In “How to Offer a Service without Giving up Your Time”, I explained the importance of avoiding a situation where you are stuck wearing many hats. This is common among d.e.m. (do everything myself) business individuals, and is fine as long as you value the time you invest in your business. For the majority of us entrepreneurs, who like to enjoy life on our own terms, we want to retain as much of our free time as possible. This is a job for the players that make up an entrepreneur’s entourage and personal power team (p.p.t). Consider them a band of heroes, each equipped with their own skills/power, that save your time. An intelligent entrepreneur may bust their ass bootstrapping their business during its early start-up phase, but as business grows, the entrepreneur’s team must also grow. It’s like a plant that out grows the pot it was planted in, when it was just a seed. The entourage or the p.p.t. is a natural byproduct of a successful business and/or an intelligent entrepreneur scaling to a new level. All the players of this power team have their purpose, and there will be a time and place in which you will utilize each, and prosper together.
Many of you have the opportunity to change your lifestyle, and start building momentum towards your financial goals just by making changes to your income/expenses. I am not talking about getting a second job, or even starting a business. I talk a lot about ways to create income streams, but what about increasing cash flow? Creating income can be a daunting task, that requires investment risk of one’s resources, and increasing cash flow requires discipline. Tuning your income streams and cash flow to the right frequency can make all the difference in receiving a clear signal to reaching your financial/lifestyle goals. Too much adjustment of one over the other can lead to that signal becoming fuzzy or distorted.
You have probably found yourself often pondering this question, either alone or with others. What is for dinner, or what do we want for dinner? This may very well be considered normal, because let’s be honest, what do you think about when you hear the term “home economics”? Does this bring thoughts of a cliché image of a sultry “Suzie home maker” pin-up from the 1950’s? Whether or not that is a good thing is defined by your own personal perception, but it’s completely irrelevant because all home economic skills are, is the ability to maintain the sustainability within a home. One of the biggest pit falls of reaching financial goals is a lack of home economic skills, like determining what’s for dinner. Many individuals lose more money going out to eat, or spontaneously purchasing food on a daily basis, than they do from splurging on entertainment or toys. I have developed a simple system for determining what’s for dinner, and creating practical grocery lists, so that I don’t get sucked into the dinner time financial pitfall.
I think there is a difference between promoting yourself and promoting what it is you stand for. What is the cause?(this being the rhetorical question we should ponder) If it is gaining popularity for popularity's sake, then I think people catch on to that, and then the labels of arrogance/claims of one being “full of themselves” come forth. I think it's because insightful people see through the shallow motives and notice the insipid behavior. There is nothing wrong with self-promotion, as a means to bootstrap your marketing efforts and get your projects rolling, but be prepared to defend your efforts with a “why”. Why are you promoting your own project/work and why should others care about what you are promoting?
Understanding the differences between capital gains and residual income should be common knowledge for anyone, let alone an entrepreneur. Unfortunately, from elementary to high school, we are conditioned to accept capital gains as the most realistic means for making a living. Each have their pros and cons, but I want to make it very clear that it is a matter of choice as to how you make your living. I think people tend to lean towards capital gains for reasons I explained in “If Money is Too Taboo then Try Adding a Dash of Value”, where I was talking about how money is stigmatized as the root of all evil and how it should be “earned”. If you are self-employed and making a living at what you are passionate about, then I can see how that mentality could work for you. In “Entrepreneurs Create Options to Gain Control” I explain why entrepreneurs are interested in opportunities that create residual income. Residual income is about gaining control, and attaining control is about gaining freedom, but the best way to make that happen is to create options that offer value.
Everything we value in our life is a product of an exchange in resources. In other words, anytime there is an exchange (trade) value has been created, defined, or acknowledged (*poof* like magic). There are six resources that manifest value through some means of exchange:
1. Capital 2. Ideas 3. Objects 4. Labor (Time) 5. Services (Wisdom) 6. Relationships All of these resources have their own markets (literal or figurative) that form economies for each. These resources bring value to our lives every day, and every day we have an economic impact on one or more of these markets whether it’s realized or not. Value is what enriches our lives and makes life worth living. Everybody has different values in their life, but they all derive from one of these six resources, and are the result of an exchange that took place.
I believe money is such a taboo subject, because for so many people it’s a reminder of their hardships or limitations. Sure the subject of money may be a Debbie downer for many people, but that is no excuse to be avoiding discussions or making plans that involve it. Say this out loud “Money, Money, MONEY”, how does that make you feel? Do you get excited, uncomfortable, or have indifference when you think about money?
For some people the subject of money makes them very uncomfortable, because they may believe it to be the “root of all evil”. Others get excited over money and all the wonders it can buy them. Perhaps indifference is the most interesting, because those who feel indifference about money see money as no object. This is where you go beyond the subject of money and enter the realm of value, where money itself is just one of several means to simply use towards reaching a higher purpose.
Good debt and bad debt are classified by the projected outcome for which the debt was created. Without getting too ethically subjective here, I am going to give the following examples based on the idea that we are all able to pay our month to month bills and living expenses on our current income, and are not going through a financial hardship. Debts created from hardship are still considered a “bad” debt, but I understand what it is like to be hungry, desperate, and feel like you have limited options available in order to get back up on your feet. With financial hardship set aside and regardless of any other reason why you create debt, the outcome will result in one of two ways:
1. You will make money 2. You will lose money Every time an individual is considering creating a new debt, it should be done in respect to this concept. Of course the majority of time it is not, and is one the primary reasons why so many people suffer financially. Simply put, · Good Debt = Making Money · Bad Debt = Losing Money
It is possible for an individual to have a high financial I.Q., but if they possess a weak monetary emotional consciousness, then the odds of that individual reaching financial goals without any assistance will prove to be a constant internal struggle. What I call monetary emotional consciousness (m.e.c.), is the practice in which an individual is mentally aware of how their emotions are affecting a financial decision. The importance of a strong m.e.c. can mean the difference between someone building wealth and prosperity or remaining in a state of feeling financially “trapped” and impoverished.
Over the years I have noticed that there is a certain prepollence attached to money that affects the typical person in one of two ways. When you talk money, most people will appear to feel either uneasy/defensive, or boastful/competitive. I bring up this observation to shed light on the similarity that each emotional reaction creates, and that’s isolation. If someone is very reserved or defensive about speaking on finance, they isolate themselves by treating the topic as taboo subject matter (usually out of shame, pride, fear, or ignorance) and prevent themselves the opportunity to swap insightful ideas/lessons/experiences with others. Someone who acts boastful and/or competitive on the topic of money becomes isolated when their competitive nature combined with their pride of “doing it on their own” holds them back from willingly working with others to reach new goals and new heights of prosperity. I assume they feel like the accomplishment will mean less, just because it’s not achieved on their own individual merit alone. I believe these are the two main reasons why investment clubs/collectives, and the benefits that come along with them, eludes so many folks/families.
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