Archive for the 'Entrepreneurship' Category

Date: December 10th, 2007, Filed under Entrepreneurship

Someone at a church I work for asked me this weekend “How can I make money fast?” It’s the third most common question I’ve heard this year. My fast respond is: “Learn how to spend it slow” but that doesn’t help people who are in dire straights. As far as I can tell, there is no way to help yourself when you get to the point that you become desperate for money. My recommendation for most is “Get a second job” right after “Stop spending.” Yet I hear so many ridiculous schemes for making fast money, that I realized I had to write something quick — and email the link to everyone who has asked me the magic question.

Before we can even look into opportunities in making money, fast or otherwise, we need to look at the four primary ways one can make money. I say primary as there are other ways to receive an income, such as gifts and inheritances. Those are rare enough that they’re more a bonus than something you can aggressively find a way to receive.

Read this entire article at the entrepreneurship site.

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Date: November 1st, 2007, Filed under Entrepreneurship

Zion, IL
By A.B. Dada
—

I have three local friends who I keep in touch with through e-mail, and occasionally in person. They’re all heroes of mine because of their lives and lifestyles — I only wish I could emulate their drive and responsibility.

When I speak with my white and black friends (yes, they all prefer to be called that regardless of how PC it is), none of them seem to have the same connection that they do to family, community and friends. For the Asians I know, their lifestyles, businesses, and family relationships are cohesive and begin at birth.

One friend, an immigrant from Vietnam who moved here when he was 3, runs a very successful chain of small restaurants. They’re not Asian restaurants, either, but burger joints, a greasy spoon, and the like. His story is fascinating, and is similar to the other Asians I’ll describe.

At the age of 12, he was a top student, but also working at the diner his father worked at. He bussed tables, and during slow times focused on his homework. He learned quickly the art of hard work, and also learned the value of the dollar. I know for certain that every tip he earned he saved.

When he finished college, his first goal was to start his own restaurant. College was not a priority since he was already planning a restauranteur career, but his parents wanted him to go to college. I know for a fact that he didn’t borrow one cent, or get one cent in grants, for his college career. His family, friends, and the Vietnamese community paid for him to go to college. Can you imagine asking even ONE of your neighbors, or extended family, for a dime to attend school? He didn’t borrow the money — it was provided for him.

When he was ready to start his first restaurant, he just asked his community for the money. Close to 100 of his family, friends and community members advanced him $100,000 for his restaurant. This was not a loan with interest, just a loan to be paid back in full. I’m fairly certain his restaurant became profitable in year one, because he was paid up by the age of 24, less than 3 years in business. He quickly turned his other profits into more restaurants, the whole time living at home with his parents so they could monitor his lifestyle and spending. I met him a few years later, when he had 3 restaurants under his belt (all profitable and paid for), and was driving a 10 year old Honda. Even though he was earning 6 figures by then, he still lived at home, supporting his family and loaning 0-interest money to new Vietnamese business starters in his extended community.

When he married, he had no large wedding. 200 people attended an event at his congregation, and they all gave him and his new wife money to buy a home, which they did. I think of the $150,000 wedding I attended in recent year (I won’t be specific), and I think of the couple who now has $400,000 in debt for the home and cars. Ouch. My Vietnamese friend has no debt, owns a tiny house (700 square feet?) and is pleased with what he is providing his congregation, as well as students he knows who will attend college debt free, and then go on to start their own business. I would be amazed at how his life would be without the IRS taking 30-40% of his money immediately. The Vietnamese community would be even stronger. When I’ve asked him about health care, he’s told me repeatedly that Vietnamese close to their community don’t worry about retirement or disability, because they take care of those who have proven themselves to be responsibility up until retirement or disability. He knows he will move his parents in when they need help, and I respect that idea. Social security is a non-issue. Retirement homes are unnecessary. Try finding an Asian in a retirement home or in line at the Social Security office. Not many.

My second Asian friend is an Indian. His life was similar, having his education paid for by not just his parents, but the parents of his future wife. The marriage was NOT setup by his parents, but the future bride and groom were approved by both parents, based on his responsibility through school and work in college. Upon marriage, my friend and his wife lived with his parents until his career had taken off. They did not move out of the small 3 bedroom home until he had enough in savings to pay for his house completely. His home is not large, by any means, and not in a wonderful neighborhood, but it is his and his wife’s. They drive on car between the two of them, with the wife taking the bus to get groceries, because they bought a home very close to the stores. I know he makes 6 figures a year, but he lives like a minimum wage household. His profits are used to take care of his parents, and his future. I respect him greatly, as his first child is on its way, and its future is already covered financially. His wife graduated college, but would rather focus her life on providing a nuturing home for their child, and a comfortable home for the husband to come home to. What a dream.

My third Asian friend is still a teenager, someone who e-mailed me a year ago. 16 years old, already Aced his SAT and ACT, and prepared for college. In the summer he works for a local entrepreneur, learning how to handle customers over the phone and handle the work they need done. He is easily surpassing adults I know twice his age, with his care, responsibility, and follow-through. A 16 year old is my hero, because I was not that responsible at 16, or even at 32. It is a miracle that was created by parents who focused on their responsibilities, not on keeping up with the Joneses.

