Advice: Choose. Then, get after it.

Here's the reality.  There are many, good, reasonable ways to make money.  As well, there are many great mentors and systems to follow.  Most lay claim to be plug-and-play... just join and follow the system... what we do is really not all that different.

The point of this post is to simply choose.  Do your homework. Make some assessments about your level of trust in the process, the people, etc... and then jump on whatever horse and ride it at a gallop.

The system is important.  Our differentiator is that we espouse that learning, teaching, relationships, and community are as equally significant variables in managing a successful home business.

All of this is preceded by trust.  Unless we are able to establish a baseline of trust that is earned from providing honest and real information and a plausible path forward, nothing will happen.

Our job is to help people choose us - then, get after it with gusto.  We help people change their lives.  When you get to the point of understanding that this is a noble and worthwhile endeavor, you will be a professional in the home business industry.

You Can't Out-Earn Your Self Image

This post is about hope - seasoned with realism.  The Working Poor No More Community exists to help people elevate themselves financially.  While this is a worthy "goal statement", it presupposes a great deal in terms of how to get there.

There are a number of different (competing?) schools of thought in regard to what is important to understand in the home business arena.  Many people package and sell this information in their own "system", not all that different than what is done here in the WPNM Community - the difference being is that we do not attempt to make money from our information.  It is free and open to anyone given its universal truth - intended (again) to help people regardless of their business affiliation(s).

The notion of out-earning your self-concept has everything to do with mindset.  Some preach that this is the "all important" first step to success.  I am inclined to agree - to a point.  The other major school of thought is "taking action".  Or, engaging in business-building activities on a daily basis.  This has everything to do with choices of how to invest available time, lifestyle modification, and adapting to the fact that your life will be (and needs to be) inherently different - as a business owner who consciously controls your daily activity... creating your own resources, making contacts, following up with people who are interested and evaluating what we do... and working with people in your group to grow their skills and business.

Therefore, if you combine mindset and action-taking you have a reasonable foundation for launching a successful business.   The first step in defining success is making your first dollar.  This means that someone will have said "yes" to your offer.  They are now a-part-of what we do and you now have the responsibility to help them grow by teaching and modeling the habits of a successful home business owner.  The important thing to recognize is that this does not happen on its own and inherently requires a relationship that has the components of communication and accountability.

So, unless you see yourself as a leader and teacher with something to offer (or understanding that this needs to be your destination), what we do may not be the best fit for you.  Your self-image needs to be that you provide genuine value to others and there is value in partnering with you.  Otherwise, you will simply be a ticket-taker to an "opportunity" and once people pass through the gate, they will go and be lost in a whole stadium of people.  This can't be you.  You have to accompany them to their seat and watch and explain the game.

The Law of Compensation basically means reaping what you sow.  Another way to frame this is that you are compensated in direct proportion to the value you offer.  This means leading, teaching and mentoring.  It also means casting aside the mindset of where you are (were?).  You need to re-define who you are and be able to articulate (verbally and in writing) the value proposition you offer.

When you learn to incorporate these things into your self-image, there will be no limit to what you can earn.  And, this earning has a direct correlation to the success you have in others emulating who you are and what you do.

The amount of money you earn is not the yardstick to be measured by.  The real important metrics are all the fundamentals that contribute to your true asset - which is the community you build - the loyalty and fidelity to that community - and the long-term relationships that are the building blocks of that community.

This has to be ingrained in who you are and how you function as a home business owner.

We Organize Money and People for Everyone's Benefit

After years of pondering, this statement may be the best characterization (to date) for what we do.  We organize groups of people and encourage them to use a portion of their money that we then aggregate and leverage through the use of online money-making platforms.

Organizing involves finding and educating, and these two things are defined by specific marketing methods and tools use.  There is no mystery.  It is all about applied effort doing things that will put information in front of people for them to evaluate.  The more people you get to evaluate what we do, the more money you will make (if you are a good mentor).

Then, long-term, the way you engage the people who join with you... the leadership you provide... will determine if you will have built a sustainable business.

That's it.  Find.  Educate.  Engage and support for the long-term.  Build on the habits, values, and sense of community that we talk about on this blog.  It is a worthwhile endeavor that will enable you to truly impact others' lives.

This is one of the shortest posts on this blog.  Read it again.

