Intellectual Capital + Relationship Capital = Financial Capital

Basically you need to have the skills and abilities to create solutions, as well as relationships with the people who will help you channel your skills and abilities.

Definitely related to The 4 Pillars article I wrote awhile ago.

I encourage you to read the article below. Very telling. Thank-you Kyle McNeil for sending me this.

Yours,

TF : )

From BootstrapBusiness.org..

Intellectual Capital + Relationship Capital = Financial Capital

One of my good friends and a individual that I just love to associate with is Garrett Gunderson. Garrett is the author of the New York Times Best selling book Killing Sacred Cows.

Several months back I was on Garrett’s radio program “The Power Hour” and was telling the story of how we took $5,000 to build this million dollar business and prove the concepts in Bootstrap Business. Keeping in mind we are on live radio, Garrett interrupted me and said “NO YOU DID NOT start with just $5,000″ and went on to explain:

The financial capital was the most insignificant part of the success formula. You already had millions of dollars of intellectual capital and relationship capital.

Garrett was right! I loved it and since that time, I have used this formula in EVERY presentation I have done. This is indeed a Bootstraper’s magic formula for success.

Drum roll please, here is the world changing formula dissected:

Intellectual Capital + Relationship Capital = Financial Capital

Intellectual Capital
The number one thing that you need to do is be smart and be intelligent. If you are not smart or intelligent, then you need to study, go to seminars, read, and learn. Incompetence and Competence always show their head and in order to make money, you have to be smart at what you are doing in order to create value. If you are not adding value then anything you do is temporary and … here comes some hard words …. you are a sham. Don’t be a flim flam man, GET SMART!

+ blend it with or add it to

Relationship Capital

Now that you have some grey matter in your head, build relationships and use your intelligence to serve and help people who have influence and are like minded. This is the #1 key that most people miss. I think this is the most important part of the equation. If you serve those around you, solve problems for them and develop relationship capital just like you do money in a bank, when you go to take action you will be able to call on these individuals.

Draining relationship accounts is just like running your bank account into overdraft. But it is longer lasting. People do not like to be around someone who drains their relationship account. It is easier to go get more money than it is to just go get new friends and associates.

Put tons of deposits into the key relationships and you will NEVER go wrong.

= Business is the conduit for financial transactions and it is why we are all entrepreneurs

Financial Capital
Wealth creation and money will naturally come as a by product of combining Intellectual Capital with Relationship Capital in the form of a business.

Cool huh? ….. The best part is it is true and it works.

I remember early in my career staying late one night setting up the computers to perform perfect, then cleaning the floor until midnight for a big demo we were doing. I did this to serve my mentor and make him look good. I did not consciously think through the implications, but indeed I got a raise for this.

Intellectual Capital + Relationship Capital = Financial Capital

I just love this concept and challenge you to now go get smart and go serve people.

PS …. want a bonus learning? Here it is. The way to turn the + (plus) in to a * (multiplier) is to do leverage events such as write a book or speak in public. This adds value and intellectual capital in a multiplication impact rather than a single additive. That is unless it is really crappy work, then it is a / (divider) and that is not a happy thing.

Amidst all of the posers and pretenders that we all know are out there, there are a few absolute GEMS… I know of a few consummate PROFESSIONALS in the field of Network Marketing, maybe you do too.

One the of the industry’s absolute BEST is Jimmie Jayes.  Everything that you think about Network Marketers, Jimmie is NOT.  You probably assume that Network Marketers are pushy, desperate, annoying, and BROKE.  Well, Jimmie is NONE of those.

(and when I titled this article “THE MONSTER SPEAKS”, that isn’t a comment to Jimmie, FYI!  Just a humorous note that someone from within the MLM industry has courageously stepped up.)

So I asked Jimmie to reply to my articles that complained about Network Marketing (Tim’s MLM Beef #01, & Tim’s MLM Beef #02 ).

Jimmie’s reply is below.  Now THIS is definitely worth the read….

(Jimmie successfully explained each of my “Beef” points, with how to deal with every single one of them…. impressive!)

Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Jimmie Jayes

Thank you Tim, for this article about MLM. As a network marketer, it is good to see an outsider’s perspective on our industry. Everything you wrote is true of some network marketing companies. Unfortunately for those of us in this industry, many people lump MLM into one big category.

If I was to ask you if Real Estate was a good investment, you would probably say “that depends on the property”. Some real estate can make you a lot of money; some can cost you a lot of money.

You would also say, “It depends on how you set it up”. Some real estate investors are slaves to their properties, and yet others set it up from day one to be a truly passive investment. MLM is exactly the same.

There are a few people who spend the time to really understand MLM, and then go shopping for the company that is the best for them. The vast majority of people look at one MLM and get into one MLM. They really don’t know what they are looking for; they just jump at the first one they see.

Once they have jointed a business, they really don’t know how to set it up to be passive long term. They get in, get started, and invest some time and money, only to realize:

· They don’t know what to say

· They face a huge amount of rejection

· It is hard to get someone to join you

· The company has a bad image on-line

· They don’t know where/how to find leads

· They are not getting the type of leaders they want to work with

· They are not making money

· Once they do find someone to work with, they quit

So, I thought I would write about what I look for in a company, and how you should set it up.

The first thing you need to know is the number one killer of an MLM business; and it can be summed up in one word, attrition. Attrition is the number of customers and business owners that decide to quit and drop off the program. If you are in business to create profit, and passive income, attrition is the killer. So why do so many people quit?

Many MLM companies are set up in a way that actually creates an environment where people quit. I call it the “recruiting myth”. In those companies they teach you to just enroll people faster than they quit. It is like trying to run up a “down elevator”. Not an efficient use of your time, or your energy.

Aside from wasting your time, consider this: “what is the long term effect of doing that?” What happens to the 12 out of 15 business owners that fail in network marketing? Do they go around talking about what a wonderful business this is?

No.

They tell everyone they know it’s a scam. Which begs the question… if 12 out of 15 of the McDonalds you saw driving down the street had boards on the windows, would you want to buy your lunch there? Would you want to buy a franchise?

No.

So let’s think for a second about McDonalds. How did they do it? Do they try to make everyone they meet a business owner?

No.

They are very selective about who they work with. They have multiple interviews before someone is allowed to be a franchise owner. They make sure that the candidate had thought long and hard about what they wanted their next 5 years to look like.

They qualify their prospects. Many people in NWM talk about doing this, but if you ask them how many people they have said no to, you get to see the real test of how hard they qualify.

If you don’t qualify you will have attrition… Period.

What is the cost of attrition? Well, it means that you will never have passive income, because you will always be replacing people who quit.

It means many business owners will never know what to do, or what to say, because their up-line quit. The image of your company and of MLM will suffer because everyone fails at it. Having a bad image will result in even more rejection. You will never attract leaders who will stay.

Most business owners are stuck in a “Catch-22″. The problem is that their product or service really doesn’t have demand. Or, if it does, the company is not charging fair market value.

How can you tell? Just look at the number of people who are buying the product who are not business owners. It is called an “internal consumption model”. Business owners are buying the product or service, because they want to make money, not because they actually want the product. This seems harmless, but it creates a HUGE problem.

In an MLM, the way you make money is by moving product. (If you get paid for anything else, you need to run from that MLM.) If the only people who buy the product are business owners, then the only way for you to make money is to sign up more business owners.

So, if I was to tell you to be selective about whom you work with, you would have to do it at the EXPENSE of profit; and that makes no sense.

There is one solution to this, and it is unbelievably obvious. Sell to people who are not in your company! The only way to have a successful, sustainable MLM business is if you have outside customers. How limited would McDonalds be if it only sold hamburgers to its franchise owners?

Find one of your products or services that people would buy even if they didn’t make money at it. That way you can raise your income, without having to recruit more people.

How easy would it be for you to find business partners, if you were already making 5,000$ a month, just based off of product sales?

If you knew you could teach them how to do the same, would you still be nervous to talk to the leaders you know?

Could you be more selective with whom you recruited?

