Financial Planning Tips Applied to a Megabit-per-Nanosecond Economy

The mantra “MAKE MONEY!”—central in our minds and nightmares; motivating millions to do work they don’t necessarily love, burning a candle at midnight and rising before dawn.

We pinch pennies, shed blood, sweat and tears, but all the penny-pinching is for naught if there aren’t enough pennies in the pot.

In his article of 13 February 1971, “FINANCIAL PLANNING TIPS,” L. Ron Hubbard wrote:

“The essence of getting money is making money in the first place.

“Financial Planning is the second step of what do we do with the money we make. It will never solve neglecting to make it. You always have trouble with money if you don’t make any.”

The Internet and its accelerated channels offer limitless opportunities for opening revenue streams, cost accounting and increasing efficiency.

One vital point to know is that, more and more, we’re in the “gig economy”—where millions freelance from home or work on assignment in a myriad of fields.

Estimates are that by 2020, more than 40 percent of the American workforce, roughly 60 million people, will operate as independent contractors.1

This means that each person must “be a business” and take on the responsibilities of expansion. One had better understand the basics of making income and financial planning.

To help people in business, Mr. Hubbard provided these essential financial planning tips:

“1. PRODUCE AS AN ACTIVITY.”

“2. KNOW YOUR FINANCE PACK.”*

“3. SEPARATE OUT DIFFERENT TYPES OF EXPENDITURE.”

He also noted two more issues that will impede progress if not dealt with intelligently and forcefully:

“4. NEGLECTING NECESSITIES.”

“5. USING FINANCIAL PLANNING TO NEGLECT DUTY.”

One can take these basics and apply them to the ever-widening sphere of modern commerce. Taking a cue from their tech startup counterparts, brick-and-mortar and hybrid online/physical companies are pioneering new business models and disrupting “members only” monopolies in arenas such as eyewear and apparel.

Call it market disruption through innovation, these companies are organized for high productivity, intelligent allocation of funds, utilization of social media to discover what people need and want, and swift delivery with flair.

Warby Parker is a quality eyeglass brand that sells online. The company’s founders did extensive market research, looking into why prices for glasses were so high and customer service lacking. What is not generally known is that one massive corporation owns a number of eyewear chains and brands (LensCrafters, Sunglass Hut, Ray-Ban, Oakley and many more), plus holds contracts with high-fashion brands like Chanel, Prada and Armani.

Warby Parker decided it was time to build a new brand. By going directly to consumers, building an online store that works, and producing a superior product, they could provide people all over the world with stylish, functional and affordable eyeglasses.

Their online store launched in 2010 with $120,000 seed money and built from there. With a keen sense of integrity, they’ve done $100 million annually, while donating a pair of eyeglasses to a nonprofit for every pair they sell. They have an array of celebrity fans and have opened forty-four brick-and-mortar stores around the US and Canada.2, 3

A mom in Lexington, North Carolina, started a children’s clothing company called Lolly Wolly Doodle in 2008 with little more than a few boxes of clothing and a Facebook page. When everything she posted sold out immediately, she realized she was onto something with a fast-paced business model that constantly puts new items up for sale.

Entering the mercurial world of apparel, Lolly Wolly Doodle became (by all accounts) the number one brand on Facebook. By listening to their customers, who are mostly mothers, their Lexington factory produces customized orders in small batches. They’ve amassed over 1.4 million Facebook followers, sales in the tens of millions and more than 250 employees.4, 5

With know-how, determination and ingenuity, prosperity is fully attainable no matter the economic or political climate, as Mr. Hubbard described:

“The future of any activity depends upon these five factors above. It is an economic world in which we live, regardless of ‘isms’ like capitalism or communism or socialism.

“If you have these five things cared for, you can do Financial Planning quite merrily.”

We live in an era of velocity, where playing fields are democratized, where megabits per second are feverishly and exponentially accelerated, where data and money stream to outer space and back in nanoseconds.

Stories keep breaking about entrepreneurs revitalizing markets with a new business model, discovering people’s needs and wants and producing these at a fraction of the cost, with quadruple the quality and a hundred times the efficiency.

Like time and space, the possibilities are endless.

*Pack: a collection of written material, including such items as policies for the company, assembled in a pack.