Financially Struggling ?

Imagine catching a Coca-Cola top executive drinking a Pepsi-Cola!

That would be just priceless, wouldn't it?

Ohh, I can't express enough how much I desired to accomplish this prank on my friend! Each time I invited him home for dinner or a family event, I made sure I had a Pepsi bottle ready. My goal was to find the opportunity to distract him, have him grab the Pepsi bottle, and take a picture!

I never succeeded; it was impossible! My friend was unbelievably loyal and proud to work for Coca-Cola.

Ever since my friend graduated college, he had been super lucky to find this job. That was almost 25 years ago. The opportunity to scale the corporate ladder in this corporation was huge.

My friend consistently exceeded expectations. With discipline and hard work, he found success and grew a good reputation inside the corporation. In fact, he was so successful in his area of expertise, that he recently was promoted to run a new division in the United States.

Then, the unimaginable happened!

Early in May, he called me. He was torn in pieces. I could sense a tremor in his voice. Devastated, he told me, “Hector, I don’t know what I am gonna do. I lost my job!”

With millions of restaurants closed and all social events canceled, the beverage industry has been tremendously impacted by the pandemic. His division was severely damaged. The company leaders were swift and decisive, sending hundreds of people in his area home.

He was included.

Coca-Cola laying off people? Really? Who could imagine that! I know he didn't. Personally, I never thought it could ever happen. I mean, his job was supposed to be probably one of the “safest” jobs I had in mind.

Now, to answer your question, in a tight economic time, what can middle class people do to stay middle class?

Today, the biggest problem my friend has is the fact that he has zero income. He lost his job, and his paycheck was his ONLY source of income, a mistake that nobody of us could have predicted.

What is the lesson?

In the words of Mr. Warren Buffett, “Never depend on a single source of income.”

Most members of the middle class rely on a single source of income. This is a HUGE mistake. The best way to secure this economic status is by diversifying risk.

Never trust your future entirely to a paycheck in today's rapidly-changing world. The risk of disruption is growing exponentially.

I’ve been guiding my friend on how to diversify and generate multiple sources of income. I’ll be revealing these experiences very soon to my clients and students.

#BeBusinessSmart

  

  -Hector Quintanilla