K. Michael Merrill is wealth and community personified. As a pillar and founder of Portland’s esteemed blogging community, UrbanHonking.com, where I first started blogging, Mikey is an example to us all: you too can be a human I.P.O.
In an exclusive post for Walletpop.com, Mikey shares how he “went public” to raise money for various projects and to feel rich everyday:
Lesson Number One: You are your own boss! You are your own product! In my case, this is literally true, as I make money by selling shares of myself through my personal IPO project. This way, I can multiply my own value: first I accomplish tasks in my life, then I import that value into the online marketplace. My shareholders are a community dedicated to my profitability.*
Lesson Number Two: Don’t worry about spending money to make money. Everything you do with your money projects your commitment to your future income, so don’t skimp on things like embossed, spot-colored, watermarked, foil-stamped business cards, promotional DVDs, and fine Lacoste briefs. Think: Why do you want money? So you can have very nice things. I say, cut out the middle man, and just buy nice things! Sure, you might buy fewer things than you might want, but these quality items will outlast you, and your heirs will truly know you were a successful person when you bequeath these items to them upon your death.
Lesson Number Three: Use the system to your advantage. A friend told me that the easiest, most lucrative way she ever made money was to have her bong (wrongly) confiscated, and subsequently “lost,” by the Brown University security department. Since, according to the bong owner, the bong was actually an antique Tunisian narghile originating from the estate of the deceased actor Van Heflin (“Shane”), Brown University wrote her a check in the amount of the lost item’s estimated value: $500. Done.
Lesson Number Four: Every time you make a financial transaction you not only benefit from the value of what you bought, but you squeeze more value out of that transaction by blogging about it! For example, every time I drink a beer, I write about my experience in a running project called 1000 Beers. It’s not just blogging. Everything you do can be a part of a larger money-making project.Lesson Number Five: Transform your concept of self-worth. It is better to lose money than to make it. Take risks! I lost $80.00 funding an egg farm in Rwanda. A man afraid of losing money is no better than a monkey.
