Good Plum » Building Wealth http://goodplum.com Internet Marketing, Online Business, Tech & Web Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:44:14 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 A Guide to Building Wealth to Grow Your Businesshttp://goodplum.com/money/building-wealth/a-guide-to-building-wealth-to-grow-your-business/ http://goodplum.com/money/building-wealth/a-guide-to-building-wealth-to-grow-your-business/#comments Thu, 08 Jul 2010 18:41:19 +0000 Elliott Kosmicki http://goodplum.com/?p=1215

Wealth Building Strategies for Entrepreneurs

Introduction

Entrepreneurs are a unique bunch of people. They have the courage to follow their dreams, to take risks and to overcome hurdles in pursuit of their passion. Each entrepreneur views success differently. Some pursue financial success and have financial goals they’re striving to meet.

Others define success as accomplishment and have goals that support that vision. Still others define success as the ability to do something they love each and every day.
Regardless of how you define success, it makes sense to make the most of your money.
As an entrepreneur you have some significant wealth building opportunities and some significant challenges.

This report is designed to address both. Over the following guide, you’ll learn five key elements to building wealth as an entrepreneur. Take these steps, set goals and follow through – you’re an entrepreneur, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to!

1. Save Part Of What You Earn From The Very First Day

It’s easy to get excited when the money starts coming into your new business. However, right from the beginning, it’s important to create a strategy for saving. Why?

Taxes

The government likes to get their money on a regular basis. Depending on your income and the taxes you owe, they generally like it quarterly. That means you not only need to have enough at the end of the year. You also need to save enough every month so you can pay your expected quarterly taxes.

Quarterly taxes are paid in:
• March
• June
• September
• December

And payments are due by the 15th of each month.

How Much Do You Save?

If you set aside 1/12 of your annual expected income tax each month and make quarterly payments, you’re set. Make sure to consult an accountant for proper tax filing information and procedures.

The Unexpected Emergencies

If there’s anything true about money, it’s that you should always count on the unexpected to happen when you’re least prepared for it. Unexpected health issues, computer expenses, car expenses and so on feel much less stressful and significant when you have money set aside to handle them.

How Much Do You Save?

It depends largely on the present state of your finances. If you have debt, then most experts recommend setting aside around $1000. Once debts are paid off, you can increase this ‘emergency’ savings account to a higher level. Ideally, one that can sustain you for six months without an income.

Unexpected Opportunities

Just like unexpected emergencies, there are also unexpected opportunities. It’s wonderful to be able to take advantage of these opportunities, and quite unfortunate when you can’t because you don’t have the cash set aside.

For example, a great joint venture opportunity could come your way requiring you to put up 50% of the capital. If you have it you have the potential to grow your business using this opportunity. If not, you’ll have to pass and hope that another less expensive opportunity arises.

How Much Do You Save?

This is a toughie because you simply cannot predict the future. The best approach is to build a budget, which we’ll talk about in a bit, and see how much you have to set aside for potential opportunities.

New Project Ideas

As an entrepreneur, it’s almost guaranteed that you’re going to have moments of inspiration and innovation. You’ll be taking a shower or driving to an appointment and all of a sudden a great product or service idea will hit you. If you have money set aside, you can get home and begin the process of implementing your new idea.

How Much Do You Save?

Use the same approach as you did for new business opportunities. In fact, you may want to use the same account and call it your ‘business growth’ account. Include an item in your budget that allows for you to save a little bit each month to grow this account.
Invest A Portion Right Back Into Your Business

Speaking of growing your business, a portion of your profits needs to go back into growing it each month. This money will likely be used for things like:
o Product building
o Virtual assistants
o Software memberships/services
o Advertising
o Graphic design
o Continuing education
o Workshops and seminars
o Networking events

How Much Do You Save?

Some experts recommend investing a flat percentage back into your business, for example 40% of your profits should go back into your business. However, other experts recommend building a budget and a marketing plan. Then you know exactly how much you need to set aside to achieve your marketing and business goals.

2. Diversify

Diversification essentially means spreading your money out. The strategy is designed to reduce risk. Theorizing that the more you spread out your investments, the more likely you are to come out on top when some investments struggle. It’s the opposite of putting all your eggs in one basket.

Most experts recommend different strategies depending on where you are in your live and what your investment goals are. For example, according to Suze Orman, “If you are at least 20 years away from retirement, I think having 80% or more of your money in stocks makes sense. If you are within 10 years of retirement, you might want to keep 30% in stocks with the rest in bonds.”

Now she’s talking strictly about retirement savings. The other savings accounts you have, for taxes, business growth and emergencies, can be set up in standard savings accounts, CDs, and short-term bonds.

