Entrepreneur vs. Employee

This is such an important visual regarding the two paths we can all choose. One side you are leasing your time to a company in order to be a part of an out-dated and broken system that makes the company, executives, and C-suite work.

Upsides: a steady paycheck, potential benefits, and predictable income (as long as the business stays in business and keeps you employed). Downsides: you stop working and the income stops immediately, limited earnings (a capped income potential), no asset in place, and only physically paid by trading your time for money.

Whenever you come to gain clarity and perspective on these points everything has the ability to change.

1. Employees only rely on a single stream of income or two and, if you’re solely trading your time for money today, you’ll always be at risk financially.
2. Employees save their money solely to save. Recognize the amount of interest you’re earning in your savings accounts today is abysmal and returns in investment accounts can be expected to be minimal as well.
3. Employees do not prioritize their goals efficiently enough. Most individuals plan for their Friday nights and weekends not looking further past these short term decisions. They aren’t planning where they want their lives to be in 6 months, 12 months, 3 years, 5 years or 10 years down the road.
4. Employees hang out with people they pretend to like. They gather around the water cooler talking about other people, news, weather, politics, and people that are only on their level of influence. They don’t shoot for the moon or spend time with the role models they’ve always admired.
5. Lastly, employees only shoot for $1,000,000 in earnings or in their nest egg. Yes, you’ll make $1M in your lifetime. Do the math. If you make $50,000 per year, in 20 years you will have accumulated $1M in lifetime earnings. If you make $100,000 per year, you’ll be a millionaire in 10 years. However, it’s not about how much you make in your life but how much of that you keep.

The other side of the coin is you are investing your time to grow a business and asset that you own. No one can take that away from you like they can in a job. Upsides: no limit to your income and how much you earn, you are building an asset that you own, a legacy can be put in place for your future family, you’re working with a team that actually cares about you and your success, and you can multiply your time and growth. Downsides: no guarantees, only paid on results and not just for showing up.

Thankfully mentors of mine shared this information with me in regards to things we must do in our 20’s in order to become financially free, live life on our own terms and be millionaires by our 30’s and beyond. Here are just a few of those action items:

1. Develop multiple streams of income. Most millionaires have 7 different streams of income so you can get creative in terms of where these come from. It can be from businesses, sales, real estate, equity in stocks, dividends, patents, royalty income, etc.
2. Save to invest, don’t merely save to save. At the end of the day, put your money to use and multiply it.
3. Get your goals and priorities straight. A goal written down, read 2x per day at a minimum, taken action upon, and with accountability from others will yield massive success in the long run. Doubt me? Great but the stories and results from countless individuals will back this all up. Go ahead and do your own research.
4. Hang out with people you admire. I posted something along these lines today on my Instagram page which is 100% accurate. The 33% Rule states that you should be spending 33% of your time with people below you. These are people you can mentor and help and you will feel good about yourself. The next 33% of time should be spent with people on your level. These are mostly your friends and circle of influence. However, the last 33% is arguably the most important. Spend 33% of your time with people 10 or 20 years ahead of you. They will make you feel uncomfortable but that’s how you will grow.
5. Shoot for $10,000,000 million, not just $1,000,000. 10X your target as Grant Cardone would say. Why not? What else do you have to lose?

This is what I’m in the process of accomplishing. It’s a marathon, not a sprint but we all still have to win the race. I’ll be honest I’ve failed at a lot of this the past 3 years but I’m grateful for that and the lessons I’ve learned on my journey. I haven’t made it, YET. However, I’m just following the ones who already have made it in their 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s. This is what they’re focused on and have said to do!

Do not deviate from the system or path and try to reinvent the wheel yourself. These are timeless principles that have proven to succeed over time once you put the work in. So, ask yourself, are you putting in the hard work, smart work, and associating with the right kind of people?

In today’s digital economy I would highly encourage you to start with a job AND build a business on the side at the same time. Why not? Don’t make the excuse of I don’t have time. Your time on Earth is limited and one day you will need 1) more time freedom, 2) more money and 3) improved health. Today you do not have to choose one or the other and the risk and start-up for business are so low and nominal. You can have both but you have to be someone who is looking for more and has the ambition to do something about it.

What path are you on? Job, business or both? Don’t get me wrong I’m not down on jobs just up on opportunity here. This is the greatest time to be alive ever! The choice is yours.

My Very Best,

Donovan Vogel