Category Archives: Financial

Financial, Health and Fitness, Lifestyles

5 THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS

Leave a comment

Does anything sound better than being your own boss?

Well, maybe a brand new sports car or free ice cream for life. But even a state-of-the-art fully-decked-out sports car will eventually need routine maintenance, and the taste of mint chocolate chip can get old after a while.

The same kinds of things can happen when you start your own business. There are many details to consider and seemingly endless tasks to keep organized after the initial excitement of being your own boss and keeping your own hours has faded. Circumstances are bound to arise that no one ever prepared you for!

Although this list is not exhaustive, here are 5 things to get you started when creating a business of your own:

1. Startup cost

The startup cost of your business depends heavily on the type of business you want to have. To estimate the startup cost, make a list of anything and everything you’ll need to finance in the first 6 months. Then take each expense and ask:

  • Is this cost fixed or variable?
  • Essential or optional?
  • One-time or recurring?

Once you’ve determined the frequency and necessity of each cost for the first 6 months, add it all together. Then you’ll have a ballpark idea of what your startup costs might be.

(Hint: Don’t forget to add a line item for those unplanned, miscellaneous expenses!)

2. Competitors

“Find a need, and fill it” is general advice for starting a successful business. But if the need is apparent, how many other businesses will be going after the same space to fill? And how do you create a business that can compete? After all, keeping your doors open and your business frequented is priority #1.

The simplest and most effective solution? Be great at what you do. Take the time to learn your business and the need you’re trying to fill – inside and out. Take a step back and think like a customer. Try to imagine how your competitors are failing at meeting customers’ needs. What can you do to solve those issues? Overcoming these hurdles can’t guarantee that your doors will stay open, but your knowledge, talent, and work ethic can set you apart from competitors from the start. This is what builds life-long relationships with customers – the kind of customers that will follow you wherever your business goes.

(Hint: The cost of your product or service should not be the main differentiator from your competition.)

3. Customer acquisition

The key to acquiring customers goes back to the need you’re trying to fill by running your business. If the demand for your product is high, customer acquisition may be easier. And there are always methods to bring in more. First and foremost, be aware of your brand and what your business offers. This will make identifying your target audience more accurate. Then market to them with a varied strategy on multiple fronts: content, email, and social media; search engine optimization; effective copywriting; and the use of analytics.

(Hint: The amount of money you spend on marketing – e.g., Google & Facebook ads – is not as important as who you are targeting.)

4. Building product inventory

This step points directly back to your startup cost. At the beginning, do as much research as you can, then stock your literal (or virtual) shelves with a bit of everything feasible you think your target audience may want or need. Track which products (or services) customers are gravitating towards – what items in your inventory disappear the most quickly? What services in your repertoire are the most requested? After a few weeks or months you’ll have real data to analyse. Then always keep the bestsellers on hand, followed closely by seasonal offerings. And don’t forget to consider making a couple of out-of-the-ordinary offerings available, just in case. Don’t underestimate the power of trying new things from time to time; you never know what could turn into a success!

(Hint: Try to let go of what your favorite items or services might be, if customers are not biting.)

5. Compliance with legal standards

Depending on what type of business you’re in, there may be standards and regulations that you must adhere to. For example, hiring employees falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Labor and Federal Employment Laws. There are also State Labor Laws to consider.

(Hint: Be absolutely sure to do your research on the legal matters that can arise when beginning your own business. Not many judges are very accepting of “But, Your Honor, I didn’t know that was illegal!”)

Starting your own business is not an impossible task, especially when you’re prepared. Get a jumpstart on your preparation at our free class tomorrow, Sunday, August 22nd at 4 PM EST (UTC -5). Save your seat!

Find out how to transition from employee 2 Entrepreneur

*Registration is required. Your information will not be sold or shared. You will only receive invitations to future iterations of this and our other Entrepreneurship classes.

Financial, Health and Fitness, Lifestyles

Habits of the Wealthy – Part 3

Leave a comment

The Wealthy prioritize Passive Income

It’s simple—the wealthy prioritize passive income because it saves time.

That’s because passive income streams don’t require constant time and effort to maintain. Once they’re up and running, they require minimal maintenance to keep earning.

Let’s consider a hypothetical example…

Sarah and Jim are coworkers and friends. Jim is content to work from 9 to 5, five days a week, in exchange for his paycheck. He trades about half of his waking hours for his income.

Sarah, however, is more ambitious. She wants a more effective way to create additional cash flow.

So, she starts a business selling crafts online. At first, it’s a lot of extra work—she creates the products, makes the listings, runs ad campaigns, and even ships the items herself. But she’s creative and motivated, and her business grows.

It doesn’t take long before she earns enough from her business to hire an employee to help with the marketing and shipping. She can focus on what she loves—making the crafts!

But that extra pair of hands increases her productivity even further. Now, she can hire another employee to actually make her crafts.

Suddenly, Sarah is almost totally uninvolved in her business beyond high level decision making. In addition to her day job, it’s become a source of income that requires minimum upkeep. And she still has time every evening for her family and opening up new passive income streams!

The takeaway? The sooner you can create viable sources of passive income, the better! It comes down to matching your effort to your reward. It’s a chance to create impressive returns over the long-term for an upfront investment of time, money, and energy.

If you’re interested in opportunities to create additional income streams, check out some of our past posts on the topic.

  • Side Hustle expansion

  • Passive Income: How It Works

  • Start that side hustle like a pro!

For a one-on one discussion about potential ways for you to create passive income, contact us!

