Who are you taking advice from?

Let me start out by saying I am not an economist...this blog is my thoughts from my experiences.

2001 IPO Bubble

whew!!! glad we got that out of the way. 

BUT

I have been caught up in the ridiculous and embarrassing to say bubble burst (twice). Yep, twice.  

In 2000 just before my son was born I was living in Sunnyvale, California renting a $550k home at the time making well over 6 figures with a nest egg of stock options quantify of over 50,000 and working for an IPO that was about to go public where everyone was going to make BANK!!! seriously. The company was a telecom company that offered a secure VPN solution and products that were new to market for what they offered and it was fantastic.

You know the movies and documentaries that portray silicon valley as people working from morning to night, little sleep, doing all kinds of odd jobs in the company because that is what you had to do, beautiful weather but you never saw it because your butt was trying to get the company up and running, organized and all for one main goal.

...to get investors and future clients to believe that this company had that one revolutionary product that was going to enhance their business above and beyond any other company 

That portrayal is true, it was exactly what it was like, for 2 years.

AND..

...with an IPO of Cosine Communications only months away, everyone was told they must jump on board now so that they will make enough money to retire.

So what did we do? we told all our friends and family to purchase stock when it hits IPO and then within a few months just sell it and get what you can, because we knew for a fact it would go up, we (like everyone) just didn't know how long it would continue to go up and stay up. No one does, there are always predictions, but the first year is the tell all.

With no kids at the time, no real responsibilities other than getting coffee, working out and cleaning my house...life was really good. My sales and marketing and technical skills were being honed, my time was spend learning almost 24 hours a day and well...I had no social life.

But that was ok, it was like...short term pain for long term profit...RIGHT?

 "Learning from those who have seen it fall might interest you"

The week comes where the company goes IPO and the stock skyrockets...our family didn't really buy any, but our friends did and they were watching their bank account grow as the stock hit 10, 15, 20 it went up from 3 dollars the day it went public and within 30 days it hit $70. So to fast forward, at least one of our friends, make a lot of money on that stock suggestion and that makes me happy.

HOWEVER...

As an employee of the company, even though I was given 50,000 stock options, a 6+ figure salary and flown all over the world to promote the brand not to mention they moved our entire household goods from Virginia to California for me to be help head up the marketing department of this company.

Employees could not their stock for 1 year after the company went IPO. 

Guess what the stock was at the 1 year mark??

It was NEGATIVE $3.00...hold on let me rephrase that, it actually was valued at under 0.00 (-$3.00).

hmmmmm

did I look at that fine print that stated AT ONE YEAR YOU CAN SELL YOUR STOCK.  

live and learn...

2008 Real Estate Bubble

“Look at market fluctuations as your friend rather than your enemy; profit from folly rather than participate in it.” - Warren Buffet

Well...I didn't really listen to this very well, OH this story is too long to tell it all in detail but let's just say, lots of people bought lots of homes (including me) thinking the market would go up more and then we could sell one or two of those homes and make profit, leaving us with only a primary resident and maybe another investment home that continuously earned income.

That is what happened.  

EXCEPT...I left out the part about "when to purchase"

As a real estate agent in 2002, just getting in, I had to learn the hard way on how to prospect. Meaning, no one was handing me leads, no one was helping me really, no one was telling me "ok this is how you need to do it so that you make the most amount money".

NO, it was like "get your shit together and why aren't you making money yet"

pressure from home, pressure from bills, pressure from nay sayers. but during this time, I did learn one important thing, that is how to prospect, how to build rapport fast, how integrity is the most important thing and no matter what, be consistent with your customers and they will always come back to you over and over and over.

SO, after 13 months of making NOTHING, the next 18 months I brought in over 250k income because I started getting my systems down, my prospecting was on autopilot and I was getting tons of referrals from great service and happy clients.

I realized nich'ng down my business was the fastest way to make real money

I realized taking full responsibility for your leads was the way to think (no handouts)

I realized I was giving away 50% of my money to my current real estate company 

I realized building rapport quickly was one of my gifts

I realized interactive, video, online marketing was the way the future of real estate was going even though no one wanted to accept it.

so much more..

