IF YOU WANT TO MAKE LOADS OF MONEY? DO THESE 2 THINGS

One of the most common questions I was asked of recent is: “How can I make money?”

My answer is this: you need to do two magical things.

It does not matter who you are. It does not matter where you live. It does not matter what your passions or interests are. It does not matter which industry you want to do business in. These two things are what you need.

I’ll tell you the two things in a moment and how you can start using them immediately, but first, let me ask you a question.

 

Isn’t making money sinful?

You know those people who say things like “money is the root of all evils” and make us believe they don’t like money?

Here’s the truth: na lie!

They love money. That’s why they’ve not resigned from their jobs.

They say what they say either because they don’t know how to make loads of money or they don’t know good causes to channel it to when they make it.

So my advice is this: ignore them. As long as you make it lawfully and ethically and use it to better the world, making money is great. Really great.

Okay, what two things should you do to make money? First, create value. Second, charge a fee for some of the value.

1. Create Value

Remember the history of money? I’ll try to remind you.

When man realized the impossibility of creating everything he wanted – that he could not be a plumber, a cook, a teacher, a farmer, a blacksmith, a bricklayer and a guard all unto himself – he learn't to hire the efforts of others to meet some of his needs.

To reward those people for solving parts of his problems, he offered to solve some of their own problems in return.

They called it trade by barter.

Later on, some items like gold and cowries became recognized as money and – instead of exchanging goods for goods or services for services as in trade by barter – people used those ‘money items’ to reward those who solved parts of their problems or created value for them.

Over the centuries, what is agreed upon as a medium of exchange has evolved but the concept remains the same: give me value and I’ll give you money.

How do you give value? Do three little things:

• Open your eyes
• Identify problems and needs
• Provide solutions

What do Google, Apple, Etisalat and the bean cake seller on your street have in common? They all create value. They solve parts of people’s problems. And they’re all being rewarded with money.

It’s simple. Stupidly simple. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

What problems do you see in your region and what solutions can you proffer?

• The rainy season is here… can you produce shower caps and go sell them right in the rain at Yaba or Idumota market?
• Online payment processors in Nigeria are terrible… can you build an efficient alternative?
• Amazon makes book publishing fun especially for American authors … can you start a Nigerian version that would stand the test of time?
• How about producing bean powder that’s ready to become bean cake or moi-moi once it’s mixed with water – or even packaging garri – and selling it in neatly sealed, branded nylons?

C’mon, put on your thinking cap!

2. Charge a fee for some of the value

Creating value isn’t sufficient; you must also ask to be paid. Some people don’t mind happily gobbling your products or services without offering you a penny. So be intentional about monetizing the value you create.

If you’re operating a brick-and-mortal business, it might be – and it usually is – fine to charge for all your services.

But in the digital marketplace, the smartest businesses which make ship loads of money daily do something counter intuitive: they charge a fee for only a part of the value they create.

The major thing they do, they do them for free.

Google facilitates research and provides instant answers to almost any question… for free. Facebook facilitates keeping close tabs with friends and family and brands scattered everywhere in the world… for free. Some eateries show live football matches or comedy shows… for free. I provide smart advice on blogging, publishing and yes, money making… for free.

This works like charm because people love free dinner. And once they gather for the free dinner, and find out the dinner is classy even though it’s free, charging them for some further value becomes easy.

But wait … if you give your services away for free, what else is left to charge for?

Many things, but here are four of them:

• Convenience: this is the reason Lagos residents pay the smart folks at Easy Appetite just to help them order and deliver meals from their favourite restaurants. This is the same reason a blogger like Darren Rowse would compile an ebook entirely from blog posts available for free on his website, tell his prospects that the book content is available for free on his website, and still sell over 19,000 copies of it. An ebook is handy and the contents orderly. Blog posts are not. So people pay for the convenience of the ebook.
• Rare knowledge: this is the case with making lawful and ethical money online. It is the same with processing a visa. The right knowledge is scarce. So if you have it, you can charge for it.
• Urgency: advertising on Ad Dynamo is at least five times cheaper than on Facebook. But having used both for long and tested the results, I happily bid N25 per click for Facebook ad because it suits urgent cases and meets my needs fast. Swiftness in meeting needs is the reason people pay for public toilets, estate agents and the crazily exorbitant data plan of Etisalat.
• Expertise: even when you’ve clearly explained how to do some things, some people would prefer you do it for them for a fee. Why? Because they trust your competence and experience. That’s why even though I have a free website/Bulk sms setup guide – and over 100 website novices have used it to set up their own websitesBulk sms plat form without a hitch – some people still pay me N30,000 – N60,000 to help them set up a simple personal website/Bulk sms platform.

That’s it.

Go start something!

It doesn’t matter if you’re a writer, a student, an engineer, a lecturer or an artist. You could start an offline business. You could open a blog and start an online business.

Open your eyes. Take a walk around your neighbourhood. Browse the internet. Look for problems you can solve. Create value and get paid to make the world better.