One Book That Changed My Life Forever

One Book That Changed My Life Forever

I was reminded by Mahen the other day about a book we both read around 5 years ago. The book in question, was called "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki.

This book changed my life forever.

Picture this, back in 2002, i had just quit my highly paid big six figure salary job, and was feeling pretty good about myself. However, i had no plan as to what i was going to go and do. I had been married to a dentist (Smita) for around 6 months, and could quickly see she did not want a layabout of a husband sitting around at home most days (besides, being a very driven person, sitting at home was not what i wanted to do, i had quit the City to do my own thing!).

Well after 6 months of travelling and charity fund raising, i was recommended to have a read of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad". Being the cynical guy that i am, i thought initially, what do i need to learn from a book? At 28, in my last 2 years in the City, i had made more money than many people had in a lifetime. Anyway, curiosity got the better of me, and so i decided to have a good read of it. I did not regret that decision.
So what did i learn from the book?

Well the book traces the author's life from the age of 9, comparing the financial teaching that he received from his own, highly academically intelligent, real dad ( a doctor), and that of his friend's, financially intelligent, dad. Having experienced first hand the teaching and upbringing resulting from both of the dads, he is able to reflect on how they differ and how these differences had a profound effect on financial wealth.

The book for me highlighted, that working flat out, earning a high income was not the answer to growing wealth. Up until 28, that had been my strategy. Increase my income and i would become super wealthy. However, with such high income, come hig taxes, so seeing 40% of my income go each year was not much fun.

However, the book taught me (yes a qualified Chartered accountant, successful City Boy) the answer lay in creating and buying assets (cheaply) which then provided cashflow. By creating or buying assets cheap, my asset base would grow in value and my net worth would grow considerably. This meant for me in 2002, that Samera was started on a shoestring, no loans, just some innovative ideas and hard work in the early days from a core team. Whilst The Neem Tree required a certain level of financing, but with the right business strategy to move it forward. Our aim was to grow these businesses into valuable assets in their own right. Income was not our focus (only enough to cover our monthly needs), asset wealth creation was .

Almost 7 years on, i can safely say this strategy has worked 100% for us. Our liabilities, are low, cashflow is healthy, but most importantly our asset wealth is very strong. This provides us with a firm foundation to take on the next phase of our expansion strategy (you didn't think we would sit still?).

Focusing on asset wealth creation as opposed to income generation, has saved us considerable amounts in tax, and enabled us to build net asset rich businesses. This was the book that started it off to me, so if you have not ,read it, and if you have read it already, read it again, this is one of the best books in the market for taking charge of your own financial future.
So what about dentists?

Well like myself at 28, i see many dentists who have fallen into the same trap as i had up until 28. They have big liabilities, their income is high, their taxes are high, and so ultimately their cashflow is usually poor, and after all the sums (after taking into account all the large loans they have, especially if they have bought a practice in the last couple of years), their net asset position is not great even when working 60 hours plus per week.

Well as some of you may have come to know, i have never followed the well trodden path, i always invest when everyone is fearful (like now) and do things a bit differently. If you want to become asset rich, firstly read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad". If you enjoy reading this book, then secondly book yourself on our "Setting Up and Buying a Dental Practice in a Recession" event on Friday 18th September 2009, at our offices in London. You can read much more about this here.

Please note the price doubles every month until the event. Book in July for £100+VAT, book in August for £200+VAT, and book in September for £400+VAT .

We will be only doing this event once in 2009, so make sure you book today, as i can assure you this will not happen again until 2010. If you want to grow your net asset worth by being a dentist, then this event is for you. �

Emotional Strength

At school we are all taught to do well academically, or to excel at sport or the arts. We are measured by our success in academia by our grades or the height we reach in our sports. However, we are never measured on our emotional strength.

I know so many individuals who are great at sport or who have the best degrees possible, yet emotionally they are weak. Weak? Yes, weak in a sense that they have not trained their emotions. They have trained their academic brains, or sporting prowess but not their emotional strength.

Yet, if you look at some of the most successful entrepreneurs and individuals they are emotionally in control. They have been through the ups and downs of running their own show, but by constantly challenging their emotions they have created the emotional strength they require to succeed in life today. Being a successful entrepreneur requires emotional strength...do you have it? Or do you need to develop it?

The Truth About Your Accountant

Face facts, your accountant probably knows very little about your business. Yes they may have prepared your annual accounts, told you how much tax to pay, but do they know the impact of a closed lunch hour on your annual profits? Or the impact of changing the price of your crowns on your annual take home pay?

Probably not.

As a general dentist you probably are not going to carry out complex orthodontic work, or specialist endodontic work, you would refer this to a specialist colleagues of yours.

Well the same principle applies to your choice of accountants you use to advise you. Small or big, in these changing dental times, it is now more important than ever to have advisors who know their subject. I can proudly say, at Samera we eat, live and breath dentistry. By having our dental practices, we see and experience many of the same problems our clients face every day, so not only can we relate to you, we are always looking for ways to overcome the many problems you face daily, just like we do.

If you are unsure if your accountant knows his stuff about dentistry, ask him (or her), amongst many other, the following questions:

1. Does he know what Invisalign is and how much should you be charging for it in your practice?
2. What treatments provide you with 80% of your profit in your business?
3. What non financial Key Performance Indicators should you be monitoring in your practice?
4. How can you increase chair occupancy through low cost marketing strategies?
5. What gross profit margin does a hygienist generate compared to an associate dentist in your practice?
6. What patient cancellation policy should you have in practice?
7. What hourly rate should your fees be set at to ensure a profit margin you desire?
8. What remuneration strategies should you have in place for your Dental Associates? Should you be paying 50% of gross fees or higher/lower?
9. As a % of turnover, what should your staffing costs be?
10. How can you make more money, than you currently are, in dentistry?