Speaking of diversification, when saving for retirement self employed individuals have a unique opportunity with the SEP, SOLO 401K and SIMPLE plans. These are each retirement plans set aside specifically for self employed professionals.

Each has its own benefits depending on your retirement goals and your present financial standing. Consult a financial advisor or an accountant accustomed to working with self-employed individuals to find out which plan is best for you.

3. Educate Yourself About Investing And Taxes

While it’s strongly recommended that you hire a financial advisor and an accountant to help you manage your assets, it’s also important to be educated about your options. This ensures you make the right decisions based on what the experts are telling you. It also ensures you hire the right experts for your goals and present financial standing.

Many business owners make the mistake of believing they can write almost everything off as an expense. Not true.

They also tend to muddle their personal and business finances. Mixing accounts, investments and expenses can cause real headaches for you in the future.

It’s critical that you keep your business and personal finances separate. The simplest strategy is to get a business checking account and a debit card associated with this account. Keep all of your receipts organized for your business expenses.

Now there are real and viable business expenses you can write off and a basic question to ask yourself when you’re making any decision is:

“Is this an expense I would incur if I were not in business?”

Typical business expenses include:
• Your computer
• Business operating and account management software
• Rent
• Employee salaries
• Money paid to independent contractors
• Advertising costs
• Business phone bills

And there are some additional expenses home based business owners can deduct. Do your research, talk to an accountant and if you’re going to do your taxes yourself, make sure you keep great records and get educated!

For example, did you know that if you’ve funded your business with credit or a loan, you can deduct the interest charge to you. You can also deduct the money you invest in your retirement account, depending on the amount you invest and how you invest it.

And the same holds true for educating yourself about investments. You want to make sure your investments are as risk free as possible and have as high a return as possible. Finding these opportunities and recognizing them, takes an education.

4. Don’t Spend More Than You Can Afford

Sounds simple enough, right?

If it were really that simple, no one would have credit cards or credit card debt. The single most important thing you can do to achieve great wealth is to not incur credit card debt. If you have it, make a plan to pay it off.

The first step to not spending more than you can afford is to create a budget. Most people shy away from the word budget because it feels tedious, restrictive and well…boring. However, a budget isn’t a diet. It’s a plan and a system for controlling your money. You’re an entrepreneur, you know all about the benefits of planning, right? You plan your business marketing, content, customer service and other systems, why wouldn’t you plan your money too?
Now, you’re a business owner so that means two budgets – one for your business and one for your personal finances.

Here are a few tips to create a budget for both your personal and your business finances.

#1 Don’t forget your savings goals. Pay yourself first is a good mantra to remember when building your budget. Budget savings, for retirement, emergencies, business growth etc, first.

#2 Remember that a budget is a plan and plans change. They adapt to circumstances. For example, you make more money one month than the last – your budget will be modified to reflect this increase in income.

#3 It doesn’t have to be formal. Often, the best budget tools are good old fashioned pencil and paper. Draw it up based on your income estimates for the month (aim low so you have wiggle room) and control where you spend your money.

#4 Your budget is designed to help you attain financial goals – set some financial goals before you try to draw up a budget. For example, if you’re saving for a product launch and an extra intense marketing campaign, knowing how much money you need to save for it will help you plan.

Retirement, a luxury European vacation, a new car each of these potential goals needs to be defined so you can create a budget to save for them. Want to earn a million dollars you’re your stock investments? You need a plan!

#5 Estimate your income realistically. If you normally make $5000 a month, don’t base your budget on the fact that you’d like to make $7500. You’ll only end up short of your goals. That being said, be sure to review your budget each month to see if you had any shortfalls or any excess. That way you can make adjustments for the next month.

Your budget, personal or business, will essentially include two main items: expenses and income. Once you have those itemized you know what you have left to work with.

5. Outsource Strategically

Outsourcing generally makes good business sense if it is a task that meets a few criteria.
The first criterion is generally easy to fit because you probably wouldn’t be considering outsourcing anything if it didn’t. The first criteria is that it should be a task that you’re unskilled in, dislike or would take more time than you want or can invest.

For example, website design is a task that’s commonly outsourced.

The second criterion is a little more challenging. The task should be something that builds your business.

For example, if you outsource website design then that’s to build your business. Outsourcing the cleaning of your home, while it may certainly meet the first criteria, may not be a smart decision from a wealth building standpoint. But don’t throw away the maid coupons just yet, there’s a third criteria.

