Filed under: Estates

Model, designer and professional diva, Kimora Lee Simmons has put her home in the Beverly Hills Post Office area on the market less than a year after buying it. Last June, the former wife of rap mogul Russell Simmons paid the $5.9 million asking price on the home. The “country English” style home has five bedrooms and a casually luxe feel even if the exterior is a bit blah (it was built in 1974). The overall style is tasteful if a bit heavy on the rattan furniture. I also appreciate Ms. Simmons’s taste in paintings, she appears to have a couple of Basquiats tucked in there.

Ms. Simmons also has Jessica Simpson as a next-door neighbor. Will Kimora get her $7.75 million asking price? It’s a cheeky move in this market but as the Real Estalker notes, properties in this area do move pretty swiftly. She might have superior luck with this one than the one in Saddle River, New Jersey that she and her ex-husband have been trying to move for a while now. it was listed at $23.888 million but now sits at $19.888 million.

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Continue reading Kimora Lee Simmons Home, Estate of the Day

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Filed under: Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), FedEx Corp (FDX), Small business

Recently, FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) ditched the Kinko’s brand name for its stores — and took a $891 million charge against earnings. Instead, the new name will be FedEx Office.

While the Kinko’s brand was powerful, it was not enough for the broad services offered by FedEx. What’s more, I’m sure FedEx spent millions on coming up with its new branding strategy.

It’s a good lesson — and something to take into account for your own business. In other words, does your logo help or perhaps hurt your efforts?

Actually, you don’t have to spend huge amounts for a logo. There are a variety of inexpensive on the web services that help create professional designs, such as Hewlett-Packard Co.’s (NYSE: HPQ) Logoworks (also, the company is chipping in for a logo contest for reader’s of my column, which is described below). You can also find some good books, such as Logo and Logo Design Workbook: A Hands-On Guide to Creating Logos.

So, let’s take a look at some pointers that can help out:

Colors matter: It’s common to make a logo too colorful, which can make things distracting. Or, it might clash with your printed materials and website. Besides, it can be high-priced to have lots of color.

What’s the image? Hey, if you’ve a dollar store, you want a logo that connotes value and affordability. In other words, stay away from fancy designs. Of course, you would probably do the opposite if your business focuses on luxury or premium services.

However, the temptation is to design a logo that appeals to you — not your customer.

Something else: Don’t get obsessive about the logos of your competitors. Instead, try to differentiate your logo from the crowd. (For fun, you can test your own logo savvy with AOL’s company logo quiz).

Stay on point: Do you really need to have “Inc.” or “LLC” in your logo? Probably not. You’re logo is valuable space; thus, don’t waste it on things that don’t add value.

A professional logo says that you are serious: Don’t have an amateur design a logo. The lack of quality will be a turn-off for customers.

Rather, look for a designer or a specialized service (such as Logoworks). They comprehend color theory, branding, and design principles.

And finally, a logo contest: The folks at Logoworks are offering a free logo design (which has a value of $399). The rules include:

o. To enter, submit a comment below about why you want a logo. Also, mention what your goals are for the logo, and be sure to leave your name.
o. The comment must be left before Saturday, June 15, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.
o. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
o. You might enter one time only.
o. One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
o. One winner will receive a free logo design from Logoworks (valued at $399).
o. Click here for complete official rules.

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Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

From the Real Estalker:
–Pete Sampras and his wife Bridgette cut the price on their Beverly Hills mansion from $25 million to $23 million. It seems to have worked. The home is now listed as “looking for backup.”
—-Actor Willem Dafoe has put his home in Accord, New York on the market for $850,000. It was our estate of the day on Saturday.
–Kimora Lee Simmons has put her Beverly Hills home on the market for $7.75 million. It is our estate of the day later today.
–Technology guru Halsey Minor, ho bought a Bel Air home for $20 million in 2006 now has put the home on the market for just $12.9 million. Why? Rumor has it that the much of the home as been stripped down and is empty and dirty. The listing is here.
–TV personality Debbie Matenopoulos and music executive Jay Faires have put their home, Wolf’s Lair, shown at right, on the market. The Norman-style castle was built in the 1920s and includes a guest house with interiors by architect John Lautner, a heart-shaped pool and eight bedrooms total on the property. The couple reportedly purchased in 2002 for $2.9 million and have now listed it at $7.5 million.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
– Baseball pitcher Jaret Wright has sold his Dover Shores home in Newport Beach home for $1.67 million.
–Novelist Jackie Collins has eased out a Bel-Air area property she owns for $20,000 a month.
—-Looks like Avril Lavigne has finally unloaded her home in the Mulhollland Estates area of Beverly Hills. the home which was first listed in March 2007 for $6.9 million has reportedly received a $5.2 million cash offer.
–Carla J. Christofferson, co-owner of the L.A. Sparks and a partner with the O’Melveny & Myers law firm, has listed her 5,300-square-foot Hollywood Hills home for $5.5 million. The restored 1928 California Spanish-style five-bedroom home includes a THX theater with a 96-inch projection screen. The virtual tour is here.

