If You Want to Get Rich in Your 20s, DON'T Start a Business

Summary

The speaker challenges the notion that starting a business in your 20s is ideal, arguing that most lack the necessary skills and experience. Instead, they emphasize the importance of developing a valuable skill, gaining wisdom through real-world experience, and building a network. They share their journey from learning property management to building a $2 billion business, highlighting the significance of mentorship, confidence in one's abilities, and the mindset of delivering value to succeed in business.

Takeaways

• 🚫 Starting a business in your 20s is often not advisable as you may lack the necessary skills and readiness.
• 💡 All businesses are about providing value in exchange for money, and many 20-year-olds have not yet developed the skills to offer value as a business person.
• 🎓 A college degree does not guarantee success in the business world, as real-world experience is crucial.
• 🏢 The speaker entered the property management industry to learn about property investment and build a supportive community around them.
• 🔧 It took the speaker 6-7 years to gain the competence needed to start their own business at the age of 29.
• 💰 Developing a skill and becoming an expert in a niche is key to creating value and starting a successful business.
• 🕒 The concept of '10,000 hours to mastery' is highlighted as a path to expertise in a chosen field.
• 📚 Knowledge is gained from books and videos, but wisdom comes from practical experience and doing.
• 🤔 When hiring, the speaker looks for skills that the candidate brings and their confidence in delivering value to the company.
• 💼 A confident attitude and a willingness to work for free until proven value can be a winning strategy for both the employer and the employee.
• 🔄 Networking and being part of trade organizations is essential for building a community and learning from others in your field.
• 🌐 The speaker emphasizes the importance of thinking big and not limiting oneself by small-scale thinking or belief systems.
• 💼 The script suggests that working smart is as important as working hard, and that the energy required for a small deal can be the same as for a large one.
• 📈 The speaker shares their experience of scaling their business to a $2 billion valuation over 30 years, emphasizing the importance of starting with a solid foundation.
• 🤝 The importance of being curious, open-minded, and having a mentor in your desired field is stressed for personal and professional growth.
• 📈 The Limitless Expo is introduced as a platform to help entrepreneurs and business owners network and learn from each other to improve their businesses.

Q & A

Why does the speaker suggest that starting a business in your 20s may not be the best idea?

The speaker believes that individuals in their 20s often lack the necessary skills and readiness to start a successful business, as they have not yet gained valuable experience or developed a niche where they excel.

What is the fundamental concept of business according to the speaker?

The fundamental concept of business, as stated by the speaker, is providing value in exchange for money.

Why did the speaker choose to work in property management initially?

The speaker chose to work in property management to learn how to invest in properties, gaining systems, mentors, coaches, and a supportive community that contributed to his growth and development.

At what age did the speaker start his first business and why?

The speaker started his first business at the age of 28 or 29, after having acquired skills, expertise, and confidence in his niche through years of experience.

What is the significance of the 10,000-hour rule mentioned by the speaker?

The 10,000-hour rule signifies the amount of time and effort one needs to invest in a skill to achieve mastery, which is crucial for becoming valuable and successful in one's chosen field.

How does the speaker differentiate between knowledge and wisdom in the context of business?

The speaker differentiates knowledge as information gained from reading books or watching videos, while wisdom comes from actual experience and doing things, which builds a deeper understanding and practical skills.

What qualities does the speaker look for in young people who want to work for his company?

The speaker looks for skills that the young person can bring, such as technical knowledge in areas like social media or web development, and a strong desire and confidence in their ability to deliver value to the company.

What is the speaker's perspective on the importance of networking in one's industry?

The speaker emphasizes the importance of networking as it allows individuals to build a community, gain access to smart people, and learn from their experiences, which is invaluable for career growth and business development.

What is the purpose of the Limitless Expo as described by the speaker?

The purpose of the Limitless Expo is to provide a platform for business owners and entrepreneurs to network, learn from experts in their niches, and fast track their growth by gaining wisdom and experience from others.

What are the three critical questions one should answer before starting a business according to the speaker?

The speaker does not detail the three critical questions in the provided script, but he mentions that there is a separate video where he discusses them, suggesting they are essential considerations for potential business owners.

How does the speaker define success in the context of starting a business?

