10 STEPS to Life Transformation!

Gain some perspective and don’t be too dependent towards anything. Use these 10 steps to transform your life right now!

HOW DOES THE TAX REFORM AFFECT YOU?

The new US Tax Reform Bill is just one of the government actions that will affect you, whether you felt it or not. 

So, what should you do? Gain perspective. It’s a two-way streak. Don’t be so close-minded that you lose sight of the opportunity to educate yourself.

Consider this quote from the speech of Martin Luther King, Jr. when he was at the Old Galilee Baptist Church in Shreveport.

“Privilege groups never give up their privileges without strong resistance. They have hardened thoughts. They are not defending what they think is morally right, they are defending what is economically profitable.”

So, to get into action, we have outlined these 10 steps that you should follow in order to not be left in the cold!

TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE WITH THESE 10 STEPS!

1. Learn a new skill.

A friend of mine transitioned from doing electrical and A/C work to digging holes for a living. Another guy went from construction to selling dirt. 

It may be something unreal, but you can’t mess this up because they are essentially earning more than their previous jobs.

The first guy is basically earning $30 per minute because that’s how fast his machine works, meanwhile the other one is taking the free dirt where he can make money out of it. 

2. Incorporate yourself.

If you are a normal employee, the tax is deducted from your salary first before you receive it, however, if you are a 1099 worker, you can benefit greatly from incorporating into a business.

Take advantage of tax write-offs because as a business, you only pay taxes afterwards.

3. Do your research.

Find out what opportunities fit you. Join an organization. Explore how to gain profit from your hobby. 

4. Get in the game.

You can’t just watch from the sideline. In order to be one of the successful people in the marketplace, you have to stop watching and start participating. Remember, life rewards doers, not admirers.

5. Reduce your expenses.

If you look at Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, they started off in garages and using things that they have in spite of inefficiencies, so why is it that we believe we’ve got to go stay and live in some sort of luxury?

Well, you don’t have to live frugally all your life, you just need to do this during your growth and development phase because in this way, you can use your money to invest in yourselves and your businesses.

Consider this quote from Mark Cuban

“It doesn’t matter how you live. It doesn’t matter what car you drive. It doesn’t matter what kind of clothes you wear. The more you stress over bills, the more difficult it is to focus on your goals. The cheaper you can live, the greater your options.” 

6. Get lucky.

You have to take at-bats in order to hit a home run. So, try and fail; rinse and repeat. Remember, in business, you only have to be lucky once.

“You’ve got to try. You’ve got to fail. You’ve got to do it again. You’ve got to get up. You got to pick up in order to get lucky… I need you guys to get out there and start swinging.”

7. Read.

Find a topic of interest and read everything about it. Just read, even if it’s less than 10 books. This way, you’ll gain perspective about that topic and you will slowly become an expert at it. 

Remember, the rest of the world is feeding their mind and stomach with junk food, feed your mind with learning and start expanding your mental faculty.

8. Write.

James Altucher recommends that you should start writing 10 ideas per day to start utilizing your idea muscle. This way, you make your ideas tangible and easy to analyze. An easy exercise to start is writing about the 10 places you want to visit.

9. Practice. 

Practice maintaining good habits. Millionaires, billionaires, athletes, and top performers are very disciplined. They exercise extreme control of their daily routines.

With this, start with little habits, like morning exercise and build upon that.

“I’m pretty sure it’s the same for all of you. If you exercise, then you’re likely to eat healthy. If you eat healthy, then you feel better, you have more energy, so it just kind of builds on itself. So, start off by doing those daily routines and disciplines and practice good habits.”

10. Guard your time. 

Time is treated as a commodity, but it is really a perishable asset because it is the only thing that we can’t replace.

Someone actually told me that I was egotistical for setting my phone on ‘Do not disturb’ mode until 9 am, but that’s what helped me become a serial entrepreneur. I make people respect my time.