Contribution to Each Others' Success

Early on in the evaluation process of joining a business, it is prudent and fair to evaluate your enroller.  This is why we "preach" to anyone considering joining us is that you have to work hard at establishing your credibility and be worthy of being followed.

One lens to look at this is through in the title of this post.  It is fair to consider how two people can "contribute to each others' success".  In this context, please understand, you need to make a commitment to entering a relationship.  You are "joining" a person and a community... not a "deal" to make money.

It is completely fair and reasonable to judge how you will "click" with the person who has introduced you.  Hopefully, in them, you will glean a sense of integrity and truthfulness with a bit of an edge (a disclaimer) that what we do is not easy and is not for everyone.  Otherwise, everyone would be doing it.

Our business is about the interdependence of a large group of people "buying into" a common set of principles and values.  Beyond the "character-givens" of being a decent human being, this has to be about being "smart" and different.  It is a new path clothed in a robe of goodness and guided by a moral compass with compassion for peoples' lives.

Our mission is to help people and their families.  Recruiting and sponsoring people into anything is just the first step into a whole new world of possibility.  Once this threshold is crossed, then the real work begins by helping people understand "what it takes" to be successful.  This has to be done with cheerful accountability in terms of how those you work with invest their time.  More specifically, what they are doing to enhance their skills, polish their credibility and introduce others to what we do.

It is a model of constant, incremental improvement - of yourself and on business-building activities.  As such, this post is meant for both the enroller and the enrollee.  If you do not "see" a positive role model and mentor, or if you do not see yourself as being a positive role model and mentor... this is a huge red flag.

Successful businesses do not "just happen".  There is a ton of work and learning involved.  In contributing to each others' success, you need to understand that it is fundamental to expect that new habits, new choices of how to invest hours of your day and an overall facelift of your lifestyle is necessary to achieve success.

If this is a bitter pill, it is better you know up-front and you should save your time - and put your aspirations on hold.  But, to end on a positive, it is best that you join with someone you trust is going to be an effective mentor and team builder and who can model the habits necessary to grow a successful home business.  At the end of the day, this will enable you to contribute to each others' success.

Security

What is security?  To many, it means having a job with benefits.  Going to work every day, having a predictable paycheck and getting two weeks off a year.  All play a role in defining how most people view "security".

There is a movement going on in the home business industry that suggests you "create your own economy" that is independent of the traditional economy.  What this means is that you have control of your finances (such that) you can/could live independently from the eight-hour-a-day slog.

Forget about the lifestyle considerations this will afford you.  Forget about ALL of the creature comforts of toys, travel and being a big tipper.  Simply reflect on the underlying, fundamental baseline of what it will feel like waking up every morning knowing that your bills are covered - and will be for as long as you can rationally see into the future.

This is what our business model offers.  This is the goal.  Getting there does not happen with a wiggle of the nose (Bewitched reference), but is absolutely possible by finding and leading a group of people that is guided by the standards and values of our Community.

I encourage you to think about security.  Really ponder what you are willing to sacrifice to "have it".  And, when pondering, fully realize the daily minute-by-minute and hour-by-hour decisions you will need to make by simply focusing on things other than you have been accustomed to.

I have written about this many times, however, it bears repeating.  The single biggest factor in anyone's' success is their ability to adapt to change.  This means to recognize and implement the things that are necessary to affect results.  This is the fuel that runs the engine.

For many, this simply means turning off the TV and focusing on business-building activities.  For others, it means going to the bar or going to the gym less.  For others, it simply means getting up earlier or going to bed later.  It is all individual, but it all starts with recognizing your life (inherently) is going to be different - tangibly - in how you choose to invest your waking hours.

If you want security, this needs to be fundamental to your understanding of how to achieve it.

An Alternate Economy to the Job Economy

Most people have jobs.  Understood.  All good.

For most, this is not a choice - but is a function of how they have been taught to think and then adapting it to their role in life... to have a job with benefits... being a responsible, productive member of society... yadda, yadda, yadda...  Still, all good.  This is the way the world works for most people.

The WorkingPoorNoMore Community exists to pose an alternative.  We propose (in addition to your current job) that you take the time to understand a different and more personalized way to make a living.  The common sense aspect deals with your ability to control your future by controlling your income.

