The Million Dollar Lab

This is my first blog in a little while. To be honest I hadn't thought much about it and it wasn't until Sunday when Tania and I ran into a friend in town who asked the question as to why I hadn't written anything in a while that I thought about it again.
I guess the answer is that I haven't really had any inspirations or thoughts that I thought were worthy of me sharing. I think life is divided into moments of revelation punctuated by periods of transition and transition is where I'm personally at.
The only thing about transition is that it's not much fun to write about. Transition doesn't have the excitement of having achieved a goal or the enthusiasm of setting out on a new adventure. Transition is step by step, day by day, and sometimes all it requires of us is that we wake up in the morning and do what we know we have to do. At the moment I have the dream and I know where I'm going and that's what this blog is about, but getting there is a process and I intend to complete that process regardless of how long it takes or how exciting it does or doesn't feel.
With that in mind I thought I would outline a few things that have had a significant impact on me in the last month or so.

Recently in the media property investing has taken a hammering. With the tax changes and the removal of so called unfair advantages in New Zealand as far as property as an investment vehicle, there seems to be a lot of talk as though the golden days of property investing are over. This weekend I sat down to read the Herald and as I flipped through the business pages I came to a page with the tag line: "Property investors; the party's over."

Game Nights

The last couple of months, Tim, a few friends and I have been getting together to play Robert Kiyosaki's game, Cash-Flow 101. The game is designed to teach the basics of investing. The object of the game is to build up passive income (income from investments) so that it exceeds your expenses. The game is fairly simple in that anyone can master it, but it also has a lot of depth in the different strategies you can use to win. The exciting thing is this game is designed to teach the principals the wealthy use to make, keep and grow their wealth.

I love that after playing this game you go away with a mind that is looking out for opportunities.
Have you ever noticed that when you purchase a new car all of a sudden you see your model of car everywhere, or when you really want something you notice that thing everywhere you go? Something in your awareness changed! The reality of the world is that opportunities are all around us, often we are simply not aware of the nuggets of gold (opportunities) and a simple change in perspective would change our world.

Why A Game?

I could read an entire library of Warren Buffet books but if I never buy a share in a company there will never be the possibility of making a single dollar in the market. Knowledge without action is completely powerless. Having games like this and The Great New Zealand Investing Game means we have an opportunity to have a go at investing without the risk and once we have built up confidence and experience, we can then try our hand in the real world.
It is also proven without a shadow of doubt that people learn faster through action. Through playing with the numbers, learning how to invest, spotting a great deal, and making some mistakes, it is possible to internalize the principals that are being taught far faster than if they are just read from a page.
The other great thing about the game is it brings in the element of team. Nothing gets the human mind buzzing faster than working on something with a group of people. We have found that great ideas fly around the table and different people are able to bring different ideas and methods. This is the Master Mind principal in action, two minds are better than one and often far better than twice as good!

Come Along

If you are reading this and you live in Whangarei, NZ, come along for a game; I know you will enjoy it. I can be contacted on kevzawinning@gmail.com.

If you live elsewhere, go to CashFlowClubs. All over the world like minded people meet and play this game; it's a great opportunity to meet some people and expand your Financial IQ.

Thanks for reading.

Good Morning,

Welcome to "The Million Dollar Lab" today I want to take a brief moment to encourage you and also to show you a resource that will really do wonders for you.

Firstly by way of encouragement let me say "I believe that you can achieve such a level in your finances that you can not only say that you are financially secure but that you are financially abundant. I believe and I have said for a long time and many people can vouch for it "Money is not the problem" I know Kevin can vouch for me, I have been saying that for as long as I have known him. I believe that you can build your personal finances to such a level that you will be able to give away over a million dollars each year! Determine to excel and you will achieve.

OK if you thought that was good news then let me introduce you to some more. Here is "The Thirty Day Challenge". By way of a reference I would like to say that I spend hours looking at different training programs online and this is by far the best I have seen. I have completed the first five days just so that I could be sure that it was quality before recommending it. It is QUALITY. The challenge is free to take part in, it is run by an Australian group and teaches you everything you need to know step by step to set up a website, optimised to earn you some money.

