I always get asked the question of how I became successful. If you ever hang out with me for a day or two, you’ll notice that most of my friends are 30 to 50 years old. When you start hanging around with people in this age group, you will soon realize that they have tons of experience under their belt and they usually don’t mind sharing it with you.
Here is what I have learned in the last year from 10 successful entrepreneurs:
There’s no such thing as a safe bet – just because a friend or a family member tells you about an investment, it doesn’t mean it is a good opportunity. If it was that good, they wouldn’t tell you about it and instead they would put in all their money. The only reason people tell you about investment opportunities is because they want to diversify due to the risk. (David Niu – sold a company to aQuantive and is the co-founder of BuddyTV)
You don’t have to start a business to be successful – if you find a good business you can always buy it, grow it, and sell it for a good return. In many cases it is less risky to buy a business than to start it from scratch. (Ben Huh – bought I Can Has Cheezburger)
Just because you have money, it doesn’t mean you should blow it – there is no need for small companies or startups to waste money. You have to be scrappy at all times, such as subletting a 660 square foot office space at a good deal and squeezing 12 employees in there as well as a conference room. (Andy Liu – sold a company to aQuantive and is the other co-founder of BuddyTV)
If you want to keep making money you have to spend some on yourself – if you end up spending money on yourself, it will create a drive in you that will cause you to want to make more money. If you just keep on saving money, there isn’t much to motivate you to keep making more of it. (John Reese – the godfather of email marketing and a Lamborghini owner)
Have some balls – stand up for yourself and don’t be afraid to confront others. If you let people push you around, when will it ever end? Letting others push you around may not seem like a big deal at first, but it can impact your life and business in a negative way. (Jeremy Schoemaker – sold a company to MediaWhiz and made $132,994.97 from Google in one month)
Raising venture capital is harder than being stricken by lightning – a venture capitalist usually has no clue about most of the investments brought to him or her. But if you make the investor feel that they can contribute to your company and if you can show growth, the investor must be on crack if they don’t fund you. (Guy Kawasaki – writer, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist)
There is nothing wrong with being last in line – if you miss out on an opportunity, who cares, there are plenty more out there. See who else is involved and think things through carefully before you jump in and make a commitment. (Alex Algard – investor and founder of Whitepages.com)
Staying under the radar isn’t always a bad thing – getting press and buzz maybe nice, but it can also cause your company to be getting too much attention. This can lead to things like increased competition. It may just be better to stay under the radar and make millions while you can. (Edward Yim – sold a company to Marchex and founded a company that has been stealth for years)
Don’t judge a book by its cover – whether a Harvard MBA or a bum hits you up, take the time to listen and respond to everyone. Don’t judge anyone too quickly because you don’t know who is going to be the next Bill Gates (Geoff Entress – made millions by investing in companies that either went public or were bought out)
Ride other peoples’ coattail – being successful isn’t always easy, so why not increase your odds by following other successful people. You may not be as successful as them, but you’ll do well enough. (Mr. C – invested early into a company that went public with a 30 billion dollar market cap)
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Yep. Pretty sure I’ve seen you do all of the above. Glad I fit in the age group of the friends you hang out with.
Not sure if you fit in. You are a bit too young, but maybe in another 10 years you’ll get to 30.
Well, maybe I’ll be a millionaire by the time I hit 30. I’m almost there, and if I try and follow more of these tips I might just get there. Thanks for posting this article!
No problem! Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you get to the million mark.
Well, I meant I’m almost 30, not a millionaire or close. Being a millionaire would really help though. I’m in a wheelchair and everything is so friggin expensive! My wheelchair alone cost $25,000, but luckily I have a good wheelchair guy who dipped the price down to $17,000 and insurance paid for it. Unfortunately, insurance doesn’t pay for anything, but I watched your video from Izeafest (on Shoemoney’s blog) and I am a hard worker so I know I’ll get there…Hopefully in 2 1/2 years by the time I hit 30!
Keep on aiming for it and it may happen. I’m glad to see that you aren’t letting anything hold you back. Whether you are in a wheel chair or your arms are broken, don’t let anything stand in your way.
