Whelp, The Universe giveth and the Universe taketh away

53 days* into my new board game job and I’m already fired and not working there anymore, lol… Okay, well not fired-fired like I did something bad and now I got the boot, but more like my friend who hired me just quit, and thus, due to proxy, I must go too.

The sad part though was that we were literally JUST about to launch our first community campaign I had spent over 20+ hours on!! It was supposed to go live in TWO DAYS and now it’s frozen in time never ever to be enjoyed, argh… They say they might still run with it later, but I doubt it. It was such a fun way to introduce their game’s characters to the world though so I hope they do. Plus, what a waste of money to have spent on my brain without using its magnificent output!

Speaking of which, here’s the total amount I got paid during my short stint along with all the hours worked:

• Total hours worked: 61
• Total amount earned: $3,355

(That’s $55/hr for anyone who was just about to calculate it ;) I typically charge $100/hr, but when it’s a longer-term project or a friend/family is involved I heavily discount it for the first little bit…)

Not a totally bad run though, eh? A little extra money for me, and some good assets for them whether they end up using them or not. The other 40’ish hours worked went to building out databases of influencers and communities, researching the ins and outs of the gaming space (it was so fascinating!!), sitting through a handful of meetings, and then a small number of other random little tasks.

The meetings were actually the best as I got paid to sit and listen in each and every one of them, lol… I even got paid once to play the game for two hours! And learned that there’s a whoooole niche of them based around “cooperative” play too where you actually fight the enemy *along with your friends* instead of *against them* like all the other games I’m used to playing… It was pretty fun, and much less anxiety-induced since you’re all in it together!

I also got super friendly with Asana – a work management platform – where I had to build out this community campaign of ours…  That probably took 10 of my 60 hours alone, and ended up coming out to over 60 tasks (!!!). I can see why people use it as it def. keeps everyone nice and accountable, but man – all those hours spent when you could have just been DOING THE THING, haha… I much prefer my version where I simply make notes in email drafts and then pray I don’t forget anything in the process

But yeah, overall it was a fun gig. I learned a lot, played a lot, WORKED a lot, and overall just genuinely enjoyed myself! As I mentioned in my last post coming onto this job, it was a nice feeling to get paid again after months away from that world, and it felt like a *different* type of productivity that I didn’t realize I missed. So now I’ll have to look for more of that goodness to round out my ideal lifestyle! Couple hours of work, couple of hours of volunteering, then allllllll the rest of the day free to do as I – and my kids/wife/other family responsibilities – permit. Not bad…

It mostly just sucks for my friend who hired me and then had to resign shortly there after… Can’t really get into it all here, but I do know it was the right move for both him and the company so now at least he gets to decompress a little before hitting the job market again… The Year of The Flow keeps flowing! Whether you want it to or not! Lol… Our whole lives are basically a “flow” if you think about it :)

Anyways, hope all your projects and gigs are going well! If I can ever help with anything, or you’d like to hire me on for some one-on-one consulting, I def. have the time now –> jmoney.biz/consulting

Yours in unemployment (once again),

*I thought this was a new record for me getting kicked out of a job at 50-something days, but a quick review of my entire employment history (40+ jobs!) reminds me that I once actually had a job only for a week! And two other times less than a month!  So, I guess this is actually my *4th* shortest job of my life – hah ;)

[This post, Did I just get LAID OFF from my new job?!, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

I read somewhere recently that no matter what stage of life you’re in, making a little money helps fulfill you even if you’re retired or don’t even need the money.

And as we settle better into WifeFI here I’m realizing just how true this may be!

Earlier last month a good friend reached out and asked if I wanted to help him with some projects over at a new board game publishing company he just signed onto. He recently came on board as their Director of Marketing, and as usual we try to rope each other into our new endeavors to continue the fun ;) Even if we have no experience in the fields we get ourselves into! I couldn’t tell you jack about the gaming world except that of course Monopoly is the undisputed G.O.A.T of all time (don’t @ me!).

But it’s been a blast so far, and true to that tidbit above, I’ve been very much enjoying the extra income as well. It’s hard to explain it exactly, but it’s a different kind of productiveness. One that feels distinct from a 9-5 or even a part-time job, but not nearly as rewarding as volunteering or being a Stay-At-Home Daddy (which ironically neither pays and one actually COSTS money, lol). But it does add a nice varied strand of productiveness that I didn’t notice was missing and will now have to incorporate it into my “ideal lifestyle.”

In fact, this new gig is a unicorn too and hits 3 out of 3 from the Triad of Hustling! My formula for knowing whether a project is worth taking on or not, or vice versa: deciding whether to KILL one or not.

The three variables of this triad are:

1. The amount of TIME the project requires
2. The amount of MONEY the project pays
3. And then, sometimes most importantly, the amount of FUN the project is

Hit just 1 of the 3 favorably and it’s not worth pursuing at all. Hit 2 of the 3 and it’s a good possibility it’s worth it! But hit 3 of the 3 and it’s a guaranteed home run :) And, so far, this new board game gig has felt like an absolute home run. I get to work with my good friend and on *my own time*. It only requires about 5-10 hours/week. And, as we get farther and farther away from working full-time, it’s been nice dusting off my skills again and putting them back to use (I was brought on to help them build a community).

I’ll also admit I’m having a fantastic time learning about a whole other space out there that I didn’t even know existed! There’s soooooo many influencers in the gaming world just as there are in the PF space (maybe even more?), and again like the PF world they’re super inclusive and just trying to get people excited and learning *in real life*. From YouTubers to podcasters to TikTok’ers to bloggers it’s a pretty thriving community!

And then of course it’s always nice to get paid fairly for helping out. Making me feel even more secure in my decision to kinda-sorta-but-not-all-the-way retire, lol…

I plan on using this money to cover all the unexpected parts of life, like flat tires and medical bills (I just had to get another round of infusions* for my disease – ugh!) as well as the GOOD unexpected parts like shiny new “wants” or books or new places to donate to. We haven’t tapped any of our investments during this semi-retirement (my wife’s income pays the bills, thus Wife-FI!) but some months we do drain a little from our savings so this will be a nice way to stay topped off there too.

So yeah, I’m a game board nerd now – watch out! Anyone else immersed in this booming community?? Or attend any of the millions of conferences all around the world??! (That’s right – there’s even BOARD GAME CONFERENCES!)

Couldn’t have ever forecasted this one, but you never know what’ll come out of the Year of The Flow… Clear eyes, full hearts, baby! Anything can happen! :)

XOXO,

UPDATE: And now I’ve been laid off from said new board game gig!!! Lolol….  53 days into it and the universe taketh away almost as fast as it giveth Was fun while it lasted at least!

*Did I already tell you how much these infusions cost for my Pemphigus? $20,000 a piece! And I always have to do a round of TWO! Thankfully insurance pays a bulk of it (my total comes down to $1,600 out of pocket from the $40k+) but man, medications these days are no joke… Don’t ever get sick, OK? ;)

[This post, Did I Just Get Myself a New Job?, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

I recently found out that two acquaintances of mine both recently lost their jobs.

One was making OK money and lives close to paycheck-to-paycheck, while the other was making BANK and enjoys all the luxuries that come with that.

Now they’re both pretty stressed out about it, but one recently made an off-hand comment that the other will be having a much harder time dealing with it and feels his situation is much better. (They both know each other)

Wanna take a stab at which person said it? :) Friend A with less money but smaller expenses, or Friend B with a bigger income and inflated expenses?

You can probably guess having read this blog for a while, but it was Friend A – the one with less money! Which of course at first glance wouldn’t make sense – why would someone living paycheck-to-paycheck have an easier time with a job loss than someone making much more? – but as we all know, your *expected lifestyle* tends to play a much larger role emotionally than your state of finances.

Friend A is used to skimping by and has thus learned to craft a decent life around it (his actual words to me were “I’m used to living poor”), while Friend B, aka Mr. MoneyBags, is now used to a more high-flying life and will  have to figure out how to reign it all in now to sustain this lifestyle of his.

Of course, Friend B in theory should have much more stashed away and plenty of areas he could downsize in a pinch (the house, the cars, the “toys”), but again the emotional toll on it might be harder to swallow than the financial side – even if just temporarily. I’d also have to imagine it’s much harder to replace a high-paying job of that caliber than an entry-level one too?  So the strain could last quite longer for him than Friend A as well. So long, at least, as Friend A can still keep the lights on and food in the fridge!

Now, it’s entirely possible that we’re ALL wrong here, and Friend A just made the comment to make himself feel better because in either situation it blows! And now here we’ve got this blog post being published to thousands of people around the world dissecting a dilemma that none of us knows anything about, lol… (Which doesn’t stop it from still being fun, of course ;))

In either case, it’s interesting to ponder, and regardless of what side you find yourself on it’s good to KNOW YOURSELF first before one day maybe finding yourself in a similar position scrambling… As we all know, there is more to wealth than income, and the expenses side is a VERY large part of that. The lower expenses you have, the less you need to make and the quicker you get to FIRE! It’s not just about the income, gotta keep ALL the bases in check!

