Cash flow and money machine: Strategies of Alex Fischer and Rockefeller
If you have read the book “Richer than the Geissens” by Alex Fischer, you know how you can become a real estate millionaire in 5 years with 0 Euro equity (your diligence and ambition assumed). If you are looking for real success in life and in your job, this book should be part of your mandatory reading! For all those for whom “Richer than the Geissens” is still completely new, I would like to discuss three or four of my favourite episodes from the free audio book today (yes, you heard right, free of charge). In the book or audio book Alex Fischer reveals extremely many strategies and methods with which one can achieve just as much success as he himself. When I read the book for the first time, something happened that rarely happens, I actually repeated chapters! What makes the book so ingenious, I want to explain to you today, at least in part! My tip for your professional success, financial freedom, or in other words for “becoming happy”.
Learning: The seven-contact rule (also for dates?)
Important: Currently the book is only available in Germany! I speak German and discovered this book or podcast two weeks ago. Even if you wouldn’t understand a word in the podcast, I wanted to introduce some of the methods and strategies to you!
I would like to add this rule to one of my most important learnings. On the one hand, because the seven-contact rule is an ingenious procedure for new contacts in business life . But if you listen carefully, it is also a strong way for singles and dates, keyword: work-life-balance!
In Order 40: The Seven-Contact Rule Alex Fischer goes into the rule in a very fundamental way, but also provides direct examples and finally a step-by-step procedure. The rule roughly says: A contact needs at least 7 contacts until it is “ripe”, only then you can start to load it with heavier food.
people do business with people, for people
Implementation – step by step procedure (short):
- At the first contact, the goal is to make the person opposite you a little better off than before.
- A message follows immediately after the conversation, thanking you for the pleasant conversation.
- After a while (not too fast) I get a call for a second appointment with approximate content: It was a very interesting conversation, I still have 2 or 3 ideas, I would like to know more about you
- In the following conversation you look for the bottleneck of your counterpart, ask questions all the time, but only 30% of the time, your counterpart talks 70%
- … all details and the next 3 steps you will hear in Episode 40: The seven-contact rule
Learning: Be entrepreneur, not self-employed
Everyone knows the saying: “Time is money”. Money can be spent and earned. Time can only be given, not given back. Time is therefore the highest good and once it has passed, it can never be retrieved. In episode 43: “With great power comes great responsibility” Alex Fischer discusses the central factor in our lives: time.
be independent or be an entrepreneur?
Alex Fischer draws a line in “Richer than the Geissens” between the terms ‘being independent’ and ‘being an entrepreneur’. Self-employed people exchange their time for money by taking orders and doing work. You should be an entrepreneur! Why? Entrepreneurs build themselves a productive machine. This machine constantly and regularly generates cash flow. That means, as an entrepreneur you arrange your income in such a way that it is constantly increased without your own and immediate action.
How this works is explained in the following episodes of the podcast, or in Episode 43: With great power comes great responsibility.
Learning: Building machines ensures constant cash flow
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Machines ensure continuous production. If you build a large machine, you will always generate cash flow. Another mistake I have made! I myself have already written 4 books, but I never thought about making more out of it “than just one book”. That’s why this episode (43) fascinated me so much that I had to write about it to pass on some of Alex Fischer’s thoughts and laws. Alex Fischer brings in very interesting aspects concerning “building machines”. Because machines are not only found in the manufacturing industry. Even a book can be such a machine if it sells 1,000, 5,000 or 10,000 copies – that’s right!
This is where the podcast also benefits from the design of the endings, because here the most important learnings of the individual episodes are summarized again, but there are also thought-provoking impulses like this one, regarding the building of machines:
your task: At the end, think for yourself how you could build five machines in your area!
I should also start to expand my existing projects. But it is important to learn from a later episode.
According to Alex Fischer one should always test projects on “low speed”. He brings here a very fitting and pictorial metaphor. New projects are, in short, like the production of a new Formula 1 racing car. During the first tests on the road, you would never start at the highest speed. You would start low, see if everything works, if parts drag or strange noises appear that shouldn’t be there. Only when everything fits, the rpm is increased slowly, bit by bit.
Conversely: With my books I have a good basis. All are in the market, could be tested over 6 months on the basis of sales, reviews, recommendations and so on. The most successful could, I should expand. The best would be according to the principles of Alex Fischer, in an automated solution that creates a machine for me. For me this would mean: Why is there no audio book recorded? Why are there no supplementary video courses? Why are there no additional slides and checklists?
What can you do with this learning?
Here, too, one can find further opportunities, which I could apply myself through Alex Fischer’s tips. In another later episode he quotes the US giant Rockefeller. He said: “Give away the oil lamp and earn money with the oil” – brilliant. But first let’s continue with my most important lessons from “Richer than the Geissens”.
As already described in the introduction, I want to go into the learnings that are central for me in the first and second listening of the podcast.
