I wrote a post way back about how people get rich. The post looked at common wealth accumulation strategies from an article that I found. The post received some great comments. Every topic was discussed from starting a business to getting a very reputable education (oh and winning the lottery of course). The other day the article received a really insightful comment from Nick on how you can get rich in your lifetime:
1. Get a basic college degree, preferably business, as quickly and cheap as possible. Don’t waste too much time in school ( I have a PhD and have not forgiven myself in the last 15 years for doing it – you will live and die poor).
2. Find a friend, neighbor, relative who is running a business (even if it is a small operation). You will learn the essence of business in the trenches.
3. Start your own business building on 1 and 2. Do not waste $$s and especially time, in grad school, and you won’t have super-high school loans. Half the professors anyway can’t run a lemonade stand profitably but will lecture on business. Do you think Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs all needed college? But they all did entrepreneurial stints in high school/early college.
I really love to read insightful comments like this. There’s only so much that you guys can pick up from a 23 year old dude that loves personal finance. This is why I encourage discussion on my blog posts.
I just wanted to throw in some additional thoughts on this theory for getting rich in your lifetime:
The survivorship bias is lethal.
Too often do we hear about the successful small business owners. What about the 40-year old that lost his home on a bad business deal? We always hear about those that turned a tiny operation into a colossal business that employs half of the town. Nobody wants to hear about the small business owner that went poor and had to find a new job. The survivorship bias can be dangerous when one is looking into entrepreneurship.
Grad school isn’t always so bad.
Going to grad school can be a great way to invest money into your future and your earning potential during your lifetime. Grad school also doesn’t have to cripple your finances. My cousin is currently in grad school for engineering. He does a lot of research and he actually gets paid to be in school. Not all graduate programs require you to go poor. Some of us are naturally academics. Others are business people that want to make money and solve problems.
Not everyone is meant to run their own business.
Running your own business is a great way to control your financial future. The only problem is that many people don’t want to deal with the inherent stress that comes with entrepreneurship. There’s also no guarantee that you’ll get rich over time by running your own business. You might be able to make a decent living for yourself. If you’re one of the rare few that finds the right combination of hard work and luck, you might get rich in the process.
I would love to hear what you guys have to say on this topic. How can one stand out from the pack and build a strong financial future?
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Starting your own business definitely isn’t for everyone, BUT it’s for a lot more people than ever give it a try.
Undergrad is worthless for learning business skills, other than perhaps Accounting. An MBA is just as worthless, but more expensive.
In my opinion, survivorship bias is not a big issue with aspiring Entrepreneurs. In fact, as I’m starting my own retail business, almost everyone tries to tell me how hard it is and how unlikely I am to succeed. Everyone has a story about someone they know who tried to start a business and failed. That’s why so many people never even try to start their own business – the risk of failure.
I hate to say it, but in every one of those failures, I could have predicted it before their launch – because the “Entrepreneurs” were completely unprepared. They didn’t even know what skill sets they should have, much less which ones they didn’t have. They believed that their undergrad degree in General Business made them knowledgable and the fact that they had been a waiter made them capable of running a restaurant…
You make your own luck in this world.
Chris I loved this comment so much that I made your last quote my BBM status. Thanks for your thoughts.
What else have you done to mitigate your risks with your new business?
For a brick & mortar retail store, there is not a whole lot that you can do to mitigate risk… The primary thing we did was establish relationships with about a dozen of our prospective customers, and then get their input for the concept – everything from the name, to the logo, to the merchandise selection. That has given us a good sense of the need in the market and helped us to make sure that we’re fulfilling it.
I’ve also paid for a one hour discussion with a consultant on the concept and read just everything I can get my hands on about owning/operating a retail store.
I wish you all the best Chris! Please keep us updated. Feel free to send me over any posts that you would like me to promote.