The speaker defines success as developing a skill that brings value to others, being curious, open-minded, and having the confidence to deliver value to a business, even offering to work for free until proven results are achieved.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 Learning and Starting a Business: The Journey

The speaker emphasizes that starting a business in one's 20s may not be ideal due to a lack of skills and experience. They share their own journey, beginning with a degree and then moving into property management to learn from experienced mentors. It wasn't until their late 20s that they felt ready to start their first business. The speaker stresses the importance of developing skills and gaining wisdom through real-world experience, rather than just theoretical knowledge. They highlight the value of a supportive community and the significance of mastering a niche before venturing into entrepreneurship.

05:00

💼 The Mindset for Entrepreneurial Success

In this paragraph, the speaker discusses the mindset required for successful entrepreneurship, which includes focusing on delivering value to a business rather than just personal gain. They advocate for a confident attitude, backed by actual experience and the willingness to work for free until proven value is delivered. The speaker also touches on the importance of curiosity, open-mindedness, and the ability to learn from others. They suggest that networking and continuous learning are crucial for identifying opportunities and building a successful business.

10:03

🌐 Networking and the Power of Community

The speaker highlights the importance of networking and being part of a community in one's field of interest. They share their personal experience of joining trade organizations and gaining a wealth of knowledge and connections that contributed to their success. The speaker also mentions the creation of the Limitless Expo, an annual conference designed to bring together entrepreneurs and business owners to share wisdom, learn from each other, and find solutions to common challenges. The paragraph emphasizes thinking big, working smart, and leveraging the power of community to accelerate one's business growth.

15:04

🛠 Steps to Starting and Scaling a Business

This paragraph outlines the steps an individual should take before starting a business, including finding a niche, gaining real-world experience, and building confidence in one's abilities. The speaker advises to offer services for free initially to prove value, which can lead to scaling up and attracting more clients. They also stress the importance of asking critical questions before starting a business and provide a link to a video that discusses these questions in detail. The paragraph concludes with advice on knowing when one is ready to move from the initial phase of finding a niche to starting and scaling a business.

Keywords

💡Value

Value, in the context of the video, refers to the worth or usefulness that a business provides in exchange for money. It is the fundamental concept of commerce, where goods or services are offered to meet a need or desire of the consumer. The speaker emphasizes that being valuable as a business person is not common in early 20s, highlighting the importance of developing skills to provide real value in the market.

💡Property Management

Property Management is the operational aspect of real estate, focusing on the management of residential or commercial properties. In the script, the speaker shares his experience in property management as a stepping stone to gaining valuable skills and knowledge. It serves as an example of a niche where one can develop expertise and eventually start a business.

💡Mastery

Mastery, as discussed in the video, is the state of being highly skilled or proficient in a particular field. The concept is linked to the idea that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery, which the speaker uses to illustrate the amount of dedication and experience needed before starting a successful business.

💡Wisdom

Wisdom in the video is portrayed as the deep understanding and practical knowledge gained through experience, as opposed to theoretical knowledge. The speaker differentiates wisdom from knowledge, emphasizing the importance of real-world experience in building a successful business.

💡Confidence

Confidence is a belief in one's own abilities and is highlighted in the video as a key trait for those who wish to work for free initially with the promise of being paid based on performance. It demonstrates a person's self-assurance in delivering value and is a quality that can lead to success in business.

💡Niche

A niche, in the context of the video, refers to a specialized segment of a market that has particular preferences or needs. The speaker advises finding and developing a niche to become an expert in a specific area, which can provide a competitive edge and a solid foundation for a business.

💡Networking

Networking is the process of building and maintaining professional relationships. The speaker underscores the importance of networking within one's industry to gain knowledge, support, and opportunities, using his involvement in trade organizations as an example.

💡Curiosity

Curiosity is presented in the video as an essential trait for continuous learning and growth. The speaker values curious individuals who are open to new ideas and experiences, as they are more likely to adapt and innovate in the business world.

💡Entitlement

Entitlement in the script refers to a sense of deserving privileges or rewards without having done anything to earn them. The speaker warns against this mindset, advocating instead for a focus on delivering value to others as a path to success.

💡Mentor

A mentor is someone who imparts wisdom and guidance based on their experience. The video emphasizes the role of mentors in helping individuals develop skills and navigate their career paths, as illustrated by the speaker's own journey in property management.

