Becoming successful (and getting stonkingly rich) today

[AB]

m3jappa said:

You make your own luck but only up to a point, you need to know the right people, you need to be standing there when the right opportunity presents itself. What you do with that is then back to the hard work aspect.

Totally agree with this. Along with hard work, you need the right people with you. I remember listening to something on the radio, probably 20 years ago now when I was just starting uni. You don't have to be good at everything, what you need to do is surround yourself with people who can do the things you can't, and do it well. This stuck with me.

Always maintain and nurture relationships with the people you meet, make them like you, you never know when an opportunity to work with them might present itself, even if you think they're idiots, never fall out with them or make it known you feel like that.

For me, I started working with one of the best salespeople you'll ever meet, found an insanely organised office/operations manager and someone who loves accounts and figures like it's a hobby.

An opportunity presented itself and because of this and past relationships, we were in a position to source a product for someone who couldn't find it anywhere... my business went from a steady £5m T/O to £100m+ in about 6 months, rode the wave for a couple of years until it came to an end to the point at 37 I would never have to work again if I didn't want to. Couldn't have done it on my own.

Of course I have kept working, but started a couple of other ventures, again with people who know a lot more than me but wouldn't have been able to do it themselves without investment.

I'm not stonkingly rich in the context of what is discussed above, but I'm comfortable and don't have to worry about what I spend.

[Hoofy]

DSLiverpool said:

iphonedyou said:

Steve Campbell said:

Isn't the answer "become an influencer" ?

I guess it depends whether you consider cadging freebies "stonkingly rich".

Bring an affiliate is like a grown up influencer. I’m an affiliate for software, shipping and development work plus a few other things it’s highly lucrative or would be if I tried harder.

Yes, that's the trick to being famous on internetland. Then putting the effort into promoting the right affiliate product.

[Tim Cognito]

AB said:

Totally agree with this. Along with hard work, you need the right people with you. I remember listening to something on the radio, probably 20 years ago now when I was just starting uni. You don't have to be good at everything, what you need to do is surround yourself with people who can do the things you can't, and do it well. This stuck with me.

Always maintain and nurture relationships with the people you meet, make them like you, you never know when an opportunity to work with them might present itself, even if you think they're idiots, never fall out with them or make it known you feel like that.

For me, I started working with one of the best salespeople you'll ever meet, found an insanely organised office/operations manager and someone who loves accounts and figures like it's a hobby.

An opportunity presented itself and because of this and past relationships, we were in a position to source a product for someone who couldn't find it anywhere... my business went from a steady £5m T/O to £100m+ in about 6 months, rode the wave for a couple of years until it came to an end to the point at 37 I would never have to work again if I didn't want to. Couldn't have done it on my own.

Of course I have kept working, but started a couple of other ventures, again with people who know a lot more than me but wouldn't have been able to do it themselves without investment.

I'm not stonkingly rich in the context of what is discussed above, but I'm comfortable and don't have to worry about what I spend.

Congratulations on your success, you must feel very fortunate to have one client take you from 5m to 100m+ that is quite some egg basket? Unless I have incorrectly understood?

[AB]

Tim Cognito said:

Congratulations on your success, you must feel very fortunate to have one client take you from 5m to 100m+ that is quite some egg basket? Unless I have incorrectly understood?

Indeed, and the eggs in the basket have gone now so it's business as usual.

We happened to have exclusivity on a product that the Australian government REALLY wanted and an honest supplier who refused to sell direct, pointing them in our direction.

Milked it for a couple of years and moved on. Point being, I was agreeing that you make your own luck in who you surround yourself with and how you treat them and the effort you put in but in the main there has to be an element of luck that you're not wholly responsible for.

[NomduJour]

If your main aim is, say, being worth a nice eight figure sum, then your best bet is surely becoming a partner in a Magic Circle or US law firm. You might not necessarily make it where you qualify, but as career paths go that has to be the most objectively reliable way - otherwise, grad scheme at a big bank and choose the right department.

