Get Ahead in Business… With or Without an MBA
Archives: Daily Issues
Issue #2129
- WEALTHY: The market’s pain can be your gain (Andrew Gordon)
- HEALTHY: Wanna drop some pounds? Turn on your computer (Craig Ballantyne)
- WISE: Abraham Lincoln on success
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Helping a recent grad become a superstar (Michael Masterson)
- Lost luggage at the airport – how to beat the system (Lori Allen)
- It’s Good to Know… about keyboard shortcuts
- Add "sanctum" to your vocabulary
The Ideal Vehicle For Getting Wealthy In The 21st Century?
Today you have a rare and exciting opportunity to take advantage of one of the largest industries on earth. And it is – most experts agree – the one that has the greatest growth potential.
I am referring to the Information Publishing industry.
Now don’t be intimidated by that phrase. You won’t need a printing press, typesetting equipment or even employees.
Information Publishing is simply about marketing products based on ideas (e-letters, teleconferences, special reports, etc) instead of hard goods (flowers, jewelry, computers, etc). And now, with the explosion of the Internet, it has the lowest production costs of any industry in today’s world.
Because of that low cost-of-entry and growth potential, it is the ideal vehicle for getting wealthy in the 21st century. Whether you intend to make your fortune on your own (as an entrepreneur) or within the context of a corporate environment (as an intrapreneur), taking advantage of these forces is the best and easiest way to achieve fast success and acquire great wealth.
Come to ETR’s October Bootcamp and we’ll show you how to build your own Information Publishing company that could make from $1 million to $100 million a year. (Register today and get a bonus “start-up kit” worth up to $5,000.)
- Patrick Coffey
Pouncing on the Bounce
The market’s gravy train is slowing down, and lots of investors are jumping off before it reverses direction. I don’t blame you for following their example. But there’s a small group of clever investors who are taking an entirely different approach. They’re the ones whose lead you should follow.
Excess liquidity and slowing economic growth pushed these investors to the sideline months ago – just waiting for the market to drop. Now that it has – and is threatening to drop more – they’ll be rushing back into the market and scooping up great bargains along the way. And because the companies they’re scooping up are priced so low, they don’t have to show amazing earnings to move up the charts.
It’s a strategy to safely profit from a market that other investors can’t get away from fast enough.
[Ed. Note: Andrew Gordon, ETR's Investment Director, has authored several books on energy markets, global countertrade practices, and the hot growth sectors of China and Russia. A former professor of marketing and finance, he is the editor of INCOME, a monthly financial advisory service that uncovers income-generating stocks that promise safety (first and foremost), along with much-higher-than-average profit potential.]
Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.
Abraham Lincoln
Get Ahead in Business… With or Without an MBA
Kelly, a recent college graduate, wrote to me after reading Automatic Wealth for Grads… and Anyone Else Just Starting Out. She explained that she’s been giving serious thought to my recommendation that young people look for work in small, growing companies, but she feels ambivalent. According to Kelly, she’s a superstar at her large company ("maybe closer to ‘extraordinary’ than ‘invaluable’ on your scale, but headed in the right direction"). Still, as at many large, established companies, even top performers like Kelly can’t realistically expect exorbitant raises year after year.
"I got a 15 percent raise and promotion in November, but will probably only be looking at a measly three to four percent in a typical year," Kelly says.
But now a small company (20 employees) has been pursuing Kelly. "The company is growing 20 percent a year," says Kelly, and is offering her a considerably higher salary and bonus, in addition to paying for her to get an MBA. Kelly believes that getting into the best MBA program she can is a crucial investment in her future. And since she has been hearing that top MBA programs look for people who work at well-known, high-power firms, she’s concerned that joining the smaller company will set her back as far as her education goes.
Kelly is clearly a rising star in a large company. If you are in a similar situation – or if you’re on your way to superstardom in your company – you’ll want to pay close attention to what I’m about to say.
Kelly’s recent 15 percent raise is acknowledgement and verification of her value. But she can already see that even if she’s on her company’s fast track (every business has two career tracks, one for ordinary employees and the other for future superstars), her income appreciation will be limited.
The job she’s been offered with the smaller company is also an indication of her value. But it seems more risky. ("How do I know they will survive?")
If, like Kelly, you’ve been approached by a small company, you can reduce the risk to an acceptable level by asking questions about the company’s financial health:
- What were its last three years of revenue?
- What were its last three years of profits?
- What does it currently cost to acquire a new customer?
- What is the lifetime net value of a new customer?
- What is the average amount that a first-time buyer spends?
- What other, more expensive products are offered to that buyer?
With larger companies (and public companies), it’s usually relatively easy to get the answers to such questions. Smaller companies tend to be protective of their financial information – particularly about net income.
