Standard Of Living Bubble

Everyone knows about the Internet bubble and the real estate housing bubble. Many of us are watching the pieces come together right now for a new phenomenon that will impact society. It is called "The Standard Of Living Bubble".

This blog will serve up two concepts for those of us marketing our home business on the Internet. The two concepts are :

• marketing using the concept and your solution to this bubble that will soon burst. and


• Researching key words that are growing in popularity and searches - then cornering the market via content and domain purchasing. As an example we own the domains thecreditcardbubble.com, the standardoflivingbubble.com and standardofliving.com. Return for our discussion on keywords and cornering the market on new keywords - the opposite of the long tail.

Today we will start to discuss the "standard of living bubble. At the time of posting of this blog there were 534,000 google search topics for the term standard of living bubble . Click the link to see the current search topics since 10/28/2008. The term although new is gaining ground on the Internet following the same pattern of previous terms - like real estate housing bubble, Internet bubble, etc. Gaining ground so fast it now has an Investopedia definition : (definition) The concept of consumers living beyond their means for an extended period of time. The notion of a standard of living bubble is characterized by flat inflation-adjusted earnings for members of the workforce over several years, during which the use of consumer credit and spending increases in order to provide the illusion of increases in standard of living.


One of the best outlines of this coming crisis which will impact everyone unprepared for it is this article in Fortune Magazine by Geoff Colvin.


For the last 50 years the federal government has focused on and supported through endless programs the citizens "right to own a home" Over the last 7-8 years post the Internet bubble and the demise of the great bull market, the average price of homes took off in most parts of the country. Everyone owning a home found themselves suddenly feeling rich just like at the height of the Internet bubble. Conversations at parties and in kitchens all over the country were focused on "how much we made on this real estate deal".



Look at the growth of TV shows, like Flip This House and Flip That House . Media everywhere was intensifying the public's love affair with overnight wealth from real estate holdings. In the "everything to excess" culture we were encouraging the right to a home had morphed during the beginning of the new millennium into a "right to a bigger and better house in the best neighborhood" - a new home with all the bells and whistles! The real villain as we all have come to learn the last month was actually the easy credit and free and easy mortgage programs. In my corporate job, I was amazed to hear the stories in the lunch room of our office and warehouse staff, many of whom were making wages barely above the minimum wage, they would crow endlessly about owning 3 homes and flipping this or that. I really was excited for them they were getting their taste of the American dream! It seemed that the old term of "being house poor" had actually become a bragging right, everyone was carrying these homes with free and easy equity loans - waiting for the certain big-time payday of resale just like on the TV show! My heart goes out to them now - especially those who bought to hold on and believed in the long term value of real estate. Most recently the local real estate statistics are showing drops in average home prices in the same neighborhoods they were talking about - dropping over 30% the last 12 months!




When I look at the drama and meltdown occurring in the financial markets it seems like the natural thing to do would be to duck and cover . But I would propose just the opposite of Geoff Colvin's article and opinion. He says ... "It may be that the standard-of-living bubble finally has to deflate. Sustainable increases in living standards have to be earned, not borrowed, and that means performing ever higher value work that can't be outsourced. We haven't been meeting that challenge very well; doing so will probably require much more and better education for millions of Americans, which takes time and money. The result may feel like deprivation, but I don't see it that way. Who knows - we might even find that living within our means and saving a little money actually isn't so bad." (end of article) he seems to be advocating a tightening of the belt and putting ourselves on a financial diet - predominantly focused on cutting our expenses and reducing our spending.


I am a strong advocate of increasing the amount of your income you save (combined between my wife and I - we save over 30% of our income annually) and an even stronger advocate of increasing your income with sustainable businesses that add value. This formula IMHO is the only way to build sustainable increases in our standard of living! That in a nutshell is what American society is built on, improving your life and improving the education and lifestyle of our family. Doing this by adding value with a home business that brings value to it's customers is the solution I advocate to avoiding your own personal standard of living bubble popping. It is never too late to get started! Begin part-time, learn, move forward at the pace and investment you are personally comfortable with! If you would like to learn more about my primary business and why this might be the right vehicle for you to get started on truly raising your standard of living with a larger income and a saving and investment plan - Visit Here


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Visit an alternative site at Standard Of Living Bubble

Parkinson's Law

As a home-based business professional or as any business professional one of the most invisible detractors from your success is a concept called Parkinson's Law. Now if any of you are either into productivity or have had experience with a billable hours type position (law firm} you know this term for certain!

Simply stated the concept is "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." Wikipedia reference Parkinson's Law The adage was actually coined and part of a humorous essay by a British researcher who was proposing the concept applied to the hiring of government workers based upon his experience in British civil service! Hire more workers... government work expands! How appropriate!

For us business professionals we see it in the tasks and projects we are faced with on a daily basis. If we don't set deadlines, time lines and prioritize, next thing we know we spent two hours perfecting the task that could have been done in a 15 minute self-imposed allocated window. As a closet perfectionist I wrestle with this constantly. Posted on my office whiteboard in a prominent visible location next to my daily projects is one of my favorite mantras - Good is Good enough! It by no means is meant to encourage me to put out poor/inferior work, instead it is a constant reminder to let go and be OK with what I have completed. Getting the work done at 90% is better than not getting it done! Although a good guide for increasing productivity, focusing on the urgent and important, setting self-imposed deadlines and time lines, one must be careful to realize that setting unrealistic deadlines does not necessarily equate to better productivity.

