Money

Consider The Details (Of Making Money)

Garth Beyer

The landscaping service at my dads doesn’t care if you pay them right away. It’s apparent they don’t keep good track of the number of times they’ve taken care of the lawn. Money isn’t a priority for them.

One guy on Shark Tank nearly lost all the investors because he told them he’s not concerned about making money.

A remarkable TV personality spoke at a panel event I held the other week. When she told the audience that details matter, she had to add she was referring to the details of making money.

When it comes down to it, nothing functions without money. Not a business. Not electricity. Not even us.

 

Stay Positive & Money Always Matters

The Only Reason To Start A Project

The Only Reason To Start A Project

Garth Beyer

… is to change something.

Any viable product or service is made to change because the maker, the artist was dissatisfied, frustrated or just flat-out upset about the way something was working.

Money isn’t the answer even if it is. There’s a reason behind the money. Perhaps location independence or philanthropy.

When you know what you want to change, that’s the start of the story you tell.

 

Stay Positive & Be Make The Change You Want To See In The World

Captioned Image

Captioned Image

Garth Beyer

Rainway

This is me 60 years from now. Still not using an umbrella, enjoying the rain, relishing the moment. Even now, on the signs of rain ensuing, I don’t rush for cover, search for a newspaper to place over my head or “stay inside because it’s raining.” I’m not looking down delusionally lost. In fact, I’m purposefully lost; lost in the moment, lost in the rain, content with life. If this picture were a motion one, a moment from now you would see a smile cover my face from thinking how I was the only one really enjoying the rain. I’d get an extra hop in my step. However, my smile would turn into a frown as I looked to my right. I would think to myself if I asked this lady if she loved rain, she would say yes. I would think, if she loved rain, then why are you using an umbrella? To me, it doesn’t just rain water, it rains content, peacefulness, understanding. I’ve often thought about how the clouds wait until they are filled with enough water before they release. The clouds, the earth, the atmosphere aren’t rushing to make it rain. However, we, as people, don’t have the same patience. If we’re going to put effort into anything, we want instant results and give up what we’re doing if we don’t see them. We go for the short-term small investment tiny reward rather than the long-term big investment large reward. If rain was money, wouldn’t you want the saying when it rains, it pours to be true?

 

Stay Positive & Leave The Umbrella At  Home

In For Free

Garth Beyer

There are two situations for any club, event, outing, etc,.

1) You pay to get in and then you pay for things inside.

2) You don’t pay to get in and then you pay for things inside.

In both circumstances, you pay for things inside, but there is a large mental processing gap when it comes to how much you’re willing to spend inside.

See, the situations you pay to get in, you’re lead to believe everything inside will be cheaper. It’s not. Then you begin to rationalize your purchases, typically beginning with, “Well, it was already $15 to get in…”

On top of that, you may rebut with an example of an all-inclusive package. Supposedly, you pay for the all-inclusive package and everything “inside” is free. Thing is, it’s never free. When you’re inside, you then have to pay for an upgrade or to get the special drink that’s not included in the package or to get into VIP.

Taking a look at the other side

Everyone loves free. In fact, I’d argue they love getting into something free more than having everything inside be free. When you make an exchange with money, the value of the item (perceptional value) increases. That is, people who, say, buy a brat at a brat fest think the brat tastes better than someone who pays to get into the event and then gets the brat for free.

What does this mean for you and me?

It means to let your customers, clients, friends, strangers into your business for free and then charge them for what’s valuable inside. Consider all the business models that incorporate the situation where customers must pay to get in, then everything inside is free. Newspaper subscriptions. Water parks. Strip clubs. Movies.

Having clientele pay for what’s inside and not pay to get inside is not a flawless model (think Netflix), but it’s one worth considering when developing your business plan. One worth arguing about. Perhaps, one worth rebutting (or supporting) in the comments section below.

 

Stay Positive & Never Underestimate The Power Of In For Free

What Really Pays

Garth Beyer

–  Cash isn’t important to a successful career, connections are.The only money that matters is money that is invested. Whether you invest it in someone to give them a chance to show and grow their skills or when they invest it in you.

–  Time is only valuable when it’s either used to create honest art (not multi tasking, not clicking interesting link after interesting link, not taking halfass notes) and it’s only valuable when you interact with someone in real time (meeting for coffee, talking on the phone, skyping).

–   Having thousands of friends, followers, and visitors doesn’t mean you will instantly profit off of advertising. When it’s between making .002 cents off a stranger or $20.00 from a friend. I hope that it’s obvious what you should be making: friends or strangers.

