How to get rich? Leveraging your money, time, and other people to acquire, grow, and operate cash flowing assets. It’s not so much about working hard, which is always going to be important, but rather, it’s much more about doing the right type of work. The smart work.
Such work in my opinion resides inside the real estate and technology industries. Real estate is evergreen and technology capitalizes on my own lifetime’s most impactful economic trend – the information age. Location independent business ownership belongs to the New Rich. Our wealthy forefathers would be drooling at the lips if they knew young men in today’s world could wake up in Bali, do business with anyone in the world, make ten thousand dollars before lunch, and take the rest of the day off from work to go explore the countryside or city center.
Digital nomadism takes center stage on this life style possibility. These folks are the beginning entrants into this new way of life and work. Many of these digital nomads are W2 workers or freelancers. A select few are the asset owners of websites or apps. Obviously, the big money and control comes from the ladder, yet, it’s entirely possible to live an extra ordinary life working a remote W2 job with a take home pay of $2,000 per month. One must remember it’s expensive to live in America in comparison to most other parts of the world. Two grand will buy you a nice apartment in the city, affluent assortments of food, and the best hookers if that’s your sort of thing. Whereas two grand in America would cover rent, transportation, and primitive food selections – not exactly a high LQ. It’s certainly more than what millions of people enjoy or consume each month, but this blog isn’t about unpacking the ordinary life.
An investor has access to online marketplaces wherein one could purchase, with all cash, the ownership of a digital asset. This immediately creates a barrier of entry in online business. To acquire the ownership of an online asset that generates $1,000-$3,000 per month in profit is going to take at minimum a $50,000 investment. From my research very few opportunities exist to use a SBA loan to acquire the asset. These online brokers want all cash from the get go. Why? My intuition tells me if they offered any financing service this would complicate and slow their business model.
Thus if you have the mind to create online businesses from scratch (startup) this can be a more lucrative path requiring less of your money.
Saving up $50,000 from a W2 job is going to take a long time. But remember the hardest step is going to be buying your FIRST online business. After that, you can sell the same online business for a larger multiple, net a healthy profit, and purchase a better online business. Stair stepping your way up the asset ladder just like real estate investors do.
Or you could hold onto the business, living and investing off the monthly cash flow. Having the exit opportunity of a sale should always be in the back of your mind. Good business people always have an exit.