I'm currently both reading AND listening to the book The Four Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss. I'll admit the title caught my attention on Amazon.com and bought it simply based on that, not knowing anything else about the book.
The book describes how the author was able to eliminate a ton of unnecessary stress from his life, and then outsource the rest in order to free himself to only work 4 hours per week to make the same (or more) income.
Is it possible or just a fairy-tale fantasy? There are some interesting concepts in this book. One is the 80/20 rule - which is not new. The theory is that 20% of your customers will contribute 80% of your income. (Or the flip side is 80% of your customers will only contribute 20% of your income.) So why not focus on the 20% of customers that pay your bills. Don't be afraid to fire customers who are giving you headaches and very little profits. Or those customers who you call every week and never order from you. Put them on autopilot and focus on the small number of great customers. Find out why they're so great, and then find a few more just like them.
Another interesting concept is the idea of elimination. Reduce the number of emails coming in. Ask people not to CC you on things you don't need to be involve in. Reduce the number of meetings. Delegate more things - your customer service staff should be empowered to make the customer happy without having to come to you to ask for small things. Create a FAQ for the most frequently asked questions. Reduce the drains on your time. Make people around you aware that you consider your time valuable and don't let them waste it with idle chit chat and stuff.
And finally, Ferriss recommends you outsource as much as you can. Get a virtual assistant for $4 an hour from India, and let them do the preliminary research you need to write that article, let them blog for you, let them do your business and personal errands that take a long time, even let them respond to your emails for you. Can you find 10 hours of week of tasks for someone else to do, for $40 a week? Are there things you'd rather be doing for 10 more hours a week (playing with your kids, sleeping, planning your next big project) that you'd pay $40 to free up? It's seductive to free up a lot of time for so little money.
Ferriss has a blog, and recently did an interesting interview with Robert Scoble. An interesting theory - one which I will be slowly putting to the test over the next couple of months.
For many years, I've thought about taking what I am currently doing (consulting for one client at a time), and going to the next level with it - multiple clients and even some employees. One opportunity which I don't think is being fully exploited is marketing to companies who don't have the resources for a full-time I.T. person on staff, but who ocassionally need to get someone in to fix their printer, install some new software, develop a small custom application, etc.
So when I heard about Nerds on Site, it sounded like a nice approach to me. Their marketing tagline to get consultants on board has been "You're in business for yourself, but not by yourself". I've been in business for myself for 10 years, and thought exploring this other way of doing things would be interesting. It had potential.
Well, it turned out to be unfulfilled potential.
Trying to get to talk to them has been a bit of a let down. After filling out an online application - "What is your strengths? Why do you want to join with us? etc." - they invited me to sign up for a First Step session.
And that's where they fell down, big time.
As soon as I got the invitation, I went to the URL to sign up for the next step in the "process". I was expecting to meet people in person, and learn more about what they expect, and what they can provide. The only in person session was in Windsor (4 hour drive from me), so I was basically forced to sign up for an online session.
That's not too bad, except a lot of the sessions were "middle of the day" sessions. I can't come home from work in the middle of the day to talk to them, so I could only do weeknight sessions. That wouldn't even be a problem, except all the evening sessions were fully booked.
I went back again a few days later, and it was still fully booked. No in person sessions available again. Back again a 3rd time a week later, and found 1 single session available so I signed up. Nope, that session was for Filipino's only (don't ask). Went back again (4th or 5th time by this point) and found a 6pm online session for a few weeks hence, and booked it.
I did everything I normally do. I set an appointment up in Outlook, had it remind me. I came home from work well before the time, downloaded and installed all the software they require for the meeting (yes, I had to install stuff for an online meeting). Logged in at a quarter to 6 to get things set up and then...
"I'm sorry Scott. The time is now 5:47pm. We asked you to be here at 5:45pm. You'll have to book another time in the future."
What? What the hell? The online meeting was at 6pm, I show up at 5:47pm, and I'm told "sorry"?
You know what? If this is how Nerds on Site operates their business, then it's better that I'm not part of that. I am an experienced businessman, and have a lot of client contacts. I don't need to be treated like some high-school kid trying to compete for his first job. If Nerds on Site wants to partner with me, they can contact me and we can talk one-on-one like real businesses do. But in 6 weeks or so of trying to get this "First Step" meeting set up, I'm back at the beggining? That's that.