Many productivity gurus proclaim a key to productivity is only reviewing your email 1-2 times a day even going so far as to encourage auto responders alerting people to this habit so they can self-solve their problems. We would propose that the more effective way is to consciously impose your own restrictions and focus on reducing the allotted time for your repetitive or daily tasks - while at the same time measuring and monitoring your service and performance levels. Take a constant improvement approach (Kaizen) rather than a 1 hour a day approach! It's the cold turkey versus a managed approach! This is one of those topics that falls in the category however of it's not how - it's what - that is important. It is important you manage closely your focus and time, set self imposed deadlines and get the work done. Reward yourself for things completed on time!

Well I set myself a goal to publish this and looks like my time is up!

Execution and the Discipline of Getting Things Done

Welcome to my blog!

Today's post is about one of my all-time favorite business books. As a leader in my previous corporate executive roles it was on my required reading list for my entire management staff. Now and then I will post here and discuss how these books have an application to our business and how to specifically implement pieces of the book if appropriate.

This post is about the book Execution : The Discipline of Getting Things Done.

Written by Ram Charan , executive coach and noted expert on business strategy and Larry Bossidy , Chairman of Honeywell International, and prior to this role he is widely credited with guiding Allied Signal to one of the world's most admired companies and producing 31 consecutive quarters of EPS growth in excess of 13%!

Business research shows that companies that outperformed their competition excelled at four primary business practices, Execution, Strategy, Culture and Structure. This book is the definitive bible on excelling at the key business practice of Execution. It is not only the biggest issue facing business today but unlike other management disciplines it really has not been explained satisfactorily. Stop and think a moment. Strategy - so much information on strategy exists it is no longer a challenge. Google both Business strategy and business execution and you will see there are ten times as many results for strategy. Similar results for Leadership development, Innovation, Culture - endless information.

Mentioned over and over throughout the book - the difference between a company and its competitor is the ability to execute. If your competitors are executing better than you are, they are beating you in the here and now and if that's happening you won't even get the time to see if an elaborate strategy plays out.

Execution - Getting Things Done is the biggest unaddressed issue in the business world today. It's absence is the biggest single obstacle to success and the cause of most disappointments mistakenly attributed to other causes. Here is the fundamental problem: people think of executing as the details and tactics of a business and leaders delegate this while they focus on the "bigger issues" rather than getting deeply engaged in the process of execution as a discipline, building systems and embedding it in the strategy, the goals and the culture!

Although I may refer to Execution as Getting Things Done it is more than that it is a set of behaviors, processes and techniques that you must master to gain a competitive advantage! A system of getting things done through, questioning, analysis, documentation and follow through. With the tragic and tumultuous events unfolding right now on Wall Street and Main Street many companies will have to tear up their operating plans, prepare new ones and fill gaps in revenue and make major cost adjustments. the winners that emerge from this will be the companies that adjusted quickly, built clear plans and then followed through and completed those plans!

Whats is this all about and how in the world does it apply to a home based business you may be asking. I would propose to you it is not the what of what you do that drives your success such as your strategy on lead generation and customer service, but more precisely how you execute and most importantly that you get things done and completed.

Ask yourself:

Do you just jump in and start working on whatever is in front of you day-to-day, maybe reading your goals daily to build the power of attraction and feel that is what it is about or do you follow a clearly documented daily process, do you document what you do, how you did it and then track and work your way through the steps - sounds simple - eh - maybe even a bit boring given the attention out there to "lifestyle" in this business.

Do you have numerous unfinished projects on your desk because you are working on what you determined today is urgent.

Be real, be authentic, this business involves detailed work, attention to detail and you have to do it OR find the right people who can do it for you and get the work done. Don't accept the excuse of I'm too busy to work on that.

Let's look briefly at the Building blocks of execution as outlined by Charan and Bossidy:

• Building Block One: The leader's seven essential behaviors
• Building Block Two: Creating the framework for cultural change
• Building Block Three: Have the right people in the right place

In this day and age of network marketing and home-based businesses those building blocks at first glance may seem to not apply. Your challenge is to read the book and look for ways to apply the foundation building blocks to your home based business.

• How to develop leadership behavior for your team
• How to build a culture for your team and
• Getting the right people in the right place

Spend a few minutes and focus on the book ending conclusion LETTER TO A NEW LEADER.

Outstanding points and questions:

1. You will be pulled in every direction as people want you to... spend time here, try this, participate in that... BUT running your processes must be at the top of your priority list.
2. Are your resources allocated in proportion to opportunities or does every opportunity get some resources and none get enough? is your plan straightforward,
   concise and easily understood. You have a budget, but do you have the action plan the budget should represent?
3. Make sure you and your team understand your customers! Understanding your customers is the base of business success.
4. Look for ways to implement initiatives in your business to improve productivity - we all have only 24 hours in a day.
5. Maintain your intellectual honesty so that you are always realistic. See things as they are not just the way you want them to be. Build bridges and plans to get there!

Feel free to visit my website and review my current list of favorite books.