Cash Flow Potentials

Times Change -What was true 20 years ago may not be true today…well, actually it isn’t true today. Check out this chart that shows the goals and focus of a standard large corporation and the new trend to move into home businesses -

Corporate / Retail Changes

- reduced loyalty

- layoffs & downsizing 

- loss of pensions

- outsourcing of work overseas

- stiff competition for available jobs

- favoring of younger, cheaper employees

- lean, stretched resources leading to burnout

Let’s start first with what is happening in the corporate environment. There have been many changes over the past decade. How often do you hear about people being laid off, downsized, reorganized or fired leaving them disengaged, disoriented or disenchanted. Just the transition for many brings a great deal of stress! With new technology has come automation and efficiencies we believed would bring great change …we just wish it wasn’t so quick. 

There has also been a trend to spend more and save less refocusing the corporations to cut costs, reduce quality and produce more. Now we see outsourcing of work overseas, items that aren’t intended to last but just throw away when we are done because a better one is just a year away. There can be many fingers pointing all directions but the entire economy, including us, have been involved in bringing us where we are today.

Long-term loyalty and the concept of “community” has been eroded by a performance culture that expects more and more from employees yet offers no security in return. Just years ago executives forecasted that technology would eliminate many tasks and provide people with much more time to enjoy leisure activities. Unfortunately this has happened.  

We also read about the results of these changes - loss of pensions, reduced loyalty, stiff competition for available jobs, favoring younger cheaper employees and stretched resources leading to burnout. Corporations have huge challenges because they are now indirectly promoting people to not share information but hold on to it so that when the next change comes they are in a better position to keep their job. Some of the top corporate corruption stories are fueling the fire even more. 

As it rolls down to the retail businesses we see the same results – low cost products, less then motivated clerks, lack of knowledge about the products and blotted marketing. 20 years ago you could go into a store with a problem and the owner or clerk would walk you to the isle, ask you some questions, share with you what has worked for others and help you come to a final solution. When is the last time that has happened out side the electronic industry?

Home business can help make the process less painful because you will have a second source of income. One foot in the water to make sure it is warm before you jump in! It brings back the traditional retail of customer service and support. But it won’t always be cheaper. We already know where cheaper has lead us.

Life Imbalance

Much of these changes have led us to imbalances in our lives:

- long commutes

- limited social value and worth attached to parenting

- limited time with family

- limited time to pursue other interests & passions

- minimal vacation time

- lack of control

- boxed in by job description & lack of creativity

- no job satisfaction

- reliant on good health and energy (what happens when we age or get sick?)

Seals don't balance balls on their noses for fun - they do it to eat. People don't try to achieve work/life balance for fun - they do it to survive and enjoy the journey of life.

USA today reported that the average commute time is 52 minutes each way. That is almost two hours per day, 10 hours a week just to get to work! The growing gap between work and life is undermining families, values and social connections. We have fewer people doing more work and the value that the 'ideal' worker is one that can work endless hours as though they have few or no outside responsibilities other then their job. These result in a trade off of personal life and work - profits and people and the profits are more important.

How many times have you sat in a coffee shop and overheard someone talking about how they were the lucky one to survive the layoffs at their company to then start talking about they now work even longer hours, get less time with there families and friends because they now have to do the job of three? The pendulum has swung! No one intended all this to happen, but we are here. Many are ready for a change. Are you? We were. 

We are hearing about the new college graduates that can’t find a job in their profession or don’t even want to work in their profession. Just as the climate change issue seems to have reached a tipping point where people stop treating it as a barbecue conversation and start seeing it as a real challenge to be tackled, work/life balance is moving toward its own tipping point. We are seeing more and more individuals starting there own business!

One of the problems is that most people have been trained all their lives to get a good education, find a great job and you will live a successful life. This isn’t working any more as you know. But what happens when you have people who have little experience in running a business start a business? Some make it, many don’t. The current statistic is 95% fail. That doesn’t seem like good odds. But if you look at the details it makes senses. When interviewing many of these individuals you will find they don’t have ALL the skills to start a business or they are tight on funds so they do it all themselves. There are examples of people jumping into a franchise without the proper due diligence to loss $200,000 in a year. All from a home equity line of credit.

We suggest you start small – an incubator with very little cost to understand the skills you have, the ones you don’t and the ones you will need to hire out.

How much is work invading your personal life, and how much of your personal life is affected by the stress of trying to balance all the many responsibilities in your life?

Economic factors

- many in debt

- insufficient savings

- insufficient health coverage

- did not account for high cost of living/housing

- high taxation

- forced back into workplace after retirement

We are so focused on productivity and spending we might have lost the teachings of prior generations – delayed gratification, save as much as you spend, put away for a rainy day and give back to the community. 

What is delayed gratification? Delayed gratification is the ability to wait in order to obtain something that one wants. This skill is important for life success. People who lack this skill have lack of impulse control and ends up off balance in their lives. The number one cause of divorce is for financial reasons. 

The last trends show that the average American now spends 101% of their wages. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t look good. Most people are one life’s stumble from disaster. All it takes is an accident, an unforeseen medical problem or a layoff and it starts the cash flow machine to start to overheat. 

Senior citizens even with the best planning are finding themselves hard pressed to use their 65 years of hard work and saving spent on that dream of traveling and playing due to the higher medical bills, increased taxes and pensions disappearing. In one of the seminars we recently attended we were concerned about the message to our seniors –

Live your lives living below your means, save your pennies, go back to work and try to find someone to take care of you when you can’t work any longer.

What – NO – They couldn’t have said that! Now is the time to live the life of your dreams by taking a small step to run your own home business…even on wheels. If you have a passion to travel the USA, find a product or service you are passionate about jump in your RV and travel. Share your passion with people along the way and make a profit. Don’t reduce your saving – increase your cash flow! 

One last thing – all journeys start with a new beginning. We take our knowledge and excitement to explore new environments and it’s no different on this new voyage. Now that you understand where you are, let’s dump the old baggage. Whatever you are carrying with you from the past; grudges with old bosses, the changes in retail sales, the eager belief in a security blanket of working in a job – its time to lose it. Give yourself a chance to succeed in this new era of change with a fresh new map.

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” Robert Frost