******

In other news…. *awkward transition*

Happy summer!! I hope y’all are living your Best Lives and enjoying some good time w/ your kiddos if you have any! (Sanity, that is, hah!).

That’s what I’ve been doing here lately, and thus my absence over the past few months…

I think last we connected I was starting my journey taking over grocery shopping, and while I’m still far from being a pro yet, I am proud to say it’s still going strong and everyone has food to eat every night   Though I’ll admit I still pick up more things than I’d like based on *convenience* rather than *price*. But maybe that’s OK now that I don’t have to watch every penny anymore? The perks of being good with your money for so many years?

Speaking of which, this blog turned 15 this year and I totally missed it! 15 years – crazy!!! Is anyone still here from the start of it? Or even the bulk of it, like when I used to call myself J. Savings???! Hahaha…. It’s wild looking back at all the changes in both the blog and my life the past decade and a half, but it’s cool we’re still here and hopefully at least a tinee bit wiser :) I love that y’all still pop in and say hi so we stay connected over the years – I hope you continue to do that! Friends for life, please!!

I’ve also been very much enjoying my volunteer work and starting to see it as a 2nd calling. After months of experimenting and figuring out “my place” with it all, I’ve finally carved out a nice position for myself at a local homeless shelter focusing on keeping everyone nice and clothed. Which in itself is pretty valuable, of course – clothes are important! – but I’m realizing more and more that it’s not just the *stuff* we help the unhoused with, but moreso it’s about letting them know they are respected and *SEEN*.

The other day I merely asked someone how they were doing, and their exact response back to me was, “It’s nice to hear voices.” That really hit me :( So many people are hidden away from society just trying to survive (and not get arrested!) so when they make the trek into our place they get to be “normal” again and surrounded by a community who values them. I think I genuinely now have about 7 new people I call a friend, and while some days are harder than others, it’s been an incredible journey so far.

And in that same vein of “being seen,” people also want to look and FEEL good too! Sure they’ll take anything that’s dry and fits them well, but man do they love CHOICE when given the option. Just as we do. They each have their own fashion style and will clamour for items that fit that as soon as they come into the door :) Last week I brought in a pair of Vans and some skinny jeans and they were taken out of my hands before I even PUT THEM DOWN on the shelves! It actually makes me want to set up some sort of fashion show or something where they can all dress up and strut down the runway rocking their styles as some sort of charity event. But I still don’t know enough about what’s “appropriate” and what’s not there yet so for now I just save my ideas to myself…

I’ve also learned how GENEROUS people are with their time and donations (some of the stuff people donate is nicer than anything I own!!) and also how everyone needs *belts* but they’re some of the hardest things to come by! So much so that the homeless end up just stripping the laces off the donated shoes and crafting their own makeshift belts right there on the spot… I see it at least twice a week, and that’s only on MY shifts! Such a simple – and cheap thing – a belt, but man can they be valuable…

(Speaking of shifts – my thesis on being able to come and go as you please once an organization knows you more def. stands true! I play nice and go through their system more or less each week, but I also just pop in and out when I feel like it too which as you know is my ultimate preference. Especially when you have kids in and out of camps all summer long!)

So needless to say, I’ve been getting more joy volunteering now than just sitting at the coffee shops or doing puzzles all day long, lol… so Phase I of being WifeFI’d is officially over, and now we enter a new one of more productiveness and purpose ;)

Now tell me what you guys have been up to! Anyone else getting into life changing things over there? Or perhaps some fun projects or vacations this summer?

My kids joined the swim team for the first time ever so we’ve basically been living at the pool when we’re all together ;) A whole other experience that I’ll save for another day, though I will say it’s finally nice to show off my tattoos as the only time they see the light of day is when my shirt is off, haha… So that’s something.

Okay bye for now.

[This post, What’s Worse?, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

What up, what up!!

Stumbled across my man Rob Wilson’s Insta feed this morning, and now want to share ALL HIS VIDEOS with you here!! They’re so good!!

But I’ll refrain from blowing up your inbox, and instead just share my two favorites with you today ;) But be sure to check out his feed afterwards as it’s legit!!

If he sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve featured him here on the blog before, as well as on my old podcast – The M.O.N.E.Y. Show – remember that one?* Here are the links:

• One-on-One with “Hip Hop’s Financial Advisor” (blog post)
• Hip-Hop’s Financial Advisor Spills Details on Managing Celebrity Money (podcast)

Now take it away, Rob!! Thanks for letting me re-share these here

********

5 Things I’d Never Do As a Financial Advisor

[Click to watch]

Here’s the transcript, along with my thoughts:

#1. I would never leave my 401(k) at my old job once I left and got a position at a new company

I don’t want my hard earned money sitting in some account that I’m not going to pay attention to, that’s also limited by the short menu of mutual funds that I can invest in. In that situation, I would always roll that account over into an IRA where I had much more control over the account, and the entire investing universe of individual stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, and options were all available to me and right at my fingertips.

[J$: Yes yes yes!! Not only does it give more control over everything, but it also helps with *keeping track* of it all too! What’s easier/more fun to do: monitoring 3 accounts with 401(k) funds, or just 1? It might be a bit annoying to do (paperwork and all), but it’s def. worth the one-time hassle. (And if you prefer to stay with 401(k)s over IRAs, you can still roll it over into your current 401(k) if it’s better…)]

#2. I would never invest in penny stocks

Being into penny stocks isn’t even investing, it’s gambling. And if you’re going to do that I’d much rather you buy a plane ticket, go to Vegas, have a nice dinner, and also go see a nice show because you’d have much more fun doing that than by losing all the money that you’re bound to lose by investing in penny socks.

[J$: Hahaha… agreed. Some people are good at it and have managed to come away on top, but for the majority of us I wouldn’t even TRY going down that path… So many other ways to win big, with much less risk!]

#3. I would never give a potential employer my salary history or my salary requirement

Look, what I made in the past has absolutely no bearing on what a potential employer should offer me today. And quite frankly, asking that question is why women and minorities in particular get stuck in this vicious cycle of wage discrimination. Now, the good news is that asking that question has been banned in 21 states, but just in case you live in a state where they can still ask that question, don’t answer it.

[J$: Didn’t know about any of this!! So helpful!!]

#4. I would never go through life and not have an estate plan

Look, I’ve seen families absolutely ripped apart because there was no directive on how they wanted the estate to be divvied up. I’ve also seen some ugly custody battles when something unfortunately happened to both parents, and they didn’t leave proper instructions as to who they wanted to care for their children if something happened to them. And of course, we’ve all seen the many Go Fund Me campaigns that occur when people don’t have adequate life insurance. So look, if you care for your family as much as you say you do, then getting your affairs in order is of utmost importance. And that means you have to have an estate plan.

[J$: I agree of course, having recently gotten our own wills and trust stuff set up, however I wouldn’t give yourself too much grief if it’s still on your list and you haven’t gotten to it yet. Make sure you do eventually, but if you still don’t have your career/savings/investments down (and/or don’t even have any assets or kids to begin with) you’re probably safe to wait until you’re more solid. We don’t live in perfect worlds unfortunately, so we gotta cut ourselves some slack :)]

#5. I would never not have multiple streams of income

You might feel like you have the best job in the world, but anytime someone else is signing your check, they can decide to stop signing it tomorrow. And even if you’re a business owner, you still want to have multiple streams because anytime you only have one source of income, whether that’s a salary from a job or your business income, you never know what can happen to it. During the pandemic, millions of businesses were shut down, and also lots of property owners couldn’t collect rent during the eviction moratorium. But at the same time that all this was happening, the stock market was hitting new all time highs. So for those folks that had an investment portfolio, they were able to use those gains to help them get to the other side.

[J$: Yup yup, again in a perfect world you’d have cash flying in from all over, but if you’re only able to manage just *one* right now, that’s okay too… Just keep working and doing your best and eventually you’ll get there!! And some *have* managed to come out just fine too btw by only focusing on one income – some even say it’s more powerful doing that than not giving it your all and tacking on side hustles on the side! So just keep doing your best and you’ll find that sweet spot. (A way to cheat in this too is to just *invest* your money as Rob points out which requires no consistent effort on your behalf – that’s mainly what I do now :) So if you are “just” a one-jobber you can at least take advantage of that and get the win!)]

So yeah – solid tips overall!

