Some data show that Chinese insurers manage 8 trillion yuan in assets, less than 6 percent of the Agricultural Bank of China's, and the popularity of insurance in China is still very low. When it comes to buying insurance, many people will say that their family savings are limited and they don't have extra money to buy insurance. So how can you increase your family income, realize financial freedom, and take out some of your money to buy insurance? We recommend a guidebook for American career women to start their own business - "The Mom Who Makes Money".
The author of this book, "The Mom Who Makes Money", Kristel Penn, uses her own twisted and successful entrepreneurial experience to guide modern women to increase their income through entrepreneurship or various part-time jobs, so that financial freedom is no longer a dream. Krystal Penn, an American speaker and career woman, founded the MoneySavingMom.com blog in 2007 with the mission of encouraging women to live on purpose, and with an average monthly readership of over 2 million, it is one of the most popular blogs out there. With the income from her book and blog, she has not only been able to live the life she wants, but she has also participated in an international Save the Children program that sponsors 130-160 mothers and children in the Dominican Republic*** and country. And what you wouldn't expect you to know is that before that, Krystal Penn was just a regular housewife, mom of three, and had a husband in law school when she got pregnant for the first time. Faced with bills coming in faster than money, she had to take care of her kids while doing extensive research online to find possibilities to make money right from home. Eventually, after a long time and a variety of ways to make money, she discovered what she was good at and succeeded in achieving her life goals of financial freedom and generosity in helping others.
The Mom Who Makes Money uses a lot of real-life examples to teach us to take full advantage of our own resources to start our own business or work part-time, and to find the meaning and purpose of life from the process of making money-living generously. The book can be divided into three important parts, the first is what financial freedom. The second is how to explore your talents and passions to achieve financial freedom. Finally, the author suggests an alternative perspective to look at money-inventorying the heart, not being burdened by money, and letting our lives make a positive impact on others.
Definition of financial freedom?
Financial freedom is one of the most popular words in the last two years. In the state of financial freedom, people can make conscious use of money, plan ahead, save ahead, and get spiritual fulfillment in the right space. Sometimes we hear people say, "If I had $5 million, I wouldn't have to work right now!" Of course, the $5 million here is just an analogy; some people feel that with $1 million they can retire early, while others feel that $5 million is not nearly enough. China's Hurun Research Institute has done a survey report, said China's first-tier cities to 290 million to achieve wealth freedom, and some statistics say that in Shanghai to achieve financial freedom to more than 7 million. Let's first look at the understanding of Kristel Penn, who tells us that financial freedom is not:
Working sixteen hours a day and burning out your life?
Getting rich quick, building a big business or making a lot of money?
Sacrificing time with loved ones with an idea or cause?
Get rich to get richer?
By clarifying all of the above, we get a clearer picture of what financial freedom is fundamentally about. For example, when Kristel was faced with the question of whether or not to move her family, in the end, because it benefited her family and her career, she made the choice to be truly free. So what Kristel means by financial freedom is:
Making choices that are both in the best interest of herself and her family and in line with long-term goals?
Using skills and talents to turn knowledge and available resources into income-generating ideas?
Takes manageable risks and tries new things
Ability to be generous with time and talent to bless and impact others?
Financial freedom has different standards and understandings for everyone, just like the well-known story of the rich man and the fisherman, where the rich man thought that the fisherman should become a rich man and then go to the beach to sunbathe, while the fisherman felt that he didn't need to become a rich man to enjoy life already. Living in this materialistic era, what financial freedom means is worth everyone's deep thought. For people in the workplace, financial freedom means not having to commute to work on time and work for the boss, for many moms, financial freedom means not having to worry about food, rice, oil and salt, and having more time and energy to accompany the children to take care of the family. For people who start their own business, financial freedom means that they can retire early and do what they like to do. Alibaba founder Jack Ma, for example, announced some time ago that he will no longer serve as chairman of the board of directors next year, and is going to focus on public welfare and education in the future.?
How do you achieve financial freedom?
Kristel believes that everyone is capable of providing value to this society and can turn it into a source of income. She encourages women to realize their potential and use their talents and passions to make money and achieve financial freedom. First you need to have a successful business idea, which includes the following characteristics:
?
Have a steady income ?
Keeps people satisfied rather than exhausted?
Allows people to build on their strengths and avoid their weaknesses?
A business idea without profit is meaningless. Your business idea must also bring fulfillment, not exhaustion. For example, if you start a business but you're only in it to make money, or if you have to work ten hours a day and don't have time to spend with your family, then it's not worth pursuing for you. Also, your business idea must be centered on your strengths, which are your passions and areas of knowledge. So it's pretty important to figure out five questions before you start a business:?
Do I have a passion and am I willing to act on it and see it realized?
Who are the potential customers?
Can I afford the startup costs?
Have I done enough market research?
Am I willing to suffer failure?
It takes a lot of dedication to make any business work, and if you don't have the passion and it's not from the heart, and you're not motivated to overcome the difficulties along the way, it's only natural to fail. Once you have been able to answer the five questions above, you can then define a mission statement for your business to help clarify what kind of market need your business will fulfill and what problem it will help people solve. For example, Krystal Penn's vision for her blog was to "encourage women to increase their income in highly hands-on ways, expand their impact, and have fun in the process." ?
Defining a mission statement facilitates a clear plan of action. For example, how to run your business, how to achieve your mission statement, what goals to achieve, how many products to sell, etc. The big goals are further broken down into smaller goals, always reminding what is the most important thing at hand and what is the next step. There are many options for starting your own business, such as an online service or merchandise, an organizing expert, a consultant, direct sales or distribution, and a traditional brick and mortar store. As you plan to launch your own business, Krystal Penn suggests some rules and guidelines:?
