6 years to 6 figure income

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    Years toFigure IncomeHow I Went From 30K to 103K in 6 Years

    Have you ever wondered how this guy besides you is dressed-up like a million bucks and got thepromotion you ever wanted? Have you ever wanted to know what you need to do to reach the

    magic number of a 6 figure income? I dont think I have a secret formula to make it happens

    all I know is that I did it in 6 years, so YOU can do it too!

    www.FabulouslyBroke.com

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    Table of ContentsChronology of My Income ............................................................................................................................. 2

    Why Should You Listen to Me Anyway? ................................................................................................... 3

    The One and Only Principle That Rules The Universe ................................................................................... 9

    The Pareto Principle .................................................................................................................................. 9

    My trick to reach a 6 figure income job ...................................................................................................... 15

    How to Get a Better Job .......................................................................................................................... 21

    How to get an income raise years after years ........................................................................................ 22

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    Welcome to My WorldThe very first thing that comes to my mind before I write anything about how to

    make a 6 figure income is Thank you for reading this eBook!

    The idea of creating this eBook actually came from one of my friend and

    colleague. He was amazed to see where I started my career (as an admin clerk

    making $30,000/year) and where I was standing right now (a successful banker).

    As he is slightly younger than me and just starting his career, he asked me for

    help. He wanted to know what I did to follow such a high speed career path while

    getting married, having 3 kids and finishing my MBA with honours. After telling

    him most of my secrets, Ive thought of writing this quick eBook and give it to

    my most important reader; YOU!

    You wont find any shady shortcuts to achieve a high level of income. This eBook

    is simply the description of all the things I have done to make it happen in 6 years.

    Those tricks may or may not be all applicable to your situation. However, Im sure

    that after reading this eBook, you will get a few tricks to get, at least, a juicy raise!

    All the best,

    Mike

    www.FabulouslyBroke.com

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    Chronology of My IncomeWhy Should You Listen to Me Anyway?

    I must admit that I have a pretty short work history (I only started working back in

    2003 and this book has been written at the beginning of 2012). However, Ive

    been able to use this time to maximize my income progression to a 6 figure salary

    in only 6 years of work.

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    Did I start to sell drugs in the process?

    Nope!

    Did I work over 60 hours a week for 5 years before hitting the jackpot?

    Nope!

    Did I have to be a brown-noser?

    No way Jose!

    So how the hell I was able to grow my income faster than a 15 year old footballer

    eats a double pepperoni medium pizza? Keep reading, youll get the answer

    2003 $30,000 $37,000

    I finished my bachelor degree in finance & marketing in 2003. At that time, I was

    able to get a cool job as a clerk in the back office of a trading firm. My jobsounded cool at first as I was dealing with traders to clear their trades at the

    end of the day. It was in the stock options and futures department (also called

    derivatives). But the sad truth is that it was boring me to death! I could have been

    asked to paint stop signs red and it would have been more fun! All I did all day

    was balance numbers in an excel spreadsheet and was desperately waiting for the

    clock to hit 5pm!

    After 6 months only,I quit my job and watched TV for 2 weeks until I found a

    better job for a better salary (from 30K to 37K) in a bank.

    2004 $47,000

    The start of 2004 was a great adventure as I started it by being in charge of a

    $25M RRSP loan campaign. I was in charge of making sure that everything ran

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    smoothly and that all the loans were approved and disbursed on time. As I didnt

    have many employees under me, I did the whole job and was working 14 hourdays with no breaks (literally, people were dropping food and coffee on my desk

    so I didnt die). I was looking like those Chinese zombies who play World of

    Warcraft non-stop.

    2 months of work that gave me my first raise (from $37,000 to $42,000) along

    with a $5,000 bonus at the end of the year. Man, I was almost at $50K after only 2

    years on the market.

    2005: $55,000

    I really liked where I was working back then so I continued to hustle hard. My

    biggest strength was that I was able to do my job and then find ways to improve

    our processes within my work week (which was 37.5hrs/week at that time).

    Therefore, I earned my first promotion (with another raise to a base salary of

    $48,000). My boss liked me a lot because all those improvements in his

    department were making him look good big time. He was a nice guy so he was

    sharing the wealth and gave me a lot of tricks to go higher.

