Jer here. My rant today targets the multitude of opportunities in the payday loan space.

Capital is simply a commodity! Ask what your financier brings to the table in addition to dollars.

This isn’t a short analysis. You want superficial B.S? Click away now . Pay the price, invest 5 minutes of your time and THINK.

There are serious disturbances occurring today. Worldwide consumer demand, technology, regulatory oversight, extraordinary availability of capital, disclosure and cycle-of-debt issues…

What does all this really mean? There has never been more opportunity in our space than today. Sure, there are challenges.

DISRUPTION = OPPORTUNITY

Customers all over the world – by the millions – want our product.

What’s this mean to you? How do you want to get involved?

Do you want to partner? Are you an Investor? A Lender? Have capital? Need capital? Got an idea? Are you a vendor? A seller? Want to sell your stores? Your Internet operation? Sell your portfolio?

LET ME KNOW! I’M BOMBARDED DAILY by Lenders, Operators, Investors, Buyers, VC’s, Hedge Funds and Entrepreneurs! Let’s explore together…

Here are a few in no particular order:

• Serious $$ ($2M-$10M+) needs placement. Very smart, experienced operators are in demand! The financiers need YOU! ROI? Depends on the “deal,” the structure, the Team, the terms,the exit strategy…

• Capital looking for opportunities. Know anyone with a SOLID team in place, not a start-up, already have substantial “skin in the game ($$) who needs capital $2M+ for funding PDL’s (no infrastructure build-out, no operations expenses to be paid with a new capital infusion), probably earn 2% – 5%/month or more depending on the deal/structure/equity?

•  Brick-n-mortar buyers with cash! Want to sell? Fast?

•  Internet biz buyers. Want to sell your Internet Biz/Portfolio?

• Investors: 3rd Party Lenders in Texas! Huge demand due to disclosure requirement of Third Party Lender on new CAB License as of January 1st, 2012. Fully collateralized, 15-20% annual ROI is typical. Secondary challenge is the $25k net asset requirement per location – operators need help with this kind of operating capital too. There are over 3,500 Texas CSO’s and Texas is blowing up with business

• Operator with 10 years+ experience, started Brick-n-mortar, now have $150K on the street via Internet. Looking for $100K – $500K in tranches strictly for funding PDL’s via the Internet. Strong Team!. Couple of state licenses currently..Ready to rock-n-roll!

• So. California stores for sale.

• Mississippi stores for sale

•  Missouri stores for sale

• Several other states with stores for sale

• We have a “ton” of small, very experienced Lenders in PDL or car title all over the USA looking for expansion capital. For example, very small car title Lender in TX, 15 years exp. looking for $50K for funding. These are not start-ups. They just can’t meet demand nor can they access the banks. Boatloads of this scenario! Beautiful, tightly run store winning system and making money.

• Tribes need access to capital to launch PDL operations, casinos, check cashing stores, infrastructure, training and more.

•  Exploring the tribal/sovereign nation model? Need help?

• Are you a compliance pro? An “in-the-trenches collaborator” capable of working with “crazy” payday loan entrepreneurs?

• Need help navigating the Texas CSO>CAB transition?

• Are you a seasoned payday loan professional looking for new opportunities? Are you a Lender in need of experienced talent? Our industry in cranking! Complete privacy assured.
• Analytic savants needed. Everyone is working on their “secret sauce.”

• Plenty more all over the map but I gotta go row! Newport Beach is BEAUTIFUL today!

Look, my phone rings off the hook all day! Some days I’m on it non-stop. (Actually I have 2 cells, a notebook, a laptop, a desk top, and iPad and an iPod!).I’m buried with the daily dynamics and opportunities in Lending. Call me 702-208-6736. Send an email Jer@TrihouseConsulting.com with your ideas/needs.

And do your research! Get up to speed. Figure out what you want to do in this PDL game. It’s INTERNATIONAL! Visit the DFC Global web site and listen to their last 10K! Look-up Zest Cash, Wonga, DebtResolve… They’re all discussed on my Blog.

And PROTECT YOUR BUTT!

Finally: A RESPECTFUL, short comment about our industry by a Banker:
http://paydayloanindustryblog.com/bankers-can-learn-from-payday-loan-lenders/

NOW DO SOMETHING!!

702-208-6736
Jer@PaydayManual.com

Just getting started? http://paydaymanual.com/cash-advance-store.html

Payday loan lenders get a little respect! Michael Moebs, CEO of Moebs Services, was quoted in American Banker as follows:

“Banks can learn from payday lenders’ streamlined lending approach, says Moebs. “The thing that I’ve admired about that industry is it’s extremely efficient. They would make a banker’s head spin with how fast they can make a loan and how good they are at it,” he says. Payday lenders “take ten minutes to make a payday loan and the banker takes an hour,” he adds.

Personally, I think “an hour” is overly optimistic but the point is noted!