Absolutely.You would be making money, and you would only be working with people that you wanted to work with. Best of all, you wouldn’t have people quitting your business all the time, because you would be qualifying your prospects, and only working with the people YOU want to work with.

So, once you have a product that has market demand, how can you get it out to potential customers?

Well, that is where joint ventures come in. I could tell you more about that, but I would be doing you a disservice if I tried to tell you about it, without sending you first to the world’s leading experts on the subject, Robin and Rika Elliott.

For more information on Joint Ventures, CLICK HERE.

Thank-you Jimmie for this Illuminating Article!

Yours,

TF

The Secret Lifeboat

by Robin J. Elliott

There are times when we feel like we’re about to drown in a treacherous, dark and stormy sea. The massive waves are getting bigger, the oily piece of wood we’re clinging to is fast becoming waterlogged, the wind is screaming, it’s dark, and we’re nearing hyperthermia. We’ve swallowed too much water, and we’re ready to quit. It feels like we’ve been struggling for ages, and we’ve simply no energy or hope left. We would give anything to be rescued.

I know what it feels like. You have prayed to your god or gods (perhaps, like Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights, you even prayed to Oprah), you’ve tried everything, and nobody comes to save you. This is where the real solution lies. Allow me to digress slightly to illustrate an important point here. Douglas Murray writes in the Telegraph, “Instead of facing reality, many young British Muslims take refuge in delusion and self-pity”. His insightful article goes on to conclude, “The reason so many Muslims like to blame Western societies for all the ills of the world is that it means they never have to engage in self-criticism or even self-analysis. The result is that what problems do exist will not be dealt with. No good can ever come from lies, and as last night’s debate showed, a lot of young British Muslims are living lives based on the most deadly concoction of self-pity, willful blindness and outright delusion.” Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? The race card, the “bad parents”…

I remember, many years ago, as a young insurance salesman traveling to pitch another prospect on a stormy, wet night in Durban, South Africa, looking at a row of lovely homes with lighted windows. I was renting an apartment for my wife and children on North Beach, and I would have loved to have a house like that. So I prayed, “I only want ONE of those houses, please give me just one” – how ridiculous – the combined arrogance and ignorance of my delusion. Fortunately, I woke up one day and realized that I could own as many of those houses as I wanted, once I took responsibility for my life.

Nobody is going to rescue you. No lifeboat is coming. Your rich uncle won’t die and leave you a fortune, and you won’t win the lottery. YOU are the lifeboat. It’s easier to blame others, delude yourself with silly mysticism, make excuses, and expect other people to pay for your bad choices. But you will drown anyway. Once you accept that “If it’s to be, it’s up to me”, and that you have unlimited potential and power, once you understand that when your thinking changes, your circumstances will also change, you become your own rescuer. Change what you think, then you’ll change what you do, then you’ll change what you get. You have to BE before you can DO, and DO before you can GET: BE-DO-GET.

I watched a progressive, liberal US congressman talking about Comrade Obama’s proposed collectivist health care scam on TV. He said, “It’s all for one, and one for all.” That’s like “From each according to his ability, and to each according to his need” – that’s called socialism, where the parasites steal what the producers create. It is unsustainable and ridiculous. I have been to Cuba and seen what a sad joke Socialism plays on those who espouse its lies. The truth about life is that you are responsible for your life, and until you accept that, you will live the life of a whining victim.

The secret is to get the right information and advice about your situation and then to work your way out of your dilemma, taking massive, consistent ACTION. “I will rescue myself. I will break free from my present untenable circumstances and create the world I want to live in. I can and will do this.” That’s the attitude to have.

When we were in transition in South Africa before immigrating to Canada in 1997, we had sold our house and rented a townhouse where we had to wait for one year to get our immigration papers. Rika and I set very exciting and specific goals to be accomplished in that year, and we reached every, single one of them. Every morning in the shower, I would sing, “New York, New York”. I changed to words from, “If I can make it THERE, I’ll make it anywhere,” to “If I can make it HERE, I’ll make it anywhere”. We burned our bridges, sold everything, and arrived in Vancouver with four suitcases and money. We agreed that we would NEVER go back, that we would make it whatever it took, and that we were 110% confident of our success. We never even considered the options of quitting or failing.

