When we hear the words “Millionaire” and “Billionaire”, we often associate it with sleepless nights, working long hours, or simply inheriting money from the previous generation. While some of those assumptions may be true, there are many behind the scene factors that enable even the poorest people to turn their life around. From rags to riches.
In accordance with Forbes, the United States remains the country with the most billionaire citizens as of 2024, with 813 who are collectively worth $5.7 trillion. It is without a doubt that this wealth is impossible to be amassed overnight. The key points that are warranted to be successful is exactly what we will be breaking down in this blog. So, if you are interested in learning some high quality habits that are consistently seen in these affluent individuals, then grab a pen and paper, and get to work!
“What should I do to start my journey towards becoming a millionaire?”
It’s crucial to self analyse the areas where one can improve. For instance, if you are aware you study too less as compared to what you should, then recognising the gaps will help in providing clarity. This clarity will guide you by giving you a sense of direction and focus as to what is missing currently, and what must be done to fill this void. Being one hundred percent transparent with oneself will assist you in making better decisions. Avoid being too harsh or soft on yourself, you must remember, everyone starts somewhere. It’s not the destination that counts, it’s the journey that leads to the destination.
Habits commonly observed in
successful entrepreneurs:
There are several habits that can aid you in improving yourself, either physically, mentally, or in terms of honing your existing competences. These habits are not something extraordinary, however with the right guidance and implementation, anyone can attract success in their own way. The habits include: Living modestly by implementing frugality, establishing an entrepreneurial spirit, gaining real time experience and work-related knowledge, networking and relationship building, being organised by planning efficiently & being financially literate.
Living Modestly by implementing frugality
The rich do not focus their time and energy in impressing others by wearing or looking rich. There’s a saying that goes like, “the goal is not to look rich, but to be rich”. This saying is true for the most part of it for many successful, wealthy individuals, who don’t buy expensive, designer clothing with big logos, or flashy sports cars.
An amazing example is Warren Buffet, he has a net worth of $139 billion as of April 2024. He is always seen in simple, minimalistic clothes with no logos or branding. Being the co-founder, CEO and the chairperson of Berkshire Hathaway, he is the 9th richest man in the world. With his financial stature, Warren Buffet could easily afford these luxuries, but there is a reason why he does not spend his money on those goods. There are plenty of other people such as Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs. Mark Zuckerberg is often spotted wearing basic tees in monochromatic colours, the reason being the more choices you make throughout the day, the harder each one becomes for your brain. Steve Jobs used to wear only the black Issey Miyakey turtleneck and jeans, reinforcing discipline and uniformity.
Establishing an entrepreneurial spirit
All affluent individuals are self-employed and self-motivated. Everyone feels that some days they are fuelled up to conquer the world, and some days they can’t get themselves off the bed. It happens to everybody, but what separates the rich from the poor is the ability to work hard and with the right mindset. Working hard doesn’t necessarily mean work all day, all week, if that were the case the poor wouldn’t remain poor after putting in a 12-16 hour shift. The rich are able to prioritise the tasks and look towards maximising efficiency (which will be covered further down this blog). There is nothing wrong with having a 9 to 5 job, but you must realise that it may satisfy your needs, but it will not fulfil your wants.
The rich try to retain all financial freedom by starting their own business venture. Nowadays, thanks to technology, there are endless opportunities for individuals to start earning money from scratch. The rich try to figure out a niche market or an unexploited segment, which could be used for their benefit. “What is a niche market?”. Well, a niche market is where there is a small segment of a much larger market that is yet to be exploited, so a business creates a good or a service in order to exploit that segment. For instance, if in your city there is a lack of good Asian cuisine, an intellectual upcoming entrepreneur would recognise this gap in the market, and will try to come up with the most cost-effective solution, in order to start off with minimal expenses.
The benefits, as it will be the only good Asian restaurant in that vicinity, thus it attracts more potential customers, leading to increased sales revenue, increased profitability, increased customer base, and helps reinforce a brand identity. With being in control of your work related actions, you experience satisfaction and contentment, as you are not bound to anyone or anything.
