It takes money to make money, that’s what I heard. Time and time again I’ve heard that saying when I was talking to a friend, neighbor or relative. I actually believed it once, but what do you think, does it really take money to make money? I don’t think so, but it may take a few substitutes to get you there.
There are numerous accounts of people who teach you how to make money without money. Often these are geared toward real estate investments. You’ve probably seen those commercials, NO Money Down! The person, with no money, finds an investment property and then finds an investor to fund the project or purchase the property with an agreement to share the profits. In his case, the person has made money with no money. There were a few things he did have to have before he learned that it takes money to make money isn’t always true. Here are a few (or more) things it will take though.
You Must Believe
One of the first steps to get past the idea that it takes money to make money is to believe it’s possible. I’m sure you’ve probably heard the saying “If you think you can, you can, and if you think you can’t, you won’t”. This saying couldn’t be more true. Henry Ford is known for his quote, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” Once you get past that limiting belief that you have to have money to make more money, you’ve conquered one of the most difficult parts.
You Need Creativity and Initiative
There are a number of obstacles you’ll have to overcome along the way if you want to debunk the “it takes money to make money” myth. Doing this will take a little creativity and initiative. Coming up with a creative idea and then taking some initiative to make it work. The two go hand in hand. Does this mean you have to come up with something entirely new and totally innovative? No. It would be nice, but it could be something as simple as adding your own perspective or ideas or changes to something that is already out there.
Skill, or Contacts Who Has it?
No matter what venture you decide on there will be a certain amount of skill involved. Do you already have the skills necessary? You might, or you might not. Can you acquire the skills? There are a couple of ways to do this, you could learn for yourself (youtube probably has a video on how to do it for free, if not google certainly could help), or you can find someone who has the skill you are looking for. You might be thinking, ah ha! Now this will take money! Think again. Use your creativity. Can you barter for the work you need, or can you make the person a partner? Finding a partner that can complement your skills could help take your ideas farther than you ever thought.
Persistence and Dedication
So you’ve come up with a creative idea and took the initiative to get the wheels in motion. Now comes the part that can set you apart from the ordinary person. The reality is, this is hard work, sometimes both physically and mentally. This is what so many people refer to as ‘the grind’. It’s also the place where a lot of hopeful entrepreneurs start to get weeded out. You’ll need to create a plan and follow it. If you write it down and review it constantly you’ll be more likely to accomplish it. At the very least it will help you think about it. If you need some help, make some goals and identify some milestones and share those with some of your peers. There’s nothing like a little positive peer pressure to help you get through some of the tough times as you are starting out.
Flexibility
Not all plans are perfect. If that were the case you could simply decide on something, plan it out and execute. How easy would that be? There will always be bumps in the road to success. Learn to be flexible with your plan, you might need to stretch it out, or you might need to make a directional change. The ability to adapt your plan to the current circumstances and still head in the direction of your goal will be one of the keys to your success.
Time
Sometimes the amount of time involved can deter people with the best ideas from taking it from the drawing board to making it an actual success. Most successes will not happen overnight. Sure you hear stories about those overnight successes, but if you were to look at what the person or business did before the success you would see hundreds and often thousands of hours of time preparing for that overnight success.
A perfect example is the music industry. So often we hear stories about the overnight successes, but what you don’t often hear of are the years of practicing as a kid, playing in bands at local clubs and brutal road trips before the success finally hits.
It takes money to make money… Busted!
Here’s a simple example of how you can bust the myth of “it takes money to make money.” Anyone can do this. In fact, if you are reading this now you have everything you already need, a computer and an internet connection.
One thing you could do is start your own website or blog. There are free hosting sites like blogger, wordpress, and weebly that will let you create a blog on almost anything you want to do. From there, you can start to monetize your site with a myriad of advertising links or affiliate products. It’s really not that hard to get started. Think its too complicated? Then take a step back and start writing for other sites to get your feet wet and learn how they work. You can create a name for yourself as an expert in a niche and branch out from there.
Just remember, one of the keys to making something like this successful will be your persistence and dedication. You’ll run into all kinds of obstacles, including people who might think you’re crazy, but if you have a good idea and stick with it you can build your idea into a success.
