Rodney Koop
Contributing Writer
The New Flat Rate, Inc.
“I think the key indicator for wealth is not good grades, work ethic, or IQ. I believe it is relationships. Ask yourself two questions: How many people do I know, and how much ransom money could I get for each one?”
― Jarod Kintz
Yesterday I saw a re-run of a talk show on youtube.com with Dolly Parton. I’ve always had a high degree of respect for Dolly because of her obvious talent, (Dolly has written over 800 songs) and her tenacity for hard work. There is a lot of talent that never made it to Nashville so to speak due to the fact that success is hard work. Dolly likes to tell stories of growing up poor but not knowing they were poor.
“My momma was the happiest person I ever knew, she was always smiling and cheering us up, I remember her saying ‘If we had ham we could have ham and eggs, if we had eggs’”
Yes Dolly started out as a poor farm girl who recognized that she had a good voice and some other assets, and she determined that she would succeed. And so she has.
“While money can’t buy happiness, it certainly lets you choose your own form of misery.”
― Groucho Marx
Some people say “poor” is just a state of mind. Well if that’s the case I could have ranked right up there with the state of Texas the day my banker called me to say I was $21,000 overdrawn. Now I want everyone to know that I do appreciate a home town bank that will pay your checks when there is not one red cent in your bank account. I dare say not many will but back in 1999 mine would. The interesting thing is that even though I had no money on paper (or anywhere else that I could think of) I wasn’t exactly poor. There was food in my cupboards and in my refrigerator, my power was on and my home mortgage was current. And, as long as those checks cleared the bank there would be. But, I was not a candidate for a savings bond. I had to sell my way out of trouble.
“Money isn’t everything… but it ranks right up there with oxygen.”-Zig Ziglar
Now on the subject of saving, it is true that I was never a big fan of socking money away. After all, life is worth living so why not live it right? Some of us are consumers and others are hoarders or maybe a better way to say it is that some of us are sensible. When you see someone with wealth in the form of a nice big home and car and the fine things that go with it, what do you think? Do you think they saved their way to riches? No of course not, but if they are sensible savers and frugal with their money, they will have a tendency to build more wealth and the security that comes with having a nice nest egg.
However they did not become wealthy by saving every dollar they touched. Wealth is built upon investment in something that will usually have some risk. So, you add your talent, skill, knowledge and experience to what you are investing in, and that will lessen the risk.
For example I started my first contracting business by doing exactly the kind of work that I had been trained to do and had been doing for other employers for 15 years. I also had the advantages of being in estimating and then management for that firm, so I was very capable of bidding and managing jobs. I only needed a couple good jobs a year to do good on my own, so that was the beginning of building more wealth than I could have had working for someone else. My risk was very low, yet within my first year I had earned 5 times the net income (after expenses) than I would have working for my former boss. So you see, I couldn’t do that by just trying to save my way to riches.
“Money isn’t everything but it’s way ahead of whatever’s in second place.” -Einstein
So if you are in a tight spot financially you must sell yourself out of it. If you work for an employer, ask if you can do more to earn your way out of a tight spot. You can also work on the side, (not moonlighting against your boss) but by selling stuff on Facebook and eBay. I have a friend that buys 4 wheeler ATV’s. He makes sure they run and puts them on craigslist for $200 over what he pays. He only buys good deals and sells them quickly, pocketing $200 each time. I have another friend who flips cars. He averages fifteen to twenty thousand dollars a year in extra income with that hobby.
“Money isn’t everything but it sure keeps the kids in touch”. –seen on a license plate
If you are a contractor and you are in a tight spot financially you have to sell your way out. Start by getting in the truck with a technician and ride for a few days. You might be amazed at how much additional money comes in when you are on the job. Ride with your salesmen if you have them. And, if you are the man, the tech, the salesman, you do it all, then make it a point to help every customer you see to get the very best you have to offer on every job. And make sure to allow them to pay for your very best.
Saving is for after you have money in the bank Step one, get money in the bank.
“When your sales double, everything is easier” –Melody Koop
Dolly Parton never quit, never gave up and when she had money she put it right to work making more money for her. Saving is always a good thing but it’s a tough way to start. Start by making something happen today. Go ahead, make something happen.
Rodney Koop is the founder of The New Flat Rate Menu Pricing System for contractors and can be reached at rkoop@windstream.net