💡Limitless Expo

Limitless Expo, as mentioned in the video, is an annual conference aimed at providing a platform for entrepreneurs and business owners to network and learn from experts in various niches. It represents an opportunity for individuals to fast-track their learning and business growth.

Highlights

The common advice to start a business in your 20s is often impractical due to a lack of skills and readiness.

Businesses fundamentally provide value in exchange for money, a concept not yet grasped by most in their early 20s.

The speaker's initial college degree did not guarantee high-paying job opportunities as expected.

Entering the property management field provided the speaker with systems, mentors, and a supportive community.

It took the speaker until their late 20s to start their first business, after acquiring necessary skills and expertise.

The importance of developing a skill to a point of mastery, ideally through 10,000 hours of practice.

The distinction between knowledge, obtained through reading and watching, and wisdom, gained from doing.

The speaker emphasizes the value of hands-on experience over theoretical learning for true skill development.

When hiring, the speaker looks for skills that the candidate can bring and their confidence in delivering value.

Confident individuals who offer to work for free until they prove their value are highly appealing to employers.

Successful business owners should focus on delivering value to the business rather than personal benefits.

The speaker advocates for being curious, open-minded, and having a mentor in the desired field of expertise.

The decision to start a new business depends on personal circumstances, mentorship, and economic conditions.

A business must solve a problem, make life easier for consumers, and be sustainable and profitable.

Networking is essential for gaining access to smart people and learning from their experiences.

The speaker's involvement in trade organizations helped build a network and understand the industry better.

Limitless Expo was created to provide a platform for entrepreneurs to network and learn from experts.

Thinking big and having a large mindset can lead to greater opportunities and achievements.

Working smart is as important as working hard for business success.

The speaker suggests starting with a niche, gaining clients, and then considering starting a business.

There are three critical questions to answer before starting a business, which the speaker has detailed in a separate video.

Transcripts

So every internet guru tells you to start a business in your 20s.

The reality is that just doesn't work as you have no skills

and you're just not ready.

All businesses are just providing some kind of value in exchange for money.

That's all it is.

And most 20 year olds are not valuable as a business person yet.

Not that they can't be, and most aren't in their early 20s.

So, for example, when I first got out of college, I had the degree like everyone.

I thought, oh my gosh, I'm set.

But then you realize the world hits you in the face pretty hard.

And, there just aren't those kinds of high paying jobs

like you thought there would be.

Now, that can be the case in some instances, but generally that's not.

So for me, I went into the property management world

and I went to work for a company in Seattle,

and I went there because I wanted to learn how to invest in properties.

And this company

managed

thousands of units all over the greater Washington State area.

And so built into there, I had systems,

I had mentors, I had coaches, I had people that had been doing it longer.

And so I now had a community of people that was supporting me

in my adventure and my journey, and they were all very, very supportive

in making me better than I was when I first started there.

And it wasn't until I was 28, 29 years old

that I actually started my first business.

So I and I'm getting all those skills and having a niche

and being very good at something.

Then of course, that was valuable to the world.

It took me 6 or 7 years to get my starting to have the competence

to be able to go out and start my own business, which is what I did

when I was 29 years old.

Fast forward 30 years now I've got a huge business worth over $2 billion.

The main thing is just to develop a skill.

Hopefully it's something that you really, really like because then it will never

really feel like work and then you have to master it.

So there's a saying that when you have performed over

10,000 hours of something, then you start to reach mastery.

That's really what you need.

And for me, it was property management.

I had seen so many situations with residents, with vendors, with investors

and cash flow and non cash flow and issues that come with property investment

that by the time I got the confidence to go out and do it myself,

I felt like I had done quite a bit at that point.

Once I developed a lot of those base

skills as property management, I became very, very good at that niche.

I continued to develop those skills even when I went out to start my own business.

What I became known for was my property management experience

and being able to turnaround projects, because I had actually done it before

and it was way different than reading a book

or taking a short class or watching a video.

Actually doing the real thing builds the wisdom.

So what is knowledge?

And the other is wisdom,

and there's wisdom that comes from actually doing things.

Knowledge comes from reading books, watching videos and those kinds of things.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

You also have to do that too.

But just having knowledge or reading something, it's like

if you're going to learn how to play golf, you actually have to play golf.

You can't just watch a YouTube video on it.

So 20 years old, most people don't have that kind of wisdom.