Gaining real time experience and work related knowledge
Successful entrepreneurs hardly ever spend time and energy on the things that will not be fruitful, they do the things that can be incorporated or useful in their business. Experience is an essential key to unlock confidence and self-belief. Not only does experience help build confidence and self-belief, but it also helps in improving one’s skill level. No athlete or sportsperson can be the best in their sport without years of practice and failures, the ones who are consistent are able to reap the rewards of success. Likewise, the rich focus on getting hands on experience and knowledge. For instance, if you wanted to be an accountant, you wouldn’t be busy studying biology or any science for that matter. You would put all your time and efforts practising accounts and accounting related stuff. Hence, doing the things that are relevant to your goal or career aspiration is a must.
Networking and relationship building
Networking is one of the most, if not the most vital skill required to become successful, and there are a few reasons for it. Networking with the right people can save you from situations such as liquidation or bankruptcy, to being able to buy a luxurious Gulfstream 350. Networking doesn’t just mean having someone’s number, it means being in regular contact with the person, being on good terms with them and much more. With the help of Social Media and the Internet, networking has become a walk in the park, due to the unlimited accessibility apps such as Instagram and LinkedIn provide us with.
Relationship building and networking go arm in arm. Networking is required to find the right people and with the help of relationship building, you are able to foster trust and respect. In a dynamic business environment, having good networking and relationships is a make or break factor to determine the business’s success. As customer’s tastes and preferences vary regularly, an entrepreneur must be in a position to conduct market research, via asking customers for their change in tastes and for their feedback. With that, entrepreneurs are able to try to cater the changing demand and minimise any costs or losses to be incurred, increasing profitability of the business.
Being organised by planning efficiently
Planning helps in providing a sense of direction or focus. Without planning you may tend to go with the flow and reach somewhere unintended. Thus, to prevent such atrocities, following a structured plan is an amazing solution. There’s an eye-opening phrase which goes like, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. Successful leaders write down their goals and ideas, so that they are able to look back and assess their progress. It has a similar concept to budgeting, where the actual expenses or revenue is compared with the budgeted expenses or revenue to assess the business’s performance. Being organised just helps in remaining calm and punctual, as you do not have to worry whether your files are arranged in order of deadlines, or the largest clients to the smallest and so on. Organisation also assists in reducing any margins of errors that can take place unintentionally.
Being financially literate
Financial literacy is a legitimate life hack towards starting your journey of being a millionaire or billionaire. The famous book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, written by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter emphasise on the importance of understanding and interpreting the vast realms of financial literacy.
Financial literacy in simple words is, being aware of how money works, as in how money comes in the business and how it goes out the business. Being financially literate leads to financial stability and freedom, as the rich are aware about “Assets” and “Liabilities”.If you are about to search up what are assets and liabilities, then stop right there and let me explain. Assets are those items or things that are owned by the business and help during liquidity crises, as they can be sold for money. There are two types of assets, non-current and current assets. Non-current are also known as fixed assets, they are basically owned by the business for more than a financial year, such as: Machinery, Property, Office equipment and Delivery vehicles. Current assets are assets that are owned by the business for only up to a financial year, such as: inventory, debtors (trade receivables, the customers who buy goods on credit and will pay later), etc. Furthermore, the rich spend a lot of their incomes by investing in fixed assets, such as real estate, because further on as years pass there is a high possibility that the estate is revalued higher than it’s original cost.
The affluent also tend to avoid increasing their debts or liabilities. Liabilities are also fixed and non-fixed, they are basically what the business owes to someone else or to another company. As the rich avoid increased external borrowings such as loans and overdrafts, they are able to dodge any potential repayment or interest to be paid, and keep their personal wealth safe from getting seized.
Conclusion
Becoming a millionaire or a billionaire certainly is tough, however it’s never too late to start. You must decide,”Day one or one day”. It would be unwise and impractical if you expect to become wealthy in just a few months, you must keep on learning and practising your competences, in order to become wealthy. All these habits do not guarantee success or wealth, they are common habits found after thousands of studies conducted by specialist researchers. Implementing these will certainly give you a competitive edge against your peers, so go get it!