Check out the link and take a look you will not be disappointed. Thirty day Challenge

"All you have to do is know where you're going. The answers will come to you of their own accord."
— Earl Nightingale

"You see, it's never the environment; it's never the events of our lives, but the meaning we attach to the events — how we interpret them — that shapes who we are today and who we'll become tomorrow."
— Tony Robbins

"Sometimes your greatest asset is simply your ability to stay with it longer than anyone else."
— Brian Tracy

"Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it's at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored."
— Earl Nightingale

"The biggest mistake that you can make is to believe that you are working for somebody else. Job security is gone. The driving force of a career must come from the individual. Remember: Jobs are owned by the company; you own your career!"
— Earl Nightingale

"Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions."
— Albert Einstein

"People think about what they don't want and attract more of the same."
— From the movie The Secret

"Today the greatest single source of wealth is between your ears."
— Brian Tracy


"Character isn't something you were born with and can't change, like your fingerprints. It's something you weren't born with and must take responsibility for forming."
— Jim Rohn

"You are important enough to ask and you are blessed enough to receive back."
— Wayne Dyer

"Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin."
— Mother Teresa

In my last post I mentioned that I am in the process of building a business. At this stage it is a part time venture and I am looking forward to building it up over the next twelve months.

I am going into Property Management for residential rentals, this is something I have experience in through managing my own properties and helping out with some friends' properties.

What I've Been Working On
Recently I have been working on my logo design, website design, etc... Mainly the fun creative side of building a business; coming up with a name, and then building that name into a brand.

I'm not particularly good at the design side of things and I have had to get a lot of help to do things properly. In my search for helpful providers of these services, I have stumbled onto something of a gold mine called Elance.

Outsourcing The Easy Way
Elance is like Trademe or Ebay but dealing only in services. You post a job and people who provide the services you need bid for that job.  It is then easy to go through the bids and choose the provider who you think best suits your needs.

There are Elancers all over the world and there is always someone who can do your job. The biggest benefit of Elance is the price things can be done for: webdesign for $12-$15/hr, logo and corporate image for $140.00, or a virtual assistant for $10/hr (Prices in USDollars).

So far I have found the quality of the providers I have used to be fantastic. These people are efficient; I have posted jobs at 8.30pm NZ time and bids are waiting for approval 15 minutes later. The jobs progress faster than I can keep up with.  Sometimes I've felt bad for not getting the next set of instructions through quick enough!

Get Stuff Done Faster
We all live in a very busy world and if you have a project that needs doing, Elance is a fantastic way to call in some extra help.

Today anything is possible; if you can dream it, you can build it. Use the tools around you and work smarter not harder.

I'm currently in the process of building a brand new business. It's been something I've had on my mind since selling my first business (a section care and lawn mowing company). A few months ago I decided that it's time to get stuck in now and have a go.

I remember a while ago reading a book by Richard Branson where he stated that the basics of any business can be learned in about 2 weeks. There must be some truth in that statement because he has built more than a few companies in his time. Richard Branson is also a business hero of mine. I really enjoyed reading his biography and finding out how he started and how he got to where he is today.

With most things in life the hardest part is always getting started. Like I said I have been procrastinating on my idea for about a year and a half now; but the beauty in starting is that it costs you something and that cost builds comittment. So even though to be honest I am on a bit of a shoe string budget, (which is no excuse in any case) I've found it really helpful to invest a bit of cash and get things on the move. Even with only a few hundred dollars in, it becomes a lot harder to give up or get lazy and stop. A bit of commitment also causes unexpected help to show up; I personally think once your fully committed and all in, God lends a hand.

Where it is starting to become a lot of fun, is the little gems and opportunities that show up along the way. So far I have found a place to get graphic design work done super cheap and super quick (http://www.elance.com/).  I have also found a way to setup a business phone line for $10 a month and because my beautiful wife is also on the hunt for customers, I have a few people lining up to use my company. Elance and the $10 a month extra phone line are massive blessings that explode a few of my worries and excuses. It is amazing the things that can be done and the opportunities that arise once you're started on something

With my last business, I built it purely to escape a job. With this business I want to build something that works, is replicable, and is sell-able. I found with the section care contracting that it became just a job and by the time I realized, I was pretty sick of it and ready to move on. What I'm doing with this one is building it in such a way that it is ready to be sold straight away. It will be built in such away that it is apart from me rather than a part of me that I have to slave at all the time.

In any case it should be fun.  I'm still on the look out for new ideas. I'll keep you posted on how I go.

