Business Success | Need A Dream Team Board Of Directors?

Is your business successful but you are working way too hard?  Is your business stuck right now and you don’t know how to take it to the next level?

Are you feeling a bit burnt out with your business and losing enthusiasm fast?  Is your business at a crisis point but you don’t have anyone to talk to?

Perhaps you have what seems like an insurmountable obstacle to success and you can’t see your way round it, under it, over it?

Well, we know just how you feel – because Judith and I have both been there!

Several times.

So get a cuppa, because I have a story to tell you…..time to read and digest, 5-10 minutes tops.

When I was at burnout with the Money Gym in 2006 and thinking of giving it up, what I really wanted was a business mentor or business advice that I could trust.  From a proven successful business person, not some time-for-money consultant from the government bodies.

Or – eureka!! a Board Of Directors to work with on an ongoing basis.  I didn’t need investment but I badly needed experienced advice on how to grow the business from something good that had sustained me (and the hotel!!) very well for three years but which I was trapped working “in” rather than “on”.

I loved the clients and the great results they got but I really couldn’t face going through the 10 Financial Intelligence Modules again with one more new client, lovely people or not.

Not good.

And worse, I felt ungrateful because most coaches would kill for a lovely niche business like The Money Gym with great demand, that captured people’s imagination and which almost sold itself .

I also wasn’t massively keen on giving up any shares which investment would have meant.

So I was researching and networking to find out how the whole non-executive Board of Directors thing worked.  Non-exec meaning that they didn’t do any of the work but advised me, coming to a board meeting once a quarter to hear about progress and make suggestions.

I was looking everywhere – both online and offline for them.

Then, bummer, I discovered that each Director (Sales & Marketing, Finance, Operations) would expect to be paid about £10,000 – £15,000 per annum plus expenses, unless they invested in the business and you gave away substantial amounts of shares.

I also had Steve to consider, as we were partners in our internet business by then, but he did loads of work in The Money Gym too and if I was giving away shares in the Money Gym then he should get some.

Remember the E-Myth way of looking at it?  I knew that, when designing a successful business, you need a director for each key area – and those are…..

The Five P’s

Promise – the marketing & sales
Product – operations / delivery / production
Pounds & Pence – the finance
Place – office, equipment, telecoms etc
People – customer service & partners / staff / freelancers

I wanted to do the Promise, was delivering the Product but didn’t want to anymore and didn’t have time to create other products, needed help urgently with the Pounds & Pence because while self taught, I didn’t know how to strategically plan our finances, Steve did the Place, and People, but wasnt’ massively keen on the latter LOL

I also knew it had to be someone I respected so that I would up my game.

So I outlined the qualities of the new business partner I wanted

1. Knew & believed in the Money Gym ethos (ex-client?)
2. Ideally had coaching skills so that they could do the coaching for me at least for a while
3. Good with people so we were forced to improve out customer service
4. Had PROVEN successful business background as most of the Business Link / Enterprise Centre advisors had no real business experience, and swapped time for money.

When I was driving along one day

Read more..

My First Wealth Creation Mentor Gill Fielding on “The Apprentice – You’re Fired”

I was surprised and thrilled to see my first ever wealth creation mentor Gill Fielding (“Secret Millionaire”) on BBC2’s “The Apprentice – You’re Fired” last night.  You can re-watch it here >>>>

Bugs, Birthdays, Business & Beautiful Food

I got an email from Hal, my mate from Georgia, today.  The subject line got my attention as all of Hal’s emails invariably do.  Today, the subject line was “One big fat ugly rat” and I opened it immediately….

It went to to say….

“Dear Nicola,  I don’t know about you, but one big fat ugly rat in my house is one way too many!

I spoke with a gentleman a few days ago and he told me he had found evidence of a rat in his basement. He asked, “Do you think I have a rat problem?”

What?  Are you kidding me? A big fat ugly rat in your house and you’re asking me if it is a problem?

Now, I don’t know about you…but if I find evidence of a rat in my house, I’m going to take immediate action.  Rats and my wife do not mix…..under any circumstances.

NO…..not at all……no way!

Roof rats (Rattus rattus) are rampant in the Atlanta Metro Area….just as they are in all metropolitan areas in America.  They have been living in our houses for thousands of years. It’s their natural habitat.

