Easiest way to increase your salary and/or increase your business profits

CHANGES TO BLOG
Thanks for all the comments that you guys have been emailing me.  Due to overwhelming feedback, I have made the following changes:

– the blogs will contain more business related topics.  I will still contain personal updates but these will come more sporadically (and of course I will still provide cute pics of Obi and Ethan!)

– I have allowed anyone to comment on my blog posts now.  So, instead of emailing me the comments, feel free to comment below in the comment box instead

Ok… so back to the main topic of this week:

EASIEST WAY TO INCREASE YOUR SALARY AND/OR BUSINESS PROFITS

Are you looking to increase your salary or increase your business profits?

So what is the easiest way to do that?

Before we go into the steps for incremental income increases, we must look into how income increases occur in the first place.  Note that this applies to both jobs and businesses.

The basic law of free markets and capitalism states that you are always paid for the VALUE that you bring to the marketplace.

Please don’t confuse this with being paid for your time.  You are really not paid for your time but instead for the value that you contribute during the time you spend working.

– A manager earns more than the secretary because he brings more value to his company; which is part of the total marketplace
– The VP of the company earns more than the manager because he brings more value than the manager.
– A successful business owner earns more than the money losing business owner because his business brings more value to his customers and marketplace.
– A successful home business owner (such as a Diamond Director, etc) is paid incrementally more than the new associate because he brings more value to people and marketplace.  He has to help his team earn more… or he has to change more lives with the products he sells.

So… if value is the MOST important thing to increase your income, then the big question is HOW DO YOU INCREASE your value?

HOW TO INCREASE YOUR VALUE
The easiest way to increase your value is to increase your skills and knowledge in your industry.  As you increase your skills, you will  be more efficient, you will come up with better ideas and you will learn to lead and manage people better.

HOW TO INCREASE YOUR SKILLS
Next Question: So how do you increase your skills?

As the famous late business philosopher Jim Rohn once stated, “Formal education makes you a living but self education makes you a fortune”

Unfortunately most people decide at an early age that once they are done with school and get their degree, that they are done with education and ready for the work place.  The truth is that once you are done with school and graduate, that is when the REAL EDUCATION begins.  There is a reason why graduation is called “Commencement” (the start of something new) and not “Finale” (the end).

2 WAYS TO LEARN
There are 2 ways to learn:

1) from experience – the long and hard way

2) self development – the shortcut to learning

Most people rely on experience only and take the slow track.  They will learn but experience takes years and time is wasted.  There are also occasions where will learn if the company sends you to “training” and “classes” but these don’t happen frequent enough.

FAST TRACK TO LEARNING
But my question to you is why take the slow route or rely on the company to determine how fast you will grow and your income will grow?!  Instead take the fast track!  Invest in self development and grow faster.  Remember,

“Formal education makes you a living but self education makes you a fortune”

Combine what you learn from your self development with your experience and you will be on the fast track to providing more value and increase your income!

Some people say that buying books, courses and attending seminars is expensive… that is true but it is even more expensive to not grow and lose out on the income you will earn once you increase your value.  It is interesting to note that those who complain about the cost of self development or that they “don’t have time” are the ones that need it the most and not earning the income they want.  On the other hand, I have never met a successful person who did not invest heavily into self development.

With great technology such as audio books on your mp3 player or digital books on your iPad, online blogs, etc, there is really no excuse on having “no time” for self development.

HOW TO DOUBLE YOUR INCOME IN A YEAR

One of the best advice I got in 2004 was from business coach, Brian Tracy who taught me that if you want to double your income in a year, all you have to do is study your industry for an hour a day.  I took his advice on Jan. 1, 2005 and it works.  None of my success could have occurred without self development.

Today, I am still learning… cause it is so much fun!  I don’t necessarily agree with everything I learn but the subjects always expands my horizons and my thinking.  Some books I have read the last 2 weeks:
– Social Media 101 by Chris Brogan
– Inbound Marketing by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah
– Magnetic Sponsoring by Mike Dillard
– Attraction Marketing by Ann Sieg

And currently reading Tribes by Seth Godin and Free: Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson

The best part of self development is that it never ends and it is not confined to just business and career.
Self Development expands to your personal life and other areas
… and the more you learn
… the more success you have
… the more fun it gets
… and the more you discover new treasures
… and ultimately the better life you live

You learn to live life better and get more out of life!

So what are you going to learn today to help you increase your value and your income?!