Here’s the next vid I liked, that all you stock pickers might find helpful… I didn’t know about any of these, perhaps because I’m an Index Snob?! ;)

******

[Watch video here]

5 Secret Websites That Will Help You Become a Better Investor

1. Whale Wisdom — allows you to see exactly what famous investors like Warren Buffett or Ray Dalio are putting their money in inside of their real life portfolios.
2. Smart Insider — allows you to see exactly what investments members of congress are buying and selling, so you too can learn how to become a great investor by totally not using tax-payer funded insider information.
3. Guru Focus – allows you to see when corporate insiders like founders, executives, and board members use their own money to buy or sell their company stock. Putting their money where their mouth is, so to speak.
4. Bar Chart – gives you access to tons of free investment tables, charts, and research so that you’ll always know the current pulse of the market.
5. Toggle.ai – leverages the power of algorithms and artificial intelligence to help you identify potentially awesome investment opportunities.

Great great stuff all around… Thanks again Rob!

If you’d like to see more, you can check out his Instagram feed here: @RobWilsonTV, or his recent book here: Secure The Bag.

Hope you learned something new! Do you follow any of those tips or sites above??

*The M.O.N.E.Y. Show is now known as the “Afford Anything” show, with Paula Pant. We co-hosted it back in 2016 and then I dipped out and she took the reigns over and has been KILLING it ever since… If you’d like to check out all the shows we did together – about 30 of them – you can find them here: eliteedgemoney.com/podcasts

[This post, 5 Things I’d Never Do as a Financial Advisor, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Morning fam!

A lot of you commented on how much you loved those Statement Cards we gave away the other week, so I thought I’d dig up an interview I did with the founder of the cards, Stefanie O’Connell Rodriguez, to shed more light on the backstory.

It’s been a couple of years since we first published it, so we revisited and updated it for your viewing pleasure today, and really hope you get as inspired as I did when I first came across them :) A fantastic idea, and one that’s very much needed in our community – and the world for that matter!

Big congrats to Stefanie for all her success with them so far, and if you like what they’re about please do pass it around to help her continue to get the word out

Now to the Q&A!

******

Hi friend! So I gotta admit – when you first told me you’ve created your own line of greeting cards I thought you were joking, haha… But then I checked them out and they were BAD ASS! What got you to go down this path? It’s not everyday someone starts their own card business!

Back in 2019, while planning my wedding, I was totally shocked and overwhelmed (in a good way) by the amount of outreach, support and celebration that came with the year-long experience of my engagement. I was 33-years old at the time and had never felt anything like it – the sheer scale of generosity from family and friends (even relative strangers) asking what I needed, how they could help, etc. It was wonderful.

But it struck me that my wedding was what instigated all of it, and I couldn’t help but think about how meaningful it would have been to have just some of that support, encouragement and celebration while working toward other milestones – when getting my business off the ground for example.

It got me thinking about how support and celebration is still relegated to these very traditional milestones that not everyone has or even wants, and what it would mean to expand what we celebrate to include career and money milestones as well.

That’s how I came up with the idea of greeting cards. Because expanding what we celebrate is not necessarily about sending expensive gifts or writing people checks, it’s about saying, I see you, I support you and I want to acknowledge your milestones – whether it’s starting your own business or moving out on your own – which can take years of hard work to accomplish.

And to be honest, if you can throw 5 parties to celebrate your wedding (engagement party, wedding shower, bachelorette, rehearsal dinner, wedding reception), you should certainly be able to have one for something as life changing as paying off your student loans

I love that you’ve branded them “Statement Cards” too – they def. live up to the name. How has the reception been around the community so far?

I typically use some version of the following to explain the Statement Cards mission  – ‘ We believe financial accomplishments and career milestones are as worthy of celebration as pregnancies and engagements.’

While unsurprisingly, that’s been a message that’s resonated a lot within the personal finance community, it’s also been exciting to see how much it’s resonated more broadly. Especially among women, who are more likely to experience backlash and penalties for expressing and pursuing their own ambitions.

In the past year, we also launched a newsletter called “Too Ambitious” to talk more about these milestones, what it takes to achieve them, and to share the first hand accounts of those on the journey, including some of the roadblocks they’ve faced along the way.

In fact, we have a whole series called ambition diaries full of some truly shocking first-hand accounts of backlash readers have experienced as a result of their ambitions – for example, having a job offer rescinded after asking for a raise. Every time I hear a story of backlash and bias, (which is a lot), it reaffirms to me the importance of our mission, to celebrate and support ambition, whether it’s starting a business, asking for a raise or getting your own place.

Have you received any backlash from the cards or Too Ambitious so far?

Hahahah, of course. My mission is for everyone across race, class and gender identity to feel entitled to their ambitions and supported in pursuit of them. That is a direct threat to the status quo (more on that here). But as I like to say, it’s a status quo that needs to be threatened.

Anything that’s surprised you going from concept to reality? Businesswise or elsewise?

Launching a physical product has been a learning experience to say the least. I live in a one bedroom apartment with my husband, and when I got the first round of products printed and delivered to our door, the ten boxes were stacked higher than our doorway.

I’ve had to find creative ways to store the inventory around our place, but that means every time I get an order I’m digging boxes out from the back of the closet, under the bed and behind the couch. Over time, the system has become slightly more optimized, but three years in, I’m still a long way from “figuring it out”.

The other thing to note from a business perspective, is that the up front cost of a relatively cheap product like a greeting card can be quite high, especially if you’re prioritizing certain things like collaborating with top notch designers (shout out to designer Lauren Ver Hage), printing in the US, Trademarking, etc. Each card requires over a thousand dollars worth of up front investment. So you have to sell a pretty high volume of cards before you break even.

I have a ton of card ideas I’d like to offer, and I get specific requests all of the time, but I’ve really worked hard to stay focused on my existing offerings and approach next steps strategically so I don’t overextend myself.

What’s your favorite card out of the batch?

It’s impossible to pick! The most popular card says ‘you’re not too expensive, they just can’t afford you yet’, which I think resonates with people for obvious reasons – especially in the freelance/solopreneur space. (Shout out to my girl Erin Lowry/Broke Millennial for the brainstorm sesh that led to that gem).

Though one of my personal favorites is the card that congratulates people on getting their own place – whether it’s purchasing their own home or just moving out on their own.

I was brainstorming how to say ‘congrats on getting your own place’ in a way that was unique and fun with some of my fellow finance writer friends. And I think it was the great Kristin Wong who said, ‘Well, what’s something that you do when you’re at home alone?’ So we started coming up with a list of things – mine was belting out Broadway karaoke, I think someone else said eating a tub of ice cream, binge-watching Real Housewives came up too – but we ultimately settled on dancing around naked in your living room.

Then Lauren Ver Hage came up with this really fun graphic for the front cover of the card that says ‘get ready to dance naked around your living room….’ And when you open it up it says, ‘congrats on getting your own place’.

If you could get ANYONE in the world to stop by and pick up a Statement Card from you, who would it be?

Another impossible question! When we launched, it was Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Since then, we’ve launched a card that features a whole slew of ambitious women throughout history that inspire us, so I’d say just about anyone on that list.

Anything we can do to help spread the word or help you reach your goals faster?

If you like the cards, please share them with the people you love. More than just getting the cards out into the world, getting the message out behind them of expanding the kinds of milestones we celebrate is a new mission of mine. So even if it’s just liking and sharing our instagram page – it goes a long way!

It’s my core belief that when you create ways of celebrating certain milestones, you also create a dialogue and support system around achieving them. I come back to the example of my wedding. It wasn’t just the day I got married that people showed up to support me, it was the whole year of planning and people asking how they could help through the process that was so powerful. Imagine if you could have that same system of support while working to become debt free or while saving up for a down payment?

I think that celebration can serve as a powerful tool and entry point to a far more substantive system of support, which is what we’re trying to build upon with the introduction of the “Too Ambitious” newsletter and community.

*******

*******

Thanks Stef!

You can learn more about the cards at StatementCards.com. They cost $5.00 a piece, with discounts if you get 6 or more.

[And btw – I don’t get paid for sharing any of this! Just a big supporter of hers and love what these cards are about!]

[This post, The Story Behind “Statement Cards”, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

This post started out as “7 ways to get a raise at work.” But as I was typing and brainstorming, more and more ideas started to flow and I made it all the way up to 101!

So, here are 101 ideas you can try to make yourself more valuable and recognized within your workplace, aka how to get a raise. :)

Remember, the best way to get a salary increase, a fancier job title, or more benefits is to demonstrate additional value *first*.

Also, I know many people are working from home these days, so some of these include virtual tips and ways to stay relevant (and score a pay raise) while being remote! Hope these help!

How to get a raise at work: 101 ideas

We’ll start with general good practice & fun ideas …

– Find the 5 grumpiest or most miserable employees at your employer. Study them and what they do… Then, make it your specific goal to do the complete opposite! Talk the opposite, walk the opposite, answer your phone the opposite way these miserable employees do. Do this and you’re already miles ahead!

