10 truths about money I’ve learnt in the past 10 years:
I've survived ten years being a full-time entrepreneur. Did you know 99% of new businesses have closed down within ten years? Here's a cheatsheet for surviving:
In this picture (click “allow all images on this email to see it) I’m at the top of a mountain in Vancouver.
I had travelled NOWHERE until I started doing this biz stuff.
Less than 150 people saw me talk in Vancouver, but I got clients worth thousands from it.
But even if I had got zero clients, the experience was amazing.
If you’re being an entrepreneur and hating it, this article is for you:
1. Everyone has and makes less money than you think
2. If you sell to the wrong market, no one will want to spend money on your services (yes, even if they have money)
3. You get paid what the client thinks you’re worth, not what you think you’re worth
4. If you’re not prepared to live with your parents or on someone’s couch in order to save money, you don’t want it (whatever it is you want- music career, building a business etc) bad enough
5. It is so hard to be successful in business (or music) that it won’t work if you’re part time
The big breakthrough normally comes after thinking & executing on something for 6-18 months.
6. High-paying, ongoing clients are rare and beautiful golden geese & must be treated with respect & love 24/7
Don’t just do the work.
Go above and beyond.
Be their friend, send them memes, send them ideas for their business, give them feedback on their work (if they want it).
People buy people.
7. You have too many software subscriptions you’re not using - go look now and cancel them
8. Sometimes the only deal to take is a bad deal - It’s just part of the game.
Protect yourself as much as you can but sometimes you have to take those risks, some will pay off.
Rock band “A Day To Remember” were being courted by the “Victory” record label.
Victory records were famous for hating their artists (lol)
There are stories where they would spend money on Tv ads, magazine ads, anything rather than pay the artists :(
Buuuut seeing as most record labels hate spending money, many Victory Records bands became the biggest in the scene.
They later complained about not getting paid what was owed, but the label did make them stars.
A Day To Remember knew they were making a “deal with the devil” but signed it anyway.
They became one of the biggest rock bands in the world and sell out stadiums all over the world.
Later, they took Victory Records to court, but their deal paid off.
Likewise, in business, if you’re about to go out of business and have one investor who wants to invest, sometimes that’s the deal to take, even if they’re not the perfect investor.
9. For something to go up, it must also go down.
You’re gonna take losses.
Don’t get mad when it happens, deal with it as best you can.
(It’s part of the game, find me an established entrepreneur who’s never been ripped off and I’d be shocked)
Only cure is to start making more money so the loss becomes a smaller and smaller % of your net worth.
10. Cryptocurrency and bitcoin are just this generations’ gambling.
If the fun of placing the bet is worth the money go for it, anything more and it’s like playing online casino with other virgins.
Bonus: Try to find something EVERY DAY that YOU believe that other's do NOT and SAY something about it.
I’ve heard over and over from top content creators like Tim Ferriss that “When you don’t know what to write about, write about what makes you angry” or “Every time I’ve written an article that i’m scared to post, it has always performed very well”.
Announcing my new book next week!
My first book is *still* the best-ever selling growth hacking book on Kickstarter, eventually doing a little under $250,000 in sales.
My second book made $10,000 in it’s first hour.
My third book will not be for sale.
It will only be available to paid subscribers.
It will be a short, actionable guide on how to make money from Chat-GPT.
Sign up to a months’ free trial of my paid Substack and you will receive the book for FREE before the trial ends:
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Looking forward to the new book!