This one quote belongs to it:
Learning: Small rivers become big ones
How often do you yourself face the problem: “You can’t see the forest for the trees”. A building site here, a building site there, in private life and especially as an entrepreneur. I found this quote myself, as short and simple as it is, extremely constructive and motivating. With regard to my own work, projects but also to further aspects such as public relations or viral effects:
“Small rivers become big rivers.” – Alex Fischer
As confusing as one’s own work often appears, especially when setting up companies for the first time, everything gradually comes together. Alex Fischer also brings many interesting aspects to this, for example this one:
- How much do you think you can handle tomorrow? – You’ll overestimate yourself.
- How much do you think you can do in a year? – You will underestimate yourself.
You can learn this and more in Episode 44: Why many ideas remain just dreams.
Now it goes directly back into your own mind games. For example this one I want to share with you. I myself give lectures to up to 300 people. Usually it is about “Business Creation”, more simply said “Founding companies in digital markets”. In some presentations I have two slides with real big names of the digital world like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezoz but also Bill Gates. It is interesting that all of them had moments of failure. Jeff Bezos, for example, wanted to build a competing model for Ebay, failed. He wanted to build a competitor model to Google with “A7”, failed. These slides are intended to show: everybody makes mistakes.
Did Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, but also Bill Gates let setbacks distract them from their vision, their path? No, never.
Alex Fischer also has this aspect in his podcast, but takes it to a new level.
“In short: Failure is always part of it, but ideally you fail closer and closer to your goal. – Alex Fischer
Especially for young entrepreneurs extremely interesting in the statement. Because with every attempt you get better and failure on the way is part of it, as long as you always get further than you fall behind.
Learning: Find the cause of the problems
As I said, I hear episodes twice, some even three times to internalize them. The “dirty slut” is another learning that I listened to twice. I think that this point will probably have relevance for my own future as well. Therefore briefly explained:
“Behind everything, prolonged suboptimal situations are always dirtbags.” – Alex Fischer
Alex Fischer describes this model in detail and practically with an example. When he bought a new car, he had to go to the dealer several times for repairs, despite the new car. If problems occur again, one should think about it after the second or third time. Is it because of the individual parts or is there a fundamental problem? As it turned out, the real problem was the battery of the car. It was broken and had current peaks that delivered far too high voltages, so electronic components broke down.
A big advantage of the book and audiobook are clearly the examples that simply illustrate what it is all about!
Extremely interesting, if one considers even more often to search for patterns that underlie a certain, more often occurring problem. Instead of spending time and energy on solving individual problems, you should use your time to find the source of the problems! But where does the name dirty slingshot come from? Listen to it yourself in Evolume 46: How to set priorities.
Learning: Rockefeller’s wisdom
One can always learn from the great entrepreneurial giants of history. As much as the world changes, the structures remain the same. Apple invites developers to take over app development for the iStore and then earns about 30% of every sale. Tinder makes his dating app available for free and earns in the end by using it. Do they act on Rockefeller’s wisdom: “Give away the oil lamp and make money on the oil”?
John D. Rockefeller himself founded Clark & Rockefeller in Cleveland (USA) in 1859 and ran a small commission business here. After one year, his first turnover was already 500,000 US dollars. A few years later he entered the oil business. But Rockefeller also had a fine nose for business, so he sold relatively new petroleum lamps, even gave them away. The new petroleum owners now had to buy regular supplies in the form of petroleum and petroleum was available at Rockefeller
“Give away the oil lamp and earn money with the oil” – John D. Rockefeller
Alex Fischer even talks about how Steve Jobs and Apple cached it step by step, from iPod to iTunes to iPhone and MacBook. Strategy, strategic planning, that’s what the second part of “Richer than the Geissens” is about. These 27 strategies are available in Alex Fischer’s free member area. They are all compressed in an 11-page PDF as a checklist.
Alex Fischer: Richer than the Geissens
“In 5 years without equity to become a real estate millionaire” – here you get the right and important tools for a happier and fulfilled life, also through financial freedom. Alex Fischer is living it up, with real estate he himself has already provided for a long time. His focus is on passing on knowledge, strategies and success stories. An extremely inspiring audio book. You want more Know How? Become a free member of the Alex Fischer Community.
Video: Increase cash flow
Alex Fischer: Get to know further strategies
If you want to learn more about principles, strategies and methods, you should take a look at Alex Fischer’s YouTube channel. Here you can find playlists sorted by topic to learn everything online. In addition, you can find links to slides and checklists here on YouTube – these documents are also completely free, without an email address. Tip! In the free member area you get the 27 strategies that Alex Fischer has extracted after more than twenty years of experience, compressed in an 11-page PDF as a checklist.
- Alex Fischer – Website & free members area
- Alex Fischer Youtube
“Richer than the Geissens”: Book and audio book
With over 200,000 readers, “Richer than the Geissens” is mega successful, for good reason. It is also in the Top 100 at Amazon! In a nutshell, you get 43 timeless laws of success with which you can become more successful financially, professionally and privately. You learn to reach your goals, to “materialize” them (what this means, you learn in the book). You will receive exact step-by-step instructions for your own personal financial freedom. This way you avoid really frustrating mistakes right at the beginning. As a private person and/or as an entrepreneur, you learn from Alex Fischer how to avoid these fatal mistakes and at the same time follow your passion – every day! The book contains hundreds of learnings that will help you to live a happy and fulfilled life. Best of all, you can get the audio book for free on Spotify and iTunes!