This post was inspired in part by u/bogeyd6 post on lifting. He did not claim to be an expert but he shared some of what he knows with us. I will try and share some tips and wisdom that I have learned during my journey. What do I know about making money? A lot more than most financial planners and business advisor, and a lot less than any billionaire. I will not try to write a textbook, the post will not be exhaustive. There are many ways to skin a cat so I will just share some of my maxims and rules which helped me.
- IT IS MAINLY ABOUT TRIAL AND ERROR
Unlike lifting or diet, making money is more about trial and error than persistence and routine. Learning from your errors is crucial. Finding your own way is also crucial. There is no standard blueprint out there. In business you will make errors, hopefully you will have more wins than losses, and more good ideas than bad ones. In business two steps forward and one step back is moving forwards. This is what you need. You also need to learn from the errors and make sure you do not repeat them.
According to Forbes 80% of entrepreneurs will crash and burn within 18 months. Bear in mind that most people do not have the balls or brains to even try. So only 20% if the brave few who try, get there in the end. Getting rich is not like other things, if you spend enough time learning a musical instrument, a sport or creative endeavour, you will get there in the end. If anyone could follow a set of rules and get rich there would be no such thing as poor people or employees.
Now you are all either red pill men, or aspiring red pill men so at the very least you are already alpha, or part way there on the journey. Alpha means leader or boss, that is what it takes. Alphas do not take orders, they give them, alphas do not live according to another man's timetable. Maybe you will not get rich but even if you break even and make the same sort of money you did in a job, but you are now self employed, that is a victory. Even if you fail, at least you had the balls to try and you do not need to wonder what if.
Every good business deal I ever made had a good "feel" about it. It was just easy, I liked the people I was dealing with immediately, we got along well from the start. Communication was easy and I was happy to work with them. Every bad business deal I ever made was the opposite, something was not right about the people, communication was difficult and the details were sketchy. A "gut feeling" is not an easy thing to put into words but sometimes the way you feel will be different from the apparent value of the deal, or the bona fides of the person you are dealing with.
I was offered a chance at partnership in a medium sized company. The buy in price was small and the potential margins were very large. A very good businessman and close friend I had made through previous deals was one of three people (including me) to be involved. The last guy was far more accomplished than myself or my colleague, he was a multi millionaire many times over, owned 30 houses and several companies and trusts. He was a fun guy, I liked talking to him and drinking with him but there was just something about him that did not feel right. Based on nothing more than my gut feeling I declined.
Fast forward 5 years and that company has been wound up. Everyone involved was being sued and dragged through the courts, good money was thrown in after bad. Everyone was pointing to finger squarely at the last guy who made my gut react. On paper it was a solid and easy deal, I do not even know how they messed it up, it was a no brainer. Everything about the deal looked good but that guy just gave me a bad feeling. I know this not very scientific, but I let my gut overrule my head often in business. Having said this, numbers and accounting after the event is one place where you ignore your gut. If the numbers do not stack up, then you need to act on the numbers, not your gut.
Pretty much every guy who ever made any money employed a lot of people. Nobody makes it alone, even rock stars have managers, a label and a team who manages the day to day stuff. You need to become an employer, and stop being an employee. You should be aiming to employ as many people as possible in the long run. It should be a gradual expansion which follows the rule to not overcommit.
A lot of emphasis is given to finding the right team or the best team. In my experience the best people are very hard to find. So long as your people are competent then this is enough. You should be overjoyed if you find someone who is above average and wary of someone who is the best. Someone who is the best is a good chance of learning what they can about your business, then setting up in competition and stealing your clients.
The world is full of accountants who want to be race car drivers. Stick to what you know, if you have an IT background, then you do not move open an art dealership. Do not even dream about starting a business that you do not have qualifications and many years of experience. It does not matter what you are good at, your goal is get a lot of that type of work in the door, then employ satisfactory people to do the overflow. You want a team of employees or sub contractors who you direct. Since you are a specialist you know how to ensure quality work is done. You know your trade or product and you know how sell it.
This is crucial, do not commit to any expenditure, hours, loans or budget that you cannot afford to lose. Think of it like gambling, it may be OK to risk 10-20% of your wage or bankroll, but you do not put the whole lot on the table. This rule should be strictly applied to your advertising and loans. The time you are willing to put in is more flexible. If you are applying the two steps forward for each step back then you can deal with a set back or loss for each two successes. These setbacks and losses will also help you to learn through trial and error. Continue to reinvest in the winners, and learn to avoid repeating mistakes which led to a loss. If you combine the rule of two steps forward and one step back with an aversion to committing more than you can afford to lose, you are more than halfway home in business.
- DON'T ASSOCIATE WITH SCUMBAGS
I have had many opportunities in business to make good money, but the people I would have had to deal with were not honest or decent people. If you lie down with dogs, you get fleas. Even if the deal you are doing is fine, you do not want to tarnish your reputation by dealing with dodgy businessman (and there are lots of these guys in business). So unless you are a criminal lawyer, do not do business with scumbags. It will always come back to haunt you. Your reputation is everything. Take care with it.
Keep good data and records. Unless you track your progress carefully, you are flying blind. This is the area where your gut instinct has no place, numbers do not lie. If the numbers say that a client, employee or agent is underperforming, then your gut feeling that they are a good person needs to be reviewed. Make your decisions about the internal workings of your company based on the figures.
- DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH FAMILY OR CLOSE FRIENDS
I learned this rule the hard way. I ignored solid advice from a very good businessman who told me not to do this. Just like the cliche says: do not mix business with pleasure. Do not do business with a friend unless you are happy to lose the friendship. Never do business with family. Money makes brothers want to kill each other, parents disown children, and children hate parents. Of course succession planning and working with family members is a different matter. What we are talking about here is a joint venture or partnership, not succession or a family business working together organically.
Hopefully there are some things in here which will resonate with you. This sub is not one of the best for business advice so try some other subs for more detailed advice. Read some good books if you like, maybe join a meetup or entrepreneur group and do some networking. You also have to want this, if you are happy in your job then stick with it. I am not saying that everyone needs to be self employed.
One final reason to go for it is status. Everyone crawls to the boss. It is strange to walk into an office and see everyone trying to look busy, they straighten their clothes and put on a big smile. They laugh too loud at your jokes and are wide eyed and silent when you offer advice. People try to impress you and ingratiate themselves to you. At work social functions everyone is jockeying for your attention. Needless to say, women love leaders, but women are absolutely the last reason to focus on your mission and the acquisition of money. Do it for the freedom and the sheet pleasure of succeeding. Do it for the nice holidays, wine and boys toys. Do it for your kids, women are a byproduct, not a goal.
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