And for some sad reason if you don’t earn 1 million in 2.5 years, don’t stop. Learn from your mistakes and adjust your strategy.
we all aiming this , but it need hard work and much luck to enter this world . but we try who know
The problem is most of us give up after a while. If you want to be a millionaire, you can’t give up.
Some really great tips Neil. I love reading about real life people I can relate to. I think the last tip is the easiest to accomplish. Find people who are successful and hang around until the glue sticks.
I totally agree. The cool part about riding coattails is many people don’t mind it. For example Mr. C, who gave me that tip, told me that I should keep riding his coattail as well as a few other people that are on this list.
Well, it helps that many of the top bloggers are so willing to share tips and help people out (yourself included). You don’t see that in many industries. I was successful as a tech writer, but I didn’t like it much (like website copy type things and editing e-books). I’m more creative so blogging lets me write on the kind of things I want to write on! Luckily, my brain isn’t affected by my muscle disease, so there is no shortage on topics to write about.
I like John Reese’s tip! I also like his car. Spending money on oneself is always a strong motivator!
Oh btw, in reference to you at Izeafest, I’m a new fan of yours and I’m about as white as rice (so, I don’t fit your normal demographic)! First the whiteys will be hopping on the Neil bandwagon (like me) and next it will be everybody and their brother coming to see your site!
darn it – I know I hit reply to my old post
No problem… we all make that mistake.
Glad you are a fan of quicksprout.com! My bandwagon isn’t that large, but none-the-less it is getting bigger.
“You don’t have to start a business to be successful – if you find a good business you can always buy it, grow it, and sell it for good return. In many cases it is less risky to buy a business than to start it from scratch.”
–Very True, but there is never a guarantee that you will run the business as successfully or better than the previous owner. In fact, some businesses may take a fall after new ownership.
Check out my post on a business takeover:
http://venturelevel.blogspot.com/2008/09/new-business-takeover.html
Nonetheless, Great post Neil!
You just have to be a smart with your decisions. Ben Huh made a wise decision when he purchased I Can Has Cheezburger. Look at it now… it is much larger and is making more money. 3 million pageviews a day is no joke.
neil great 10 tips to follow all the way to make your million.
Good luck on making your first million. That’s if you already didn’t achieve it.
Very inspiring post Neil! I’m impressed and last one is what most people can try to focus and achieve a ‘faster’ result. My personal favorite is “There is nothing wrong with being last in line” !!
Cheers!
I love the last in line one as well. Based on how I have seen Alex use, it has worked well for him. From an investment standpoint he already had acquisitions from Starbucks and Amazon.
Another tip you clearly embrace:
“Accurate typing, proper english and grammatically correct sentences are overrated for the new age millionaire. Focus on the gist people!”
(I live this tip everyday much to the chagrin of my business partners)
Not a bad point of view, but most of the millionaires I know have exceptional grammatically and English skills. More than half the people on the list came from some sort of ivy league: Stanford, Wharton, Harvard…
Great post, and sage advice. I’ve read in more than one place that your income is usually the average of the 5 people you hang out with most.
Check that out in your own life and see if that’s true. If you think about it, it does mostly make sense…
So use that as some back of the mind motivation to build those networks and develop those relationships!
Keep it up Neil, always a good read.
Sadly my income isn’t the average. I am currently well below average.
Well are they the ones you actually hang around the most?
If so, I’m sure it will average out over time.. if by nothing else opportunities open up as a result of those relationships and their positioning (of course it’s up to all of us to capitalize on those opportunities… open the door when opportunity is knocking, and tell it to pull up a chair).
Yea, it is the ones that I hang around with most. They are local people and are worth a good amount more.
But the thing with me is I don’t hang around with any one person the most. I rotate in with different groups every few days.
And to clarify a bit more on why it doesn’t average out, is because at least 1 out of every 5 sold a company. So that one person could be considered an outlier because they mess up the average.
the bright side… hanging out with people of higher net worth helps you stay motivated! .. But after a certain amount of money it doesn’t really make a difference… $100 million or $200 million, either person can still buy just about anything they want.
