Florida is a fantastic place to live, however, it does cost a lot of money to live a decent life in the Sunshine State as I discovered.
When I talked to my friend prior to moving to Florida, she said I would have no problem finding employment in my field of work and she was right.
It was July 01, 1987, a Wednesday, when I arrived in Fort Lauderdale Florida.
On Thursday, I went out and applied for a job with the top three credit and collection agencies in the area.
By Friday morning, every one of them called me back and offered me a job.
I selected what I believed was the best opportunity and was at my desk the following Monday ready to go to work.
Within a couple of months I had a good feel for the office environment and for what I believed the management expected from the rank-and-file.
I felt I was ready for my BIG MONEY MOVE.
Yup, after a couple of months I was arrogant and ignorant enough to believe that I was deserving of an increase in pay.
Problem was, I was presenting my need for a raise to my boss, using all the wrong reasons… my reasons.
I wanted to afford a bigger place to live, I wanted to drive a better car, I wanted nicer clothes to wear and overall, I just wanted to afford a better lifestyle.
All of these reasons were perfectly good reasons to justify my raise… to me, however, these reasons were of no interest or concern to my boss.
My boss could not have cared less if I lived in a cardboard box under a bridge on I-75.
If I drove a car, called a cab, or rode a horse to work, she did not care, as long as I arrived to work on time and did my job.
If I wore a potato sack to work, well, that made no difference to her, as long as I wore a tie.
My boss, your boss, all bosses I would suspect, could care less about your required living conditions or your living desires, regardless of what your boss may tell you to your face.
What a true boss is concerned with is company profits and how to deploy company assets and resources to increase company profits.
YOU, like it or not, are a designated asset, whether you are a good asset or a bad asset is completely within your power.
No matter what field of business you are in, all businesses, in a capitalistic society, are concerned with the bottom line, (that means PROFITS and LOSSES).
If you KNOW THIS, then you can begin to set your-self apart from all the rest of the dead-weight that all businesses in America employ.
By doing so, you will not have to be concerned with asking your boss for a raise, rather, your boss will automatically seek to pay you what you are worth by determining your value as an asset to the company.
Your first priority is to determine how much money you need to earn so that you and your family can live a comfortable lifestyle.
Once you KNOW YOUR NUMBER, your next priority is to request a meeting with your boss, or the person who is authorized to increase your pay, and ask this person directly, ‘What is it that I need to do to earn $(your number here) per month with this company?’
Your boss will readily give you the answer you are looking for.
Take what your boss outlines for you and go back out there and fulfill those requirements.
After 60 to 90 days, self-evaluate your performance.
If you honestly believe that you have met all the requirements, then, and only then, request to meet with your boss once again.
If you have mastered and executed what your boss has outlined, you might realize your raise without having to ask for it.
