Why F-R-E-E is the most expensive word in the dictionary
I hear it all the time: "Mr. X, I'm broke. Can you give me some free money making information? Can you tell me where to advertise for free? Where to get free web hosting? Where to get free traffic? I want to make money, but I want it to be free, free, free!"
Everybody wants something free, but few realize how expensive free really is. Contrary to many people's beliefs, money is not the most precious resource--there's actually plenty of it to be made. Time is your most precious resource, and how you spend yours dictates how much money and success you will have in the future.
Consider this: what's the difference between the self-made millionaire, and the bum on the street with the cardboard sign that says, "Will work for food?" It's how they spend their time--both have 24 hours in the day, but both engage in radically different activities.
About six years ago I found myself trying to run a business that was failing miserably, and racking up dang near $20,000.00 of credit card debt. At the time I knew absolutely nothing about marketing, business, direct marketing, etc. I thought I had a product everyone wanted, and to my surprise not too many people wanted it from me. Now, I could have spent my time looking for free things, handouts, etc., but I didn't. Instead I went to the only "free" place that is worthwhile--the library. Since I didn't have any money, I had lots of time, and decided to spend it educating myself.
So, every waking moment I had, I spent in the library, reading books about business and how to make money. In my readings I stumbled across a book simply entitled, "Building a Mail Order Business" by a retired Colonel (a West Pointer) named William Cohen. It was a big, fat book, and one of the most exciting I ever read. It also had a list of "recommended reading," and since I was at the library, I checked out and read every single book Col. Cohen recommended. These books lead me to more books, and to more books, and all of a sudden I started to catch a clue about how to get people to buy my product.
Using what I learned from one of those books, I spent a little bit of money ($35) to mail 150 sales letters (which I wrote myself, and copied at Kinkos) to my very small list of customers. I got back $185 in orders in return. Wow, that was exciting!
What did I do with the money? Blow it? Nope, I "re-invested it" in information. I got Dan Kennedy's Magnetic Marketing Toolkit, spent a week studying it (a good use of my TIME) and then sent out a "cash flow surge letter" to those same 150 customers.
That letter (written just as Dan taught) brought in $1,800.00.
That was even more exciting. Now, what did I do with that $1,800.00? Pay off some debt? Nope--I re-invested it in more information. Dan was holding a 3 day seminar that cost-- you guessed it-- $1,800.00. Luckily, you could bring an "associate" for no extra charge, so I called up a friend of mine (who'd sold me a subscription to the Gary Halbert letter) and we split the cost.
At the seminar, Dan gave me some specific advice on how to get more customers, and I went on to make $200,000.00 in a very short amount of time, paying off all my debt and having a few pennies in my pocket to jingle.
During that time spent at the library I learned some very valuable lessons. I learned how to make money without money, and how to make every single dollar I had work very hard for me. I still use those lessons today, and they keep the money in my pocket, while friends of mine who started a business with lots of money are now broke because they never learned how to make money without money.
Now, think for a minute if I'd tried to get everything for free because I was "broke." I never would have gotten Magnetic Marketing, nor would I have gone to Dan's seminar. Both, according to "conventional wisdom" are "too expensive" when you have $20,000.00 of debt. Yet, because I looked at them as an investment (instead of an expense, the way most people look at education), a way to increase the value of how I used my time, I quickly dug out of my hole. And I continued to invest in my education, increasing the value of time (at present consulting rates) to over $1,000.00 an hour.
That never would have happened had I tried to get everything for free. As soon as I had one penny in my pocket, I invested it in my education--and I still do. If I'd gone the path of "everything free" I'd still be in debt, and my time would probably be worth minimum wage.
So, if my story rings a bell to you, the first thing you need to do is get out of the "free stuff" mindset. Invest in your education, and put what you learn to work for you--soon you'll be as successful as you desire.
Let's get to it...
Mr. X.
Group M Marketing
Kimble and Kennedy Publishing
Everybody wants something free, but few realize how expensive free really is. Contrary to many people's beliefs, money is not the most precious resource--there's actually plenty of it to be made. Time is your most precious resource, and how you spend yours dictates how much money and success you will have in the future.
Consider this: what's the difference between the self-made millionaire, and the bum on the street with the cardboard sign that says, "Will work for food?" It's how they spend their time--both have 24 hours in the day, but both engage in radically different activities.
About six years ago I found myself trying to run a business that was failing miserably, and racking up dang near $20,000.00 of credit card debt. At the time I knew absolutely nothing about marketing, business, direct marketing, etc. I thought I had a product everyone wanted, and to my surprise not too many people wanted it from me. Now, I could have spent my time looking for free things, handouts, etc., but I didn't. Instead I went to the only "free" place that is worthwhile--the library. Since I didn't have any money, I had lots of time, and decided to spend it educating myself.
So, every waking moment I had, I spent in the library, reading books about business and how to make money. In my readings I stumbled across a book simply entitled, "Building a Mail Order Business" by a retired Colonel (a West Pointer) named William Cohen. It was a big, fat book, and one of the most exciting I ever read. It also had a list of "recommended reading," and since I was at the library, I checked out and read every single book Col. Cohen recommended. These books lead me to more books, and to more books, and all of a sudden I started to catch a clue about how to get people to buy my product.
Using what I learned from one of those books, I spent a little bit of money ($35) to mail 150 sales letters (which I wrote myself, and copied at Kinkos) to my very small list of customers. I got back $185 in orders in return. Wow, that was exciting!
What did I do with the money? Blow it? Nope, I "re-invested it" in information. I got Dan Kennedy's Magnetic Marketing Toolkit, spent a week studying it (a good use of my TIME) and then sent out a "cash flow surge letter" to those same 150 customers.
That letter (written just as Dan taught) brought in $1,800.00.
That was even more exciting. Now, what did I do with that $1,800.00? Pay off some debt? Nope--I re-invested it in more information. Dan was holding a 3 day seminar that cost-- you guessed it-- $1,800.00. Luckily, you could bring an "associate" for no extra charge, so I called up a friend of mine (who'd sold me a subscription to the Gary Halbert letter) and we split the cost.
At the seminar, Dan gave me some specific advice on how to get more customers, and I went on to make $200,000.00 in a very short amount of time, paying off all my debt and having a few pennies in my pocket to jingle.
During that time spent at the library I learned some very valuable lessons. I learned how to make money without money, and how to make every single dollar I had work very hard for me. I still use those lessons today, and they keep the money in my pocket, while friends of mine who started a business with lots of money are now broke because they never learned how to make money without money.
Now, think for a minute if I'd tried to get everything for free because I was "broke." I never would have gotten Magnetic Marketing, nor would I have gone to Dan's seminar. Both, according to "conventional wisdom" are "too expensive" when you have $20,000.00 of debt. Yet, because I looked at them as an investment (instead of an expense, the way most people look at education), a way to increase the value of how I used my time, I quickly dug out of my hole. And I continued to invest in my education, increasing the value of time (at present consulting rates) to over $1,000.00 an hour.
That never would have happened had I tried to get everything for free. As soon as I had one penny in my pocket, I invested it in my education--and I still do. If I'd gone the path of "everything free" I'd still be in debt, and my time would probably be worth minimum wage.
So, if my story rings a bell to you, the first thing you need to do is get out of the "free stuff" mindset. Invest in your education, and put what you learn to work for you--soon you'll be as successful as you desire.
Let's get to it...
Mr. X.
Group M Marketing
Kimble and Kennedy Publishing
