Just about everyone in America comes across a little money at some time or another. I always say that such events likely don’t happen more than five or six times in a lifetime. They might win a lottery; they might inherit a sum; they might cash in some old stock that was passed on to them. Maybe they just received a modest refund on their taxes. Perhaps they had an insurance settlement from a loss or an injury in the past. We see it all the time. What do most Americans do with a cash windfall when it comes their way?
Most spend it on something they’ve wanted or dreamt about for a long time. Many actually put themselves into debt by using it as a down payment toward something that locks them up with monthly payments.
Few put their windfall to work to grow it. So after a time, long or short, it’s gone.
If money comes your way in any form, don’t throw it away flamboyantly. Invest it in what you are doing or in something that will likely ensure its growth. Use it to position yourself. Use it to meet new business contacts. I believe that there are only a few such opportunities in a person’s lifetime. Some people use money opportunities wisely; some don’t. I call these opportunities “monetary crossroads.” You should take them when you cross the junction.
Very few people recognize these life-changing opportunities. When I was fresh out of high school, my dad passed away and left me an old VW to drive. I went into business working on cars, opening a little VW repair shop. But I soon learned it was a tough way to make a living. In 1973, two years after I started, a check showed up in his mail for $2,000. It was the balance leftover from $4,000 my father had left me for college. As I had stopped going to college, my father’s executor sent me the remaining balance.
I decided I wanted to deal in cars as well, so I bought a used ‘71 VW Bug with the money and sold it for $2500, taking a ‘71 Ford Pinto in trade on the deal. I had made more in those two transactions in one week than I had working on cars for two years, so I decided I wanted more of that action. Within six months, while still working on cars for a month, I had a $10,000 financing floor plan at my bank and was regularly buying and selling cars.
That one check for $2,000 completely changed my life. I had recalibrated my financial ambitions and was moving into a new area of business life. You position yourself for success. Nobody does it for you.
Don’t forget to go the website for my new book, www.greenweenies.com, to learn all the backroom business terms. There are 1,200+ terms in over 300 pages, with hilarious illustrations by world famous Gahan Wilson. You can register there for your free weekly “green weenie.” If you want to know what a three fingered booger is, or what’s in a train wreck envelope, it’s the only place to go!
Remember only you can make business great!
Ron Sturgeon, Mr. Mission Possible, has been a successful business owner for more than 35 years. As a small business consultant, he can deliver wisdom and advice gleaned from an enviable business career that started when he opened a VW repair business as a homeless 17-year-old and culminated in the sale of several businesses he built to Fortune 500 companies.Ron has helped bankers, lawyers, insurance agents, restaurant owners, and body shop owners, as well as countless salvage yard owners to become more successful business people. He is an expert in helping small business owners set the right business strategies, implement pay-for- performance, and find new customers on the web.
As a consultant, Ron shares his expertise in strategic planning, capitalization, compensation, growing market share, and more in his signature plainspoken style, providing field-proven, and high-profit best practices well ahead of the business news curve. Ron is the author of nine books, including How to Salvage More Millions from Your Small Business.
To inquire about consulting or keynote speaking, contact Ron at 817-834-3625, ext. 232, rons@MrMissionPossible.com, 5940 Eden, Haltom City, TX 76117.