MONEY 45 - MONEY

THIS IS MY 45^TH BLOG ON UNDERSTANDING MONEY TOOLS

Let’s go back to fundamentals of UNDERSTANDING MONEY TOOLS.

Work/employment has unique tools associated with each job and what is necessary to make a living. If you are a carpenter you need at least a hammer and saw.

In today’s world the greatest tool I know of is money. Look at money managers, stock brokers, hedge fund managers, bankers, etc. The biggest winners for annual income come from Hedge Fund Managers then, followed by Investment Bankers. If you want to make big money, you need to follow the money.

The tool of the trade is money, and it is other peoples’ money, known as “OPM”. The difficulty is getting into the environment when you are not born into it or perhaps did not get an MBA from one of the top named universities.

The following ideas are for the younger generation. You/they need to get connected to the monied crowd.  For this my suggestion would be to go where the monied people recreate. Try to find a job around yacht clubs, polo fields and equestrian clientele, ski resorts, private golf courses, tennis and country clubs.  Even entry-level jobs are hard to find with today’s high unemployment rate.

Do you have skills the wealthy respect and want to be close to, e.g. tennis instructor, golf pro, or good with horses and training? Wealthy people want to be around individuals they relate to and respect.  For this you have to add value. Also, you need to keep yourself in good condition, attractive, clean and dress the part. Not that I am against tattoos however, many young people don’t think ahead at how tattoos on the wrong places of the body can prevent them from entering the business world.

If you can get connected to some of these people with money will they step up and invite you to cocktail parties and barbeques?  Once into that circle of people you must be very subtle and not push as to your desires, but if asked don’t hesitate speaking about your life plans. Without a plan in mind no one can or will help. The more specific you are the better. The adage “plan your work, work your plan”, is what you need to do.

In general, I have noticed many companies advertising for employment however, where they ask for “experience” they note “non-management”.  Companies are covering a couple bases here. One is age discrimination. Normally, by the time a person is in their mid to late 20’s they have some managerial experience. So this tells us the companies want young people, early 20’s or just out of college. The second thing this indicates is that the company wants to train the employee to their guidelines; management theory/training from another company is eliminated. The third thing this tells me is the company doesn’t want to pay a higher wage that an older experienced individual would want.

Again, almost all companies want one thing today and that is “people to the table”, buyers……ready, willing and able buyers. That means sales, sales means money, money should mean profit. In terms of money management it means more money in the door for professional management.

Don’t forget there is value and then “perceived value”. The only thing that matters is that a company perceives that you will add value through your contacts.  Both “values” are nice!

In closing I want to offer three pieces of advice that work for everyone trying to get ahead. These are: talk less especially about yourself, ask more questions and listen, and thirdly be very diplomatic.

This is one way of getting there. I know, because that is exactly how I got my start in the business world in Vail, Colorado, working part time while attending college.