    One of them was to get all my tuition fees paid my employer. This is how I got my

    stock trading license along with myfinancial planner coursespaid.

    2006: $61,000

    Another year, another promotion. This time, I was promoted as the senior of my

    team. This came with a hefty salary raise (up to $52,000) along with a biggerbonus at the end of year ($9,000). I really like this year at work because I was

    adding a lot of responsibilities and I was invited to all kinds of important meetings

    with the big bosses. I was about to join the big guys one day. This is when I

    realized that my sacrifices and hard work started to pay off. I was now known by

    VPs and my name was getting around.

    http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/cfp-vs-cfa-is-there-more-than-one-letter-difference/http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/cfp-vs-cfa-is-there-more-than-one-letter-difference/http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/cfp-vs-cfa-is-there-more-than-one-letter-difference/
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    2007: $63,000

    A year later, I was starting to get bored. I realized that being the senior of my

    team wasnt only about its advantages. On the other hand, some people were

    getting jealous and I didnt have many friends there anymore. While work became

    another synonym for routine, I had the great opportunity to go on my first week

    long business trip.

    To date, this was one of the best professional experiences I have ever lived. I had

    the opportunity to go visit much of British Columbia speaking with many very

    interesting individuals. But when I came back from this trip, I got the bad newsthat our bank held a lot of commercial paper (also known as ABCP) and that our

    bonus was going to be cut big time. So even if I had a salary increase that year, my

    overall income almost stagnated for the first time. I was due for a change!

    2008: $64,000

    I didnt tell most people in my entourage but the real reason why I quit my job at

    the bank to become a financial planner in 2008 was because I didnt win a contestat the end of 2007! I know, I can be a big baby sometimes, but I really deserved to

    win that darned contest. This is why I decided to change jobs in the middle of

    myMBA.

    It was a really hard year for me; I had to adapt to new colleagues, new systems

    and a new job while finishing my MBA. On top of that, it had to be the worst year

    on the stock market for the past 50 years! Anyways, this job change didnt bring

    me much in terms of income and I didnt perform well enough (I had only 6

    months to add assets to my book). This is why I finished the 2008 year with thesmallest bonus I have ever had: $2,300!

    http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/survival-guide-to-a-mba-part1-surviving-the-program/http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/survival-guide-to-a-mba-part1-surviving-the-program/http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/survival-guide-to-a-mba-part1-surviving-the-program/http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/survival-guide-to-a-mba-part1-surviving-the-program/
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    2009: $103,000

    While 2008 was really rough, 2009 was life changing for me. I was performing like

    there was no tomorrow and I finished the year at almost 200% of my objectives.

    In the meantime, I finished my MBA and asked for a sizeable raise due to my

    performance and my new degree. I was becoming a pillar employee in my branch

    and the manager wanted to keep me on his side.

    This is the first year where I started to combine my online income to my day job in

    order to break the6 figure incomefor the first time in my life (at the age of 28!).

    While my online income wasnt that much at the time, it was just enough for meto bump up my total income in the major leagues.

    The biggest change in 2009 was not about my income; it was about how many

    hours I had to work to make it. In 2009, I startedworking 4 days a week,so 30

    hours a week at my day job. It gave me more time to spend with my family and to

    work on my online company.

    2010: $135,000

    2010 was literally a continuation of the past 2 years as I completed a second year

    in a row with 200% of my objectives. The bonus was similar (roughly 33K) but I

    was able to negotiate another income raise based on my past performance. In

    addition to that, the benefits earned from my online company started to increase

    at that time.

    My partner and I decided to pay me for my full day of blogging at the same rate I

    was earning at my day job (bonus excluded obviously!). This was one of the bestdecisions we ever took as the business has grown way faster since then. With less

    than 10 hours/week, we were able to make it grow significantly.

    http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/hitting-6-figures-income-at-28/http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/hitting-6-figures-income-at-28/http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/hitting-6-figures-income-at-28/http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/now-working-4-days-a-week/http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/now-working-4-days-a-week/http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/now-working-4-days-a-week/http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/hitting-6-figures-income-at-28/
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    2011: $176,000

    There is not much difference between 2010 and 2011 while the income is larger.

