Business Hints For Men And Women - free ebook by A. R. (Alfred Rochefort) Calhoun

BUSINESS HINTS FOR MEN AND WOMEN

By A. R. CALHOUN...

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INTRODUCTION

What is a good business man? "The rich man," you may answer. No, the good business man is the man who knows business. Are you a good business man? "Up to the average," you say. Well, what do you know of business laws and rules, outside your present circle of routine work? Now, this handy little volume is a condensation of the rules and the laws which every man, from the day laborer to the banker, should be familiar with. We have not put in everything about business, for that would require a libr

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CHAPTER I

The three things essential to all wealth production are land, labor, and capital. "The dry land" was created before there appeared the man, the laborer, to work it. With his bare hands the worker could have done nothing with the land either as a grazer, a farmer or a miner. From the very first he needed capital, that is, the tools to work the land. The first tool may have been a pole, one end hardened in the fire, or a combined hoe and axe, made by fastening with wythes, a suitable stone to the

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CHAPTER II

All property implies an owner. Property is of two kinds, real and personal. The former is permanent and fixed, the latter can be moved. Every occupant of realty holds it through a deed, which carries with it sole ownership, or through a lease which carries with it the right to occupation and use in accordance with the conditions as to time and the amount to be paid, set forth in the written instrument. A deed carries with it sole ownership, a lease covers the right of use for a fixed period. The

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CHAPTER III

There is one condition under which the grantor does not turn over or deliver the deed to the grantee after it is made. This is known as a Deed in Escrow. A deed "delivered in escrow" is when the document is placed with a third party to be by him delivered to the grantee when a certain time has elapsed or certain conditions have been fulfilled. When the conditions have been complied with, the deed is given by its custodian to the grantee, which is as legal as if it were given by the grantor in pe

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CHAPTER IV

Whether farmer, manufacturer, merchant or professional man, and whether in youth, mid-age or declining years, every owner of personal or real property, or both, should make a will. If you have not made a will, get over the foolish notion that it is a premonition of death, and do so at once. A will is a written and signed declaration of the disposition one wishes to have made of his property in the event of his death. The maker of a valid will must be of sound mind and not less than twenty-one ye

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CHAPTER V

What has been said about deeds and mortgages applies not only to the farmer, but also to every owner of a building lot. The same may be said of wills. They have a business interest for the town as well as for the country dweller. The purpose of this book being "strictly business," no attempt will be made to instruct the reader in anything not connected with the subject under consideration. Social, friendly, and such letters are matters for individual time and taste, and no rule can be laid down

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CHAPTER VI

Try to understand clearly the meaning of all the business terms you have to use. The terms "bill" and "invoice" usually mean the same thing, that is, a "bill of sale." This applies to goods sold, or services rendered. The merchant sends you an itemized invoice of the goods you ordered and he has shipped. The carpenter sends you an itemized bill of the work done by your order. Such a document should be regarded not as a "dun," but rather as a record of the contract or transaction. In the foregoin

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CHAPTER VII

To have any value, business accounts, whether of a great or a small concern, must be accurately kept. Every man and woman, having unsettled dealings with others, should keep some sort of book accounts. Storekeepers must keep accounts, and every farmer and mechanic, who would know just what he owns and what he has spent during the past month and year, should keep an exact account of every cent received and paid out. Lawyers and doctors know how to keep accounts, or if they do not they are neglect

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CHAPTER VIII

No instrument of trade has done so much or is more essential to the safe and progressive business of the world today than the bank. Every department of business, in our modern civilization, must keep in touch with the bank. Money is the blood of trade and the banking system is its heart. The bank is as necessary to the thrifty farmer as it is to the greatest railroad or the most wide-spread trust. Banks are depositories for money not in circulation. Banks have facilities for the safe-guarding of