When a 20 year old approaches me to come to work for my company.

I always look for a couple things.

The first one is what can they bring?

What skill do they have that I don't know anything about?

That can be tech.

It could be websites, it could be

Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, it could be anything.

Well, those kinds of things that a lot of old people don't know.

For example, the second one would be what do they want?

If they have the confidence in themselves

that they will work for free,

even though it might not always end up being free,

then I know that they have

the confidence to deliver value to the company.

So whenever somebody says I can do these things,

I can help your business and I'll do it for free.

You only have to pay me.

If I'm able to perform,

then there's almost no way that I can lose in that scenario.

So when you have somebody that says, I can do this for your company,

I can make you a lot of money and I'll do it for free.

You know that they have the confidence and they're going to do it.

And if they don't, you've lost nothing.

So you're when somebody comes to you

with those kinds of things, it means that they're confident.

They know that they can do it.

And they are going

to probably be super successful and very wealthy in their lifetime.

So most people, no matter what the age, always

come to an employer with what's in it for me.

Always.

They always want to know what are they going to do,

how much are they going to make, and how is it going to benefit them.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

But if you're going to be a successful business owner,

you can't be thinking that way.

You have to be thinking, what can I deliver to the business

owner that brings value to them and makes them more money?

Because that is the way that you will get in the door

if you come in with a super confident attitude,

because you've actually have experience of being able to deliver a value

to a business, and you also do it in a way that you say you don't have to pay me

unless I actually make you money, and I deliver

on what I'm telling you I'm going to do, I perform.

There's really a no lose scenario for the employer.

One of the interesting things that you start to realize when you manage

lots of people are there are lots of people

that have big egos, and there are people that always want to be right.

And there are other people that are always curious, they're always open minded,

and those are the people that I want, because the world is

full of people and has plenty of people that are never wrong.

The world is full of people that are always right.

Their world.

Their world is full of people that always want something from you.

It's very rare to have somebody that's super curious

and very rare to have somebody that actually brings value to you.

So if you can just figure out to develop a skill

that brings value to somebody else, then the world will open up for you.

But that's not that's not the majority of what people do.

Most people feel a little bit of entitlement

about what they've done, what they've made, what they've had, who

they know, what they bring to the table, and typically they don't bring anything

to the table.

The first step is to dial in a niche.

Be curious.

Lose the ego, and find a mentor

that's in the space that you want to be really good at,

and work for them for free.

One of the questions

I always get asked is, at what point do you transition into a new business?

And the answer is, it just really depends on who you are.

The mentoring you're getting,

the economy and the situation that's happening at the time.

So the first thing you always gotta look at, it might not be time

to start a business because maybe it's so revolutionary

that you're really going to be pushing a rock uphill for a long period of time.

Or maybe the time is now, and then you have to take actions.

And so don't forget that a business only works if the consumer wants it.

So a lot of times people start businesses and they don't really know why.

They just want to start a business.

But it never works, of course, unless there's somebody paying you for

your services.

So the first thing and the thing that's the most paramount is, is this a business?

Is this a business that solves somebody's problem,

makes somebody's life easier, and is sustainable

for a long period of time for you that you can make a lot of money in it.

So those are the three things I always look for.

You always have to solve some race problem.

Think of things like Uber or Amazon, which now of course are super obvious,

but they weren't obvious not that long ago.

As long as you always are

curious and open minded and think of those kinds of things,

how can I solve some of these problem and make things easier for the consumer?

You'll have a very good business for the rest of your life.

Hopefully this sounds obvious that you absolutely, positively

need to be networking in the space that you're trying to learn in.

So for me,

I was continually going to continuing education classes as an example,

and I developed a network of people that were already in my space at the time.

I was getting my CPM or my certified property manager's license,

and through that, I was able to meet a lot of people

that were also in the property management space.

They were from all over the country, and of course, I had

and now a new network of people that I could lean on

to ask different things on how things were working, etc., etc.

like that.

And then I also started to get involved in trade organizations.

So I was on the Arizona Housing Association,

and I rose up to that over a period of long time,

and I eventually became the chairman of the board.

And then from there I got appointed to the National Apartment Association.

And each time I did that,

it was just networking with more and more people in my space.

I was now working with brokers, I was networking with lenders,

I was network with title companies and vendors and contractors and people

that I needed because they were all part of those organizations.

