Financial Plan for 2009

Individual households and businesses have a majority of their attention on how to cut expenses, but that will not improve your financial situation during a recession it will only ensure that you get further behind. You must find ways to increase revenue for your household and your business as this is the only way to improve your financial situation. The economy is not going to help you and the Government will not bail be able to bail out the common man.

It is critical that your money, energy, resources and time be invested in projects that have the potential to add to the revenue to your household or your company. If there is no potential to add revenue DO NOT do it. If it has the potential to drive revenue, sales, or income do it and do it over and over again.

Also do NOT pass on any opportunity to drive revenue even if you have to make allowances that you would not have considered in other years. We are in a "new world" and it may require for you to do some things you would not have done in the "old world." This may include the price you are willing to accept for your product or service or even a job you may have to take to keep moving your finances in the right direction. Don't let your pride or earlier fixated ideas get in your way of keeping the flow of income moving in the right direction!

Also, you have many resources other than money and they need to be leveraged; time, focus, attitude, willingness, work ethic, creativity, your family, your name, reputation, connections, and more. The recession has not affected your most valuable assets but you must use them.

In 2009 be willing to do the following:

1) Do those things that other households or businesses are UNWILLING to do. Go where others will not go and do what others refuse to do. Those that do, will survive and those that do not, will find themselves in a worsening state of financial affairs. Maybe the kids need to contribute by washing cars or your employees are following people home in order to make "the sale". Be willing to do what others are unwilling to do so that your financial situation doesn't go backwards.

2) Seek out problems to solve. Most people retreat in the face of problems when the reality is that problems are opportunities. Those that solve problems for others in the upcoming year will be rewarded. There is no shortage of problems which means there is no shortage of opportunities. Let's say you have a vacant foreclosure in your neighborhood. Bring together the other neighbors and create a TIC, (tenant in common), and purchase the house and rent it out. This will protect your neighbor, the pricing of your real estate, provide all of you with income and position you and your neighbors the potential for future profits.

3) Keep your attention on what you can do to move yourself, your family and your business forward regardless of what the economy or the government does. You can only cut your budgets so much before you will realize that you have to produce in order to protect yourself. What you focus on is what you get. So stay focused on what you can do!

Grant Cardone, Author of Sell to Survive

Follow Grant Cardone on Twitter: www.twitter.com/grantcardone

Comments

[b160allen]

FInally some actual advice that makes sense in today's market. No one has ever become wealthy managing expenses alone! This article isn't suggesting that you already have tons of resources available. It is urging you to go out and create those resources. If you don't know how, find someone who does. Being productive not reactive will be king in today's economy. This is much better advice than to live in the fear that most media outlets today suggest that you live in.

[Kache]

'The situation is excellent, chaos is everywhere, opportunity abounds'. That was the telegram Zhou Enlai sent to Mao Zedong in 1934 when the Red Army had been defeated by the Kuomintang Army in Jiangxi.

[PhilipTaylor]

A GREAT OPPORTUNITY:

Bank Automation Equipment as Banking itself is downsized over the coming years to reflect its far less important place in the Economy! Funds directly from the Government instead of through BANKS and their overhead!

Unlike the complexity of manufacturing Banking is a series of well defined formulas and databases that are easily linked together via the Internet and ATMs. So automation is much easier and controls can be built in to avoid illegal activity and violation of laws!

[abbywts]

You don't think people have been doing this stuff? Ever been to Michigan, or parts of Ohio? You think people have been sitting on their asses all day just complaining? According to you, they're wealthy with lots of problems to fix. By that logic, I'd be healthier with a gunshot wound.

There's at least two things I don't understand:

One, why wouldn't cutting your expenses make a positive impact on your financial situation? You've got money to save, invest, or spend on long term needs, or hell, short term ones like food. I can see having both an increase in revenue and a reduction in unneeded expenses the best case of all, but...

And this part: "Maybe the kids need to contribute by washing cars or your employees are following people home in order to make "the sale". -If someone tries to follow me home, I can assure you that not getting a sale is going to be the least of their troubles.

[Artemis34]

Cost cutting can be counterproductive. You can not create disposal income without income as an individual. You can't create margin without revenues as a business.

It is sad to say that most people don't have a concept of the value of their time and / or cannot do a proper cost benefit analysis.

You could sell something you no longer need for $50 in one hour. Or you can use that same one hour to try to "save" 3 cents. Which is the better use of your time?

[humeliberal]

Frankly, I find sitting around boring. I don't understand how others can just plant themselves in front of a book or the television. They say an idle mind is the devil's playground. I believe it. If we're to get out of this mess, we'll have to take our losses and keep moving forward.

[humeliberal]

Good post Grant. I love working. I have one full time job, and I'm looking for another. Last week I made my teenage son get a job. My wife works as well. What's wrong with that good old Protestant work ethic? Some us think the world owes us a favor. Don't whine--work. Don't be reactive--be proactive.

