5 ways to make more money

Learn how to earn

Kansas City, Missouri - The great thing about learning how to "Work Less, Make More®" is that you get to have your cake and eat it too. When you focus on your brilliance, when you put your talents to the tasks that really matter, when you add value at every opportunity, when you prioritize and delegate properly; you inevitably make more money. The "Work Less, Make More®" strategies will put you back in the driver's seat - and your personal life, your business life, and your financial life will all improve.

Jennifer White, executive success coach, speaker, and author of the new book "Work Less, Make More®" (John Wiley & Sons, October 1999), teaches you how to implement these proven strategies that have helped thousands of people find what they've been looking for - more time to live life, more time away from the office, and yes, more money.

White says that once you learn how to work less - and become more productive in the process - you will absolutely earn more money. If you focus on the high-impact, revenue-producing projects, says White, and become even better at letting go of those mundane, unimportant, time-consuming tasks, you will start to think like an executive, act like an executive, and function like an executive - then you'll earn like an executive.

"The great thing about earning more money is that it forces you to be worth that much," says White. "You see, we all have it in our heads what someone who earns $100,000 or $250,000 a year is like. How they think, how they act, who they are. When you force yourself to play that game of being worth more, you suddenly become more. You change how you act, what you think, and who you are."

Here are some of Jennifer's proven strategies for making more money in theyear ahead:

1. Be the best.
When you're the best at what you do, you decide how much you work and how much you'll get paid... if you know how good you really are. So this year, focus all your passion and attention on getting even better at what you do - and not some empty promise, "I'm going to do better." Be intense about mastering your craft. Only then can you follow Step Two.

2. Ask for more money.

If you want to make more money, it's time to ask for more money. The easiest way to generate high income is to simply ask for it - right now. Don't start giving excuses. Most people White coaches dramatically increase their income by asking for a raise from their employer or raising their prices.

3. Focus on results, not on how much time it takes.

That means you must kick what White calls the entitlement mentality. Just because it took you 48 hours to do a project doesn't mean it's worth anything. If you want to generate more results and more income, you must do one of three things this year for your company or your clients:

help them make more money,
help them save time, and
help them save money.
If you can do any of these three things, you'll add bottomline value and you'll be able to increase your own income.

4. Start building a financial reserve - now!

Having money in the bank gives you confidence. It allows you to have more choices. Not having a reserve of money forces you to focus on survival. "Work Less, Make More®" is not about surviving, it's about living. The only way to be able to take the risks you need to take to earn more money is to have something to fall back on - and that's a financial reserve. So put money in the bank right now. No matter how many bills you have, start saving money today. And watch that consumer debt. Stop spending until you can get back on your financial track and build your reserve.

5. Give your money away.

It seems like an oxymoron but it's not. When you give money away - even a few dollars - you start to feel abundant, as if there is enough money in the world for you and for someone else. And that's how you attract even more money into your life. So give freely and joyfully this year. Then sit back and watch what happens.

It's hard to put a number on your worth - most of us are too humble or simply don't know how to determine what salary we are actually worth. But, if you're ready to "Work Less, Make More®" in the new century ahead, you have to develop the attitude, "I'm worth it!" Attitude - believing you are what you make - is a big part of success. People who have lots of money know they are worth it. So, start believing in yourself and follow Jennifer White's "Work Less, Make More®" strategies, and you will make more money in the new millennium.

Best work-at-home jobs

When Jeff Zbar launched his freelance writing career almost 20 years ago, a good friend remarked, "I've never met a starving writer before." Zbar's prompt reply was, "I'm not going to be your first."

He has delivered on that promise, writing about a variety of topics in different styles, "from journalism to corporate copywriting and beyond, as well as public speaking on various topics," he notes. Zbar, who is based in Florida, has been making more than $50,000 a year for some time.

Freelance writing is one of various fields where individuals can work from home and, through hard work and determination, earn $50,000 a year, or more. Success with work-from-home jobs depends on self-motivation and professional experience, freelancers say -- the more you have of both, the better. You also must be disciplined and skilled at networking, so you can attract clients/contacts.

