Last week, I wrote about the layoffs at my firm.  As I said, two of my friends were laid off.  Just a few days ago, one of those friends (on his first day as an unemployed 20-something) sent me and a few other people the following e-mail:

“Hi all, I just wanted to let you know that I am in my PJs at home, reading a good book, and as happy as I have been in two years.”

Isn’t it funny how we (the employed) are the ones who find ourselves miserable, trudging to work day after day, for that all-important paycheck, and he (the unemployed) is the one who is “happy”?  Now, granted, he got a severance package, so he has a bit of a buffer before he needs a paycheck again.  Nevertheless, that money will run out, and he will need to find a source of income.  And, yet, he’s happy. 

Although that may seem surprising, I’m not surprised at all.  The reality of not having to work, no matter how short-lived, is a reality worth striving for because it liberates us from the monkey on all our backs . . . otherwise known as a J-O-B.  The day we don’t have to work is the day we can pursue interests and ventures that truly reflect who we are.

Take my friend, for instance.  Because he doesn’t have to work, he can wake up in the morning and choose whatever he wants to do.  It could have been anything.  And so he chooses to read a novel.  That activity (and not coming into the office to push paper) is what he would choose on any given day if presented the ability to choose an activity. 

With jobs, we don’t have that ability.  But he does, and he chose something that reflects who he is.  Moreover, that activity will help him dig down and realize his own potential.  Jobs often prohibit us from doing that. 

Which is why, if you want to achieve true wealth, you should be looking for ways to get rid of yours.   

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A good friend of mine sent me a message on Facebook the other day asking, “What’s the deal with flimjo.com?  You still doing that, or have you moved on?”

My answer: No way.  I’m still here.

Indeed, I haven’t posted on here in a month.  It certainly isn’t because I’ve abandoned this blog.  Rather, a lot of things have been going on in my life in the past month, and I have had literally no time to gather myself, get on here, and post. 

In short, this is what’s happened:

1) My day job has been hell.  When you work 60 hours per week, it’s tough to do much else.

2) My wife is having our second baby, and we’re preparing for that.

3) I’ve had to travel a bit.

4) I’m working on a website for a business I recently incorporated, and that’s taken up a lot of my spare time.

5) I’m pursuing other employment in a different industry, and I’ve had to put together numerous writing samples for them to look at.

Now, my job, my personal life, and my other side projects have never prevented me from posting on this blog.  However, the economic downturn illustrated to me that, in particular, I needed to buckle down at work because, right now, that’s what pays the bills.  I didn’t want to jeopardize that, so I started working harder, putting in more hours, and, in general, just focusing on my work stuff.

My fears were realized when, this past week, my firm laid off about 10% of its lawyers.  Thankfully, I survived. 

That wasn’t a shocker for me.  I knew it was coming.  The reality of it, however, was sobering.  Two of my good friends were among those who got laid off.  It’s been a rough week.     

Nevertheless, these events and this economy have rejuvenated me a bit.  Now, more than ever, I want to emphasize how important it is to diversify your income and develop streams of passive income.  No job is secure in this economy.  Not one.  Even local government entities are laying off people. 

I don’t want to go into a long monologue here, but this country has to get back to its entrepreneurial roots.  We need to emphasize financial intelligence.  We need to learn how to manage our money.  Individuals need to maximize their skill sets and start businesses, instead of relying on finding “safe” and “secure” jobs. 

I’m currently turning up the heat on that website I’m working on.  I’m also going to increase my efforts on other projects.  I’m going to get back to posting on this blog, and I’ll be writing about all my side projects and elaborate on the ideas I touched on in the previous paragraph. 

Bear with me as I work out my writing schedule.  I know, previously, I had promised to write on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.  I’ll outline a schedule in the coming days and let everyone know what it is.

For now, thanks for reading.    

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The gloom and doom of the stock market seems to make everyone depressed.  But before you launch yourself into that destructive mindset, ask yourself the following question: When you look around yourself, what do you see?

Some of us see scarcity, and others see opportunity.  Unfortunately, that distinction corresponds to the gap between rich people and poor people.  But why?

