The Fastest Way to Increase Your Paycheck

There is a lot of talk about increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour, and although I am all about helping the hard-working American increase their pay and live a better life, raising the minimum wage is not the answer.

Albeit most of the minimum wage antagonists have good intentions, many have succumbed to the growing epidemic of entitlement mentality.

There is only one way to increase your paycheck effectively, and that is to increase your value in the market place.

This applies not only to the employee, but also the employer. Customers are the #1 employer of every business. Without them, business owners would go out of business and employees would be standing in the unemployment line.

However, despite the demand for increased pay, the value of service has dramatically decreased over the years in a number of industries.

Take for instance the postal service. The price to ship a small package can now run $10-$50, and the increase in regular postage stamps keeps growing. Yet, the service provided by most postal employees has steadily declined in recent years. They repeatedly increase prices of a regular postage stamp but don't raise their value.

If you desire to increase your paycheck, you need to increase your value and what you offer in exchange for that raise or promotion.

Here are 3 things that determine your Personal Value Index (PVI):

Skills and Abilities - what skills or abilities do you possess that will give you the edge and make you more valuable to your employer or customer?

Leverage - what level of impact will you have on your target customer? Higher levels of service provide higher levels of customer satisfaction and higher levels of pay increase and/or promotions. I.e. The best waiters get the best tips!

Competition - how do you compare to others with the same or similar skills you have and what can you do to become more competitive.

Once you evaluate these 3 factors, you will begin to address the areas in which you can improve. Creating an action plan to gain more skills, reach more people, and to become more competitive with yourself, will pave the way for more success.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God,

a worker who does not need to be ashamed..."

II Timothy 2:15 NKJV