Under the WorkingPoorNoMore umbrella, we have a variety of marketing sites that focus on different target markets.  We introduce people to a specific online businesses that is progressive, ultimately building into full-time residual income that enables people to consider leaving the world of the "full-time employed" to the world of an independent entrepreneur, professional mentor/group leader, and teacher.

This is simple in theory, but not so easy to execute.  It becomes easier when the structures and supports are in place to enable individuals' competence through our Learning Community.  It is very real for those who embrace it.  It is absolutely possible if you make a commitment and invest the hours in doing very specific things to make it happen.

We exist to help you understand what those things are.

Financial Literacy, Leverage, and Understanding Growth

One of our marketing sites is "Three Steps to Retire at Any Age".  This is a pretty bold and provocative title.  The three steps outline a pragmatic "system" that can be followed and combines a progressive rationale from simple to more complex.

In the beginning, little is required except to commit and get going.  This means developing a few simple resources that enable people to get to know you (a simple "About Me" site and how to set up a couple of Gmail accounts that are used in different ways).  Then, it is just a matter of exposing people to any of our Marketing Sites that are specifically focused on the people we target.

At the end of the day, we engage in what we do to create income.  Our model leverages both money and people (or, people and their money) for each others' benefit.  We are inter-dependent.  We rely on each other and pool resources by choosing vehicles to participate with.  These vehicles provide a structure that is common to all who participate.  Growth occurs by more and more people participating and utilizing compensation models that strategically structure money  This is explained in our Three Steps to Retire at Any Age site.

Becoming literate about how the money "works" with all of the tools we use is an important part of your overall education.  This includes not only the compensation models we choose to participate with but also the entire "universe" of ways to make money that compare and contrast to what we do.

At some point, you will need to articulate why "what we do" is plausible and smart.  You will need to be able to explain how it is progressive and makes sense based on simple growth dynamics.

The sign of an educated person is one that can talk about what they know.  Your income will be directly proportional to the value you offer.  Understanding and being able to articulate how the money works is a big part of that value.

People You Know is Phase Two: Trust Me On This One

Most people know the difference between warm market (people you know) and cold market (people you don't know) in identifying a marketing strategy at the initial stages of building a business.

Talking to people you know (your friends, family, and personal network) about something you have never done before and have no track record with presents "issues".  If your credibility is important to you, our experience dictates that "proof" that something is working is significantly preferable to sharing a hope, dream or goal about something's potential - which you have not yet fulfilled.

In addition, once you "burn through" your warm market, then what?  Necessarily, you need to learn the skills and techniques to market to people you don't know.  This is the long-term-play.  Therefore, acquiring these skills and having the ability to model the daily practices necessary to appeal to cold market prospects is the practical and common sense thing to do.

Inherently, and in our way of doing business, this will mean you will have built resources, you will have a track record of success and income and you will be well-on-your-way to being a positive role model and teacher.

Contrary to the old-fashioned "make a list" and go after the low hanging fruit model, learning what it takes (early in the home-business-building process) will enable you to learn to build an organization of people who share your vision and values, but with whom you have no initial connection.

Then, and only then, does it make sense to share what you are doing with people you know.  At this point you can convey with credibility and authority that you have a viable and worthwhile thing to consider.  At this point, you will have your business "legs" that will carry you forward with results-driven facts and not a hope and prayer that you are going to make something work and you are inviting (those you know) to come along based solely on potential and speculation.

Develop the resources.  Learn the skills.  Have a plan of action that you can demonstrably share.  At this point, and only then, should you put yourself in the position of telling people you know about how they can participate with you.

Intelligent Application of Specialized Knowledge

There is a lot of "noise" in the home business industry.  It leaves people wondering what is real, and who to trust.  It is all warranted.

In evaluating a path to the creation of a reliable and stable income, you need to start with an assessment of the individual components that make up (what is hopefully) an integrated whole.  At the end of the day, it has to make sense to you and you need to have confidence that it will make sense to others.

Our system/process is smart and backed by rational judgments of the best way(s) to progress in building a home business.  It is extensive and intensive and requires a commitment of time and effort.  In our Learning Community environment, our "job" is to learn Specialized Knowledge (tools, skills, and strategies) and then teach others to Intelligently Apply what we collectively come to "know".

There are many credible vehicles for people to use to make a side income that can morph into a full-time income.  Ours is just one of them.  Our value proposition in terms of specialized knowledge is that our focus is not on the vehicles we use to make money, but the community and culture that enables sustaining a group of people to hang together for the long-term for each other's benefit.

