes it gets hard to remember which sity you are in, since all the Radissons of a certain era were very similarly built.

sub-prime auto finance (buy here pay here type stuff)

 

[brewer12345]

sub-prime auto finance (buy here pay here type stuff)

Gotcha. You do the loan direct to the customer like AmeriCredit, or you indirectly finance via the dealer like CACC (ticker symbol)?

 

[MasterBlaster]

AmeriCredit ! Aren't Buy-here pay-here car lots more like mafia loan sharks ?

Buy-here pay-here car lots aren't like AmeriCredit.

Some poor sucker pays $4k for a car you get at auction for $1500. He puts $1500 down and makes payments of $500 a month. When the poor buyer loses his job or the car needs some work and he quits paying on it you reposses it and sell it to the next poor guy. Notice that any payment that a buyer makes goes straight to the bottom line.

The profits from these type operations can be enormous.

Still they provide a service where otherwise there would be none.

 

[Robert the Red]

Ahhh -- business travel.  I recently got to go to Pisa (Italy) for a week.  Of course, was working 9-10 hours a day indoors in a darkened room.  But the evenings were nice.  And the gelato.

 

[frayne]

Paying for golf, drinks, lap dances and hookers will help cement a good long term business relationship. Has been working for hundreds of years.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Here's my view of business travel.

1) Work all day at the regular office
2) Catch the evening flight out to the business city - get in late
3) Rent a car - drive to hotel. Either eat at the hotel or do a quick stop at a casual restaurant along the way.
4) get up early - breakfast at hotel
5) Meetings all day
6) Dinner at airport, catch the evening flight back home - get in late

Now wasn't that fun. Lets do that again every week or two.

Does it matter what city you were in ?

 

[brewer12345]

Here's my view of business travel.

1) Work all day at the regular office
2) Catch the evening flight out to the business city - get in late
3) Rent a car - drive to hotel. Either eat at the hotel or do a quick stop at a casual restaurant along the way.
4) get up early - breakfast at hotel
5) Meetings all day
6) Dinner at airport, catch the evening flight back home - get in late

Now wasn't that fun. Lets do that again every week or two.

Does it matter what city you were in ?

Reasonably accurate, but you forgot:

3a) having dinner with the client for a couple of hours even though you are exhausted
3b) checking e-mail and possibly doing work after dinner
5a) getting stuck in some godforsaken place due to weather/plane problems/space aliens/whatever

 

[thefed]

Gotcha. You do the loan direct to the customer like AmeriCredit, or you indirectly finance via the dealer like CACC (ticker symbol)?

Actually, we jsut teamed up with CACC, they do soem deals we turn down.

We finance thru 4 or 5 dealerships, some owned by the owner of our company, and some totally not affiliated.

I guess this southeast usa operation is big, and successful, and there might be an opportunity for a partnership down the road...IF we get our act together (end of the month #'s dont look too hot)


jason

 

[thefed]

AmeriCredit ! Aren't Buy-here pay-here car lots more like mafia loan sharks ?

Buy-here pay-here car lots aren't like AmeriCredit.

Some poor sucker pays $4k for a car you get at auction for $1500. He puts $1500 down and makes payments of $500 a month. When the poor buyer loses his job or the car needs some work and he quits paying on it you reposses it and sell it to the next poor guy. Notice that any payment that a buyer makes goes straight to the bottom line.

The profits from these type operations can be enormous.

Still they provide a service where otherwise there would be none.

usually that poor sucker is poor because he spends his money on booze and coke. and because he never paid his bills when he had the ability to, trashed his credit, and is charged 25% interest on everything hebuys finances.

law prohibits us from repo'ing and selling to the next guy. we repo, sell it at auction, apply proceeds to loan, and collect the rest. ONCE in a while we sell vehicle back to dealership that sold it, but we then cant collect the remainign debt from the customer

 

[Nords]

Reasonably accurate, but you forgot:
3a) having dinner with the client for a couple of hours even though you are exhausted
3b) checking e-mail and possibly doing work after dinner
5a) getting stuck in some godforsaken place due to weather/plane problems/space aliens/whatever

In the "good ol' days" of selling 1960s Westinghouse nuclear plants my father used to arrive at the client's around 3 PM, discuss the technical details through dinner, and then adjourn pleading "jet lag". He and hs partner would then pull an all-nighter (with sliderules) putting together the specs and a cost estimate to produce the quote at the next morning's meeting. They'd be done by early afternoon and on the plane home.

