* Highly
Recommended *
The
Billionaire Way
I
would recommend "The
Billionaire Way" program to anyone who is contemplating
a new enterprise or business start-up, or is already in business
for themselves.
It
enabled me to look at my life, attributes, and habits in a
refreshing new way. I was delighted to discover that I too
have a number of the traits and qualities that many who are
successful in business possess, which I hadn't realized. I
am very excited to apply the principles that were presented
in the program to my new business ventures.
A
tremendous benefit was to be able to talk with the author of
the program, Bob Cox, about my own business strategies and
ideas. Bob spent an hour on the phone with me after I finished
the program, and his personal insights and suggestions were
very helpful and inspiring.
I
know that I will often refer back to the information provided
in "The
Billionaire Way".
-
Catherine McNeil, Monte Vista, Colorado
Become
a More Valuable Employee
By
Michael Masterson
If
you want to increase your income, your first objective should
be to transform yourself into a more valuable employee. You
can do that by:
There
is no better way to demonstrate your commitment to your company
than by getting to work earlier than everybody else and staying
later.
- Understanding
your responsibilities
You
may have received a job description when you were hired and
it may do a pretty good job of telling you what you have
to do. But until you figure out how the company works, how
it makes its money, how it creates a profit, and what place
it occupies in the marketplace, you won't understand what
really matters.
You
want a higher income. You recognize that you can expect to
get one only by becoming a more valuable employee. Working
longer hours and understanding how your job affects the company's
bottom line are critical components ... but it is old-fashioned
hard work that sets you apart.
Ask
questions. Read memos. Take work-related courses. Do everything
you can to make yourself smarter and more effective at what
you do.
- Helping
your boss do better
Doing
your own job well is good. But doing that and helping
your boss do his job well is a whole lot better. In most
businesses, most of the time, power is transferred from the
boss to his best employee. If that's the way your business
works, when you help your boss move up by making him look
good, he'll do the same for you.
Keep
in mind that, as an employee, you have a distinct advantage
over your boss, because you are probably, in some way or another,
closer to the action. You may be closer to the customers or
to the production process or to the fulfillment problems. You
may be closer to what goes on internally ... the strife and
turmoil among employees.
Whatever
it is, you have an opportunity to help your boss succeed by
coming up with perspectives, questions, and solutions he can't
clearly see.
Do
that and he'll be your strongest supporter when it comes time
to upgrade your income.
[Ed.
Note: This article was adapted from a chapter in Michael Masterson's
brand-new book Seven Years to Seven Figures: The Fast Track
Plan to Becoming a Millionaire, Copyright (c) 2006 by
Michael Masterson. Reprinted with permission of John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.
If
you don't already have your copy, Click
this link to get the book for $16 ... and
pick up over $537 worth of valuable bonuses.]
"A
cheap price is a shortcut to being cheated."
-
Chinese proverb
The
World's Worst Pricing Strategy
By
Bob Bly
A
common strategy for people starting a small service business
is to undercut the competition by charging much lower fees.
If, for example, every other graphic designer you know charges
$100 an hour, you figure you'll steal business away from them
by charging only $50 an hour.
As
Michael Masterson explained in Message
#101, drastically undercutting the competition
is a great strategy ... if you're selling a product. But if
you're selling a service, charging an unrealistically low rate
- "low-balling," as it is commonly known - is a terrible
idea. For several reasons.
1. First
and foremost, if you are rendering a service, you are in essence
selling your time - of which there is a limited supply. The
less you charge, the less money you make - and the less profitable
your business is.
Say
you can only work 25 billable hours a week. If you charge $100
an hour, you earn $130,000 a year. But if you charge $25 an
hour, you earn a measly $32,500 ... working just as hard and
just as long.
2. Second,
your perception that a lower fee makes you more attractive
to clients is not universally true.
Yes,
some clients are price buyers ... and your low rate will draw
them in like moths attracted to a flame. But there are many
other clients who do not buy based on price.
These
clients value other attributes - such as your reliability,
speed, expertise, track record, and reputation - and are willing
to pay a premium to get them. In fact, a low rate signals many
of these buyers that you do NOT deliver those desirable attributes
... and that you and your service are inferior.
The
low price actually turns them off!
3. Your
low fee attracts a less desirable clientele for your services
- price buyers. On the other hand, a premium rate attracts
clients who value good work and don't mind paying for it. Price
buyers, while the least profitable clients to work for, are
ironically often the most demanding and difficult to please.
So,
if low-balling is a bad pricing strategy for a service business,
where should your pricing fall in relation to your competition?
Years
ago, GD, a pricing expert, gave me the following rule of thumb
for setting service fees: Your price should fall in the middle
of the top third.
In
other words, if the lower third of service firms in your trade
charge $50 to $100 an hour ... the middle third charges $100
to $150 ... and the highest-paid charges $150 to $200 ... GD
thinks you should aim for $175 an hour.
Why?
Well,
those in the lowest third are the low-ballers. They figure
they'll get customers by offering "the lowest fees in
town." As we've seen, that's not a good pricing strategy
for service providers.
The
middle range isn't quite as bad. It can make you a decent living
- and win you some good clients. But if a low price creates
a perception of low quality, a middle price can create a perception
of mediocrity.
Is
that how you want to be seen in your marketplace?