By a long shot the biggest category in my life is the Dreams Not Pursued (for fear of failure)! This tells me that of all the things in my life that dictate a 'success' attitude is the key; having the courage to have a go.

Points to consider
1. Like yourself. You are a fantastic person and you have a massive significant purpose.
2. Get stuck in and have a go if an opportunity comes up. If the opportunity doesn't come up, make your own opportunity.
3. Be persistent. Often we give up far too early.

Key #2. Relationships and People.
Find a mentor, a friend, or a group that have the ability to keep you on course. I am always amazed at how helpful and supportive the people around us are. If the people around you aren't helpful and supportive FIND NEW PEOPLE.
I have also found that someone doesn't have to be your best buddy to be significant in your life.
A recent example of this for me is from a networking group I am a part of . I have made $10,000.00 sales in as little as ten minutes simply because an acquaintance from my networking group recommended me and my services. People, even people you've just met or have only known a little while, are often incredibly supportive of your progress if they are in the same game (they get you).

Key #3. Work hard.
In the third month of my current sales job I sold 253% of my target (2.5 times what the company had asked of me).  That month was the best month I have ever had, and it happened because for the two months prior I had simply knocked on doors from 8.30am to 5.00pm (sometimes I made up to 40 cold calls in a day). Even my boss thought I was crazy, but it worked.
Working hard makes things happen!

Conclusion
This is my To-Do list for my personal development this year. In the past I've been a chicken and missed out on some of the opportunities around me, this year I will succeed and I am going to be ticking off goals like crazy.
It's time to get busy living!!

2010 has been upon us for a couple of weeks now and for most of us the year is well and truely started. Today is the last day of my holidays and I am just taking a moment to review my goals for the year.

Kevin's Personal Goals
1. Start a business in my spare time (rental management company)
2. Double my sales volume at Xerox (from 4 Copiers a month to 8)
3. Buy my next motorbike (possibly another Black Bird CBR-1100)
4. Have the best first year married possible, make Tania the happiest wife in the world.


Quote
"Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people's criticisms carry out your plan" - Paul Meyer

Why Set Goals?

So, why do "3% of Harvard MBAs Make Ten Times as Much as the Other 97% Combined" ?

The answer is a simple question: “Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?” In 1979, interviewers spoke with new graduates from the Harvard’s MBA Program and found that :

84% had no specific goals at all

13% had goals but they were not committed to paper

3% had clear, written goals and plans to accomplish them

In 1989, the interviewers again interviewed the graduates of that class. You can guess the results:

The 13% of the class who had goals were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84% who had no goals at all.

Even more staggering – the 3% who had clear, written goals were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97% put together.

(Source: from the book "What They Don’t Teach You in the Harvard Business School" by Mark McCormack)

Defining Your Personal Goals

Everyone will have a different set of goals; we all value different things! The important thing is be honest with yourself about what you intend to achieve, and give yourself permission to aim for those bigger things that people around you might not understand. It's your life, making the most of it might not mean to you what it does to someone else!

My Method

1. Brainstorm - Write down everything and anything that comes to mind. We can often forget what we truly want and it takes some time to bring our purpose back into focus.

2. Focus - Go through what you have brainstormed and cross out the ones that don't truly resonate with you heart, dreams, and passions. You won't be able to do everything written down in a focused way; cut the list down to what's really important.

3. Create a plan - Goals are one thing but we must also have a plan of attack. On the same account, don't worry if you can't see a clear method or path to get to where you want to be. Start now, the answers will come.

Quote
"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth; that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events arise from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

BEGIN IT NOW

Feel free to make a comment and share your journey and/or goals.

Kevin

Today I did an interesting experiment. Right now I am starting a company in my spare time and today I started on my market research. Part of which involved spending the day in town visiting all of my potential competitors.

I pretended to be a potential customer and at the end of my visit I spent a few minutes making notes on each business. I rated them on a variety of factors on a score card out of 5 (5 being excellent 1 being poor). The one factor that surprised me was in sales; I scored every place visited 1 out of 5.

I should note that I'm not talking about the staff or sales people themselves; they were all great friendly people. I had 15-20 minute conversations with some of them, talking about what they do, how they do it, and why they're the best. No one was rude in any way and had I have been a real customer I would have happily done business with any one of them. Finally as far as service, price, and appearance; I rated them all very highly.