Roof rats are referred to as “commensal rodents”.  Commensal means, “lives with man” or “shares man’s table”.

Let me suggest one thing to you.  If you even THINK you hear something in your attic or basement….if you even THINK you smell a strange “amonia-like odor” in your basement or attic….if you even THINK you have found droppings from what could be a rodent…..you need to take immediate action!”

He went on to suggest some immediate action you could take, and of course, one of the action you could take would be to call Hal.

Hal, you see, has a company called North Fulton Bug Extermination and if I lived in North Fulton, and had a bug problem, there is only one man I would call and that’s Hal.  Apart from the fact that he’s a mate of my mate Mike Stewart, the Internet Audio & Video Guy, Hal, through his emails, has established that he’s

1. Passionate and knowledgeable about bug extermination
2. A Really Nice Guy

His website bears that out  and note, he’s using video to immediately connect with and communicate with harrassed householders with a bug problem.

Now, you might be wondering how Hal became such a cutting edge web marketeer and the answer is, of course, he wasn’t, but he’s a fishing buddy of Mike Stewart, who is brilliant at internet video and audio marketing.  one of my first mentors online actually.

And I think it’s a brilliant story that shows the power of the internet to market existing real world businesses, even very local business, who have a traditional business model but open minds when it comes to marketing.

Mike’s site also has a brilliant video promoting a local carpet company.  There are well edited videos of all the staff just talking about their customer service ethos, and why they are so proud of working there.  Where would I go for carpet if I lived in Georgia?  Well not some faceless shop where nobody cared about what they do or sell, that’s for sure.

I email Hal sometimes to let him know his emails light up the inbox of someone in the UK, and he always responds with amazement and delight.  Do you think he realises he is running the risk of becoming the Gary Vay.ner.chuk of the bug exterminating world?  A cult hero….

I might start a Facebook Fanclub for Hal.  what would he make of that, I wonder?

where am I going with all this?

Dunno, except I’ve just got back from Tamkin Riaz’s and Michael Young’s Mastermind Networking event in London where I was delighted to meet a roomful of new people, all successful, positive, upbeat people who are barely registering the credit crunch let alone being affected by it.  Specialists from all areas of the wealth creation arena -from all over the world – and very nice people.

Property investors whose long term investments are making a rental profit for the first time in ages, internet marketing specialists whose businesses are booming as everyone wakes up to the fact that a “job for life” is the riskiest thing you can bank on, and that the banks are the last places you should keep your cash.  Everyone is looking for another way, so if you have a success story, you can inspire others to changet their lives too, and boy, is that needed.  Tell your story, and exchange some energy.  Make some money while those who are not looking to change their mindset panic.

All of this was contrasting sharply with the blank, grey, miserable faces on the 8.15am commuter train from Shoreham to London.

And the man on GMTV this morning who took 21 weeks of serious, full time job seeking, to find another job exactly the same, and exactly as vunerable as the one he had been made redundant from.

If only he had applied himself so diligently to finding another way to make money rather than trading your hours for a pittance.  If only he had known there was “another way”.

Today, we made a list of the challenges of the average person, when trying to get to grips with property investing and internet marketing and then we tried to brainstorm what the solutions might be, in trying to get that average person to overcome those challenges and how to get them to take action.

As you might expect from a roomful of dynamic entrepreneurs, talented speakers and business people, by the end of the day, we had abandoned the “how to make the horse drink, having led him to water” rough plan for the day, and had come up with a MASSIVE money making scheme of our very own.

Herding cats, as Greg & Andy used to say of our meetings at Passive Investments in the early days.

Great fun, and thanks to Tamkin and Michael for organising the day and changing the venue from Luton to London so I could attend.  And I think I’ve met some joint venture partners and potential event organisers for my swiftly burgeoning speaking career.

Off to Manchester at 5.45am tomorrow (man!) to spend a day with one of my first ever Money Gym clients ever, to review his wealth creation actions over the last five years, and plan the next five.  Then to Central Manchester to speak for “Build Your Wealth” – you can still book to attend this interesting two days

Flying, luxury hotels, taxis, I absolutely love it.  Effortless travel, old friends and new and just great fun.

Tickets are flying out for the Property Extravaganza now, and Judith is reaching new paroxysms of excitement as she organises the speaker webinars to help encourage you to come along and help us help The Big Issue, who help the homeless help themselves.