THE POINT!!!!!????

It was 2005 and life was good, REALLY GOOD! Cars, homes, marriage, kids, vacations, business flowing, investment homes, team growing, confidence level was super high and my skills were ever expanding to take on the online real estate world.

hmmmmm

did I realize the economy was about to POP the minute my Ex and I purchased a home almost three quarters of a million dollars?

If I had sat back and listened to certain things, I could have avoided this, yes. If I had slowed down more and watched things transpiring yes. If I had been ok with less versus more and not caught up in the ...

well, you know! 

not so much keeping up with the Jones's as more more more versus just be happy with less and save it all.

2008 huge bubble burst, renters stopped paying, investment homes were short sold, real estate market stopped, no one was buying (except those with cash taking advantage of this bottom priced market). Banks were foreclosing, REO marketing growing, people were realizing what the heck a short sale was..

...people were literally killing themselves over financial ruin. Agents losing their homes, their cars, their retirements (oh yeah, agents didn't have a retirement). Shit was bad!

I ended up taking a second job doing hard core direct sales to local businesses and learned again how prospecting was the skill beyond skills...and harder doing local sales than real estate sales.

ANYWAY...what is the point of me telling you all this? it't to get where we are at now and what is going to save you from yet another misstep, financial disaster? and who you going to listen to this time?

Projected recession in 2020-2025

"Real Estate Is changing..Agents Better Get Smart About What They Are Doing"

Drop a comment below on what you are doing to enhance your finances. Whether there is really going to be (which there is) a recession of any kind here in the next 2-4 years or not, what are you doing to plan? What job are you changing? what new income sources are you starting? How are you living now?  

I know...lots of questions, pick one of those and comment below what you are doing.

I started years ago finding people who I could model skills and systems after that were earning massive income. People who were on the cutting edge of where the internet is going, marketing that no one seemed to know how to do, integrations that people were totally and utterly confused about.

I followed Darren Hardy since he really has made it big TWICE in his life and his plan for 2020 is off the chart.

I followed Dean Graziosi since he has slowly built his fortune using the same online methods I now use for clients who need automated websites, email integration, facebook / IG ads and pixel tracking of all the consumers who buy from him. 

I followed Russell Brunson who created one of the most successful products out there that still only 70,000 people including me in the world know how to use to create online systems that work.

so here we are now! what business are you going to do, have, start, build...

that will grow during a recession?

NOT

Fall short, fail, drop or decrease!!!

This is the question. I know what listening more than I speak, being more aware, watching things change, being cognizant of the economic changes as they happened almost exactly in 2005-6-7..that we are definitely going to be a bubble of some kind pop, just don't know exactly the details.  

But let's just say that Businesses are starting a rapid pace, and they are failing at an even faster pace. I mean it is still true that 20% of small businesses fail in their first year, 30% of small business fail in their second year, and 50% of small businesses fail after five years in business. Finally, 70% of small business owners fail in their 10th year in business.

For a minute let's just say, what you do is so so important, but WHO you do it with is also as important.  

Watch the five people you spend time with in business...and be careful.

Watch the five people you spend time with personally ...and be careful.

Watch what you spend..you actually can live without it

Watch your credit card debt

Watch your NEED for that next new shiny object..it will be on sale next month

Watch for clues on what successful people are doing that you aren't

Watch for systems that are growing ...and stay away from systems that are sucking people dry of money and energy

Watch your back...your finances...your partnerships...who you trust...your investments.

Women especially need to be careful to be safe, secure and independent in the coming years.  

If you read this blog and you want to know what I am doing that will guarantee non-stop growth, residual income, safety, financial security, capitalizing on any potential recession versus just trying to get through it. Send me an email ([email protected]) and in the subject line put the word "RECESSION"..and I will message you back.

Recessions are excellent times to make extraordinary fortunes - Darren Hardy

Cheryl Spangler | 703-216-1491 | [email protected]

#recessionproof #merchantoneglobal #merchantservices