Financial, Health and Fitness

Habits of the Wealthy – Part 2

Leave a comment

The Connection between Wealth and Reading

aisle at a library
Photo by Olga Lioncat on Pexels.com

Scenes like the one were common to me growing up. Somehow my parents made time to take me to the library regularly despite living in the remote parts of rural USA. I’m certain the intent was not to prompt me to be wealthy one day but just to nurture a love of reading. However, reading is a common denominator among the wealthy.

One study revealed that 85% of self-made millionaires read 2 or more books per month.¹ That’s not a coincidence. Many of us have been told that reading improves our vocabulary and grammar skills, but there’s so much more to it than that! Reading can help develop traits that can provide an excellent foundation for a prosperous life and building wealth. Here are three reasons why.

Photo by Olga Lioncat on Pexels.com

1.
Reading expands your perspective

Think of it like a hack that grants you access to the wisdom of others. Instead of only drawing from your own experiences and resources, reading is an opportunity to discover fresh and challenging ideas. And the more connections you make between the ideas you read about, the more creative—and valuable—you become. Now if every elementary teacher found a way to communicate that to every struggling reader in their class, think of the motivation and impact that could have on that child’s entire life.

2.
Reading can curb negative emotions

Reading is good for your brain—it can reduce stress levels and prevent age-related cognitive decline.² But it goes deeper than that. It turns out that making new connections is good for your mental health. There’s evidence that reading can help combat struggles like depression.³

Why? It’s because reading can help people process difficult situations. Reading about other characters and different perspectives can help forge new mindsets and beliefs. And the more you process through difficulties, the better equipped you become to build a prosperous life.

3.
Reading builds empathy

It’s no surprise that discovering other perspectives or exploring the inner lives of characters builds empathy.3 What might be surprising, however, are empathy’s benefits.

Not only does empathy lead to a richer emotional life, but it’s been shown to be critical for creating healthy—and productive—workplaces.⁴ Understanding the emotions and feelings of others makes you a more effective leader, coworker, and person.

Notice that none of these skills are directly financial—you won’t learn them in a finance or accounting course, and probably no one would pay you to read a book per month. But, as you can see, they can be critical for expanding your perspective and growing your career.

Photo by Designecologist on Pexels.com

Well if you made it to the end of this post, CONGRATULATIONS! 🎉 You’re already adopting a habit of the wealthy because you read this. Keep reading for 15 to 30 minutes per day for a week on a topic that interests or excites you. (Of course we here at ECV Talks would love to be that content that you’re reading. 🥰) Then slowly expand your reading time as you feel comfortable. At the end of the month, see how you feel! You might be surprised by how much your perspective has grown or shifted..

Sources:

¹ “5 Common Traits of A Self-Made Millionaire,” Caden Strause, Medium, Oct 26, 2020, https://medium.com/frugal-friday/5-common-traits-of-a-self-made-millionaire-f6cf65c13c6c

² “5 ways reading benefits your health — and how to make reading a daily habit,” Lia Tabackman, Insider, Dec 1, 2020, https://www.insider.com/benefits-of-reading

³ “The Health Benefits of Books You Have to Read to Believe,” Madison Yauger, Shape, Oct 27, 2020, https://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/benefits-of-reading-books

⁴ “New Research Shows Why Business Leaders Struggle With Workplace Empathy,” Bryan Robinson, Forbes, May 17, 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2021/05/17/new-research-shows-why-business-leaders-struggle-with-workplace-empathy/?sh=749a6d8684ad

Financial, Health and Fitness

Habits of the Wealthy – Part 1 The Intro

Leave a comment

So you want to be wealthy. You’re ambitious, you work hard, and you’re ready to discover what it takes to build wealth.
You’ve come to the right place.

Over the next few weeks, this blog will explore the habits of the wealthy. You’ll discover why the wealthy incorporate certain activities and rituals into their daily routine and how you can implement them, starting TODAY.

You might be surprised by what you learn. That’s because almost none of these habits have anything directly to do with how you spend your money.

But they have everything to do with building character and improving lifestyle. That’s because the wealthy are often ordinary people who reached a critical realization early on—financial success is just one element of a rich life. The more growth you experience as an individual, the more empowered you can become to build wealth.

There are plenty of exceptions—you’ll find countless people who are both prosperous and non virtuous. This series isn’t about them, and it’s certainly not for those who want to pursue that path.

But if you’re curious to discover the habits of the wealthy, keep your eyes on this blog. You may learn something you can put into practice right now that might transform your future!

Financial, Internal

ARE YOU PREPARED FOR A RAINY DAY?

Leave a comment

It’s never a bad idea to prepare for a financial emergency.

Unexpected expenses, market fluctuations, or a sudden job loss could leave you financially vulnerable. Here are some tips to help you get ready for your bank account’s rainy days! (And we don’t mean a money shower)

Know the difference between a rainy day fund and an emergency fund … but have both!
People often use the terms interchangeably, but there are some big differences between a rainy day fund and an emergency fund. A rainy day fund is typically designed to cover a relatively small unexpected cost, like a car repair or minor medical bills. Emergency funds are supposed to help cover expenses that might accumulate during a long period of unemployment or if you experience serious health complications. Both funds are important for preparing for your financial future—it’s never too early to start building them.

Tackle your debt now
Just because you can manage your debt now doesn’t mean you’ll be able to in the future. Prioritizing debt reduction, especially if you have student loans or credit card debit, can go a long way toward helping you prepare for an unexpected financial emergency. It never hurts to come up with a budget that includes paying down debt and to set a date for when you want to be debt-free!

Learn skills to bolster your employability
One of the worst things that can blindside you is unemployment. That’s why taking steps now to help with a potential future job search can be so important. Look into free online educational resources and classes, and investigate certifications. Those can go a long way towards diversifying your skillset (and can look great on a resume).

None of these tips will do you much good unless you get the ball rolling on them now. The best time to prepare for an emergency is before the shock and stress set in!