All experts and seasoned business owners give the same advice to beginning entrepreneurs: even if your business becomes a success, you won’t actually get rich from it. A comfortable life and the ability to cater to all of your family’s needs and wants is all you can hope for, that is, if you defy the odds and your business doesn’t fail in the first few years in the first place. Some even go so far as to say that if it’s money you’re after, you’d better have an Ivy League degree and a corporate career.
On the other hand, everyone knows about college dropouts who have become ridiculously rich. Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard, Steve Jobs dropped out of Reed College, Elizabeth Holmes dropped out of Stanford at the age of 19, and now she’s the world’s youngest self-made billionaire.
What is the difference?
So what separates those who are simply successful from those who have become legendary? Anna Vital analyzed Bloomberg statistics on the world’s billionaires. The data showed that of the 100 richest people today, only 27 inherited at least part of their fortune, while 73 were “self-made”. Of the self-made billionaires, 18 do not have a college degree, while 36 were born into poor families. Focusing specifically on those who did not graduate from college and who were also from working-class families, she determined an overarching common trait shared by these eight self-made billionaires: “they took huge risks.”
Of course, taking risks without knowing what you’re getting into can only spell disaster. At least three or more of these eight billionaires also had other things in common. This includes trying out different businesses before “The One” which ultimately paid off. Several also invested during tough times and/or bought failing companies and turned problems into worthwhile opportunities. At least three of them either micromanaged their company or ate with their employees, or both. This kept them in tune with the pulse of the company as a whole, which they turned into opportunities to seize while avoiding disconnection of their respective companies from their real-world situation. Three of them achieved the ultimate goal: a single deal that changed everything.
This is not to say that moderately successful entrepreneurs are failures. In fact, these companies are the lifeblood of the economy, employing roughly half of all workers and contributing a large portion of GDP. Having a successful small business is certainly nothing to sneeze at, and would be an achievement anyone would be proud of even in the twilight of their lives. But succeeding beyond your wildest dreams is more within your reach than you think, especially with the right attitude, research, and knowledge.
Of course, becoming a self-made billionaire doesn’t just benefit you and yours. The Center for Policy Studies (CPS) published an infographic stating that such “super-entrepreneurs have created millions of jobs, billions of dollars in private wealth, and probably trillions of dollars of value for society.”