Quote: (02-17-2015 10:13 AM)Phoenix Wrote:
So following all this, I have been doing some contemplating and self-analysis.
One thing I have realized is that I am too frugal. I won't buy a new phone in spite of hating my current one, because of the cost. I am reluctant to buy a fast laptop, and instead settle for a basic one even though slow computers irritate me, just to save money. I will hum and haw about which hotel is the optimum value. I will wait for better deals instead of just taking what is available. I will refrain from exotic flights (e.g. Vladivostok from anywhere) because of the cost, and sometimes choose destinations based on a good deal. All of these things waste time, and do not make for optimum living. It is not 'living life to the fullest'.
I suspect this restrictive mindset comes from the fact that since I started working, all my money has come from fixed-salary jobs. No overtime, no real possibility of getting above-nominal raises, no spaces for promotion, no available jobs in other companies due to a pigeonholing mistake (though I did try and apply many times). Nothing I have ever done in my career has involved a link between my work output and my compensation (other than "don't get fired"). This has likely made me psychologically treat income as a 'quota', rather than something that can be controlled.
To dislodge myself from this, I intend to do the following simultaneously:
1. Become conscious of frugal actions and the wasted time and effort that result. Consciously spend more money in these situations.
2. Attempt various work and projects that yield effort or results linked compensation.
Number 1 should be straightforward. Number 2 however is a bit more difficult. I've been wracking my brain and writing down ideas. So far I have:
- Retail something online (the classic). Restricted because I currently have no room for stock.
- Find something on elance which I'm OK at and isn't the domain of Indian dudes with 80 prior jobs and praise in their record.
- Buy-improve-sell something (no idea what)
- Commission a translation of something I think people in a certain country might want to read, some kind of royalty deal with the original author
- A niche-topic website (difficult for me, since my mind is 'know everything' versus 'know X really well')
- An app (have a few ideas, currently learning development in android studio, can already program in several languages fluently)
Any other ideas? The faster (and smaller) the payoff, the better for my current purposes.
1) Find out what you truly want to do, pick one thing and focus on that only. If your goal is location independence, find something that will allow that. Brokering web services or sell your app development expertise would be a good start. Focus on adding value like others have said, money will come organically. If you need further help finding what services to sell I have many "how to guides" on my computer from when I was in your exact situation and I would gladly send them to you.
2) Set specific goals regarding the services you plan to offer the marketplace and the success you plan to achieve. The science of getting rich or Think and Grow Rich are helpful with this stage. Both books can be found for free on the internet with enough googling. SOGR is my favourite of the two, both are easy reads.
3) Set up a corporation. I think this is the stage where the motivation will kick in and it won't be for the money. You will have a company, it will be your baby, you will want to see it succeed outside of just the monetary rewards. There are also financial and legal obligations every year which will a kick in the pants. If you want to be truly location independent, setting up an IBC or an offshore corporation in Hong Kong might be worth looking into.
4) You will need a decent website, if you are as smart as I think you are you should be able to handle this yourself. Wordpress is pretty easy with templates. Cheap hosting will suffice when starting out, unless you plan on doing e-commerce, the website will more or less be a way to paint yourself as a reputable business.
5) Next you will need to be able to accept money, Paypal is the go to merchant service. My advice to you in this area would be to diversify this in case Paypal arbitrarily decides to freeze your account. You will also need a business bank account of course. Your options will vary depending on where you open your corporation and whether or not you are an American Citizen (FATCA).
6) Get to work. This is the part where you actually have to add value to the marketplace and keep your customers happy. There are many ways of finding clients without spending money on advertising. I would be happy to help you with this once you get to this stage.
Motivation:
-The success of your company.
-Your financial and legal obligations.
-Obligations to your clients.
-Keeping your clients happy and coming back for more.
-Maintaining your reputation as a business owner and the reputation of your company.
-Freedom to live wherever and travel whenever you want.
-Providing a good life for your future family. (Decent house in a safe neighbourhood near good schools for your children).
There are a lot of things that will keep you motivated during the process that will organically cause an increase flow of money. Adding value is the focus, money is the result. Best of luck.