Here's a look at several careers where you can work from home and earn a good living:

1. Public Relations Professional

Thanks to technology, PR professionals can set up home-based shops -- something Cynthia Schick has done with her PR business, CLS Communications, in Lebanon, New Jersey. Schick pitches stories, trains small business owners on positioning themselves as experts for the press, and does copywriting for brochures and websites. Schick has been working from home for three years; her first year, she earned just under $50,000. "I think $50,000 is a fair target to reach pretty early on," she says, noting this year she expects to make in the high $60Ks, or more.

2. Graphic Designer

Rick Shaffer, a freelance graphic designer/marketer since 2001, runs his business, Shaffer Design Works, out of a studio in the basement of his home in Streetsboro, Ohio. He works for several national clients as well as small businesses, designing logos, brochures, websites and other marketing materials. "My first year I was probably making $40,000. It didn't take me long -- my second year I made something like $85,000, and this year I made six figures. It has grown exponentially for me," Shaffer says.

3. Realtor

As an independent contractor selling properties for Weichert, Realtors in Flemington, New Jersey, Lori Stellwag works from home 80 percent of the time. She goes to Weichert's offices for meetings and to check in periodically. Stellwag has done work from home for three years, and says computers and cell phones are a boon, enabling her to stay in touch with clients and do research about properties. "I make at least $50,000 or more doing this. ... To make at least $50,000 in this industry, you have to be a go-getter and you have to do it full-time, unless you are pretty lucky," she says.

4. Freelance Writer

Ed Finkel, a freelance writer based in Evanston, Illinois, who has been working from home for nearly six years, says he came close to earning $50,000 in his first year. "I think $50,000 is definitely doable. It's more doable for someone who has had more jobs and is out in the business for a while. It's just like any profession where it's better to work for a while and build up some subject matter expertise," he explains. According to Finkel and Zbar, freelance writers should be flexible about taking on a variety of different assignments -- but also specialize in an area, such as public policy, technology, or education. It's akin to being a generalist and a specialist at the same time.

5. Financial Planner

Investments, taxes, and retirement and estate planning -- Jerry D. Murphy consults with his clients on these matters as a home-based certified financial planner in Bowie, Maryland. Murphy has been operating his business, JDM Financial & Investments Inc., since 1996; he says he hit the $50,000 mark after about four years. "You have to have the dedication to stick to it when the going gets rough. One thing that kept me going was my desire to provide the best advice to clients and provide personal service to individuals," he says.


article by Kristina Cowan.


Kristina Cowan is the senior writer for PayScale.com. She has over 10 years of journalism experience, specializing in education and workforce issues.

Management

Points of view


My time isn't worth Money, but it has sentimental value. - Nick Joy

If you say something stupid, and no one disagrees, then you know you're the boss.

Ahhh...I see the fuck-up fairy has visited us again...

I don't work here. I'm a consultant.

Hang in there, retirement is only thirty years away!



A cubicle is just a padded cell without a door.

Can I trade this job for what's behind door 1?

I thought I wanted a career, turns out I just wanted paychecks.

A woman's favorite possition is... CEO.

Offices are like a tree filled with monkees. From the top looking down, all you see are smiling faces, but from the bottom looking up, all you see are assholes.

I pretend to work. They pretend to pay me.

This isn't an office. It's Hell with fluorescent lighting.

There are two kinds of companies: Good ones ask you to think for them. The others tell you to think like them. - Benjy Feen

Slavery has a new name - work. - Florin DeRoxas

If at first you don't succeed, try management.

We waste time, so you don't have to.

Go the extra mile. It makes your boss look like an incompetent slacker.

Are you a cog in the clockworks, useful for your precise performance of a tightly-defined role? Or are you an intelligent agent in an open system, developing and manipulating resources and methods to meet goals? Which would you rather be? And what are you now? Think about it: Does your job suck? - Benjy Feen

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