Build a profitable business- the baby steps part 14

We have covered the five groups of individuals and how they look upon work, their economy and their finances. The “Trying to get by”-group, the “Middle class”-group, the “Penny pincher”-group, the “Self-employed”-group, and the “Business System Entrepreneur”-group. Out of theses five groups we have concluded that it is the “business system entrepreneur” that stands the best chance of getting rich. The reason for this is that the business system entrepreneur is producing goods on a large scale. The other groups are producing goods on a far smaller scale, and in some cases they are producing not on their behalf but on behalf for someone else. Instead, the other four groups are, to a large degree, consumers rather than producers.

In a simplistic view of the world, one could make a case that the business system entrepreneurs produced what the other four groups consume. Thus, the business system entrepreneur is payed by all of the other four groups. In a world full of sheep these individuals act as wolves. No wonder they often end up rich. One of the main reasons that business system entrepreneurs make it is that they have a world view that is quite different to that of the main stream. In fact, business systrem entrepreneurs are anything BUT mainstream. Were you to examine their ranks you would find fiercely independent personality types. Many of them don´t respond well to authority. Most of them don´t consider the ways of the majority to be wise. And none of them is willing to accept being part of the mainstream rat race. They would much rather be wolves.

It is the rat race that enslaves people. Strong words? Maybe. But as we have stated before, there is no better way to get a point across than to stir things up a little bit. We will state our case, with regards to the rat race. The choice is up to you. There is no shame in being part of the rat race. There is a lifetime of shame in not making it your own choice, a choice you must make with your eyes wide open. In other words, if you want to be part of the rat race of your own free will, we respect your choice. Everybody must follow their own paths to happiness, and we know that no one way is superior to the other. We do know, however, which path we have chosen, and the many wonderful life benefits it has resulted in. As you might have guessed by now, we are not fans of the rat race. All of us have taken part in the race during one part of our lives, yet we all felt an urge to break free. We all felt we wanted something different from life, something more. We wanted freedom.

The rat race is anything but freedom. The rat race means you spend the better part of your life chasing something. It is not the chasing we are opposed to. It is the fact that most people are chasing somebody else´s dream instead of pursuing their own passion. Think about it. You work the better part of your life. Most of the dividends of that hard labour are divided between the government, the company you work for and the banks (due to mortgages). You get to keep some of the bread crumbs left on the table. But they get to keep the better part of the meal. What´s worse is that it is their table you are sitting at. And yet no one seems to challenge the fact that most of us are not particularly free. Not in the truest sense of the word. How many of us really spends their lives the way they would ideally liek to spend it? Not many. Most people would rather do something else than going to work each day. Or perhaps we should put it like this: most people would rather go to another line of work each day. We have read the statistics about the number of people who are unhappy with their current jobs in the western world. We were not exactly uplifted by the numbers. Truth is that many people see work as the elephant in the room. You are not really overly pleased with it. But you must do it,in order to be able to get by. And since it is the elephant in the room, you are not really supposed to complain all that much about it. In fact, you are probably better off just ignoring the whole thing. Just do the necessary work, mind your own business, and do what you really want to do in your spare time. After all, everybody else is doing it. It can´t be that wrong, can it?

Yes it can.

Just because everybody you know is doing something doesn´t make it sane or rational. It just means that the majority has accepted it. Accepting something doesn´t mean that you enjoy it, or that it is the ideal manner in which to live your life. It just means it has been accepted. It is the norm. Sometimes it can be a compromise, or a let-down. Nevertheless it has been accepted by the majority, and anything accepted by the majority as being the norm is by default transformed into conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom is what you are supposed to abide by. If you break conventional wisdom, all of society will work as one man in order to try to push you back into line. You mustn´t stray from the herd. After all, humans are social beings, and nothing makes us sleep better at night than being content members of a big herd. Prefferably a herd that subscribes to the conventional wisdom of things. If somebody tries to break away from the herd, our natural inclination is to try to stop it. Not just for the sake of those committing the mad act. For our own sake as well. You see, nothing is so disturbing to the followers of conventional wisdom than those who break away from their ranks and prove them wrong. If somebody proves that their whole view of the world is faulted, what does that make of them?

In all honesty, the members o the herd are forged by some pretty powerful tools. Society as a whole, media, big corporations, banks and probably your parents as well. They all want you to be good citizens. And being a good citizeeen means being part of the herd. Not questioning too much. Not being overly critical. But doing things the way they have always been doing. So are all those powers that are trying to make us into the next joneses´doing it because they love us and look out for our best interest. Not really. You parents are only doing what they think is the right thing to do. Frankly, in many cases they are as ignorant as the next person. Apart from your parents all the other forces trying to commit you to the rat race are not looking for your best interest. You guessed it, they are looking out for their best interest. Why do corporations spend ridiculous amounts on money doing commercials trying to part you from the cash you´ve worked so hard to earn during a month of labour? Why are banks so generously offering you credit cards, mortgages and other types of debt? Because they like you? Because they think you deserve it? Because it is what is best for you? Or because, they are hoping to make some money from it. Because it is best for them. Incidentally, what is best for “them” is very often what is worst for you.