– Get a small Japanese rock garden or “zen garden” on your desk. Anytime one of your coworkers is having a bad day, invite them over to your cubicle so they can take in your garden and release their stress while telling you about their issues.

– Keep a little calendar reminder for people’s birthdays and other special dates (set an alert 3 days in advance). Be the first person to say “Hey, don’t you have a birthday coming up?” You will stand out from the 200 people that just write happy birthday on their Facebook wall.

– Name work projects after other people, places, and teams. Humans love it when their names are linked to successful projects, even if they weren’t a major part of the day to day activities.

– Bring your dog into work one day, or maybe bring your kids to the office. Introduce them to everyone and show your coworkers another side of you that they’ll fall in love with. (everyone loves dogs and kids!)

– Ask about other people’s kids! Parents love talking about their children, and they’ll remember you as someone who takes an interest in their life.

– Dress better (or, actually, try to be more *professionally comfortable*) than other employees. You don’t have to be the fanciest … rather, shoot to be the person who looks completely comfortable and in control of their position.

– If you’re walking down the office hallway and drop something … do the ‘bend and snap’. It works every time. (Sorry, I watched Legally Blonde recently and thought this would be funny to add.)

– Don’t be on your phone when other people are talking! If you have an urgent call or text, exit the room to deal with it.

– Rock up to work in a Ferrari. Just kidding! Other employees don’t care what type of car you drive. And you shouldn’t care how others arrive to work. Never shame your peers :)

– Don’t get hammered in front of your bosses. Be careful who you drink in front of. You want to be remembered, but in a good way!

– Don’t talk politics! As much as you might want to, people appreciate a neutral perspective at work.

– Don’t wear too much cologne or perfume. One spritz is enough. :) Personal hygiene is important, as people remember other well groomed people (or worse, they remember those who aren’t!)

– Don’t try to be the smartest person in the room, aim to be the most professional. Professionalism stands out, not brains. If someone gets in an argument with you, remain professional at all costs.

– Show up on time to everything. People will remember you as someone who never double-books and always respects the organizer’s time. Be happy and alert at the start of every meeting.

Be a team leader (even if you don’t think you’re one)

– Commend others and give them credit as much as possible. Not just when they do stellar things, commend them when they do their *regular job*. Everybody loves encouragement, and you’ll stand out by giving it to them.

– Compliment people *directly* when they do a good job. Call them, stop by their cubicle, or even write a handwritten card. Feedback is always appreciated, and everyone loves confirmation that they’re doing a good job. Do this for even the coworkers you don’t know very well.

– Write notes of compliments to the team managers, too! Make sure you add details about how the other person a) upheld the companies values, b) gave extra effort or went out of their way, or c) helped save or gain a new client for the company.

– Don’t take sick days unnecessarily. If/when you do actually get sick, communicate clearly with all your peers and supervisors in advance to make it a seamless transition as possible *for others*. If your being sick is tough on someone else, consider making up for it by repaying the favor somehow later.

– Talk to the coworkers nobody else usually talks to. Everyone is important in your company! Make friends with the nerdiest nerds and quietest quiet people. They will probably appreciate it and you will stand out.

–  Always give credit to others where due. The most successful people are often giving others credit, and this rarely “reduces” the credit you’ll receive for successes. When others see you sharing credit, they’ll share with you, too. But we do this for teamwork, not just for the boomerang effects.

– Organize the office birthday card, the flowers when there’s been a death in a coworker’s family, and be the one who calls ahead to the restaurant to reserve a table when you eat out together. It’s not hard and you’ll have others look to you for leadership.

– If a team member makes a big mistake, forgive them immediately instead of getting annoyed. Don’t go around telling others — help your coworker try to fix the issue and save face. Helping people out of sticky situations leads to bonding.

– Send your team a motivational email each morning. That’s how I started my 5am email list! Back at my old organization, I was known far and wide by employees and managers I’d never even met before.

– When somebody screws up, send them a private, encouraging email, like “hey, these things happen to all of us. I appreciate you being here” – these short messages can be remembered for years, don’t cost you any money, and help motivate others.

– Set up an informal learning session to teach people about something you know. You don’t have to be a career coach — even if it’s a presentation on basket weaving, people will appreciate your effort and it shows you are a team player!

– Welcome new hires and a new employee. Show them around the office and offer to help them get to know their new job. Everybody is nervous on their first day … you’ll help them out more than you’ll ever know.

– Shake people’s hands with a firm grip. Nobody likes a dead-fish handshake.

How to interact with your manager and get exposure to the C suite!

*Careful with this section. Remember to be genuine – you don’t want to be seen as a sycophant!

– Set a 20 min meeting with the CEO of your company. Ask what keeps him/her up at night. I promise after that conversation, the CEO will always remember you.

– Research your C-level team members and find their hobbies. Try them out, or do your best to relate these things to your own hobbies. Executives are real people who like to connect with other real people, no matter where they sit on the corporate ladder.

– Find out what old high school or college your managers graduated from. Buy them a mug or shirt with the school logo on it as a gift they can keep in their office. Bosses usually have extreme pride in their education. Every time they look at the gift, they will remember you.

– Ask for mentorship from a career expert you really identify with and want coaching from. Executives love to transfer knowledge down and approaching them shows you’re willing to go the extra mile to learn.

– Ask questions at your all-hands company meetings. Even if there’s 500 people in the room – don’t be afraid! Asking good questions makes you stand out. Executives take note of your interest!

– If you have a weekly or regular 1-on-1 review, keep notes each week. Use OneNote or a filing system to remember last week’s follow-ups. Ensure the note keeping is your responsibility, not your boss’s. This makes managing you very easy for your boss.

– If you don’t already have a regular performance review on the books, consider asking your boss for a meeting, either once-off or regularly scheduled. This allows you to briefly check-in with your boss to make sure you’re meeting his or her goals. (An annual performance review just isn’t often enough.)

– Sleep with your boss. Kidding!!!! You don’t want to be known for being the office hussy! In fact, you should do the opposite. Be the person who never crosses the line at work.

– Ask your boss to help review resumes for people trying to get a similar position on your team. It shows that you care who your future team-mates are (you should!).

– Before asking for help from your boss, try and solve the problem yourself first the best way you know how. Managers love to see that you’ve at least tried everything possible before dumping problems on their lap!

– Learn how to golf. I hate writing this, but in a lot of industries golf matters. Maybe just learn how to *try* and golf. Even if you suck, at least you TRY.

–  Don’t be afraid to share your past work successes and experience! Got some weird knowledge in that brain that will benefit your current employer? Speak up! Executives and management LOVE employees who share a good new idea.

Tips on getting a raise when you’re working from home or remote

– At the beginning of each Zoom call, tell a daily Dad joke or funny story! This always cheers people up and starts the meeting with laughter.

– Always answer your phone in the first few rings. Be happy and helpful.

– Train yourself on Zoom, or become an expert in whatever your company’s video software is. You will always be helpful on calls, be able to train others, and never be the one that makes amateur mistakes and accidentally makes the call a crappy experience for others!

– On Sunday afternoon, look at your calendar for the week. If there’s any overlapping meetings, move them. If there’s pre-requisites that a colleague needs to bring to a meeting, a friendly private reminder can help them avoid dropping the ball. Don’t be the guy just catching up on Monday morning!

– When you schedule meetings, set the end time to 10 mins prior to the hour end. Eg, 1pm – 1:50pm. The extra 10 mins won’t be missed. The meeting will end quicker and others will have time to check emails before their next meeting.

– During meetings, stay mentally alert. Always be ready to contribute. No phone browsing, no email answering, and definitely no Facebook. In this day and age, the ability to concentrate for long periods of time is a rare skill. Take this opportunity to stand out!

– If a meeting is going fine without you and you don’t need to be there, drop out. This is very simple but some people still don’t understand this! People respect people that respect their own time. Hanging around in meetings just to “show face time” doesn’t help anyone.

– Use a to-do app, like Microsoft’s ToDo. Mine is on my PC and my iPhone and is synced. Many devices are supported. During the day I add small things to it. It’s handiest for the small tasks that are easy to forget.

–  On Zoom or video calls, set your background picture to something weird. Personal pictures are cool – people will ask about it and remember you more about you!

–  Wear different wigs and hats when you log into video calls. Lighten the mood by making yourself look like a fool for a few minutes.

– Be alert for systems and processes that can be redesigned to be more efficient. Or, manual processes that can become digitized. Saving work for others leaves a huge positive imprint with coworkers and management.

How to write better business emails (don’t be the reply-all guy!)

– Get to Inbox Zero and always be on top of your emails! The #1 pet peeve of co workers is when people complain about how many emails they receive. We ALL get the same amount of emails – figure out a way to stay on top of yours, now and forever :)

– Never reply-all to emails if it’s not necessary. Save your colleagues from getting messages they don’t need.