[humeliberal]

Right on Grant. Your positive attitude is inspiring. I work a full time job, but I just applied for another. I made my teenage son apply for a job last week. Too many of us think the world owes us a favor. It all goes back to that good old Protestant work ethic that the free enterprise system is based on. Our entire liberal system depends on this. Don't be reactive--be proactive.

[MrJoyboy]

You can try selling apples or pencils on a busy street corner.

[noam4prez]

The point of this advice seems to be: stop whining and get a job. In other words, blame yourself for the recession. Pay no attention to those capitalists who are throwing thousands out of work. And above all, don't look to your elected representatives to fix anything. The invisible hand of the always-fair market will fix everything, unless you don't work hard enough at your non-existent job.

[abbywts]

That's what I got from it, too. Some bizarre modern day Horatio Alger.

I will say that some of the advice is, purely from a practical standpoint, sound. The government is of the wealthy and by the wealthy for the wealthy- and we're free to fight over the crumbs, and unless Obama brings in some major changes, I doubt very much the average person will get any more consideration than they did during the last eight years. So of course you will have to work, that's what us suckers have to do.

[lenzorizzo]

Gee, I think I'll dig up the change from the couch cushions and buy the house next door.

[RetireGreen]

4) Adapt your Product or Service:

I originally created my company, Green Retirement Planning, to encourage people to live a green or low consumption lifestyle. By living a green lifestyle before and during retirement, an individual can retire earlier and with less savings, than is possible with traditional retirement planning.

Then I realized the economy was about to collapse, and Green Retirement Planning was going to be needed to save more than the planet, it would be needed to save people their retirements.

Currently I am using the Green Retirement method and formula, to create a free layoff prevention tool that will soon be available, to help corporate and government H.R. depts. prevent or reduce layoffs. And I am streamlining the product and process, so that I will be able to offer my product for $89, as opposed to the present price of $359.

Companies that survive will be the ones that help their customers save money.

[schmuckwithearlaps]

I think the author has left out one important part of the equation. People have lost their ability to trust.
Bernie Madoff was a creature of his feeder-funds by which hundreds if not thousands of investment advisors made billions of dollars by giving people and institutions bad advice. People now understand that the investment advisor industry has largely been a fraud. Who do you trust? The MSM scapegoats the figurehead at the top of the ponzi-scheme, not the countless people who pocketed billions.
Why buy an American car when the car companies may be gone in six months? Who do you trust?
Is this the kind of climate in which people will band together with their neighbors to buy and rent property? Not until the thin veneer of civilization is restored to the American people.

[Trebor1]

living wage = wage where a person can support himself and his family in health and reasonable comfort and decency and make provision for old age and ill health. For a family of four in most of the United States, probably 50-60k per year, more in NY or LA, less in Mississippi or Arkansas.

[ChristianEcon.com]

"I think the time has come to shift the thinking from Union vs Non-Union. It is too devisive."

Class war is like that--divisive. As long as wealth is concentrating, power in numbers (unionization) will remain highly relevant.

[yodaveg]

"If there is no potential to add revenue DO NOT do it."

That might be the most shortsighted advice I've ever seen. I'm going to keep on volunteering in the community. It will generate no revenue. But imagine if we stopped investing in making life better for others.

[yappnmutt]

1. the best fishing is where other fishermen won't go. the easiest holes are fished out because that's where everyone stops. a hundred yards either way sometimes brings the best results but you won't know until you try.

2. there are no problems. there are only solutions. anyone can come up with problems. only a few people have the solutions. be the solution, not the problem. don't be afraid to let someone else help with their hands or their minds. assume your way is not the only way.

3. if you want a raise create more revenue.

attitudes to have to take control of your life. excellent post.

i would add one more. the key to driving me crazy when i hear them. don't make excuses for failure. learn why you failed. it requires being brutally honest with yourself. self delusion is a disease. cure it.

[Artemis34]

I like fishing. So far though, I have not been able to persuade master card to accept my salmon jerky in payment. :-) BTW, I know you aren't literally talking about fishing.

The problem is your starting point going into this crisis. If you've been fired because you are sick, then you are just engaged in a struggle for survival.

Looking for the positive and for possible constructive actions are more useful than just having a pity party.

I'd like to see some more practical and concrete advice. Like creating the local money, at least to keep the value in town.

In Argentina, during their last economic crisis, laid-off workers occupied and operated the plants that laid them off, getting their own customers and making their own sales.

And to the car dealers that are complaining about lack of financing for their customers, I say get some skin in the game. Most dealerships are owned by the wealthiest families in the communities, they should do their own customer financing! They can band together to pool their risks.

[spamalot]

Advice is right on. Solve problems, both yours and your customers, what can you do to make your business better or serve your customer better!

Cut where you have to, move on to different venues. I've done it all year. Found some niches that work that I wasn't using as I was going with the "volume" advertisers and paying a premium. Went with the smaller guys who I came across at a venue over the summer, and they did what they said they would do, at 25% savings and increased my revenue and customer traffic along the way!

We'll continue to look ahead at future opportunities for growth and development. The economy is not going to remain in the tank forever! I'm looking to position myself for the growth cycle!