    In fact, 2011 is definitely the sum of all the good decisions I have made over the

    past 8 years:

    - Getting my CFP title

    - Completing my MBA with honours

    - Moving towards a job where the bonus is linked to my performance

    - Working 4 days a week to become more productive at work

    - Giving awesome service to my clients- Concentrating on my online business to generate a steady flow of income

    - Focusing on value added actions instead of doing what I had to do

    2011 is my ultimate proof that when you have a solid plan and work on it for

    several years, the sum of your actions generates exponential results.

    Whats next???

    In 2012, Im not expecting to make as much as 2011. I think this will be my record

    year for a few years to come. As I mentioned in my2012 financial goals,my

    objective will be to pay off debts and take care of myself. Ive reached very high

    level of income quite fast without having to work numerous hours (remember, I

    worked 30hrs/week at my day job in 2011).

    I think that the most important part is to do things that you love. This is how you

    can make money and crush it like I did. My ultimate goal is to stick to the 6 figures

    without having to work much. I am not aiming for a 250K or 300K salary eventhough I now know that I could eventually get there. I would rather have a low 6

    figure income and enjoy life now instead of waiting desperately until retirement

    to enjoy it! Keep reading this book and youll how I was able to manage a high

    quality of life while managing a high income.

    http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/take-control-of-my-finance/http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/take-control-of-my-finance/http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/take-control-of-my-finance/http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/take-control-of-my-finance/
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    The One and Only Principle ThatRules The Universe

    The Pareto Principle

    If there is one thing you need to remember from the whole book, it is

    the Pareto Principle. This is also known as the 80-20 rule where for

    many events; roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes

    (Wikipedia source). Lets bring the rule back to your most important

    asset, yourself:

    20% of your effort will generate 80% of your result

    This is true at school, at work andobviously with money. This is

    based on the rule that you should manage your time. Work on the

    20% and forget about the rest (but make sure to read my word of

    caution in a few pages!). Its useless anyway as you will spend 80% of

    your time and effort to generate 20% of your results do you really

    want this?

    I have run into several workhorses in my life. You know what? We

    dont call those people workhorse for nothing. A ho rse is pretty

    strong and works very hard. But is it half as smart as a rat? If you put

    a horse in a maze, chances are that he will never get out and would

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    die in there. But he will work like crazy to get out though. As you may

    know, some horses even die during a race because they couldntstop running and they ran until they die. The problem is that he

    wont be working on what is important. Workhorses at school will

    study for hours and hours until they master every single word of

    every single page of their books. Most of them will obviously succeed

    and have awesome marks.

    But Im asking you: at what price do they succeed? Even worst: if they

    were to study 80% less, they would probably end-up with areasonable mark. So tell me: why should you spend 50 hours to get

    95% when you can spend 10 hours and get 80%? The key is to know

    where to put your 20% of effort. So at first, you might want to

    consider working 40% or 30% in order to get your 80% results.

    Overtime, you will master the rule and how you should apply it and

    reach almost a perfect 20-80 balance.

    In order to apply this rule in your life, you should ask yourself a

    simple question when you are about to do something:

    Am I creating value right now or am I just doing something because it

    has to be done?

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    Heres an example

    Cutting my lawn: I spend some time and effort to do something thathas to be done. However, I am not creating any value; the grass will

    grow again and Ill have to be back behind my lawnmower in 4 days.

    Im wasting my time and I am n ot productive. What if I pay the kid

    next door $10 and save an hour? This would make sense as long as I

    would use this hour to work on my business and generate more than

    $10 during the same time.

    This is also how I manage my online company

    Each week, I spend 6 hours in a row working on my company. I call it

    my blogging day. 6 hours is not much when you have tons of things to

    do. So I am trying as much as I can to do things that create value

    (such as writing, keeping in touch with important connections,

    learning new techniques or working on strategies). In order to do

    this, I have to outsource many has to be done tasks. For example,Ive hired someone to keep track of all private advertising and

    contact advertiser upon renewal. Everybody can follow up on

    advertisement with an excel spreadsheet. It needs to be done as we

    would not be paid for private advertisement if we werent asking for

    payments. However, it doesnt create any value. This is why I

    outsource this task while I concentrate on writing this book for

    example.

