“I’m 19 and I Want to Be a Multi-Millionaire. I Have No Work Experience, No Job, No Money. I Want to Start My Own Business. What’s a Good Field to Get Into?”

Adam Leffert’s (www.leffert.com) response to this question.

I will answer your question from a slightly different angle.

You want multiple million dollars.  Let’s pick a number: $5M.

To make $5M, you have to create $50M of value.

That doesn’t mean something you feel inside should be worth $50M.  It means something people will actually open their wallet and pay $50M for.

Will that be 5 people paying $10M?  Probably not.  50M people paying $1?  You get the idea.

Think of a baseball player that makes $5M per year.

How much money does he bring in to the other people and businesses related to baseball? (ticket sales, advertising, t-shirts, beer, etc.)

The whole “do what you love” vs. “do what people want” is a big debate.  I don’t have time to type out all my thoughts on the subject but I will summarize:

– Read “So Good They Can’t Ignore You” by Cal Newport.  He makes an excellent case for why “do what you love” is misguided advice.  You don’t know what you might love until you get deep into it, and if you’re trying to sell something you love but nobody wants to buy, you will be miserable.

– I would suggest starting with what people want the most, then narrow that to things you can provide.  Not the same as things you have.  Not the same as your talents.  Things you can provide.  The grocery store sells me cereal.  I don’t really care where it comes from as long as it’s clean and good for me.  I don’t care about their talents and dreams.

– If you refuse to start with what other people want, start with all the things you love,  then prioritize them by how much other people want to pay for them.

Don’t ignore supply and demand.

The supply of people who love to act, sing, be famous etc. is much greater than the demand, so unless you win the fame lottery you are likely to have a tough time chasing those “dreams”.

Get going!

🙂

Adam