Your motives

What are your motives for getting into the property market? Is it to move some of your existing cash pile into another asset class, to gain better returns? Is it to spread risk? Or if like me, you may wish to set up a base of financial independence by having enough cashflow to cover your living expenses?

It is important to clarify your motive from the outset as this will determine how much cashflow you will need. This in turn will influence the type of property and therefore help you pinpoint the goldmine area you should be looking at. It will also give you focus when it comes to what deals you will put offers into and what deals you will pass on.

How much cashflow do you need?

Once you’ve clarified your motives, you should find it easier to specify how much cashflow you will need. From now on we will express this number as monthly cashflow or more specifically the profits you receive per month before taxes.

Let’s surmise that you want to buy your first property so that you can start a small portfolio, which will pay you a monthly income such that you can retire from paid employment (if you wish). Define your monthly cashflow number now. Write this number down, so that you are reminded of it all the time. I will assume that you have already defined what your monthly expenses are. If not please do this exercise first. I show you exactly how to do this in my book How Do I Retire Early.

Going forward we will use an example of someone who needs a monthly cashflow of £2,000 from their property portfolio. Now we will start to look at the geographical area you will search for properties in.

Yields and financials what you will look out for

Before we establish where your goldmine area is, we need to spend a little time thinking about the key financial indicator – yield.

Yield

Yield is simply the amount of annual income you will achieve on a single property, expressed as a percentage of the price of the property. The formula to work this out is annual rent divided by the price of the property multiplied by 100.

(Rent/price x 100)

For example, if a particular investment property can be purchased for £100,000 and the rent is £900 per month, then the yield will be:

£900×12 / £100,000 x 100 = 10.8%

A yield of 10.8% would be very good, as ideally you want to be looking at properties that yield more than 7%.

Although the yield isn’t what your eventual profits will be, as it doesn’t take into account running costs, void periods and of course mortgage repayments, it is still a valuable indicator as to whether you should be looking at a particular property as an potential investment. If you work out the potential yield on a property and it works out less than 7%, I would pass on it straightaway.

Finding Your Goldmine Area

Now we have established what your target rental yield is, your next task will be to establish your goldmine area, using yield as a guide. Establishing your goldmine area takes some groundwork but it is well worth it. After all that’s why it’s called a goldmine. Your goldmine area is an area in which you’ve already worked out that the average yields are optimal and the other criteria are a fit for you.

Geography should be your first criteria. In what location do you want to own property? Ideally it should be within 30 minutes commute, as you will need to visit the properties before making offers. It is also an area that you can get expert knowledge in quickly. Having that expert knowledge of your local area can help you to find better deals and also to understand where the potential pitfalls are.

You will be doing some analysis on the financials of the properties in your goldmine area and I can recommend setting up a spreadsheet to do the donkey work for you.

Download a free copy my Goldmine Area spreadsheet in the Free Stuff page. You can also see a screen shot below.

First go online to www.rightmove.co.uk and search properties for sale in a small geographical area within your 30-minute catchment area. Rightmove allows you to search in specific locations such as Town, County, Postcode. I would advise searching postcode sub-sections e.g. M25, M45, BL8. These are also called the outward code. Specific postcodes, for example M16 0RA which includes the inward code, will be too small to gain a good sample area.

Filter Your Search Results

Next, filter your search by numbers of bedrooms, separately. I.e. first look at 1 bedroom, then 2, then 3. If you already know you are only looking at 2 or 3 bedrooms, then you only need to search for these. You might also have already decided you don’t want to look at flats or bungalows. If so you can filter these out too.

Sort by price lowest to highest. What you are looking for here is the average price for a property with that specific number of bedrooms. Use the median price for a quick and dirty average. This is the middle price, so if your search comes back with eleven pages of results, for instance, go to page 6 and choose the middle-of-the-page price. Enter this into your spreadsheet. Repeat this for each number of bedrooms.

Repeat with For Rent

Now you want to repeat this exercise for rental prices. Go to the For Rent tab on Rightmove and find the average rental price for each number of bedrooms, using the same method as above. Enter these into the next column on your spreadsheet. Use the following formula to work out the average yield for each number of bedrooms:

Av. Monthly rental x 12/ Av price x 100. Enter this into your spreadsheet. (If you use my spreadsheet, Excel will work this out for you).

Repeat this for every sub-area in your catchment area. Once you have done this you will have a breakdown of yields per no. of bedrooms per sub area.

Go through your spreadsheet and delete any areas/bedroom numbers that come in with an average yield of less than 7%. Now it should be easy to choose the highest yielding sub-area as your Goldmine area.

Yes, I know this will be a laborious task at first, but believe me, once you have found your Goldmine area, you will have struck gold.

How much have you got for a deposit?

Once you have chosen your initial Goldmine Area, we will assess whether this is a viable option for you, in respect of your personal circumstances.

Firstly, we will now start to look at how much liquid cash you have available for your first deposit. Assuming you have this number to hand, you will be able to see how realistic this goldmine area is for you. If you don’t have this number to hand then please go ahead and work this out.

Let’s say that you have a cash deposit of £25,000 which you can get your hands on within the next few months. Now have look at your Goldmine Area prospecting spreadsheet. Look at your chosen Goldmine Area and look across to the row of your chosen number of bedrooms. For instance, in the example screenshot above, you can see the following are yielding above 7%.

• Camberwick Green – 2 beds
• Chigley – 2 beds
• Royston Vasey – 1 bed
• Hobbiton – 2 bed

But as we look down the deposit required columns, we only have enough average deposit for Camberwick Green – 2 bed and Royston Vasey – 1 bed.

You may decide not to consider 1 bedroom properties, therefore 2 bedroom properties in Camberwick Green would be you Goldmine Area.

How many properties will you need to get your target cashflow?

The second sense-check, when choosing your goldmine area, after the amount of deposit required, is how many properties will you need to purchase to reach your Financial Independence target? Again, there is no right or wrong answer to this, your number will be personal to you and is a factor of how long it may take.

Let’s use simple figures to illustrate. Say your financial independence target is £2,000 per month. Look at your goldmine area on the prospecting spreadsheet, in this case Camberwick Green – 2 beds. On average we will need to borrow £75,000. At today’s rates of 4.89% interest on an interest only mortgage your mortgage would be £3,668 or £306 per month.