Doing your own thing is the hard work/knowledge/application plus an awful lot of right thing/right place/right time.

[Panamax]

YesterdaysMan said:

your best bet is surely becoming a partner in a Magic Circle or US law firm.

Sounds nice 'n ' easy!

UK population c.60,000,000
Magic Circle partners c.2,500

I make that about a one in 24,000 chance.

[Jcwjosh]

As someone who is currently attempting to carry out the title of this thread my take is

Surround yourself with the right people, people you can learn from, offer something valuable and usually this is experience ( in my case i have business partners who have created and sold business's before ) they are a decade or 2 older than me and I have learnt so much in the inception of our business just by listening to their previous mistakes/success.

Stick to what you know and are good at and don't try to re-invent the wheel

I will check back in 5-6 years time and let you know how it went

[Portia5]

NomduJour said:

If your main aim is, say, being worth a nice eight figure sum, then your best bet is surely becoming a partner in a Magic Circle or US law firm. .

Becoming an EQUITY partner is when the money starts getting serious. My first cousin once removed is one such. Made it in her 30's and currently still only in early 40's. Salary between 3 and 4M I believe.

Edited by Portia5 on Wednesday 28th February 17:45

[Wacky Racer]

Just reading John Caudwell's autobiography at the moment.

[jasonrobertson86]

Portia5 said:

Becoming an EQUITY partner is when the money starts getting serious. My first cousin once removed is one such. Made it in her 30's and currently still only in early 40's. Salary between 3 and 4M I believe.

Edited by Portia5 on Wednesday 28th February 17:45

Senior partners in big 4 in UK are around the same.

[M1AGM]

jasonrobertson86 said:

Portia5 said:

Becoming an EQUITY partner is when the money starts getting serious. My first cousin once removed is one such. Made it in her 30's and currently still only in early 40's. Salary between 3 and 4M I believe.

Edited by Portia5 on Wednesday 28th February 17:45

Senior partners in big 4 in UK are around the same.

Sure, but they do have to sell their souls. Not much family time, very high divorce rate and the average life expectancy is something ridiculous like 67.

Having been there got the t-shirt, most people fail to realise that time is their most precious asset and cannot be bought back.

[jasonrobertson86]

M1AGM said:

Sure, but they do have to sell their souls. Not much family time, very high divorce rate and the average life expectancy is something ridiculous like 67.

Having been there got the t-shirt, most people fail to realise that time is their most precious asset and cannot be bought back.

Wow, is that life expectancy number a recent study/fact? Find it tough to believe.

[Tim Cognito]

AB said:

Indeed, and the eggs in the basket have gone now so it's business as usual.

We happened to have exclusivity on a product that the Australian government REALLY wanted and an honest supplier who refused to sell direct, pointing them in our direction.

Milked it for a couple of years and moved on. Point being, I was agreeing that you make your own luck in who you surround yourself with and how you treat them and the effort you put in but in the main there has to be an element of luck that you're not wholly responsible for.

Very nice!

I think it's possible to attribute too much to luck, thinking about the billionaires who seem like they were in the right place at the right time in terms of emerging technology or whatever, however there are some of them who are just natural entrepreneurs who I think would have made a good hustle if you plonked them in any decade.

[FamousPheasant]

If money is the sole aim I'm not convinced the UK is the right country to be living in at the moment. Yes, you can become comfortably wealthy in the UK, but the tax take is so enormous there is very little benefit in pushing oneself to the upper echelons. If you are PAYE your best bet is to try retire early.

I think I would base myself in the US, based on my experience, if money was my aim.

[M1AGM]

jasonrobertson86 said:

M1AGM said:

Sure, but they do have to sell their souls. Not much family time, very high divorce rate and the average life expectancy is something ridiculous like 67.

Having been there got the t-shirt, most people fail to realise that time is their most precious asset and cannot be bought back.

Wow, is that life expectancy number a recent study/fact? Find it tough to believe.