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CHAPTER IX

While of National importance, savings banks are chartered by the respective states in which they exist, and as such are distinctly local institutions. Unlike the National, the savings bank is not established as a money-making corporation. The ostensible and actual purpose of the savings bank is to encourage people of small means to save. The savings bank provides a safe place for the care of such deposits, and it pays such rates of interest on such deposits as are warranted by the earnings of it

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CHAPTER X

The promissory note is a most useful kind of commercial paper, and it is in general use in business. If a man has not sufficient ready cash to pay for the real estate he is about to purchase, he makes up the difference by a note, which note is secured by a mortgage on the property. Remember the mortgage must always be regarded as security. The note represents the debt. Often wholesalers take a note as part or even full payment for a bill of goods to a retailer. If the wholesaler needs money, he

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CHAPTER XI

A draft is a written order from the first party to the second party to pay to the third party a certain sum of money at a certain time. The first party is called the "drawer." The second party is the "drawee." The third party is the "payee." There are two kinds of draft. The first is usually where the cashier of one bank, through his own check, draws on another bank for the cash difference in their accounts with each other. The second form of draft is the most usual and is the one we shall here

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CHAPTER XII

As has been before stated, money in its broadest meaning is a medium of exchange. Anything that can pay a debt or purchase property, in any part of a country, is the money of that country. Every civilized country has its own minted or printed money. The usual mediums of circulation are gold, silver, nickel and copper, the latter alloyed more or less in the United States with nickel. Government and bank bills, while having all the purchasing power of gold, are simply promises to pay in gold, or o

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CHAPTER XIII

Up to a few years ago, it was the city, town and village dweller who reaped the greatest benefit from the post office. In dense communities carriers leave the mail at the place to which it is addressed. Where this is not done the walk for the mail is not far. Now the purpose of our Government, which is of the people and by the people, is to treat all the people alike. However, up to a few years ago the farmer, our most essential producer, had not a fair deal. Fortunately things have changed and

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CHAPTER XIV

To send a telegram, you or your messenger must take what you have written to the nearest telegraph office. You may write a telegram on any kind of paper, provided always that the writing is plain. All telegraph offices are provided with regular blank forms, which may be had without cost, and it is better to use these when they are available. The blank is properly ruled, with lines for the date, for the address of the one to whom it is to be sent, and for the message. The telegraph company charge

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CHAPTER XV

There are two kinds of expresses, viz.: local and general. The names describe the provinces of each, though a general express may do a local business. All express companies are common carriers. The carrying business done by our express companies is enormous. They have their own special cars attached to passenger and fast freight trains, and their goods are given special departments in water transportation. If living between two towns, it is always better to have your letters and express business

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CHAPTER XVI

Not everything about railroads, that would be a tremendous undertaking, but just enough to show what everyone should know about them as carriers of goods. The express companies have practically a monopoly of the transportation of the smaller packages of goods requiring quick transit and immediate delivery, but the longer, heavier, and slower freight are in the hands of the railroads, and where it can be done, and time is not a first factor, the steamboat takes the place of the train. As most of

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CHAPTER XVII

Generally speaking, tax bills are paid with reluctance. This is no doubt due to the fact that with every other form of payment one has something tangible to show for the expenditure. If every good citizen could be brought to see that his private interests are closely linked with public affairs, he would take more interest in the local politics of his town and county, and so have a voice in the expenditure of taxes by selecting the best men to do the work for him. Taxes are forced contributions l

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CHAPTER XVIII

The law books define a contract to be "An agreement between two or more persons to do or not to do a certain stated thing or things, for a consideration." The consideration is a vital part of every contract. There can be no binding contract without a consideration. The other requisites of a contract are— 1. It must be possible of accomplishment. 2. It must be in accordance with law. 3. Its performance must not injure the public. 4. The parties to a contract must be competent to do the things to

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CHAPTER XIX

Life insurance may be defined to be "A contract for the future payment of a certain sum of money to a person specified in the body of the policy, on conditions dependent on the length of some particular person's life." There are two parties to this contract—the insured and the insurer. The purpose of the insurer, if he take out the policy in his own name, is to provide in a measure for the care of his family, or other dependents, in the event of his death. After a long experience with the death