The third criteria when considering whether to outsource a task is how much your time is worth and what you could be doing otherwise. Going back to that house cleaning service, it would be worth your time if the service costs you $50/hour and you can spend that time you would otherwise be spending cleaning house making more than $50/hour. The trick is to:

A: Know the value of your time

B: Actually spend that time you have freed up on profit generating tasks. If you hire the housekeeper and then go take a nap, well that’s just not building wealth. It might be a really nice afternoon, and those are worth something, but we’re talking about wealth building here.

So How Do You Calculate The Value Of Your Time?

It’s a pretty straight forward calculation. You simply divide your profits by the number of hours you work.

So if you work an average of 80 hours a month and you make $2000 each month in profits (not sales but profits.) then your hourly value is $25

Knowing this number, you can then make an educated decision about what is worth outsourcing and what isn’t based on money alone.

Consider how much time a task takes you to complete and your hourly value. Can you hire out the task at a lower rate than your hourly value? If the answer is yes, and it fits into your present budget, then you’re good to go.

Outsourcing is a great way to free up valuable time so you can focus on building your business and hire experts to manage the tasks that don’t have a direct contribution to the growth of your business, don’t match your skill set, personality, or if you have time limitations.

Before You Get Started

Okay, we’ve talked about five distinct strategies and steps to wealth building for entrepreneurs. There are a few steadfast rules we need to make sure are mentioned. These ‘rules’ are essentially the foundation for great wealth regardless of whether you’re thousands of dollars in debt or starting off with a healthy savings account and good spending habits. For the entrepreneur, they are essentially ‘musts.’

They include:

#1 Save Enough Money To Live On For Six Months

This little cushion is more than an emergency fund; it’s going to save your health. Stress is a killer and as an entrepreneur it’s entirely possible that you’re going to have lean months. In order to be able to stick with it and see your business and success dreams become a reality, you may have to go through a few tough times. Having this cushion will help give you the courage to persevere and it’ll remove risk and stress so you can focus on building your business.

Additionally, if you don’t ever use this emergency fund, great! Roll it over into your retirement savings plan, throw a wedding, or put a kid through college. It’s just icing on the cake.

#2 Make Sure You Have Insurance

Health insurance is a must. If you’re not on someone else’s insurance then look into getting some sort of emergency medical insurance. These plans have high deductibles and low monthly premiums so they’re affordable and they help ensure you don’t have to pay out of pocket for any health emergencies.

And assuming you have an emergency fund, you can take care of the deductible with your savings. Unexpected medical expenses are among the leading causes of bankruptcy and foreclosure – health insurance eliminates this risk.

#3 Get Rid Of Debt

Debt is stressful, it’s expensive and it ties up your money when you could be using it to make more money with investments. If you have debt, chin up, you can get rid of it. Remember, you’re an entrepreneur; you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. Create a plan to get rid of it and seek help if you need it.

You don’t want to have to worry about debts when you’re building a business. You want to be able to focus 100% of your attention to achieving your dreams.

And though we’ve already said it, we’ll say it again – Create a budget and make sure you pay yourself first! Create financial goals for yourself and make a plan to achieve them. Your budget is your first tool for building great wealth.

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wealth]]>

Wealth Building Strategies for Entrepreneurs

Introduction

Entrepreneurs are a unique bunch of people. They have the courage to follow their dreams, to take risks and to overcome hurdles in pursuit of their passion. Each entrepreneur views success differently. Some pursue financial success and have financial goals they’re striving to meet.

Others define success as accomplishment and have goals that support that vision. Still others define success as the ability to do something they love each and every day.
Regardless of how you define success, it makes sense to make the most of your money.
As an entrepreneur you have some significant wealth building opportunities and some significant challenges.

This report is designed to address both. Over the following guide, you’ll learn five key elements to building wealth as an entrepreneur. Take these steps, set goals and follow through – you’re an entrepreneur, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to!

1. Save Part Of What You Earn From The Very First Day

It’s easy to get excited when the money starts coming into your new business. However, right from the beginning, it’s important to create a strategy for saving. Why?

Taxes

The government likes to get their money on a regular basis. Depending on your income and the taxes you owe, they generally like it quarterly. That means you not only need to have enough at the end of the year. You also need to save enough every month so you can pay your expected quarterly taxes.

Quarterly taxes are paid in:
• March
• June
• September
• December

And payments are due by the 15th of each month.

How Much Do You Save?

If you set aside 1/12 of your annual expected income tax each month and make quarterly payments, you’re set. Make sure to consult an accountant for proper tax filing information and procedures.

The Unexpected Emergencies

If there’s anything true about money, it’s that you should always count on the unexpected to happen when you’re least prepared for it. Unexpected health issues, computer expenses, car expenses and so on feel much less stressful and significant when you have money set aside to handle them.

How Much Do You Save?