I would even say 10 million provides a similar lifestyle. You can’t get a private jet, but you could live off the interest.
What does a US high interest account pay? About half a %?
You could always do something such as the yen carry trade, make 10-15% interest in another country, then also hit the jackpot when the US dollar collapses, and you have millions of euros.
I would say around 2 percent at the moment.
It is hard to believe. You absolutely deserve more than average. Any reasons why?
It kind of makes sense. You are who you hang around with. If the people you hang around with are successful you will probably be just like them. If they all are poor, you will probably be poor.
Now this doesn’t mean you can’t be an outlier. There are always exceptions, but you should try and hang around with people you want to be like.
This is a good post…
“Raising venture capital is harder than being stricken by lightning”
he he…
Yea, it is a good quote from Guy. He either told me that in person or it was in his “art of the start” book. You probably should consider buying his book.
Neil, great post! Thanks for compiling all of this together. My fav is Don’t judge a book by its cover
You may like this blog post then: http://www.quicksprout.com/2008/03/09/dont-judge-a-book-by-its-cover/
The two that really stuck out for me were Reese’s “spend money on yourself” and Shoemoney’s “grow some balls”
I realized recently that my income is proporinate to one I curretnly desire… as soon as I increase my wants and desires.. my income rises to match it.
and “grow some balls” is just classic advice that is good to be reminded of.
JFK once said your success in life is directly proportional to the amount of uncomfortable conversations you are willing to have!
Yea, it is the “classic” or obvious stuff that we need to be reminded of. For some reason, those are the things we tend forget and take for granted.
I agree with most of those points except for the one about spending money. I think making money is much easier when you have more of it. Spending it on yourself is fine occasionally, but at some point you’ll need to amass it to succeed.
Yea, John’s advice to me was to spend money on myself “occasionally” because I tend to be cheap and never spend it on myself.
Making money is easier when you have more of it, but you also get lazy. After a while, how much do you really need? That is why if you spend a little on yourself you will try harder to make more.
By no means did he say go out there and blow a 100k.
I like to spend money, but definitely don’t like to waste it. I spend it by rewarding myself after I have accomplished something. So I guess there is always a goal for me and a reward after.
Wasting money isn’t bad as long as it isn’t large amounts. Blowing a few dollars here and there is worth it if it makes you happier.
Some great motivation to keep getting back up from unsuccessful projects.
When I have unsuccessful projects I like to analyze all the things I did wrong. This way, when I bounce back, I won’t make the same mistakes.
The post made me think. Remembering that not all projects are successful, made me remember “Get up dust yourself off and go to the next”
And if you keep on failing keep dusting yourself off until you succeed.
I say :
Success :
When people smile because of you, you are successfull
Charity :
When someone smile because of you, Charity is done
Best-Wishes !
Not sure if that cuts it for me. I get the charity part and agree with it, but I don’t agree with the success part. Just because people smile due to something you did, it doesn’t mean you are successful.
Cool article. I will think about some points. Thanks!
Great post. I don’t think the key is hanging out with the older crowd who dispense tips – you’re not in that demographic and here you are providing great insights
Hang with people that don’t define success based on other people’s criteria.
Good point. I started hanging out with these people because they were fun to hang around with and with many of them I didn’t know they had money at first.
that’s pretty ironic, but very very true. my uncle told me the same thing…hanging out with people older than you will sometimes help you avoid road bumps that they have had.
And if you can’t find older people to hang out with, go to your local Books on Tape store and buy a membership. It is always worth listening to the stories of retired CEO’s.
Very good insight Neil…I def enjoyed reading it. I also think the pictures you choose for your post are freaking awesome! Keep it up
Thanks! It is always hard to come up with good pictures…in many cases it takes longer to find a good picture than it does to write the blog post.
It is a very interesting list of examples. They seem to be newly made millionaires, so close to the ordinary people, which provide most motivations to the mass.
It depends what you mean by newly made millionaires. Most of them didn’t inherit the money, but they have made millions years ago. Such as some have been millionaires for 10 or 20 years.
Great post. I have recently started business, and this things will be a part of my thinking in new business. Thanks a lot.