She won’t rest till all 200 tickets are gone, and we are a quarter of the way there, with a month to go still.

Are you coming yet?  If not, why not?

http://www.themoneygym.com/events/property

we put on bloody marvellous events and even if you come for no other reason than to do what I’ve done today, which is hang out with dynamic, optimistic, positive, clever people………well, that’s a good enough reason, eh?

Gotta go, pan fried cod with asparagus, safron potatoes and a portugaise sauce (sundried tomatoes, garlic, parsley, white wine etc apparently) on the go next door….washed down with a glass of Judith’s present to the birthday boy, Steve.

YUM!

Have fun, we always do.

Nicola

Ready Fire Aim! Memberships, Marketing & Multimillions

It’s been a busy old week, what with the first draft of the Property Extravangza info page going live at http://www.themoneygym.com/events/property and the first flurry of bookings coming in.

We have decided that this event is in aid of The Big Issue, who help the homeless to help themselves, we have a great set of speakers, including Rick Otton as the keynote speaker, and Martin Roberts off the tele, property expert and star of Homes Under The Hammer. Judith has written a stonking bit of copy, quite inspired, and we are just waiting for photos of speakers, video testimonials of other events and suchlike. Then the page will really sing! http://www.martinroberts.co.uk/

I’ve just been watching Rick on national tv in Australia, walking folks through his whole “rent to own” system – they are really getting it there and the UK will follow behind. Only today on page 4 of “Property Today” which comes with my Worthing Advertiser, there is a big article about a new Rent To Own scheme launched in Littlehampton, on the back of the Government’s own “Rent To Buy Later” scheme.

On the same page, funnily enough, there is a property advertised with a “zacuzzi” in the bathroom….some little estate agent getting it totally wrong! Bless ‘um.

I started work with Debbie Winterbourne this week, winner of the “Gold For Christmas” competition – where she gets to work with me going through the Gold programme, then gets to hang out with us for life! We are doing one call a month where I cover the material module by module in the first half hour, via video webinar, then Debbie gets to ask general questions about what she’s just heard, then she goes off and does her homework, and comes back for a second call, where we explore her personal circumstances, and particular challenges around that module.

I had forgotten quite how bossy I was when coaching…..”directive coaching” it’s called. Phew! Must remember to ask more questions and issue less instructions. Debbie took it all in good part and she’s an action taker so right up my street. We need to do some work behind the scenes on both her websites as I can make an immediate difference there!

You can find out more about Debbie and her particular passion for deciphering the power of dreams here and if you need a nice but affordable workshop space in London, she owns Quantum House which you can find here

(some time later………..)

Lord I got totally distracted by Google Calender there – saw one embedded in Pat Lovell’s blog (Pat’s from GotAccess.com among other things and I met him on the cruise) and thought Wow! that would be great to keep my speaking gigs updated for the GP (general public LOL) and ended up embedding it to my blog, Ecademy account and all. You can view my peramulations around the world speaking here >>

Off to London this weekend for “Build Your Wealth” again, and I’m in Manchester for “Build Your Wealth” events – you can book here for just £7 for both days

Did you know, it’s over £70 on the train and takes 4 and a half hours, and it’s one hour on the plane and costs just under £100. Madness. Early start though! Which of the lovely boutique hotels to stay in, eh? Recommendations on an email…..

While in Manchester, I’m seeing an old Money Gym client for the day, to work with him to review his progress and plan for the next five years. Lovely man, really looking forward to it! I also joined a webinar this week with a software company who are thinking of taking me on as non-exec Marketing Consultant – I think I can bring a lot to the table as they come from the corporate world and while aware of internet marketing, are not yet quite aware of the power and speed of it, if you can just get your first ideal customer clearly in mind and communicate straight at them. This is going to be fun.

I hosted what turned out to be a very popular webinar to nearly 100 registered-in-advance “ideal customers” of the Money Gym the other night, quite on the spur of the moment, on membership sites. It suddenly occurred to me that it might be fun to test the whole idea of video broadcasting a powerpoint presentation, making an offer at the end, much like I do on stage. Yes, I know! It’s nothing new, used to do it lots years ago, but you forget things don’t you? I’m going to do more of it, and we did a “Google Analytics/Statistics Tracking” webinar with the Membership Club Magic bods this week as a bonus call. Great fun.

Busy but great fun.

