From Flat-Broke to Financial Freedom: How to Get Started When You Have No Money

[MJ DeMarco]

I see this question a lot here, and posted in a lot of introductions.

How do I get started when I have no money and no skills?

I made a video to answer...

Also there's an update on my next book near the end of the vid!

Enjoy, and if you're broke with no skills, I hope it helps you!

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

A pattern I find is that as you ascend the stairs, you start seeing opportunities in whatever process you engage in. So not only is it about skill acquisition and elevating rate of pay but engagement in the market so you can see where potential "specialized unit" opportunities might lie.

I wish you'd do them more often!

I'd like to!

 

[Andy Black]

Below is a great podcast I’ve linked to over the years. I believe it’s relevant.

Basically:

• Learn a skill.
• Sell the skill.
• Scale the skill

These are like MJ's steps 2-4.

I’ve always said I’d flip burgers if I had to (except flipping burgers wouldn't pay enough to cover the bills anyway). That’s step 1. Nothing wrong with working a job while you build up to the next step.

The podcast:

• www.tropicalmba.com/services

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

People who need this advice the most, will not like it the most.

But I want to launch the next Facebook! Will you do the code while I sit back and play World of Warcraft?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Wow! Very true. Excellent explanation of the steps to climb. I know people who are frustrated and are struggling a lot because they've started at the top of the stairs.

The unadvertised benefit as well is this ... exposing opportunities for "specialized units", the top step, is uncovered as you climb the bottom steps.

People who say, "I have no ideas!" is because they haven't taken the bottom steps and are looking only at the top one.

 

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[sonny_1080]

I see this question a lot here, and posted in a lot of introductions.

How do I get started when I have no money and no skills?

I made a video to answer...

Also there's an update on my next book near the end of the vid!

Enjoy, and if you're broke with no skills, I hope it helps you!

Thank you MJ that was a great video.

For anyone who is broke with no money and no skills, I highly suggest this thread as well:

GOLD! - Getting started is this simple...

After seeing the upteenth thread where a new member says "I decided to go fastlane, but I have 10 dollars and am eating a raccoon I hit with my '94 Mercury Tracer right now to stave off starvation," or "I read TMF but tell me the exact steps and don't leave anything out," I decided that...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

Here's a quick rundown of my experience as it relates to this video. Hope it helps somebody:

I had a job before COVID hit and when everything shut down I thought it'd be a great time to learn a "fastlane" skill.

I remembered when I started a garage cleaning company (specialized labor) at 18 years old. It was as simple as throwing what I needed in a truck and knocking on doors. Made $500 in about 8 hours.

Since then, I tried a few other ideas that I had over-complicated. It came down to helping people (shoutout to Andy Black). So fast-forward to this quarantine. I decided to learn digital marketing (specialized skill). Since Andy put up so much free content on the forum I thought it'd be stupid not to soak it all up.

Took me about a month to get confident enough to join a business networking group. It's been about 4 months and I've basically replaced my income from my job. More importantly, my time has freed up because I work about 60% less and I don't have a 2 hour commute there and back. Not to mention all the other benefits of doing my own thing.

I have a tendency to look too far ahead and make unsustainable changes. MJ, thank you for the reminder to make sure I have my foundation squared away before I move forward.

Currently, I'm trying to think about how I can transition into the specialized unit step.

One step at a time!

 

[Ravens_Shadow]

Pretty much followed these steps to a T over the past 8 years and can confirm that this is how it goes. Great video and reminder!

 

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[Kid]

People who need this advice the most, will not like it the most.

 

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[Brightchikezie]

Thanks so much MJ DeMarco for changing my life and destiny with ur books and videos on YouTube .....
I'm a 20 years old boy from Nigeria and a student of mechanical engineering and currently learning motor mechanic all thanks to you for changing my mindset and its really affecting my everyday life positively but I promise u I will come over to America one day to see and thank you cause you are the father and chancellor I never had and I will be grateful cause I know that soon the world will hear about me cause I'm coming to the top.

 

[Andy Black]

Great video MJ. I’ve shared it a bunch already.

I like how it starts with doing whatever it takes to pay the bills, then slowly increasing effective hourly rates till we divorce our earnings from our time altogether.

 

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[Hai]

I registered on the FLF in 2015. In the past 5 years I kept trying to build a business without foundational income(lets say...denying a well-paying job, solo developing apps, games, writing a book, importing cheap products from china, passion projects etc. etc....you got me there MJ )
A lot of miserable days of fear, pain, doubt, euphoria and terror again.
Back then it was the right thing to do, for me at least.

