The problem in the global village is all the idiots. Connect yourself to a television set or the internet and you become bombarded with Get-Rich-Quick schemes.
These range from advertisers selling a book on how to make lots of money with similar advertising that caught you, to getting rich by simply transferring money out of an African bank. Want a shock? Select the scheme that seems to make the most sense and look it up on one of those sites exposing scams such as Craig Cook's blog at focalcurve.com or the listings on spamhaus.org.
Was Eddie Cantor, the entertainer, exaggerating when he declared, "It takes twenty years to make an overnight success?"
You have a choice.
Do you waste your money investing in doubtful schemes or do you combine savings with "sweat capital" for investing in a sound business proposition? Do you replace your get-rich-quick dreams with more practical survival-to-fortune dreams? It just takes a little longer to generate enough survival income while building a stable fortune.
Granted, you hear of people who strike it rich in the early stages of creating a stable business. But, they are rare. What are your chances of being in their number?
The survival-to-fortune method may be your best option. This is the route where you create a venture that will provide you a flow of income to comfortably survive while you are building a stable business that will eventually provide you a fortune. The route is not without risks and reverses. You require the will, health and energy to persevere, work hard and to learn how to "work smart."
This route has two branches. You can be nurtured by a franchise system or you can be courageously independent.
Building your fortune within a franchise system is a little more secure. If you happen to have the cost of admission, a hefty franchise fee, and you are prepared to share your fortune you can learn while you earn. It's not a get-rich-quick method.
An acquaintance of mine was well rewarded for closing down a multi-million dollar operation. In his search for a new career a friend showed him how he made a fortune in a franchise venture. My acquaintance began with a franchise in a less lucrative market before gaining one in a new market with greater potential where he eventually earned his fortune. He got rich slowly because developing that new market required a decade of hard work for long hours.
If you have a burning desire to create your own independent business empire, you can avoid the large franchise fee.
To begin, you must have a business concept that you will passionately enjoy pouring all your energies into for, at least, several years. You must be willing and prepared to live on a modest subsistence income while you are advancing through the earlier stages of building the business.
Next you will need to create all your own marketing, financing, and operating functions. In order of sequence, the two critical pieces are marketing and financial records. Why are financial records a close second? You need some money to count before you invest too much time and energy in building a complex accounting system. A simple spreadsheet or proprietary software is sufficient at the outset. You can set a target date or event for starting a fully integrated management system.
You produce revenue by selling your product or service. Kristin Zhivago in her book, Rivers of Revenue, tells a witty allegorical tale before she clearly outlines, with practical applications, the basics for earning revenue.
Ideally, the best method for funding your venture is to earn it. Otherwise, to acquire outside funds you need either a good business plan outlining what you plan to do or you establish a track record proving you can achieve results. Remember the golden rule of business: those who have the gold make the rules. Investors will want to share your good fortunes. Lenders expect you to repay their loans, regardless.
While you're engulfed with get-rich-quick help, there's plenty of help for get-rich-slowly independent entrepreneurs.
Government and non-profit agencies now augment their instructional programs with follow up coaching. Some coaching services claim they are inverting the 80/20 survival rule from 80% failures to 80% survivors. Their free services are disappearing as they adopt cost recovery policies. For meaningful assistance expect to pay a fee.
Self-study is getting easier. It's a matter of making the choice to get rich slowly.
Whichever route you travel to get rich slowly, you'll surpass all those dreamers who lost investments chasing after that elusive pot-of-gold. You can always hire them - if you still respect them.
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