Hopefully it helps you become a millionaire.
Some great tips there Neil.
Standing up for yourself is a very important factor in being motivated and motivating the people around you. Staying under the radar has its benefits exactly as you pointed out.
Thanks for sharing.
No problem. I learned some of these things the hard way such as staying under the radar. If I did that with some of the things I know, I would have been richer.
Neil,
Do you think living in NYC makes it harder to get funding for a tech company than it would say…living in”Southern California”.
I think it is the same. I don’t have much experience when it comes to funding, but it seems that there are good VCs in NYC such as http://www.unionsquareventures.com
the age 30 or higher is the age or mature. On this age we have ability to control something and our selve.
Even if you are younger you can still be mature and control yourself. It maybe more difficult, but it is still possible.
age has nothing to do with maturity, especially when it comes to business.. it’s all about experience
Excellent tips. There is one more thing I would like to suggest. Do not declare your premature success aloud until you get there. Getting too much attention is definitely not good.
Totally agree. I hate when people talk about their successes before they happen. If you have a goal from it, by all means do it, but if you don’t keep your mouth shut.
Hi Neil;
I stumbled upon your blog by mistake and this is the frst article I read from your site, I’m impressed on how simple you make it sound, obviously hundreds of people have become rich in the Internet era more or less following those guidelines, but for evey one of them there are thousands that didn’t make it, what do you think are the most common mistakes for not achieving success?
I think a lot of people 1) don’t research their market before they jump into it, 2) don’t plan properly for the up and down times, and 3) quit before they make it.
Perseverance is crucial, and many people expect quick success and bail before they have a chance to really gain traction. Others do the opposite, explode from the start and burn out because they fail to plan and can’t handle the load.
So in essence it comes down to planning and execution. That’s oversimplified for sure, but that’s it in a nutshell.
On top of that you shouldn’t be the only one evaluating the market before you jump in. I would always get advice from other people, even if I know I may not use it.
I don’t think there is one common mistake that causes most people to fail. The mistake I see most frequently is that people don’t learn from their mistakes.
These are some great tips. I see people who have a start up and it starts taking off and of course they have to go buy the ferrari or bentley to make sure people know they have some money. Fast forward a few months and they have had to give the car back to be able to hold on during the regular roller coast ride that is starting a new business.
This is one of the reasons why the housing market is crashing. People bought big homes that they couldn’t really afford.
fantastic tips! you have hit the nail on the head with this post!
Thanks! Hopefully it will help you become a millionaire.
Inspiring article…. Nice tips for encouraging people…
I just hope someone becomes successful by using some of the tips.
nice article and very inspiring me
I honestly can say that this post just changed my life. I clicked here from SmashingMagazine – for the second time – and reread this post. Please keep putting awesome stuff like this up.
Thanks! I didn’t realize that other unrelated blogs would help increase readership. I was hoping that it would, but I wasn’t 100% sure that it would work.
I am glad you like the blog!
Also, I wanted to ask, is this site owned by the same people as Smashing
No, I personally own the blog. My name is Neil Patel and you can learn more about me by reading: http://www.quicksprout.com/about/
The note: “”If you want to keep making money you have to spend some on yourself”" is best and 100 True, actually if you are making money from your blog, then yes you must spend few $$s on your blog to make it best, same thing applicable to your self.
What I mean by the statement is that you have to spend money on yourself. (ex: buy a car, new watch, clothes…)
I think a huge thing is the taking risks thing. The difference between a few billionaires and those working small time jobs now was the billionaires had the balls to make the gamble.
I totally agree. If you don’t take risks, there isn’t much of a possibility to become wealthy.
You do bring up a valid point that one can just purchase another’s business to start up in a quicker fashion. There is not always a need to start up a new concept with all new parts.
Ideally I would always purchase a business and grow it compared to starting it from scratch. This may be more costly, but it removes a lot of risk.
Those are some great comments and helpful tips. Thanks Neil. I’d love to have lunch sometime in SoCal. I am part of a group of internet marketers and we have events every now and then. I bet you could teach us all a thing or two.