It required a moment of being driven into a corner to realize that a spezialized job is the right next step. There is no other way.

I believe this will make absolutely everything easier, opening opportunities never there before.

I just recently started working on my skills again to get a well-paying job.
Then making more income by freelancing and having the OPTION(not the necessity) to execute all those awesome ideas for a fastlane business.

The next 5 years will be even more incredible. I´m hungry and the nitro boost is activated.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Great freaking video MJ. Regarding the book will we be able to pre-order though Viperion?

Not sure entirely yet how I'm going to reward the early adopters, but if you're on the list, you will be first to know.

 

[RoadTrip]

Excellent video for starting AND succeeding entrepreneurs.

I have been on this forum for a long time and have had my ups and downs and multiple failed business in those years.

My current (country specific Amazon) marketplace business is generating a good cash flow and growing steadily but it's just that: a marketplace. No Entry or Control whatsoever.

So I have been on some soul searching the past few weeks. Specifically looking at what kind of person I am (Myers Briggs test), what I enjoy doing and what comes easy/natural to me. Instead of looking at types of businesses which come naturally to other persons, I am now only looking at what I could do well. And what I enjoy doing.

I think self exploration would really supplement your video on how to start from zero. One shouldn't look at other people but instead turn inside and look at what one does best. And move up that ladder always having that end goal in mind.

Of course, some people have no idea what they like most so they should just start with anything. In that case I would at least suggest to take a Myers Briggs personality test.

 

[MTEE1985]

I see this question a lot here, and posted in a lot of introductions.

How do I get started when I have no money and no skills?

I made a video to answer...

Also there's an update on my next book near the end of the vid!

Enjoy, and if you're broke with no skills, I hope it helps you!

Great freaking video MJ. Regarding the book will we be able to pre-order though Viperion?

 

[Strm]

Great video as always, @MJ DeMarco ! I wish you'd do them more often!

I skipped steps 2 and 3. I saved some money from my job as a carpenter/builder enough to start slowly with step 4. But then again, as I've been doing it for almost 6 months now, I have more knowledge on product sourcing, marketing, e-commerce as a whole etc. Which can be used for the middle steps if I choose to.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Interesting article which Cuban basically, in so many words, reflects on his walk up the stairs as reflected in the posted video. ... it all started with a specialized skill, an investment into one's self.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/05/mark-cuban-this-is-the-best-investment-i-ever-made.html

 

[100ToOne]

Beautiful man.

This should be 'mandatory' to watch after accepting Terms and Agreement's page on this forum. I should watch this at least every week.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Also, why do we have in step 2 or 3 to go out and clean some cars etc on top of our job. For example I consider myself having quite a specialized skill (work as a senior analyst in finance, hourly rate much more above the $50 shown in the video). Why would I have on top of that to go out and clean some cars for example? Why can't I now have an idea, contact different manufacturers to help me conceiving the idea etc?

The video isn't for you -- its for people that have NO MONEY and NO SKILLS. Wasn't this clear in both the video title, and the video itself?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

John and I have very similar takes on wealth. I make a cameo in this video as does TMF .

It does have significant upselling, but the video concept is kinda funny.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYooEOLOvMI

I still don't understand the difference between specialized labor and specialized skill.

Specialized labor: I can pull all the weeds in your yard for $200. It takes you 4 hours. $50/hour.
Specialized skill: I can build you a brick fence around your garden for $2,000 -- it takes you 3 days or 20 hours. You made $100 hour.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Something odd is going on...

If you watched the video, I announced some info on my new book complete with an advance list for more information.

But in the last hour, these email registrations have jumped up to nearly 1 per minute. I checked the analytics and saw nothing unusual ... no jump in views, no virality, nothing to attribute to the sudden spike.

An interesting mystery!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I have a serious question sir. Is it the same content as this video below?

You mean this guy?

Entrepreneur sued for alleged failure to pay rent on West Vancouver home

Dan Lok, a wealthy entrepreneur and financial guru, is being sued for allegedly failing to pay rent on a home in West Vancouver.

vancouversun.com

I have no clue, I don't watch guru videos nor do I plan to start.

That said, Mr. Lok has stolen shit straight out of my book (a book I wrote more than ten years ago) without of course, giving any credit for it. How do I know? Multiple reader emails. Of course, that doesn't surprise me...

