I didn’t think this was a secret… but maybe it is

The secret I’m talking about: “You’ve got to spend money to make money.”

I followed Andy Jenkins and Brad Fallon’s Stompernet launch. I was totally mesmerized by the “show”. Even though I didn’t buy into their system, I did end up on their email list.

In their latest missive, they introduce their readers to Eben W. Pagan, better known by his stage name David DeAngelo. According to Wikipedia, Pagan is the founder of “Double your Dating” and runs an e-mail newsletter which is distributed to over 1 million subscribers.

Now I could launch into how Pagan has tightly targeted his niche market and found outstanding success… but I won’t. Instead, I’d like to present for your consideration, the following from Brad and Andy’s newsletter:

. . One of the guys (from Pagan’s seminar) took ONE LITTLE IDEA and by the end of the week had made $66,000 in new revenue. I’m talking about an idea that took 5 minutes to explain – Pretty good return on his $10,000 investment, don’t you think?

Thank you Brad and Andy for providing a wonderful illustration of the “you have to spend money to make money”.

I remember when I was launching my business a decade ago. When I began, I was a very, very poor business person.  I was hesitant to spend $35 to register my business’ domain name, that’s how “tight fisted” I was 10 years ago.  Now, I’m all for boot strapping…. I still “bootstrap” to this day… but way back when…. I expected to make money without spending a dime. Fortunately, I was a quick learner who was willing to work long and hard providing exceptional service for my clients so my business did survive my lack of business acumen.

I’ve read two quotes that literally changed my thinking during these past 10 years.  Below are paraphrases of each because I can’t remember the source:

1. You either have a lot of time or a lot of money.  If you find you you’re short of both, then you’re either spending your time or your money unwisely.

2.  Time is truly worth more than money.  You can always get more money, you can NOT relive a single minute of time.

I’ve come a long way in the past decade.  I’ve survived the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” delivered via various means during those years.   Despite the fact that I double majored in business and economics in college…. the school of Hard Knocks turned out to be one of my greatest teachers.  I guess that’s why I have such a soft spot for those bootstrapping entrepreneurs who are just starting out.