Ale's UMS Journal

[Shannon]

Frame of reference. Whatever advances you toward your goal is not an expenditure, it's an investment in achieving that goal. This is one concept my girlfriend is still struggling with. Last night, she said, "Can you believe that it costs $2 million dollars to have Amazon just consider you for XYZ about toys and some such blah blah?" (I was tired, so I don't remember exactly what she said.) "That's a lot of money! I would never spend that just to be considered for advertising space." she said.

"But if it costs $2 million just to be considered, what are the potential profits? $50 million? $100 million? $500 million? Is it really a lot of money if the profits are that high?"

I don't know about you, but I know this: When I go buy something for my business that costs me thousands of dollars a month, I don't complain if it brings in significantly more than it costs for me to buy it.

Now you have to ask yourself: Is directly using that money the best way forward, or is spending it to establish your own apartment going to aid you in the future in making money? It may seem like a waste of money if you could stay at home and live with your parents, and it may in fact be; but the question is, what can you do with the freedom from your parents and the space to make more money than the space costs, and what amount of end profits could you make staying with your parents vs moving out?

If your parents are allowing you to live there rent free, and relatively unobtrusive for your budding business, then it may be smart to stay at home for a while. That's how I got this business off the ground the first few years.

On the other hand, if your parents are limiting you in ways that limit your profits and or potential profits, or you can find one or more ways to make the space pay more than it costs, in increased productivity, warehousing, etc, then it may be better to move out and get your own apartment.

You have to do a cost/benefit analysis of the options, and pick the best one.