Michael Girdley
Michael Girdley

@girdley

10 Tweets 8 reads Nov 14, 2023
“How would I start out as an entrepreneur in my 20s?”
What do you invest in and when?
The answer depends on the stage of your journey.
(Spoiler: “Diversify” isn’t until the end.)
The 5 stages of investing in yourself: 🧵
I’ll assume you’re starting early in your career without a ton.
I’ll go through each here broken down by net worth.
And what I’d do at each stage.
(Everything in US dollars.)
NET WORTH: $0-100k
OBJECTIVE: Optionality
You’re just starting out.
Probably with a job that pays OK.
Live beneath your means.
Save a ton: ~12 months living expenses in cash.
So you can safely start a business in the next step.
NET WORTH: $100k-250k
OBJECTIVE: Cash Flow
The best investing ROI here is a business you start.
Pick one type with a proven model and little capital upfront.
Like an agency, brokerage, productized service, etc.
If needed, do as a side hustle until you can quit your job.
NET WORTH: $250k-1M
OBJECTIVE: Become Unemployable
Your goal now is to reinvest in your primary business.
Grow it. Be all-in.
Invest in joining a CEO peer group.
Reinvest in your business to grow as long as ROI is high.
Keep the rest in cash.
NET WORTH: $1M-10M
OBJECTIVE: Asymmetric Bets
Your business cash now flows well.
If it’s a services biz, maybe you’ve hit a ceiling.
Invest where you can compound for long periods (20x+ returns) to hit the next level.
Things like product businesses or high variance RE.
NET WORTH: $10M+
OBJECTIVE: Be Antifragile
Some of those bets hit!
Your goal now is to be unkillable.
This means diversification:
- Buy cash flow real estate (directly or as LP)
- Own big %s of other businesses
- Public equities
If you want, do more asymmetric bets.
After 10+ years of work, you’ve made it!
Before I finish, there is something missing:
You MUST invest in personal growth in every stage.
Learn.
Read a ton of books.
Listen to smart people.
Join groups where badasses gather – try to be the dumbest person in the room.
You can get rich by selling your time and saving.
You get wealthy owning things that appreciate in value.
This is a path to the latter.
And exactly how I’d do it if I started over today.
How would you do it?
I’m on a mission to create a million healthy business owners in the next decade.
Will you help? Give this a
- like
- share
- comment
To spread the word! I appreciate it.
Michael

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