Feel free to email me at neil@acsseo.com the next time you through have a meetup. I would love to come.
I can’t believe you’ve said that:
“You don’t have to start a business to be successful”
The same is when you want to start a blog, why not save yourself the head-ache and buy it?
That works with a blog as long as it isn’t a personal blog. Plus each person has a different writing style.
Yeah it can work on certain blogs and topics, but a lot of times the blog changes a lot when someone new takes it over. Plus it’s sometimes fun to start a blog on your own, as it’s the best way to learn how to do it.
It is, but you just need to be constant and posting and writing and staying on a particular topic.
Totally agree with don’t blow your money when you start making quite a bit. We’ve been in business online for over a year now. In month 12 we have made 1400% more than month 1. In month 14 we have made 60% more than in month 12. Once the figures get big, it is easy to spend a lot of it. You just need to remember don’t spend more than is coming in a slow month. Good thing to remember especially during an economic downturn.
Congrats on the success! That is crazy growth.
I would even say 10 million provides a similar lifestyle. You can’t get a private jet, but you could live off the interest.
10 million could get you a decent lifestyle depending where you live. If you lived in New York City, a good house could cost you 5 million.
10 million in country as mine ( Egypt ) make you live as a king , with this 5 million dollars you can buy a great house .
In some parts of the U.S. you can live like a king with 1 million dollars.
Heck, in some parts of the U.S. you could live like a kind for 1/4 of a million dollars. It all depends what you like to do and spend your money on.
“If you want to keep making money you have to spend some on yourself”.
Yes you’ve mentioned that before (just another 0), and I’m just recently seeing the merit in this.
Try it out, hopefully it helps encourage you to make more money.
Great post Neil. @Mark…it’s so true though. When you spend a little on yourself it’s keeps you motivated and ready to face another day.
Thanks for the post Neil. I should bookmark this one.
Glad you like it! I have learned a lot from these guys and hopefully you do as well.
Yup, pretty good tips there especially the riding over peoples coattails.
Yea, it has already been paying off for me. You just have to get to know the person a bit before you ride their coattail.
Neil, how you do that? Allmost every your post is brilliant! (I am sorry about my English skills, I am from Central Europe.)
Thanks for the words of encouragement. I just put time and thought into things I love, such as blogging.
These are some great tips.. I’m glad you had the “Related Post” feature in your sidebar, or I probably wouldn’t of found this artcile.
I like the one about having some balls.. In today’s world, you really need to make yourself known, and can’t let ANYBODY push you around.
Not only does it drive traffic to your older posts, but it helps increase your search engine traffic.
Yeah the related posts option makes it really easy to find similiar content.
However, I’ve noticed on m Mac (with Firefox) that the Current Hits and All Time tabs do not display anything. The third tab works fine for some reason…
Yeah, I’m still working on getting it fixed.
very nice points.. some of the richest people I know never went to college
Only if I knew Bill Gates like you do.
Thankfully I just stumbled on this from the “Related Posts” feature, otherwise I would have missed the real nuggets in here. Very well written, especially because of the fact that you are speaking from experience. It’s so true that hanging around with those who are older, richer and more experienced will help – as it has done and continue to do for you. Awesome tips, overall! Thanks.
Thanks! Now go out there and get to know some millionaires.
Am Glad I fit in d age group of the friends u hang out with
Bt hanging out with people of higher net worth helps you stay motivated…
It does, but it shows you what you could potentially have one day.
Hey. I’m 16. I want to make money. What do I do neil? There seems to be zero and I mean absolutely ZERO information that goes beyond mowing lawns on the internet, books, and etc… I know there are ways
There is no real answer… if there was it would be easy to make money.
You should figure out what you want to do and follow your dreams. Along the way you will figure out how to make money.
I’m sorry if this is such a newbie question but how do you ride somebody else’s coattail?
Find people who do really well and learn from them.
I have a problem with these tips. Most of my friends are employees and almost nobody runs their own businesses. It’s not easy to talk about business with people who don’t run them themselves.
It isn’t, but that means you need to network with more business owners.
