Why am I here?

[Sparlin]

The other day I was wondering what my purpose is for being here at the fast lane. It occurred to me that is a rare opportunity in that so much time and advice is given freely by people who have no obligation too. By all rights, the information shared here is of such quality that subscription fees would be warranted. In the past, I’ve worked in environments where I’ve seen financially successful people. My experience is that they rarely lend themselves to be advisors unless you are already close to their level of success (Exception to Amway… they won’t leave you alone J). So in that respect, I want to thank those who facilitate this website and donate their time to it.

So now the question is, “What have I learned so far?” Although I’ve seen other places reference these concepts (usually just before you send them $19.99 + S&H), I think this forum develops them better. So I would like to list what I’m getting out of this.


Life is Short: Essentially, you’ve been taught your whole life that in order to be successful, you have to follow a certain formula. It consists of working for 30 plus years, investing in mutual funds, and achieving goals set by others. Only then are you entitled to enjoy your retirement.

The Fast Lane approach teaches that life is short, so that should be a motivation to work smarter. Limitations imposed by “normal” thinking only hinder your progress. One should not be afraid to try new business ventures and step out of their comfort zone.

Your Time is Valuable: most people don’t think in terms of, “Is this job worthy of my time?” Instead we are preconditioned to think we owe hours for compensation.

The Fast Lane approach is to make the most profit while utilizing the least amount of time. This is largely done by creating systems. The more automated a system is, the easier it is to manage and collect the profits from it. Systems could range from a coin operated car wash requiring only an hour of maintenance daily to a fully automated website which collects revenue through ads or selling e-books. Another concept of systems would be to create a product or service that could be mass distributed through franchising. Again, the goal is more profit for less work.


Dream Big, but don’t Day Dream: Why do you think people spend millions of dollars on “Get Rich” programs. It’s because they get consumed with a wonder lust that tells them they can earn tons of money by essentially doing nothing. Even though I may sound like I’m contradicting my “time is valuable” point, I don’t think I am. The concept advocated on infomercials is to just take a few easy steps and the money will pour in. This may work sometimes, but is generally the exception rather than the rule.

I believe the Fast Lane concept is that good systems do take some time and effort to develop, especially ones that reflect quality. One may have to invest time initially into a project, but success is reflected when little maintenance is required to keep it running. By putting in your time at first, you’ll be getting paid more for your time later. I hope that makes sense. Even Rock Stars have to spend hours practicing before getting paid millions to sing a few songs.

Additional note: having a good understanding of a system, can help you navigate through it quickly and yield more profits. For example, take someone who is familiar with real estate laws and procedures. He will most likely be able to use that knowledge advantageously when acquiring investment properties; much more so than the average Joe who knows nothing of it.

Stay Focused: This is my Achilles Heel. My A.D.D. allows me to come up with some “home run” ideas, but I rarely take the time to learn how to bat. One should set a goal, develop a plan, and STICK TO IT. Don’t let distractions derail you from your original goal. Run with it until you either know it won’t work or until Bill Gates is calls to ask for a loan. Sink or swim, but stay on task.

Lose the attitude! : Too many times we allow set backs or lack of self confidence to steer us into failure. Even family and friends contribute to our overall attitude regarding our ability to succeed. It’s been said, “You can’t change your family, but you can change your friends.”

Surrounding yourself with positive minded individuals will help focus your mindset to that of success. I have a friend who if I told him that the earth is about to collide with the sun, he would just smile and tell his stock broker to invest suntan lotion. Optimism rubs off, but so does pessimism.


Profitable paths: At least at this forum, it seems that many people have been successful through website development, e-books, drop shipping, real estate, and franchising. I’m sure there is more, but those are the ones that stand out to me.


So far these are the concepts I’ve learned here and in life experience. If I’ve overlooked any big ones, please comment on them.

 

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[Runum]

Good job breaking it all down to simple terms Sparlin. You have learned well. ++++speed

 

[yveskleinsky]

Great post ++rep!

Just out of curiosity, what investment vehicle interested you before you came here and what interests you now? From what you have learned here, do you plan on changing the way you proceed?

Keep us posted!

 

[20art]

Yes thankyou to every contributor on this forum so much information is here like candy in a candy store. I've been away quite a bit but I'm glad to know it's still here with all of the wisdom we can get.
Thanks Sparlin good post. This part made all sense I really like it...

By putting in your time at first, you’ll be getting paid more for your time later. I hope that makes sense. Even Rock Stars have to spend hours practicing before getting paid millions to sing a few songs.

