Despite the hype and online advertising trying to convince you that you can get rich working from home and earning some astronomical amount of money every two seconds (yes, this is an exaggeration), the fact still remains that most millionaires earn their money the old-fashioned way – by working hard for it. According to Thomas J. Stanley's book, The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy, only 20% of millionaires inherited their riches. The other 80% are what you'd call nouveau riche: first-generation millionaires who earned their cash on their own. Many millionaires simply worked, saved, and lived within their means to generate their wealth. Think accountants and managers: regular people going to work every day. According to Yahoo! Finance, just about half of all millionaires are either self-employed or own their own business. So, the truth of the matter is you can become a millionaire whether you own a business or you choose to work for someone else. Here are some tips on how to be a millionaire, no matter what you do for work:
How To Be A Millionaire... While Keeping Your Day Job
If you choose to keep your day job, here are some things to consider:- Create a strong personal brand
- Get promoted early and often
- Learn the art of salary negotiation and be willing to ask for a raise (even outside the normal raise and bonus period)
- Maximize your company retirement investment strategies – make sure you contribute the needed amount that the company will match in any retirement program
- Save aggressively - Invest in assets that are income producing
- Create passive income streams
- Hone your functional and industry expertise so you can command the highest wage possible
- Invest in your ongoing professional development
- Hone your networking skills
- Build a reputation as the “go to” for your area of expertise
How To Be A Millionaire... While Running A Business
If you are considering the entrepreneur route, here are some things you will have to be ready, willing, and able to do:- Do what you love so you are motivated to put in the hours necessary for your business to succeed
- Run your business like a business, not a hustle or a hobby
- Mange your resources well – time really is money
- Ask for the sale and persevere past the inevitable rejection
- Set clear boundaries around your work and life
- Design and run your business the way you intend to if you were servicing all the customers you could from day one
- Be slow to hire and quick to fire
- Don’t hire FRAN – Friends, Relatives, Acquaintances and Neighbors – when it works, it works great, but when it goes bad, it typically goes really bad
- Put the customer first – if you always have to be right, running a business may not be for you
- Be ready to sell your product or service anytime, anywhere
- Become known – be ready to be the expert and leader in your product or service
- Assess talent - hire and retain a team of people who are smarter than you
- Negotiate Everything – As a business owner your profits can hinge on this critical skill
- Be willing to delegate to skilled people – you cannot do it all and you have to have a plan to delegate the right tasks, to the right people, at the right time