Fantastic read. Great “timeless” tips indeed. Love the point its sometimes better to buy than to start your own.
Yep. 90% of the time I prefer to buy over creating something from scratch.
HAVE SOME BALLS. Couldn’t agree more, some of these other tips are bit predictable, but I love this one!
Without BALLS the chances of being rich aren’t on your side.
Had a friend ask this question,I’m sorry if this is such a newbie question but how do you ride somebody else’s coattail?
You follow their footsteps. If you see them doing good stuff, then try and copy what they are doing.
Could not have said any better Neil! How true these 10 things are. Its not that you are riding someones coattail. It is that you are following their example and trying to accomplish a goal. My friends father has always been a mentor to me with out him I would have been lost many a time! I don’t ride his coattail, but i certainly listen when he speaks!~
You should consider riding his coattail.
You should consider riding his coattail! It seems that you may have an great person to look up to and follow in his footsteps.
Who said I’m not
“Raising venture capital is harder than being stricken by lightning”
So true. This economy hasn’t made it any better.
Hopefully things will get better in a year or so.
For this you must have to contact with business men and make a network.
Of course. You can’t expect to get to know millionaires if you never contact them. You can do so via email.
I really like the idea of contacting people. A lot of people are scared to make contact, but even if you get rejected 9 out of 10 times, you’ve still made one quality contact.
You need to dig through the dirt to get to the gold.
Hello, thank you very much for your tips. As I can see you have become very succesful in this young age. I am now trying to make great business in financial sector and investment. It is very hard job and I have sometimes bad mood and I want to give up ( although I have big debts at the moment) but if I read your websites I realized I can manage it. Thank you very much Neil!!!
NO problem Ivan. There have been many times I felt like quitting, but then I focus on my future and goals and I “never give up”
Could not agree more to all your points and one of the most important ones is having courage to confront others. If we try to be Ms. nice with everyone things dont work out the way they should. Speaking from experience
It’s not about being nice or mean, it’s about having the confident in yourself /your product/ or service, and being able to present it effectively.
Great presentation of insights on entrepreneurship. I must agree with all of them. And yes, it is not too late for us even if others are already doing it. Like the Blue Ocean Strategy, there is always a vast of opportunities out there. And competition is replaced by cooperation. Thanks Neil for sharing this great article.
The Blue Ocean Strategy was a great read, I agree. There are many vast opportunities out there, once just needs to take the time to look.
Great post as always Neil
Good tips but I don’t agree with “You don’t have to start a business to be successful”.. it is too pesimistic for every business owner, you have to start a business because you want to be N:1, this is my opinion 
Best regards!
There are many ways to be successful, especialy ways that can not make money.
I’ll be a millionaire by the time I hit 150.Mayby later than that with my bad luck.:->
With that attitude and mindset, yes, that’s probably true.
I think having some balls is one of the biggest steps in making progress. Often people are afraid to try new things thinking they might fail, which actually leads them to fail for never trying.
It’s also true that there are no safe bets, so it’s important to know what your getting in to. Research is something that should be done by all, because if tough work and research can come a lot of great things.
There are no safe bets, it’s all about testing to see what works and what doesn’t.
all tips are great it is right that we spent money on oourself to motivate us to spend more money in future.
and it is also true to confront others with confident and never conclude any result too early about any person, product, company etc.
Great tips.I like the one with money.If you have money to invest try to not blow it all.Go into business like you only had a panny.
Live below your means so that when we have have bad a bad economy, like how we did, it’s the perfect time to start the investing.