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_ :groove:..positive attitude

 

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[Sparlin]

First of all, Thanks! I appreciate the comments. I have to give credit to Kwerner for some of it. Although I was familiar with the talking points, he helped bring them into focus in recent weeks.

Great post ++rep!

Just out of curiosity, what investment vehicle interested you before you came here and what interests you now? From what you have learned here, do you plan on changing the way you precede?

Keep us posted!

I’ve had several interests through the years, just not the will power to follow through with them. Past interests include flipping properties, trading on the FOREX, opening a small brick and mortar, and drop shipping.

I am still working on a direction, but I think I know what is most suitable for me right now. I’ll list the ideas and try to explain my train of thought on them.


Drop shipping: This is probably the route I will take first. I’ve had limited experience with it in the past and have researched the idea heavily. I am already set up with a service that supplies wholesaler contact info along with market analysis. I would probably develop a content rich web page which should help to funnel in “warm” traffic (sales conversions).

Although a little time is required daily, the advantages are that it is almost completely automated and requires me to carry no inventory (storage). The disadvantage is that it’s difficult to find the “perfect” niche market and a product that offers a good profit. Profit margins tend to drop significantly after regular shipping and drop shipping fees are added by the wholesaler.

E-books: I have considered writing two types of e-books. The first type would be instructional based on my current job. I may even try to include some videos to illustrate various sections of it. I know I have a market, but it may be saturated. I need to do research before proceeding.

The second type would be fictional work. I think this would be more of a hobby than a serious pursuit. I may rank well as an amateur author, but don’t know if I could make a marketable book that would support the “Fast Lane” objectives. I have even considered making it into a subscription type of service which would allow members to subscribe to sections of it a time (evolving plot) and allow them to blog and discuss possibilities before the next release.

The advantage I see with E-books is that once they are done, they are fully automated (at least I think so?). My disadvantage is that I don’t know the first thing about creating them and more importantly how protect them from piracy. I’m pretty sure some of those topics are addressed here; I just haven’t gotten that far yet.

Brick and Mortar / Franchise: I’ve considered opening a brick and mortar store after I’ve researched suitable products. My preference would be something more than a kiosk, so perhaps an inline store at a mall or shopping plaza. The advantages are that you are doing something tangible and can see the benefits of your labor fairly soon in most cases.

The disadvantages are that you are more or less creating a “job” for yourself. I would consider something like that to be more of “Quick Lane” mentality rather than a “Fast Lane” venture. It’s not a slow lane per say, but has the potential to become one if bogged down by obstacles such as a poor market (location), low consumer confidence (bad economy), mismanagement, and other factors.

There are additional advantages. If you can get it going to a point that your employees can sustain it with minimal input from you, and it yields a profit, then you may be on the track to the fast lane. Building it into a profitable franchise would be the ultimate Fast Lane goal in my mind. That’s the hard part. It seems that most small business owners spend their lives stuck somewhere between the “slow” and “fast” lanes.

I think of it like starting a fire by rubbing two sticks together. If the conditions are right, you can get it going and it will spread rapidly. On the other hand, if you use damp wood or don’t try hard enough, you may just be wasting your time.

Real Estate: This is my ultimate goal. If you own land, you have an asset that will provide income regardless of market trends. People will always need a place to live, if you offer affordable housing on a large scale you should be able to profit nicely. Many people here already know this.

The disadvantage is that with tenants comes the responsibility of managing the properties. From what I can tell, one should expect for about 50% of rent to go towards property and employee expenses. I’m not sure if a hotel or an apartment is more profitable, but I have worked in the hotel industry years ago so that would be beneficial.

The bottom line is that I believe e-commerce offers the more efficient and affordable way to start my path down the Fast Lane. Diversifying my plan using other methods such as property ownership just adds financial security. As to how I plan to use the advice here, I already feel inspired to try again and am learning that persistence does pay off. There are countless examples of that throughout the forum. I’m very grateful there are those willing to teach us the “how to” and “what to watch for” in all of these areas. I’ll let you know once I get a plan in action and would welcome any advice that is offered. Thanks again to all.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Bravo, what a great post. Speed+

By putting in your time at first, you’ll be getting paid more for your time later.

The crux of the Fastlane is this concept ... sure, some might think I mean "go start a business" but not exactly ... I really mean "go seed, plant, and harvest a money tree" ... because after that tree matures, it bears the fruit of life by way of passive income.