“If I allow all that stuff, those notifications, to constantly come to me, there’s no way that I could sit back and work on new ideas, new concepts, and be able to deliver value and continually bring you guys these types of messages, so guard your time with your life.”

LEARN FROM THIS STORY

Now, we’ll talk about the story of Moses escaping Egypt on the way to the Promise Land.

This story references three groups of people and how they handle the situation. With this, we will compare them to everything that we are facing today: the challenge of choosing entrepreneurship versus the false comfort and the security of a job.

The first group wanted to go back to Egypt because they heard there were ‘giants’ in the land. This group reminds of those people who stepped out there and realized it wouldn’t be easy, so you decided to run back– they quit even before starting. 

“Though you suffer greatly at your job, the fear of hurt, uncertainty, potential suffering perpetuates much greater than the opportunity to win.”

Then, the second group also wanted freedom, but didn’t want to go through the sacrifices of what it takes to leave. They wanted someone else to do it for them, so they just hung around in the wilderness. 

This group is similar to people who have already formed their corporation, but just sit idle. They don’t want to do the next essential steps like calling the decision-makers because they are afraid, so they do other things as a distraction from doing these important tasks.

Lastly, the third group are those that said ‘yes’ even though there are ‘giants’ in the land because they believe that they can defeat them and make it to the other side. 

This group is the people who will most likely succeed because in spite of fear, they still persist. These people are those who are afraid, but continue to pursue and persevere. And you can be one of these people too!

“My goal is to show you how myself, ‘once a shepherd boy’ who grew up in poverty-stricken Goulds, Florida defeated the ‘giants’ and made it to the other side. Not only did I make it, but I am also reaching back to lend a helping hand to those who want to join me. But as good as my heart wants to be, time is my enemy. I cannot shoot your bows. I cannot run with your feet…  But if you have a willingness to suffer and sacrifice mixed with determined struggle, then you can gain your ultimate freedom. I can assure you that fighting this battle is no more difficult than the current fight for survival that you are already in.”

RESOURCES

If you want to gain more perspective on how to transform your life, then be sure to click the resources down below or visit the GovCon Giant website and social media platforms or the new GovCon Edu where you learn everything about government contracting!

10 Steps to Life Transformation – Eric Coffie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yeu0bRx71cc&t=138s

Govcon Tips

https://govcongiants1.wpengine.com/blog/govcon-tips/

Success Profiles

https://govcongiants1.wpengine.com/blog/success-profiles/

Small Business Tips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXNLfpNOmgg&list=PL6-jBNNcc98s8Wokfs6Gg03bCuthc8bkk

Where do I start?

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6-jBNNcc98vgItLSmWLW2nZfNv9gOFeJ

Where Do I Start? List of GovCon Videos to Watch!

Working in the federal marketplace can be a journey, so to help you better learn where to start, GovCon Giant made this list of videos to watch for you to follow!

THIS IS OUR STORY

Before we dive into some lessons, find out who is Eric Coffie and what is our mission here at GovCon Giants.

Listen to Eric Coffie’s 2020 Challenge video and learn our story and see why we believe that every small business on the planet should be doing government contracts!

“My name is Eric Coffie and it’s my mission in life to help small businesses achieve overwhelming success in the federal marketplace… I know that by creating an army of excellent contractors that operate ethically, we’ll provide the optimum value and best price for the government, we can curb this deficit spending trend, and start solving some of the life’s real challenges that this country faces you.”

BUSINESS BASICS

1. Learn the basics of government contracting. 

Before you start your company, learn the marketplace first. Remember, the government arena is different from the commercial marketplace.

With this, we give you a little summary of the fundamentals. This video will give you an overview of the basic building blocks to successfully win federal contracts.

2. Form your company.

Before doing business with the government, you need to incorporate your business. Remember the U.S. is a capitalistic society, even if you don’t have a tangible business, get incorporated now.

Still needs more reasons to incorporate? Watch this video: Six (6) Reasons to Form your corporation

3. Get your DUNS number. 

A Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) is a nine-digit identification number assigned to identify your business and to track your company’s credit record.

