I am married to a wise man, Carmen. Honored to have him serve as our CFO and Business Manager of our company here at “Simply” Sue Speaks! He recently shared these four words he knows we need to eliminate from our minds and our mouths!
#1 TRY! How many times do you use that word everyday and never know what you really mean by it? Neither does anyone else! Are we too nice to either say yes or no, or are we afraid to make a definite choice? Carmen has found clients are unwilling to commit to payment, getting back in touch, and have left us hanging , by using that simple phrase “I’ll try.” He teaches me we are not to be “trying” people- we either commit to do it, or we say no and don’t do it! No “trying” at “Simply” Sue Speaks! or the Falcone household! I will also be publishing a book soon on that very topic!
#2 EXPOSURE! Have you ever been offered “exposure” as payment for the goods and services you provide to others? We are big givers and we love helping anyone! Don’t you? But when people are paying a registration fee or ticket price isn’t it only fair that the one they came to see, hear, and learn from be paid? Carmen says YES! As a CFO he has learned the IRS will not accept “exposure” as income, and neither can we! As Carmen frequently shares: “We have to put gas in the car, and ink in the printer and to do that we need to be paid! Otherwise he has to go back to work at the Post Office to afford our expensive pretend business! Also how do you ever know how much “exposure” you will need in order to be able to collect a fee?
#3 DEBT! Are you one who believes there is no way to ever have a paid for home, car, or operate a business without being in debt? Having worked hard to be totally debt-free, home and cars included, Carmen knows the power of cash versus credit! We are not going back no matter what! Everyone tells us we cannot expand and grow our company without having a large business debt, and we are on a mission to prove them wrong. We have a plan to be able to give back more, and to do that we have to have it coming in and not being owed to someone else! Isn’t that the way we are supposed to handle our finances? Isn’t business math still the same? Carmen sleeps well at night, and we make decisions based on using money to save, give, and then spend. It works the same both in business and in our personal finances.
The final word on my husband’s list is not the most popular one in our country today! We have been called names, lost friends, and have had to learn to step out of our comfort zone to accomplish! It may be one too tough for you; but if you want to leave a legacy and make a difference to others, do it!
#4 RETIREMENT! I can hear you saying Carmen must be ill and not in his right mind! But believe it or not, people didn’t always live to only retire at a certain age! We both have had long careers, but when it was time to make a change, for us “retirement” was not an option! We wanted to be and do what Zig Ziglar, a friend and mentor, told us we could and should do! We “re-fired” and have never looked back! We still earn our vacations and time off, and live a busy full life working a normal 6 day work week, and rest on Sunday! We run a company and all that comes with it! We have a business plan, goals, dreams that we still want to meet! Ready to join us?
In looking at my wise counsel do you see why I can say yes or no to you, there is a fee if you want to hire our speakers, we do business only with a debit card and cash, and we are in great health and have the energy to love, laugh, and live! It’s so fun to state “my CFO says!”
We invite you to join us in eliminating these words from our culture! It is quite a legacy to leave!
“Simply” Sue