    But wait! Im not telling you to pay for everything you dont want to

    do. This would be stupid and you would be spending a lot of money

    without keeping control of your wallet. However, there are ways

    where you can optimize your time and e nergy without paying. So Im

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    telling you to outsource what someone else can do for you while you

    can use this free time to create more money.

    For example, you can easily ask your manager to give some reports

    you have to generate to a junior or a stagier while you are doing

    something that creates value (e.g. generate more income or save time

    for the department). If you can prove to your manager that you will

    generate more money for the firm while doing another task than

    reporting, then you will be free from this boring task and climb in

    your boss esteem. What if you dont have enough resources to

    outsource your reporting to someone else? Why dont you ask a

    friend in the computer department about how to streamline your

    report process?

    When I was working at my first job, we used to do a lot of reports

    through Excel. I knew that there were some ways to automate a part

    of it through operating macros, but I had no clue how to do it. I

    decided to take some time with Excel wizards in the department so

    they could help me build those macros. At the end, Ive spent a few

    extra hours of my time to build a new Excel spreadsheet but then, I

    have saved 4-5 hours or work per week to this department forever.

    This frees me up for doing more projects while improving my chances

    of earning a promotion.

    Most people just follow processes without asking questions. So if you

    only take 15 minutes out of your lunch hour to think about your

    processes, you will definitely find where and how you can improve

    them to make your life easier. This is how you will use 20% of your

    efforts to generate 80% of your results!

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    Action Step: Create Value

    This step action is pretty easy to understand, but will require some

    time. I want you to make a list of all the things you do in a week.

    Classify it under separate categories to make sure you have

    everything:Work

    Family

    Chores

    Hobby

    Side income

    Etc.

    Once you list all your tasks (start with your job, this is where you will

    find most of the juice to work on). Mention if it is a productive task

    (e.g. creating value) or if it an outsourceable task (e.g. it is not

    creating value and can easily be done by someone else at a lesser

    cost). Once you have identified the tasks requiring you 80% of your

    time but generating only 20% of your work, you should then try to

    find ways to outsource or improve them.

    I understand that outsourcing is not always an option; especially at

    work! Nobody will want to do a part of YOUR job unless you are lucky

    enough to have a student by your side. So the other option you have

    is to improve your efficiency by performing those tasks. Here are a

    few examples of how you can do it.

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    Voicemail and mailbox management

    Do them twice a day (at 11am and at 4pm). Notify your coworkers,

    your boss and your clients that you will take care of their voicemails

    or emails twice a day and not to expect an answer between those

    timeframes. You will become more productive on your actual tasks

    (instead of jumping from one task to a voicemail to another task

    between 2 emails) and you will be more focused when you return

    telephone calls. If you are good with computers, you can call people

    back while answering quick emails. Focus is the key to being

    productive. If your mind is doing 3-4 tasks at the same time, you are

    just running around and playing your role perfectly as a rat in the

    maze!

    Doing reports

    Most reports can be completely or partially automated through Excel

    macros or other software. It is important to take some time to figure

    out a way how you can run reports automatically. This will save you a

    lot of time and, if you require a few hundred bucks to manage this

    project; your employer is most likely to approve it if you can prove

    that you can save 30 minutes per day (30 minutes at $20/hour is $50

    saved per week forever it definitely worth the investment!).

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    My trick to reach a figure income jobWork hard until you get your promotions

    For several years, I worked very hard and always did more than what I

    was asked. Most people wont do this, because they think they are

    not paid to do extra. While they are right in a way, climbing up the

    company ladder require sacrifices and extra work. How can you shineif you do exactly what your co-worker does? You do your job right

    and you are good at it? Congratulations but you are already p aid for

    doing your job right, and for that they let you come to work

    tomorrow. If you want a promotion, you have to step up and go the

    extra mile.

    My first boss always told me that if I want a position, I should act,

    dress and work as if I had it. It doesn t mean to be cocky, it means towork some extra hours, do some extra projects and prove that you

    can actually do the job before getting the promotion. Ask to replace

    your senior during his vacation for example. Spend some time with

    him in order to know more about his job and how he deals with it.