But find out as much as you can. What you are looking for is:
- A strong, three-year (or more) history of revenue growth.
- A steady improvement in the bottom line. (It doesn’t have to be very high for newer companies, but it must be moving in the right direction.)
- A healthy relationship between how much it costs to acquire a new customer and how much that customer is worth.
- Good margins. It’s always better if the cost of goods is a small fraction of the sale price.
- A strong "back end." A company that knows how to upgrade $20 customers with $200 and even $2,000 ancillary and/or vertical products is one that can generate the cash it needs to grow.
- Good cash flow. This is vital for a growing business.
If the small company passes financial muster, then you have to turn the tables. Finances count, but so does leadership and compatibility. It’s time for you to interview them – the CEO and anyone else to whom you might be reporting.
So ask for a second interview. If you are a superstar, they’ll give it to you. At that second interview, your goal will be to make an intuitive assessment of its top executives. Specifically, you need to find out if they are:
- Experienced. Ask them what prior experience they have had in the industry they are in.
- Successful. Ask them about their past entrepreneurial successes. What you don’t want are people who have jumped around a lot, from one business to another, but have little or nothing to show for it.
- Resourceful. Ask them what they consider to be the business’s primary challenges. Then ask them how they intend to meet them. Look for fluidity and intelligence in their answers.
- Credible. Does your gut tell you that they are on the level? If your heart doubts them, your mind will one day discover why.
- Agreeable. Do you like them? Do they seem like they’d be fun to work with? Would you be happy to have them on your team if you were trapped in a remote place in some sort of survival competition?
If your heart gives you positive answers to those questions, then I’d recommend going with the small company. But I’d make that suggestion only if maximizing your wealth is your top priority. And based on Kelly’s comments about graduate school, I’m not sure that’s the case with her.
Why does Kelly want to get an MBA? She says it will be "an important investment in her future." That’s a sound bite. What does an MBA really mean for her future? What does she really want/expect from it?
If you are already on the fast track in a good company (as Kelly is), will the lack of an MBA reduce your chances of getting to the top? Probably not. If the company you are working for now is healthy and profit-driven, its key executives don’t care about what school you went to or what degrees you have. They care about what you can do to improve the bottom line.
(By the way, if it happens that they DO care about your academic qualifications – if they actually require an MBA for advancement – that tells you something very important: Someone at the top is making stupid decisions. Time to get out.)
To become an invaluable employee of any company in the beginning stages of your career, you need to develop certain specific business skills that relate to the industry you are in. Those skills, as I’ve said many times in ETR and in Automatic Wealth for Grads… and Anyone Else Just Starting Out, always relate to the proverbial bottom line. Some of the most common and financially valuable skills are:
- Marketing
- Selling
- Marketing management
- Sales management
- Product creation
- Profit creation
- Profit management
Chances are you WON’T learn those skills in an MBA program as well as you’ll learn them on the job. The best way to learn and master such financially valuable skills is by finding someone who has already mastered them and getting that person to be your mentor. (You’ll find out how to do it in Automatic Wealth for Grads and Seven Years to Seven Figures.)
Still, many young people are determined to get that MBA. And if you’re one of them, I have to ask, why?
Spend some serious time thinking about this goal. Figure out what you want from it. I can tell you this – you don’t need an MBA to become wealthy. I’m not saying you wouldn’t learn anything useful along the way. Certainly you would. But you don’t need the degree.
If you want a graduate degree from Wharton or Harvard because you really, secretly, in your heart of hearts, are driven not by the desire to accumulate wealth but by the need to accumulate self-esteem, go for it! There’s no shame in wanting self-esteem more than wealth.
What you’ll find, of course (and you probably know this already), is that the hole you are trying to fill will never get filled with degrees and pedigrees. But it can’t be filled with wealth either. Ultimately, personal satisfaction comes from working well and hard at something you care about. You can do that before, after, and during the time you pursue financial and/or prestige goals.
But you can only learn that lesson by yourself. So I encourage you to move as quickly as you can down one of the two roads you are looking at… the road that leads to wealth or the road that promises self-esteem. If you are a bright, capable, articulate, and ambitious person, you’ll learn whatever you need to learn very quickly.
I predict that you will eventually acquire both wealth and self-esteem. Which one you get first is up to you.
[Ed. Note: If you'd like to read accounts - or add your own story - of what it's possible to accomplish when you're young, go to Michael Masterson's brand-new website. You'll find updates on all of Michael's books, news on upcoming ETR events, Michael's blog, and room to send in your comments and questions.