If the average rent is £800, this will give you an average gross profit of £494.

Remember this is an average and doesn’t include costs such as repairs, insurance and void periods etc.

So, dividing £494 into £2,000 means you will need to purchase around 4 properties of similar profitability. Is four properties acceptable to you? How long will this take, given your circumstances?

To summarise, then, your choice of goldmine area will come from working out how much cashflow you need. You will need to bear in mind what the yield is and what minimum yield you are prepared to look at. Ideally this should be more than 7%. Then figure out how much cash you have available for a deposit. Does it cover the average deposit needed in your proposed goldmine area? Finally, how many of the average properties in your goldmine area will you need to purchase? Is this acceptable to you? Remember also that your motives for investing in property will under-pin all of this. Be clear on your motives.

The post How to Find Your Property Goldmine Area appeared first on Mike Holden Sales.

As we crossed the old bridge over the River Irwell, that umbilical cord of the Industrial Revolution, the dogs strained on their leashes as two cyclists approached from the other side.

I looked up at my old school, St Gabriel’s RC High School, Bury and a wave of nostalgia welled up. My wife and I remembered the teachers, what would they be doing now? It was over 36 years since I had left, would they all still be with us? Times of course have changed, the school grounds are all fenced off now, there were safety railings on the steps.

The Order

My first thought when I saw the sign was, yes Strength, Service and Success are admirable values to have, but what do they mean really? Why were these values named? This train of thought continued as we walked. Then it struck me. The values Strength, Service and Success are in a particular order for a reason, the first being strength and lastly success.
Everything must start with your strength. Service is how we employ our strength and success is the end product.

Strength

What do we mean when we talk about strength? The first thing that comes to mind is physical strength.

Physical strength.

Athletes, and sports people who are in competition with other athletes, for example, will work on their strength as well as their as their technical ability. If they are stronger, than their competitors, they will have an advantage. If two athletes have the same technical ability, the stronger will win.
We can obviously increase our physical strength with exercise, in which we will stress our muscles. The recovery from this stress will involve an increase in muscle mass, as the body adapts to be able to cope with increased workload.
The converse will be true as well. A lack of physical exercise doesn’t mean that your strength will remain static. Your strength will be reduced by prolonged inactivity. I have run marathon races in the past, but I know that I would need about four months to re-train for another marathon, as my endurance will have decreased since the last one.

Mental strength

We are not all athletes, though. How would physical strength help with the academic? Wouldn’t they need mental strength, meaning the ability to concentrate on a given concept for extended periods of time? Natural intelligence will obviously help the academic, although this would be for nought if they were unable to concentrate for the period of time required to finish the work.
Just like a physical muscle, the ability to concentrate can be exercised.

Emotional Strength

Emotional strength is now recognised as a prerequisite for business strength, often called emotional intelligence.
Sales is one of the primary skills in business. Even if you are not in a sales position, you will benefit from selling your ideas to colleagues. Inspiring your team is also a form of selling. The effective salesperson has emotional strength, as they can control their emotions. Are people born with high emotional strength? No obviously not. Show me a toddler with high emotional intelligence.

Mood

Emotional strength will express itself as someone’s mood. A person could be having a difficult day and feeling down however they can still check their mood. Its great advice to get in the right frame of mind before undertaking something important. The expression ‘leaving your troubles at the door’ holds good.
One way that sales is great for developing your emotional strength is by exposing you to rejection. The more successful the salesperson, the more rejection they have faced. It’s a simple numbers game. If two salespeople have the same conversion rate, let’s say 10%, but salesperson A makes 50 calls whilst salesperson B makes 100, then A will make 5 sales to B’s 10. However, salesperson B will have twice the number of rejections (90) than A.
Over a career, salesperson B will develop their emotional strength deeper.

Read my post describing my sales prospecting process, where I show you how you can overcome a fear of rejection.

Financial Strength

Money doesn’t buy you happiness, however it can help solve problems. If something breaks down in your home, like a boiler, having an emergency fund ready can turn a disaster into just an annoyance. Having insurance policies in place gives us piece of mind and saving up in a pension gives us the knowledge that one day we will not need to work to support ourselves. We will be able to mature with dignity.
Having a pot of capital can often help a new business to scale quickly to the point where it is self-sufficient. I have saved up capital for down payments on investment properties. These in turn have given me financial independence. I am not reliant on the state to support me.
So financial strength is something to strive for, it is a good thing to do.

Altruism

Having money gives you the chance to be altruistic. Are there any causes that are close to your heart that you could donate to? Having financial strength means you can do this without harming your own finances. What is it the flight attendant says before every flight? ‘Put your own mask on first before helping others.’

Spiritual Strength

The final strength is spiritual strength. My old school moto is The Lord Gives Me Strength. In our postmodern era, when many religions are on the wane, there is a void where once there was God. We are hardwired to have this belief in something bigger than the self. If we are not careful it can be filled, without our choosing. We can fall for scams, cults and gurus. We worship at the feet of celebrities and sports-heroes, not realising that there are normal people just like us, with all the same flaws.
Before I stopped digesting the news altogether, I became struck be the religious zeal that followers of political parties would display. Anyone from the ‘other side’ or someone who questioned ‘The Science’ is a heretic.
So, what is the answer? I’m not suggesting we revert back to organised Religion, although that may be preferable. What I am saying is we should believe in something bigger than ourselves, but we should choose it consciously and carefully. This will give us the spiritual strength to protect us for the frauds and fake gurus. If we have a North Star to guide us it will give us the strength to speak up when we see something blatantly wrong.

Exercising each is the key

In all the examples of the different types of strength, the one common denominator is that you can increase the strength by exercising. Physical exercise is obvious, but we can also increase our mental strength through practising concentration. We can make this easier by removing things that decrease our mental strength, such as scrolling on phones and trying to multitask.

Emotional strength can be increased by exposing ourselves to things that could dampen our mood. Cold call sales are a fantastic way to do this, as we expose ourselves to rejection. If you aren’t in sales, you can practise this by speaking up in meetings and putting your ideas forward.