Talking of the Membership Club Magic webinar, from Saturday the recording will be available to watch online again here - those videos take ages to edit, chop up and upload and nobody can get online while you upload them. Howls of rage echo from around the house when you try, as you hog all the supposed 8 meg bandwidth. Runescape gone! Pokerstars gone! Second Life gone! Skype gone! MSN gone! British Telecom…..8 Meg, my derrier.

Steve and I are on ANOTHER diet, this one being a healthy eating one, lots of delicious salads (and beans/pulses, no, don’t ask!), no wine or beer during the week and he even went for a run this week. It’s inspired by a book he’s reading called “Fat Bloke Slims (How I Lost 3 Stone” by Bruce Heron, who you may remember as D.C. Terry Perkins from The Bill. Actually I saw another diet (that’s me) but Steve’s made his mind up to lose weight now too. He does make the best salads and I’ve made some of my best lentil and garlic soup which we are having whenever Steve doesn’t want to cook.

And Judith proudly announced this week that she’s learned to play poker. She went into a game with her accountant and solicitor with 80p and came out with £1.22. Judith, have you not heard of a “fixed buy in tournament”? Even we don’t play cash games!! This sparked a debate about whether it would be appropriate to host a “Money Gym Texas Hold’em Tournament” after one of the Cashflow 101 games?

Hmmm, perhaps not!

And finally……….I’ve just finished Michael Masterson’s brilliant book “Ready Fire Aim” about how to take a company into the multi-millions and beyond. I enjoyed it so much I’m going right back to the beginning and I’m reading it again. Shot straight into my Top 10 Business Books of All Time!!

Want To Work With Nicola?

Do you have a new or established business that would benefit from more sales, more effective marketing – both on OR offline – or new digital products to add to your bottom line profits?  If so, would you like to work with me?

There are several ways you can do that and there’s one for every budget:

1.  Free

Join me on my weekly TV show at http://www.MoneyGym.tv and ask me your burning wealth creation or internet marketing question.  Next show Wednesday 1pm.  Submit your questions in advance here on the blog at http://www.themoneygym.com/blog/2008/11/nicola-money-today/

2.  £330 per year

Join The Money Gym Silver Level – buy the ebook to get a free 30 days trial and you actually save £2.50 / $3.50 http://www.themoneygym.com/book Then come along to our great workshops at a massive discount – I host every one.

3.  £1000 per day OR A Monthly Retainer TBA

CONSULTING:  So many of our clients have asked me if I would consult with them on their overall business’ marketing & sales strategy, I’ve decided to give this a go and see if I like it.  Think of me as a non-executive Sales & Marketing director, sitting on your board.  I can visit your business or work remotely, and can be at the end of the phone, email or skype for advice at any time.   Email me about your business at nicola [at ] themoneygym.com

BRANDING:  I am the official “Wealth Coach in Residence” for Visa International Plc and Pampers Nappies iVillage.   They pay me to appear on their website (and a bit more to be exclusive to their company within their niche), to interact with their forum users and to speak to journalists about wealth creation and comment on topical issues, on their behalf.  If you would like to discuss how I could bring value to your website, just email me to discuss it further.  nicola [at ] themoneygym.com

4.  £2000 per 12 hours over three months

COACHING – INTERNET MARKETING ONLY – Yes I know I keep saying that I’m going to stop doing this, but I enjoy it so much!  And I’m saving up for something very special so I’ll go another three months at least.  I offer coaching, by telephone, using GoToMeeting (I can see your screen and you can see mine) and email, on internet marketing particularly. Check out how I like to work here http://bit.ly/internetmentoring and then email me your ideas to nicola [at ] themoneygym.com

I can add Tuesdays to the Thursdays offered on the site.

This fee is equivalent to your selling 84 ebooks at £25 and that’s much more likely with my help / mentoring / coaching.

5.  £5754 per year

Join the Money Gym Gold programme
http://www.themoneygym.com/gold

I’m very active on this, our top level programme.  Even though you would be assigned your own personal coach, for your inspiration/accountability calls, I join in and coach our Gold members via private webinar and email – either in the group on the Mastermind Google Group or privately by email.

Your choice!

Let’s make 2009 a brilliant year for your business together!

Warm regards

Nicola

Nicola Cairncross Author, Speaker & Founder of The Money Gym

Business & Money – You Have Your Say!