Do your homework?
Set some challenging goals?
Be willing to make sacrifices?
Do try and do real things?
Don't give up lightly
Focus on career growth next. Slow, smart growth is better for a sustainable career. Using what you already have to drive additional income is a great way to do this. Expand your business beyond the products and services you currently offer. For example, I know of a florist who, in addition to selling flowers and greenery, has a craft class where he instructs his customers to make dried flower frames out of some dried flowers, dried fruits, and plant leaves to generate additional income for himself. For a florist, there are so many raw materials that can be used to make dried flower photo frames that it can be described as low-cost and high-yield. In addition, make a conscious effort to increase your income before you spend and always set aside an amount for savings. Saving a business emergency fund is essential as your business grows to ensure you have enough money for working capital. Finally, you need to maintain personal growth. For example, read a new business or leadership book every month, find a life mentor, put yourself in the midst of straight talkers, etc. In short, don't settle for the status quo; achieving personal growth will give you more opportunities to grow your business.
The path to entrepreneurship is not a smooth one. On the obstacles that may be encountered in starting a business, she said: ?
When you want to give up on your business, you can give yourself a break, and a period of time away from your business will bring clarity to the idea. Then revisit and reassess the business plan and process, talk to people you trust, read books and find solutions.?
When you're stuck with the fear of failure, ask yourself, "How bad can it be at worst?" Encourage yourself to step out of your comfort zone. Stepping out of your comfort zone will give you more opportunities than staying the same, no matter what.
When someone gets in your way, try to stay away from negative people and situations, ignore their negative comments, and either don't respond or respond with genuine love and kindness.
When you have to work from home, it is recommended that you set a parameter for your working hours, break up your work into small segments and work according to a schedule to be more efficient. Nowadays, the internet is so advanced and flooded with all kinds of social media that using them in moderation can turn them into a tool for career growth, or else you will be mastered by them.
In this way, we can use our resources wisely, invest our time prudently and create more value.
Besides entrepreneurship, Kristel Penn uses numerous examples to teach us to expand our ideas and find ways to create all kinds of "residual income". For example, creating an e-book to sell, starting a blog, taking an online course in a field you know, and so on. In recent years, micro-businesses have been growing rapidly, and there are many full-time moms around who have been able to generate income for their families through micro-businesses and Taobao. The other day I saw a more interesting scene. After dinner out for a walk through the square, a group of young people in this year's popular ghost dance, placed in front of a sign that reads "Ghost dance teaching 200 yuan, inclusive of teaching!" And not far away, a group of older women's sign is, "Square dance fee 68 monthly!" Instant emotion, square dance ama hobby can be used to increase income ah!
Find a better meaning for making money, not tired of money?
We live in a consumerist world, 365 days a year, businessmen can't wait for every day to evolve into a day of consumption carnival. People know that money can't buy happiness, but it seems that the more you get, the happier you feel. The more you have, the more you want, and more isn't enough. 5 million can be a 5 million dollar business, 10 million can be a 10 million dollar investment. As author Clive Hamilton said, "We are free to spend, but not free to find our place in the world." If you want to live an amazing life, you must live for your greater purpose at all times and are bound to be burdened by desire. Instead, it's better to take an inventory of our hearts, manage our money, and bring greater meaning to our earning-helping others and making a positive impact on their lives.?
For living generously and helping others, as the old saying goes, don't let a good deed go unpunished. Kristel suggests supporting local charities, or donating a few books, clothing or household items, or giving a few dozen dollars a month to support children in impoverished areas, or even investing in people and running good relationships with those around you. Little things like that. Not only does Kristel's blog provide practical help to her readers, but she has also used the proceeds of her blog to support many children in the Dominican **** and country, as well as funding special programs in impoverished areas of South Africa. Her good friend Lisa Jo has also used her blog to improve the lives of a South African village of 150 adults and 250 orphans by launching a campaign to build a community center, clean water, vegetable gardens, and a sports field for the village with donations raised through her blog. Under her leadership, thousands of women opened their eyes and found greater meaning and fulfillment. Indeed, giving is happier than receiving. While you worry about your monthly mortgage, car payment, and credit card bills, there are many people in this world who do not have clean water to drink. Compared to them, what we have is plenty.?
In the end, Kristel said, I want to make a difference. I want to live each day as if it were my last. I want to invest my life, my energy and my time in something that has a lasting impact. She reorganized her life priorities:?
Cultivating a relationship with God?
Investing time and effort in her marriage to make it happy and long-lasting
Nurturing her children's character so they can be world-changers
Striving to have stable financial support for her family so they can be generous givers
Encouraging women to live with purpose?
Why shouldn't Kristel's life priorities be every woman's priorities? The only reason we work hard to make money is so that we can spend more time with our families and not be overwhelmed by life and money...
Why shouldn't Kristel's priorities be the same for every woman in the world?
The book "The Mom Who Makes Money" is not a guidebook for entrepreneurship in the ordinary sense; Kristel encourages women to find their purpose in life, teaches us to face the problems in the process of entrepreneurship, and takes us step by step towards financial freedom. The sincere advice she gives is like a signpost that applies not only to moms who want to make money, but also to all those who want to achieve financial freedom. What's even more remarkable is that she teaches us to constantly inventory our hearts, desires and cravings, giving us another perspective on life and money. May more people achieve financial freedom through this book and reorder their life priority options on the way to making money, not being burdened by money, and finding a more positive meaning for achieving financial freedom.