– Dot point (bullets) all your emails, or keep things very short! Almost anything you say can be summarized in 3 bullet points.

– After you’ve written an important email, proofread it and think about whether it comes across positive or negative. Become a master at delivering bad news in a fun and positive way.

– If you need to copy/paste large blocks of text, consider using a different size, font, or color. This makes it easier for people to read your email. Eg, if you are pasting a quoted block of text, make it obvious. If you’re conveying what someone else said, make it obvious which parts of the email are you talking, and which parts them.

– Get rid of your complex and ridiculous long email signature. Dancing logos and flashing ads are a distraction from the most important thing: your NAME.  Simple signatures are remembered more!

– When writing emails, stay mentally alert. Saying something and then trailing off with long tangents leaves hanging questions. If you don’t know an answer, you can still be clear (Eg, “that may work and I see no problems, but I have not tested this myself.”).  Be concise, like you would in a real conversation with someone from leadership.

– When someone sends out questions via email, answer them 1 by 1. Even if you pull out their questions from a rambling paragraph, respond with a clear, numbered list of questions and answers. Answering many questions in long, text paragraphs is difficult to follow.

Cubicle life: Be the FUN person!

– Make holidays FUN. If it’s Christmas, wear a Santa hat, and buy some for the whole office. For Fourth of July, dress up as Abraham Lincoln. Just kidding, but you get the point. Being chirpy during holidays makes you stand out at work! Hang decorations in your cubicle.

– Set up an “explore your city” night! Most of your coworkers probably haven’t explored too much and you can be the one to introduce them to their own backyard! Just a 1-hour walk around a few city blocks, pointing out 5-10 historic facts they probably didn’t know.

– Get a small candy bowl in your cubicle. Always stock it up and be the person who cheers people up with treats. Before handing out a treat, ask the person a fun question like “What 3 things are you grateful for today”?

– Stay late in the office one night. When everyone is gone, make fun post-it notes with encouraging sayings and place them around your colleagues cubicles. You can leave them anonymous (then the following week you can let it slip that it was you if you want).

– Play pranks on people (in good humor, of course) like… replace a picture on someone’s desk with a funny photo of yourself. Making people laugh strengthens your relationship with them and raises their opinion of you. You can get really creative playing office pranks!

– On Friday, clean your desk so it’s clean on Monday morning. Clean desk = clean mind = focus = effectiveness.

– Organize a games night after work for your colleagues. Bingo is always fun! Bring in a plaque or trophy that people can keep on their desks as the winner. Rotate the winners each week :)

– Set up a happy hour. Drinking with colleagues is a great way to bond over common stuff!

– Keep a neat and clean cubicle, and always respect your company-provided equipment.

– Rock a good sock game! Wear a pair of socks that expresses the moods that you’re feeling.

– Make some homemade kombucha and go around to people’s cubicles and pour a little cup on everyone’s desk around 2pm after lunch time. It may help them with digestion and give them a little energy boost.

– Become the internal Yelp. Know where all the best burger joints or sushi places are and always make good restaurant recommendations. People bond over food – it makes you stand out.

– Always refill and make coffee for others! In fact, try and replace anything you see in the kitchen that is out.

Having company pride increases the value of your PERSONAL BRAND

– Promote your company on LinkedIn and share fun and positive stories about your workplace. Connect with your clients and business partners, liking and commenting on their posts. Also, make sure your LinkedIn profile is set up as professionally as possible, with an awesome personal mission statement.

– Write short blog posts on LinkedIn or internal sites to increase brand recognition and demonstrate your knowledge publicly. Promoting your company increases your personal brand big time! In fact, you can do this on any social media platform, as long as it’s worded professionally. (Most companies have a professional Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn profile.)

– Share your company’s career page and re-share job postings with your network when spots are open inside your extended team. Help recruiters attract good people – it makes you and them look better. Win / win!

– Motivate your coworkers to rally against your company’s biggest competitor — tastefully, like creating a funny meme or in-house joke about how your company is better. This shows company spirit, as well as cheers up the office.

– Bring in a big new client, even if you are not in the sales department. Always promote your company outside of work and look for opportunities to bring in new business. Ask one of the sales reps to teach you their 30-second elevator pitch!

– If you know a good candidate for your company, help them write a killer cover letter so they can land their dream job. Make sure it mentions you as a referral contact. Help review their resume before submitting it, and prep them for the job interview. Helping others helps YOU!

–  Invite a new person to coffee once a week. Tell them about your company culture and ask about their background! Learn about their prior company and past experience. They could help you in the future, as well as you can help them with the present.

How to be a better co-worker

– Become an expert on the company benefits plan and teach others what their best retirement options are. Study the 401k guide, and encourage people to invest in themselves! I KNOW you guys can do that. :)

– Bring donuts into the office one day. Everybody loves donuts!

– Make lunch for everyone one day. Try something from your culture or something your parents used to make growing up as a kid. People might not remember the food, but they will remember the *story* behind it.

– Buy lunch for everyone one day. Use funds from your charity budget!

– Take some tasks off a new mother or father — so they can pick up their kids early and spend more time with them.

– Take notes at group meetings (can just be a few dot points or action items), make a summary afterwards, then email it to all who were there. People will start depending on you – which is a huge value-add.

– Got a bonus? Share some of your bigger paycheck with a colleague to support his/her children’s charity or activities. Supporting people outside of work is sometimes more memorable than supporting them inside the workplace.

– Always ask ‘how are you doing?’ at the start of each phone call with coworkers, customers and business partners. You’ll be remembered as someone who cares about people, and it will increase your emotional intelligence.

– Offer to mentor a few new people. Or at least offer to meet with them once a month to check in and ask your help to talk through any big challenges.

– Give your IT guy or gal a Starbucks card when they fix your computer. (They might even hook you up with cool equipment when you do this.)

– Live your life – so you can tell everyone about it! Work-life balance is important. Teach others to achieve the same balance!

– Set some sweet-smelling candles in the bathroom. If you’re allowed to, light them every few days to keep everything fresh. Or, maybe replace the generic company soap with a nice smelling hand soap. Cheap, fun, and goes a long way!

– Attend the event that other people put on. Happy hours, movie nights, strange stuff … be the person that says YES and gives everything a try.

Always be POSITIVE, even if you feel grumpy

– Don’t live in the past weekend, or complain how long the work week is. Be positive about the upcoming work days – and encourage others to have a positive attitude also!

– Take ugly tasks without complaining. When your boss delivers you crap news, just say thanks and move on! It sucks sometimes, but you will stand out as someone who they can always depend on. Bonus points if you make crappy tasks look fun while you’re doing it!

– Never gossip. When you hear it, just leave. Stay positive. Think of the people you know that gossip. Do you trust them? Do you think the people they gossip about trust them? Don’t gossip. It helps nobody and makes you look bad, too.

– Start a never ending game of pay-it-forward! Do a favor for someone (or give a small gift) and then ask them to pay it forward to another coworker. You’ll stand out as the creator of making the whole company happier.

– When someone on your team does something awesome, write up a quick story and send it to the whole management team for recognition. See if they can share it with the entire company, or even publicly.

– Have the attitude that “nothing is below you.” You are never too good for a project, and rolling up your sleeves for lower-level tasks proves you are a dedicated worker.

– Observe everyone around you and try to understand as much as you can about their roles. Make sure you take everyone else’s job as seriously as they do. The best way to earn respect is to give respect!

– Set up a punching bag or stress bag in a private area and encourage people to get out their frustrations there. Negative attitudes and energy is like a cancer. It spreads fast — so catch it early!

Show tons of initiative

– Offer to run a weekly team meeting for your manager. Tell them you want practice hosting meetings and ask for feedback afterwards. This shows major initiative and builds you up as a team leader!

– Always try harder and do more than what you’re asked to do. After completing your work, ask others if they need help. The best way to get a pay raise is to demonstrate your extra responsibility and additional value *first*.

– Start a regular “news & updates” email that you send out weekly, monthly, or quarterly to your colleagues, bosses and execs. Include extremely brief summaries or links to relevant industry news, announcements from competitors, and any mentions of your company in the news media. This can be quick and easy for you and valuable to others — but requires consistency from you.

– Ask to present a topic at your next quarterly review or next company/dept-wide meeting. Your topic could simply be your job and how you are there to help others in the organization. If your company is large, your goal is to be remembered as a “go-to” guy/gal for your department. If it’s small, your goal is to educate your immediate team about what you do so it can help them see the overall context of company operations. Then encourage others to do the same in future meetings.

– Say yes to things that are outside of your usual work duties. Taking on more and new responsibilities makes you stand out at work, and shows you are prepared to take on a leadership position.