My main goal ever since I was a kid was to be a millionaire, from living in a 2 bedroom apartment with 5 other family members, to eating potatoe shavings for supper and moving from house to house and school to school. I knew I wanted more for myself and my brother/sisters. I went down the wrong path and decided to sell pot. It felt good to be making money, actually buying nice things, I even prevented my mom from getting evicted from our house. Times got rough though and I went to prison for 2 months. At this time I was 18. I got out of jail when I was just about 19 (1 week after Xmas, 1 week before my birthday) I decided I want to stay out of trouble. I stayed away from my old crowd and started looking for work. I knew that I was a great salesman from my previous experience so I applied at a sales company selling electricity. I did great, went through the training and my first couple days and actually got about 350$ worth of profit from sales in my first 2 days…not bad,,the next morning I was fired because of my criminal record and the fact that I am not “bondable”. This upset me because I was very excited to work in the sales field. I applied at many more places but my criminal record held me back. Now the recession is here and its harder than ever to find a job. Even factories are doing criminal record checks. im not a killer or rapist! why should things be so hard for me? I need advice. It is 7 years until I can get a pardon and my record cleaned up. I am living at my moms house with nothing but a matress on the floor. I am not complaining, I know that I made mistakes and chose to go down the wrong path but why should this haunt me for the best part of my life. I’m 20 now and how can I ever have a girlfriend living at my moms house with a matress on the floor and nothing? I am always handing out resumes even to petty places, but wal-mart even does criminal checks. I need some advice. Thanks
Well it definitely looks like your a sales person. You seem to have that hustle type of mentality. You job right now should be find a new job. Spend 8 hours+ every single day finding a job. A good idea for you would be to look into sales jobs obviously… something like a loan officer or real estate or something in that type of field. Even with a negative background, you should be able to get an industry like this one way or another.
Hey there Jay,
It sucks not being able to get a job. Contact me if you are able at sergiostephano@bonpastry.com and I will see what I can do. I am sure I can get you on commission to start selling our desserts to restaurants, cafes, & hotels. There are many things I can teach you to help us generate income. Possibly also remote. Please let me know and I will do the best to help you help me and help you in the process. Thanks!! Best of luck.
Hey Sergio, thanks for trying to help one of Quicksprout visitors with something like this. Very awesome of you!
Most of tips are right, i like these,
may i be a millionaire just by doing these few things but success is not over just these 10 things.
Anyhow, Thanks for such nice tips.
The truth is that you can probably be a millionaire if you just master 1 of them!
Have some balls this is the main thing, along with knowing that there is no safe bet. i mean its a risk, but life itself is risk. you have to take risks to find out what is going to lead to what. and i think its that par that gets to many people who simply give up or don’t start the business because they already are thinking about the negative part of it and how bad it would be if they fail.
Risks are an important part of the game. You need to put some skin into the mix else you won’t be capable of doing things that allow you to have the ability to grow big.
Great saying Don’t judge a book by its cover. there are many people who dont know how to read and write are owners of lots of money and big big cars.
It comes down to being the millionaire next door…. you don’t need to have all the talent in the world. You just need the dedication and persistency to go out there and make a ton of money.
Most i liked : If you want to keep making money you have to spend some on yourself. Yes Neil, you are right like allways, the best investiment you can do today is an investiment to your self.
You…as a person will be what makes or breaks your future. Your life depends on what you know and how you use it.
Thanks very much for sharing these wonderful insights. I also love and value the company of older people because they’ve got tons of experiences behind them and they’re always willing to share their thoughts and experiences.
Very true…. surround yourself with as many successful people as possible.
Spend money on yourself. That is what I need to start doing. I live to save everything. I have fun saving but I want to let go and just start spending a bit.
But on that note. To me it looks like :
Just because you have money, it doesn’t mean you should blow it
Just because you have money, it doesn’t mean you should blow it
Those 2 kind of contradict each other.
Well it means that the more money you make…. doesn’t mean the more you should spend. Instead, the more money you make, the less you should spend.
Most suitable sayings:
If you’re doing your best, you won’t have any time to worry about failure. ~Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Failure is an event, never a person. ~William D. Brown, Welcome Stress!
The only time you don’t fail is the last time you try anything – and it works. ~William Strong
I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. ~Thomas Edison
I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody. ~Bill Cosby
There is no failure except in no longer trying. ~Elbert Hubbard
Supposing you have tried and failed again and again. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call “failure” is not the falling down, but the staying down. ~Mary Pickford
Try again. Fail again. Fail better. ~Samuel Beckett
Failure doesn’t mean you are a failure… it just means you haven’t succeeded yet. ~Robert Schuller
Thanks for sharing all those quotes… Personally I like try again, fail agian, fail better. Very sound words.
