Trading time for money.

Most people may realize they are doing this but don't understand how important it is or how it is affecting their future. Trading time for money is actually a very important concept and something that you should avoid at all cost especially if you'd like to be financially independent and free. It is no accident that the top consultants, authors and speakers of wealth and success all agree that trading time for money makes it very difficult to reach and build financial success. So what am I taking about? The typical person goes to work and is either paid hourly, has an annual salary or is paid for a specific project. In return for the compensation the individual is required to spend time in an office, store, company location or maybe even a home office. No matter what you are expected to put in the time to get paid. If you stop working your income stops. If you don't go to work you will no longer have that compensation. By working this way you can only make so much because there are only so many hours in the day.

Its interesting to note that some people have a very high hourly rate (attorneys for example) and they might argue that with all of their efforts they plan to get ahead and be successful. If you factor in the financial burden that they incurred with getting a law degree and the loans they may have and then factor in the hours they have to put in on the job I wonder how they see a payoff in the end. Once again, as soon as they stop working there's no money coming in. Of course an individual would invest their money and use a financial advisor to do so with the expectation that there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (retirement). Don't get me wrong, I believe in diversified investing but I have seen many people get the rug pulled out because the market was in a bad place when they need the investments to pay off, or something drastic happened and there is a big loss. If all goes well then there should be on-going income that the investor can enjoy and at that point ease back on work or stop working all together. All that is assuming that you have a very large salary or hourly rate to begin with.

On the flip side... people often get a second job to "get ahead". I don't understand the logic because that second job usually pays less than the full time job. And, eventually you will have to stop because you can't handle the additional hours without breaking down physically or emotionally. When you stop you're right back where you started. Of course you could just spend more time at your main job but many employers today expect you to put in more effort and they don't pay you more anyhow. If you are an hourly employee you might get over-time but again, once you stop you are not further ahead... maybe more tired and burnt-out.

The opposite of trading time for money is to have assets that create money for you without your presence. Examples of this are owning rental property, stocks and investments and owning your own business. You do have to be careful because many people think they own a business but the reality is that the business owns them. Many business owners cannot get away and are so intertwined with the day to day antics that they can't enjoy life and have no time freedom. What's the point of that? However, the fact is that owning a business is certainly the best way to generate wealth and financial freedom. You will find that most of the financially successful people got to where they are as business owners. The trick is to own the right type of business. There are two things you should look for in a business so you eventually are NOT trading time for money and you can actually enjoy your success and have the time to do so. The two things are leverage and proven systems.

Leverage. Think about what I said previously in terms of how there are only so many hours in the day that you can work. Just for an example lets say you work ten hours a day. If you own a business and you have four employees then you get your time plus their time. In other words you get fifty hours of work done per day. That is leverage. Obviously depending on what type of business you have you do have overhead and compensation to take out of your profits but in general you personally are working X amount of hours but the total production equals much more. One of the things I like about my business is that there is actually very little overhead, I do not personally compensate those that I leverage and in fact we all benefit from our efforts.

Proven Systems. There is another component that goes along with leverage to get to the point where you are not trading time for money... proven systems. Having people follow a system or plan that works will ensure that you can step away. Most supervisors or "bosses" can not step away because the other workers rely on them for supervision or approval. This ensures that it is difficult for the supervisor/boss to step away. Even if they are paid well they must be on the job location or available. Again, trading time for money. An example of how this is handled well is with the typical franchise business. Most of those businesses have a manual that people can refer to and follow a system that has been implemented many times before. At least the business owner might be able to step away. The issue I have with most franchises is the cost upfront... the initial investment is usually high. Look at something like the "UnFranchise". It has proven systems and training, the start-up initial investment is extremely low and the business model is design to work by leveraging the efforts of other people. Proven systems for standardized action plans and work flow are critical to not trading time for money.

Who is making money with social media

I heard an interesting comment that was delivered as a question last week. This took place at a business meeting for networking that I attend on a regular basis. There was a general discussion about social media and someone said, "is there anyone using social media and actually making money?" He continued to say, "there's a lot of people on social media but is anyone actually making money?" My first thought was that obviously the companies who run the pay-per-click advertising and sell other media on the social media sites make money. Certainly there are plenty of businesses that created apps to use with social media and they are making money too. But I think the original statement/question was directed to the everyday users on the various social media sites.

I have two thoughts on this and I'm going to keep it short because I do not have much time.  I would like to come back and expand on this post's subject in the future. The first thing is that yes, plenty of people are making money with social media. Its not black and white and it is indirect. A person or business may get some business or sell something if they come right out and try by posting on a social media site but generally throwing up on your contacts and connections does not work very well. If you try to push something by blasting it all over social media sites it tends to backfire and you'll lose connections/friends/etc. People hate to be sold but love to shop. So if you are pushing something it won't work in general, even if its an amazing product or service. Think about all the times you've been cold-called or approached by a "sales" person (your defenses go up). Walk into a store and typically when a person working there asks, "may I help you?" people answer "no thank you, just looking". Social media helps you to sell something because you create a relationship with others on the various sites. When people see that you have something to say that is intelligent and pertains to whatever they need they will listen to you. They will follow you, read what you have to say and eventually contact you. By the time they do contact you they have already decided that you are the person or business that should supply them with whatever it is they need. This is essentially In-bound Marketing which deserves an enormous amount of space to write about so I will post more on this in the future. There are many books, web sites, webinars and seminars out there by experts such as Seth Godin and  David Meerman Scott for example.

