Thursday, May 14, 2009

FINANCIAL EMANCIPATION

Pick people at random in any city - and ask them to make one wish. Chances are that financial emancipation will feature near the top of the list. Why do we cravemoney so much when money is not an end in itself? It is a conduit to our ends.

Society programmes our minds to think thta, in order to obtain money, we must work for corporations, institutions or multi-nationals.

Most of us end upworking in jobs for wich we have no passion and talent, and our skills and God-given ability stay locked up as potential withing us. Success and fulfilment are derived by realising your God-given gift, and developing it. It's often easier to pick the straghtforward option, but many years later, all we will have are visions of what could have been.

A high number of us are fed up with our jobs. It is not just a British or an American problem; it is a global issue.

We work to eat, pay bills and buy clothes; to be able to afford the lifestyles we wish to live. But work also provides us with an intangible return; a sense of accomplishment, and entitlement to a reward for our effort. It's a stange phenomenon. Even given a task you don't particularly enjoy, there's a pleasure in completing it to a high standard.

This can be thought of as the spiritual component of work, and not in any religious sense. "Spiritual" in the sense of relating to the ethereal; the soul. Rewarding work nourishes the soul, while drudgery numbsit.

Exiting the 9-to5 grind frees us of such burdens, but the responsibility that accompanishes that privilege is not to create drudgery for others. While we may cease to work for others and become your own boss, we will probably need to employ staff. It is important, therefore, to discuss spiritual and social responsibility, both for our own benefit and for that of our potencial employees.

The capitalistic notion of the purpose of a business is simple: profit. But a good business does not merely earn fiscal profit for its shareholders or proprietors, it also injects something of value into society and the community. The large mega-corporation or multi-national enterprise lacks any allegiances - it is "souless".

We have a responsibility to create stable enterprises that balance individual and collective goals. Particularly, as individuals, the corporations we create have the power to provide employement in a country that desperately needs it.

We can build local expertise, tap local knowledge, and create traditions... all of these have spiritual value and make one's work more satisfying.

So as we consider our exit strategies from 9-to5 jobs, let's keep value in mind: ethical and moral values, social value, and recognising an individual's
value to the organisation.

Friday, May 1, 2009

KEEP YOUR BUSINESS ON TRACK

There is nothing more rewarding than having your small business exceed its growth expectations. However, without careful financial planning, profits could be lost just as easily as they are made. Follow some of these valuable tips to ensure your business survives:


  • As soon as your business starts raking in a steady income, enlist the services of a small business financial planner.

  • Save for your your retirement outside of the business because you can never predict what will happen down the road. Also have some kind of succession plan in place in case anything happens to you.

  • If family members are not involved in your business, create a document to map out how the business works and who the key players are.

  • Discuss your plans with family members: you may think that your daughter is the natural person to take over, but she may have totally different ideas about her own future.

  • Talk to key management and inform them of your wishes in the event of your death, especially on the issue of who succeeds you. Disgruntled management can and will make life difficult for your successor.

  • Hold regular board meetings and include your potential successor. This will make for an easy transition in your absence
"A BILLION HERE, A BILLION THERE, SOONER OR LATER IT ADDS UP TO REAL MONEY."