Last week’s newsletter became one of our most-read editions ever. Many thousands of you read it, and dozens wrote back with appreciation.

But what truly amazed me were the three of you who put the advice into action immediately.

One of you met with management and walked away with a $14K raise.
Another already has a negotiation meeting booked for January with the owner of the company.

And then there was Tina from Maryland.

With her permission, I’m sharing this: Tina realized she had only 3 hours of real work in an 8-hour day. She asked for more responsibility—and compensation to match.

She received an astounding 48% raise, which she says equates to almost $200K a year, plus an escalating ladder bonus.

That’s why I write these newsletters.
To uplift.
To spark action.
And to hear stories like this.

Congratulations, Tina.

When you see your job as a deal, something interesting happens: you stop moving through your career on autopilot. You start noticing the levers. You start noticing the gaps between what you give and what you get. You start realizing that “grateful to have a job” and “strategic about your value” can coexist in the same sentence without canceling each other out.

This week, let’s keep building on last weeks momentum…

1. Anchor the conversation with a higher number

Business-people understand anchoring. I certainly do.
Employees don’t use it enough.

If you want $90K, anchor at $105K.
If you want $10K more, anchor at $15K.

Anchoring sets the psychological starting point.

Most leaders negotiate down from the first number they hear (if I am being honest, this used to be me).
Make sure your first number is strategic.

Anchoring isn’t unrealistic.
It simply gives the other side room to “win” while still landing where you want. Do not overthink it.

2. Separate responsibilities from compensation

Most employees mix the two.
Business-people never do.

Step 1: Agree on the responsibilities.
Step 2: Agree on the compensation for those responsibilities.

Two different conversations.
Two different approval paths.

When you separate them, you avoid the classic trap of:
“We’ll see how you do first.”

You’re negotiating structure — not hoping for fairness.

3. Use silence as a negotiation tool

Most people talk themselves out of a raise.

You make the ask…
they pause…
you panic…
and suddenly you’re explaining why you don’t need the raise. It’s funny but it’s true.

Business-people let the silence sit and if I am being honest, I sure have a hard time with this one sometimes. Instinctively you want to break the silence.

Silence creates pressure.
Silence forces a response.
Silence signals confidence.

Ask. Then stop talking.
The person who speaks next usually concedes.

4. Ask for “role clarity” — it instantly exposes underpayment

“Can we review the exact expectations of this role?”

Looks harmless.
It’s not.

Leaders suddenly realize you’re:

Role clarity forces leadership to confront the gap between what you do and what you’re paid for.

And gaps create leverage.
Leverage creates raises.

This one is powerful. Very powerful, so be sure to include it in your negotiation arsenal.

5. Use third-party benchmarks — not opinions

Saying “I feel underpaid” carries zero weight.
Bringing industry data changes the entire conversation.

Business-people use:

You’re not saying, “I deserve more.”
You’re saying, “Here is what the market pays.”

Companies ignore feelings.
They do not ignore data that exposes retention risk.

6. Negotiate “stepping-stone compensation”

If they can’t give you the full amount now, don’t walk away empty-handed. Don’t you dare wake away. You are worth every penny and you know it.

Business-people structure milestones:

“Let’s do a $5K increase now with a guaranteed review in 90 days based on these metrics.”

You turn a no into a not yet.
You turn a stall into a timeline.
You turn emotion into structure.

Stepping-stones keep momentum — and momentum gets raises approved.

7. Bring alternatives — because alternatives create leverage

Nothing increases negotiation power like options.

You don’t threaten. Never
You don’t hint at other offers. Never

You simply demonstrate paths, not desperation:

“When evaluating my growth here, I’m also considering opportunities to lead larger projects and expand my scope. Here’s the compensation structure that would allow me to focus that growth internally.”

This is how business-people negotiate.

Alternatives create leverage.
Leverage creates outcomes.

My final thought

Negotiation isn’t about being aggressive — it’s about being aware. Nothing in your job is fixed. Everything is a deal, and deals can be reshaped. When you start thinking like a business-person instead of an employee, your options expand instantly.

The people who rise fastest aren’t always the hardest workers.
They’re the ones who know their value and aren’t afraid to price it properly.

A lucky buyer took home a $1.3M USD True Crime Youtube channel. Talk about instant equity.

We also have a highly profitable fitness Shopify store that sells workout bands and hand grips to the Australian market. In addition, we’ve listed a top-performing asset owned by a colleague that delivers exceptional results.

1) Quick Fitness Shopify Store

This no tariff two-year-old Shopify store serves the Australian market and has generated just shy of $1 million USD in the past 12 months, selling lightweight, handheld fitness products designed for quick workouts.

2025- Revenue- $500,000 USD/ Profit-$100,000 USD

2024- Revenue- $290,000 USD/Profit-$58,000 USD

TTM revenue-$790,000 USD

TTM profit: $158,000 USD

Asking $158,000 USD with $110,000 USD down

2) Our colleague in the online business space is selling their science-based faceless YouTube channel. This faceless channel which takes other existing science videos and creates new ones-fully run by virtual assistants. Right now, they only post three times a month, which is extremely low and makes this a superior investment. Simply doubling output to six posts a month could realistically double the income to $200,000+ a year. Post more and earn more.

Last 12 months saw $105,000 USD in revenues with a 92% profit margin. 2025 will see over $115,000 USD in revenues and $105,000 USD in net. November alone just saw about $11,000 USD in extremely passive income.

Asking $285,000 USD. This assignment deal would go through our colleague, to us, to you. A triangle deal.

With Christmas around the corner—and a bit of a knot in my heart not knowing what to do with it—we may even include the Shopify fitness asset for free, as a favor to all parties.

Guarantee

It wouldn’t be right if we didn’t include our popular acquisition guarantee.

Should you feel after sometime the business is not what you had hoped, we will help you resell it at market price for free, so you can recoup most or all of your investment.

Of course all deals go through our seasoned corporate legal team, for a safe escrow transaction.

Hurry and grab one of these cash-cows and build wealth while you can. Our loss is your gain. After all, life is not getting cheaper. Acquire assets, learn the workflow and build wealth.

Till next time contrarians…

Onwards and upwards

Be great!!