Two frogs fell into a jug of cream. The one gave up and drowned. The other one kept on swimming around until the cream turned into butter and he hopped out to freedom.

Besides the dangers of using wrong information (getting advice from the wrong people) and not taking responsibility, the other two obstacles to freedom are laziness and timidity. I am constantly amazed at how lazy and poorly disciplined people are. YOU are your rescuer. You are your solution. TAKE ACTION! WORK your way free. SWIM! DollarMakers is here to help you achieve financial independence.

Robin J. Elliott www.DollarMakers.com

Rika is now on Twitter! Follow her at www.Twitter.com/RikaElliott

NOTE: The Next two opportunities to learn PERSONALLY from Robin and Rika are the forthcoming Women’s Wealth Workshops happening in Edmonton and Vancouver.  Full information here: www.JointVentureAlberta.com

Haha… oh, how we’ve all been there before…

Thanks Dave for the great article!

TF

P.S. For more info on how you can overcome the “Lone Ranger Syndrome”, click HERE.

= = = = = =

The “Lone Ranger Syndrome”

by Dave Dubeau

We’ve all experienced it. You learn a little bit about a subject by reading a book, attending a short seminar, watching a show, whatever it is.

You are very interested in learning more about it. The presenter then “pitches” you on buying some sort of a course or program, which typically requires a significant investment.

Now, just by virtue of attending the event, or reading the book, etc., you are head and shoulders above the other 90% of the population. Chances are, you are smarter than the average person. But that can work against you.

I recently had a very humbling experience myself.

I’m a marketing guy and I’d been observing the whole “tele-seminar” sales process for quite awhile. I knew of a person who is very successful at it, and who sells a program about how to do it for about $1,500 U.S. I’d been thinking to myself “I should get that course – there’s a lot I can do with it”. But I didn’t.

Then a few months ago I decided to do a promotional tele-seminar myself. I figured “How tough can it be?” I thought I did everything right – topics, speakers, testimonials, a great offer, etc. Then to promote it, I used email, voice-broadcast and postcard mailings.

I put about 50 hours of my time, and over $2,000 in hard costs into doing the call.

Results: It was a complete FLOP! – or, as I like to call it, a Great Learning Experience.

So, I invested the money, and bought the course. Right away I saw that I had done a lot of things right, but I’d also done a few key things wrong.

I had most of the right ingredients, but I was missing a few important items AND the proper order of how to mix them (kind of like the recipe for Coca-Cola…sugar, water, fizzy stuff…how tough can it be?).

And I see how stupid I was NOT to invest in the course in the first place! It would have saved me so much time, money and effort AND I would have made money from the get-go instead of having to re-do it all again. As it is, I have to pay for the flop AND for the course AND for a new shot at it! Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Luckily for me, this is a rare mistake. I’ve always been a big believer in leveraging the knowledge of others. If there is something I really want to do, I’ll seek out people who are already doing it and figure out how to get their knowledge. The ideal thing would be to get personally mentored by them. That is not usually possible, so the next best thing is to “buy” their knowledge through books, courses, seminars, coaching, kits etc.

I mean think about it. The person you want to learn from is pretty sharp, right? They have invested hundreds to thousands of hours of their life in perfecting their particular skill. They have invested thousands or millions of dollars in getting good at what they do. They have probably made all of the BIG mistakes that can be made already.

Darren Weeks is an excellent example of this. He is constantly seeking out mentors and advisors who can help him reach his goals. He’s worked personally with Robert Kiyosaki, Blair Singer, T. Harv Ecker, Bill Bartman (the Billionaire) and many other mentors and advisors. Do you think he invests in his education? You’d better believe he does.

So if the expert I’m interested in learning from is willing to go to the time and effort of putting their hard-earned knowledge into a kit or a course, or a seminar – why wouldn’t I be willing to pay to get that? And why would I begrudge them making money by selling it? All the power to them, I say! They are doing ME a H-U-G-E favor by providing a wonderful road-map and major short cuts to success.

