Why You Too Can Make Money

 “If we are born poor, it is not our fault, but if we die poor, it is!”…… Bill Gates
 

If you take a very close look at the people who have succeeded to make money, you cannot find any visible reason why they made money. It is clear that sex, age, circumstances of birth, luck, destiny, color, religion and even physical disposition had nothing to do with it. What then is responsible? You may say they were lucky. I will say luck played little or no role in it. You may then say God favored them. I will say God favors us all without discrimination. You may even say it is their destiny. I will say destiny favors those who help themselves. To avoid stretching this endless argument further, let us mutually agree that the only discernible reason why these people made it is because they “chose” to make it. This is the incontrovertible truth. Chief M.K.O Abiola would not have made it if he accepted that he was born to poor parents and that Abeokuta was not destined by God to produce a multi-millionaire. Orprah Winfrey would not have made it in life if she accepted that being born black and a female to boot were setbacks deliberately imposed by God to make her a poor second-class citizen in a country of unlimited opportunities.  Colonel Sanders would have died a poor man if he accepted that at 65 he was already too old to become a successful entrepreneur. Jose Feliciano would have been begging in the back-streets of Puerto Rico if he accepted that once you are blind, it was the end of the road for you.

In the business of money-making, what sometimes appear to be a set-back when properly handled could turn out to be a blessing when appropriate and deliberate choices are made. When Arnold Schwarzenegger who later became the Governor of California immigrated to the United States from his native Austria, he was a body-builder. This was the strength that got him into the movies but his thick Austrian accent almost ruined his chances of succeeding in the movie industry. Many people particularly women and children loved his great body and wanted his movies despite his accent which was at the beginning a glaring weakness. Some clever producers exploited this accent which is stuck with the man into a fad and it became an identifying part of his character. This is how the “Terminator” series of movies was born. Every kid in the neighborhood started acting like the lead star in the “Terminator.” When the movies were released, many children started identifying with Arnold, the star of the movies. Many decided to start dressing, looking as strong, as heavily-built and speaking gruffly as the “Terminator.”  This caught-on in the world and a superstar was born. A glaring weakness well exploited was thus turned into strength and stupendous wealth.

 

7 Great Opportunities to Negotiate a Raise with Your Employer

Whether in business or social life, it is inevitable that everyone has to negotiate. However, to negotiate successfully, timing is very crucial to the outcome. What ordinarily you may have been able to get easily, if your timing is poor, you could lose it. In any employment, keen observation and a quick decision on when to act, most times makes the difference between success and failure. For this reason, one person may succeed to get something out of a boss while some other person may fail woefully in similar attempt. The key is timing. It is of utmost importance to know when to take the opportunity to negotiate with your employer either for a raise or for some other concessions. The following opportunities come in very handy if you want to successfully negotiate a raise with your employer.

01. When your employer is in a very good mood. All humans have mood changes from time to time. Some persons experience these changes more frequently than others depending on individual differences. If you are able to time your employer very well, you can always seize the opportunity to initiate the matter of a raise with her when she is in a very good mood. At such times, your chances of success could be very good.

02. When you have just completed a major project successfully. As an employee, any time you are able to deliver to expectations on your job, it makes your employer happy. Such times usually present a very good opportunity to negotiate a raise.

03. When company reports indicate that the company’s earnings are up. Most employers are always in upbeat moods when their company’s earnings are up. Such periods are usually good opportunities for smart employees to negotiate a raise.

04. When you have just acquired a new training or skill useful to the company. With a new skill or training in your kitty, your value to your company usually increases. That is a very good opportunity to negotiate a raise. A good employer will at such times accede to a raise if she wants to retain you. If not, she knows she could lose your services to rival employers. 

05. When you have just brought in a very good and profitable business for the company. Only very valuable employees bring good businesses to their companies. If you are able to do that, it will make your employer happy. Negotiating a raise with her at that moment could earn you a very sympathetic and favorable hearing.

