How To Increase Cash Flow

Part of increased cash flow is from step one, continuing to learn to maximize the use of each dollar we have. Another piece is learning about multiple streams of income. Most of us grow up, get a job and that's what we know – income from one source. Pay the bills, put some in retirement and savings and play with the little bit left over. Rich people think differently than this. For one, they have income coming from more than their primary job, if they have one. For another, they decide what they want in their life and then figure out how to get the necessary money to get it – they often use OPM – other peoples' money to get the necessary cash for their adventures. I don't mean like travel, I mean like building businesses or creating something. But they make sure that they have an income stream that allows them to do what they want and also helps them with tax breaks.

One of the best ways to create this last is to have your own company. There are many, many ways to do this, but one of the easiest for someone who knows little about business is to join a network marketing company, otherwise known as relational marketing or direct selling, depending on the company. Network marketing is the great equalizer. Anyone can join a network marketing company, often for a nominal fee, and create an income well beyond their job's salary, and often do so with 3-5 years, working part time. Though not easy work, it is always simple. Network marketing companies have great support. I will say it helps to join under someone (your upline) who has made money and knows the system and how to do it very well. It also helps if they care about creating a team. The best ones will. They know that helping you is the only way to create lasting wealth.

Many people believe that network marketing is illegal, like a pyramid scheme. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are a lot of scams out there, but most of the Network Marketing companies that I have researched (and I have looked at dozens) are legitimate companies, often that care about their distributors far more than companies that would hire you off the street. And the concept of doing network marketing is taking off more than ever. It is estimated that there will be tens of thousands of new millionaires in the next 10 years, and that many will be from Network Marketing. Robert Kawasaki, Donald Trump and Robert Allen have all endorsed Network Marketing as a great way to make money, and have books or CD's for training in it.

There are great companies starting every day, but you must do your homework. You should read some generic books on Network Marketing in general to get a feel for whether it's to your liking or not. If you like people, tell your friends about new products, stores, or movies that you like, you would probably do well. There are also new ways that are coming out about doing business on the net. People are finding all kinds of ways to work this system. It can be lots of fun, especially when you realize that the hardest you ever have to work is to gather in a coffee shop and chat. I belong to at least 5 different companies to get their products, which tend to be better than those you get at the store.

As a tax break, network marketing companies are worth their weight in gold (almost literally). Think about trips. If you introduce people to your company that you are sitting next to on the plane, or standing in line at the resort, or in the restaurant while on vacation, you are working and can take the amount of time and expenses when you are doing that off your taxes. While not every meal, or trip can be taken off, you can talk to your accountant about a lot of possible savings. If you talk about your company at the grocery store, while clothes shopping, all of those miles can come off your taxes, as can your phone and internet bill, since they are needed for your business. And if your product is consumable (and it should be), often you can take at least part, if not all, of the product your purchase off your taxes as well. So not only are you saving by being a preferred customer (who already get it wholesale), you get to take another 17-35% off your taxes, depending on your bracket. Many companies also give an extra kickback for ordering early in the month, giving you additional savings on products. You're saving in all kinds of ways. And making money on the side. Further, as a friend of mine says, network marketing is personal growth with a compensation plan.

I can't mention the companies I am in by name (most won't let you on the web), but if you call I can give you the pros and cons of all the ones that I am in and have checked out.

There are lots of other income streams. This section of the six steps is the biggest by it's nature. There are so many things people can do to create income. If you have a service, you can create a tips and tricks newsletter, or a blog, or a free e-zine to talk about it and drive people to a website or phone number. If you have a product, you can team up with a company that sells similar items. If you like to talk about or write about a particular topic, you can create affiliations with companies associated with it. Products bought from them that come from your newsletter, blog, website or e-zine will bring in income without you having to do much but set the whole thing up. There are many books on how to do any of this.

There are all the regular ways as well. You can write a book and get residuals, called royalties. That has a nice ring, doesn't it? You can get others to send you information and you can edit a book. The world's record for creating a book and getting it published was in less than 16 hours at a conference. All attendees went home with the book about making the impossible possible. How cool is that? Write a song and sell it. Buy a home, fix it up and resell it after two years. Take the profit and put it into a new house. I've know people right out of high school and college to do that and were fixing million dollar homes by the time they were thirty. You can also learn how to trade stocks or commodities very well (it is a steep learning curve for most) and multiply your money if you are successful.

What do all of these have in common? Leverage. Salaried jobs are time for money, so much an hour. The rest of this is exchanging time for one thing and bought over and over (royalties), or having to only pay part of the cost up front (real estate, futures, stock on margin), or time for one thing and others buy over and over (network marketing — here you are also leveraging the use of other people's time as they begin to work for you when you become an upline). If this sounds outrageous, then you have been listening to regular folks for too long. There's a very big world out there with lots of variants of making money in lots and lots of ways.