Our Surroundings

Every day, we experience various things.  We see ourselves in the mirror.  We watch the news on TV.  We read the newspaper.  We read blogs.  We listen to the radio.  We interact with family, friends, acquaintances, and co-workers.  How someone perceives each of these experiences tells us a lot about them and their attitude. 

The Pessimist

The Pessimist sees scarcity.  This person looks in the mirror and sees an employee.  When he watches the news, he groans at the high level of crime in the country.  She reads the newspaper and panics about falling housing prices and the impending recession.  He reads blogs and sees other people making money except him. 

She listens to the radio and doubles over in pain when she hears about the falling stock market.  During his interactions with family, friends, acquaintances, and co-workers, he sympathizes about how there isn’t enough money; talks about the eroding value of the dollar; expresses frustration about his job; and cries about the falling value of his 401(K).

The Optimist

The Optimist sees abundance and opportunity.  This person looks in the mirror and sees an investor, a business owner, or an entrepreneur.  When he watches the news, he focuses on ideas for solving the high level of crime in the country.  She reads the newspaper and thinks about how to profit from falling housing prices and the impending recession.  He reads blogs and networks with other people who make money that way, intent on forming lasting business relationships. 

She listens to the radio and thinks about to hedge herself (through investments in oil companies, commodities, hard metals, etc.) against the price of gasoline.  During his interactions with family, friends, acquaintances, and co-workers, he emphasizes that there is an abundance of money in the world; talks about buying silver and gold to protect himself from the falling stock market; expresses relief about not having a job and, instead, owning a business; and exposes the myth about the ”value” of someone else’s 401(K).

They Are Looking At The Same Things

The irony in the differences between these two individuals is that they are looking at, listening to, and experiencing the same things.  The catch is that, where one sees scarcity, the other sees opportunity.

The Result of These Differences  

The one who sees scarcity–the Pessimist–will never succeed beyond the hollow achievements of his or her job.  These people will never grow because they will never take their true talents, their passions, and their potential and channel and maximize them through a personal venture–like a business, an entrepreneurial effort, or even a website or blog.

The one who sees opportunity–the Optimist–will inevitably succeed over and above the pale laurels of a job.  These individuals will grow because they will take their talents, ideas, passions, and potential and leverage them into a variety of business and investing ventures.

Who are you, and what do you see? 

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I thought I’d take today to let you all know about some changes coming up with this blog.  Nothing major.  Just some house-cleaning and administrative tidbits.

Design Changes

I’m working on a new blog theme, and I hope to get it up in the next month.  This one, while nice and basic, has had a good run.  The next design will be much more unique and attractive. 

Posting Schedule

I’m shortening my posting schedule.  From here on out, I will be posting on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.  The Flimjo Recap on Sundays will continue. 

Since this blog’s inception in January, I’ve been posting every day.  I never thought I’d find the material to accomplish that, but, miraculously, I’ve pulled it off. 

However, in the past couple of months, I’ve taken on some other business projects on the side.  In short, they include three BANS sites, the launch of another blog, the creation of a sports-related membership site, and a user-generated information site. 

As some of you know, I also work 50-hour weeks as an attorney. 

I’ve decided that I’m spreading myself too thin, and I’m afraid that future posts won’t be very good if I can’t dedicate enough time and attention to them.  So I want to shorten my posting schedule so that I can focus more on producing good, quality posts rather than making sure I get a post up every day.

Goodbye To YouTube Fridays

My Friday post won’t be a YouTube video.  I thought this was an interesting experiment at the beginning, but the posts haven’t attracted as many readers and comments as I hoped.  So I’m ditching the YouTube posts and replacing them with full-fledged, regular posts.

Flimjo Recaps Will Continue

As I mentioned above, the Flimjo Recaps will continue.  I like those because they help my readers recap the week, reward commentators, and spread some link love. 

That’s it for this update!  If you have any questions, ideas, or anything else, e-mail me at robert@flimjo.com.