Great tips and post as I usually find is the case when browsing you blog. I like the quotes along the comments to and had one to ad, which is “fail forward fast”. I’ve implemented this quote specifically when I’ve found myself in an unforseen situation that was very difficult (more than onece) The solution, or decision made in this time took my business forward.
Thanks
Exactly…. like your driving on the road… you can’t be looking backwards trying to move forward. That’s exactly the type of mindset you must adapt.
I think it would be good to add — question what success truly is. Is it really financial? For me, the deepest and most rewarding fulfillment comes from helping others.
If you help enough people get what they want, you’ll have everything you want.
It’s amazing how millionaires have different principles yet they ended up with the same fate. Have you ever entertained the idea that we all have a unique way or principle to get rich? Yet, it’s good to know some reference how millionaires got their status. We can always follow their foot steps in case, if lucky, end up successfully like them.
A lot of it is luck… but luck is something we have control of. You just need to keep putting yourself out there and the luck opportunities will come out.
Great! I am counting this to happen. Since I’m newbie, I’ll have to wait several years for me to be like you. But I am hopeful enough that I will be in the near future. I’m very positive with that
I hope you’ll be at the level too! Keep pushing it and let me know about your progress.
“Think high till you reach the sky, there is always abettertommrow,What ever you do , do it with all your right ,Put your whole soul into it , Stamp it with all your own personalities, Be active energetic and faithful and you will accomplish your object.
If you’re going to do something, you should put all your energy and effort into doing the right way… instead of half assing it.
Great post, and sage advice. I’ve read in more than one place that your income is usually the average of the 5 people you hang out with most.
I think having some balls is one of the biggest steps in making progress. Often people are afraid to try new things thinking they might fail, which actually leads them to fail for never trying.
While all of those are great nuggets of advice, I think Edward Yim’s quote about staying under the radar hits closest to home for me. A local mentor of mine started a small business that has grown to over 60M in revenue in 10 years. He is still a virtual unknown in the small city of 150,000 where he lives and works. That’s staying under the radar,
To be honest with you Printer Ink,
I would rather want to be on the radar because publicity with a legitimate business will give you more business in my eyes.
wow, i wonder how you got hand on those advices. they’re great. and who wouldn’t agree that you should ask millionaires if you want to know how to make money
All point are amazing specially for newbies like me, “If you want to keep making money you have to spend some on yourself” it’s really true.
Investing in yourself is definitely important and something everyone should do…. are you worth it?
I would also add that for me this is about the long game. I know that so many other bloggers and/or website owners are going to just give up, whether that is after a few weeks, a few months or a couple of years and I just want to be around to take advantage when they do. Not rocket science I know but ’stickability’ is a vastly underrated trait.
It’s too easy for people to give up…it’s way too hard to stay in the game.
The experience of that age of people is really important and always add value to the business. This is my experience. I always asks first to the people of that age. They know both the sides of the problem as they must have faced and also solved it to be successful.
It’s best to learn from as many people as you can as it’s only going to help you make less mistakes.
Keep on keeping on my dad said because in every game or business sector, there are stories of so many people giving up because they cannot hang in there. I am not talking monetarily, I am talking from the standpoint of just not giving up when the going gets tough.
From the words of Winston Churchill, “never never give up.”
Neil,
This is a really good list. I think that bootstrapping is a much more intelligent way to start a business for most people. When you don’t have a big bag of venture capital money to throw out the window, you become much more conservative with your decisions and your business is better for it in the long-run.
-Joshua Black
The Underdog Millionaire
I’ve been learning from mentors
I think success is more about taking care of yourself and your attitutude on a daily basis. It’s about increasing your openess to opportunity. I’ve been almost mugged by opportunity and ignored it until years later and at other times I’ve spotted very lucrative ways to earn money with very little ongoing time investment. I think too, being willing to loose, has been a big factor in having success over time. I’ve had to learn to get over stuff quickly and move on. I’ve done a couple good deals with people I swore never again to associate with. Growing up helps a lot.
Thanks for the post.
J.Crawford.