There is one distinct belief that separates people who build real, lasting wealth and people who spend, spend, spend. It’s that they treat money as a river, not a pond. Don’t get me wrong; I love the water and taking a swim on a hot Texas day. But at the pond near my house, water that is stagnant and not cared for attracts mosquitoes. It forms an unattractive film on top and begins to develop a stench. Many people think of money the same way. It’s in a contained source, only to be found by the rich people who own big companies. It’s dirty and smelly.
Real wealth builders imagine money as a continuously flowing river, rather than a standing pond of water. There’s not a limited supply. Money flows where value goes. It is meant to be in motion, so in my world, money is pure, clean, and refreshing.
Instead of imagining it sitting in a pond, waiting to be used as crud forms on top, think of it, used wisely, as a continuously flowing river that can be diverted to feed multiple crops—yourself, your family, others you love, and those you want to help.
I often hear from people who feel like they’re off track and they’ll never catch up. No. If you take away one message from this chapter, from this book, it’s that you have choices. It’s in your power to change your financial reality, to earn more, save more, and give more. When you start believing that money is a river that flows where value is, the ways you can earn more are endless, which brings us to this third lever.
Remember the number you wrote down when we walked through the Good Money Framework? It might be 25 percent or 50 percent higher than your current income. Earning more looks different for everyone, but I want to share some Good Money Moves you can start implementing today:
Option 1: Treat Your Job as if You Were an Entrepreneur
Remember that feeling you get on Sunday about 4:00 p.m.? You’re having a great day, but suddenly, “Oh, tomorrow’s Monday and I’ve got to start this treadmill all over again.” Instead, start thinking of your job like you’re a business owner. When you do, you’ll learn skills that will prepare you to create your own venture or side hustle, or even propel you higher at the company you work for right now. As an employee, you should always be asking yourself, “How can I increase sales, boost productivity, or innovate to make a product or service better?”
I think of Kelsey, who, after six years working for a local insurance company, felt the door closing on any advancement opportunities. While the lead sales representative worked with clients face-to-face, Kelsey was known for how well she supported customers. In a performance evaluation, her boss shared some aggressive growth goals and asked for her feedback on ways they could serve more clients. Kelsey quickly recognized an opportunity to both help the business flourish and grow her paycheck. She understood these clients, and who better to work with them than her? A few days later, she presented a thoughtful proposal to her boss. She asked him to pay her to get licensed, then transition 25 percent of his clients to her as their sales rep, which would free up her boss to bring in more business. She asked for an incentive based on new business opportunities that she identified. Her boss loved the idea! She was thinking like a business owner while working inside someone else’s company. No matter your job, there are always ways to make your products, services, processes, and customer experience better. Empower yourself in the job you’re in right now and think about new ways to make your current job better.
Option 2: Add Value to Grow Your Company’s Revenue
The way to make more money is to add more value. I need you to understand one key component: whatever you’re paid right now is what the economy is saying you’re worth right now. If you think about pro athletes who get huge contracts, you may think, “How can they be paid that much?” It’s simply because the economy says, “That’s what they’re worth.” When you add value to the company, your value goes up. Do this by asking your boss for more responsibility (and nailing it!), increasing sales, reducing expenses, or getting a new certification or degree.
Debbie’s decision to join the startup engineering firm was both exciting and exhilarating, but two years into it, while most other people had been promoted, she was feeling stuck. She was growing disillusioned with her future. “Derrick,” she told me, “I want to make more money, but I’m not sure how.”