There is a great service called DailyLit that will email you small parts of a book every day. For those of us who don't have time to sit down and read a book, having 3-4 paragraphs show up in your email makes it easy to fit it into your day. After all, some of us spend 2-3 hours a day in email... why not spend 5-10 minutes reading something truly useful.
http://www.dailylit.com/index
Right now I am reading P.T. Barnum's book, "The Art of Money Getting". The title alone makes it worth reading, and the fact its by Mr. "There's a sucker born every minute" P.T. Barnum.
Sorry, unconverted.
There are only three circumstances where employees should have the right to unionize:
* Low wage jobs, which I define to be less than $50,000 per year
* High risk jobs, where health and safety needs to be monitored
* Abusive employers, as decided by the Labour Relations Board
I also think employers should be given another weapon to fight a strike. The ability to fire or replace any number of employees without cause with only standard severance.
That is, once your employees are on strike, you can then decide it is a good time to reorganize your work force, letting go some of your least productive workers and hiring some replacements.
So, you go on strike, you risk losing your job because if your employer can find someone better, they will.
If not, you're safe.
I decided to check on my Lulu account, because it's been a while since I've been there. And wouldn't you know it, I sold 4 copies of my e-Book, "How to Solve Sudoku". Holy smokes!
To those 4 people who shelled out $0.95 for a 9-page PDF file... thank you. Thank you so much.
I really have to get back into my content-creation mode. I've been slacking off creating new books, web sites, and trying out business ideas. My "Back to School" resolution for September - get back to non-work work.
Technorati was the first, if I am remembering this correctly, search engine for blogs. They became massively popular overnight, and rightly so. I think I even praised it on this blog once or twice.
But has it now become useless? I did a search on Technorati for " cryptologic", a company a friend of mine was trying to get me to invest in. Every single link on the first page of results is spam. Blogs filled with random text, that just happen to contain the word cryptologic.
My first instinct was to report the blog as spam. Hmm.. No links for that. I can add it to my favorites, but I cannot block or otherwise delete these spam blogs.
So, on to icerocket. Spam killed Technorati.
When I speculated earlier this week that the Larry Ellison would never be so generous as Gates and Buffett, I had no idea that he would provide proof of that so soon:
Larry Ellison Renegs on Pledge of $100 Million to Harvard
The funny thing is, he pledged the money about a year ago. And last week Harvard was complaining that they still haven't seen the money, and that Ellison stopped returning their calls.
So now Oracle officially confirms that Ellison is renegging. What a snake. Has there ever been anyone LESS deserving that has been so wealthy? (Some of the sleezy-industrialists of the 19th century come to mind, but that was a long ago era.)
People have been saying for years that Ellison has been jealous of Gates. But now that Ellison is falling on the Forbes richest list year after year (at one point, he was #2 I think, now down to at least #9), perhaps Ellison has given up trying to catch him.
Whohoo! I'm diving head first into the world of podcasting. Please come hear the first episode of my new series, “Making Money Podcast”.
Don't worry. This show is not about get rich quick schemes. You won't hear me talking about domain name squatting, setting up link farms, or how to make a killing in the growing Internet pharmacy business.
It's about ideas. Business ideas, investing ideas, and marketing ideas. I hope you come away from each show with one or two things that make you think, and perhaps lead to you to something big.
This show can be downloaded through iTunes. And you can subscribe to the RSS feed in your reader of choice.
What if I told you there was an industry that sold 10 cents worth of product for $50 at retail stores? And that consumers were usually forced to buy it every few months at those inflated prices?
And they intentiionally made each version of their product incompatible with previous versions to make life more difficult for both consumers and competitors? And they came out with new versions of their product almost every month?
And that they developed technology so that their product would stop working when a competitor's product was used with it?
Some of you may have already guessed what industry I am talking about. Others may think I am dealing with something only Tony Soprano and the mafia could dream up -- a racket to ensure you make tons of money and everyone else gets screwed, especially the consumer.
Well, the industry is computer printers. The scam is that they sell the printer to you for $89 or so. And that printer comes with very little ink - the minimum required by law. Then they got you to the tune of $100 every few months as you replace your ink cartridges ($40 for black, and $20 each for three color modules). But what's so special about their ink? A cartridge of ink costs only a few cents. Even with all the fancy packaging, it's only $1 or so. Why do they jack up the price to $20-$40 per cartridge?
