Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over A Donut And Coffee In 10 Minutes Or Less!

By Wally Conger www.wallyconger.com

Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

Copyright Notice
Version 1.0 Copyright 2009 by Wally Conger. All rights reserved worldwide.

Legal Notice
This eBook is designed to provide accurate information in regard to the subject matter covered. While all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this book, the author does not assume any responsibility for errors, omissions or contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein. This book is not intended for use as a source of legal or accounting advice. The author wants to stress that the information contained herein may be subject to varying state and/or local laws or regulations. All users are advised to retain competent counsel to determine what state and/or local laws or regulations may apply to the user's particular business. The purchaser or reader of this eBook assumes responsibility for the use of these materials and information. Adherence to all applicable laws and regulations, both federal and state and local, governing professional licensing, business practices, advertising and all other aspects of doing business in the United States or any other jurisdiction is the sole responsibility of the purchaser or reader. The author assumes no responsibility or liability whatsoever on the behalf of any purchaser or reader of these materials. Any perceived slights of specific people or organizations is unintentional.

This eBook may be distributed freely to anyone. But you may do so only if the book remains unchanged.

To contact the author of this book, please email wally@wallyconger.com or visit his website at www.wallyconger.com

Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

This book is dedicated to Charles II (1630-1685), who tried to suppress London coffee houses as places where the disaffected meet and spread scandalous reports concerning the conduct of His Majesty and his Ministers. His efforts only strengthened the resolve of people to flock to them. Likewise, it is dedicated to the gracious owners of every coffee house and donut shop I have had the pleasure to make my business office for the past few years.

Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

To make a lot of money, you will have to decide to become somewhat abnormal. Stuart Wilde

Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Watch the Herd, Then Run (in the other direction) Chapter 2: Is 10 Minutes or Less a Loada BS? Chapter 3: Your Businessor Your Life? Chapter 4: Loafing Can Make You Rich Chapter 5: The One Book Youve Absolutely GOT to Read Chapter 6: The Million-Dollar Secret to Profitable Conversation Chapter 7: Just Ask! Chapter 8: Excuses, Excuses Chapter 9: Get Paid What Youre Worth Chapter 10: 31 Places to Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Chapter 11: Closing Thoughts

Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

Chapter 1

Watch the Herd, Then Run (in the other direction)

Believe me. If you're strapped for cash, I feel your pain. You wonder: How will I tackle this week's bills? Will I be homeless? Will my spouse dump me? You've built a staggering pile of scenarios, right? Well, knock it off! You'll pull through. Honest. I know, because I did. So listen. A few years back, I lost my slot at the white-collar corporate trough Id fed at for 15 years. Of course, I panicked. But I didnt P*A*N*I*C. (Get the difference?)

Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

I took a deep breath. One, two, three, four, five... And I followed an old piece of advice credited to J. Paul Getty: Watch what the herd does...and do the opposite. Most of my newly unemployed comrades and there were a crapload of us, since this was a massive restructuring kicked into high gear. They dug up and rewrote dusty resumes. They lined up embarrassing job interviews. (And you left your old job why? I, uh, was laid off. Oh, I see.)

Me, I rolled out of bed on my first jobless Monday. I pulled on a pair of jeans and a Hawaiian shirt. I grabbed a good sci-fi novel. Then I moseyed down to the local coffee house, a spot called Bean Town, and sunk into a comfy old sofa. I had no plan, no agenda. Other than to drink coffee and read my book. I did the same thing the next day. And the next.

Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

I guzzled gallons of dark roast. I pounded down trays of pastries. I plowed through stacks of Heinlein, Vance, and Bester. Eventually, this happened: Good morning! How's the book? You come here every day? You know, my brother told me I'd enjoy The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Did you read that one? I met a lotta locals. By sitting. And drinking coffee. Many became nodding acquaintances. A handful became friends. And a few became clients, customers, and business associates. I started making money. All this from kicking back at a coffee house. Whod a thunk you could fire-up your cash flow so effortlessly? Well, it worked for me. And it can work for you, too.