When creating a product and building a business around that product, a critical juncture in the process is coming up with a slogan that (a) conveys what your product is about and (b) attracts consumers.  There are many famous ad slogans that drive home this point.

Thus, I figured I would put together a list of the 15 most famous ad slogans I found across the Internet:

1) Just do it.  (Nike)

2) Tastes great, less filling.  (Miller Lite)

3) Always Coca-Cola.  (Coca-Cola)

4) Melt in your mouth, not in your hands.  (M&Ms)

5) Diamonds are forever.  (DeBeers)

6) Where’s the beef?  (Wendy’s)

7) Breakfast of champions.  (Wheaties)

8) We try harder.  (Avis)

9) We bring good things to life.  (General Electric)

10) Think different.  (Apple)

11) Good to the last drop.  (Maxwell House)

12) 1000 songs in your pocket.  (Apple Ipod)

13) Look Ma, no cavities!  (Crest)

14) Don’t leave home without it.  (American Express)

15) I’m lovin it!  (McDonalds)

If you want to succeed with your product and your business, your ad slogan should be short, crisp, and convey a lot more in quantity than the number of words you choose.  These famous ad slogans should be your model. 

I’m sure there are others out there that belong on this list, but these were the ones I thought were the best.  If you have any others, include them in the comments below!

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I came across a very interesting article on Yahoo today.  Its title is 10 Things Millionaires Won’t Tell You, and it lists some particularly revealing thoughts and ideas about so-called “millionaires.”  It discusses everything from the fact that a lot of millionaires shop at Wal-Mart and clip coupons to the idea that an education isn’t the most important asset in building wealth.

I wanted to point out the three most important things I took from this article, all of which are related to posts I have written on this blog:

1) Millionaires Build Their Own Business.  The “most common path” to becoming a millionaire, claims the article, is “running your own business.”  I couldn’t agree more.  You can buy stocks, invest in mutual funds, save a whole bunch of money, and even buy real estate, but none of that will get you into the millionaires’ club.  (Well, real estate will, but it will take you some time.)  Instead, building your own business will get you there, and it will get you there quickly.

About “half of all millionaires made their money” by building their own businesses, states the article.  As for the rest: “About a third had a professional practice or worked in the corporate world; only 3 percent inherited their wealth.”   

2) Millionaires Pay Less Taxes.  Since millionaires build their wealth through ways other than regular employee income (e.g., building a business), they gain certain tax advantages. 

First, they make the majority of their money through capital gains and dividends.  Thus, they pay less taxes on their income (i.e., long-term capital gains taxed at 15% vs. middle-class employee wages taxed at 25%).  And because they pay less taxes, they keep more of their money . . . and build wealth faster. 

Second, because the rich own their own businesses, they can deduct everything related to it.  One such example, which I have written about on this blog: ”Landlords can . . . depreciate their commercial properties and expenses like mortgage interest.”   In addition, ”there are . . . tax shelters, trusts and other mechanisms the superrich use to shield their wealth.” 

It’s amazing how much money you can make when you don’t have to pay as much taxes as employees do.

3) Education is Overrated.  “According to the book ‘The Millionaire Mind,’” states the article, “the median college grade point average for millionaires is 2.9, and the average SAT score is 1190.”  Hardly Ive League material.  “In fact,” notes the article, “59 percent of millionaires attended a state college or university.”

That doesn’t mean that you should ditch school.  The point is that an education may get you a great job, but then what?  You can earn a large salary, but that alone won’t make you rich.  Building your own business, on the other hand, will.  And you don’t necessarily need an education to build a business. 

Get the education, but don’t rely solely on it.  Develop your entrepreneurial mentality, follow your passions, and take some risks.

Read the rest of the article here.  It’s very insightful.

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My friend and I are in the middle of trying to get up a sports-related, membership-style website.  Neither he nor I know one lick about how to design a website, so we looked around for someone to get the site up for us.  This brought me to several issues and questions that I thought would make for a good blog post. 

Where do you look for website designers?  How do you settle on one?  What factors do you use to select a designer or a company?  How do you wade through all the puffery and sales talk?