It depends largely on the present state of your finances. If you have debt, then most experts recommend setting aside around $1000. Once debts are paid off, you can increase this ‘emergency’ savings account to a higher level. Ideally, one that can sustain you for six months without an income.

Unexpected Opportunities

Just like unexpected emergencies, there are also unexpected opportunities. It’s wonderful to be able to take advantage of these opportunities, and quite unfortunate when you can’t because you don’t have the cash set aside.

For example, a great joint venture opportunity could come your way requiring you to put up 50% of the capital. If you have it you have the potential to grow your business using this opportunity. If not, you’ll have to pass and hope that another less expensive opportunity arises.

How Much Do You Save?

This is a toughie because you simply cannot predict the future. The best approach is to build a budget, which we’ll talk about in a bit, and see how much you have to set aside for potential opportunities.

New Project Ideas

As an entrepreneur, it’s almost guaranteed that you’re going to have moments of inspiration and innovation. You’ll be taking a shower or driving to an appointment and all of a sudden a great product or service idea will hit you. If you have money set aside, you can get home and begin the process of implementing your new idea.

How Much Do You Save?

Use the same approach as you did for new business opportunities. In fact, you may want to use the same account and call it your ‘business growth’ account. Include an item in your budget that allows for you to save a little bit each month to grow this account.
Invest A Portion Right Back Into Your Business

Speaking of growing your business, a portion of your profits needs to go back into growing it each month. This money will likely be used for things like:
o Product building
o Virtual assistants
o Software memberships/services
o Advertising
o Graphic design
o Continuing education
o Workshops and seminars
o Networking events

How Much Do You Save?

Some experts recommend investing a flat percentage back into your business, for example 40% of your profits should go back into your business. However, other experts recommend building a budget and a marketing plan. Then you know exactly how much you need to set aside to achieve your marketing and business goals.

2. Diversify

Diversification essentially means spreading your money out. The strategy is designed to reduce risk. Theorizing that the more you spread out your investments, the more likely you are to come out on top when some investments struggle. It’s the opposite of putting all your eggs in one basket.

Most experts recommend different strategies depending on where you are in your live and what your investment goals are. For example, according to Suze Orman, “If you are at least 20 years away from retirement, I think having 80% or more of your money in stocks makes sense. If you are within 10 years of retirement, you might want to keep 30% in stocks with the rest in bonds.”

Now she’s talking strictly about retirement savings. The other savings accounts you have, for taxes, business growth and emergencies, can be set up in standard savings accounts, CDs, and short-term bonds.

Speaking of diversification, when saving for retirement self employed individuals have a unique opportunity with the SEP, SOLO 401K and SIMPLE plans. These are each retirement plans set aside specifically for self employed professionals.

Each has its own benefits depending on your retirement goals and your present financial standing. Consult a financial advisor or an accountant accustomed to working with self-employed individuals to find out which plan is best for you.

3. Educate Yourself About Investing And Taxes

While it’s strongly recommended that you hire a financial advisor and an accountant to help you manage your assets, it’s also important to be educated about your options. This ensures you make the right decisions based on what the experts are telling you. It also ensures you hire the right experts for your goals and present financial standing.

Many business owners make the mistake of believing they can write almost everything off as an expense. Not true.

They also tend to muddle their personal and business finances. Mixing accounts, investments and expenses can cause real headaches for you in the future.

It’s critical that you keep your business and personal finances separate. The simplest strategy is to get a business checking account and a debit card associated with this account. Keep all of your receipts organized for your business expenses.

Now there are real and viable business expenses you can write off and a basic question to ask yourself when you’re making any decision is:

“Is this an expense I would incur if I were not in business?”

Typical business expenses include:
• Your computer
• Business operating and account management software
• Rent
• Employee salaries
• Money paid to independent contractors
• Advertising costs
• Business phone bills

And there are some additional expenses home based business owners can deduct. Do your research, talk to an accountant and if you’re going to do your taxes yourself, make sure you keep great records and get educated!

For example, did you know that if you’ve funded your business with credit or a loan, you can deduct the interest charge to you. You can also deduct the money you invest in your retirement account, depending on the amount you invest and how you invest it.

And the same holds true for educating yourself about investments. You want to make sure your investments are as risk free as possible and have as high a return as possible. Finding these opportunities and recognizing them, takes an education.

4. Don’t Spend More Than You Can Afford

Sounds simple enough, right?

If it were really that simple, no one would have credit cards or credit card debt. The single most important thing you can do to achieve great wealth is to not incur credit card debt. If you have it, make a plan to pay it off.

