Stop Only Making Other People Rich

Start earning from your greatest asset… you

Last year, while looking over the budget for one of my studies (I work as a project manager), I saw the rate my company bills my time. I reviewed the budget multiple times, and because I was looking for other things, I never personalized what that amount meant.

I texted my wife because I realized I was making less than half what the company was charging. Yet I’m the one doing the work.

Of course, all companies do this in one way or another, but it begs the question:

Why do we put up with it? Why don’t we put the same or greater effort into our own business?

So two questions, actually.

I can tell you my story.

My mom was an entrepreneur for most of my life. I remembered the freedom not to clock in or answer to a hierarchy. But she also struggled mightily as a black woman in the south working for herself. You will likely not be in business when certain people decide to drive you out of business, especially pre-internet.

So as a family, our highs were high, but the lows were just as low. We had seasons when we were dead broke and had little. There were lessons to be learned that I won’t go into in this post. But because of the instability, I decided to get a job, a good one, upon graduating. Entrepreneurship was not for me.

Or so I thought….

It didn’t take too long in the 9–5 world to realize why many people crave to be their own boss. Office politics, unrealistic expectations, toxic bosses, even more toxic co-workers, and being underpaid and underappreciated all drove me to start working for myself on a part-time basis.

Building businesses part-time can be draining; when I get off work, my tank is low, and I have a wife and child that needs my presence and attention. I choose to spend that time with them. When they go to bed, I’m ready for bed too, but there is work to be done, and most of the time, I get it done.

Where am I going with this?

All of my adult life, I’ve been making other people rich. I don’t think you can be financially successful, at least not long term, without making other people wealthy. But you are the person who should reap the most wealth from your efforts.

Twelve years of secondary school [plus college and grad school] trains many people to work in a system that makes other people rich but uses all of your energy to the point where nothing is left.

This is what I learned and lived by for years: Having a job is safe. Running a business is risky.

The truth is both have risks.

Business has risks, your product might not work, or the demand isn’t there. Enough bad months and you could go out of business.

But your job can fire you at any time and for any reason. And it doesn’t have to be your fault. You can work hard and not get promoted or receive a raise. It happens every single day.

Here’s the thing, if you’re on the fence, there are challenges on every path, but with a business, even part-time, you can do a lot more good for yourself and others.

The business you don’t start won’t work. I can guarantee you that.

I encourage you to start your business today.

Figure out the tech, the website, the opt-in page, and all of that stuff later.

Just start.

Sell something, anything that you do well. Be an affiliate for other programs if need be.

But start, there is no need for everyone to get wealthy from your gifts, talents and efforts but you.