3 Keys to WA Success You Won't Find in the Lesson Plans!?!?
I apologize that this isn't a short read, but for those who spend the time it is worth it.
Nevertheless, it is critical to just about everyone's success, whether you are just beginning here or whether you have reached the top 200, 100 or 50.
Second, I do not claim this will apply to every single person in WA...but, if I were to hazard a guess...I would say 80-90%? That's a lot of people...so keep reading.
Third, I don't claim to be the ultimate authority on this and it is not intended to be professional advice on anything...simply one friend to another.
In a recent blog post here at WA, I expounded on why I haven't monetized the TinyHousesForAll website yet, in which I explained that I have a 2 year plan to build the site into a powerful authority, "go to" place on the internet for this "lifestyle".
I appreciate the positive response, but if we are honest, most WA members response to such a post is: "I can't wait that long...I have to have significant income soon!"
I think we can all appreciate that sentiment, as money sooner is always preferable to later, more preferable to less. It is an unfortunate fact that what brings many people to WA is the very same thing which shortens their time here, limits their creative abilities to be their best and eventually results in their failure to reach their goal.
In short, this blog is about 3 keys to WA success you should be seriously taking into account before you have even logged in on your computer! How long do you have to be successful at WA before you will have to quit?
I'm not talking about motivation...I'm not talking about discipline, or talent, or intelligence, or patience, or even persistence. What I am talking about is your life situation...food, shelter, clothing, family responsibilities and bills you must pay!
You do know that nearly all small businesses fail within the first year, don't you? Last I read it was something like a 95%+ 1st year failure rate. This is due to 3 factors:
1. Not enough capital or money to fund the business. WA has already fixed this problem for you, by offering you the lowest start-up costs I have ever seen for any business. You can't have a lemonade stand on the corner for this cheap!
2. Too much capital expenditure up front, resulting in the business not being able to service its debt early on when there isn't much business yet. Again, WA makes this easy because of low start-up costs and no up-selling.
3. Inability to sustain the business model long enough to build an adequate customer base. The truth is most businesses don't open with a lot of fanfare and a rush of eager buyers through the front doors. We only here about the exceptions, and think its the norm. Most businesses are built gradually, especially if you are starting with little or nothing.
WA has done everything it can to make it possible for us to stick to it long enough to make it happen, but honestly, 99% of this one is up to you and me.
We need to do what it takes to still be building our online businesses a year from now...2 years from now, and so on. If your cash outflow is consistently greater than your cash inflow, week after week and month after month, then you aren't going to make it.
Time for a change! Time for real, adult commitment to being a success!
Okay...now that I have explained where I am coming from on this...here are the 3 keys to WA success, not in the lessons:
There are 3 things that eat most people for lunch when it comes to life: automobile installment payments, credit card/loan debt and finally rent or mortgage. This typically accounts for 50-75% of where your money goes each month...so, it just naturally figures that we need to:
1. Own what we drive.
2. Get out of debt (and stay out of debt).
3. Own where we live.
Q: If this was you, today, then how long would you have to make WA a success? A: As long as it took...as long as it took to find the right niche...as long as it took to be the best marketer...as long as it took to build authority, the best SEO, web traffic and lots of loyal customers!
Yes, quitters never win and winners never quit…and, that rule doesn’t change just because you had to quit for financial reasons.
You don’t know my situation! There’s no way!
You’re right, friend…I don’t.But, I do know that desperation is not the mother of success.
Allow me to share with you what we are doing, personally.
We operate on cash only or a pay-as-you-go budget, week by week and month by month. We cut the cards up, and began by driving used cars. Typically, we save up and pay $2,000-$2,500 for a car. Then, we put another $500-$1,000 into making sure it is functional and reliable.
These paid for cars typically last us 3-4 years. We begin putting small amounts away from every paycheck toward purchasing another car, routine car repairs, emergencies, etc. We will never have another auto installment, again.
When you own what you drive (1), you can then focus on getting out of debt (2). We will be out of debt completely…100%...by the end of this year. We don’t do a lot of extra things and put the savings toward that last debt. We are even saving for the WA Black Friday sale for yearly renewal to save even more.
As we enter into the second year with our WA 2 year plan, we will focus our financial efforts on building our tiny house, so that we can own where we live (3). All the while, our online business is building and growing.