    Dont complain

    Another important point is to avoid complaints. You can argue, you

    can debate your point of view (this is another good way to shine) but

    not in a negative, whining fashion, (want some cheese with that?).

    People dont like whiners in general, they like winners . Complaining

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    is against any corporate view. If you want to climb the corporate

    ladder, you better walk the walk!

    Get your employer to pay for your tuition

    My employer paid for my mutual funds licence, my CFP (Certified

    Financial Planner) designation and my MBA. While I cant quit my job

    for the next 3 years without leaving them a big check to reimburse

    those fees, I now hold a plethora of diplomas to improve my

    employability and salary (companies tend to pay more money for

    someone with a lot of paper to put on the wall ).

    Join a Big Firm

    I finished my bachelor degree in finance- marketing back in May 2003.Prior to this date, I had already signed my contract with a big

    financial firm. The job was okay but it wasnt exciting either.

    However, the point was to get hired by a company with thousands of

    divisions. My employer currently has more than 17,000 employees.

    This meant 2 things for a young wolf like me:

    #1 There is a lot of potential for promotions

    #2 I could try 5 different careers and still be working for the same

    employer for 25 years

    When I started working, I was looking for these 2 things from my

    future employer and I didnt mind my starting level. All I needed was

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    an entry point. Because most of the good jobs in big firms are given

    to existing employees

    As an admin clerk, I was balancing trades all day long. The first 4

    months were very interesting as I was learning about the stock

    market and how stock options work (I was in the derivative products

    department). However, after a while, you get tired of opening the

    same Excel spreadsheets and solving the same issues over and over

    again. This is whenI quit my first job.

    2 weeks after, I was hired by the same company but in a different

    department. This is where the real story started

    Get Your Managers Attention

    Before you start thinking you need to be a brown-noser to get

    promotions, Ill tell you upfront: brown noses dont get the real jobs .One day or another, somebody detects their little game and they get

    stuck where they are.

    When I write about getting your managers attention I mean about by

    bringing results to the table. Im talking about asking your manager

    questions in order to improve the way you work and behave.

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    Do More Than Expected

    If you do your job right, thats expected. If you do your job better;

    its appreciated. What you need to do is to:

    a) Do your job better than most people around you

    b) Think about how you can improve your job or anything else in

    your department

    Once I had mastered my new job (we were granting investment loansfor high net worth clients), I was always thinking during the day (or

    after work!) about how I could improve the way I work. I had setup a

    unique office organization and created many excel spreadsheets to

    help me improve my job. Each time I had an idea, I put it into place

    and then, I showed my boss the benefits of it.

    By doing more than expected, I was always my boss radar and my

    name started to be heard in upper management. Some people toldme that I was doing too much for what I was paid and that I should

    just do my job well and wait for my promotion. They were basic ally

    thinking that my extra work was just a freebie for my employer. I

    started this job at 37K in November 2003. In March 2004, I got my

    first raise of 5K I was then making 42K. I guess my extra efforts paid

    off pretty quickly after all.

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    Show Some Interest

    On top of doing more than expected, I was also showing interest in

    getting a position higher than mine. I asked my manager how to get

    to my next promotion. Since he saw great potential with me, he

    guided me with what I needed to do in order to get the promotion I

    was looking for. At that time, all I needed to do was to follow his

    advice. This was because we had very open communication and I

    never hesitated to ask for his opinion.

    A year later, in 2005, I got my first promotion and started taking care

    of bigger files. My salary went from 42K to 47K and my bonus was

    around 9K back then. I had now gone from 30K (with barely no

    bonuses) to a 56K job in not even 3 years.

    Beware of the Water Cooler

    The last piece of advice I want to give you today is to beware of the

    water cooler . How many times have you heard an employee bad

    mouthing the company he is working for, his department, his boss or

    even worse; another employee? This happens at the water cooler, in

    every cafeteria of every company. This is why you have to be very

    careful. You dont want your name to come up as a troublemaker and

    certainly dont want other employees to loath you because you are

    bad mouthing. During these conversations, always stay off the radar.