–   When it comes to advertising, before anything, work on advertising yourself. That’s where the money is. (Or isn’t? Then you need to work on doing more creative work.)

–   Hard work pays off? Determination, motivation, perseverance, commitment… sounds like something you have to convince yourself to do that you just don’t want to.

What about connections, challenging fear, making yourself uncomfortable, revealing yourself, sparking emotional interactions, and taking risks?

Now tell me: What do you think really pays?

 

Stay Positive & Turn Strangers Into Friends

Garth E. Beyer

Freelance Vs. Entrepreneur

Garth Beyer

I just left a freelancing job after six months (technically a  year, I’ll get to that in a moment). It was an exceptional experience, I wrote almost 100 articles on any string of the money management spider web you can imagine.

I got to write and was paid when I delivered. Freelancing at its finest.

After six months, I reached my learning capacity , enjoyment, and acceptably high skill level toward writing to this specific audience. [By “learning capacity,” I mean I got out 90% of what I believed I could from the position] Instead of quitting, I decided to become an entrepreneur.

I remembered the saying that freelancers get paid when they ship, and entrepreneurs get paid when they sleep. (HT Seth Godin)

So I hired some writers to do the work that I once was. I positioned myself as the boss and editor. I made the hiring process as legitimate as possible. Candidates emailed resumes, we met for an interview, I gave them test articles. I pushed them to do their best, get creative, and take the reigns. Being boss – to put a less professional tone to it – was awesome.

I didn’t make much money from being an entrepreneur for six months, but it’s not often I’ve gotten so much experience from something so temporary.

To think, I could have just left my freelancing position and moved on. It’s a decision that many freelancers forget they have.

 

Stay Positive & Maybe It’s Not “Vs.”, It’s An Optional Transition

Garth E. Beyer

There Is No Stopping Naievety

Garth Beyer

1.  How much money in U.S. currency do you need a year to support yourself and anyone you currently support in a modest lifestyle?

2. Describe in some detail what type of project or projects you would pursue if you didn’t have to work or make other compromises to have money.

3. Discuss how this is different from your current circumstances.

 

I have recently read an article that the magic income number to have a relative and consistent happy lifestyle is annually $75,000. The article stated that even those who made $50,000 to $65,000 still felt financial stress and bound to always make careful decisions when it came to money. This idea of making about three-quarters of a hundred grand a year is what I would consider modest living. I currently make about $20,000 a year and find that this lifestyle works. I have a relatively nice apartment on the lake, I can get a couple of cups of coffee each week, and a short vacation each year. This lifestyle, though it may seem normal and modest, is not. The beauty of being human in this world is that we can make anything work and we can make anything look like it works well. People can be happy with $10,000 a year and people can be just as happy – that is, no happier or no less happy – than someone who is making $45,000 a year. For me though, with high expectations for the quality of life; for me, who believes that the current standards of living are far below what the standards should be, I believe that an annual income of $75,000 would be the right amount to support a modest lifestyle.

“He’s got some high expectations,” you might be saying. Yes. Yes I do and I often get a good chuckle or two when I tell people about my bucket list. This is also when I come in conflict with the prompt. There are no projects that I’m not pursuing solely because I have to work or I make other compromises or because of money. I don’t so much believe that the greatness of a bucket list is having checked off items, rather that you made it one hell of a ride to checking them off. See, my bucket list isn’t something I’m waiting until I’m 70 years old to take seriously. (Be ready to be surprised) Nor is it a list of some five to ten items. It’s a list of 200+. This list ranges from speaking at the White House, to pepper tasting in Chile, to fire walking, to experiencing zero gravity, to learning calligraphy, to owning Le Corbusier’s (famous architect) chair. To say I am crazy about goals would be an understatement. I read them over nearly every week or two and try my hardest to cross at least one item off the list each week.

It would be wrong for me to not include a certain five word quote to help you better understand my mindset. This quote sums up why, though I may not be in the perfect situation to do everything that I want to do at this single moment, I am working as hard as I possibly can toward it. Every moment of mine is put to use, exploited, taken advantage of; every moment is put towards pushing me forward, doing what I love, getting to where I want to go, and enjoying the journey of checking items off my bucket list. It really comes down to this, “I’m naïve, but I’m not stupid.” Think about it.

 

Stay Positive & Life Really Is What You Make It

Garth E. Beyer