Of course, most of us know banks have been providing capital to the big guns in the payday loan industry since the 80′s. And several, including Chase and Wells Fargo, are offering payday loan styled products to their customers having basic bank accounts coupled with direct deposit. APR’s for their model can exceed 400%.

Read the Article here: American Banker – Banks Can Learn from Payday Lenders.

What do you think? Leave a Comment! New to the industry? Go here: Start a Payday Loan Biz

Jer@TrihouseConsulting.com

This from the CFPB website January 19, 2012:

Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau traveled to
Birmingham, Ala., for our first field hearing. We gathered to
discuss and collect information on payday lending. The payday
lending market is a multi-billion dollar industry in the United
States, and Alabama has one of the largest concentrations of payday
lenders in the country.

Payday loans can arrive the same day and are usually due to be paid
back within two weeks. Many consumers turn to payday loans because
they find themselves in a financial pinch. However, these
small-dollar loans can come at a hefty price, sometimes with an APR
of more than 400 percent. When consumers can’t pay on time, they
find themselves taking on more debt to cover the previous loan that
has now come due. This can quickly lead consumers down a road of
risk that often spirals into an ongoing cycle of debt.

We understand that there is demand for small-value loans from many
consumers. Even some traditional banks now offer a similar product
called a deposit “advance.” But we want to make sure that consumers
understand the consequences of their decisions and are protected
from risks that may be inherent in these products. Today, we
released our procedures for examining bank and nonbank institutions
offering short-term, small-dollar loans.

The goal of our field hearing is to listen, learn, and gather
information to help us better understand the payday lending market
so that we can choose the appropriate tools to balance the needs of
consumers with the risks they face. Please use the comment box
below to tell us about your experiences with payday loans. (You can
also tell us your story privately.)
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/hearing-your-stories-on-payday-lending/

SaveTheTribe.org offers some compelling commentary regarding why the payday loan tribal (Sovereign Nation ) model is under attack.  Here’s a portion of the Post at their Blog:

“There are over 22,000 payday loan stores in the United States. Regardless of protests from consumer advocates this is clearly a product with high demand. The majority of those stores are operated by a handful of large publicly-traded companies. Those companies are facing competition from online lenders and they are trying to use the political system to protect them. The short-term consumer lending industry is highly regulated. Each state has its own regulations and they vary widely. Loan amounts, terms and rates are different in almost every state. Anyone who can make loans throughout the country following a single set of loan terms can be a very efficient and effective competitor. Tribal lending corporations are that competitor and the Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA) wants the federal and state governments to ban them from the business.”

Read the entire Article here: http://mynafcc.org/who-is-attacking-tribal-lending/

Thoughts? Comment! Tweet! Like! Get involved!

Jer@TrihouseConsulting.com

I’ll be at the March CFSA 2012 so call/text if you want to meet up and buy me a glass of vino ) If you’re currently in the payday loan space, or you plan to be, you must attend CFSA 2012. Here’s a link to check it out: CFSA Event For the password to enter the site, please contact CFSA’s Annual Meeting Planning Team at AnnualMeeting@CFSAA.com Hurry if you want to save $200 on the registration fee (for both members and non-members)! Offer ends January 13th.

  Jer@TrihouseConsulting.com

Payday loan industry wins again! A binding arbitration provision that barred a Wisconsin consumer from pursuing a class-action lawsuit against a payday loan lender is enforceable. Read the article here: Cottonwood Financial Ltd. v. Estes That’s what the District III Wisconsin Court of Appeals concluded; Federal law preempts state law!

Washington D.C. and Nevada will soon be offering Internet gambling. More states are certain to follow if only because state tax coffers are running empty. The FED’s next moves aren’t clear. The DOJ just reversed its interpretation of the 1961Wire Act. Meanwhile, more payday loan Lenders are “partnering” with tribes. The legal “templates” for tribal payday loan “partnerships”  are becoming almost robotic. Since the Tribal Business Expo last March in Las Vegas at the Hilton, we’ve helped initiate more than nine tribal agreements.

So, why all the interest by tribes and payday loan management companies to enter into these relationships? Here are just a few:

• Many federally recognized tribes are poor. Not all tribes are able to participate in energy, gaming…
• In spite of what payday loan critics say, the industry is highly regulated. Roughly 17 states simply ban payday loans.
• Consumers by the millions want and need access to small, short-term, non-collateralizedloans. There are payday loan companies exceeding $120M per month in loans!
• The Internet offers efficiency, speed, and access to payday loan customers
• Fixed costs foe Internet payday loan Lenders is less than that for “brick-n-mortars.”
• Tribe gaming revenues are down as much as 30% because of the poor economy
• The “payout” expectations of tribes by payday loan Lenders has fallen because of competition for payday loan management teams that can bring expertise and capital sources to the tribe.
• The cost of state-by-state compliance by payday loan Lenders is rising.
• Sophisticated “money” is sniffing around the industry. They’re looking for significant returns and they are high-risk players.
• Creative approaches for offering payday loan type products, such as the offshore model, are becoming harder to “digest.” Continued access to the ACH system and sub-prime consumer data are just two issues that could become a problem for the “exotics.”

