This article is really part 2 of the article found here on how to extract income from unleveraged assets. The basic idea is to list all of your assets and then to identify ways to generate more income from each asset.
When making a list of your assets, it is helpful to have the correct definition of an asset in mind. A definition of an asset found online is as follows:
“A useful or valuable thing, person, or quality.”
I like this definition because it really expands the range of assets we have available. However, I am going to modify it slightly. Here is my version of the definition of an asset:
“A useful or valuable thing, person or quality that you can use to extract income from without requiring a significant financial investment.”
This is the best way to view what assets are for the purposes of this exercise. The reason why is because you don’t necessarily need to own the “useful or valuable thing” to leverage it for your financial benefit. As an example, you can borrow a valuable thing (book) from the library and use the ideas within to extract income for your business. Books should turn into income in your life. One book could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars of future income and wealth if leveraged properly.
Another great example of an asset that you can leverage is the internet. You can use this priceless asset to generate significant income for your business. You don’t own or control the internet, but it is an asset you can leverage massively for your benefit. Here are a few websites you can leverage to generate income:
Craigslist
Amazon
Ebay
Your opt-in pages
Your thank you pages
Your blog
Amazon Kindle Book Store
Facebook
Google Adwords
Groupon
Living Social
Amazon Daily Deals
Pinterest
Instagram
You really have to think outside the box a little bit to grasp the opportunities available to you. As an example, you can write and self publish a Kindle book on Amazon that would attract your target prospects. This book can be used to generate income from the actual book sales and commission checks from prospects you convert through your book.
The same applies for Groupon. Create something that can be sold on Groupon and leverage this asset for free targeted leads and income for your business.
If you work with investors, could you offer a class (or courses) on how to invest in real estate?
“Up to 58% Off on Real Estate Investment & Management Course!”
The classes could be held online in webinar format, or at your office, or a local community center. Every single person purchasing the Groupon would become a valuable lead for your business. More importantly, you would actually get paid to generate this lead because you would get 50% of the Groupon course price. The course would also be marketed to your database for additional income and additional investment property sales.
The challenge is to actually “see” all of the assets you can leverage for additional income. We all have a tendency to get stuck in certain thought patterns and these patterns are extremely limiting. We tend to copy what we see other real estate agents do. This works for a while, but you’ll never create an amazing business with real value through this approach. Other agents do not see these assets and are not leveraging them for income. If you copy other agents, you automatically miss these priceless assets too.
Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to leverage every asset at your disposal to generate additional income for your business.
Remember to use my definition of an asset…
“A useful or valuable thing, person or quality that you can use to extract income from without requiring a significant financial investment.”