And then when I went to the National Apartments

Association, I was connecting with people across the country

that were experiencing the same thing.

So as you start to build your career, and for me, it was property management.

At the time, I was trying to be the best that I could

in that space, and that's the path that I took.

And in every industry there are those opportunities

and every industry there are trade organizations

and conventions and networks that people belong to.

And it's super important that you go to these things

and that you sit down with these people and have coffee with them

or lunch with them or dinner, and you start to build these communities

outside of where you are today, because they my experience has been

that there's a lot of really smart people out there,

and the only way to really get access to them is to be in the game.

So many of you know

that I started an annual conference with Tal Yarbrough called Limitless Expo.

So the reason for this was

specifically because business owners and entrepreneurs

are actually getting crushed right now with regulation, inflation,

high interest rates, capital raising and all those kinds of things.

And my experience has been most investors are always looking

for different kinds of investments at all times.

In other words, everybody wants to be super diverse

in what they're doing, and they want to be around

a community of people that are already doing what they're doing.

Just like I talked about earlier with being part of the National Association.

So now entrepreneurs and business owners can come in one location

and network with people that are doing maybe the exact same thing

as they're doing, but in a different part of the country.

And or they're learning better ways to hone their craft or sharpen their saw

so that they can actually make their business more profitable

or even grow it or scale it even bigger.

And that is the point of limitless is to bring in the people and the experts

in the individual niches, as people start to navigate business,

to help them to be able to do that better, quicker, faster and more efficiently.

So limitless is designed

for my younger self to be able to walk into a community of people

and fast track things that I wish I would have learned at a younger age,

because there's so many things and so many great things

people are doing, but you learn them from doing.

You learn from experience and from wisdom.

And so we try to bring people in to limitless that have that wisdom.

So as a young person, you can actually fast track yourself

so you can get there faster, quicker and more efficiently.

There's a real importance of thinking, big picture.

Now this phrase is used a lot, but the reality is most of us are limited

by our own mindset, our belief systems, and the way that we grow up.

And so you have to realize as you look around, like, for me,

for real estate, when I fly into a city, it doesn't matter where it is.

Last time I went to Nashville, I counted.

There were 15 cranes in the air,

all building projects all around downtown Nashville.

Now why is that and why can't I do that?

It's because I don't know how to do that.

Somebody, somewhere is convinced.

Somebody to sell the land, finance a project, and build

a massive building in the middle of downtown Nashville.

And this goes on every single place.

And so some of you might be playing in a really small pond,

like trying to buy one rental house for Jump On.

There's nothing wrong with starting that way.

Why not have a really big mindset around thinking big?

Oftentimes people just have a very limiting belief

of their own individual cells, and they need to get out of their own way

and free up that space toward doing bigger things.

Because I will tell you, it takes the same amount of energy

to do a small deal as it takes to do a big deal,

because oftentimes small deals don't necessarily have a team,

and they revolve around one person, which could be you, and big deals

could have massive teams involved where you're just managing

the team, doing a lot more, more efficiently with less time.

If this was just about working hard, then restaurant owners

would be some of the richest people in the world.

Same with farmers.

You just need to work smart, not just hard.

You need to do both.

Just to recap, the first thing is you find out what you really love.

The second thing is create that niche and really go after it.

Do as many things that you can to be the best that you can be in that niche.

The third thing is to go out and apply it in the real world for free.

It'll start for free,

but you need to have the confidence to be able to make money from it as well.

Just there should be no reason any business owner would ever turn

you down.

If you have an incredible niche that they could use

and you tell them that you'll do it for free,

but just based on the amount of revenue that you'll bring them up

for what they're doing already.

Once you start to perform because you haven't done that yet,

you will start to realize that you'll start to scale and you get more clients.

And then at that point, you should really take a look at

should you start your own business, should you start your own business

and are you ready?

And then of course, there's a whole nother textbook for that.

This is about scaling and growing your business

and growing a corporate culture.

Chapter one is just finding a niche and growing it and starting to get clients.

Chapter two is actually starting a business

and it'll be difficult and hard and rocky.

And then chapter three is actually scaling that business.

So go to chapter one and then you'll know when you're ready for chapter two.

If you are starting a business, there are three critical questions

that you need to be able to answer before you even consider starting it.

I just made a video on those three questions and you can watch that here.