Here are 6 tips for finding a good website designer:

1) Familiarize yourself with key terms and topics.  To select the right designer or developer, you need to help them understand what you want.  In this regard, it helps if you can define what you need.  So familiarize yourself with words like “database,” “interface,” “data integration,” “visual design,” etc.  A certain level of understanding of these words and related concepts will help you communicate with potential designers.  The crucial element in figuring out which designer is best for your business is helping them understand whether or not they can get the job done. 

2) Review a designer’s prior work.  This is a no-brainer.  When you hire a nanny, you usually call and consult references.  When you apply to rent an apartment, the landlord will call your previous landlords and find out whether or not you were a good tenant.

Do your homework.  When you visit a website design company’s site closely review and examine its past work.  When you talk to a designer, ask to see their prior work.  Put in the effort.  That way, there will be no surprises in the end.

3) When reviewing a designer’s prior work, don’t be fooled by an attractive website.  Just because a site looks attractive doesn’t mean it works for you.  A site can be one heck of a flashy adventure, but the interface might be horrible.  It’s like falling for the good-looking jock who doesn’t have any brains. 

A website needs to function adequately and efficiently.  So don’t just look at its visual design.  Click on various links and items.  See how the website works.  If it sells a product or service, are those products or services laid out well.  Is the site clear?  Is it easy to purchase them?  Is it user-friendly?   

4) Use word of mouth.  My friend and I found a designer through an organization my friend was a part of.  He had seen his work, liked it, and suggested we talk to him.  Often, this is the best way to go.  A recommendation from a friend, acquaintance, or business associate is an effective way of finding someone because you get an honest and fair assessment of that person’s work.  You can also use word of mouth to find out how to find a designer or design company.   

5) Interview potential designers.  A telephone or face-to-face meeting is crucial in this process.  I prefer face-to-face.  You have to feel out and figure out the person or persons you might eventually hire.  This helps you get a sense of a person or company’s knowledge, work ethic, competence, ability to address challenges, and diligence.  Just because a lot of business is transacted over the Internet nowadays doesn’t mean that you should do everything over e-mail.  The ol’ face-to-face meeting and telephone conversations are still a priority and help build a long-lasting relationship.

6) Do online research.  Once you have narrowed down your potential designers or design companies, Google them or research them online via other methods (like social networking websites or LinkedIn).  Find out what others have had to say about them and what kinds of reputations (if any) they may have.

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I was looking around on YouTube, and I found a very interesting interview that Tom Brokaw did with Warren Buffett. 

It’s about 5 minutes long.  If you watch it below, you’ll see that Buffett points out the astounding fact that he pays a lower tax rate than his receptionist and his employees.

Apparently, in 2006 (I think), his tax rate was 17.7%, and the average tax rate for his office was 32.9%.  Buffett’s taxable income was $46 million.

Buffett has been a proponent of overhauling the tax system for quite some time.  He thinks a result such as this one is unjust.  But put aside this issue of whether it’s unjust, and try to figure out why Buffett (one of the richest people in the world) pays a lower percentage in taxes than his employees:   

 

Buffett’s tax rate is lower because he is a business owner, not an employee.  Sure, he is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, but he is also its largest shareholder.  As its largest shareholder, Buffett enjoys two significant tax advantages that his employees do not:

1) Dividend Income and Capital Gains.  Buffett earned the majority of his $46 million on dividends and capital gains.  The top tax rate for capital gains is 15%, and the tax rate on dividends is 15% as well. 

2) ”Only” a $100,000 Salary.  A fraction of Buffett’s $46 million in income is his “salary” of $100,000.  Buffett’s salary is lower than most CEOs.  The government taxes his salary at rates ranging from 15% to 28%. 

Buffett enjoys these advantages because he is primarily a business owner and not an employee.  He criticizes the fact that the tax system allows this result.  Nevertheless, it’s the system we live in, and it encourages people to start their own businesses and invest their money.  Entrepreneurship and investment drive our economy and help us prosper.

