In my early 20s, I was running a skate shop where I was constantly stressed, working late nights, putting out fires, and leveraging multiple credit cards to keep everything afloat.
Over time, I began evaluating biz opportunities on their likelihood of “giving me a good life.”
So many of us business owners end up being a slave to our companies, and we forget why we started our businesses in the first place: to give us, our families, and our employees a better life!
If you want a business that gives you a better life, think about the market first!
Go after opportunities where:
- buyers are actively looking for solutions
- you have experience + insights
- you’re confident you can capture a significant % of buyer interest
- margins are good
Back in 2001, Bob and Jane each picked a stock and invested $1,000.
Bob picked IBM.
Jane picked Apple.
Bob's $1,000 investment turned into $2,643
Jane's $1,000 investment turned into $903,471
This is the "effort/reward conundrum:" some actions produce wildly better results.
To me, it's fascinating that two people can invest the same amount of time, money, and resources, and one person can get 10x, 100x, or 1000x better results.
Some of this can be explained by "luck," but this multiplication effect can also be achieved by making better bets.
Warren Buffet's investment strategy relied on making better bets.
"Warren says that in your lifetime you should swing at only a couple dozen pitches, and he advises doing careful homework so that the few swings you do take are hits."