This is the asset you own.  It is based on commitment, fidelity, a common and shared ethos, values, understanding a strategy and execution of that strategy...

As the title of this post says - it is about "Intelligent Application of Specialized Knowledge".

Moral Health and Doing Things Right

It is really easy to say or claim anything.  This goes back to the idea of actions speaking louder than words.  If this is the case, then how do you know 1) that what you evaluate, and; 2) then choose to become involved with - has merit and conforms to "all that is good"?

The idea of "moral health" speaks to this.  It is a representation of a line in the sand.  It is a proclamation that doing something right - matters.  This includes when we are in the business of helping people make money, that we understand and take seriously that peoples' lives matter.  It encompasses the fundamental decency of not leading anyone down a path that leads to nowhere in the pursuit of a quick buck.

It holds true to the idea that we are attempting to build something that has permanence and in doing so will provide security to families - and in many cases have implications regarding altering the legacy of families for generations to come.

However, when we state that what we do can lead to "life-altering" outcomes, we have the responsibility to provide all of the variables that will support this taking place.  Some refer to this as "walking the talk".  In our case, it is about skills, competence, behaviors, habits...  It has everything to do with helping people understand that what we do is not a cake walk and that income is directly proportional to value offered (the value you offer). If you do not lead.  If you are not a positive role model in terms of habits and values... you should not expect to make any money in the home business/networking industry.

Therefore, I implore you to "do it right". At the end of the day, we learn and we teach.  Or more specifically, our job is to find people who are receptive to learning and then teaching them what we do.

There are core skills and tools that are shared by everyone in our Community.  You have to buy into the fact that we are guided by a moral compass and the true north on that compass is to do things right with competence and integrity for the long-term.

Empathy and Humility

I just want to make a quick point about being authentic.  In the past, I have written about leadership, integrity, honesty, character...  and their role in establishing and maintaining a successful home business.

I was a communication major in college.  In one of the classes I took, we made a deep dive into what "attitude" is.  At the end of the day, it is basically how you are wired (predisposed) to react to things.  Attitude comes from how you think based on the accumulated experiences of your life.  Then, when you react to something (anything) you express yourself verbally and non-verbally with your "attitude" toward.. whatever.

I have also written about the importance of relationships... and the real asset you build is not a bank account, but the friendships and loyalties you build that support that income.  Our business is all about people helping people and a creating culture and community where people feel included, appreciated, respected, valued... and their confidence is borne of competence and success.

All this being said, let me bring it back around to empathy and humility.  First, empathy is necessary to understand and accept people for where they are in terms of life experience and skills.  This is a very, very wide range of attitudes, behaviors, and skills.  Anyone does not automatically "click" with just anyone.  Therefore, (although I generally don't like the term) finding and grooming a group of "like-minded" people that results in a community that will support your income is not easy.  It takes effort and investment of time - specifically focused on engendering the values and norms that are manifest in a culture of success.  This has everything to do with assessing where people are and getting them on the same page with you... or singing off of the same sheet of music, so to speak.

Humility, on the other hand, is all about you.  Let me put it this way:  if you try to fake it... if you are not honest about who you are, where you've been... you will be revealed as being disingenuous (at best) and a liar (at worst).  This is why I think it is important for anyone to develop resources about who they are and talk about "your story", no matter what that story is.

Fortunately, if you do not have a strong back-story, we have the systems, tools, and processes to enable success relatively quickly - and this is through being genuine about who we are, what we do and setting brutally honest expectations.  If you do not have a strong story, you can start with this... and talk about our community and culture and why it made sense to you... why it is different than most anything you have ever looked at in the past...

This has gone on a bit longer than I anticipated so I will close.  There is a lot to digest and try to integrate into your own "attitude" toward your life and your business.  I encourage you to read this a few times and really try to grasp what is being attempted to be communicated.

It will serve you well.

Two Steps to Retire at Any Age

Our Two Steps combine specific programs chosen for their financial dynamics as well as their practical capacity for fitting together in an overall strategy.  What follows is an overview of what these programs are and the justification for how and why they fit together.