– Create a morning checklist for yourself. Even if you’re in a high-paying senior role, basic checklists help. They can be as simple as “say good morning to everyone” or as complex as “review firewall logs and look for anomalous indicators” — whatever suits you. Note takers and list makers stand out!

– While you’re doing a complex task, write up the steps you took to achieve or complete the task. Save this as an email template. Next time someone asks “how do I log into the PO system and mark an order as paid?” you’ll have an easy, quick reply.

– If you are in a technical or professional field, consider starting a small blog with “how-to”, “why”, or even “my tips” talking points for your profession. This can apply to lawyers, IT folks, architects, salespeople, nurses, or basically anyone who works in an industry where you have peers at other companies. The point is not to have a popular blog. It’s to have an article to point to the next time someone asks “why is this… ?” or “how do I…?” – referencing an article you wrote yourself shows preparedness and mastery of subject matter.

***

That’s it for now, folks!

Give some of these a try to prepare for your next raise conversation or salary negotiation. Bookmark this list, refer back to it if things feel stale in your current job, and most importantly … have FUN with whatever you do.

How do you prep to earn a higher salary? Would love to hear how you stand out at work and hopefully snag that pay bump!

PS: As a reminder for all you finance professionals and bloggers out there, you might be interested in this virtual conference this week … Elevate Influencer is for personal finance influencers who speak directly to People of Color. I’m attending the first day Aug 13th (You can too for FREE thanks to Motley Fool sponsoring the event). I’m looking forward to educating myself more about the financial challenges faced by People of Color, and how I can use my influence and this blog to help!

[This post, 101 Ways to Get a Raise at Work, was first published by 5am Joel on Elite Edge Money]

Time flies! It’s been two full months since taking over this blog.

I haven’t gotten any death threats yet, the nasty feedback I receive is vastly outweighed by encouraging emails, J$ seems to not have any regrets so far, and my employer hasn’t fired me yet! (Actually, they just gave me a small pay increase and extended our contract – more on that below.)

All in all, things are going pretty good!

Quick question for you readers … I’ve shared details of a few of my accounts and assets (IRA, duplex, gift accounts) and I have a few more I’ll be detailing soon (Roths, cash accounts, etc). I was thinking of creating an overall summary & tally, then updating the growth and changes every so often. Kind of like J$’s net worth tracking – except I’ll be excluding a few real estate assets and partnerships my wife and I are a part of.

Anyway, would it help if I made a “partial net worth” snapshot and tracked asset growth over time? 

Keep in mind, net worth reports are less about the total $ number, and more about the progression and ongoing process. Growth for my stuff will be pretty slow, given that I’m not able to contribute much with a low salary. Let me know if it benefits you seeing my process anyway.

What’s J. Money been up to!!!??

J$ will jump on the blog soon and write his own update post, but for now I’m going to spill the beans on a few things… (He also sends out personal updates every so often you can see at jmoney.biz)

First, the big curation website he’s been working on with the Motley Fool team is launching soon! It will include *original video content* written by and starring J. Money himself! You’ll all be the first to know when the site goes live!

In the meantime, J’s opened up an online personal finance apparel store! It supports a bunch of personal finance bloggers and enthusiasts that spread the good word about FIRE in a fun and trendy way! Check it out, and get your gear here –> PFSwagger.com.

Elevate Influencer 2020!

For all you finance professionals and bloggers out there, you might be interested in this virtual conference next week… Elevate Influencer is for personal finance influencers who speak directly to People of Color. I’m attending the first day Aug 13th (You can too for FREE thanks to Motley Fool sponsoring the event). I’m looking forward to educating myself more about the financial challenges faced by People of Color, and how I can use my influence and this blog to help!

Take Control of Your Finances, by Alan and Katie Donegan…

This week I joined Alan Donegan’s Take Control of Your Finances course (also FREE)! You may already know Alan – he’s the guy behind Popup Business School, interviewed by Mad FIentist, ChooseFI and already achieved FI in his 30’s with his wife, Katie! Since COVID pretty much shut down all of their in-person workshops, Alan and Katie are hosting a FREE 8-week beginners course on Financial Independence. Although it started last week, you can still join here. 

The course covers:

• Week 1: Net-worth: Monday 3rd August 8pm BST
• Week 2: Cashflow: Monday 10th August 8pm BST
• Week 3: Money Beliefs: Monday 17th August  8pm BST
• Week 4: Debt: Monday 24th August  8pm BST
• Week 5: Couples and family finance: Monday 31st  August  8pm BST
• Week 6: Investing: Monday 7th September 8pm BST
• Week 7: FIRE Principles: Monday 14th September 8pm BST
• Week 8: Planning for the future: Monday 21st September 8pm BST

(FYI for time zones… 8pm BST = 3pm EST same day in the USA). Also, this is tailored mainly to beginners… But even though you might know most of the basic FI principles, it never hurts to refresh and hear different perspectives! – that’s why I’m attending :)

Camp Progress by Jillian Johnsrud!

Currently I’m taking a Life Design course hosted by Jillian Johnsrud. Jillian is the host of ChooseFI’s Everyday Courage Podcast which you may already be familiar with. Every time I hear Jillian speak, I walk away with really big epiphanies about life, money, relationships, and happiness in general!

Jillian’s got a few other classes available soon in the fall that you might be interested in that cover Life Design, Mastering your Money, and Boundaries. You can check them all out and register here. Note, these classes cost $$ to attend. An investment in your personal development :)

(I have *no* affiliate relationship and get no kickbacks for recommending any of these courses or workshops… Just sharing the good things I come across!)

Lastly, some good news!…

My employer offered me a long-term contract… Yay- now I get some BENEFITS!

It’s rare to be offered benefits as a part-time employee, so I’m extremely grateful for this! Out of the list of ~30 “benefits” that are offered, the 2 biggest interests for me are – healthcare and 401k, baby!

In an earlier post I mentioned I don’t have health insurance currently, so this problem might now be solved. I’m not eligible for the healthcare plan until after 30 days of employment, so there’s time to evaluate this option… (at first glance, the lowest cost HDHP plan to cover me and my wife is $8,400 per year!! . Might be cheaper to just sign up via Covered California!)

As for the 401k plan, like any good FIRE nerd I read the entire 17-page brochure the second it was sent to me. Then, I called the 401k plan administrator to introduce myself and ask them additional questions. I’m not sure what shocked the administrator more; receiving a call from someone actually interested in learning, or the fact that I wasn’t even a hired employee yet!

More to come on the healthcare and 401k details as I enjoy the glorious onboarding process.

Wishing you all a happy and relaxing weekend!

– Joel

*Typewriter up top by Markus Winkler!

[This post, New Job Benefits, FI Workshops, and What Is J$ Up To?, was first published by 5am Joel on Elite Edge Money]

[Morning y’all! Recently found out that a former personal finance blogger sold his Amazon FBA business for roughly $5,000,000 (!) after starting it only 5 years ago (!!), so if you’ve ever been interested in running an FBA, this post is for you! From Jon Elder who now helps others manage their Amazon businesses over at BlackLabelAdvisor.com.]

*******

It is such an honor to write my story for J. Money! He helped me out immensely when I ran a blog back in the day, and graciously advised me on how to gain more readers. Happy to share my tips and story to his audience now!

In 2014, I was working at my corporate job and wanted more out of life. I wanted something of my own.  In a sense, I wanted financial freedom. 

This is where my Amazon FBA business was born. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was on my computer researching business ideas and everyone kept talking about this new opportunity called FBA (“Fulfillment By Amazon”).

At the time, I had always assumed that everything on Amazon.com was sold by, well, Amazon.  WRONG!  As it turned out, the vast majority of items sold on Amazon are sold by small businesses run by everyone from young entrepreneurs to families!

In comes the golf tool. Yes, that’s right, a golf tool. My idea was that this could be a test run at the business and see where it went. After some digging, I realized that there were very few golf tool sellers on Amazon so I immediately went to work finding a supplier overseas. After some negotiating, product testing, and landing my preferred factory, I placed my first order and had it shipped by airplane to an Amazon warehouse where it would be sold to my first customer!

In my head, I assumed it would take weeks, maybe months for my product to be found. I was dead wrong! Within hours, I made my first sale and I was floored. I drove home way too fast, and excitedly shared the news with my wife. “Someone just bought a golf tool from me, can you believe it?!”

This ignited a passion in my gut like you wouldn’t believe. I knew I was onto something with this business. As the sales grew, I expanded the color offerings and soon became the #1 seller of golf tools on Amazon! It was surreal to see the “#1 seller” badge on our golf tool listing.

As time went on (while also working at my corporate job), I moonlighted at this and started expanding into new products and categories on Amazon. Since I wasn’t paying myself any money yet, all the profits continued to be funneled back into the business so I could buy larger and larger purchase orders to keep up with my ever expanding sales.

