Today I talk about the experience I gained by working for small companies. I think working for small companies really helped me gain the know how and experience to start and run a small business.
Seeing what the business owners were doing and not doing gave me the confidence to try it myself. Working for many small companies will give you more flexibility to start you own business on the side.
I bought my first rental condo around 2002 and since then have added another. Along the way I started a real estate company with my best friend in Texas where we have flipped and house, bought quite a few pieces of real estate and added more rentals.
I’ve always liked the thought of owning a lot of land and still check what is for sale most days. Zillow.com is one of my favorite resources.
I share what has worked and what has not worked for us. As always you will learn if you take action. We sure have and have survived to buy another day.
Topics covered:
Flipping a home and getting rich quick
Rentals – condo’s vs. homes and can you get 1% or 2%+ for rent? All about cash flow
Buying tax foreclosures or any real estate in this market – it is all about your purchase price (we like 50% of tax value)
Paying year 2000 or previous prices in today’s market
HOAs – the draw backs (the positive they cover things like insurance and maintenance on the structure)
Leverage – getting a loan to cover most of the purchase amount
Selling your home every couple of years if it appreciates because you can keep $250,000 (single person)or $500,000 (married) TAX free.
Using Zillow.com to track pricing
Diversifying by adding real estate to your holdings
At this point we are focused on property we can rent vs. property we can flip – very much like “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” recommends.
Repeat after me “Rental income is Residual income”, “Rental income is Residual income”….
I co-founded and have run a web hosting company (RiptideHosting.com) for more than 10 years. Today I cover some of the topics of how to compare web hosting. I do not cover shared hosting but rather how to ensure you are getting the redundancy necessary to ensure your site/application is up and running all the time.
Today I review how you compare complex web hosting options such as:
Data center comparison (redundancy N+1) Power,Internet Connectivity, Cooling
Monitoring – are you monitoring to make sure your website is online and available?
Backup – do you have your files backed up, what if the data center or web hosting company disappeared?
And much more
I forgot to talk about support – depending on your level of expertise you may need technical help but at a minimum I suggest you look for the following
24/7 onsite support – is someone there at all times to physically look at your server in case there is an issue with the hardware and something needs to be replaced or maybe your server needs to be turned back on.
Does someone answer the phone when you call? With smaller companies like ours the customers get to talk with the same people for sales and for support.
Once you find a data center / web hosting company that can keep your server online it is up to you to secure it so as a hacker does not take your server off line.
Today I cover how I got started web site consulting as a side business and challenge you to find businesses you could consult to. For me a few consulting opportunities enabled me to quit my full time job and focus building my company Riptide Hosting.com
Consulting have given me a lot of freedom!
I now can take as much vacation as I can afford to.
I can work from most any location with an internet connection.
No more driving to the office.
No more 9 to 5.
No more busy work for the sake of getting the hours in.
No more relying on a single employer/company for my income.
Recently I heard Nigel Risner speak recently and also picked up his book “The Impact Code” and today we review some of his suggestions to make an impact in your life and business. On this podcast I say his book is Making An Impact instead of “The Impact Code” oops my notes were wrong.
His website is www.NigelRisner.com
We cover
“Be in the room” aka be present and focus on what you are doing.
Take action
Do something different
List your successes
Learn from the best
Jack Canfield’s formula E+R = O which is Events plus Response equals Outcome
Coach vs. Commentator – which voice are you hearing in your mind?
Let us know what you think and what tips you find helpful!
Today we discuss the positive aspects of multilevel marketing.
I learned a lot about business when I joined Amway back in college. I learned more about business from the books they suggested than I did getting 2 business degrees. You may not control the brand like you do if you own your own business but there is lots to be learned. I credit Amway with teaching me about residual income which lead me to starting a company that produces it.
Benefits
Low Start-up costs
Learn to Sale
Learn about business (certain groups will be better than others)
Learn about residual income
Everyone can work with you (try hiring everyone you meet to work in other businesses)
Step by step instructions – I really believe it works if you work it. Many people myself included surely think they can do better than what was suggested.
Drawbacks
The parent company controls the brand, payout etc.
Stigma of a pyramid scheme – but can you make more than your boss or CEO at regular companies? In multilevel marketing you can make more than the people above you if you grow your business larger.
This is a short video showing you how to setup a FaceBook.com page or website. So if you want to have FaceBook.com/YourFreedomPodcast this video will show you how to set it up.
This is a short and sweet video to show you how to upload a video to YouTube.com. You might very well want to do this for your business or personal cause. You can set the viewing to private or public and even monetize it if you agree to their terms and conditions.
Check out a previous post if you need to know how to setup a YouTube.com video.
Coincidences and benefits of recognizing patterns in your business.
Attentiveness to customers’ needs can earn you repeat business like it has for us. I was driving in on Easter to give a repeat customer a tour of the data center.
If you are in business by yourself realize what all you are going to be responsible for. You should discuss this with your partners if you have them and be aware of what you will need to provide if you are in business by yourself.
Residual vs. Passive income: I think the best income is residual income since it means more free time for you. Passive income and any income that you earn on your own is all good.