If a position becomes available which is more senior, put yourself forward. Be unattached to the outcome, as you may be rejected. Count the rejections as a badge of honour. You are one more ‘no’ closer to a ‘yes.’

Saving money gives you financial strength. Its a great feeling to know that you have capital built up to weather any financial emergency. Eventually your capital will grow with compounding until you no longer need to work again.
What about spiritual strength? Find something you believe in that is bigger than you. It could be getting involved in a community, a charity or your wider family. Spiritual strength will anchor you. Without it, you are at the mercy of the currents of life, of scams and fake news.

Service

So, strength gives you a platform from which to serve. Let’s have a look at how you can serve.

Employer

I was told many years ago to always do more than you are paid for. Serve your employer, go the extra mile. Do it out of habit and do not expect extra reward. It’s a law of the universe that rewards will come eventually, through promotions pay rises or being head hunted. This law of the universe can’t fail to work. Take pride in your work, treat it as your craft. You are a craftsman, creating a masterpiece.

Colleagues

Help your colleagues and be a team player. As you do, you will be seen as the go-to person. You will be indispensable to your organisation. Don’t hog information. If you know something valuable, share it. As you pass your knowledge to your peers, you increase your own expertise and your capacity to learn more grows.

Customers

Businesses in the private sector must service their customers or risk going bankrupt. All things being equal if the price and quality of the product is the same then the business who provides the best service will win and retain more customers.
In my earlier sales career, most of my time was spent on Account Management, for good reason. It was a competitive industry (Specialist Hygiene Systems to the Food Industry). In the time I had available for new business development, when I visited prospective new customers, the biggest complaint I heard was that the incumbent supplier gave poor service. Poor service can mean a lot of things, from late deliveries, to just not being listened to. If you are in business, it is your job to listen to the customer and serve them.

Audience

In the entertainment and sports industry, people pay good money to attend performances. They want value for money. Some of the best concerts I’ve been to are when the band give absolutely everything. Even though they are playing dozens of concerts around the world, this show feels like the only one they will ever do. Because of that these bands have the most loyal followers. They are serving their audience well.
I would contrast this to a forgettable gig I once went to where the band were sullen and there was no chemistry between the band members. It was at the end of a long tour and was supposed to be the homecoming concert. Their hearts weren’t in it, there was obviously something amiss. The band split up shortly after the end of the tour. As a post-script they have just announced they are reforming after 14 years and will be performing a new tour. I won’t be going.

Success

We’ve explored how strength gives you the ability to serve and we’ve touched on how success comes from serving. Let’s explore success a bit deeper.

The myth of the overnight success

When we look at successful people especially those in the limelight, such as films stars, they often seem to gain overnight success. They suddenly burst on the scene and gain critical acclaim. The next thing you see them everywhere. It’s as if they have won the metaphorical success lottery. But this is a myth.
What we are seeing is the result of years and often decades of working and honing their craft. In the lean years they take what work they can. This includes smaller roles to keep a roof over their head (service), but also to practise, practise, practise. They will have had hundreds and thousands of rejections and failed auditions but they keep on going. (Mental Strength).
What we also don’t see are the thousands of individuals who gave up on their dreams of success.

The law of compounding

The law of compounding is a very real law in finance, I’m sure you’ve heard of. Compounding also works in the development of skills. Over years and years of adding small improvements, reviewing your progress and iterating, you will see very little visual progress at first. If you keep stacking these improvements, however, eventually there will come a point when there seems to be a massive leap in competence.
As an example, let’s say there is a certain actor with an arbitrary skill level of 1, on their very first day out of acting school. They decide to improve their skills just 1% per week. Obviously this is hypothetical. What number would their skill level be after one year? The answer would be nearly 1.7. If you improved something by 1% per week you would be 1.7 times better in a year. Good but not enough to make a dent.

What about 2 years of 1% growth per week? The answer? You would be 2.8 times better. After 3 years you would be nearly five times better. Impressive, but again, you may feel it isn’t great progress. You may be tempted to quit as you feel you aren’t getting anywhere. What about after 10,20 and 40 years? Making small 1% improvements per week?

• 10 years = 177 times better.
• 20 years = 31,205 times better.
• 40 years = a staggering 973,772,415 times better.

That’s the law of compounding ladies and gentlemen. My guess is that our hypothetical actor who hones his craft would ‘burst onto the scene’ somewhere between 10 and 20 years of consistent practise and small weekly improvements.

Promotions

So, we make consistent and small incremental improvements, or to put it another way we increase our strength and improve our service offering, and suddenly we burst on the scene. Or so it seems from the outside. What about in the world of business? If we diligently apply ourselves to the tasks and always go further than we are required, we improve as a person, but what about success?
This is where grasping opportunities plays a role. So, an opening comes up in your company for a promotion. It’s obvious that you will have more chance of landing this elevated role compared to your colleague who has gone through the motions and is at the same skill level as the day they started. What if no opportunities arise in your company? Then the marketplace and other employers will take note of your performance. You will eventually be head-hunted into an improved position.

Winning the trophy

I am reminded that Olympic Athletics must be a tough business to be in. You dedicate your life to your sport, improving everyday and yet you still may not be successful in terms of winning the gold medal. Your chance of gold occurs every four years and you are competing with the best in the world. There can only be one winner.

I’m sure your situation isn’t like that. Success may not be winning the trophy or the Oscar. For me success means achieving small incremental goals and improving every day.

Luck

In success, luck plays a part. You might be at the right time and place and the opportunity floats on up to you, but you grasp it and you never look back. For me though luck is something you can influence. What does the saying go? Luck occurs when opportunity meets practice. Or the golfer Gary Player said it better ‘the more I practice the luckier I get’.
Practise your craft, so you increase your strength, to give better service and watch out for lady luck along the way.

The virtuous circle

Success to me isn’t an event, it’s a process. Let’s say you achieve what you set out to achieve, for example your business has reached a certain level of profits. Then that would give you more financial power. Success therefore gives you strength and so it starts again. It’s a virtuous cycle.

The post Strength Service Success appeared first on Mike Holden Sales.

What is Fear?