The first step to not spending more than you can afford is to create a budget. Most people shy away from the word budget because it feels tedious, restrictive and well…boring. However, a budget isn’t a diet. It’s a plan and a system for controlling your money. You’re an entrepreneur, you know all about the benefits of planning, right? You plan your business marketing, content, customer service and other systems, why wouldn’t you plan your money too?
Now, you’re a business owner so that means two budgets – one for your business and one for your personal finances.

Here are a few tips to create a budget for both your personal and your business finances.

#1 Don’t forget your savings goals. Pay yourself first is a good mantra to remember when building your budget. Budget savings, for retirement, emergencies, business growth etc, first.

#2 Remember that a budget is a plan and plans change. They adapt to circumstances. For example, you make more money one month than the last – your budget will be modified to reflect this increase in income.

#3 It doesn’t have to be formal. Often, the best budget tools are good old fashioned pencil and paper. Draw it up based on your income estimates for the month (aim low so you have wiggle room) and control where you spend your money.

#4 Your budget is designed to help you attain financial goals – set some financial goals before you try to draw up a budget. For example, if you’re saving for a product launch and an extra intense marketing campaign, knowing how much money you need to save for it will help you plan.

Retirement, a luxury European vacation, a new car each of these potential goals needs to be defined so you can create a budget to save for them. Want to earn a million dollars you’re your stock investments? You need a plan!

#5 Estimate your income realistically. If you normally make $5000 a month, don’t base your budget on the fact that you’d like to make $7500. You’ll only end up short of your goals. That being said, be sure to review your budget each month to see if you had any shortfalls or any excess. That way you can make adjustments for the next month.

Your budget, personal or business, will essentially include two main items: expenses and income. Once you have those itemized you know what you have left to work with.

5. Outsource Strategically

Outsourcing generally makes good business sense if it is a task that meets a few criteria.
The first criterion is generally easy to fit because you probably wouldn’t be considering outsourcing anything if it didn’t. The first criteria is that it should be a task that you’re unskilled in, dislike or would take more time than you want or can invest.

For example, website design is a task that’s commonly outsourced.

The second criterion is a little more challenging. The task should be something that builds your business.

For example, if you outsource website design then that’s to build your business. Outsourcing the cleaning of your home, while it may certainly meet the first criteria, may not be a smart decision from a wealth building standpoint. But don’t throw away the maid coupons just yet, there’s a third criteria.

The third criteria when considering whether to outsource a task is how much your time is worth and what you could be doing otherwise. Going back to that house cleaning service, it would be worth your time if the service costs you $50/hour and you can spend that time you would otherwise be spending cleaning house making more than $50/hour. The trick is to:

A: Know the value of your time

B: Actually spend that time you have freed up on profit generating tasks. If you hire the housekeeper and then go take a nap, well that’s just not building wealth. It might be a really nice afternoon, and those are worth something, but we’re talking about wealth building here.

So How Do You Calculate The Value Of Your Time?

It’s a pretty straight forward calculation. You simply divide your profits by the number of hours you work.

So if you work an average of 80 hours a month and you make $2000 each month in profits (not sales but profits.) then your hourly value is $25

Knowing this number, you can then make an educated decision about what is worth outsourcing and what isn’t based on money alone.

Consider how much time a task takes you to complete and your hourly value. Can you hire out the task at a lower rate than your hourly value? If the answer is yes, and it fits into your present budget, then you’re good to go.

Outsourcing is a great way to free up valuable time so you can focus on building your business and hire experts to manage the tasks that don’t have a direct contribution to the growth of your business, don’t match your skill set, personality, or if you have time limitations.

Before You Get Started

Okay, we’ve talked about five distinct strategies and steps to wealth building for entrepreneurs. There are a few steadfast rules we need to make sure are mentioned. These ‘rules’ are essentially the foundation for great wealth regardless of whether you’re thousands of dollars in debt or starting off with a healthy savings account and good spending habits. For the entrepreneur, they are essentially ‘musts.’

They include:

#1 Save Enough Money To Live On For Six Months

This little cushion is more than an emergency fund; it’s going to save your health. Stress is a killer and as an entrepreneur it’s entirely possible that you’re going to have lean months. In order to be able to stick with it and see your business and success dreams become a reality, you may have to go through a few tough times. Having this cushion will help give you the courage to persevere and it’ll remove risk and stress so you can focus on building your business.

Additionally, if you don’t ever use this emergency fund, great! Roll it over into your retirement savings plan, throw a wedding, or put a kid through college. It’s just icing on the cake.

#2 Make Sure You Have Insurance

Health insurance is a must. If you’re not on someone else’s insurance then look into getting some sort of emergency medical insurance. These plans have high deductibles and low monthly premiums so they’re affordable and they help ensure you don’t have to pay out of pocket for any health emergencies.

