Making your first million dollars is no easy feat for the average person. That’s only because you’re going about it in all the wrong ways! Making your first million, and more after that, doesn’t have to be a challenge. You don’t need some crazy new idea, nor do you need a Harvard business degree. All you need is to be able to look at the problem from a different angle. Here’s 7 Steps To Make Your First Million (And 3 More To Keep It!).
1) Game Plan
Rushing in blind is never a good idea. Take this very seriously, this is money we’re talking about. Make up a step-by-step plan (hey, just like this one!) to making your first million. This may consist of small investments to build your confidence, or going for the whole hog first swing. My recommendation would be starting small, but hey, that’s just me. No matter which way you start, you have to be very clear with your plan.
Just remember, this is *you* that has to go through with your plan. Are you going to be willing to stick with this plan? If you aren’t 100% sure that answer is yes, then you’re just wasting your own time. You have to be confident in your plan, and dedicated to it the whole way. There will be ups and downs, like anything else in life, but if you quit when the going gets rough, you stand very little, if any, chance to make your goal.
2) Saving Isn’t Enough
Savings may seem like the easiest route to a million dollars. Well, it is, if you want to become a millionaire on your deathbed. Just saving without making any lifestyle changes would take forever to make that million, and by the time you actually got it, you wouldn’t be able to enjoy it to the fullest.
This is possibly the worst way to get to a million dollars, just barely better than actually losing money. (In reality, by saving, you *are* losing money, but I’ll let my father explain why.) If you combine saving with the other tips on this list, it can help some, but it isn’t nearly enough on its own to help make your first million dollars.
Saving isn’t nearly the best thing to do when you’re looking to make money. Using that money, making it multiply, that’s where your focus needs to lie. There are two kinds of people that save: Those who want to stay in the Rat Race, and those who don’t know there’s a better way.
When you let your money sit in the bank, it loses value over time. Successful entrepreneurs know this fact, and do their best to have as much capital as possible working for them, while still living a comfortable lifestyle. Striking that balance isn’t easy, but here are some tips to help you figure it out.
3) Live Frugally
This may sound bad at first, but hear me out. You don’t have to live off instant ramen packages and tap water. You can still eat, drink, and have fun like any other person. What I mean by this is you should consider all your expenses, and see which are unnecessary. Do you have things like Hulu, Netflix, or other streaming services? Maybe more than one? There’s a place you could cut back.
How about your new car on lease in the driveway? Maybe you don’t absolutely *need* the newest car. Maybe getting a car that’s more reasonable for your real needs, maybe off Craigslist or somewhere similar (don’t worry, it’s not as scary as some think!). This is a more major step, but maybe even where you’re living is a bit expensive. Maybe downsizing to a smaller apartment, or from a house to an apartment, is a good idea.
The point of this all is that any money you aren’t spending is going towards making your first million. This money can be used to make more money, too. I’ve been doing that for awhile, actually.
I started with a snowblower at the side of the road that didn’t run, and through my not-so-magical Craigslist powers, turned that into a Porsche, a 400WHP drift car, a rally car, a motorcycle, and so much more! And all of that started with about $3 worth of scrap metal in that snowblower, and $3 in parts to get it running again.
Just let that sink in. SIX DOLLARS. I spend more than that at Taco Bell! That much, turned into multiple cars, motorcycles, boats, jet skis, and other toys. It’s not a bad gig, if i’m being honest. The experiences I’ve had are worth more than everything I’ve owned, though.
While living frugally, not going out for food every night and having no monthly subscriptions, I got to drive a DeLorean DMC-12, Honda S2000, a classic Skylark with a shift kit, and tons more. Trust me, you don’t have to spend a lot to have some *crazy* experiences!
4) Math It Out
At least for me, numbers make more sense than just an idea. That’s how my business deals work, you figure out how much you buy for, add repair costs, account for labor, and subtract that from your worst case scenario selling price. A very simple take on the idea of Risk Vs Reward, a complicated topic my father breaks down to make it easy to understand.
In your case, it may not be as simple, though. You’ll have to factor in *all* your expenses, and *all* your income. The net gain there can be set aside for investing, to be touched *only* in dire emergency, or for making more money.
With that number, you can roughly figure out how long it would take. At your current pace, that is. As you start to invest more and more money though, more will come out, making that goal closer with each move. Math won’t be exact for your million-dollar journey, but it’s a good starting point for sure. Build your numbers, then build your fortune.
5) Motivate Yourself
Making your first million won’t be a total walk in the park! It takes guts, determination, and patience as well. It won’t be overnight, either. This is going to take a bit of time, investing in yourself and your business, and sticking with it. You have to stay focused, and motivated! Motivating yourself isn’t always, easy, so try setting rewards for yourself.
Maybe the first week that you consistently make over $100 a day (on par to make $36,500 a year), treat yourself to something. Maybe get a motorcycle, or something small like that. Liter-bikes can be had for under $2000 all day, and that would set you back under a month. They’re actually a fairly economical way to get around, too.