Bottom line, the AFS  (Alternative Financial Services) space is quite simply ROARING with opportunity, challenges, technology, capital, DISRUPTION…

I’ve been in this game since 1997 and I’ve never been so EXCITED!

Jer@PaydayLoanIndustryBlog.com 702-208-6736

If you have any interest in the Pawn Industry, read on. If not, DELETE NOW!

The pawn shop industry is experiencing tremendous growth and prosperity in spite of having an image problem. Reality TV and tough economic times for the US economy during  the next several years promises continued profits for pawn operators.

TV shows like “Pawn Stars” have reminded consumers and entrepreneurs  that the  “world’s oldest profession” – think PAWN – offers opportunities for getting cash for the former and opportunity for the latter.

Still the challenge of getting consumers to take that first step through the pawn shop door can be daunting.
As one Money Mizer pawn shop operator pointed out regarding typical customer perceptions, “They envision a small store with poor lighting,  a shady operation, with pawn operators trying to take advantage of you. That’s just not the situation any longer. Our pawn stores are elegant, well lit, and employ customer oriented, knowledgeable staff. Our goal is to provide our customers with a temporary loan, solve their current financial problem and create a long-term relationship by adding one more financial choice for our customer.

The latest quarterly profits at the three publicly traded pawn store operators reflect the growth the pawn industry is enjoying. Cash America International Inc., Ezcorp Inc. and First Cash Financial Services Inc. each reported net incomes that were up at least 25 percent from a year ago.
Pawn shops have entered the realm of pop culture with the History Channel’s reality TV show Pawn Stars. “We’re experiencing a surge of customers who have never been in a pawn shop before,” Money Mizer said. “They are fascinated by it!”

The average pawn customer is 36 years old with a household income of $29,000. Eighty percent are employed and a third are homeowners, according to figures from the National Pawnbrokers Association. People come into pawn shops from all income levels; from public assistance to wealthy individuals.

So, if you’re like me and are intrigued by the pawn shop industry and want to dig a little deeper into the opportunity, read on. We bring to your attention the Money Mizer Franchise Opportunity. Check out their offering below and follow-up with them directly to explore…
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With financial challenges, increased debt and a lack of banking relations putting the pressure on so many Americans, there has never been a better time to offer your community a full range of pawn, banking and retail services.

The Time Is Right

The Money Mizer franchise program is a tremendous opportunity and it could be just right for you. We provide the support you need to open and operate your Money Mizer business. We assist with everything from site location to store layout and from start-up assistance to specialized software for monitoring business functions. The operations manual is detailed and comprehensive making the Money Mizer franchise program complete and fully functional so that you can grow your business in every way.

Taking Pawn To The Next Level

Since founding our 1st store in 1980, we have broken new ground in the pawn industry by developing unique, high-end stores that offer quality new and used products at bargain prices as well as comprehensive niche banking services. We also use the internet to expand our market reach. This is the business model we build on with all our franchise partners. It’s a winning formula that can work for you, too.

Start Making It Happen Today

Visit us online: http://moneymizerfranchises.com/contact_us.htmll
Or call for immediate info: 855-482-PAWN
franchise@moneymizerfranchises.com

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And if you’re an advertiser or vendor offering solutions to the AFS industry contact us to appear here and in our Newsletter. 702-208-6736 Jer@TrihouseConsulting.com

Remember – the simple stuff still works! In the age of the Internet, IPads, smart phones, PPC programs like Google and Bing, text messaging, blogging, click-to-call, yada, yada, yada… the offline marketing channels still work great! This is true for both brick-n-mortar and online payday loan, cash advance, “pink-slip (car title) loans, scrap gold buyers and more.

Specifics? We have a location near a freeway off-ramp. We put up a highway billboard with a large graphic of one of our founders, a pot-of-gold and a simple call to action. After implementing the new billboard one week, we increased our weekly scrap gold purchases 30% and increased our store net revenue (on the gold side) from $4000/week to $5200/week. Scrap gold buys and revenues continue to increase! Our “out-of-pocket” costs are less than $300/month.

The point? Don’t forget the basics! Simple works!! Jer@PaydayLoanIndustryBlog.com
Leave a comment! What do you think? What’s working/not working for you?

Slowly, regulators, the media and other attack dogs are beginning to comprehend what payday loan consumers have known for years. That is, payday loan type products make sense under certain circumstances. Sure, they can be abused. So can credit cards. But no one has suggested credit cards be banned from the market place. Although my peers have expressed surprise at the “balanced” coverage NBC’s Matt Lauer and crew gave the payday loan industry, I’m not! I talk to these people every day. The winds of change are sweeping across the payday loan landscape. Bare through the pain of the commercial in this video and see for yourself. If you’re a payday loan fan, you will be pleased. Matt Lauer NBC Payday Loan coverage.