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CHAPTER XX

We hear and know much about life insurance because, no doubt, it has to do directly with the individual, and so has a personal appeal; but there are other forms of insurance, forms that have to do with things material, that play an important part in the world's business. The gambling spirit, like the desire for stimulants and the tobacco habit, seems to be well nigh universal. Men bet on the turn of dice, the cutting of cards, or the tossing of a coin, and we very properly denounce it as gamblin

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CHAPTER XXI

If properly conducted, there is much to commend the management of a business through partners. Never go into a partnership with a man who puts in his experience against your capital, unless you know him like a brother. "It lasted about a year," said a man who had done this. "Now the fellow, who has cleared out, has the capital and I have the experience." A partnership is an agreement between two or more persons to associate for the purpose of carrying on a certain form of business. Each member o

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CHAPTER XXII

It is a remarkable fact that many men who have shown remarkable shrewdness in conducting a business in which a fortune may have been accumulated, exhibit the judgment of children when it comes to making investments. There are able lawyers who have made fortunes in the practice of the profession which they understood, only to lose them by investments in mines or other ventures, about which they knew absolutely nothing but what was told them by the scheming speculator and smooth-tongued promoter.

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CHAPTER XXIII

The best way in which savings can be invested is to use them in the extension of the business in which they were made. The wage earner and the man on a salary cannot, of course, do this, but the farmer, the small tradesman, and the mechanic, who is his own employer, may be able to do so. And so, before looking for a field for investment outside, such men should look about them and consider how best the money may be used right on the ground. But after considering the points suggested, the man who

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CHAPTER XXIV

If a man is making a living he should not change his business after he has passed middle life, unless, indeed, he has a guarantee that the new venture will be greatly to his advantage. The best business for the average man is that which affords him the most pleasure in carrying it on, or at least with which he is most familiar. Happiness in one's work means far more than the accumulation of a fortune in discomfort. Having made your credit and business standing good, keep them good by an adherenc

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CHAPTER XXV

If things are said in this chapter that seem like a repetition of things already told, it is that their importance warrants a repetition in another form. "There are no pockets in a shroud," it is said. True it is that we cannot take material things with us to the other side of the grave, and so before the end comes it is well to make preparations for their disposition. There are three ways of getting possession of property: 1. To have it given. 2. To earn it. 3. To steal it. We shall not conside

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CHAPTER XXVI

We are not quite through with the note. When making a payment of principal or interest on a note, be sure to take a receipt for the amount, stating specifically what the payment is to be credited to. In addition, if it be possible, see that the sum paid be endorsed on the back of the note itself. The endorsement of the sum paid on the back of the note bars its being negotiated for more than the amount actually due. Sometimes the owner and the maker of a note live at points some distance apart. I

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CHAPTER XXVII

" Italian ditto—The same as above. ° Degrees. ' Primes, Minutes, Test. " Seconds, Inches. Thus, 7° 20' 10" in circular measure, or 7' 20" 10''' in duodecimal long measure. I1 One and one-fourth. I2 One and one-half. I3 One and three-fourths. + Latin plus, more—Addition. - Latin minus, less—Subtraction. X By, or into. Multiplication. Also area, as 20 X 5, read 20 by 5, means 20 long and 5 wide. ÷ Divided by—Division. The : above is also a sign of division as us

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CHAPTER XXVIII

ACCOUNT CURRENT. A running account between two persons or firms. ACCOUNT SALES. A detailed statement of the sale of goods by a commission merchant, showing also the charges and net proceeds. ADMINISTRATOR. A man appointed by the Court to settle the estate of a deceased person. ADMINISTRATRIX. A woman appointed by the Court to settle the estate of a deceased person. AD VALOREM. According to value. A term used in the Custom House in estimating the duties on imported goods. AFFIDAVIT. A wri

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