While the SAM database is extending the transition from using the DUNS number to the New Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) in April 2022, you still need to get your DUNS number before registering to the database. 

Want to know more about how to do it? Check this video on how to apply for a DUNS number. Please note that getting your DUNS number is absolutely FREE and you don’t have to pay someone to get this done.

4. Choose your NAICS code. 

A North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is a six-digit long code that helps classify the types of products and services that you supply.

The government actually permits having multiple NAICS codes, if you provide a wide variety of supplies. However, be careful in choosing because choosing the wrong NAICS code can cost you millions.  

5. Register in SAM.

The System for Award Management (SAM) database is a platform to properly represent your business in the federal contracting arena.

Depending on the complexity of your business, your registration might take about an hour and it can also take an average of 7-10 business days to process it in the database. You can check more information about the SAM.gov database here. 

If you want to learn more on how to register, then check these SAM Registration Tips. We also have a registration playlist in both Italian and Spanish language. 

WINNING TIPS AND STRATEGIES

1. Consultant or Contractor?

Now, there are two paths that you can take… be a consultant or a contractor. A consultant is a person who represents a firm and helps you win contracts, meanwhile a contractor is the company that actually does the work with their team. 

If you want to be a consultant, then check this video on how to get started as a consultant or check this playlist on consulting.

2. Where to look for contract opportunities?

After you create your company, you’re probably looking for a few ideas of how to make money using the power of the government. Here are a few places to start: How to make money online – no sales required.

3.  Are you eligible for these?

The federal government allocates 23% of all contracting dollars to small businesses. That’s a whopping $156 billion dollars!

So, if you have a woman-owned small business, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business, a small disadvantaged business, or a Historically Underutilized Business, then check these small business programs!

You can also check our playlist about the 8a program which offers a broad scope of assistance to small firms.

BUSINESS ADVICE

1. Business is like a jungle. 

Once you start learning how to make money, be careful because there will always be people who will try to take you down. Business is like a jungle, as they say. 

“They’re out there and they’re looking to take you down. Again, they’re coming from the bottom, they come up from the top, and if you can get through that jungle and you could make it on the other side, then you’re going to be successful in business. Just keep in mind that they’re all there to stop you from your pursuit of getting out the other side.”

2. Pain is positive. 

Scared to say the wrong things? Afraid to make mistakes? Faced with mental struggles? Our life can be compared to evolution and adaptation. Remember, the strong survive and the weak shall perish. Learn more why I say that pain is positive and helps you ascend to new heights!

3. Fair and failure are cousins. 

If you think that everything is too much for you, understand that fear and failure are cousins. These two are causing the death of many good ideas that never materialized. So, learn how to handle fear in this video.

4. Success does not discriminate. 

Don’t worry about the naysayers, the doubters, and the haters because regardless of your background, they will always say something negative towards you. 

Remember this, all of my rich friends started with no experience. Some of them are former criminals, most have no college degree, and little formal education. But they are all successful. Why? Because success does not discriminate.

GET INSPIRATION FROM US!

Starting is not easy, but it is necessary. Throughout the journey towards success, you will face a lot of setbacks. With this, you can learn from the personal philosophy that I use to develop a mental foundation.

You can also learn from these techniques that I use to become the smartest persons in the room.

Consider that all of those things that you are feeling right now are normal for a business owner, but you should not focus too much on these matters. 

If you want inspiration, you can check the story of how I leveraged the techniques above to land more than $1.5 million in contracts.

You can also check other GovCon Giants who have already gained success in the government arena through our podcast.

“I was born in a very poor community down in Miami, Florida… It was a predominanty black community and I grew up and we saw guns and knives, and we saw prostitution and drugs. And you know what? I chose a different path for myself. I chose a different way… I started a business, I started a company, I jump into real estate, I bought property, I made investments. And so, I’m telling you that I’m living proof of it.”