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Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

Chapter 2

Is 10 Minutes or Less a Loada BS?

Well, is it? Nope. You can fire-up your cash flow in 10 minutes or less. But theres prep work you might need to tackle first. You might need to read this book a few times. You might need to adjust your attitude. You might need to learn patience. You might need to conquer a fear of people. You might need to learn new communication skills. You might need to read one other book, which Ill talk about in a few minutes. You might need to overcome an aversion to loafing.
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Or maybe not. Maybe youre ready right now to carry out my formula. Everybody starts from a different point. I dont know where that point is for you. What I know for damn sure, though, is that with the right attitude, proper focus, and some halfway decent people skills, you can fire-up your cash flow in the time it takes to enjoy a single cup of organic Bolivian blend and one of those cake donuts with the chocolate icing and colored sprinkles. Lets move on.

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Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

Chapter 3

Your Businessor Your Life?

Ill never forget something direct marketer Jeff Paul said at a Dan Kennedy super marketing conference in Phoenix. Im paraphrasing, but get ready with your yellow highlighter anyway. Aw, hell, Ill go ahead and highlight it for you. Figure out what you DONT want. Then design and build your business using those donts as a guide. When I lost my corporate job, I swore that my future WOULDNT include... alarm clocks. long commutes. wearing a tie. inflexible work hours. working weekends. office politics. sucking up to clients. sitting in pointless meetings.

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hours of boredom. doing freebies. Whether I work as an editorial copywriter, an advertising copywriter, a marketing consultant, a newsletter editor, an internet publisher, whatever hat I wear for whatever project I pursue, I hold to those conditions. I once created a direct mail campaign for a client who was launching a new business. I was paid very good money, and the campaign was a big success. But we hadnt spoken for a month or two when he called. Whatcha doin Tuesday? he asked. You got something in mind, Matt? Well, I was noodling over a few sales ideas with my partner Jim. Thought maybe youd come down and we could pick your brain over lunch. Our treat. Matt and Jim were more than 200 miles away. Sounds good, I said. But Ill be on the clock, including drive time. Thatll run you, oh, three grand or so. Oh. I knew Matt hoped my lunch tab and maybe the promise of future projects would be ample payment for both my travel and noodling time. Lemme get back to you. I never heard from Matt again. No surprise. His wants and my list of donts didnt fit.

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Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

To repeat Jeff Paul: Figure out what you DONT want. Then design and build your business using those donts as a guide. Now, when I abandoned Corporate America, I also decided my future WOULD include a few things. Three of them were more reading. plenty of good coffee. more loafing. I didnt know how those would fit into my money-making efforts. But I pursued them anyway. Diligently. And I made money. Let me show you how.

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Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

Chapter 4

Loafing Can Make You Rich

Thats the provocative claim of Jerry Gillies, author of the prosperity classic Moneylove. When I first heard Jerry say at a workshop that loafing is one of the most creative, money-producing things you can do, I was sunk up to my neck in corporate claptrap. I was busting my ass to get ahead and stay ahead. (Actually, I was busting my ass just to stay even, but I wouldnt admit that even to myself.) So I thought Jerry was full of bunk. But after my job went bye-bye, I became a believer. I began to understand that loafing frees up time to sit for ideas. Napoleon Hill wrote about teacher and prolific inventor Elmer Gates, who made a habit of sitting for ideas. What resulted were such inventions as the foam fire extinguisher, an improved electric iron, and many other mechanical, scientific, and educational devices. allows time for self-education. Anyone benefits from dipping regularly into positive, motivational, inspirational, and instructional books and tapes, during both good and bad economic times. is vital to your spirituality. Chinese scholar Lin Yutang wrote an entire chapter on The Importance of Loafing for his book The Importance of Living (1937). He wrote that we are so cramped in our life that we cannot enjoy a free perspective of the beauties of
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Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

our spiritual life. Lin Yutang argued that too many people cheat themselves of many a good, idle, and beautiful afternoon, and suggested that we should claim our inalienable right of loafing and learn to be idle. Most important to our purpose here, though, is that creative loafing is vital to my system of firing up your cash flow. So lets get on with it!

