Stop giving to charity!

Sorry for the shock value title - giving to charity is great.  What I am discussing in this post, is the method of which most of us use to give.

Most of us take 5-10% of our income, and send it off to some impoverished nation to feed a starving child for a day.  And, that child is pretty thrilled, don't get me wrong.

The problem with this method, is you no longer have that money, and that child needs it again tomorrow.  You haven't solved anything, you've simply delayed something.

The analogy of burning money verses using the money to buy some wood or a gas stove, is appropriate.  The money gets burned/spent so quickly in this method, that it does very little good, especially when you consider many charities have "administration costs" which burn up the majority of your donation before the starving child ever gets to see it.

So, those of you who read regularly know, I'm not a downer - You're thinking that I wouldn't say all these discouraging things without a solution.  You're right.

I've found one charity that actually multiplies the money donated, and fixes the economy that was previously improvrished.

What that means, is you donate $25, and they multiply it into hundreds of dollars throughout the year.  Oh, and, they give the money back to you when they don't need it anymore - allowing you to donate it, plus your regular 5-10% of your income again, next time!

I'm going to say that again, so that it sinks in.

Lets make two examples.

1) say you donate $1,000 to one charity (feed the children, let's call it)
2) you donate $1,000 to the one I love.

One, uses this money to buy powdered milk for starving children to eat, and administration costs.

The other, uses this money as a micro-loan to fund a starving family's business.  They make $1,200 in a year, and employ that starving child who is living off of powdered milk.

Now, in the first example, you've lost the $1,000 to powdered milk, and the starving child is still starving.

In the second example, the starving child is no longer starving, has a job, and THEY GIVE THE MONEY BACK TO YOU.

So, let's say you donate $1,000 every year to charity.  In the first example, you saved up $1,000 and donated it again to the starving children.

In the second example, you can now donate $2,000 - effectively doubling your charitable contribution the next year.  Next year, you'll donate $3,000 and so on.

Multiply the awesome.

So, what is this fantastic charity, you ask?  What kind of charity could multiply my donations, and improve the economy so that charity will one day no longer be required?

That'd be Kiva.

Their minimum "donation" is $25.  Remember, there's a very good chance you'll get the money back.  Please give today & tell others either about Kiva, or this blog post.  Make the world a better place.

Sensei Ono, Shinka Martial Arts
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You want to be able to sell your business, EVEN IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SELL YOUR BUSINESS!

You mention selling someone's business, and they get all huffy and defensive.

"Oh, my business is my passion, I love what I do, I would never want to sell."

Uh huh, right right... Well, I have two things to say to that.

1) In order to leave behind an infinite legacy of wealth, a business must be able to function without you (because, chances are, you're going to die at some point and some unenthusiastic offspring of yours is going to be left holding the reigns)

2) I never said you had to sell ALL of it!

You could sell 20% of your business, and still make a few million. And, just think about how you could EXPAND YOUR INFLUENCE / IDEA and help even more people... with a few extra million bucks.

Eh? Eh? Not so bad now, the whole selling the business thing... now is it?

3) There is no more profitable thing, than selling a business.

4) See number 3.
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Why leaving a million dollars to your kids is a bad idea

(Continued from last post)

So, as I was mentioning in the previous post about designing your business plans, and having your business function without you despite your passion/love for it...

NO! You do NOT want to leave a million dollars to your kids!!

WHY!?

THEY'LL JUST SPEND IT!!

You want to leave them a device that MAKES them a million dollars a year!

If you just give them money, they'll just spend it!!

The same goes for charities, by the way. You don't want to leave a huge sum of money to a charity when you die... they'll spend it too!

Instead, leave them the cashflow that comes from one of your income vehicles. That's right, so that they get a million bucks a year forever... instead of a one shot, thanks for the cash and its gone, adventure.

The only way you could do this, is if you designed your business to function without your involvement. (or, at the very least, groomed someone to take over for when you're gone)

As I mentioned in the previous article, the E-myth is an excellent book on the subject.

You want to be able to sell your business... even if you don't want to sell your business!

Huh?

Read on...
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