From Huge Time Listings:
–Mr. Large Time takes a look at the real estate doings of Robert Downey Jr. and Hilary Duff.
–Actor and comedian Brad Sherwood has put his four-bedroom house in Los Angeles’ Encino area on the market for $4 million. The listing is here.
–Actor and motion picture director Michael Apted and his wife, writer Dana Stevens, have paid $1,784,000 for a three-bedroom home in Del Mar, Calif., in San Diego County.
–It’s time to play “Which celebrity’s home is this?” checking out a six-bedroom house in Brentwood which recently sold after having been on the market for $8,499,000.

From the NY Post’s Gimme Shelter:
–Katie Holmes, who is set to appear in a Broadway show in the fall, is on the hunt for a rental on the Upper East Side, she’s been spotted cruising apartments with monthly rates over $60,000.
–Entertainment lawyer Paul Schindler has sold his four-story co-op apartment on the Upper East Side for $16.5 million. He and his wife closed on a $13.4 million apartment at the Plaza.
–Ted Koppel has dropped the price of his Potomac, Maryland home. He first listed it in 2005 for $4.1 million and is now asking $1.94 million for the six-bedroom home which as an indoor pool, a gym with a sauna, maid’s quarters and a horse barn.
–The Park Avenue apartment of the late socialite and philanthropist Frances Todman has sold for $22 million.
–From Page Six, Philip Seymour Hoffman and his girlfriend Mimi O’Donnell are buying a three-bedroom co-op loft n Manhattan’s West Village that had been listed for $4.4 million. Massive Time Listings unearthed the listing here.

From the NY Observer’s Manhattan Transfers:
–The New York State Court of Appeals has said that a shipping heir named Alistair Economakis and his wife, Catherine can proceed with their plans to take over 47 East Third Street, a a 15-unit, 60-room, 11,600-square-foot rent-stabilized tenement building and turn it into a luxury mansion without getting approval from the state’s low-income housing agency. They purchased the building and have taken over six apartments, which leaves nine units with tenants who’ve refused to get bought out.
–Nightlife king Simon Hammerstein has purchased his first New York apartment, paying $1.27 million for a loft at 265 Water Street.
–Chinese pianist Lang Lang and his parents have picked up a duplex opposite Carnegie Hall, paying $1.895 million last month for a duplex at City Spire on West 56th Street.
–The brother of Nursultan A. Nazarbayev, the only president in Kazakhstan’s 17-year post-U.S.S.R. history, Bolat Nazarbayev and his wife have paid around $20 million for a corner unit facing Central Park at the Plaza.
–Joy and Leonard Toboroff, the 74-year-old vice chairman of a Houston-based oil/gas-drilling outfit named Allis-Chalmers Energy are selling their duplex apartment that stretches across two Tribeca buildings, 39 and 41 North Moore Street with a list price of $17.9 million. The listing is here.

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As a small business owner, you sometimes have difficult decisions to make.   (No kidding, Jean! )  One of these decisions is a real Catch-22:  In tough economic times, when your customers are not paying as fast, should you risk losing business by tightening your credit terms, or should you grant customers some slack in the hopes of keeping their business?

This is not just a problem in difficult economic times, but you’ll see more customers taking longer to pay when times are tough.

If you offer 30-day terms, and you see customers taking up to 60 days to pay, you could add interest as an incentive for them to pay.    But even offering a discount for prompt payment doesn’t help if they just can’t pay.  If you tighten up  your credit policies and demand payment immediately, you may lose some customers (and most small businesses can’t afford to lose customers), but on the other hand, do you really want those slow payers?

I go back to the rule I was taught a long time ago:  The longer the account is past due, the less likely that it will be paid. In other words, for business customers, you might be better off tightening up your credit policies and demanding payment in full at time of purchase.  If that drives away some customers, it’s a good bet they’ll not be in business much longer anyway.

What do you think?

Tags: baby boomers, credit policies, Customers, small business

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