And you can learn how to start your own Internet-based information-publishing business at this fall's Info Marketing Bootcamp, Making a Fast Fortune on the "Other Side" of the Internet. Our $200 Early Bird Discount ends at 5:00 p.m. Friday, August 31. Register now to save $200.]
Create a Generous Income for Life With Just One Deal!
I don’t know your exact circumstances, but if you had about ten grand a month coming in without having to punch a clock, you could retire tomorrow, right?
For you it may be just $5,000 or $7,500, but you get the idea. We’re not talking a million a month here…but a monthly passive income significant enough to free you FOREVER from wage slavery. (Not to mention the nice little 7-figure cash bonus you could get a few years down the line.)
The truth is, you CAN do it if you follow a few simple instructions…
Lose Weight With the Help of the Internet
Thousands of men and women are losing fat and building muscle thanks to the Web. What the Internet provides (aside from endless – yet pointless – amusement) is a source of social support, a crucial factor in the success of any body-transformation program.
In the Archives of Internal Medicine, 249 adults were split into two groups, with one group receiving motivational help on the Internet and another receiving the motivational help in print. The study ran for one year. Both types of motivational help resulted in the same increase in physical activity. But the researchers concluded that the low cost of delivering the information via the Internet made it the better choice.
The Internet is teeming with social support resources. Get online and find a network to help motivate you to become healthier today.
[Ed. Note: Fitness expert Craig Ballantyne is the creator of the Turbulence Training for Fat Loss system.
For a free online source of information, motivation, and social support to help you improve your health, lose weight, and get fit, sign up for ETR's brand-new natural health e-letter.]
Lost Luggage at the Airport: How to Beat the System
By Lori Allen
According to a recent Air Travel Consumer Report from the U.S. Department of Transportation, American Airlines subsidiary American Eagle filed an average of 13 mishandled-bag reports per 1,000 customers in April 2007. Delta’s subsidiary, Comair, filed 12 per 1,000, and airlines traveling to Europe ranked even worse. With stats like those, chances are pretty good that your checked luggage will wind up missing.
That said, you can’t always avoid checking your bags. So, here are a few things you can do to beat the system…
- Mark your bags with more than just luggage tags. If your bags don’t show up at baggage claim, you’ll want to be able to say more than "It was a black, zippered bag on wheels." Luggage tags are hard to read from a distance amongst a sea of other bags, so a bright ribbon or a colorful luggage strap will help airline employees identify yours.
- Put a copy of your itinerary with your name, phone number, and e-mail address inside your luggage. This way, the airline can find you even if you change hotels mid-trip.
- Make a list of what to pack before you pack. This will not only help you keep your packing lean (you won’t be tempted to pack things not on your list), but when a bag goes missing you’ll have a list of items in that bag should you need to make a claim.
- Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Pack some essential clothes in your carry-on, and then the rest in your checked bags. By putting a couple of outfits in each bag, you’ll have something to wear should one go missing.
[Ed. Note: Lori Allen is Director of AWAI's Travel Division. For more tips, sign up for AWAI Travel's free e-letter, The Right Way to Travel.]
It’s Good to Know: About Keyboard Shortcuts
You might already know that Control+S saves the file you are working on, and that Control+O opens a document. But there are hundreds of additional useful keyboard shortcuts for common PC tasks that you can use to boost your productivity. Here are just a few shortcuts for various systems and applications:
In Windows
- Control+Z: Undo (any program)
- Win (this is the Windows logo key)+E: Open Windows Explorer
In Windows Internet Explorer 7
- Click the scroll wheel (if your mouse has one): Open link in a new tab
- Alt+D: Select the address bar
In Office Outlook
- Control+1: Switch to mail
- Control+N: Compose a new message
- Alt+S: Send
- Control+Shift+A: Create an appointment
Mozilla Firefox
- Control+D: Add bookmarks
- Control+Shift+T: Reopen previously closed tab
(Source: Smashing Magazine)
Imagine if There Were Only 6 Numbers to Choose from When Buying a Lottery Ticket!
Wouldn’t that be great?! Of course, the fewer the choices, the more likely your chance of success, right?
How many choices are there when buying and selling shares? Errmm… a LOT! Hundreds… One of the reasons I enjoy such consistent success from trading is because I only have 6 options to choose from! Except this is even better in a way, because the lottery is pure luck…
… I only have 6 choices AND have a VERY good idea about which choice to make because of the insider signal.Click here to learn more…
Word to the Wise: Sanctum
A "sanctum" (SANK-tum) – from the Latin for holy/inviolable – is (1) a sacred place or (2) a private place or retreat.
Example (as used by Tim Parks in Mimi’s Ghost ): "What’s more, the babble of radios, televisions and raised voices from the other households in the condominium rarely penetrated this sanctum."
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Michael Masterson
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2007
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