The second thing I wanted to mention is that there are plenty of people who are making money with social media and not only are they using all the aspects of In-bound Marketing but are actually selling and collecting income within a social media site. For example there are very few (I believe its only three) companies that can actually run an E-commerce shopping cart in Facebook within a vast network specific to their business. I will save this part for my next blog post, I need to go!

Thank for reading!

Web Site OR Blog?

I often hear people who say they set up a blog and don't need a web site. If you are an individual who is sharing experiences in your life with others than all you need is a blog. For example if you enjoy a certain hobby or are passionate about a subject then you should blog about it and in it you can provide photos, videos and write as much as you'd like and do so easily on a regular basis. However, if you own any kind of business and wish to use the internet effectively you must have a web site (and a blog too) and I'll explain why further in this blog post. I've heard people comment that a blog is better for search engine optimization. This is true especially if your web site is NOT set up correctly with certain tools that enhance the content and provide interaction with your site visitor.

Assuming that everything is set up correctly I think it is ideal to have a web site that has a link in the navigation that points to your blog. You need both because each one provides a different form of essential content. If you are a business you should choose a web site first over a blog and here's why. Bloggers post relevant content that is often timely. When someone on the internet comes across your blog they are going to be presented with the most up to date post from the blog. This leaves room for missing a lot of important information about you or your business that may have been posted in the past. The latest blog post may talk only about a certain aspect or issue in your business and that doesn't convey the total picture so the viewer may move on without realizing you have what they need.

A web site contains all the static information and should be presented upfront, easy to get to and not too deep (one click away is ideal). For example... about us, history, services, products, expertise, contact information, testimonials/reviews, etc. All of this is important content that should be available right away when someone comes to your site. In a blog a visitor comes into a posting because they have an interest in what you are talking about. That visitor has to dig and poke around to find more about who or what you are... unless there's a web site.

A blog is where you can comment on current events or situations related to you, your customer or business. You can talk about current or completed projects, provide news in your industry and keep an audience up to date. By providing fresh, new content that is not only relevant to your business but more importantly information that can help clients/customers you will create repeat visitors to your blog. A blog is where you can shine and come off as an expert in your field or business. Repeat visitors are more likely to contact you, ask questions and post on your blog and visit your web site. This part of "inbound marketing" which is critical these days and has replaced traditional advertising as the most effective means to drive traffic to your business. You build trust and a bond with the people you provide value and information before making a sale. Once you have that you need a web site where they can contact you or check out your complete story.

High tech? You better be high touch too.

Its always interesting to hear the perception that people have towards an online business, especially if it is a home business, network marketing or direct sales business. Whenever I tell them I have a web site or actually a web portal for my business they automatically assume that I get all or most of my customers online, magically without any effort. What I often hear... "So, they come to your site and buy stuff?" or "that's great! you don't have to talk to anyone or do cold calls because they come to your site, right?" When I hear that line of questioning or comments like that there are two things that go through my mind.

First. Are you saying this and really believing that this is what goes on? Do you think I have a business that runs on auto-pilot and my residual ongoing income is the result of visitors coming to my web site while I go off and have fun? Because if you do, you know nothing about business... any business. Web sites, blogs, capture pages, emails, etc. are all tools that either create interest or generate possibilities. Business still gets done the old fashion way which means you must communicate and build a relationship with the potential customer, client, vendor or business partner. People don't buy because you have something they need. They buy because you can help them, you fill a need or they trust you. So they are comfortable with you and feel that you will do something right for them. All of this means that you need to communicate somehow with others and not by just offering a web site that promotes products or services.

Second. When someone asks a question along those lines I know what they are thinking. They are wondering if they could actually do my business and would it simply be a matter of setting up a web site and waiting for orders to come in? Typically questions like that are coming from individuals who are probably not ideal candidates to be entrepreneurs or in business for themselves because they are missing a very important point. People buy YOU before they buy whatever product or service you promote. In sales (and let's be honest here, you are a sales person if you own any business) its always going to be a given that the client or customer needs to believe and trust you before they buy something. Its naive to think that someone will buy from you just because you are online. There's too much competition and too many choices out there. This is even more the case if you're talking about a business prospect you wish to recruit. Why should they pick you? There are so many out there who are bigger, more successful, well known, etc. Bottom line is to make them feel VIP and answer the "what's in it for me" that most people live by. In fact, if you concentrate on helping your business partners succeed you will do better without even realizing it... more on that thought in the next posting.