Business & Money – inextricably linked according to our latest Money Gym survey. 50% of you who responded want a successful business with over 27% of you wanting to run a successful business that you can work on, and travel with, anywhere in the world.

Trailing in way behind was “a million pound property portfolio” desired by just 13.5% of you, with only another 13.5% of you wanting to be debt free. I’ll tackle those two topics later in the week, but I bet the property portfolio would have been higher this time last year!

What is a successful business?

Everyone has a different definition and I think it depends what kind of a life you want. If you want a nice easy quiet life, with lots of time for leisure activities and hobbies, then a nice home-based or lifestyle business would be good for you.  You might want to look at a network marketing opportunity like Avon, Telecom Plus, Virgin Vie or Success University.

Or even something more down to earth and local like a babysitting business, gardening or something where you buy into an existing successful system, like Judith’s Cleaning Biz opportunity.  My friend Kim – a great hairdresser – has made a great business working from home 3 days a week, in her lovely salon, entirely depending on word of mouth referrals and able to pick her kids up from school and knock off early if she wants to.

If you want a bit more excitement then you might want to build a global business with lots of staff and a high-flying lifestyle.  If you want high-flying but no team, then a consultancy business might be for you.

By any definition, a successful business is one that covers all its overheads, pays its taxes, makes enough profit to create a long term financial cushion to be able to ride out peaks and troughs in the market or economy, and pay you a handsome salary AND dividends on top!

When I was in my 20’s and 30’s, I would have defined a successful business as one that paid me enough to pay my household bills, without having to work away from home.  My expectations have been raised quite dramatically since then!  As have my outgoings.  But also my income luckily.

Not without a lot of pain though, due to having NO CLUE about what a successful business looks like, acts like or needed from me.  About 100 books, and at least FIVE business mentors later, I might be getting there.

I think it also depends on your level of corporate or business experience when you start, where you set your expectations, and whether you have read any of the great wealth creation or business books like “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki or “E-Myth Revisited” by Michael Gerber which are certainly eye-openers.

Working with Judith Morgan, serial successful entrepreneur, and hanging out online with gurus and business coaches like Rich Schefren has changed the way I think about business for ever, too.

There is no right way or wrong way to think about what a successful business means for you, but do try and define it. If you begin with the end in mind, you will find it a lot easier to put the plan in place to achieve that success for you.

Here’s a recording of our weekly live TV show where my guest Sarah (who’s in the startup phase of her business) discuss the challenges and why she’s even bothering!

Businesses seem to go through phases…in the early days it’s all about attracting clients or customers and so many don’t get past that hurdle.

When we then surveyed our mailing list about what was stopping them creating a successful business some interesting answers came up….

Read more..

Bill Gates Has One, So Should You?

Bill has one, so does Woodie Allen. Madonna is one and so is the actress Ingmar Bergman. Are you missing out?

Thousands of influential people throughout history have believed they were ‘worth it’, as the TV ad says and cast aside the cloak of ‘self can manage’ in favour of, yes, a mentor.

Homer started it. No, not Homer Simpson but Homer’s Odyssey. The Goddess of Wisdom used Mentor, a debilitated old man, to guide Odysseus’ son through a difficult time in the young man’s life. Lucky chap – today’s youth aren’t so fortunate down at the local community centre! Imagine modern life if there was a mentor on every street corner in inner city areas instead of young ladies and gents plying their wares. How powerful would that be?

And you thought it was new!

Some of the greatest philosophers, renowned for their learned, far-sighted thinking shared a little known secret. The triplet of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle are linked, although they preceded each other.

“How so?” you may be thinking. What a fascinating discovery to learn that Socrates was the mentor of Plato, and Plato mentored Aristotle who went on to mentor Alexander the Great. And there we were thinking mentoring was so ‘now’.

Our very own 21st Century Bill Gates has a very rich and respected mentor, none other than Warren Buffet, one of the greatest stock market investors. And, guess what? Yes, spot on – Warren Buffett had a mentor too! Ben Graham, an influential economist, guided the young Warren in the ways of the markets!

It’s not just in business but in music and theatre that a mentor is the new “little black dress” – an absolute ‘must have’ that’ll take you anywhere you want to go. In the happenin’ scene, the rapper Dr. Dre is mentor to younger rappers Eminem and Snoop Dogg. In the movie industry, the famous and late British actor Sir Laurence Olivier mentored actor Sir Anthony Hopkins.