Two years go by and I was swamped. Between a baby in the house, moving to a new state, starting a new job, and running a booming Amazon business, there never seemed to be enough time in the day. This is when I was at a crossroads. Continue this hectic lifestyle or go ALL IN? For me, the choice was easy. I gave my employer my two week notice and focused all my energy on the Amazon business.

Boy, what a good decision that was! With my newfound time, I was able to dedicate sections of my time to R&D, launch new products quicker, and ensure each product listing was optimized for maximum exposure. Soon, I was doing millions in revenue each year. I still look back on these numbers and am shocked.  The business was booming and sales grew at 100% year over year.

So, what were some keys to this success?

Unlike many fake Amazon gurus out there, my strategy was very different than what you see online these days. When I thought about a product, I asked myself, “am I turning this category on its head and delivering excellence to the customer?”

This was the driving force that lead to product innovation and setting my products apart from the competition. Nothing average. Be the best. It seems simple but it takes a lot of hard work and is worth it.  Once you see raving reviews come in, you realize you made a difference in someone’s life!

The second element that truly set my business apart from millions of others is customer service. From the very beginning, I modeled my customer service after Zappos. If you’re not aware, their customer service staff go above and beyond to make your day, even if it means a cost to them financially. They get it.  They know that if they take a hit with one order but hook you for life, they will make a killing on you over the years.

So, this is how I ran my business. Even down to questionable customers who I knew were most likely scamming me. I went out of my way to make them happy. Maybe I made them feel guilty? Who knows.  But as time went on, I’d like to believe some of my customers shared my products with their friends and family or on social media because of the A+ experience they had with me.

My Amazon FBA journey took a good turn in 2019 when I started to think about selling my business. I think every business owner thinks about the end goal. For me, it was to build up a strong business, create an attractive asset, and sell to someone for a pretty penny. I did just that and sold for $5 Million to a private buyer.

So, there you have it. I started with zero sales in 2014. Grew it to over $10 million in sales within 5 years, and sold the business for 7 figures. It’s a beautiful story and one that can be repeated if you put the customer first and are willing to spend the time to make your product truly the best.

Questions? Happy to answer them below!

*******

I took him up on that last line there and peppered him with a half a dozen questions after being enthralled by his story here ;) I’ve known John for almost a decade now and had no idea he was building stuff outside the personal finance blogging world!

Here’s our Q&A:

This was great, man! I’m sure it wasn’t ALL rainbows and sunshine though – what were some of the challenges of running the biz?

Forecasting inventory needs each month was ALWAYS a challenge. The biggest challenge of all was knowing what to order, and how much, over the Spring to ensure stock levels for Prime Day over summer, and then what to purchase over summer for Black Friday and Christmas sales. Tracking daily sales and looking at historical trends, and then adding a % for all future orders was key to my success.

Challenge #2: There is always a hungry competitor trying to take away your sales, so staying on top of innovation is huge. The goal is to make your product the VERY best in your category so you maintain your sales when other competitors enter your space. This takes consistent time to refine a product and add elements to truly make it shine.

Challenge #3: Expanding product lines is a real challenge because sometimes a launch can be a flop so great care is needed before spending money on a new idea. Thanks to various software programs and the ability to buy smaller test orders, anyone can overcome this.

What does Amazon charge as far as fees?

This is going to depend on your product category. Amazon has something called a referral fee that is charged just for using their platform. This could be as low as 8% or as high as 20%. The vast majority of product categories are in the 8-15% range.

Amazon also charges FBA and storage fees for using their warehouse and packing/shipping services. These fees will depend on the size and weight of your product. Someone has to pay for those little robots at the Amazon warehouses!

Can you give an idea of your profit vs revenue #’s in general? I know with online products you obviously keep a majority, if not all of it, but obviously $10 Million in revenue is different than $10 Million in profit! (Though still just as sexy sounding!)

Yes, the profit number for any business is a much less sexy number, unfortunately, because that is the revenue number minus product costs, shipping, Amazon fees, software expenses, taxes, and advertising.

For example, in 2018 with a little over $6 million in revenue, the net profit after ALL expenses for my biz was $1.2 million, roughly 20% net profit. Not many businesses exists with this high of a net profit these days! It’s quite extraordinary :)

Is there anything that *can’t* be sold on Amazon? Drugs for example? Haha…

LOL, you can’t sell booze, sculptures, cars, and drugs!

Check out this post for more: What Can’t You Sell on Amazon?

Lastly, how can others get started with FBA if they’re interested? Any books, courses, articles, podcasts, etc you’d recommend?

I love seeing others experience the same success as I did, so I do one-on-one consulting options for people just getting started. I hold your hand and walk you through sourcing, shipping, listing optimization, all the way to your first sale! You can find me over at www.blacklabeladvisor.com or email me at jonelder [at] blacklabeladvisor [dot] com.

If you’re not ready to launch quite yet and want to get more familiar with the Amazon FBA universe, I’d recommend The Rock Your Brand Podcast. You can also learn more about the FBA program directly on Amazon here: https://sell.amazon.com/fulfillment-by-amazon.html

Thanks for taking the time, Jon!

*******
For 70+ more business ideas, check out our Side Hustle Series.

[This post, How I Built and Sold My Amazon FBA Business For 7 Figures, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

[Hey guys! Please welcome 5 AM Joel back to the site today as he starts transitioning into his new role here while I go the opposite way at the end of the month… Really really enjoyed this post of his, and hoping you do too! See ya back on Monday!]

*******

Check out that old name tag up above…

Yep, I used to work at McDonald’s. Started back in 1999 when I was 14 years old and worked there for almost 5 years while attending high school!

I remember …

• They made me work the weekend graveyard shift, 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.
• I was labelled a “pretty boy,” working the front counter with the girls instead of flipping burgers with the boys out back.
• People made fun of my uniform and my ears stuck out of my visor like an alien. 
• My pay was only $5.25 an hour (and my parents made me give away 10% of it to charity).
• I swept, mopped, scrubbed toilets, picked up trash in the parking lot, cleaned fry vats, etc.
• I missed many parties and hangouts with my friends and schoolmates.

But here’s what I gained …

• By the time I finished high school, I’d saved enough money to buy my first investment property with my parents. Thank you, McDonald’s!
• I have an amazing work ethic that makes me stand out. Thank you, McDonald’s!
• Name-calling doesn’t affect me whatsoever (well, tbh it hurts my feelings a little, but I’m way tougher than I used to be!). Thank you, McDonald’s!
• My ego is small; no job is too crappy, smelly, or beneath me. I’ll shovel elephant poop if it stands between me and success. Thank you, McDonald’s!
• I appreciate every single free second I have in life. Thank you, McDonald’s!

I keep all my old name tags and badges as reminders of times that helped build who I am today. Here’s another crappy job I had …

Australia Post!: Working harder, not smarter

When I was 20, I decided that working full-time wasn’t good enough. I wanted more money! So, I picked up an after-hours job sorting mail at the Australia Post factory downtown. I worked 9-5 at my regular day job, then 7-midnight at the post office. 13-hour days, 5 days a week.

I remember …

• I rode my motorbike across town, in the rain many days, freezing cold and shaking by the time I arrived. My hands were so frozen sometimes I’d have trouble holding and sorting the letters.
• My co-workers teased me because I was the only one who didn’t do drugs. Some of them were ex-felons, and I went to work sometimes scared that I would get beat up because I didn’t fit in.
• The management was quite horrible. One boss in particular had it in for me, and publicly berated me regularly.

But here’s what I gained …

• In the 6 months I worked there, I banked a cool $10k, after tax. This money eventually funded my move to the USA. Thank you, AUS Post!
• Trading my time for money, I realized, ultimately wasn’t worth it. I never worked night shifts again and learned the difference between working smarter vs harder. Thank you, AUS Post!
• I learned how to navigate and survive under bad management. It’s all about taking the high road. Thank you, AUS Post!
• I developed my strengths in remembering numbers, sequences, and attention to detail. Thank you, AUS Post!

More crappy jobs, and more awesome life lessons learned …

One summer I worked as a server at Outback Steakhouse. I was fresh off the boat from Australia, with a thick Aussie accent. I learned I could make more money telling jokes and spending quality time with one table than I could scattering my time across multiple tables. I’m better with quality work vs. quantity work.

At Abercrombie & Fitch, my job was just to stand around and smile at tourists. (I was the only model hired for my accent, not my looks!) As fun as that sounds, it was the most boring job I’ve ever had, and I only lasted 3-4 shifts there. I learned that my brain has a “use it or lose it” clause. Another good life lesson I learned: You become the people you hang around. Watch out!

