5 years ago I was broke & unemployed.
Last year I received multiple six-figure job offers.
Here's a list of everything I know about making money I wish I knew sooner: 🧵
Last year I received multiple six-figure job offers.
Here's a list of everything I know about making money I wish I knew sooner: 🧵
A couple of things before we begin:
1. There are no get rich quick schemes. Making money is hard.
2. There are other ways of making money besides how I did it.
3. I am not a financial advisor and this is not financial advice.
Cool? Let's jump in:
1. There are no get rich quick schemes. Making money is hard.
2. There are other ways of making money besides how I did it.
3. I am not a financial advisor and this is not financial advice.
Cool? Let's jump in:
Step 1 - Learn how to make your time valuable.
A job is just a way of renting out your time to someone else.
When you're starting from zero, monetizing your time is the best way to get paid.
A job is just a way of renting out your time to someone else.
When you're starting from zero, monetizing your time is the best way to get paid.
But how do you make your time more valuable?
By acquiring skills that are both valuable and rare.
Here's what I mean:
By acquiring skills that are both valuable and rare.
Here's what I mean:
A *valuable* skill is a skill that people are willing to pay for.
The more $ people are willing to pay for a skill, the more valuable that skill is.
A *rare* skill is a skill that is:
• hard to find
• hard to teach
• hard to replace
The more $ people are willing to pay for a skill, the more valuable that skill is.
A *rare* skill is a skill that is:
• hard to find
• hard to teach
• hard to replace
Example:
Server ($35k avg. annual salary):
• Low willingness to pay for skill
• Easy to find
• Easy to teach
• Easy to replace (sorry 🙏🏼)
Software engineer ($108k avg. salary):
• High willingness to pay for skill
• Hard to find
• Hard to teach
• Hard to replace
Server ($35k avg. annual salary):
• Low willingness to pay for skill
• Easy to find
• Easy to teach
• Easy to replace (sorry 🙏🏼)
Software engineer ($108k avg. salary):
• High willingness to pay for skill
• Hard to find
• Hard to teach
• Hard to replace
There are 4 fundamental skills you can learn to make your time valuable:
1. Building a product or service
2. Selling that product or service
3. Managing people
4. Managing money
1. Building a product or service
2. Selling that product or service
3. Managing people
4. Managing money
1. Building a product or service:
Learn how to build what your employer is selling.
Some examples include:
• Writing (newspapers)
• Construction (real estate)
• Hospitality (bars and hotels)
• Software engineering (tech companies)
Learn how to build what your employer is selling.
Some examples include:
• Writing (newspapers)
• Construction (real estate)
• Hospitality (bars and hotels)
• Software engineering (tech companies)
2. Selling that product or service:
• Sales
• Marketing
• Customer service
• Sales
• Marketing
• Customer service
3. Managing people:
• Hiring / firing
• Interviewing
• Communicating
• Building and managing teams
• Hiring / firing
• Interviewing
• Communicating
• Building and managing teams
4. Managing money:
• Creating a budget
• Managing spend
• Raising capital
• Pitching / fundraising
• Creating a budget
• Managing spend
• Raising capital
• Pitching / fundraising
Note: no one is going to trust you with people or money in the beginning.
You need to prove you can build or sell before you can be trusted with managing teams and capital.
You need to prove you can build or sell before you can be trusted with managing teams and capital.
Focus ruthlessly on these 4 core skills.
Almost all work outside of these 4 areas is essentially grunt work - avoid it aggressively.
Almost all work outside of these 4 areas is essentially grunt work - avoid it aggressively.
There are also some meta skills you can learn to multiply the impact of the 4 core skills.
These include:
• Learning
• Networking
• Storytelling
• Decision-making
I'll discuss these in a future thread.
These include:
• Learning
• Networking
• Storytelling
• Decision-making
I'll discuss these in a future thread.
Step 2 - rent out your now-valuable time to get some money (job) and access networks of other folks with valuable skills.
When you can demonstrate a valuable skillset, you become a magnet of sorts for other folks with high value skillsets.
When you can demonstrate a valuable skillset, you become a magnet of sorts for other folks with high value skillsets.
These folks in turn open up more valuable opportunities that weren't available to you before.
This becomes a virtuous cycle that begins to produce more income over time:
This becomes a virtuous cycle that begins to produce more income over time:
Step 3 - Convert your income and network into wealth.
Wealth is income that doesn't require you to rent out your time.
This includes:
• Real estate
• Startup equity
• Stocks
• Bonds
• Crypto
and much more.
Wealth is income that doesn't require you to rent out your time.
This includes:
• Real estate
• Startup equity
• Stocks
• Bonds
• Crypto
and much more.
Building wealth boils down to one simple concept:
Equity - owning things.
The whole purpose of this exercise is to convert time into equity.
It doesn't matter how many raises or promotions you get.
If you're not owning more things over time, you're never going to be wealthy.
Equity - owning things.
The whole purpose of this exercise is to convert time into equity.
It doesn't matter how many raises or promotions you get.
If you're not owning more things over time, you're never going to be wealthy.
Summary:
1. Make your time valuable. Learn:
• Building
• Selling
• Managing people
• Managing money
2. Rent out your time:
• Get a job.
• Build a network.
• Access opportunities.
3. Convert your income and network into wealth: equity in assets.
1. Make your time valuable. Learn:
• Building
• Selling
• Managing people
• Managing money
2. Rent out your time:
• Get a job.
• Build a network.
• Access opportunities.
3. Convert your income and network into wealth: equity in assets.
If you found this thread helpful, please:
- Retweet the first tweet and help others find this thread
- Follow me at @heykahn
I write about career growth, start ups and marketing. I share my insights along the way.
- Retweet the first tweet and help others find this thread
- Follow me at @heykahn
I write about career growth, start ups and marketing. I share my insights along the way.
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