But what is fear? As a verb, it describes the feeling you get about a situation, person, animal or object. This is all very natural. I fear xyz. So, the fear you feel is real. However it is what you do about the fear that makes the difference.

Often the fear is worse that the thing you fear. For instance, the dread of speaking in front of an audience, can be excruciating. Even if we have rehearsed and rehearsed our palms sweat. We have butterflies and we think “Why did I ever agree to this? I hope it’s cancelled; I just want this to be over.”

Then we start our performance. We know our subject, we can do this. The words flow, the adrenalin heightens our awareness and performance. Before we know it, the performance is over and we milk the applause. Then a wave of euphoria washes over us. ‘Let’s do it again’!’

Logically the worse thing that could physically happen to you is falling off the stage and injuring yourself. No one will attack you. Even if someone heckles you, which is highly unlikely, the other audience members are on your side, they want you to do well. But fear is not logical, we know that the speech we are about to make is a good thing for us to do and yet our primeval fears take over, if we let them.

The Options

What are the options when we are dealing with fear? Well firstly we can do a risk assessment. What are the consequences of doing the thing we fear versus what are the rewards? Do they stack up?

1. Run away

Our default reaction to fear is to run away. The most primitive parts of our reptilian brain will drive us to flee. Especially useful if you see an angry dog down the street, but not helpful just before an important performance. And yet, we can sometimes metaphorically run away from the things we fear. Many years ago, I remember making up an excuse to avoid going to an important networking event. In my mind I had some prior engagement that I needed to attend instead. The truth was, that I was running away.

I don’t do that anymore.

2. Stay put

Next is to stay put or freeze. This is another archaic response to the fear or threat. Again, this would be useful if you see that mad dog running across your path. It hasn’t seen you, so stay still and it will pass.

Freezing is not helpful, however if you are staying with the status quo in your career. You don’t put yourself forward to make the speech. If you stay put in your position you will be safe. But think about what you would miss out on.

3. Proceed with caution

Now we are not sure if there is a threat or not. There is a dog, it looks friendly enough, I will proceed with caution. Ahh the dog wags his tail. Good.

We can use this in interpersonal situations for instance if we are meeting new people, like visiting a new prospective customer. We don’t know each other, yet. I don’t want to say anything that could be offensive, so I stay on safe ground during our conversation. This is a sensible way to deal with the usual fears we come across in the workplace.

4. Charge full pelt at the fear

So, you’ve done your due diligence and assessed the risk. There is no physical danger. In our public speech example, the worse that could happen is you bomb. However you’ve prepared well, you know your stuff and you have your notes. You are still racked with fear, what should you do?

Charge full pelt at the fear.

If the fear is the metaphorical mad dog. You are going to run screaming and yelling at it to chase it off. You will stride onto the stage and own the room.

If I fear it, I must do it

On the other side of fear is growth.

This is another way of saying ‘The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.’ But the subtle difference is that if you fear it, you must do it, for you to grow and improve. If you don’t face the fear, you will not only just stay where you are, you will move backwards. Caving into fear is a habit, just like facing up your fears. It will not just be this occasion where you shrink, there will be increasingly more to come. Just as you can expand your comfort zone by challenging it, by demurring, you will shrink your comfort zone. You may find that you become anxious about things you used to find easy.
Whenever you feel slightly nervous about an opportunity, acknowledge the fear and act anyway.

The Treasures

What treasures are in the caves of fear? We’ve just talked about personal growth, which is important. Also, when I look back on my life and the key pivotal moments where I progressed, they came from making a decision and acting despite fear.

We think that growth, whether its financial or in your position, is slow and gradual. You slowly increase your skills and experience over the years. However there comes a point when an opportunity presents itself, but it comes with fear. It might be that a more senior position in your company becomes vacant. You might fear to put yourself forward, even though you would like to gain that promotion. You must act now. Put yourself forward.

What other treasures are there besides promotion? A long happy marriage could come from overcoming the fear of asking the person on a date all those years ago.
You might have great health and a strong body, because you overcame the fear of walking into that gym the very first time.

What’s my cave?

I have entered many caves and, I’m afraid to say, avoided many others. However, I’ve always regretted not entering the cave. So, what’s the current cave I’m entering? It’s the fear of putting my writing out there for public scrutiny. Its easy to put a blog post out and hope that the Google algorithm drives people to read it. It’s another thing however to post to my friends and peers on LinkedIn .

I’m not sure what the treasure in this particular cave might end up being, it might be that someone gains some benefit from reading my stuff. I know I must do it though.

You can read my post about Fear’s big ugly brother, Anxiety. In this I talk about an episode of anxiety I suffered from many years ago. I also give you some practical tips if you suffer from it.

Anyway back to fear. What is your fear, or what cave do you dread to enter? What are the riches you are missing out on?

The post The Cave You Fear to Enter appeared first on Mike Holden Sales.

The way the Main Stream Media present the news is depressing and social media is often divisive.

When I came off using my phone, after checking the news and social media, I suddenly realised I felt internally angry. I looked round the room I was in and there was nothing in my immediate surroundings to make me so angry. No one else was there. Its madness that a small device could make me so angry.

‘This is not me’, I thought to myself, allowing something external to influence my emotions. Surely one should be master of their own emotions, no matter what the provocation.

Possible solutions

This can’t go on and so as I see it, there are only three possible solutions.

1. Will power to stay positive.

The first solution is to continue using my phone in the same uncontrolled way but use sheer willpower to control my emotions. No matter what the algorithms send me, I will stay on an even keel.

2. Only find positive.

The second solution, I can think of, is to continue using the phone but only find things of a positive and uplifting nature. This could be tricky as the applications on the phone are addictive by design and algorithms on social media, for instance, reward those posts which garner more engagement. More often these are of a divisive and controversial nature. The danger might be that I get drawn in to negative content.

3. Break up with my phone.

My third option is to break up with my phone completely. This might mean completely resetting and re-evaluating how I use my phone. This option seems to be the hardest at first, but counterintuitively may turn out to be the easiest overall. So, the option I have chosen is to break up with my phone.

