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Money Grows on Trees

I have this odd but simple philosophy. It is that money really

does grow on trees. Now I know that many of you are saying, you

got to be out of your mind. Either that, your breathlessly

waiting to here where you can find your trees. But, in this

case, the tree is a metaphor for something much bigger.

Let's think about something real first. The apple tree is a

fruit-bearing tree. How many of you think that you can eat

apples without the apple tree? Nobody because without the apple

tree, there is no apple. Why is the case and how does it relate

to money.

If you wanted an apple today, you could go to the grocery store

and get as many as apples as you want. But what if apples

weren't in any grocery stores but you still want an apple. You

could pick the apple off of a tree. If the apple tree belongs to

someone else, you are picking someone else's apples. If you

don't have permission to pick the apple off the tree, you are

stealing. If you have permission, the apple is a gift. If you

provide a service, it is compensation.

This is how it is in the business world. If you take money, its

stealing, If it is given, it is a gift, and if you provide a

product or service in exchange for money, it is compensation.

Going back to the apple tree analogy, wouldn't it be better to

own your own apple tree that bears fruit and provides you and

you whole family with more apples then you can eat? You bet!

I know, I know. You don't want any stinking apples, you want

money and as far as most of us know, we've never seen or heard

of any money-bearing trees. I am going to tell you however that

they do exist.

To be the owner of your very own apple tree, you know exactly

what you would have to do, even if you've never grown a thing in

your life. You know that you need seeds, good soil, water,

fertilizer and patience to grow a tree that produces a ripe

apple. The same things that you would do to grow an apple tree

are the same things you can do today to create your very own

money tree. Here are the ingredients to creating your very own

money tree.

* Seeds - These are comprised of specialized knowledge, ideas,

products, Services along with some start up capital. These are

the basic requirements to get started growing money.

* Good Soil - This is your market. Market research will tell

you if there is an anxious market for you product or service. If

there is no market what you have to offer, you need to work on

acquiring seeds that will grow. If the market is in another

location or needs to be tapped in some unique way, you have

found the good soil for you seeds to grow. Go to where your

market is located. This is common sense but can be tricky and

many people get tripped up here. Always do a reality check and

don't try to force a "square peg into a round hole." It never

works so if something needsto change, always be willing to adapt

and don't let ego get in your way of making money.

* Water - Water is an essential ingredient for life to exist. A

business exists when it sells. If you don't like selling, your

business will never grow. If you don't like to mix it up with

people, to convince people to buy your product or service and to

communicate your passion with others, you won't make it in

business for yourself. You may as go sit behind some desk and

eat the apples that fall from someone else's apple tree.

* Fertilizer - Fertilizer stinks but trees and plants grow

better with it then without it. Financial management is the

fertilizer. I know I don't enjoy the financial management of a

business as much as the business itself but without it, my

business would quickly fail. Not knowing your cash balance,

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return on assets, return on investments, and assets vs

liabilities, how do know if you're winning in business. These

and other financials are the score cards by which every business

is judged. It stinks but it helps you to get the results you're

trying to get.

* Patience - It takes time. You'll be hungry waiting for an

apple tree to grow if you don't have another way to feed

yourself. The same is true with money trees. If you may have to

take all of the steps above and work at a job full time to

support and feed yourself until your tree is mature enough to

bear its fruit. There is no way around this step. There are very

few, statistically speaking, overnight successes.

The overnight successes are the only ones you typically read

about in the news but they are really anomalies compared to the

many, many successful businesses built on years of hard work in

obscurity and seclusion. This is a part of the truth that shocks

many would-be entrepreneurs.

The loneliness that one can encounter can be enough to drive one

back to picking the fruit off other people's trees. That is

because that is where the crowd is found. Only 5% of people in

the US are fully self-employed entrepreneurs. Only 5% of people

in the world have their very own money trees bearing them enough

fruit to live off of comfortably. It can get lonely being part

of the 5% in this country but it has its advantages. As Earl

Nightingale said it, "in the top 5%, the air is fresher and the

better the view."

God bless

About the author:

Bret Searles is a freelance writer on Black personal finance and

business issues, author of ebook "The 7 Simple Secrets to

Building Wealth: An African American Guide" and publisher of the

ezine Black Wealth Now.