First of all, before
you continue reading this article, let me already advise that this may hit
"some nerve" for some people. As they say, "the truth hurts but
it will set you free". Now if you are not open to others ideas and creative
criticisms then, please don’t read any further but if you are open to
others ideas and feel that this is an article meant to help you then, enjoy.
I have been catching on my readings, as well as some bonding moments with my
peers and I realized I’m always being bombarded by stories about how hard
it is being an employee specifically on the financial aspect. So I made some
research online, gathered some experiences and stories and this is what I got.
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Honestly, this is a crucial everyday topic already that I am well accompanied
to as well, so I used to share the same sentiments and as it looks, not much
has changed.
I don't want to say that nobody gets rich in employment, period, since I have
read some items that are an exception that does make sense. Here are the
exceptions:
1) Employees invest their hard earned money (retirement pay more or less). This
is no trivial task since some have taken years to even save in the first place
to actually invest it. I know a lot that was only able to invest upon
retirement or near that age.
a) Some would invest in traditional business
like water refilling stations (I know a family friend who did this, father
retires then invested in the province)
b) A few will invest in bonds, shares and
mutual funds. As much as this is a enticing and could be lucrative, these
are no items for beginners and a lot lose big money from the start due to lack
of information and experience. I suggest you equip yourself first with
all the information you can get and an experience mentor/adviser before even
attempting this one.
c) And of course there is the MLM
opportunity. Low capital, minimal risk and high returns. Now I will not focus
on this for now since I am an active part of the industry and I’m not here
to up sell myself.
But in reality while you’re
tied in your employee career for the next few decades and have not saved that
sum of money, these are what most people are doing.
1) Have you seen and met colleagues selling all sorts of knick knacks and homemade
delights? Yes, this is what most are doing part time to make ends meet. Now
there is nothing wrong with this, it is an honest source of income and hard
work as well. In my Manager career, I was even a loyal buyer from some staff
and sometimes a promoter (Christmas cookies or cakes anyone? hers
are delicious) so next time, somebody tells you " i don’t like to
sell anything" one point of your life you actually sold something from
small knick knacks to an idea. Promoting is still selling.
2) Need insurance? Oh yeah, there are a lot of them as well =) insurance is not
a bad investment, in fact one of my mentor is worth 20 million in insurance
alone. He even said that insurance is a great investment for your money once
you have a money generating machine other than your work because if this comes
from your pay slip alone, it’s still an expense that could be challenging to
maintain.
3) Are you looking for a house or maybe a condo? Honestly, if any of them
offered me a place within my choice of locality I could have gotten one then
but laguna, taytay and montalban was too far for me back them. Again, another
good source but this is more of one time big time for me. No sale no allowance,
it’s like selling cars.
4) Pautang (lending
money)....too risky for me. Especially in the BPO industry I know a lot of very
notorious people and horror stories about this. Again, if your good at
harassing people to pay up (just kidding, not always the scenario) then 3%-5%
interest are high returns ( Kapit sa patalim people, I know a lot of them.
Sadly, some could have avoid this with a little good choices and decisions)
5)
And of course there is the MLM opportunity. Low capital, minimal risk and high returns.
6) I don’t even want to tackle the shady deals but YES, there are a lot of them. Back then I even know people who would take coupons and make up liquidation reports just to kick some extra. Not recommendable by my standards.
But this has nothing to do with your work directly, what can you do with your
work that can give you the chance to earn big? Just one way and that is through
“Promotion”
Have you heard of the 80%-20% rule? 80% of the money and compensation only goes
to the 20% population. That 20% is such a small percentage to move into especially
since that 20% is limited to a number of allocations only. What am I talking
about? That 20% is your corporate leaders and managerial positions and trust me
they’re not going to give those positions easily because they themselves got it
through hook or crook (just an expression)
If i may quote this line from a article from Phil daily inquirer
"It is evident
that long years of dedicated service are not the key to making big money out of
employment.
This is bad news for employees who have been programmed to
believe that as long as they continue to make the businessman rich, they too
will get rich when they retire. When successful businessmen retire, they wallow
in luxury. When an average Joe retires, he either invests his hard earned
retirement money
wrongly, loses medical benefits for sicknesses
he contracted as an employee, or simply squanders his big money that he wasn't
used to have all his life. Ces't la vie."
Yes, the only option
to technically earn big in your work or employee career is be promoted and keep
being promoted. Note that I said "technically" not "ethically",
you know what I mean.
So what do you need to prepare yourself for the corporate “Rat Race”
Its smart to start in a good company, Why? Promotion requires time and a lot of
effort and the last thing you want is to invest those in the wrong company or
career path. Always work with your options, don’t just jump on the first
ship that will offer you a ride. Be smart and do your home work about the
company and your possible growth path but again this is no easy feat. Everybody
has the same idea as you and some may even have the better school and
credentials. be ready to fight for that position if you don’t want to be just a
average joe at the office.
Your talents and skills. This is your value to the company. The more you have
this, the more valuable you are.
Always learn and keep learning. It adds to your value.
Always have the edge compared to your peers and competition (friendly of course) Always remember, at the end of the day you are still a number to the company and a number away from the next replacement. Number can pertain to stats, deliveries, sales or success rates/projects.
Yes, Attitude is still important. For me at least, when I screen new candidates
for positions I take in greater consideration over talent or skill is the person’s
attitude and interpersonal skills. Anything can be learned and taught but
attitude can make and break everything not to mention you don’t learn this
overnight.
Experience is always the first requirement that all people ask for so be
prepared to burn a lot of time to acquire experience. Yes, you can say some get
lucky but as a standard, experience is the first thing to check.
Most
importantly, be well informed. Office politics anyone? If you’re not aware of
your own place politics well, let’s just say it’s an advantage to be in the
know. By the way this can make or break you, even if you’re the best in the
game, be warned it’s not a fair ball out there.
Hopefully, I didn’t forget anything. Give or take that is what they or you will
have to look for if you want to climb that ladder and run that race. As for me,
I’ve been there, it was an experience and I would say people can go through the
same experience so they can get their own experience and learn the same values
because at the end of the day even the big guys in my old companies were always
on the lookout for the next opportunity to earn more. I’ll be honest, resources
can do a lot in life that’s why admit it or not everybody is looking for chance
to earn. There is nothing wrong with money especially if it will make the life
of your love ones more comfortable.
As i was always advised, there is no such thing as easy money or easy way. There are always challenges but nobody said that we cant be smarter and handle it better.
The only question
I leave you is this, given the chance would you prefer to earn 100,000 thousand
after years of hard work when you can earn the same amount in half of that time
or even months? Nothing is impossible, there is a lot of ways to earn and some
may even know something that’s not included in this article but the point is
opportunities are just a waste when you don’t give it a chance.
Rather
start young, since you’re going to do business when you’re old anyway.
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