It is hard for me as a half-Asian half-white, because I see the difference between the Asian communities (those that are tight knit) and the white communities. Neighbors aren’t part of the family, they’re people to compete with. People live wealthy and die poor. Kids are left to the teachers’ unions to be raised and mentored to. We white believe we are the greatest race in the world, and we have no idea that we’re not even close to the top 30%. We’ve screwed things up because we’re not focused on the long haul.

I do thank God for the Asians I meet — the ones who are mocked for working at the convenient store, the ones who are embarrassed at school for their geekiness and lack of social graces. Yet I know that they don’t really care about being modern, they care about following through the way that their parents did, and their parents before them. It is a lesson that we can only hope to learn from, but will likely continue mocking and disrupting.

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Date: September 6th, 2007, Filed under Entrepreneurship

I’ve always loved working in the United States, but lately there is a great fear I hear about from other consultants, employees and business owners: will be enter a heavy recession?

The games that the Federal Reserve has played with money supply growth and interest rate mangling is leading us in the direction of a bad recession. Historically, recessions were staved off artificially with an increase in available credit and a lowering of interest rates to instill consumer confidence in spending. Easy money, at low price, gives people a reason to buy today and pay tomorrow. This cycle might push off small recessions, but the piper eventually has to be paid. As the dollar’s value is destroyed slowly over time, foreign competitors are able to produce goods cheaper than we can at home, which gives us more reason to buy foreign than locally. Manufacturing and industrial labor in the U.S. is dying faster than ever, and even health care services are being outsource to foreigners (MRIs being read by Indian doctors at a fraction of the price of local doctors, for example).

For me, the best thing to do is to present your services internationally, even at a discount rate over your local rate. If you value your time at $35 an hour here, you might only command $10 or $15 an hour internationally, but it builds your client base and your portfolio. I worked for a foreign company for close to 6 months at an 85% discount over my local rate, but I was able to build on that opportunity to get myself to a place where I can work internationally at a 40% haircut. Over time, as the dollar devalues, I believe I’ll find myself able to work at a profit over my local rate, only because of the falling value of the dollar versus the international currency I bill in. It may take 10 more years, but the progress is good.

Read this entire article at the Be Your Own Boss site.

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Date: November 10th, 2006, Filed under Entrepreneurship

Sponsored Post:

The Global Unanimocracy Network was accepted into a new advertising/review co-op called ReviewMe.com today, and I’m looking into it as a way to combine realistic reviews (of sites and products) as an additional income source for the network.

I’ve battled the debate as to how to produce an income that is equitable for the time I spend, but not be annoying to the visitors and regular readers. While I’ve been happy with Google’s AdSense and Text-Link-Ads’s system, I’ve always considered that the best profit is the information I get from people who share their opinions on the blog posts over at the Unanimocracy forums. Your views (agreements and disagreements) help format future opinions and help me challenge debates better — this is the best form of profit for the network. Yet every site also needs a financial income just to stay afloat, and I’ve looked at various ways to reduce the “spamminess” of our network. Things will be changing a lot in the coming year as the network ventures into the second year of writing.

Read this entire article at the entrepreneurship site.

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Date: November 8th, 2006, Filed under Entrepreneurship

I’m really amazed with Skype — the quality tends to be terrible, the software is buggy, the delay over their VoIP to POTS network is significant. Yet the upside is that it not only works, but it tends to make me more productive — as well as my staff and my volunteers. I’m amazed that more small offices haven’t embraced Skype for their “on the go” consultants or sales staff.

My favorite thing about Skype is SkypeIn: the ability to receive phone calls from the POTS network. Not only can you get a phone number for around $2 a month, but you can get multiple phone numbers. Since I do business in various states AND countries, I can get a local number in every market I’m in for less than $20 a month — that’s 10 numbers. I can also pick the numbers I want so I can get something vanity and memorable. I snagged 312-HAT-HEAD for $2 a month (I’m known as the guy who always wears hats and beanies). All the numbers can point to the same Skype accounts.

Read this entire article at the entrepreneurship site.

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Date: October 17th, 2006, Filed under Entrepreneurship

In a Slashdot article titled (Mis)Tracking Web Traffic, I made this post titled General traffic figures are useless.:

I’m not sure it matters. I advertise my own businesses on the web, and I accept advertising on my sites. I’ve sold numerous ads just for my site for repeat customers who realize I give them more than they pay out of supporting my site. I support some sites repeatedly because those sites make me a profit for what I invest.

If you’re a big company, you gauge your profits NOT on what others say but what you actually witness through numbers paid and profits made. If you don’t make a profit, the traffic reports mean NOTHING. If you make MORE profits than you were expecting, the traffic reports mean NOTHING.

Read this entire article at the Be The Boss site.

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