Groupon has grown to be one of the leading websites for coupon deals, discounts, and coupons. The basic idea for consumers, is that they can register at the Groupon website, and receive deals and discounts in their region or country. These deals can be virtually anything, from a massage to a stay in a hotel, car rental deals or a dinner at a restaurant. Consumers have the option of buying the deal, which will remain valid for a year, and to cash in the deal during that year.

For consumers, these deals can be very attractive. But what is going on behind the scenes? How are these deals being made, and what are the benefits and risks for both consumers and businesses? Read the rest of this entry →

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I stumbled today on an interesting video from The Morning Show on YouTube. It is posted by Cameron Johnson, and it focuses on teenagers, who became wealthy to very wealthy by having great ideas and being passionate about it. I don’t really want to spend too many words on it at this point, here it is:

I find this video extremely inspiring, and actually there are four key points which have gotten my attention:

Passion

Whatever you’re doing, you need to have a passion while doing it. Without passion, you may do things correctly, but you will not be able to deliver the highest possible service and quality. I find passion is the first quality it takes to become truly successful. Additionally, having passion in what you do makes it fun, and you create the willpower to continue going.

Put yourself out there

It’s okay to read through some theory sometimes, for example on how to write a business plan, or how to do you accounting. But the most important thing is to put yourself out there and just give it a shot. Spending too much time on theory might actually be very demotivating, since all the theory is so overwhelming. In the end, you’ll learn what you need to know throughout the process. Additionally, if you have a business idea that might be great and could work, just do it in stead of finding reasons why it should not work.

Start small

“I would immediately start a business, if I had the capital to do so”… I hear many of my friends saying this (including me from time to time… but I am improving). Starting up a business does not have to be expensive. Think about starting up an internet business, or an eBay business, or writing an eBook. Also, being a consultant of any kind does not need to be all that expensive. Many businesses can be started small, and built from there.

Have a mentor

Many millionaires come from families, who are businessmen themselves. As such, they already have a mentor. If you don’t know anyone who has his/her own business, it does not necessarily mean you cannot have a mentor. There are so many great books out there, written by well-known personalities such as Donald Trump or Richard Branson. Or how about Carlos Slim Helú. You might not know these people for real, but you can still read their biographies and learn from their lives.

I find this video very inspiring, and very refreshing that as an adult, I can still learn one or two things from people who are half my age. And I surely hope, that these people will keep inspiring the world with their stories in future also.

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We all hear that it’s important to go the extra mile if you want to advance your career, just to do a bit more than what is asked of you, and stand out of the crowd. But what does it mean exactly, to go the extra mile?

In short, going the extra mile means doing everything that is in your power, to make people and your company benefit from your experience and knowledge. Naturally, you should be good and thorough at your job, but going the extra mile means doing things, which are not necessarily part of your job description. It means replying back to people earlier than necessary, it means pro-actively contacting colleagues or customers to provide information that may help them, it means volunteering for a project that it not part of your ‘business as usual’.

People who go the extra mile stand out of the crowd, because they have that little extra. They will usually not leave the office at 5 p.m., just because it is 5 p.m, or refuse to do a bit of extra work because they are not being paid for it. Doing just a bit more of what is asked might not necessarily pay out immediately, but it does increase your chances of advancing your career in future.

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I finished reading CASHFLOW Quadrant, by Robert T. Kiyosaki yesterday and I feel a bit obliged to write about it. On the one hand, because the book is partially filled with incomplete information, being too vague, and for some part promoting illegal practice (e.g trading stocks based on insider information), on the other hand because the book still does make some good points… and it’s a great motivational book by the way. I know, I know, when I read my first book of Robert Kiyosaki, I was quite positive about him, until I did some further research on the topic.

The Cashflow Quadrant basically describes four different quadrants, which characterize how people earn their money. Without wanting to go into too much detail, the left side of the quadrant represents employees and self-employed people, which count for around 80% of the world population and possess about 5% of the wealth on this planet. The right side of the quadrant represents the 20% of the population possessing 95% of all wealth: business owners and investors.

This means, that people on the left side of the quadrant are putting time and effort into a businesses, which are owned by people on the right side of the quadrant, and they get a small fee for doing so. Therefore, the one and only way to reach true financial freedom is to switch from being employed, to owning a business or becoming an investor.

The CASHFLOW Quadrant is not only a great motivational book, but it highlights a way of thinking, which most people are not familiar with; it tries to pull people away from their inner reality, which is usually to work hard and make a career at a large and noteworthy company, and to give them a taste of what life would be like if they would mind their own business, in stead of someone else’s business.

Robert Kiyosaki does give some real life examples, such as investing in real estate and then having someone renting it to pay back mortgage. Additionally, his advice is more based on psychology and ‘attitude matters’, than on the science of doing business.

Still, one phrase which caught my attention was ‘Mind Your Own Business‘. Relating this to what I read in the CASHFLOW Quadrant, and relating this also the all the negative criticism, I give it two meanings:

• Reaching true financial freedom and exceeding the living standards of the average working population (this last phrase is important to me, as some people might find an average employee’s salary as satisfying) means building my own business and investment activities; it means that the time of work I put in my activities is detached from my earnings, and it means that I should be minding my own business, instead of someone else’s business.
• Having greater confidence in my abilities, especially in my abilities to learn by doing. It is very easy to gain more and more, and even more information from various books, mentoring sessions, or coaching seminars… but many so-called gurus’ main business is just being a guru. Knowing this, I find greater potential in myself to select information I can truly learn from, from recognized authors in their field, and to take small steps towards building wealth and learn from that.

Mr. Kiyosaki seems to be under the attack of many criticists, obviously not without reason, claiming that Robert Kiyosaki is a motivational speaker rather than a refined business man, and fully incapable of providing financial advice. If you want to read more about criticism on Robert T. Kiyosaki and his work, you can visit John T. Reeds site, or the article ‘Rich Men, Poor Advice’ on the Wall Street Journal.

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