What’s The Greatest Asset You Own?

Is Your Career the same as your Job? Here’s another way of looking at your Career

As a mid-career executive having worked for more than 15 years, what is the biggest asset you own?

It could be that beautiful house you are living in (but is it owned by you or your bank?) or perhaps that shiny sports car in your garage (is a car even an asset?). It could even be that exotic stock portfolio managed by your private Swiss banker.

However, as recent financial recessions and stock market corrections have repeatedly demonstrated, these assets fluctuate in value and could even be wiped out overnight. Property markets have collapsed and banks have also gone under, hence, are the things you mentioned really your asset?

Even if the markets do not crash and your money in the bank is safe – in today’s low interest-rate world, the returns on these assets could be quite paltry.

However, there is one asset you own that continues to give you regular dividends on a monthly basis and if managed correctly, will be able to grow and increase in value and dividend payouts in the future.

This asset is your Career and the monthly dividends are your salary cheques.

I only realized this fact during the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 as I watched my personal stock portfolio get decimated by the merciless market.

Years of painstaking saving were wiped out in weeks and it felt terrible.

However, a constant stream of funds still came in despite the massacre in the stock market – it was my salary, derived from the job I still had.

Once we start to view our Careers as assets, we begin to understand how important it is to us.

It also sets us thinking about acquiring an ‘asset enhancing’ strategy to help improve its longevity, relevance, value and yield. If this asset is neglected, it could lose its value and you may never get it fully back on track.

A property investor would not hesitate to spend money renovating the apartment or putting in a fresh coat of paint as he knows that these are asset-enhancing activities. He will also think twice before renting the unit out to a bunch of rowdy college-kids who might cause more damage than the deposit could cover.

Similarly, a wise executive who views his Career as an asset will know that he needs to have a strategy that ensures it remains valuable and increases in value over time, like making smart career moves to bigger companies or on to better roles.

He too will avoid short-sighted activities that could jeopardise his real value or market demand, for example, moves like refusing to upgrade his skills or electing to remain in a sunset industry. 

So, remember these two important concepts even as we move forward. To learn more, speak to us today!