So recently I had to buy some workout gear and of course the retail stores usually charge a significant retail mark up to make a profit. For one item in particular it looked like I would have to spend about $50 normally. Instead, a person that worked in the field offered to buy them for me since he has a working relationship with most of the vendors. Result? I saved about 60% in doing so.

I’m pretty sure if you look down the chain of your contacts you can usually find someone working in a field that can help you out with scenarios like these. Of course, the polite thing is to not overdo it if you don’t actually know the person too well. But for the most part people don’t usually mind.

You worked hard throughout your life to build your network so you all may as well help each other when you can to benefit everyone.

For some odd reason over the past weeks I have met quite a few people inquiring about whether or not I was in a relationship. Oddly enough, some people even told me that they knew foreign women that would be happy to meet me if I was actively looking to get married as they wanted to leave that country. Joking maybe?

I was polite still though and then one person was telling me how many people like those are just looking for a different quality of life and need someone who can take care of them financially as they are very kind and loyal. It almost sounded like a sales pitch to a certain extent.

That then raised another conversation about people who simply marry others for money which some people perfectly accept. It was interesting to see two people debating about that too as essentially one believes marriage is mainly about getting financial security and the other was more about companionship. Extremely left or right perspectives I guess you can say.

I suppose when you think about it from bare roots perspective a relationship is mainly about just being able to start a family in a secured environment. So in that sense and to adapt to the situations we live in today I suppose money does play an issue. Should be more about that partnership though I’d say. Otherwise it’s like pairing business partners who simply have a lot of money and nothing else.

Here’s a funny bit. I then made a comment to the person how a prenuptial should be a standard if you are seeking for a foreign relationship and the conversation ended there. I just think in terms of finance in a relationship, if anything it should be about trying to create that wealth together at this day and age.

I was talking to a person who contacted me about his company needing a service for a fairly big task. This is going to be in the five figure ranges and so it is definitely no small transaction. Now the interesting thing is for me to handle it I would need to acquire some assistance as it is not something that I would normally focus on everyday. At the same time the other choice is to simply pass it off to another company as a referral of sort.

That got me thinking too as either option both has its positives and negatives. By simply passing it off you could in hence build a better business relationship with another individual/company with the expectation that the same would be returned if the situation was reversed. On the other hand, one could simply go with acquiring talent internally route where because the budget is so huge it can make sense to hire help to handle it yourself which could end up being an expansion for you in the long term.

I have always found the biggest hurdle in both of these options is finding someone that you can truly trust to take care of it as with either option you are being dependent on them following through with their promises and obligations. Sometimes it is better to just leave it alone if the risk is too high.

Another technique that I have seen between two companies that are done with a lot of success is a private labeling and behind the scenes partnership to benefit both parties. Basically, each company acts as if they are a member of each other’s company for whoever acquired the business. Can make sense in many ways for both the short and long term if your intent was to expand.

I was having an interesting conversation today with a person in regards to choosing partners to do business with and one main point that came up was to focus on one another’s core values. This was very true I thought as a lot of times people focus on one’s skills or financial capabilities as the determining factors to partner up with someone.

Really when you think about it, focusing on the other person’s values instead can pretty much tell you immediately what the venture will be like afterwards. For example, some people believe that the way to go in growing a business is to grow with your cash flow and work with that. Whereas some believe you need to go all out financially in the beginning.

Little things like that alone can tell you so much about one’s vision, financial management style, risk assessments and so fourth. This is even true for jobs I’d say. The person with the best attitude and values that match what you are looking for is usually a lot better than a person that is the complete opposite but has the best skills.

Many times in situations involving making money it can be easy to fall into that mentality of taking everything for yourself without worrying about the others around you. The best typical examples are in a sales environment where it seems like everyone is in it for themselves as it is all about the numbers to increase your own bottom line.

When it comes to the mindset of a lot of business owners or self employed individuals, helping others to grow can be rewarding personally as well as creating the possibility of it generating even more business for yourself. I guess a good crosslink example would be a real estate agent and a mortgage broker.

For example, the mortgage broker could just say who cares if that real estate agent gets a deal or not as it is not his concern. But when you think about it, the more deals that the real estate agent gets the more possibility that his customer would need services from him as well. While that doesn’t necessarily mean focusing specifically to help the person in a dedicated fashion, keeping it in mind to help them grow as well can be a good thing.

Do you risk having that guy turn around afterwards and not returning the favor when the situation is reversed? Yes, of course. But in general, it’s always good to keep in mind too that everyone at some point needs help and by establishing a relationship with others you can increase the likelihood of receiving help when you need it as well.