And I’ll tell you an important secret…the good ones are letting you try the information absolutely RISK FREE (and if they don’t, don’t buy it). Any info-marketer worth their salt offers a money-back guarantee. You can try the information, usually for 30 – 90 days (or up to a year in our case), and if you don’t think it is right for you, you can return it and get your money back. And they will give you your money back.

They’ll do it not just because they are “Nice” people – but because it is in their best interest to do so. They do not want to risk their reputation OR their credit card merchant account with angry customers. They do not want to be complained about to the Better Business Bureau. They will give you your money back, no problem.

Personally, I’ve spent more than $35,000 on courses, seminars, books, tapes, etc. over the last 10 years. That may sound like a lot, but I don’t think it is. I know that I have created at least ten times that much in increased revenue that I would not have had otherwise – through marketing, business and real estate.

For me, my goal is to be able to spend that much every single year on my own personal and business development. That may sound crazy, but it isn’t. Not only will I get at least a ten time return on my investment, but I’ll get to know a lot of people who are super successful. Like July and Darren say, “Your Net worth = your Net work”.

At a marketing seminar I just went to in Atlanta, I met people there who spend over $100,000 a year on their education. Guess what? They also generate millions of dollars a year in personal income and have a lot of fun doing it. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

And I’ll leave you with one last example to convince you of the value of this. In B.C., the richest guy around is Jimmy Pattison. Last time I heard he was worth over $7 Billion – and that makes him wealthier than the famous Donald Trump.

I was reading Jimmy’s autobiography awhile ago, and he was talking about how he took courses and seminars on “how to create a conglomerate” when he was a member of the Young President’s Association (a membership group for Presidents of large companies who are all 40 or younger).

So can you do it yourself? Maybe. But why would you want to go to all that time, trouble and expense?

If a guy like Jimmy Pattison realized the value of being a member of a group and being willing to invest in learning from others, why shouldn’t we? Especially if we have nothing to risk.

Dave Dubeau
Results Enterprises Inc

http://www.canadianfasttrack.com/

= = = = = = =

P.S. To find out when your next opportunity is to overcome “Lone Ranger Syndrome”, click HERE.

One of my favourite interviews thus far…. thanks Wayne!!!

Click the arrow on this player to listen…

- Discusses how critical the mind is in success, and how we can manage the “tapes” that we play in our minds.

“Programming precedes Performance”

- Wayne Lee

- No such thing as failure – just feedback.

- 3-step strategy for programming the “Great Programmable Subconscious”:

G: Goalsetting… have to be clear on what I want

P: Pretending… visualizing success as though it has already happened

S: Stress Management… handling negative beliefs and tapes as they come up on the way to success

- Great leaders have vision – they know their path and they are passionate about it.

- It’s about understanding what your unique expertise or talent is, then finding a network of people that I can serve with that talent.

TF

• In the last election, how did you vote compared to them?
• Calculate the average income of these 6 people.  Probably pretty close to yours!
• What about your attitude on making money?
• Your ability to be successful?
• Lead a fulfilled life?

The other day my friend Winnie Lau asked me about Joint Ventures and DollarMakers (DM).  I shared with her that I was making money already – from 5 different JV partners that I had met through DollarMakers – and that I have two big projects coming up with 2 different groups of DM members.

I told her that I’m not a gazillionaire yet, but that the seeds that have been sewn through the DM organization in the last 9 months have put me in a place to have a very lucrative year.  My JV partners and I are all VERY excited!

Winnie was curious to know how I had gained my position in the DM organization and how I was making money at it.

Well, I got thinking…

Push and Push and Push

Winnie and I got talking, and we determined that it is like anything else… there really hasn’t been any single thing that has brought me to where I am today.

I have had so much amazing support from fantastic people like Jill Brock and Kyle McNeil, Robin and Rika Elliott, as well as my family.

I’ve also done so many different things in the last year to support and participate in DollarMakers.  More on that below…

The “Flywheel Effect”

The “Flywheel Effect” explains how every single push on a wheel builds just a little more momentum on the previous push.  No single push gives the flywheel it’s speed… it’s the sum of all the pushes together that make success happen.