And what about this anti-competitive technology? Inkjet cartridges these days have little computer chips, and the printers have little chip readers. The cartridge keeps track of ink levels, and is hard-coded to go down, never up. The printer will stop working when it thinks the ink is too low - even if there is still ink left in the container. And try using a no-name or third-party ink cartridge, and your printer will not work at all.
The other thing that kills me is that there are, like, 100 different models of inkjet printers by each company. And each printer takes a different size and model of ink cartridge. That is why the computer stores contain aisles and aisles of inkjet cartridges. There is NO GOOD REASON why each printer requires a different model cartridge besides to make life more difficult for competitors and by extension consumers. If Epson makes 100 different inkjet models, then anyone who wants to make a cheaper ink cartridge needs to make 100 as well, which raises costs.
It's a big scam. Governments should step in. If the Department of Justice wants to stop anti-competitive behavior, this is a PRIME EXAMPLE. Do you think companies can get by with having two or three model printers, and keep selling them for a year or two? Do you think companies can get together and settle on a standard inkjet cartridge size? Yes. Of course they could. But then, they would be forced to compete, and that would be bad for business.
Tonight I didn't break any laws, but was made to feel like I did. I refilled my own inkjet cartridge. After a few minutes trying to get it to work, it did. I don't feel so bad though - these companies have been ripping me off for years.
Mark Cuban, internet billionaire and sports mogul, has posted an interesting blog entry about the keys to success in business (and life, I suppose). Makes an interesting read:
1. Time is more valuable than money
2. Random Acts of Kindness
3. No Balls, No Babies
4. Work Hard Play Hard
5. Don’t let fear be a roadblack
6. Expect the unexpected, and always be ready
7. It’s ok to yell and be yelled at
8. Everyone gets down, the key is how soon you get back up
9. It’s not if the glass is half empty, or half full, it’s who is pouring the water
10. It’s not in the dreaming, it’s in the doing
11. Pigs Get Fat, Hogs Get Slaughtered
12. You only have to be right once
Read the article for the full descriptions of each.
Newsday has a really interesting piece on how Trump's casino business is now in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection pending restructuring, and how the Trump image may be losing some of its lofty stature.
After all, how can Donald Trump, host of the Apprentice, put himself up as a model businessman when his publicly traded business (the casinos) is bankrupt?
Even more interesting is the graphic that accompanied the story listing The Donald's holdings:
© 2004 Newsday
For the last nine years, I have been paying my local newspaper (The Toronto Star) $14 a month for twice-a-week delivery (Saturdays and Sundays). I'm finally at a point where I can cancel my newspaper delivery for good. There are no more reasons to get it any more.
It's not like I read the paper. I rarely have the kind of time to spend the 45 minutes or so it takes to flip through a newspaper and read the interesting content within.
The only three reasons I subscribe to a newspaper are:
- Comic strips
- Movie listings
- TV guide
For this, I have been paying $14 a month. I no longer need #1 - I visit www.dilbert.com to get my fix. I no longer need #2 - my cell phone, for gosh sakes, has movie listings when I need it. And I visit www.toronto.com to get listings when I am home.
That leaves the TV guide. That's a tough problem to get around - my wife watches a lot of TV and likes to read the TV listings to let her know what interesting things will be on. (Basically, she plans her TV watching in advance.) Now, the digital cable box gives TV listings, and so does Channel 5 -- but those only show what is on now, not what is on next Wednesday. I could go to www.zap2it.com, but my wife doesn't use the Internet and even find the online services awkward and inconvenient. They are not easy to use.
That leaves TV Guide. Either you need to pay $1.50 at a retail store to get it (no cheaper than the newspaper), or get it delivered to your home for $.90 a week. It seems a bit expensive for what it is -- about $.10 of paper, plus $.20 of postage.
Many, many companies have access to this TV listings data. TiVo, zap2it, Channel 5, my digital cable box, newspapers... I wonder how much it would cost to get access to this data. Would people be willing to get a PDF file via email with a weeks worth of TV listings, ready to be printed? For $0.25 a week or $12 a year? I would pay for such a service - print the listings for my wife or leave it by the TV.