And assuming you have an emergency fund, you can take care of the deductible with your savings. Unexpected medical expenses are among the leading causes of bankruptcy and foreclosure – health insurance eliminates this risk.

#3 Get Rid Of Debt

Debt is stressful, it’s expensive and it ties up your money when you could be using it to make more money with investments. If you have debt, chin up, you can get rid of it. Remember, you’re an entrepreneur; you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. Create a plan to get rid of it and seek help if you need it.

You don’t want to have to worry about debts when you’re building a business. You want to be able to focus 100% of your attention to achieving your dreams.

And though we’ve already said it, we’ll say it again – Create a budget and make sure you pay yourself first! Create financial goals for yourself and make a plan to achieve them. Your budget is your first tool for building great wealth.

You Also Might Like

]]> http://goodplum.com/money/building-wealth/a-guide-to-building-wealth-to-grow-your-business/feed/ 0 Blogging as a Business – a Blueprinthttp://goodplum.com/money/your-business/blogging-as-a-business/ http://goodplum.com/money/your-business/blogging-as-a-business/#comments Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:11:37 +0000 Elliott Kosmicki http://goodplum.com/?p=548

I’ll be honest with you, I’ve had so many blogs fail I wouldn’t even be able to list them by memory. I’ve tried niche blogs, broad-topic blogs, news blogs, and business blogs… but there was a reason they all failed.

I came across Yaro Starak, a crazy-haired Australian blogger who does very well for himself over at his Entrepreneur’s Journey blog. He’s turned his blog into a $10K/month business over the last several years with discipline and a blueprint (and a little luck, I’m sure). In my case, the one thing I was missing was a good, proven blueprint.

I don’t find it a coincidence that shortly after learning about Yaro’s blueprint in October 2008, Good Plum (which had just started) began taking off quite considerably. I all of a sudden started writing regularly for Mashable, I had people emailing me daily with questions I could help them with, my weekly newsletter started seeing new subscribers every day… in just a few short months. I’m of course not making thousands of dollars here, but there is no doubt that I will as I continue to follow my (& Yaro’s) blueprint.

There’s a reason why I advertise his material on Good Plum’s sidebar – it’s because I use it and find it extremely useful (I do NOT advertise anything I don’t use myself).

If you’re not familiar with Yaro Starak and his blog, and are looking to start a blog as a business, I’m happy to pass along the link to download Yaro’s blueprint which I have adopted as my own. Better still, this is completely and utterly free – no strings attached!

Keep in mind, that it’s rare that blogging alone brings someone enough to live on. In my case, Good Plum is simply here to serve a single, grand purpose: to be an outlet for my knowledge so that other people can learn from me. Along the way, I hope to gain loyal readers and partners who will follow me through any business I might decide to take on.

Back to Yaro’s blueprint, I wanted to give you a list of the chapter titles included in the free e-book so you can see just how powerful this stuff is. Here’s the link again to download Yaro’s Blog Profits Blueprint for yourself.

Yaro’s Blog Profits Blueprint table of contents:

How To Make Money Blogging
Blogging as a Business, Not a Job
What’s Next?
Who Is Yaro Starak?
What Is A Blog And Why Are They So Popular?
How Blogs Make Money
The Two Key Ingredients For Attracting Attention
Why Do You Blog?
How To Choose Your Blog Topic – Passions Vs. Profits
Let’s Talk Tactics
Content + Marketing = Traffic
What Is A Pillar?
How Do You Create A Pillar?
How To Market Your Blog
Time vs. Reward
Most People Are Lazy
Communication Channels
The Power of Leverage
Compound Effects
Think Big Picture, Work Little Picture
Traffic Tactics
Peer Relationships
Network Effects
Start With Your Peers
Bigger and Better Content Pillars
It’s Time To Make Money
Can Blogs Be A Stable Income Source?
The Holy Grail of Blog Monetization – Recursive Affiliate Income
The Next Best Option – Direct Advertisers
The Problem with Google AdSense
Other Monetization Options
My Top Blog Monetization Methods
Turn Your Blog Into A Business
Why Most Bloggers Fail
Do You Have Enough Information To Succeed?
Congratulations! – Now Get To Work
Advice For Beginners, The Lost And Confused
Would You Like Me To Coach You?
Thank You For Your Attention

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I’ll be honest with you, I’ve had so many blogs fail I wouldn’t even be able to list them by memory. I’ve tried niche blogs, broad-topic blogs, news blogs, and business blogs… but there was a reason they all failed.

I came across Yaro Starak, a crazy-haired Australian blogger who does very well for himself over at his Entrepreneur’s Journey blog. He’s turned his blog into a $10K/month business over the last several years with discipline and a blueprint (and a little luck, I’m sure). In my case, the one thing I was missing was a good, proven blueprint.