In
the example given above - for the type of service that runs
between $50 and $200 per hour - GD says to charge $175. I'm
a little more flexible. I'd recommend between $150 and $175
per hour.
Why
not go all the way and charge the highest price - $200 an hour?
Because at that level, your fee becomes a huge concern to your
clients. It stretches their budgets to the limit, and they
begin to feel like you're trying to take them for every penny.
By backing off the top of the price range a little, you can
still command a premium fee ... but remove price as the foremost
issue in the client's mind.
Okay.
So your price should be somewhere around the middle of the
top third in your market. But how do you justify that price
... especially when competitors may be more experienced and
(perish the thought) perhaps even more skilled than you?
I'll
explain ... in my next article for ETR.
[Ed.
Note: Bob Bly is a popular Early to Rise columnist, self-made
multi-millionaire, and the author of more than 60 books. He
is also the editor of ETR's
Direct Marketing University: The Masters Edition - a program to help you start your own successful
direct-mail business.To subscribe to his free monthly marketing
e-zine, Direct Response Letter, and claim a free marketing
library worth more than $100, click on www.bly.com/reports.]
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The "New" Weapon
in the Fight Against Obesity
By
Al Sears, MD
For
decades, the real cause of obesity has escaped mainstream medicine.
They tell you that the only way to lose weight is to cut your
calories by eating low-fat food. Yet, despite eating less fat,
more Americans are fat today than at any time in history.
As
you've read many times in ETR, it's insulin that regulates
weight gain and fat storage - not the saturated fats the media
love to hate. And low-fat foods - which are usually high in
carbs - will spike your blood sugar and trigger a flood of
insulin. Excess insulin means excess fat.
But
there's another hormone critical to weight gain - and weight
loss. It's called leptin.
It
tells your brain how much energy you have and how to use it.
When your belly is full, leptin tells your brain to stop eating
and start burning fat. When your energy is low, leptin tells
your brain to increase your appetite so you'll start eating.
When
it comes to obesity and diabetes, the role of leptin and insulin
is nothing new. I've been telling my patients about it for
years. But here's the problem: Leptin's message to your brain
can be cut off by certain foods - like the high-fructose corn
syrup found in sodas. And insulin can lose its effectiveness
when too much is let loose in your bloodstream. When that happens,
it leads to compulsive overeating and uncontrollable weight
gain.
To
help your body become more receptive to these hormonal messages,
reduce your intake of carbs, eat foods low on the glycemic
index, and supplement with cod liver oil. (A new study from
a leading university in Canada shows that supplementing with fish
oil can help your body become more sensitive
to leptin.)
It's
Good to Know: Proof That Manners Aren't Dead
By
Suzanne Richardson
In
Montreal a few weeks ago, I was pleased to witness a random
act of good manners - the type of kindness that makes our world
a more friendly and comfortable place. A woman, loaded down
with shopping bags, boarded the crowded subway - and a young
man promptly stood up to allow her to sit down.
When
should you give up your seat? According to etiquette expert
Peggy Post (Emily's great-granddaughter-in-law), you should "offer
yours to anyone who could use it more than you - an elderly
person, a shopper with an armload of packages, a pregnant woman,
or someone who's disabled."
Sounds
reasonable. But how often do you see such a gesture these days?
Michael Masterson has written about the importance of good manners
many times in ETR. In Message
#341, for example, he said: "How do you
get what you want in life without offending people? The answer
is simple: good manners."
Michael
explained that "good manners" means greeting people
every time you see them, remembering their names and something
about them, expressing yourself in a thoughtful manner, and
saying "please" and "thank you."
Keep
this in mind whenever you interact with someone - be it your
boss, the checker at the grocery store, or your mother-in-law.
[Ed.
Note: When was the last time you witnessed a random act of
good manners? Let us know at ReaderFeedback@gmail.com.
Include your full name and hometown, and we may print your
comments in a future issue of ETR.]
* Highly
Recommended *
Start
Making Money Today
Interested
in getting a nice little side-business going on the Internet?
Or maybe even from your living-room table?
But
you don’t have too much money, you don’t have too
much time, and you’re not exactly Bill Gates when it
comes to technology. Sound familiar?
A
lot of people are in the same boat. The good news is that ETR
has heard you. And now we’ve done something about it...
We’ve
asked our colleague Marc Charles to be on the lookout for profit
opportunities that can be run from a kitchen table, your desktop
or out on the road.
Criteria?
They’ve got to be inexpensive, easy to start, and still
have great income potential, but without a lot of red tape.
They
say when you’re first getting your feet wet with a side-business,
the most important dollar to make is the first one. Well, Marc
is an expert at taking beginning entrepreneurs and showing
you how to make that first buck. He knows, because he's done
it dozens of times for himself, his family and his friends.
If
you've been dreaming about starting your own business ... now
you can get started for about the price of 2 lattes.
And
get this – you could be making money literally just hours
from now. Imagine the feeling of finally getting a side business
launched -TODAY!
Why
not go for it?
-
Charlie Byrne
Word
to the Wise: Pervicacious
People
who are "pervicacious" (pur-vih-KAY-shus) - from
the Latin for "stubborn" - refuse to change their
ideas or behavior.
Example
(as used by Michael Hawley in Technology Review): "In
fact, I'm a word nerd. I get a kick out of tossing a few odd
ones into my column, just to see if the pervicacious editors
will weed them out."