The Internet is all about giving people access to information on their terms. Magazines such as TV Guide, which are simply repositories for information, should be prime targets. It can be done better. Maybe I should try to do it better?
Do I have to keep mentioning Mark Cuban's blog? Do I have to point out that if you consider yourself an entrepreneur, you would be foolish not to read every word he writes and learn from his experience? Man oh man.
Rules of Success. #1: Sweat Equity is the best equity!
Rule #1: Sweat Equity is the best start up capital.
... The minute you ask [outside investors] for money, you are playing in their game, they aren’t playing in yours. You are at a huge disadvantage, and it’s only going to get worse if you take their money. The minute you take money, the leverage completely flips to the investor. They control the destiny of your dreams, not you.
... The reality of taking money from non family members is that they are doing it for only one reason, to make more money. If you can’t deliver on that promise, you are out. You will be removed from the company you started. You will find someone else running your dream company. If this sounds like a scene out of the Sopranos or an episode you would watch on TV about a loan shark, you are right. The only difference is that it’s all legal.
... The reality is that for most businesses, they don’t need more cash, they need more brains.
I have written about Eric Sink on this blog a couple of times before, but it's time to do it again.
Eric runs a successful software company called SourceGear, who have a professional source control product called Vault. He writes a regular column for MSDN called the Business of Software, and on his personal blog is now posting his take on the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing.
If you are at all interested in the business side of the software industry, read Eric Sink. As soon as possible.
One of the dreams shared by almost everyone worldwide is the dream of becoming rich. The book store is filled with texts by so-called financial gurus. Game shows (and now most reality shows) promise the chance to win vast sums of cash.
But what does it really mean to be rich? Well, you could define it with a dollar amount. You could say $1,000,000 is rich. But that's not necessarily true in reality. For instance, $1,000,000 might not last very long if you live in downtown Manhattan -- you could burn through that in less than 2 years if you're not careful. And $1,000,000 may last more than a lifetime in Thailand -- even though you live like a king. So in reality, being rich is relative to the amount of money you spend.
When many people talk about being rich, what they are really talking about is being able to afford to retire. Being rich is (often) just a means to an end. Yes, there are some people who dream about owning a mansion, driving a Ferrari, and having a billion dollars just for the sake of being able to call yourself a Billionaire. But for most people, the money (or possessions they can buy) are not as important as the modest desires -- to stop working, to travel, to spend every day golfing, etc.
So ultimately, you can retire with $100,000 in savings if you can afford to live on only a $600 a month. Some people can. Do you think more people would be happier and healthier if they realized they could retire 10 years earlier than planned?
There are currently four successful businessmen that I have to admit that I admire in some fashion:
* Donald Trump - There are many things you can say about him, however you have to admit Trump is the biggest and baddest real estate developer in Manhattan.
* Mark Cuban - Jumped from starting a multi-billion dollar Internet business into owning a NBA basketball team. He loves his job, and it shows.
* Sean “P. Diddy” Combs - Puffy started a small record label, run out of his home, and turned it into into a multi-million dollar fashion and entertainment enterprise: Bad Boy.
* Russell Simmons - Started a record label as well, and lauched the careers of many famous groups. He parlayed this initial success into a multi-million dollar fashion and entertainment empire: Def Jam.
Yes, that is quite a diverse group. I have taken some time to read up on the history of these four men, as they each fascinate me in slightly different ways.
The question I am asking, however, is once you have “made it” as a businessman, and have earned the big bucks, does that have any effect on how you approach life? (I was inspired to write on this topic from Mark Cuban's blog. I love his writing.)
Look at Donald Trump. The man has an ego as big as his multi-billion dollar bank account. He walks around with a royal swagger, somewhat like a mafia don surveying his turf. That's his style, and who am I to knock it. Every building and casino he owns is named after him. He only dates models, even his oldest daughter became one. Every wall, ceiling and fixture inside his suite at the Trump Tower is covered in gold. He goes nuts if he sees a door handle in one of his buildings that is not polished. That is his approach to life.
Then there is Mark Cuban. He is best known for his brash outspokenness. He shoots hoops before every game, and he is one of the most vocal fans sitting on the sidelines. He is a billionaire, that dresses in jeans and a t-shirt every day. As he himself says, he worked hard to become a billionaire so that he wouldn't ever have to wear a suit again. That is his approach to life.
