Have you seen the stories lately about how robots are taking all of the jobs? Automation, especially in factories, is forcing people out of work. In my field, software development, we faced outsourcing projects to other countries. In some industries, they outsource the entire factory. You need to know how to protect your income from the changing times.
In a lot of cases, using robots in a factory is a lot safer and more efficient. They significantly cut down on the number of injuries. But how do you make a living if you are one of those workers who gets replaced?
From my experience, outsourcing software development to other countries just doesn’t work. Sure, they can save a lot of money with cheap developers, but from what I saw they pretty much got what they paid for. Failed projects get very expensive because they have no return on investment. Regardless of my opinion, it still happens. And just like the factory worker, you wonder how you’re going to pay your bills.
Times Change
I created the habitof reading some personal development every day. One of the books that I am reading isThe Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles. He mentions the different industries of his time repeatedly – the mature steam trains and steel mills and the start-up industries of electric trains and air travel.
You have to keep in mind that The Science of Getting Rich was written back in 1910. Back then, Mr. Wattles recommended that people look to farming to get rich. Now that isas difficult as getting started in the train or air travel industries.
(The book link above is an affiliate link to Amazon.com. As an affiliate I may earn a small commission and it does not affect the price you pay.)
Now it’s all about technology and how to use it successfully. I think there is plenty that still can and will be done there. The downside is that you probably need some technical know-how, or the resources to hire the people who have it. Oh yeah, and plenty of money.
Outsourcing Jobs
At the top of this post I mentioned that a lot of jobs are getting outsourced, either to other countries or to some form of automation. I found this article on U.S. News about robots taking American jobs. I’m sure this is happening in many other countries too, not just confined to the US. The idea behind automation is that robots can do the same job as a team of people more quickly, safely and efficiently. People like to say that time is money, and robots can save a lot of time and money.
Maybe a robot isn’t after your job. Maybe theownersjust decide to send your joboverseas where people will work for a fraction of what you will, or can. That’s the outsourcing that a lot of people face. Factories close and the owners hire the work out to cheaper factories in other countries.
Further, regulations saddle companies with more and more expenses to keep employees. That’s one of the reasons that companies get by with fewer and fewer employees.
In my grandparents day you worked your entire career for one company. They didn’t have robots to worry about back then, nor did they have the Internet to make communication with other countries so convenient.
My parent’s generation doesn’t have it as easy. They do change jobs from time to time, but not as much as my generation. And the trend will probably only continue.
So, how to protect your income.
How to Protect Your Income
Wallace Wattles said that people who get small tracts of land and farm it, along with the people who support them, will have the best chance of getting rich. That may have been true back in 1910, but it isn’t going to be as easy today. Now most food production is controlled by large corporations.
His advice would be different if he were alive today.
To truly protect your income you need something that:
- can’t require a lot of start-up investment and overhead
- doesn’t require any special skills other than those you will learn as you go.
- is something that you can start in your spare time and build to a point where you can quit your regular job if you want to
- can eventually generate passive income
I think Mr. Wattles’s advice today would be to get into network marketing.It meets those 4 requirements that I just listed.
- Most companies that I am familiar with cost a couple hundred dollars or less to join.
- Network marketing involves sharing with people. You just have to learn how to share effectively.
- I started my network marketing business in my spare time. I worked on it in the morning before work, during my lunch hour, and again in the evening after I got home.
- Once you have a team up and running on their own, they will generate passive income for you.
I’m Not Talking About How to Protect Your Job
You notice that I am talking about building a new career. I’m talking about how to protect your income, not how to protect your old job. That’s the thing about a job. There is no way to protect it. You work for someone else and they call the shots. You hold your job at their whim, and if the bottom line is all that matters to them, then your job is at risk.
That’s what I like about network marketing. You can’t be replaced because you work for yourself and you call the shots. That’s very empowering.
The other side of that is that you are now responsible for your own success. You’re the boss.I make no income guarantees. Network marketing isn’t a job where you receive your guaranteed paycheck on a regular basis. It is a business where you receivewhatever you earn.
Your Turn
Do you know how to protect your income? What are you doing about it? I’d love to hear your thoughts in a comment below.
I have been in network marketing with the same company for more than 10 years, and I do it a little bit different than other people. I work exclusively online so that I can stay home with my family. No meetings, no cold calling, and no stalking people at the gym or wherever because there are more people on the Internet than I could ever find offline.
So again, share your thoughts about protecting your income in a comment below and please share this post with your followers on social media.
Thanks for reading.