Addictive devices

Manufacturers design smart phones to be addictive. This is bad enough as we shouldn’t become addicted to a device. After all, I am not addicted to my toaster. It serves the useful purpose of toasting bread and then I leave it alone. The problem with smart phones is that every aspect of them is designed to be seductive. From their shape and colour down to the design of each icon, the phone entices us to pick it up.

Much more destructive though are the apps. The app designers have, through iteration, produced many ways to seduce you to use them and then get you hooked. Social media companies offer their products for free. Think about why that is. Is it maybe that we the consumer are the product? Through paid advertising the Social Media companies earn their money through selling your attention to advertisers. These advertisers are selling either directly or indirectly through affiliate marketing, either products or their influence, to get you to think in a certain way. I have no problem with marketing, after all, I work in Sales and Marketing. However, I now realise that I am being manipulated to engage with these apps and devices to my detriment.

May be its time I stopped consuming.

Time management

Many phones have a feature in the settings called Screen Time, where you can check the amount of time you are using the phone and even which app you are using the most. The last time I checked I was shocked and embarrassed to see I had been staring at my phone for an average of 2.5 hours per day. The worst day was over 5 hours. This is frightening and I am ashamed. The only slight mitigation to this is that I only use the phone for work during working hours and I don’t have the phone in the bedroom at night.
Think about that. 2.5 hours a day scrolling mindlessly. Not just the damage this is causing neurologically (more on this later), but the opportunity cost of this.
And here are two serious opportunity costs:

Financial

If the average (Median) salary in the UK is £35k which equates to £16.83 per hour, this means at 2.5 hours per day, you are wasting £42.07 per day. That is like wasting £11k per year. Yikes. Oh, and this doesn’t include the money you spend on things you don’t want or need because of the adverts you saw..

Learning

How about how much you could have learned in that time. If a standard non-fiction book has a word count of 100,000 words and you can read 250 words per minute, it would take you about six and a half four hours of reading to finish. Therefore, with your 2.5 hours per day you could read over two books per week.

What about say learning a new language or a skill like learning a musical instrument. A common myth is that you can master any new skill by practising for 10,000 hours or just under 11 years if we use our spare 2.5 hours a day. Ok, you might not want to become an expert at your new skill. However, the point is that if you use those 2.5 hours per day practising some new skill, you could become proficient new and useful.

Change in brain neurology.

Have you ever picked up your phone and forgotten why you picked it up. You know you picked it up for some reason, but a notification distracted you and now you can’t remember. Its scary isn’t it. Research has shown that indeed overuse of smart phones can have a negative effect on your mental health. And that’s not all, our attention spans are lessening. Some people are unable to concentrate on a task for very long before they feel the urge to do something more stimulating. This means that we are unable to perform the deep concentrated work to finish a project or achieve a goal.

Did you know that the executives of tech companies will limit or ban the use of smartphones and screens for their children? Why would that be? Because they know the neurological damage they can cause.

Still need it for work

The big drawback to all this breaking up with your phone is that I still need a phone, to make and receive phone calls. What about when you are out and about and someone needs to get hold of you in an emergency? That’s why I’m going to get a dumbphone.

Robin Sharma talks about the 2-phone protocol, where you have two phones. One stripped down phone which just makes and receives calls and has text messaging. The other phone would be just for those apps you really need. For instance, my Manchester United season ticket. I need the phone for scanning into the stadium. Another example would be boarding passes for flights and train tickets. I also regularly use maps and the camera. Oh, and I’ve just realised I enjoy listening to music and podcasts in the car, connected by Bluetooth to my phone.

So, I’m going to have the dumbphone for everyday use and keep the smartphone for only when I specifically need it. I will also remove all the apps apparent from the essential. I may miss those times when I can just jump on Google to get an answer to some question immediately, but how about going back to a time when you had to wait for the answer. It may just promote patience, which is sadly lacking in today’s world.

Long deep thinking

Smart phones are anathema to long deep thinking and deep work. this is the kind of thinking and work where you get into a state where you are totally engrossed in the task. In deep thinking you can examine an issue from all angles to produce the solution.
All meaningful endeavours, for instance, writing a book require periods of deep concentrated work. Yes, you can do meaningful work on just 30 minutes of deep concentrated work per day, however during those 30 minutes you should concentrate your focus.

If you are interested in starting to write, I can recommend my post on the 7 Reasons Why Writing is Good for You, where I describe the benefits of this great pastime.

Smart phones, with their distractions and attention smashing apps, prevent you from getting into the mindset required to undergo a period of deep concentrated thought. People who have spent more time scrolling on their phones are more likely to be distracted and their mind more apt to wander.

Therefore, another reason why I am breaking up with my phone is to promote the mindset conducive to deep thought and work

Embrace boredom.

I hate being bored, everyone does. When I was a child, wet Sundays were particularly boring. There was nothing on TV, there were only three channels and they went off in the afternoon. However, when I look back during those times, I always found a way of alleviating the boredom. It wouldn’t take long for me to think ‘I’ve got an idea.’
We don’t here that saying much these days – ‘I’ve got an idea.’ Think about that for a while. Does that mean we aren’t getting ideas anymore? Is this because we hate boredom? We feel we should fill any free-thinking time with distraction.

Waiting in a queue – check your emails. Long journeys sitting on a plane or train must be filled by watching films on your tablet or scrolling on your phone. How about just staring out of the window? Whatever happened to just staring out of the window? I love getting the window seat on a flight and I can easily spend 4-5 hours just staring at the earth below, even if it is just ocean or clouds. That’s when I get my best ideas.

Break up with your phone. Embrace boredom. I think the world will be a better place for it.

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Inspiration from Catherine Price – How to break up with your phone.

The post Why I’ve decided to break up with my phone. appeared first on Mike Holden Sales.

Investments and redundancy

You may be in a job you don’t particularly like, but you need the money anyway. I had a deep itch to work for myself, but I didn’t quite know what I wanted to do. I thought that if I gained financial freedom, I could choose what I wanted to work on, or even if I was going to work or not.

Around 2010 I started on my journey into financial independence, saving and investing in property. By 2022 I realized that I could finish work and in effect coast until I was age 55 (2025); there is even a name for this: Coasting Financial Independence. I held off though, with the thought of ‘just one more year.’ I remember reading a post by Mr Money Moustache to this effect, but I still held off.

