Our 4-Hour Workweek

A "thirty-something" colleague of mine asked me last week what would I recommend he invest in given he had $10,000.

I love these kinds of questions and with zeal set out to come up with a meaningful recommendation. Considering his age and the fact that he has three young children and a stay at home wife, I felt his risk tolerance was low and so I made a beeline to the MSN Money Central website and the deluxe mutual fund screener. I set the following search criteria:

1. 10-year annualized return equal to or greater than 12%;
2. Morningstar rating of 5-star;
3. Morningstar risk of low;
4. Zero front-end load.

Wow! Seven great funds with low risk and 10-year annual returns of 12% or more. Pretty good stuff!

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 9:39 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I found an interesting acticle by Abby Ellin on the MSN's Money Central today - "Can You Teach Your Kids To Be Rich?"

If you are a parent with young children, this is well worth your time to read.

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 9:36 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For the week:

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.3% (-7.0% year to date) to 12,337.22.
• The NASDAQ rose 0.1% (-13.0% year to date) to 2,306.20.
• The S&P 500 Index rose 1.3% (-8.1% year to date) to 1,348.78.
• The Power Women 50 Index rose 0.1% (-6.5% year to date) to $88,286.98 (details).
• The Magic Formula Index rose 1.2% (-9.4% year to date) to $88,724.62 (details).
• The Dogs of the Dow fell 0.5% (-4.3% year to date) to $95,734.44 (details).
• Our 4-Hour Workweek basket of stocks and cash rose 6.5% (-4.4% year to date) to $23,097.51.
• Pierre's 401K group of mutual funds rose 3.1% (-8.5% year to date) to $62,320.95.

Note: data is as of market close on February 19.

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 2:54 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Mr. Market gives and Mr. Market takes. This week he took back precisely what he gave the previous week. Last week the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 4.4% and this week the Dow fell 4.4%.

For the week:

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 4.4% (-8.2% year to date) to 12,182.13.
• The NASDAQ fell 4.5% (-13.1% year to date) to 2,304.85.
• The S&P 500 Index fell 4.6% (-9.3% year to date) to 1,331.29.
• The Power Women 50 Index fell 2.4% (-6.6% year to date) to $88,168.83 (details).
• The Magic Formula Index fell 5.7% (-10.5% year to date) to $87,694.29 (details).
• The Dogs of the Dow fell 6.7% (-3.8% year to date) to $96,222.01 (details).
• Our 4-Hour Workweek basket of stocks and cash fell 1.9% (-10.2% year to date) to $21,680.01.
• Pierre's 401K group of mutual funds fell 4.8% (-11.3% year to date) to $60,445.49.

Upcoming this week – I plan to invest $1,043.30 in my 401K. du Pont (NYSE symbol DD) and General Motors (NYSE symbol GM) will announce their dividends. I expect du Pont will pay 41 cents per share (3.63% yield) and GM 25 cents per share (3.8% yield). The Dogs of the Dow offer great yields given the current market conditions.

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 5:33 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I read four blogs with a 4-Hour Workweek flair on a regular basis.

1. Get Rich Slowly, authored by J.D. Roth; subscriber base of 47,147;
2. Problogger, authored by Darren Rowse; subscriber base of 41,530;
3. Think Simple Now, authored by Tina Su; subscriber base of 4,429;
4. Millionaire Mommy Next Door, author is anonymous; subscriber base of 2,585.

Can you see a bit of Tim Ferriss in each of these bloggers? I do. They make great online mentors. By studying each of their efforts, perhaps I will be able to learn and implement some of their successful techniques.

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 3:20 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

In today's "Wall Street Journal", Mark Gongloff reports: "After weeks of wallowing in gloom, Wall Street is suddenly full of optimists."

Wow! How fast the naysayers change!

The Dow Jones Industrial Average enjoyed a 4.4% gain this week - the best weekly performance since March 2003. The markets shook off more bad news during the week - a negative jobs report, bond insurers taking massive losses, and President Bush's comments about the weakening economy in his state of the Union address.

For the week:

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4.4% (-3.9% year to date) to 12,743.19.
• The NASDAQ rose 3.7% (-9.0% year to date) to 2,413.36.
• The S&P 500 Index rose 4.9% (-5.0% year to date) to 1395.42.
• The Power Women 50 Index rose 4.1% (-4.3% year to date) to $90,331.42 (details).
• The Magic Formula Index rose 5.5% (-5.0% year to date) to $93,027.26. (details).
• The Dogs of the Dow rose 7.1% (+3.2% year to date) to $103,163.09 (details).
• Our 4-Hour Workweek basket of stocks and cash rose 2.2% (-8.5 year to date) to $22,107.51.
• Pierre's 401K group of mutual funds rose 6.1% (-6.8% year to date) to $63,488.13.

I like the results of last week. There will be more good weeks ahead, but patience is in order. Don't panic. Stay the course. Keep investing. I did, contributing $1,043.30 last week to my 401K, and I won't stop investing. Count on me to invest $1,043.30 every two weeks. I have to be disciplined, regardless of the ups and downs of the market.

I am on a long journey. I may encounter detours and uphill climbs, but I know where I'm going. Remember, my strategy to reach my destination is two-fold - investments and owning businesses.