Think about it. You work at a job you are at times not overly thrilled about. You spend the best part of your life working. Actually you spend more time working than you spend doing the things you really love to do. We realize there are people among you who (like us) love their work. But empirical evidence and statistical surveys suggest such individuals are few and far between. Most people trade away five days of work for two days of play. Most people trade away a year of hard work for a couple of weeks of vacation. Most people trade away their time for some money. Most people trade away their dreams for a false sense of security.Most people trade away their freedom in order to abide by conventional wisom and being good member sof the herd.

We decided we were not like most people.

Their choices are not ours. They choose a lifestyle consisting of a never-ending rat race. Work. Earn. Spend. More work. Earning more. Even more spending. They loop is a selfsustaining system of madness and surrender. And all the time they are being cheered on. Flashy commercials, super sales, interest free loans, “affordable” payment plans, addictive credit cards with even more features, irresponsible mortgages with even more leeway. And the media is feeding us the dream as well. A never-ending stream of luxury items are passing us by every day. We are bombarded by material things, along with subliminal messages regarding how happy or free we would feel once we aquired the suggested item. Live now, forget about later. Spend now, you can always save later. Indulge now, you can always earn it later.

Look and feel rich today, instead of being rich tomorrow.

The rat race is about keeping up with the Joneses´. We have always been amazed by the enormous social forces coming into play as this phenomenon unfolds itself. The people who are living it large are surprisingly often faking it. They are seldom rich. Rather the typical offender within this group does have some means and a very often a good stable income to go along with that. Unfortunatley they are using up their cashflow in order to be able to keep up appearances and to be able to finance their over-the top lifestyle. It´s not uncommon that they pick up some debt along the way, as they very often find that the money coming in isn´t enough to support their lavish living. After all it´s not exactly cheap living the good life. At least not the version we have been lead to believe leads to happiness and bliss. There are people out there working hard for a month only to be able to spend most of their paychecks on the first weekend following payday.

This pattern is well known by most people who have been restaurant entrepreneurs in Europe. In many european countries people receive salaries by the end of the month. The first weekend following the end-of month payday is usually so big for revenues it makes up for all of the other slower days of the month. You can earn more during that weekend than you would normally earn i a week or two. The flip side of the coin is that the third or fourth weekend following payday is usually a lot weaker than one might expect. Obviously people are living it up from paycheck to paycheck, and nowhere can this be seen as clearly and vividly as behind the bar of a restaurant. People wioll work their butts off for a month, just to be able to project the rock star lifestyle for a weekend. And then they do it all over again, the next month. It´s a lifestyle of ups and downs. These give away their time happily, always looking forward to their next payday, their next rock star weekend, their next opportunity to live life the way they would like to live it. They spend their lifes dreaming about ways to accomodate their hunger: a grand life-style. And they are always longing for their next fix to still their hunger: the next paycheck.

By contrast, some of the richest people we know live pretty normal lifes. They have somewhat fancier homes, and sometimes fancier cars. But that´s about it. Some of the richest entrepreneurs we know of have never owned a luxury watch or designer shoes. Some of the most successful entrepreneurs we know of seldom dine at fancy restaurants or fly business class. Some of the shrewdest entrepreneurs we know are always trying to keep their costs to a minimum. They like good deals, they always try to negotiate a better price, and they are very opportunistic about finding ways to make every dollar, euro or pound count. They want value for their hard-.earned money, and even though they are rich they haven´t lost their respect for money.

They do not care about what the world thinks about them. They are not interested in the verdicts of the world. They gave that up long ago, along with any intentions of being a part of the herd. They see themselves as wolves. They have no wishes to try to keep up appearances or living a high-roller lifestyle. Actually, more often than not, some of the richest folks we know are trying to keep a low profile. They seldom discuss money, spending, luxury items or material goods. Many of them don´t like to appear in interviews or be media darlings. They simply want to be able to do what they love to do. And they want the money. They will gladly let someone else pick up the rest. They know that being rich carries with it certain benefits, but it is not those benefits that are flashing through the night in late-night commercials or glossy ads promising a better lifestyle. Being rich is more about being able to choose. Not between evian and tap water. Not between kobe beef and a hamburger. And definitively not between a starbucks latte or an office coffe.

It´s about the ability to choose freedom.

Being rich means being able to live the life just the way you want to live it. No bosses to answer to. No time constraints that you are unable to control. No budgets to adhere to. If you want something you just buy it. It´s as simple as that. And not having to worry about money is quite the liberating feeling. It takes your mind off the problems and instead let´s you focus on the opportunities. Life becomes more about trying to get the most out of it, and less about trying to impress others. When you are rich you don´t have to bow to no one. You have what is commonly reffered too as f__-you money. Money that enables you to turn down any and every offer you deem unworthy. If you want to you can even tell the company or individual making the offer to go f___ themselves. We don´t recommend it, we´re just saying it´s a option that is on the table. And there can be times when having that option is what makes it all worth it.

Choose a life of freedom, where you don´t have to bow for noone. Refuse to participate in the rat race, and understand that material possessions do not bring happiness. Understand that if you partake in the rat race there are no answers to be found at the end of the rainbow, only new questions.

Life can be exactly as good as you choose it to be. Don´t settle for being safely tucked away among the herd. Be opportunistic and wait for the right opportunity to present itself, prepare to lay down your pray, and go for the jugular once the time comes.

Do not be part of the herd, my friend.

Live life as a wolf.