In the summer of 2023, my mind was made up for me. The company I worked for underwent a drastic restructure and my position was redundant. I was given a generous severance package and there I was, with almost 2 years left until I could get my hands on my pension. I had effectively retired.

The experience of retiring

We went on a couple of beach holidays and I decorated the house from top to bottom. Once this was completed, I had nothing to do. I felt bereft. I just sat around the house staring at the walls. Was this it? All those years of striving for FI and I was redundant. Not required. On the scrap heap.
I had achieved my number one goal and I felt empty.

The word retire

If you look up the word retire, its derivation is from the old French military – to withdraw to a place of safety. Later in English, it meant to withdraw to somewhere else as in ‘withdraw to the library after dinner.’ Or a Gentleman might ‘retire to his country house’ once he has amassed his fortune. Alternatively and tellingly, he might no longer be required in the City and will therefore live off his pension. In other words, he has become redundant. To retire then became as it is today, to finish working and live off your pension or investments.

Here therefore are the 5 reasons I won’t retire:

1. Purpose and mortality

The life of leisure and not needing to work for money, seems very appealing, to the worker especially after a difficult day at the office. But people need a purpose. Studies have shown that mortality rates increase when there is a lack of purpose. Even the routine of getting up for work every day keeps you going. It keeps you alive. Also, the lack of personal connection and community you get in the workplace can cause an increase in mortality. Yes, being isolated is bad for your health. A combination of a lack of purpose and a lack of connection is a killer. This is one of the reasons why I won’t retire. It is not the only reason though.

2. I Won’t Retire Because what else would I do

Another reason I won’t stop working is that what else would I do? I don’t play golf, I’m not particularly into gardening. I do like travelling, but I can do this in my sales business, which has taken me the length and breadth of the UK, not to mention, Italy, & Germany. We also get a couple of holidays in a year.

So, I’ve said to myself that unless and until I have something better to do with my time, then I will continue doing what I enjoy.

3. Tax

Working generates income and profits, which are taxed. No one likes paying tax, I’ve written a post about setting up a limited company to buy property in the UK, so I could minimise my tax burden. However we should pat ourselves on the back and say we are doing a good thing, when we do pay tax. We are a net contributor to society when we work and pay tax.
There is also a moral aspect of carrying on working, if you can, and that is that whatever your work is, you are providing a service to your customers or employer. You are helping your fellow man and therefore the world is a better place.

4. Creativity

For me, my work is an expression of my creativity. Whether it is writing this blog or designing a new sales and marketing campaign, in my sales business, I am expressing an innate facet of my being. In those months where I finished working and in effect retired, something inside of me died, or at least lay dormant. It was work that brought it to life again. Now I see that work is a virtue and yes, idleness is a sin.
Working allows me to develop my gifts through my creativity, to help others in some way.

5. Life

Working is an expression of life. When I was young, I worked to earn money so that I could live. Now, I realize that this was backwards. My work is an expression of my life, money is the bi-product. That’s why I won’t retire.

The post 5 reasons why I won’t retire appeared first on Mike Holden Sales.

1. Writing to Improve Communication skills

The ability to express my thoughts and complex information has been important in my career in sales. Whether it be sales proposals or technical reports, it was essential that I could convey accurately and succinctly information that other people could understand and hopefully act upon.

English Language was my best subject at school, so I have always found it easy to find the right words to express what I was thinking. However, like any skill it needs practising and honing. I therefore started a daily writing habit many years ago, so that I could maintain and improve this skill.

I started this blog, so that my writing could be seen by others and hopefully benefit from the information. This evolved over the years, so that I have self-published longer form content into several books.

2. Therapy Writing

I feel better after writing, it is a form of therapy. Often if I am anxious or even just filled with a sense of ennui, writing seems to unblock something in my mind and it can lift me out of the fog.

I’m not sure of the process of why this happens. My hypothesis would be that thoughts can become circular, as we try to make sense of the world. We are going round in circles in our mind. Maybe writing provides an escape route for these trapped thoughts. Just like the discomfort of trapped wind, maybe we just need a good belch. It goes without saying that I wouldn’t publish this type of writing and I may not even read it back.

3. Work Through Problems

In a similar way to therapeutic writing, I will often write to work through some problem or issue. Here, though, I am looking for a certain insight. I will approach this with stream-of-consciousness writing.

First, I think about the problem and then just write. I will then keep writing, exploring all the angles of the issue. Certain passages will lead to other trains of thought, so I will explore these. If I go dry, I will force myself to write some more. I can take a break if I must, but I will then return to the writing, until there is no more to write. I will then get a feeling inside that I have put all my thoughts down and I am ready to analyse them.

The next step is to then re-read what I have written. Often most of it is gibberish, however I will highlight or underline anything that seems relevant or seems like an insight. It’s amazing that usually some course of action will reveal itself.

4. Organise Your Thoughts

The mind does not operate in a linear fashion. If we let our mind wander, our thoughts will seem to flit from one unrelated subject to another. The subject matter doesn’t appear to be linked logically, but there will be some connection, however tenuous. In a similar way to the two examples above, writing out our thoughts, to get them out of our heads can be a step towards organising them.

Mind mapping

To organise your thoughts, rather than using stream-of-consciousness writing, it can be useful to use mind mapping. Developed by Tony Buzan, Mind Mapping is a way of putting your thoughts, on a particular subject, down on paper. If you start off by writing one word or phrase in the centre of a piece of paper to represent the central theme of the subject, you then draw lines out to represent all the related thoughts, in a spider formation. See below:

Repeat with the sub-themes, by radiating sub-sub thoughts. Keep radiating out until you exhaust the subject. The important thing is to use one word for each theme. This vagueness helps the mind come up with related thoughts. What you are left with can look like a jumble of nonsense, however the pictural nature of the Mind Map allows you to see connections.

I use mind mapping to plan outlines for blog posts and nonfiction books. Once I have an outline, my creative juices are able to fill in the gaps.

5. Creative Expression

Talking of creative juices, I believe that everyone is creative, but just like anything else creativity can be developed with practice. Having a creative outlet whether it is writing, art, music or whatever, can make you a more rounded human.