Maybe when you hit $280 a day for a week (on par to make $100,000 a year), get yourself a used sports car, like a Porsche Boxster or something of the sorts. Something that says “class with some sass”. You can find Boxsters all day for $8000, setting you back, again, under one month. Maybe pass up on the $300 a day reward, and when you hit $400 a day (making just shy of $150,000 a year), sell your Boxster and move into a mid-90’s Porsche 911. Those can be had, with a bit of looking, for about $15,000.
If you sell your Boxster for what you’re in it for, say $8000, then you only have to front $7000 more, setting you back a mere 18 days. See how progression can make things fun? By the time you’re making $400 a day, you’ve got a wicked-fast sport bike, and a Porsche 911! As you get more and more, you can continue to up your rewards, maybe selling the 911 for something like a GT-R, or a Viper, maybe a newer Corvette, whatever your heart desires!
6) Don’t Trap Too Much Money
Investing is great and all, but if you go in 100% on one item, and it goes kaput, or you find a better investment, then what? You’re up a crick. Here’s another scenario that wouldn’t let you invest much, having a house. Going to college. Having children. All of these things tie up tons of your time and money.
Both of those resources are precious, and could be doing much better things. I understand the desire to have something tangible, like a house. I can see how people would want a family, too, or a college degree. If you aren’t financially stable, though, then maybe waiting is the wise option.
You can settle down, start a family, do all that.. Once you’re financially ready to do so. If you don’t have income streams built, then where is the money to support your family coming from? Thin air? Loans? No matter what, it’s always a good idea to have a stable foundation before trying to build something on it. Ask just about anybody, and they’ll agree, unless they’ve got a thing for destruction. Use the money while you have the choice, make more money, set up an income for yourself, and then start to build your life up on that.
7) Put Your Nose To The Grindstone
We’ve done enough theory-crafting on rules, now, it’s time to go out and put it into practice! You’ve done all the necessary prerequisites, now go forth and conquer! Go on out, find your opportunities to make money, and win at life. Not sure where to look to start making money? We have a few ideas for you here. Are you a little young for those? We have some for the kids, too.
Your age doesn’t affect your ability to make money though, so regardless if you’re thirteen or thirty, go and make some money! Just make sure that you’re okay with where you’re living, that you’re comfortable working there. That’s going to be huge, make sure you have a place to work. If you’ve gotta go to Panera or Starbucks to work, that’s not ideal, but it’s a nice change of pace once in awhile to get out of the house to work.
Now… How To Keep That First Million!
1) Understand The Difference Between “Need” And “Want”
I’m sure that anyone has heard a kid in a store say “I need it!” at least once in their life. They may be too young to understand, or maybe just a bit bratty. Either way, they don’t really need whatever it is they’re referencing. You may read that, and say “duh, that’s obvious”, to which I’d respond “not really, no”.
Here’s the thing; we still do it from time to time. Even without realizing it, we still have the capacity to “need” trivial items. It might be from a constant case of Keeping Up With The Joneses, or it could be an unspoken rivalry with your sibling to show off. Regardless, letting go of the need to have or be the best will get you much further in life than winning that contest.
2) Set Up Multiple Sources Of Income
To start out, having one source of income is okay. You’re just beginning to amass some capital to work with, to use in making your first million. As your net worth keeps growing, though, relying on only a single source of income becomes less and less practical. Branching out and creating multiple provides many advantages.
For one, if that initial source of income crashes out or takes a dip, your entire way of life doesn’t have to shift. You’ll have others to life off as backups until you can get that up and running again. Another benefit is that your maximum income increases exponentially.
With each stream of income, not only does it increase multiplicatively, but as you gain more experience, each stream is of higher quality than the one before it, and can support more income than said precursors.
Having many sources of income is, quite literally, better in every way. If it becomes too much for you to handle, then hire someone to keep track of your finances, a personal accountant. With multiple income sources, that shouldn’t be a significant dent in your pocket. It would relieve tons of stress from you as well. Overall, this ties in with my next point quite well…
3) Never Stop Growing!
Once you’re done making your first million, there’s no reason to stop at one! You have the experience on how to do it, and know what mistakes you made the first time, why not do it again? It’ll be much easier the second time than the first time, you already have a plan that works! Maybe your next goal is to shorten how long it takes, say, try shooting for a million every other year, so $500,000 a year.
Remember back in step 5 or making your first million, about motivating yourself? In my example, you were up to $400 a day, and got a Porsche 911. Now that you know how to make $400 a day, if you do that three more times (progressively getting easier each time), you’re at $1,600 a day, and that’s just over $500,000 a year! There’s your million every two years, and to grow even more just keeps getting easier!
Before you know it, you’ll be earning a *seven figure a year income*, something not many can make! Imagine that, your starting goal was just to make a single million dollars, and now you’re pulling that every year!
Moral
There’s no time like the present! If you’re on the fence about going for it, try starting part-time, as a side gig. Pick something small that you buy every day, say your morning coffee. We’ll just say that it’s $5 a day. Try making that passively. It’s only $5 a day, but that can add up quickly, that’s $35 a week, about $150 a month, about $1,800 a year. An extra couple thousand dollars a year doesn’t sound bad at all!
From there, just keep going at it. $10 a day, $20 a day, $50 a day, these numbers will come sooner than you’d expect once the income starts rolling in. Just give it a go, you’ll be surprised!