There’s a pattern emerging here . . . what gems of learning lie all around waiting for a curious hand to lift them into life once more? Is that hand yours?

OK, Warren (or another chosen guru) might not be available to mentor you personally but you can still experience their thinking by reading about their lives, listening to tapes and watching any available videos. Learn more about how they ‘’tick’, cut through confusion and enhance your winning performance.

Why spend time reinventing the wheel when the trailblazers have done the work for the modern business already? “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill, written in 1937 is as great a read in 2008 as it was then.

Dear Santa – Please bring me a guardian angel – wings optional!

It can be lonely out there, surrounded by “can’t do” people who never wanted to anyway . . . and don’t want you to either! Leave your headaches behind!
Imagine having someone on your side, challenging and guiding you towards your goals.
Yes, the ones your mentor helped you set – you know, those achievements that will stretch but not overwhelm you and keep you in a totally positive mindset?

Sometimes in this high-octane world, finding a safe space to deal with questions, struggles, emotions and doubts can be nigh on impossible. The metaphorical (and sometimes literal!) embrace of a mentor can give just that. When all is going well, there’s a great space where learning can take place and ideas flow freely. As trust grows, it’s OK to confess fears and to reveal blockages to progress, to explore them and move forward.

And it can bring fun and friendship, increased self-esteem and personal growth. So, what are you waiting for?

Are you smart enough to realise you don’t have all the answers? Be kind to yourself and write that letter to Santa. You’ll be glad you did!

Choose wisely

Who should be your mentor is such a potentially life and business enhancing decision it’s worth taking time and care in selecting this special person. It might be important for you to:

• Share the same values
• Feel a good rapport
• Trust enough to listen even if it is to something you might not wish to hear
• Establish the potential your mentor sees in youFeel they will take a personal interest
• Ensure they have the time to devote to the relationship
• Envisage where you see your career going
• Identify a mentor successful in the field you wish to develop
• Select a mentor with good social and networking skills
• Look for someone highly motivated and who is held in high esteem
• Think strategically about what you want from a mentor
• Establish what you want to achieve together
• Choose someone with a different work style to your own

Phew! That shopping list should soon have your business running on all cylinders quickly.

Take that first important step and you’ll gain a real asset for your business. Your mentor will help you tap into your inner strengths, review where you are, where you’re headed and the best way to get there in a fraction of the time you thought it might take. Remember, they’ve already established the quickest way from A – D without calling at B and C!

Your mentor will guide you towards life-enhancing changes and goals. Allow them to expand your knowledge, stir your imagination and perhaps change your perceptions and don’t feel defensive – they’re on your side!

7 Tips Guaranteed To Oil Those Mentoring Wheels

1. Express your gratitude – your mentor may be giving much more than you in the early stages.
2. Establish goals for the relationship through discussion and review to make sure they’re working. If not, adjust and refocus.
3. Talk through how you will communicate with each other – email, meetings or the telephone?
4. Respect your mentor’s time and other commitments – don’t bombard them with every little problem!
5. Make sure you reach appointments on time.
6. Respect the special access you have to your mentor’s influential network by always following through on leads and contacts given to you.
7. Be positive when your current views and attitudes are challenged – be open to new ideas.

Why not follow in the slipstream of Plato, whose mentor achieved and paid forward greatness – here’s what the great man had to say:

“PICTURE A DREAM. WHILE THE DREAM IS BEING BIRTHED, THE MENTOR STANDS OVER HIS PROTEGEÉ AND HELPS HIM RELAX AND ENDURE THE PAIN. THE MENTOR HOLDS THE DREAM UP BY THE HEELS AND SPANKS IT TO LIFE. THEN THE MENTOR PLACES THE-DREAM-TURNED-REALITY INTO THE ARMS OF THE PROTEGE AND WALKS AWAY TO ASSIST ANOTHER.”

SOCRATES

Now it’s time you brought your brand new, freshly born dream to reality! See it, feel it, sense it – the life you want is already there.

Take courage in both hands and step into your future – NOW! You know you want to…
Article By Janet Swift – http://www.swiftlysorted.com

Ask Nicola! Your Burning Wealth Creation Questions Answered

I recently added a page to the blog where you can ask me any question about wealth creation you like.  Brave?  Too generous?  Asking for trouble?  No………

I did this because I want to make the blog more interactive and also, to stimulate articles that arise from real questions.  This can only help our search engine ranking when Google comes by to crawl and then PageRank the new blog!