If you are upside down on a car, up to your eyeballs in debt and have a typical mortgage or monthly rent…how much will WA have to make you before you can call it a success?
If you have no car payments, no debt and nor rent or mortgage…how much will WA have to make before you can call it a success?
You might be thinking, things aren’t that tight for me, I’m doing okay. Perhaps so, but what if every one of your WA referrals gave the program 2 years, rather than the typical 3-6 months? What would that mean for your bottom line?
As always, you should speak to financial professionals before making any major decisions, but there are also many video and other online resources to help you organize your finances and provide solutions to the current financial difficulties that are so common in our world today.
I hope this has given you some ideas and encouragement, as this is what we created our tiny houses website for.
I’m following you all the way to success! :)JChrisA
Recent Comments
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Sound advice for a quick turn around. I own my vans and car, have no debt and trying to pull a rabbit out of the hat for some land and shelter. This post should get some folks to take that bull by the horn and change their financial destiny
If you want to get rich quick, it's simply not going to happen! You will bounce from one online program to another until finally, you give up.
Absolutely true, Jeff! Taking people's money for nothing in return may not be the worst thing the scammers do to people...they also set them up for life-long failure.
Very good lesson. Too bad that most of us don't heed this advice until we get old, in a bind or just dive into something blindly and blindly keep going until we get to a dead end and realize we should have put more thought and planning into whatever we're embarking on. I wish I had listen to this age old advice in my youth, I would be doing much better now.
Absolutely!! Getting out of my car payment is one of my first goals. I am doing a tiny thing by paying a little extra toward the principal with each payment, it isn't much, but it is more than what I could earn on a savings account at a bank, so why not do it? I can remember when my hubby and I got married some 30 years ago, his dad told us, if you will just put $5 away per paycheck and not touch it, you will be in good shape in 20 years. I am not sure about what good advice that would be these days in this political upheaval that we live in, but I do know that if you pay more than your minimum payment, you are going to be much better in the long run. Excellent advice and motivation for moving forward with your personal goals.
-Kathy
There are a lot of ways to go about applying these principles...one that I find the most helpful is to determine, at least minimally, where you would like to be in say 3 or 5 years...then, look at where you are, and trace steps backwards from the goal to the present reality.
What this does is tell you the least steps you must take to actually reach those goals. For example, if you discover that your extra payment falls short of getting you there, then at least you are armed with the necessary info to make a decision...do you adjust the goal down to fit your current reality? Do you sacrifice more now to get on track to the goal?
Every person must decide what they can or cannot do, will or will not do to reach their version of success.
Putting away money is great in principle, but we must be savvy enough to realize that the US dollar for example, has lost over 95% of its purchasing power in the last 100 years...most of that was lost in the last 50 years.
The old compound interest example simply doesn't hold up in the face of the economic reality of inflation. On the other hand, I can remember my brother and I when we were little boys getting rolls of dimes from the local bank and sifting through them to find the all silver dimes being phased out at the time...they were just another dime back then...check out and see what they are selling for today on ebay and calculate that percentage versus a 95% loss.
Anyway...thanks for stopping by and best wishes here at WA. :)
Every subject matter expert on person financial stability agrees with what you just wrote (in one form or another).
Fantastic advice, how many will take it?
Great question Steve...you know, real financial knowledge hasn't been taught in the schools for over a hundred years, if it ever really ever was...can't blame teachers, as they are just humans beings, too and it wasn't taught to them either.
Our world, countries and communities are only as strong as the information the average person has access to...how we have managed to keep these financial experts from teaching any of the kids from so many generations, I don't know...they should have been teaching every class! lol :)
Thanks for the comment!
Well...without going to deep down any rabbit holes, if everyone were to learn and practice sound financial principles, I have to believe it would rock the current financial paradigm.
I also think it is safe to assume that those with most of the wealth and power would prefer this current model to continue, and having all that at their disposal, that most likely the current scenario will continue...at least for most people.
But, for those willing to study and learn these things, there is huge opportunity being among the minority who are willing to break free from the status quo, by simply following a different set of financial rules than those taught in the university of television! lol :)
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Thanks, JChrisA for the reminder....
Best,
Netta
I would like to see everyone here succeed...Kyle and Carson have provided all the tools, but can we...will we...provide not only the effort and dedication, but also the time?
I hate to think of all those who quit too soon, especially because of financial pressure.
Thank you for your kind words, Netta. :)