SECRETS OF GREAT ACHIEVERS

How do you solve money problems?

1. Stop spending

2. Worry

3. Blame someone or something

4. Give up

5. Go further into debt

6. Sell a possession

7. Become depressed

8. Complain

9. Cheat or steal

10. Hope someone will just give you the money you need

Of course, none of these solutions help you gain more money.

However, this solution is effective.

"I answer money problems with lots of money, not with worry or sadness or impractical hope." — L. Ron Hubbard

You solve your money problems by making money. No other approach is a solution. An abundance of money is your only solution.

Recommendations

1. Figure out how much money you need. Write the total at the top of a page. For example, "I need to earn $10,000 per month."

2. List all of your assets. Include all of your possessions, your skills, your knowledge, your contacts and your passions. These are some or all of the ingredients to your ultimate success, so make the list as complete as possible.

Examples: You have a truck, a camera, an empty bedroom and $11,225 cash. You are good at organizing, listening, learning, speaking and making people feel important. You know all about horses, word processors, furniture building, the State of Texas, Internet auctions and using e-mail. You know Jennifer, Robert, Tim, Ruth, Steve, Dave, etc. You have a passion to help others, build model airplanes, solve complex problems, learn new things and more.

3. Dream up every way you can use your assets to make money. Make a list. Old methods, new methods, any combination of assets that produce income.

Examples: Use your empty bedroom to start a small business selling cameras, furniture and jewelry for others at Internet auctions. Learn how to prepare tax returns. Help your boss make deliveries with your truck.

4. Select a method that is proven. Does this method already make money for someone else?

If so, it is a good candidate.

If no one has ever made money with your idea, look for something else. Stick to methods that already work and invent new methods as a hobby at some other time.

5. Verify that others would pay you for the product or service.

For example, ask your boss, "Did you know I know 150 horse owners. They need shelters for their horses. What if I tested the market to see if we could add portable shelters to our product line. If it works out, I would be willing to run the new division."

As another example, you are thinking of taking pictures as a profession. So you meet with professional photographers to see how much money they make.

Ask around. For instance, ask your friends "If I had my own insurance company and could save you money on your car and home insurance, would you be interested?" "If I made a video on how to cut children’s hair, would you buy it?"

6. If all the signs are good, test the idea in the real world before devoting much time or energy to the idea. For example, run a part-time business from your house to ensure it will be popular and profitable. Make a few products or services to see if anyone will buy them. Try the new ad campaign with a small newspaper. Dip your toe before taking the plunge, especially if the idea is new.

7. Once the idea is certain to work, then and only then should you invest significant time and money into the project.

8. If you cannot work out a workable income source, work out a plan to increase your assets. If you have the right ingredients, creating new income sources is much easier.

For example, you may need additional education, apprenticing or experience in certain fields before you can earn more income. You may need to become more responsible. You may need more familiarity with a subject. You may need to make more contacts.

9. Once you have a plan you are certain will work, work long and hard to make it happen. You will solve your money problems by making more money on your own.

10. This final step is rarely taken, but is key to becoming wealthy.

"I never count on any one source. I always plan to get the total sum of all the money I need from each one of three or four ways or sources." — L. Ron Hubbard

After you have one steady source of income, look for another source by repeating these steps.

Like the above Article? then Share and Enjoy it

Digg

Technorati Delicious

Del.icio.us

Stumbleupon Reddit

Facebook

Founder of Under30CEO.com, Matt Wilson, shares tips to avoid failure.

Face it. Nothing will go as planned. Ever.

Failure is inevitable. Your world will be flipped upside-down on a daily basis, and even the best-laid plans--accompanied by the best intentions--can go belly-up.

To make it as a business owner in the real world, you need to learn to fail like a pro, adapt at will and pay attention to detail in order to make informed decisions that will keep your business moving forward. Your ability to plan for the worst-case scenario and maneuver around unforeseen circumstances will be the keys to finding success as your own boss.

What was your biggest failure as a young entrepreneur?
MW: My biggest failure as an entrepreneur came at Under30CEO after wavering from our mission of inspiring young entrepreneurs. We were frustrated because our market wasn't buying what we had to sell, so we took on an enormous re-branding campaign and changed the name of our company to incorporate a larger audience and drop our under-30 demographic. We spent a lot of time and money trying to expand our market. Still, nobody bought.

It doesn't matter how big your market is if nobody likes your product. It wasn't the market's fault. Our product was bad, and we ruined our brand and had to start from scratch. The most embarrassing part was going back to our old brand and apologizing to our old customers we wanted to welcome back.

That being said, now we spend a lot more time getting to know our market instead of trying to sell anything to anyone. We were in a hurry to turn cash-flow-positive when we needed to stay focused and be patient.

Are there specific obstacles young entrepreneurs need to overcome vs. older generations?
The biggest thing for a young entrepreneur to overcome is credibility. Why should someone invest in you? Why should someone trust your advice? What will make people think you will get the job done with no track record? Building credibility is best done with a stepping-stone approach. Do one thing today that will make you more credible tomorrow. If people won't pay you or invest in you, give away your product or service for free, get testimonials from customers and build your track record that way. Show customers what value you can provide them, and if you can quantify that value, even better. The more things you can come to the table to brag about, the better.

What about some typical missteps you've seen young entrepreneurs make?
One of the biggest mistakes young entrepreneurs make is neglecting their revenue model. Today there are so many businesses that haven't figured out how to monetize themselves yet. To me, the word monetize is redundant in business. If you don't have a business model, you aren't really in business--it's just a hobby. Sure, investors are dropping millions of dollars into companies with hopes of being acquired by Google, but without a solid business model behind it, you are just building "castles in the sky."

Seasoned investors and accomplished entrepreneurs can help mentor young people to overcome this hurdle. Show them your financials and focus on how to generate cash flow. There are thousands of people out there who want to see young people succeed--you just need to ask.

What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs who hate their 9-to-5s?
Aspiring entrepreneurs need to surround themselves with others who want more out of life than the typical 9-to-5. There is a great group of motivated people eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every night in your city, scraping by to build their business. Surrounding yourself with these types of people gives you the confidence to know you aren't alone on the road to success. The minute you quit your job, naysayers will come out of the woodwork, but if you have that support group to fall back on, you'll be able to overcome the hard times.

Remember, entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint.

How has Under30CEO.com helped young entrepreneurs avoid failure and launch successful businesses?
More than 100 young entrepreneurs from all over the globe have shared their successes and failures on Under30CEO.com. Hearing insights from young people overcoming the same problems they are experiencing in their businesses allows Gen Y to come together and learn from one another. The community has a culture of reaching out to one another and helping each other with the challenges they are facing.