Sean Puffy Combs is, like Donald, all about the bling. Diamond this, gold that. Fendi shirt, Gucci pants. Another guy who likes to set the fashion trends. But unlike The Donald, he doesn't seem to have a tendency to refer to himself every few minutes during conversations. He seems rather humble, and has a good sense of humor. Still, he travels with a huge entourage, is unmarried, dates models and starlets, and is quite concerned with image in everything he does.
Lastly, Russell Simmons is also a music mogul, but has what appears to be a different approach to life. He is married, and has a child. He has a huge mansion, but I think that is more of a reflection of his wife's tastes and style than his own. His wife also runs their fashion business, Phat Farm. He has written a well-regarded autobiography detailing how he went from being a street hustler to a CEO. Many famous people, including Sean Combs, recommend that book.
So...
If I were to “make it” -- become rich enough -- how would I approach life? Well, for one, I would definitely spend time with my family and friends. I would not become one of those 6am to 2am workoholics. Of course, I will only know for sure when I do become more successful, but I like to think I will never develop an ego the size of a large city...
Franchises are all around us. Everywhere we look. Thousands of brand-name restaurants, gas stations, muffler shops, and coffee shops operate as franchises. And hundreds of thousands of business owners in North America are making money by running someone else's business model. Is this a business paradise, or an unnecessary drag?
What does a franchise give potential owners? Well, for starter's, you get a brand name. Everyone knows of McDonald's. Everyone knows what to expect when you order a meal there. Most people even know the McDonald's slogan by heart. If I opened a restaurant named Duffy's, noone would know what type of food is served there. Needless to say, opening traffic at my restaurant would be significantly less than at McDonald's...
You also get an established business system. Some franchises provide training to owners. Some provide the products to sell. And some provide everything, from the real estate to the equipment to the start-up financing. In short, these are often turn-key operations.
But there is obviously some trade-offs. The first one you'll likely encounter is the up-front cost. Franchises can cost as much as $500,000. Businesses need all the start-up capital they can get, and paying a franchise fee takes away money that could be used to keep the business running. There are also sometimes ongoing license fees, which can cut into profits as well.
There may also be restrictions on the products you purchase and sell. So for example, you might be able to get a great deal on coffee, but your franchise agreement requires you to buy all your foods from the head office at a higher price. There are many things like that outside of your control.
Since you are subject to the rules and restrictions of the head office, who is really in control of your business? Are you your own boss, or are you really just the “manager” of the franchise with a profit-sharing plan?
Of course, not all franchises are that restrictive. Some simply let you use their brand for a fee. And some fees are quite low. Ultimately, whether a franchise makes sense is up to you. Find out the details and run the numbers. Franchisors are supposed to be there to help you get your business up and running successfully... after all, they have a vested interest in your success as well. You may be running your own business for the first time, but the franchisor has (presumably) done it many times before.
I recently posted a blog entry describing a book I was in the process of reading called “The Automatic Millionaire”.
I've finished reading that book, and my feelings of a few days ago remain the same.
The advice contained within the book is rather simplistic, but perhaps you can become rich by just following a few simple rules? Maybe it really is as easy as setting aside 10% of your income automatically, week in and week out. For the average Joe earning $50,000 per year, this would amount to $5,000 per year saved in a tax-sheltered vehicle (like an RRSP, 401(K), IRA or other). Not only would you save $2,000 or so in taxes, but at the end of 10 years you could have as much as $100,000 in investments. Keep this up, and you could be a millionaire when you're ready to retire in 30 or 40 years.
The author applies the same simplistic formula to other financial aspects: paying off your credit cards and paying off your mortgage. I don't fully subscribe to his “be debt free” philosophy however. Debt has it's place, although it needs to be controlled. In financial terms, debt is leverage. And leverage magnifies your investment gains. A 10% rise in the value of your home could become a 100% return-on-investment if you only have 10% equity in it.
He advocates paying down your mortgage early, but I think that should only be done when interest rates are high. I mean, my mortgage rate is currently 4.5%. That, in my eyes, is extremely cheap money. My bank is basically letting me borrow $200,000 for next to nothing. Why be aggressive in paying that back? Now if my mortgage rate were 12%, I might understand why paying that back would be a priority.
