2020 has been a crazy year. First we have the COVID19 pandemic resulting in 200,000 deaths in the US and a net loss of anywhere from 10 million-40 million jobs… a string of protests due to police brutality and were heading into election season which can be a volatile time. My heart goes out to anyone who’s lost friends or family due to the virus as I’ve had an uncle pass recently due to COVID19 (RIP Uncle Bill).

COVID – 19 (CDC)

With all this uncertainty in the economy we all have to adjust our thinking and our plans. What you once thought was a sure thing, may not be. Many people are finding that their safe, secure jobs were never that safe or secure. Businesses are adapting by cutting costs (laying people off). Businesses are leveraging technology to get more work done with less man power, which means many of these jobs will never be coming back. 

It’s time to protect ourselves economically. With the job landscape changing.. and the volatility of the financial markets glaring it may be time to redefine how to build wealth. Expecting 40 year work career at a safe and secure job while earning 8%+ per year through retirement investments is a long shot gamble. Why? Because as an employee you have no control over your employers decision making. You can be fired at any moment. As a former financial director I understand that the stock/band market is also a gamble. Why? Because you cannot control the management or performance of the company’s stock or bonds you invest in. You can hedge and pray… but you can’t control whether your stock goes up or down. 

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While I’m not saying a job or investing in paper assets is bad in itself.. I’m saying you have little control over them. What can you control? A business you create an own. While entrepreneurship is not for most people.. it is a way to control cash flow producing assets. Even if it’s a side business.. you have control over the product/service and how many units of it you sell. You have control over price structure, human resources, product mix, marketing, and which customers you work with. To increase your chances of business success you want to ensure your business plan meets the C.E.N.T.S commandments (MJ Demarco). 

  1. Control- Do you have control over this business? 
  2. Entry- Is there a barrier of entry keeping out others?
  3. Need- Is there a legitimate need for your business? 
  4. Time- How attached is the business to your time? Can you automate parts of this business?
  5. Scale- Can you scale this business? Or are your sales limited to a neighborhood, city or state? 

To gain more economic control.. invest your time into your own business system and your own investments. It does not take a ton of money to start a business either. If you don’t want to start your own business, you can buy an existing business instead. I’ve seen businesses listed for sale for less than $40,000. Feel free to search bizbuysell.com, loopnet.com or empireflippers.com for business listings.  

Don’t have the money? No problem.. if you have a credit score over 700 (or have a co-signer that does) you may qualify for business funding. If this sounds like you APPLY HERE for funding approval. Please be safe.. please be careful.. be courageous  and take control into your own hands.