Incidentally the "execution multiplier" that Mr. Lok generously borrowed from me was straight from Derek Sivers, who I did in fact, properly credit in the book The Millionaire Fastlane .

The guru cult industry is filled with schemers and ethically bankrupt assholes.

I was curious if sales is a "specialized skill" in your mind?

Sure, but you can only take that still to sell your own specialized unit.

 

[ACR]

Wow what a fantastic video, so well made and clearly explained. After reading your previous books it was also great to actually hear your voice. Thank you sooooooooo much MJ for all you are doing. You will never know just how much you have helped me and thousands of others too. Thank you!

 

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[Bruno Calisso]

I was going to skip the video and I am very glad I didn't, it is a brilliant and fresh summary of the path to the Fastlane, I will keep the video in my favorite files as a reminder of the steps I have to follow to achieve my dreams.

Thank you MJ.

 

[RocketRose]

Great video. I agree about seeing opportunities as you assend the ladder. I have the skills but my lack of confidence was always a sticking point. I am now putting myself out there more and connecting with other writers and entrepreneurs.

I always kept connections with the college I did my Professional Masters in Education and was always happy to support open days for new students. I didn't realise at the time but it has directly led to me being offered a Research Supervisor role (I have a PhD from way back) and the great thing is that it is all online and really flexible. This gives me a few bob to keep me going and isn't labour intensive. I still have plenty of time for homeschool and keep knocking away (with serious intention) at my entrepreneurial pursuits an hour or two before the kiddies get up each morning.

 

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[Sharona87]

I see this question a lot here, and posted in a lot of introductions.

How do I get started when I have no money and no skills?

I made a video to answer...

Also there's an update on my next book near the end of the vid!

Enjoy, and if you're broke with no skills, I hope it helps you!

Thanks for this! Based on this explanation, turns out I could easily climb up to the specialised skill step, but I'm so distracted by achieving the specialised unit step... Food for thought about where my specialised skill might sit. I think I might be inadvertently working on it already!

My spirits are lifted, I'm not as lost as I thought!

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I thought you had mentioned in the INSIDERS call that it wouldn't be part of the unscripted series (title wise) ?

I reevaluated and figured that I should stick with my original intent.

 

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[Cyberthal]

I suppose we can now all agree that dropshipping a random commodity is bad advice for newbies.

 

[PizzaOnTheRoof]

I registered on the FLF in 2015. In the past 5 years I kept trying to build a business without foundational income(lets say...denying a well-paying job, solo developing apps, games, writing a book, importing cheap products from china, passion projects etc. etc....you got me there MJ )
A lot of miserable days of fear, pain, doubt, euphoria and terror again.
Back then it was the right thing to do, for me at least.

It required a moment of being driven into a corner to realize that a spezialized job is the right next step. There is no other way.

I believe this will make absolutely everything easier, opening opportunities never there before.

I just recently started working on my skills again to get a well-paying job.
Then making more income by freelancing and having the OPTION(not the necessity) to execute all those awesome ideas for a fastlane business.

The next 5 years will be even more incredible. I´m hungry and the nitro boost is activated.

I think I'm the same way. I'm just so undisciplined and not passionate enough to fully commit to any of my ideas. I always end up quitting before I even start.

Since COVID, I've been learning web development to get a decent paying job so I can breathe a little, then work on my idea on the side.

Unfortunately I'm having trouble finding a job but still holding out hope!

 

[Deleted78083]

Hey,
I have always been really scarred to get a job, but you're right in the video, a business can't get started if one doesn't even have resources for food and shelter. So after turning down an opportunity, I thought about what you said in the vid and sent back an email to say I had changed my mind and was interested in the job eventually, and I got it. The job is in Poland, so it pays very little, but it enables me to survive and motivates me to start developing a specialized skill if I hope to make more money. I guess it's a start. It's really scary, and really uncomfortable, and you know what? It feels good.

Thx MJ,

M.

 

[Xav243]

The video isn't for you -- its for people that have NO MONEY and NO SKILLS. Wasn't this clear in both the video title, and the video itself?

No, title and video were clear but somehow I thought it was just applying to step 1. Had the impression that once foundational job is checked, you go along with others climbing the stairs step 2, 3 & 4.
But now it is very clear.
I guess I am too tired, close to midnight where I am. Thanks for the clarification MJ