His strategy on housing is this: buy a house early in life. Pay back the 30-year mortgage in 15 years. And then move out of your home (rent it out to someone) and buy another one. Pay that 30-year mortgage back in 15-years, and basically you own two houses free-and-clear within 30 years.
What's interesting about his “buy two houses” strategy is that it's not fully explained or explored in the book. It's like an afterthought.
Anyways, for $9.99, it was a good deal. It has inspired me to start some type of disciplined savings (as opposed to the “save only when you have money” approach I was following before). This book will pay for itself in that way. I also like books that can be downloaded in Microsoft Reader format and read on my Pocket PC.
Overall, I recommend this book for those that want to learn more about the “pay yourself first“ strategy.
I recently started reading a new book on personal finance, entitled “The Automatic Millionaire” by David Bach. (I paid $9.99 for the e-book version at www.fictionwise.com.) In fact, just reading the title of the book should give you a fairly accurate idea of David's main idea for how anyone can get rich.
His basic idea is this: make your savings plan automatic. Have the bank, mutual fund company, or your employer sock away a certain percentage of your income right off your paycheck -- before you even see it.
How much you save every paycheck doesn't really matter at first. The ideal rate, according to Bach, is 10% to 15%. But some people start with 5% and some start with just 1%. Start with something, Bach suggests.
All of this makes perfect sense. The reason the government forces your employer to take your taxes right off your paycheck, and does not trust you to send the money in yourself every April, is that most people don't have the discipline to do that. Would you ever pay off your mortgage if it was optional? No, that's why banks automatically deduct our mortgage payment from our bank account once per month no matter what. After 25 or 30 years, you will own your house mortgage-free, and it required no work on your part other than ensuring there was enough money in your bank account.
This advice falls into the same category as the “pay yourself first” philosophy, and the “save 10% of your net income (you'll hardly feel it, I promise)” school of thought.
Call your bank up today, right now, and get them to deduct a certain percentage of your income into a money market mutual fund, RRSP or 401(k). It doesn't matter where you invest at first, what matters is getting into the habit of saving. Taking the saving decision out of your hands by making it automatic guarantees success.
Now, once you have saved like this for a few months, you will have some decent cash accumulated, and can start to think about where to invest. Should you buy stocks or buy real estate? That decision will be easier once you have the cash.
I haven't yet set up an automatic savings plan, but reading this book did cause me to log onto my Internet banking account and immediately transfer $500 from my checking account into my investment account. I need to set that up as a monthly transaction. But it's a start.
For those who have never read a book in the “pay yourself first” genre before, this book is as good as any. But considering the entire philosophy can be summed up in a few paragraphs, the author obviously spends the rest of the book convincing you it can be done, convincing you that YOU can do it, and showing you what the likely outcome of several different scenarios will be. I have found this book to be a tad repetitive, but that could be because I have read many of the same concepts elsewhere. Complete novices might find the repetition reassuring.
Eric Sink quotes Thomas Watson, founder of IBM:
Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't as all. You can be discouraged by failure — or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because, remember that's where you will find success.
— Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
I am going to print this out and tape it to the wall. “Go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can.” Wow.
I've linked to Wesner Moise before, and I am sure I will link to him again. His most recent article on Entrepreneurship sums up my own feelings on the self-employed vs. employee debate quite well.
As you may know (or may not), I am a self-employed computer consultant in Toronto, Canada. I left full-time permanent employment eight years ago. It has been a great ride, but it has not been without it's bumps from time to time.
When someone asks me if I would be willing to accept a full-time job, my standard answer is “I would, but it depends on the opportunity.” Essentially, the job would have to be fairly amazing in order for me to accept it.
First, there is the question of money. As Wesner states, I am not “all about” money, but I am “all about” personal freedom that money buys. You often hear the expression, “money can't buy happiness.” It does though, but not in the way you would expect. Money gives you the power to say no. And gives you the power to not get rolled over by every Tom, Dick and Harry that comes along. Money is like armour -- the more you have, the safer you are.
And second, there is the question of income potential. Working as a wage slave, I would make around $60,000 per year. After taxes and living expenses, I could save maybe $250,000 after 20 years. After 40 years, I might have $800,000 which would be enough to scrape together a retirement.