It’s kind of like asking an Olympic athlete which workout was THE ONE that got them onto the Olympic team.

“So you’ve been training 6 days per week, 50 weeks per year, for the last 10 years to make the Olympics.  Of those 3000 training sessions, which ONE was THE ONE that got you on the team?”

Doesn’t work that way.

Now I’m not saying that I am an Olympic Athlete.  Nor does it take 3000 training sessions to make money in DollarMakers.  Far from it.

(If you put in 3000 training sessions into DM you would – like the Olympic Athletes – be in the top 0.01% of your field.  In this case that would make you an extremely wealthy, powerful, and influential person!)

Great people…

Being around GREAT people has been a huge key.  And there are a ton of them on the DollarMakers scene.  In the past I’ve had great support from people like Jerry Ojo and Susan Paleniuk.

Winnie Lau has been very helpful with our upcoming event – The Women’s Wealth Workshop on March 13 2010  in Edmonton.  Another key player has been Jill Brock, who leads the DollarMakers Women’s Club in Edmonton.  And down in Calgary – oh my goodness – Trina Lo of BlingSling Promotional Products has been an absolute force.  Thank-you ladies, you’ve been magnificent!

DollarMakers has a LOT of great people closely affiliated.  Simply by being a part of the group you have access to a group of great people… people that you already know are high-quality if they have some recognition within the group.

Just hangin’ around…

Another MAJOR key for me has simply been the repeated inputs and efforts that I’ve made towards DollarMakers.  All of my pushes on the proverbial “Flywheel”.

While it might sound boring – one of the KEY factors to being where I am: SIMPLY SHOWING UP!

“80% of success is just showing up”

- Woody Allen

That means just being around the DollarMakers organization and making regular contributions.  Be involved with events.  Join the Members’ Club.  Be on the phone calls.

Meet these Real Winners!

One of the BEST WAYS for meeting real Winners is to be at DollarMakers events.  At our next event you will have the opportunity to meet Robin and Rika Elliott, Jill Brock, Winnie Lau, Trina Lo, as well as networking guru Stephen Lau, one of my many “Rich Dads” Jimmie Jayes, as well as the contagiously upbeat Andy and Connie Benjamin.

GET TO KNOW THESE PEOPLE!

Every single one of them embodies the kind of take-action attitude that we can all be thankful for… to rub shoulders with these people = getting amazing input.  And input is everything.

Tim, what have YOU done?

Here’s is, step-by-step, the EXACT chronology of how I have personally made repeated efforts over and over to support DollarMakers, and to “show up”… to push the “Flywheel”… what I’ve done to meet the Winning people in DollarMakers:

- Sat, May 16, 2009: Attended my first DollarMakers event – the Joint Venture Bootcamp (as an attendee).  Was amazed with how intelligent this strategy for business and wealth-building was.  Wanted to be involved.  Approached guest speaker Robin J. Elliott at the end to see if I could record his latest book to audiobook.

- Thurs, Aug 13, 2009: Hosted my first DollarMakers event –  How to Find the Man of Your Dreams and Marry him in Six Months.  Along with Jill Brock, we put all of the resources in to host and produce the event.

- Sat, Oct 3, 2009: Hosted Joint Venture Broker Bootcamp in Edmonton – our second DollarMakers event. Along with my team, we produced the event.

- Sat, Nov 14, 2009: Hosted Joint Venture Broker Bootcamp in Calgary – our third DollarMakers event. Along with my team, we produced the event.

- Sat, Mar 13, 2010: COMING UP – The Women’s Wealth Workshop in Edmonton – our fourth DollarMakers event. Along with Jill, we are producing the event.

- On top of which we host regular monthly DollarMakers meetings

- I have spoken publicly about Joint Ventures to groups of interested people.

- On top of which I am a student of the DM philosophy.  I have read a number of the recommend books, including:

• Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
• Anthem (Ayn Rand)
• How to Retire in One Year (Robin J. Elliott)
• Rich Dad Poor Dad (Robert Kiyosaki)
• The 4-Hour Workweek (Timothy Ferriss)
• The Virtue of Selfishness (Ayn Rand) – in progress
• The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand) – in progress
• …and many others

It’s said that you are the sum of the 6 closest people to you.  Think about it… who are the 6 closest people in your life?  How did you vote compared to them?  How close is your income to the average of these 6 people?  What about your attitude on making money?  Your ability to be successful?  Lead a fulfilled life?