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Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

Chapter 5

The One Book Youve Absolutely GOT to Read

Two crucial things happened when I toiled in Corporate America. One, I took a Dale Carnegie training course on effective communication and human relations. Two, I read Carnegies classic How to Win Friends and Influence People.

How to Win Friends and Influence People may be the most essential business book ever written, I told a business networking group in Los Angeles. Does anybody still read that thing? one guy snorted.

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Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

I wanted to spring across the lunch table and shove that twits face into his Cobb salad. But Carnegie taught me better. How to Win Friends and Influence People has been in print since 1936. It changes lives. If you havent already, read it now. If you have, read it again. Heres an idea: Read How to Win Friends and Influence People cover to cover, once a month. For a year. No kidding. Ive done it. My copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People is 275 pages long. Thats just 10 pages a day. The first two days are a snap title page, copyright page, table of contents, a few blank pages. Youll finish on the twenty-eighth day of each month. And youll get a break for two or three days, except in February. Twelve times through the book will drill its lessons into you. Youll notice changes in the way you react to people. And in the way they react to you. Here are six of those lessons: 1. Become genuinely interested in other people. 2. Smile.

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Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

3. Remember that a persons name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. 4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves. 5. Talk in terms of the other persons interests. 6. Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely. There are 24 more rules in Carnegies book. Each ones a gem. And none are hard to master. Heck, let me throw in three more: 1. Dont criticize, condemn, or complain. 2. Be sympathetic with the other persons ideas and desires. 3. Show respect for the other persons opinions. Never say, Youre wrong. OK, now there are 21 more rules left in Carnegies book that I havent mentioned yet. Check em all out. Go ahead. Read How to Win Friends and Influence People. Read it 12 times in the next year. After that, re-read it once every year or two. Just for a refresher. Itll change your life. And your cash flow.

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Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

Chapter 6

The Million-Dollar Secret to Profitable Conversation

Success teacher Earl Nightingale told a story about an old fella named Charlie. Charlie liked to talk to himself. Why do you do it? a friend asked. Two reasons, Charlie said. First, I enjoy talking to an intelligent man. And second, I enjoy hearing an intelligent man talk. Everyone enjoys good conversation. In fact, everyone starves for it.

But get this: most people enjoy conversation best when they do the talking. As James McNeill Whistler, painter of the iconic Whistlers Mother, quipped: If other people are going to talk, conversation becomes impossible.
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Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

The best conversationalist is the best listener. Charles W. Eliot, president of Harvard a century ago, was like that. Novelist Henry James recalled: Dr. Eliots listening was not mere silence, but a form of activity. Sitting very erect on the end of his spine with hands joined in his lap, making no movement except that he revolved his thumbs around each other faster or slower, he faced his interlocutor and seemed to be hearing with his eyes as well as his ears. He listened with his mind and attentively considered what you had to say while you said it.

Ive sat silently with hands folded while a woman yammered about her sons girlfriend. Later, she said shed enjoyed our stimulating discussion. I once listened without comment to a guy blather economic nonsense for a half-hour. When we parted, he told me how astute I was. I hadnt said a damn thing. Listeners, by staying quiet, appear wise, clever, and incisive. Big talkers who dominate conversations appear, well, boorish.
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Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

Listeners win. Big talkers dont. Albert Einstein was asked about success. He replied: If A equals success, then the formula is A equals X plus Y plus Z. X is work, Y is play. Z is keep your mouth shut. Good conversation can put money in your pocket. If you keep your trap shut most of the time.

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Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

Chapter 7

Just Ask!

But when you DO open your mouth and you must occasionally to keep conversation alive you should do so to ask questions. When you ask people sincere questions about themselves, it engages them. You make them feel important. They warm up to you.