Together, Debbie and I created a two-pronged plan with which she would approach her boss. Bur first, she did some due diligence. In her current position, she didn’t have any bonus or commission potential, but as she talked to a few salespeople, she gained a much better understanding of the company’s sales goals and compensation structure. She then set up an appointment with the CEO. First, she asked him, “If I get an advanced certification and I can demonstrate how that would help make the company more money, could I earn a salary increase?” The CEO was impressed with the way she positioned herself. It wasn’t just, “I want more money,” but, “If I do this and help the company make more money, could I then get a part of that?” Then the second part blew the CEO away. “As I talked to our salespeople,” she told him, “I realized we must know other business owners who could use what our company produces. What if you gave a finder’s fee to me and other employees who refer business to the sales department?” Well, this was eye-opening for the CEO, and on the spot he agreed to give her a $5,000 salary increase upon completion of the advanced certification (which would reimburse the cost of the certification). Plus, he agreed to give her and the rest of the team a referral fee if they produced a lead who became a customer.
Debbie continued to explain how she would stay motivated to get this certificate and connect the company with other business owners. She told the CEO that there was a week-long summer camp at the local university for junior high students interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). It was something Debbie wished was available when she was younger and she wanted to provide scholarships for ten students to go. The CEO was so impressed when Debbie presented her Generosity Purpose that he offered to support the cause as well. It was a win-win all the way around.
Michael Hyatt, CEO and author of Win at Work and Succeed at Life, once told me, “The most popular ‘radio station’ in the world is WIIFM—‘What’s In It For Me?’ People don’t act for your best interests; they act for their own best interests. So I don’t care whether you’re trying to sell a board member or you’re trying to sell the banker or you’re trying to sell a customer or you’re trying to sell an employee—you’ve got to enter into their world. You’ve got to see it from their perspective and sell it from the perspective of how it’s gonna benefit them. If you can do that, you can sell anything—I don’t care if it’s an idea or if it’s a product or if it’s a service.”
Debbie knew this well. She was able to clearly communicate to the CEO the value she could bring to the company, herself, and the causes she believed in—and her salary increase reflected her persuasive conviction.
Option 3: Start a Side Hustle
If you’re not satisfied with your salary and your promotion possibilities are limited, a side venture could be developed into a business of your own. We’ve learned during COVID-19 that most people are simply one global event away from losing their job or taking a pay cut. Let me be candid with you: if you’re working for someone else, this can be a dangerous situation because you are reliant on them and only them for your income. You want to be a creator of money, not only the receiver of it—and starting a side hustle is a great way to get started.
Entrepreneur and real estate coach Ryan Pineda told me his first side hustle was being a realtor, then he became a substitute teacher, then he got into couch flipping, and finally he started flipping houses. He says, “There are a lot of side hustles, like my own, that will pay more than your job. If you just take the risk and go all in at the side hustle, you can have a business.” Often some of the best side hustles emerge either from what you’re already doing in your full-time job or from something you’re really good at and enjoy.
Sheila and Dan loved to travel, especially when their trips involved something adventuresome, like deep-sea diving. Their holidays and vacations were planned months in advance, and the planning brought them nearly as much joy as the trips themselves. As more friends and colleagues asked them for trip planning tips, a part-time travel business was born. Sheila’s virtual job as a marketing consultant and Dan’s at-home job in software sales afforded them some flexibility. Working during lunch breaks, evenings, and weekends let Sheila and Dan help others see the world—and pack their own retirement fund with the fees they charged.
Craig was an engineer by day and a poet by night. His fulltime job paid the bills, but writing filled his soul. He ended up with a book deal. Reducing his lifestyle, he took early retirement and turned his side hustle into a rewarding part-time job.
There are limitless side hustles out there—brainstorm, get creative, and pursue something you’re good at. Perceive a need and fulfill it. Your goal? Let your side hustle become your main income—and have fun doing it.
(To be continued...)
This excerpt is taken from “Good Money Revolution: How to Make More Money to Do More Good” by Derrick Kinney. To read other articles of this book, click here. To buy this book, click here.
The Epoch Times Copyright © 2023 The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors. They are meant for general informational purposes only and should not be construed or interpreted as a recommendation or solicitation. The Epoch Times does not provide investment, tax, legal, financial planning, estate planning, or any other personal finance advice. The Epoch Times holds no liability for the accuracy or timeliness of the information provided.