Don’t be a consumer all the time

Over consumption is epidemic. There is so much to consume today from TV, Podcasts, social media and mindless scrolling. If we are not careful, we will become a species of zombies, constantly plugged into the matrix. Instead of consuming, why not produce content or art.
Writing for me, is my creative outlet. I hope I am perfecting my art, maybe you can let me know. However, even if nobody reads a word I write, I am exercising a core faculty of my human being – my creativity.

6. Find Your Voice Through Writing

Most writing is someone’s opinion. Opinions are neither right nor wrong, they are just that – opinions. I write so that I can broadcast my opinion. Are my opinions not as valid as anybody else’s? Somebody may disagree with my opinions, but that is fine. That is why they are opinions.

In a similar way, your opinion should also be heard, or at least expressed. Why not start your own outlet where you can voice your opinions. You deserve to be heard.
I truly believe in freedom of expression and I believe much of the current cancel-culture is extremely dangerous. Stamping down on freedom of expression, throughout history, never ended well.

7. The Business of Writing

Could you make writing your business? Its feasible although difficult. The best way to look at it is that you may make some extra cash. I myself have made a small amount of money with my writing, although no way near enough to live off. Yet.

If you write non fiction ‘how to’ type books and blogs, you could build up a following, or tribe in the modern parlance. If you truly provide value, some people may be willing to pay you for coaching or consultation work. You will need to have marketing skills as well as writing skills, though.
The first thing to think about is whether you are writing to entertain or inform. Or you could do both as in infotainment.

If you want to make writing your business, be prepared to commit to the very long term. It can take years to build up a following and even then, the remuneration is meagre.

Where can you write?

What platform can you write on?

Daily journal

If you are just starting out writing, I would suggest starting the habit with a daily journal. This can be just for yourself. If you hit on a great idea, then maybe you can start to expand on it.

Weekly blog

Once you get into the habit of writing every day, then you could expand into writing a weekly blog. If you can write about 200 words a day, then you could in theory publish a weekly blog of around 1,000 words. You would write for 5 days and have one day for editing, publishing and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Writing 200 words a day is not hard at all. This section is around 200 words and took about 15 minutes, so that gives you an idea.

If you would like to know more on how I write, read my post on How to Write a Weekly Blog Post. In this post I show you how to structure your time so that you consistently manage to create and publish regular content.

Self-Published Books

As you develop your style and your knowledge of the subject matter grows, why not write a book? It may take you a few months to write, format and publish, but the process is as easy as ever with Amazon KDP. I’ve written several books, please check them out.

I’ve given you the reasons why I write. If any of this resonates with you, then start today. Find your voice and get writing.

The post 7 Reasons Why Writing is Good For You appeared first on Mike Holden Sales.

Why Find a Niche

The logic of niching down your business or content does make sense. When you are starting out, you need to get traction. You need an audience. In an ocean of information, you will never be found by your audience or customers, if you are too generic. Finding a niche, means that you target a specific set of people with a specific problem or an specific audience who are looking for specific information. The key word is ‘specific’.

For instance, if your industry is weight loss, your competition will be too great. You will not be noticed. However, if you target 50-year-old males, who want to lose ten pounds, without going to the gym, this will narrow down your target audience. The key part of this is that those people who fit these criteria, will more easily find you.

Niching down is therefore sound advice and here are some of the ways I’ve discovered, to think about my potential niche.

Your niche should be a blend of:

• What you are passionate about?
• What will be financially viable?
• Where do your skills lie?

Your Passion as a Niche

What is your passion and what are you interested in? The premise here is that, as with any new business, it takes a lot of time and energy to get it off the ground. There will be times when nothing seems to happen and you want to give up. It is at these moments that your passion will carry you through because you will feel like you are just doing it because you love it, not for the results.

Money

Counter to the passion argument is, what will be the most commercially viable niche? Follow the money.

I would say that focussing on just the money will result in you becoming disillusioned. You are more likely to follow through if you are enthusiastic about what you are doing. Yes, sure, the venture needs to be financially viable, or it is just a hobby. The focus on just money shouldn’t however be to the detriment of what you are passionate about. That said, there is wisdom in saying don’t just follow your passion. Your venture should be something that has a balance of something you are at least interested in and is commercially viable.

Skills

What if you can’t find something you are passionate about, or what if what you are passionate about, isn’t commercially viable? In that case you should consider what your skills are. What are you good at? Any business relies on providing value to the customer or they will not pay for your services. In the realm of content creation, the consumer needs to receive value, either as entertainment or useful information. You don’t need to be the best, or the most expert in your field, but you should be confident in your abilities and knowledge to provide value to your customers or audience.
Usually, your passion in the subject will grow as you become more skilled and knowledgeable.

Can’t find a niche?

What if you just can’t find a niche? Then invent your own niche. Be unique and it will resonate with someone.

Be authentic

Most of all be authentic. This means being real and true to who you are as a person. Fakery comes across. We can all tell when someone is trying to be someone they are not. In the same way, you will not resonate with your audience if you are not being you.

A word about AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been around for longer than you think. Think about predictive text on your mobile phones. Content creation by AI is in its infancy and I believe you can tell. This will change in the future, but people want to deal with people they know, like and trust. I don’t believe this will ever change. Humans can intuitively tell when something is authentic or not. It does come with experience but we all have this faculty.
I would resist using AI to create content, firstly because I like writing. Why would I outsource something I love to do, to someone or something else.? Secondly, though, I also believe my audience would be able to tell.

People are crying out for authenticity

In an age were content is, sadly, mass produced by AI, people are craving authenticity. Our politicians bend with the wind, to get your vote. I just wish some of them would stay true to their principles, even if I disagree with them. At least they would get my respect.

Just start now – see where you get to

If you are struggling with finding a niche, I would say the best advice I can give you is start anyway. Start finding your own voice. The worst thing you can do is wait to find the perfect niche. Your niche will develop as you develop. People will be attracted to your authentic message.
Then if you are consistent and persistent, you will look back and discover you have created your own unique niche.

If you are an aspiring blogger, then you might be interested in my post on how to write a weekly blog post. In this post I show you my weekly routine to get regular posts out, on time.

The post Be Your Own Niche appeared first on Mike Holden Sales.

