How to Reinvent Yourself Into Greater Wealth at Your Job

"All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy."

Spike Milligan

By Peter Fogel

You want more money. Doesn't everybody?
So let's talk about your job and see what we can do about getting you a big increase in salary.
You might be thinking the only way you can reboot your career, (or just stay one step ahead of the bill collectors), is by working lots of overtime.
But that's just a stopgap measure. What you want to do is NOT work longer or harder...
What you want to do is work smarter.
What do I mean by that? Well, a lot of folks will tell you that you only get paid what you're worth. But I don't believe that's true. Employers tend to pay as little as they can get away with.
But they DO pay more for positions/jobs that impact the company's bottom line in some meaningful way. (At least SMART bosses do!)
Why? Simply because it makes good business sense.
Find the Profit Centers
As bestselling author and business expert Michael Masterson says, if you want to make more money, you must find ways to make more money for your employer. That means getting yourself into one of your company's profit centers.
"Profit centers"? That's just business lingo for the parts of a company that are directly responsible for bringing in the money.
With most companies, it's usually in the areas of sales, marketing, product creation, and profit management - by people like CFOs, copywriters, marketers, and project managers.


Do Your Due Diligence
Once you've identified the specific jobs in your company that bring in the money, narrow them down to the two or three jobs you would most like to do.
Don't worry about whether or not you can actually do them right now. With a little study and hard work, you can master most anything. And there are tons of resources out there that can help you learn any skills you might need.
So, beginning right now, today, do a little research.
Start by going to your local library, getting their most recent copy of the Occupational Outreach Handbook, and looking up the job you're most interested in. You want to find out what it pays, what your duties would be, and how likely it is to be the kind of position that would get phased out.
Think of it as if you're buying a automobile. Here, you are kickin' the tires and looking under the hood to see if taking on the necessary new skills would be worth your time and energy.
The next step in your research is to ask anyone you know who already has that job about their daily routine. Specifically, you want to find out about the kind of problems and challenges they deal with.
And, of course, you should read everything about the job that you can get your hands on, from books to articles and blogs.
Reach Out
Once you feel you're ready, tell your supervisor that you intend to find ways to make yourself more valuable to the company - and tell her you hope she'll help you.
Then head on down to the profit center where you'd like to work. Tell the person in charge that, in your spare time, you've been learning about what they do - and you think it is something you'd be good at.
Tell him that whenever he needs some extra help, you'd like to volunteer so you can learn even more.
Upper management will love this! They'll be impressed by your willingness to lend a hand, as well as the fact that you've spent your free time learning about the profit-making side of their business.
If you do this right - and follow through - you'll quickly get the reputation of being an up-and-comer in your company. And when a higher-paid position becomes available... you'll be the first one they think of to fill it.
Do One Thing Each and Every Day to Make Your Goal a Reality
Focus like a laser on making yourself more indispensible and more valuable to the powers-that-be.
Go the extra mile... come in early and stay late... offer to help your fellow employees. Dig deep within yourself to do what your co-workers won't do - and down the road, you will reap the benefits.
Like a sleuth, match your expertise to problems that need fixing. And, yes, volunteer and ask for more work when you've completed yours.
Everyone gets bogged down in the day-to-day. And before you know it, six months to a year has gone by without you being one step closer to your dream of a high six-figure income.
Don't let your dream die. Planning is one thing, but greater still is action. Take action today and every day to get just one step closer to your goal. You'll thank me later. Preferably with a steak dinner.