Get yourself around more Winners and you will win more!  Get yourself around the DollarMakers crew and get involved.  Your next opportunity: The Women’s Wealth Workshop in Edmonton on March 13, 2010.

WINNERS + FLYWHEEL

So I guess that I’ve answered Winnie’s question here… what have been the keys to success?

1. Being around Winners
2. Repeatedly pushing the Flywheel

So get out there, take action to push the flywheel, and make sure that your 6 closest people – and all of the people that you surround yourself with – are TOP-SHELF WINNERS.

TF

P.S. Click here for more info on the next DollarMakers event: website for The Women’s Wealth Workshop, Mar 13 2010 in Edmonton.

Cutting through the hype and getting focused on the facts is important.  Check this out: http://tinyurl.com/y93u7rw

TF

Have you ever made $500 for asking ONE question?

What’s it worth to you?

A lot of people will invest an hour into their business (or at work) and will make $50 – maybe that’s their wage, they make a sale, or something else.

Last week I asked one question and made $500 in one minute. Couldn’t believe it!

Ask the RIGHT questions

I had just finished a meeting with a lawyer. I like him, and I’ve referred other business his way.

He was charging me $500 for the negotiation he had just led me through. After I agreed to paying him $500 for his services, I asked him this Joint Venture-style question:

“Oh – by the way – If I continue to refer you clients, are you willing to give me 20% of the resulting legal fees?”

His response: “I’m not comfortable paying you referral fees, but let’s do this: I’ll waive your $500 legal fee today, and if you have future legal needs, we can cross that bridge when we get there.”

Seeing as I had already committed $500 to him, he basically gave me my cheque back, and voila! $500 for asking one question.

$30,000 / hour

That’s $500 for one minute of conversation – one question, one answer. That’s $30,000/hour.

And seeing as it cost me NOTHING to ask the question, my actual Return on Investment (ROI) is technically INFINITY. Not a bad ROI for simply knowing what to ask!

What if you could do that too?

Be SMART…

The smartest way I’ve ever seen business done – whether it’s small business, franchise, MLM, Real Estate, Internet Marketing, or other – is by using Joint Venture strategy. Essentially it is all about cooperating with others so that everyone can get ahead. It can be applied to ANY business for rapid success and growth.

In my simple little experience above I made $500 for asking one single Joint Venture-style question. When fully applied, I’ve personally witnessed small businesses add – VERY QUICKLY – between $10,ooo.00/mo and $40,ooo.00/mo to their bottom line just from adding Joint Venture strategy to their business.

Seriously consider attending an event from DollarMakers – these guys and gals are the world leaders in this style of business.

I have gone to a number of their events – I’ve even hosted some including a few coming up – and my bank account proves that it works.

I’m hosting events coming up in Edmonton, AB, Canada. Hope to see you there.

Onwards and Upwards,

TF

P.S. And remember… when you feel that little nudge inside, GO FOR IT! Ask, ask, ask, and YES you shall receive.

It’s just that there are 9 bad ones for every 1 Great one. Wait – make that like 24 – 1. And so many people get wrapped up in the bad ones… the purpose of the these articles is to help people see the forest for the trees, whether you are already in an MLM or not.

Which Brings me to my next critical point…

In an MLM, what are you REALLY selling?

Are you actually selling a Product or Service?

NO. Usually the products or services you’re selling don’t have any real competitive advantage or substantial “value proposition”… the aren’t markedly unique or superior products.

Are you actually selling a System?

NO. You are not selling a business system. While that might be technically what’s going on, that’s not what people – your new downline “business owners” – are buying when they sign up with you.

When someone signs up for an MLM, they rarely (if ever!) say “WHOA! that toll-free number, auto-ship, and compensation plan are an offer I just couldn’t refuse!!!” Get real – that’s ridiculous.