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 6:09 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The fourth week of 2008 was choppy on Wall Street. Monday, thankfully the U.S. markets were closed, as the international markets fell dramatically, with fear and panic selling leading the way, foreboding a wild ride on Tuesday. And wild it was. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down nearly 600 points. The Federal Reserve stepped in with a surprise move and lowered the Federal Funds Rate rate by 3/4 of a point to 3.5%. The Dow rebounded, closing down 128 points. Wednesday, down by almost 300 points at lunchtime, the market rallied 600 points in the afternoon, closing up 299 points for the day. On Thursday the Dow was up another 108 points. Friday, the Dow drifted downwords most of the session, giving back 171 points for the day. What a week for the markets! Every day saw a triple digit swing, one way or the other. Expect to see more wild gyrations in the next few weeks. For the week:

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose .9% (-8.0% year to date) to 12,207.17.
• The NASDAQ fell .6% (-12.3% year to date) to 2,326.20.
• The S&P 500 Index rose .4% (-9.4% year to date) to 1330.61.
• The Power Women 50 Index rose .2% (-8.1% year to date) to $86,764.60 (details).
• The Magic Formula Index rose .8% (-10.0% year to date) to $88,177.73. (details).
• The Dogs of the Dow rose 3.1% (-3.7% year to date) to $96,290.85 (details).
• Our 4-Hour Workweek basket of stocks and cash fell .6% (-10.4 year to date) to $21,636.51.
• Pierre's 401K group of mutual funds rose .2% (-12.2% year to date) to $59,820.13.

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The third week of 2008 proved to be another tough week on Wall Street with all the major indices down.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 4.0% (-8.8% year to date) to 12,099.30.
• The NASDAQ fell 4.1% (-11.8% year to date) to 2,340.02.
• The S&P 500 Index fell 5.4% (-9.8% year to date) to 1325.19.
• The Power Women 50 Index fell 4.6% (-8.2% year to date) to $86,616.25 (details).
• The Magic Formula Index fell 2.9% (-10.7% year to date) to $87,442.18. (details).
• The Dogs of the Dow fell 4.3% (-6.6% year to date) to $93,383.78 (details).
• Our 4-Hour Workweek basket of stocks and cash fell 5.4% (-9.9 year to date) to $21,775.01.
• Pierre's 401K group of mutual funds fell 8.5% (-12.4% year to date) to $59,726.16.

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 6:08 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The first week of 2008 proved to be tough on Wall Street with all the major indices down.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.5% to 12,800.18.
• The NASDAQ fell 5.6% to 2,504.65.
• The S&P 500 Index fell 3.9% to 1411.63.
• The Power Women 50 Index fell 3.3% to $91,262.65 (details).
• The Magic Formula Index fell 6.6% to $91,455.60 (details).
• Our 4-Hour Workweek basket of stocks and cash broke even at $24,144.16
• Pierre's 401K group of mutual funds fell 3.8% to $66,559.61 (after a contribution of $1,043.28).

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 1:18 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Our first monthly financial report -

Revenue = $515.80

Expenses = $142,31

Net Cashflow = $373.49

Analysis: sources of revenue included sponsorship fees, advertising, and affiliate programs; expenses included server hosting and software licenses ($25.98), bank fees ($41.00), GoDaddy ($50.33), and graphics ($25.00).

We purchased 7 domain names from GoDaddy.com. We outsourced the creation of the SacWomen.com banner. The bank fees include our monthly merchant fee for our credit card account (we accept AMEX, Mastercard, and Visa for our quarterly networking events) and service fee for our bank.

We should see improved revenue in October, as Gillian is planning to hold her first networking event for SacWomen.com

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 4:55 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I took the time while Pierre was gone to grab a few more URLs. I have been dipping my toe ever so slightly into the Thirty Day Challenge - a contest to make $10 online in 30 days from a brand new venture. So far, following directions, I have signed up for Facebook and added a couple of groups - I need to get Our 4 Hour WorkWeek up there. I also signed up for Bloglines and am getting used to all of its power. I haven't changed my browser to Firefox yet, because I am chicken. But I am going to keep moving through material and reporting back as I gain more skills. And the results of those who really participated will be in later today. I heard some people made thousands of dollars!

One thing this exercise has done is make me think. If I want to get a business to produce quickly, what is the biggest requirement. I think it is that I consider myself, and others would to, a big expert in the subject matter. And I kept searching my brain until the light bulb went on. I spent most of my career managing international sales channels. Whenever I get introduced by people from my 'career' days, they always say, "Gillian knows more about international sales than anyone." So, with that in mind, I just registered www.InternationalSalesCoach.com.

Now I need Pierre to come home and build me a site, which he is getting pretty quick at! If work continues to take all his time, maybe we will be forced to outsource the website development work, which wouldn't be a bad thing. Anyone know any great Moveable Type developers looking for some work. Pierre will need to be persuaded that you are utterly reliable as his websites (especially behind the scenes) are his babies.

Gillian Parrillo
Our 4 Hour WorkWeek

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Performance is all about measurements. Measurements need to be quantitative, not qualitative to have any significant meaning. How are we doing with Our 4-Hour Workweek so far?

Well, since August 1, our three websites have generated exactly $10.01 in revenue. We generated revenue from both ads and affiliate programs. I know this kind of revenue is not going to propel us onto the road to riches over night. But, we are just getting started. Our journey is going to be hard - no question. However, we are encouraged. We are convinced we can reach our goals.

We are motivated - thanks to Mark Laswell, writer for the Wall Street Journal. Mark is a giant skeptic. Recently, he called Tim Ferriss a slacker. To wit... - "A Slacker's Guide to Fun and Profit". We believe Tim is a visionary, not a slacker. Wouldn't it be a thing of beauty if we grow the $10 in our first month to $10,000 in one year from now? And get Mark Laswell to write a follow-up chapter saying it was done, the Tim Ferriss way!

Well that's what we hope to achieve.

Skeptics motivate us. We embrace the following mantra -

Attitude, not aptitude, controls altitude.

Therefore, we are now challenged to increase our first month's revenue by three orders of magnitude in one year. And we will. Thank you Mark Laswell.

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 12:44 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)