How did you meet your spouse? What do your kids like most about their school? What made you move to this neighborhood? Whats your line of work? Do you work nearby? Ask them what they desire most. When they tell you, give it to them.

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Then send them the invoice. Ask them what problems theyre grappling with. When they tell you, offer them a solution. Then send them the invoice. Pretty simple, huh?

Ask and it shall be given to you Matthew 7:7

OK, I can already hear you bitching. Business isnt that easy! Making money isnt that simple! Im not qualified to do that! I dont have the proper licensing! I dont have the right education! I need an office! STOP IT!! Take a breath and pay attention. It can be that simple. Just think about it.

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Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

Every problem is a market for a solution. Keep alert to the problems of people youre talking to anyway. If you can provide solutions to any of those problems, thats cash in the bank. Id built a casual, hey, how are ya? relationship with Jason, who owned a local mailbox rental service. One morning, I asked how business was going. I just wish I could get people to sign longer-term contracts, he said. So much of my business is transitory. A guyll rent a box month-to-month for three or four months, and then move on. Maybe I can help you with that, I told him. Really? How? I offered to create a customer retention program for him. We came to an agreement. Within a month, all of his boxes were not only rented, he had full-year contracts with every customer. Another time, I chatted over coffee with Kate, who worked as a color consultant and sold cosmetics. I live or die on referrals, she said. And those are hard to generate. I know nothing about cosmetics, I replied. But I can help you amp up your referrals. I not only developed a sparkling new referral program for Kate, I wrote her direct sales pieces and advertising for more than a year.

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Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

Opportunities like this are everywhere, in good economic times and bad. You may not have spotted them yet. But when you do become a real problem-finder, prospects fall into your lap faster than you can handle them. Believe me. Youll stay busy. And whatever the economy is doing, youll make money without relying on a job, a salary, or an hourly wage.

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Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

Chapter 8

Excuses, Excuses

But Im not qualified to help people with [fill in the blank]! I dont have the required training! I havent got the credentials! I hear this kind of stuff all the time. My response is, Phooey! Of course, youre not qualified to solve every problem that comes your way. But open your mind, and youll be stunned at the amount of untapped skills and knowledge you do have. And if youre a quick study, thats even better! My friend Dan was assigned to find a speaker for a Chamber of Commerce breakfast. On what topic? I asked. The president wants someone to talk about time management. Now, at the time, all I knew about time management was contained in a teensy-weensy booklet that came with my Daytimer. Id be happy to help out, I offered. At the local library, I found a shelf stuffed with time management books. I picked two that looked good and skimmed through them,
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using their tables of contents to build an outline and jotting down enough info on note cards to fill 20 minutes. Four days later, I was introduced as a time management expert at a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce. Was I a phony? Nah. After all, an expert is just someone who knows a little bit more than his audience. My audience was delighted. And I got a free breakfast plus some terrific business contacts out of the deal. But lets get back to the skills and knowledge that lie untapped inside you.

To help build your confidence, make three lists. First, list all the skills youve gained from personal experience, job experience, hobbies, whatever. Write down everything that occurs to you. Second, inventory your knowledge. What life lessons have you learned? In school, what subjects did you excel in? What information do family and friends come to you for? Third, list all the people you know. Everybody. Dont discriminate. If you dont personally possess a skill needed to solve a problem, maybe a friend, or acquaintance, or family member does. Maybe you can broker that persons skill, and both of you can make some money in the deal!
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Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

Take plenty of time to build these lists. Spend an afternoon, a week, or a few months. Keep the lists handy, and add to them as new items or contacts pop into your mind. This exercise will strengthen your confidence to solve peoples problems and expand your thinking. And dont worry about college degrees and credentials. Few successful entrepreneurs actually possess the proper background to do what they do. In college, I majored in journalism. But I work mostly in sales and marketing fields in which I have no formal training. Trust me. If your clients are serious about getting their problems solved, theyll care more about results than diplomas or credentials.