John was first up and I want to thank you John for your bravery!  It was a lovely question to answer, as you will see…

” Hi Nicola, Here’s my burning question…..I am a man. 50 years old. Anyway, I would like to ask for your advice regarding my route to the wealth highway.

My financial position is thus. Home owner with no mortgage. Our home is worth around £155,000 in today’s market. My wife owns a 1 bedroom house with her sister a 50/50 share mortgage  around £70,000 and valued at say £90,000. The property is let and only just pays for itself.

My wife and I both work with approx take home pay per month of £2250. I require around £100 a week to live on and my wife requires all of her income to live, so I can save around £750 per month.

I have a credit card of around £2000, savings of £3000 and my wife has a loan of £3000. I hate my job and would love to be free of it.

My interest is web design and am becoming quite good. Hopefully this is where I can shine but I need more free time for this to happen. I am knackered at the end of the day.

I realise that my wife and I are in a good position regarding our own home and we could maybe do something with the equity, I don’t know.

What would you do, Nicola?”

NICOLA’S REPLY:

“Hi there John…congratulations on being our first “Ask Nicola” burning questioner! And what a lovely one to start with……the quick answer is that you are financially free already, you just don’t know it!

I’m going to mainly deal with your own situation here as your wife and you seem to keep your finances quite seperate…is that right?  Do come back to me if you wanted a response bases on your joint finances….

You say that you would like to do more web design, and with some good marketing online, and networking locally, and I know that you could make a very good living at this.  Local business people are AT LAST waking up to the power of the web in generating leads for their business, and how efficient and cheap that can be compared with the traditional methods, like advertising.  They are happy to pay £500 – £1000 for a blog type site (great for SEO), and around £2000 – £3000 for a blog type site, with ecommerce / mailiing list capabilities.

You could educate yourself about internet marketing, including traffic generation, social networking and web 2.0, as well as web design (our about to be relaunched Internet Marketing Home Study System will soon be available via our very affordable Silver membership) and then you would REALLY be in demand.  I would envisage that, within a year, you would be outsourcing most of the work!

However, the issue seems to be time and energy, as your day job takes both.  Have you considered taking some of the equity in your house, and investing it in your new business, using it to

a) pay yourself a salary of £500 a month (£100 per week x 52 divided by 12)

b) pay for some teaching to bring your internet marketing / seo skills up to scratch – Money Gym Silver would cover that as it gives access to the MG Internet Home Study System (soon to be totally upgraded to cover Social Networking and Membership Sites)

c) pay for a year’s worth of mentoring – our Money Gym Gold programme would be ideal for this and I would suggest you have a look at our coaches, and see which one you think would best be able to hold your hand through the year, to set up and build your business.

I would think pulling out £20,000 would not only cover the expenses as above, but also pay the payments on the money you would be borrowing so your outgoings would not go up at all.  If you apply before you hand your notice in, you should have no trouble getting a mortgage of 12% loan to value.

Your other alternative – if you don’t want to use your equity, is to use your £750 a month savings, to build a “Freedom Fund” to cover your first year in business, and in Money Gym Silver membership, we give you a blueprint on how to do that, step by step.

HOWEVER, if I were you, I would be pulling out all the equity available, and as well as investing in my new business, as above, I would be buying as many one bedroom buy to let flats (existing housing stock NOT new builds) as humanly possible.

This would ensure that you never had to work again, if you didn’t want to!  You could keep leveraging the growth in your property portfolio, again and again, tax free, to grow your portfolio further and to live off.

Again, this is something our experienced property investing Money Gym coaches could hold your hand through, via the Money Gym Gold programme as they are all very sound on this topic!!

Now, you know what you can do (and what I would do) the only question is “what’s going to stop you doing it?”

Keep in touch John and let me know how you get on?

Warm regards, Nicola”

JOHN REPLIED:

“Hi Nicola, Thank you so much for replying to my question and so quick. Your suggestions have given me food for thought and I guess you have confirmed what I have known for quite some time. It’s time to make strategic change in my life. So what an I waiting for………………just do it.  Thanks again Nicola, John”

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