There is only one question you need to ask to achieve any goal, provided you have already clarified what the goal is and why you want it. That one question is: What is the next action?
You don’t need to know all the ins and outs of how to arrive at your goal. You don’t need to know even what the second step will be. All you need to know is the very next step. So, if you are stuck, just ask yourself, what is the next action I need to take?

Why the one question is so powerful

When you ask yourself this question, you focus your attention on a very small area. This automatically frees up you mind to work on a much simpler problem. What do I do next?
Now the answer may be a small next action step, or it may be a larger series of steps. You can then focus down further by asking, out of this series of steps, what is the very next action? Once you have this answer, then go ahead and complete this task, without any thought of the next action step after that.

The reason it works is that it kills procrastination. Often procrastination is caused by overwhelm, resulting from trying to focus on all of the possible steps in a goal. Focussing on just the next step, helps you narrow down your focus.

Usually during the process of completing this next action step, the subsequent action step becomes clearer. If not, once you have completed the next action step, then just ask yourself again what’s the next action?

I have written more about taking action in my post Take action – how this helps the Law of Attraction, in which I describe how taking any small action can have dramatic effects.

Then repeat the question.

Once you are specific on your outcome and motivations, then all you need is to know what the next step is.
So just like any traveller who knows his destination, just keep putting one foot in front of the other and the path will reveal itself to you.

The post One question you need to ask to achieve any goal. appeared first on Mike Holden Sales.

For example, let’s say your goal is to make so many sales this year. Why?

• So that I will earn a certain amount of commission. Why?
• So that I can buy a rental property. Why?
• So that I will earn asset income. Why?
• So that I will be financially independent. Why?
• So that I don’t have to ‘work for the man.’ Why?
• So that I can do what I want. Why?
• Err – so that I will be happy.

I will be happy when

You see in the example above, that deep down you think you think you will be happy when something happens, or some goal is achieved.

I was the same. For years I pursued financial independence and I used to visualise what life would be like. It seemed that when it happened it would be like fireworks going off in the night sky. Glitter and balloons would drop from the ceiling and a man in a shiny gold suit would hand me a laminated certificate and glass of champagne, whilst the local newspaper photographer snapped us for the next edition.

Nothing could be further from the truth. When it happened for me, I didn’t even realise. It took me being made redundant, to sit down and work out that yes, I was already financially independent. I didn’t need to look for another job. My wife and I went on holiday. When we returned, I came back and redecorated the house. Then after a couple of weeks, I was bored and not happy. Well not like I thought I would be. I was back to my base level of wellbeing. Was this what it was all about?

Happiness is a by-product

Here’s a quick exercise for you. Think back to times when you were happy. Choose three memories.
What were you doing, who were you with, what was happening? For me when I think of times when I am happy, they are occasions like being with my family, having a good laugh with my mates, or taking the dogs for a long walk in the countryside. But here’s the thing, at the time you don’t realise you are happy. You are just there enjoying the moment.

So, here’s a suggestion for you, why don’t you pursue these things instead.
Then happiness will come to you.

I’ve written another post called Living In The Now – My Present To You where I describe some of the magical things that can happen if you let go of living for future goals.

The pursuit of happiness is a fool’s errand. Don’t pursue happiness, let happiness pursue you.

The post Happiness is not a goal appeared first on Mike Holden Sales.

The truth is all you need to do is get your thinking mind off the problem, by distracting it with something else. Running, I find is an excellent way to do this. I noticed this myself years ago, as I’ve always enjoyed running. I would often produce answers to conundrums. It seemed like a happy by-product of doing something I enjoy. It was only much later that I realized that I could use a run to specifically solve some puzzles.

I use this method for many other creative activities such as coming up with ideas for blog posts and thinking about different marketing strategies.
Here is how I go about the practise of using running to solve problems.

1. Define the problem

The first step in using running to solve problems, is to define the problem. You should try to be as specific as possible. What is the specific outcome you would like. Asking a question is a fantastic way to define the problem and even better, are questions such as:

‘How can I?’ or ‘What would be a great way to?’

For instance, if you need more money in your life, simply asking for more money is not an effective question. A better question would be:

‘What would be a great way for me to double my income next month?’

2. Meditate on the question

The next step is to meditate on this question for a short while, about 5 minutes should be enough. Once you’ve defined the question, get yourself into a quiet place, turn off any devices so you aren’t distracted. Then close your eyes and repeat the question to yourself three times. Then let your mind go still, by concentrating on your breathing. Count down backwards from thirty to zero with each breath. Once you reach zero, open your eyes, move about then get your gear ready for your run.

3. Let the problem go

As you are getting ready for your run, let the problem go. Act as if you would if you’ve just ordered something online. You place your order then just forget about it, knowing that the parcel is ‘in the post’.

4. Go for a run

How long do you need to run for? Ideally for me it is for 20 minutes minimum, but the longer the better. If you’ve not ran for some time, then perhaps start with a fast-paced walk. Obviously if you are not a runner, then seek medical advise before starting any new exercise regime.
Running outside in nature is the best place to do this exercise. There is something about trees, greenery and open water that seems to get the creative juices flowing. Just enjoy the scenery and keep your body moving. Again, you don’t need to think about the problem, ideally you should try to forget all about it. Allow the answer to come when it is ready, there is no need to force it.
Oh, and one more tip, take something with you to record the answer.

5. The solution will arrive

Eventually the answer will arrive. It will either be a fully formed solution or it will be the inspiration to explore a next action. Either way, just let the answer come. Sometimes the answers come through in stages if it is a particularly complex problem. You will know when you are getting the answer, it will seem obvious to you, as if you should have already known it.
I talked about the subconscious mind before and this is certainly where the answer comes from. But the action of defining the problem, quieting the thinking mind, nature and physical activity seems to be an ideal combination. Psychologists talk about the flow state and maybe this has something to do with it. Either way it is certainly an enjoyable way of solving problems. If you would like to know more about how you can influence the subconscious, then check out my post Six Ways to Influence the Subconscious. In this post I describe how you can communicate with and direct the subconscious mind to change your life for the better.

The post Using Running to Solve Problems appeared first on Mike Holden Sales.