Module 2: Making Money in the 21st Century
Value to the Marketplace
Jim Rohn, a motivational speaker, teacher and millionaire, says it clearly:
“We get paid to bring value to the marketplace. It takes time… but we don’t get paid for our time, we get paid for our value.”
I spoke with a local Thai businessman about bringing value to his marketplace. He liked the concept, but felt he lacked anything of value to offer.
What he offered might have been valuable, but a million other Thais also offered it!
His competition was overwhelming because his customers could find the same services in so many other places.
The truth of the matter? He struggled against a saturated market.
It’s Economics 101!
When supply is greater than the demand, the price goes down. When demand exceeds supply, the price goes up. A person may have skills, knowledge, and abilities, but because they are shared by so many others, there’s no unique, individual, or personal value to the marketplace!
Let’s keep moving forward . . .
Take the time to develop yourself and discover what value you can offer.
You must study and learn. You must focus on achieving proficiency in certain abilities, tools, and skills to improve the value you bring to the marketplace.
That’s what I did! I started my online business a few years ago, though I knew little about it. My area of expertise was the printing industry, but my 40 years of experience held little to help me online. I felt like I was starting over! In truth, I was! Scary.
Here’s a personal story that really opened my eyes!
A few years ago, I talked with my father back in the USA about some teaching and training he’d done many years ago. He wanted help to put it into a format that others could access. In the course of our conversation, I told him to click on a link I’d sent him to access my Google Drive account.
“Dad, just copy and paste, or you know, drag and drop your info into my Google Drive, so I can download it here in Thailand.”
Alert! Warning! Communication breakdown!
He didn’t know how to do it! He didn’t know how to click on a link to access to my online storage. Even after I’d walked him through it, my dad still didn’t have a clue about what to do!
Then it hit me!
A few years ago, I was in the exact same situation. I wouldn’t have known, either! Back then I was just as clueless as my father!
Since that conversation, I’ve focused on increasing my knowledge, my understanding, and my ability to do what was previously beyond my skill set.
I’ve expanded into online sales with products and services, computer processing technologies, and marketing strategies. I’ve learned how to take advantage of Google services like Google Photos, Google Drive, and Google Analytics, to use FTP to upload files, to create hosting sites, websites and memberships.
A few years ago, these terms were not even in my vocabulary!
Now I can honestly say that my online education, my engagement of what I’ve learned, the trainings I’ve put together, and the people I’ve helped, has expanded my value to my marketplace exponentially. I guarantee I did not get here by magic!
It was eye-opening to discuss with my dad what I felt were basic elements of computers and internet navigation. I have to give him credit though – he was 84 years old!
That incident vividly illustrated to me the wide gap between what some people know about computers and the internet, and what they need to know to function with success in the online space.
If you know how to navigate through websites and surf the web to find what you’re looking for, you’re already light-years ahead of millions of other people.
One of the main purposes of this training series is to help you take your First Steps towards increasing your value to your marketplace.
When you lay a foundation of value, you create trust and open the door for your customer to seriously consider what you have to offer.
Trust + Value =
?????
Trust + Value = Sales = Money In Your Pocket!!
Here’s another question every First Stepper wants to know.
“What’s the quickest way to start making money online?”
George McBride, my guru-ific online mentor had an excellent answer for this question.
“I do not like this question!”
Great answer, George. Why?
“First, the emphasis is on being quick. Many ‘newbies’ put speed over quality and value, only to end up further behind than when they started!
In other words, they lost money! They invested with no follow through.
“Second, this question implies trying to avoid the work, effort, and strategy it takes to make money online. From research to execution and everything in between – it takes blood, sweat, and tears. People asking the question are in search of a magic button.
There’s no magic button!”
So Guru George, you have a better question to ask?
“With the resources I have available to me now, what can I possibly offer to others in exchange for money?”
Thank you, George! Sounds like a good follow-up to Jim Rohn’s words: “We get paid for bringing value to the marketplace. It takes time, but we get paid for our value, not our time.”
Ok, enough talk. It’s time to answer George’s question.
1. Grab your favorite beverage and put on some inspirational music: classical, jazz, K-pop, or head-banging, heavy metal – whatever tickles your fancy. (Silence also works.) Sit down with your favorite beverage and a pen and paper.
2. Ask yourself George’s question.
“With the resources I have available to me now, what can I possibly offer to others in exchange for money?”
Consider your past jobs, occupations, education, and life experiences. Now list the qualities, skills, and abilities you have which might be of value to someone else.
3. Below this list, make another list of the weak areas in your skills or abilities that you need to improve.
4. Now get out your mental crystal ball that can see into the future. Make a list of the qualities and skills you would like to have in the next 12 months from today. This is your “to-do” list.
5. Ask yourself one more question.
What can I do now to bring greater value to people I meet and connect with?”
Start now. Don’t wait. The world will not wait for you. Waiting invites life’s interruptions to choose your destiny and priorities. Work on your to-do list by learning and then engaging what you have learned.
6. Post this to-do list in your brain, on the shower wall, in the refrigerator, on the ceiling above your bed, and hang it from your rearview mirror.