An entrepreneurial shove off the cliff
What if I told you it is possible to Get Rich Quick? Scam alert? No. Stick with me. (Hint: it is!) Just don't get it confused with Get Rich Easy.
Entrepreneurship.
What does that word bring to mind? Maybe - where do I start, sounds nice but too hard, 100 hour work week, privledged, Facebook, Elon Musk. In other words, not realistic.
Most of that was relatively true. Until now.
My dad has been an entrepreneur my whole life so I've witnessed first-hand what it's like. And it certainly isn't all rainbows and sunshines. But it can be fun if done correctly. Even though I remember those days of him leaving the house at 4am and not getting home til 9pm.
And I have given it a few tries myself. But let's just say I haven't quit my day job yet.
I decided to re-visit a book I read years ago. And forgot just how good it still is. Which brings me to my #1 requirement of a good book. It has to be worth re-reading. If not, then it was only ok and I give myself permission to get rid of it.
WARNING: Ignore the scammy sounding title because it is the complete opposite of a scam. The author is MJ DeMarcoand it is called "the Millionaire Fastlane".
Although it was written over 10 years ago, the takeaways are probably more valuable today. Which is my #2 requirement of a good book. One that can be read now or 100 years from now and still offer timeless principles.
Unfortunately, this book doesn't meet my #3 requirement of a good book - the good ole 200 pages or less sweet spot. But trust me, it's worth reading all 322 pages.
He makes the convincing case for getting rich quick (less than 10 years). Not getting rich easy. And this is accomplished by starting your own business.
This business must meet five criteria (C.E.N.T.S). Described below:
Control - You want to have total control over your business. Because nobody will care as much as you do. You want to give yourself the final say in all areas: products, operations, marketing, hiring. Example of no control - owning a single franchise location. Because you still have to take orders on how to run the business from the person who started the franchise. So you aren't really in control.
Entry - You want to be in an industy that has a high barrier to entry. Not easy for others to hop in. Takes research, time, dedication, and effort to start. Example of low barrier to entry - paying $100 to become a distributor for a multi-level marketing company. If thousands of others are joining with the click of a button just like you, you should run away. My best friend learned this valuable lesson for the both of us (gracias amigo) when he signed up with Vemma. Shut down for pyramid scheming.
Need - You want to fulfill an actual need for people. Common sense right? Nope. Too many people get in to business for selfish reasons because they are "doing what they love". Instead, find out a painful need and learn to love solving that. Constantly be pondering - what do people need that they don't yet know how to get?
Time - You want to gain your time back (most valuable resource). Which is done by separating yourself from the day-to-day running of the business. This can take a while but this should always be the goal. Don't sell your time for money. Make your income from the business passive by setting up a system that runs without you. Unpopular example of what to avoid - a doctor or lawyer. No matter what their hourly rate, they only get paid if they are working.
Scale - You want to be able to scale your product or service. In one of two ways - impact millions to make millions. Or impact a few in a huge way. This has become so much easier thanks to the internet. Because there is zero marginal cost of replication. Create an online course once and then sell it to millions of people without doing any extra work. Example of no scale - owner of a local coffee shop. They won't ever be able to serve 10,000 coffees in a day. Avoid businesses with low scale potential.
CAVEAT: It is possible to have a successful business without checking all of these boxes. But your probability of success goes up exponentially with each checked box.
MJ also poo-poo's all over the mainstream "get rich slow" advice. You know the whole - go to college, get good grades, find a job with good job security, work there for 40 years, save 10%, invest $10 today and it could turn in to $10,000,000 in 40 years, blah, blah, blah, then retire! This just isn't reality anymore. And probably never was. Because it relies on too many factors out of our control.
Basically, avoid mediocrity. Normal is bad. If everybody is doing something, you might want to do the exact opposite.
Switch from a consumer to a producer mentality. Ask, how can I be useful to others? And how can that become a business?
Finally, you may be wondering if I have implemented any of this in my own life? Not successfully! But I have accumulated a few failures which always precede success. Here are a few: mowing lawns, drop-shipping, facebook lead generation agency, affiliate-marketing, blogging, and a few others that I am actively trying to block out of memory.
But I consider myself extremely lucky to be alive right now. And you should too. There has never been a better time to become wealthy. And it is completely in our control.
I want to become the type of person who knows how to earn money. Because even though money won't solve all your problems, it will solve all your money problems. And that's a good start.
Here's a link if you want to buy the book (not an affiliate link). Just want to save you some effort.