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Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

Chapter 9

Get Paid What Youre Worth

I goofed big time when I took on my first freelance projects. I charged by the hour. And I got screwed every time. Why?

Well, Im a fast worker. I dont meet deadlines, I beat em. And what I got done for clients in a short amount of time back then was worth much more than I felt I could reasonably charge per hour. So heres my advice: ALWAYS work for a fee, not for an hourly wage. Never expect your client to pay for something unless they see its value. Ask them what they think its worth to have a problem solved. If their number seems too low, you might ask

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How did you come up with THAT figure? Their answer will help you decide how badly they want their problem eliminated. If they wont budge, and you feel the money they offer isnt worth your time, move on. Find someone who better values you. And always, always, ALWAYS contract in terms of results. I cant stress this enough. Its the most fair and honest way to do business. If you solve your clients problem, you get paid the fee you both agreed upon. If you dont solve the problem, you get zero. Sound fair? It does to me, too.

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Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over a Donut and Coffee

Chapter 10

31 Places to Fire-Up Your Cash Flow

My base of operations for creating cash flow was a coffee house. But this plan can be set loose anywhere, if the time is right and you keep alert. Just be where the people are! And if it feels right, strike up a conversation. Consider: 1. the line at the ATM 2. the line at the bank teller window 3. the line outside the movie theater 4. the line to the mens room 5. the line to the ladies room 6. lines at amusement parks 7. lines at airports (check-in, security) 8. airport boarding areas 9. a flights first class section

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10. a flights coach section 11. trains 12. buses 13. subways 14. Christmas parties 15. kids birthday parties (plenty of bored parents there) 16. anniversary parties 17. beach parties 18. karaoke parties 19. car shows 20. antique shows 21. before or after church services 22. church events (picnics, potlucks) 23. doctors reception areas 24. dog parks 25. sporting events 26. waiting for a table in a restaurant

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27. waiting to get your tires rotated 28. funerals 29. memorial services 30. amusement parks 31. the zoo Cmon! You know the possibilities are endless. Now notice I havent listed any traditional places for business networking, like chamber of commerce mixers, business expos, and other such spots. Heres why Those places arent conducive to good conversation. EVERYONE has their sales hat on. Theyre all in self-promotion mode, shoving business cards into every face they see. The secret to firing up your cash flow is to uncover opportunities during the natural course of your day, in lowpressure, non-business situations. Youll find more money-making projects (i.e., problems to solve) chatting with a stranger at the gym than you will at any trade show. You can take that to the bank.

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Chapter 11

Closing Thoughts

Several months after I left behind my corporate office and rubber plant, my late mother, bless her heart, pulled me aside. When people ask, what should I tell them you do for a living? That brought me up short. What did I do for a living? My work was, well, a kind of crazy quilt of different projects. Lets see. I wrote direct sales copy and advertising. I edited a handful of newsletters for business and affinity groups. I produced packages of marketing materials for caterers and smoke shop owners. Occasionally, I was a public speaker. I produced business brochures. I wrote recruitment materials. I consulted to small businesses on marketing and management practices. I even worked as a technical writer when the money was too good to pass up. I wondered, how could I best summarize what I did for a living? What should my mother tell her friends? Tell them, I said finally, that I make money chatting with people at a coffee house. After that, I think Mom dodged her friends questions altogether. But that didnt discourage me from practicing my cash flow formula.
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And it shouldnt discourage you, either. Go ahead. Give it a try! And good luck!

Wally Conger www.wallyconger.com

P.S. If you have questions, comments, or would like clarification on anything in this book, please let me know. And, of course, Id love to hear about your successes. Write me here: wally@wallyconger.com.

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About the Author

Wally Conger is a lover of dark roast coffee, cake donuts with sprinkles, good scotch, good cigars, and good barbeque. He spent 15 years as a writer and editor of employee and retiree publications for a big oil company in Los Angeles. Now a working early retiree, he lives very comfortably on the central coast of California with his wife Debbie and their faithful hound.

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