    No need to be a fierce defender of e verybody, but you dont have to

    participate either.

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    Action Step: Ask For It!

    Act like a real soldier and get yourself a raise this year! I have given

    you enough hindsight that you now know how to approach your

    manager and get what you want. Dont be rude, dont be cocky; just

    be confident and apply the rules mentioned above. Youll definitely

    be able to pull out your card and get a winning hand! If you are too

    shy to ask just think of how slow your salary will grow if you sit on

    your chair and wait/hope for your yearly annual increase. This

    increase is usually pretty low and you know why? Because someone

    else asked for a bigger raise and got it. You, poor rat, get what is left

    from the big envelope. I think its time for you to get your share,

    dont you think?

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    How to Get a Better Job

    This brings us to the next level: getting a promotion or a better job.

    Why work on climbing the corporate ladder when you actually want

    to leave the rat race? Isnt that getting deeper in our rat hole? Ill be

    honest with you, while you work on getting a higher pay check, you

    are not working on getting out of the rat race. In fact, you are

    probably digging your role and might fall into it.

    Many guru books will tell you that you need to focus solely on your

    business/project and basically leave everything else on the side. They

    are right in a sense that you need to focus on your business if you

    want to aspire to financial independence before the age of 65.

    However, I dont drink too much Koolaid and I am very aware that you

    may already be stuck with your load of bad debts and financial

    obligations. If you are reading this book, it is probably because youare stuck somewhere in the Rat Race.

    If you are stuck, it also means that you are limited with the actions

    you can take to get out of your maze. Quit your job and apply the

    Secret oh boy! Some people are not living in the same world as I do.

    You know what? Positive thinking will definitely help, but believing

    you will receive checks through the mail because of the laws of

    attraction is a bit too much. Youll have to work on top of beingpositive! So Im not asking you to jump off the cliff and believe. I

    rather give you a few hints on the jump and lend you a parachute to

    make sure you are not hurt in the process!

    When I started to seek assets to build a few years ago, I had kids, a

    mortgage and other financial obligations already. I was too afraid to

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    leave everything behind and make the jump. I believe you are like me;

    you want a better financial future but you are too afr aid to jeopardizewhat you have already. Gurus will tell you that fear only restrain you

    from acting and that you have almost nothing to fear. Well sorry, I

    dont drink that Koolaid and I will reach financial independence one

    step at a time.

    So in the meantime, I have spent my time at work doing something

    way more interesting than only working: I have spent my time trying

    to get salary raises and promotions. The following part can be foundsomewhere on my blog but I thought this topic was well covered and

    that you need to read those articles.

    How to get an income raise years after years

    From 2003 to 2008 I went from a $30,000 salary as an admin clerk to

    a 6 figure income professional position. Aside from the diplomas (wewill cover that later one), there are a few tricks on how you can get

    not only an income raise each year but you can surpass all your

    coworkers as well. To begin with, I would say that asking for a raise is

    like playing poker, here are a few rules I used.

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    #1 Know What Your Hand is Worth

    ~ You cant ride the table with a pair of clowns in your pocket!~

    Before you start betting, you must know if you have a winning hand

    or not. This depends on several factors:

    Your performance at work

    Your coworkers performance compared to yours

    Your diplomas

    The companys or your departments financial health

    Potential competitors you can work for

    Internal moves that can be done (lateral or promotion) in yourfirm

    If you dont have anything at the moment, its time to look around in

    order to either improve your performance or look for another job

    elsewhere. Dont stay on a sinking boat youll end -up the same way

    as people who stayed patiently on the Titanic; drown under water

    with handsome Leonardo DiCaprio!

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    #2 Know Who Your Opponents Are

    ~ Talk to a few people before sitting at the table ~

    During a poker game, you certainly dont want to make enemies just

    as you dont want any specific player to try to nail you more than

    others. When you are asking for a raise, you better make sure you

    know who you will ask and how to go about it. Managers react

    differently to this kind of request and this is why there is a preferred

    method and time to ask for a raise.