These are just the tip of the iceberg. In today's climate your accountant should be able to answer all of these questions easily along with the pre-requisite tax advice. If not, then perhaps it is time for you to demand more or make a change.

Calling the Market

As some of you maybe aware, over the last few months i have been going back to my roots, of financial analysis and trading. I have got so back into it, very excited, and are in fact now teaching courses on my expertise. This has been one of the main reasons i have not had time to write this blog, as i have been poring over charts, and online information

My expertise which was learnt several years back is now stronger than ever. I have been watching the UK and US markets closely, and have seen my portfolio grow in double digit % figures in the last 3 months. I feel i managed to call the market at the beginning of March. However, at the moment i do feel the market may well be going through a small correction, with certain stocks due a correction, whilst more defensive stocks may start growing at better rates.

With so much volatility in the market, this is a great time to be in the markets. You can make a lot of wealth create in these times.

Watch this space on all aspects financial, as over the last 12 months, i have realised my forte is in 3 areas:

1. business, marketing and entrepreneurship
2. internet marketing concepts
3. investment and trading

so this blog will increasingly become come dedicated to these areas, plus a few more issues that maybe playing on my mind!

Have fun

arun

One life, live it! The Big Moroccan Adventure!

One Life, Live it!

3 weeks later, thousands of miles later, I am back from my overland adventure from London to Morocco, using all modes of transport - except planes.

How was it? Brilliant.

Myself, Smita, my son Parus (who is 4 going on 14) and my daughter Aashima who is 11 months (and the very reason we went by land!) are exhausted physically (well myself and Smita are), but mentally relaxed and have a treasure trove of memories. After all, at the end of the day, it is our memories that count.

So where did we go?

Surrey-Portsmouth-Bilbao-Valdepenas-Estepona-Algeciras-Tangiers- Meknes-Fes-Marrakech-Tangiers-Algeciras-Seville-Salamanca-Bilbao-Portsmouth-Surrey

How did we go?

We took our car on the ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao ( a 30 hour crossing) - my least favourite part of the trip. I realised early on the ship that cruising is not for me, stuck on a ship, with nowhere to go, is not my idea of fun, so future overland trips will have as little ship travel as possible.

We drove through Spain, left out car in Algeciras, took the short ferry to Tangiers and Morocco was covered via train....pretty good trains indeed (including the sleeper)

Key Highlights

There are so many to mention, but they include:

1. The chav's on the ferry who go on a 60 hour cruise - Portsmouth to Bilbao return for a £99 mini cruise and get stinkingly drunk, a really interesting part of British culture
2. Delicious Tapas in Valdepenas (Wine region of Spain)
3. Club Sandwiches by the pool after a long 7 hour drive
4.Arrival into Tangiers via ferry, and getting hassled for taxi's. i love their front
5. The roof terrace on La Tangerina hotel in tangiers - with amazing views of Tangiers (makes me feel like Jason Bourne in the Bourne Ultimatum!)
6. The chicken heads being chopped off in various Souks
7. The medieval city of Fes - a different world
8. Riad 9 - in Fes, our favourite riad we stayed at - and the wonderful Attika for putting up with us- check out the website
9.Shopping for carpets in Fes (yes we did buy some!) and the haggling!
10. The arrival in Marrakech to see other family members join us for a few days
11. Seeing Jardin Majorelle again
12. The hammam at La Maison Arabe.....very cool indeed
13. The train journey overnight from Marrakech to tangiers
14. Finding our car in Algerciras in one piece and in tact
15. Seville, my favourite Spanish city, my 6th visit there!
16. The prettiness of Salamanca
17. The amazing Guggenheim museum in Bilbao...simply stunning and interesting
18. Reaching home to see my dad and to sleep in my bed!

Plus a few hundred more experiences, which will stay with me forever, most importantly spending this time with my loved ones!

Watch out for my next overland trip....

The Adventure Starts Here

Today i am off on a true adventure with my family. My little daughter cannot fly due to health reasons, but that won't stop the Mehra family with their travels and adventures. 2 adults (well kind of, Smita and I) and two young kids, one four year old and one 10 month year old. Call us insane or adventurous, one thing for sure, this will be very exciting!

Travel is in my blood, having done a lot of travelling in my earlier years. Travel broadens the mind, and has taught me much about my life and existence. Anyway my philosophy is for another day.

We are heading to Morocco via land. We are taking the following route:

Portsmouth to Bilbao (2 nights on the boat)

Then we drive through Spain with our car over a 2 night period down to Algeciras,

We leave the car in Algeciras, and then grab a boat to Tangier.

Then via Moroccan trains, we travel to Fes, Meknes and Marrakech....

and then we do it all again on our return!

I cannot wait to go on this adventure, we don't really have a destination in mind, just the fact that the journey is the destination!!!

Don't let your life go by focusing just on the destination and goal...always remember to appreciate NOW, as NOW can go away in a heartbeat!

Upon my return get ready for my explosion in words!

No-one will look after yor money as well as you will!

Visit here to read the latest Samera newsletter - i think you will enjoy it!
have fun!
arun