I’d suggest engineering instead of business for the undergrad degree. It’s easier to get scholarships, engineers have an easier time finding jobs usually than business majors and I’ve found that businesses are just as willing to hire engineers to do the number-crunching, analysis or power pointing that a lot of business majors do. More options for less money.
I’ve noticed that an engineering degree with a management minor or some business background definitely helps.
I think people can succeed in a ton of ways. Look at Free Money Finance – he makes a ton in corporate America. Then there is JD Roth and J Money living my dream of working full time from home (September baby!!!). And then there is a billion other people that have found their happy spots in life. Some of them own their own business and some don’t. Some of them have PhD’s and some don’t. I don’t think there is a sure fire plan to get rich or happy, but I think everyone who gets there does it their own way.
You’re right Crystal, there are many ways to get from point A to point B. However, do you feel that some ways will get you there faster? I believe so.
I also find that life can throw us some curve balls here and there. I never thought I would be “blogging.” When I first thought of blogs I thought of Perez Hilton and celebrity gossip sites. Now here I am in love with blogging.
So is September official? That means that you have something to look forward to when summer ends (aside from the conference).
As long as I can make $3000 or more from my online income in July and again in August, September will be official (I don’t know if it will be September 1st or 29th though…heck, just not going back to my job after the conference would be nice). I made more than $4000 in June (the official results will be posted on Friday) thanks to my new Crystal-For-Hire Blogging Services business, and it looks like it is very sustainable.
Woot! Plus, running advertising for other blogs is a lot of fun! And I am finally using my cume laude Marketing degree, hahaha.
There are faster ways to get rich than others, but I think some of those ways are corporate and others are entrepreneurial. Getting a fantastic degree for a specific purpose (stock broker, doctor, engineer, professor, etc) can lead to just as much wealth as running a successful business I think. It’s all about finding a big line of cash and saving a big line of cash.
That’s amazing! Are you worried about the idea that you’ll work more hours if you quit your job to go into your own business?
That would be pretty cool if you could leave the conference knowing that you don’t have to be at the “office” on Monday!
I am not kidding or joking around at all, it isn’t possible to work more hours than I am working now. I literally wake up at 6:45am, turn on my phone, get ready for work, answer blog emails, go to work, fit in blogging between waves of “real” work, answer more emails on breaks or at lunch, finish at work, drive home and read short emails at the very long stop lights, get home, change, hug my husband and scratch my dogs behind their ears, sit down, read Yakezie threads and reply for an hour, eat dinner for 20-30 minutes with my husband (he cooks), settle on the coach or upstairs and answer the rest of my blog emails, write if I can, update all of my checklists and excel sheets, check Yakezie again, and pass out around 11:30pm. Sometimes I put the comp down for an extra half hour if my husband and I haven’t talked for a while. That is my current Monday-Friday. I usually catch up with my writing for 4 hours on Saturday and another 4-6 hours on Sunday (I post daily at BFS, write 8-10 staff writing posts a week, am trying to work on an eBook, and just started another site: http://howimakemoneyblogging.com).
My very supportive husband is equating this 4-5 month period with the 2-3 months he had when he was finishing his master’s degree (he worked during the day and completed his master’s projects and thesis at night).
Wow that’s amazing Crystal! Now I feel bad for drinking this past Tuesday and for not being as productive.
Its great to hear that you have such a strong support system in place. Are you worried about high stress levels? Do you have any time for fitness?
You owe your husbad a kiss lol!
I don’t feel particularly stressed – it’s a little invigorating.
I am not exercising a lot, but I have lost 30 pounds on Weight Watchers in 6 months and go swimming with family on the weekends once in a while.
My husband gets lots of kisses!
Congrats on the weight loss. It’s cool that you’re not stressed. I find that stress often leads to burnout. It’s challenging (and very fun) to find that point where you’re working all the time, yet not stressed out.
Well said. I’ve taken many certificate courses that can lead to instant income. I just unfortunately found out that I wasn’t patient enough (or nice enough) to be a personal trainer lol.