What business are you REALLY in?

Example #1) Dell Computers

Micheal Dell of Dell Computers knows that he sells computers, but is intelligent enough to know that he is actually in the distribution business. When you order a customized computer from him, you get it faster, more accurately, and more customized than you can get it anywhere else.

That’s his competitive advantage – he’s in the DISTRIBUTION business – and he KNOWS it.

Example #2) McDonald’s Restaurants

Do you think that the people at McDonalds actually think that they make the best hamburger? Hardly.

They know that they own a system – to distribute Hamburgers faster, more consistently, and more pervasively than anyone else in the world.

Best hamburger? Forget it. They don’t even pretend to subscribe to this fairytale. They are in two businesses: the franchise system, and Real Estate. McDonalds is one of the single largest private Real Estate holders in the world.

Your MLM’s Competitive Advantage

Your competitive advantage is not your product. Let’s be real – your juice, financial service, or home product probably doesn’t have any serious advantage or special qualities over anything that I can buy off the shelf at Wal-Mart.

Does your product or service solve any significant need?

Nor do they solve any significant need. Maybe it’s a new fad, magic drink or pill, but is it replacing something else that used to be the latest and greatest? Chances are something new will come along in a few months and either duplicate or replace it.

What about price?

Nope. They generally have no price advantage – often times a price disadvantage when compared to competing national brand or generic competitors.

So what then are you REALLY selling?

With little-to-no incentive to purchase product… the products or services aren’t all that much better, they aren’t more affordable, and they don’t solve a unique problem… why they heck would anyone want to buy your MLM’s product or service?

THE DREAM

“The Dream” – of financial freedom, a house, boat, family time, etc… THAT is the competitive advantage or value proposition of most MLMs, including Amway, FHTM, and the regulars.

THE NIGHTMARE

With 99.9% of MLM “business owners” / IBOs / etc. failing it feels like a mighty bleak sales pitch. If Ford Motor Company’s product failed 99.9% of the time, they would be in major trouble. What if the brakes on your car only engaged 1 out of 1000 times?

THE QUESTION

“If you weren’t a rep / IBO / Independent Consultant for your MLM, would you still buy the product / service?” Be REAL honest here.

THE CLUB

Why isn’t everyone clamoring to buy your product from you? There’s no reason to… unless they buy into The Dream too.

The only people buying “The Dream” are the people actually in the business. That’s why it’s so tough to sell and be successful unless you are a super-recruiter… of other people buying The Dream. Not buying the product, but The Dream…

So if that’s the actual path to success – to recruit, recruit, recruit by sell, sell, selling The Dream – then what is the business? Selling the promise of the The Dream for six energy drinks, a case of water, and a membership fee of $29/mo?

Your Dignity

If you’re putting your butt on the line to be a business owner, to approach people to buy from you, to put your heart and soul into something, take time and money away from your family and friends to “build your business”, do you really want to roll the dice on a path that has a 99.9% failure rate?

The right ladder?

Make sure that you are setting yourself up for success from the start. It would be a shame if you actually got to the so-called “promised land” of an MLM, Real Estate Investing, small business, corporate career, or whatever path you’re pursuing. It would be a shame to get to the top of the ladder and realize that the ladder has been up against the wrong wall the whole time…

Be SMART…

The smartest way I’ve ever seen business done – whether it’s an MLM, Real Estate, small business, franchise, Internet Marketing, or other – is by using Joint Venture strategy. It can be applied to ANY business for rapid success. Seriously consider attending an event from DollarMakers – these guys and gals are the world leaders in this style of business.

I have gone to a number of their events – I’ve even hosted some including a few coming up – and my bank account is all the proof that I need.

I’m hosting events coming up in Edmonton, AB, Canada. Hope to see you there.

Onwards and Upwards,

TF

P.S. Of the 25 MLMs I’ve seen, there are only 2 that I would actually recommend. Even at that I would ONLY tell you if you PROMISED to do it from a Joint Venture perspective. Learn the basics of Joint Ventures FIRST, and I PROMISE to tell you which TWO MLMs are seriously worth it.