    Heres a quick example of how I got 3 income raises in 2009:

    The first raise I received was during the time of the year they position

    each employee according to the salary grid. Then, I asked for another

    raise at the end of the financial year (in November) based on my

    overall performance and on the basis that I had finished my MBA. The

    third one was provoked by a position opening in downtown. While itwas almost impossible for me to move from one branch to another in

    the same area (our branch is considered downtown but we dont get

    the downtown premium ), I thought of applying and explained that

    it was because I want to be paid the premium (as the branch next

    door is only 10 blocks away!).

    As you can see, I have brought along my file solidly without putting

    any ultimatum. I also work on my cards (my performance, mydiplomas and then, possible internal moves). I could have also used

    an offer from the competition but this is a very tricky game and I

    dont advise it. If you play this card, your employer will know that you

    are nothing but a cash wh*/$/. You dont want that. Actually, you

    better approach your boss by telling him that you really like your job

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    and you like the company and you want to stay with them. Then, you

    ask him to help you stay and still be a key employee in thedepartment.

    #3 Know When and How To Bluff

    ~ You dont want your employer to give up on you, right?~

    When you ask for a raise, you need to put a little bit of pressure on

    your employer so they realize what life could be

    without you. This is why it is always good to mention

    that you recently turned down head hunter offers

    because you are happy with your current employer

    and that you believe that you will be able to find a

    solution to your salary situation. So they know that

    other companies would like to have you on boardbut you didnt threaten them. If your bluff is too

    cocky, your employer will obviously give up and tell you that you may

    be happier elsewhere be careful!

    As is the case during a poker game, overusing bluffs can cost you the

    game. In fact, when you are sitting dow n at the poker table with your

    employer, you can always assume that he has a stronger hand then

    you do. Underestimating your boss during salary negotiation isprobably the worst move you can ever make.

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    #4 Know When it is Time to Pull Your Chips off the Table

    ~ There is a time to cash out this beautiful money ~

    We all want more money (all the time!) and a raise will keep you

    happy for only so long. However, at one point, it is important to avoid

    pushing your luck. I was able to get 3 increases in the same year and

    they are now looking at the option of giving the downtown premium

    to our branch (which would become my 4 th raise in a span of 12

    months!). However, now that I have pushed the HR machine to the

    max, Ill just watch it run and see what comes next. I wont ask for

    anything or apply more pressure. It is actually time to pull my chips

    off the table and start working to show them they were right to give

    me this raise.

    In 2010, I didnt say much about my small income raise because I had

    so many in 2009. However, because I kept hustling, I got a significant

    raise in 2011. At one point, your employer will realize your value and

    income raises will come easier and more naturally.

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    #5 Play your winning hand till the end

    ~ You want to use each card in your hand ~

    When you ask for a raise, there is more at play than the market and

    your performance. those two aspects will greatly affect the

    negotiations, you can also ask what your direct manager thinks of all

    of this. If you were not able to sell yourself to your manager, he

    wont be able to turn around and ask his boss or the HR department

    (remember the evil group that holds the purse strings ; -( ) to increase

    your income. Since he will do most of the hard work, it is important

    to supply the ammunition for him to work with, give him argument

    and keep doing an awesome job. Never let him down, talk behind his

    back or complain about your situation. Keeping a professional

    attitude will definitely lead the way to your next raise .

    One last thing, regardless if you achieved what you were asking for or

    not, keep your mouth shut . You dont want to create inflation in yourcompany as your manager wont appreciate that you tell others that

    they can earn more.

    What if you are not a poker player (e.g. you are not too good with t he

    negotiating games), thats all right; I have more tricks for you.

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    Now ts Your Turn!To the best of my knowledge, Ive shared several of my tricks in this eBook. I

    wanted to be straight forward and give you as many practical tips as possible.

    Theory is fun, but making more money with real life trick is better.

    If you want to continue your learning, be sure to go back each Friday on

    www.FabulouslyBroke.comwhere I will continue to give my career tips and

    money management strategies. Make sure to pass by and drop me a comment!

    Now its your turn to shine and get that raise you deserve!

    I hope you enjoyed my stuff!

    All the best,

    Mike

    www.FabulouslyBroke.com

    http://www.fabulouslybroke.com/http://www.fabulouslybroke.com/http://www.fabulouslybroke.com/