However, despite the grat customer service, competitive pricing, and friendly staff, not one person asked for my business! No one asked me to buy from them, no one even checked to see if I was interested!!!!

As far as anyone knew, I was a perfectly qualified customer who wanted the service their company offered. So why were they reluctant to ask for my commitment?

1. No one wants to be a salesman
No one wanted to make me make a decision. The question is WHY NOT? If you genuinely believe in what you sell or do there is no shame is asking for the sale.

2. Fear of rejection
The fact is I could have (and in the context of my experiment would have) said no. We are afraid of rejection and hearing the word no doesn't go down well; we take it personally! But what if I had said yes? By not asking for the sale they potentially missed out.

3. Lack of a plan
No one had a plan to get me on board. How much more powerful would their meeting with me have been if there was a plan to get me signed up. In anything you do, have a plan and know where you want to end up! You might not get there every time but with a clear plan of attack the odds improve drastically!



Good honest sales people make the world go round! They pay the bills, bring in the business and keep everyone employed. Most importantly they help people get what they want.

I remember last time I bought a computer, I struck the same problem of no one asking for the sale. Only in this case I was a genuine customer. The thing is, I was a little confused about what was the best option for me. I really needed a knowledgeable, confident sales person to tell me what I needed and ask for the sale. It took me two days to find that person. Funny thing is, I bet many of the others I spoke to had the right information, the right product, and what I needed. They just didn't tell me what I should do or ask me if I would like to go ahead.

Thanks and remember, ask and you will receive!

I'm a big fan of the, "Rich Dad", series of books. I have read most of them and without exception I find them enjoyable to read, hard to put down, and full on inspiring information.
Robert Kiyosaki excels at taking a topic that could be hard to understand and making it accessible to anyone. He is also has the ability to open the reader's mind to a whole host of new opportunities.
His stories, examples, and simple way of explaining things always drive the point home that with a little bit of effort, education, and a lot of courage and persistence, anyone can escape the rat race and be financially free.

Rich Dad's Conspiracy of The Rich centres around how the super rich and government write the rules of money to their advantage. Very relevant in a time where Mum and Dad investors have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars while at the same time the very organizations and leaders that lost the money simply walk away or are bailed out (to the tune of billions of dollars in the US).
You will learn some things about money that will shock you. Like how Governments regularly print their own money while making yours worth less, and why really big businesses don't go broke. But you will also learn how to protect yourself and play by the Rules of the Rich.

The point of the book is not so much to complain about the way things are but to teach how the system works and how to work the system. Imagine you are playing a game against someone that knows the rules far better than yourself, how much better than you are they going to be? What are the chances they will win every time? The same thing is happening everyday to 90% of the population with their finances, they work hard and play hard but not knowing the rules how can they win?

This is Robert Kiyosaki's book on the big picture. If you're interested in winning in the game of money, and you want to get a better understanding of the big picture and what exactly the rules of the game are, then this is the book for you.

Why Positively Geared
A rental property can be three things: Negatively Geared (Takes money out of your pocket), Neutrally Geared (Pays for itself and not much else), or Positively Geared (Puts money in your pocket)

If we take the view point that our rentals are a business, then we want them to make us money. And for a property to make us money it must make more than it costs, ie. Rental $ is greater than Mortgage, Costs, and Rates (Taxes).

This is not to say that Positive Gearing is the only way to make money out of property; Capital Gains often make negatively geared property profitable over time. The thing is, if we want to make money from day one and we want the security of knowing our deal is profitable; relying solely on capital gains is a little bit dangerous particularly if you are spending $100 a week to hold your Negatively Geared property.

It is true that Negatively Geared property offers some tax breaks, but in my opinion this is a matter of paying $1 to get 30c back. What a lot of people don't realize is that you can often set up Positively Geared property in such a way that you will also get a tax break while making money, this is done by claiming Depreciation on the property (talk to your accountant; most often they will recommend claiming depreciation). In this way you can make money and control the amount of tax you pay on the profit!

My First Positively Geared Property
I am only just learning this game of real estate investing and so far I have done two deals.

Deal 1. Buy, Hold, Sell; made a bit of money. (The Accidental Investor)

Deal 2. 3 Bedroom Rental House. Positively Geared :)

In Deal 1 I was the Accidental Investor. I brought my first house, hated living there, the market went crazy and I sold it (mainly to escape the area) at an excellent profit. That profit bought me my first decent motorbike, and allowed me several attempts at investing in the stock market (not particularly successful but worth a shot).

