Getting Paid

Money is made by solving problems for decision-makers with money. Desire to solve those problems is not enough. You need the skills and knowledge to be able to deliver. To do that, you need training/studying. You also need the decision-maker to choose you specifically. There will normally be others who can solve the problem too. How many others is the key factor in how much you get paid. It is not about you. It is about the supply of problem solvers, and demand for problem-solving. Beyond merit (skills and knowledge), the two other key factors are capital and containers. Capital buys you time to build skills and knowledge. Ideally, you can build while earning, but often there is a trade-off. Time to learn. Time to earn. The container is the barriers to entry that make it worth your while. The container is the “rubber hits the road” way to get paid. You can spend years developing merit, but if there is no container to fit that into a countable “product” where an ask meets an offer, there will be no reward.

Where the rubber hits the road

Due Dilligence

Due Diligence is the reasonable steps required to gather information before entering into an agreement or taking action. Looking before you cross the road. Price is not value. Price is a signal of supply and demand. If something is incredibly valuable to lots of people, but is abundant, its price will be low. Whether your skills and knowledge are valuable is not in question. Meritocracy is not based on ranking skills and knowledge, it is based on barriers to entry. A competitive advantage is not what you are good at. It is why others cannot do what you are doing, which keeps it in short supply. Choices have consequences. We do not live in isolation. When it comes to money, you have to do your due diligence. You make money through the conscious construction of a container. It is not about respect or worth. That is your personal practice of conquering the demons in your head and heart. Money making is solving problems for decision makers with money. It is not about you. It is doing what you have to do, so you can do what you want to do.

Look before you cross the road

Signals to Come and Go

Money is made in Containers. We normally focus on the type of problem when speaking of money making. The “how”. But problems, can and do, change. More important are the Capital and Container that support and give form to the process of money making. Capital stills the waves creating space and time for dynamic problems. Capacity for research and development of the skills and knowledge necessary. It creates the ability to listen to the signals been given about what problems are paying enough to focus on. Containers are given shape by Barriers to Entry, and Barriers to Exit. Price responds to Supply and Demand. How many people can solve the problem? How many people want the problem solved? Barriers to Entry stop you from being the one who solves the problem for an attractive price. Barriers to Exit force you to solve the problem when the price is too low to make it worth your while. Real financial autonomy lies in having the strength, flexibility, and control to navigate your way through the noise with grace and beauty. To move with purpose. To make empowered decisions.

Sending Signals

 

Building Capacity

A business is a legal person. It is a container which has legal rights and is subject to obligations. A share is a slice of ownership of this container. In deciding whether to buy or sell a share, you don’t just look at the product. You don’t just look at what the business does and “is”. Beyond the product they are selling and its profitability, you have to look at the solvency and liquidity of the container. At its strength and flexibility. Solvency is a measure of endurance. Unlike people with reasonably stable salaries, a business can have much more volatile profits. Years it makes no money or loses money. It needs to survive. It needs Capital in excess of the money it has borrowed, to get through difficult periods. It needs self-reliance. Self-sufficiency. To make adjustments. Research & Development. New leaders. New management. New hires. New products. Mergers and Acquisitions. Restructuring. Liquidity is a measure of short-term resilience. Even if you have Capital, you need cash to meet clear and present dangers. To make sure immediate needs don’t drown long-term purpose. When investing in yourself, don’t just focus on what you do. Build endurance and resilience to have the capacity to keep doing, whatever comes in your way.

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