It takes guts to dream big when it comes to money, especially if you’ve come from a poor or middle-class background. And, while not all of us want to drive a Porsche or wear Chanel, most of us want to see our dreams come to fruition. Often, those dreams require money to be fulfilled. If like me, you put a lot of heart, soul and hours into your business, and you want to know that you’re seeing some rewards. Those rewards may include the ability to be creative, to share a vision, to run a great company or to learn and grow. But, unless you’re taken care of financially, working hard to make a living may prove to be arduous and dissatisfying. Wealth, according to bestselling author Kim Kiyosaki, requires delivering a product or service that someone is willing to buy. Whatever you have, she explains, is the result of what you do.
Three things to DO, in order to HAVE.
In her new book, It’s Rising Time!, Kim explains three things to DO in order to HAVE. They are those three areas in summary:
- Aspire: Create the dream (the vision) and be clear on what you want.
- Acquire: Acquiring the knowledge, studying, getting mentored are all steps of gathering the skills and information you need in order to act.
- Apply: Putting what you’ve learned into action is the final, and arguably most important, step. Kim claims that many women get the first two steps right, but fail to take the third step, they fail to take action.
Here’s a free except from the book that goes deeper into the Aspire, Acquire, Apply model.
My story of ‘aspire, acquire, apply’
At 26, and with little experience behind me, I started my first business, Pow Wow Events with my partner Peter Johnston. We sold the business 13 years later. And, while selling the business was a huge accomplishment (many small businesses are never in a position to be sold), what was great about the transaction is that we weren’t relying on the money for our financial security. (I’ll explain why in a little bit.)
In our 13 years of business, we had good years and bad years. In the end, we had more good years than bad, but the early days, especially, were really tough financially as we struggled to define what we were good at, what we could do that was profitable and how to maintain a sustainable level of income and to grow. Here’s how Kim’s three steps to HAVING played out for me:
Aspire – to great work
Even though I didn’t know how we’d do it, I did have a vision for building a successful business that would make its mark in the area of education and transformation. For 13 years, we brought to Australia great speakers and thought leaders on all sorts of subjects, many of them innovative and new. We worked extremely hard to be the best we could be and to change the lives of as many people as possible through our work.
Acquire – knowledge for personal and professional gain
As much as I enjoyed introducing these speakers and experts to Australia, my own education was expanding as I learned how to run a business and also took on and learned from each of the experts we were representing. Wins on all sides. I had to learn how to hire staff, to market, to do media interviews, to create newsletters, to write, to write manuals. I acquired a lot of knowledge on how to run my business. And through access to great mentors and experts, my own knowledge about business and investing was growing.
Investing in knowledge about investing
One of the biggest and most useful things I did for myself in those years was to learn about investing. I’m not a numbers person, naturally. But, the vision of creating a passive income appealed to my over-tired and over-worked self. And, we were teaching clients about investing and had to be in integrity with the information ourselves! Like many business owners, we invested a lot of the money the business made into growing the business. We hired new staff, upgraded premises and equipment, saved a little, spent a lot and bought things we really coveted. In 1996, we read a book called Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. I’d known Robert from having been a student in his courses but this book and the way it simplified finances created a huge wave of hope and possibility in my life. I could see how I, on what was then an average income, could start to create wealth through investing. Robert has gone on to sell millions of books and create great wealth through his real estate, and we were business partners for many years. He’s been a great mentor. However, it’s his wife Kim who has been the greater role model for me when it comes to money. Kim is self-taught in investment and finances and has encouraged millions of women to take control of their own financial future, separate to their (often male) partners, and to really understand how to create wealth.
Apply – take massive action
When we bought our first investment property, it was Kim who had shared her story of how much her hands were shaking when she did her first real estate transaction, whose words were etched in my mind. And it’s Kim who has gone on to dedicated years and energy into supporting other women in creating wealth, and for that I have the greatest admiration for her. PJ and I have made investment a core part of our business and it’s what we both love. And, business was the vehicle for funding those investments and will continue to be. After committing to investing our business income into other assets, we started to reap the rewards of financial freedom – we could see a way out of the rat race of being stuck in a business forever. We could sell or walk, when we were ready to. As business owners, we have the wonderful advantage of being able to take advantage of business tax law, to refuse to put a ceiling on our income. But, few of us take some of the money we earn and put it where one day, if we choose to stop working in our business, we will still have a passive income. I’m really excited to have Kim as our guest on a webinar on 22 February to talk to women about her new book. If you want to rise up from where you are today and go from where you are to where you want to be financially, I’d like to invite you to join me for this webinar. If you’re ready to have your business start to reward YOU with financial freedom, then join us on 22 February. You’ll find more information about the It’s Rising Time – Reach Your Financial Dreams webinar here. I hope you can join me. Best wishes, Suzi
