Moving house again

I am currently negotiating to be able to move interstate with my daughters. Naturally, it is very difficult for my ex husband to be ok with us going. I want to move about 3 hours away from where we live now. I feel the schools are better, life is slower, the crime rate lower and since we have lived there before we already have a support network.

He has almost agreed and we have mediation this week about it which I am desperately hoping goes well so I can move.

I have decided that since it is my aim to move, I need to get ready for it anyway. I have been going through my house and pulling out everything I do not want to move interstate and have been listing it on eBay. I was surprised how quickly I listed the free 30 items this month already.

I've had a few issues trying to list items, but got a lot up there and had watches on some within minutes of listing so at least some items should sell.

I am also looking at homes where I am moving to. I am leaning towards renting with a friend as the rent is significantly higher than what I currently pay and the homes are older. I live in a pretty new townhouse and love it, but would prefer to live in an area I love in an old house instead of an area I hate with a newer home.

I have looked into the schools and have selected one my ex and I agree would be a great fit for our daughters as it has programs she is already in plus lots of extras her current school does not offer. It is in a really nice area and is not too big. Our daughters are very social so I am not worried about them making new friends at school.

The one decision I have been toying with is whether to buy there or invest. I would love my own house again and could afford it with a bit of juggling OR I could buy an investment property elsewhere and build my property portfolio over the next 12 - 24 months then buy my own home. I am leaning more towards option number 2 as it fits more with my long term plan and the tax system in Australia is more geared towards investors, not home owners.

Either way, by the end of this week I should know for sure if and when I am moving.

What would you do, buy your own home or an investment property?

Online Business: Keep Clients Coming Back

Even if you don’t run your own business, there’s probably a large part of your job that includes dealing with clients and customers. It’s a fairly fundamental rule of any business that if you want to be successful, you need your clients to keep coming back to you. Repeat clients are the backbone of most company’s income sheet, and a repeat customer is going to be a happy customer. If the customer is happy with the service that you provide, they’ll tell others, which leads to further business for you. It’s all so elemental that sometimes it’s forgotten.

Punctuality

Number one with a bullet is delivering on time. If you’re the only glass manufacturer in a small town, you might get away with showing up a few hours or even a day or two late with the new panes for the local bar, but as soon as there is a choice, you can bet that the bar owner is going to change his service next time he changes windows. If your business is online, you can be sure that there is someone offering the same product or service that you are. Make sure then that when you get an order, deliver it in the time period that you quoted to the client. Keep them waiting, and you’ll be waiting a long time for them to call back.

Follow Through

Getting the product delivered on time is really only half the sell. Make sure to offer after-sale services, whether it is regular maintenance, tune-ups, or anything else the client needs. As Startups.co.uk says, after sales support means “treating every request as urgent” and responding on the same day, if possible. Also, maintain client records so that you’ll know exactly what it is they’ve bought from you and what needs to be done to set it right should they need support after delivery,.

Every Client is Special

It’s quite amazing how many times this is forgotten. If you have a good product or service, this will no doubt attract customers, but if your business grows to the point that you take yourself out of the frontline of customer service, make sure your staff treats  customers and clients the same way you treated the very first person who walked through the door (or dropped into your inbox, as the case may be). Go the extra mile, and make sure that your repeat clients are contacted regularly with online updates, and send out cards at holidays.

Discounts

Discounts for regular customers are a must for all businesses. One of the busiest establishments you’ll enter any time of the day is probably going to be your regular coffee shop. You can make a pretty sure bet that right next to their cash register, they’ll have little cards that offer a free cup of coffee for every $5 or $10 purchased. This sort of promotion is the key to getting people back time and again, so make sure to always try and come up with ways to make your business an attractive place for your regulars to come back to. 

My birthday - a recap and valuation of my millionaire goal

I am 28 today. I have 2 years to achieve my goal of becoming a millionaire by 30. Do you think I can do it?

When I started this journey my aim was to use property mostly. Then I separated, my husband lost his job for a while and a lot of my challenge money went to just paying the mortgage. There have been many ups and downs over the last few years, with my current personal situation pretty crappy. BUT I still know I can do it.

Why?

I am now a published author. I do public speaking. I am selling my house and will finally be able to access the money I made at the start of this challenge, but it was used to pay the mortgage. I have various streams of income and more to come.

I know that making more money, no matter where you are in life is completely possible. It is simply a matter of applying yourself, learning all you can and taking action.

The past few months have seen me be a victim of domestic violence, rape (not by my husband, just really want to clarify that), other assaults, a robbery, moving house twice, in and out of court over these crimes against me as well as trying to do the property settlement/child custody arrangement and divorce with my ex. It has been full on.

Despite that, I have a plan of attack and I feel more confident than I ever have throughout this whole challenge. I feel like everything that has happened has brought me to the point in my life I need to be.

So where to from here?
I am in the process of writing a book on people who have gone from homeless to entrepreneurs and it has been not only motivating for me, but so exciting.

Once my house sells I will be purchasing an investment property in my own name. I have looked into it and had I not started doing my blogging/writing etc. a few years ago I would not be in the position now where banks would lend to me. It is still harder than if I had a regular job, but it is doable. I already have some homes I would invest in, so it is just a matter of my house selling to free up the cash.

I am doing some peer to peer lending, privately. Not something I had looked into much before, but it seems to be working out.

I have a couple of other businesses I am potentially going to be a partner in.

I have 2 other projects I will be starting work on in 3 months which should be quite profitable.

I am where I am meant to be. My life is going exactly how it should and I know that as long as I stick to it, put my mind to it and believe in myself, I will achieve my millionaire goal.