It should be noted at the outset that the only component of this plan that is meant to "last" for the long-term in the third and final step.  This will become clear.  The programs (vehicles) we use are all online platforms with digitally-delivered products.  Each has a back office for tracking and accounting.  As a part of your education, you will learn about how different compensation structures work.  

Step One:  A Referral Line Compensation Structure

• A one-up is also known as a powerline model where you "pass-up" a sale to your sponsor.
• The investment levels for these programs are as low as $25, but normally (to create leverage) you want to start at $250, $500 or $1000, which inherently make this a "cash infusion" type vehicle.  This is a low-tier offer in the context of many programs in the market starting at $3500 as an initial investment... with programs that go to a $50,000+ one time investment.
• The goal at this level is to work with an ever-evolving smaller group of 6-8 people who will keep promoting and coordinating their business at this first level and who are comfortable enough financially to move on to the next step.
• You will not receive a Form1099 in this program and will be responsible for disclosing your earnings for tax purposes

Step Two: A Subscription in a Double Referral Line Structure

• The industry nickname for this compensation structure is a reverse two-up.
• The first sale in a reverse two-up goes directly back to you - so you break even with your first sale.  The second goes to your sponsor.  Thie third to you, and the fourth to your sponsor.  This creates great leverage in an expanding group.
• The model for this program is a monthly subscription, which creates predictable monthly income.
• The investment levels are $25, $50, and $100 when people use this as a primary program.  However, in our model, you will have built the resources to "come in" at the combined total of $175 a month.
• At this point, you will have built an initial group of 40-50 people.  The first "goal" with this program is to build to the same 40-50 level (which will not be the same as the initial 40-50 but only those who have committed to getting to this step.)
• $175 x 40 people = $7000 a month.  With this program (as you would hope in considering long-term income) you will receive a Form 1099.  Therefore, you will have to pay taxes.  As such, depending on how you are structured, you can anticipate, of this $7000, to "net" in the area of $5000-$5600 a month.
• This is monthly - replacement - retirement income for most people (and) this is just the starting point... the first goal for Two Steps to Retire at Any Age.

It all starts with our first program for $250 to $1000 one-time and then "getting after it" with effort and learning.  It is completely conceivable to make this happen within one year.  All you need to do is plug in and commit to learning what it will take in terms of skills and effort.  We provide the coaching and the environment to make it happen.

At the Edge of Propriety (or) Like Any Other Investment?

I have previously written about the idea of being money mercenary.  Essentially, my thought process is that making money is an end in itself - divorced from a product or service.  As such, the ability to make money, whether it be a program, process or platform is the "value" conveyed by the marketer and this is the proposition considered by the consumer.

"At the edge of propriety" challenges and articulates this notion of making money as an-end-in-itself  - as legitimate perspective.  The reason 'at the edge' is chosen to describe our reality is that what we do is unconventional.  Or, said differently, is not in the mainstream of how people typically view commerce... e.g. money exchanged for some "thing".

"Something of value" is typically something you can hold in your hand, or derive some benefit from a service provider.  In my transactional worldview, the product behind the transaction is secondary to the transaction itself - with the ultimate goal being transacting commerce with a focus on financial mechanics and this, standing alone, is the object of the business (with the ancillary benefits of being a part of a culture and community with the ethos and values that exist in  all we do).

As such, this is no different than an "investment" in the stock market.  You put your money to work for you in vehicles.  If you invest in Exxon, Procter and Gamble, or Microsoft - you are not obliged to buy their gas, use Bounty Paper Towels or have Bing as your default search engine.  In each case, your money is working for you independently of a product or service.

The question is whether what we do is "at the edge of propriety"?  Obviously, I don't think so.

Your Business - 10 Things to Consider

Here are 10 things worth pondering and understanding:

1. Your business is finding people who embrace the idea of partnering with you to make money.  
2. Your business is not the business you "represent".  The businesses you represent is the tool you use to make money.
3. If you love and are zealous about the business you represent, your passion will be a sales asset, however...
4. The true asset in your business is the strength of the relationships you build with people and everyone's' level of commitment.  This is grounded in their monetary success.
5. Long-term success in our industry is a function of the social group.  Inclusion and support of a community of people who share the same goals and values are foundational to success - and many companies/businesses provide this kind of culture.  This is as it should be.
6. As such, fidelity to a core business is also foundational to success.
7. However, once established, a portfolio approach to expanding earning opportunities within the confines of the community and guided by the constructs of trust, measured consideration, and viability for success is a reasonable proposition.
8. The syndrome of "chasing shiny objects" speaks to an immature mindset of people who are not established (successful) in a primary business.
9. Home business marketers have two roles:  a) finding people to join you, and; b) supporting them in their maturation to competence and success as a home business marketer.
10. Once profitable, the majority of people do not leave a business. Therefore, the key to long-term stability and growth is helping new people find success.

