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.