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The title of this column is “Increase.” Why? While I believe it’s important to make sure we aren’t bleeding cash, people’s financial lives are not dramatically changed because they get better at pinching pennies.
Financial lives are changed when we change our perspective on money: Where we are today doesn’t have to be where we stay.
You are a money making machine. But how is your machine working? Are you producing to your potential? Are you producing what you need to feel financially free?
If not, then it’s time to learn how to increase our earning potential and increase our income!
When I say we need to increase our income, what comes to mind? For most people, they immediately think about getting a side job or working longer hours. With the gig economy, it has become easy to pick up a little extra money here or there by driving Uber or shopping for InstaCart. When I say that you need to increase your income, you might begin to think about getting a new job that pays better or waltzing into your boss’s office and asking for a raise.
All of these things are legitimate ways to increase your income, but today, I want to teach you how to increase your income by increasing the value you bring to the marketplace, not just the number of hours you spend working.
Instead of trading time for money, we’re going to learn how to trade value for money. Yes, you’ll need to spend TIME working, but the solution isn’t always more hours, it’s in how to make those hours more valuable.
This conversation can be a little tricky because it is easy to confuse worth with value. These two things are not the same. Your worth is priceless. No matter your income level, what your boss says about you, or how you may feel about yourself, there is no price tag that could be placed on your worth. In God’s eyes and in mine, your worth is priceless.
However, your VALUE has a price tag. Value in the marketplace means cold hard cash. If you work for someone, they pay you a wage that they believe reflects the value you are bringing to the organization. The money you receive from your job is an exchange of value. The more money you receive, the more value you are bringing.
What value are you bringing to your organization? If you’re simply filling a seat that others could fill, your value is going to be worth around minimum wage. However, when you possess unique skills, increase sales, or have a knack for reducing costs at your company, you become increasingly valuable to your organization. And value = money, both for your business and for yourself.
Next week, we’re going to dig into two business concepts: top line and bottom line. If you can understand how your work (and value) correlates to these two concepts, you’ll be able to create a plan to increase your income quicker than you thought possible.
Zach Santmier is the owner of Trumble Agency, Inc. and the author of the personal financial course, Increase. He focuses on helping families escape paycheck to paycheck living so they can freely pursue their ideal future.
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