06. When your employer’s confidence in you is at the highest. Many employers do have plenty of confidence in employees who always deliver on promise. Any time you are able to deliver successfully on some valuable projects that earn you the commendation of your employer, such times are okay to negotiate a raise.

07. When you have just made a significant amount of money for your company. The bottom-line in any business is to make money. Employees who are good at helping their companies to make money are very valuable employees. If you are able to make a significant amount of money for your company and your employer acknowledges it, the time is conducive to negotiate a raise.

Many employers know that no employee wants to earn a fixed salary in perpetuity. Employees who are capable of making themselves extremely valuable to their employment and are able to time their moves very well usually get raises from their employers if they ask. With keen observation and action taken when the time is ripe and proper, more often than not, you can always succeed to negotiate a raise with your employer. That is what many smart employees know which enables them to get a raise from their employers anytime they ask for it.

How to Get Started in a Business

Every business on this planet started as an idea, someone’s idea. Fact is, any business became a business because someone saw a problem or a need; found a Service or Product that solved the problem or satisfied the need and a business was born. This is the only time-tested pattern of establishing a business and be self-employed. That you can not find a business for yourself does not mean there is business scarcity. The only scarcity is that of ideas, your ideas. This is why I am always bold to say that nobody has a money problem. It is only ideas problem that most people have hence they remain poor. If you can identify what someone needs desperately and you are able to deliver it to them at the time and place convenient for them, you will be paid for your service. That is what business is all about.

The late world-renowned psychologist Dr. Abraham Maslow was able to clearly identify five needs of man which he arranged at levels of their order of importance beginning from basic biological needs and ending at psychological needs. These needs became popularly known as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. He posited that if a lower need is fully satisfied there is need to move up the ladder to satisfy another need. Thus from the basic Physiological needs of food , air, water, shelter etc, you move on to Safety and Security needs of protection, order and stability then Social needs of affection and friendship then Ego needs of prestige, success and self-respect and finally Self-actualization needs of self-fulfillment. There is no business known to man that is not tailored to satisfy one or more of these needs.

People any day and any time will pay for any Product or Service that tends to satisfy any of these needs. The desire to satisfy the very nature of these needs will make people pay you if you can do anything for them that will:

o    Help them to make or save money.
o    Help them to save time.
o    Provide them with basic physiological needs like food, shelter and clothing.
o    Help to enhance their security, safety and comfort.
o    Amuse, entertain and generally help them to relax.
o    Make them feel good about themselves and their environment.



Any Product or Service you can develop along these lines and people pay to have it is what puts you in business. When people say businesses are scarce, it means ideas are scarce. To go into business, it is imperative for you to find a way of offering a cheaper, better, safer, tastier, cleaner, faster, healthier, fresher, higher quality Product or Service relating to any of these needs. If you can, you are in business. The price you charge depends on the quality of your Product or Service and the competence of your competitors. The more of your Product or Service you are able to sell, the more money you make. This is the beginning of wealth accumulation and better life. Once the right ideas are in place, there are unlimited opportunities to make money. That some people end up not making it in spite of these unlimited opportunities is one of the puzzles of wealth accumulation. “The way you take yourself, the way you value yourself and the way you apply yourself are the primary determinants of your ultimate station in life.” You are therefore what you believe you are and what you apply yourself to be.

The ingenuity of humankind is a wonderful gift from God. It is in us all. How we deploy it is what separates the poor from the rich. God is a just God no doubt, but our inabilities to use His gifts for our own benefit is our own fault not His. All His gifts to us have equal potentials. How we deploy these gifts to beneficial use is what separates us as humans. This is what makes the difference between the rich and the poor. “The world only pays for results not efforts.” The result of what you do is what you get paid for. This is what enables you to get ahead in life. Napoleon Hill capped this argument finally with his brilliant conclusion that: “There are no lazy men. What may appear to be a lazy man is only an unfortunate person who has not found the work for which he is best suited.” If you have not found yours, this article will assist you to take the all-important decision to do something to help yourself.