He said it got old after a month yet he did it for 15 years...

 

[larry]

Business travel is fine for a while but then the "newness" wears off. Kinda like, wouldn't it be cool to play in a band?

I talked to a guy who was a guitarist with a very popular regional band in the 60's and he said after the first couple of months touring, living out of motel rooms, traveling late at night and restaurant meals it was more of a job and not much fun anymore.

Of course with a job, it IS a job.

 

[cube_rat]

usually that poor sucker is poor because he spends his money on booze and coke. and because he never paid his bills when he had the ability to, trashed his credit, and is charged 25% interest on everything hebuys finances.

Now, now, fed, not all people with credit problems are druggie/alcholics. Some folks actually had real life circumstances such as illness, divorce, etc that spiraled them into debt.

 

[thefed]

thus, my post began with the word "usually"

 

[LOL!]

I just came back from a 5-day, 7 cities, 6 flight business trip. I met alot of interesting people, had some great meals and slept well every night. It's true though that the space aliens were out on the last day of travel.

I don't travel that much, but business has paid for trips to Europe, Africa, Japan, China, Canada, etc.

So I think business travel is what you make of it.

 

[Brat]

The one activity to approach carefully is drinking.  If you are offered a drink nurse it throughout the evening, or pass.  If the boss drinks a lot offer to be the designated driver. 

Also, always bring one more set of slacks, shirts than you think you need.

(edited for spelling)

 

[HFWR]

Now, now, fed, not all people with credit problems are druggie/alcholics.  Some folks actually had real life circumstances such as illness, divorce, etc that spiraled them into debt.

Or ex-wives...

Back in the good ol' days of semiconductors, we used to get "traincations" to Sillycon Valley, where all the vendors like Applied Materials were located. No more, though. Now we don't get any practical training, just sh!t like "Fire Extinguisher 101", "Balancing Work and Life", and "Building Diversity"...

I second the guitarist's observation that playing music for money turns it into work...

 

[thefed]

The one activity to approach carefully is drinking. If you are offered a drink nurse it throughout the evening, or pass. If the boss drinks a lot offer to be the designated driver.

Also, always bring one more set of slacks, shirts than you think you need.

(edited for spelling)

my direct boss is a self proclaimed alcoholic, and the owner is a jehova. should be interesting

 

[SLC Tortfeasor]

usually that poor sucker is poor because he spends his money on booze and coke. and because he never paid his bills when he had the ability to, trashed his credit, and is charged 25% interest on everything hebuys finances.

True story:  about a month ago I was on a business trip driving from Salt Lake City to Laramie, Wyoming for depositions.  I pull into a Burger King drive-through in some sad little town in Wyoming, and when I pull up the the window to get my chow, the girl (probably 19 or 20 years old) who gave me my food complimented me on my car.  My car is a resonably slick-looking 2003 Nissan 350Z that I bought used, and don't owe any money on.  Anyway, this girl volunteers that she just bought a new car -- a 2006 Chevy Cavalier, I think, or something in that range.  I congratulated her on her purchase, but expressed surprise that she could buy a brand new car.  Again, she volunteered that while she loves the car, the monthly payments are hard for her -- $350 or so per month, and that she's paying 22% interest.  I asked her why she would buy a brand new car that she can barely afford.  Her answer:  She has bad credit, and so this is a way to "rebuild" her credit.  

I just smiled, felt bad for her, and drove on.  This poor, clueless girl has been led down the primrose path by some car salesman.  It's a shame that she obviously simply hasn't been educated about smart money management.  I can imagine that if I had grown up in different circumstances, I might be equally foolish.  This is one of the reasons for the cycle of poverty. 

I thank my parents for instilling some sense in me.

 

[MasterBlaster]

SLC Tortfeasor:

It is kind of sad that those people who can't manage money end up paying the most for everything and those that can least afford it pay the most.

However in many many cases, they made their own circumstances.

You can't protect them from themselves.

I suspect though that that girl with the 22 percent car loan could probably re-finance it at a much better rate if she'd just shop around. Car dealerships aren't exactly known for low-rate loans.

 

[laurence]

On topic, Fed, you might want to bring earplugs, or headphones with music. Some business hotels can be "hotel party" hotels, it happens to me about once a year.

 

[thefed]

On topic, Fed, you might want to bring earplugs, or headphones with music. Some business hotels can be "hotel party" hotels, it happens to me about once a year.

thanks for reminding me...i want to use the portable mp3 player i got 2 years agao and HAD to have...lol...