Most of my career has been in sales roles: phone sales, field sales, customer service, and consulting. I’ve been hung up on, yelled at, laughed at, rejected, and failed at more sales presentations than I can remember. But all of these hard times are matched equally with times I received praise, solved client problems, saved people money and time, and added value to lives. My biggest takeaway from sales is: The more value you provide others, the more you will get paid in life.

More to come in the future!

As much as I’d like to think all my hard work in life is done, I’m still learning. Every day, no matter what I’m doing, a challenge pops up out of nowhere. Sometimes they are fun to solve and other times they absolutely suck.

But on the other side of crappy jobs and tasks is invaluable lessons.

Do you agree?  What crappy jobs did you have in high school? (Or do you have a crappy job now!?) What did you learn?

[This post, Crappy Jobs on My Path to FIRE, was first published by 5am Joel on Elite Edge Money]

So lots of GREAT entries into our book giveaway last week!!!

Y’all made some good money on the weekends!!

Wanted to share a handful of my favorites today ‘cuz so many of them were so interesting and hopefully might spark some ideas over there for ya… Even though you might have to wait a while until the evil C passes to be able to do some of these, womp womp…

Zodiac Hustles only for now! Lol…

Before I forget though, let me announce our three lucky winners of Chris’ new book that he was so kind to offer up for us last week: The Money Tree: A Story About Finding the Fortune in Your Own Backyard

1. Sara
2. Kenya
3. Nathan aka Millionaire Dojo

Congrats, guys!! I want an email after you make your first $1,000 off it! ;)

Now onto some of the cool things y’all have done for money over the years…

The “movie extra” and “yacht” ones sound dope!

******

Music Gigs!

Just a few weeks before the virus forced us into a world-wide quarantine, I had my best weekend pull. Between tips, CD sales (yeah we still push those discs) and my standard gig rate I made $1,100. About 10 total performance hours Friday through Sunday which comes out to $110.00/hour.

Music’s been my weekend gig for the past 10 years. Normal weekend would bring in $150 to $300 dollars. A $450 weekend is usually considered ‘great’ in my world!

– Robert Feliciano, AminSafari.com

Here’s one of his music videos – La Rumba…Was waiting for Antonio Banderas to step in! ;)

And then here’s a side hustle we’ve featured before on the blog that goes a little more into what it’s like playing in a band (and making money from it): Side Hustle #48: Playing in a Band

******

Sodding Neighbor’s Yard

I made $1,800 sodding a neighbors yard a few years back. My back hurt for the whole week but it helped get us out of a financial whole. Well worth the pain and all it took was asking neighbors if they had any work they needed done!

– JB, UpwardsofTwenty.com

That last line is key: “asking neighbors if they had any work they needed done!” Any of us could literally walk out our doors right now and do this if we wanted :) Standing 6 feet away, of course…

******

Renting out your backyard!

the most I ever made was $3,000. We rented out the backyard for parking during the State Fair held a few blocks away. We undercut the Fair parking price and were only a block further away! Literally I found a fortune in my back yard!

******

Flea Market Flipping!

The most I ever made over a weekend was $1,800.00. This was approximately 4 years ago when I started selling on the Amazon and eBay platforms.

I was at a flea market and found a weird looking video game made for a PC. I looked up the comps on Amazon and saw that it sold for $70.00. It only cost $8.00, so I asked if the gentleman had any more of these types of games. He said he had 26 more of the exact same one and he would sell them all for $5.00 each! Great score and they all sold within 3 months.

Here’s a great site around this if anyone wants to up their game: FleaMarketFlipper.com. Rob’s been a professional flipper since 1996 (!!), and now’s got his whole family involved :) Super great guy and shares all his secrets/tips through his blog and courses…

And then here are similar hustles we’ve covered over the years as well, but more *product* specific

• Side Hustle #79: Flipping Guitars! ($10,000/year)
• Side Hustle #34: Flipping Video Games (3x profit on avg. per game)
• Side Hustle #33: Flipping Collectible Sneakers ($50-$300/shoe)
• Side Hustle #31: Flipping Collectible Watches ($2,000-$7,000/watch)
• Side Hustle #54: Flipping Junk Mail! ($14+/coupon)

******

Corporate Workshops

I made $10,000 for a one day workshop on using Mind Maps for organizational brainstorming and communications. Mind Maps are used to gather, organize and communicate information visually which helps to retain it more. I never had and not since made that kind of money at one time.

******

High-end Waitressing

Serving food definitely led to the most money I’ve ever made in a weekend. Working at high end restaurants in Miami led to around $500 a night. It was fast-paced work, but man, did it ever pay.

One could choose to work at the clubs rather than the restaurants and easily bring in $7k in one night in tips, but that required wearing lingerie and putting up with misogynistic jerks for about 12 hours a night and I just couldn’t go there.

******

eBay selling

The most I ever made in a weekend was about $750. I was at a garage sale and these people said I could have this box of stuff if I wanted it. They were going to throw it away, so I threw it in my car not thinking much about it.

When I got home and started looking up the contents of the box, I found that I had several pieces of rare, vintage cb radio equipment. I put it all up for auction on eBay and couldn’t believe how many people started bidding.

I hadn’t thought much about selling on eBay at that point, but after that experience I decided to start doing it as a side hustle and made about $10k last year.

– Nathan, MillionaireDojo.com

$10,000 a year since paying more attention to it – nice!

******

Movie Set “Extra!”

The most I ever made in a weekend was about ~$1,500 as an extra on the set of the movie “Collateral” (starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx).

I was in college at the time and it was over Thanksgiving weekend and I had not planned on going home. My friend had heard about this “open-call” for extras and we went to check it out! Well, as things sometimes go, they needed females, not males. So I suddenly found myself in a weird fake “club” scene that was built in a cold warehouse.

We filmed shot after shot after shot, which equaled to over 12 hours of work some days! Some major highlights were:

1) The hourly rate was like… $15, but doubled at 8 hours to double-time, then triple time by hour 14? I hope that math comes out right. :)

2) I got to see Tom Cruise and meet Jamie Foxx! Jamie Foxx was much more sociable and came out to hang out with extras before and between shots. Tom Cruise did not, his body double would stand for hours and then he’d come in right before the shot.

Either way, super cool and more money than I had ever made in a weekend to date!

So cool :) And another hustle we’ve featured here on the blog recently – Side Hustle #78: Being a TV/Film “Extra”. I’d jump on this in a heartbeat if I didn’t have to keep some kids alive, haha… Super fun sounding, and from what I hear you can still do a lot of stuff on the down times while on set. Perfect for stacking hustles!

******

Making/Selling Jewelry

The most money I ever made over a weekend was $800. I make jewelry as a side hustle and sold that much at a local festival one weekend.

– Amy J.

Another hustle we’ve covered before, only this guy focuses on COIN jewelry :) Side Hustle #70: Making Rings and Jewelry From Coins!

******

Working on chartered yachts!

In my early 20’s I worked on charter yachts. My biggest weekend was a 3 day hire, base pay $500. Per day. Then came the tip- my portion was $2,100.00! Which of course I didn’t know any better and probably bought lots of drinks with!

– Caroline

(I asked if it was like that reality show, Below Deck, and apparently it is ;) “In ways, yes. A very small world of people who work in yachting – Who was sleeping with who – Which guests were horrible, etc. It was definitely a glimpse into a whole different world!”)

******

And then perhaps the entry that made me smile most :)

The most I have made on the weekends are: Long kayak trips, many family dinners, walks in the woods, wine parties with friends, and time spent with my aging parents. All priceless!

In the last 10 years, I have not made any money on the weekends. I believe in striving for Work/Life Balance and after joining the FIRE movement, I have conditioned myself to work hard on weekdays and have been able to work two jobs (one career and one side hustle) without having to work weekends.

I read somewhere once that no one requests to have this put on their gravestone, “I wish I worked more!”. I happen to agree.

– Suzy, OTWcoaching.com

There’s def. a time for hustling, but also a time to soak up what all that hustling was done for: LIFE. And if you can manage to squeeze it in all during the *work week* regardless of your phase – even better!! Mad grinding, then mad relaxing! Can’t hate on that!

Here were a few other comments I enjoyed reading as well before we go:

• “The most I ever made was $10k when I was in real estate…” (As a former realtor of all of 3 months, I can attest to how big those payouts are! But would be a lot more fun if you weren’t at someone’s beck and call 24/7!)
• “The most I ever made was $450 after taxes when I was in the National Guard” (Here’s a post around being a Reservist if anyone was ever curious about that: Side Hustle #27: Air Force Reservist)
• “The most I ever made was $250 judging high school theatre competitions.” (That sounds fun :))
• “The most I ever made was $800 from two modeling gigs!”
• “I made $300 playing blackjack in Las Vegas. Partially made up for many less successful Vegas trips.”

Thanks to everyone who participated! Really enjoyed reading all your comments!

[This post, How people make the most money on weekends 💰💰💰, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]