Just out of curiosity: How many of you know what an..

.... operating budget is?

And how many of you actually HAVE one?

How many of you have a business savings?

How many of you make a sale on CB or whatever avenue you happen to pursue, and immediately take a paycheck?


I recently started a second business, mostly as a hobby and because I needed something to get me out from behind the damn computer.

I started with $30.20 and in three months, part time, have managed to turn it into a little over $6000.

Along the way I learned some things that I never really knew. I mean, I knew the theory, but didn't really practice it.

When I first started internet marketing, I took almost 100% as a paycheck immediately after I made it because I was desperate for cash and needed to pay bills..

It continued that way for YEARS.. like 5 years.

Then, I finally gave up on what I had been doing and started selling leads, which offered a lot more money to me, which I promptly put in my pocket and had a good time with..

I rarely reinvested. I had a "system" that didn't really require reinvestment. But had I reinvested, I would be considerably better off that I currently am.

I never figured out what it actually took to run my company at the time, and never figured out how much it would take to expand my company to the point that I wanted... I was too concerned with making the quick buck, paying my bills, having fun, etc.

That continued on for a while, and even though I knew I needed to be putting money back into my company, I had put myself in a rut. I became dependent on the new amount of money I was making and it was even harder to reinvest... but eventually, I did it anyway.

Fast forward to today... er, well about three months ago.

I decided that I was going to try something new and build a business from the ground up, on the side, that I'd never take a paycheck from until I reached a $3000 bank roll. Just to see if I could do it. Then, I'd never take that $3000 out of the business.. every month I'd put whatever earnings I made back into the business until it hit $3000, then I'd take taxes out on the gross revenue for the month.. then I'd take whatever was left, and take 50% as a paycheck. That was the original plan, but I think I've decided that I'm not going to take a paycheck at all until I get to a $30,000 bankroll.

It was all side money anyway, and I didn't need any of it to pay bills really.


Here's what it taught me:

1. The longer you wait to take a paycheck, the faster your business grows... Like, holy **** faster. Had I been messing around in IM with a starting budget of $30.20, I would have been writing articles for the next 8 years! Having that $30.20, and all the subsequent profits to reinvest from the BEGINNING made a huge difference to this new little endeavor. In three months, just over $6000! Next month I'm on track to make about 6K (more)! And it's ALL because I have money to invest into making my ideas happen.

2. Beating your head against a wall trying to make something work that just doesnt... is a damn waste of time. I'm not saying skip around and don't stick to something. But if what you're currently doing isn't working as well as you'd like, figure out what's wrong and change it! I was lucky enough to be able to experiment with my little side business and find things that worked.. and I looked at it as $30.20 instead of whatever amount i was testing with, because that's every penny that I personally put into the company! There was a very small real risk if it didn't work (in my mind)

3. Doing something that REALLY interests you takes all the work out of working.. Seriously, I get excited to do every aspect of this little business. It excites me. I can't stop talking about it to my wife (which annoys the hell out of her).. Internet Marketing is exciting to me too, but not like this. This is a passion.

4. Detach yourself from the business. I've never been able to fully do that with IM, because I'm a control freak. On this side business, i truly started thinking of it as a separate entity.. I was just guiding it in a direction. It's been a whole lot less stressful, and I'm not a bottle neck for it.

5. KEEP IT SIMPLE! My business model is this: Buy something, sell it for more. The end. It's really that simple, and it works. That's all I focus on. I don't focus on whats new or hot or frivolous crap.. I focus on buying something, and selling it for more. If something doesn't help me do either of those things better, cheaper, faster.. I don't use it/buy it/waste time on it.

Figure out what you're most basic business model is... and focus on that.



And most of all, REINVEST a LARGE portion of your earnings into your business from the very get-go!



Anyhow, it's been a long rant that originally started about an operating budget and managing your business finances better, and turned into... well... this... But I hope I helped someone.


Now go out there and make some money, because that's what this is all about... right?