In addition, owning your own business provides significant tax advantages that enable you to grow your own wealth.  One of the biggest reasons employees cannot get rich is because they have to pay so much in taxes to Uncle Sam.  Starting and growing a business takes you out of that framework and allows you to develop passive income that isn’t taxed like earned income.  Paying less taxes helps you keep more of your money, and it helps you get rich quicker. 

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I couldn’t help but talk about a major lesson that needs to be emphasized in the wake of Tropical Storm Fay.

That lesson is the importance of attaining passive income. 

As you probably know, when a storm like that hits (even if it’s just a tropical storm and not a hurricane), you have to deal with unanticipated problems and issues.  Because I’m from South Florida, I’ve experienced my share of hurricanes and tropical storms (including Hurricane Andrew back in 1992).   

The issues that arise when a storm hits can range from annoying to downright painful.  You may lose electricity.  Trees can be uprooted.  You can have gas shortages.  Windows can break.  Roofs can be blown off.  Businesses and jobs can fall into jeopardy.  Flooding.  You name it.   

It’s not a pretty picture.  Your whole life can be thrown into disarray, and if you don’t have financial security, you’re in for a load of trouble. 

This financial security doesn’t simply come from having money saved up in the bank.  Rather, you need a consistent and steady stream of passive income.  Here are just two reasons why passive income is necessary to protect yourself in these types of situations or in any disaster-scenario situations (like a terrorist attack):

1) Insurance doesn’t cover everything.  I have homeowners’ insurance, but it’s not like I can rely on it to cover all the expenses associated with damage from a storm.  For instance, we have a high deductible with our policy . . . something like $6,000.  That means that, if our roof blows off during a storm, and we need $30,000 to replace it, the insurance company will only cover $24,000.  We are responsible for $6,000 (our deductible). 

Do you have $6,000 sitting in your checking account?  Are you willing to put $6,000 on a credit card?  Do you have enough space under your credit limit to do that?

In addition, insurance covers our home, not other expenses that may arise, like pricier gasoline, staying in a hotel (so that we don’t have to deal with 90-degree heat in a house without electricity or air conditioning), removing uprooted trees, etc.  If gas jumps from $3.79/gallon to $5.00/gallon or $6.00/gallon, some people will be in a load of trouble. 

2) Jobs may not be safe.  I work for a large international law firm in a tall skyscraper, so it is unlikely that, if a hurricane rips through here, it would jeopardize my job.  But the majority of people work for smaller businesses, or they might be self-employed. 

What if you are an office manager for a local doctor’s office, and a storm destroys the office complex where the doctor’s office is located?  What if, without revenue for one month (as the doctor finds–and spends money finding–another location to see patients), the doctor cannot pay you? 

What if you own your own dry cleaning business, and a storm causes massive flooding in your area?  You can’t get to your business because the flooding prevents you from driving to it.  Other people can’t get to it either.  After 2 weeks, as the waters recede, you finally get there but find that your equipment is damages.  You have to order new equipment.  After another week, you’re finally back up and running.  But you can’t jump start it because people who normally come in and give you business are out taking care of their own problems that resulted from the storm. 

Can you go one month without income?  Two months?  The majority of people live paycheck to paycheck.  The security of a job vanishes in these types of situations. 

If, however, you had developed ways to make passive income (like owning a rental property, income from membership-style website, or ebook sales, etc.) and had, say, $1,000 or $2,000 per month in consistent passive income, a disaster like a storm, flooding, or a terrorist attack wouldn’t affect you as badly as other people. 

A steady stream of passive income would cover unexpected expenses and provide security in case your job becomes unreliable.  Saving money isn’t enough because it runs out.  Passive income, however, doesn’t run out. 

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I had to take care of some things today due to the impending arrival of Tropical Storm Fay. 

I live in South Florida, so you can guess what kind of mad rush for food, water, and gas there is down here.  We were already prepared for the hurricane season, but we went out today and bought some more water, batteries, and non-perishable food. 

I will likely be able to post the Flimjo Recap late tomorrow, so look for that. 

Until then, let’s hope Tropical Storm Fay keeps heading west so that all my family and I get here is a bunch of rain and nothing else!