I learned a lot through making some money easily and then losing some of it. Plus the motorbike was heaps of fun and despite my mistakes I had enough left to have another go and get into the next deal.

The biggest lesson learned was that markets can turn nasty, and that relying solely on capital gains is silly and could make or lose you a lot of money.

So having decided that I was much more comfortable with property than the stock market, I formulated my new strategy. Simply put, it must make money from day one! This meant finding cash flow or finding something I could change to make cash flow.

The nerve wracking thing was that the market had crashed and to be honest I wasn't sure if we were at the bottom or still heading off a cliff. What I'm saying is there was still loads of opportunity to lose money.

In any case I knew I was looking for something that would make money on a weekly basis (not easy to find, but perhaps a little easier to find in a bad market) and at the end of the day it didn't matter what the potential sell value was as long as the rent paid all the expenses and a little bit of profit.

Solve a Problem and Add Value

With the help of a friend who is a wheeler and dealer from way back I found a little property that had been gutted inside and made into offices (opportunity dressed up as hard work). The Trust that had owned the two bedroom property had left it looking pretty rough and the real estate agent was having a hard time selling it. To make matters worse for the agent concerned the local banks were wanted to make any one interested in purchasing the property put down a 30% deposit due to the Commercial/Residential nature of the building.

Despite the rough edges I could see that if the place was painted, carpeted, and had a third bedroom added, it would be a little ripper of a rental property.

Problems to be solved:

1. Property was ugly Solution: Renovate
2. Only two bedrooms Solution: Add 3rd Room
3. Bank's & Finance Solution: Convince the bank it is Residential not commercial, and bring 2nd investor on board to make the bank a little more comfortable. Deposit reduced from 30% to 20%

The end result was a property with a rental income of $1083.00 per month and costs of $953.00 per month producing a profit of $130.00 per month.

On top of the cash flow we also re-valued the property and made a 20% capital gain despite the falling market.

Keys to Finding Cash Flow Property

1. Look at a lot of property. Even though prices have fallen, positive cash flow property is still rare, you need to know what things are worth and have your mind tuned in to spot a bargain.

2. Look for the opportunity behind the face value. What can you change to lift the value? A coat of paint is cheap, little things can go a long way. I added a room, carpeted, and painted for $11,000.00. Do the math it might not cost as much as you think to make a big difference.

3. Don't give up. The deal of a life time happens every day, it is just a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

About two months ago a friend and I started meeting on a regular basis, one to two times a week. The idea was that we would work together to create new Ideas that would make us successful in the realm of business.

We are both also in sales careers so we wanted to keep each other inspired to be successful at that level.

The Rules

1. With any new Idea we must take at least the first step to see if it works

This simply meant we had to try it out, build the prototype, or talk to someone about how to do it

2. The Idea must be eventually able to work without needing us to to do that work....... We want a Four Hour Work Week Style Muse. If you haven't read the book please do! It's awesome.

The story so far

In the short space of time we have being doing this we have had some great ideas and some fairly average Ideas LOL :). The encouraging thing is that we do have what I would call Genius moments, what I have heard called Aha's. Moments when an Idea will come into focus and it's just really cool right from the start.

Ideas like a game we are in the process of producing. It started as a joke and 15 minutes later and a whole lot of card board cutouts and we had a prototype. 3 hours later my beautiful wife dragged me home. Hopefully we should have our game for sale online in a couple of months.

One of our first Ideas The Million Dollar Kiwi Pledge was designed simply to make a difference and encourage people to give money to charity. Make a difference by donating $20.00 to a charity of your choice, and tell the group about it. Collectively we have pledged to donate over $1500.00 so far. Sign up and support a charity of your own choice and tell us about it.

The more we do this the more ideas we have. Some are fun, some are silly, some will not work and some will be massively successful. And thats all part of the fun, I will keep you posted as we go along.

Kevin

As you begin to take action toward the fulfillment of your goals and dreams, you must realize that not every action will be perfect. Not every action will produce the desired result. Not every action will work. Making mistakes, getting it almost right, and experimenting to see what happens are all part of the process of eventually getting it right.
Jack Canfield