As self-employed, my annual income is quite a bit higher than a full-time salary, so the amount I could save is higher as well. But more than that, I have the opportunity to build up a business. To create some intellectual property (software, books) that will bring me passive income. To hire other individuals to do work for my company (subcontractors, employees) that will bring me more passive income. To branch out in a new direction whenever the opportunity arises.
Do I miss having an employer -- someone who will give me vacation days, allow me to stay home when I'm sick, and send me on training courses 2 weeks a year? Mostly not. Once a year I feel a tinge of jealously when a full-time colleague has been sent on yet another training course while I am left behind holding the fort. But that tinge evaporates quickly, once I see that he doesn't apply these new skills when he gets back, so the training was largely worthless.
I used to have a very high opinion of Tony Robbins, even though the only thing I knew about him I learned from his infomercials. He seems like the original “life coach”, and still the best in that field. I've never heard a bad word about the guy.
I recently acquired his CD series, “Get The Edge”. And let me say this right from the start, my opinion of him has totally changed. Any of his good qualities have been overwhelmed by his bad ones.
On Day 1, he slams low-carb diets, specifically Atkins. The way he talks about it -- “Eat all the fat you want, while avoiding healthy fruits and vegetables” -- shows he doesn't understand this diet at all. I've been on Atkins for 6 months, and have honestly never eaten healthier in my entire life. I have eaten more vegetables in the last few months than I have cumulatively in the last few years. Sugar is the real enemy in our society. And the funny thing is, Tony Robbins actually agrees with that statement later in the CD. So what's his problem with Atkins?
Since he only spent a few minutes bashing my favorite eating plan, I was willing to forgive him and move on. The rest of Day 1 was ok, as he focused on spending your “Hour of Power” each morning meditating and exercising. Exercising is something I want to do, so there is at least a ray of hope. But from here, it only gets worse. Way worse.
On Day 3, he starts talking about relationships. There are only three types of people according to Tony: (1) People in a relationship who want more from it; (2) People in a relationship that want out of it; and (3) People not in a relationship who want to be in one. That's awfully presumptuous. Of course, it's totally inconceivable that someone would be in a relationship and be happy. No, according to Tony that's stagnation. There are also many happy singles in this world. Those people are obviously living in a fool's paradise. I skipped the rest of this CD.
On Day 4, he really gets loopy. You see, Tony's a vegetarian. Well, an odd sort of vegetarian that doesn't eat bread or pasta. (Wait, that's just like that crazy diet, Atkins!) The main problem that's causing sickness and obesity in our society, according to our insane friend, is that our bodies contain too much acid! You know why we get the flu in December or January? Too much partying around Thanksgiving (seriously, he said that!).
He then related a story about a woman who lost 50 pounds in 6 weeks as soon as she switched to drinking “green drinks”. He then when on and on about how this strange Alkalize Diet he is promoting has been “written up“ by the National Institute of Health. You know what, I imagine 100 different diets have been “written up“ by the NIH. Does the NIH endorse this diet program? No? Well, this type of misleading advertising should be forbidden.
I don't know why I ever thought this guy had the answer to anything. It's also a bit of false advertising. He sounds so rational on TV, but he turns out to be a mystic/holistic healer on his CD. You shell out the $100+ to get this inspiration, and he turns out to be totally uninspiring.
Never, ever, ever waste your money on this guy. This program should even be avoided if you can get it for free, simply because of the hours of your life that you will never get back after listening to this.
This program really puts things in perspective for me. My life is good. My relationships are great. My financial health is pretty good too. Sure, there are things I can improve. But the real message is, do it yourself. In fact, if I fast-forwarded the program to the end, Tony just might say that. Maybe this entire course is designed to show people that there is no such thing as a lifestyle guru. The answers are inside ourselves, not outside. If that's the purpose of the course, it worked.
Somehow, though, I don't think he's pretending to be insane. Based on his crazy assertions about health, I am starting to believe he really is. And he could kill someone with his crazy ideas about how the body works.
I've just created a new Business and Investing Wiki. It gives me a chance to play with a new piece of software called FlexWiki. And it also allows me to collect my thoughts on personal wealth building in a format that is similar to a book.
A Wiki is an collaborative documentation tool. In essence, it's a website created by its users. Anyone can add content.
I hope to be able to have the time to build this site up with content over the holidays. Feel free to contribute if you have the time and inclination.
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