You've Got $10...
T
he very first thing I want you to do with that $10 is to
put it back in your pocket.
In fact, you can go ahead and spend it if you want.
We really don't need it to get started.
You honestly didn't think I was going to take your $10 did you...?
All kidding aside, the reason we don't really need it now is because you already have the internet.
I assume you're ready to work.
We're going to start with just two questions.
- Where are you at?
- Where are you going?
Because...
"If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there."
- Lewis Carroll
We'll use two tools to help us get the most out of these two questions. First, we'll use an expense report. Then, we'll use a balance sheet.
Question 1: Where are you at?
Let's create an expense report.
Click to download the 10-10K Workbook
Don't have Excel? No problem. I've tested this in the OpenOffice (free download) and it works just fine.
Now, take a look at the sample expense report, and then fill in your own numbers.
Just enter all your expenses and costs in Column A and B.
The Daily, Monthly, and Yearly Total columns will automatically be calculated for you.
I've also included an auto calculating "My Current Need Scenarios" section. This will show you how many products at $X you would need to sell in order to have all your current expenses replaced by passive income.
So, using these sample numbers, if Benny sold just 50 products for $67 each, he would cover his current monthly expenses.
That might seem impossible to you at the moment...after all, you just have $10.
But hang on...
By the time you are finished working through the steps, you'll see how achievable it really is for you.
Now, look at the bottom of the Workbook.
Click on the "Where Are You Going" tab
Question 2: Where are you going?
Now we get to have some fun.
This is my favorite part...
Enter in your income sources in Column A and B. The rest of these columns will update automatically.
How does it look?
If things turn out like this sample data, it's not looking great right now, which explains why you're feeling a lot of pressure and stress.
Let's fix that.
Remember, we're on the "Where Are You Going" tab of the workbook. So it's time to do a little dreaming. (Which we will later turn into a reality, step-by-tiny-little-step) :)
The first thing I want you to do, is add a new passive income source to the Passive Income section.
Like this...
Did you see it...
Notice what happened to the Monthly Cash Flow total? It went up.
Now, in our case, Benny the construction worker is in really bad shape, but we're about to change that for him.
Now you have a decision to make.
It's entirely a personal decision, and there isn't really a right or wrong answer.
How many passive income sources would you like to create?
Notice, I didn't say "How many passive income sources are you going to work on simultaneously. That never works. You need to FOCUS. However, you can certainly choose to focus on one passive income source at a time, until it meets your vision/goal and then work on another one."
BUT...some people choose to just create one or two, while others love the excitement of creating many different sources, in totally different areas. I'm in the latter group, but you may not be.
So, for this example, we'll just assume that Benny has lots of different ideas for making passive income. After doing this exercise, here is what Benny's income statement looks like.
Now, you already know what Benny is going to do next, don't you?
Yep, you guessed it.
Benny just put in his two week notice. And he's going to take the week off with the family and head out in the family van to Yosemite National Park. A week worth of fresh air, fishing, and fun is just what he needs. :)
Pretty cool, huh?
Do you think that's crazy?
Be honest.
Do you think you can do it?
I do.
You might wonder why I would "tease" you this way.
What's the point?
There are two very important reasons why we have filled in this workbook:
- I want to give you some hope. I want you to see exactly where you are at right now AND what you could do to get where you need to go. If you're like Benny, you just want to generate enough passive income to not be chained to a 9-5 job you hate or be controlled by the whims of some corporation.
- I want you to stay focused. If you're like Benny (and me), the thrill of the next project is always trying to pull you away. By simply creating this list, you can say "Benny, you're going to focus on your 'Fishing crowd' passive income until you get it to $375 a month, and then you can focus on starting that new Rare books website."
Make sense?
Now, I'm thinking you might have one more question.
"What's with the 'crowd' part?"
Glad you asked. :)
We could have just as easily said "website" or "blog" or "podcast" or "product".
The reason we use the word "crowd", is because I never want you to forget that you're working with real people. Lots of them. They have mothers and fathers and sons and daughters. They have happy stories and sad stories and joys and pains.
Which is why you absolutely must master D-V-B.
In fact, if you mess up D-V-B, you'll never make a dime.
Seriously.