Well to be fair the comment came from a friend who is a partner in one of the big 4, maybe a little tongue in cheek, so it may not be strictly true, but he does work every hour there is and only has quality time with the family when they take a holiday (but he still works).

[brickwall]

FamousPheasant said:

If money is the sole aim I'm not convinced the UK is the right country to be living in at the moment. Yes, you can become comfortably wealthy in the UK, but the tax take is so enormous there is very little benefit in pushing oneself to the upper echelons. If you are PAYE your best bet is to try retire early.

I think I would base myself in the US, based on my experience, if money was my aim.

I think there’s merit in this right now. Not so much in the tax take once you factor in healthcare and property taxes, the US isn’t that different), but just the availability of jobs paying $1m+ pa. The pool of them in the UK really is very small, it’s proportionally much larger in the US.

[djohnson]

M1AGM said:

jasonrobertson86 said:

M1AGM said:

Sure, but they do have to sell their souls. Not much family time, very high divorce rate and the average life expectancy is something ridiculous like 67.

Having been there got the t-shirt, most people fail to realise that time is their most precious asset and cannot be bought back.

Wow, is that life expectancy number a recent study/fact? Find it tough to believe.

Well to be fair the comment came from a friend who is a partner in one of the big 4, maybe a little tongue in cheek, so it may not be strictly true, but he does work every hour there is and only has quality time with the family when they take a holiday (but he still works).

I recall the life expectancy of 67 statistic it was a few years ago now (I am a Big 4 partner so it was mildly concerning), however you only had to look at it to realise it was flawed. It was based upon a statistical analysis, however it’d taken a cohort of Big 4 partners who had retired around the same time and worked out the average age at death of those who had passed away by the time the data was complied. Only trouble was the majority of the cohort were still alive at the time the study was done.

[clio007]

I don't get this surround yourself with successful people
Etc etc


Why would a successful person hang around a bum?

[LooneyTunes]

djohnson said:

M1AGM said:

jasonrobertson86 said:

M1AGM said:

Sure, but they do have to sell their souls. Not much family time, very high divorce rate and the average life expectancy is something ridiculous like 67.

Having been there got the t-shirt, most people fail to realise that time is their most precious asset and cannot be bought back.

Wow, is that life expectancy number a recent study/fact? Find it tough to believe.

Well to be fair the comment came from a friend who is a partner in one of the big 4, maybe a little tongue in cheek, so it may not be strictly true, but he does work every hour there is and only has quality time with the family when they take a holiday (but he still works).

I recall the life expectancy of 67 statistic it was a few years ago now (I am a Big 4 partner so it was mildly concerning), however you only had to look at it to realise it was flawed. It was based upon a statistical analysis, however it’d taken a cohort of Big 4 partners who had retired around the same time and worked out the average age at death of those who had passed away by the time the data was complied. Only trouble was the majority of the cohort were still alive at the time the study was done.

Anyone who has worked in the city will have stories of friends/colleagues who died young. The two that hit me the hardest were close colleagues who died at 39 and 41 respectively.

Both were great guys, but very poor lifestyle choices probably compounded the fact that some of the long hours/high pressure but high earning careers can seriously impact health (both physical and mental).

A tendency for some to live/get trapped by the city lifestyle (spending way too much on stuff they don’t need, giving the expensive wife/girlfriend a black Amex) or, in some cases, parting a bit too hard doesn’t help…

Although you can’t buy the same time back it is possible to make a few quid and get out, giving you much more freedom later on. There’s often still the restlessness that tries to draw you back, so you need to have at least the outline of a plan…

clio007 said:

I don't get this surround yourself with successful people
Etc etc

Why would a successful person hang around a bum?

They won’t. But you do sometimes meet people who show potential and/or you might want/be able to help (repaying the kindness that someone perhaps once showed you).

[NomduJour]

Can’t think of anyone I know who’s died because of it, but I can think of a lot who didn’t manage the stress very well, and a load more who ended up divorced with kids who likely hated them, despite the money.