Lists versus Community

Anyone who has been around internet marketing for any length of time has heard the saying, "The money is in your list".  For some businesses this is true - especially affiliate offers or an Amazon or Shopify store.  Or, for information and private label products.  There are more...

Many of these list advocates (you guessed it) market their list-building funnels with an attached affiliate opportunity to push their funnel.  This convenient and ultimately symbiotic function is great for low cost and "free plus shipping" deals, however, they are not necessarily what is needed to build an organization that is built upon a community, support, and interdependence - with a higher ticket, lower volume numbers.

Large lists work for what they are intended to do - and many people make a ton of money with this strategy.  However, many would have you believe that the "be-all-and-end-all" in internet marketing is building a large list.  This is simply not true.

Our model is building a strong community.  On average, replacement incomes can be achieved with groups as small as 40-60 people depending on the income being replaced.  Our model places a higher value on the higher value.  That is to say higher-value relationships, higher-value investment levels, and overall higher "lifetime value" - spread over a much smaller number of people.

This is not to say that many of the same skills used to build a large list are not employed to build a small list.  Mass marketing is mass marketing and the more eyeballs you get your message in front of, the higher potential for your success.  Therefore, I am not discounting sales funnels, but challenging the end result that you are trying to achieve.

We do not see the large list as an asset.  We see the value of people we pluck off of the list and those we work with and help develop - as the asset.

The money-in-the-list advocates have their reasons for saying so... and the skills they teach are fundamental to internet marketing.  However, how we monetize the list is where we diverge in terms of the value and depth we build in the business partners we attract.  As such, if people are on our list, but not active participants in our community, there is a re-marketing opportunity, but essentially are just names until they engage and choose to learn about what we do.

Transcend the Place that Holds You

The title of this piece is from The Hurricane, a movie about the boxer Reuben Carter who spent a couple of decades in prison for crimes he did not commit.  Peoples' circumstances are their prison and have the same limiting effect.  Our evangelism about changing peoples' lives speaks to this notion of transcendence through shining a light on an alternative.

Most people readily admit they need or want more money.  This is somewhat universal.  At the same time, they are "stuck" in the patterns of their lives.  The lack of awareness of viable alternatives is a prison for some.

This being said, we fully recognize that what we do is not for everyone.  The "prison effect" is just one factor.

Our mission is to educate people and raise their level of awareness to an alternative.  We then guide them through an information acquisition process and serve as a consultant in their decision-making process.

The end-game in our business is to provide a vehicle - for those who choose to get in - to transcend the place that holds them.  Our job is to point to the car and encourage them to take it for a spin.  For some, it enables them to put their prison in the rearview mirror.  Many think our car is like any other car.  And, just as many - are content riding a bicycle for the remainder of their lives.

The Priorities of What We Do

It is with a degree of pride that we accentuate our differences from many other marketing groups. Our"targets", that is to say, who we choose we want to work with are reasonably specific. This is conscious and intentional.  Our business stability is much stronger if people "join" who are well-grounded in what makes us different.  This blog articulates many of these.

However, although we talk about incorporating change into lifestyles, mindset, business models, compensation structures and the like, there are three guiding priorities that build one atop the next (or) are attached in consecutive layers.  The first and most foundational is:

1. A Philosophy of Life and Doing Business - Our goal is to help people and in so doing, help ourselves.  We do this by being as honest and transparent as is humanly possible. We do not sugarcoat the realities but at the same time posture that what we do benefits individuals, families and ultimately society.  As such, on this foundation is built the next layer:
2. Community - The social group is also the business community.  We talk extensively about competence being achieved through learning and then teaching  Ultimately, one's success in our community is a function of increased levels of competence (knowledge and skills) that can be transferred to others... and this process of learning and teaching needs to perpetuate itself.
3. A Way to Make Money - This is a paradox.  It is both last but most important.  The reason for this is that although the money "vehicle" could be just about anything, the money will never happen unless the first two are in solid focus.  