I don’t find it a coincidence that shortly after learning about Yaro’s blueprint in October 2008, Good Plum (which had just started) began taking off quite considerably. I all of a sudden started writing regularly for Mashable, I had people emailing me daily with questions I could help them with, my weekly newsletter started seeing new subscribers every day… in just a few short months. I’m of course not making thousands of dollars here, but there is no doubt that I will as I continue to follow my (& Yaro’s) blueprint.

There’s a reason why I advertise his material on Good Plum’s sidebar – it’s because I use it and find it extremely useful (I do NOT advertise anything I don’t use myself).

If you’re not familiar with Yaro Starak and his blog, and are looking to start a blog as a business, I’m happy to pass along the link to download Yaro’s blueprint which I have adopted as my own. Better still, this is completely and utterly free – no strings attached!

Keep in mind, that it’s rare that blogging alone brings someone enough to live on. In my case, Good Plum is simply here to serve a single, grand purpose: to be an outlet for my knowledge so that other people can learn from me. Along the way, I hope to gain loyal readers and partners who will follow me through any business I might decide to take on.

Back to Yaro’s blueprint, I wanted to give you a list of the chapter titles included in the free e-book so you can see just how powerful this stuff is. Here’s the link again to download Yaro’s Blog Profits Blueprint for yourself.

Yaro’s Blog Profits Blueprint table of contents:

How To Make Money Blogging
Blogging as a Business, Not a Job
What’s Next?
Who Is Yaro Starak?
What Is A Blog And Why Are They So Popular?
How Blogs Make Money
The Two Key Ingredients For Attracting Attention
Why Do You Blog?
How To Choose Your Blog Topic – Passions Vs. Profits
Let’s Talk Tactics
Content + Marketing = Traffic
What Is A Pillar?
How Do You Create A Pillar?
How To Market Your Blog
Time vs. Reward
Most People Are Lazy
Communication Channels
The Power of Leverage
Compound Effects
Think Big Picture, Work Little Picture
Traffic Tactics
Peer Relationships
Network Effects
Start With Your Peers
Bigger and Better Content Pillars
It’s Time To Make Money
Can Blogs Be A Stable Income Source?
The Holy Grail of Blog Monetization – Recursive Affiliate Income
The Next Best Option – Direct Advertisers
The Problem with Google AdSense
Other Monetization Options
My Top Blog Monetization Methods
Turn Your Blog Into A Business
Why Most Bloggers Fail
Do You Have Enough Information To Succeed?
Congratulations! – Now Get To Work
Advice For Beginners, The Lost And Confused
Would You Like Me To Coach You?
Thank You For Your Attention

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]]> http://goodplum.com/money/your-business/blogging-as-a-business/feed/ 8 Money: The problem and the solutionhttp://goodplum.com/money/building-wealth/money-the-problem-and-the-solution/ http://goodplum.com/money/building-wealth/money-the-problem-and-the-solution/#comments Mon, 26 May 2008 11:59:58 +0000 Scott Reynolds http://becomng.com/?p=87

Money: The Problem & The Solution

Money: The Problem & The Solution

Let’s face it, money is the force that moves the world, moves people to do things they never thought were capable of doing, and it is the thing that would be the solution to so many problems!
For the people that don’t have that much money, which makes the immense majority of the world, having a certain amount would be the solution to their problems!

So, what is your amount? And what would you do to get it if you could? What is your “price”? Some people think that the magic number is 1 million dollars. They can pay the mortgage on the house, do some repairs, send the kids to college and invest in something so they can live comfortably the rest of their life.

Daydreaming is probably one of the things people spend more time on, especially when they don’t have what they want. So, if you are looking for your million dollars, what are you doing about it besides daydreaming? Many of us buy a lottery ticket hoping that, with a dollar and a dream anything can be possible. But chances are that will not happen for most of us.

Instead of daydreaming about what would you do when you have the money, what about investing that time in proactively trying to make it?

Explore your ideas, search for opportunities. Perhaps you will be able to find the key to make some money that will help you solve your problems. Maybe it will not be a million, but it will make you know of your abilities, your capabilities.

Don’t think it will be an easy thing. You’ll probably have to take 2 jobs, or work on your ideas at night after a long day. Search for it, and put your efforts towards your goal. Just don’t expect it to be easy. Nothing is really easy to achieve. And nothing is really impossible if you find the way to do it. Trust your self, your efforts, your abilities and your dreams. The world is in your hands if you see it from the right perspective.

But just in case, keep playing the lottery. Who knows? The next winner might be you!

