The one minute millionaire

I was driving to work the other day and I remembered something I read in a book called the one minute millionaire. In this book, a woman loses her husband and her in-laws take custody of her kids because they are wealthy and can provide a better life for their grandchild than their mother. The woman is given 90 days to raise one million dollars in order to regain custody.

Now for many of us nothing is ever that urgent in our lives to drive us to go beyond the norm to do something significantly life changing. We are happy to only exist at mediocrity and to make it through the day.

I was having coffee with one of my friends who went into great and grand detail about the things he wanted to do in his life. He described his dream car, house, land in a lot of vivid detail. In what I wrongfully thought to be wisdom, I told him that the most logical thing to do was to plan for the things he could do now while still holding on to his dreams for the future. He then told me something i consider a nugget of truth that I use to this day. He said, “You need to understand that money is a function of work. If you want money, find the work, get the money”.

It’s amazing how many of us walk around with grandiose ideas for the future and fail to act on the present. There is an age at which all of us must stop being full of potential and actually begin to fulfill our potential.

I was at a photo shoot for one of my clients who is the president of the 4th largest real estate developers in the world. As she drove into the studio parking lot, the photographer made a remark that, “there are certain cars in this world you can never by on a salary,” he then pointed at the sleek black range rover and said, “that is one of them.”

There is a gap that separates our present and future. Think carefully and critically about what you need to do to close that gap. Pick up your shovel whatever it may be and start digging. Do not be surprised at the difficulty you will most definitely experience to live your dreams.

The woman in the book invented a toy that she sold to a manufacturer to mass produce and sure enough in 90 days, she was a millionaire. I made my first ever million in four days. There is no such thing as impossible.

Finding Equlibrium

One of my friends celebrated her 30th birthday a few days ago. When talking to her I was curious to know what to expect in my 30th decade. She shared with me her dreams and aspirations and the things she had hoped to accomplish before turning 30, some which did not quite work out as planned.

The war stories from her twenties were full of intrigue and drama; from bad relationships, business decisions, best and worst mistakes, scars, pain, and no doubt lessons that had made her wiser and stronger as a person. I then asked her what she expected her third decade to be like. Her other thirty-something friends had told her that everything calms down and you become more conscientious and deliberate about the things you do and decisions that you make. It is like you finally find a state of equilibrium; where all things are in perfect harmony. I for one cannot vouch for a bit of truth in that.

It is important for every human being to understand and know yourself well.
There is a place in all of us that must remain at constant in order to be able to survive and succeed in this world. Develop an inner strength and confidence by understanding who you are, your strengths, your weaknesses, and your worth. Regardless of any criticism thrown at you, a business deal, marriage or relationship that goes bad, whether you are rich or flat broke. When everything is peeled away from you; your version of who you are on the inside must be so clear to you that you are able to weather any storm.

A lot of people live their lives by a standard that is set by those around them. They are constantly changing themselves, how they act and behave to suit an occasion or individual. If you do not define yourself and get comfortable with who you are; what will you have left when everything in your life is taken away? What happens if you lose your job, your money, your house, your wife, your friends? Would you survive something that big and how far will the rubber band stretch before you bounce back?

Once you know and define your equilibrium, your task will be to find it when you lose it. Not knowing this is the very thing that stops us from achieving and living our potential regardless of what is happening in our lives.

Tips for Surviving a FinancialNegotiation

I remember once, one of my mentors told me that I needed to sharpen my negotiation skills. He even recommended a book I should read. By virtue of him being my boss I was upset and hurt because we had just brokered a multi-million deal for the company even after making a few concessions. The thing about life is that, if you miss an opportunity to learn an important lesson, life will throw that curve ball at you until you wise up.

I believe what he was trying to teach me then could have been a big lesson for me in the future. This particular repeat lesson cost me a little over half a million Kenya shillings. Now, that is one helluva an expensive lesson to learn. Let me share a few tips on how to survive a tough negotiation;

a.Always quote with the client in Mind
A lot of us work with industry defined products and services. Bottom line is, clients always know in their minds what product they want, even though it is just semantics to you. It is important to them that you understand what they want and package it to suit their needs.

b.Would you pay for that?
After you complete your quotation it is important to ask yourself one little important question. If you were the client would you really pay that amount for that product and why? This process will help you form a basis for argument during a negotiation and it also helps you get into the mind of the client.

c.Know your worth
A lot of us are willing to do anything for a quick buck without a care for how your brand yourself and your business into the future. If there is a specific market need that you are filling, you need to be able to define the intellectual and physical assets that you add to your customers’ bottom line 5, 10, 30 years into the future. Price your service/product with that in mind and do not back down or sell yourself short.

d.Beware of your big guns
One thing you need to realize about human nature is, your brain is automatically drawn to big figures. This is where your costs inflate and the first point at which you want to make reductions. Ensure that you position your big guns wisely. Where they add value to the client more that to you.

e.Be willing to make concessions
Before you walk into that negotiation, ensure that you have a clear idea of where you are willing to make concessions and arm yourself. One of my very good friends told me, quote for everything, even twice under the different headlines. It allows you room for give and take.

f.Be stubborn and firm
Sometimes pure stubbornness prevails. Just refuse to back down on particular items and leave it at that. Argue your case out, offer solutions that make the client feel like they wont get as much worth out of you for your product/service but for goodness sake don’t back down.

g.Be willing to walk away
It is important to know the point at which a client will not make any business sense for you to have. It is only then that you will be able to walk away from a big deal because it won’t be worth it. It is only at this point that you will have the audacity to fire a client.
If your internal cost of running their business costs more that you are billing; walk away.