However, having said this, the money is the most important part, right? The point here is: if you start with the money, the probability of the money happening is quite low without a foundation of why and how to make it happen.

Working Poor No More provides this foundation.

Balancing Benevolence and Personal Gain

I have been reading (cherry picking) through Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations to try to understand economic theory as it relates to what we do.  The following paragraph is copy and pasted:
.
In a famous passage, Smith remarks that a human being needs the "help of his brethren, so that "it is in vain for him to expect it from their benevolence only. He will be more likely to prevail if he can interest their self-love in his favor, and show them that it is to their own advantage to do for him what he requires of them".

Our goal (and our success) are dependent upon attracting people to what we do.  This is in the context of a social group where healthy tension exists (in reciprocity) between helping others for one's own benefit.  This is a core construct and this is how all economies function.  The dynamic between self-gain through advancing the goals of others in a group cycle over and over and over again.

The "marketing angle" or the message here needs to be focused on showing others what is in their own self-interest. This is because in many cases, it is rarely apparent to them.  The persuasion aspect, therefore, is to never confuse our own personal self-interests with what is motivating the people we are attempting to attract.

As stated above, human beings need the "help of their brethren".  We will be more likely to "prevail" if we can interest others' self-love in our favor.  We win when we effectively communicate "what's in it for them" effectively - and then teach the adoption of this mindset that will ensure the long-term stable growth of our business.

I encourage you to read this post until it becomes ingrained in your understanding of how we function.  It encapsulates everything we do.

Economic Self Interest in the Context of a Social Group

At the end of the day, everything we are about circles back to the premise of long-term financial security. There are a lot of different lenses we can look through to bring this into focus.  Ultimately, we "promote" economic self-interest in the context of a social group.  The "group" supports and makes possible the entire framework that incentivizes individual participation.

Today there are many internet-enabled ways to make money and most of these are talked about somewhere on this blog.  Among them is what I describe as the "helping people" model.  What this directly infers is attracting people to a community with common values and goals.  The process of educating - and getting people to adopt our values and participate in the attainment of our stated goals.

The point here is that first and foremost we are educators who have a story to tell.  Our story explains a viable and realistic path to financial security.  As a people business, our role is to expose as many people as we can - to who we are and what we do.  And - explain how and why we think we can help them.

The Working Poor No More philosophy is that everyone who is in debt and whose assets do not exceed their liabilities is among the working poor. This is regardless of age, status or current income level.  Most people, especially those we attempt to attract will have "relative stability" inherent in their careers.  They are meeting their bills, contributing to their 401K, driving a nice car, and saving for annual vacations.

At issue is this:  none of these people own their lives and are living life on their own terms.  This is not a judgment, but simply a description of how most people "choose" to live their lives in the absence of an alternative.  Our job is to raise this level of awareness.

Pursuant to true long-term security - in creating a parallel and independent personal economy - we elevate the potential for people to understand change and provide the structure and resources to bring it about.

This is a noble and worthy endeavor.

Financial Literacy in Context of What We Do

I was in my car this morning listening to talk radio on my way to the grocery store.  Ric Edelman, a nationally syndicated financial advisor was talking about restructuring Social Security and the impact this will have on how he recommends structuring portfolios.  The point he was making was that Social Security is a common baseline for everyone (in retirement) that he builds upon in projecting future needs.  Surprisingly, the average monthly check is only around $1700.

In the context of generating monthly income - if your investment portfolio of resources are not significant - what strategies are there if you have not "saved" or planned for additional sources of income that will grow (and/or) at the minimum, sustain your lifestyle?  What we do is one answer. - one viable alternative.

All investment strategies are tied to the amount of risk you are willing to take.  Obviously, the greater the risk, the greater the reward. Younger people are advised to be more aggressive.  Older people - more conservative.  Our model is a totally different paradigm and no matter what your age, risk tolerance, and cost are not barriers to entry.

If you are not well established with a 401K or if a trust fund discussions are not part of an occasional family dinner... if you do not know the difference between an index fund and bond fund... then perhaps what we do will make sense to you.

We have created our own economy that is built on a foundation of mutual success.  You can choose to participate.  Our role is to guide and educate. Your role is to make an informed decision after gathering sufficient facts.

We wish you the best in this process.