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]]> http://goodplum.com/money/building-wealth/money-the-problem-and-the-solution/feed/ 0 How to Make Money and Become Wealthyhttp://goodplum.com/money/how-to-make-money-and-become-wealthy/ http://goodplum.com/money/how-to-make-money-and-become-wealthy/#comments Fri, 09 May 2008 19:55:52 +0000 Elliott Roberts http://becomng.com/?p=84

Make Money, Become WealthyThe stars on the movie screen have a life that is worth aiming for. But, those people are often not the richest people in the world. Everyone defines being rich in a different way, if your definition requires a lot of money.

In order to move from making money to wealthy, you will need to change your perception of life. These tips to a successful life of making money and becoming wealthy will surely help.

Your mind and your money. It is important to think about money in a more organic way if you are going to become wealthy. Money will have to be something you save and not something you spend. Being thrifty today can save that wealth for the long run.

Small is Good. When thinking in terms of money and saving, small is good. Those small amounts of money you save and invest here and there will not take anything from your daily comfort, but they will grow and grow over the years, earing a lot of money for your wealthy retirement.

Sacrifice here, freedom there. Many people do not think about the $20.00 they spend here or the $40.00 they drop there. But, these monies are the reason many people can not move into the wealthy status. People become wealthy because they earn and save and choosing to give up some expensive luxuries will end up buying your financial freedom.

You are the one. The only person that can be held accountable for your financial placement in life is YOU! You are the one that needs to make making and save money, no one else.

Think stock. The next time you want to buy that new product on the market, stop and think stock. The product will, more than likely, be something you will not use in 10 years, but a stock in the mother company will still be growing.

Learn from the best. It is essential to look at real life models in order to save the most you can save in life. Saving can be followed step by step, but there are some insider tips that only the person who has actually worked to become wealthy will understand and be able to pass on.

If your goal in life is to become wealthy, you can achieve that goal. All it takes is time, saving, investing, learning and more saving. Then, if you have a little more time lying around, you can save a little more.

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]]> http://goodplum.com/money/how-to-make-money-and-become-wealthy/feed/ 0 Using Start-Pages To Create Wealthhttp://goodplum.com/productivity/using-start-pages-to-create-wealth/ http://goodplum.com/productivity/using-start-pages-to-create-wealth/#comments Fri, 24 Aug 2007 10:37:26 +0000 Elliott Kosmicki http://becomng.com/2007/08/24/using-start-pages-to-create-wealth/

I’ve developed a habit, and it’s seems that it’s paid off huge. A couple years ago, I started playing around with the different start-pages. I started with Pageflakes, then tried Windows Live and Netvibes. I’ve landed on Netvibes now after trying every other start page out there, but I digress. How in the world could’ve this helped my wealth?

Let me touch on Netvibes and how I use it so you can see how it’s affected my life. Any of these may work for you too!

First of all, I do Web Development for my day job, so I’m almost always at the computer whether I’m at work or at home (this is touchy with the girlfriend, but that’s for another post!). This allows me to have my Netvibes page open in a Firefox tab all the time.

Notes
Netvibes has a notes application that allows you to simply click and type a note. This note is then available to you anywhere you have access to the site. I use this for simply things like to-dos ideas, etc. For more complex lists, I also use the Remember The Milk module.

Niche Feeds
Whatever your area of interest, whether Internet marketing, real estate, programming, or mowing grass – there are sites out there devoted to what you’re passionate about. I have a Netvibes tab devoted to Design, one for Programming, one for Marketing, one for Personal Blogs, etc. This allows me to digest a ton of information in a short amount of time – making myself much more knowledgeable in my field, and reducing the change I’ll miss an opportunity.

Get out there, find those sites relevant to you, and load them into your start-page!

World News
On my main tab, I have several different news sources. Everything from the USA Today, NY Times, my local papers, Digg, Newsvine, and more. Staying on top of the events going on around you (or if you’re like me, while you’re in your cave all day), allows you to spark conversation with someone – anyone really. We’ve all found ourselves in a few seconds of awkwardness while talking to someone new – current events is a perfect way to keep the flow going and usually opens up several more topics in order to develop a relationship with that person.

Self-Help Feeds
I also have an area of my Netvibes dedicated to self-help articles (including, of course, Becomng.com). Sites ranging from productivity, to meditation, always keep me up-t0-date with fresh ideas to keep my mind in top-shape.

Wondering when I’m going to get to the part about the start-pages getting me wealthy? Well, I can tell you without doubt that I have become a better person, accumulated knowledge beyond many of my peers, and have become much more productive since using my start-page. All of this will lead me into wealth in a dollars-and-cents kind of way, but in the meantime, the non-monetary wealth it’s given me can’t be measured.

How have start-pages affected you?

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